1870. Attack upon Saarbrücken. The repulse of a single batAug. 2. talion by three divisions was represented in the French reports as an important victory.

Aug. 4. Engagement at Weissenburg. MacMahon after a most courageous defense defeated in the

Aug. 6.

Battle of Worth (Reichshofen) by the army of the crown prince, which was numerically greatly his superior.

Aug. 6. German victory at Spicheren (Saarbrücken).

In consequence of these defeats the French army commenced its retreat to the Moselle. The crown prince detached a corps to besiege Strasburg and other Alsatian fortresses, and advanced upon Nancy; the I. army marched upon Metz; the II. army upon Pont à Mousson, with the intention of surrounding the main force of the French about Metz and cutting them off from Paris.

To prevent this Bazaine, upon whom the emperor had conferred the chief command, resolved, after some indecision, to retreat upon Châlons-sur-Marne and join there the remnants of MacMahon's command and a newly formed army. To prevent such juncture the advance guard of the I. army attacked Bazaine and in the

Aug. 14. Battle of Colombey-Nouilly and the

Aug. 16. Battle of Vionville (drawn battle), with great losses, prevented the retreat of the French to Verdun.

Upon the arrival of the delayed corps of the I. and II. army on the next day, the French were again attacked in their excellently chosen and partially strongly fortified positions. In the

Aug. 18. Battle of Gravelotte and St. Privat (Rezonville) the Germans under command of king William I. gained an advantageous position after eight hours' hot fighting, in spite of the desperate resistance of the French.

Aug. 19. Retreat of the French under the guns of Metz.

The result of these three bloody battles near Metz was to separate the French force into two parts, and to surround their main army in and about a fortress which was not provisioned for so large a body of troops.

1870, Aug. 19-Oct. 27.

Aug. 14-Sept. 27.

Von Werder.

Siege of Metz.

Siege of Strasburg by general

After the battles near Metz, advance upon Châlons. MacMahon evacuated Châlons, but instead of retreating to Paris, as was expected at the German headquarters, he attempted to reach Metz and liberate Bazaine by a circuitous flank march to the northeast. Napoleon III. accompanied the army. On learning of this manœuvre the Germans made a detour toward the right (north).

Bazaine's attempt to break through the German lines and join MacMahon frustrated by the

Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Engagements at Noisseville.

MacMahon saw the impossibility of reaching Metz, and concentrated his forces at Sedan. The Germans (250,000) far outnumbering the French (about 140,000) decided to send a part of their

troops over the Meuse and surround the French army. This was accomplished by the

Sept. 1. Battle of Sedan.

MacMahon, wounded in the morning, gave up the command to Ducrot, who afterwards transferred it to the older general Wimpffen. The victorious advance of the Germans on all sides was not checked by the brilliant charges of the French cavalry. At three o'clock the French army was surrounded. Napoleon III. delivered his sword to William I. and acknowledged himself a prisoner. Negotiations between Von Moltke and Wimpfen, and between Napoleon III. and Bismarck. The following forenoon the

1870, Sept. 2.

was signed.

Capitulation of Sedan

The entire French army prisoners of war: 39 generals, 2,300 officers, 84,000 men, 25,000 having been captured during the battle (10,000 escaped to Belgium). Napoleon III. conducted to Wilhelms

höhe.

In Paris the news of the first defeats, which had been long concealed, produced great excitement and the fall of the ministry of Ollivier (Aug. 10). Montauban-Palikao, the minister of war, formed a new ministry composed of ultra-Bonapartists. Falsification of war news. Paris in a state of siege. The receipt of the news of the capitulation of Sedan caused the

1870. Fall of the Empire and Proclamation of the Sept. 4. (third) Republic.

Flight of the empress Eugénie to England. Provisional government of the "National defense." Trochu (president and governor of Paris), Favre (foreign affairs), Gambetta (interior), Crémieux (justice), Simon (religion and education), Leflò (war), Fourichon (navy).

Sept. 4-16. March of the German armies upon Paris.

Defenses of Paris : continuous line of bastions and trenches, surrounding the suburbs ; around this on the inside a belt railroad; sixteen detached forts, two of which, Mont Valérien in the west and St. Denis in the north, were actual fortresses, all connected by continuous entrenchments and liberally provided with heavy artillery and military stores. Including the sailors and garrison, about 85,000 veterans; with the mobilized guards from the provinces, the guard mobile and national guard of Paris, over 300,000 men. Extensive accumulation of provisions.

The negotiations between Bismarck and Favre leading to no result (refusal of any cession of territory), the great city was invested by the IV.1 army on the north and east, by the III. army on the S. and W. Headquarters at Versailles.

1870, Sept. 19-1871, Jan. 28. Siege of Paris.

