Austro - Prussian war - wikipedia Austro - Prussian war Austro - Prussian War ( Seven Weeks ' War ) Part of the wars of German unification Battle of Königgrätz, by Georg Bleibtreu. Oil on canvas, 1869. Date 14 June -- 23 August 1866 ( 2 months and 9 days ) Location Bohemia, Germany, Italy and Adriatic Sea Result Prussian - led German and Italian victory Territorial changes Prussia annexes parts of Bavaria, Hanover, Hesse - Kassel, parts of Hesse - Darmstadt, Holstein, Schleswig, Nassau, and Frankfurt Italy annexes Venetia and part of Friuli Dissolution of the German Confederation Formation of the North German Confederation Exclusion of Austria from Germany Formation of Austria - Hungary Belligerents Prussian - led German Confederation states Prussia Brunswick Mecklenburg - Schwerin Saxe - Coburg & Gotha Saxe - Altenburg Mecklenburg - Strelitz Oldenburg Anhalt Schwarzburg Waldeck Lippe Saxe - Lauenburg Lübeck Bremen Hamburg Italy Austrian - led German Confederation states Austria Bavaria Saxony Hanover Württemberg Hesse - Kassel Baden Hesse - Darmstadt Nassau Saxe - Meiningen Reuss - Greiz Schaumburg - Lippe Frankfurt Commanders and leaders Wilhelm I Otto von Bismarck Helmuth von Moltke Vittorio Emanuele II Alfonso La Marmora Bettino Ricasoli Franz Joseph I Albrecht von Teschen Ludwig von Benedek Strength 637,262 437,262 200,000 517,123 407,223 38,000 26,500 20,000 18,400 7,000 5,000 Casualties and losses 39,990 Breakdown Total losses 28,793 4,454 battle deaths 6,427 disease deaths 16,217 wounded 785 missing 910 captured 11,197 1,633 battle deaths 3,926 wounded 553 missing 5,085 captured 132,414 Breakdown Total losses 106,796 9,123 battle deaths 18,952 disease deaths 35,236 wounded 12,365 missing 31,120 captured 17,693 379 battle deaths 1,051 wounded 16,263 captured or missing 3,840 348 battle deaths 2,095 wounded 1,397 captured or missing 2,094 241 battle deaths 1,273 wounded 580 captured or missing 1,078 88 battle deaths 444 wounded 546 captured or missing 717 67 battle deaths 452 wounded 198 captured or missing 196 24 battle deaths 115 wounded 57 captured or missing Austro - Prussian War and Third Italian War of Independence Custoza Hühnerwasser Podol Nachod Lake Garda Trautenau Burkersdorf Langensalza Skalitz Münchengrätz Schweinschädel Gitschin Königgrätz Tauberbischofsheim Valtellina Vezza d'Oglio Lissa Bezzecca Lamacs The Austro - Prussian War or Seven Weeks ' War ( also known as the Unification War, Prussian -- German War, German Civil War, War of 1866, Brothers War, or Fraternal War, and in Germany as the German War ) was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies on the other, that resulted in Prussian dominance over the German states. Prussia had also allied with the Kingdom of Italy, linking this conflict to the Third Independence War of Italian unification. The major result of the war was a shift in power among the German states away from Austrian and towards Prussian hegemony, and impetus towards the unification of all of the northern German states in a Kleindeutsches Reich that excluded the German Austria. It saw the abolition of the German Confederation and its partial replacement by a North German Confederation that excluded Austria and the other South German states. The war also resulted in the Italian annexation of the Austrian province of Venetia. Contents 1 Causes 1.1 Nationalism 1.2 Bismarck 1.3 France 1.4 Unpopular rulers 1.5 Military factors 1.5. 1 Rival military systems 1.5. 2 Speed of mobilization 1.5. 3 Speed of concentration 1.5. 4 Armaments and tactics 1.6 Economic factors 2 Alliances 3 Course of the war 3.1 Major battles 4 Aftermath and consequences 4.1 For the defeated parties 4.2 For the neutral parties and Liechtenstein 5 Austria 's desire for revenge 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External links Causes For centuries, Central Europe was split into large states and hundreds of tiny entities, each maintaining its independence with the assistance of outside powers, particularly France. Austria, the personal territory of the Habsburg Emperors, was traditionally considered the leader of the German states, but Prussia was becoming increasingly powerful and by the late 18th century was ranked as one of the great powers of Europe. Francis II 's abolition of the office of Holy Roman Emperor in 1806, intended to prevent Napoleon from seizing it, also deprived him of his imperial authority over most of German - speaking Europe, though little true authority remained by that time ; he did, however, retain control of an extensive multi-ethnic empire after Napoleon 's defeat. After 1815, the German states were once again reorganized into a loose confederation : the German Confederation, under Austrian leadership. The pretext for the conflict was found in the dispute between Prussia and Austria over the administration of Schleswig - Holstein, which the two of them had conquered from Denmark and agreed to jointly occupy at the end of the Second Schleswig War in 1864. When