No comments about SEDAN 1870: The Eclipse of France.

5 comments about A Duel of Giants: Bismarck, Napoleon III, and the Origins of the Franco-Prussian War.

1. A nice little read of the diplomacy of Bismarck and Napoleon III prior to the Franco Prussian War. What is so apparrent by this book is how the French and the French government were so arrogant about their power. Most people subscribe to the fact of Bismarck causing the war. However this book shows how the inflamed opinion of the French and their government led to the war. Popular opinion blames the Prussians but it was the French who caused the war.
   Wetzel shows the French interfering in the affairs of the Spain to place their candidate on the throne. The Spanish provisional government was not especially interested in their candidates, and ultimately decided on a Prussian prince. This was even more unacceptable to the French government. They then demanded the Prussian prince to renounce the throne. This the Prussians did. Then they demanded the Prussians apologize for their actions and completely renounce any interest. When this did not happen, they went to war against a German nation angered by the French actions. Subsequent actions paint the French as the victims when the opposite was the case. The French played into the hands of Bismarck.
   A great read for those interested in the diplomacy prior to the war. Michael Howard's Franco-Prussian War is also a great read of the war itself.



2. David Wetzel writes a concise essay on the events which brought about the Franco-Prussian War. The question of succession of the Spanish Throne turned into the events which start a domino effect which would not end until 1945.
   
   Wetzel examines the major players and how their activities brought about the war, specifically Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm and Napoleon III. Wetzel is evenhanded in his analysis of the events of the events, but fails to delve very deep into the factors which caused the conflict. A more in-depth work would provide a better understanding for readers. Despite the brevity, Wetzel produces a well written work which explains why the Franco-Prussian War occurred.



3. This is an extended academic treatise on the detail of diplomatic and political intrigue in the months immediately preceeding the Franco-Prussian war. Most notable were Prince Willam (Wilhelm) for his sanity; Napolean III for his inability to stay ahead of Gramont; Gramont himself for his arrogant assumptions about the nature of reality and the amount of control he could exert on events; and Bismark for his opportunism in turning Gramont's monumental stupidity into political advantage.
   
   This is an interesting look at all that is now known about "behind the scenes," and may change one's views of who did what with what to whom. Whether or not intended, Mr. Wetzel also did an excellent job of demonstrating how easily events can overtake political leaders. A pity American leaders are not required to have truly extensive backgrounds in history. We might have avoided some disasterous wars, including Viet Nam and the current Iraq war, neither of which went "according to plan."



4. Patricia Kollander said: " Much mystery has surrounded the Hohenzollern candidacy for the Spanish throne which initiated the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Although historians have been provided with valuable information on the subject--such as the long-suppressed documents from the German foreign office archives as well as significant documents from the Sigmaringen archives--Bismarck's motivation in the affair remains unclear.
   
   Bismarck's promotion of the Hohenzollern candidacy has provided fuel for debate among prominent scholars in German history. On one hand, historians such as Josef Becker have concluded that Bismarck specifically aimed at achieving German unification by instigating a conflict with France. They assert that the process of German unification was in a Stagnationsphase by 1870; therefore Bismarck needed a war against France lest the whole unification process fall through altogether. On the other hand, another school of thought (notably represented by Jochen Dittrich) has concluded that in promoting the candidacy, Bismarck sought nothing more than to weaken the position of the French Emperor Napoleon III, thus peacefully facilitating the unification process. Dittrich believes that the candidacy was simply a 'diplomatic weapon'; a policy designed to avoid war.Still the question remains as to why Bismarck needed a 'diplomatic weapon' or a war with France in the first place. "
   
   In this book, David Wetzel doesn't really answer this question. Nevertheless, it's a very well written book that makes a good summary of this important war of the 19th century. Wetzel is well nuanced in this interpretation that uses german, french as well as english sources. It's a very valuable book for anyone who really want to get to the point in a jiffy - and for historians, it's good too, for it summarizes the most important elements that explain the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71).



5. Ever since reading Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August 10 years ago, the Franco-Prussian War has intrigued me. A "dress rehearsal" to World War 1, so to speak, the war seemed a prominent display of militancy in the otherwise quiet European century between Waterloo and the Marne. It featured such fascinating personalities as Napoleon the Third and Otto von Bismarck, and seemed like a major step in the emergence of the German Empire, which would lead to such catastrophic results in the twentieth century. From the point of view of Military History, the Franco-Prussian War is remarkable for what didn't happen in it - unlike the contemporary American Civil War and the War of the triple alliance, and especially unlike the Great War, the Franco-Prussian war has been short and relatively bloodless. How had Europe managed to fight a war between two of its major powers with so little loss of life and treasure?
   
   Despite all these remarkable aspects, the Franco Prussian War remains in something of an oblivion. As Author David Wetzel points out, very few books have been published on it in recent decades. As an anecdote, I'm the first person to have checked "A Duel of Giants" out of the Haifa U Library. Why is the war forgotten?
   
