FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR

1870 – 1871

Background to the war

After victory in the Austro-Prussian-Italian War of 1866 (see previous posts), Prussia sought to unite all German states under its auspices, as well as weaken France. France, in turn, tried to exclude the possibility of the formation of a united and strong Germany.

The formal reason for the war was the claim to the Spanish throne, which was put forward by a relative of the Prussian king, Leopold Hohenzollern. Spanish Queen Isabella was overthrown in 1868 II , which led to the start of the revolution. Afterwards, Germany and France nominated their candidacies for the Spanish throne. Leopold's claims were secretly supported by Otto von Bismarck. In Paris they were outraged by Leopold's claims. Napoleon III forced Hohenzollern to renounce the Spanish throne, and after that Napoleon's ambassador demanded that King William of Prussia himself approve this refusal I , which would be an insult.

This was taken advantage of by von Bismarck, who, as a result of diplomatic intrigue, forced France to declare war on Prussia. Thus, from the point of view of “big politics,” France was the aggressor. "Guard! France again threatens the freedom of Germany!!” But in essence, Prussia needed this war, and it was Prussia that was better prepared for it.

Beautiful Germany guarding the Rhine

KEY PARTICIPANTS

Emperor of France Napoleon III

King Wilhelm of Prussia I

Chancellor of the North German Confederation

Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen

WAR CARDS

Detailed

Take it easy

Simple

Fighting

Start of the war

By August 1, the French Army of the Rhine was ready to enter Germany. It consisted of the Guard, seven army corps and a cavalry reserve. The total number of French troops reached 200 thousand. The emperor himself took charge of them, with General Leboeuf as chief of staff. By the same time, the advanced German troops (about 330 thousand), divided into 3 armies, deployed on the Trier-Landau line. Here it is necessary to clarify that although the war is called Franco-Prussian, in fact the alliance of North German states opposed France, plus the South German states joined this alliance. Thus, the war should be called Franco-German.

Already on July 28, at the military council in Metz, it became clear that the French army was completely unprepared, but public opinion demanded offensive action, and the 2nd Corps of General Frossard was moved to Saarbrücken, where the first, inconclusive battle with the Germans who occupied this city followed (August 2). squad.

Meanwhile, on August 3, the transportation of German troops to the border was completed, and the next day the 3rd Prussian (German) Army invaded Alsace and defeated the French division of General Douai, located near Weissenburg.

Following this, Napoleon III , having abandoned the general command of the troops and leaving at his disposal only the guard and the 6th corps, entrusted the defense of Alsace to three corps (1st, 5th and 7th) under the command of MacMahon, and the troops stationed at Metz subordinated to Marshal Bazin. Thus, the army, which was not distinguished by great combat fervor, was divided.

Subsequently, a series of fierce battles followed, in which the Prussians/Germans invariably held the upper hand. The French retreated, the Germans pressed, and an interesting situation turned out. The Germans bypassed the French and near Metz they attacked to the East, and the French fought facing the West, i.e., the armies fought with an inverted front.

The defeat of the main forces of the French army

On the morning of August 16, Emperor Napoleon, who was with Bazin’s army, III went to Chalons. On the same day, French troops were attacked at Mars-la-Tour and Vionville by two corps of the 2nd German Army. This battle, indecisive in a tactical sense, was an important victory for the Germans in a strategic sense. They intercepted Bazin's direct route of retreat to Paris. Instead of taking advantage of the temporary superiority of his forces to attack the enemy the next day, on August 17 Bazaine withdrew his troops to an impregnable, in his opinion, position under the very fortress of Metz. Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd German armies (over 250 thousand) were quickly approaching the decisive point of the campaign. The location of Bazaine's troops became clear to the Germans only around noon on August 18th. On this day, in the morning they moved in a northerly direction. A stubborn general battle took place at Saint-Privat and Gravelotte, in which the Germans inflicted a decisive defeat on the French. The French army retreated to Metz, where it was blocked.

Map of the battle of Gravelotte - Saint-Privat

Siege of Metz

The next day, the German military forces were reorganized. The 4th Army (Meuse) was formed from the guard, 12th and 4th corps of the 2nd Army, with the 5th and 6th cavalry divisions. She, together with the 3rd (total strength up to 245 thousand), was ordered to attack Paris.

