On March 19, 1848, Frederick William IV was forced to announce the abolition of press censorship and sent diplomatic notes to the German states, calling for a joint conference of all states.
On March 23, Frederick William IV further announced that Prussia would be incorporated into Germany.
Metternich's hopes of establishing a tripartite alliance between Prussia, Austria, and Russia were shattered, and Prussia's diplomatic relations with Austria and Russia deteriorated sharply.
For Germany to unite, Austria was a hurdle that could not be bypassed. The core question was: who would be the leader?
In terms of strength, Austria seemed to be just a tiny bit stronger than Prussia. However, due to its domestic problems, it held no absolute advantage over Prussia. In terms of influence, Austria far surpassed Prussia.
Historically, Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor, had spotted this problem early on. He first used diplomacy to isolate Austria, then seized the opening left by the recently concluded Austro-French War to defeat Austria and kick it out of Germany.
Frederick William IV's actions now undoubtedly exposed Prussia's ambition to unify Germany, something Austria could not tolerate.
The Russians found it equally unacceptable. The Tsarist government did not wish to see Central Europe unified, as that would shake their continental hegemony.
Against this backdrop, Russian-Austrian relations began to warm. Franz received welcome news: Tsar Nicholas I publicly declared that he was willing to help Austria suppress the Italian Revolution.
Although this support was only verbal, and Russia would not send troops to help Austria fight the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was already enough for Franz.
Since the war against France, Europe had developed into a two-great-power order—Britain and Russia standing side by side. With Russian support, the British would not risk a full-scale war to back the Kingdom of Sardinia.
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