The Franco Prussian War It began on July 19, 1870 and ended on May 10, 1871. During this armed conflict between France and Prussia, around 240,000 people died, mostly from the French army led by Emperor Napoleon III.
The one lived in the Franco-Prussian War was a struggle in which the Kingdom of Prussia (Germany) and the group of leaders of this empire led by Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck achieved their long-awaited political unification and the birth of the Second Reich.
During this confrontation it was captured Emperor Napoleon III.
Despite the fact that defeat was not an option for the French, since they had great weapons and were considered one of the strongest armies in Europe, this was not an impediment for Prussia to face them, since they saw the weakness in their emperor Napoleon. III, taking advantage of his madness to maintain his popularity and his serious state of health, to attack the country and thus obtain more territory for the German government.
In addition the prussian army had been preparing for franco prussian war acquiring modern weapons and its railway development was of great help in the transfer of troops, which gave them an advantage at the time of confront the french army.
The triggers of the franco-prussian war were the great ego of Napoleon III and the cunning and intelligence of the chancellor Otto Von Bismarck to provoke the French emperor to confront Germany, thus uniting all the pieces so that the emperor of France will unleash its fury against Germany causing a war between the two nations.
Causes of the Franco-Prussian War
The main cause of this franco-prussian war was the vacancy on the throne of Spain and the postulation of the cousin of the King of Prussia Wilhelm I Hohenzollern, that is, the Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen candidate to occupy the reign, which generated tensions between these governments.
If the prince were to occupy the throne of Spain this, in the eyes of Napoleon III, his wife and her advisers, would place them at a great strategic disadvantage compared to Prussia. In view of this, Napoleon III requested the resignation The immediate decision of the prince to occupy that position in writing, despite having already achieved it verbally and publicly, insisted that the King of Prussia himself leave it in writing as a guarantee that this would be fulfilled.
For this, Emperor Napoleon III and his diplomacy assigned their ambassador to speak personally with William the King of Prussiawho refused this negotiation and sent a telegram to Chancellor Bismarck that he very cunningly used to provoke the annoyance to the French that the start of the war would cause.
The letter written by the King of Prussia stated that he did agree with the demands of the French government and accepted the removal of the Prince to the Spanish throne, but that he had decided not to receive the French ambassador, however the German Chancellor Bismarck manipulated it in such a way that it reflected that the King rejected the French ambassador and had nothing more to comment on the case of the removal of the Prince . This statement was made public through the press and was seen by the French government that felt humiliated and obtained the approval of the parliament to declare the Franco-Prussian war.
Development of the Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian declaration of war it was made on July 19, 1870, with a French army led mainly by the emperor Napoleon IIIwhich used various strategies presented by Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Charles Auguste Frossard, veteran Albert of Habsburg-Teschen, Francois Certain de Canrobert.
However, none of these were successful as the Emperor Napoleon III himself and his general Mac-Mahon surrendered unconditionally during the war. battle of sedan on September 1, 1870 during the battle of Sedan, seeing the great power of the Prussian army that also outnumbered them, weapons and organization.
After his surrender, Emperor Napoleon III, Patrice de Mac-Mahon, along with his army, were taken as prisoners. Napoleon III demanded that the French government declare peace and end the Franco-Prussian War to avoid the loss of more lives, without However, they were deaf words since a Republican Government was formed that continued the battle against the Kingdom of Prussia.
With the fall of the emperor the Second French Empire was deposed and the French Third Republic is born and the creation of a Government of National Defense on September 4, 1870, who at first were willing to negotiate peace with Prussia, but seeing the conditions for a peace treaty, such as ceding the territory of Alsace and Lorraine that were rich in coal, they gave up and maintained the defense of France, without success since the German offensive, the rapid invasion of their land, the lack of food, because the Germans had the borders blocked and did not allow the entry of food to the country and the lack of defense forced them to accept the conditions.
Despite the discontent of the French population for the surrender to the Germans, the government, in view of all the conditions they were going through, sign the pact to end the conflict franco prussian war between both nations on January 28, 1871, this surrender was signed by the President Jules Favre, since the former president of the Defense Government Jules Trochu, in order to maintain a little pride, resigned from the presidency so as not to sign the surrender. It is said that Favre was so moved when he heard the guns cease that he burst into tears.
But the resistance was maintained by León Gambeta, the defense minister, who launched another attack on the Prussian army and obviously failed, giving his surrender on February 6, 1871.
After several negotiations, on February 26, 1871, a preliminary treaty of peace for the franco prussian warwhich was later consolidated under the Frankfurt Treaty on May 10, 1871, declaring the definitive peace and the end of the Franco-Prussian War.
Consequences of the Franco-Prussian War
It was consolidated Second Reichdirected by the King William I Hohenzollernwhich later would be the main protagonist of the First World War.
France lost the Provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, as well as the city of Metz, where the main coal mines were located.
A hatred was created that lasted generations between the natives of both countries who lived in the Provinces taken by the Kingdom of Prussia, creating conflicts, situations and alliances between countries to fight against the German Empire, which finally led to the World War I in 1914.
If you liked reading this article, we recommend that you continue reading more about history, such as: The Battle of Waterloo: The End of Napoleon and the French Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the 19th Century