Download Franco-Prussian War

Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870[1] (19 July
1870 – 10 May 1871), was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was
aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden,
Württemberg and Bavaria. The complete Prussian and German victory brought about the final unification of
Germany under King Wilhelm I of Prussia. It also marked the downfall of Napoleon III and the end of the Second
French Empire, which was replaced by the French Third Republic. As part of the settlement, the territory of Alsace
and part of Lorraine was taken by Prussia to become a part of Germany, and it remained so until the end of World
War I when it was returned to France in the Treaty of Versailles.
The conflict was a culmination of years of tension between the two nations, which finally came to a head over the
issue of a Hohenzollern candidate for the vacant Spanish throne, following the deposition of Isabella II in 1868. The
public release of the Ems Dispatch, which played up alleged insults between the Prussian king and the French
ambassador, inflamed public opinion on both sides. France mobilized, and on 19 July 1870 declared war on Prussia
only, but the other German states quickly joined on Prussia's side.
It soon became evident that the Prussian and German forces were superior, due in part to their efficient use of
railways and the better Krupp steel artillery. Prussia had the fourth densest rail network in the world; France had the
fifth.[2] A series of swift Prussian and German victories in eastern France culminated in the Battle of Sedan, at which
Napoleon III was captured with his whole army on 2 September. Yet this did not end the war, as the Third Republic
was declared in Paris on 4 September 1870, and French resistance continued under the Government of National
Defence and later Adolphe Thiers.
Over a five-month campaign, the German armies defeated the newly recruited French armies in a series of battles
fought across northern France. Following a prolonged siege, Paris fell on 28 January 1871. The siege is also notable
for the first use of anti-aircraft artillery, a Krupp piece built specifically to shoot down the hot air balloons being
used by the French as couriers. Ten days earlier, the German states had proclaimed their union under the Prussian
king, uniting Germany as a nation-state, the German Empire. The final Treaty of Frankfurt was signed 10 May 1871,
during the time of the Paris Commune uprising of 1871.
Causes
The causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the balance of power in Europe
after the Napoleonic Wars. France and Prussia had been combatants, with France on the losing side and Napoleon I
exiled to St. Helena. The war was increasingly likely as France would not tolerate its gradual loss of status and
geopolitical advantage due to Prussia's increasing influence in Germany. As Otto von Bismarck noted, after being
forced to resign from the role of Chancellor, "I knew that a Franco-Prussian War must take place before a united
Germany was formed."[3] French Emperor Napoleon III and Prime Minister Émile Ollivier's eagerness to relieve
France from internal political convulsions also contributed to France's declaration of war on Prussia.[4]
In addition, Otto von Bismarck goaded the French into declaring war by altering a telegram sent by William I.
Releasing the Ems Telegram to the public, Bismarck made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a
demeaning fashion. Six days later, France declared war on Prussia.
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Franco-Prussian War
Opposing forces
The French Army comprised approximately 400,000 regular soldiers, some of them veterans of previous French
campaigns in the Crimean War, Algeria, the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Franco-Mexican War. The
infantry were equipped with the breech-loading Chassepot rifle, one of the most modern mass-produced firearms in
the world at the time. With a rubber ring seal and a smaller bullet, the Chassepot had a maximum effective range of
some 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) with a short reload time. The artillery was equipped with rifled, muzzle-loaded Lahitte
"4-pounder" (actual weight of shot: 4 kg/8.8 lb) guns. In addition, the army was equipped with a precursor to the
machine-gun: the mitrailleuse, which could unleash significant, concentrated firepower, with a weakness of having
short range and relative immobility and thus prone to being easily overrun. The mitrailleuse was mounted on an
artillery gun carriage and grouped in batteries in a similar fashion to cannon. The army was nominally led by
Napoleon III with Marshals Francois Achille Bazaine, Patrice de Mac-Mahon, and Jules Trochu among others.
The Prussian Army was composed not of regulars but conscripts. Service was compulsory for all of the men of
military age, and thus Prussia and its North and South German allies could mobilise and field some 1.2 million
soldiers in time of war. The sheer number of soldiers available made mass-encirclement and destruction of enemy
formations advantageous. The army was still equipped with the "needle-gun" Dreyse rifle of Battle of Königgrätz
fame, which was by this time showing the age of its 25 year old design. The deficiencies of the needle-gun were
more than compensated for by the famous Krupp 6-pounder (3 kg) steel breech-loading cannons being issued to
Prussian artillery batteries. Firing a contact-detonated shell filled with zinc balls and explosives, the Krupp gun had a
range of 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) and blistering rate of fire compared to the French bronze muzzle loading cannon.
The Prussian army was commanded by Field-Marshal Helmuth von Moltke and the Prussian General Staff. The
Prussian army was unique in Europe for having the only General Staff in existence, whose sole purpose was to direct
operational movement, organise logistics and communications and develop the overall war strategy. In practice, a
chief of staff was a much more important figure in the Prussian Army than in any other army, because he had the
right to appeal against his superior to the commander of the next highest formation. Thus, for example, the Crown
Prince was unable to contradict the advice of his Chief of Staff, General Leonhard, Count von Blumenthal, for fear
of a direct appeal (in this case) to his father, the King.
Given that France maintained a strong standing army, and that Prussia and the other German states would need
weeks to mobilise their conscript armies, the French held the initial advantage of troop numbers and experience.
French tactics emphasised the defensive use of the Chassepot rifle in trench-warfare style fighting; German tactics
emphasised encirclement battles and using artillery offensively whenever possible.
Summary of military events
German mobilization contrasted with confusion and delay on the French side. Germany was able to deliver 380,000
troops to the forward zone within 18 days of the start of July 14 mobilization, while many French units reached the
front either late or with inadequate supplies. The German and French armies that then confronted each other were
both grouped into right and left wings. After suffering a check at the Battle of Wörth on August 6, 1870, the
commander of the French right (south) wing, Marshal Patrice MacMahon, retreated westward. That same day, about
40 miles (64 km) to the northwest, the commander of the French left wing, Marshal Achille Bazaine, was dislodged
from near Saarbrücken and fell back westward to the fortress of Metz. His further retreat was checked by the German
right wing in two blundering battles on August 16 and 18, respectively (the Battles of Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte),
and he then took refuge behind the defenses of Metz until forced by starvation to surrender on October 29.
The French right wing, commanded by MacMahon and accompanied by Napoleon III himself, attempted to relieve
Bazaine but was itself surrounded and trapped by the Germans in the disastrous Battle of Sedan on August 31.
