By 1870, France and Prussia consistently moved toward war.Prussian Chancellor Otto Bismarck sought to unite under his rule all German land, and the French Emperor Napoleon III - to prevent it, not wanting to see in Europe, another powerful state, and even neighboring France.
causes and reasons for the war
All that was left to do the Prussian Chancellor to create a united Germany - South German states to join it.But this was not going to be limited to Bismarck: Prussians attracted French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, rich in coal and iron ore, which are so necessary were the German industrialists.
Thus, the causes of the Franco-Prussian War was evident, could only find a reason.Both sides are actively looking for him, and he soon found.In July 1870 the government of Spain, attended to search for a candidate for the royal throne, ownerless after the next revolution, appealed to a relative of the King of Prussia Prince Leopold.Napoleon III, who did not wish to see in the neighborhood of France crowned another representative of the Hohenzollern dynasty, began to negotiate with Prussia.French ambassador succeeded in this success.But, as it turned out, there lurked and provocation.Telegram French emperor refusal of Prussia from the Spanish throne, Bismarck was in a rather offensive tone for the French, and even published it in newspapers.The result was predictable - enraged Napoleon III declared war on Prussia.
balance of forces
international situation, in which the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, was more favorable to Prussia than for France.On the side of Bismarck made the state were part of the North German Confederation, the French Emperor was left without allies.Russia adhered to a neutral position, with Britain and Italy diplomatic relations were hopelessly corrupted due to incompetent policies of Napoleon III.The only state that could address the war on his side, was Austria, but the Austrian government, recently defeated in the war with Prussia, did not dare to engage in a new fight with the recent enemy.
From the earliest days of the Franco-Prussian War revealed the weaknesses of the French army.First, its population is seriously inferior to the enemy - 570,000 soldiers against 1 million at the North German Confederation.Worse was the service.The only thing the French could be proud of - it is a rapid-fire rifle Shaspo.But the most important - is the lack of a clear plan of military operations.He made haste, and much of it was unreal: the mobilization and terms and calculations on the split between the allies.
As for Prussia, the Franco-Prussian War, by itself, is not caught by surprise nor a king, nor the chancellor.Its army was different discipline and great weapons, it was established on the basis of universal conscription.A dense network of railways in Germany allows you to quickly redeploy military units to the right place.And, of course, the Prussian command had a clear plan of action developed long before the war.
hostilities
In August 1870 the Prussian army began an offensive.French housing bore defeated one after another.September 1 near the castle Sedan, which was Napoleon III, the battle began.The French command was not able to avoid encirclement, on top of that, the army suffered huge losses from cross shelling.As a result, the next day, Napoleon III was forced to surrender.Capturing 84 thousand people, the Prussians moved to the French capital.
news of the defeat at Sedan led to an uprising in Paris.On 4 September in France was proclaimed a republic.The new government began to form new army.Under the gun, thousands of volunteers, but to organize the defense of the country from the enemy's new authorities were not able to.October 27 surrendered huge army of Marshal Bazaine, numbering nearly 200 thousand people.According to historians, the marshal could easily repulse the Prussians, but he chose to give up.
On other fronts, too, Bismarck luck.As a result, January 28, 1871 the French government signed the armistice at Versailles.The Franco-Prussian War ended.There, in the palace of the kings of France, the German Empire was proclaimed.It will take half a century, and in the same room will have to sign a peace treaty Germans after Germany would be defeated in the First World War.But before this was far in May of the same year, the parties signed a peace treaty by which France lost Alsace, not only with Lorraine, but a tidy sum of 5 billion francs.Thus, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.not only united Germany but also greatly weakened France economically.
