Protection and defiance alliance 1854
The protection and defiance alliance of April 20, 1854 was a treaty under international law between Austria and Prussia . It was completed during the Crimean War . Both states were not directly involved in the war, but their entry into the war was discussed at the time. With the alliance they secured support in the event of an external attack, with Russia in particular being considered. An additional article also contained statements about the Danube principalities that had been occupied by Russia.
The states of the German Confederation were already called upon in the alliance text to join the alliance. On July 24, 1854, the Bundestag agreed on a federal decision on membership. The Prussian king, but also the German middle states, interpreted the protection and defiance alliance in such a way that it essentially guaranteed the armed neutrality of Germany. Austria, on the other hand, had more far-reaching goals in the Balkans, which it did not achieve. In the Peace of Paris of 1856, the Crimean War was ended: for the most part, they returned to the state before the war. The defiance and protection alliance ended with that.
Protection and defiance was a common expression of the time. It can also be found for the Prussian protective and defensive alliances of 1866.
background
The German Confederation was a defense alliance. The member states guaranteed each other support should the federal territory be attacked. The two great German powers Austria and Prussia also owned areas outside the federal territory (such as Hungary or East Prussia). With the alliance of 1854 they extended the guarantee of assistance to their entire territories.
The Crimean War began, among other things, with Russia sending troops to the Danube principalities of Moldova and Wallachia. At that time, these areas were still part of the Ottoman Empire , which was supported by Great Britain and France. Austria also wanted to prevent Russia from expanding its power, but did not enter the war between the British and French. In Prussia opinions were divided; the conservative, pro-Russian side, to which the king belonged, finally prevailed.
Anti-Russian Amendment and Middle States
A controversial article about the protection and defiance alliance called on Russia to evacuate the occupied Danube principalities. In the event of an unsatisfactory reaction from Russia, the contracting parties were allowed to take measures. Should Russia then attack, the guarantee of assistance would also come into effect. The conservatives in Prussia tried to downplay the anti-Russian significance of the alliance. In the end, both contracting parties would have to decide jointly whether the alliance would actually occur, whether Russia would adequately respond to the demands.
On June 29, 1854, Russia followed an Austrian threat and withdrew from the Danube principalities. Austria could now occupy them without a fight. For the German medium-sized states the fear of being drawn into a war was thus dispelled. Only then did the German Confederation join the alliance.
In November, Austria and Prussia expanded the alliance with another additional article: the guarantee has since extended to the Austrian troops in the Danube principalities (and thus to the occupied territory). In December the Bundestag also approved this extension. As a result, however, he resisted further Austrian efforts to instrumentalize the alliance or the federal government for his own purposes.
meaning
In the discussions on federal reform , it was already an issue of whether the German Confederation should include all areas of Austria and Prussia. This would have given these areas protection in a federal war . Austria in particular was interested in it; this protection was a motive for possibly agreeing to a federal reform (with more organs and powers for the federal government). At the Dresden Conferences in 1851, such a reform failed, among other things, because the medium-sized states were suspicious of an Austro-Prussian understanding.
The alliance of 1854 extended the protection of the federal government to the entire territories, at least temporarily, even though they did not become part of the federal government. Prussia was interested in this, as a war with Russia suddenly appeared possible and Prussia might not want to wage war in the East alone. Austria and Prussia, in turn, had an interest in the other federal states joining the alliance, since at least the medium-sized states had a certain military potential.
On the surface, the alliance, including its accession, looked like a strengthening of the German Confederation and a sign of the unity and power of Germany. Its guarantee of existence had been extended to the Black Sea . However, those involved tried to weaken the alliance in practice. The different interests remained. Above all, Austria's political weakness was revealed in its use of the federal government for its own foreign policy.
Web links
supporting documents
- ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, Stuttgart 1988, pp. 240/241.
- ↑ Michael Kotulla: German Constitutional Law 1806-1918. A collection of documents and introductions. Volume 1: Germany as a whole, Anhalt states and Baden, Springer, Berlin [u. a.] 2006, p. 112.