Encircled, the 83,000 French troops with Napoleon III and MacMahon surrendered on September 2. Since Bazaine's
army was still bottled up in Metz, the result of the war was virtually decided by this surrender. French resistance was
carried on against desperate odds by a new government of national defense, which assumed power in Paris on
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Franco-Prussian War
3
September 4, 1870, and proclaimed the deposition of the emperor and the establishment of the Third Republic. On
September 19 the Germans began to besiege Paris. Jules Favre, foreign minister in the new government, went to
negotiate with Bismarck, but the negotiations were broken off when he found that Germany demanded both Alsace
and Lorraine regions. Léon Gambetta, the leading figure in the provisional government, organized new French
armies in the countryside after escaping from besieged Paris in a balloon. These engaged but could not defeat the
German forces. Bazaine capitulated at Metz with his 140,000 troops intact on October 27, and Paris surrendered on
January 28, 1871.
French Army incursion
Preparations for the offensive
On 28 July 1870 Napoleon III left Paris for Metz and
assumed command of the newly titled Army of the
Rhine, some 202,448 strong and expected to grow as
the French mobilization progressed.[5] Marshal
MacMahon took command of I Corps (4 infantry
divisions) near Wissembourg, Marshal François
Canrobert brought VI Corps (4 infantry divisions) to
Châlons-sur-Marne in northern France as a reserve and
to guard against a Prussian advance through Belgium.
A pre-war plan laid out by the late Marshal Adolphe
Niel called for a strong French offensive from
Thionville towards Trier and into the Prussian
Rhineland. This plan was discarded in favour of a
Map of German and French armies near their common border on 31
defensive plan by Generals Charles Frossard and
July 1870
Bartélemy Lebrun, which called for the Army of the
Rhine to remain in a defensive posture near the German
border and repel any Prussian offensive. As Austria along with Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden were expected to
join in a revenge war against Prussia, I Corps would invade the Bavarian Palatinate and proceed to "free" the South
German states in concert with Austro-Hungarian forces. VI Corps would reinforce either army as needed.[6]
Unfortunately for General Frossard's plan, the Prussian army was mobilizing far more rapidly than expected. The
Austro-Hungarians, still smarting after their defeat by Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War, were treading carefully
before stating that they would only commit to France's cause if the southern Germans viewed the French positively.
This did not materialize as the South German states had come to Prussia's aid and were mobilizing their armies
against France.[7]
Franco-Prussian War
Occupation of Saarbrücken
Napoleon III was under immense domestic pressure to launch an
offensive before the full might of Moltke's forces was mobilized and
deployed. Reconnaissance by General Frossard had identified only the
Prussian 16th Infantry Division guarding the border town of
Saarbrücken, right before the entire Army of the Rhine. Accordingly,
on 31 July the Army marched forward toward the Saar River to seize
Saarbrücken.[8]
General Frossard's II Corps and Marshal Bazaine's III Corps crossed
the German border on 2 August, and began to force the Prussian 40th
French Lancers and Cuirassiers guarding captured
Regiment of the 16th Infantry Division from the town of Saarbrücken
Bavarian soldiers
with a series of direct attacks. The Chassepot rifle proved its worth
against the Dreyse rifle, with French riflemen regularly outdistancing their Prussian counterparts in the skirmishing
around Saarbrücken. However the Prussians resisted strongly, and the French suffered 86 casualties to the Prussian
83 casualties. Saarbrücken also proved to be a major obstacle in terms of logistics. Only one railway there led to the
German hinterland but could be easily defended by a single force, and the only river systems in the region ran along
the border instead of inland.[9] While the French hailed the invasion as the first step towards the Rhineland and later
Berlin, General Le Bœuf and Napoleon III were receiving alarming reports from foreign news sources of Prussian
and Bavarian armies massing to the southeast in addition to the forces to the north and northeast.[10]
Moltke had indeed massed three armies in the area—the Prussian First Army with 50,000 men, commanded by
General Karl Von Steinmetz opposite Saarlouis, the Prussian Second Army with 134,000 men commanded by Prince
Friedrich Karl opposite the line Forbach–Spicheren, and the Prussian Third Army with 120,000 men commanded by
Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, poised to cross the border at Wissembourg.[11]
Prussian Army advance
Battle of Wissembourg
Upon learning from captured Prussian soldiers and a local area police
chief that the Second Army was just 30 miles (48 km) from
Saarbrücken near the town of Wissembourg, General Le Bœuf and
Napoleon III decided to retreat to defensive positions. General
Frossard, without instructions, hastily withdrew the elements of Army
of the Rhine in Saarbrücken back to Spicheren and Forbach.[12]
Marshal MacMahon, now closest to Wissembourg, left his four
divisions spread 20 miles (32 km) apart in diameter to react to any
Prussian invasion. This organization of forces was due to a lack of
French soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War
1870–71
supplies, forcing each division to seek out basic provisions along with
the representatives of the army supply arm that was supposed to aid
them. What made a bad situation much worse was the conduct of General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot, commander of
MacMahon's 1st Division. He told General Abel Douay, commander of MacMahon's 2nd Division, on 1 August that
"The information I have received makes me suppose that the enemy has no considerable forces very near his
advance posts, and has no desire to take the offensive".[13] Two days later, he told MacMahon that he had not found
"a single enemy post [...] it looks to me as if the menace of the Bavarians is simply bluff". Even though Ducrot
shrugged off the possibility of an attack by the Germans, MacMahon still tried to warn the other divisions of his
army, without success.[14]
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Franco-Prussian War
The first action of the Franco-Prussian War took place on 4 August 1870. This battle saw the unsupported division of
General Douay of I Corps, with some attached cavalry, which was posted to watch the border, attacked in
overwhelming but poorly coordinated fashion by the German 3rd Army. As the day wore on, elements of one
Bavarian and two Prussian Corps became embroiled in the fight, and were aided by Prussian artillery which blasted
holes in the defenses of the town. Douay held a very strong position initially thanks to the accurate long range fire of
the Chassepots, but his force was too thinly stretched to hold it. Douay was killed in the late morning when a caisson
of the divisional mitrailleuse battery exploded near him. No matter who took his place, the encirclement of the town
by the enemy had put the entire division in peril.[15]
The fighting within the town had become extremely intense, becoming a door to door battle of survival. Despite a
never-ending attack of Prussian infantry, the soldiers of the 2nd Division kept to their positions.The people of the
town of Wissembourg finally surrendered to the Germans. Those who did not surrender retreated westward, leaving
behind 1,000 captured men and all of their remaining ammunition.[16] The Prussians seemed poised to capitalize on
these happenings, and the French appeared still woefully unaware of the now forming Prussian juggernaut.
Battle of Spicheren
The Battle of Spicheren, on 5 August, was the second
of three critical French defeats. Moltke had originally
planned to keep Bazaine's army on the Saar River until
he could attack it with the 2nd Army in front and the
1st Army on its left flank, while the 3rd Army closed
towards the rear. The aging General Karl Von
Steinmetz made an overzealous, unplanned move,
leading the 1st Army south from his position on the
Moselle. He moved straight toward the town of
Spicheren, cutting off Prince Frederick Charles from
his forward cavalry units in the process.[17]
On the French side, planning after the disaster at
Wissembourg had become essential. General Le Bœuf,
Map of Prussian and German offensive, 5 August and 6 August 1870
flushed with anger, was intent upon going on the
offensive over the Saar and countering their loss.