Austria brought the dispute before the German Diet and also decided to convene the Diet of Holstein, Prussia declared that the Gastein Convention had thereby been nullified and invaded Holstein. When the German Diet responded by voting for a partial mobilization against Prussia, Bismarck claimed that the German Confederation was ended. Crown Prince Frederick `` was the only member of the Prussian Crown Council to uphold the rights of the Duke of Augustenberg and oppose the idea of a war with Austria which he described as fratricide ''. Although he supported unification and the restoration of the medieval empire, `` Fritz could not accept that war was the right way to unite Germany. '' Map of Austro - Prussian war Battle of Königgrätz between Prussian and Austrian soldiers ( 1866 ) Nationalism Partly in reaction to the triumphant French nationalism of Napoleon I and partly as an organic feeling of commonality glorified during the Romantic era, German nationalism became a potent force during this period. The ultimate aim of most German nationalists was the gathering of all Germans under one state. Two ideas of national unity eventually came to the fore -- one including and one excluding Austria. The US newspaper The New York Times summarized its views of German nationalism shortly after the outbreak of the war : There is, in political geography, no Germany proper to speak of. There are Kingdoms and Grand Duchies, and Duchies and Principalities, inhabited by Germans, and each separately ruled by an independent sovereign with all the machinery of State. Yet there is a natural undercurrent tending to a national feeling and toward a union of the Germans into one great nation, ruled by one common head as a national unit. Bismarck This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) There are many interpretations of Otto von Bismarck 's behaviour prior to the Austrian - Prussian war, which concentrate mainly on whether he had a master plan that resulted in this war, the North German Confederation and the unification of Germany. Bismarck maintained that he orchestrated the conflict in order to bring about the North German Confederation, the Franco - Prussian War and the eventual unification of Germany. However, historians such as A.J.P. Taylor dispute his interpretation and believe that Bismarck did not have a master plan, but rather was an opportunist who took advantage of the favourable situations that presented themselves. Taylor thinks Bismarck manipulated events into the most beneficial solution possible for Prussia. On 22 February 1866, Count Karolyi, Austrian ambassador in Berlin, sent a dispatch to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Alexander Mensdorff - Pouilly. He explained to him that Prussian public opinion had become extremely sensitive about the Duchies issue and that he had no doubt that `` this artificial exaggeration of the danger by public opinion formed an essential part of the calculations and actions of Count Bismarck ( who considered ) the annexation of the Duchies... a matter of life and death for his political existence ( and wished ) to make it appear such for Prussia too. '' Possible evidence can be found in Bismarck 's orchestration of the Austrian alliance during the Second Schleswig War against Denmark, which can be seen as his diplomatic `` masterstroke ''. Taylor also believes that the alliance was a `` test for Austria rather than a trap '' and that the goal was not war with Austria, contradicting what Bismarck later gave in his memoirs as his main reason for establishing the alliance. It was in the Prussian interest to gain an alliance with Austria to defeat Denmark and settle the issue of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The alliance can be regarded as an aid to Prussian expansion, rather than a provocation of war against Austria. Many historians believe that Bismarck was simply a Prussian expansionist, rather than a German nationalist, who sought the unification of Germany. It was at the Gastein Convention that the Austrian alliance was set up to lure Austria into war. Bismarck made an alliance with Italy, committing it to the war if Prussia entered one against Austria within three months, which was an obvious incentive for Bismarck to go to war with Austria within three months to divert Austrian strength away from Prussia. The timing of the declaration was perfect, because all other European powers were either bound by alliances that forbade them from entering the conflict, or had domestic problems that had priority. Britain had no stake economically or politically in war between Prussia and Austria. Russia was unlikely to enter on the side of Austria, due to ill will over Austrian support of the anti-Russian alliance during the Crimean War and Prussia had stood by Russia during the January Uprising in Poland whereas Austria had not. France France was also unlikely to enter on the side of Austria, because Bismarck and Napoleon III met in Biarritz and allegedly