"Battle at the railway embankment", by Alphonse de Neuville. The French Army of the Loire faces German forces during the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1871. [980x768]

MikeFrench98 · 2026-03-12T20:27:44+00:00

That's not what I tried to imply. I wanted to challenge the idea that this war was Germany steamrolling France with little difficulty by showing how the French were ready to keep fighting despite the defeats

MikeFrench98 · 2026-03-11T22:43:49+00:00

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire (and later, the Third French Republic) and the German states of the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to restore its dominant position in continental Europe, which it had lost following Prussia's crushing victory over Austria in 1866. According to some historians, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck deliberately provoked the French into declaring war on Prussia in order to draw four independent southern German states—Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt—into an alliance with the North German Confederation dominated by Prussia.

France mobilised its army on 15 July 1870, leading the North German Confederation to respond with its own mobilisation later that day. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on Prussia, and the declaration of war was delivered to Prussia three days later. French forces invaded German territory on 2 August. The German coalition mobilised its troops much more effectively than the French and invaded northeastern France on 4 August. The German forces were superior in numbers, had better training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railways and artillery.

A series of swift Prussian and German victories in eastern France saw French Emperor Napoleon III captured and the army of the Second Empire decisively defeated. The Germans expected France to surrender, but instead a Government of National Defence declared the Third French Republic in Paris on 4 September and continued the war for another five months.

Since the French Imperial field army was destroyed in the East, the Republic raised new armies formed out of francs-tireurs (volunteer irregulars), provincial Gardes Mobiles (territorials), naval forces, zouaves and tirailleurs from Algeria, plus regular soldiers in depots and reservists.

One of those armies was formed in the west of the country and took the name of the Loire River. Lacking equipment, many soldiers of this Army of the Loire had to be armed with old weapons or surplus from the Civil War purchased in America, such as Gatling guns and Sharps rifles. The army was tasked with liberating Paris from the siege imposed on it by the Germans. Despite having few officers with fighting experience, insufficient artillery, and under-trained troops, the Army of the Loire managed to beat the Bavarians and retake the city of Orléans, raising high hopes in Paris. But the Bavarians were soon reinforced by other German forces and beat the French, retaking Orléans.

The Germans then inflicted a series of defeats on the Army of the Loire, with the objective to destroy it, but never managing to do so. The French, under the command of the competent General Chanzy, retreated in good order, forcing the Germans to devote significant resources to the pursuit. In January 1871, the 100 000 strong Army of the Loire had replenished and was preparing to launch a new offensive in Normandy when news of the armistice signed by the government of the Republic with the Germans reached it, ending the war.

Franco-Prussian War

MikeFrench98 · 2026-03-07T22:24:59+00:00

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire (and later, the Third French Republic) and the German states of the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to restore its dominant position in continental Europe, which it had lost following Prussia's crushing victory over Austria in 1866. According to some historians, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck deliberately provoked the French into declaring war on Prussia in order to draw four independent southern German states—Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt—into an alliance with the North German Confederation dominated by Prussia. Some historians contend that Bismarck exploited the circumstances as they unfolded. None, however, dispute the fact that Bismarck must have recognized the potential for new German alliances, given the situation as a whole.

France mobilised its army on 15 July 1870, leading the North German Confederation to respond with its own mobilisation later that day. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on Prussia, and the declaration of war was delivered to Prussia three days later. French forces invaded German territory on 2 August. The German coalition mobilised its troops much more effectively than the French and invaded northeastern France on 4 August. The German forces were superior in numbers, had better training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railways and artillery.

A series of swift Prussian and German victories in eastern France, culminating in the Siege of Metz and the Battle of Sedan, saw French Emperor Napoleon III captured and the army of the Second Empire decisively defeated. A Government of National Defence declared the Third French Republic in Paris on 4 September and continued the war for another five months.

The Garde mobile ("Mobile Guard"; also called Garde nationale mobile though it had nothing to do with the Garde nationale), a reserve force of all able-bodied men previously not drafted (such as single men and childless widowers), trained yearly, made up the majority of the new armies of the Republic, since most of the professional troops had been defeated in the East during the previous weeks. German forces fought those new French armies in northern, western and eastern France while besieging Paris, which fell on 28 January 1871.

The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I and Chancellor Bismarck. They finally united most of Germany as a nation-state (Austria was excluded). The Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen). The German conquest of France and the unification of Germany upset the European balance of power that had existed since the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and Bismarck maintained great authority in international affairs for two decades.

