The Franco-Prussian War in 1870 was one of the major European conflicts of the late 19th century. Prussia shocked international observers as it crippled France in a short and bloody conflict that barely lasted six months. A modern Prussian army overwhelmed an antiquated French military with its innovative strategy and tactics. Yet the war also saw throwbacks to an earlier age, featuring mass cavalry and infantry charges in an age where firepower dominated.Two Very Different ArmiesThe Defense of Champigny by Edouard Detaille, 1879. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkOn the surface, both armies seemed similar. Both France and Prussia were continental European powers and relied on large numbers of conscripts to fill their ranks. The French army had seen plenty of combat but its recent experiences were mostly restricted to counterinsurgency style warfare in North Africa or Mexico, though it had also seen action in Italy against the Austrians as well as the Crimean War against Russia. The French rifle, the Chassepot, was far superior to the Prussian Dreyse needle gun. Although both were breechloaders, the Chassepot had over twice the range of the Dreyse and was far more rugged in design. The Dreyse had a fragile firing pin and inefficient gas propellant system, rendering it inaccurate beyond 200 meters.The situation was reversed when it came to artillery. The Prussian artillery had been remodeled after the Austro-Prussian War. Their antiquated smoothbore and muzzle-loaded artillery had been easily outclassed by the Austrian breech loaded rifled guns. Now the Prussians fielded guns like their erstwhile Austrian enemies against French muzzle loaders that fired slower and were more inaccurate. The French possessed a secret weapon however. A precursor to the machine gun, their mitrailleuses could discharge 25 shots in a rapid volley. They outranged the Prussian Dreyse rifle and were to be a nasty surprise on some of the battlefields.A series of indecisive battles were fought at the start of the war in July, including an ineffectual French incursion into Prussian territory that petered out by the beginning of August. The early battles saw the French retreating on all fronts though they frequently inflicted heavy casualties on the Prussians. Three crucial battles over the course of a single fortnight decided the result of the Franco-Prussian War and shaped the course of European history for decades to come.Battle of Mars-La-Tour/RezonvilleBattle of Mars-La-Tour by Emil Hunten, 1870. Source: Bismarck Museum, FriedrichsruhThe Battle of Mars-La-Tour in northeastern France began as a mistake. Working under the mistaken assumption that the French were retreating, the Prussian Second Army had split into its respective corps for their westward advance. These smaller forces (roughly 30,000 in each corps) were faster moving individually than as part of a larger more cumbersome force. Conversely, the French corps were much more concentrated. Their commander, Marshal Bazaine, had slowed the retreat in order to consolidate his forces and provide more time for his supply trains to catch up. This situation stacked the numbers heavily against the advancing Prussians; they had no idea that ahead of them lay more than twice their number of French soldiers.The battle began as aggressive Prussian cavalry patrols from III Corps clashed with forward French positions on the morning of August 16, 1870. The rapid advance of Prussian horse artillery routed the French cavalry but they were soon reinforced by French infantry and artillery. The Prussian boldness was based on the assumption that these were only delaying forces left behind by the French. It quickly became apparent to the outnumbered III Corps that far from engaging the French rearguard, they were in fact fighting the Bazaines entire Army of the Rhine.The overwhelming force of French artillery and infantry forced the Prussian cavalry to retreat by 10am towards a hurriedly formed Prussian defensive line of infantry and artillery. Over the next few hours the thin Prussian lines held against overwhelming odds. By 1pm, the Prussians were nearly spent. The commander of III Corps, Alvensleben, had used up most of his reserves and his troops were running low on ammunition. Alvensleben and his men were only saved by the indecisiveness of the French, who assumed that III Corps was part of a larger force. They remained content to bombard the Prussians with artillery while preparing for a final attack.Von Bredows Death RideRezonville, the charge of the cuirassiers by Aim Morot, 1886. Source: Musee dOrsayAlvensleben knew that X Corps and others were on the way but was certain his corps would be destroyed before help arrived. He turned to his final solid reserve, the 12th Cavalry Brigade. Untouched by the days fighting, it was ordered to charge the French infantry. Deployed as they were in front of the French artillery, it seemed a suicidal task, much like the Charge of the Light Brigade a decade and a half earlier. Their commander, Von Bredow, made clever use of the terrain, guiding his cavalry along a small valley that concealed them from enemy view until they closed with the French lines. The gunsmoke from the battlefield also obscured their advance. Their emergence at close quarters was a nasty surprise.The Prussian cavalry overran first one, then two French gun lines, routing infantry and artillery alike. Reinforcing French cavalry were shot at by their own troops who fired indiscriminately at anyone they saw on horseback. Although Von Bredow paid a heavy price for his success with less than half of his brigade surviving the action, his heroic charge