On the French side, meanwhile, a new army (about 140 thousand) was formed at Chalons, under the command of MacMahon. The emperor himself arrived to this army. At first it was decided to take her to Paris, but public opinion rebelled against this, demanding Bazin’s revenue, and, at the insistence of the new Minister of War, Count Palikao, MacMahon decided to carry out such a risky operation. On August 23, his army moved to the Meuse River. This movement was delayed by food difficulties, and meanwhile, already on August 25, accurate information about it was received at the German headquarters. The 3rd and 4th German armies moved in a northerly direction, across MacMahon, and managed to warn the French at the crossings across the Meuse. Repeated clashes with the German troops that were overtaking him pointed out to McMahon the danger that threatened him. He still had the opportunity to save his army, but instead led it to the Sedan fortress, which did not at all represent a reliable stronghold and was surrounded on all sides by dominant heights. The result was the Sedan disaster that followed on September 1, which ended with the capture of the entire French army of MacMahon, along with Emperor Napoleon III.

Maps of the Sedan disaster

Of the entire active French army, only the 13th Corps remained free, which was sent by the Minister of War to reinforce MacMahon and had already reached Maizières, but, having learned on the evening of September 1 about what happened at Sedan, it immediately began to retreat to Paris. pursued by the 6th German Corps.

Official news of the defeat at Sedan was received in the capital of France on September 3, and the next day there, as a result of a mass uprising of Parisians, Napoleon III was declared deposed, and a Government of National Defense was organized, which offered peace to Germany, but, due to the excessive demands of the victorious enemy, the agreement did not take place.

Siege of Paris and end of the war

The Germans brought about 700 thousand people into France during September and October. The French, apart from Bazin’s army locked in Metz, had only relatively insignificant reliable forces left. Together with Vinoy's corps, which made it to Paris, up to 150 thousand people could be counted in Paris, a significant part of which were of very dubious dignity. However, the Germans refused to storm Paris and surrounded it with a tight ring. Later, when heavy artillery was brought up, they began shelling Paris.

Maps of the Siege of Paris

Subsequently, the war took on the character of a struggle for Paris. A prominent role was later played by Leon Michel Gambetta. The hastily elected Government of People's Defense entrusted Gambetta with the post of Minister of the Interior. Before the new government could do anything, Paris was surrounded and cut off from the country. Gambetta flew from Paris in a hot air balloon and two days later appeared in Tours, imbued with the thought of saving his homeland.

Leon Michel Gambetta

France was completely disorganized, left without an army, without weapons and fortresses. Gambetta, vested with dictatorial powers, organized the defense within a month. For four months, the armies he assembled tried to unblock Paris and somehow improve the situation in the war.

Using the enormous economic and human potential, Gambetta created new corps and armies, but the trouble was that he tried to command them, not paying attention to the advice of the military. The newly created armies were invariably defeated. Several attempts by the Parisian garrison to break through were unsuccessful. Moreover, after 70 days of siege, the army in Metz capitulated. A series of bloody battles took place in the Orleans area, where the French tried to break through to Paris.

Meanwhile, the French, led by Gambetta, “produced” more and more new corps and armies. The Loire, 2nd Loire, Eastern, and Northern armies were created. Moreover, even Giuseppe Garibaldi decided to help France and created his own “army”. But this hero of Italy was a little mistaken - that being good for Italy and against all sorts of Italian “states” is completely unsuitable against German power. The Prussian General Staff never seriously considered this army. One Badensky demonstration was enough XIV corps, so that the “valiant Garibaldians” began to retreat and evade battle.

After the fall of Metz, the liberated German troops began to methodically capture all the fortresses in the combat area.

On January 19, 1871, the French made a new attempt to break out of surrounded Paris to the south, to the Loire, which ended in complete failure and the loss of more than 4 thousand people.

On January 22, a riot broke out in Paris, which, however, was soon suppressed. On January 28, a truce was concluded for 21 days. Pressed to the border, Clenchan's French army (about 80 thousand) crossed from Verrieres to Switzerland on February 1, where they laid down their arms.

Peace treaty

February 26, 1871 A preliminary peace treaty was signed at Versailles. On March 1, German troops entered Paris and occupied part of the city. After receiving news of the ratification of the preliminary treaty by the French National Assembly, they were withdrawn on March 3. The final peace treaty was signed on May 10 in Frankfurt am Main.

France lost Alsace and Lorraine, and also pledged to pay an indemnity of 5 billion francs.

