Prussian and French troops engaged
in battle, 1870 |
The French-German War (19. July 1870 - 10. May 1871) was fought between the Empire of France and Prussia (backed by the
North German Confederation) allied with the south German states of Baden,
Bavaria and Württemberg. The conflict marked
the culmination of tension between the two powers following Prussia's rise to dominance in Germany, still a loose
federation of quasi-independent territories.
The war began over the possible ascension of a German candidate to the Spanish throne, which was opposed by France.
The French issued an ultimatum to the king of Prussia, who refused. Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck
then published his famous Ems Dispatch, basically a propagandized account of the negotiations between France and
the king of Prussia. Outraged, the French declared war on Prussia.
Over a six-month campaign, the German armies
defeated the French in a series of battles fought across northern France, ending in a prolonged siege of the French
capital, Paris. The French emperor was captured in battle, resulting in a bloodless revolution and France becoming
the only republican Great Power in Europe. During the final stages of the war, the German states proclaimed their
union under the Prussian King, founding the German Empire.
France's defeat, the unification of Germany and the resulting final unification of Italy swept away the old balance of
power that existed in European politics and completely redrew the political map. Republicanism again became mainstream
politics in France, while militarism moved to the forefront in Germany. The bitterness felt by many French following
their defeat and the unease with which the other Great Powers viewed the new Germany was the start of a chain of events
which led directly to World War I and
World War II.
The wartime establishment of the Paris Commune would later serve as an inspiration for the development of communism and
a model for communist revolutionaries worldwide such as Lenin and Mao Zedong.
Positions before the war
Tensions had long been running high between Prussia and France following the Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian
War and its subsequent annexation of almost all Northern Germany. The humbling of Austria and Prussia's new territorial
gains had shattered the European balance of power that had existed since the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
France's position in Europe was now in danger of being overshadowed by the emergence of a powerful German state led by
Prussia. In addition, France's ruler Napoleon III was on increasingly shaky ground in domestic politics facing
virulent demands for democratic reform along with constant rumors of impending revolution.
The Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck was determined to realise his dream of a united Germany, if necessary with
"blood and iron". Given all Germany's recent experience of French aggression, pillage and subjugation at the hands of
the first Napoleon, Bismarck viewed a war with France as a method to enlist the support of
nationalists throughout Germany and unite all of the squabbling factions into one nation led by the Prussian king.
France officially declared war on 19. July 1870 after failed negotiations. Against French expectations, the south
German states, independent from Prussia but connected to it by secret treaties, joined the war. While not prepared
to join a German united state, the south German monarchs would not stand for yet another Bonapartist invasion of
Germany and mobilized their armies.
The French Army comprised approximately 400,000 regular soldiers, some veterans of previous French campaigns. The Prussian
Army was composed not of regulars but a conscript army. Service was compulsory for all men of military age, but Prussia
and its North and South German allies could mobilize 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 Prussian army was commanded by Field-Marshal Helmuth von Moltke
and the Prussian General Staff, whose sole purpose was
to direct operational movement, organise logistics and communications and develop the overall war strategy - unique in Europe
at that time.
French incursions
On 28. July 1870, Napoleon III left Paris for Metz and assumed command of the newly titled Army of the Rhine, some 100,000 strong
and expected to grow as the French mobilization progressed. a defensive plan by Generals Charles Frossard and Bartélemy Lebrun 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, one Corps would invade the Bavarian
Palatinate and proceed to "liberate" the south German states in concert with Austro-Hungarian forces.
Unfortunately for General Frossard's plan, the Prussian army was mobilizing far more rapidly than expected. Against all expectations,
the south German states had come to Prussia's aid and were mobilizing their armies against France. The Austro-Hungarians, still
smarting after their defeat by Prussia, seemed content to wait until a clear victor emerged before committing to France's cause.
On 31. July Napoleon III ordered the Army forward across the Saar River to seize Saarbrücken.
While the French hailed the invasion as the first step towards the Rhineland and later Berlin, General Frossard was receiving
alarming reports from foreign news sources of Prussian and Bavarian armies massing to the south-east in addition to the forces
to the north and north-east.
At Wissembourg on 4. August MacMahon's 2nd Divsion commanded by General Abel Douay was the first to make contact
with leading elements of the Prussian Third Army, beginning the Battle of Wissembourg.
This bloody little battle saw the unsupported division of Douay, with some
attached cavalry, which was posted to watch the border, attacked in overwhelming but poorly co-ordinated strength by German
3rd Army. As the day wore on elements of one Bavarian and two Prussian Corps became embroiled in the fight which was notable
by the complete lack of higher direction by the Prussians and blind offensive haste by their low level officers.
Douay held a very strong position but his force was too thinly stretched to hold it and his division was driven south by way
of Riedseltz at dusk. Douay himself was killed.
