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Were a series of wars that resulted in the creation of the German Empire under Prussian leadership in 1871.
Chronology
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Was a war caused by the status of the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, that were Dnish possession but at the same also part of the German confederation. When the Danish King died without an heir acceptable to the German Confederation, Prussian and Austrian troops invaded and occupied the duchies.
1.1.Bundesexekution of Holstein und Lauenburg of 1863
Was a military action by Prussia and Austria to occupy the Danish possessions of Holstein and Lauenburg at the beginning of the Second Schleswig War. It was based on a decision by the German Confederation (the two duchies were fiefs of the Confederation) and is therefore known as "Bundesexekution" (Federal execution).
1.1.1.German Confederation occupies Lauenburg and Holstein
Was the military occupation of the Danish possessions of Holstein and Lauenburg by Prussia and Austria at the beginning of the Second Schleswig War.
1.2.Treaty of Vienna (1864)
In the Treaty of Vienna, 30 October 1864, Denmark ceded Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria. Denmark was also forced to surrender the enclaves in western Schleswig that were legally part of Denmark proper and not part of Schleswig.
1.3.Gastein Convention
Was an agreement between Prussia and Austria over the occupied duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg. .
Was a war between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire over the dominance of the German states. The war resulted in a Prussian victory. The German confederation was abolished and in 1871 Prussia united all the German states but Austria in the German Empire.
2.1.Third Italian War of Independence
Was the last of the three traditional Italian Wars of Independence, and also represented the southern theatre of the larger Austro-Prussian War. It was fought by the Kingdom of Italy against the Austrian Empire, resulting in the Italian annexion of the remaining territories of the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.
June 1866: Italian retreat to the Oglio River.
October 1866: The Treaty of Vienna signed on 12 October 1866 marked the end of the Third Italian War of Independence. It resulted in the transfer of Veneto from the Austrian Empire to the Kingdom of Italy, following the defeat of Austria by the Italian forces led by King Victor Emmanuel II and Prime Minister Bettino Ricasoli.
July 1866: Udine conquered by italy.
July 1866: The Italians occupy Borgo Valsugana.
July 1866: Battle of Bezzecca.
July 1866: Padova conquered by italy.
August 1866: On 9 August the news of the forthcoming armistice between Italy and Austria arrived and with it the order from La Marmora to clear Trentino within 24 hours.
July 1866: Battle of Condino.
July 1866: The Italians occupy Vladobbiadene and Oderzo.
July 1866: General Medici, having left Padua, occupied Cittadella.
July 1866: Beyond Palmanova an Italian avant-garde clashed with an Austrian avant-garde, beating them, on 24 July.
October 1866: Through the Treaty of Vienna the third war of independence was declared closed. Under the peace agreement, the Austrian Empire would have ceded Veneto, Friuli and the province of Mantua (the last remaining territories of the Lombard-Veneto kingdom) to France , which in turn would then transfer them to the Kingdom of Italy, subject to the consent of the inhabitants of the territories concerned, through a plebiscite.
June 1866: Battle of Custoza (1866).
July 1866: Treviso is conquered by the Italians.
July 1866: San Doná di Piave conquered by italy.
July 1866: Siege of the Fort of Ampola.
July 1866: Vicenza conquered by italy.
July 1866: The Italians occupy Bassano.
July 1866: Giacomo Medici's Division occupied Primolano.
July 1866: The Italians occupy Levico.
July 1866: The last battle took place two days later at Ponte di Versa, after which the Italians victoriously entered Versa, in the province of Gorizia.
July 1866: The Italians occupy Civezzano.
October 1866: Through the Treaty of Vienna the Third Italian War of Independence was declared closed. Under the peace agreement, the Austrian Empire would have ceded Veneto, Friuli and the province of Mantua (the last remaining territories of the Lombard-Veneto kingdom) to France , which in turn would then transfer them to the Kingdom of Italy.
July 1866: Rovigo conquered by italy.
July 1866: On July 5, the siege of the fortress of Borgoforte began, lasting until July 18.
2.1.1.Austrian Operations in Val Vestino
Was an Austrian military operation in Val Vestino during the Third Italian War of Independence.
July 1866: Austrian forces occupy Vestino Valley.
2.1.2.Austrian Operations in Valtellina
Was an Austrian military operation in Valtellina during the Third Italian War of Independence.
July 1866: On the evening of 3 July, an Italian detachment of about fifty men had proceeded reached the Mortirolo Pass.
