You can mark you interesting snippets of text that will be available through a unique link in your browser.


Franco-Prussian War

Franco-Prussian War
/frang"koh prush"euhn/
the war between France and Prussia, 1870-71.

* * *

(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.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

  
Share  

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Franco-Prussian War — Infobox Military Conflict caption=Pierre Georges Jeanniot s La ligne de feu (1886), depicting the Battle of Mars La Tour partof=the wars of German unification conflict=Franco Prussian War date=19 July 1870 – 10 May 1871 place=France and Prussia… …   Wikipedia

  • Franco-German War — ▪ European history also called  Franco Prussian War   (July 19, 1870–May 10, 1871), war in which a coalition of German states led by Prussia defeated France. The war marked the end of French hegemony in continental Europe and resulted in the… …   Universalium

  • Franco-Prussian — adjective Of or pertaining to both France and Prussia, as in, for example, the Franco Prussian War …   Wiktionary

  • Causes of the Franco-Prussian War — The causes of the Franco Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding balance of power after the Napoleonic Wars. France and Prussia had been combatants against each other, with France on the losing side and Napoleon I exiled to Elba …   Wikipedia

  • war — war1 /wawr/, n., v., warred, warring, adj. n. 1. a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air. 2. a state or period of armed hostility or active military… …   Universalium

  • Franco — Francoism, n. Francoist, n. /frang koh/; Sp. /frddahng kaw/, n. Francisco, (Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde) ( El Caudillo ), 1892 1975, Spanish military leader and dictator: chief of state 1939 47; regent of the kingdom… …   Universalium

  • War of the Austrian Succession — The Battle of Fontenoy by Édouard Detaille. Oil on canvas …   Wikipedia

  • War reparations — refer to the monetary compensation intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.HistoryPre World War… …   Wikipedia

  • War in the Vendée — Part of the War of the First Coalition …   Wikipedia

  • Prussian Army — The Prussian Army ( de. Preußische Armee) was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the… …   Wikipedia