v3 Chapter 182: The opulent alliance

On August 1, 1864, the Danish government decided to evacuate Holstein and gather troops north of the Eide River.

On August 3, 1864, the German Confederate operation began, when the German Confederate army crossed the Elbe and captured Altona near Hamburg. Under the order of the German Confederation, war was officially declared against the Kingdom of Denmark, and the Saxon army continued to take the train from Leipzig to Holstein on August 6, 1864. They arrived at the front line, where the Allied troops, Hannover Cointreau, joined forces.

On August 5, they crossed Holstein to the town of Rendsburg on the Schleswig-Holstein border. For Denmark, the occupation was a relief, and although the order to retreat without a fight had lowered the morale of some Danish soldiers, the military disadvantage forced the military to shorten the borders to defend, so it was wise to retreat. Behavior.

In addition, since Holstein and Lauenburg were members of the German Confederation, if they did not back down, it could lead to a serious political crisis in Britain and France, which might lead to a war. The Danish army could now retreat to the north, while the German Confederate army moved from the south. Heading north, the road is full of enthusiastic German people of China.

Derek VIII, now Duke of Augustenberg, communicated and traveled with Confederate troops, and he was also warmly welcomed.

On August 10, he was awarded the honorary title of Duke of Schleswig-Holstein by the representatives of the German Confederation in Kiel.

But here, the Opps and other members of the German Confederation were at odds.

The administration of the two duchies was entrusted to the two federal commissioners of Saxony and Hanover.

The German Confederate Congress first claimed that this part of the territory belonged to Frederick Eighty, who also received the support of the small and medium states of the German Confederation.

They obviously became dissatisfied with the joint rule of the German Bundesland by the two countries, and expressed their dissatisfaction and resistance to control the entire German Confederation.

These countries were not bound by the London Protocol, which was never ratified by them alone or by the German Confederation, and in fact tried to counter the Opus and Opera by forming a new state. strength.

It's really a wave of upheaval.

Opp within the German Confederation has just eased, and small countries are dissatisfied with the suppression of big countries and hold small team building, which has attracted the interest of various countries in Europe. Especially now that the German Confederation is still attacking Denmark, many people even think (especially the Kingdom of Denmark and Mai) that they would like the German Confederation to fight within themselves first, so that Denmark can take the opportunity to relieve this crisis.

On August 12, 1864, the German Confederation Parliament rejected the Prussian and Austrian proposals for the succession of the occupation of Schleswig, unless the November Constitution was simply revoked.

However, under the enormous pressure of the small and medium-sized countries in the Confederate Congress facing Opp, especially when the two countries accounted for more than half of the total military force, they had to recognize the occupation of Holstein by Opp and Opp on August 15.

On August 18, 1864, the Opps announced that they would no longer follow the decision of the Confederate Congress on Schleswig and assembled their armies south of the Ide.

The military continued to be tense, but there was no conflict. The Danish army was stationed on the north bank of the Edder River, and the coalition led by the Opp army was on the south bank.

On August 22, 1864, Bismarck presented an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Denmark, asking Denmark to abolish the "November Constitution" and leave Schleswig within 48 hours, but Bismarck gave too short a time, that is, From an administrative point of view, revocation is also extremely unlikely, because it will take a long time to discuss in parliament, and public opinion is very important. Christian IX does not have the strength to revoke if he wants to.

"Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Bismarck doesn't want to give Denmark a chance to withdraw.

He wanted war, because he needed war to gain prestige. "

This is what many European historians will give insights into Bismarck's motives when they study the Schleswig War in the future.

He was also to test the value of the new Prussian army, which had been gradually built up without a prior parliamentary mandate, always reformed by the Prussian War Minister Roan, and to prove to the Prussian king and the Prussians.

The current Prussian army is sitting idle on the banks of the Elbe, showing contentment and watching another German betray the whole of Europe as they seek a solution.

On August 20, Prussia and Austria issued an ultimatum to Denmark to abolish the November Constitution and withdraw from Schleswig, but the Kingdom of Denmark refused in writing on the evening of August 21.

In Copenhagen, the Prussian envoy Hermann Baran and the Austrian envoy Adolf Feersach met with the Danish parliamentary speaker and foreign minister Karl Christian Meck and issued a final call for the withdrawal of the November Constitution.