July 1866: An Austrian column descending from the Stelvio Pass occupied Bormio.
July 1866: Bormio conquered by Kingdom of Italy.
2.2.Front in Bohemia (Austro-Prussian War)
Was the Bohemian front of the Austro-Prussian War.
June 1866: Battle of Gichin.
June 1866: Battle of Hühnerwasser (modern-day Kuřívody, Czech Republic).
June 1866: Battle of Königinhof (modern-day Dvůr Králové nad Labem, Czech Republic)
July 1866: Battle of Blumenau.
June 1866: Battle of Podol.
June 1866: Battle of Schweinschädel (modern-day Bitva u Svinišťan, Czech Republic).
July 1866: Battle of Trautenau.
June 1866: Battle of Nachod.
June 1866: Battle of Skalitz.
June 1866: Battle of Munich Grätz.
July 1866: The Battle of Königgrätz was the culminating military event in the 1866 Austro Prussian War. It was also the largest European land battle before World War I. The battle was won by Prussia, that become the dominant German state.
June 1866: Battle of Trautenau.
2.3.Front in Hannover (Austro-Prussian War)
Was the Hannoverian front of the Austro-Prussian War.
June 1866: On June 29, 1866, Hanover's army capitulates due to military exhaustion, Hanover is annexed by Prussia.
2.4.Campaign of the Main
Was a campaign of the Prussian army in the area of the river Main against the allies of Austria in Southern Germany during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866.
July 1866: Battle of Kissingen.
July 1866: Battle near Tauberbischofsheim.
July 1866: Battle of Rossbrunn.
July 1866: Battle of Hundheim.
July 1866: On the day after next, on July 16, the Prussian Main Army occupied the city of Frankfurt without a fight.
July 1866: The Prussians won the battle near Laufach against Hessian-Darmstadt troops and stormed Aschaffenburg on July 14 in fierce street fighting against Austrian troops under Field Marshal Erwin von Neipperg.
July 1866: Battle of Gerchsheim.
July 1866: Battle of Helmstadt.
August 1866: Battle of Rossbrunn.
July 1866: Battle near Werbach.
2.5.Peace Treaties (Austro-Prussian War)
Were a series of treaties that ended the Austro-Prussian War. Prussia annexed the Austro-Prussian condominium of Schleswig and Holstein and several other territories. The German Confederation was dissolved, and a Prussian domained Northern German Confederation, that excluded the southern German states, was created.
September 1866: At the end of the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia left the territories occupied in Bavaria.
September 1866: After the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia evacuated the territories it had occupied in Austria.
September 1866: After the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia evacuated the territories it had occupied in Baden.
August 1866: Peace of Prague: renunciation of rights to the condominium in Schleswig and Holstein; Recognition of Prussian supremacy in northern Germany.
September 1866: Prussia annexed Frankfurt.
September 1866: In 1866, Hesse-Homburg was inherited by the grand-duke Louis III of Hesse-Darmstadt, following the dissolution of the Hessian Confederation after the Austro-Prussian War. Meisenheim, on the other hand, was annexed by Prussia during the same period.
September 1866: In 1866, Hesse-Homburg was inherited by the grand-duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, Louis III. Meisenheim, on the other hand, fell to Prussia as part of the territorial changes resulting from the Austro-Prussian War.
September 1866: Hessen-Kassel was annexed by Prussia in 1866 following the Austro-Prussian War.
September 1866: The peace treaty of September 3, 1866 with the Grand Duchy of Hesse resulted in territorial gains for the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, specifically acquiring the territories of Rumpenheim und Amt Dorheim. This treaty was signed following the Austro-Prussian War, which ended with the defeat of Austria and its allies by Prussia and its allies.
September 1866: Annexation of Nassau by Prussian law.
Was a war that saw the Second French Empire fight against an alliance of German states led by the Kingdom of Prussia. The war was caused by the struggle over dominance in continental Europe between Prussia and France. The German states were victorious and in 1871 merged to form the German Empire. France was occupied and forced to cede Alsace-Lorraine to Germany.
3.1.French Army incursion
Was a French military operation at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War.
August 1870: Battle of Saarbrücken.
3.2.German Invasion (Franco-Prussian War)
Was the invasion of the Second French Empire by an alliance of German states during the Franco-Prussian War. The French defeat at Sédan (1870) caused the fall of the French Empire.
