The Franco-Prussian War is a reason. Franco-German War (1870–1871)

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 is of key importance for understanding the processes that took place in world politics in the second half of the 19th century. It is especially important to understand foreign policy Russia. That is why this is one of those events that must be carefully studied in order to understand the cause-and-effect relationships of history during this period. In this article we will talk briefly about this war.

Background and reasons

France and Prussia are countries that constantly competed on the European continent. Their path to a unified statehood was not easy: both of them went through hard times revolutions and uncertainty, and in fact both unleashed international conflicts on a global scale.

By the second half of the 19th century, the contradictions between France and Prussia intensified. Their peculiarity was that they were enclosed in domestic policy both states. In France, since 1851, Napoleon III ruled, around whom a ruling clique formed from the richest and most influential bourgeoisie and aristocracy. For 20 years this clique has been drinking blood common people, as a result of which the poor became poorer and the rich, of course, grew richer.

Finally, two decades of wild life did not benefit the people: the people began to actively show their discontent. Workers began to organize strikes more often, and the peasantry actively joined in. As a result, Napoleon III decided to “settle down” the matter with the help of a “small and victorious war” (the expression belongs to V.K. Plehve, the Russian Minister of Internal Affairs in 1902 - 1904) with Prussia. Napoleon wanted to kill two birds with one stone: to calm the angry people (look how good we are, we kicked the Germans), and also to prevent the German lands from uniting into one state, which, of course, would prevent France from being a world and colonial power on the continent.

Prussia had its own interests. Or rather, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, a brilliant politician of his time, had his own interests. In fact, the German lands were under the crown of the weak-willed and weak-willed King William the First. And Bismarck needed to unite the scattered German lands into one state. Victory over France would allow this to be done in one fell swoop, bypassing the king. Thus, both countries deliberately went to war.

Briefly about the balance of power. England was inclined to support Prussia in order to contrast it with the colonial ambitions of France on the continent. Russia also supported Prussia because it had a grudge against France for the shameful peace of 1856, which it concluded as a result of the shameful Crimean (Eastern) War.

Spark

The reason for the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 was an event called the “Ems Dispatch”. The fact was that in 1868 the vacant Spanish throne became vacant, and the Spaniards wanted to place there a representative of Germany, Prince Anton of Hohenzollern. Of course, France was against such a development. The French ambassador Benedetti became so insolent that he personally appeared to King William several times and asked him to give first a verbal promise that this would not happen, and then a written one.

The German king outlined all this in a dispatch and, not knowing what to do, sent the dispatch to Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck, having lunch with his colleagues: General Helmuth von Moltke and War Minister von Roon, received the dispatch and read it aloud. Then he asked his colleagues whether the German army was ready to defend the Fatherland? They told him that yes, she was definitely ready. As a result, Bismarck retired to a room, crossed out the middle of the dispatch and published it in the press.

It turned out that France was fussing about something and currying favor with the German king, asking her not to place Anton Hohenzollern on the throne. Napoleon took this as an insult and declared war on Germany on July 19, 1870

Course of events

If France had only ambitions and an unstable rear like a raging mass of people behind it, then Germany had an excellent new army, which was staffed according to the latest conscription training system at that time. As a result, while France was fussing with collecting troops, Germany mobilized its army and put it into action. As a result, the German army easily pushed the French army back to the city of Metz and besieged the city. This is how this war began.

Napoleon III handed over command of the army to his general. But this did not help. On September 2, 1870, at the Battle of Sedan, near Metz, the French army raised a white flag, which meant complete surrender. Thus, in less than a month, the war was actually won by Germany.

On September 4, 1870, another revolution broke out in Paris, as a result of which Napoleon III was deposed and power passed to the government. National Defense" Meanwhile, this government was headed by the same bourgeois who rightly feared that the workers' and peasants' army, after repelling its enemies, would turn its arms against its oppressors. And so this government secretly colluded with Germany. As a result, it began to be referred to as the “government of national treason.”

Results

On May 10, 1871, in Frankfurt, France signed an extremely difficult peace with Germany, according to which the disputed border territories of Alsace and eastern Lorraine were ceded to the latter, plus the French paid a huge indemnity of five million francs. For example, in Paris at that time, for 2 francs you could buy an excellent dinner with wine in the most expensive restaurant in the city.

Consequences

German army helped suppress the popular revolution: on May 28, 1871, the Paris Commune was defeated. France lost 140 thousand people killed in this war, Prussia - 50 thousand.

