The second volume of this comprehensive military history examines the fall of the Second French Empire and the founding of a unified Germany. Helmuth von Moltke's victory over France in the Battle of Sedan resulted in the capture of Napoleon III. But the war against the Government of National Defense presented quite different problems to von Moltke and his staff. Although the Siege of Paris loomed large during the second phase of the war, historian Quintin Barry fully explores events in other parts of France, including the siege of Strasbourg, the activities of the Francs Tireurs, the investment of Metz, and the battle against the French armies of the Loire, the North, and the East. As with the first volume of this study, Barry has made full use of an extensive number of German and French language sources. His detailed text is accompanied by a number of black and white illustrations and newly drawn battle maps. Orders of battle are also provided.
