Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) Conflict engineered by the Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The nominal cause was a dispute over the Spanish succession. Bismarck's aim was to use the prospect of French invasion to frighten the s German states into joining the North German Confederation dominated by Prussia. When the French declared war (July 14, 1870), the Prussian General von Moltke launched an offensive into Alsace. The French were defeated at Sedan, Napoleon III abdicated, and Paris was besieged. An armistice was agreed in January 1871, and Alsace and Lorraine were ceded to the new German empire, led by William I. Paris refused to surrender its weapons, and the Paris Commune was formed.
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Franco-Prussian War
