FAQ About Otto von Bismarck
What was the Ems Dispatch and its impact on European politics?
The Ems Dispatch was a telegram edited by Bismarck to provoke France into declaring war on Prussia, leading to the Franco-Prussian War. By manipulating the language of the dispatch, Bismarck inflamed public opinion in both France and Prussia, ensuring French aggression appeared as the cause of the conflict. The war that followed was crucial in achieving German unification and altered the European balance of power substantially.
