Part 8/10:
Post-war, Schleswig and Holstein became sources of contention rather than reconciliation. Bismarck capitalized on the discontent, recognizing that unity could only be fully realized through assertive military action. His strategic maneuvering during the years following the Danish War ultimately led to the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, which resolved the tension over the unification of Germany.
The unification of Germany under Prussian leadership, cemented in the grand Halls of Versailles, was a dramatic culmination of the ambitions Bismarck had harbored since the conflict began, and it was achieved through bloodshed and political shrewdness.