The Post-Unification European Order

The year 1871 marked a watershed moment in European geopolitics. With the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership following the Franco-Prussian War, the continent’s power structure underwent a fundamental realignment. While the traditional “Concert of Europe” still consisted of five great powers—Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and now the newly proclaimed German Empire—their relative positions had dramatically changed.

The German Empire, replacing Prussia and the North German Confederation, emerged as the dominant continental power. France, humiliated by its defeat and the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, entered a period of decline. Britain watched warily as Germany’s rise diminished its own influence on the continent. Even Russia and Austria-Hungary found their positions subtly weakened by Berlin’s new prominence. The October 1873 Three Emperors’ League (Drei-Kaiser-Abkommen) between Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary established consultation mechanisms but fell far short of a binding alliance.

The Franco-German Tinderbox

Central to Europe’s stability was whether Germany would remain “satisfied” after unification and whether France could accept its defeat. The annexation of Alsace-Lorraine proved particularly inflammatory. French politician Léon Gambetta’s famous 1872 speech in Chambéry—”Let us never speak of it, but let us never forget it!”—captured the national mood of revanchism.

Tensions reached crisis proportions in 1875 when France’s National Assembly passed a military reorganization bill. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, alarmed by French revanchist rhetoric and the election of Marshal MacMahon as president, allowed the Berlin Post to publish an article titled “Is War in Sight?” This diplomatic probe backfired when Britain and Russia rallied to France’s defense, forcing Bismarck to retreat. The episode revealed Europe’s limited tolerance for German dominance.

The Eastern Crisis and the Congress of Berlin

In 1875, fresh turmoil erupted in the Ottoman Balkans. Rebellions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria triggered a chain reaction: Serbia and Montenegro declared war on the Ottomans in 1876, while Russian volunteers flocked to support their Slavic brethren. When Ottoman irregulars massacred Bulgarian civilians, European outrage mounted.

Bismarck encouraged Austria-Hungary to promise neutrality in any Russo-Turkish war through the 1876 Reichstadt Agreement. After initial Ottoman victories, Russia declared war in April 1877. Despite Russian military successes, British threats to intervene prevented the capture of Constantinople. The 1878 Treaty of San Stefano created an oversized Bulgaria under Russian influence, alarming other powers.

The subsequent Congress of Berlin (June-July 1878), chaired by Bismarck as “honest broker,” redrew the Balkan map:
– Bulgaria was partitioned
– Serbia, Montenegro and Romania gained independence
– Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia-Herzegovina
– Britain acquired Cyprus

These decisions planted seeds for future conflicts while failing to establish lasting stability.

The Alliance System Takes Shape

Bismarck’s diplomatic masterstroke came with the 1879 Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary, pledging mutual defense against Russian attack. This expanded into the 1882 Triple Alliance including Italy. Simultaneously, Bismarck maintained ties to Russia through the 1881 Three Emperors’ Alliance and the secret 1887 Reinsurance Treaty, which promised neutrality in most conflicts.

These contradictory alliances reflected Bismarck’s nightmare of encirclement (cauchemar des coalitions). His system began unraveling due to economic tensions—German grain tariffs sparked a trade war with Russia—and the 1887 Mediterranean Entente between Britain, Italy and Austria-Hungary that indirectly targeted Russia.

Legacy of the Bismarckian System

The post-1871 order established several enduring patterns:
1. German dominance of Central Europe
2. French revanchism over Alsace-Lorraine
3. The “Eastern Question” of Ottoman decline
4. The alliance system that would shape World War I

Bismarck’s complex web of agreements temporarily preserved peace but proved unsustainable. His successors’ inability to maintain this delicate balance contributed to the rigid alliance blocs of 1914. The Congress of Berlin’s imperfect settlements also set the stage for recurring Balkan crises, demonstrating how the “sick man of Europe” continued to infect continental stability.

Ultimately, the period 1871-1890 represented both the apex of German diplomatic influence under Bismarck and the beginning of its gradual erosion—a process that would culminate in the catastrophe of 1914. The Iron Chancellor’s system depended too heavily on his personal genius, leaving his successors an impossible act to follow in managing Europe’s shifting balance of power.