Welcome to the first primer episode for Glory and Defeat. In this first primer episode we will take a broad look at the industrial revolution and the emerging new ideologies of the 19th century: Communism and Nationalism.
The year 1848 was pivotal in European history. All across the continent revolutionary movements erupted and demanded a new order. This would be no different in France and in the German states.
After Napoleon I had conquered and then lost Europe, France went through multiple revolutions. In 1851, Napoleon's nephew and French president Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte took control and in 1852 crowned himself Emperor Napoleon III. The new French Empire wanted to regain the glory of Napoleon's uncle and together with his wife Empress Eugenie he ruled a state known for lavish balls and spending.
French and Prussian animosity have been swelling in the background since the German Wars of Unification started in the 1860s. The French Duc de Gramont hopes that a victory over Prussia could restore French prestige while Prussian Chancellor Bismarck needs a reason to fulfill his dream of German unification from above. When the crisis about the Spanish throne escalates with the Ems Dispatch, the die is cast and the Franco-Prussian War begins.
After the failed revolution of 1848, the German states within the German confederation were still moving towards unification. This movement would come from the citizens this time though but from the top. Prussia's chancellor Otto von Bismarck was using clever and aggressive diplomacy to outmaneuver his biggest German rival: Austria.
With the official declaration of war from France, Prussia mobilizes and calls in the defensive alliances with the other German states within the North German Confederation but also with Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden. And while the bigger armies still assemble, the first skirmishes happen near the French border.
While the French and various German Armies are mobilizing, we examine military organization and warfare in 1870. As a special guest we also have Cap and Ball on the show who introduces the famous Chassepot and Dreyse rifles which will be important in this conflict.
Early August 1870 saw the first series of opening battles of the Franco-Prussian War. The Battle of Saarbrücken was the only battle of the entire war fought on German soil, the following Battle of Wissembourg, the Battle of Wörth and the Battle of Spicheren happened right after and gave a glimpse of the carnage to come.
In this week's episode of Glory and Defeat, we look at the military situation in August 1870. The Germans have one the opening engagements and pushed the French back from the border region. But the price they had to pay for these victories was pretty high and not every German general is up to the task it seems. Pushing toward Metz, the German and French forces there meet at the Battle of Colombey-Nouilly - while the symbolic city of Strasbourg is under siege.
A series of bloody battles (Battle of Gravelotte and Battle of Mars-La-Tour) are often overlooked in the grander scheme of the Franco-Prussian War, even though one of them featured the then famous cavalry "death ride" of Friedrich Wilhelm Adalbert von Bredow which had a big role in the mythos of the future German Empire.
The French Army of the Rhine under Marshal Bazaine is trapped inside Metz - along with civilians and wounded over 250,000 people will need to be fed from the city's dwindling supplies. Surrounding the city is a German Army that cannot force the Metz fortifications and opts for starving it into submission instead.
The Battle of Sedan was one of the pivotal moments in the 19th century. The French Second Empire's defeat at Sedan (and the capture of Emperor Napoleon III) unleashed social tensions in Paris and a new French republic was proclaimed. And while the victory of the German Armies was resounding, the cost at places like Bazeilles was also high.
After the French defeat at Sedan, the German states expect peace negotiations. Instead the new French republic declares an early form of "total war" and continues the fight. Meanwhile Empress Eugénie flees the country for Britain.
After capturing Sedan and its entire garrison, the German army presses on to Paris where the French government attempts to stem the tide by throwing untrained and poorly equipped soldiers against the invaders.
The German armies are on their way to encircle the French capital Paris after their victory in Sedan. The new French government is raising new troops all across the country and in Paris itself to stem the tide. Poorly equipped and poorly trained troops fight the Germans at Sceaux/Chatillon. Meanwhile, the German states start their negotiations for German unification.
While the Franco-Prussian War was raging in France, another armed conflict to the south was reaching its conclusion. The unification of Italy was not yet complete in the eyes of Italian nationalists because Rome and the Papal State still held out. After the defeat at Rome, the Papal Zouaves went on to France to fight the Prussian.
The symbolic city of Strasbourg had been besieged since the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War. The German siege troops are ready to breach the walls of the city and take it by storm. To avoid the destruction of the city, French general Uhrich surrenders and chooses, in his view, honor above glory.