   Wetzel does not attempt to answer this, or the other questions I find fascinating about the Franco-Prussian War. What he offers is an account of the crisis diplomacy surrounding the war's outbreak. After the first chapter, which sets the stage and introduces the players, most of the book is a blow by blow account of the diplomatic and political evolution of the crisis surrounding the so-called "Hohenzollern candidacy" - the nomination of Prussian prince Leopold to the open vacancy of the monarch of Spain.
   
   In 1868, the bourbon Queen of Spain, Isabella, was disposed of in a coup d'etat. The revolutionaries, led by General Juan Prim, set out for a substitute monarch. Unfortunately, the politics of king making were complicated: the various royal families in Europe had too close or too distant ties to one another. Each candidate raised the specter of leaning Spain towards a certain power and against the other ones. The various factions in Spain and Portugal, Italy and France and Prussia all had their say. So had the Vatican, which was worried of the pernicious effects of a Liberal King. The result was a stalemate: various names raises, and various offers were made and refused. Finally, the offer went to Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern - a Prussian.
   
   The candidacy sparked a minor upheaval within Prussian, with the King opposing it and the Chancellor, the legendary Otto von Bismarck, supporting. Finally the prince agreed. The plan was to elect the Prince in secret, and present the world with a fait accompli. But through error or sabotage, it was not to be. The French learned about the candidacy and were understandably livid. A Pro-Prussian Spain would pause a great danger to France in any Franco-Prussian confrontation. The French demanded that Leopold withdraw his candidacy.
   
   The incredible thing is that, as in the First World War, the request was acquiesced to, but that was not enough. French hardliners decided that the Prussian king would have to endorse the retraction, and forbid Leopold from taking back his withdrawal. For the Prussians that was out of the question, and they let the world know. Public statements by both sides inflamed public opinion, and French warmongers, eager for a fight, pressed for raising troops. At some point, as in World War 1, the "train timetable" played its role - the French wanted to outrace the Prussians in fielding armies. In July 1870, war was declared.
   
   Wetzel's book is hardly ideal for a general interest reader like me. From the very beginning, it assumes a lot of knowledge about 19th century European politics, knowledge I frankly lack. After a very readable introductory chapter, and a good chapter about the Spanish Revolution of 1868, the book slows down as it offers a minuet account of the diplomacy and intrigues in the various capitals of Europe, an account which I frankly found to be quite dull. The lack of any consideration of the future - the lessons, consequences or memories of the build up to war - is also disappointing. Overall, Wetzel offers an impressive in depth look into the immediate diplomatic origins of the Franco Prussian War, but one that I can recommend only to specialists.

1 comments about German Armies 1870-71 (1): Prussia (Men-at-Arms) (v. 1).

1. Although I normally find the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 an interesting subject, I cannot say that Osprey's Men-at-Arms #416, German Armies 1870-71 (1), sparks much interest. This volume on the Prussian armies, by Michael Solka, is so mired in intensely boring detail about Prussian uniforms that I found very little in these pages that was fresh or insightful. If you want to read about the different types of sword knots or what color buttons Prussian dragoons wore, then this is your book but otherwise....
   
   The best part of this volume is the detailed order of battle provided on the Prussian army for 1 August 1870; unfortunately, the author does not list Landwehr or reserve units that showed up for the winter campaigns in France. After that, the author spends most of the rest of the volume describing the uniforms and equipment (with only the barest details on equipment) of the cavalry and infantry. Much smaller sections are provided on artillery and the other support branches. Although the author provides bare outlines of unit organization, there is absolutely no mention of doctrine and the organization provides few details. The author clearly missed a chance here to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Prussian army. Readers might also note that the cavalry branch gets considerably more attention than any other branch, despite the fact that most histories credit the superiority of the Prussian artillery as the decisive factor in the war. The color plates are adequate, but not particularly informative; of the 25 figures shown, only one is a line infantryman - the kind that bore the brunt of the fighting (why Otto von Bismarck and the Kaiser are included is unknown, but they really weren't representative of field soldiers).
   
   Some of the best notes actually came in the commentaries in the back on the color plates that listed some details of which units were in particular actions. Readers might also note that very few of the photographs or illustrations depict Prussian troops in field or combat conditions. In short, this volume really doesn't address the issue of what the Prussian troops who actually fought the war looked like (why so little on winter uniforms - there was more fighting in the winter of 1870-1 than there was in the short summer campaign), or how they were organized or trained. Instead, the author buries the reader with trivia about different colors of sword knots and other uniform distinctions - all to the detriment of providing anything like a balanced account on this subject. Osprey can do better than this, as evidenced by the recent MAA title on the Russo-Japanese War, but unfortunately the MAA series seems to be increasingly directed toward a smaller and smaller audience.

3 comments about French Army 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War: 2 Republican Troops (Men-At-Arms Series, 237).

