Age of Bismarck #14: 'I Bow Before the Genius of Bismarck' (Patreon)

[PATRONS]

What did Bismarck think of the tumultuous showdown with both Austria and the royal regime he appeared to control? Was Bismarck content to place the blame for his failures on others, or was he surprisingly honest about the necessity of his second war in office? Furthermore, we examine the curious transformation which came over both Prussian and European society more generally. Nothing succeeds like success, as Bismarck understood, yet the opposition which faced him nonetheless melted away with a remarkable speed once Austria was defeated. Were contemporaries finally coming to see Bismarck as he had always seen himself - as the implacable genius, who would only achieve greater things, if lesser men stopped getting in the way?