French Army losses

Total losses in the war

Birth of the German Empire

January 18, 1871 at Versailles Bismarck and Wilhelm I announced the reunification of Germany. Bismarck's dream came true - he created a unified German state. The Empire was quickly joined by states that were not part of the North German Confederation - Bavaria and other southern German states. Austria did not become part of the newly unified Germany. The five billion francs that the French paid to the Germans as indemnities became a solid foundation for the German economy. Bismarck became the second man of Germany, but this is only formally. In fact, the prime minister was practically the sole ruler, and William I was not persistent and greedy for power.

Thus, a new powerful power appeared on the continent - the German Empire, whose territory was 540,857 km², population 41,058,000 people, and an army of almost 1 million soldiers.

Proclamation of the German Empire

MAJOR BATTLES OF THE WAR

PAINTINGS

DEDICATED TO WAR

As it turned out, there are no paintings based on this war! She was portrayed by both the French and Germans. There is romance, tragedy, and drama. There is both realism and criticism. So here's a little, a little.

For secret defensive alliances (-):
Bavaria
Baden
Württemberg
Hesse-Darmstadt

Francois Achille Bazin
Patrice de MacMahon

Helmut Carl Bernhard von Moltke (The Elder)

139,000 dead and 143,000 wounded

52,313 dead and 89,732 injured

Franco-Prussian War- - military conflict between the empire of Napoleon III and Prussia, which was seeking European hegemony. The war, provoked by the Prussian Chancellor O. Bismarck and formally started by Napoleon III, ended with the defeat and collapse of the French Empire, as a result of which Prussia managed to transform the North German Confederation into a unified German Empire.

Background to the conflict

Main article: Luxembourg question

The most important thing in this passage is the instruction to “limit the extent of military operations.” It belonged to Austria and kept her from intervening in the war on the side of France.

Italy and the Franco-Prussian War

During the Franco-Prussian War, France, Austria-Hungary and Prussia tried to win Italy over to their side. But neither country was successful. France still held Rome and had a garrison in that city. The Italians wanted to unite their country, including Rome, but France did not allow this. France did not intend to withdraw its garrison from Rome, thereby losing a possible ally. Prussia feared that Italy might start a war with France, and tried in every possible way to achieve Italian neutrality in the outbreak of the war. Fearing the strengthening of Italy, Bismarck himself personally wrote to the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, asking him not to interfere in the war with France. On the Austrian side, although there were proposals for an alliance against Prussia, they did not have the same effect as Bismarck's words. The Prussian Chancellor managed to achieve neutrality from Italy in this war.

Austria-Hungary and the Franco-Prussian War

German artillerymen near Paris.

Comparative characteristics of the Prussian Dreyse rifle and the French Chassepot

The results of the Franco-Prussian War were summed up by the Frankfurt Peace of 1871. France lost Alsace and a significant part of Lorraine with a population of one and a half million, two-thirds German, one-third French, undertook to pay 5 billion francs (i.e. 1,875 million rubles at the current rate) and had to undergo German occupation east of Paris before payment of the indemnity. Germany released the prisoners captured in the Franco-Prussian War immediately, and at that moment there were more than 400 thousand of them.

France became a republic and lost two provinces. The North German Confederation and the South German states united to form the German Empire, the territory of which was increased by the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.
Austria, still not losing hope of taking revenge on Prussia for its defeat in the war of 1866, finally abandoned the idea of ​​regaining its former dominance in Germany. Italy took possession of Rome, and the centuries-old secular power of the Roman high priest (the pope) thereby ended.

The Franco-Prussian War had important results for the Russians as well. Emperor Alexander II took advantage of the defeat of France in order to announce to the other powers in the fall of 1870 that Russia no longer recognized itself as bound by the Treaty of Paris of 1856, which prohibited it from having a navy in the Black Sea.
England and Austria protested, but Bismarck proposed to settle the matter at a conference, which met in London at the beginning of 1871. Russia here had to agree in principle that international treaties should be respected by everyone, but the new treaty drawn up at the conference, however, satisfied Russian demand.
The Sultan was forced to come to terms with this, and Turkey, having lost its defender and patron in the person of Napoleon III, temporarily fell under the influence of Russia.