1. The Second Empire has become a more and more popular period of study for many uniform and military historians. This is the first of two books depicting uniforms of Napoleon III's Imperial Guard troops. the Zouaves,Voltigeurs of the Imperial Guard and many more plates from the Imperial troops

   In July 1870, France declared war on Prussia in part over a disagreement about a Prussian prince accepting the crown of Spain. By September 1870, a French army had been defeated, Emperor Napoleon III captured at Sedan, France declared a republic, and Paris under siege. In January 1871, Wilhelm I of Prussia was crowned Kaiser Wilhelm I of a unified Germany at Versailles, Paris fell, and France surrendered, losing Alsace and Lorraine and forced to pay huge reparations. Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Prussia since 1862, and now Germany, subsequently sought to keep France isolated to prevent the recovery of Alsace and Lorraine.

   The Second Empire, under Napoleon III, was a reaction against the bourgeois age of the previous ruler King Louis Philippe in spirit as well as in deed. The army, elevated from tactful obscurity, was re-modelled on Napoleonic lines, and its neglected iconography revived in the form of the eagle, the crowned 'N' and the Imperial bee. What was needed to complete the resurrection was victory in the field. It is hardly surprising that Napoleon and the army were mindful of the great Napoleonic traditions and were anxious to emulate them. Their first real opportunity came with the Crimean War, in which, despite a muddled campaign, the army acquitted itself well. In 1859 it was again successful, against the Austrians this time, with costly victories at Magenta and Solferino. Their next adventure, unfortunately, ended in a humiliating withdrawal, after a protracted anti-guerrilla struggle in Mexico. Meanwhile, back in Europe, Prussia was fast emerging as a challenge to France's military pre-eminence. In concert with Austria, Bismarck first crushed Denmark before turning on Austria herself. The victory at Sadowa in 1866 stunned Europe, and in Paris Napoleon and his advisers set to thinking of a way to counter this new threat. In this first of two volumes looking at the French Army of the Franco-Prussian War, Stephen Shann and Louis Delperier examine the history, organisation and weapons of the French Imperial troops.

   Remember there are two volumes this is the Imperial troops there is also the republican troops




2. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 was a dark page in French history, and ended with the destruction of the Second Empire,But even after the surrender and abdication of Napoleon III, the french army continued to battle in the ranks of the Republican armies. The Turcos,The chasseur's d'Afrique,The foreign Legion, The infanterie Legere d'Afrique and the Spahis with a detachment of Papal Zouaves which was dispatched by Pius IX to aid France in the conflict were ready to continue the fighting. Despite the disastrous result of the war, the republican troops took the arms and decide not to surrender but The newly raised republican armys had no chance against the german troops.In January Paris surrendered. This Book covers the last part of the Second Empire with information on the uniforms,eigth full color plates with black and white photos. If you are interesting in the FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR you can also consider the Next Titles The Debacle by Emile Zola, Art, War and Revolution in France, 1870-1871, and a Beautiful title from the master of illustration L'Armee Francaise : An Illustrated History of the French Army, 1790-1885(Edoaurd Detaille)



3. Unlike many titles in the Osprey series that only deal with the uniforms as objects ( colours, buttons, insigna, etc.), this one is a good and short synthesis about the republican army of 1870-71. No such book was available before. The only noticeable defect is that there is no bibliography.
   The army described in the book was raised by the new republican government of France in 1870 to try to repel invasion by the Prussian and German armies, after the two main French Imperial armies had surrendered at Sedan and Metz and the Second Empire had collapsed as a consequence.
   (NB: The Imperial army is covered in The French Army of the Franco-Prussian War - part 1).
   The republican army was composed of the remnants of the regular army that had not surrendered, as well as the " Garde Mobile" and "Garde Nationale mobilisee" ( made up of people who had drawn a " good number" and were not conscripted in the regular army; they were untrained civilans) and various volunteer or partisan forces.
   This books explains clearly and simply what each component of this army was made of, how it was raised, their equipment, weapons and uniforms, their battle records.
   At the time, republican France took American civil war armies as their model; they had also been citizen armies raised in haste. Only their opponents, the German armies, were revolutionizing warfare at the time, with their very organized general staff, officer and non-commissioned officer corps, mobilization of well-trained reserve troops, as well as a superior artillery ( Krupp breech-loading steel cannon).
   The improvised French army did not stand a chance and all it did in the end was to save the honour of France, that had been badly tarnished by the disasters at Sedan and Metz.
   
   As in every book in the Man-at-arms series there is a series of colour-plates illustrating the uniforms worn by combatants.
   The uniforms of this army were quite colourful and the artist has done a good job at reconstructing them.
   For more pictures of those uniforms and the battles of the time, the paintings of Edouard Detaille and Alphonse de Neuville, the two most famous French military painters of the time, are THE SOURCE. They are reproduced in many books but the few monographs covering their work in pictures are in French and are very difficult to find.
   I would however warmly recommend an excellent recent book by Francois Robichon: L'Armee francaise vue par les peintres, 1870-1914, available from Amazon.fr.
   
