Otto von Bismarck (Eduard Leopold von Schönhausen) was born on April 1, 1815 on the family estate of Schönhausen in Brandenburg northwest of Berlin, the third son of the Prussian landowner Ferdinand von Bismarck-Schönhausen and Wilhelmina Mencken, and was given the name Otto Eduard Leopold at birth.
The estate of Schönhausen was located in the heart of the province of Brandenburg, which occupied a special place in the history of early Germany. To the west of the estate, five miles away, flowed the Elbe River, the main water and transport artery of Northern Germany. The Schönhausen estate has been in the hands of the Bismarck family since 1562.
All generations of this family served the rulers of Brandenburg in peaceful and military fields.
Wilhelmina, Otto's mother, was from a family of civil servants and belonged to the middle class. Such marriages became more and more common in the 19th century, as the educated middle classes and the old aristocracy began to merge into a new elite.
At the insistence of Wilhelmina, Bernhard, the elder brother, and Otto were sent to study at the Plaman school in Berlin, where Otto studied from 1822 to 1827. At the age of 12, Otto left school and moved to the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium, where he studied for three years. In 1830, Otto moved to the gymnasium "At the Gray Monastery", where he felt freer than in previous educational institutions. Neither mathematics, nor the history of the ancient world, nor the achievements of the new German culture attracted the attention of the young cadet. Otto was most interested in the politics of past years, the history of military and peaceful rivalry between different countries.
After graduating from high school, Otto entered the university in Göttingen on May 10, 1832, at the age of 17, where he studied law. While a student, he gained a reputation as a reveler and brawler, and excelled in duels. Otto played cards for money and drank a lot. In September 1833, Otto moved to the New Metropolitan University in Berlin, where life turned out to be cheaper. To be more precise, Bismarck was only registered at the university, since he almost did not attend lectures, but used the services of tutors who visited him before exams. He received his diploma in 1835 and was soon hired to work at the Berlin Municipal Court. In 1837, Otto took the position of tax official in Aachen, and a year later - the same position in Potsdam. There he joined the Guards Jaeger Regiment. In the fall of 1838, Bismarck moved to Greifswald, where, in addition to performing his military duties, he studied animal breeding methods at the Elden Academy.
Bismarck is a landowner.
On January 1, 1839, Otto von Bismarck's mother, Wilhelmina, died. The death of his mother did not make a strong impression on Otto: only much later did he come to a true assessment of her qualities. However, this event resolved for some time the urgent problem of what he should do after finishing his military service. Otto helped his brother Bernhard manage the Pomeranian estates, and their father returned to Schönhausen. His father's financial losses, coupled with his innate distaste for the lifestyle of a Prussian official, forced Bismarck to resign in September 1839 and take over the leadership of the family estates in Pomerania. In private conversations, Otto explained this by saying that his temperament was not suitable for the position of a subordinate. He did not tolerate any authority over himself: “My pride requires me to command, and not to carry out other people’s orders.”. Otto von Bismarck, like his father, decided "live and die in the village" .
Otto von Bismarck himself studied accounting, chemistry, and agriculture. His brother, Bernhard, took almost no part in the management of the estates. Bismarck turned out to be a shrewd and practical landowner, winning the respect of his neighbors both with his theoretical knowledge of agriculture and practical success. The value of the estates increased by more than a third in the nine years that Otto ruled them, with three of the nine years experiencing a widespread agricultural crisis. And yet Otto could not be just a landowner.
 |
At the estate, Bismarck continued his education, taking up the works of Hegel, Kant, Spinoza, David Friedrich Strauss and Feuerbach. Otto studied English literature very well, since England and its affairs occupied Bismarck more than any other country. Intellectually, the “mad Bismarck” was far superior to his neighbors, the Junkers.
In mid-1841, Otto von Bismarck wanted to marry Ottoline von Puttkamer, the daughter of a wealthy cadet. However, her mother refused him, and in order to unwind, Otto went traveling, visiting England and France. This vacation helped Bismarck to relieve the boredom of rural life in Pomerania. Bismarck became more sociable and made many friends.
Bismarck's entry into politics.
After his father's death in 1845, the family property was divided and Bismarck received the estates of Schönhausen and Kniephof in Pomerania. In 1847 he married Johanna von Puttkamer, a distant relative of the girl he had courted in 1841. Among his new friends in Pomerania were Ernst Leopold von Gerlach and his brother, who were not only at the head of the Pomeranian Pietists, but also part of a group of court advisers.
Bismarck, a student of Gerlach, became famous for his conservative position during the constitutional struggle in Prussia in 1848-1850. From a “mad cadet” Bismarck turned into a “mad deputy” of the Berlin Landtag. Opposing the liberals, Bismarck contributed to the creation of various political organizations and newspapers, including the Neue Preussische Zeitung (New Prussian Newspaper). He was a member of the lower house of the Prussian parliament in 1849 and the Erfurt parliament in 1850, when he opposed a federation of German states (with or without Austria), because he believed that this unification would strengthen the growing revolutionary movement. In his Olmütz speech, Bismarck spoke in defense of King Frederick William IV, who capitulated to Austria and Russia. The pleased monarch wrote about Bismarck: "Ardent reactionary. Use later" .In May 1851, the king appointed Bismarck to represent Prussia in the Diet in Frankfurt am Main. There, Bismarck almost immediately came to the conclusion that Prussia’s goal could not be a German confederation with Austria in a dominant position and that war with Austria was inevitable if Prussia took a dominant position in a united Germany. As Bismarck improved in the study of diplomacy and the art of statecraft, he increasingly moved away from the views of the king and his camarilla. For his part, the king began to lose confidence in Bismarck. In 1859, the king's brother Wilhelm, who was regent at the time, relieved Bismarck of his duties and sent him as envoy to St. Petersburg. There Bismarck became close to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince A.M. Gorchakov, who assisted Bismarck in his efforts aimed at diplomatic isolation of first Austria and then France.
Otto von Bismarck - Minister-President of Prussia. His diplomacy.
In 1862, Bismarck was sent as envoy to France to the court of Napoleon III. He was soon recalled by King William I to resolve differences in the issue of military appropriations, which was heatedly discussed in the lower house of parliament.
In September of the same year he became head of government, and a little later - minister-president and minister of foreign affairs of Prussia.A militant conservative, Bismarck announced to the liberal majority of parliament, consisting of representatives of the middle class, that the government would continue collecting taxes in accordance with the old budget, because parliament, due to internal contradictions, would not be able to pass a new budget. (This policy continued in 1863-1866, which allowed Bismarck to carry out military reform.) At a parliamentary committee meeting on September 29, Bismarck emphasized: “The great questions of the time will not be decided by speeches and resolutions of the majority - this was the blunder of 1848 and 1949 - but iron and blood." Since the upper and lower houses of parliament were unable to develop a unified strategy on the issue of national defense, the government, according to Bismarck, should have taken the initiative and forced parliament to agree with its decisions. By limiting the activities of the press, Bismarck took serious measures to suppress the opposition.
For their part, the liberals sharply criticized Bismarck for his proposal to support the Russian Emperor Alexander II in suppressing the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 (Alvensleben Convention of 1863). Over the next decade, Bismarck's policies led to three wars: the war with Denmark in 1864, after which Schleswig, Holstein (Holstein) and Lauenburg were annexed to Prussia; Austria in 1866; and France (Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871).
On April 9, 1866, the day after Bismarck signed a secret agreement on a military alliance with Italy in the event of an attack on Austria, he presented to the Bundestag his project for a German parliament and universal secret suffrage for the country's male population. After the decisive battle of Kötiggrätz (Sadowa), in which German troops defeated the Austrian ones, Bismarck managed to achieve the abandonment of the annexationist claims of Wilhelm I and the Prussian generals who wanted to enter Vienna and demanded large territorial gains, and offered Austria an honorable peace (Prague Peace of 1866) . Bismarck did not allow Wilhelm I to “bring Austria to its knees” by occupying Vienna. The future chancellor insisted on relatively easy peace terms for Austria in order to ensure its neutrality in the future conflict between Prussia and France, which became inevitable from year to year. Austria was expelled from the German Confederation, Venice joined Italy, Hanover, Nassau, Hesse-Kassel, Frankfurt, Schleswig and Holstein went to Prussia.
One of the most important consequences of the Austro-Prussian War was the formation of the North German Confederation, which, along with Prussia, included about 30 other states. All of them, according to the constitution adopted in 1867, formed a single territory with laws and institutions common to all. The foreign and military policy of the union was actually transferred to the hands of the Prussian king, who was declared its president. A customs and military treaty was soon concluded with the South German states. These steps clearly showed that Germany was rapidly moving towards its unification under the leadership of Prussia.
The southern German states of Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden remained outside the North German Confederation. France did everything possible to prevent Bismarck from including these lands in the North German Confederation. Napoleon III did not want to see a united Germany on his eastern borders. Bismarck understood that this problem could not be solved without war. Over the next three years, Bismarck's secret diplomacy was directed against France. In Berlin, Bismarck introduced a bill to parliament exempting him from liability for unconstitutional actions, which was approved by the liberals. French and Prussian interests clashed every now and then on various issues. Militant anti-German sentiment was strong in France at that time. Bismarck played on them.
