Austro-Prussian War
The pretext for the conflict was found in the dispute between Prussia and Austria over the administration of Schleswig-Holstein, which the two of them had conquered from Denmark and agreed to jointly occupy at the end of the Second Schleswig War in 1864. When Austria brought the dispute before the German Diet and also decided to convene the Diet of Holstein, Prussia declared that the Gastein Convention had thereby been nullified and invaded Holstein. When the German Diet responded by voting for a partial mobilization against Prussia, Bismarck claimed that the German Confederation was ended. Crown Prince Frederick "was the only member of the Prussian Crown Council to uphold the rights of the Duke of Augustenburg and oppose the idea of a war with Austria which he described as "fratricide"". Although he supported unification and the restoration of the medieval empire, "Fritz could not accept that war was the right way to unite Germany."
War of the Austrian Succession
Prussia in 1740 was an emerging power, a small but well-organized state whose new king, Frederick II, wanted to unify the disparate and scattered holdings of his crown by gathering intervening lands into a unified, contiguous state. Prince Frederick was 28 years old when he ascended to the throne on 31 May 1740 upon the death of his father, Frederick William I. Although Prussia and Austria had been allies in the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1738), concluded only two years before, the interests of the two countries diverged when the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI, died on 20 October 1740. Neither Frederick nor his father had ever been fond of Austria and its various snubs against Prussia (such as offering them the duchies of Julich and Berg in return for an alliance, only to renege later).