In 1870 sensitive diplomatic exchanges between France and Prussia were taking place. The Ems Dispatch was a diplomatic document prepared for sending to the French government. On reading it, Prince Otto von Bismarck became convinced that war could only be avoided at the cost of the honour of Prussia. He was equally convinced that war with the French would advance his plans for a unified German State. He deleted certain words and phrases, and then published the telegram. Negotiations ceased, and the two countries went to war.

Bismarck, rightly, asserted that he had not added to the telegram. He did not mention that he had removed important phrases. The difference in the two versions was that the original gave room for negotiations to continue, whereas the published version made it appear that a final, aggressive, decision had been arrived at. One of the Prussian generals commented: "Now it has a different ring; in its original form it sounded like a parley; now it is like a flourish in answer to a challenge".

At this distance we can only speculate on what difference it might have made if the Ems Dispatch had not been altered. Would German unification have proceeded? Would it have continued at the same pace? Would Bismarck have become the first Chancellor of this new State? Would subsequent events which resulted in the First and Second World Wars, have proceeded in the way that they did, at the time that they did - if at all?

This whole incident could not have happened were it not that the telegraph had been developed and was now in general use between embassies. For centuries diplomatic messages had had to be physically carried by messenger, sometimes travelling on foot; sometimes on horseback; and sometimes by ship. It is my view that the time involved in delivering these messages and their replies gave those in authority more time to think. It provided the opportunity to resist an immediate reaction and possibly stampede them into decisions which would make the situation worse.