saved III Corps by halting the French attack and buying time for reinforcements to arrive.III Corps survived seven hours of fighting alone against four French corps. The real success of Mars-La-Tour was in slowing the French retreat, allowing the Prussians time to bring up more forces to complete their destruction of the French Army of the Rhine. III Corps paid a bloody price for it, taking over 16,000 casualties in a single day.Battle of Gravelotte/St PrivatLauenburg 9th Jager Battalion at Gravelotte by Ernst Zimmer, 1910. Source: Kreismuseum Herzogtum Lauenburg, RatzebergFought only two days later on August 18, 1870, the Battle of Gravelotte in Lorraine was one of the largest battles of the war. 188,000 Prussian and allied German troops faced off against 113,000 French soldiers. The French Army of the Rhine had fought well at Mars-La-Tour but was now in a race to link up with friendly forces at Sedan while the Prussians strove to prevent the junction. After being intercepted at Gravelotte, Bazaine ordered his troops to dig in, occupying ridges and farmhouses in an effort to negate the superior Prussian numbers. They were faced by the First and Second Prussian armies. Confident in their numerical advantage, the Germans went on the offensive.The repeated Prussian attacks were supported by cavalry and massed artillery fire, but they stalled again and again in the face of the French defenses, entire units being wiped out. The fighting raged all day with the last major Prussian attacks being launched late in the evening around 8pm. The French had taken 12,000 casualties while the Prussians sustained 20,000.The Prussians had the added disadvantage of being under the eye of their king but even his presence couldnt halt the rout of some of the Prussian regiments from the French guns. Only the onward drive of the Prussian Guards and French ammunition shortages prevented the Prussians from being completely defeated.French FirepowerDe Reffye Mitrailleuse. Source: Forgotten WeaponsGravelotte demonstrated the superiority of French small arms as their Chassepot rifles and Mitrailleuse volley guns took a heavy toll on the advancing Prussian formations. The Prussian infantry generally attacked in tight packed columns which were easy targets for the French infantry and artillery. Even raw French conscripts were capable of hitting such a large target. It is estimated that the Prussian Guard corps took over 8,000 casualties in less than twenty minutes at Gravelotte.Greater numbers and superior artillery saved the Prussian infantry from total annihilation. The rifled Krupp guns were massed together later in the day to provide more effective fire support. Meanwhile, Prussian infantrymen were continually fed into the meatgrinder, exhausting the French gunners. The bloodstained Prussian Guardsmen continued to assault the village of St Privat and reinforcing Saxon infantry joined them on another side. Unable to fight off both and with ammunition running short, the French were forced to withdraw.If battles were determined solely by casualties inflicted then the French would have won. As it turned out, the demoralized Marshal Bazaine retreated into Metz where he was besieged. His troops had fought well but he had been constantly outmaneuvered by the Prussian armies. The attempt to link up at Sedan had failed. It also forced Napoleon III to move with his hastily formed Army of Chalons to relieve the besieged Army of the Rhine.Battle of SedanCombat at La Moncelle by Unknown, 1870. Source: Wikimedia CommonsWith Bazaines army besieged at Metz, it fell to Napoleon III to form the Army of Chalons to mount a rescue expedition on August 23. They marched eastward, hoping to avoid conflict with the numerically superior Prussian forces but were brought to bay a week later at Beaumont. Retreating to the obsolete fortress of Sedan, the exhausted French forces hoped to rest and resupply before carrying out further operations. The Prussians took advantage of this, encircling them and launching an assault on September 1.What followed was a disaster for the French forces. They were heavily outnumbered, with only 130,000 Frenchmen versus over 200,000 Prussians and allies. The Prussians also had superior numbers of cavalry and artillery. By cruel fate, the location the French chose for their breakout was also the location the Prussians had chosen to attack, resulting in a bitter fight in the town of La Moncelle. The Prussians moved their artillery to slopes overlooking the French positions and were able to continually bombard their troops.After midday the French were driven either into the fortress of Sedan or the neighboring woods, all the time under Prussian bombardment. Napoleon III raised the white flag by the evening and a truce was declared while the surrender was negotiated. Over 16,000 French soldiers had been killed or wounded while over 100,000 were to become prisoners of war, including the French emperor himself.Reshaping the Map of EuropeThe proclamation of the German Empire by Anton von Werner, 1885. Source: Bismarck Museum, FriedrichsruhThe war was practically over by the start of September. Napoleon IIIs surrender would see the end of the Second Empire and the formation of the Third Republic. It would also solidify Prussias status as a great power. The hastily formed Government of National Defense would drag the war on for another five months but any French hopes of victory had died at Sedan. Prussia took control of Alsace and Lorraine as well as receiving payments worth five billion francs. The bitter memory of defeat would still be fresh in the minds of the French public at the time of the First World War.