However, planning for the next encounter was more based upon the reality of unfolding events rather than emotion
or pride, as Intendant General Wolff told him and his staff that supply beyond the Saar would be impossible.
Therefore, the armies of France would take up a defensive position that would protect against every possible attack
point, but also left the armies unable to support each other.[18]
While the French army under General MacMahon engaged the German 3rd Army at the Battle of Wörth, the German
1st Army under Steinmetz finished their advance west from Saarbrücken. A patrol from the German 2nd Army under
Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia spotted decoy fires close and Frossard's army farther off on a distant plateau south of
the town of Spicheren, and took this as a sign of Frossard's retreat. Ignoring Moltke's plan again, both German
armies attacked Frossard's French 2nd Corps, fortified between Spicheren and Forbach.[19]
The French were unaware of their numerical superiority at the beginning of the battle as the German 2nd Army did
not attack all at once. Treating the oncoming attacks as merely skirmishes, Frossard did not request additional
support from other units. By the time he realized what kind of a force he was opposing, it was too late. Seriously
flawed communications between Frossard and those in reserve under Bazaine slowed down so much that by the time
the reserves received orders to move out to Spicheren, German soldiers from the 1st and 2nd armies had charged up
the heights.[20] Because the reserves had not arrived, Frossard erroneously believed that he was in grave danger of
being outflanked as German soldiers under General von Glume were spotted in Forbach. Instead of continuing to
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Franco-Prussian War
defend the heights, by the close of battle after dusk he retreated to the south. The German casualties were relatively
high due to the advance and the effectiveness of the chassepot rifle. They were quite startled in the morning when
they had found out that their efforts were not in vain–Frossard had abandoned his position on the heights.[21]
Battle of Wörth (known also as Fröschwiller or Reichshoffen)
The two armies clashed again two days
later on 6 August 1870 near Wörth in
the town of Fröschwiller, less than ten
miles (16 km) from Wissembourg. The
German 3rd army had drawn
reinforcements which brought its
strength up to 140,000 troops. The
French had also been reinforced, but
their recruitment was slow, and their
force numbered only 35,000. Although
badly outnumbered, the French
defended their position just outside
Fröschwiller. By afternoon, both sides
had suffered about 10,000 casualties,
Aimé Morot's La bataille de Reichshoffen, 1887
and the French army was too battered
to continue resisting. To make matters
even more dire for the French, the Germans had taken the town of Fröschwiller which sat on a hilltop in the centre of
the French line. Having lost any hope for victory and facing a massacre, the French army disengaged and retreated in
a westerly direction, hoping to join other French forces on the other side of the Vosges mountains. The German 3rd
army did not pursue the withdrawing French. It remained in Alsace and moved slowly south, attacking and
destroying the French defensive garrisons in the vicinity.
The battle of Wörth was the first major battle of the Franco-German war, with more than 100,000 troops in the
battlefield. It was also one of the first clashes where troops from various German states (Prussians, Badeners,
Bavarians, Saxons, etc.) fought jointly. These facts have led some historians to call the battlefield of Wörth the
"cradle of Germany". It was not without cost, however, as Prussia lost 10,500 to death or wounds. MacMahon's
situation was even more dire, as French casualties reached 19,200 killed, wounded or captured.[22]
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Franco-Prussian War
7
Battle of Mars-La-Tour
With the Prussian army now
steamrolling, 130,000 French soldiers
were bottled up in the fortress of Metz
following several defeats at the front.
Their attempt to leave Metz in order to
link up with French forces at Châlons
was spotted by a Prussian cavalry
patrol under Major Oskar von
Blumenthal. Four days after their
retreat, on 16 August a grossly
outnumbered Prussian force of 30,000
men of III Corps (of the 2nd Army)
under General Konstantin von
Alvensleben, found the French Army
near Vionville, east of Mars-la-Tour.
The Prussian 7th Cuirassiers charge the French guns at the Battle of Mars-La-Tour, 16
August 1870.
Despite odds of four to one, the III
Corps launched a risky attack. The French were routed and the III Corps captured Vionville, blocking any further
escape attempts to the west. Once blocked from retreat, the French in the fortress of Metz had no choice but to
engage in a fight that would see the last major cavalry engagement in Western Europe. The battle soon erupted, and
III Corps was shattered by incessant cavalry charges, losing over half its soldiers. Meanwhile, French suffered
equivalent losses of 16,000 soldiers, but still enjoyed huge numerical superiority.
On 16 August, the French had a chance to sweep away the key Prussian defense, and to escape. Two Prussian corps
attacked the French advanced guard thinking that it was the rearguard of the retreat of the French Army of the
Meuse. Despite this misjudgment the two Prussian corps held the entire French army for the whole day.
Outnumbered 5 to 1, the extraordinary élan of the Prussians prevailed over gross indecision by the French. The
French had lost the opportunity to win a decisive victory.[23]
Battle of Gravelotte
The Battle of Gravelotte, or Gravelotte-St. Privat, was the largest battle during the Franco-Prussian War. It was
fought about six miles (10 km) west of Metz, Lorraine, France where on the previous day, having intercepted the
French army's retreat to the west at the Battle of Mars-La-Tour, the Prussians were now closing in to complete the
destruction of the French forces.
The combined German forces, under Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke, were the Prussian First and Second
Armies of the North German Confederation numbering about 210 infantry battalions, 133 cavalry squadrons, and
732 heavy cannon totaling 188,332 officers and men. The French Army of the Rhine, commanded by Marshal
François-Achille Bazaine, numbering about 183 infantry battalions, 104 cavalry squadrons, backed by 520 heavy
cannon, totaling 112,800 officers and men, dug in along high ground with their southern left flank at the town of
Rozerieulles, and their northern right flank at St. Privat.
On 18 August, the battle began when at 08:00 Moltke ordered the First and Second Armies to advance against the
French positions. By 12:00, General Manstein opened up the battle before the village of Amanvillers with artillery
from the 25th Infantry Division. But the French had spent the night and early morning digging trenches and rifle pits
while placing their artillery and their mitrailleuses in concealed positions. Finally aware of the Prussian advance, the
French opened up a massive return fire against the mass of advancing Germans. The battle at first appeared to favor
the French with their superior Chassepot rifle. However, the Prussian artillery was superior with the all-steel Krupp
Franco-Prussian War
8
breech-loading gun.
Juliusz Kossak, Battle of Gravelotte, depicting the Prussians at Gravelotte, 1871
By 14:30, General Steinmetz, the
commander of the First Army,
unilaterally launched his VIII Corps
across the Mance Ravine in which the
Prussian infantry were soon pinned
down by murderous rifle and
mitrailleuse fire from the French
positions. At 15:00, the massed guns of
the VII and VIII Corps opened fire to
support the attack. But by 16:00, with
the attack in danger of stalling,
Steinmetz ordered the VII Corps
forward, followed by the 1st Cavalry
Division.