Appearance "Ems dispatch" was caused by the scandalous events surrounding the nomination of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern (nephew of William I) to the Spanish throne, which was vacated after the revolution in Spain in 1868. Bismarck correctly calculated that France would never agree to such an option and, in the event of Leopold’s accession to Spain, would begin to rattle sabers and make belligerent statements against the North German Union, which would sooner or later end in war. Therefore, he vigorously promoted Leopold’s candidacy, however, assuring Europe that the German government was completely uninvolved in the Hohenzollern claims to the Spanish throne. In his circulars, and later in his memoirs, Bismarck in every possible way denied his participation in this intrigue, arguing that the nomination of Prince Leopold to the Spanish throne was a “family” affair of the Hohenzollerns. In fact, Bismarck and War Minister Roon and Chief of the General Staff Moltke, who came to his aid, spent a lot of effort to convince the reluctant Wilhelm I to support Leopold’s candidacy.
As Bismarck had hoped, Leopold's bid for the Spanish throne caused a storm of indignation in Paris. On July 6, 1870, the French Foreign Minister Duke de Gramont exclaimed: “This will not happen, we are sure of it... Otherwise, we would be able to fulfill our duty without showing any weakness or hesitation.” After this statement, Prince Leopold, without any consultation with the king or Bismarck, announced that he was renouncing his claims to the Spanish throne.
This step was not part of Bismarck's plans. Leopold's refusal destroyed his hopes that France would itself start a war against the North German Confederation. This was fundamentally important for Bismarck, who sought to ensure the neutrality of the leading European states in a future war, which he later succeeded in largely due to the fact that France was the attacking party. It is difficult to judge how sincere Bismarck was in his memoirs when he wrote that upon receiving the news of Leopold’s refusal to take the Spanish throne "My first thought was to resign"(Bismarck more than once submitted requests for resignation to Wilhelm I, using them as one of the means of putting pressure on the king, who without his chancellor meant nothing in politics), however, another of his memoirs, dating back to the same time, looks quite reliable: “At that time I already considered war a necessity, which we could not avoid with honor.” .
While Bismarck was wondering what other ways could be used to provoke France into declaring war, the French themselves gave an excellent reason for this. On July 13, 1870, the French ambassador Benedetti showed up to William I, who was vacationing on the Ems waters, in the morning and conveyed to him a rather impudent request from his minister Gramont - to assure France that he (the king) would never give his consent if Prince Leopold again put forward his candidacy for Spanish throne. The king, outraged by such an act that was truly daring for the diplomatic etiquette of those times, responded with a sharp refusal and interrupted Benedetti’s audience. A few minutes later, he received a letter from his ambassador in Paris, which stated that Gramont insisted that William, in a handwritten letter, assure Napoleon III that he had no intention of harming the interests and dignity of France. This news completely infuriated William I. When Benedetti asked for a new audience to talk on this topic, he refused to receive him and conveyed through his adjutant that he had said his last word.
Bismarck learned about these events from a dispatch sent in the afternoon from Ems by Councilor Abeken. The dispatch to Bismarck was delivered during lunch. Roon and Moltke dined with him. Bismarck read the dispatch to them. The dispatch made the most difficult impression on the two old soldiers. Bismarck recalled that Roon and Moltke were so upset that they “neglected food and drink.” Having finished reading, Bismarck some time later asked Moltke about the state of the army and its readiness for war. Moltke responded in the spirit that “the immediate start of war is more profitable than delaying it.” After this, Bismarck immediately edited the telegram at the dinner table and read it to the generals. Here is its text: “After the news of the abdication of the Crown Prince of Hohenzollern had been officially communicated to the French Imperial Government by the Spanish Royal Government, the French Ambassador at Ems presented to His Royal Majesty an additional demand: to authorize him to telegraph to Paris that His Majesty the King undertakes for all future times never give his consent if the Hohenzollerns return to their candidacy. His Majesty the King refused to receive the French Ambassador again and ordered the adjutant on duty to tell him that His Majesty had nothing more to tell the Ambassador."
Even Bismarck's contemporaries suspected him of falsification "Ems dispatch". The German Social Democrats Liebknecht and Bebel were the first to talk about this. In 1891, Liebknecht even published the brochure “The Ems Dispatch, or How Wars Are Made.” Bismarck wrote in his memoirs that he only crossed out “something” from the dispatch, but did not add “not a word” to it. What did Bismarck delete from the Ems Dispatch? First of all, something that could indicate the true inspirer of the appearance of the king’s telegram in print. Bismarck crossed out the wish of William I to transfer “to the discretion of your Excellency, i.e. Bismarck, the question of whether we should inform both our representatives and the press about Benedetti’s new demand and the king’s refusal.” To strengthen the impression of the French envoy's disrespect for William I, Bismarck did not insert into the new text a mention of the fact that the king answered the ambassador "rather sharply." The remaining reductions were not significant. The new edition of the Ems dispatch brought Roon and Moltke, who dined with Bismarck, out of depression. The latter exclaimed: “It sounds different; before it sounded like a signal to retreat, now it sounds like a fanfare.” Bismarck began to develop his further plans for them: “We must fight if we do not want to take on the role of the defeated without a fight. But success depends largely on the impressions that the origin of the war will cause in us and others; it is important that we be those who were attacked, and Gallic arrogance and resentment will help us in this ... "
Further events unfolded in the direction most desirable for Bismarck. The publication of the "Ems dispatch" in many German newspapers caused a storm of indignation in France. Foreign Minister Gramon shouted indignantly in parliament that Prussia had given France a slap in the face. On July 15, 1870, the head of the French cabinet, Emile Olivier, demanded a loan of 50 million francs from parliament and announced the government’s decision to draft reservists into the army “in response to the call to war.” The future President of France, Adolphe Thiers, who in 1871 would make peace with Prussia and drown the Paris Commune in blood, was still a member of parliament in July 1870, and was perhaps the only sane politician in France in those days. He tried to convince the deputies to refuse Olivier a loan and to call up reservists, arguing that since Prince Leopold had renounced the Spanish crown, French diplomacy had achieved its goal and there was no need to quarrel with Prussia over words and bring the matter to a break on a purely formal issue. Olivier responded to this that he was “with a light heart” ready to bear the responsibility that now fell on him. In the end, the deputies approved all the government's proposals, and on July 19, France declared war on the North German Confederation.
Bismarck, meanwhile, communicated with the Reichstag deputies. It was important for him to carefully hide from the public his painstaking behind-the-scenes work to provoke France into declaring war. With his characteristic hypocrisy and resourcefulness, Bismarck convinced the deputies that the government and he personally did not participate in the whole story with Prince Leopold. He shamelessly lied when he told the deputies that he learned about Prince Leopold’s desire to take the Spanish throne not from the king, but from some “private individual”, that the North German ambassador left Paris on his own “for personal reasons”, and was not recalled by the government (in fact, Bismarck ordered the ambassador to leave France, irritated by his “softness” towards the French). Bismarck diluted this lie with a dose of truth. He did not lie when he said that the decision to publish a dispatch about the negotiations in Ems between William I and Benedetti was made by the government at the request of the king himself.
William I himself did not expect that the publication of the “Ems Dispatch” would lead to such a quick war with France. After reading Bismarck's edited text in the newspapers, he exclaimed: "This is war!" The king was afraid of this war. Bismarck later wrote in his memoirs that William I should not have negotiated with Benedetti at all, but he "subjected his person as monarch to the unscrupulous treatment of this foreign agent" largely because he yielded to pressure from his wife Queen Augusta with "her femininely justified by timidity and the national feeling she lacked.” Thus, Bismarck used William I as a cover for his behind-the-scenes intrigues against France.
When the Prussian generals began to win victory after victory over the French, not a single major European power stood up for France. This was the result of the preliminary diplomatic activities of Bismarck, who managed to achieve the neutrality of Russia and England. He promised Russia neutrality if it withdraws from the humiliating Treaty of Paris, which prohibited it from having its own fleet in the Black Sea; the British were outraged by the draft treaty published on Bismarck’s instructions on the annexation of Belgium by France. But the most important thing was that it was France that attacked the North German Confederation, despite the repeated peace-loving intentions and minor concessions that Bismarck made towards her (the withdrawal of Prussian troops from Luxembourg in 1867, statements about his readiness to abandon Bavaria and create from it to a neutral country, etc.). When editing the Ems Dispatch, Bismarck did not impulsively improvise, but was guided by the real achievements of his diplomacy and therefore emerged victorious. And, as you know, the winners are not judged. The authority of Bismarck, even in retirement, was so high in Germany that no one (except the Social Democrats) thought of pouring buckets of mud on him when in 1892 the true text of the “Ems Dispatch” was made public from the rostrum of the Reichstag.
Otto von Bismarck - Chancellor of the German Empire.
Exactly a month after the start of hostilities, a significant part of the French army was surrounded by German troops near Sedan and capitulated. Napoleon III himself surrendered to William I.
