This is a history of the Austro-Prussian-Italian War of 1866, which paved the way for German and Italian unification. It is based upon extensive new research in the state and military archives of Austria, Germany, and Italy. Geoffrey Wawro describes Prussia's successful invasion of Habsburg Venetia, and the wretched collapse of the Austrian army in July 1866. Although the book gives a thorough accounting of both the Prussian and Italian war efforts, it is most notable for the light it sheds on the Austrians. Through painstaking archival research, Wawro reconstructs the Austrian campaign, blow-by-blow, hour-by-hour. Blending military and social history, he describes the terror and panic that overtook Austria's regiments of the line in each clash with the Prussians. He reveals the unconscionable blundering of the Austrian commandant and his chief deputies who fumbled away key strategic advantages and ultimately lost a war - crucial to the fortunes of the Habsburg Monarchy - that most European pundits had predicted they would win.

In 1870 Bismarck ordered the Prussian Army to invade France, inciting one of the most dramatic conflicts in European history. It transformed not only the states-system of the Continent but the whole climate of European moral and political thought. The overwhelming triumph of German military might, evoking general admiration and imitation, introduced an era of power politics, which was to reach its disastrous climax in 1914. First published in 1961 and now with a new introduction, The Franco-Prussian War is acknowledged as the definitive history of one of the most dramatic and decisive conflicts in the history of Europe.

Wawro describes the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1, that violently changed the course of European history.

Useful and reliable primer that was designed for use of Staff College students sitting exams in 1908, and as such gives a clear analytical account of this mid-19th century conflict. The Seven Weeks' War was the first war between two major continental powers in seven years, and used many of the same technologies as the American Civil War. 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 muzzleloading rifles could only be loaded slowly, and generally from a standing position. Superior Prussian organization and élan decided the battle against Austrian numerical superiority, the victory was near total, with Austrian battle deaths nearly seven times the Prussian figure. --

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading Locked in a balance of power since the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the world was dominated by the great European powers of Britain, France, Russia, and Austria, and at the Congress of Vienna itself, Prussia had been a minor concern. Though the Prussians had come through in time to assist the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo, they were nevertheless taken for granted at the conference, with the major powers instead preferring to deal with the more historically powerful Austrian Hapsburgs. In his scathing commentary on Prussian culture, When Blood is Their Argument, Ford Maddox Ford attempted to explain the sudden rise of Prussian political and economic status from 1849-1880, writing, "She [Prussia] had pushed herself from being a bad second in the comity of Germanism into a position of equality with, if not of predominance over, Austria, amongst the German peoples." Prussian leaders, especially Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor and advisor to Prussia's king, believed Prussia could be a united and respected power, but only without the traditional Austrian dominance. At the time, the Austrian empire was a collection of ethnically diverse peoples and had been dominated by a socio-political conservatism that sought to keep the empire ruled in Hapsburg tradition. After Prussia was victorious in the Austro-Prussian War, Bismarck played a waiting game where the unification of Germany was concerned, as the joining of the southern states - initially resistant to Prussian rule, friendly with Austria, and bent on independence - would have to be overcome. What was needed was "a clear case of French aggression" toward either Prussia or the southern states. Not only would such a move by Emperor Napoleon III trigger the terms of the treaty between the German states, but it would keep the remaining world powers out of the conflict. The Franco-Prussian War started in August 1870, and a number of victories followed for the Prussians in battles in northeast France. By September, the strategic city of Metz was under siege, and forces fought a major battle at Sedan. Led by Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, the Prussians forced the French to surrender at Metz, and then at Sedan. Emperor Napoleon III, commanding his country's forces at Sedan, was taken prisoner, humiliating France and its impetuous leader. The Prussians immediately marched on Paris, but the capital refused to submit, and a separate siege was mounted that ended up lasting 130 days. Obviously, French society was in tumult, but a Third Republic and Government of National Defence was pronounced in place of the French Empire. An uprising subsequently took place in the stricken city, dubbed the "Paris Commune," which sought to establish a radical alternative to the status quo and was itself put down by French troops. On January 18, 1871, King Wilhelm I was crowned Kaiser of the German Empire, and though the Franco-Prussian War was still taking place, this moment was essentially the point at which Germany was unified. The other German states had to agree to this profound constitutional change, but they acquiesced after the clear victory of the Prussian-led forces. German unification was the territorial expansion of Prussia by another name, but Berlin demonstrated it could protect the interests, or at least the safety, of German-speakers under their watch. Despite the campaigns of nationalists and liberals over the previous decades, it was ultimately a victory on the battlefield that united the German states. This was the real-world application of Bismarck's "Blood and Iron" concept. From this position of strength during war, Prussia achieved an unassailable position. During the relatively short wars of 1864, 1866, and 1870-71, Bismarck roused nationalist sentiment, and in so doing, he achieved the long awaited goal of German unification.

The creation of a new Europe in fire and blood Europe during the second half of the nineteenth century was in turmoil. Ancient empires sought to hold and consolidate their power, smaller states struggled to forge themselves into new nations and old enmities fanned the fires of conflict. The Seven Weeks War of 1866, the subject of this book, was also known as the Austro-Prussian War, the German War, the Unification War, the German Civil War and the Fraternal War-and when considered as part of the process which brought about the unification of Italy, the Third Independence War. A substantial confederation of German states under the influence of the Austrian empire fought Prussia supported by its own German allies and the kingdom of Italy. The outcome was a decisive victory for Prussia and Italy that ensured future Prussian dominance over the states of Germany; Austria's power over Italy was further destabilised by territorial gains achieved by Italy in Venetia. Eight significant battles on land and sea were fought between the 24th June and the 22nd July 1866. Koniggratz, fought on the 3rd July, 1866, was probably the most decisive Prussian victory and is the battle most remembered today, although 17 days later the Austrian fleet inflicted a significant defeat upon the Italian navy at Lissa. The Austro-German alliance acquitted itself well in battle but was significantly outnumbered by its opponents and suffered almost twice as many casualties. This book is a thorough and scholarly examination of this European war which was fought while the British Empire was preoccupied with consolidation of its territories or the fighting of comparatively small colonial wars. It was one of the earliest wars of the industrial age and will interest all those fascinated by the history of the creation of modern Europe. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Among the finest examples of deeply researched and colorfully written military history, Richard Bassett’s For God and Kaiser is a major account of the Habsburg army told for the first time in English. Bassett shows how the Imperial Austrian Army, time and again, was a decisive factor in the story of Europe, the balance of international power, and the defense of Christendom. Moreover it was the first pan-European army made up of different nationalities and faiths, counting among its soldiers not only Christians but also Muslims and Jews. Bassett tours some of the most important campaigns and battles in modern European military history, from the seventeenth century through World War I. He details technical and social developments that coincided with the army’s story and provides fascinating portraits of the great military leaders as well as noteworthy figures of lesser renown. Departing from conventional assessments of the Habsburg army as ineffective, outdated, and repeatedly inadequate, the author argues that it was a uniquely cohesive and formidable fighting force, in many respects one of the glories of the old Europe.