After the Franco-Prussian War, political dominance in Europe, which belonged to France under Napoleon III, passed to the new empire, just as France itself, as a result of its victories in the Crimea, took away this dominance from Russia at the end of the reign of Nicholas I.
The role in international politics played by the “Tuileries Sphinx” Louis Napoleon, as a result of the Franco-Prussian War, passed to the “Iron Chancellor” of the German Empire, and Bismarck became the scarecrow of Europe for a long time. It was expected that after a war on three fronts (with Denmark, Austria and France), he would start a war on the fourth front, with Russia.
It was expected that Germany would want to take possession of all the lands where there were Germans, that is, the German parts of Austria and Switzerland and the Baltic provinces of Russia, and, in addition, Holland with its rich colonies; Finally, they expected a new war with France, which did not put up with the loss of two provinces, and in which the idea of ​​“revenge” was very strong, that is, revenge for the defeat and return of the lost regions.
After the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck declared at every opportunity that Germany was “completely saturated” and would only protect the common peace, but they did not believe him.

The peace, however, was not broken, but it was an armed peace. After the Franco-Prussian War, there was an increase in militarism: the introduction of universal conscription on the Prussian model in various states, an increase in the size of armies, the improvement of weapons, the reconstruction of fortresses, the strengthening of military fleets, etc., etc.
Something like a race began between the great powers, which was accompanied, of course, by a constant increase in military budgets, and with them taxes and especially public debts.
Entire industries associated with military orders received extraordinary development after the Franco-Prussian War. One “cannon king” Krupp in Germany, in the second half of the eighties, could boast that his factory produced more than 200,000 guns at the request of 34 states.

The fact is that secondary states also began to arm themselves, reform their troops, introduce universal conscription, etc., fearing for their independence or, as was the case in Belgium and Switzerland, for their neutrality in the event of a new major clash like this Franco-Prussian war.
The peace between the Great Powers was as unbroken after 1871 as it was between 1815 and 1859; only Russia waged a new war with Turkey in the late seventies.

Eyewitness testimony: I.S. Turgenev "LETTERS ABOUT THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR" http://rvb.ru/turgenev/01text/vol_10/05correspondence/0317.htm

He sought to unite all German lands under his rule, and the French Emperor Napoleon III tried to prevent this, not wanting to see another strong state in Europe, and even one neighboring France.

Reasons and reason for war

All that remained for the Prussian Chancellor to do to create a united Germany was to annex the South German states. But Bismarck was not going to limit himself to this: the Prussians were attracted by the French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, rich in coal and iron ore, which were so necessary for German industrialists.

Thus, the reasons for the Franco-Prussian war were obvious, all that remained was to find a reason. Both sides actively searched for him, and he was soon found. In July 1870, the Spanish government, preoccupied with finding a candidate for the royal throne, which was left without an owner after the next revolution, turned to the relative of the Prussian king, Prince Leopold. Napoleon III, who did not want to see another crowned representative next door to France, began to negotiate with Prussia. The French ambassador managed to achieve success in this. But, as it turned out later, a provocation was hidden here. Bismarck composed a telegram to the French emperor about Prussia's renunciation of the Spanish throne in a rather offensive tone for the French, and even published it in newspapers. The result was predictable - the enraged Napoleon III declared war on Prussia.

Balance of power

The international situation in which the Franco-Prussian War began was more favorable for Prussia than for France. The states that were part of the French side took the side of Bismarck, but the French emperor was left without allies. Russia maintained a neutral position; diplomatic relations with Britain and Italy were hopelessly damaged thanks to the incompetent policies of Napoleon III. The only state that could enter the war on his side was Austria, but the Austrian government, which had recently been defeated in the war with Prussia, did not dare to get involved in a new battle with its recent enemy.

From the very first days, the Franco-Prussian war revealed the weaknesses of the French army. Firstly, its numbers were seriously inferior to the enemy - 570 thousand soldiers versus 1 million for the North German Confederation. The weapons were also worse. The only thing the French could be proud of was their faster rate of fire. But the most important thing was the lack of a clear plan of military action. It was compiled hastily, and much of it was unrealistic: both the timing of mobilization and the calculations for a split between the allies.

As for Prussia, the Franco-Prussian war, of course, did not take either the king or the chancellor by surprise. Its army was distinguished by discipline and excellent weapons, and was created on the basis of universal conscription. The dense network of railways in Germany made it possible to quickly transfer 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 offensive began. The French corps were defeated one after another. On September 1, a battle began near the Sedan fortress, where Napoleon III was located. The French command was unable to avoid encirclement, and on top of that, the army suffered huge losses from cross-fire. As a result, the very next day Napoleon III was forced to surrender. Having captured 84 thousand people, the Prussians moved towards the French capital.

