4912 x 3769 px | 41,6 x 31,9 cm | 16,4 x 12,6 inches | 300dpi
Informations supplémentaires:
Battle of Langensalza was fought on June 27, 1866 near Bad Langensalza in Central Europe. The Hanoverians won the battle but were then surrounded by a larger and reinforced Prussian army, and, unable to link up with their Bavarian allies to the south, they surrendered. This marked the demise of the Hanoverian Army and the annexation of Hanover into the emerging German Republic. After declaring that he felt “trapped, like a fox indoors… (with) no choice but to bite my way out, ”1 Prussia’s King Wilhelm I initiated the Austro-Prussian War to conquer and unite a majority of the Germanic principalities. Hundreds of small German states existed prior to 1866, and in anticipation of war, they allied themselves with either Austria or Prussia depending on their desires and goals. Many German kingdoms surrounding Prussia allied with Austria in fear of losing their autonomy. This in turn boxed Prussia against the Baltic Sea, prompting the King to make his “fox” statement. King George of Hanover believed he could negotiate independently with the Austrians and Prussians, wasting time where he could have strengthened his forces by joining other German states, which he would attempt once it was too late. In a show of the Hanoverian naivete, George's Foreign Minister declared that Bismarck would never break the federal law, maintaining a six week interval before invading another land.2 On June 15, 1866, King Wilhelm ordered Hanover, Saxony, and Kassel to disarm at once, effectively beginning the war with Austria’s allies. On June 16, Prussian forces began moving against all three German states, with those of General August Karl von Goeben and General Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel approaching Hanover.
