Austro-Prussian War

Austro-Prussian War
Part of the wars of German unification and the Austria–Prussia rivalry
An oil painting of a battlefield, with several mounted cavalry in black; an indistinct city burning on the horizon. Battle of Königgrätz, by Georg Bleibtreu. Oil on canvas, 1869
Date 14 June – 22 July 1866 (1 month and 8 days) Location Bohemia, present-day Germany, Italy, and Adriatic Sea Result Prussian-led German states and Italian victory Dissolution of the German Confederation Formation of the North German Confederation Exclusion of Austria and Liechtenstein from unified Germany Formation of Austria-Hungary Territorial changes Prussia annexes Hanover, Holstein, Schleswig, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, Frankfurt and fringe possessions of Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt Italy completely annexes Venetia and part of Friuli
Belligerents
Prussian-led German states Prussia File:Flag of Lauenburg.svg Saxe-Lauenburg File:Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg Mecklenburg-Schwerin Brunswick File:Flagge Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (1911-1920).svg Saxe-Coburg & Gotha File:Flagge Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (1826-1911).svg Saxe-Altenburg File:Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg Mecklenburg-Strelitz File:Flag of Oldenburg (Scandinavian Cross).svg Oldenburg File:Flagge Herzogtum Anhalt.svg Anhalt File:Flagge Fürstentümer Schwarzburg.svg Schwarzburg File:Flag of Germany.svg Waldeck File:Flagge Fürstentum Lippe.svg Lippe File:Flag of the Free City of Lübeck.svg Lübeck File:Flag of Bremen (middle arms).svg Bremen File:Flag of Hamburg.svg Hamburg Italy	File:Flag of the German Confederation (war).svg Austrian-led German Confederation states Austria Bavaria Saxony Hanover Württemberg Hesse-Kassel Baden File:Flagge Großherzogtum Hessen ohne Wappen.svg Hesse-Darmstadt File:Flagge Herzogtum Nassau (1806-1866).svg Nassau File:Flag of Saxe-Meiningen (1826).svg Saxe-Meiningen File:Flagge Fürstentum Reuß ältere Linie.svg Reuss-Greiz File:Flagge Fürstentum Schaumburg-Lippe.svg Schaumburg-Lippe File:Flagge der Freien Stadt Frankfurt.png Frankfurt Liechtenstein
Commanders and leaders
Wilhelm I Otto von Bismarck Helmuth von Moltke Albrecht von Roon Victor Emmanuel II Alfonso La Marmora Giuseppe Garibaldi	Franz Joseph I Albrecht von Teschen Ludwig von Benedek Wilhelm von Tegetthoff Ludwig II Prince Karl Theodor Crown Prince Albert
Strength
637,262 Prussia 437,262 Italy 200,000	522,203 Austria 407,223 Bavaria 38,000 Saxony 26,500 Hesse 20,000 Hanover 18,400 Württemberg 7,000 Baden 5,000 Liechtenstein 80
Casualties and losses
Total: 39,990 Prussia: 28,793 4,454 battle deaths 6,427 disease deaths 16,217 wounded 785 missing 910 captured Italy: 11,197 1,633 battle deaths 3,926 wounded 553 missing 5,085 captured	Total: 132,414 Austria: 106,796 9,123 battle deaths 18,952 disease deaths 35,236 wounded 12,365 missing 31,120 captured Hanover: 17,693 379 battle deaths 1,051 wounded 16,263 captured or missing Bavaria: 3,840 348 battle deaths 2,095 wounded 1,397 captured or missing Saxony: 2,094 241 battle deaths 1,273 wounded 580 captured or missing Hesse: 1,078 88 battle deaths 444 wounded 546 captured or missing Württemberg: 717 67 battle deaths 452 wounded 198 captured or missing Baden: 196 24 battle deaths 115 wounded 57 captured or missing

The Austro-Prussian War (also known by many other names like the Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as Deutscher Krieg ("German War"), Deutscher Bruderkrieg (pronounced [ˌdɔʏtʃɐ ˈbʁuːdɐkʁiːk] (); "German war of brothers")) was a war fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Each side was helped by many allies in the German Confederation. Prussia had also allied with the Kingdom of Italy. This connected the conflict to the Third Independence War of Italian unification. The Austro-Prussian War was part of the rivalry between Austria and Prussia. It ended with Prussian control over the German states.

The biggest result of the war was a change in power over the German states away from Austrian and towards Prussian hegemony. The German Confederation was ended and replaced by the North German Confederation. Italy also took the Austrian province of Venetia after the war.

The war started when Prussian troops invaded Schleswig-Holstein. The region had been disputed between Prussia and Austria ever since it was taken by them from Denmark. Prussia then invaded Hanover, Saxony, and the Electorate of Hesse on 15 June. Italy declared war on Austria on 20 June.