London Conference of 1864

The negotiations were influenced by the Prussian and Austrian victory in the Battle of Dybbøl, giving Otto von Bismarck and his delegation an advantage over their opponents.

On 28 December a motion was introduced in the Federal Assembly by Austria and Prussia, calling on the German Confederation to occupy Schleswig as a pledge for the observance by Denmark of compacts of London Protocol 1852.

[2] [3] On 12 May 1864, the conference in London led to a ceasefire, which soon broke down, as the delegations could not agree on a clear fixing of the boundaries; partitioning the Duchy of Schleswig was seen as possible.

The first step towards the realisation of that ambition was to secure the recognition of the absolute independence of the duchies, which Austria could not oppose because of the risk of forfeiting any influence among the German states.

[6] The Danish Foreign Minister, George Quaade, declared his country ready to follow “the road of peace” but had no answer from Copenhagen on the issues of the Partition Plan.

On the 24th, in view of the end of the truce, Austria and Prussia had arrived at a new agreement, the object of the war being now declared to be the complete separation of the duchies from Denmark.