By 16:50, with the Prussian southern attacks in danger of breaking up, the Prussian 3rd Guards Infantry Brigade of
the Second Army opened an attack against the French positions at St. Privat which were commanded by General
Canrobert. At 17:15, the Prussian 4th Guards Infantry Brigade joined the advance followed at 17:45 by the Prussian
1st Guards Infantry Brigade. All of the Prussian Guard attacks were pinned down by lethal French gunfire from the
rifle pits and trenches. At 18:15 the Prussian 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade, the last of the 1st Guards Infantry
Division, was committed to the attack on St. Privat while Steinmetz committed the last of the reserves of the First
Army across the Mance Ravine. By 18:30, a considerable portion of the VII and VIII Corps disengaged from the
fighting and withdrew towards the Prussian positions at Rezonville.
With the defeat of the First Army, Prince Frederick Charles ordered a massed artillery attack against Canrobert's
position at St. Privat to prevent the Guards attack from failing too. At 19:00 the 3rd Division of Fransecky's II Corps
of the Second Army advanced across Ravine while the XII Corps cleared out the nearby town of Roncourt and with
the survivors of the 1st Guards Infantry Division launched a fresh attack against the ruins of St. Privat. At 20:00, the
arrival of the Prussian 4th Infantry Division of the II Corps and with the Prussian right flank on Mance Ravine, the
line stabilised. By then, the Prussians of the 1st Guards Infantry Division and the XII and II Corps captured St. Privat
forcing the decimated French forces to withdraw. With the Prussians exhausted from the fighting, the French were
now able to mount a counter-attack. General Bourbaki, however, refused to commit the reserves of the French Old
Guard to the battle because, by that time, he considered the overall situation a 'defeat'.
By 22:00, firing largely died down across the battlefield for the night. The next morning, the French Army of the
Rhine, rather than resume the battle with an attack of its own against the battle-weary German armies, retreated to
Metz where they were besieged and forced to surrender two months later.
The casualties were horrible, especially for the attacking Prussian forces. A grand total of 20,163 German troops
were killed, wounded or missing in action during the August 18 battle. The French losses were 7,855 killed and
wounded along with 4,420 prisoners of war (half of them were wounded) for a total of 12,275. While most of the
Prussians fell under the French Chassepot rifles, most French fell under the Prussian Krupp shells. In a breakdown of
the casualties, Frossard's II Corps of the Army of the Rhine suffered 621 casualties while inflicting 4,300 casualties
on the Prussian First Army under Steinmetz before the Pointe du Jour. The Prussian Guards Infantry Divisions losses
were even more staggering with 8,000 casualties out of 18,000 men. The Special Guards Jäger lost 19 officers, a
surgeon and 431 men out of a total of 700. The 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade lost 39 officers and 1,076 men. The 3rd
Guards Infantry Brigade lost 36 officers and 1,060 men. On the French side, the units holding St. Privat lost more
than half their number in the village.
Franco-Prussian War
9
Siege of Metz and the Battle of Sedan
With the defeat of Marshal Bazaine's Army of the Rhine at Gravelotte, the French were forced to retire to Metz
where they were besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second Armies. The further crushing
French loss was sealed when the 180,000 soldiers surrendered on 27 October.
As a result of the defeat, Napoleon III, along with Field Marshal
MacMahon, formed the new French Army of Châlons to march on to
Metz to rescue Bazaine. With Napoleon III personally leading the army
with Marshal MacMahon in attendance, they led the Army of Châlons
in a left-flanking march northeast towards the Belgian border in an
attempt to avoid the Prussians before striking south to link up with
Bazaine.
Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Defence of Metz by
the French Army.
The Prussians, under the command of
Field Marshal Count Helmuth von
Moltke, took advantage of this
manoeuvre to catch the French in a
pincer grip. Leaving the Prussian First
and Second Armies besieging Metz,
Moltke formed the Army of the Meuse
under the Crown Prince of Saxony by
detaching three corps from them, and
took this army and the Prussian Third
Army northward, where they caught up
with the French at Beaumont on 30
August. After a sharp fight in which
Napoleon III and Bismarck talk after Napoleon's capture at the Battle of Sedan by
they lost 5,000 men and 40 cannons,
Wilhelm Camphausen
the French withdrew toward Sedan.
Having reformed in the town, the
Army of Châlons was immediately isolated by the converging Prussian armies. Napoleon III ordered the army to
break out of the encirclement immediately. With MacMahon wounded on the previous day, General Auguste Ducrot
took command of the French troops in the field.
On 1 September 1870, the battle opened with the Army of Châlons,
with 202 infantry battalions, 80 cavalry squadrons and 564 guns,
attacking the surrounding Prussian Third and Meuse Armies totaling
222 infantry battalions, 186 cavalry squadrons and 774 guns. General
De Wimpffen, the commander of the French V Corps in reserve, hoped
to launch a combined infantry and cavalry attack against the Prussian
XI Corps. But by 11:00, Prussian artillery took a toll on the French
French cuirassiers in Metz, 1870
while more Prussian troops arrived on the battlefield. The French
cavalry, commanded by General Marguerite, launched three desperate attacks on the nearby village of Floing where
the Prussian XI Corps was concentrated. Marguerite was killed leading the very first charge and the two additional
charges led to nothing but heavy losses.
Franco-Prussian War
By the end of the day, with no hope of breaking out, Napoleon III called off the attacks. The French lost over 17,000
men, killed or wounded, with 21,000 captured. The Prussians reported their losses at 2,320 killed, 5,980 wounded
and 700 captured or missing.
By the next day, on 2 September, Napoleon III surrendered and was taken prisoner with 104,000 of his soldiers. It
was an overwhelming victory for the Prussians, for they not only captured an entire French army, but the leader of
France as well. The defeat of the French at Sedan had decided the war in Prussia's favour. One French army was now
immobilised and besieged in the city of Metz, and no other forces stood on French ground to prevent a German
invasion. Nevertheless, the war would drag on for five more months.
The Government of National Defence
When news hit Paris of Emperor Napoleon's III capture, the French Second Empire was overthrown in a bloodless
and successful coup d'état which was launched by General Trochu, Jules Favre, and Léon Gambetta at Paris on 4
September. They removed the second Bonapartist monarchy and proclaimed a republic led by a Government of
National Defence, leading to the Third Republic. Napoleon III was taken to Germany, and released later. He went
into exile in the United Kingdom, dying in 1873.
After the German victory at Sedan, most of France's standing forces were out of combat, one army was immobilised
and besieged in the city of Metz, and the army led by Emperor Napoleon III himself had surrendered to the Germans.
