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test between the government and the house of deputies, had been made with a view to some such eventuality as was now to occur. The preparations of Austria were made more openly, as she could plead the necessity of meeting the warlike attitude of Italy; which power, looking upon the quarrel between Austria and Prussia as a precious opportunity, was actively arming, with a view to strike a blow for the liberation of Venetia, and had secretly entered into an alliance with Prussia.

At this crisis, England, France, and Russia invited the disputants to a conference. Prussia and Italy readily consented; but nothing came of it, through the obstinate pride of Austria, who would not allow her position in Italy to be even taken into consideration. Never, perhaps, was a greater blunder made. Had she at this moment ceded Venetia for a reasonable compensation, she would have replenished her empty treasury with a good many millions, have made Italy friendly, or at least neutral, and set free her best army of 80,000 veterans for the inevitable contest with her northern rival. A few weeks later, she made the concession with a bad grace, without compensation, and to no purpose.

On the failure of the conference, Benedek, commander-in-chief of the Austrian army of the north, issued an order of the day, dated 12th May, in which he announced that he had been appointed "to lead the brave and faithful Austrian army against the unjust and wanton foes of the empire." It only remained to find a formal ground for the declaration of war, and that ground was found in the Slesvig-Holstein question. In the sitting of the German diet, June 1, 1866, Austria, disregarding the convention of Gastein, placed the whole matter at the disposal of the bund, and then proceeded to convoke the states of Holstein "to assist in the settlement of the future destination of the duchy." Prussia protested against this as an insult and a violation of treaty; demanded the re-establishment of the joint occupation; and, while inviting Austria to send troops into Slesvig, marched troops of her own into Holstein. Instead of respond ing to this invitation, Austria withdrew her forces altogether from Holstein, under protest; and then, calling attention to this "act of violence" on the part of Prussia, proposed that the diet should decree "federal execution" against the enemy of the empire. This eventful resolution was carried by a great majority on June 14, 1866; Hanover, Saxony, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, and the 16th Curie voting for it. The resolu tion having passed, the Prussian plenipotentiary, in the name of his government, declared the German confederation dissolved for ever, and immediately withdrew.

When the news of the federal execution was received in Berlin, identical notes were sent to the courts of Saxony, Hanover, and Hesse-Cassel, demanding the reduction of their armies and assent to the convocation of a common German parliament; on which condition, Prussia would guarantee their territories and sovereign rights as her allies. Twenty-four hours were allowed for the decision; and when the term had expired without assent, the Prussian troops, which had previously been concentrated on the frontiers, crossed at once into the three kingdoms, and took military possession without resistance. The Saxon army retired into Bohemia, to join the Austrians; that of Hanover, after vainly trying to make its way s. to join the army of the bund, and bringing on the useless affair of Langensalza, was forced to lay down its arms and return home. Besides the moral advantage gained by this display of promptitude, in paralyzing her declared enemies and securing the ad esion of waverers, Prussia had by these occu pations secured her rear, and, in Saxony, had won a favorable basis for operating against Austria. The Prussians now lost no time; war was declared against Austria; and fol lowing the example set by Frederick the Great, the troops immediately began to march into Bohemia. To their own surprise, as well as that of all Europe, they were allowed to pass the easily-defended detiles without opposition, or even seeing an enemy. So great was the reputation of Benedek, that every one now began to look for some deeplaid plan by which the enemy was to be enticed into the heart of the country, only to be completely and at once overwhelmed. But, as it turned out, there was no plan at all. With their usual sluggishness, the Austrians were taken by surprise in a state of unreadiness--ill organized, ill equipped, ill provisioned; and although in actual engage ment the soldiers fought bravely, they were animated with a very different spirit from their opponents. The Prussian people had at the outset been rather averse than other wise to the war; and in some places, it required strong measures to make the landweht take the field. But once under arms, and as the object of the struggle became more apparent, they entered into it with enthusiasm, and manifested a rare combination of soldierly qualities, the results of a universally diffused education and military training, and while such was the quality of the men, seldom has an army taken the field so well organized, with the plan of the campaign so well laid, the arms so efficient, and the equipments in every way so complete.

