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With updates from the author, specially commissioned maps and 50 new images, this is a concise overview of the Franco-Prussian War. The Franco-Prussian War started in 1870 when Otto von Bismarck engineered a war with the French Second Empire under Napoleon III, as part of his plan to unite Prussia with the southern German states as a new Germany. Stephen Badsey examines the build-up, battles, and impact of the war, which was an overwhelming Prussian victory with massive consequences. The French Second Empire collapsed, Napoleon III became an exile in Britain, and King Wilhelm I was proclaimed Emperor of the new united Germany. In the peace settlement that followed, Germany gained the eastern French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, areas that were to provide a bone of contention for years to come.
Updated and revised, with full-colour maps and new images throughout, this is a concise study of the largest and most important war fought in Europe between the age of Napoleon and the First World War, a war that marked the beginning of the creation of modern Europe.
List of contents
Introduction
Chronology
Background to war
Warring sides
The fighting
Portrait of a soldier
The world around war
Portrait of a civilian
How the war ended
Conclusion and consequences
Further reading
About the author
Stephen Badsey PhD MA (Cantab.) FRHistS is Professor of Conflict Studies at the University of Wolverhampton. He has previously held positions at the Imperial War Museum London, at the BBC, on the academic staff of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and at other institutions. He has published widely on military subjects ranging from the Crimean War to the future of warfare, and has made frequent contributions as a historian for television and other media.
Summary
Illustrated with colour maps and images, this is an introduction to the Franco-Prussian War, a war that marked the beginning of the creation of modern Europe.
The Franco-Prussian War started in 1870 when Otto von Bismarck engineered a war with the French Second Empire under Napoleon III, as part of his plan to unite Prussia with the southern German states as a new Germany. Stephen Badsey examines the build-up, battles, and impact of the war, which was an overwhelming Prussian victory with massive consequences. The French Second Empire collapsed, Napoleon III became an exile in Britain, and King Wilhelm I was proclaimed Emperor of the new united Germany. In the peace settlement that followed, Germany gained the eastern French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, areas that were to provide a bone of contention for years to come.
Updated for the new edition with revisions from the author and new images throughout, this is an accessible introduction to the largest and most important war fought in Europe between the age of Napoleon and the First World War.
Foreword
Illustrated with colour maps and images, this is an introduction to the Franco-Prussian War, a war that marked the beginning of the creation of modern Europe.
