The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870–1871

Geoffrey Wawro

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511511820

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1 violently changed the course of European History. Alarmed by Bismarck's territorial ambitions and the Prussian army's crushing defeats of Denmark in 1864 and Austria in 1866, French Emperor Napoleon III vowed to bring Prussia to heel. Digging into many European and American archives for the first time, Geoffrey Wawro's The Franco-Prussian War describes the war that followed in thrilling detail. While the armies mobilized in July 1870, the conflict appeared 'too close to call'. Prussia and its German allies overwhelmingly outnumbered the French. But Marshal Achille Bazaine's grognards ('old grumblers') were the stuff of legend, the most resourceful, battle-hardened, sharp-shooting troops in Europe. From the political intrigues that began and ended the war to the bloody battles at Gravelotte and Sedan and the last murderous fights on the Loire and in Paris, this is a stunning, authoritative history of the Franco-Prussian War.

‘… a clear reminder that military history still needs lively and well researched accounts of wars and campaigns … what Wawro has done is to provide a history of the war which exploits to the full the available archive material. With consummate skill he has woven together diplomatic developments before and during the war, the decisions and motives of the key political and military figures on both sides, and military operations with detailed accounts of the fighting in the different battles … Part of the value of this book is that the movements of hundreds of thousands of troops are explained clearly, while the battles are brought to life through the diary and memoir material the author exploits … In addition to its highly readable style, another merit of The Franco-Prussian War is that its author has managed to pack so much material into the 314 pages of text without ever slackening the pace of his narrative … Wawro has written not only an extremely good book, but one which will quickly take its place as the standard single-volume account … university teachers will probably prefer to recommend Wawro's book to their undergraduates. Geoffrey Wawro is to be congratulated on his Franco-Prussian War. It deserves to be in the library of everyone interested in German, French, and European military history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.‘

Source: German Historical Institute London

'His skills as a battle historian are patent. He has a grasp both of detail and outline. His prose is crisp and clear. He constantly enlivens the technical analysis with the worm's-eye perspectives of the soldiers - a great attraction of the book.'

Source: Time Literary Supplement

‘Wawro‘s account of the conflict is brief, to the point and extremely well written … While not neglecting the general picture, Wawro obviously enjoys presenting details of battlefield events, and this is also where his account really adds a new twist that was largely missing from earlier histories of the war … Wawro's history of The Franco-Prussian War has all the ingredients to make it the relevant account of this conflict for the English-speaking world for some decades …‘.

Source: War in History

References

Bibliography

UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS

Austria Haus-Hof-und Staatsarchiv (Haus-Hof-und Staatsarchiv (Vienna)), Vienna. Consulted Politisches Archiv (PA) for France, Prussia, Italy and the German states. Police archives – BM-Akten to 1867 and Informationsbüro (IB) from 1868–71. Kriegsarchiv (KA) Militärkanzlei seiner Majestät (MKSM) and Kriegsministerium-Präsidium (KM-Präs.)

France Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre (Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre (Vincennes)). Consulted all records of the Armée du Rhin, Armée de Châlons, Armées de Paris, Armées de la Loire, Armée de Vosges and Armée de l'Est. Also Archives Centrales de la Marine (Archives Centrales de la Marine (Vincennes).)

Germany Bayerisches Kriegsarchiv (Bayerisches Kriegsarchiv (Munich)), Munich. Consulted Generalstab (GS), Handschriften-Sammlung (HS), B-Akten (field reports) and many unpublished manuscripts. Sächsisches Kriegsarchiv (Sächsiches Kriegsarchiv (Dresden)), Dresden. Consulted Zeitgeschichtliche Sammlung (Zeitgeschichtliche Sammlung (Dresden)), Geheimes Kabinett, Sächsischer Militärbevollmächtiger in Berlin, various KA-Akten pertaining to military operations and reports

Great Britain Public Record Office (Public Record Office (London)), London. Consulted Foreign Office (FO) records for France, Prussia and the German states as well as Confidential Print “Respecting the War Between France and Germany.”

United States National Archives (National Archives (Washington, DC)), Washington, DC. Consulted all Congressional Information Service (Congressional Information Service (Washington, DC)) records pertaining to the Franco-Prussian War and Ambassador Elihu Washburne's reports from Paris and Tours

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The Franco-Prussian War

The German Conquest of France in 1870–1871

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-viii

Contents
pp ix-x

List of Abbreviations
pp xi-xii

List of Illustrations
pp xiii-xiv

Acknowledgments
pp xv-xvi

Introduction
pp 1-15

1 - Causes of the Franco-Prussian War
pp 16-40

2 - The Armies in 1870
pp 41-64

3 - Mobilization for War
pp 65-84

4 - Wissembourg and Spicheren
pp 85-120

5 - Froeschwiller
pp 121-137

6 - Mars-la-Tour
pp 138-163

7 - Gravelotte
pp 164-185

8 - The Road to Sedan
pp 186-210

9 - Sedan
pp 211-229

10 - France on the Brink
pp 230-256

11 - France Falls
pp 257-298

12 - The Peace
pp 299-314

Bibliography
pp 315-320

Index
pp 321-327

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