After the capitulation of Sedan the whole war was a struggle for Paris. Excepting the conquest of Alsace and German Lorraine,

1 The IV. army was formed, after Gravelotte, from corps of the I. and II.

which Germany had regarded as the prize of victory, from the commencement of the war, all the military operations of the Germans had the object of preserving the positions and the lines of connection of the armies about Paris, and of preventing any attempt to raise the siege; the raising of the siege was, on the contrary, the object of all the French operations.

1870. In consequence of the withdrawal of the French garrison Sept. 20. from Rome, capture of that city by the Italian army and abolition of the secular power of the Pope.

Sept. 23. Capture of Toul.

Sept. 27. Capitulation of Strasburg.

The delegation of the French government in Tours, since Oct. 9, under the dictatorship of Gambetta, who had left Paris in a balloon, formed two armies for the relief of Paris: a. army of the Loire (not 30,000); b. northern army. The former defeated by the Bavarian general Von der Tann in the

1870, Oct. 10. Engagement at Artenay. Occupation of Orléans.

While Gambetta with the greatest energy was strengthening and arming forces for relief, Bazaine, who, as leader of the largest regular army in France, had thought to play a political rôle, by means of negotiations, was forced, after several unsuccessful sorties, to the 1870, Oct. 27. Capitulation of Metz.

(3 marshals, 3,000 officers, 173,000 men, 500 field artillery, 800 fortress cannon.) A part of the besieging army was sent to reinforce the armies before Paris; a part was dispatched under Manteuffel against the French army of the north; the largest part, under prince Frederic Charles, was sent against the army of the Loire.

Nov. 28. Defeat of the army of the Loire at Beaune la Rolande (by prince Frederic Charles), whereby the purpose of the French commander to force his passage to Paris was frus

trated.

Nov. 27.

teuffel.

Defeat of the army of the north at Amiens by ManNov. 30. At Paris, sortie under Trochu and Ducrot, in coöperation with the intended advance of the Loire army. Storm and capture of Champigny and Brie. Successful defense of Villiers and Couily by Würtemberg troops. Further French advance was checked, but they kept Brie. After great losses in the fight and through cold the French troops returned to Paris (Dec. 3).

the name given to a number of engagements in which the
Germans defeated the army of the Loire, with the following
results: 1. Capture of the strong French entrenchments on the
right bank of the Loire, and re-occupation of Orléans. 2. Sep-
aration of the army of the Loire into two parts. Flight of the
delegation of the government to Bordeaux (Dec. 9).
The larger part of the Loire army driven behind Vendôme ;
Frederic Charles, at Orléans, covered the besieging armies be-
fore Paris from the south.

Dec. 27. Opening of the bombardment of the forts of Paris, after the transportation of heavy artillery and munitions had been accomplished with the greatest difficulty. Bombardment of the city, Jan. 8, 1871.

1871, Jan. 12. Battle of Le Mans.

Defeat of Chanzy by Frederic Charles.

most annihilated.

The French army al

Jan. 10.-13. Sortie from Paris against Meudon and Clamart, and one against Le Bourget repulsed.

In the south, Bourbaki with 140,000 men forced von Werder, who was besieging Belfort, without giving up the siege, to take up a favorable position along the Lisaine by a masterly retreat. In the three days

Jan. 15-17. Battle of Belfort,

Von Werder successfully defended his position, and forced Bourbaki to retreat.

Jan. 18. Renewal of the title and office of German Emperor in the palace of Louis XIV. at Versailles, all the sovereign princes and the three free cities having offered the crown to king William I.

Jan. 19. Last great sortie from Paris, with 100,000 men, under
Trochu, repulsed after severe fighting. On the same day,
Jan. 19.

Battle of St. Quentin,

in which general Von Göben completely defeated and scattered the French army of the north. In the south Manteuffel forced the French to take refuge in the neutral territory of Switzerland, where they were disarmed.

1871, Jan. 28. Capitulation of Paris by the

convention of Versailles : 1. surrender of all the forts with munitions of war, disarmament of the city wall; 2. all French soldiers in Paris considered as prisoners of war, with exception of 12,000 men, which, with the national guard, preserved order; the French officials to provision the city; 3. the city of Paris paid 200 million francs; 4. truce (excepting the departments of Doubs, Jura, and Côte d'or) for three weeks, for the purpose of allowing a free election for a national assembly, which was to meet in Bordeaux, and decide between peace and war.

Gambetta's resistance to this agreement was soon broken; his resignation (Feb. 6). Elections throughout France (Feb. 8). The national assembly formed in Bordeaux (Feb. 12). Truce prolonged to 24th Feb., and afterwards to March 3. Thiers, elected head of the executive department, conducted the negotiations with Bismarck which resulted in the

Feb. 26. Preliminaries of peace at Versailles.

1. France ceded to the German Empire: Alsace (except Belfort and territory) and German Lorraine, with Metz and Diedenhofen (Thionville), in all 4,700 square miles, with one and a half million inhabitants; 2. France agreed to pay five milliards of francs for indemnification in three years, which were secured by an occupation of French territory.