September 1870: The Battle of Sedan in northeastern France during September 1-2, 1870, was the most important engagement of the Franco-Prussian War). The battle brought the French Empire to an end and decided the outcome of the war.
August 1870: Battle of Beaumont.
August 1870: Battle of Wörth.
September 1870: Battle of Borny-Colombey.
August 1870: Upon learning from captured Prussian soldiers and a local area police chief that the Prussian Crown Prince's Third Army was just 48 km north from Saarbrücken near the Rhine river town Wissembourg, General Le Bœuf and Napoleon III decided to retreat to defensive positions. General Frossard, without instructions, hastily withdrew his elements of the Army of the Rhine in Saarbrücken back across the river to Spicheren and Forbach.
September 1870: Battle of Noisseville.
August 1870: Siege of Phalsbourg (1870).
August 1870: On the late afternoon of 14 August the leading Prussian VII Corps of First Army attacked the French forces still east of the Moselle in the battle of Borny (also known as Borny-Colombey or Colombey-Nouilly from the chain of villages to the east of Metz).
August 1870: Siege of Strasbourg.
August 1870: Siege of Toul.
August 1870: Siege of Metz.
September 1870: When the news of the surrender at Sedan of Napoleon III and 80,000 men arrived, the Second Empire was overthrown by a popular uprising in Paris, which forced the proclamation of a Provisional Government and a Third Republic by general Trochu, Favre and Gambetta on 4 September. The new government called itself the Government of National Defence.
September 1870: Siege of Toul.
September 1870: Siege of Strasbourg.
December 1870: Siege of Phalsbourg (1870).
August 1870: Battle of Mars-la-Tour.
August 1870: Battle of Gravelotte.
August 1870: Battle of Wissembourg.
September 1870: Battle of Mars-la-Tour.
August 1870: Battle of Spicheren.
September 1870: Siege of Metz.
August 1870: Siege of Bitche (1870-1871).
3.3.War of the Government of National Defence
Was the continuation of the German invasion of France after the fall of the Second French Empire. The newly created Second French Republic continued to fight, but the German troops eventually occupied most of northern and central France.
November 1870: Siege of La Fère (1870).
December 1870: Fight of Longeau.
January 1871: Battle of Le Mans (1871).
October 1870: Battle of Chateaudun.
February 1871: Siege of Belfort (1870-1871).
October 1870: Battles of Dijon (1870-1871).
September 1870: It was not till after the capitulation of Metz, and almost at the same time with the close blockade of Thionville, that Montmedy was invested by the German forces.
September 1870: Siege of Soissons.
September 1870: On September 19, the Germans surrounded it and erected a blockade, as already established at Metz, completing the encirclement on 20 September.
November 1870: Siege of Belfort (1870-1871).
November 1870: Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (1870).
December 1870: Battle of Orleans (1870).
December 1870: Battle of Coulmiers.
December 1870: Siege of Montmédy (1870).
December 1870: Siege of Péronne (1871).
January 1871: Battle of the Lisaine.
January 1871: Battle of Saint-Quentin (1871).
November 1870: Battle of Coulmiers.
January 1871: Battle of Villersexel.
February 1871: Battle of Villersexel.
November 1870: Battles of Dijon (1870-1871).
October 1870: Siege of Soissons.
November 1870: Siege of Thionville (1870).
3.4.Unification of Germany (1871)
Was the unification of 25 German states into the German Empire under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, officially proclaimed on 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France.
January 1871: Unification of Germany into a German Empire with tight political and administrative integration, replacing the decentralized German Confederation and Holy Roman Empire, was officially proclaimed on 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France.
January 1871: In 1871, Oldenburg joined the German Empire.
January 1871: While the Kingdom of Hanover was annexed by Prussia in 1866, the Duchy of Brunswick remained sovereign and independent. It joined first the North German Confederation and in 1871 the German Empire.
January 1871: From January 18, 1871, the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen belonged to the German Reich.
January 1871: Unification of German States.
January 1871: From 1871 Lippe was a state within the German Empire.
January 1871: Lübeck became a member state of the German Empire in 1871.
January 1871: Bremen became an autonomous state of the newly founded German Empire in 1871.
January 1871: In 1871, the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont became a constituent state of the new German Empire.
January 1871: Prussia becomes part of the German Empire.
3.5.Paris Commune
Following the collapse of the Second French Empire, the French National Guard established a revolutionary government in Paris. The national French Army suppressed the Commune at the end of May during La semaine sanglante ("The Bloody Week") beginning on 21 May 1871.
