French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 22 News of defeat reaches France, turmoil begins

On August 2, 1870, the French army launched an offensive against the Prussian army with three divisions in the Saarbrücken region, but no significant combat operations were carried out, and only some small-scale contact was made with the enemy's vanguard.

Prussian troops then launched an offensive on August 4, 1870, crossing the border.

The French army repelled the Prussian offensive from unfavorable positions on the border. On August 4, the Prussian Crown Prince Frederick William's Third Army, with ten times the number of troops, defeated General Douai's division at the Battle of Wiesenberg, with French casualties reaching 23%.

On August 6, 1870, the two armies clashed again at Wolter. The French heavy cavalry launched a fierce charge, but Prince Frederick Karl's Second Army, numbering 130,000, inflicted heavy losses on Field Marshal McMahon's First Army of 40,000 men.

On the same day, the French 2nd Corps, under the command of General Frosart of the Bazin Corps, was defeated by the Prussian 1st Corps with overwhelming numbers at Forbach, opening the gates to Lorraine.

There was a lull in the campaign after the war, during which the main Prussian forces were unable to fully deploy and launch continuous attacks to pursue their victory.

Although the French army suffered a defeat in the border battle due to insufficient pre-war preparations, its main force did not suffer major damage from the Prussian army and its losses were limited.

The French positions established on the border were offensive in nature and completely unsuitable for defense. Under these circumstances, the main French forces should have systematically withdrawn into the depths of the theater of operations to replenish their ranks, adjust their deployments, and await an opportunity to engage the Prussian army in a decisive battle.

However, Paris would not give Napoleon III any room to back down. The defeat on August 4 could be excused by insufficient preparation and a minor setback.

The defeat on August 6th was clearly not something that could be easily concealed, whether by the government or the people.

On the afternoon of August 6th, in the government compound in central Paris, a place primarily serving as office space for the French government, a telegraph operator, after copying a telegram, took the telegram from the front lines and, with an extremely grim expression, pushed open the door to the conference room.

Inside the meeting room, Eugénie and Olivier, who were discussing matters at the front, turned around to look at each other. Who would be so thoughtless as to push the door open and walk in while they were talking?

However, the telegraph operator, oblivious to the awkwardness, closed the door and walked in under the watchful eyes of the two powerful figures. As he handed the telegram to Eugénie, he explained why he disregarded etiquette.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister. We have lost both the Battle of Walter and the Battle of Forbach. Field Marshal McMahon's 1st Corps was severely damaged by the Prussian army, and General Frosal's 2nd Corps was in complete retreat. The gates of Lorraine have been opened by the Prussians."

"What?!"

"Olivier, don't let the battle report get out yet. Let's confirm the next steps first."

But the battle reports spread at an unusually fast pace, even with Eugénie's specific instructions.

After 6 p.m., while the people of Paris were having dinner, news of the "French army's crushing defeat" and the "Prussian army's advance" had already spread like a plague through the streets and alleys of Paris.

The public sentiment, which had been slightly calmed by Eugène Napoleon's "seriously wounded journey to the meeting," was immediately torn apart. Eugène giving them bread did not mean that the people would forgive the government's incompetence or give up criticizing the rule of the Bonaparte royal family.

On the night of August 6, the people who had finished their dinner stopped talking about their crown prince's benevolence and instead gathered together to loudly curse the government's incompetence.

The tension, which had been somewhat subsided due to the foreign war and Eugene's actions, quickly intensified again with the news of the defeat.

The Parisians' pent-up discontent with the government was a combination of old and new grievances, and that very evening, stones began to be thrown at the doors and windows of government buildings.

That night, the police and gendarmes in the 20th arrondissement of Paris were extremely busy maintaining order.

In the past, police officers earning meager salaries and struggling to serve the Paris government would not have been willing to work so diligently.

The government only gives a few cents a month. Now, thanks to Eugène's pay rise and a late-night snack, the rapidly escalating situation in Paris on the night of the 6th has been eased.

Although the deployment of police and gendarmes managed to bring the unrest in Paris back to an acceptable level.

However, inside the Prime Minister's residence late at night, the atmosphere was so heavy that it felt suffocating. Olivier sat at his large desk, his face grim after being scolded by Eugénie during the day.

The fourth cup of coffee on the table had gone cold. Olivier, who neither drank coffee nor paid attention to his cabinet members, just kept staring at the telegram in his hand.

13 Prussian troops faced 4 French troops, with the French suffering more than half their casualties. At the Battle of Forbach, the Prussian army decisively defeated the French with overwhelming numerical superiority.

Olivier actually thought a lot, but he rejected most of his ideas.

Olivier was well aware of the situation in French politics. Judging from public opinion today and Eugénie's dislike of him, his political career was probably already doomed.

Olivier was very frustrated. He had already won 70% of the vote in his reform proposal in April of this year. The realization of monarchical democracy was just around the corner, but it was all ruined because of the war.

The office door was being pushed open frequently, and cabinet members coming and going had varying attitudes, but overall, the situation was terrible.

This cabinet was mainly composed of Bonaparte liberals, mixed with conservatives, and aimed to transform the empire into a constitutional monarchy.

With the war at this point, the ministers realized that Prussia was not to be trifled with, but it didn't matter; France would win.

French pride prevented the ministers from believing that Prussia could truly defeat them. They thought these defeats wouldn't shake France; at most, they would only make the victory more convoluted and more damaging.

However, this cannot shake France, but it can shake them. With the collapse of their government, the empire will undoubtedly be dominated by pro-war, hardline Bonapartists.

This was not the situation that these Bonaparte liberals wanted to see, as it meant that their previous reform efforts were likely to be in vain.

As the ministers discussed how to resolve the matter and how to curb the rise of the more hawkish feudalists, led by Biglamont and Olivier, who advocated a hardline policy against Putin, one outsider remained silent.

Among the crowd, compared to the many ministers surrounding Prime Minister Olivier, Army Inspector General Troch stood alone in a corner.