Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, 1870–71, conflict between France and Prussia that signaled the rise of German military power and imperialism. It was provoked by Otto von Bismarck (the Prussian chancellor) as part of his plan to create a unified German Empire.

Causes

The emergence of Prussia as the leading German power and the increasing unification of the German states were viewed with apprehension by Napoleon III Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon Bonaparte), 1808–73, emperor of the French (1852–70), son of Louis Bonaparte (see under Bonaparte , family), king of Holland.
..... Click the link for more information. after the Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War Austro-Prussian War or Seven Weeks War, June 15–Aug. 23, 1866, between Prussia, allied with Italy, and Austria, seconded by Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, Hanover, Baden, and several smaller German states.
..... Click the link for more information. of 1866. Bismarck Bismarck, Otto von (bĭz`märk, Ger.
..... Click the link for more information. , at the same time, deliberately encouraged the growing rift between Prussia and France in order to bring the states of S Germany into a national union. He made sure of Russian and Italian neutrality and counted—correctly—on British neutrality. War preparations were pushed on both sides, with remarkable inefficiency in France and with astounding thoroughness in Prussia.

The immediate pretext for war presented itself when the throne of Spain was offered to a prince of the house of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a branch of the ruling house of Prussia. The offer, at first accepted on Bismarck's advice, was rejected (July 12) after a strong French protest. But the aggressive French foreign minister, the duc de Gramont, insisted on further Prussian assurances, which King William I of Prussia (later Emperor William I William I, 1797–1888, emperor of Germany (1871–88) and king of Prussia (1861–88), second son of the future King Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg.
..... Click the link for more information. ) refused. Bismarck, by publishing the famous Ems dispatch Ems dispatch, 1870, communication between King William of Prussia (later German Emperor William I) and his premier, Otto von Bismarck. In June, 1870, the throne of Spain was offered to Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a relative of King William.
..... Click the link for more information. , inflamed French feeling, and on July 19, France declared war.

The Course of the War

Partly because they believed France the aggressor, the states of S Germany enthusiastically joined the North German Confederation—just as Bismarck had hoped. The military conduct of the war was, for the Germans, in the hands of Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke Moltke, Helmuth Karl Bernhard, Graf von, 1800–1891, Prussian field marshal. Following his graduation from the Royal Military Academy of Denmark, he entered the Danish service, but resigned his commission in 1822 to join the Prussian army.
..... Click the link for more information. , a military genius. On the French side, Napoleon III took active command, but it soon devolved on Marshal Bazaine Bazaine, Achille François (äshēl` fräNswä` bäzăn`), 1811–88, French army officer.
..... Click the link for more information. .

On Aug. 4, 1870, the Germans crossed the border into Alsace. They defeated the French at Wissembourg, pushed the French under Marshal MacMahon MacMahon, Marie Edmé Patrice de (märē` ĕdmā` pätrēs` də mäkmäōN`)
..... Click the link for more information. to Châlons-en-Champagne, and forced a wedge between MacMahon's forces and those of Bazaine, centered on Metz. Bazaine, attempting to join MacMahon, was defeated at Vionville (Aug. 16) and Gravelotte (Aug. 18) and returned to Metz. The Germans began their march on Paris, and on Sept. 1 the attempt of Napoleon III and MacMahon to rescue Bazaine led to disaster at Sedan. The emperor and 100,000 of his men were captured.

When the news of Sedan reached Paris a bloodless revolution occurred. Napoleon was deposed, and a provisional government of national defense was formed under General Trochu Trochu, Louis Jules (lwē zhül trôshü`), 1815–96, French general.
..... Click the link for more information. , Léon Gambetta Gambetta, Léon (lāôN` gäNbĕtä`), 1838–82, French republican leader.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Jules Favre Favre, Jules (zhül fä`vrə), 1809–80, French statesman.
..... Click the link for more information. . Paris was surrounded by the Germans on Sept. 19, and a grueling siege began. Gambetta escaped from Paris in a balloon to organize resistance in the provinces. Faidherbe Faidherbe, Louis Léon César (lwē lāôN` sāzär` fādĕrb`)
..... Click the link for more information. made a gallant stand on the Loire, Chanzy Chanzy, Antoine Eugène Alfred (äNtwän` özhĕn` älfrĕd` shäNzē`), 1823–83, French general.
..... Click the link for more information. in the north, and Bourbaki Bourbaki, Charles Denis Sauter (shärl dənē` sōtā` b
..... Click the link for more information. in the east, but the surrender (Oct. 27) of Bazaine, with a garrison of 180,000 men, made such resistance useless. Paris, however, held out until Jan. 28, 1871, suffering several months of famine. Though Bismarck and Adolphe Thiers Thiers, Adolphe (ädôlf` tyĕr), 1797–1877, French statesman, journalist, and historian.
..... Click the link for more information. signed an armistice on the same day, the fortress of Belfort Belfort (bāfôr`, bĕ–, bĕl–), city (1990 pop.
..... Click the link for more information. resisted until Feb. 16.