The news of the defeat at Sedan sparked an uprising in Paris. Already on September 4, a Republic was proclaimed in France. The new government began to form new armies. Thousands of volunteers took up arms, but the new authorities were unable to organize the country’s defense from the enemy. On October 27, Marshal Bazin’s huge army, numbering almost 200 thousand people, capitulated. According to historians, the marshal could well have repelled the Prussians, but chose to surrender.

On other fronts, Bismarck was also lucky. As a result, on January 28, 1871, a truce was signed in Versailles. The Franco-Prussian War is over. There, in the palace of the French kings, it was proclaimed. Half a century will pass, and in the same hall the Germans will sign, after Germany is defeated in the First World War. But so far this was far from happening: in May of the same year, the parties signed a peace treaty, according to which France not only lost Alsace and Lorraine, but also a tidy sum of 5 billion francs. Thus, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. not only united Germany, but also significantly weakened France economically.

The defeat of France with the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 occurred unusually quickly. Three German armies, led by himself William I, constantly having Bismarck, Moltke and War Minister Roon with them, they moved towards France, preventing its army, led by Napoleon III, from invading Germany. Already in early August, the Germans victoriously entered Alsace and Lorraine, after which revolutionary ferment began in Paris.

Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871: Battle of Mars-la-Tour on August 16, 1870. Artist P. J. Janniot, 1886

Under the influence of dissatisfaction - both among the people and among the army - with the defeats to which certain parts of the French army were subjected, Napoleon III resigned from his main command in the Franco-Prussian War and handed it over to Marshal Bazin. It was necessary to retreat, but nothing was prepared for the retreat, and Bazaine had only one thing left - to lock himself in Metz, which was immediately surrounded by the enemy. Another French army under the command of a marshal McMahon was heading towards Metz, but the Germans blocked her road, pushed her to the north and surrounded her on all sides near Sedan. Here, on September 2, the main catastrophe of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 occurred - the surrender of the French army of more than 80 thousand people and the surrender of Napoleon III himself. Bazin's attempt, around this time, to break through to join MacMahon was repulsed, and Bazin was finally locked in Metz.

Franco-Prussian War. Battle of Sedan. 1870

Battle of Sedan decided the outcome of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 and became a fatal blow to the second French empire. Napoleon III did not feel safe in his own army, he left in a carriage to look for the Prussian king, but met with Bismarck and Moltke, and then with Wilhelm I. At their meeting, they talked about the causes of the Franco-Prussian War, and the captive emperor justified himself by saying that It was the public opinion of France that forced him to start a war that he himself did not want. “But this public opinion,” the Prussian king objected to him, “was created by your Majesty’s ministers.”

Captured Napoleon III talks with Bismarck after the Battle of Sedan

The news of the Sedan disaster came to Paris the next day, and on the 4th it happened revolution. In the morning, crowds of people walked through the streets of Paris, shouting about the deposition of Napoleon, and in the middle of the day people filled the legislative building. The meeting was interrupted, and the Parisian deputies, having gathered in the town hall, proclaimed a republic ( Third Republic) and organized a “government of national defense” under the chairmanship of General Trochu. It included well-known opponents of Napoleon III: a Jew who took over internal affairs, and the journalist Rochefort, who had just been released from prison. This government was not averse to ending the Franco-Prussian War and making peace, but Bismarck demanded the concession of Alsace and the German part of Lorraine. “Not a single inch of our land, not a single stone of our fortresses,” Jules Favre, a member of the French government who was in charge of external affairs, decisively declared in response to this demand.

The “Government of National Defense” sent Thiers to the foreign courts on September 12 for help, but his mission was not successful, and on September 19, 1870, exactly two months after the declaration of war, the Germans had already besieged Paris. At the end of September 1870, the capitulation of Strasbourg, besieged at the beginning of hostilities, followed; at the end of October, Bazaine was forced to starve to surrender Metz to the Germans with an army of 173 thousand. (Public opinion biasedly accused the marshal of treason). Now there were two French armies in German captivity, numbering about 250 thousand people - something unheard of in all military history - and German troops from Strasbourg and Metz could move further into France. Sedan, Strasbourg and Metz reserves during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 went to the Germans, as well as everything that was still found by the Germans in other fortresses, which then surrendered one after another.