discussed whether or not France would intervene in a potential Austro - Prussian war. The details of the discussion are unknown but many historians think Bismarck was guaranteed French neutrality in the event of a war. Italy was already allied with Prussia, which meant that Austria would be fighting both with no major allies of its own. Bismarck was aware of his numerical superiority but still `` he was not prepared to advise it immediately even though he gave a favourable account of the international situation ''. When the Prussian victory became clear, France attempted to extract territorial concessions in the Palatinate and Luxembourg. In his speech to the Reichstag on 2 May 1871, Bismarck said : It is known that even on 6 August 1866, I was in the position to observe the French ambassador make his appearance to see me in order, to put it succinctly, to present an ultimatum : to relinquish Mainz, or to expect an immediate declaration of war. Naturally I was not doubtful of the answer for a second. I answered him : `` Good, then it 's war ! '' He travelled to Paris with this answer. A few days after one in Paris thought differently, and I was given to understand that this instruction had been torn from Emperor Napoleon during an illness. The further attempts in relation to Luxemburg are known. Unpopular rulers Unpopular rulers sought foreign war as a way to gain popularity and unite the feuding political factions. In Prussia King William I was deadlocked with the liberal parliament in Berlin. In Italy King Victor Emmanuel II faced increasing demands for reform from the Left. In Austria Emperor Franz Joseph saw the need to reduce growing ethnic strife by uniting the several nationalities against a foreign enemy. Military factors Memorial to Battery of the Dead at Chlum commemorates some of the heaviest fighting during Battle of Königgrätz ( 3 July 1866 ) Bismarck may well have been encouraged to go to war by the advantages of the Prussian army against the Austrian Empire. Taylor wrote that Bismarck was reluctant to pursue war as it `` deprived him of control and left the decisions to the generals whose ability he distrusted ''. ( The two most important personalities within the Prussian army were the War Minister Albrecht Graf von Roon and Chief of the General Staff Helmuth Graf von Moltke. ) Taylor suggested that Bismarck was hoping to force Austrian leaders into concessions in Germany, rather than provoke war. The truth may be more complicated than simply that Bismarck, who famously said that `` politics is the art of the possible '', initially sought war with Austria or was initially against the idea of going to war with Austria. Rival military systems In 1862, von Roon had implemented several army reforms that ensured that all Prussian citizens were liable to conscription. Before this date, the size of the army had been fixed by earlier laws that had not taken population growth into account, making conscription inequitable and unpopular for this reason. While some Prussian men remained in the army or the reserves until they were forty years old, about one man in three ( or even more in some regions where the population had expanded greatly as a result of industrialisation ) was assigned minimal service in the Landwehr, the home guard. Introducing universal conscription for three years increased the size of the active duty army and provided Prussia with a reserve army equal in size to that which Moltke deployed against Austria. Had France under Napoleon III attempted to intervene against the Prussians, they could have faced him with equal or superior numbers of troops. Prussian conscript service was one of continuous training and drill, in contrast to the Austrian army where some commanders routinely dismissed infantry conscripts to their homes on permanent leave soon after their induction into the army, retaining only a cadre of long - term soldiers for formal parades and routine duties. Austrian conscripts had to be trained almost from scratch when they were recalled to their units on the outbreak of war. The Prussian army was thus better trained and disciplined than the Austrian army, particularly in the infantry. While Austrian cavalry and artillery were as well - trained as their Prussian counterparts with Austria possessing two elite divisions of heavy cavalry, weapons and tactics had advanced since the Napoleonic Wars and cavalry charges had been rendered obsolete. Speed of mobilization Battle of Königgrätz : Prince Friedrich Karl is cheered on by his Prussian troops. The Prussian army was locally based, organised in Kreise ( military districts, lit. : circles ), each containing a Korps headquarters and its component units. Most reservists lived close to their regimental depots and could be swiftly mobilised. Austrian policy was to ensure that units were stationed far from home to prevent them from taking part in separatist revolts. Conscripts on leave or reservists recalled to their units during mobilization faced