Following the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War ( 1870 – 1871 ), German Cancellor Otto von Bismarck proposed harsh terms for peace — including the German occupation of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.

From 1875 the former bridlepath was embellished as a boulevard with a breadth of on the personal initiative of chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who also proposed the building of the Grunewald mansions colony at its western end.

When, in September 1862, the Abgeordnetenhaus ( House of Deputies ) overwhelmingly rejected the proposed budget, Wilhelm was persuaded to recall Bismarck to Prussia on the advice of Roon.

Originally, it was proposed that the Diet of the German Confederation ( in which all the states of Germany were represented ) should determine the fate of the duchies ; but before this scheme could be effected, Bismarck induced Austria to agree to the Gastein Convention.

Bismarck had originally proposed that the Federal Government pay a portion of the Accident Insurance contribution.

As a result, the Treaty of Berlin ( 1878 ), under the supervision of Otto von Bismarck of the German empire and Benjamin Disraeli of Britain, revised the earlier treaty, and scaled back the proposed Bulgarian state.

Caprivi was informed that he was the Kaiser's intended choice should Bismarck prove resistant to Wilhelm's proposed changes to the government, and upon Bismarck's dismissal on 18 March, Caprivi became Chancellor.

In 1872 Bismarck proposed appointing Chlodwig's younger brother Cardinal Gustav Adolf Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, ( Rotenburg, Germany, 26 March 1823-Rome, Italy, 30 October 1896 ), as Prussian envoy to the Holy See, but Pope Pius IX refused to receive him in this capacity.

In the early 1870s, the Northern Pacific Railroad attempted to extend rail service along the Yellowstone to Livingston from Bismarck, North Dakota, a route proposed to cross the last of the Lakota buffalo hunting grounds.

Bismarck had originally proposed that the Federal Government should pay a portion of the accident insurance contribution to show the willingness of the German government to lessen the hardship experienced by the German workers as a means of weaning them away from the various left-wing parties, most importantly the Social Democrats.

When Bismarck proposed a system of social insurance paid by the state he denounced it as " not Socialistic, but Communistic ".

The seriousness of the situation was finally recognized and German foreign minister Count Herbert von Bismarck ( chancellor Otto von Bismarck ’ s son ) proposed to reconvene the adjourned Washington conference of 1887.

Bismarck ’ s pragmatic approach proposed protection for life, property and commerce of the treaty participants and relegated native government and their unstable " kings " to the Samoans, with which the British concurred.

In 1871 – 1878 Bismarck launched the " Kulturkampf " in Prussia to reduce the power of the Catholic Church in public affairs, and keep the Poles under control.

Bismarck sought to appeal to liberals and Protestants but he failed because the Catholics were unanimous in their resistance and organized themselves to fight back politically, using their strength in other states besides Prussia.

Bismarck saw the Kulturkampf as a means of stopping this trend, which was led by the Catholic clergy in West Prussia, Poznania and Silesia.

After Prussia unified the other states into the second German Empire, its long-time leader Otto von Bismarck ( 1862-90 ) had long opposed colonial acquisitions, arguing that the burden of obtaining, maintaining and defending such possessions would outweigh any potential benefit.

Bismarck manipulated public opinion, resulting in the denial of sale to France and the continued suzerainty of Holland, a member of the customs union with close ties to Prussia.

As Minister President of Prussia 1862 – 90, Bismarck provoked wars that made Prussia dominant over Austria and France, and lined up the smaller German states behind Prussia.

Bismarck was also horrified by Prussia's isolation during the Crimean War of the mid-1850s ( in which Austria sided with Britain and France against Russia ; Prussia was almost not invited to the peace talks in Paris ).

However, in the 1850s Bismarck correctly foresaw that by failing to support Russia ( after Russian help in crushing the Hungarian Revolt in 1849, and at Olmütz in 1850, the Austrian leader Schwarzenberg had said that " Austria would astonish the world by the depth of her ingratitude ") Austria could no longer count on Russian support in Italy and Germany, and had thus exposed herself to attack by France and Prussia.

As a further snub, the Regent, who scorned Bismarck as a " Landwehrleutnant " ( reserve lieutenant ), had declined to promote him to the rank of major-general, normal for the ambassador to Saint Petersburg ( and important as Prussia and Russia were close military allies, whose heads of state often communicated through military contacts rather than diplomatic channels ).

Otto von Bismarck as Minister-President of Prussia, shown wearing insignia of a knight of the Order of Saint John ( Bailiwick of Brandenburg ) | Johanniterorden

At first this seemed like a victory for Frederick of Augustenburg, but Bismarck soon removed him from power by making a series of unworkable demands, namely that Prussia should have control over the army and navy of the Duchies.

