How important was Bismarck’s leadership in the achievement of German unification?

Have a little read: ... How important was Bismarck's leadership in the achievement of German unification? In January 1871, King William I of Prussia became Kaiser William the first of the new German empire. The creation of the empire was one of the most important developments of the nineteenth century. However, the process by which Germany came to be unified has been an area of heated historical debate ever since. There are many people and events to consider in weighing up contribution to unification, but no one man was more central to the process of unification then Otto Von Bismarck. Bismarck became chancellor of Prussia in 1962 and his main aim was to unify the 39 German states under Prussian rule. Some historians believe that Bismarck realized his goal of a Kleindeutsch German empire by taking advantage of skilful diplomacy and clever manipulation of situations that presented themselves to him between 1862 and 1871. Others believe that German unification was inevitable and that Bismarck's task was made easier by the circumstances. There are, however, many other factors before Bismarck's time and during that greatly contributed to the eventual unification of Germany in 1871. The history of Schleswig and Holstein is long and complicated as the British Prime Minister said: "Only three men have ever understood it Prince Albert who is dead. The second was a German professor who went mad. I am the third and I have forgotten. In 1863 Christian IX reformed the Danish constitution. This would join Schleswig to Denmark and draw Holstein closer. This led to an outcry from nationalists and troops were sent by the Bund to protect Holstein. Bismarck decided that this situation could be exploited for his own needs, he felt he could discredit Austria and at the same time enlarge Prussia. All that was needed was war. Bismarck persuaded the King that the best policy was to restore the London Protocol. The small German states supported the claim of the Duke of Augustenburg to the Duchies and the reasonable stand of the Prussians encouraged the Austrians to support them. In late 1863 the Prussians and the Austrians signed a military alliance and committed themselves to the Prussian policy. Prussia was not popular with the small states so had little to lose however, Austria had lost credibility as a protector of the small states. War with Denmark began on the 1st of February 1864, the Danes sued for peace in August