a journey that might take weeks before they could report to their units, making the Austrian mobilisation much slower than that of the Prussian Army. Speed of concentration The railway system of Prussia was more extensively developed than that within Austria. Railways made it possible to supply larger numbers of troops than hitherto and allowed the rapid movement of troops within friendly territory. The better Prussian rail network allowed the Prussian army to concentrate more rapidly than the Austrians. Moltke, reviewing his plans to Roon stated, `` We have the inestimable advantage of being able to carry our Field Army of 285,000 men over five railway lines and of virtually concentrating them in twenty - five days... Austria has only one railway line and it will take her forty - five days to assemble 200,000 men. '' Moltke had also said earlier, `` Nothing could be more welcome to us than to have now the war that we must have. '' The Austrian army under Ludwig von Benedek in Bohemia ( the present - day Czech Republic ) might previously have been expected to enjoy the advantage of the `` central position '', by being able to concentrate on successive attacking armies strung out along the frontier, but the quicker Prussian concentration nullified this advantage. By the time the Austrians were fully assembled, they would be unable to concentrate against one Prussian army without having the other two instantly attack their flank and rear, threatening their lines of communication. Armaments and tactics Dreyse needle gun Prussian infantry were equipped with the Dreyse needle gun, a bolt - action rifle capable of far more rapid fire than the muzzle - loading Lorenz rifles of the Austrian army. In the Franco - Austrian War of 1859, French troops had taken advantage of the fact that the rifles of the time fired high if sighted for long range. By rapidly closing the range, French troops could come to close quarters without sustaining too many casualties from the Austrian infantry. After the war, the Austrians had adopted the same methods, which they termed the Stoßtaktik ( `` shock tactics '' ). Although they had some warnings of the Prussian weapon, they ignored these and retained Stoßtaktik. The Austrian artillery had breech - loading rifled guns, while the Prussian army retained many muzzle - loading smooth bore cannon. New Krupp breech - loading cannons were only slowly being introduced but the shortcomings of the Austrian army prevented the artillery from being decisive. Economic factors The Battle of Königgrätz. In 1866, the Prussian economy was rapidly growing, partly as a result of the Zollverein, which gave Prussia an advantage in the war. Prussia could equip its armies with breech - loading rifles and later with new Krupp breech - loading artillery but the Austrian economy was suffering from the effects of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the Second Italian War of Independence. Austria had only one bank, the Creditanstalt and the state was heavily in debt. Historian Christopher Clark wrote that there is little to suggest that Prussia had an overwhelming economic and industrial advantage over Austria and wrote that a larger portion of the Prussian population was engaged in agriculture than in the Austrian population and that Austrian industry could produce the most sophisticated weapons in the war ( rifled artillery ). The Austro - Prussian War ended quickly and was fought mainly with existing weapons and munitions, which reduced the influence of economic and industrial power relative to politics and military culture. Alliances Prussian artillery at the Battle of Langensalza. Oil painting by Georg von Boddien. Prior to the outbreak of hositilites both the Austrian and Prussian governments sought to rally allies in Germany. On 15 June Bismarck offered territorial compensation in the Grand Duchy of Hesse to the Electorate of Hesse, if Elector Frederick William were to ally with Prussia. The proposition grievously offended Frederick William 's `` legitimist sensibilities '' and the monarch joined the Austrians, despite the Hessian Landtag voting for neutrality. King George V of Hanover during the spring of 1866 was contacted by Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph about establishing a coalition against the Prussians. The Hanoverian monarch concluded that his kingdom would fall if it were to fight against the Prussian armies. Most of the German states sided with Austria against Prussia, even though Austria had declared war. Those that sided with Austria included the Kingdoms of Saxony, Bavaria, Württemberg, and Hanover. Southern states such as, Baden, Hesse - Kassel ( or Hesse - Cassel ), Hesse - Darmstadt, and Nassau also joined with Austria. Many of the German princes allied with the Habsburgs principally out of a desire to keep their thrones. Some of the northern German states joined Prussia, in particular Oldenburg, Mecklenburg - Schwerin, Mecklenburg - Strelitz, and Brunswick. The