The Prussian host invaded Bohemia at three several points: the central army, under prince Frederick-Charles (q. v.), entered from eastern Saxony, crossing the frontier range of the Erzgebirge by Krottau, Friedland, and Neustadt, towards Reichenberg: the western or Elbe" army, under gen. Herwarth von Bittenfeld, started from Dresden. and entered Bohemia by Neustadt and Schlukenau towards Gabel, on the Jungfernboch: while the eastern or "Silesian" army, under the crown-prince, Frederick-William (q.v.), invaded from Silesia by the Landshut and Nachod passes, marching towards Trautenau and Skalitz. The first of these armies numbered 72,000 infantry, 11,000 cavalry, and

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294 guns; the second, 34,000 infantry, 3,900 cavalry, and 132 guns; and the third, 92,000 infantry, 12,500 cavalry, and 348 guns-in all, 225,400 men and 774 guns. To oppose these, the Austrians had 55,000 infantry, 5,400 cavalry, and 172 guns (inclusive of the Saxon army, which had been withdrawn into Bohemia on the approach of the Prussians), under count Clam-Gallas, stationed along the frontier n. of Turnau and Leitmeritz; and 186,000 infantry, 16,000 cavalry, and 544 guns, under marshal Benedek, the commander-in-chief, in eastern Bohemia, behind the Riesengebirge-in all, 262,400 men, and 716 guns. As the Austrians expected the attack from Silesia, by far the greater portion of their army was stationed behind the Riesengebirge; so that when Von Bittenfeld and prince Friedrich Karl crossed the Erzgebirge (June 24), they found themselves opposed by only the outlying brigades of Clam-Gallas, which they forced to retire towards Turnau and Münchengrätz, after defeating them in some insignificant combats at Reichenberg, Langenbrück, Liebenau, and Turnau, and in a severe struggle at Podol, which cost the Austrians in all 2,400 in killed, wounded, and prisoners; the loss of the Prussians being only 124 men. The first and second Prussian armies, now united, advanced leisurely, driving the enemy before them towards Münchengrätz, where ClamGallas had strongly posted himself, and where, on June 28, he was attacked by the combined Prussian armies, and after a brief but severe contest, forced to retreat in haste. By several routes, the combined armies under prince Friedrich Karl now continued their onward march, routing the detached corps of Austrians and Saxons which attempted to bar their progress; and after a severe contest (June 29), which cost the Prussians 2,000 men, and the Austrians about twice as many, took possession of Gitschin, and encamped on the following morning between that town and Horzitz, having established communications with the crown-prince; while Clam-Gallas retired to join the main body under Benedek, after having, with a force only half as numerous as his opponents', and still more inferior in guns, compelied his antagonists to spend six days in making an advance of 40 English miles.

