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End of the Holy Roman Empire
After the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 where he pushed the Russian car and Holy Roman emperor until Russia's border Napoleon abolished the H.R.E. Some date it in 1806, because that was the year Francis II abdicated his title.
Nevertheless this ceased the first Empire and the old frame of german unification. -
The German Confederation
Consisted of 39 german-speaking states by the congress of Vienna in 1815. It was a loose confederation that started to replace the void after the H.R.E. It was mainly dominated by the Habsburg Empire and Prussia. It became soon obvious that either the Great German Unity will exist with the leadership of the Habsburg Empire, or the Small German Unity with the lead of Prussia. -
Zollverein
A custom union was created among german states to ease trade and boost economy by removing the tarrifs for one another. This was another, economic step towards a union. -
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Otto von Bismarck - 'Iron chancellor"
He was the chancellor of Prussia who thought his country was destined to create Germany, which destination was eventually reached by him through "blood and steel". He was a realpolitician, putting idealism and friends aside - making it understandable that he fought for Prussia's goal even against the Habsburgs. Under his governance line infantry strengthened the Prussian army. -
Battle of Königgrätz
Bismarck eventually provoked the Habsburgs into war, which was a relatively short one - it is also called the Seven Weeks war - because of their well-trained army and more advanced technology through industrialization.They won decisively in Königgrätz and formed the Northern German Confederation. However Bismarck didn't humiliate Austria as he didn't want the other German Empire as an enemy. Also by this the idea of Small German Unity was the one that had the chance to be realized. -
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The Prussian-French war
France was promised to get territories from Bismarck which wasn't fulfilled by the Germans. The French declared war on Prussia, which with the lead of Napoleon III was easily defeated, with a decisive battle at Sedan and won Alsace-Lorraine. After the French did not want to free Napoleon III from captivity and anounced itself as republic again - meaning chaos - the Germans went until Paris where they put things in order. In Versailles on January 18th they created the second Reich, Germany.