First Reich

Because it lasted only seven months, the Franco-Prussian War has sometimes been ignored by historians and yet it merits study for the fact that it was the first deployment of a ruthlessly efficient and superbly organised German Army, a phenomenon that was to be seen twice more in the next 75 years. Indeed, military professionals and history students have long sought a thorough account of this conflict for the very reasons of its significance in both military development and European evolution. T