   For a thorough account of the war, you can refer to "The Franco-Prussian war" by Michael Howard and a few other titles.

No comments about Napoleon and Berlin: The Franco-Prussian War in North Germany, 1813 (Campaigns and Commanders, 1).

5 comments about The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France 18701871.

1. Howard does a masterful job in detailing the the military preparations of both sides before the conflict, describing the war itself, and even going into some detail about the increasing importance of technology in "modern" warfare (especially transport). However, there are some shortcommings - the chief among them are the maps. While they are useful in giving the reader an idea of what happened where, they really needed to be more detailed, showing troop movements and positions. I also thought the lack of perspective on the war was disappointing - after all, the Franco-Prussian war was instrumental in the creation of German nationhood, the birth of the Fourth republic, and a foundation stone of the First World War. None of these important after-effects were discussed in any detail whatsoever. As a book of pure military history, though, Howard's book is beyond reproach.



2. I actually have not finished the book yet, so forgive my hypocrisy. From an information and accuracy perspective it is probably the best book on the war. However it is a bit of a tough read, so be prepared. Howard details technology and warfare of the time, along with politics and the like and the book doesn't miss much. However, perhaps that is the reason it seems so long. overall I would say a good book.



3. I don't know enough about the Franco-Prussian War to criticize the research and the facts presented. But this is certainly not an enjoyable book to read. If that is a factor for you, be warned.



4. Howard's The Franco-Prussian War details the conflict of 1870-71 wherein Prussia defeated France in the last of the three wars of German unification spanning the time from 1864-1871. The development of the modern Prussian general staff, started in the wake of Napoleon's crushing victory at Jena, here reaches its culmination both in the person of Moltke and the crowning victory over the Second French Empire. What few mistakes were made against Austria in 1866 had been corrected, and as Howard writes, "By 1870, the machine was perfected."
   
   The swift and decisive Prussian victory, Howard concludes, actually portended disaster for the unified Germany. It brought the Germans of that era to believe that since their nation had been unified as a result of military action, that it would be through military action that the nation would be preserved. This was to bear significant consequences over the next seventy-five years.



5. Sir Michael Howard was a gifted writer, but an even better researcher and historian. The comprehensive picture of a very complex interaction between France and Germany is transformed by Sir Michael into flowing, lucid prose. Unbiased and very insightful into the salient contributions towards failure and success that would go unnoticed in a work focused solely on the big events. This is a fabulous story!

4 comments about The German Fortress of Metz 1870-1944.

1. Osprey's 78th volume in the Fortress series, The German Fortress of Metz 1870-1944, examines one of the most heavily fortified areas in Western Europe. The area around Metz and the Moselle River crossing sites had been fortified since ancient times, but it was after it was taken over by Germany after the Franco-Prussian War that the Metz fortifications were raised to a world-class level. Anticipating a French war of revenge to regain their lost provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, the Germans spent over thirty years building an entirely new type of fortified system around Metz, consisting of underground bunkers and mutually-supporting gun turrets. Amazingly after all this effort, the Metz fortified area was not attacked during the First World War but in the Second World War, it lay straight in the path of General Patton's army advancing toward the Saar. However instead of a quick win, Patton's army had to spend several months reducing the tough Metz defenses. This volume covers the seventy-year development of this impressive system of fortifications, with the emphasis being upon their role in the Second World War. For anyone wishing to get a full understanding of the American Lorraine campaign in 1944, this is an essential work.
   
   The author begins discussing the development of the Metz fortifications in the 1870s, which were greatly influenced by technological advances in artillery and explosives. In just a few years, it was obvious that the old type of fortifications - dependent primarily upon thick walls for their defense - had become obsolete. Instead, the Germans began experimenting in the captured Metz fortified zone with new concepts that emphasized dispersion over concentration, underground defenses and turrets that would not be vulnerable to overhead shrapnel bursts. By spreading their fortifications out over a large area, the Germans reckoned that the Metz defenses would be harder for an enemy to target and destroy. The Germans built the fortifications up in three distinct periods and construction was expensive, costing RM 50 million per year. In this section, the author lists all the major fortified works built around Metz in several tables, which are keyed to the map on page 27. This opening section is rich in detail with color photos inside some of the forts today, color plates depicting artillery batteries and casemates and a number of period B/W photos. Another sub-section describes life within the forts.
   