Meanwhile, the third Prussian army had advanced in two divisions, the right wing through the passes of the Riesengebirge, by Landshut, towards Trautenau; the left by Glatz, towards Nachod and Skalitz; while the center divisions crossed by Braunau, all crossing the frontier on June 26. The defiles were traversed without opposition, the Austrians being only posted at the mouths of the passes; but, as the left wing under Steinmetz debouched towards Nachod, it was assailed (June 27) by Ramming's Austrian corps, and driven back into the pass. Steinmetz, however, persevered; and by the aid of his guns, and repeated charges of cavalry, succeeded, after a conflict of six hours, in extricating his corps from the defile, at a cost of 1191 killed and wounded, to 6.000 on the part of the Austrians. Both armies being reinforced, the contest was renewed at Skalitz on the 28th; but, though long and bloody, it was on all sides favorable to Steinmetz, who beat the Austrians back upon Josephstadt, with a loss in killed and wounded of 5,815, and 5,850 prisoners, with five guns. The Prussian right wing, under Bonin, had also a double conflict with the Austrians, who were posted to receive them; for, after extricating themselves from the Landshut defile, and seizing Trautenau, they were met (June 27) by general Gablentz, and, after a long-continued fight, were driven back to their previous camping-ground, losing, however, only 1423 men, to about 3,500 of the Austrians. Gablentz being much exhausted with his hardly-won victory, obtained reinforcements from Benedek; and the Prince of Würtemberg, with a corps of guards, being sent by the crown-prince (who marched with the center, ready to afford support to either wing when necessary) to attack Gablentz by Eypel, fell upon him (June 28) while he was preparing to complete the defeat of Bonin, and, after a severe combat, or rather, series of partial unconnected combats, the Austrians were this time defeated, with a loss of 4,000 men and an equal number of prisoners; the Prussian loss being only 834 killed and wounded. The three Prussian armies having thus effected a firm lodgment in Bohemia, moved steadily forward in lines converging to a point n. of the Austrian army, which was now concentrated between Josephstadt and Königgrätz; and the king of Prussia, who had arrived (July 1) at the head-quarters of the 1st and 2d armies, hearing of Benedek's intention to assault them before the crown-prince's army could come to their aid, resolved to anticipate him, and ordered an attack on the Austrian position at 8 A.M. on July 3, at the same time sending off an urgent dispatch to hasten the arrival of the crown-prince, whose host, at 8 A. M. on the 3d, was 15 m. off. The Prussians, at the commencement of the fight, believed they had to do with only the half of the Austrian army, but they were soon undeceived, for, after carrying the villages in front of the Austrian position, and advancing up the slope, they were met by such a crushing fire of artillery as completely stopped their further progress. Benedek then directed his reserves against the Prussian left, in order to cut it off from the crown-prince, but all his endeavors to drive it permanently from its position failed. The conflict, which was mainly an artillery-fight, thus continued without intermission, and the Prussian left was almost on the point of giving way before the overwhelming numbers of its assailants, when the wavering of the Austrian right unmistakably showed that a portion at least of the third army had arrived, and attacked them in flank. This new assailant becoming more formidable every minute, speedily rolled up the Austrian right wing; and the advance of the 1st and 2d armies, by partially enclosing the Austrians between two fires, threw them into great confusion. Their array was soon broken

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and dissolved in precipitate flight; multitudes perished in the morasses, in the waters of the Elbe, and under the wheels of the fleeing baggage-wagons; but the undaunted attitude of the splendid Austrian cavalry, and the deficiency of the Prussians in that arm, greatly mitigated the horrors of the rout. The Prussians lost upwards of 9,000 killed and wounded; the Austrian loss was 16,235 killed and wounded, and 22,684 prisoners. After this decisive defeat, which is known as the battle of Königgrätz, or Sadowa, all hope of staying the advance of the Prussians with the army of Benedek was at an end; a truce was asked for, but refused; and the victorious Prussians pushed forward towards Vienna, whither Benedek had drawn his beaten forces. At the same time, the southern army, which had been employed against the Italians, was collected at the capital, and every precaution was taken, by the erection of entrenchments, fortification, etc., to insure the safety of Vienna, when, by the agency of the emperor of the French, a truce was agreed to, which afterwards led to a treaty of peace.

