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THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 
PRECIS OF THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 
BY 
CAPTAIN S. C. PRATT, R.A. 
Part I. 
SAARBRUCKEN TO METZ* 
cause of To review the political causes of the war of 1870, ancl sketch the 
1 ar tortuous course of policy which placed Prussia in the position of leader 
of the German race, would entail a study of Continental politics from 
the commencement of the century. By violation of numerous treaties, 
by wholesale annexation of the minor states, and finally by the ex¬ 
pulsion of Austria from Germany, she became invested with the military 
supremacy, and a popular war with a foreign power was all that was 
necessary to re-establish the ancient German Empire and secure the 
long desired unity of the German peoples. In France, on the other 
hand, the growing power of her ancient enemy, the astounding successes 
of the six weeks* war, and the unsuccessful attempts to obtain a rectifi¬ 
cation of the Rhine frontier, had aroused a feeling of bitter hostility. 
France alone was determinedly hostile to German unity; Russia was open 
to an arrangement, Austria was too enfeebled by the Sadowa campaign 
to interfere, and England had notoriously withdrawn herself from the 
complications of Continental politics. The pretensions of the two great 
rivals had to be decided on the battle-field, and the immediate cause of 
rupture is a matter of little importance. A diplomatic quarrel arising 
from the offer of the Spanish throne to the Prince of Hohenzollern- 
Sigmaringen afforded a plausible pretext for war, which was formally 
declared by the French on the l9th July, 1870. 
Previous to entering upon a description of the campaign, it will be 
necessary to refer briefly to the system of recruitment and comparative 
military position of the two rival armies. 
* This short precis of the 1870-1 campaign has been written in the belief that it will be accept¬ 
able to many officers who would not consult a more lengthy account. It may also be of advantage 
& to those entering upon the study of the campaign; forming, as it does, a framework the details for 
the filling up of which are at hand in the many histories now issued. Some difficulty has been 
experienced in finding out the actual numbers engaged in the several battles. The German 
official accounts, though perfectly accurate in the detail they give, do not take into consideration 
the troops outside the zone of fire, who in many cases affected the result of the engagement. For 
this reason, in more than one instance, the approximate numbers given by Lecomte have been 
adopted. To compress the description of several distinct campaigns into a few pages necessitates 
the omission of many minor facts and the suppression of much detail. How far the judgment of 
the writer has been sound in his work of excision must be left to the opinion of the military 
student. 
