History UsefulNotes / FrancoPrussianWar

The result was a 10-month disaster for France as the Prussians decimated the French in all but three battles (where the French won one at Broney-Colombey and fought to a draw in two others), captured the French Emperor, Napoleon III, and unified Germany.

There were multiple causes of the war, including but not limited to, a potential sale of UsefulNotes/{{Luxembourg}} to France, the vacancy of the Spanish throne, and [[UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck the Prime Minister]] of UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}} modifying and publishing [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ems_Dispatch an insulting telegram]] about a meeting of the French Ambassador. For whatever cause, a dangerously underprepared France declared war on Prussia (and thus the North German Confederation) in July of 1870. These circumstances led the South German states (Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg) to join the side of the North German Confederation, thanks to a secret mutual defense treaty arranged by [[UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck Bismarck]].

The result was a 10-month CurbStompBattle as the Prussians decimated the French in all but three battles (where the French won one at Broney-Colombey and fought to a draw in two others), captured the French Emperor, Napoleon III, and unified Germany.

Another result of the war was Germany's annexation of Elsaß-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine - which actually amounted to Alsace-'''Moselle''' [[note]]Three out of four departments of Lorraine remained French, only Moselle was annexed, but German liked calling it "Lothrigen" still. The territory of Belfort was part of Alsace, but remained French, in part because Germans besieged but didn't manage to take the Belfort citadel before the war ended.[[/note]]), which they held until 1918. This would prove a major problem, as Alsace-Moselle made France implacably hostile to Germany, as well as changing the international perception of Germany from victim to aggressor[[note]]The main reason for the annexation was quite interestingly dull. The Prussian leadership realized that the direct border between Germany and France would need fortification, but it was outside the crown lands of Prussia. The rulers of the other German states retained substantial autonomy under the empire and did not want Imperial forts on their land. Alsace-Moselle was annexed as Imperial territory, ruled directly by the Kaiser, which got around the problem, though the territory would start gaining substantial autonomy in the 1910s just before the Great War broke out. In other words, they had to move the border in order to have one they could fortify. Note that the way France annexed Alsace from the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire in the 17th century during the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar was ''way'' more violent, so violent that the area had to be repopulated with people coming from UsefulNotes/{{Switzerland}}.[[/note]]. Moreover, the French had to leave UsefulNotes/{{Rome}}, indirectly finishing the Unification of UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}.

There were multiple causes of the war, including but not limited to, a potential sale of Luxembourg to France, the vacancy of the Spanish throne, and [[UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck the Prime Minister]] of UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}} modifying and publishing [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ems_Dispatch an insulting telegram]] about a meeting of the French Ambassador. For whatever cause, a dangerously underprepared France declared war on Prussia (and thus the North German Confederation) in July of 1870. These circumstances led the South German states (Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg) to join the side of the North German Confederation, thanks to a secret mutual defense treaty arranged by [[UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck Bismarck]].

The Franco-Prussian War - known in Germany as the German-French War (''Deutsch-Französischer Krieg'') or War of 1870/71, and in UsefulNotes/{{France}} as the Franco-German War (''Guerre franco-allemande'') or "Guerre franco-prussienne" - was the last of three wars that led to the unification of [[UsefulNotes/AllTheLittleGermanies a plethora of Germanic states]] into [[UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany one single empire]] (the first since the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire had any political power).

* Émile Zola's ''La Débâcle'' is set during the war, specifically at the Battle of Sedan and the French civil war in spring 1871.

There were multiple causes of the war, including but not limited to, a potential sale of Luxembourg to France, the vacancy of the Spanish throne, and [[UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck the Prime Minister]] of UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}} modifying and publishing [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ems_Dispatch an insulting telegram]] about a meeting of the French Ambassador. For whatever cause, a dangerously underprepared France declared war on Prussia (and thus the North German Confederation) in July of 1870. These circumstances led the South German states (Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg) to join the side of the North German Confederation, thanks to a secret mutual defense treaty arranged by Bismark.

* ''La Forteresse assiégée'' (''The Besieged Fortress''), 2006 French MadeForTVMovie.

By the end of the war, the balance of power in Europe had been completely upended, as France's centuries-long superiority over the rest of Europe was abruptly terminated. What had once been a chain of small and mid-size German states had, within a year, become the single most powerful nation on the continent. Even worse (from the French perspective), Germany was growing stronger, rapidly increasing its population and industry. To demonstrate what a staggering change in the status quo this was, Britain and France, who had been bitter rivals ever since William I's conquest of 1066, facing off against each other in countless conflicts fought across the millennium and around the world finally came to an end in the face of the new German Empire.

By the end of the war, the balance of power in Europe had been completely upended, as France's centuries-long superiority over the rest of Europe was abruptly terminated. [[FromNobodyToNightmare What had once been a chain of small and mid-size German states had, within a year, become the single most powerful nation on the continent]]. Even worse (from the French perspective), Germany was growing stronger, rapidly increasing its population and industry. To demonstrate what a staggering change in the status quo this was, Britain and France, who had been bitter rivals ever since William I's conquest of 1066, facing off against each other in countless conflicts fought across the millennium and around the world finally came to an end in the face of the new German Empire.

By the end of the war, the balance of power in Europe had been completely upended, as France's centuries-long superiority over the rest of Europe was abruptly terminated. [[FromNobodyToNightmare What had once been a chain of small and mid-size German states had, within a year, become the single most powerful nation on the continent]]. Even worse (from the French perspective), Germany was growing stronger, rapidly increasing its population and industry.

* Several Creator/GuyDeMaupassant short stories use the war as setting.

* Norwegian author Nordahl Grieg wrote a full dramatic play: ''The Defeat'', concerning the fate of the Paris commune. Grieg, being a communist, actually used the contemporary writings of Marx as source material. The BigBad of the story is, of course, Thiers (while some of the communards are depicted as downright assholes as well). DownerEnding of historical accuracy: KillEmAll (including a number of children shot on stage).

The conflict is a major victim of TheGreatestHistoryNeverTold in the media nowadays, having been superseded by the two UsefulNotes/{{World|War I}} [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Wars]] in Europe's collective memory.

[[caption-width-right:265: ''Fest steht und treu die Wacht, die Wacht am Rhein!'' [[note]]Firm stands, and true, the watch, the watch on the Rhine![[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:265: ''Fest steht und treue die Wacht, die Wacht am Rhein!'' [[note]]Stand firm and loyal to the watch, the watch on the Rhine![[/note]]]]

* ''[[https://youtu.be/H0YPnhSQYB4 Bombardement d'une maison]]'' (''Bombing of a house'', 1897), most probably the very first film to depict it (and probably the very first war film). It was directed by Creator/GeorgesMelies. Also released under the title Les Dernières Cartouches in English The Last Cartridges.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTWddzIuhwU Bombardement d'une maison]]'' (''Bombing of a house'', 1897), most probably the very first film to depict it (and probably the very first war film). It was directed by Creator/GeorgesMelies.

Another consequence of the end of the war is that [[UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration Meiji Japan]], which was looking to modernize its armies by taking example on France, felt unimpressed by their defeat and decided to emulate the Germans instead. The shift was not total, and French military advisors were still sought after, and had an especially profound impact on the Japanese Navy. Despite the humiliating defeat, the Japanese foreign minister in a visit in France in 1873 said that he had profound respect for their courage in the face of overwhelming odds.

* Sizable chunk of VideoGame/VictoriaAnEmpireUnderTheSun will be about pouring vast amounts of time and resources either to bring the war or stop[=/=]postpone it. The outcome of the war is rather random in vanilla versions of first and second game, but gets brutally historical under expansion packs and mods.