Austria and Bavaria went to war, and as soon as the news broke, the entire European continent was shaken.

Although it is known that relations between the two countries have broken down, and the accumulated contradictions are not enough to break out into war, there is only one explanation left - Austria wants to unify Germany by force.

The pretext for the war can be seen, and many people have made up their own brains, thinking that Austria's strategy of trying to rebuild the HRE was bankrupted by Bavaria, and they simply tore their faces and hardened their faces.

London

When the Bavarian government asked for help, the British government was first shocked, then it had to intervene, and then it was a headache.

"Austria is trying to unify Germany by force, and now that they have taken the first step, we must put an end to their actions, and the balance on the European continent cannot be broken!" Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon snapped

Foreign Secretary Thomas analyzed: "Your Excellency, the situation is very troublesome. It must be said that Austria chose a good time, and the Russians held back the main energies of the French and ours.

Even if we want to intervene, we will only pay lip service to it for a long time to come.

Austria now dared to act against Bavaria, and it was very likely that they had come to an agreement with the Russians, and it would be difficult for them to let go of diplomatic pressure. ”

Anglo-French-Russian armistice? This possibility does exist, but this is based on the premise of Austria's unification of the German region, and the mere attack on Bavaria is not enough for the three sides to reach an immediate compromise.

Henry Johann Temple, the Minister of the Interior, proposed: "The German Confederations are numerous, and these small states are not weak in strength if united, and together with the Kingdom of Prussia, once these forces are mobilized, Austria will not be able to destroy them in a short time."

Intervening in the German region does not necessarily require us to send troops. It was enough to unite these states and hold Austria back.

After the war in the Near East is over, it is not too late to mediate. Perhaps it would be a good option to take advantage of this opportunity to kick Austria out of Germany. ”

War Secretary Stanley objected: "It's difficult, just when we form an alliance with France and the Ottomans, there are a lot of bad things that have happened.

With so many states in the German region and many contradictions with each other, it is not a simple matter to unite them.

The war in the Balkans proved that if you do not cooperate sincerely, you can easily be defeated by the enemy.

Austria's influence in the German region was too great, and now the attack on Bavaria was for the sake of national unity, which won the support of the nationalists in the German region.

In this case, even if the states of the German region could unite, the combat power that could burst out would be greatly reduced. ”

This is an unsolvable problem, as long as the soldiers do not want to fight, do not expect them to have any combat effectiveness on the battlefield.

Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon said: "Whether they are fighting or not, organise them first, as long as you can hold back the Austrians."

The Foreign Office communicated with the European countries as soon as possible, presumably because we did not want to see Austria unify the German region, and we would intervene together to force Austria to stop the war that destabilized Europe. ”

……

Paris

Napoleon III reacted more violently to the military action taken by Austria, and if it were not for the lack of troops at his disposal, he would have intervened immediately.

The Minister of the Interior, Perciny, proposed: "Your Majesty, the German regions are not so easy to unite, and the Austrians should not have this strength, and it will be a good opportunity for us to strike when they are defeated."

It is also possible to take the opportunity to annex the territories west of the Rhine, and now we should not stop Austria from acting, but should encourage the Austrians to fight. ”

Without long hesitation, Napoleon III made up his mind.

"Yes, this war cannot be stopped right away. Secretly sent people to negotiate terms with Austria, so that they could rest assured that they would fight boldly.

On the surface, we are still in line with other countries, exerting diplomatic pressure on the Austrian government, and encouraging the German states to fight Austria as much as possible. ”

Interests are always the eternal theme between countries, and it is inevitable to intervene in this war.

The French were not the same as the British, whose strategy made it impossible for them to expand on the continent, and it was their goal to maintain the assessment of European countries.

The French wanted to dominate the European continent, and they had long been eyeing the territory of the German region, so how could they let go now that the opportunity arose?

Although the states of Germany are small, they are not weak together, and if they and Austria are not allowed to wear down each other's strength, where is the opportunity for France?

Napoleon III wanted to be a fisherman, and it had already been decided that the position of Britain and France was contrary to each other, and intimate cooperation did not exist.

……

Frankfurt

Whether to send troops or not is a difficult question.

Who to send troops to help is another difficult problem.

Chancellor Felix's deception was not without meaning, at least the capitalists in Frankfurt believed that a united Germany was in everyone's interest.

The shallow water could not afford to raise dragons, and the capitalists in Frankfurt had to have a larger market if they wanted to go further.

Profit is always the best catalyst, and they have no opinion on the rebuilding of the HRE. It's a free city anyway, and it doesn't matter if it becomes a municipality.

Not only them, but most of Germany's free cities were hesitating, and the blueprint drawn by Chancellor Felix was so wonderful that the capitalists could not stop.

Of course, there were also voices of opposition, for very practical reasons, the position of the Austrian capitalists was too low to meet their expectations.

Many people doubted that Felix's promises would be fulfilled after the establishment of Holy Rome.

"Do big things and spare yourself, and forget your righteousness when you see small profits."

They are the most apt way to describe them.

……

Baden

As one of Bavaria's strongest allies, the Kingdom of Bavaria almost annexed the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1830, but the plan failed due to the intervention of the Great Powers.

This little episode did not affect the relationship between the two countries, and at most there was a little dissatisfaction between the royal family.

Whether or not to send troops to help Bavaria became a problem for Ludwig II, or for his younger brother, Prince Friedrich.

There is no way, in modern times, the royal family of Europe seems to be cursed, there are a lot of rotten and rotten things, and Ludwig II suffers from a weak mental illness.

Needless to say, as long as he suffers from this disease, no matter how severe it is, no one dares to let him continue to govern, and no one can guarantee that his thinking is normal when he makes decisions.