The consequence of this war was the unification of Germany into one state: on January 18, 1871, King Wilhelm became emperor.

Russia also took advantage of this defeat of France and unilaterally denounced the shameful articles of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1856, according to which it had no right to have a fleet in the Black Sea. For this purpose, Russian Foreign Minister A.M. Gorchakov sent a dispatch. By the way, you can watch her live follow this link.

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Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871

Opposing parties and goals of powers: was conducted between France, which sought to maintain its hegemony in Europe and prevented the unification of Germany, and Prussia, which acted jointly with a number of other German states.

Diplomatic preparation for war. O. Bismarck's main goal was foreign policy isolation of a potential enemy. Bismarck managed to ruin France's relations with both England and Russia in connection with the position of Napoleon III, who claimed on the accession of Luxembourg to France, after Congress of Vienna 1815 transferred to the Dutch king, but until 1860 it was part of the German Confederation. Along with diplomatic miscalculations in Europe, failure also befell Napoleon III Anglo-French-Spanish intervention (1861–1867), which caused protest from the United States, which adhered to the Monroe Doctrine. Thus, Napoleon’s rating within the country was greatly shaken; in the international arena, France found itself in isolation. July 15, 1870 The French Legislative Assembly voted in favor declaration of war on Prussia. Goals of the powers:

1. France: to save the power of the emperor and those who supported him; prevent the strengthening of Germany.

2. Prussia: completion of national unification, creation of a united Germany.

France was not ready for war, and Germany strengthened its command and brought all army units into combat readiness. The difference in preparation immediately affected the course of military operations.

May 10, 1871 The National Assembly approved the final peace ( Frankfurt Peace) with Prussia, in fact with the proclaimed German Empire. France ceded Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. After the victory at Sedan South German states started with Prussia negotiation about joining North German Confederation, which were complicated by demands from the kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg for special privileges within the union. December 10, 1870 The Reichstag of the North German Confederation, at the proposal of Chancellor O. Bismarck, renamed the North German Confederation to German Empire (Deutsches Reich, Second Reich), and the post of President of the North German Confederation - to the post of German Emperor (der Deutsche Kaiser, Kaiser). January 18, 1871 V Palace of Versailles near Paris, Bismarck, in the presence of German princes, read the text of the proclamation of the Prussian king as German emperor. April 16 was accepted constitution I am the German Empire.

The German Empire was an allied state, which included 25 independent political units(four kingdoms, six great duchies, four duchies, eight principalities, three free cities - Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck) and the special province of Alsace-Lorraine, ruled by an imperial governor.

Results of the Franco-Prussian War:

1. The Second Empire fell and the Third Republic was formed in France. France acquired the status of a second-tier power and, after 1871, was forced to seek Russian support to neutralize the German threat.

2. The unification of Germany under the leadership of Prussia was completed. The German Empire, which united 25 states with a population of 36 million, became a large aggressive Junker-bourgeois state that established itself in the center of Europe.

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, the war between France, on the one hand, and Prussia and other states of the North German Union and Southern Germany, on the other.

Caused by deep contradictions between Prussia and France. Prussia sought to complete the unification of Germany under its auspices and weaken France and its influence in Europe. France - to inflict a decisive defeat on Prussia, exclude the possibility of creating a united and strong Germany, and maintain its predominant influence on Europe. continent, stop the growth of the revolutionary movement and prevent the political crisis of the Second Empire. (For the map, see the inset to page 320.) On the eve of F.-p. V. Prussian army, recruited on the basis of universal conscription, was the strongest and most combat-ready in the West. Europe. Number troops of North Germany, the union (including contingents of the South German state) in the military. time could be over 1 million people. (including over 690 thousand in the active army). In the military At that time, the corps united into an army. German Art. I was armed with steel rifled guns from the Krupna plant, valid. the fire reached 3.5 km. Prus, a plan developed back in the winter of 1868/69 by the chief general. General headquarters X. Moltke (senior), envisaged an offensive against Alsace and Lorraine, the defeat of the main. strength in the gene. battle, then push their remnants to the white border and capture Paris. The plan took into account the possibility of military operations against Austria-Hungary if it entered the war on the side of France.

