THE GERMAN INVASION OF FRANCE, AUGUST-OCTOBER 1870
GEOFFREY WAWRO OFFERS SOME CONTROVERSIAL CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR:
1. That Moltke was the moderate in his debates with Bismarck in December 1870, but that their roles had reversed in January 1871 (279-80, 290).
2. That French republicans displayed “paranoid” and “totalitarian” leanings.
3. That Bismarck’s judgment was clouded by anti-French prejudice (239, 300-01).
4. That France quickly developed a strong consensus in favor of moderate republicanism, while the desire for “revenge” soon faded (310-11).
5. That the war saddled Germany with “a military despotism cloaked in parliamentary forms” (302) and “empowered a whole class of militarists who linked Germany’s health to war and expansion” (312).
THE ENCIRCLEMENT OF THE FRENCH ARMY AT SEDAN,
SEPTEMBER 1, 1870 (compare Wawro, 214)
Bismarck accompanies Napoleon III to meetKing William I on the morning of September 2, 1870
Massive bombardment of Strasbourg on the Rhine caused its surrender on September 28, 1870
The Provisional Government of the Third Republic, led by Jules Ferry and Jules Favre, 4 September 1870
Ernest Meissonier, “The Siege of Paris” (1870-1884):An appeal for resistance in the spirit of the Gauls (Wawro, 255)
“The Balloon” (November 1870),celebrating the escape of Leon
Gambetta (1838-1882):Was he really “totalitarian” or
“paranoid”? (Wawro, 233-4, 251)
Narcisse Chaillou, “The Rat Butcher” (Paris in
November 1870)
Anton von Werner, “The German Headquarters in Versailles” (December 1870): Bismarck & the Crown
Prince argue with Moltke and Roon….
Ruined houses and shops in the St. Cloud district of Paris after German bombardment
Alphonse Neuville, “Le Bourget,” a failed sortie from Paris on December 21, 1870 (Wawro, 280-81)
Wilhelm I hailed as German Kaiser, Versailles, January 18, 1871
John Trumbull, “The Declaration of Independence” (1819)
Eugen Adam, “The German Flag is Hoisted at Fort Vauves, Outside Paris, January 19, 1871”
“Happy New Year!”(Kladderadatsch, January 1, 1871):In Faust, Goethe
terms Mephistopheles “A part of that power Which always seeks evil, Yet always does
good.”Napoleon III had
sought “Germany’s downfall,” but from
the cauldron Wilhelm I emerges as “Kaiser”
with the orb and scepter of dominion.
WAR & CIVIL WAR IN FRANCE:THE PARIS COMMUNE
18 September 1870: Siege of Paris begins.
28 January 1871: Armistice between France & Germany.
8 February: National elections favor monarchists, because they call for peace.
1 March: National Assembly approves peace treaty ceding Alsace-Lorraine.
18 March: Fighting breaks out when Versaillais troops attempt to seize the cannon of the Paris National Guard.
26 March: Elections for the Paris Commune.
21-28 May 1871: The “Bloody Week” (Commune falls).
The German victory parade down the Champs Elysées, March 1, 1871
“France Signing the Preliminary Peace Terms” (March 1871)
Louis XIV seized parts of Alsace from the Holy Roman Empire
in 1667;Louis XV inherited
Lorraine in 1766.
The borders of the German Empire, 1871-1918
Adolphe Thiers (1797-1877): Former premier underthe July Monarchy, head of the provisional government in 1871
“The Two Republics” (1872):
“Respectable” vs. “Red”Thiers argued that “today the Republic is the state
form that divides us least.”
But he warned
radicals, “The
Republic will be
conser-vative,
or it will not be.”
Barricade on Puebla Boulevard
“Paris Burning” (1871)
The Suppression of the Paris Commune, May 21-28, 1871
The destruction of City Hall
“CRIMES OF THE COMMUNE:The assassination of the hostages in La Roquette
Prison, May 24, 1871” (including Archbishop Darboy)
H.F.E. Philippoteaux, “The Last Fighting at Père Lachaise” (1871)
Ernest Pichio, “The Triumph of Order” (1877)
THE FRENCH CONSTITUTIONAL COMPROMISE OF 1875
Dedication of the Victory Column, Berlin-Tiergarten, September 2, 1873
Constitution of 1871
“For his 60th Birthday” (March 28, 1875):Bismarck as Atlas,
bearing the weight of both “the German
Reich” and “Foreign Affairs.”
Does Wawro contradict himself regarding Bismarck’s role?
See pp. 279-80, 290-91, 300-05.
The Great Powers of Europe in 1880
FRANCE GREAT BRITAIN GERMANY ???
THIRD REPUBLIC
(1870-1940): A weak president
appoints the premier, who is “responsible” to the Chamber of
Deputies.Indirectly elected Senate (with rural
voters over-represented) retains veto
power.
1832: Great Reform Act
abolishes rotten boroughs
1871: Universal manhood
suffrage for new Reichstag, but states retain three-class
suffrage
1867: 2nd Reform Act makes 40% of
all men voters
1884: 3rd Reform Act makes 60% of
all men voters
Chancellor & army are
responsible only to Kaiser.1911: Parliament
Act abolishes veto power for the House of
Lords
WESTERN EUROPE WAS BECOMING DEMOCRATIC BY 1880
Austria-Hungary
RussiaOttoman Empire
1867: Dual Monarchy
created, with home rule for Hungary, but
suffrage is restricted, and the parliaments in Vienna and Budapest are
often paralyzed
Tsar Alexander II (1855-81)
abolishes serfdom, ordains trial by jury and elected county councils. Assassinated by
the “People’s Will.”
1839-76: Tanzimat reforms
bring Western-style law courts
and property rights
1876/7: Constitu-tional monarchy
Alexander III revives
“autocracy”(1881-1894)
1877-1909: Defeat by Russia inspires Sultan
Abdul Hamid II to restore
absolutism
EASTERN EUROPE MADE NO PROGRESS TOWARD DEMOCRACY