Austro-Prussian War

June 14, 1866 – July 22, 1866

Seeing the Habsburg Empire as the prime competition for influence over the German states, Prussian leader Otto von Bismarck forced a war with Austria in 1866. In a little over a month, the Habsburgs suffered a crushing defeat. With Austria on the verge of collapse, Franz Joseph I was desperate to stabilize his empire. This resulted in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which ended martial law and granted a number of the demands of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 to Hungary. In return, the formation of a more stable dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary would ensure the continuation of the Habsburg Dynasty.