To solidify Prussian hegemony, Prussia and several other North German states joined the North German Confederation in 1867 ; King Wilhelm I served as its President, and Bismarck as its Chancellor.

Bismarck had originally managed to convince smaller states like Saxony, Hesse-Kassel, and Hanover to join Prussia against Austria, after promising them protection from foreign invasion, morale unity, and fair commercial laws.

Military success brought Bismarck tremendous political support in Prussia.

To provoke France into declaring war with Prussia, Bismarck published the Ems Dispatch, a carefully edited version of a conversation between King Wilhelm and the French ambassador to Prussia, Count Benedetti.

Bismarck launched an anti-Catholic Kulturkampf (" culture struggle ") in Prussia in 1871.

After a heated argument in Bismarck's office Wilhelm, whom Bismarck had allowed to see a letter from Tsar Alexander III describing him as a " badly brought-up boy ", stormed out, after first ordering the rescinding of the Cabinet Order of 1851, which had forbidden Prussian Cabinet Ministers to report directly to the King of Prussia, requiring them instead to report via the Prime Minister.

Bismarck resigned at Wilhelm II's insistence on 18 March 1890, at age 75, to be succeeded as Chancellor of Germany and Minister-President of Prussia by Leo von Caprivi.

Bismarck's diplomatic moves relied on a victorious Prussian military, and these two men gave Bismarck the victories he needed to convince the smaller German states to join Prussia.

People who are interested in astronomy should visit the Observatory Geschwister Herrschel on the Lindener Mountain or the small planetarium inside of the Bismarck School.

Otto von Bismarck remarked, upon hearing of the split at the First International, " Crowned heads, wealth and privilege may well tremble should ever again the Black and Red unite!

( Note: Bismarck was created Duke of Lauenburg in 1890 after his resignation as Chancellor of the German Empire, but this title refers to the city of Lauenburg / Elbe in present-day Germany, and should not be confused with Lębork / Lauenburg in Pomerania.

Work did not start until ten years later though, owing to various problems with purchasing the property and arguments between Wilhelm I, Otto von Bismarck, and the members of the Reichstag about how the construction should be performed.

The protests of Great Britain and Russia against the action of the German federal assembly, together with the proposal of Count Beust, on behalf of Saxony, that Bavaria should bring forward in that assembly a formal motion for the recognition of Duke Frederick's claims, helped Bismarck to persuade Austria that immediate action must be taken.

An article drafted by Austria, intended to safeguard the settlement of 1852, was replaced at Bismarck's instance by another which stated that the two powers would decide only in concert on the relations of the duchies, and that they would in no case determine the question of the succession save by mutual consent ; and Bismarck issued an ultimatum to Denmark demanding that the November Constitution should be abolished within 48 hours.

In an attempt to stop Russia from allying with France, Bismarck signed the secret Reinsurance Treaty with Russia in 1887, assuring both parties would remain neutral toward each other should war break out .‏

He organized two patrol lines to trap the Home Fleet should Bismarck lead her pursuers to them.

According to German historian Erich Eyck, Bismarck supported Russia's persuasion that " Turkish rule over a Christian community ( Bulgaria ) was an anachronism which undoubtedly gave rise to insurrection and bloodshed and should therefore be ended.

Moltke, however, was confident of beating both French and Austrians if the French should intervene, and he submitted to Bismarck his plans in case of need for war against both France and Austria.

He also ordered 828 Naval Air Squadron's Albacore torpedo bombers to Sumburgh, ready for a strike on Bismarck should she come within range, but she did not.

Bismarck himself said that the Poles who find themselves without land should " move to Morocco ".

On 16 January 1864, Bismarck issued an ultimatum to Denmark demanding that the November Constitution should be abolished within 48 hours.

Russell, for example, famously held that someone who had never met Otto von Bismarck might know of him as the first Chancellor of the German Empire, and if so, his statement that ( say ) " Bismarck was a ruthless politician " should be understood to mean " The first Chancellor of the German Empire was a ruthless politician " ( which could in turn be analysed into a series of more basic statements according to the method Russell introduced in his theory of definite descriptions ).

His motion that Baden should be included in the North German Confederation in January 1870 caused much embarrassment to Otto von Bismarck, but was not without effect in hastening the crisis of 1870.

Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, in his Lectures on the Tactics of Cavalry, recommended that every cavalry soldier should carry the equipment needed to spike guns if an encounter with enemy artillery was expected.

Bismarck, however, insisted that the question of the ultimate destination of the duchies should be left open ; and, when he backed his argument with the threat that unless Austria accepted his proposal Prussia would act alone, Rechberg gave way.