How much did Bismarck’s success in unifying Germany by 1871 depend on the weaknesses of his opponents?

This is a typical 'how far' (or in this case, how much) question that is asking you to weigh up the relative importance of one factor (the weaknesses of Bismarck's opponents) against that of other factors. The question has identified one factor that you MUST refer to in your essay - that the weaknesses of Bismarck's opponents (Denmark, Austria-Hungary, Prussia, perhaps the Southern states or German Liberals) made German unification more likely. It is your job when answering this question to not only explain why German Unification was made easier by the weaknesses of Bismarck's opponents, but also to identify other factors that might have been as or more important. These could include: - The growing tide of nationalism in the German Confederation You might argue that the rise of nationalist feeling in Germany since 1812/1815 (the student societies/Burschenschaften, importance of nationalist ideas of Fichte, Hegel etc, the 1848 Revolutions and the Frankfurt Parliament) firmly engrained the idea of a unified Germany in the minds of many Germans. It created a situation where a unified Germany was a real possibility, and Bismarck only needed to exploit this widely-held sentiment to achieve unification. Nationalism was key, for instance, in many of the events leading up to the Wars of German Unification, such as the Luxembourg Crisis. - Prussia's military strength - 'Blood and Iron' (Bismarck) Bismarck claimed that the important events of the day were not answered by diplomacy but by 'iron and blood' (i.e. warfare). German Unification was achieved through military victory in 3 separate wars. This could not have been achieved without the superior strength of the Prussian army, due to the army reforms of 1859 and the technological superiority of the breech-loading needle gun, not to mention Moltke's tactical genius and military preparation. You could link this very well with the weaknesses of Bismarck's opponents. - Prussia's economic strength - 'Coal and Iron' (Keynes) - (N.B. This is very much linked to military strength) Prussia's military dominance, however, would not have been achieved without economic superiority. The Zollverein isolated Austria and brought economic unification to the German states - it was only a matter of time before many Germans were calling for political unification, too. Companies flourished, and Krupps of Essen became the biggest armaments producer - producing the weapons that would eventually secure victory in the Wars of Unification. Without economic superiority, there would be no military superiority. - Bismarck's diplomatic skill and manoeuvring.  Bismarck helped engineer the three Wars of Unification, as well as secure funding for necessary army reforms. Through his diplomacy and risk-taking, he ensured that Prussia went to war on the best possible terms. He won over the Liberals by achieving the unification of the North German states in 1867 and exploited the southern states' francophobia to bring them into a larger Germany in 1871. At the end of your essay, you would need to make a judgement on how much the weaknesses of Bismarck's opponents helped secure unification against these other factors, and decide which was/were the most important factors and explain why.