In November 1870, the South German states joined the United German Confederation, which was transformed from the North. In December 1870, the Bavarian king proposed to restore the German Empire and German imperial dignity, destroyed at one time by Napoleon. This proposal was accepted, and the Reichstag turned to Wilhelm I with a request to accept the imperial crown. In 1871, at Versailles, William I wrote on the envelope the address - "Chancellor of the German Empire", thereby confirming Bismarck's right to rule the empire that he created, and which was proclaimed on January 18 in the hall of mirrors at Versailles. On March 2, 1871, the Treaty of Paris was concluded - difficult and humiliating for France. The border regions of Alsace and Lorraine went to Germany. France had to pay 5 billion indemnities. Wilhelm I returned to Berlin as a triumphant man, although all the credit belonged to the chancellor.
The "Iron Chancellor", representing the interests of the minority and absolute power, ruled this empire in 1871-1890, relying on the consent of the Reichstag, where from 1866 to 1878 he was supported by the National Liberal Party. Bismarck carried out reforms of German law, government and finance. His educational reforms in 1873 led to conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, but the main cause of the conflict was the growing distrust of German Catholics (who made up about a third of the country's population) towards Protestant Prussia. When these contradictions manifested themselves in the activities of the Catholic Center Party in the Reichstag in the early 1870s, Bismarck was forced to take action. The struggle against the dominance of the Catholic Church was called "Kulturkampf"(Kulturkampf, struggle for culture). During it, many bishops and priests were arrested, hundreds of dioceses were left without leaders. Church appointments now had to be coordinated with the state; Church officials could not serve in the state apparatus. Schools were separated from the church, civil marriage was introduced, and the Jesuits were expelled from Germany.
Bismarck built his foreign policy based on the situation that developed in 1871 after the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War and the seizure of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany, which became a source of constant tension. With the help of a complex system of alliances that ensured the isolation of France, the rapprochement of Germany with Austria-Hungary and the maintenance of good relations with Russia (the alliance of the three emperors - Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia in 1873 and 1881; the Austro-German alliance in 1879; "Triple Alliance" between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882; The "Mediterranean Agreement" of 1887 between Austria-Hungary, Italy and England and the "Reinsurance Treaty" with Russia of 1887) Bismarck managed to maintain peace in Europe. The German Empire under Chancellor Bismarck became one of the leaders in international politics.
In the field of foreign policy, Bismarck made every effort to consolidate the gains of the Frankfurt Peace of 1871, promoted the diplomatic isolation of the French Republic, and sought to prevent the formation of any coalition that threatened German hegemony. He chose not to participate in the discussion of claims against the weakened Ottoman Empire. When at the Berlin Congress of 1878, under the chairmanship of Bismarck, the next phase of the discussion of the “Eastern Question” ended, he played the role of an “honest broker” in the dispute between the rival parties. Although the Triple Alliance was directed against Russia and France, Otto von Bismarck believed that a war with Russia would be extremely dangerous for Germany. The secret treaty with Russia in 1887 - the "reinsurance treaty" - showed Bismarck's ability to act behind the backs of his allies, Austria and Italy, to maintain the status quo in the Balkans and the Middle East.
Until 1884, Bismarck did not give clear definitions of the course of colonial policy, mainly due to friendly relations with England. Other reasons were the desire to preserve German capital and minimize government spending. Bismarck's first expansionist plans aroused vigorous protests from all parties - Catholics, statists, socialists and even representatives of his own class - the Junkers. Despite this, under Bismarck Germany began to transform into a colonial empire.
In 1879, Bismarck broke with the liberals and subsequently relied on a coalition of large landowners, industrialists, and senior military and government officials.
Conflict with Wilhelm II and Bismarck's resignation.
With the accession of Wilhelm II in 1888, Bismarck lost control of the government.
Under Wilhelm I and Frederick III, who ruled for less than six months, none of the opposition groups could shake Bismarck's position. The self-confident and ambitious Kaiser refused to play a secondary role, declaring at one of the banquets in 1891: "There is only one master in the country - that is me, and I will not tolerate another"; and his strained relations with the Reich Chancellor became increasingly strained. The most serious differences emerged on the issue of amending the “Exceptional Law against Socialists” (in force in 1878-1890) and on the right of ministers subordinate to the Chancellor to have a personal audience with the Emperor. Wilhelm II hinted to Bismarck that his resignation was desirable and received his resignation from Bismarck on March 18, 1890. The resignation was accepted two days later, Bismarck received the title of Duke of Lauenburg, and he was also awarded the rank of Colonel General of the Cavalry.Bismarck's removal to Friedrichsruhe was not the end of his interest in political life. He was especially eloquent in his criticism of the newly appointed Reich Chancellor and Minister-President Count Leo von Caprivi. In 1891, Bismarck was elected to the Reichstag from Hanover, but never took his seat there, and two years later he refused to stand for re-election. In 1894, the emperor and the already aging Bismarck met again in Berlin - at the suggestion of Clovis of Hohenlohe, Prince of Schillingfürst, Caprivi's successor. In 1895, all of Germany celebrated the 80th anniversary of the “Iron Chancellor”. In June 1896, Prince Otto von Bismarck took part in the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Bismarck died in Friedrichsruhe on July 30, 1898. The “Iron Chancellor” was buried at his own request on his estate Friedrichsruhe, and the inscription was engraved on the tombstone of his tomb: "Loyal servant of the German Kaiser Wilhelm I". In April 1945, the house in Schönhausen where Otto von Bismarck was born in 1815 was burned down by Soviet troops.
Bismarck's literary monument is his "Thoughts and Memories"(Gedanken und Erinnerungen), and "The Big Politics of European Cabinets"(Die grosse Politik der europaischen Kabinette, 1871-1914, 1924-1928) in 47 volumes serves as a monument to his diplomatic art.
References.
1. Emil Ludwig. Bismarck. - M.: Zakharov-AST, 1999.
2. Alan Palmer. Bismarck. - Smolensk: Rusich, 1998.
3. Encyclopedia "The World Around Us" (cd)
Monuments to Bismarck stand in all major cities of Germany; hundreds of streets and squares are named after him. He was called the Iron Chancellor, he was called Reichsmaher, but if this is translated into Russian, it will turn out to be very fascist - “Creator of the Reich.” It sounds better - “Creator of an Empire”, or “Creator of a Nation”. After all, everything German that is in the Germans comes from Bismarck. Even Bismarck's unscrupulousness influenced the moral standards of Germany.
Bismarck 21 years old 1836
They never lie so much as during the war, after the hunt and before the elections
“Bismarck is happiness for Germany, although he is not a benefactor of humanity,” wrote the historian Brandes. “For the Germans, he is the same as for a short-sighted person - a pair of excellent, unusually strong glasses: happiness for the patient, but a great misfortune that he needs them.” .
Otto von Bismarck was born in 1815, the year of Napoleon's final defeat. The future winner of three wars grew up in a family of landowners. His father left military service at the age of 23, which angered the king so much that he took away the rank of captain and uniform from him. At the Berlin gymnasium, he encountered the hatred of the educated burghers towards the nobles. “With my antics and insults, I want to gain access to the most sophisticated corporations, but all this is child’s play. I have time, I want to lead my comrades here, and in the future, people in general.” And Otto chooses the profession not of a military man, but of a diplomat. But the career is not working out. “I will never be able to stand being in charge,” the boredom of an official’s life forces young Bismarck to commit extravagant acts. Biographies of Bismarck describe the story of how the young future Chancellor of Germany got into debt, decided to win back at the gambling table, but lost terribly. In despair, he even thought about suicide, but in the end he confessed everything to his father, who helped him. However, the failed social dandy had to return home to the Prussian outback and start running affairs on the family estate. Although he turned out to be a talented manager, through reasonable savings he managed to increase the income of his parents' estate and soon fully paid off all creditors. Not a trace remained of his former extravagance: he never borrowed money again, did everything to be completely independent financially, and in his old age was the largest private landowner in Germany.
Even a victorious war is an evil that must be prevented by the wisdom of nations
“I initially dislike, by their very nature, trade deals and official positions, and I do not at all consider it an absolute success for myself to even become a minister,” Bismarck wrote at the time. “It seems to me more respectable, and in some circumstances, more useful, to cultivate rye.” "rather than writing administrative orders. My ambition is not to obey, but rather to command."
“It’s time to fight,” Bismarck decided at the age of thirty-two, when he, a middle-class landowner, was elected as a deputy of the Prussian Landtag. “They never lie so much as during the war, after the hunt and elections,” he will say later. The debates in the Diet capture him: “It is amazing how much impudence - compared to their abilities - the speakers express in their speeches and with what shameless complacency they dare to impose their empty phrases on such a large meeting.” Bismarck crushes his political opponents so much that when he was recommended for minister, the king, deciding that Bismarck was too bloodthirsty, drew up a resolution: “Fit only when the bayonet reigns supreme.” But Bismarck soon found himself in demand. Parliament, taking advantage of the old age and inertia of its king, demanded a reduction in spending on the army. And a “bloodthirsty” Bismarck was needed, who could put the presumptuous parliamentarians in their place: the Prussian king should dictate his will to parliament, and not vice versa. In 1862, Bismarck became the head of the Prussian government, nine years later, the first Chancellor of the German Empire. Over the course of thirty years, with “iron and blood” he created a state that was to play a central role in the history of the 20th century.
