France Declares War on Prussia: Path to United Germany
Napoleon III of France declared war on Prussia on July 19, 1870, walking into a trap that Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had carefully set by editing the Ems Dispatch to make it appear that the Prussian king had insulted the French ambassador. French public opinion demanded war; Bismarck was counting on it. The Prussian army, superior in organization, mobilization speed, and artillery, destroyed French forces at Sedan within six weeks and captured Napoleon III himself. The defeat ended the Second French Empire, birthed the Third Republic, and allowed Bismarck to proclaim the German Empire in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, a deliberate humiliation that France would remember for decades.
July 19, 1870
156 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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