May 1871: End of the Commune in Paris.
May 1871: The territory of Alsace-Lorraine was reconquered by the French Republic on November 28, 1918. This region had been under German military occupation since 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War. The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France was a significant event in the aftermath of World War I.
March 1871: Soldiers of the Commune's National Guard killed two French army generals, and the Commune refused to accept the authority of the French government.
3.6.German Withdrawal (Treaty of Frankfurt of 1871)
Was the phased evacuation of France by the forces of the German Empire as settled in the Treaty of Frankfurt (1871) that had ended the Franco-Prussian War.
October 1871: The departments of Aisne, Aube, Côte-d'Or, Doubs and Jura were evacuated by the Germans in accordance with the treaty of Frankfurt.
August 1873: The advance payment by the French at the beginning of 1873 of the last of the 5 billion in compensation led to the liberation of the departments of Ardennes, Marne, Haute-Marne and Vosges from german occupation in July 1873.
October 1873: The German army leaves Belfort, the Meuse and the Meurthe-et-Moselle.
May 1871: By application of the Treaty of Frankfurt, the departments of Calvados, Orne, Sarthe, Eure-et-Loir, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Yonne, Seine-Inférieure, Eure, Seine-et-Oise, Seine-et-Marne as far as the Seine, Aube and Côte-d'Or were evacuated by the Germans following its signature on May 10, 1871.
July 1871: The treaty of Frankfurt provided that after a first payment by France of an indemnity of half a billion, the evacuation of German troops would extend to the departments of the Somme, the Oise and parts of the departments of Seine-Inférieure, Seine-et -Oise and Seine-et-Marne, located on the right bank of the Seine. These 6 departments were liberated at the end of July 1871 after payment of 500 million francs in mid-July, and one billion in August.
3.7.Cession of Alsace-Lorraine
According to the peace treaty signed in Frankfurt on 10 May 1871, at the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the region of Alsace-Lorraine was ceded by France to Germany.
May 1871: Peace treaty signed in Frankfurt on 10 May 1871, at the end of the Franco-Prussian War. It established the frontier between the French Third Republic and the German Empire, which involved the ceding of 1,694 French villages and cities to Germany.
Selected Sources
B. Stephen (2003): The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, Osprey Publishing, p.37
B. Stephen (2003): The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, Osprey Publishing, p.43
B. Stephen (2003): The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, Osprey Publishing, p.54
B. Stephen (2003): The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, Osprey Publishing, p.65
B. Stephen (2003): The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, Osprey Publishing, p.69
B. Stephen (2003): The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, Osprey Publishing, pp.36,37
B. Stephen (2003): The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, Osprey Publishing, pp.38,40
B. Stephen (2003): The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, Osprey Publishing, pp.43-46
B. Stephen (2003): The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, Osprey Publishing, pp.61-65
Gerd Stolz: Das deutsch-dänische Schicksalsjahr 1864. 2. Auflage. 2013, Husum 2010, ISBN 978-3-89876-499-5, p. 32.
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, p.154
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, p.223
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, p.313
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, p.337
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, p.82
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.154, 155
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.180, 181
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.2, 4
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.224, 225
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.321, 322
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.368, 369
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.389, 390
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.4, 5
Graf von Moltke, H. (2022): The Franco-German War of 1870-71, Good Press, pp.5, 6
Köbler, G. (2014) Historische Enzyklopädie der Länder der Deutschen, C.H. Beck München, pp. 28-31
O'Mahony, C. I. (2013). War within the Walls: Conflict and Citizenship in the Murals of the Hôtel de Ville, Paris. Journal of War & Culture Studies, 6(1), 6-23.
Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.352
Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.359
Von Tiedemann, B. (1877): The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71, London : Her majesty's stationery office, p. 110
Von Tiedemann, B. (1877): The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71, London : Her majesty's stationery office, p. 140
Von Tiedemann, B. (1877): The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71, London : Her majesty's stationery office, p. 148
Von Tiedemann, B. (1877): The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71, London : Her majesty's stationery office, p. 186
Von Tiedemann, B. (1877): The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71, London : Her majesty's stationery office, p. 192
Von Tiedemann, B. (1877): The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71, London : Her majesty's stationery office, p. 21
Von Tiedemann, B. (1877): The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71, London : Her majesty's stationery office, p. 96
Von Tiedemann, B. (1877): The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71, London : Her majesty's stationery office, pp. 67-68, 84-85
German Unification Wars