The total number of French army military time could not exceed 570 thousand people, including 330-340 thousand in the active army. In service with the French. The infantry had a needle gun of the A. Chaspo system, which had an effective range. fire 1500 m (1.5 times more than the German needle gun I. Dreyse), as well as 25-barrel mitrailleuses (rate of fire up to 250 rounds per minute, fire range up to 1500 m). However, the French bronze rifled guns were loaded from the muzzle and were significantly inferior to German ones in firing range. A major miscalculation by the French. military There was a lack of leadership in the organization. structure of the peacetime army of divisions and corps (with the exception of the Guards), their formation immediately on the eve of the war could not ensure proper coherence of units and subunits. France did not have a carefully developed war plan. Hastily compiled, it contained a number of errors (the timing of the mobilization and concentration of troops, calculations for the split of the German coalition, etc. were unrealistic). Due to the superiority of the Prussian troops in numbers, art. Armament and combat training, the French sought to launch the offensive first, forestalling the enemy in the mobilization and deployment of forces. Franz. the command planned to inflict ch. blow in the Bavarian Palatinate, to separate the troops of North Germany. Union and South Germany. state, etc. to keep the latter from entering the war on the side of Prussia.

The reason for the war for both sides was diplomatic. conflict between Prussia and France over the candidacy for Spanish. throne. On July 2, 1870, the government of Spain invited a relative of Prussia, King William I, Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, to occupy the vacant royal throne. Napoleon III, provoked by Bismarck, declared war on Prussia on July 19, 1870. From the Prussian side, it began as history, progressive, because its chapter. the goal was to remove obstacles to the final unification of Germany posed by France. At the same time, aggression. Prussia's plans created the preconditions for the subsequent transformation of the war on its part into an aggressive one.

Franz. The troops were consolidated into one Army of the Rhine (commander-in-chief Napoleon III), concentrated in Alsace and Lorraine. German the army (commander-in-chief Wilhelm I, in fact Moltke) was concentrated by August 1. on the Middle Rhine between Metz and Strasbourg and by 6 August. totaled approx. 500 thousand people at 1584 or. Franz. The troops did not take decisive action, limiting themselves to minor skirmishes with the vanguards of the pr-ka. Aug 4 advanced units of the German armies were defeated near Weissenburg by the French. division general A. Douet. Aug 6 German troops defeated the 1st Corps of Marshal M.E. McMahon at Werth and the 2nd Corps of General. S. O. Frossard at Spichern, and as a result of the battles of August 16 and 18. on the left bank of the Moselle at Vionville - Mars-la-Touré and at Saint-Privat-Gravelotte French. The troops retreated to Metz, where they were blocked by 7 corps and 3 cavalry. German divisions (160 thousand people). Aug 22 At the request of the government, the new (so-called Chalons) army of MacMahon (over 120 thousand people, 393 op., 76 mitrailleuses) set out from Reims with the goal of releasing the French. troops besieged in Metz. They spoke out against McMahon. 3rd and newly created. The Meuse army, which surrounded the French in the Sedan region. After crushing, defeat on September 2. French The Chalon army capitulated along with Napoleon III, who was with it, and surrendered. The Sedan disaster accelerated the fall of Napoleon III's empire. 4 Sep. 1870 France was declared a republic. The bourgeois government came to power. Republicans led by Gen. L. Zh. Trochu (“Production of National Defense”). Obstacles to completing the national German unifications were eliminated: in November. 1870 South German states joined the North-Germany. union. However, the ruling and militaristic circles of Prussia sought to continue the war with the goal of annexing Alsace and Lorraine and receiving predatory indemnity. For France, the war in its second stage became progressive, national liberation. The people demanded universal armament, and under their pressure “the government of the national. Defense", which sought to make a deal with the enemy in order to prevent the further development of the revolution, and had already entered into secret negotiations with Bismarck, was forced to take measures for the defense of Paris very late. German The troops advanced towards the capital of France, meeting almost no resistance, and on September 19. Paris was besieged. 23 Sep. they occupied Tul, September 27. The garrison of Strasbourg capitulated. Thanks to the patriotic thanks to the efforts of the French people managed to create a new huge army in France (together with the National Guard, franc-tireurs, garrisons of Paris and other fortresses, it numbered approx. 1 million people). This significantly complicated the position of the Prussian command. Everything is mute. The troops were confined to the fortresses and continued the blockade of Metz and Paris. Franz. The Loire army, concentrated in Tours and Bourges, was preparing for the liberation of Paris. At this time, the commands dealt a treacherous blow to Republican France. Rhine French army Marshal A. Bazin, who entered into secret negotiations with the enemy. As a result, 27 Oct. after 72 days of blockade in Metz, the best 173 thousand capitulated without a fight. French army. “...This is a fact unheard of in the history of wars,” wrote F. Engels (Marx K., Engels F. Soch. Ed. 2nd. T. 17, p. 158). Released mute. troops (two armies) were sent against the French. armies (Loire and Northern), which in battles began to suffer defeats from German personnel; troops.