   Despite the massive investment, the defenses of Metz played no role at all in the First World War and they were returned to France as a result of the German defeat. This is perhaps the only weak aspect of this volume, in that it says rather little about the French occupation of the forts from 1919-1940. Nor did the Metz fortifications play any major role in the first four years of the Second World War. It was not until Allied armies were approaching the old Franco-German border that Metz suddenly became important. Most of the guns and equipment had been stripped from the fortifications over the years and only a few artillery batteries were operational. Nevertheless, the second-rate German troops holding the forts succeeded in halting Patton's Army for over two months and inflicting significant casualties. This volume provides great insight into the development of U.S. tactics in a fortified area. Overall, this is a solid, well-research volume.



2. This edition from Osprey is a great starting point for any study on the Franco-Prussian, WWI, and WWII fortresses in the Alsace-Lorraine. They've done a nice job with the diagrams and illustrations as well. Very helpful!



3. Clayton Donnell is an expert on European castles and forts, having studied and profiled many of them as well as written a number of books. He's done a fine job covering the Metz System in this volume.
   The coverage begins at the time of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 when the French were defeated and Germany annexed the Lorraine territory, gaining control of Metz. For the next 45+ years until the end of WWI, Germany expanded and strengthen the fortress system. It was Germany's version of the Maginot line.
   After WWI, Metz was little used until the last half of 1944 when the Allies pushed the Germans out of Normandy. Knowing that the Metz corridor was the easiest way to reach southern Germany, the Germans revived Metz the best they could to block Patton from reaching the West Wall. With the Ardennes Offensive already planned, it was essential to keep Patton busy to prevent him from sending aid to Hodges in the Ardennes. The last fortress in the chain held out until Dec 13th, just days before the offensive began. It was an extremely lucky break for the US 1st Army. If Patton hadn't been able to send a relief column north, I wonder how the "Bulge" would have turned out.
   
   The majority of the book describes the layout of the fortresses, the equipment used and the living quarters. For having much of it built in the 18th century, the structures are impressive. The author devotes only 15 pages to WWI and WWII which is a tease for some of us but it does give the essentials of the wars. I believe the full potential of this book isn't as a stand alone but in conjunction with a full length book like Anthony Kemp's " The Unkonown Battle: Metz 1944". With the many photos, illustrations and narrative of Donnell's volume, the reader can have a greater appreciation of the struggles Walker's XX Corps endured during those several months in taking the Nancy-Metz-Thionville line.
   
   If you're interested in the Battle of Metz or just in castles and forts, this volume would make a nice addition to your library.



4. Before artillery, if you wanted to keep the high ground, you built a castle. Once artillery was developed, castle walls were vulnerable. So, defenders went underground and buried the defensive works. The complexity of those designs is shown in this book to excellent effect.
   
   3-D diagrams, color photos, maps, lots of B&W photos capture how intensive these fortifications were. When Germany took the areas of Alsace and Lorraine in 1870, they meant to keep them. Ironic that they did not see action at all in WW1. The French used many of the innovations of these forts in their design of the Maginot Line. And these 1870 forts created quite the embarrassment to Patton's Army in WW2 when it took 3 months to capture this area. The narrative is concise, informative and interesting.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in siege warfare, history of fortifications, defensive war and the slogging match around Metz in 1944. Static defenses don't always work, but they sure can exact a heavy price on the attacker, this book shows why.

5 comments about The Debacle.

1. As a big student of the War of 1870-71, I was a bit skeptic when I saw this was a historical novel, especially one that was a political commentary. Well, my skepticism was destroyed after about 15 minutes of reading this book. Not only is the author a veteran of the war, his style is SO engrossing I didn't stop reading until I finished the entire book!
   
   The amount of details that are in the narritive can only come from someone who participated in the historical events that are narrated. Zola's characters are easy to identify with, and anyone can pick one character and say "yeah, that's me" as they read the story.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone interested in the F/P War or French/European culture/life of the Second Empire. Vivé Napoleon III!



2. Emile Zola's La Debacle, the 19th of his 20 volume Rougon-Macquart series, describes the crushing defeat of the French armies at the hands of the Prussians in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. During Zola's lifetime, this novel was regarded as his masterpiece. History has decreed that it would be Germinal that would be more enduring, but this is still an outstanding novel. All the stories in this series are linked with recurring characters and interwoven plot lines. Like Germinal, this is a story of destruction and rebirth.
   
   This novel is divided into three sections. In Zola's typical style, each section is focused on a period of several days, with several weeks or months between sections. The main character of the story in Jean Macquart, a character from an earlier novel (La Terre) in the series. Macquart is an enlisted soldier marching to the front with his comrades to face the Prussians. Zola, never a soldier himself, describes well the lot of Jean and his comrades. Lots of marching, fatigue, boredom, and grumbling about the leadership. Hanging over the story, and unbeknowst to the characters, is the coming whirlwind. The Emporer himself (Napoleon III) makes an appearance, but it is rather tragi-comic.
   The second section is focused on the battle of Sedan. There are several story threads designed to explain the action of the battle at different times and from perspectives. The descriptions are quite graphic and detailed. Ultimately, the French Army is totally destroyed, the surviving characters become prisoners of war. In the third section, Jean is reunited with his comrade Maurice in Paris at the height of the Commune. The primary theme of this novel is to describe the `rot' of the Third Empire, and how its destruction gives the survivors hope for a brighter future.
   
