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

Wawro describes the Franco-Prussian War, 1870–1, that violently changed the course of European history.

Geoffrey Wawro (Author)

9780521617437, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 21 February 2005

346 pages, 18 b/w illus. 13 maps
22.7 x 15.4 x 2.2 cm, 0.46 kg

'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 …'. War in History

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.

Introduction
1. Causes of the Franco-Prussian War
2. The armies in 1870
3. Mobilization for war
4. Wissembourg and Spicheren
5. Froeschwiller
6. Mars-la-Tour
7. Gravelotte
8. The road to Sedan
9. Sedan
10. France on the brink
11. France falls
12. The peace.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD]