Gaudinet, Frédéric La Moselle dans la tourmente de la Guerre 70

For the French, 1870 is a year that remains a painful memory. The Moselle region was on the front line after the French General Staff's failures. They bravely tried to stand up to the Prussians on their own. Under a false pretext, Otto von Bismarck, a Machiavellian genius, pushed France and its Emperor Napoleon III to declare war on Prussia, with the sole aim of securing German unity. The French armies' confidence after their successful invasion of Saarbrücken was quickly destroyed by the shortcomings of the General Staff. They switched from the offensive to the defensive. The Moselle fortresses of Metz, Thionville, Bitche and Longwy now found themselves facing the Prussian armies and their allies. The commanders of the forts organised themselves as best they could. But the unexpected fall of Metz and Bazaine's betrayal changed the situation. With no reinforcements and abandoned by all, the other forts were unable to withstand the Prussian onslaught and surrendered. The last to surrender was Bitche in March 1871. This disastrous war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Frankfurt, the consequences of which would weigh heavily on the population of Moselle and Alsace, as these regions were detached from France for 48 years and annexed to the German Empire. Until the first days of the First World War...