   The Oxford World Classics translation is outstanding. It contains detailed endnotes to explain topical or historical references that would be lost on modern English speaking/reading audiences. There are several maps and a detailed list of characters to keep everything straight. This edition also contains a well written introduction to allow the reader to place the novel in historical and literary context.
   
   I have several thoughts about this novel that potential readers may or may not find interesting. First, this is an outstanding novel, whether one likes war novels or not. Zola is one of the greatest novelists ever to put pen to paper, and this is arguable one of his best works. The characters in this story are detailed and realistic, the dialogue outstanding, and the plot complex and compelling, but easy to read. Anyone who is afraid of approaching Zola because of past experience with the 19th century English `greats' should not be concerned. Zola has none of the pretentiousness or Victorian puritanism of his English contemporaries, and his writing, while often gloomy, is not ponderous.
   
   Second, with the exception of a few small tweaks for poetic license, this book is an outstanding example of historical fiction. Beyond an enjoyable novel, this book will also provide the reader a history lesson of the first order. In particular, I would highly recommend this book to American readers who know little or nothing of French history of this era. I think that the events of the Commune would be most surprising to many Americans. Certainly the Franco-Prussian war was one of the defining events for the French (and Germans), much as the Civil War was for Americans. The outcome of this war had long lasting political, economic, cultural, and military implications that affect us today.
   
   Third, if I had one complaint about this book, it would be that the author's knowledge of the outcome of the battle weighs over the entire novel. I would almost argue that this novel is defeatist. This is definitely an antiwar novel, but no real sense of imminent destruction covers the Prussian soldiers as it does the French. That is, this is an antiwar novel from the French perspective, but not really from the Prussian. It strikes me that the message conveyed by Zola (probably inadvertantly) is not antiwar in general, but antiwar only for the losers.
   
   Overall though, this is an outstanding novel, one of the best ever written. Highly recommended.



3. In the late 1860s Prussia, led by Kaiser Wilhelm and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, engaged the French government headed by Napoleon III in heated negotiations over the throne of Spain and the sovereignty of the Low Countries. The dispute grew as France looked for a fight.
   
   France declared war in 1870 but was ill prepared to fight the ensuing Franco-Prussian War. Poorly equipped and incompetently led, the French soldiers were badly used. The result, from the French point of view was a catastrophe. At the battle of Sedan the Prussians captured over 100,000 French troops and Napoleon III himself. France was forced to cede Alsace-Lorraine to the Germans. In the immediate aftermath of the war, a left-wing rebellion erupted in Paris. It was suppressed with brutal rigor.
   
   Like Tolstoy's War and Peace, Zola's The Debacle is a historical novel in which the facts of the war are very accurately described, and then well-drawn fictional characters are inserted. The story is told with verve through the eyes of two soldiers. The events of the Franco-Prussian War are extremely complex, yet Zola never lets the reader get lost. The story is engrossing and compelling. This is one of the great books of French literature.
   
   To the reader who comes to this review by way of my history of the Tour de France, this book is related to the Tour rather obliquely. Tour founder Henri Desgrange wrote extensively in the sports newspaper L'Auto, which also owned the Tour de France. Desgrange tried to model his own writing style on Zola's.
   -Bill McGann, Author of "The Story of the Tour de France"



4. I got interested in Emile Zola after watching the 1937 movie "The Life of Emile Zola" which was a great biography of France's most prolific author. The story of Captain Alfred Dreyfus was tragic yet typical of the turmoil in France as it was coming down from the exalted empirical heights of Napoleon to the bureaucrat laden military led by inept generals.
   
   "The Debacle: 1870-1871" is Zola's extremely detailed and graphic description of the brief war between France and Germany which showed France's deterioration was certainly no match for Germany's emerging technological prowess and military professionalism. This book certainly lays the foundation for the events to follow in 40 years as World War I.
   
   Excellently written, full of memorable characters who tragically are mired in this short war known as The Debacle.
   
   It has me looking to read more books by this talented author.



