Prussian Prize

Before 1871, the country of Germany was made up of a collection of independent states, including Bavaria, Saxony and Hanover. In total, there were 43 such states, styled as Duchies, Electorates, Principalities and even Kingdoms, each with its own army, the most powerful of which — and the most militaristic — being Prussia.

Indeed, so powerful was the Prussian state that on its own in 1866 it fought and won a decisive war against the entire country of Austria, which it defeated in only seven weeks. Four years later, Prussia was at war again. This time it against France, considered at the time to be one of the most powerful armies in Europe. France, under Emperor Napoleon III, had become concerned with the growing strength of Prussia and mobilized