ABSTRACT
The German wars of unification in 1864, 1866 and 1870-71 were of world historical significance. In terms of military history the wars represented a watershed in the process of change affecting the scope and nature of cabinet warfare between the European powers. The change from 'cabinet war' to industrialised 'people's war' which had been on the horizon since the Crimean War, was all but completed in the Franco-Prussian War. Even the military achievements of the Napoleonic Wars were undone again: conscript armies were replaced by small, professional armies with long-serving troops and an aristocratic officer corps. In the end Helmuth von Moltke's predictions proved to be remarkably correct: the people's war of 1914–18 destabilised domestic and international order throughout Europe beyond repair and even the victorious powers did not reap many rewards from their all too dearly purchased success.
