In Trust
Our hero was nearly sixty-four years old when he was called by
Providence to assume this exalted position, an age at which men usually
begin to look about for a quiet spot wherein to end their days in peace
and freedom from care. But for King William, though already on the
threshold of age, this was out of the question. This Nestor among German
princes had been chosen as an instrument for the restoration of national
unity and power. It was his task, as head of the “Holy German Empire,”
to overthrow all her enemies and crown her arms with victory and fame.
And nobly did the venerable monarch fulfil this trust, keeping a
watchful eye on the interests and welfare of the Fatherland for more
than twenty-seven years.
The aims and hopes with which he began his reign are set forth in the
proclamation issued to his people at that time. It hints too at the
serious struggle he saw approaching, in which Prussia would have to
fight for her existence against the neighboring countries, jealous of
her growing power. It had been the labor of his life to provide the
country with a strong, well-disciplined army; his task now as sovereign
was to make it equal in size to any demand that might be made upon it.
During his regency he had tried to secure the consent of the Diet to a
large increase in the standing army, and preliminary measures had
already been taken to this effect, but after the Prince’s accession to
the throne the House of Deputies withdrew its consent and absolutely
refused to grant the necessary appropriation. This was a hard blow to
the King, but he felt that his duty to the country required him to
persist in his demands, a decision in which he was loyally upheld by his
recently appointed councillor, Otto von Bismarck, a man of remarkable
talents and ability, to whom might well be applied the poet’s words:
“He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.”
For a time, however, their efforts met with no results, the Diet
remaining firm in its refusal, and finally disclaiming any participation
in the policy of the government, domestic or foreign. Not until great
events had occurred, not until splendid proofs had been furnished of the
wisdom of the King’s judgment, were the representatives convinced that
the aims of the government were for the country’s best good. Nor was it
long before an opportunity for such proofs was offered.
For many years the Kings of Denmark had appropriated to themselves the
title of Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, though more as a matter of form
than of real sovereignty, for the two sea-girt duchies had retained
their own constitution, their laws, and their language. Within the space
of ten years, however, it had become more and more apparent that Denmark
was aiming at complete absorption and suppression of their nationality.
In 1840, and again in 1850, they had struggled to retain their
independence, but in vain, being too weak themselves and meeting with
insufficient support from their German brethren, who at that time had
all they could manage with their own affairs. When, however, on November
15, 1863, King Frederick Seventh of Denmark died and Christian Ninth
ascended the throne, Germany decided to interfere in behalf of the
duchies. As the various States could come to no agreement, Prussia and
Austria, as the two leading powers, took matters into their own hands.
The Danish King was called upon to evacuate Holstein within forty-eight
hours and to withdraw the form of government introduced into Schleswig,
and on his refusal to comply with these demands Schleswig was at once
invaded. The general command of the expedition was given to Von Wrangel,
Prince Frederick Charles leading the Prussian troops, Field Marshal
Lieutenant von Gablenz the Austrians who had come on through Silesia and
Brandenburg.
On February 1, 1864, Wrangel gave the order to advance “in God’s
name!”—an order which proved the signal for a succession of heroic deeds
that covered the German army with glory, for from the Danish War sprang
that between Prussia and Austria two years later, and in 1870 the
Franco-Prussian War. The first of February, 1864, therefore, surely
deserves a place in the pages of history as the starting point of the
glorious achievements of the German army and the victorious career of
its royal commander.
King William himself took no active part in the Danish War. Only about
one and a half army corps were mobilized, too small a force to be under
the command of the sovereign of so powerful a nation as Prussia. But
when after a number of victorious engagements Prince Frederick Charles
succeeded in storming Düppel and capturing all the supposedly
impregnable intrenchments, thus proving that Prussia’s old valor still
survived in a younger generation, King William could no longer keep away
from his victorious troops. His arrival in Schleswig was hailed with joy
by the people as well as the army, and at Grevenstein he held a review
of the columns that had fought so brilliantly at the storming of Düppel,
praising and thanking them personally for their bravery. He also visited
the hospitals, encouraging the wounded with his presence and kindly
words of cheer. The people of Schleswig were assured that their affairs
would be brought to a happy issue, and a feeling of confidence in the
speedy liberation of their brethren from the power of Denmark spread
throughout Germany.
And so it proved, for on June 28 the enemy’s defeat was completed by the
capture of the island of Alsen, used by the Danes as a storehouse for
arms and provisions. A truce was proclaimed, and on October 30, 1864,
the Peace of Vienna was concluded, by which the King of Denmark
renounced all his rights to the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and
Lauenburg in favor of the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria,
and agreed to recognize whatever disposition the allies should make of
the three States. This treaty, by completely freeing the duchies from
the power of Denmark, realized one of the dearest wishes of the people,
a wish that had long been cherished in the hearts of patriots; while to
Germany it gave a greater increase of territory and influence than had
fallen to her share for many years.
In spite of this fact, however, the idea of German unity still seemed
far from realization owing to the conflicting interests of the several
States, of which there were more than thirty, each jealous of the
slightest supremacy of the others. When Prussia proposed, therefore,
that the three duchies should be governed by their liberators rather
than be added to the German States, of which there were already too
many, the plan was bitterly opposed by the majority of the
Confederation. But Prussia was determined not to yield, and with the
coöperation of Austria succeeded in carrying her point. By the treaty of
Gastein it was agreed that Austria should assume the provisional
administration of Holstein, and Prussia that of Schleswig, while
Lauenburg was made over to the Prussian government for the sum of seven
and a half million marks.
It would seem that the army’s splendid achievements might have inclined
the Diet to withdraw its long-standing opposition to the plans and
wishes of the government, but such was not the case. Not only did the
majority of representatives refuse as before to grant any appropriation
for increasing the army, but also failed to make provision for the cost
of the recent victorious campaign, expecting in this way to force the
government to yield. Nothing was farther, however, from the intentions
of King William and his trusty councillor, Bismarck. Firmly convinced
that they were in the right, it would have seemed treachery to the
Fatherland to abandon their purpose. Recognition of their efforts must
come some time, and as it proved, that day was not far distant.