Bismarck in his office
It was Bismarck who drew up the map of modern Germany. Since the Middle Ages, the German nation has been split. At the beginning of the 19th century, residents of Munich considered themselves primarily Bavarians, subjects of the Wittelsbach dynasty, Berliners identified themselves with Prussia and the Hohenzollerns, and Germans from Cologne and Munster lived in the Kingdom of Westphalia. The only thing that united them all was language; even their faith was different: Catholics predominated in the south and southwest, while the north was traditionally Protestant.
The French invasion, the shame of a swift and complete military defeat, the enslaving Peace of Tilsit, and then, after 1815, life under dictation from St. Petersburg and Vienna provoked a powerful response. The Germans are tired of humiliating themselves, begging, trading in mercenaries and tutors, and dancing to someone else's tune. National unity became everyone's dream. Everyone spoke about the need for reunification - from the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm and church hierarchs to the poet Heine and the political emigrant Marx. Prussia seemed to be the most likely collector of German lands - aggressive, rapidly developing and, unlike Austria, nationally homogeneous.
Bismarck became chancellor in 1862 and immediately declared that he intended to create a united German Reich: “The great questions of the era are decided not by majority opinion and liberal chatter in parliament, but by iron and blood.” First of all Reich, then Deutschland. National unity from above, through total submission. In 1864, having concluded an alliance with the Austrian emperor, Bismarck attacked Denmark and, as a result of a brilliant blitzkrieg, annexed two provinces populated by ethnic Germans from Copenhagen - Schleswig and Holstein. Two years later, the Prussian-Austrian conflict for hegemony over the German principalities began. Bismarck determined Prussia's strategy: no (yet) conflicts with France and a quick victory over Austria. But at the same time, Bismarck did not want a humiliating defeat for Austria. Bearing in mind the imminent war with Napoleon III, he was afraid of having a defeated but potentially dangerous enemy at his side. Bismarck's main doctrine was to avoid a war on two fronts. Germany forgot its history both in 1914 and 1939
Bismarck and Napoleon III
On June 3, 1866, in the battle of Sadova (Czech Republic), the Prussians completely defeated the Austrian army thanks to the crown prince’s army arriving in time. After the battle, one of the Prussian generals said to Bismarck:
- Your Excellency, now you are a great man. However, if the crown prince had been a little longer late, you would have been a great villain.
“Yes,” agreed Bismarck, “it passed, but it could have been worse.”
In the rapture of victory, Prussia wants to pursue the now harmless Austrian army, to go further - to Vienna, to Hungary. Bismarck makes every effort to stop the war. At the Council of War, he mockingly, in the presence of the king, invites the generals to pursue the Austrian army beyond the Danube. And when the army finds itself on the right bank and loses contact with those behind, “the most reasonable solution would be to march on Constantinople and found a new Byzantine Empire, and leave Prussia to its fate.” The generals and the king, convinced by them, dream of a parade in defeated Vienna, but Bismarck does not need Vienna. Bismarck threatens his resignation, convinces the king with political arguments, even military-hygienic ones (the cholera epidemic was gaining strength in the army), but the king wants to enjoy the victory.
- The main culprit can go unpunished! - exclaims the king.
- Our business is not to administer justice, but to engage in German politics. Austria's struggle with us is no more worthy of punishment than our struggle with Austria. Our task is to establish German national unity under the leadership of the King of Prussia
Bismarck's speech with the words "Since the state machine cannot stand, legal conflicts easily turn into issues of power; whoever has power in his hands acts according to his own understanding" caused a protest. Liberals accused him of pursuing a policy under the slogan “Might is before right.” “I did not proclaim this slogan,” Bismarck grinned. “I simply stated a fact.”
The author of the book "The German Demon Bismarck" Johannes Wilms describes the Iron Chancellor as a very ambitious and cynical person: There really was something bewitching, seductive, demonic about him. Well, the “Bismarck myth” began to be created after his death, partly because the politicians who replaced him were much weaker. Admiring followers came up with a patriot who thought only of Germany, a super-astute politician."
Emil Ludwig believed that "Bismarck always loved power more than freedom; and in this he was also a German."
“Beware of this man, he says what he thinks,” warned Disraeli.
And in fact, the politician and diplomat Otto von Bismarck did not hide his vision: “Politics is the art of adapting to circumstances and extracting benefit from everything, even from what is disgusting.” And having learned about the saying on the coat of arms of one of the officers: “Never repent, never forgive!”, Bismarck said that he had been applying this principle in life for a long time.
He believed that with the help of diplomatic dialectics and human wisdom one could fool anyone. Bismarck spoke conservatively with conservatives, and liberally with liberals. Bismarck told one Stuttgart Democratic politician how he, a spoiled mama's boy, marched with a gun in the army and slept on straw. He was never a mama's boy, he slept on straw only when hunting, and he always hated drill training
The main people in the unification of Germany. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (left), Prussian Minister of War A. Roon (center), Chief of the General Staff G. Moltke (right)
Hayek wrote: “When the Prussian parliament was engaged in one of the fiercest battles over legislation in German history with Bismarck, Bismarck defeated the law with the help of an army that defeated Austria and France. If then only it was suspected that his policy was completely duplicitous, now this cannot be true. Reading the intercepted report of one of the foreign ambassadors he had fooled, in which the latter reported the official assurances he had just received from Bismarck himself, and this man was able to write in the margin: “He really believed it!” - this master bribery, who corrupted the German press for many decades with the help of secret funds, deserves everything that was said about him. It is now almost forgotten that Bismarck almost surpassed the Nazis when he threatened to shoot innocent hostages in Bohemia. The wild incident with democratic Frankfurt is forgotten, when he, threatening bombardment, siege and robbery, forced the payment of a colossal indemnity on a German city that had never taken up arms. It is only recently that the story of how he provoked a conflict with France - just to make South Germany forget its disgust with the Prussian military dictatorship - has been fully understood."
Bismarck answered all his future critics in advance: “Whoever calls me an unscrupulous politician, let him first test his own conscience on this springboard.” But indeed, Bismarck provoked the French as best he could. With cunning diplomatic moves, he completely confused Napoleon III, angered the French Foreign Minister Gramont, calling him a fool (Gramon promised revenge). The “showdown” over the Spanish inheritance came at the right time: Bismarck, secretly not only from France, but also practically behind the back of King William, offers Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern to Madrid. Paris is furious, French newspapers are raising hysterics about “the German election of the Spanish king, which took France by surprise.” Gramon begins to threaten: “We do not think that respect for the rights of a neighboring state obliges us to allow a foreign power to place one of its princes on the throne of Charles V and thus, to our detriment, upset the present balance in Europe and endanger the interests of and the honor of France. If this had happened, we would have been able to fulfill our duty without hesitation or flinching!" Bismarck chuckles: “It’s like war!”
But he did not triumph for long: a message arrived that the applicant refused. 73-year-old King William did not want to quarrel with the French, and the jubilant Gramon demands a written statement from William about the prince's abdication. During lunch, Bismarck receives this encrypted dispatch, confused and incomprehensible, he is furious. Then he takes another look at the dispatch, asks General Moltke about the combat readiness of the army and, in the presence of the guests, quickly shortens the text: “After the Imperial Government of France received from the Royal Government of Spain official notification of the refusal of the Prince of Hohenzollern, the French Ambassador still presented in Ems to His Majesty the King demand that he authorize him to telegraph to Paris that His Majesty the King undertakes at all times never to give consent if the Hohenzollerns renewed their candidacy.His Majesty then decided not to receive the French ambassador a second time and informed him through the aide-de-camp on duty that His Majesty there is nothing more to tell the ambassador." Bismarck did not write anything in or distort anything in the original text, he only crossed out what was unnecessary. Moltke, having heard the new text of the dispatch, noted admiringly that before it sounded like a signal for retreat, but now it sounded like a fanfare for battle. Liebknecht called such editing “a crime the likes of which history has never seen.”
“He led the French absolutely wonderfully,” writes Bismarck’s contemporary Bennigsen. “Diplomacy is one of the most deceitful activities, but when it is conducted in German interests and in such a magnificent way, with cunning and energy, as Bismarck does, it cannot be denied a share of admiration.” .
A week later, on July 19, 1870, France declared war. Bismarck achieved his goal: both the Francophile Bavarian and the Prussian Wurtenberger united in defending their old peace-loving king against the French aggressor. In six weeks, the Germans occupied all of Northern France, and at the Battle of Sedan, the emperor, along with an army of one hundred thousand, was captured by the Prussians. In 1807, Napoleonic grenadiers staged parades in Berlin, and in 1870, cadets marched along the Champs Elysees for the first time. On January 18, 1871, the Second Reich was proclaimed at the Palace of Versailles (the first was the empire of Charlemagne), which included four kingdoms, six great duchies, seven principalities and three free cities. Raising their bare checkers up, the winners proclaimed Wilhelm of Prussia Kaiser, with Bismarck standing next to the emperor. Now “Germany from the Meuse to Memel” existed not only in the poetic lines of “Deutschland uber alles”.
Wilhelm loved Prussia too much and wanted to remain its king. But Bismarck fulfilled his dream - almost by force he forced Wilhelm to become emperor.
Bismarck introduced favorable domestic tariffs and skillfully regulated taxes. German engineers became the best in Europe, German craftsmen worked all over the world. The French grumbled that Bismarck wanted to make Europe “a complete gamble.” The British pumped out their colonies, the Germans worked to provide for them. Bismarck was looking for foreign markets; industry was developing at such a pace that it was cramped in Germany alone. By the beginning of the 20th century, Germany overtook France, Russia and the USA in terms of economic growth. Only England was ahead.
Bismarck demanded clarity from his subordinates: brevity in oral reports, simplicity in written reports. Pathos and superlatives are prohibited. Bismarck came up with two rules for his advisers: “The simpler the word, the stronger it is,” and: “There is no matter so complicated that its core cannot be exhumed in a few words.”
The Chancellor said that no Germany would be better than a Germany governed by parliament. He hated liberals with all his soul: “These talkers cannot govern... I must resist them, they have too little intelligence and too much contentment, they are stupid and impudent. The expression “stupid” is too general and therefore inaccurate: among these people there are and intelligent, for the most part they are educated, they have a real German education, but they understand as little in politics as we did when we were students, even less, in foreign policy they are just children.” He despised socialists a little less: in them he found something of the Prussians, at least some desire for order and system. But from the rostrum he shouts at them: “If you give people tempting promises, with mockery and ridicule, declare everything that has been sacred to them until now is a lie, but faith in God, faith in our kingdom, attachment to the fatherland, to the family , to property, to the transfer of what was acquired by inheritance - if you take all this away from them, then it will not be at all difficult to bring a person with a low level of education to the point where he finally, shaking his fist, says: hope be damned, faith be damned and above all, patience be damned! And if we have to live under the yoke of bandits, then all life will lose its meaning! " And Bismarck expels the socialists from Berlin and closes their circles and newspapers.
He transferred the military system of total subordination to civilian soil. The vertical Kaiser - Chancellor - Ministers - Officials seemed to him ideal for the state structure of Germany. Parliament became, in essence, a clownish advisory body; little depended on the deputies. Everything was decided in Potsdam. Any opposition was crushed into dust. “Freedom is a luxury that not everyone can afford,” said the Iron Chancellor. In 1878, Bismarck introduced an “exceptional” legal act against the socialists, effectively outlawing the adherents of Lassalle, Bebel and Marx. He calmed the Poles with a wave of repressions; in cruelty they were not inferior to those of the Tsar. The Bavarian separatists were defeated. With the Catholic Church, Bismarck led the Kulturkampf - the struggle for free marriage; the Jesuits were expelled from the country. Only secular power can exist in Germany. Any rise of one of the faiths threatens a national split.
Great continental power.
Bismarck never rushed beyond the European continent. He said to one foreigner: “I like your map of Africa! But look at mine - This is France, this is Russia, this is England, this is us. Our map of Africa lies in Europe.” Another time he said that if Germany were chasing colonies, it would become like a Polish nobleman who boasts of a sable coat without having a nightgown. Bismarck skillfully maneuvered the European diplomatic theater. "Never fight on two fronts!" - he warned the German military and politicians. As we know, the calls were not heeded.
“Even the most favorable outcome of the war will never lead to the disintegration of the main strength of Russia, which is based on millions of Russians themselves... These latter, even if they are dismembered by international treatises, are just as quickly reunited with each other, like particles of a cut piece of mercury. This is an indestructible state the Russian nation, strong with its climate, its spaces and limited needs,” wrote Bismarck about Russia, which the chancellor always liked with its despotism and became an ally of the Reich. Friendship with the Tsar, however, did not prevent Bismarck from intriguing against the Russians in the Balkans.
Decrepit by leaps and bounds, Austria became a faithful and eternal ally, or rather even a servant. England anxiously watched the new superpower, preparing for a world war. France could only dream of revenge. In the middle of Europe, Germany, created by Bismarck, stood as an iron horse. They said about him that he made Germany big and the Germans small. He really didn't like people.
Emperor Wilhelm died in 1888. The new Kaiser grew up an ardent admirer of the Iron Chancellor, but now the boastful Wilhelm II considered Bismarck's policies too old-fashioned. Why stand aside while others share the world? In addition, the young emperor was jealous of other people's glory. Wilhelm considered himself a great geopolitician and statesman. In 1890, the elderly Otto von Bismarck received his resignation. The Kaiser wanted to rule himself. It took twenty-eight years to lose everything.
The fate of the Bismarck is very indicative. The battle in the Denmark Strait once again showed the futility of developing ships without air cover. Archaic biplanes "CWarfish turned out to be a formidable opponent even for the newest and perfectly protected battleship, and the Bismarck remained lying on the seabed, still serving as a reminder: there are no unsinkable ships!
April 1, 2015 will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Prussian military-political leader Otto von Bismarck, the man who changed the face of Germany. In this regard, one cannot help but recall its equally famous “namesake” - the battleship Bismarck, which received its name according to the good tradition of naming ships in honor of great historical personalities.
"Versailles Fleet" of Germany
After the First World War, Germany was publicly humiliated at the Versailles Conference, becoming a “switchman” on a planetary scale. In particular, it was forbidden to have a high seas fleet, the basis of which in those years were battleships. All the main combat units of the German fleet either rested on the seabed or went to the Entente countries. Among the latter were ten dreadnoughts and five battlecruisers. But the years passed, and Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist Workers' Party rose to the political Olympus of the Weimar Republic. For Hitler, the possession of full-fledged battleships was not only a military issue, but also a political one. Germany sought to restore its military presence at sea, which, according to naval theorists of the time, could only be ensured by dreadnoughts.
Birth of a Giant
On March 18, 1935, Germany unilaterally denounced the Treaty of Versailles. There was no harsh reaction from the leading European states - moreover, on June 18 of the same year, the Anglo-German naval agreement was published, according to which the Third Reich received the right to build ships of the 1st rank in the ratio of 100 to 35 (where 100 is the share England, and 35 - Germany).
At that time, Germany had three battlecruisers of the Deutschland type, and in 1935-36 “pocket battleships” with unlucky names for the German fleet - Scharnhorst and Gneisenau - were launched. These ships, being much more powerful and large-tonnage compared to the Deutschland class, were still noticeably inferior to their British classmates. German sailors needed a breakthrough - something that would immediately bring Germany on the same level as the rulers of the oceans - the USA and Great Britain. A year after the fateful year of 1935, work began on the building stocks of the Blom und Voss company on the construction of the most powerful Bismarck-class battleship in the world at that time.
Battleship Bismarck in the Kiel Strait, 1940
Source - waralbum.ru
Being a direct development of the Scharnhorst, the new super-dreadnought had a third greater displacement (50,900 tons) and a length of over 253 m. The traditionally cautious Germans equipped the ship with extremely advanced armor - the main armor belt extended over 70% of the hull length, and its thickness ranged from 170 to 320 mm. The additional armor (upper belt, traverses and deck) was also impressive: the thickness of the frontal armor of the main caliber turrets was 360 mm, and the deckhouse - from 220 to 350 mm.
|
Displacement |
41,700 t – standard; 50,900 t – full |
|
Length |
251 m – the largest; 241.5 m – between perpendiculars |
|
Width |
|
|
Draft |
|
|
Booking |
belt – 320–170 mm; upper belt – 145 mm; traverses – 220–145 mm; longitudinal bulkhead – 30–25 mm; main gun towers – 360–130 mm; GK barbettes – 340–220 mm; SK towers – 100–40 mm; barbettes SK – 80–20 mm; deck – 50–80 + 80–95 mm (slopes – 110–120 mm); cutting 350–220 mm; anti-torpedo bulkhead – 45 mm |
|
Engines |
3 turbo gear units; 12 Wagner steam boilers |
|
Power |
|
|
Mover |
|
|
Travel speed |
|
|
Cruising range |
|
|
Crew |
2092–2608 people |
|
Artillery |
8 (4x2) 380 mm SK/C-34 guns; |
|
Flak |
16 (8x2) 105 mm guns; 16 (8x2) 37 mm anti-aircraft guns; |
|
Aviation group |
2 catapults; 4 seaplanes |
"Bismarck" upon entry into service, 1940
Source – Bundesarchiv, Bild 101II-MN-1361–16A / Winkelmann / CC-BY-SA
At first glance, the artillery armament of the new battleship did not amaze the imagination: the main caliber was 8 380 mm guns in four turrets (the Germans were unable to create three-gun installations, or rather did not consider it necessary). Considering the fact that the Washington Naval Agreement of 1922 limited the caliber to 406 mm (the British and Americans had exactly these guns, installing 9-12 of them per ship), then the Bismarck does not look too intimidating.
380 mm SKC-34 gun as part of a coastal battery
Source – Schwerste Deutsche Küstenbatterie in Bereitschaft
However, the caliber of the SKC-34 gun was almost 100 mm larger than the caliber of the Scharnhorst guns (283 mm), and the excellent training of German artillerymen, high quality gunpowder, an advanced fire control system and modern sighting devices turned these gun mounts into world-class weapons. An 800-kg projectile was delivered over a distance of over 36 km with an initial speed of 820 m/s - this was enough to reliably penetrate 350 mm armor from a distance of about 20 km. Thus, in a functional sense, the SKC-34 guns were practically not inferior to the “top” 406 mm artillery.
