Changes

Germany at this time was still divided among various, often small principalities and dukedoms. Prussia was the most powerful German state, and under the leadership of Chancellor Otto Bismarck, it sought to unify Germany under its leadership. Bismarck had cleverly engineered wars with Denmark and Austro-Hungary, which resulted in Prussian coming to dominate the Northern German States. Bismarck sought to unite the Southern German states under the leadership of Germany. However, Bismarck, knew that France would resist this, as Napoleon III, did not want a strong and united Germany on its borders.<ref>Taylor, A.J.P. (1987). ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198221010/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0198221010&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=9bcbcf09a3ab75451756dedba1242e71 The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848–1918]'', p. 345.</ref>

The origins of the Franco-Prussian war were a direct consequence of the rise of Prussia and its growing influence in Germany. After Prussia had defeated Austria in 1866 at the Battle of Sadowa, ‘it seemed that it was only a matter of time before they brought all the German states under the control of Berlin.’<ref> Wetzel, p. 123.</ref>This would have been disastrous for France.<ref>Taylor, p. 347.</ref> Napoleon III ordered a rapid expansion of his armed forces in 1866 and this significantly added to tensions with Prussia.