Franco-Prussian War. Map. The dotted line marks the border of the territory ceded to Germany by the Frankfurt Peace

On September 19, as was said, the siege of Paris began. Back in the forties, in view of the expected war with the Germans, the city was, on the initiative Thiera, fortified with a rampart and ditch 34 versts long and a number of forts at some distance from Paris, the line of which was 66 versts. When the enemy attacked Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, 60-70 thousand regular troops were collected, a large amount of food supplies, as well as military supplies, etc. were brought in. It was a difficult task for the Germans to surround Paris with its population exceeding 2 million. shower to cut him and his forts off from all communication with the rest of the world. The main headquarters of the German army was located at Versailles, the famous residence of the last three French kings of the old monarchy.

Siege of Paris, which lasted during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 for 19 weeks without one day (4 and a half months), in terms of the mass of the inhabitants of the besieged city and the mass of the besieging troops, was something unprecedented in world history. In the end, there was not enough food supplies, and they had to eat dogs, rats, etc. In addition to hunger, the Parisians also suffered from the winter cold. To top it all off, in January 1871, when the Prussians brought heavy siege artillery to Paris, the city was bombarded for three weeks. Relations with the outside world were maintained only by carrier pigeons. Three members of the government of national defense, even before the start of the siege, retired to Tours in order to organize the defense of the country from there, and after the start of the siege they were joined by Gambetta, who flew from Paris in a hot air balloon.

All attempts by the besieged to repel the Germans ended extremely unsuccessfully; Discontent with General Trochu reigned in the city, and attempts were even made to overthrow the government. Finally, on January 23, 1871, after a series of failed armistice negotiations in the Franco-Prussian War, Jules Favre went to Versailles to ask for peace. On January 28, 1971, he and Bismarck signed an act of capitulation of Paris and a truce for three weeks with the transfer of all external forts to the Germans, the issuance of weapons, the leaving of the Parisian army in the city as prisoners of war, the payment of 200 million francs indemnity and the obligation to assemble in Bordeaux in two weeks national assembly for peace.

Ten days before the capitulation of Paris, on January 18, 1871, in one of the Versailles halls, the allied German sovereigns, on the formal initiative of the Bavarian king, proclaimed the Prussian king German Emperor. This was preceded a month before Wilhelm I received a deputation from the North German Reichstag, asking him to accept a new title. It is curious that the deputation was headed by the same person (Simsov), who in 1849 offered the imperial crown to the late brother of Wilhelm I on behalf of the Frankfurt parliament. Thus the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership was completed.

Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles, 1871. Painting by A. von Werner, 1885. In the center, at the steps of the throne, is Bismarck in a white uniform. To his right, half-turned, is Helmuth von Moltke

During the siege of Paris, the “Dictator of Tours,” as Gambetta was nicknamed for the energy and authority he displayed, as now Minister of War, organized a massive militia from the remnants of the regular army and recruits (all men from 21 to 40 years old) and obtained weapons for it, secretly bought in England. Four armies were created, which numbered almost 600 thousand people, but the Germans defeated these untrained crowds thrown into battle by the French Republicans one after another. As the Franco-Prussian War continued, they continued to capture thousands of soldiers and took cities on the other side of Paris, incidentally, capturing Tours itself. The north-eastern corner of France between Belgium and the Channel, and a large territory south-west of Paris fell into the hands of the Prussians, and one of Gambetta’s hastily recruited armies, defeated and losing up to 15 thousand prisoners, was forced to move to Switzerland, where it was disarmed . Despite all this, Gambetta resisted the conclusion of peace and, with a proclamation to the people on January 31, appealed to the patriotism of the French to wage the Franco-Prussian war to the last extreme.

Leon Michel Gambetta. Painting by L. Bonn, 1875

In essence, however, the outcome of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 was decided by the capitulation of Paris. Military operations in 1870-71. lasted 180 days, during which 800 thousand people were killed, wounded, taken prisoner, disarmed in Paris and crossed into Swiss territory - again, something that could not be imagined before.

At the beginning of February, elections to the National Assembly took place throughout France, without any interference from the Germans, which then opened its meetings on February 12 in Bordeaux. The Government of National Defense resigned, and Thiers became the head of the executive branch, who was entrusted with negotiating peace. The preliminary treaty ending the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 took place at Versailles on February 26. On March 1, 1871, it was adopted by the national assembly (546 votes to 107), and on May 20 it was finally signed in Frankfurt am Main. By Peace of Frankfurt 1871 France lost Alsace and a large part of Lorraine with a population of one and a half million, two-thirds German, one-third French, was obliged to pay 5 billion francs and had to undergo German occupation east of Paris until the indemnity was paid. Germany released French prisoners of war immediately, and at that moment there were more than 400 thousand of them.