The Franco-Prussian War, 1870–1871 (Paperback)
Touring the Sedan Campaign
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Series: Battleground: Pre-WWI
Pages: 224
Illustrations: 150 black and white & 50 black and white maps
ISBN: 9781526744128
Published: 27th May 2020
Last Released: 14th September 2020
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In 1870 France embarked on a war with Prussia and her allied German states that was to be a complete disaster. For Napoleon III, after his ignominious surrender with thousands of his troops from the Army of the Rhine and the Army of of Chalons, it meant his abdication and exile. For France it resulted in the humiliation of her army, a bitter civil war in Paris, the loss of two Provinces (Alsace and Lorraine) and a heavy indemnity.
Maarten Otte provides background chapters to place the lead up to the war and the issues that were involved; he describes the make up of the opposing armies and some of their principal commanders.The campaign around Sedan was short, fought in the fag end days of August and early September 1870, though the war was to drag on for four months. The Sedan Campaign was fought over a relatively small area and the locations of some of the key battles have changed little, though some of those near the built up areas, such as Sedan itself, require some imagination.
After the war several German regiments erected monuments and a surprising number remain today, often hidden away in isolated fields and copses. Several communal cemeteries have a number of German graves. Perhaps one of the most macabre of these is the ossuary in Bazeilles, where the visitor is able to see skeletons that still have shreds of uniform and footwear on them.
A notable feature of this battlefield is to see memorials to the conflicts of the twentieth century - the Great War and the Second World War - Sedan was a focus of the most recent and most bloody western European wars.
If you ever plan to visit this part of France, I would highly recommend taking this book with you as a guide to the battlefields, and even if you don’t visit, but just want to learn more about this overlooked war, this book is an excellent way to discover more about it.
Battlefield Trust, Spring 2021 Issue 'Battlefield'
This book provides a good overview of the first, descisive campaign of the Franco-Prussian War, a detailed look at the Sedan campaign, and a series of interesting looking tours of the area.
History of War
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A beautifully documented Battle Guide.
Miniaturas JM
Read the full Spanish review here
Touring battlefields, as a popular tourist activity, really started following WWII. As touring battlefields continued to increase, there has been a thirst for alternatives to WWI and WWII battlefields. – Highly Recommended
Firetrench
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Plenty of detail and images of memorials, cemeteries and other reminders you can still see in the area.
Military Model Scene, Robin Buckland
I am a real fan of these Battleground guides and it is nice to see them venture this bit further back into European military history.
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The volume is extremely interesting and full of ideas for further studying the conflict and visiting the places.
On The Old Barbed Wire
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This is an excellent introduction to the Franco Prussian (OK, I am now convinced to call it the Franco German) war of 1870. Good background information and detailed history of the Sedan Campaign and touring the area. The point is well made that a study of this war is an essential addition to a knowledge of the Great War and I look forward to visiting Sedan with this book to assist my knowledge. The maps and images are good but I recommend using satellite imagery to better orientate the ground.
Michael McCarthy
Michael McCarthy. Battlefield Guide
About Maarten Otte
Maarten Otte is a long time resident in France, now living in Montfaucon, which is the location of the striking American Expeditionary Forces national memorial to the men who fought on the Western Front. Growing up in the Netherlands with a fascination with both the the Great War and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, some twelve years ago he settled in the Argonne, where he has developed his interest in both wars, particularly the role of the United States.
He has already written three books in the Battleground Europe series on the American Expeditionary Forces in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and St Mihiel; there are others in preparation, along with a book on the winners of the Medal of Honour in France during the war. Maarten has also produced a book in the series on the Battle of Sedan, 1870.
He now splits his time between writing on the wars, conducting guided tours of the AEF's battlefields and assisting his wife in running their B&B, which has recently moved from Nantillois to nearby Montfaucon en Argonne. He has built up a most impressive private museum, largely dedicated to the AEF; a number of the artefacts in it were found on the local battlefields.
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