Under these circumstances, the Germans hoped for an armistice which would put an official end to the hostilities and
lead to peace. Prussia's Prime Minister Bismarck, in particular, wanted to end the war as soon as possible. To a
nation with as many neighbors as Prussia, a prolonged war meant the growing risk of intervention by another power,
and Bismarck was determined to limit that risk.
At first, the outlook for peace seemed fair. The Germans estimated that the new government of France could not be
interested in continuing the war that had been declared by the monarch they had quickly deposed. Hoping to pave the
road to peace, von Bismarck invited the new French Government to negotiations held at Château de Ferrières and
submitted a list of moderate conditions, including limited territorial demands in Alsace. Further claims of a French
border along the Rhine in Palatinate had been made since (Adolphe Thiers, Rhine crisis) 1840, while the Germans
vowed to defend both banks of the Rhine (Die Wacht am Rhein, Deutschlandlied). As Prussia had recently acquired
large areas populated by Catholics, further extensions were not considered desirable by Bismarck.
10
Franco-Prussian War
11
Armistice rejection and continuance of hostilities
While the republican government was
amenable to reparation payments or
transfer of colonial territories in Africa
or in South East Asia to Prussia, Jules
Favre on behalf of the Government of
National Defense declared on 6
September that France would not
"yield an inch of its territory nor a
stone of its fortresses."[24] The republic
then renewed the declaration of war,
called for recruits in all parts of the
country, and pledged to drive the
enemy troops out of France.
Under these circumstances, the
Germans had to continue the war, yet
couldn't pin down any proper military
opposition in their vicinity. As the bulk
of the remaining French armies were
digging-in near Paris, the German
leaders decided to put pressure upon
"Discussing the War in a Paris Café"—a scene published in the Illustrated London News
the enemy by attacking Paris. By
of 17 September 1870.
September 15, German troops reached
the outskirts of the heavily fortified city of Paris. On September 19, the Germans surrounded it and erected a
blockade, as already established and ongoing at Metz.
When the war broke out, European public opinion heavily favored the Germans. For example, many Italians
attempted to sign up as volunteers at the Prussian embassy in Florence, and a Prussian diplomat visited Giuseppe
Garibaldi in Caprera. Bismarck's demand for the return of Alsace caused a dramatic shift in that sentiment in Italy,
which was best exemplified by the reaction of Garibaldi soon after the revolution in Paris, who told the Movimento
of Genoa on 7 September 1870 that "Yesterday I said to you: war to the death to Bonaparte. Today I say to you:
rescue the French Republic by every means."[25] Subsequently, Garibaldi went to France and assumed command of
the Army of the Vosges.
Franco-Prussian War
12
Siege of Paris
The Siege of Paris (19 September 1870 – 28
January 1871) brought about the final defeat of
the French Army during the Franco-Prussian War.
On 18 January the new German Empire was
proclaimed at the Palace of Versailles.
Faced with the German blockade of Paris, the
new French government called for the
establishment of several large armies in France's
provinces. These new bodies of troops were to
march towards Paris and attack the Germans there
from various directions at the same time. In
addition, armed French civilians were to create a
guerilla force—the so-called Francs-tireurs—for
the purpose of attacking German support lines.
These developments prompted calls from the
German civilian public for a bombardment of the
city. General Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal,
who commanded the siege, was opposed to the
bombardment on moral grounds. In this he was
backed by other senior military figures such as the
Crown Prince and Moltke. All of them had
married English wives and as a result they were
accused of coming under English liberal
influence.
"The War: Defence of Paris—Students Going to Man the
Fortifications"—one of the iconic images of the Siege of Paris.
Loire campaign
Dispatched from Paris as the republican government's emissary, Léon Gambetta passed over the German lines in a
balloon inflated with coal gas from the city's gasworks, and organized the recruitment of new French armies.
News about an alleged German "extermination" plan infuriated the French and strengthened their support to their
new government. Within a few weeks, five new armies totaling more than 500,000 troops were recruited.
The Germans noticed this development and dispatched some of their troops to the French provinces in order to
detect, attack, and disperse the new French armies before they could become a menace, for the blockade of Paris or
elsewhere. The Germans were not prepared for an occupation of the whole of France. This would overstretch them
and they would become vulnerable.
On 10 October, fighting erupted between German and French republican forces near Orléans. At first, the Germans
were victorious, but the French drew reinforcements and defeated the Germans at Coulmiers on 9 November. But
after the surrender of Metz, more than 100,000 well-trained and battle-experienced German troops joined the
German 'Southern Army'. With these reinforcements, the French were forced to abandon Orléans on 4 December, to
be finally defeated at the Battle of Le Mans (between 10–12 January).
A second French army which operated north of Paris was turned back near Amiens (27 November 1870), Bapaume
(3 January 1871) and St. Quentin (13 January).
Franco-Prussian War
Northern campaign
Following the Army of the Loire's defeats, Gambetta turned to General
Faidherbe's Army of the North. The Army of the North had achieved
several small victories at towns such as Ham, La Hallue, and Amiens,
and was well-protected by the belt of fortresses in northern France,
allowing Faidherbe's men to launch quick attacks against isolated
Prussian units, then retreat behind the belt of fortresses. Despite the
army's access to the armaments factories of Lille, the Army of the
North suffered from severe supply difficulties which kept the soldiers'
The Battle of Bapaume (1871) took place on the
already poor morale at a permanently low level. In January 1871,
2–3 January 1871, during the Franco-Prussian
Gambetta forced Faidherbe to march his army beyond the fortresses
War in and around Biefvillers-lès-Bapaume and
and engage the Prussians in open battle. The army was severely
Bapaume. The Prussian advance was stopped by
weakened by low morale, supply problems, the terrible winter weather,
Genéral Louis Léon César Faidherbe at the head
of the Armée du Nord.
and low troop quality, whilst General Faidherbe himself was unable to
direct battles effectively due to his terrible health, the result of decades
of campaigning in West Africa. At the Battle of St. Quentin, the Army of the North suffered a crushing defeat and
was scattered, releasing thousands of Prussian soldiers to be relocated to the East.
Eastern campaign
Following the destruction of the French Army of the Loire, remnants of the Loire army gathered in eastern France to
form the Army of the East, commanded by General Charles Bourbaki. In a final attempt to cut the German supply
lines in northeast France, Bourbaki's army marched north to attack the Prussian siege of Belfort and relieve the
beleaguered French defenders.
In the battle of the Lisaine, Bourbaki's men failed to break through German lines commanded by General August von
Werder. Bringing in the German 'Southern Army', General von Manteuffel then drove Bourbaki's army into the
mountains near the Swiss border. Facing annihilation, this last intact French army crossed the border and was
disarmed and imprisoned by the neutral Swiss near Pontarlier (1 February).
13
Franco-Prussian War
14
Armistice
On 28 January 1871 the Government of National Defense based in Paris negotiated an armistice with the Prussians.