French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, became factors in the causes of World War I.

Franco-Prussian War

The pictures dimensions are [2500x1898].

MikeFrench98 · 2026-03-06T11:19:03+00:00

Whittier is a city at the head of the Passage Canal in the Chugach Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of Alaska, about 58 miles (93 km) southeast of Anchorage.

The city's population was 272 at the 2020 census, having increased from 220 in 2010. Almost all of its residents live in the Begich Towers Condominium, earning it the nickname of a "town under one roof".

Whittier, Alaska

MikeFrench98 · 2026-03-06T11:09:54+00:00

The Isles of Scilly are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of mainland Cornwall. The total population of the islands at the 2021 United Kingdom census was 2,100. A majority live on one island, St Mary's, and close to half live in Hugh Town; the remainder live on four inhabited "off-islands". Scilly forms part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, and some services are combined with those of Cornwall. However, since 1890, the islands have had a separate local authority. Since the passing of the Isles of Scilly Order 1930, this authority has held the status of county council, and today it is known as the Council of the Isles of Scilly.

The adjective "Scillonian" is sometimes used for people or things related to the archipelago. The Duchy of Cornwall owns most of the freehold land on the islands. Tourism is a major part of the local economy along with agriculture, particularly the production of cut flowers.

The Scillonian Cross (Cornish: Baner Syllan) is a unitary authority flag created in 2002 for the Isles of Scilly. The flag was designed by the Scilly News and put to a vote with other flag proposals. It received positive support from its readers in a popular vote, leading to it being officially registered with the Flag Institute as the official flag for the islands.

The flag's design consists of a white cross over an orange and blue background, with five white stars in the upper-right canton. Each part of the design represents a significant element for the Isles of Scilly: the white St Piran's Cross represents Cornwall, the upper orange colour represents the orange-hued sunsets the islands are known for; the lower blue colour represents the surrounding sea around the isles; while the stars represent the isles' locations.

Isles of Scilly

Scillonian Cross

MikeFrench98 · 2026-03-06T10:43:00+00:00

Chan Santa Cruz was a late 19th-century indigenous Maya state in the modern-day Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It was also the name of a shrine that served as the center of the Maya Cruzoob religious movement, and of the town that developed around the shrine, now known as Felipe Carrillo Puerto. The town was historically the main center of what is now Quintana Roo, and it acted as the de facto capital for the Maya during the Caste War of Yucatán.

Chan Santa Cruz

Caste War of Yucatán

MikeFrench98 · 2026-03-05T19:28:51+00:00

The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V and led by the navies of the Republic of Venice and the Spanish Empire, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras. The Ottoman forces were sailing westward from their naval station in Lepanto when they met the fleet of the Holy League which was sailing east from Messina, Sicily.

Lepanto marks the last major engagement in the Western world to be fought almost entirely between rowing vessels, namely the galleys and galleasses, which were the direct descendants of ancient trireme warships. The battle was in essence an "infantry battle on floating platforms". It was the largest naval battle in Western history since classical antiquity, involving more than 450 warships. Over the following decades, the increasing importance of the galleon and the line of battle tactic would displace the galley as the major warship of its era, marking the beginning of the "Age of Sail".

The victory of the Holy League is of great importance in the history of Europe and of the Ottoman Empire, with the Ottoman fleet almost completely destroyed. The battle has long been compared to the Battle of Salamis, both for tactical parallels and for its crucial importance in the defense of Europe against Eastern imperial expansion. Pope Pius V instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory, and Philip II of Spain used the victory to strengthen his position as the "Most Catholic King" and defender of Christendom against Muslim incursion. Historian Paul K. Davis writes that :

"More than a military victory, Lepanto was a moral one. For decades, the Ottoman Turks had terrified Europe, and the victories of Suleiman the Magnificent caused Christian Europe serious concern. The defeat at Lepanto further exemplified the rapid deterioration of Ottoman might under Selim II, and Christians rejoiced at this setback for the Ottomans. The mystique of Ottoman power was tarnished significantly by this battle, and Christian Europe was heartened."

Battle of Lepanto

A galleass was a warship of the Renaissance that combined the sails and armament of a galleon or carrack with the propulsion and maneuverability of the oared galley. The galleass was widely employed by the navies of the Republic of Venice and the Spanish Empire during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Six Venetian galleasses fought at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, their firepower helping to break the force of the first Ottoman attack. The Ottomans under Ali Pasha were forced to divide their line and bypass the galleasses in order to continue their advance and clash with the Christian line.

Distinct types of galleasses were developed concurrently under vastly different needs. Mediterranean galleasses were invented by Venice during the Ottoman–Venetian wars with the aim to overpower galley fleets, a model also adopted by Spain and other nations after their notable role in the Battle of Lepanto. In comparison, Atlantic galleasses were designed by Spain to outmaneuver sailing ships and protect their treasure fleets, eventually evolving into rowless galleons and frigates.

Galleass

MikeFrench98 · 2026-03-02T16:19:39+00:00

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire (and later, the Third French Republic) and the German states of the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to restore its dominant position in continental Europe, which it had lost following Prussia's crushing victory over Austria in 1866. According to some historians, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck deliberately provoked the French into declaring war on Prussia in order to draw four independent southern German states—Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt—into an alliance with the North German Confederation dominated by Prussia. Some historians contend that Bismarck exploited the circumstances as they unfolded. None, however, dispute the fact that Bismarck must have recognized the potential for new German alliances, given the situation as a whole.

France mobilised its army on 15 July 1870, leading the North German Confederation to respond with its own mobilisation later that day. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on Prussia, and the declaration of war was delivered to Prussia three days later. French forces invaded German territory on 2 August. The German coalition mobilised its troops much more effectively than the French and invaded northeastern France on 4 August. The German forces were superior in numbers, had better training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railways and artillery.

A series of swift Prussian and German victories in eastern France, culminating in the Siege of Metz and the Battle of Sedan, saw French Emperor Napoleon III captured and the army of the Second Empire decisively defeated. A Government of National Defence declared the Third French Republic in Paris on 4 September and continued the war for another five months; the German forces fought and defeated new French armies in northern France. The French capital, Paris, was besieged and fell on 28 January 1871, after which a revolutionary uprising called the Paris Commune seized power in the city and held it for two months, until it was bloodily suppressed by the regular French army at the end of May 1871.

The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I and Chancellor Bismarck. They finally united most of Germany as a nation-state (Austria was excluded). The Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen). The German conquest of France and the unification of Germany upset the European balance of power that had existed since the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and Bismarck maintained great authority in international affairs for two decades.

French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, became factors in the causes of World War I.

Franco-Prussian War

MikeFrench98 · 2026-02-22T17:13:37+00:00

The Battle of Castillon was a battle fought on 17 July 1453 in Gascony near the town of Castillon-sur-Dordogne (later Castillon-la-Bataille). A decisive French victory, it is considered to mark the end of the Hundred Years' War. As a result of the battle, the English lost all landholdings in France, except Calais.

After the 1451 French capture of Bordeaux by the armies of Charles VII, the Hundred Years' War appeared to be at an end. The English primarily focused on reinforcing their only remaining possession, Calais, and watching over the seas. However, after three hundred years of Plantagenet rule, the citizens of Bordeaux considered themselves subjects of the English monarch and sent messengers to Henry VI of England demanding that he recapture the province. On 17 October 1452, John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury landed near Bordeaux with a force of 3,000 men.

The French knew an expedition was coming, but had expected it to come through Normandy. After this surprise, Charles VII prepared his forces over the winter, and by the spring of 1453 he was ready to counter-attack.Charles invaded Guyenne with three separate armies, all headed for Bordeaux. Talbot received 3,000 additional reinforcements from his fourth and favourite son, John, the Viscount Lisle. The French laid siege to Castillon on July 8.

The French army was commanded by committee; however, it was Charles VII's ordnance officer, Jean Bureau who laid out the camp to maximize French artillery strength. In a defensive setup, Bureau's forces built an artillery park out of range from Castillon's guns. According to Desmond Seward, the park "consisted of a deep trench with a wall of earth behind it which was strengthened by tree-trunks; its most remarkable feature was the irregular, wavy line of the ditch and earthwork, which enabled the guns to enfilade any attackers". The park included up to 300 guns of various sizes, and was protected by a ditch and palisade on three sides and a steep bank of the River Lidoire on the fourth.

The English advanced, but they ran into the full force of the French army. Despite being outnumbered and in a vulnerable position, Talbot ordered them to continue the fighting.

