A inevitable showdown between two rivals with clashing ambitions.
The last great war of the 19th century that reshaped the map of Europe

Prussia and France have been in conflict repeatedly in modern Europe.
The conflict between the two countries over the Spanish succession soon escalated into war as Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck waged a war of public opinion.
France, armed with modern rifles and machine guns, declared war with great enthusiasm, but Prussia counterattacked, quickly defeated France, forced Emperor Napoleon III to surrender, and laid siege to the capital, Paris.
France was eventually unable to hold out and had no choice but to acknowledge Prussia's victory.
This war resulted in Prussia achieving German unification, establishing an empire, and rising to become a great power, while France lost the leadership it had held on the European continent.
It was the largest war to break out in Europe between the Napoleonic Wars and World War II, with over 2 million soldiers involved and over 180,000 killed.


This book is the first to be introduced in Korea to the 'French-Prussian War' (Prussian War), and was written by Professor Rachel Krastil, who has been researching this war for over 20 years.
The author faithfully presents the full story of the war while clearly showing that it was a significant turning point in world history and the history of war.
Not only does it offer a three-dimensional look at this war from various perspectives, including strategy, tactics, diplomacy, and mobilization systems, but it also uses testimonies from those caught up in the war, including leadership, lower-ranking officers, soldiers, and citizens, to delicately portray how the war shook people's emotions and the order of their daily lives.
This reveals that the nature of this war, including the explosion of nationalist conflict between Germany and France, the strengthening of militarism, the emergence of weapons of mass destruction, and the rise of total war with nationwide mobilization, foreshadowed the world wars of the 20th century.

The Franco-Prussian War changed the fate of Europeans forever.
It was the largest war to break out in Europe between the Battle of Waterloo and World War II, with over 2 million soldiers involved and over 180,000 killed.
During this war, Germany achieved unification and France laid the foundations for a stable republic.
This war was one of the most dramatic and one-sided defeats of a single nation's army in modern Europe, decisively ending France's hegemony on the European continent and signaling the emergence of a new power, Germany.
--- p.6 From the “Preface”

Mobilization in war is a massive task that involves comprehensively managing and coordinating manpower, weapons, and supplies related to the war, as well as a public propaganda activity and even a task that requires emotional management skills.
This includes not only the large-scale movement of personnel, but also the expansion of training facilities, the preparation of existing stockpiles of weapons for deployment, and the distribution of equipment according to a predetermined schedule.
Moreover, in 1870, the task of mobilization was not limited to soldiers.
This war was an event experienced by both soldiers and civilians.
Whether in the reserves or the regular army, going to war meant opening new horizons and beginning something new and exciting to share.
Above all, the war of 1870 was a war in which civilian soldiers temporarily volunteered and participated in various forms of war, even though the belligerents maintained large standing armies.
Hundreds of thousands of men across France and Germany prepared to go to war.
--- p.62 From “Chapter 2 Mobilization”

The two battles that took place on August 6th were a tragedy for France.
The French fought well, defended well, and counterattacked tenaciously.
The Chaspo rifle delivered the promised results.
However, at Fröschwiller the French were outnumbered, and at Spischeren they were forced to retreat as German reinforcements continued to arrive.
The Germans didn't fight very well that day.
Their ranks were scattered by the fierce fire from the French defensive positions.
However, they moved quickly and appropriately according to the situation without large-scale infantry attacks, finding gaps in the French defenses and exploiting them to the fullest extent.
The Prussians were willing to engage in battle, even though they did not know whether they were facing a large force or a small regiment.
They were willing to watch what was happening on the battlefield and were willing to believe that German soldiers would run towards the sound of gunfire.
In the end, Prussia's warfare style defeated its enemies.
--- p.129 From "Chapter 4 Battle"

The French army was being pushed back in disorder behind the lines in several corps, disoriented and without the energy to fight, while the Germans were bombarding the same target from various angles.
In this extreme confusion, the French army eventually retreated to Sedan.
The Crown Prince witnessed the miserable sight of French infantrymen “running about frantically, without weapons, trembling with anxiety.”
“Despair gripped the French soldiers.
Now they realized that they had no other option than to become prisoners.” … Late in the afternoon, Lebrun, Douai, and Ducros each returned to Sedan and explained to the Emperor the dire situation of the French army.
Napoleon III finally hoisted the white flag at Sedan.
--- p.259 From “Chapter 8: Sedan and Bajeyu”

The revolution of September 4th took place without any violence or riots, and people all returned home around 8 p.m.
The next day, Paris remained quiet.
This revolutionary day left enormous questions about how the new government would handle the war it had inherited from the empire.
Many in the crowd condemned the foolish barbarism of the "two tyrants" who had started the war, and equated the proclamation of a new republic with the end of the murderous war.
Others, on the other hand, urged them to fight to the end.
But France faced an immediate challenge from an invading force determined to complete its victory and annex French territory.
The National Defense Government vowed to continue the war.
--- p.273 From “Chapter 9: A New Beginning”

