Modernization & Unification

In the late nineteenth century, Europe experienced the Second Industrial Revolution, and with it, a great deal of modernization of its industry and military forces. The Crimean War persuaded the British and other participants that old practices, such as selling military commissions and charging cavalry at fortified positions, would need to end. Seeing what Britain had achieved as an industrial power, Prussia under Bismarck embraced industrialization and took the lead in unifying Germany through "blood and iron." At the same time, Italy was undergoing a process of unification through warfare, as well.