To what extent did Otto Von Bismarck plan ahead with his foreign policy.

Otto Von Bismarck came from a family of junkers in Brandenburg. He was sent away to a Berlin university when young and this helped shape his political views. In 1862 he became the Prussian chancellor and he had big plans for his country. He intended to unite Germany under Prussian rule while stopping any liberal advances at the same time. He hated liberalism, democracy and socialism. Bismarck believed that he could achieve his goals by controlling …

…Bismarck had a strategy to achieve his aims and was an opportunist who seized his chances. He clearly had his eye on the big picture but was lucky that the circumstances arose that allowed him to succeed. In later life Bismarck declared "man cannot create the current of events. He can only float with it and steer." This is exactly what Bismarck did, he watched as events unfolded and used them to the greatest advantage.