Bazin's betrayal, the reluctance of the French. government to organize defense, secret negotiations with the enemy on a truce, famine and deprivation caused October 31. in Paris, a workers' uprising was suppressed. 7 Nov The Loire army launched an offensive and on November 9. completely defeated the 2nd Bavarian Corps at Kulm and occupied Orleans, but on December 4. was knocked out of it by those who went on the offensive. troops.

In Jan. 1871 North The French army was defeated at Saint-Quentin, and the East. army at Belfort. Military France's position deteriorated sharply.

From 27 Dec. 1870 the Germans began art. shelling of Paris with 502 heavy guns. Its garrison withstood a siege for more than 4 months. Communication with the field armies was carried out through balloons (during the siege, 65 balloons with 164 people took off from Paris) and carrier pigeons.

22 Jan 1871 the population of Paris rebelled again. Having suppressed the uprising, the French. The government has completed negotiations with him. command,

26 Jan signed the agreement on the surrender of Paris, and on January 28. - truce. German was handed over to the troops most of forts of the Parisian fortress with art and ammunition.

26 Feb. A preliminary peace treaty was signed at Versailles. Before the ratification of the peace treaty, Nat. At the meeting, the Germans received the right to send their troops into Paris, which on March 3, after ratification, left Paris. On March 18, a popular uprising won in Paris and the Paris Commune of 1871 was created, which lasted until May 28. On May 10, the Frankfurt Peace of 1871 was signed between France and Germany, confirming the basic principles. terms of the Versailles preliminary treaty.

Ch. consequence of F.-p. V. was the completion of the unification of Germany under the hegemony of Prussia, the German Empire arose. Although the unification of Germany was a historically progressive event, it was achieved not in a revolutionary democratic way, but in a reactionary way, from above, with “iron and blood” (Bismarck). At the head of Herm, an empire that included within its borders in addition to him. land part of Poland and French ter., became aggressive. Prussian, Junkerism. A dangerous military has formed in the center of Europe. hearth The difficult conditions of the Frankfurt Peace gave rise to deep contradictions between France and Germany, which were one of the causes of the First World War of 1914-18.

Experience of F.-p. V. showed the enormous importance of universal conscription for the creation of a mass bourgeoisie. army, its advance and thorough preparation for war, the increased role of the general. headquarters in the preparation and conduct of combat operations. Acquired exceptional importance mobilization plan, railway planning transportation, the use of telegraph in the military. purposes, thanks to which it The troops managed to complete mobilization and strategist, deployment earlier, and seize the strategist and initiative. There have been changes in the command and control of troops.

Moltke led the armies not with centralized orders, but with individual directives to the commanders of the armies, who acted within the framework of the received directive independently, in accordance with the situation developing in the army zone. It became possible to operate on a wider front, to maneuver to cover the flanks of the aircraft. In coordinating the efforts of a large number of troops operating on a wide front, the features of the operation began to appear more clearly. During the period of F.-p. V. This means influence on the development of the military. art was influenced by the use of the new military. technology, more advanced weapons - German. art and french Chaspo guns. The improvement of infantry combat formations continued. The rifle chain was increasingly used. The increasing role of fire gave the troops greater stability, made it difficult for the enemy to break through the defense front, and increased the importance of tact and maneuver. After F.-p. V. Many states have introduced universal conscription.

V.P. Glukhov.

Materials from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia were used.

Literature:

Marks K. Civil War in France. - Marx K., Engels F. Op. Ed. 2nd. T. 17;

Engels F. Notes on the war. - Ibid. T. 17;

Obolenskaya S.V. The Franco-Prussian War and public opinion Germany and Russia. M., 1977;

Shneerson L.M. The Franco-Prussian War and Russia. From the history of Russian-Prussian and Russian-French. relations in 1867-1871. Minsk, 1976;

Mikhnevich N.P. The war between Germany and France 1870-71. Part 1. St. Petersburg, 1897;

Moltke G. History of the German-French War of 1870-1871. Per. with him. M., 1937.

Original taken from oper_1974 in the Franco-Prussian War. 1870 - 71 (60 photos)

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. 1875 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 ceased.

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 requirement.
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 common world, but they didn’t 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

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 size 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