The Battle of Spicheren, on 5. August was the second of three critical French defeats. Together with the Battle of Worth, on
the following day, the Prussians succeeded in separating the northern and southern flanks of the French army.
German invasion
Helmuth Graf von Moltke
(1800 - 1891) |
During the Battle of Worth the French are unable to hold their position along the French-Prussian border and begin the
retreat from Alsace.
On 16. August 1870 the French could have swept away the key Prussian defence and escaped in the Battle of Mars-La-Tour. Two
Prussian corps attacked the French advanced guard thinking that it was the rearguard of the retreat of the French Army. Despite
this misjudgement the two Prussian corps held the entire French army for the whole day. The Prussians prevailed over gross
indecision by the French.
The Battle of Gravelotte was the largest battle during the Franco-Prussian War. After the French army's retreat to the west
at the Battle of Mars-La-Tour, the Prussians were now closed in to complete the destruction of the French forces.
On 18. August 1870, the battle began when with an Prussian advance against the French positions. Hefty artillery, infantery and
cavalery attacks were met with fierce resistance. The French army , however, retreated to Metz eventually.
The casualties were horrible, especially for the attacking Prussian forces.
With the defeat of Marshal Bazaine's Army of the Rhine at Gravelotte, they were forced to retire to Metz where they were besieged
by over 150,000 Prussian troops. Emperor Napoleon III formed the new French Army of Chalons to march on to Metz to rescue Bazaine.
The Prussians encountered the French troops in a sharp fight before the could reach Metz. The French withdrew toward Sedan.
Having reformed in the town, the Army of Chalons was immediately isolated by the converging Prussian armies.
Napoleon III ordered the army to break out of the encirclement immediately.
France looses the main battles
On 1. September 1870, the battle opened with the Army of Chalons attacking the surrounding Prussian Armies. But Prussian artillery
took a toll on the French while more Prussian troops arrived on the battlefield. The French cavalry launched three desperate
attacks leading to heavy losses. By the end of the day, with no hope of breaking out, Napoleon III called off the attacks.
By the next day 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. When news hit Paris of Emperor
Napoleon's III capture, the French Second Empire was overthrown in a bloodless revolution leading to the creation of a new
government of national defence and the Third Republic.
The defeat of the French at Sedan decided the war in Prussia's favour. With the Second Empire overthrown, Napoleon III went into
exile in England, while within a fortnight, the Prussian armies were besieging Paris.
A further crushing French loss came at Metz, where Marshal Bazaine surrendered 180,000 soldiers on 27. October.
The Siege of Paris lasted from 19. September 1870 - 28. January 1871 and was the final defeat of the French
Army during the French-German War.
Armistice and Paris Commune
Coronation of German Emperor Wilhelm I |
An armistice was signed on 28. January 1871, ten days after Wilhelm's proclamation as German emperor at Versailles. The preliminary
Franco-German peace treaty was signed at Versailles on 26. February 1871. However, the National Guard and the workers of Paris refused
to accept defeat, blaming the conservative government for failing to organise effective national resistance, and seized control of
the French capital on 18. March, establishing the Paris Commune. With tacit Prussian support, the French army re-conquered Paris
and executed tens of thousands of workers and revolutionaries in the "Bloody Week" (21. May - 28. May).
The Treaty of Frankfurt signed on 10. May 1871 stipulated that France was to cede three
eastern départements originally seized from
the Holy Roman Empire by Louis XIV. These became the German imperial province of Alsace-Lorraine (Elsaß-Lothringen). A war indemnity
of 5000 million francs was agreed upon, and German troops remained in parts of France until the last instalment was paid off in
September 1873, ahead of schedule.
Aftermath
While the war united Germany under the Prussian crown, France became a republic (February 1875) in which memories of the Commune
continued to divide left and right. Also as a result of the war, the Papal States, no longer under French protection, were seized
by Italy, completing the unification of that country.
The war embittered Franco-German relations for decades to come, contributing to the European rivalries which would erupt in
World War I. French agitation for revanche - revenge for the loss of Alsace-Lorraine - gave its name to the phenomenon of
revanchism, the desire to punish a past enemy and regain former territories.
The Franco-Prussian War also revolutionized military science.
In most industrialized countries, conscription replaced professional
standing armies for the next one hundred years. Those countries without a general staff soon established one with special
emphasis on central planning. The study of logistics expanded to include new communication technologies such as rail transport
and telegraphy. Moltkean operational strategy and tactics became the standard curriculum at most military academies throughout
the world. Artillery came to dominate battlefield tactics, and the cult of the offensive was firmly established in military
thinking. All of these innovations would have tragic consequences for the next major European war -
World War I.
Please have a look at some sample banknotes from the imperial period .
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