The War of 1870 pitted France and allied Prussia against a coalition of German states, from July 1870 to January 1871. It originated in a diplomatic incident between the two countries over the succession of the Spanish crown, the ambitious Chancellor Bismarck having cleverly trapped Napoleon III with the famous dispatch from Ems. Poorly prepared, this war would turn into a disaster for France, resulting in the loss of the territories of Alsace-Lorraine , who were therefore at the center of the Franco-German dispute until 1914. Supreme humiliation, the German Empire was proclaimed... in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles on January 18, 1871.
The origins of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870
Towards the end of the 1860s, a strong Francophobic current reached Prussia. In 1867, Count von Moltke called for a preventive war to “exterminate the hereditary enemy”. For Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the war situation offers, on the one hand, a pretext to try to convince the last reluctant German states (Württemberg, Bavaria) of the relevance of German unity and, on the other hand, a bias to diminish — even stifle — French power on a European scale.
The French population does not want war. But the Emperor Napoleon III sought to regain, both at home and abroad, the prestige lost after several diplomatic setbacks, in particular the Prussian victory over Austria after Sadowa (July 1866) which enabled Prussia to dangerously expand its territories. In addition to not looking favorably on the progress of German unitary nationalism, Prussian military power poses a threat to France.
The Ems Dispatch Trap
The event that precipitated the war was the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, cousin of King William I of Prussia, to the throne of Spain left vacant since the 1868 revolution Under Bismarckian pressure, Leopold agreed to seek the throne on July 3, 1870. France saw in this advent the threatening possibility of a Prusso-Spanish alliance; also, the government threatens to go to war if the Hohenzollern candidacy is not withdrawn. The French ambassador to Prussia, Count Benedetti, leaves for Ems - a spa town in northwestern Germany where William I is staying - and asks him to order Leopold's withdrawal. Although upset, the monarch gives Benedetti permission to contact his cousin. In his absence, the father of the latter, Prince Charles-Antoine, accepts the withdrawal of the candidacy.
Emperor Napoleon III is not satisfied with this retreat. He wants to humiliate Prussia, even at the cost of a war. The Duke of Gramont, Minister of Foreign Affairs, then asked William I to write a personal letter of apology to the Emperor and to guarantee that the Hohenzollern candidacy for Spain would never be renewed. On July 13, 1870, during an interview with Benedetti, William I rejected these claims in a so-called “Ems” dispatch. Chancellor Bismarck immediately publishes an abridgement of the dispatch, the offensive wording of which exasperates Franco-Prussian tension. He knows that this provocation will lead to the hoped-for conflict:Prussia is militarily ready and Bismarck is counting on the psychological effect of going to war to rally the German states to his cause.
War turns to disaster for the Second Empire
Following Ems' deliberately offensive dispatch to France, war was declared on July 19, 1870. The troops then set off and rush towards the enemy:the Prussians. The French officers, adventurers rather than tacticians, acted in disorder and the Prussians took the advantage, both by their numerical superiority (1,200,000 men against 900,000 French) and by their tactical skill. The war was short (six months) and the French army suffered defeats in practically all the battles which opposed it to the Prussians. Moreover, all the battles - except the first one - took place on French soil, including the battle of Reichshoffen which took place on August 6, 1870 in northern Alsace.
The most resounding defeat is undoubtedly that of Sedan which took place on August 31 and 1
er
September 1870. Napoleon III committed his troops there, commanded by Mac Mahon, against those of Von Moltke. Despite the effectiveness of the French Chassepot rifle and the fighting spirit of the French troops, the Prussians and the Bavarians prevailed and Napoleon III was taken prisoner there on September 2. The imperial war became a republican war when the Third Republic was proclaimed on September 4, 1870, two days after the capitulation of Sedan.
Peace will not come immediately. Bismark's desire to annex Alsace and part of Lorraine pushes the national defense government to continue the war, without a real army. Paris was besieged in October and Gambetta managed to flee in a balloon to try to form a relief army in the provinces, while Thiers tried unsuccessfully to obtain support from other European countries. Gambetta forms an army of 600,000 men which defeats the Prussians at Coulmiers (November 9, 1870), takes Orléans and goes north. But the capitulation of Bazaine in Metz allows the German army to come to meet the French.
Consequences of the War of 1870
The debacle in the east then opened the door to Paris and the war continued until January 28, 1871, when France recognized its defeat and resolved to sign an armistice. On May 10, 1871, peace was ratified by the Frankfurt Treaty. France had lost. She then ceded Alsace and part of Lorraine (similar to the department of Moselle) except Belfort, had to pay an indemnity of 5 billion gold francs and, in a particularly humiliating condition, she had to authorize the parade of German troops on the Champs -Elysees. It won't be the last time...
With the defeat of 1870 the Second Empire sank and the Napoleonic dream of French hegemony in Europe. Prussian King William becomes Emperor of Germany, bringing about the political unification of the German states. This war exacerbated nationalisms and agitated France with a current of revenge and it was one of the causes, behind the scenes, of the First World War.
Bibliography
- LECAILLON, Jean-François, The French and the War of 1870, Paris, 2004.
- MILZA, Pierre, The Terrible Year:September 1870 - March 1871, the Franco-Prussian War Perrin, Paris, 2009.
- ROTH, François, The War of 1870, Fayard, Paris, 1990.