Kingdom of Italy participated in the war with Prussia, because Austria held Venetia and other smaller territories wanted by Italy to complete the process of Italian unification. In return for Italian aid against Austria, Bismarck agreed not to make a separate peace until Italy had obtained Venetia. Notably, the other foreign powers abstained from this war. French Emperor Napoleon III, who expected a Prussian defeat, chose to remain out of the war to strengthen his negotiating position for territory along the Rhine, while the Russian Empire still bore a grudge against Austria from the Crimean War. Alliances of the Austro - Prussian War, 1866 Kingdom of Prussia Austrian Empire Neutral to Prussia Duchy of Brunswick Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg - Schwerin Saxe - Coburg and Gotha Duchy of Saxe - Altenburg Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg - Strelitz Grand Duchy of Oldenburg Duchy of Anhalt Schwarzburg - Sondershausen Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont Principality of Lippe Saxe - Lauenburg Free City of Lübeck Bremen Hamburg Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Bavaria Kingdom of Saxony Kingdom of Hanover Kingdom of Württemberg Electorate of Hesse Grand Duchy of Baden Grand Duchy of Hesse Duchy of Nassau Duchy of Saxe - Meiningen Principality of Reuss - Greiz Principality of Schaumburg - Lippe Free City of Frankfurt Luxembourg Duchy of Limburg Grand Duchy of Saxe - Weimar - Eisenach Schwarzburg - Rudolstadt Liechtenstein Principality of Reuss - Gera Disputed Territory Duchy of Holstein Duchy of Schleswig Course of the war Cavalry clash at the Battle of Nachod The first war between two major continental powers in seven years, it used many of the same technologies as the American Civil War, including railways to concentrate troops during mobilization and telegraphs to enhance long - distance communication. The Prussian Army used von Dreyse 's breech - loading needle gun, which could be rapidly loaded while the soldier was seeking cover on the ground, whereas the Austrian muzzle - loading rifles could only be loaded slowly, and generally from a standing position. The main campaign of the war occurred in Bohemia. Prussian Chief of General Staff Helmuth von Moltke had planned meticulously for the war. He rapidly mobilized the Prussian army and advanced across the border into Saxony and Bohemia, where the Austrian army was concentrating for an invasion of Silesia. There, the Prussian armies, led nominally by King William I, converged, and the two sides met at the Battle of Königgrätz ( Hradec Králové ) on 3 July. The Prussian Elbe Army advanced on the Austrian left wing, and the First Army on the center, prematurely ; they risked being counter-flanked on their own left. Victory therefore depended on the timely arrival of the Second Army on the left wing. This was achieved through the brilliant work of its Chief of Staff, Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal. Superior Prussian organization and élan decided the battle against Austrian numerical superiority, and the victory was near total, with Austrian battle deaths nearly seven times the Prussian figure. Austria rapidly sought peace after this battle. Austrian victory at the Battle of Lissa Except for Saxony, the other German states allied to Austria played little role in the main campaign. Hanover 's army defeated Prussia at the Second Battle of Langensalza on 27 June 1866, but, within a few days, they were forced to surrender by superior numbers. Prussian armies fought against Bavaria on the Main river, reaching Nuremberg and Frankfurt. The Bavarian fortress of Würzburg was shelled by Prussian artillery, but the garrison defended its position until armistice day. The Austrians were more successful in their war with Italy, defeating the Italians on land at the Battle of Custoza ( 24 June ), and on sea at the Battle of Lissa ( 20 July ). However, Italy 's `` Hunters of the Alps '' led by Garibaldi defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Bezzecca on 21 July, conquered the lower part of Trentino, and moved towards Trento. The Prussian peace with Austria forced the Italian government to seek an armistice with Austria on 12 August. According to the Treaty of Vienna, signed on 12 October, Austria ceded Veneto to France, which, in turn, ceded it to Italy. Major battles Austrian uhlans under Colonel Rodakowski attack Italian Bersaglieri during the Battle of Custozza 24 June, Battle of Custoza : Austrian army defeats Italian army. 27 June, Battle of Trautenau ( Trutnov ) : Austrians check Prussian advance but with heavy losses. 27 June, Battle of Langensalza : Hanover 's army defeats Prussia 's. However, Hanover surrenders two days later. 29 June, Battle of Gitschin ( Jičín ) : Prussians defeat Austrians. 3 July, Battle of Königgrätz ( Sadová ) : decisive Prussian victory against Austrians. 