5. You can have fun listing the other Six, but everyone's list should include Emile Zola's 20-volume "Macquart-Rougon" story of almost everything in 19th C France. Zola began the series with "La Fortune des Rougon" in 1871, and continued to produce almost a novel a year until 1893 (Le Docteur Pascal). "La Débâcle", next to last in the series, was published in 1892. The debacle of the title was the humiliation France suffered in the Franco-Prussian War begun in 1870, just in fact when Zola was beginning his chronicle. Historians have tended to treat that war as an opera buffa on the part of the French and as a triumph of Machiavellian state-building on the part of Bismark's Germany. Zola includes both these themes in his account, with a scathing portrayal of the rank incompetence of the politicians and generals of France's Third Empire; the bulk of the novel depicts the disastrous battle of Sedan, during which Napoleon III himself was captured by the invading Prussians. But Zola measures the human cost of 'modern' war, not just in blood and rubble but also in its perversion of human behavior, its stimulation of our most bestial instincts, while also dramatizing the heroic courage of individuals and the ineffable loyalty of comrades. The battlefield scenes in Le Debacle are as vivid in words as any in the flickering visuals of a movie theater. So are the horrors suffered by non-combatants. The misery of the defeated common soldiers, imprisoned without shelter or food while their officers are paroled, is terrifying. The Franco-Prussian War was a bizarre hybrid of old and new, of Napoleonic battlefield set-piece strategies and of mechanized 'total' warfare of the sort that had evolved from the American Civil War. Zola apparently researched intensively in preparing to write Le Debacle, his only historical novel, and he succeeded brilliantly in capturing that moment of transition from war as Glory to war as unthinkable Catastrophe. Le Debacle is surely one of the greatest war novels ever written, rivaled only perhaps by War and Peace.
   
   Zola's two chief characters, the peasant corporal Jean and the educated Parisian enlisted soldier Maurice, though profoundly dissimilar in character, become 'wedded' in the rites of combat and survival. Both are sublimely believable fictive personages, whose welfare the reader can't help but 'pray for'. They are also emblematic of the two sides of French society as Zola perceived it -- conservative and radical, of the land and of the city -- and thus the literary inevitability of their encounters and re-encounters achieves more significance than mere plot-driven coincidence. Zola is magnificent in his ability to depict Jean and Maurice as real mortal men and yet as avatars of their nation. There are dozens of lesser characters in Le Debacle as well, from the unnamed ploughboy who works his field while the artillery battles rage to the sternly compassionate surgeon Barouche to Napoleon III, and Zola gives each his due in human portraiture. The women of Le Debacle, more vulnerable and yet more heroic amid the slaughter, are as well realized and individuated as the men. There are unquestionably touches of 19th C melodrama in Le Debacle, but there is an underlying thematic logic to Zola's tale, that justifies any and all literary legerdemain.
   
   I read this translation of Le Debacle, by Leonard Tancock, many years ago, and I've used it as a crutch in re-reading the novel in French. Zola is hard to translate convincingly. If his language is rendered in the syntax and vocabulary of his British contemporaries, it can sound peculiarly stuffy and almost prurient; if it's 'slanged' into the style of 20th C American writers à la Hemingway, it can sound comically anachronistic. The translation barrier is worst in the novels of manners and amours. It's considerably less problematic in Le Debacle, because of the subject matter. Once the battles start raging, the syntax is universal. This translation is quite British; Americans will find themselves bemused at times, but on the whole it's remarkably faithful to the original, and powerfully vivid.
   
   I suppose the translation barrier is one reason why Zola is underappreciated in the Anglophone world. Only thirteen of the twenty Macquart-Rougon novels are currently available in any English form, and many of the translations are decades old and stylistically inept. If you can only read Zola in English, I strongly recommend The Debacle as the best stand-alone first choice.

5 comments about The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871 (Essential Histories).

1. For a simple look at the Franco-Prussian war, one needs to look no further than Stephen Badsey's "The Franco-Prussian War." His 92 page book covers all the battles and, in particular, the events leading to the war. All other events surrounding the war, such as the revolution in France that it caused, are covered though not explored in depth, as they are topics for other books.
   
   It's apparent Stephen Badsey researched the topic well and writes for understanding, reflecting his lecturing background. The numerous maps are excellent; I have never read a book where every single placename is on an accompanying map; making the text and the battles easy to follow.



2. This is a very well written, easy to read book. There are great illustrations and maps as well. If you don't know anything about the Franco-Prussian war this is THE BOOK you need to get.



3. Excellent overview of the Franco-Prussian War. Chapters are dedicated to: the cultural, political, and military conditions in France and Germany (which included Prussia and the North German Confederation, Bavaria, Baden, and Wurtemberg) prior to the outbreak of the war; the immediate cause for the declaration of war; the major military maneuvers in the war; individual French and German perspectives on the conduct of the war; the end of the war; and the results of the war.



4. The author writes, "The Franco-Prussian War was the largest and most important war fought in Europe between the age of Napoleon and the First World War." This volume is a good summary of the background to the war, its main battles, and its consequences. The war actually had three phases: in the first, the Prussian Army defeated the French Imperial Army of Napoleon III - this was when most of the heaviest fighting occurred; in the second phase, the French Republican Army attempted to continue the fight after the abdication of Napoleon III and the establishment of the Third Republic; in the final phase, the French Army fought and defeated an attempted revolution in the form of the Paris Commune, while the Prussian Army stood by and waited for a victor to emerge so they had someone with which to work out the details of the armistice.
   
