The Franco-Prussian War is the final stage of German unification is achieved through a third war, carefully prepared by Bismarck. Thus culminated the warmongering policy initiated by him after the defeat of Denmark.
Napoleon III who was ill, and strongly influenced by his wife Eugenia de Montijo and her relatives, developed a dangerous policy against the growing Prussian force. In 1870 he was easily drawn into a war for which his country was not prepared.
In September 1868 a revolution broke out in Spain that overthrew Isabel II and she left the throne vacant. The Spanish revolutionaries then proposed the German Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, William's cousin, as a candidate for the Hispanic throne (July 1870).
For France, this fact meant a serious threat, since it would be surrounded between two States governed by the Prussian dynasty. French diplomacy managed to get the prince to withdraw his candidacy, while William I was required to make a clear statement against Leopold's future candidacy. William's refusal was presented by Bismarck, through skillful censorship of the telegram from Ems, where King William was serving a period of rest, as an offense to France.
The Ems telegram incident angered the French and the Gallic parliament approved the declaration of war on Prussia.
The Operations of the Franco-Prussian War
Prussia, with the support of its railways and through carefully prepared plans, quickly mobilized 500,000 men, against less than half that the French mustered.
Excellent soldiers, and owners of good quality portable weapons, among which the Chassepot rifle stood out, the French saw themselves in inferior conditions overwhelming numbers and very poorly conducted. After a series of fierce encounters, the armies of Napoleon III, whose poor health prevented him from performing effectively, were defeated at Sedan (September 1, 1870). In this action 100,000 French and the emperor himself were taken prisoner.
The defeat of the monarchy produced a general insurrection in Paris, in which a Government of National Defense was formed, reminiscent of the days of the Revolution of 1789 when mass conscription of citizens saved France from foreign domination. Among its members stood out León Gambetta , who escaped from Paris in a balloon, the city was located by the Prussians, who rendered the efforts of the republican government useless. After some partial successes, and after the fall, due to betrayal, of the fortress of Matz, the French were defeated and the government of Paris, a city subjected to heavy bombardment, capitulated on January 28, 1871, in Versailles.
Frankfurt, a victorious peace for Germany
On January 18, 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles. The still independent states of southern Germany joined the others, and the new kingdom, headed by William I of Hohenzollern, was proclaimed. On May 10, 1871, the definitive peace was finally signed in Frankfurt .
Consequences of the Franco-Prussian War
They were the following:
– The political unity of Germany was consolidated.
– Overthrown the Second French Empire, the Second Republic emerged.
– France had to cede to Germany the territories of Alsace and Lorraine, populated by 1,600,000 people. This created a source of new conflicts.
– The German Empire emerged as the strongest continental power in Europe.