How did wars relate to concepts of unification and nationalism?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. Bismarck was one of the masters of utilizing warfare to promote unification through nationalist means, looking at the example of the wars to unify Italy nearly a decade earlier. Bismarck moved first on Denmark as the Danes attempted to take over the territory of Schleswig, and the united force of Prussia and Austria forced Danish capitulation. Shortly thereafter, Prussia went to war in mid-1866 with Austria over the joint management of Schleswig, a situation Bismarck had anticipated. Having built a state of the art army, Prussia defeated Austria in one decisive battle, imposed relatively gentle terms of settlement, and formed a unified Northern Germany. In the Franco-Prussian war four years later, Bismarck again provoked war with France, Napoleon III rose to the bait, and the war ended disastrously for France at the Battle of Sedan. After sitting out the civil war which erupted in France with the Paris Commune, the newly unified Germany crowned William I king and established a unified Federal government of Germany. The use of nationalism to promote a spirit of being German (as opposed to French or Austrian) was used to promote strength and unity within the country.