Bismarck’s next step, however, was more controversial. The war against Denmark had introduced yet another geopolitical anomaly into north Germany in the form of Austria’s administration of the southern Duchy of Holstein, agreed with Prussia in the Gastein Convention of 1865. It was in Prussia’s interest to incorporate it into its own territory along with Schleswig, and Bismarck saw in the continuing disputes between the two states over the administration of the Duchies the opportunity for launching a war against Austria that would finally lead to the expulsion of the Habsburgs from Germany.
