Defeat of France - September 1870 - January 1871
Sedan was the end of the empire, but not of the war. The quarrel which had originated amongst princes had now been transferred to the nation. It was no longer a struggle of Courts and Cabinets ; it became a national struggle of the French people. The empire ceased to exist at dead of night on September 2nd, when Jules Favre * proposed Napoleon's deposition. Thiers, as a supporter of the Orleanists, advocated the formation of a provisional Government by the Chambers. But Paris had once again burst into revolution, and, as before, settled the destinies of the nation. The mob rushed into the Chamber, and Favre and Gambetta, at the head of the Parisian deputies, proclaimed a Republic. Thiers was obliged to recognize this Government at the moment, but could not accept the principles upon which it was based. The unhappy Empress fled to England, where she has since resided ; and Napoleon remained for a time in German hands. The new Government Immediately set about the best means for national defence. General Trochu, although an antiRepublican, was placed at its head, with Favre as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Gambetta as Minister of the Interior. The latter had come before the public eye some two or three years before as a young advocate in a political trial, during the course of which he had violently attacked the Emperor.
Favre maintained that the King of Prussia was merely fighting Napoleon, and that, having conquered, he ought to make peace. But Prussia, as represented by King William and Bismarck, was not only fighting against Napoleon, but equally against the army of France. It was 'decided without hesitation that the war should be prosecuted, and the Crown Prince lost no time after Sedan, but pushed on rapidly to Paris. On September 19th the investment was completed. Jules Favre had two fruitless interviews with Bismarck ; the Provisional Government was pledged to resist all territorial concessions, and Bismarck turned aside to negotiate with the Empress Eugenie.
The siege of Paris began. Three months before every one in France had imagined that if any capital were besieged in 1870 it would be Berlin. It is remarkable that even now the French did not lose all hope of bringing the struggle to a successful conclusion. They imagined the previous failures were largely due to the corrupt government of the empire, and they hoped that under the new regime the complexion of affairs would be radically changed. They knew that 400,000 Germans were kept inactive round Metz, and that they would have to remain there as long as Bazaine held out. If Paris was really to be taken they calculated that double the number of men brought by the Crown Prince would be required. They rejoiced in the fact that the difficulty of food supplies for the Prussian army seemed almost insurmountable. As long as the Prussians were assailed by these difficulties the optimistic nature of the French taught them to look forward to the formation of a new army, created in the south, which would drive the half-starved invaders out of the country.
Against these advantages they had to weigh two great disadvantages : the lack of capable leaders and the innumerable factions within the country. The Cabinet which was to govern France and direct the nation to victory was shut up in Paris. Monsieur Cremieux, an honest lawyer but an inexperienced statesman, slipped out with three others to form a Cabinet at Tours.
Lyons, Marseilles, and Toulouse, instead of sticking nobly to the national cause, raised the red flag of the Commune. On October 7th Gambetta escaped from Paris by balloon to rally the country to the great emergency. He formulated a scheme for dividing France into four parts, with central points at Lille, Le Mans, Bourges, and Besan9on, where a separate army was to be raised with a separate general at its head. Count Keraty raised a force in Brittany ; General Bourbaki did the same in the north ; and Garibaldi joined General Cambriels in the Vosges. These forces when combined were to effect the relief of the beleaguered capital.
In the meantime Strasburg had surrendered on September 16th, and General Werder * and a Prussian force having thus been liberated, marched to assist von der Tann,f who was, at the command of Moltke, investing the city of Orleans. He was fairly successful ; but his great object was to cross the Loire and destroy the arsenals at Bourges ; arid this he was unable to do.
The position of the Government in Paris was greatly endangered by the news of October 27th. Bazaine had surrendered. The great army of Metz was in the hands of the Germans, arid another army was freed for the siege of Paris and the reduction of the provinces. While the Provisional Government was with difficulty making headway against the Communist followers of Blanqui, Gambetta was organizing the resistance of the French nation in the provinces. A levee en masse was called, and General Aurelle des Paladines, a veteran of the Crimea, was ordered to advance against von der Tann. The move seemed excellent, for on November gth des Paladines attacked the Prussians at Coiilmiers and drove them out of Orleans, but unfortunately for France, was unable to follow this up, owing to the arrival of the Duke of Mecklenburg with considerable reinforcements. Had he been able to take more active steps the Prussian force besieging Paris might have been endangered. This was recognized by Prince Frederick Charles, who thrust himself between Orleans and the capital. Gambetta's impulsive nature caused him to order des Paladines to take action and to advance upon Paris. For this purpose an arrangement was made with General Trochu that a simultaneous assault should be attempted from the north and south.