A few days before this campaign had commenced, the Italians, burning with eager ness to free Venetia from the yoke of the alien, and combining, with all the enthusiasm and heroic spirit of a young nation, no small portion of its overweening presumption, had assembled an army of 200,000 men, one half of which, gen. Della Marmora, was destined to cross the Mincio between Peschiera and Mantua, while the other half was stationed round Bologna to operate on the lower Po. To oppose this force, the archduke Albert, the commander-in-chief in Venetia, had about 90,000 men near Verona, besides the garrisons of the Quadrilateral and Venice, which, of course, were not available for field-service. On June 23 (on which day it was notified to the archduke that hostilities would be commenced), La Marmora's army crossed the Mincio, unopposed by the Austrians; and the Italian commander, not expecting attack, masked the fortresses of Peschiera and Mantua, and marched the rest of his army forward in a somewhat careless fashion. The archduke, however, had been all along watching his opponent; and after having succeeded in getting him entangled between the river and the hills, he attacked him (June 24) with his whole force. The Italian left was speedily broken and driven back, and would have been wholly destroyed had not gen. Pianell, whose division was on the right bank of the Mincio, crossed the river, and held the assailants at bay during the rest of the day. The Austrian attack on the Italian right was, however, at first unsuccessful. In the center, where were situated the village of Custoza and Monte Belvedere, the keys of the position, an obstinate struggle was main tained on both sides throughout the day, but towards 4 p. m. victory inclined to the Austrians, and soon after they gained possession of the position which decided the day, The Italians fell back, in fair order, towards the Mincio, unpursued by their exhausted opponents, and on the following day, were all again assembled on the right bank of the river. The Italians lost in killed, wounded, and prisoners, 8,175 men, and several pieces of artilery; while the loss of the Austrians was about 8,000 men. This plan of the campaign having failed, the Italian generals set about devising another, and spent more than a week in deliberation and discussion. At the end of this time, news came of the great defeat which the Austrians had sustained in the north, and of the cession of Venetia, by the emperor of Austria, to the emperor Napoleon. Though it was not for a moment in doubt that this cession was only a round-about way of surrendering the province to Italy, the Italian government, true to the Prussian alliance, refused to conclude a separate treaty; and (the archduke's army having been, as before mentioned, withdrawn for the defense of Vienna) Cialdini's army crossed the Po (July 7), and occupied Padua, Vicenza, and Treviso; while Garibaldi, at the head of his volunteers, and gen. Medici, with a division of Cialdini's army, advanced up the lake of Garda into the Trentino, the small body of Austrians in the district being wholly unable to offer a successful resistance to such an overwhelming attack. Not content, however, with attacking Austria by land, a fleet was equipped, and dispatched, under admiral Persano, to assail the Dalmatian coast, and retrieve for Italy, by her navy, the disgrace which had fallen upon her army; and, accordingly, Persano directed an attack on the island and forts of Lissa, and failed. News of this attack being communicated to admiral Tegethoff, the commander of the Austrian fleet in the Adriatic, he sailed at once for the relief of Lissa; and though his ships were inferior in number, size, and weight of ordnance, and only 7 of them ironclads, to 12 more powerful vessels of the same sort in the Italian fleet, he bravely led his ships to the attack, destroyed or sunk two of the largest of the enemy's vessels, broke through his fleet, and took up a position in front of Lissa, ready to renew the fight if necessary. The Italian fleet, however, drew off, and on the following morning, was out of sight, making for Ancona.

Thus baffled both on land and sea, Italy, though vigorously professing her deter mination to go hand in hand with Prussia, was very loath to agree to the armistice sighed by the two belligerent German powers at Nikolsburg, on July 26; and attempted to salve her chagrin by insisting upon the surrender by Austria to her of the Trentino. Prussia, however, having agreed with Italy only for the cession of Venetia, was not inclined to support this demand; and Italy seeing that she must either make peace or fight for the Trentino, single-handed, against Austria, gave way reluctantly, and agreed to the armistice, Aug. 12.

A third contest was, about the same time, in progress between Prussia and those minor states of Germany which had raised armies to support Austria, viz., Bavaria.

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Würtemberg, Baden, and Hesse-Darinstadt. After the capture of the Hanoverian army, the Bavarians, who, under prince Charles of Bavaria, had been advancing slowly to join them, took post, on June 30, at Suhl, in the valley of the Werra. A second army

had been assembled under prince Alexander of Hesse-Darmstadt, and had been drawn together in front of Frankfort. To prevent the junction of these two armies, the Prussian gen. Vogel von Falkenstein, who had 48,000 infantry, 3,300 cavalry, and 96 guns, threw a part of his forces toward Fulda, and with the remainder attacked the Bavarians, who were inferior in number, and routed them at Dermbach, Kaltenordheim, and Hünfeld, driving them towards Kissingen; he then turned his superior force against prince Alexander, whom he forced to retreat towards Darmstadt. The two armies were now completely separated, and Von Falkenstein found little difficulty in keeping them apart during the rest of the brief campaign, and in routing the Bavarians at Kissingen and Hammelberg, and the Darmstadters at Aschaffenburg, and driving the broken remnants of the two armies s. of the Main. He then crossed the Main, and occupied Würzburg, in Bavaria. After some little delay, peace was concluded between these four minor states and Prussia; but, unlike Austria, of which they were merely the allies, some of them were forced to submit to a certain loss of territory.

