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When I realized how little I knew about the Franco-Prussian War, I sought help on a decent primer from a History of War forum. Overwhelmingly suggested was Geoffrey wawro's book. When I started to read I was surprised by the depth of the background, setting up the war and delving into the underlying causes, as well as some history and descriptions of warfare and weaponry of the time. A person having little to no understanding of the the time period would end up with a enough general knowledge to be able to pick up aditional iterature and keep plugging along. Mr. Wawro has opened forgotten archival material, translated it, and placed it into a flowing narrative on the 1870-71 war in a way the average reader and amateur historian can follow. After a lengthy intoduction, the narrative then moves into the campaign and battles, graphically painting an image of 19th Century warfare in all its bloody horror. Many books attempting to cover similar topics drown in statistical nightmares, while Mr. Wawro has kept the number crunching to a minimum. Detailed battle orders and causulty lists allow the reader to follow which units are where, and how they fair as the war progresses, while eliminating the minutinae of how many bullets each expended in a days fighting. A major strength, in my opinion, is the author's attempts to differentiate between the units in both armies. The stalwart Prussian lines facing rapidly deployed French reserves, or less than willing German allied divisons ineptly led versus indifferant French marshalls and their capable, but ill-served troops. The differances in manpower levels, as well as morale, turned the tide of battle over and over. Sprinkled throughout is a good deal of grand strategy for both sides. The inability of Napoleon III to understand the Prussian war of war coupled with Moltke's vision enable the viewer to see what was not a foregone conclusion during the war. In reality, I cannot say I disliked much about this work. My only problem was that it was over too soon. Mr. Wawro is a captivating author, and his desciptions of politics and warfare in the 1800s around the principal time period has created in this reader an desire for more information, which I believe is a trait lacking in many authors. I finished the book with a deeper, very clear understanding of the Franco-Prussian war and an appetite to learn more about many items and characters presented.Read full review
I am currently studying the European Wars from the 1840's thru the aftermath of the Franco Prussian war in 1871. I previously read Geoffrey Wawro's book on the Austro Prussian war 1866, and I have to say, it is truly one of the very best historical accounts I have ever read. His book puts you on the Battlefield, in a tightly packed Austrian column, charging an objective againt the rapid fire Prussian Needle Gun, where you know, your unit is going to take very heavy losses, or it puts you in the Commanders head quarters, where decisions are made, or not, and battles ar won, and lost, because of them, or again, it puts you at the seat of the political arena where all the sceming, and inter-dealings took place, that lead to the war, in the first place. His Franco Prussian War book follows suit. It is very riviting, completely consumes you, and places you there, in 1870, during the war. I highly recommend both books, if you are a military Historian, or if you just want to read two really good books. I bought both of them on ebay, cheaper than you could get them anywhere else. v/r Dennis TroutRead full review
Just a very readable history to rank right up with Michael Howard's work on the same subject. Covers political and military events without getting bogged down. Book moves right along and holds one's interest.
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