The attack took place, but ended in disaster ; on November 27th des Paladines assaulted the German left at Beaune-la-Rolande, and the Pontifical Zouaves under General Charette made gallant efforts to win a way to Paris. Brie and Villiers were taken, but on November 28th and December 2nd the French army was cut to pieces in a bloody engagement immediately north of Orleans. By December 5th the work of des Paladines was undone, and Orleans once more fell into Prussian hands.
The story of the French downfall is one Jong series of disasters. The French army in Paris was not idle ; they did what they could, but the hand of fate was turned against them, and one small success was almost immediately followed by a crushing defeat. Thus General Ducrot on November 29th carried the heights of Champigny, but five days later he was driven back into the capital, and on the last day of the year Mont Avron was taken by the besieging army. In the north-east the same disastrous story was being enacted. Manteuffel was victorious wherever he went. Amiens gave way on November 27th ; Rouen was occupied on December 6th, while Dieppe was reached four days later. Thus the year 1870 closed with a vast Prussian force occupying the greater part of northern France, and Paris was in the throes of starvation, with an invincible army waiting at her gates.
Events now moved with even dizzier rapidity. The relief of Paris was attempted by General Faidherbe,f commanding the North-Western Departments, on January 3rd, but it was checked by the indecisive battle of Bapaume. A second attempt a fortnight later was no more successful, and the French were utterly defeated by General Goben at St. Quentin.
The collapse of France was now complete. In the north it had already been effected, but in the next few weeks it was clearly evidenced in the south. On January 12th General Chanzy,J after having been driven by Prince Frederick Charles from Venddme, was finally crushed in front of Le Mans, with an enormous loss of prisoners. One chance seemed still open to the French, and it was used by Gambetta as a last resource. He commanded Bourbaki § in the first weeks of January, to make a diversion into Germany. The object was to force General Werder to fall back from the siege of Belfort. The maneuver failed, for Bourbaki was checked at Villersexel by a clever flank move, which enabled Werder to take up a very strong position at Montbeliard to await the coming of Manteuffel, who had completed his work in the north.
From January 15th to the 19th the half-starved and frozen forces of Bourbaki hurled themselves in vain against the Prussian army. There was nothing left but to make a dignified retreat, which Bourbaki did towards Pontarlier and the frontier. He was closely pursued, however, by the energetic Werder, who knew that Manteuffel was in advance of the French. Any possibility of success was against the disheartened force. The last effort had proved in vain, and on February 1st, utterly dispirited, the French army of 85,000 men crossed over the Swiss frontier "in a condition so pitiable as to recall the retreat from Moscow," and, according to international law, laid down their arms.
In the meantime the aged Thiers undertook a roving commission, and made an unsuccessful tour of the European Courts, trying to get help for his oppressed country. The victories of the Prussians made it very difficult for the Powers to intervene. The only person who was really anxious for intervention was Count Beust, who saw with alarm the advance of Prussian power. England under the Gladstone ministry was not likely, as Bismarck knew, to do more than offer advice ; and the Prussian chancellor had taken good care to win the good-will of Russia before the war started. The repeated proposals, therefore, of the Austrian minister fell on unheeding ears, and the pathetic appeals of Thiers gained little or no encouragement.
The time had now come, however, to bring the terrible slaughter to a conclusion. Before Bourbaki had laid down his arms Gambetta had realized that the cause of France was hopeless, and on January 23rd Jules Favre met Bismarck for the second time at Versailles to discuss a general armistice and the capitulation of Paris. Five days later the armistice was signed, so that a national assembly should be elected to make terms. Even now Bismarck distrusted his foes, and before he agreed to the terms he forced the French in Paris to give up their forts, dismount their guns, and all regular troops were compelled to lay down their arms. He also took a strong line against Gambetta, who wished to deprive all the officials of the late empire of the franchise ; the Prussian chancellor, together with the government of Paris, were unanimously against this measure, and Gambetta, who had done so much for France, resigned.
The actual elections took place on February 8th, and four days later the National Assembly, with Thiers at its head, was opened at Bordeaux. Their chief object was the terms of peace, and after a fortnight the preliminaries were signed. Something had been gained by the stubborn resistance. The reputation, as well as the selfesteem of France was in some degree revived. Alsace and Lorraine, including Metz and Strasburg, passed into Prussian hands. A war indemnity was also to be paid, consisting of the tremendous sum of 5 milliards of francs, or £2oo,ooo,ooo. It was agreed that until the actual treaty was signed the German troops should occupy a part of Paris. This, however, did not last for long, for on March 1st the German Emperor, with 3o,ooo men, marched through the Champs Elysees, and two days later evacuated the French capital. The final and definite treaty was signed at Frankfort on May l0th.
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