872 



GERMAN-ITALIAN WAR. 



trians lost about 1,000 men and 17 pieces of 

 ordnance, while the Prussians sustained a loss 

 of about 300. The Prussians advanced slowly, 

 and did not occupy Prerau until the 17th. 

 Benedek, on the other hand, who, on the 15th, 

 had advanced on the railroad from Prerau to 

 Ilulein, now deemed it necessary to abandon 

 the railroad, retreat over Freistadtl, Holleschau, 

 Wisowitz, Slawitschin, and across the Carpathi- 

 ans to Trentschin into Hungary. From there he 

 continued his march along the Waag and through 

 Leopoldtstadt, Tyrnau and Bb'sing to Presburg, 

 where he expected to form a junction with the 

 army which the Archduke Albrecht had as- 

 sembled at Vienna. 



When the Austrian counter propositions for 

 an armistice had been rejected by the King of 

 Prussia, the advance of the three Prussian 

 armies was resumed. The Army of the Elbe 

 advanced from Znaym in the direction of Klos- 

 terneuburg, on the Danube, sending out de- 

 tachments to the right as far as Krems, and to 

 the left as far as Wilfersdorf, in order to main- 

 tain the connection with the army of Prince 

 Frederick Charles. The latter, on the 16th, oc- 

 cupied the important railroad junction of Lun- 

 denburg, and on the 19th advanced as far as 

 Ganserndorf, at the junction of the railroads 

 leading to Vienna and Presburg. It also se- 

 cured the passage over the March at Marchegg. 

 The headquarters of the King of Prussia were, 

 on the 17th of July, established at Nikolsburg. 

 On his arrival at Nikolsburg he met the French 

 ambassador, Benedetti, who was instructed by 

 his government to continue his efforts for 

 bringing about a peace. Austria now was 

 disposed more favorably toward peace, as the 

 interruption of communication between Bene- 

 dek and Archduke Albrecht, the proclamations 

 of Prussia to the Czechs of Bohemia, and the 

 movements of the Hungarian Legion under 

 Klapka, which was on the point of invading 

 Hungary, threatened new dangers. Accord- 

 ingly, the Cabinet of Vienna declared, in the 

 evening of the 21st of July, its readiness to 

 conclude an armistice of five days upon the 

 basis of the Prussian propositions, and in the 

 morning of the 22d July it was agreed that the 

 armistice was to begin on the same day at noon. 



On the 21st, the 8th division of infantry (of 

 the army of Prince Frederick Charles), which 

 had crossed the March at Goding, had ad- 

 vanced as far as Stampfen, near Presburg. On 

 the same day, the 7th division crossed at 

 Marchegg and joined the 8th. Both were 

 placed under the command of General Fran- 

 secky, who was ordered to make a reconnois- 

 sance toward, and, if feasible, an advance 

 upon Presburg. This movement was executed 

 in the morning of the 22d, when at Blumenau, 

 near Presburg, a severe engagement occurred 

 with an Austrian brigade, which was gradually 

 reenforced by all the brigades of the 2d army 

 corps. The engagement was still undecided 

 when it was terminated by the official an- 

 nouncement of the armistice. Several days 



later the garrison of the Austrian fortress of 

 Theresienstadt in Bohemia, being unacquainted 

 with the armistice, made a sortie against tho 

 Prussian troops guarding the railroad from 

 Turnau to Prague, and captured several hun- 

 dred prisoners, who were returned. 



Preliminary Peace of Nikolsburg Treaties 

 of Peace concluded at Prague, Berlin, and 

 Vienna. On the 26th the representatives of 

 Austria and Prussia agreed on a truce at Nikols- 

 burg. The definitive peace was signed at Prague 

 on the 30th of August, as follows : 



1. Peace and friendship shall prevail in future 

 and forever between the King of Prussia and the 

 Emperor of Austria, their heirs and successors, their 

 states and subjects. 



2. In order to execute article 6 of the peace pre- 

 liminaries concluded at Nikolsburg, and after the 

 Emperor of the French has officially declared at 

 Nikolsburg, upon the 29th of that month, through his 

 ambassador accredited to the King of Prussia, "that 

 Venetia, after the conclusion of peace, would be trans- 

 ferred to Italy," the Emperor of Austria also accedes 

 to this declaration, and gives his consent to the union 

 of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom with the King- 

 dom of Italy, without any other compulsory condition 

 save the liquidation of those debts which shall be 

 recognized as incumbent upon the ceded territories, 

 in accordance with the precedent of the treaty of 

 Zurich. 



3. The prisoners of war on both sides shall be at 

 once released. 



4. The Emperor of Austria recognizes the dissolu- 

 tion of the hitherto-existing Germanic Confederation, 

 and gives his consent to a new organization of Ger- 

 many, without the participation of the Austrian Em- 

 pire. His majesty equally promises to recognize the 

 closer federal relation the King of Prussia will estab- 

 lish to the north of the Main line, and declares him- 

 self agreed that the German States situated south of 

 this line shall conclude a union, the national connec- 

 tion of which with the North German Confederation 

 remains reserved for further agreement between both 

 parties, and which shall possess an international in- 

 dependent existence. 



5. The Emperor of Austria transfers to the King 

 of Prussia all his rights to the duchies of Holstein 

 and Schleswig acquired by the Vienna treaty of Oc- 

 tober 30, 1864, with the understanding that if the 

 populations of the northern districts of Schleswig 

 shall manifest by free voting the wish to be united 

 to Denmark, the 'districts in question shall be ceded 

 to Denmark. 



6. By the desire of the Emperor of Austria, the King 

 of Prussia declares himself ready to permit the prW- 

 ent territory of the Kingdom of Saxony to occupy 

 the extent it has hitherto enjoyed, reserving to him- 

 self on the other hand to determine more exactly the 

 contribution of Saxony to the cost of the war, and 

 the future position of the Kingdom of Saxony within 

 the North German Confederation by special peace 

 treaty to be concluded with the King of Saxony. On 

 the other hand, the Emperor of Austria promises to 

 recognize the new arrangements to be established by 

 the King of Prussia in North Germany, including the 

 territorial changes. 



7. In order to come to a settlement as to the prop- 

 erty of the hitherto-existing confederation a commis- 

 sion shall meet at Frankfort-on-the-Main within at 

 least six weeks after ratification of this present treaty, 

 at which all demands and claims upon the Germanic 

 Diet are to be brought forward, and liquidated within 

 six months. Prussia and Austria will send rep- 

 resentatives to this commission, and all other mem- 

 bers of the hitherto-existing confederation are at 

 libertv to do the same. 



8. Austria remains entitled to remove or otherwise 