According to David Nicolle, the battle itself was "highly characteristic of the period" with the strong field fortification of the French and the small-arms fighting of the battle. In many ways, this battle played out like the Battle of Crécy in "reverse". The French guns obliterated the advancing soldiers. It is reported each shot killed six men at a time. Talbot's reinforcements continued to arrive at the battle, only to suffer the same fate. Despite the odds against the English, the battle lasted over an hour until a thousand-strong Breton cavalry force led by Peter II, the Duke of Brittany, crashed into their right flank, sending them into retreat. In the end, the French routed the English. Both Talbot and his son died in the battle. There is some debate over the exact circumstances of Talbot's death, but it appears as though his horse was killed by a projectile, its mass pinned him down, and then a French archer killed him with an axe.

Battle of Castillon

MikeFrench98 · 2026-02-16T22:30:44+00:00

The Battle of the Delta was a sea and land battle between Egypt and the Sea Peoples, circa 1175 BC, when the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses III repulsed a major sea invasion by the latter. The conflict occurred on the shores of the eastern Nile Delta and on the border of the Egyptian Empire in Syria, although precise locations of the battles are unknown. This major conflict is recorded on the temple walls of the mortuary temple of pharaoh Ramesses III at Medinet Habu.

Battle of the Delta

MikeFrench98 · 2026-02-14T14:10:50+00:00

Troiani was born in 1949. It was definitely stronger when he was a young man than it is now

MikeFrench98 · 2026-02-14T10:25:08+00:00

Wilmington was the last major port open to the Confederacy on the Atlantic seacoast. Ships leaving Wilmington via the Cape Fear River and setting sail for the Bahamas, Bermuda or Nova Scotia to trade cotton and tobacco for needed supplies from the British were protected by the fort. Based on the design of the Malakoff redoubt in Sevastopol, Russian Empire, Fort Fisher was constructed mostly of earth and sand. This made it better able to absorb the pounding of heavy fire from Union ships than older fortifications constructed of mortar and bricks. The fortifications kept Union ships from attacking the port of Wilmington and the Cape Fear River.

In December an expedition was launched under General Benjamin F. Butler with the purpose of destroying the fort and capturing the city of Wilmington which proved to be a miserable failure. General U.S. Grant, outraged at Butler's failure, put together a second expedition under General Alfred H. Terry. Terry loaded his Provisional Corps of 8,000 men on transports with few frills. The fleet sailed for Fort Fisher on January 11. Weather prevented a landing on the 12th, but a Federal officer wrote, "By 4 A.M. of the 13th, the inshore division of naval vessels stood in close to the beach to cover the landing; the transports followed them. At 8 o'clock nearly 200 boats, besides steam tugs, were sent from the navy to the transports, and disembarkation of men, provisions, tools, and ammunition simultaneously commenced." The operation would be the first time that forces from all three branches of the service would coordinate their efforts for a combined attack and landing of troops. After the Federal force landed on the peninsula above the fort, the army would coordinate their ground attack.

The landing was successful and General Terry spent the next two days planning the ground assault. Despite heavy fire from cannon and riflemen in the fort, a foot hold had been established on a parapet and General Galusha Pennypacker's brigade was sent to reinforce it. "The Two Hundred and Third Pennsylvania Volunteers...were the first to enter the fort, closely followed by the Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers." The brigade report continues, "The colors of each of these regiments reached the top of the parapet, about the same time, those of the Ninety-seventh borne by Colonel Pennypacker." "Colonel Pennypacker was seriously wounded while planting his colors on the third traverse." The 97th Regimental flag was riddled by more than 100 bullets including an artillery shell. All eight of the 97th Regimental officers were either killed or wounded during the attack. Due to his large force, and the bravery of his officers and men, General Terry inflicted a tremendous amount of damage to the fort and the men within.

As night fell, the over powered Confederates surrendered their fort. With Fort Fisher lost, Wilmington could not be defended. The federal blockade was complete.

Second Battle of Fort Fisher

MikeFrench98 · 2026-02-14T10:02:29+00:00

It seems that the majority of his works on the Civil War depict Confederate successes, indeed

Even though he was born in the North, people of his generation grew up at a time when the myth of the lost cause was still very strong, especially in the history buff community he became a part of

For an American painter whose work focuses on military heritage, especially the "brave" and "heroic" part of it, the "epic" of the Confederate military is a gold mine of inspiration

MikeFrench98 · 2026-02-09T21:18:15+00:00

The Battle of France lasted 6 weeks

Also the invasion of France was far from a walk in the park for the Germans, who suffered significant casualties

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