Chapter 13 International Mediation
A few days later, after Bismarck's instigation and urging, Austria and Prussia reached an agreement.
The Austrian army continues to attack the Danes together with the Prussian army, unless the Danish government agrees to the complete independence of the two duchies.
It is impossible for the Danes to agree. Losing Schleswig also means losing more than 30% of the Danish territory. Nationalists in Denmark will definitely brand the cabinet government as a traitor.
Compared to surrendering without a fight, defeat is obviously more able to impress the sympathy of the Danish people. It is not that the government is not working hard, but that the Germans are too despicable.
The Danish government rejected the conditions of the German countries, so the war machine of the coalition forces was launched again.
On March 8, after receiving domestic orders, the Austrian Imperial Army took the lead in launching the war and won the victory at the Battle of Weil.
On March 15, the Danish navy announced the blockade of the Prussian coast, and the navy joined the battle. The newly established Prussian navy responded.
The naval fleets of the two sides began a fierce exchange of fire in the Jasmund waters. At that time, the Prussian navy was established not long ago, but Denmark was a traditional naval power in the Nordic region. The results of the battle between the two sides are self-evident. Tactical victories were achieved in naval battles.
The weak Prussian navy is not an opponent of the Danish navy at all. Denmark firmly controls the sea, but the Prussian navy has retained its vitality and has not been wiped out.
On the same day, the Prussian Army also launched an offensive against the new position set up by the Danish army in Dibor. Prussia first mobilized artillery to bombard the Dibor position on a large scale, and then the army attacked under the cover of artillery fire.
Facing the ferocious Prussian army, the new Danish commander naturally did not dare to repeat the mistakes made by General Mesa.
However, this firefight is just a prelude, and the Prussian army's big move is still gathering strength.
One month later, on April 18, the Battle of Dibor broke out. After dozens of hours of artillery preparations, Prussia launched a general offensive. The firepower of the Wolf's naval guns stormed at Dibor.
As the flagship of Denmark, the Herolf obviously couldn't stop the Prussian land attack, and could only suspend the advance speed of the Prussian army.
Under the heavy blow of artillery, the Danes could only shrink back in the fortifications. The Prussians seized the opportunity and relied on their manpower advantages to march towards Dibor.
Gradually, the vanguard of the charge touched the edge of Dibor's position.
Dibor's position was already dying under the attack of the powerful artillery fire of the coalition forces, and many temporary fortifications became ruins under the artillery fire.
The Prussian army that touched Dibor's position successfully penetrated into the interior of the Danish front with the help of these ruins.
Seeing that the general situation was over, the Danish commander-in-chief had to order the troops to abandon Dibor, leaving only the Eighth Brigade of the Danish Army behind.
The Eighth Brigade of the Danish Army resisted tenaciously to cover the retreat of the main Danish army.
But suffered heavy losses. The Eighth Brigade of the Danish Army was almost crippled by the Prussian army, with more than one-third of the damage lost. However, it successfully completed the task of covering the retreat of the main Danish army.
After the failure of the Battle of Dibor, the Danish military was limited by its strength and had to give up the operation to seize the Fredericia area already occupied by the Austrian army.
At the same time, the successive defeats of the Danes led the British government to decide to intervene. Maintaining the balance of the continent is the bottom line of the British, and the British cannot cause major changes in the European countries.
Before the British government had issued a stern warning to Prussia, Prussia verbally agreed to a temporary truce on April 12.
But Bismarck postponed this plan until April 25, during which time Prussia controlled the entire territory of Dibor.
After receiving the support of Russia, France, and Sweden, the British government proposed to intervene in the Jutland Peninsula War, pointing out that the entire Schleswig issue should be resolved by a group of European countries.
Austria and Prussia, which have already secretly reached a consensus, stated that as long as the 1852 agreement is not used as the basis for the resolution, and the principality and Denmark are only connected by personal relationship, the two countries will agree to the resolution.
The meeting was held in London on April 25, and the British representative, Viscount Palmerston, presided over the meeting.
Britain accused Prussia and Austria of war, threatening the peace of Europe.
But the representatives of the German side only stated that the relevant issues are inevitably confusing.
At the same time, Earl Beust, representing the German Confederation, asked all countries to recognize Augustenberg's sovereignty over the principality.
Although the Austrian Empire is more inclined to the same plan as the 1852 agreement, Prussia has shown its ambition to get the principality.
If the Kingdom of Prussia wants to realize this ambition, it must first make the Principality of Schleswig completely independent.
So the Prussian representative insisted that the Schleswig region be completely independent from Denmark.
This puts Austria in a dilemma. If Austria opposes it, it may completely lose the influence of the empire in Germany. If it does not object, it may increase the strength of Prussia.
After weighing the pros and cons, Austria still feels that the influence of the German region is more important, and it is also the desire of the Austrian Empire to unify the entire German region.
So reluctantly supported Prussia's claim to allow the Principality of Schleswig to gain complete political independence, but it should be bound by a common institution, and the next step is not yet considered.
In order to stabilize Britain, France and the Russian Empire, the representative of the Kingdom of Prussia stated that Prussia would not seek land other than the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.
This satisfies the requirements of other great powers that the Danish Strait, which controls the access to the Baltic Sea, is not controlled by other great powers.
The representative of Sweden did not comment. Denmark has historically been Sweden's competitor. If Prussia and Austria can weaken Denmark's strength, Sweden will be happy to see it.
Of course, the premise is that the German coalition forces will not swallow the entire Jutland Peninsula, so that Sweden will face a more serious strategic and geographical danger than Denmark.
Obviously, neither Prussia nor Austria considered the feelings of the Danes. Britain and other countries also reached acquiescence to Prussia's conditions, and the Danish government rejected the proposal.
The London meeting did not fundamentally resolve the issue of the Jutland Peninsula, but it suspended the offensives of the two countries.
With the timing of the meeting, the Danes completed the final mobilization, and most of the attempts of the Danish army on the Jutland Peninsula have failed.
The troops transferred to Als Island to continue to resist. In June, the Prussian army began to gather opposite Als Island. The Second Schleswig War is about to enter a new period.
(end of this chapter)