Austro-Prussian War

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] (listen); "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.

Austro-Prussian War
Part of the wars of German unification and the Austria–Prussia rivalry
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 Saxe-Lauenburg Mecklenburg-Schwerin Brunswick Saxe-Coburg & Gotha Saxe-Altenburg Mecklenburg-Strelitz Oldenburg Anhalt Schwarzburg Waldeck Lippe Lübeck Bremen Hamburg Italy	Austrian-led German Confederation states  Austria  Bavaria  Saxony  Hanover  Württemberg Hesse-Kassel  Baden Hesse-Darmstadt Nassau Saxe-Meiningen Reuss-Greiz Schaumburg-Lippe 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[1]  Prussia 437,262  Italy 200,000	522,203[2]  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[3]  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[2]  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 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.