Franco-Prussian War

Franco-Prussian War
Part of the wars of German unification
(clockwise from top right) Battle of Mars-la-Tour, 16 August 1870 The Lauenburg 9th Jäger Battalion at Gravelotte The Last Cartridges The Defense of Champigny The Siege of Paris in 1870 The Proclamation of the German Empire
Date 19 July 1870 – 28 January 1871 (6 months, 1 week and 2 days) Location France and Prussia Result German victory, Treaty of Frankfurt Fall of the Second French Empire Formation of the French Third Republic Beginning of Franco-German enmity Territorial changes Unification of Germany and formation of the German Empire German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine
Belligerents
North German  Confederation Baden  Bavaria Württemberg	French Empirea
German Empirec	French Republicb Foreign volunteers
Commanders and leaders
William I Otto von Bismarck Helmuth von Moltke Crown Prince Friedrich Prince Friedrich Karl Karl F. von Steinmetz Albrecht von Roon	Napoleon III (POW) François Achille Bazaine (POW) Patrice de MacMahon (POW) Louis Jules Trochu Léon Gambetta Giuseppe Garibaldi
Strength
Total deployment: 1,494,412[1] Initially: 938,424 730,274 regulars and reservists[2] 208,150 Landwehr[2] Peak field army strength: 949,337[2]	Total deployment: 2,000,740[2] Initially: 909,951 492,585 active, including 300,000 reservists[3][2] 417,366 Garde Mobile[3] Peak field army strength: 710,000[2]
Casualties and losses
144,642[4] 44,700 dead[5] 89,732 wounded 10,129 missing or captured	756,285[6] 138,871 dead[7][8] 143,000 wounded 474,414 captured or interned
~250,000 civilians dead, including 162,000 Germans killed in a smallpox epidemic spread by French POWs[4]
a Until 4 September 1870. b From 4 September 1870. c From 18 January 1871.

The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) was a war between France and Prussia, which was helped by German allies of Prussia. The war was provoked by Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck, who wanted to unite Germans under Prussian rule by making them fight together against a common enemy. Bismarck irritated French Emperor Napoleon III into declaring war on 19 July 1870. The war ended by a Prussian victory on 10 May 1871.

1. ↑ Clodfelter 2017, p. 184, 33,101 officers and 1,113,254 men were deployed into France. A further 348,057 officers and men were mobilized and stayed in Germany.. sfn error: no target: CITEREFClodfelter2017 (help)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Clodfelter 2017, p. 184. sfn error: no target: CITEREFClodfelter2017 (help)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Howard 1991, p. 39. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHoward1991 (help)
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Clodfelter 2017, p. 187. sfn error: no target: CITEREFClodfelter2017 (help)
5. ↑ Clodfelter 2017, p. 187, of which 17,585 killed in action, 10,721 died of wounds, 12,147 died from disease, 290 died in accidents, 29 committed suicide and 4,009 were missing and presumed dead. sfn error: no target: CITEREFClodfelter2017 (help)
6. ↑ Nolte 1884, pp. 526–527. sfn error: no target: CITEREFNolte1884 (help)
7. ↑ Nolte 1884, p. 527. sfn error: no target: CITEREFNolte1884 (help)
8. ↑ Clodfelter 2017, p. 187, of which 41,000 killed in action, 36,000 died of wounds and 45,000 died from disease. sfn error: no target: CITEREFClodfelter2017 (help)