FPW007
First Legion
The Franco-Prussian War was fought between the French under Napoleon III and the Prussians of Otto von Bismarck from 1870-1871. The war was provoked by Bismarck to further his agenda of creating a unified German State, rallying the southern German states to his cause who believed France to be the aggressor. A quick series of victories in by the Prussians and Germans in Eastern France lead to the capture of several key cities and Napoleon III himself, leading to the fall of the Second French Empire and the rapid creation of the Third French Republic.