With Paris starving, and Gambetta's provincial armies reeling from one disaster after another, French foreign
minister Jules Favre went to Versailles on 24 January to discuss peace terms with Bismarck.
In this painting by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes a
woman holds up an oak twig as a symbol of hope
for the nation's recovery from war and
[26]
deprivation after the Franco-Prussian War.
The Walters Art Museum.
Bismarck agreed to end the siege and allow food convoys to
immediately enter Paris (including trains carrying millions of German
army rations), on condition that the Government of National Defence
surrender several key fortresses outside Paris to the Prussians. Without
the forts, the French Army would no longer be able to defend Paris.
Although public opinion in Paris was strongly against any form of
surrender or concession to the Prussians, the Government realised that
it could not hold the city for much longer, and that Gambetta's
provincial armies would probably never break through to relieve Paris.
President Jules Trochu resigned on 25 January and was replaced by
Jules Favre, who signed the surrender two days later at Versailles, with
the armistice coming into effect at midnight. Several sources claim that
in his carriage on the way back to Paris, Favre broke into tears, and
collapsed into his daughter's arms as the guns around Paris fell silent at
midnight.
At Tours, Gambetta received word from Paris on 30 January that the Government had surrendered. Furious, he
refused to surrender and launched an immediate attack on German forces at Orleans which, predictably, failed. A
delegation of Parisian diplomats arrived in Tours by train on 5 February to negotiate with Gambetta, and the
following day Gambetta stepped down and surrendered control of the provincial armies to the Government of
National Defence, which promptly ordered a ceasefire across France.
French and Prussian naval activities
At the outset of the war, the French government ordered a blockade of the North German coasts, which the relatively
small North German navy (Norddeutsche Bundesmarine) could do little to oppose. Despite this, the blockade was
only partially successful due to crucial oversights by the planners in Paris. Conscripts that were supposed to be at the
ready in case of war were in use in Newfoundland fisheries or in Scotland, thereby reducing manpower. Therefore,
only partial elements of the 470-ship French Navy put to sea on 22 July 1870. Before long, the French navy began to
suffer shortages of coal. An unsuccessful blockade of Wilhelmshaven and conflicting orders on whether or not to
proceed to the Baltic Sea or to return to France made the French naval efforts ineffective.[27]
Franco-Prussian War
15
To relieve pressure from the expected
German attack into Alsace-Lorraine,
Napoleon III and others in the French high
command planned at the outset of the war to
launch a seaborne invasion of northern
Germany. It was hoped that the invasion
would not only divert German troops from
the front, but also inspire Denmark to assist
with its 50,000 strong army and substantial
navy. However it was discovered that
Prussia had recently installed formidable
defences around the major North German
French warships at sea in 1870
ports, including coastal artillery batteries
consisting of Krupp heavy artillery that
could hit French ships from a distance of 4,000 yards (3,700 m). The French Navy lacked the necessary heavy
weaponry to deal with these coastal defences, while the difficult topography of the Prussian coastline (see the article
Wadden Sea) made a seaborne invasion of northern Germany impossible.[28]
The French Marines and naval infantry tasked with the invasion of northern Germany were subsequently dispatched
to bolster the French Army of Châlons, where they were captured at the Battle of Sedan along with Napoleon III.
Suffering a severe shortage of officers following the capture of most of the professional French army at the Siege of
Metz and the Battle of Sedan, naval officers were taken from their ships to officer the hastily assembled gardes
mobiles or French reserve army units.[29]
As the autumn storms of the North Sea took their toll on the remaining patrolling French ships, the blockade became
less and less effective. By September 1870, the blockade was finally abandoned altogether for the winter, and the
French Navy retired to ports along the English Channel, remaining in port for the rest of the war.[29]
Isolated engagements took place between French and German ships in other theaters, such as the blockade by FS
Dupleix of the German ship Hertha in Nagasaki, Japan,[30] and the gunboat battle between the Prussian Meteor and
the French Bouvet outside of Havana, Cuba, in November 1870.[31]
Factors resulting in German victory
The quick German victory over the French stunned neutral observers, many of whom had expected a French victory
and most of whom had expected, at the very least, a prolonged conflict. The strategic advantages possessed by the
Germans were not appreciated outside Germany until after hostilities had ceased.
General Staff system
The Prussian General Staff developed by Helmuth von Moltke proved to be extremely effective, in contrast to the
traditional French school:
"Moltke could count on the ability of the Prussian officer to find original solutions for the tactical problems of
war. These officers dropped the official service regulations of 1847 as soon as they crossed the Bohemian
frontier in 1866 and followed their own ideas."
— Hajo Holborn, "Moltke's Strategical Concepts."[32]
"The primary cause of the French military collapse in 1870 was previous reliance upon a vicious system for
the education, promotion, and assignment of officers. This system was unable to suffocate all intellectual
progress in the army, although it was marvelously suited for that purpose. But it was almost completely
effective in excluding the army's brain power from the staff and high command. To the resulting lack of
Franco-Prussian War
16
intelligence at the top can be ascribed all the inexcusable defects of French military policy... Criticism of the
French officers for their ineffectiveness in the opening campaigns of this war, however, would be largely
misdirected, for with some exceptions they did the best they knew how and very bravely. The cause of their
difficulties was insufficient preparation for war of the proper sort in time of peace, particularly intellectual
preparation."
— Dalas D. Irvine, "The French and Prussian Staff Systems Before 1870."[33]
Universal conscription
Albrecht von Roon, the Prussian Minister of War from 1859 to 1873, established a draft where every male Prussian
capable of fighting would be conscripted at the time of mobilization. Thus, despite the population of France being
greater than the population of all of the German states that participated in the war, the Germans mobilized more
soldiers for battle.
Population and soldiers mobilized at the start of the war[34]
Population in 1870 Mobilized
Second French Empire
38,000,000
500,000
German states
32,000,000
550,000
Railways
At the outset of the Franco-Prussian War, 462,000 German soldiers concentrated flawlessly on the French frontier
while only 270,000 French soldiers could be moved to face them, the French army having lost (or mislaid) 100,000
stragglers before a shot was fired through poor planning and administration.[35] This was partly due to the peacetime
organisations of the armies. Each Prussian Korps was based within a Kreis (literally "circle") around the chief city in
an area. Reservists rarely lived more than a day's travel from their regiment's depot. By contrast, French regiments
generally served far from their depots, which in turn were not in the areas of France from which their soldiers were
drawn. Reservists often faced several days' journey to report to their depots, and then another long journey to join
their regiments. Large numbers of reservists choked railway stations, vainly seeking rations and orders.[36]
The effect of these differences was accentuated by the pre-war preparations. The Prussian General Staff had drawn
up minutely detailed mobilization plans using the railway system, which in turn had been partly laid out in response
to recommendations of a Railway Section within the General Staff. The French railway system, with multiple
competing companies, had developed purely from commercial pressures and many journeys to the front in Alsace
and Lorraine involved long diversions and frequent changes between trains. Furthermore, no system had been put in
place for military control of the railways, and officers simply commandeered trains as they saw fit. Sidings and
marshalling yards became choked with loaded wagons, with nobody responsible for unloading them or directing
them to the correct destination.[37]
Franco-Prussian War
Diplomatic isolation
Although Austria-Hungary and Denmark had both wished to avenge their recent military defeats against Prussia,
they chose not to intervene in the war due to a lack of confidence in the French. Napoleon III also failed to cultivate
alliances with the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom, partially due to the diplomatic efforts of the Prussian
chancellor Otto von Bismarck, and thus faced the German states alone.
Armaments
"The French had a good breech-loading rifle, the Chassepot, which has far better range than the German Dreyse
needle gun, also the mitrailleuse, a primitive machine gun, but their muzzle-loading artillery was outclassed by
Prussian breech-loaders."[38] The superior Prussian artillery would prove to be a greater advantage than the superior
French infantry at the Battle of Gravelotte.
Countries previously without a General Staff or a system of universal conscription soon adopted both, along with
developments in logistics, military use of railways,[2] and the telegraph system, all proven by the German victory to
be indispensable.
Result of the war
For detailed information on the Commune and civil war, see Paris Commune
Prussian reaction and withdrawal
The Prussian Army held a brief victory parade in Paris on 17 February,
and Bismarck honoured the armistice by sending trainloads of food
into Paris and withdrawing Prussian forces to the east of the city,
which would be withdrawn as soon as France agreed to pay five billion
francs in war indemnity.[39] At the same time, Prussian forces were
withdrawn from France and concentrated in the provinces of Alsace
and Lorraine. An exodus occurred from Paris as some 200,000 people,
predominantly middle-class, left the city for the countryside. Paris was
quickly re-supplied with free food and fuel by the United Kingdom and
several accounts recall life in the city settling back to normal.
French reaction to the defeat
National elections produced an overwhelmingly conservative
Areas of France occupied until the war
government, which, under President Adolphe Thiers, established itself
reparations were paid.
in Versailles, fearing that the political climate of Paris was too
dangerous to set up the capital in the city. The new government, formed mainly of conservative, middle-class rural
politicians, passed a variety of laws which greatly angered the population of Paris, such as the controversial Law of
Maturities, which decreed that all rents in Paris, which had been postponed since September 1870, and all public
debts across France, which had been given a moratorium in November 1870, were to be paid in full, with interest,
within 48 hours. Paris shouldered a disproportionately large amount of the indemnity payments made to the
Prussians, and the population of the city quickly grew resentful of the Versailles government. With Paris under the
protection of the revolutionary National Guard and few regular soldiers in the city, left-wing leaders established
themselves in the Hôtel de Ville and established the Paris Commune, which was repressed by Versailles with the loss
of 20,000 lives after portions of the city burned down.
17
Franco-Prussian War
18
In the 1890s, the Dreyfus affair developed out of the aftermath of the war when confidential French military
information was discovered in a wastebasket at the German Embassy in Paris by an agent of French military
counter-intelligence. An Alsatian-born French captain Alfred Dreyfus, who was also Jewish, was framed for this
action and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. He was finally exonerated and freed by 1900.
The Treaty of Frankfurt, in addition to giving Germany the city of Strasbourg and the fortification at Metz, made
Germany the possessor of Alsace and the northern portion of Lorraine (Moselle), both of which (especially Alsace)
were home to a majority of ethnic Germans and contained 80% of French iron ore and machine shops. The loss of
this territory was a source of resentment in France for years to come, and contributed to public support for World
War I, in which France vowed to take back control of Alsace-Lorraine. This revanchism created a permanent state of
crisis between Germany and France (French–German enmity), which would be one of the contributing factors
leading to World War I.
German unification and power
The creation of a unified German Empire
ended the "balance of power" that had been
created with the Congress of Vienna after
the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Germany
quickly established itself as the main power
in continental Europe with one of the most
powerful and professional armies in the
world. Although Great Britain remained the
dominant world power, British involvement
in European affairs during the late 19th
century was very limited, allowing Germany
to exercise great influence over the
European mainland. Besides, the Crown
Prince's marriage with the daughter of
Queen Victoria was only the most
prominent of several German-British
relationships.
Proclamation of the German Empire, painted by Anton von Werner
The Polish aspect
In the Prussian province of Posen, with a large Polish population, there was strong support for the French and angry
demonstrations at news of Prussian-German victories—a clear manifestation of Polish nationalist feeling. Calls were
also made for Polish recruits to desert from the Prussian Army—though these went mainly unheeded. An alarming
report on the Posen situation, sent to Bismarck on 16 August 1870, led to the quartering of reserve troop contingents
in the restive province.[40] The Franco-Prussian War thus turned out to be a significant event also in German-Polish
relations, marking the beginning of a prolonged period of repressive measures by the authorities and efforts at
Germanisation.
Franco-Prussian War
19
Notes
[1] Taithe, Bertrand (2001). Citizenship and Wars: France in
Turmoil 1056–1871. Routledge.
[2] In Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton (1977),
Martin van Creveld argues that the significance of Moltke's use of
railways has been somewhat exaggerated:
There is no doubt that the German siege
and bombardment of Paris, involving as
they did the concentration in a small space
of very large masses of men and heavy
expenditure of artillery ammunition, would
have been wholly impossible without the
railways. Also, the view that the German
use of the railways to deploy their forces at
the opening of the campaign as a supreme
masterpiece of the military art is amply
justified, though we have seen that this
triumph was only achieved at the cost of
disrupting the train apparatus before the
war against France even got under way.
Between these two phases of the struggle,
however, the railways do not seem to have
played a very important role, partly
because of difficulties with the lines
themselves and partly because of the
impossibility of keeping the railheads
within a reasonable distance of the
advancing troops. Most surprising,
however, is the fact that none of this had
much influence on the course of
operations, or indeed caused Moltke any
great concern... (p.96)
Obelisk in Kleve
[3] Otto von Bismarck (A.J. Butler, trans.), Bismarck: The Man and
the Statesman, vol. 2, page 58 (http:/ / books. google. com/
books?id=xO_fCXolQd8C& pg=PA58#v=onepage& q& f=false).
Originally published in 1898; reprinted in 2007 by Cosimo
Classics of New York, New York.
[4] Wawro, Geoffrey (2003). The Franco Prussian War. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-58436-4.
[5] Howard(1991), p. 78.
[6] Wawro(2003), pp. 66–67.
[7] Howard(1991), pp. 47, 48, 60.
[8] Wawro(2003), pp. 85, 86, 90.
[9] Wawro(2003), pp. 87, 90.
[10] Wawro(2003), p. 94
[11] Howard(1991), p. 82.
[12] Wawro(2003), p. 95.
[13] Howard(1991), pp. 100–101.
[14] Howard(1991), p. 101.
[15] Wawro(2003), pp. 97–98, 101.
[16] Wawro(2003), pp. 101–103.
in memorial for those French Soldiers who died
in Lübeck
Franco-Prussian War
[17] Wawro(2003), p. 108.
[18] Howard(1991), pp. 87–88.
[19] Howard(1991), pp. 89–90.
[20] Howard(1991), pp. 92–93.
[21] Howard(1991), pp. 98–99.
[22] Howard(1991), p. 116
[23] Holden-Reid 1999, p. 198.
[24] Craig, Gordon A. (1980). Germany: 1866–1945. Oxford University Press. pp. 31.
[25] Ridley, Jasper (1976). Garibaldi. Viking Press. pp. 602.
[26] "Hope" (http:/ / art. thewalters. org/ detail/ 8084). The Walters Art Museum. .
[27] Rüstow, Wilhelm; John Layland Needham (1872). The War for the Rhine Frontier, 1870: Its Political and Military History. Blackwood.
pp. 229–235..
[28] Wawro(2003), pp. 190–192.
[29] Wawro(2003), p. 192.
[30] Maurice, John Frederick; Wilfred James Long (1900). The Franco-German War, 1870–71. S. Sonnenschein and Co.. pp. 587–588.
[31] Rüstow(1872), p. 243.
[32] Holborn, Hajo. "Moltke's Strategical Concepts." Military Affairs, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Autumn, 1942), pp. 153–168: 159. (http:/ / www. jstor. org/
stable/ 1982846)
[33] Irvine, Dalas D. "The French and Prussian Staff Systems Before 1870." The Journal of the American Military History Foundation Vol. 2,
No. 4 (Winter, 1938), 192–203, (accessed June 18, 2010): 192, 203. (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ 3038792)
[34] OnWar.com. Franco-Prussian War 1870–1871. Retrieved 22 June, 2010. (http:/ / www. onwar. com/ aced/ data/ foxtrot/ franceprussia1870.
htm)
[35] McElwee, p. 46
[36] Howard, p.68
[37] Howard, pp.70-71
[38] Richard Holmes, "Franco-Prussian war." Military History Companion, retrieved 22 June 2010. (http:/ / www. answers. com/ topic/
franco-prussian-war)
[39] Taylor(1988), p. 133.
[40] Christopher Clark, "The Iron Kingdom", p. 579.
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Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58436-1.
• van Creveld, Martin. Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1977. ISBN 0-521-29793-1.
External links
• La guerre de 1870–71 en images (http://www.laguerrede1870enimages.fr/) (French)
• Postcards from the Franco-German War 1870–71 (http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/dfkrieg.htm)
• Texts and documents about German-French relations and an essay on the Franco-German war (http://www.
deuframat.de)
• Monuments of the Franco-German war (http://hatlie.de/history/sitesofmemory/main.html#1870) (English)
• Information and maps on the battles of Wissembourg, Woerth and Gravelotte (http://www.omaha-beach.org/
Travel/1870/1870-71.html)
• Franco-Prussian War.com (http://francoprussianwar.com/)
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Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
Franco-Prussian War Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=514792044 Contributors: 1970gemini, AMacR, AMasterfulMelon, AWY, Aces lead, Adam Faanes, Aeolien,
Ahoerstemeier, Aidzam, Airbornelawyer, Akamad, Alansohn, Albrecht, Aldis90, Alex Bakharev, Alex756, Alexlincoln2, [email protected], Alphasinus, Amerz, Andreas Kaganov, Andres C.,
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
Image:FrancoPrussianWarFrontierJuly1870.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:FrancoPrussianWarFrontierJuly1870.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors:
Edited by A.W.Ward, G.W.Prothero, and Stanley Leathes
File:Detaille - A French Cavalry Officer Guarding Captured Bavarian Soldiers.jpg Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Detaille_-_A_French_Cavalry_Officer_Guarding_Captured_Bavarian_Soldiers.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: BrokenSphere,
DIREKTOR
File:French soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War 1870-71.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:French_soldiers_in_the_Franco-Prussian_War_1870-71.jpg License:
Public Domain Contributors: DIREKTOR, Rlbberlin, Thib Phil
Image:FrancoPrussianWar5to6Aug1870.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:FrancoPrussianWar5to6Aug1870.jpg License: unknown Contributors: Edited by
A.W.Ward, G.W.Prothero, and Stanley Leathes
Image:ReichshoffenMorot1870.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ReichshoffenMorot1870.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: AnRo0002, Baronnet,
Monsieurdl, Rcbutcher, Thib Phil
Image:Battle-Mars-Le-Tour-large.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Battle-Mars-Le-Tour-large.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: AnRo0002, Batke, Fred.th,
Man vyi, Martin H., Redtony, Shyam, YUL89YYZ
Image:Gravelotte.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gravelotte.JPG License: Public Domain Contributors: AnRo0002, Andros64, Belissarius, BurgererSF, Siebrand,
1 anonymous edits
File:Franco-prussian war faubourg Metz.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Franco-prussian_war_faubourg_Metz.jpg License: Free Art License Contributors:
Alphonse de Neuville
Image:BismarckundNapoleonIII.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:BismarckundNapoleonIII.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: AFBorchert, AnRo0002,
Andre Engels, ComputerHotline, DIREKTOR, Denniss, Flominator, Frumpy, Immanuel Giel, Mmm448, Mogelzahn, Nick90210, PFHLai, Roberta F., Wst, 5 anonymous edits
File:CuirassiersMetz1870.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:CuirassiersMetz1870.jpg License: anonymous-EU Contributors: Alexandar.R.
Image:ParisCafeDiscussion.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ParisCafeDiscussion.png License: Public Domain Contributors: Frederick Barnard (1846-1896)
Image:Franco-Prussian War - Students Going to Man the Barricades - Illustrated London News Oct 1 1870.jpg Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Franco-Prussian_War_-_Students_Going_to_Man_the_Barricades_-_Illustrated_London_News_Oct_1_1870.jpg License: Public Domain
Contributors: Frederick Barnard (1846-1896)
File:Bapaume-tableau-Faidherbe.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bapaume-tableau-Faidherbe.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: AnRo0002, DIREKTOR,
Moustachioed Womanizer, Olivier2, Pir6mon, Sammyday
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File:Flag of France.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_France.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Anomie
File:Flag of the German Empire.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_the_German_Empire.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: User:B1mbo and
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File:Kleve forstgarten obelisk winter 2.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Kleve_forstgarten_obelisk_winter_2.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Contributors: Vincent de Groot - http://www.videgro.net
File:Burgthorfriedhof Lübeck, memorial to Franco-Prussian War.jpg Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Burgthorfriedhof_Lübeck,_memorial_to_Franco-Prussian_War.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors:
1970gemini. Original uploader was 1970gemini at de.wikipedia
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License
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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