The states n. of the Main which had taken up arms against Prussia, were completely incorporated-viz., Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Nassau, Frankfurt, and a small portion of Hesse-Darmstadt, as well a Slsesvig-Holstein and Lauenberg; and the other states n. of the Main were united with Prussia in a confederacy of a more intimate nature than before existed, called the North German Confederation.

Bavaria, Baden, Würtemberg, the part of Hesse-Darmstadt s. of the Main, and Liechtenstein were not included in this union, but were invited to reform their armies and enter into a closer mutual relationship, with a view to a military and political connection with the confederation.

Saxony, which had prominently figured in the contest as an ally of Austria, was doomed by count Bismarck to incorporation; but Austria, supported by France, so steadily opposed this arrangement, that it was abandoned, and the little kingdom was admitted into the confederation.

Austria, by the treaty of Prague (Aug. 23, 1866), was completely excluded from participation in the new organization of the German states, and formally agreed to the surrender of Venetia to Italy, to the incorporation of Slesvig-Holstein with Prussia, and to the new arrangements made by Prussia in Germany. A portion of the fifth article of this treaty secured that, if the "inhabitants of the northern districts of Slesvig declare, by a free vote, their desire to be united to Denmark, they shall be restored accordingly.' Though losing no territory to Prussia, Austria had to pay 40 millions of thalers for the expense of the war, after which payment, the Prussian troops were to be withdrawn from the imperial territories.

Saxony resigned to Prussia the right of garrisoning Königstein, and of partially garrisoning Dresden, and paid 10 million thalers of war-indemnity; Bavaria (by treaty of Berlin, Aug. 22) surrendered several districts of lower Franconia to Prussia, and paid 30 millions of gulden for war-indemnity; Baden (by treaty of Berlin, Aug. 17) and Würtemberg (by treaty of Aug. 13) surrendered no territory, but paid, the former 6 and the latter 8 millions of gulden; while Hesse-Darmstadt (by treaty of Berlin, Sept. 3) surrendered various districts of the province of Ober-Hesse, receiving in return several districts formerly belonging to Electoral Hesse, Nassau and Frankfurt, and paid 3 millions of gulden for war expenses; also the province of Ober-Hesse, into which were to be incorporated the districts ceded by Prussia, was to form a part of the North German confederation, the other parts of the grand duchy s. of the Main being unconnected with it. Even the little principality of Reuss had to pay 100,000 thalers into the fund for Prussian invalids.

The North German confederation, as thus constituted, possessed a common parliamont, elected by universal suffrage, in which each state was represented according to its population. The first, or constituent, parliament met early in 1867, and was employed in deliberating over the details of the proposed constitution for the bund, which was drawn up and submitted to it by count Bismarck After some weeks' discussion, the draft, with a few modifications, was agreed to; the new elections then took place, and the first regular North German parliament met in Sept., 1867. According to this constitution, there was to be a common army and fleet, under the sole command of Prussia; a common diplomatic representation abroad, of necessity little else than Prussian; and to Prussia also was entrusted the management of the posts and telegraphs in the confederation.

The southern German states, which up to this point had not joined the bund, were Bavaria, Baden, Würtemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Liechtenstein, with a joint area of 43,990 sq.m.. and a total population (1866) of 8,524,460. But though these states were not formally members of the bund, they were so practically, for they were bound to Prussia by treaties of alliance offensive and defensive, so that in the event of a war the king of Prussia would have at his disposal an armed force of upwards of 1,100,000

men.

In the spring of 1867, a war between Prussia and France seemed imminent from difficulties arising out of the occupation of Luxembourg by the former; but by the good offices of the British government, a congress was assembled at London, at which

representatives of the great powers (Italy included) were present, and an arrangement satisfactory to both nations was amicably agreed upon, the province under dispute remaining in the possession of the king of Holland. Though the outbreak of hostilities was thus averted for the present, n ither nation ntirely gave up the thought of war, and on both sides extensive military preparations were carried on.

During the next few years, the North German confederation was employed in consolidating and strengthening itself, and in trying to induce the southern states to join the league. The Zollverein (q.v.) was remodelled and extended, until, by the year 1868, every part of Germany was a member of it, with the exception of the cities of Hamburg and Bremen and a small part of Baden. This paved the way for the formal entrance of the southern states into the confederation; but they still hung back, though it daily became more evident that united Germany would soon be an accomplished fact.