Parisians, now unable to communicate with the outside world through underwater telegraph cables, now looked to the sky.
Hot air balloons were used for communication and reconnaissance purposes during the French Revolutionary Wars.
With the development of coal gas, hot air balloons became more practical.
In the summer of 1870, an inventor named Godard encouraged the government to use this hot air balloon.
Leboeuf was not interested in ballooning, but Palicao took his offer seriously.
When Paris was blockaded, hot air balloons became very useful as a means of communication.
A photographer named Felix Nadar flew a hot air balloon over Paris on September 21st as an experiment.
On the 23rd, an experimental hot air balloon was sent out of the city, flying over Paris, and on the 26th, the first regular service was launched.
--- p.304 From “Chapter 10: Paris’ Strategy”

Despair and anxiety were the fate of countless women caught up in the war.
Women who fled their homes felt a greater sense of isolation and danger than usual.
George Sand traveled from Nohant (Indre) to Saint-Loup (Creuse) to prevent her grandchildren from contracting smallpox, and Léonie, who traveled with her, confided in her about the fear she felt at that time:
“These days [during the war] you are having bad thoughts that you never imagined before.
“You imagine that everyone who appears before you must be an enemy spy plotting our destruction,” Sand agreed, saying he had thought the same thing as they made their way through the evening fog.
Madame de Tiullin, Madame de Vinois's sister, fled with her husband from their villa in Eure-et-Loire.
However, along the way, Prussian soldiers stopped the carriage, climbed aboard, and accompanied them for part of the journey.
Madame Tiewlang feared that “they would harass us,” but the travelers arrived at their destination without incident.
--- p.339 From “Chapter 11 Selection”

Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, while condoning the preparations for bombardment in order to achieve peace, said:
“But the primary goal is to achieve victory by achieving the greatest possible results while minimizing casualties, and that is precisely the goal I set before.
Because the victories we have achieved so far have been bloody enough.
--- p.440 From “Chapter 13: Autumn in Paris”

“They walked beside us and showed us the places where fierce fighting had taken place and where the enemy’s retaliation had reached its peak.
I dare not repeat all that we heard.” The emotional and mental tension “was well expressed in the violent uproar and heartbreaking drama that ensued, and the result was a violent shake-up of the people’s nerves.
“The madness, hysteria, nervous breakdowns, and various paralysis symptoms that the people displayed were all the result of this tragic event.” According to other reports, the townspeople went mad and later showed symptoms that appeared to be a kind of shell shock or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
But at the time, there was no name to explain this.
--- p.454-455 From “Chapter 14: Generosity”

Since the beginning of the war, it has been clear that new weapons cause greater injuries and more serious bodily harm.
In the case of the French Chasseau rifle, the entrance to the body part where the bullet entered was a small hole, but “where the bullet passed through as it spun, it left a wide, trumpet-shaped wound.” The Mitraieuse machine gun killed people very quickly and indiscriminately.
The shells and their fragments inflicted terrible wounds on the soldiers.
The soldiers witnessed how their comrades fell helplessly on the battlefield.
Seeing so many dead and injured people firsthand left them deeply shocked.
In a letter home dated January 21, 1871, Rosenthal wrote:
“When I think back to the countless dead and wounded who fell then, when I shudder to think of the pools of blood we had to cross on the battlefield, and when I recall all the groans and cries that filled the sky then, all my vitality and will to survive in this terrible world vanishes.”
--- p.490 From “Chapter 15 Days of Pain”

A different historical drama was unfolding at Versailles.
This is the declaration of the German Empire.
The series of wars that became known as the Wars of German Unification were not wars of conquest, but rather a display of the power that Prussia had amassed.
--- p.571 From “Chapter 17: Winter Theater”

The Prussians were furious.
The French offensive has aroused the worst fears of the partisan resistance that has harassed the Germans for the past four months.
They suddenly appeared in an area that seemed very peaceful on the outside and caused real damage.
No one was safe anymore.
Although Chasseur's troops came from several kilometers away and had no contact with Fontenoy, the Prussians blamed the sabotage on the Fontenoy inhabitants.
So the Prussian 57th Infantry Regiment looted and burned the village.
The fire lasted for four days, eventually reducing all but four of the town's 55 houses and the church building to ashes.
Furthermore, the Prussian army took 23 civilians hostage.
Residents suffered for weeks without any protection from the cold and snow.

--- p.600 From “Chapter 18: The Last Resistance”

On May 21, troops dispatched by Versailles entered Paris and began street fighting known as "Bloody Week."
Thousands died here, many summarily executed despite little evidence that they had actively participated in the rebellion.
Some commune members set fire to the Tuileries Palace and the city hall, while others executed prisoners, including the Archbishop of Paris.
Thousands more were taken prisoner.
The German soldiers watched the troops advance from Versailles, while the tricolore flew from the Arc de Triomphe and the red flag of the Commune continued to fly from the Panthéon.
According to records, 59 Germans living in Paris fought on the barricades.
On May 28, the uprising ended.
The Paris Commune reflected the social conflicts in France that had already existed before the war and were exacerbated by the siege and the club movement.
Contrary to popular belief at the time, the Commune was not a reaction to disappointment or simple anger at France's eventual surrender to Germany after months of sacrifice.
--- p.626-627 From Chapter 19, From the Armistice to the Peace Treaty

Yet one visionary and hopeful writer saw in this war the seeds of a future peace that would respect our common humanity.
George Sand said this:
“War can never be a tool of life, because it is a technology of destruction.
It is by no means utopian to believe that we can prevent war.
The dream of a global alliance is not as far away as we might think.
It will probably be the achievement of the 20th century.

--- p.664 From "Chapter 20: The Settlement of War"