They concluded that if Sold alone did not comply with this requirement, the two German powers would be obliged to use the means at their disposal to restore the status quo and secure the legal rights of the Duchy of Schleswig. The two envoys of the two countries, although not officially recognized, represented their respective governments in this event, the task was now failed, and they soon left Copenhagen.

Monrad and Christian IX are very helpless. In fact, they want to revoke it now, but the foundation is not good, so Denmark actually chose to refuse this request.

Therefore, the unreasonable demands of the two countries will be rejected in writing. After Denmark formally refused, the Austrian envoy von Brenner left Copenhagen first, while the Prussian envoy left two days later.

And Bismarck in Berlin sensed that the time had come to ensure Austrian cooperation.

Therefore, at the beginning of the first anniversary of the new August, Bismarck proposed to the Austrian ambassador to Prussian Karloy a formal alliance.

In Vienna, Austrian Foreign Minister Reichberg was delighted to hear the news.

He thought that such a coalition would prevent Bismarck from changing his political course in favor of Augustenburg.

Rechberg suggested that the two countries in the covenant should set out that the provisions of the London Protocol can only be waived if both parties agree.

Such precise regulations were not in line with Bismarck's intentions, so Bismarck told the Austrian foreign minister that his past William I would never hold the London Protocol, and suggested that the alliance should guarantee the following: If because of Schiller The Suig-Holstein issue went to war, and the future of the two principalities should only be decided through consultation between the two countries.

Bismarck's strength and Austria's weakness were formed, because Austria finally accepted Bismarck's statement. Austria is moved by these two principalities, because Bismarck's meaning is very clear. We can share the food between these two principalities, but we must not let other countries of the German Confederation encroach on them. This means that Austria can also divide a piece of territory.

When this Prussian idea came back to Vienna, Joseph I and Reiner. Archduke Ferdinand was finally willing to accept the terms of the Prussian covenant.

It was in this form that the Covenant was drawn up at William Street on the last day of August 1864, and signed the following day, September 1, 1864.

In Amsterdam, King William IV of the Netherlands was looking at the information he had just received. There was news of the alliance between the two countries.

"If Schleswig is handed over, then Prussian and Austria will guarantee that no decision on succession will cause damage to Denmark in any way. A civil administrative commissioner is established locally.

If the king of Denmark is deprived of his power, the two countries will not tolerate interference by the Danish government or demonstrations by some of the people.

Unless the Augustenbergs or the National Liberal Party attempt a political rally outside or in the country itself.

According to the non-German states, the German Confederation and Denmark should have a consistent response between the two countries.

While maintaining the status quo of the duchy for the time being, Prussia and Austria would issue the following conditions: demand that Denmark either revoke the November Constitution or hand over Schleswig.

? In the event of hostilities in Schleswig, then the existing peace between the German powers and Denmark ends, and the two governments of Opp reserve the right to determine the future ownership of the duchy only by mutual agreement.

In order to reach an agreement, they will make appropriate further agreements in the event of an incident.

In any event, the veto will not resolve the issue of the succession of the duchy in any other form unless both parties agree, and the dispute between the German Confederation and Denmark involves the military intervention of other countries, and the two countries reserve further agreements. "

William IV looked at the content of the alliance of Opp in front of him, showing contemplation.

The two countries in history have continued to form an alliance So will the fate of Denmark be the same as before?

William IV did not know that if it continued like this, then as long as Denmark had a population of less than 2 million people, it would be the same as in the previous life, and would lose a quarter of its population because of this war. , that is, nearly 500,000 casualties.

What can the Netherlands get out of this?

As for helping Denmark, William IV knew the cruelty of politics. There is no marriage as a family. As long as the Danish royal family does not fall, the effect of the marriage will not disappear. The size of the country has no effect on the marriage between the royal families. influenced.

Alexandra also understands this, and the royal families in Europe know even more that it is okay to fight, but it is fundamental that the royal family does not hurt peace.

Otherwise, why are William II and Edward VII in their previous lives still nephews and uncles, and they don't fight when they should. Therefore, don't take marriage too seriously. After all, national interests are sometimes so realistic.

On September 5, 1864, under the close watch of William IV, Bismarck, who was at the right time, sent a special envoy to Vienna, and Vienna responded satisfactorily.
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