Product Description

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 violently changed the course of European History. Alarmed by Bismarck’s territorial ambitions and the Prussian army’s crushing defeats of Denmark in 1864 and Austria in 1866, French Emperor Napoleon III vowed to bring Prussia to heel. Digging into many European and American archives for the first time, Geoffrey Wawro’s The Franco-Prussian War describes the war that followed in thrilling detail. While the armies mobilized in July 1870, the conflict appeared ‘too close to call’. Prussia and its German allies overwhelmingly outnumbered the French. But Marshal Achille Bazaine’s grognards (‘old grumblers’) were the stuff of legend, the most resourceful, battle-hardened, sharp-shooting troops in Europe. From the political intrigues that began and ended the war to the bloody battles at Gravelotte and Sedan and the last murderous fights on the Loire and in Paris, this is a stunning, authoritative history of the Franco-Prussian War.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #323873 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 342 pages

Review
‘… a clear reminder that military history still needs lively and well researched accounts of wars and campaigns … what Wawro has done is to provide a history of the war which exploits to the full the available archive material. With consummate skill he has woven together diplomatic developments before and during the war, the decisions and motives of the key political and military figures on both sides, and military operations with detailed accounts of the fighting in the different battles … Part of the value of this book is that the movements of hundreds of thousands of troops are explained clearly, while the battles are brought to life through the diary and memoir material the author exploits … In addition to its highly readable style, another merit of The Franco-Prussian War is that its author has managed to pack so much material into the 314 pages of text without ever slackening the pace of his narrative … Wawro has written not only an extremely good book, but one which will quickly take its place as the standard single-volume account … university teachers will probably prefer to recommend Wawro's book to their undergraduates. Geoffrey Wawro is to be congratulated on his Franco-Prussian War. It deserves to be in the library of everyone interested in German, French, and European military history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.‘ German Historical Institute London

'His skills as a battle historian are patent. He has a grasp both of detail and outline. His prose is crisp and clear. He constantly enlivens the technical analysis with the worm's-eye perspectives of the soldiers - a great attraction of the book.' Time Literary Supplement

‘Wawro‘s account of the conflict is brief, to the point and extremely well written … While not neglecting the general picture, Wawro obviously enjoys presenting details of battlefield events, and this is also where his account really adds a new twist that was largely missing from earlier histories of the war … Wawro's history of The Franco-Prussian War has all the ingredients to make it the relevant account of this conflict for the English-speaking world for some decades …‘. War in History

About the Author
Geoffrey Wawro is Professor of Strategic Studies at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. His previously published books include The Austro-Prussian War (Cambridge, 1996) and Warfare and Society in Europe, 1792–1914 (2000). He is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including the Austrian Cultural Institute Prize and the Society for Military History Moncado Prize for Excellence in the Writing of Military History. In 2002, he shared a New Orleans Press Club Award for the live NBC/History Channel coverage of the parade and opening of the D-Day Museum Pacific Wing. He is also the host and anchor of the History Channel’s Hardcover History, a weekly interview show with leading historians, statesmen, and journalists.

Customer Reviews

An excellent successor to Michael Howard
Wawro is the author of a very good book on the 1866 campaigns. This book is if anything better and it receives the imprint of Sir Michael Howard who has written the best detailed history. Wawro's book is both military and diplomatic but it is set one level of detail up from Sir Michael's book and includes rather more epigrammic or anedoctal material. Although the book is not as long as Michael Howard's (which all should get as well) it provides a very good narrative even though its strength is its analysis.

The War was full of issues that returned to haunt Europe and Wawro is very good at pointing out how close (for example) France came to not losing Alsace-Lorraine. How different history might have been.

Wawro's particular strength is to remember that even if the French are in chaos things may not be good on the German side. And so it transpires. Again and again as we marvel at the French mishandling he notes how it could have gone right for them. The ferocious power of the Chassepot and the might of the German gunlines are all sketched out well. Wawro's level of research reminds me of J.R.Hale's books on the Renaissance/Reformation. I can give no higher compliment.

Brilliant introduction to the period
I read military history books all the time, and I have to say this is one of the best I have ever come across. Lucid prose describes the lead-up to the war and the actual campaign in an detailed but accessible fashion. The account is very balanced between French and Prussian perspectives, between tactical and strategic narrative, between the military and the political spheres. I have rarely read a more polished account of a military campaign.

Superlative Account
This book is a "must have" for anyone wanting to know more about the period.Wawro's account clearly goes under the surface of the
war,and in particular gives an evocative account that allows understanding of what the men of all levels felt about the war and how they were effected.This adds to the understanding of the the entire war.A fantastic read,I only put it down once and read it all the way through.For military historians,and for wargamers alike (such as myself) this is a fabulous book.I'd recommned it to anybody.