The Franco-Prussian War

michael eliot howard

In 1870 Bismarck ordered the Prussian Army to invade France, inciting one of the most dramatic conflicts in European history. It transformed not only the states-system of the Continent but the whole climate of European moral and political thought. The overwhelming triumph of German military might, evoking general admiration and imitation, introduced an era of power politics, which was to reach its disastrous climax in 1914.

First published in 1961 and now with a new introduction, The Franco-Prussian War is acknowledged as the definitive history of one of the most dramatic and decisive conflicts in the history of Europe.

Genres historymilitary historyfrancenonfictiongermanywarmilitary fictioneuropean history19th century

532 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1961

Literary awards

pol roger duff cooper prize,

This edition

Format: 532 pages, Paperback
Published: November 9, 2001 by Routledge/Taylor \u0026 Francis Ltd.
ISBN: 9780415266710
ASIN: 0415266718
Language: English

Characters More characters

Otto Von Bismarck

Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (1815 - 1898), known as Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890. In the 1860s he engineered a series of wars th...
Helmuth Von Moltke The Elder

Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke (26 October 1800, Parchim, Mecklenburg-Schwerin – 24 April 1891, Berlin) was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more modern method...
Eugénie De Montijo

Eugénie de Montijo (Full name: María Eugenia Ignacia Augustina de Palafox Portocarrero de Guzmán y Kirkpatrick; 1826 – 1920) was the 18th Marchioness of Ardales, 18th Marchioness of Moya, 19th Countess of Teba, 10th Countess of Montijo and Countess of Abl...
Napoleon Iii

Napoleon III (1808 - 1873), also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, full birth name Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, was the President of the French Second Republic and the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was also the nephew of Napoleon I. Made Pre...
Frederick Iii German Emperor

Frederick III (18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888) was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl, known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor Wilhelm I and was raised in ...
William I German Emperor

William I (full name: William Frederick Louis, German: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888), of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia (2 January 1861 – 9 March 1888) and the first German Emperor (18 January 1871 – 9 March 18...

About the author

michael eliot howard

Sir Michael Eliot Howard was an English military historian, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War, Honorary Fellow of All Souls College, Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford, Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History at Yale University, and founder of the Department of War Studies, King's College London. In 1958, he co-founded the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
In 2013, Howard was described in the Financial Times as "Britain's greatest living historian". The Guardian described him as "Britain's foremost expert on conflict".