In 1870, the long threatened war between Prussia and France broke out. On July 4, of that year, the provisional government of Spain elected prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, a relative of king William of Prussia, to fill their vacant throne. This step gave the greatest umbrage to the French government, and the Paris journals almost unani mously asserted that the accession of this prince to the Spanish throne would be tanta. mount to the re-establishment of the empire of Charles V., in favor of Prussia. M. Benedetti, French minister at Berlin, was instructed to ask explanations from king William; and, though by the advice of that monarch, prince Leopold resigned his candidature, the French government was not satisfied, but demanded an assurance that Prussia would at no future period sanction his claims. This assurance the king refusel to give; and on July 23, the emperor of the French proclaimed war against Prussia. Contrary to the expectation of France, the southern German states at once decided to support Prussia and the northern states, and placed their armies, which were eventually commanded by the crown-prince of Prussia, at the disposal of king William.

Early in Aug., the forces of both countries were congregated on the frontier. Napoleon, however, lost a fortnight in delays after the declaration of war, and it was discovered that the French army was by no means in a state of satisfactory preparation, while the Germans were splendidly organized, and much superior in number. The result was, that the French, instead of marching to Berlin, as they anticipated, never crossed the Rhine, and had to fight at a disadvantage in Alsace and Lorraine.

On Aug. 2, the French obtained some trifling success at Saarbruck, but on the 4th a brilliant victory was achieved by the army of the crown prince of Prussia at Weissenburg. This was followed by the victory of Worth on the 6th, in which the French, under MacMahon, lost 4,000 prisoners, and were pursued towards Metz. On the same day, the French, under gen. Froissard, were again defeated at Spicheren, and lost 2,500 prisoners. On the 14th, the Prussians occupied Nancy, and on the 16th the French army under the command of Bazaine was driven back on Mars-la-Tour. The battle of Gravelotte, in which king William commanded in person, was fought on the 18th; and, though the Germans suffered immense loss, they were again victorious, and forced Bazaine to shut himself up in Metz. The losses of the French in these last three days' fighting amounted, in dead alone, to upwards of 12,000 men. About 4,000 prisoners were made at Gravelotte. The emperor Napoleon and marshal MacMahon in vain attempted to proceed to the relief of Bazaine. They were surrounded at Sedan, and completely defeated, with heavy loss. The emperor surrendered on Sept. 2, with his whole army, about 90,000 men, and was sent as a prisoner into Germany. By Sept. 19, the Prussians had reached Paris, and commenced a vigorous siege. Strasburg capitulated on the 27th, after a severe bombardment, and on Oct. 28, Bazaine surrendered Metz, with an army of 6,000 officers and 173,000 men, 400 pieces of artillery, 100 mitrailleuses, and 53 eagles. Verdun capitulated on Nov. 8; Thionville followed on the 24th; after which there were several captulations of lesser importance.

The French made extraordinary efforts to raise armies and relieve Paris, but with the exception of a momentary gleam of success on the Loire, they met with nothing but severe defeats. Of these, may be mentioned the battle of Dec. 3, in the forest of Orleans, and that of Le Mans, Jan. 12, in which contests prince Frederick Charles took, altogether. 30,000 prisoners. After numerous unsuccessful sorties, and enduring great sufferings from famine, Paris surrendered on Jan. 29, and the war was virtually at an end. The French army of the east, 80,000 strong, under Bourbaki, was compelled to retire to Switzerland on the 31st. France was condemned to pay a war indemnity of 5 milliards of francs, or £200,000,000; and the province of Alsace, along with the German part of Lorraine, was ceded to Germany. See FRANCO-GERMAN WAR.

A very important result of the war was to complete the fusion of the northern and southern states of Germany. As already stated, the southern states joined at once in the war against France, and in Nov. of 1870, Baden and Hesse leading the way, they all became members of the German Confederation. This was soon followed by the re-establishment of the German empire, with the king of Prussia as hereditary emperor.

The following is a list of the states composing the present German empire, with their areas and populations for 1884: