War played a role in German unification.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] (a) The Erfurt Union was dissolved.
2. [1] (a) The Treaty restored the Bund under Austrian leadership.
3. [1] (a) Austria had reasserted its leadership as Prussia had backed down.
4. [1] (a) The revolution of 1848 was over and the princes were back on their thrones.
5. [1] (b) Because of Bismarck's stubbornness.
6. [1] (b) Because of promises made to Italy.
7. [1] (b) Because Bismarck picked a quarrel with Austria.
8. [1] (b) Because Prussia and Austria disagreed over the Schleswig-Holstein question.
9. [1] (b) To reduce or remove Austrian influence among the German states.
10. [5] (b) Austria and Prussia could not agree on how to govern Schleswig-Holstein, and therefore they decided to split the territories with Austria being responsible for Holstein and Prussia for Schleswig. Bismarck may have done this deliberately to make it easier to pick an argument with Austria.
11. [1] (c) Bismarck showed diplomatic skill over the Schleswig-Holstein question.
12. [1] (c) He used Italy as an ally.
13. [1] (c) He persuaded countries to remain neutral.
14. [1] (c) The Prussian economy built a war machine.
15. [1] (c) The Prussian army was superior to Austria's.
16. [5] (c) Prussian military strength was important. There had been considerable investment in the Prussian economy to produce the weapons of war. Moltke and his generals had produced a well equipped and trained army which was superior to Austria's. This shows that Bismarck could use force if diplomacy failed as he had a strong army at his disposal.
17. [5] (c) However, diplomacy was also important. When Schleswig-Holstein was handed over to be ruled jointly by Austria and Prussia, they could not agree, and the territories were split. Some think Bismarck deliberately agreed to this division so that it would be easier to pick a quarrel with Austria. Bismarck also managed to get a promise of French neutrality and relied on British and Russian neutrality. With this control, he picked a war with Austria. This shows that war and diplomacy were both important.
18. [10] (c) Explanation of both sides (Level 4, 7-9 marks) with evaluation of 'how far' (Level 5, 10 marks).