Results of the War

In the war's aftermath, Thiers was named chief of the executive power in France, and provision was made for the election of a French national assembly, which met at Bordeaux. The assembly accepted (Mar. 1) the preliminary peace agreement, which was formalized in the Treaty of Frankfurt (ratified May 21, 1871). France agreed to pay an indemnity of $1 billion within three years—an indemnity fully paid before the term expired. Alsace Alsace-Lorraine, held in common by all the German states. Many Alsatians emigrated to France rather than submit to a policy of Germanization. Clamor for the return of Alsace-Lorraine became the chief rallying force for French nationalism and was a major cause of the armaments race
..... Click the link for more information. , except the Territory of Belfort, and a large part of Lorraine Lorraine (lôrĕn`), Ger.
..... Click the link for more information. were ceded to Germany, which on Jan. 18, 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles had been proclaimed an empire under William I.

Paris refused to disarm and to submit to the Thiers regime, and the Commune of Paris Commune of Paris, insurrectionary governments in Paris formed during (1792) the French Revolution and at the end (1871) of the Franco-Prussian War . In the French Revolution, the Revolutionary commune, representing urban workers, tradespeople, and radical bourgeois,
..... Click the link for more information. was formed. The French troops loyal to Thiers began the second siege of Paris (Apr.–May, 1871). After the cruel suppression of the commune, peace returned to France.

Besides establishing the Third French Republic and the German Empire, the Franco-Prussian War had other far-reaching effects. Desire for revenge guided French policy for the following half-century. Prussian militarism had triumphed and laid the groundwork for German imperialistic ventures. The Papal States Papal States, Ital. Lo Stato della Chiesa, from 754 to 1870 an independent territory under the temporal rule of the popes, also called the States of the Church and the Pontifical States. The territory varied in size at different times; in 1859 it included c.
..... Click the link for more information. , no longer protected by Napoleon III, were annexed by Italy, which thus completed its unification. These and other effects were links in the chain of causes that set off World War I.

Bibliography

See R. H. Lord, The Origins of the War of 1870 (1924, repr. 1966); D. Clarke, ed., Roger de Mauni: The Franco-Prussian War (1970); M. Howard, The Franco-Prussian War (1981).

Franco-Prussian War

or Franco-German War

(1870–71) War in which a coalition of German states led by Prussia defeated France, ending French hegemony in continental Europe and creating a unified Germany. The immediate cause was the candidacy of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen for the Spanish throne, which raised the possibility of a combination of Prussia and Spain against France. Following diplomatic maneuvers to block Leopold's candidacy, the Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck published the Ems Telegram to provoke the French government into declaring war, which it did. The other German states sided with Prussia, and German troops under Gen. Helmuth von Moltke, superior in numbers and organization, scored repeated victories. After Napoleon III surrendered at the Battle of Sedan, French resistance was carried on by a new government, which deposed the emperor and established the Third Republic. Paris surrendered, but while treaty negotiations were going on, an insurrection by radicals in Paris created a short-lived government, the Paris Commune. After its suppression, a harsh peace treaty was implemented: Germany annexed Alsace and half of Lorraine, and France was occupied until a large indemnity was paid. The German empire was established when William I of Prussia was proclaimed German emperor in 1871. The peace was an unstable one, marked by France's determination to recover Alsace-Lorraine and Germany's mounting imperialism, led by Prussian militarism. Their mutual animosity was a driving force that led to World War I.