   The book is brief, less than a hundred pages, but gives a clear picture of the course of the war, and is illustrated with battle maps, paintings, prints, and lithographs of the time. It is a great introduction for someone interested in studying this important and often-neglected war. One important result of the war which makes it worthy of study is that the Prussian victory, its heavy-handed armistice terms, and its acquisition of the French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, led simultaneously to the decline of French power on the continent as Prussian power and prestige grew with the establishment of the German Empire, and caused an enduring hatred and bitterness in France which directly led to the series of events culminating in the First World War.



5. This book, like nearly all in the Osprey series, starts off with an appraisal of the geopolitical history and situation that lead to the war. It then gives an overview of the military forces involved. It does a particularly good job at addressing the states of the armies and high commands but is a little weak with respect to mid-level officer corps. It also emphasizes, correctly, that the main weapons advantages on each side were the superior French rifle, on the one hand, and the German artillery, on the other. All this done relatively well, especially considering it is only done in about 15 or so pages, about half of which are illustration. With respect to illustration, one of the book's weakness' is that it does not provide color plate illustrations of troops or equipement. Hence for figurine and diaroma builders would be of no use.
   
   The book then continues with a history of how the war transpired. Here the author does an excellent job, again considering the relatively short length of the text. Then the book concludes with the repurcussions. This includes a consolidated Germany, bad French-German relations and weakening of France's positiion from many position (i.e., diplomatic and military position relative to position before war, etc.). Although the book mentions the transfer of Alsace-Loraine to Germany it, unfortunately, does so in only a passing manner. This was the one factor that led, more to any other, to the extremely poor French-German relations that played a major role to the diplomatic wrangling (i.e., French - Russian alliance) that led to WWI. Bismark foresaw this and urged that Alsace-Lorraine never be taken away from France and afterwards to return it. Unfortunatlye the book makes no reference to Alsace-Lorraine and the post-war period.
   
   All and all a very good introduction to a reader who wishes to bring himself/herself up to speed on the topic in about an hour and half's worth of reading.

5 comments about The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871.

1. As an introduction to the Franco-Prussian War, I have little hope that I could have stumbled across a better writer to acclimate me to that history.
   
   After having just read Keegan's "The First World War", itself an excellent and thorough work (which, however, suffered from moving at a pace more compelled by the events than by the author), I wanted to read about one of the origins of conflict, being France's declaration of war on and eventual defeat by the blossoming Prussian Empire, 1870-71. I can say without the slightest hint of gratuity that Wawro's account of that contest is a vibrant literary work.
   
   Let me open by saying that more than just a tale of two armies, Wawro successfully captures the social and political perspectives of the two nations and weaves them seamlessly with the military aspect of the narrative in such a way...well, think of it in musical terms when three notes are used in creating a song, sometimes individually and sometimes as a chord but always within the perfect framework of the song, I guess, would be the way I would like to describe it.
   
   But more than that in making this a great read, and in fact the most compelling factor of all, is simply Wawro's abilities as an storyteller; rather than a dry discourse on an instance in history, I imagine that Wawro must be amongst the great historians for his ability to capture the wonder of the reader. The text has bounce, it finds an interia immediately and sustains it throughout, it is humorous and grave, and he gives it the daring and adventure one normally finds in fiction. He is also impeccable in his choice of quotes further lending to the spirit of the atmosphere he creates of the history.
   
   Marvelous reading! Before I was halfway through the book I also purchased a copy of his history of the Austrio-Prussian War and am enjoying that special circumstance of knowing that when one finishes a fantastic book, there is another waiting on the nightstand.



2. The book gives a comprehensive and very detailed description of the events/battles of this conflict. Good maps. Well written.



3. Wawro succeeds again in bringing life to an often underappreciated episode in modern European history. The Franco-Prussian War is covered in textbooks, but Wawro fleshes it out in marvelous detail, fully explaining not only the military side of the war, but the politics as well. Readers will gain insight into late 19th-century warfare and its eerie foretelling of wars to come.



4. Mr. Wawro's account of the Franco-Prussian War provides enough background information for anyone not familiar with the history surrounding the conflict to comfortably jump into it and follow along. The book also provides detailed information about the post-war events that would ultimately unfold into the many causes for the next large-scale conflict that would engulf Europe, and the world, less than fifty years later. Most definitely a pleasant read.



5. After reading the "Guns of August" I was intrigued by many of the German generals who had fought in the Franco-Prussian War. After reading Wawro's book you can't help but be struck by the fact that this war was the beginning of the cycles of German aggression in Europe culminating in WWII.
   
   Even though I enjoy war history books I usually start to fade when the orders of battle, tactics, etc. are discussed. Wawro does a good job of making this interesting and weaved into the bigger picture. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I think the author does a good job of pointing out the bravery of French soldiers. It is simply hard to argue with the outcome: the French army defeated and Paris besieged.
   
   Read this book and then quickly follow up with a good book on WWI.