In early October 1870, the German states are still confident the Franco-Prussian War is as good as over. But two events might cross their plans: One of the leaders of the new French Republic, Leon Gambetta, escapes the Siege of Paris in a hot-air balloon to coordinate the French Armies outside of Paris. And in Ablis, French guerrilla fighters, the so called Franc-Tireurs, ambush a German patrol in their sleep - with swift German retribution.
All across the country French Armies have been raised from any available troops using everyone from international volunteers to raw teenage recruits. How these sub-par soldiers fare against professional German soldiers is not hard to guess and the first battles for Orléans demonstrate this.
The French increasing reliance on franc-tireurs, guerrilla style fighters, is causing brutal German retaliation and a spiral of violence in the fall phase of the Franco-Prussian War.
Much of the remaining French hope to stem the tide against the German Armies comes from the more than 200.000 professional troops trapped in Metz since August. French Marshal Bazaine tries to negotiate with the German and even offers to march against the French republic, but to no avail.
The Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War 1870 and the downfall of the French Empire after the Battle of Sedan created a volatile social situation in the French capital. And in November 1870 this situation erupted in an attempt to topple the provisional government and create a self-ruling Paris Commune.
While the fighting on land continued during the Franco-Prussian War in November 1870, the bizarre and only naval battle of the war took place off the coast of Cuba when the German Meteor and the French Bouvet met in the port of Havana.
While the Franco-Prussian War is continuing its messy guerrilla phase, the German leaders are negotiating towards a united Germany. Hesse and Baden join the promptly renamed German Confederation - but Württemberg and Bavaria still want more concessions. Meanwhile the question of Spanish succession that started the war is solved in Madrid.
After a brief break in the fighting, the Franco-Prussian War continues in late November with the Battles of Amiens and Beaune-La-Rolande. Both sides are exhausted and the casualties are mounting. In the meantime Bismarck is trying to convince the German states to accept a new German Emperor.
he Siege of Paris has been going on for months in November 1870 and the population is starving. The French Army has previously tried and failed to break out but this week they are starting their biggest attempt yet - not knowing that it has been doomed from the start.
On the frozen battlefields of France, the exhausted German and French armies are still fighting. The Battle of Beaugency sees a desperate struggle in which soldiers on both sides suffer from the harsh winter conditions. Meanwhile, the Siege of Paris continues to starve the population of the French capital.
While the German delegations arrive in Versailles to set in motion the unification of the German states into a German Reich, the people in nearby Paris are starving and their army is still fighting in the countryside.
Christmas 1870 reminded the German and French alike that the Franco-Prussian War was going on for far too long. Soldiers and civilians on both sides tried to make the best of the situation but the grim nature of the last weeks of fighting and the ongoing Siege of Paris made this a memorable Christmas for all the wrong reasons.
The new year 1871 is about to bring upon a new German Empire. German leadership, especially Bismarck, is exceedingly frustrated with the dragged-out Franco-Prussian War that the Germans have all but won for months now. The decision is finally made to bombard Paris into submission and the German guns surrounding Paris open fire.
One of the last bastions of French resistance in the new year 1871 is Belfort. A ragtag army called "Army of the East" rushes to free the city near the Swiss border. Meanwhile the Germans prepare to announce their Empire in Versailles.
In minus 20 degrees Centigrade the rag-tag French Armee L'Est still tries to relieve Belfort which is under siege by the Baden Corps under General von Werder. Belfort's resistance against the siege is later immortalized in the Lion of Belfort.
The proclamation of the German Empire on 18 January 1871 is usually portrayed as a glorious ceremony. Most people associated it with the famous paintings from Anton von Werner. But the ceremony itself was far from well-organized and the soon-to-be Emperor Wilhlem I himself was not to thrilled about the whole affair.
The end of the Franco-Prussian War is marked by humiliation for France. German soldiers march into Paris and the French Army of the East under Bourbaki flees to neutral Switzerland to surrender there.
The Siege of Paris and the end of the Franco-Prussian War had brought social unrest in Paris (and other French cities) to a boiling point. Radical citizens take up arms and proclaim La Commune, a self-organized alternative to the French Republic. But soon the French Army is cracking down and Paris experiences a Week of Blood.
The battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 was one of the most brutal battles of the World War Two Pacific Campaign. The small volcanic island of Iwo Jima had an important strategic position for the US military, but the Japanese Army had learned how to defend in previous hard-fought battles on other islands like Guam, Peleliu or Guadalcanal and were determined to fight to the last man and last bullet by using heavily fortified positions with interlocking fields of fire to inflict heavy casualties on the attacking American forces.
When Napoleon's Grande Armee crossed the Nemen river into the Russian Empire in 1812, the die had been cast. In the years between the peace of Tilsit and the war against Russia, Tsar Alexander I and Emperor Napoleon had praised each other and Russia had even joined the continental blockade of Napoleon's arch enemy Great Britain. Still, in 1811 both sides saw war as inevitable.
When Napoleon marched his Grande Armée into Russia in 1812, he had assembled the biggest army in modern European history. Only half of his troops came from territories of the expanded French Empire. Tens of thousands of troops also came from Poland, Prussia, Austria, and the German States as well as Southern Europe.
The Battle of Mir was the first battle of Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Polish Uhlans ride right into a trap set by Platov's Cossacks and under the Russian summer sun a cavalry skirmish ensues. On the second day of the battle, Russian reinforcements allow the size of their small army to double that of the Poles and send the invaders packing after sustaining heavy casualties.
In the beginning of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, the Russian Tsar Alexander I was under pressure to rally his people. A months into the campaign he declared The Patriotic War to fight back Napoleon - who was already having serious supply issues and a deteriorating logistics network.
The two Russian Western Armies are trying to join up to mount a defense against Napoleon's invasion of Russia. But the speed of the French advance, particularly Marshal Davout and Marshal Murat, are putting pressure on the Russians. And so late July sees a series of battles at Mogilev/Saltanovka and Vitebsk/Ostrovno. Meanwhile the Russian 3rd Observation Army is dangerously close to the border of the Duchy of Warsaw - the Austrians under Schwarzenberg and Reynier's Corps need to stand and fight around Kobryn.
Smolensk is an important symbolic city to the Russians in 1812, for Napoleon it's a strategic objective he wants to conquer to improve is deteriorating supply situation. The Battle of Smolensk leads to an inferno in the city, it gets virtually destroyed and nearly all residents flee.
French general Junot and Emperor Napoleon I had a bit of a history by the time of the 1812 campaign. Even though Junot has been in Napoleon's service for years, he hadn't been promoted to Marshal. At the Battle of Lubino (aka the Battle of Valutino-Gora) Junot stands idly by as the Grande Armee is missing their best chance yet to win a decisive victory over the Russians. To the north, at Polotsk, the French and Russians are also clashing.
The face of war was changing in 1812. While the Russian Army retreated and left behind scorched earth, Russian partisans took up arms against Napoleon's troops. They harassed and attacked vital supply lines and were a true menace to the Grande Armée's rear.
Napoleon's advancing army had finally spotted the entire Russian Army before them, the stage was set for the deciding clash of the Russian campaign at the small village of Borodino. Before the armies could duke it out, Napoleon wanted to eliminate a forward defensive position on the Russian left flank: the Shevardino Redoubt.
The Battle of Borodino was the deadliest single day in history until the outbreak of the First World War. It was the culmination of Napoleon's advance on Moscow. Due to the terrain and the Russian positions, it was a gigantic battle of attrition - which Napoleon won at a high cost.
After the Battle of Borodino, both sides are badly mauled. Napoleon's Army marches on and reaches Moscow, the old Russian capital. In the Emperor's eyes, capturing the city should win him the war. But while the local Russians set fire to the city, the Tsar in St. Petersburg and the Russian Army command are thinking about turning the tide of the war - and not about accepting a French victory.
When Napoleon took Moscow, he expected victory over Russia was just a matter of time. But six weeks later he has to flee the city as his entire Russia campaign collapses. The strengthened Russian Army is attacking from three sides, winter is coming and in faraway Paris a coup is underway.
In October 1812, Napoleon concludes that he won't be able to force the Russian armies into battle and concludes he doesn't have the logistical capability to remain in Moscow over the winter, so orders a retreat. Winter weather, partisans and Cossack cavalry soon reduce the once vaunted French army into a ragged mob of starving and freezing soldiers fleeing for their lives.