The Bismarck's auxiliary artillery consisted of twelve 150 mm cannons in six twin turrets, sixteen 105 mm heavy anti-aircraft guns in eight twin turrets, as well as 37 and 20 mm anti-aircraft guns.
The battleship's power plant consisted of three turbo-gear units and twelve Wagner steam boilers. A power of 110 megawatts allowed the ship to reach a full speed of 30 knots.
"Bismarck" rolled off the stocks on February 14, 1939, and its retrofitting and testing continued until the spring of 1941. The first (and last) commander of the ship was Captain 1st Rank Ernst Lindemann.
Launching the Bismarck
Source - history.navy.mil
"Bismarck" during exercises in the Baltic Sea. The photo was taken from the cruiser Prinz Eugen, which will accompany the battleship on its last voyage.
Source - waralbum.ru
"Bismarck" in service: the role of super-dreadnoughts in the Kriegsmarine battle plans
Almost simultaneously with the Bismarck, on February 24, 1941, the battleship Tirpitz of the same class was commissioned. By that time, the world war was raging for the second year, and the German “High Seas Fleet” had to confront, first of all, the British Navy. Thus, the steel giants Bismarck and Tirpitz found themselves in a very ambiguous position. In a one-on-one “knightly” battle, they could take on any ship in the world with a good chance of success. But such a battle in the conditions of World War II seemed unlikely and could most likely be the result of errors in planning.
Captain 1st Rank Ernst Lindemann
Source –Bundesarchiv, Bild 101II-MN-1361–21A / Winkelmann / CC-BY-SA
At the same time, the two German giants and two “pocket” battleships were opposed by 15 British dreadnoughts and battlecruisers (5 more were under construction), among them were such powerful combat units as the battleship Hood with 381 mm artillery , quite comparable to the Bismarck. And, despite the fact that these enormous forces were dispersed over the vast expanses from the Pacific Ocean to the North Sea, the ratio was definitely not in favor of the German fleet.
The Kriegsmarine's combat planning prepared the new battleships for non-core tasks - the colossal dreadnoughts were planned to be used as... raiders. Their targets were not to be enemy warships, but transport convoys, liners and dry cargo ships. The cruising range of the battleships, which exceeded 8,000 nautical miles, was fully consistent with such tasks, and the speed of 30 knots became an outstanding achievement of German designers and shipbuilders.
Battleship Bismarck, modern reconstruction
Source - warwall.ru
At first glance, it may seem that targeting dreadnoughts at civilian and transport ships is unjustified - high-power guns should destroy armor, and not the thin sides of dry cargo ships. In addition, much cheaper ships could have been used for cruising war, especially since Germany had an impressive number of submarines and experience in their use. But this is only at first glance. The fact is that in a classic squadron battle, two German supergiants would be guaranteed to meet five or six “British” of comparable size, supported by a whole flock of smaller ships. At the same time, raiding communications, in addition to direct damage to the enemy’s economy, created enormous stress in the combat work of the enemy fleet. As the experience of the only raid of the Bismarck and the “walk” of the Tirpitz showed, the appearance of such a powerful ship on the cargo transportation routes forced the enemy to throw huge resources into its search, being distracted from urgent tasks, consuming scarce fuel and depreciating the vehicles. The indirect effect of such costs outweighed the possible damage that the Bismarck could inflict in open battle.
At the same time, the question remains open: why was it necessary to spend monstrous amounts of money on the construction of one of the most powerful ships in history, if two dozen submarines could do much more in terms of raiding? Today we can only consider the fact that the Bismarck raised her battle standard and went to sea.
Admiral Günter Lütjens, commander of Operation Rhineland Exercises
The Hunt for Hitler's Dreadnought
On May 18, 1941, the battleship Bismarck and the cruiser Prinz Eugen left the pier in Gotenhafen (now Gdynia, Poland). On May 20–21, members of the Norwegian Resistance movement radioed about two large ships. On May 22, while stationed near Bergen, where the German ships were being repainted in camouflage and the Prinz Eugen was taking on fuel, they were spotted by an English Spitfire reconnaissance aircraft, and the dreadnought was clearly identified as the Bismarck.
From that moment began one of the most impressive games in naval history. The Germans launched Operation Rhine Exercises to break through their squadron to Atlantic trade communications. In turn, the British fleet sought to destroy, or at least force the raiders to retreat. This was a fundamental moment for Great Britain - its economy was heavily dependent on sea supplies, to which the Bismarck became a mortal threat.
Admiral John Tovey, Commander of the Home Fleet
Source – Imperial War Museums
Admiral John Tovey, commander of the Home Fleet (which was responsible for territorial defense), ordered a search to begin. The battleship Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Hood moved towards Iceland, and from Scapa Flow in the north of Scotland the battleship King George V with Admiral Tovey on board and the aircraft carrier Victorias set out - this squadron was assigned the task of patrolling to the northwest from Scotland, where the battlecruiser Repulse was to join her. At the same time, the light cruisers Arethusa, Birmingham and Manchester carried out patrols in the area from Iceland to the Faroe Islands, and the cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk took control of the Danish Straits.
On May 22, bombers were sent to Bergen, where the Bismarck was spotted, but they flew empty, not catching the squadron in place - the battleship seemed to have disappeared among the expanses of the sea. A day later, on May 23, Norfolk and Suffolk stumbled upon the German ships and exchanged several salvos with them, after which the British cruisers wisely retreated into the fog, continuing to follow the enemy at the limit of radar contact.
Despite the fact that his squadron was discovered, the commander of the Rhineland Exercises operation, Admiral Günther Lütjens, considered the intermediate task completed - the German ships confidently entered the operational space. However, in fact, the intermediate task was far from being completed, since the Hood and the Prince of Wales, accompanied by six destroyers, rushed towards the Germans from the coast of Iceland.
In the early morning of May 24, at 5:35 am, the Prince of Wales's patrol spotted the Bismarck. Vice Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland, holding the flag on the Hood, decided not to wait for the battleships of the Home Fleet and gave the order to approach. At 5-52, Hood opened the battle with the first salvos from a distance of 13 miles at sharp heading angles. Thus began the battle in the Denmark Strait.
Battlecruiser Hood
Source - history.navy.mil
Lutyens had clear orders not to engage warships unless they were part of a convoy. However, Captain Lindeman categorically stated that he would not allow his battleship to be shot with impunity. According to eyewitnesses, his words sounded quite clear: “I won’t let my own ship get knocked out from under my own ass!” Prinz Eugen and Bismarck turned their turrets and fired back.
The Prinz Eugen with its 203-mm cannons could boast of the first hit - one of these shells hit the Hood. The British shots had no noticeable effect. At 0555, Holland ordered a 20-degree turn to port to engage the stern guns.
At about 6:00, when the Hood was completing its maneuver, the main battery of the Bismarck made cover from a distance of about 8 miles. Apparently, the 800-kg shell broke through the rather thin deck of the British cruiser, hitting the ammunition depot. A monstrous explosion occurred, tearing the ship's 267-meter hull almost in half, while debris covered the battleship Prince of Wales, sailing half a mile behind. The stern of the Hood went under the water, and the bow remained above the waves for several more minutes, during which one of the towers managed to fire the last salvo. Of the 1,415 crew members, only three people survived, who were picked up by the destroyer Electra.
Sketch by the commander of the battleship "Prince of Wales" John Leach, attached to the protocol of the investigation into the death of the battlecruiser "Hood"
Source - wikipedia.org
The "Prince of Wales", which was sailing as a mate of the English squadron, was forced to turn away from its course to avoid a collision with the sinking "Hood" and thus exposed itself to the volleys of two German ships at once. Having received seven hits, the battleship left the battle under the cover of a smoke screen.
"Bismarck" fires
Source - waralbum.ru
The end of a short odyssey
Having sent one of Britain's best pennants to the bottom in just eight minutes, the Bismarck escaped with damage to two fuel tanks, and its boiler compartment No. 2 began to flood through a hole in the side. Vice Admiral Lutyens gave the order to go to the French Saint-Nazaire for repairs.
Despite the impressive victory, the situation for Bismarck was difficult. Firstly, due to the trim on the bow and starboard side, the speed decreased. Secondly, the hit to the tank deprived the battleship of 3,000 tons of fuel. Thirdly, the keen radars of the cruiser Suffolk continued to “guide” the Bismarck, which means that the English fleet could gather forces and strike again.
Already on the evening of May 24, nine Swordfish torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier Victoria attacked the Bismarck, achieving one hit in the main armor belt, which, however, did not cause serious damage. However, active anti-torpedo maneuvering led to the failure of the patches, as a result of which the battleship lost boiler room No. 2, which was completely flooded.
The interception of the Bismarck after the destruction of the Hood, which shocked the entire British nation, became a matter of honor for the fleet. The search efforts, unprecedented in scope, had an effect, and on May 26, the Catalina seaplane found a German battleship 690 miles from Brest. Tactical Force “H” moved to the lead point under the command of Admiral James F. Somerville, the “hero” of the execution of the French fleet in Mers-el-Kebir. In addition, Admiral Tovey's battleships (Rodney and King George V) joined the connection.
Tovey miscalculated the course of the Bismarck, sending his ships to the shores of Norway. It should be noted that due to Tovey’s mistake, the closest pennants capable of giving battle to the Bismarck were 150 miles behind it, and only a miracle could stop the German breakthrough to Brest. And then the aircraft carrier “Ark-Royal” from Compound “N” said its weighty word. On May 26 at 17:40, fifteen Swordfish attacked the Bismarck. Archaic biplanes with a fabric-covered fuselage, an open cockpit and fixed landing gear, were armed with 730 kg torpedoes and had a very low speed. It seemed that this could not be a serious threat to the steel giant.
Torpedo bomber "Fairy Swordfish" - a deadly "wallet"
Source - wikipedia.org
“Swordfish,” which the pilots referred to only as “wallets,” had the ability to fly so low over the water that the Bismarck’s anti-aircraft gunners could not aim their guns at their targets. The battleship skillfully maneuvered, but one fatal torpedo still overtook it. A miracle happened.
A 730-kg torpedo in itself did not pose much of a threat to a super-dreadnought with a fantastic unsinkability system and thick armor. But by coincidence, it hit the most vulnerable spot - the steering blade. At one point, the huge ship lost control and could now maneuver only by stopping the screws. This meant an inevitable rendezvous with superior British forces.
"Swordfish" over the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal"
Source - history.navy.mil
At 21-45, Bismarck entered into battle with the cruiser Sheffield, driving it away with fire. Following the Sheffield, the destroyers Cossack, Sikh, Maori, Zulu and Thunder approached, also failing to score any effective hits.
On May 27, at 8-00, Rodney, King George V, along with the cruisers Dorsetshire, Norfolk and several destroyers overtook Bismarck. The sea was rough - the sea level was 4-6, and Hitler's German super-dreadnought could only give a small speed of 8 knots and practically lost active maneuver, being an almost ideal target for nine 406-mm Rodney guns and a dozen 356-mm guns "King George" and sixteen 203-mm guns "Norfolk" and "Dorsetshire". The first shots rang out at 8:47 am.
Battleship Rodney
Source – Imperial War Museums
The Bismarck concentrated its fire on the Rodney, which kept its distance. The British took the almost motionless German battleship into a classic artillery fork. Having taken aim at the bursts of undershoots and overshoots, the gunners of thirty-five large-caliber guns began to place shell after shell into the hull of the doomed ship. At 09:02, the Norfolk hit the main rangefinder post on the foremast with a 203-mm shell, which sharply reduced the quality of the Bismarck’s guns. Six minutes later, a sixteen-inch shell from the Rodney hit the forward turret B (Bruno), completely putting it out of action. Almost simultaneously with this, the fire control post was destroyed.
Around 09:20, the bow turret “A” was hit, presumably from the King George. Between 9-31 and 9-37 the stern towers “C” and “D” (“Caesar and “Dora”) fell silent, after which the battle finally turned into a beating. In total, the active firefight lasted about 45 minutes, with a predictable result - the Bismarck’s artillery was almost completely out of action.
Bismarck main caliber guns
Source – Imperial War Museums
“Rodney” approached and shot the enemy from a distance of 3 km, that is, almost point-blank. However, Bismarck did not lower the flag, continuing to snarl from the few remaining auxiliary caliber guns. One of the shots hit his wheelhouse, killing all the senior officers on the battleship. Apparently, Captain Lindeman also died then, although the surviving sailors claimed that he survived and continued to lead the battle until the very end. However, this no longer mattered - the huge ship turned into flaming ruins, and only its excellent survivability prevented it from immediately sinking to the bottom.
In total, the British fired more than 2,800 shells at the Bismarck, achieving about seven hundred hits of different calibers. For a long time there was an opinion that “Rodney” torpedoed “Bismarck” from a 620-mm apparatus, but modern underwater expeditions do not confirm this fact.
When the helplessness of the Bismarck became obvious to the British command, the battleships withdrew from the battle, leaving the cruisers to finish off with torpedoes. But even several direct hits on the underwater part of the German battleship did not lead to its sinking. The recent expedition of American director James Cameron on the Russian oceanographic ship Mstislav Keldysh clearly proved that enemy fire only significantly damaged the battleship. It was sunk by its own crew, who did not want to surrender the ship to the mercy of the victors.
Why did he drown?
Who exactly gave the order to scuttle the Bismarck, and whether there was such an order at all, is unclear. It is quite possible that there was a “local initiative”. In addition, the possibility cannot be ruled out that the fire from numerous fires led to the detonation of some of the ammunition, which led to the fatal hole. Cameron's research suggests open seams that were most likely torn apart by the bilge crew. Be that as it may, at 10:39 a.m. the Bismarck capsized and sank.
Of the 2,220 people on the Bismarck's crew, 116 survived. Among those rescued was a very remarkable character - the cat Oscar, who continued to serve in the British Navy. He was able to climb onto the floating debris and was pulled out of the water by the crew of the destroyer "Kazak". Subsequently, when the Cossack was sunk by a German torpedo, the cat moved first aboard the destroyer Legion, and then onto the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, whose planes destroyed his first ship (Bismarck). Later, the Ark Royal was lost off Malta, and Oscar found himself back on the destroyer Legion, much to the surprise of the crew. Earning the nickname "Unsinkable Sam", Oscar lived in Belfast after the war, where he died of natural causes in 1955.
The ship's cat Oscar, who survived the loss of three war pennants
Source - 24.media.tumblr.com
The fate of the Bismarck is very indicative. Firstly, the battle in the Denmark Strait once again showed the futility of developing ships without air cover. The obsolete Swordfish turned out to be a formidable opponent even for the newest and well-protected battleship with trained crews of numerous air defense guns. Secondly, a wave of personnel changes took place in Germany, which also affected the maritime strategy. Grand Admiral Erich Roeder lost his post as commander-in-chief, and was replaced by Karl Dönitz, an enthusiast and prominent theorist of unrestricted submarine warfare. Since then, German submarines have played the “first fiddle” in the raider war, and large ships have found themselves in secondary roles. The Bismarck remained lying on the seabed, still serving as a reminder: there are no unsinkable ships!
Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck is the most important German statesman and political figure of the 19th century. His service had an important influence on the course of European history. He is considered the founder of the German Empire. For nearly three decades he shaped Germany: from 1862 to 1873 as Prime Minister of Prussia, and from 1871 to 1890 as Germany's first Chancellor.
Bismarck family
Otto was born on April 1, 1815 on the estate of Schönhausen, on the outskirts of Brandenburg, north of Magdeburg, which was located in the Prussian province of Saxony. His family, starting from the 14th century, belonged to the noble class, and many ancestors held high government positions in the kingdom of Prussia. Otto always remembered his father with love, considering him a modest man. In his youth, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand served in the army and was demobilized with the rank of cavalry captain (captain). His mother, Louise Wilhelmina von Bismarck, née Mencken, was middle class, heavily influenced by her father, quite rational and of strong character. Louise concentrated on raising her sons, but Bismarck, in his memoirs of childhood, did not describe the special tenderness traditionally emanating from mothers.
The marriage produced six children; three of his siblings died in childhood. They lived a relatively long life: an older brother, born in 1810, Otto himself, born fourth, and a sister born in 1827. A year after the birth, the family moved to the Prussian province of Pomerania, the town of Konarzevo, where the future chancellor spent the first years of his childhood. Here my beloved sister Malvina and brother Bernard were born. Otto's father inherited the Pomeranian estates from his cousin in 1816 and moved to Konarzewo. At that time, the estate was a modest building with a brick foundation and wooden walls. Information about the house is preserved thanks to the older brother's drawings, which clearly show a simple two-story building with two short one-story wings on either side of the main entrance.
Childhood and youth
At the age of 7, Otto was sent to an elite private boarding school in, then he continued his education at the Graue Kloster gymnasium. At the age of seventeen, on May 10, 1832, he entered the law faculty of the University of Göttingen, where he spent just over a year. He took a leading place in the social life of students. From November 1833 he continued his studies at the University of Berlin. His education allowed him to engage in diplomacy, but at first he devoted several months to purely administrative work, after which he was transferred to the judicial field in the appellate court. The young man did not work in the civil service for long, since it seemed unthinkable and routine for him to maintain strict discipline. He worked in 1836 as a government clerk in Aachen, and the following year in Potsdam. This is followed by a year of volunteer service in the Greifswald Rifle Battalion Guard. In 1839, he and his brother took over the management of the family estates in Pomerania after the death of their mother.
He returned to Konarzevo at the age of 24. In 1846, he first rented out the estate, and then sold the property inherited from his father to his nephew Philip in 1868. The property remained in the von Bismarck family until 1945. The last owners were brothers Klaus and Philipp, sons of Gottfried von Bismarck.
In 1844, after his sister's marriage, he went to live with his father in Schönhausen. As a passionate hunter and duelist, he gains a reputation as a "savage".
