Page 46 - History of War - Issue 29-16

GREAT BATTLES

translated as cauldron battle, the Prussians put a cousin of King William’s on the throne in
vanquished the Austrians on 3 July 1866. Spain – this was something wholly unpalatable
The Congress of Vienna reset the expanded to Napoleon III. When he objected, Bismarck OPPOSING FORCES
French borders to the 1792 level, reverting made it seem as if the French government
to the pre-war consensus. However, during had insulted the Prussians. The French were
the rst half of the 19th century, the French outraged, and they declared war on 19 July
gradually slid back toward an autocratic 1870. The Prussians, with military assistance
government. As a result, Louis-Napoleon from the North German Confederation, rapidly FRENCH vs PRUSSIANS
Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon I, proclaimed deployed 380,000 men in three armies on the LEADER LEADERS
himself Emperor Napoleon III in 1852. The border regions. The French elded 224,000 Marshal Patrice Field Marshal Helmuth
new emperor invested in new technologies men in eight corps under Napoleon III to MacMahon von Moltke, King William I
in the following decade, such as the superb oppose them. TROOPS TROOPS
breech-loading Chassepot ri e that had a range After a series of costly frontier battles in 145,000 224,000
of 1,500 meters, which was more than twice early August, the French fell back towards GUNS GUNS
that of the Prussians’ Dreyse Needle Gun, and the forti ed town of Metz. Having failed to 550 700
the top-secret mitrailleuse, a volley gun with successfully direct the frontier campaign, the
multiple barrels. However, he did not institute French emperor removed himself from direct
changes in leadership or tactics. command. He subsequently divided his eight The day before the pitched battle at
corps into two armies, one of which was led by Gravelotte, Napoleon III, who was depressed
The slip into war Marshal François Bazaine’s Army of the Rhine over the setbacks his armies had previously
Bismarck intended the wars with Prussia’s and the other by Marshal Patrice MacMahon’s encountered, left the Army of the Rhine and
European rivals as a way to unify Germany Army of Châlons. travelled under escort to Châlons where
under the Hohenzollern dynasty by showing On 18 August, the Prussians launched MacMahon was reinforcing his army with raw
that they best represented the interests of the poorly co-ordinated frontal attacks against recruits from Paris.
lesser German states. Although the defeat the French at Gravelotte on the outskirts of Having received orders from ministers of the
of Austria had furthered this aim, it did not the city. Although Bazaine’s army for the most French government to march to the relief of
complete it. Therefore, Bismarck set about part repulsed the attacks, it withdrew inside Bazaine in Metz, MacMahon marched his army
antagonising France so that the German states the forti cations of Metz. General Karl von northeast on August 21 with the Prussian Third
would nd it advantageous to support Prussia Steinmetz’s Prussian First Army and Prince Army under Crown Prince Frederick William in
in a war against a resurgent France. Frederick Charles Prussian Second Army hot pursuit. MacMahon hoped to get around the
The political impetus for the Franco-Prussian promptly encircled Bazaine’s army at Metz, Prussian right ank near the Belgian border and
War was Bismarck’s attempt in spring 1870 to trapping 180,000 men. then march southwest to Metz.

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