20 July, Battle of Lissa ( Vis ) : the Austrian fleet decisively defeats the Italian one. 21 July, Battle of Bezzecca : Giuseppe Garibaldi 's `` Hunters of the Alps '' defeat an Austrian army. 22 July ( last day of the war ), Battle of Lamacs ( Lamač ) : Austrians defend Bratislava against Prussian army. 24 July, Battle of Tauberbischofsheim, the Federal 8th Corps ( Württemberg, Baden, Hesse and Nassau ) is defeated by Prussia and northern Württemberg is occupied. Aftermath and consequences Aftermath of the Austro - Prussian War. Prussia Territories annexed by Prussia Prussian allies Austria Austrian allies Neutral members of the German Confederation In order to prevent `` unnecessary bitterness of feeling or desire for revenge '' and forestall intervention by France or Russia, Bismarck pushed King William I of Prussia to make peace with the Austrians rapidly, rather than continue the war in hopes of further gains. William had `` planned to install both the crown prince of Hanover and the nephew of the elector of Hesse as titular grand dukes in small territorial residuals of their dynastic inheritance '' by opposition in the government cabinet, including Crown Prince Frederick to the annexation of several German states. The Austrians accepted mediation from France 's Napoleon III. The Peace of Prague on 23 August 1866 resulted in the dissolution of the German Confederation, Prussian annexation of many of Austria 's former allies, and the permanent exclusion of Austria from German affairs. This left Prussia free to form the North German Confederation the next year, incorporating all the German states north of the Main River. Prussia chose not to seek Austrian territory for itself, and this made it possible for Prussia and Austria to ally in the future, since Austria felt threatened more by Italian and Pan-Slavic irredentism than by Prussia. The war left Prussia dominant in German politics ( since Austria was now excluded from Germany and no longer the top German power ), and German nationalism would encourage the remaining independent states to ally with Prussia in the Franco - Prussian War in 1870, and then to accede to the crowning of King William of Prussia as German Emperor in 1871. The united German states would become one of the most influential of all the European powers. For the defeated parties In addition to war reparations, the following territorial changes took place : Austria : Surrendered the province of Venetia to France, but then Napoleon III handed it to Italy as agreed in a secret treaty with Prussia. Austria then lost all official influence over member states of the former German Confederation. Austria 's defeat was a telling blow to Habsburg rule ; the Empire was transformed via the Austro - Hungarian Compromise of 1867 into the dual monarchy of Austria - Hungary in the following year. Additionally Austria was also excluded from Germany. Schleswig and Holstein : Became the Prussian Province of Schleswig - Holstein. Hanover : Annexed by Prussia, became the Province of Hanover. Hesse - Darmstadt : Surrendered to Prussia the small territory it had acquired earlier in 1866 on the extinction of the ruling house of Hesse - Homburg. The northern half of the remaining land joined the North German Confederation. Nassau, Hesse - Kassel, Frankfurt : Annexed by Prussia. Combined with the territory surrendered by Hesse - Darmstadt to form the new Province of Hesse - Nassau. Saxony, Saxe - Meiningen, Reuss - Greiz, Schaumburg - Lippe : Spared from annexation but joined the North German Confederation in the following year. For the neutral parties and liechtenstein The North German Confederation after the war. The war meant the end of the German Confederation. Those states who remained neutral during the conflict took different actions after the Prague treaty : Liechtenstein : Became an independent state and declared permanent neutrality, while maintaining close political ties with Austria. They had sent 80 men out but did not engage in any fighting. They returned home with 81 men because an Italian soldier decided to go with them. Limburg and Luxembourg : The Treaty of London ( 1867 ) declared both of these states to be part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Limburg became the Dutch province of Limburg. Luxembourg was guaranteed independence and neutrality from its three surrounding neighbors ( Belgium, France, and Prussia ), but it rejoined the German customs union, the Zollverein, and remained a member until its dissolution in 1919. Reuss - Schleiz, Saxe - Weimar - Eisenach, Schwarzburg - Rudolstadt : Joined the North German Confederation. Austria 's desire for revenge The Austrian Chancellor Count Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust was `` impatient to take his revenge on Bismarck for Sadowa ''. As a preliminary step, the Ausgleich with Hungary was `` rapidly concluded ''. Beust `` persuaded Francis Joseph to accept Magyar demands which he had until then rejected '', but Austrian plans fell short of French hopes ( e.g. Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen proposed a plan which required the French army to fight alone for six weeks in order to allow Austrian mobilisation ). Victor Emmanuel II and the Italian government wanted to join this potential alliance, but Italian public opinion was bitterly opposed so long as Napoleon III kept a French garrison in Rome protecting Pope Pius IX, thereby denying Italy the possession of its capital ( Rome had been declared capital of Italy in March 1861, when the first Italian Parliament had met in Turin ). Napoleon III was not strictly opposed to this ( in response to a French minister of State 's declaration that Italy would never lay its hands on Rome, the Emperor had commented `` You know, in politics, one should never say ' never ' '' ) and had made various proposals for resolving the Roman Question, but Pius IX rejected them all. Despite his support for Italian unification, Napoleon could not press the issue for fear of angering Catholics in France. Raffaele de Cesare, an Italian journalist, political scientist, and author, noted that : The alliance, proposed two years before 1870, between France, Italy, and Austria, was never concluded because Napoleon III... would never consent to the occupation of Rome by Italy... He wished Austria to avenge Sadowa, either by taking part in a military action, or by preventing South Germany from making common cause with Prussia... If he could ensure, through Austrian aid, the neutrality of the South German States in a war against Prussia, he considered himself sure of defeating the Prussian army, and thus would remain arbiter of the European situation. But when the war suddenly broke out, before anything was concluded, the first unexpected French defeats overthrew all previsions, and raised difficulties for Austria and Italy which prevented them from making common cause with France. Wörth and Sedan followed each other too closely. The Roman question was the stone tied to Napoleon 's feet -- that dragged him into the abyss. He never forgot, even in August 1870, a month before Sedan, that he was a sovereign of a Catholic country, that he had been made Emperor, and was supported by the votes of the conservatives and the influence of the clergy ; and that it was his supreme duty not to abandon the Pontiff... For twenty years Napoleon III had been the true sovereign of Rome, where he had many friends and relations... Without him the temporal power would never have been reconstituted, nor, being reconstituted, would have endured. Another reason that Beust 's desired revanche against Prussia did not materialize was the fact that, in 1870, the Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Andrássy was `` vigorously opposed ''. See also Wars and battles involving Prussia Notes References Jump up ^ Clodfelter 2017, p. 182. ^ Jump up to : Clodfelter 2017, p. 183. Jump up ^ Clodfelter 2017, pp. 183 - 184. Jump up ^ Rudolf Winziers ( April 17, 2001 ). `` Unification War 1866 ''. Royal Bavarian 5th Infantry. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 2009 - 03 - 19. Jump up ^ Wawro 2003, p. 16. Jump up ^ Balfour 1964, pp. 67 - 68. Jump up ^ `` The Situation of Germany ''. The New York Times. 1 July 1866. Jump up ^ Brooks, Stephen, Nineteenth Century Europe, The Macmillan Press Ltd, 1992, p. 39 - 40 Jump up ^ Feuchtwanger, Edgar ( 2014 ). Bismarck : A Political History. Routledge. p. 125. ISBN 9781317684329. Jump up ^ Hollyday 1970, p. 36. Jump up ^ Geoffrey Wawro, `` The Habsburg ' Flucht Nach Vorne ' in 1866 : Domestic Political Origins of the Austro - Prussian War '', International History Review ( 1995 ) 17 # 2 pp 221 - 248. Jump up ^ McElwee ( 1970 ), p. 60 ) Jump up ^ McElwee ( 1970 ), pp. 63 - 64 Jump up ^ McElwee ( 1970 ), p. 52 Jump up ^ Wolmar, Christian ( 2010 ) `` Blood, Iron and Gold : How the Railways Transformed the World '' p. 96 Jump up ^ Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom : The Rise and Downfall of Prussia. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2008. ^ Jump up to : Schmitt, Hans A. Prussia 's Last Fling : The Annexation of Hanover, Hesse, Frankfurt, and Nassau, June 15 - October 8, 1866. Central European History 8, No. 4 ( 1975 ), pp. 316 - 347. Jump up ^ Bismarck, the Man and the Statesman, Volume 2, Smith, Elder, 1898, p. 48 Jump up ^ Albertini, Luigi ( 1952 ). The Origins of the War of 1914, Volume I. Oxford University Press. p. 4. Jump up ^ Aronson, Theo ( 1970 ). The Fall of the Third Napoleon. Cassell & Company Ltds. p. 58. Jump up ^ Aronson, Theo ( 1970 ). The Fall of the Third Napoleon. Cassell & Company Ltds. p. 56. Jump up ^ de Cesare, Raffaele ( 1909 ). The Last Days of Papal Rome. Archibald Constable & Co. In Benja we trust. pp. 439 -- 443. Jump up ^ Albertini, Luigi ( 1952 ). The Origins of the War of 1914, Volume I. Oxford University Press. p. 6. Bibliography Balfour, M. ( 1964 ). The Kaiser and his Times. Boston MA : Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0 - 39300 - 661 - 1. Barry, Quintin. Road to Koniggratz : Helmuth von Moltke and the Austro - Prussian War 1866 ( 2010 ) excerpt and text search Bassett - Powell, Bruce. Armies of Bismarck 's Wars : Prussian 1860 - 67 ( 2013 ) Publisher = Casemate ( 1 ) Bond, Brian. `` The Austro - Prussian War, 1866, '' History Today ( 1966 ) 16 # 8, pp 538 -- 546. Clodfelter, M. ( 2017 ). Warfare and Armed Conflicts : A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492 - 2015 ( 4th ed. ). Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland. ISBN 978 - 0786474707. Hollyday, FBM ( 1970 ), Bismarck, Great Lives Observed, Prentice - Hall Hozier, H.M. The Seven Weeks ' War : the Austro - Prussian Conflict of 1866 ( 2012 ) McElwee, William ( 1974 ). The Art of War : Waterloo to Mons. Bloomington : Indiana University Press. ISBN 0 - 253 - 20214 - 0. Taylor, A.J.P.. The Habsburg Monarchy 1809 -- 1918 ( 2nd ed. 1948 ). Taylor, A.J.P.. Bismarck : the Man and Statesman, 1955. Showalter, Dennis E. The Wars of German Unification ( 2004 ) Wawro, G. ( 1997 ). The Austro - Prussian War : Austria 's War with Prussia and Italy in 1866. Cambridge : CUP. ISBN 0 - 521 - 62951 - 9. Wawro, G. ( 2003 ). The Franco -- Prussian War : The German Conquest of France in 1870 -- 1871. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 - 521 - 58436 - 1. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Austro - Prussian War. Further information about the war ( in German ) Coordinates : 43 ° 28 ′ 26 '' N 1 ° 33 ′ 11 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 43.474 ° N 1.553 ° W ﻿ / 43.474 ; - 1.553 Unification of Germany States Austrian Empire ( later Austria - Hungary ) Kingdom of Bavaria Kingdom of Hanover Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Saxony Kingdom of Württemberg more Unions German Confederation Zollverein German Empire ( 1848 / 1849 ) ( constitution ) Erfurt Union North German Confederation ( constitution ) German Empire ( constitution ) Events Vormärz 1814 -- 15 Congress of Vienna 1819 Carlsbad Decrees 1832 Hambach Festival 1833 Frankfurter Wachensturm 1848 Revolutions 1848 -- 49 Frankfurt Parliament 1850 Punctation of Olmütz 1850 - 51 Dresden Conference 1862 `` Blood and Iron '' speech 1864 Second Schleswig War 1866 Austro - Prussian War / Peace of Prague 1870 -- 71 Franco - Prussian War 1871 Treaty of Versailles People Baron von Stein Charles I of Württemberg Christian IX of Denmark Eduard von Simson Franz I of Austria Franz Joseph I of Austria Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William IV of Prussia Friedrich Daniel Bassermann Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust Heinrich von Gagern Johann Gottlieb Fichte Johann Gustav Droysen Archduke John of Austria John of Saxony Karl August von Hardenberg Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich Ludwig II of Bavaria Napoleon III of France Otto von Bismarck Robert Blum Wilhelm von Humboldt Wilhelm I, German Emperor Related Alsace - Lorraine Burschenschaft Das Lied der Deutschen Die Wacht am Rhein Flag of Germany ( Lützow Free Corps ) Pan-Germanism Kleindeutschland / Großdeutschland Frankfurt Parliament Schleswig - Holstein Question Sonderweg Germany portal Italian unification -- Risorgimento Wars and revolts Revolutions of 1820 Revolutions of 1830 Revolutions of 1848 First Italian War of Independence Crimean War Second Italian War of Independence Expedition of the Thousand Third Italian War of Independence Capture of Rome Main leaders Bettino Ricasoli Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour Carlo Cattaneo Daniele Manin Francesco Crispi Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Mazzini Ruggero Settimo Victor Emmanuel II Opponents Pope Pius IX Franz Joseph I of Austria Francis II of the Two Sicilies Klemens von Metternich Joseph Radetzky von Radetz GND : 4011795 - 9 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Austro-Prussian_War&oldid=801870656 '' Categories : Austro - Prussian War 1866 in Austria 1866 in Prussia Wars involving Baden Wars involving Bavaria Wars involving Hesse - Kassel Wars involving Italy Wars involving Saxony Wars involving Waldeck Wars involving Württemberg History of Schleswig - Holstein Conflicts in 1866 Austria -- Prussia relations Hidden categories : Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles containing German - language text Articles needing additional references from August 2017 All articles needing additional references Wikipedia articles needing clarification from December 2014 Articles with German - language external links Coordinates not on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Български Boarisch Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча پنجابی Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська Vèneto Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 22 September 2017, at 12 : 48. 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Question: a result of bismarck's austro prussian war was
Answer: shift in power among the German states away from Austrian and towards Prussian hegemony