[4] The Austrian empire, Prussia's rival for the ascendency in German affairs, was paralyzed as revolts had broken out against the House of Habsburg in Prague, Milan, Buda, Krakow, and in Vienna itself.

In Berlin, the foreign policy decision-making was described as "chaotic" with the weak and indecisive King Fredrich Wilhelm IV receiving conflicting advice from rival groups of advisers about what to do.

[6] In addition, the chaos of the revolution of 1848 was felt to offer a unique opportunity to create a greater Prussia by seizing territory, all the more as France was unable to act.

[6] Joseph von Radowitz, the king's most trusted adviser, wrote in his diary: "The present political-military crisis cannot drag on, it must come to a rapid conclusion".

[6] Radowitz was prepared to support a war provided it would be brought to a victorious conclusion swiftly, which would allow Prussia to present the other European powers with a fait accompli.

[6] Knowing of the intense Russian opposition to Prussia controlling the Danish straits, Radowitz advised the king to limit the war to the two duchies and not allow Prussian troops to enter Jutland, which he predicted would lead to "unforeseeable consequences" as it was likely that Russia would intervene.

[6] The Prussian Foreign Minister Heinrich Alexander von Arnim supported war, believing that Prussia could occupy the two duchies within eight days, leaving Britain and Russia no time to react.

[8] Schleswig-Holsteinian Prince Frederik of Noer took the 5th "Lauenburger" Rifle Corps (Jägerkorps) and some students of Kiel university to take over the fortress of Rendsburg in Schleswig-Holstein.

When Noer's force arrived, they found that the gates to the fortress had been left open for an unknown reason and promptly walked in, surprising the would-be defenders.

Danish officers who had been serving in the defence of the fortress were allowed to leave for Denmark on the assurance that they did not fight against Schleswig-Holstein in the coming war.

[1] Wishing to defeat Denmark before German troops arrived to support them, 7,000 Schleswig-Holstein volunteers under General Krohn occupied Flensborg on 31 March.

Sweden landed 7,000 troops on the island of Fyn opposite Jutland to assist the Danes, and Nicholas I of Russia, speaking with authority as head of the senior Gottorp line, pointed out to Frederick William IV of Prussia the risks of a collision.

The Russian ambassador in Berlin, Baron Peter von Meyendorff, delivered a note to King Fredrich Wilhelm stating that Russia regarded the advance of the Prussian troops towards Jutland as an extremely unfriendly act as the note stated: "The invasion, intended for Jutland, seriously injuries the interests of all the powers bordering on the Baltic, and stretches to the breaking point the political equilibrium throughout the north which was established in the treaties".

[12] To reinforce the point, the empress of Russia wrote to her brother, King Fredrich Wilhelm, saying: "It is your troops who have grabbed the weak Denmark with their superior force.

[12] Nicholas ordered Russia to mobilise, sent a squadron of the Russian Baltic fleet to Danish waters as a show of support, and politely told his brother-in-law he was willing to risk war over the issue.

After painful hesitation, Frederick William chose what seemed the lesser of two evils, and, on 26 August, Prussia signed a convention at Malmö which yielded to practically all the Danish demands.

In April 1850, Prussia, which had pulled out of the war after the treaty of Malmö,[clarification needed] proposed a definitive peace on the basis of the status quo ante bellum and postponement of all questions as to mutual rights.

Accordingly, the duchies of Schleswig (a Danish fief), and Holstein and Lauenburg (sovereign states within the German Confederation) were joined by personal union with the King of Denmark.

For this purpose, the line of succession to the duchies was modified, because Frederick VII of Denmark remained childless and hence a change in dynasty was in order.

[14] Only twelve years passed before the Second Schleswig War in 1864 resulted in the king of Denmark transferring the disputed duchies to Austria and Prussia.