"The Bavarians have asked for help, should we send troops to rescue immediately?" Prince Friedrich asked

"Your Highness, now is not a good time to send troops, the Austrians are prepared, and our strength alone will not save Bavaria at all.

It is better to act in conjunction with other countries, because if you venture into the war, you will suffer heavy losses. Prime Minister Waltz replied

The Kingdom of Bavaria must be saved, and they still understand the truth of cold lips and teeth. But how to save it depends on skills, if the operation is not good, you will lose a lot.

Home Secretary Johannes added: "Not only that, but we also have to take into account the attitude of the people at home, and the majority of the population does not have a good opinion of Bavaria.

Since the Bavarian government's three-country cabinet plan was proposed, many civil activist groups have demanded that the government sever diplomatic relations with them.

The news has not yet spread, and once the news spreads, it is very likely that the people will oppose the government's sending troops. ”

Austria's plan to rebuild the HRE was very deceptive, not to mention the people, even many state governments were deceived, and the Baden government was no exception.

Now, the top of the government can quickly change their minds, but ordinary people cannot. Many people will have a preconceived notion that Austria was just in initiating this war.

The Bavarian government is not only due to Austria, but also to the people. Who made the Bavarian government's plan for the reunification of Germany displeased them?

In the eyes of many nationalists, German reunification was inevitable, and the Bavarian government was a cancer against national reunification, and defeating them was the first step towards national reunification.

This concept, which Franz deliberately guided, had already fermented at this time. It is impossible for the Baden government to talk to the people, and it is useless to talk about it.

Most of the people wanted the unification of Germany, and the Baden government was not so popular, and the Grand Duchy of Baden had a republican government during the Revolution, which was suppressed by the Prussians.

Of course, now that they have carried out social reforms, no one knows whether the status of the government in the minds of the people is important or not of German reunification.

Foreign Secretary Nikolaus proposed: "Your Highness, Austria's plan to unify Germany will not succeed, and once the intervention of the Great Powers is over, there is no need for us to take the fire." ”

Prince Friedrich nodded in approval, the Grand Duchy of Baden is not a solid family, if you go to a big war with Austria, you will be greatly injured at least and wiped out.

As soon as this happens, the foundations of the government's rule are shaken. Without this standing army, how could they suppress the revolutionary forces in the country?

Anyway, in the end, there will be the intervention of the great powers, what are they afraid of? The life or death of the Bavarian government is not in their consideration at all.

……

Berlin

Upon hearing the news of Austria's unification of Germany by force, Frederick Wilhelm IV became excited, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity arose.

With Austria in the lead, the unification of the Kingdom of Prussia with Germany was much less difficult.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Austrians can't help it, now that they have broken the situation, should we send troops to rescue Bavaria?" Frederick William IV asked

Chancellor Joseph von Ladowitz said cautiously: "Your Majesty, we must not send troops at this time, and we must try to avoid fighting the Austrians until we form an alliance with the German states, or before the intervention of the Great Powers."

In recent years, the economic conditions at home have been poor, and the development of our army has been restricted, and now in a decisive battle with the Austrians, our chances of victory are too low.

Even if we win, we are losers. Fighting Austria consumes strength, and it will only make other states take advantage.

In the event of heavy losses in the war, we lost the opportunity to unify the German regions. The Great Powers would not give us time, they were against the unification of Germany by the Austrians, and they were also against the unification of Germany by Prussia.

At this time, the best option is to encourage other small states to send troops, and use the opportunity of war to deplete their strength and make it easier for us to unify Germany.

As for the Austrians, leave it to the British and French to deal with! They thought they had chosen a good time and that the countries could not afford to interfere in their military operations.

But they forgot that Britain, France, and Russia were not the only ones in Europe, and even if the three of them were at war, they could use their influence to draw other countries to organize an intervention army. ”

In this era, the influence of Britain, France and Russia is too great, especially the two hegemons of Britain and Russia, and it is normal for Josef von Ladowitz to have confidence in them. Although Austria is also one of the four great powers, it has no way to compete with Britain and Russia.

Foreign Minister Rudolph said: "Your Excellency, if we do not send troops, I am afraid that the small states of Germany will not dare to send troops, and they will not be qualified to intervene in their strength."

If everyone did not intervene, the Kingdom of Bavaria would be finished. By the time Britain, France and Russia reacted, Austria had already created the established facts.

Now that Britain, France, and Russia are at war in the Near East, Austria and Russia have always had good relations, and it is not impossible that a secret agreement should be reached. ”

Rudolph's worries are not unreasonable, the German states are numerous, but the large states are very few, and each of these small states can send up to 8,000 troops, and they can't make any waves on the battlefield.

Austria was not weak, and once it had created an established fact, and obtained the acquiescence of the Russians, the pressure from Britain and France was not enough to make them give in.

"Mr. Rudolph, this can happen, so we have to act. At the very least, the armies of the German states must be organized, so that we can sabotage the Austrian conspiracy without paying a great price. Prime Minister Joseph von Ladowitz replied

In short, it is impossible to go up and fight Austria alone, and if the Kingdom of Prussia wants to be the last fisherman, it cannot fight Austria to the death and lose valuable troops.

……

Britain and France pinned their hopes on the German states to send troops to stop Austria, and the small German states also pinned their hopes on the intervention of the great powers.

Everyone wanted to be the last fisherman, and then the Bavarian kingdom was tragic, and at the beginning of the battle they had to fight alone.

At a time when countries are arguing, the battle has already begun. The Bavarian government, which did not know that it had been sold, was confidently mobilizing its army to fight a war to defend its homeland after receiving positive answers from various countries.