Carier start
After the death of his father, Otto and his brother take an active part in the life of the area. In 1846, he began working in the office responsible for the operation of the dams, which served as protection against flooding of the regions located on the Elbe. During these years he traveled extensively in England, France and Switzerland. The views inherited from his mother, his own broad outlook and critical attitude towards everything, disposed him to free views with an extreme right-wing bias. He quite original and actively defended the rights of the king and the Christian monarchy in the fight against liberalism. After the outbreak of the revolution, Otto proposed to bring peasants from Schönhausen to Berlin to protect the king from the revolutionary movement. He did not take part in the meetings, but was actively involved in the formation of the Union of the Conservative Party and was one of the founders of the Kreuz-Zeitung, which has since become the newspaper of the monarchist party in Prussia. In the parliament elected at the beginning of 1849, he became one of the sharpest speakers among the representatives of the young nobility. He figured prominently in discussions about the new Prussian constitution, always defending the king's authority. His speeches were distinguished by a unique style of debate combined with originality. Otto understood that party disputes were merely a struggle for power between revolutionary forces and that no compromise was possible between these principles. There was also a clear position on the foreign policy of the Prussian government, in which he actively opposed plans to create a union that would force submission to a single parliament. In 1850, he held a seat in the Erfurt parliament, where he zealously opposed the constitution created by parliament, foreseeing that such government policies would lead to a struggle against Austria, during which Prussia would be the loser. This position of Bismarck prompted the king in 1851 to appoint him first as the chief Prussian representative and then as a minister in the Bundestag in Frankfurt am Main. This was a rather bold appointment, since Bismarck had no experience in diplomatic work.
Here he is trying to achieve equal rights for Prussia and Austria, lobbying for recognition of the Bundestag and is a supporter of small German associations, without Austrian participation. During the eight years he spent in Frankfurt, he became extremely well versed in politics, making him an indispensable diplomat. However, the period he spent in Frankfurt was associated with important changes in political views. In June 1863, Bismarck published regulations regulating freedom of the press and the Crown Prince publicly abandoned the policies of his father's ministers.
Bismarck in the Russian Empire
During the Crimean War, he advocated an alliance with Russia. Bismarck was appointed Prussian ambassador to St. Petersburg, where he stayed from 1859 to 1862. Here he studied the experience of Russian diplomacy. By his own admission, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Gorchakov, is a great expert in diplomatic art. During his time in Russia, Bismarck not only learned the language, but also developed relationships with Alexander II and with the Dowager Empress, a Prussian princess.
During the first two years he had little influence on the Prussian government: the liberal ministers did not trust his opinion, and the regent was upset by Bismarck's willingness to create an alliance with the Italians. The estrangement between King William and the liberal party opened the path to power for Otto. Albrecht von Roon, who was appointed Minister of War in 1861, was his old friend, and thanks to him Bismarck was able to monitor the state of affairs in Berlin. When a crisis arose in 1862 due to parliament's refusal to vote on the funds needed to reorganize the army, he was summoned to Berlin. The king still could not decide to increase the role of Bismarck, but clearly understood that Otto was the only person who had the courage and ability to fight parliament.
After the death of Frederick William IV, his place on the throne was taken by the regent William I, Frederick Ludwig. When Bismarck left his post in the Russian Empire in 1862, the Tsar offered him a position in the Russian service, but Bismarck refused.
In June 1862 he was appointed ambassador to Paris under Napoleon III. He studies in detail the school of French Bonapartism. In September, the king, on the advice of Roon, summoned Bismarck to Berlin and appointed him prime minister and minister of foreign affairs.
New field
Bismarck's main responsibility as minister was to support the king in reorganizing the army. The dissatisfaction caused by his appointment was serious. His reputation as a categorical ultra-conservative, reinforced by his first speech regarding the belief that the German question could not be settled only by speeches and parliamentary resolutions, but solely by blood and iron, increased the fears of the opposition. There can be no doubt about his determination to bring to an end the long struggle for the supremacy of the dynasty of Electors of the House of Hohenzollern over the Habsburgs. However, two unforeseen events completely changed the situation in Europe and forced the confrontation to be postponed for three years. The first was the outbreak of rebellion in Poland. Bismarck, heir to the old Prussian traditions, remembering the contribution of the Poles to the greatness of Prussia, offered his assistance to the Tsar. By doing this he placed himself in opposition to Western Europe. The political dividend was the tsar's gratitude and Russian support. Even more serious were the difficulties that arose in Denmark. Bismarck was again forced to confront national sentiment.
German reunification
Through the efforts of Bismarck's political will, the North German Confederation was founded by 1867.
The North German Confederation included:
- Kingdom of Prussia,
- Kingdom of Saxony,
- Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,
- Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,
- Grand Duchy of Oldenburg,
- Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach,
- Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg,
- Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,
- Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen,
- Duchy of Brunswick,
- Duchies of Anhalt,
- Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen,
- Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,
- Principality of Reiss-Greiz,
- Principality of Reiss-Gera,
- Principality of Lippe,
- Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe,
- Principality of Waldeck,
- Cities: , and .
Bismarck founded the union, introduced direct suffrage for the Reichstag and the exclusive responsibility of the Federal Chancellor. He himself took up the post of chancellor on July 14, 1867. As chancellor, he controlled the country's foreign policy and was responsible for all the internal policies of the empire, and his influence was visible in every department of state.
Fight against the Roman Catholic Church
After the unification of the country, the government faced the question of unification of faith more urgently than ever. The core of the country, being purely Protestant, faced religious opposition from adherents of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1873, Bismarck not only came under great criticism, but was also wounded by an aggressive believer. This was not the first attempt. In 1866, shortly before the outbreak of war, he was attacked by Cohen, a native of Württemberg, who wanted to save Germany from a fratricidal war.
The Catholic Center Party unites, attracting the nobility. However, the Chancellor signs the May laws, taking advantage of the numerical superiority of the national liberal party. Another fanatic, apprentice Franz Kuhlmann, on July 13, 1874, makes another attack on the authorities. Long and hard work affects the health of a politician. Bismarck resigned several times. After his retirement he lived in Friedrichsruch.
Personal life of the Chancellor
In 1844, in Konarzewo, Otto met the Prussian noblewoman Joanne von Puttkamer. On July 28, 1847, their wedding took place in the parish church near Reinfeld. Undemanding and deeply religious, Joanna was a loyal colleague who provided significant support throughout her husband's career. Despite the difficult loss of his first lover and the intrigue with the wife of the Russian ambassador Orlova, his marriage turned out to be happy. The couple had three children: Mary in 1848, Herbert in 1849 and William in 1852.
Joanna died on November 27, 1894 at the Bismarck homestead at the age of 70. The husband built a chapel in which she was buried. Her remains were later moved to the Bismarck Mausoleum in Friedrichsruch.
Last years
In 1871, the emperor gave him part of the possessions of the Duchy of Lauenburg. On his seventieth birthday, he was given a large sum of money, part of which was used to buy out the estate of his ancestors in Schönhausen, part of it to buy an estate in Pomerania, which he henceforth used as a country residence, and the rest of the funds were given to create a fund to help schoolchildren.
On retirement, the Emperor granted him the title of Duke of Lauenburg, but he never used this title. Bismarck spent his last years not far from. He fiercely criticized the government, sometimes in conversation, sometimes from the pages of Hamburg publications. His eightieth birthday in 1895 was celebrated on a grand scale. He died in Friedrichsruch on July 31, 1898.
The future winner of 3 wars, the future first Chancellor of Germany, the man who united Germany, was born on April 1, 1815, into a family of landowners, representatives of a special class of nobles - Prussian Junkers.
Making his significant speech after O. Bismarck became chancellor in 1862, he stated that all important issues and decisions made should not be discussed and await the approval of the majority of parliamentarians, but should be settled exclusively with “iron and blood”, and the previous the experience of liberalism and democracy was a huge mistake of their predecessors. At the same time, the priority for Otto von Bismarck was to unite the German lands into one single great empire. Right now, the time has come when one can rightfully become a worthy rival for Austria in the matter of dominance in German territories, the chancellor believed.
The Kingdom of Prussia, under the leadership of Chancellor Bismarck, was famous for the strictest discipline of officials, a great, well-coordinated, remarkably trained and well-armed army, which terrified all European states of that time, for the first time since Napoleon. One gets the impression that the birth of the chancellor in the year of the complete defeat of the great emperor was not accidental.
And after 9 years, Otto von Bismarck’s efforts to unify Germany were crowned with success. The creation of the new German Empire or Reich dates back to 1871. Bismarck became the Reich Chancellor of the new state, and Wilhelm I Friedrich Ludwig was proclaimed emperor.
For nineteen years, O. Bismarck strictly and unquestionably followed his original statement and led the country with “iron and blood,” annexing many new territories and lands to Germany, constantly achieving its greatness and exaltation. It was for this, as well as for his strong, sometimes tough, strong-willed character, that Bismarck was called the “Iron Chancellor,” which later became, truly, his middle name.
Today, monuments to O. Bismarck can be seen in all major centers of modern Germany; many squares and streets are named in his honor. As a German historian wrote, Bismarck was a real blessing for Germany.
