The collapse of France in 1870 had an overwhelming impact – on Paris, on France and on the rest of the world. People everywhere saw Paris as the centre of Europe and the hub of culture, fashion and invention. Suddenly France, not least to the disbelief of her own citizens, was gripped in the vice of the Iron Chancellor’s armies and forced to surrender on humiliating terms. In this brilliant study of the Siege and its aftermath, Alistair Horne evokes the high drama of those ten fantastic months and the spiritual agony which Paris and the Parisians suffered. The Fall of Paris is the first part of the trilogy including To Lose a Battle and The Price of Glory (already available in Penguin).

A fascinating account of the dramatic events leading up to the Siege and the four month siege itself. The Siege of Paris from September 1870 to the city’s capitulation in January 1871 was the result of Louis Napoleon III, Emperor of France’s disastrous decision to declare war on Prussia. The Prussian Army of King William I proved vastly superior to their adversaries. After victories at Metz and Sedan, the Prussians marched on Paris virtually unopposed. By 19 September the city was encircled with the population discontented, disillusioned and rebellious. Civil disorder was rife as starvation took a grip. On the inevitable surrender in late January and the declaration of the German Empire, France’s humiliation was complete. This in turn led to the temporary establishment of the Paris Commune an embryonic communist government, and civil war. As well as providing a vivid description of the siege and fighting, the author of this well researched account analyses the long-term effects be they social, military and political both on France and wider Europe. He argues that while the siege was not particularly costly in terms of human life, its legacy was the reduction of French global influence, the growth of German militarism, the evolution of international communism and changes in the world order.

Helmuth von Moltke's The Franco German War of 1870-1871 is a comprehensive history of one of the 19th century's most influential wars, and the one that helped lead to the establishment of the modern state of Germany. It is written by one of the most important participants in the war, because von Moltke was a field marshal for the Prussians and a Chief of the General Staff.