The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to reassert its dominant position in continental Europe, which appeared in question following the decisive Prussian victory over Austria in 1866. According to some historians, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck deliberately provoked the French into declaring war on Prussia in order to induce four independent southern German states—Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt—to join the North German Confederation; other historians contend that Bismarck exploited the circumstances as they unfolded. All agree that Bismarck recognized the potential for new German alliances, given the situation as a whole.
The Paris Commune was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended Paris, and working-class radicalism grew among its soldiers. Following the establishment of the French Third Republic in September 1870 and the complete defeat of the French Army by the Germans by March 1871, soldiers of the National Guard seized control of the city on March 18. The Communards killed two French army generals and refused to accept the authority of the Third Republic; instead, the radicals set about establishing their own independent government.
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French government.
Drancy is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in northern France. It is located 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the center of Paris.
Louis Charles Delescluze was a French revolutionary leader, journalist, and military commander of the Paris Commune.
The siege of Paris took place from 19 September 1870 to 28 January 1871 and ended in the capture of the city by forces of the various states of the North German Confederation, led by the Kingdom of Prussia. The siege was the culmination of the Franco-Prussian War, which saw the Second French Empire attempt to reassert its dominance over continental Europe by declaring war on the North German Confederation. The Prussian-dominated North German Confederation had recently emerged victorious in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which led to the questioning of France's status as the dominant power of continental Europe. With a declaration of war by the French parliament on 16 July 1870, Imperial France soon faced a series of defeats at German hands over the following months, leading to the Battle of Sedan, which, on 2 September 1870, saw a decisive defeat of French forces and the capture of the French emperor, Napoleon III.
The Hôtel de Ville is the city hall of Paris, France, standing on the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville – Esplanade de la Libération in the 4th arrondissement. The south wing was originally constructed by Francis I beginning in 1535 until 1551. The north wing was built by Henry IV and Louis XIII between 1605 and 1628. It was burned by the Paris Commune, along with all the city archives that it contained, during the Semaine Sanglante, the Commune's final days, in May 1871. The outside was rebuilt following the original design, but larger, between 1874 and 1882, while the inside was considerably modified. It has been the headquarters of the municipality of Paris since 1357. It serves multiple functions, housing the local government council, since 1977 the Mayors of Paris and their cabinets, and also serves as a venue for large receptions. It was designated a monument historique by the French government in 1975.
The First battle of Le Bourget was part of the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, fought between 27 and 30 October 1870.
The Government of National Defense was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclamation of the Republic in Paris on 4 September, which in turn followed the surrender and capture of Emperor Napoleon III by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan. The government, headed by General Louis Jules Trochu, was under Prussian siege in Paris. Breakouts were attempted twice, but met with disaster and rising dissatisfaction of the public. In late January the government, having further enraged the population of Paris by crushing a revolutionary uprising, surrendered to the Prussians. Two weeks later, it was replaced by the new government of Adolphe Thiers, which soon passed a variety of financial laws in an attempt to pay reparations and thus oblige the Prussians to leave France, leading to the outbreak of revolutions in French cities, and the ultimate creation of the Paris Commune.
The Treaty of Versailles of 1871 ended the Franco-Prussian War and was signed by Adolphe Thiers of the Third French Republic and Otto von Bismarck of the newly formed German Empire on 26 February 1871. A preliminary treaty, it was used to solidify the initial armistice of 28 January between the powers. It was ratified by the Treaty of Frankfurt on 10 May of the same year which confirmed the supremacy of the German Empire, replacing France as the dominant military power on the European continent.
The Thiers wall was the last of the defensive walls of Paris. It was an enclosure constructed between 1841 and 1846 and was proposed by the French prime minister Adolphe Thiers but was actually implemented by his successor. The 33 kilometres (21 mi) long wall and ditch made a complete circuit around the city as it stood at the time of the July Monarchy. It was bombarded by the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War, captured by government troops during the Paris Commune and refortified at the start of the First World War. However, by then it had become obsolete as a fortification and was a barrier to the expansion of the city. The area immediately outside of it, known as "the zone", had become a shanty town. The wall was demolished in the interwar period; its path today can be traced by the Boulevards of the Marshals which originally ran just behind the fortifications and by the Boulevard Périphérique which was later built just outside. A few remnants of the wall can still be seen.
Paul-Antoine Brunel
The Armistice of Versailles that came into effect on 28 January 1871 brought to an end the active phase of the Franco-Prussian War. The signatories were Jules Favre, foreign minister in the provisional Government of National Defence, for the French and Otto von Bismarck, chancellor of the newly established German Empire, for Prussia and her allies. The suspension of hostilities initially lasted until 19 February, when it was extended through 26 February, when a preliminary peace treaty was signed, also at Versailles. The definitive Treaty of Frankfurt was signed on 10 May. Although technically an armistice, the military position of France at the time and the terms were such that it was de facto a conditional surrender by the vanquished to the victors.
Fort d'Issy was one of the fortifications of the city of Paris, France, built between 1841 and 1845. It was one of six forts built to the south of the main wall around the city. The fort was placed too close to the city to be effective, and had a poor design that did not take into account recent experience of siege warfare. It was quickly silenced during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. After the armistice of February 1871 the fort was defended by National Guards of the Paris Commune against the French regular army in April–May 1871. The defense was irresolute and the fort was soon occupied. Today the site of the fort is an "eco-district", an ecologically friendly residential area.
This chronology of the Paris Commune lists major events that occurred during and surrounding the Paris Commune, a revolutionary government that controlled Paris between March and May 1871.
The semaine sanglante was a weeklong battle in Paris from 21 to 28 May 1871, during which the French Army recaptured the city from the Paris Commune. This was the final battle of the Paris Commune.
The Battles of Dijon were a series of battles that took place in 1870 and 1871, as part of the Franco-Prussian War, on the current territory of the French commune of Dijon between the French Republic and the German states of Prussia and Baden and later, the German Empire.
On 1 March 1871 the Imperial German Army paraded through Paris to mark their victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The city had been under siege by Prussian forces since September 1870, with Prussia being unified into the German Empire on 18 January 1871. The Armistice of Versailles of 28 January ended hostilities, but the city remained in French hands. Preliminary peace terms were agreed in the 26 February Treaty of Versailles, which allowed 30,000 German troops to occupy Paris from 1 March until the treaty was ratified.
On January 22, 1871, a contingent of France's National Guard marched on Paris's City Hall. The group opposed the armistice that was being drafted, believing that the French government had sabotaged their military. Demonstrators released Gustave Flourens and marched on the City Hall, including 150 guardsmen. But unlike the larger City Hall uprising three months earlier, Breton Mobile Guards defended the building. Five died, and 18 were wounded. Though the event had been smaller than the October uprising, the January insurrection irreconcilably split Paris's factions and presaged the coming civil war.
The Binant Series (Scenes of civilian and military life) (French - Suite Binant - Scènes de la vie civile et militaire) was a series of 36 large-format paintings commissioned by (and named after) Parisian art-material dealer Alfred Binant (1822-1904) in the wake of the Siege of Paris. 13 artists were involved, producing a precious record of the recent Franco-Prussian War and Paris Commune, first exhibited in 1872. Only thirteen of the full paintings survive, all of which are now in the Musée Carnavalet, though 36 modellos for the series were rediscovered in the stores of the Musée Gassendi in Digne-les-Bains in June 2017.
