anders
charges the column of the Uhlans. The Austrians before are broken, and
falling into rout. Far to the left and in the distance may be seen the
half-obscured wrecks of battle.

This conflict proved to be the Waterloo of Austria. It was the climax
of the Seven Weeks' War. Already the Germans, under the leadership of
Prussia, were making haste toward empire. The activity and energy
displayed by the Prussian Government at this juncture were prodigious.
It was like the days of Frederick the Great come again. The trouble
with Austria had arisen about the claims of the Duke of Augustenburg
to the government of Holstein. Bismarck desired that that duchy should
be disposed of in one manner, while Austria was determined on another.

The German States were drawn into this controversy, and the support of
Italy was sought by each of the contestants. Prussia held out to
Italy the temptation of recovering Venice, as the reward of her
entrance into a Prusso-Italian alliance. This bait was sufficient. The
smaller German powers, with the exception of Oldenburg, Mecklenburg,
the Saxon States, and three Free Cities, took their stand with
Austria, and the German Diet approved of the Austrian demand. It
looked for the time as though Prussia, with the exception of the aid
of Italy, was to be left naked to all the winds of hostility. The
event showed, however, that that great power was now in her element.
She declared the action of the German Diet to be not only a menace,
but an act of overt hostilities. This was followed by an immediate
declaration of war against a foe that had nearly three times her
numerical strength.

On the fifteenth of June, 1866, King William called upon Saxony,
Hanover, Hesse-Cassel and Nassau to remain neutral in the impending
conflict, and gave them _twelve hours_ in which to decide! Receiving
no answer, he ordered the Prussians out of Holstein to seize Hanover.
This work was accomplished in two days. In another two days
Hesse-Cassel was occupied by an army from the Rhine, while at the same
time a third division of the Prussian forces was thrown into Dresden
and Leipsic. On the twenty-seventh of the month, a battle was fought
with the Hanoverians, in which the latter were at first successful,
but were soon overpowered and compelled to surrender. George V., King
of Hanover, fled for refuge to Vienna.

Within two weeks the field in the South was cleared, and the Prussian
army was turned upon Austria. King Wi