User:Joseph 2166/sandbox
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The Franco-British War' or Second Napoleonic War (1871) was a conflict between France and Britain. The failure of Napoleon III’s invasion of Britain, and the loss of large swathes of French overseas possessions to the British brought about the downfall of the the Second French Empire, and the rise of the Third Republic. The war was the culmination of five years of tension between the two nations following the 1868 election of the British Radical Reform Party, which finally came to a head when Britain took advantage of the Franco-Prussian War (1870) to seize and fortify the newly constructed Suez Canal. Amid a flurry of public outrage which threatened to spill over into revolution, Napoleon declared war on Britain barely a month after the Treaty of Metz.
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Franco-British War | |||||||||
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Clockwise from top left: Prussian infantry at the battle of Spicheren ; Jeanniot's La ligne de feu (1886), depicting the Battle of Mars-La-Tour ; Werner's depiction of the capitulation of Sedan ; Neuville's "Last bullets" depicting the Battle of Bazeilles. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
British Empire | Second French Empire (until 4 September 1871) | ||||||||
French Third Republic (starting on 4 September 1871) | |||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Lord Milner Sir Redvers Buller Lord Kitchener Lord Roberts |
Napoleon III (POW) François Achille Bazaine (POW) Louis Jules Trochu Patrice de Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta Léon Gambetta Giuseppe Garibaldi | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
300,000 regular 900,000 reserves and Landwehr Total: 1,200,000 |
492,585 active 417,366 Garde Mobile Total: 909,951 | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
138,871 dead 143,000 wounded 474,414 captured 756,285 total casualties |
28,208 dead 88,488 wounded 116,696 total casualties |
With France’s imperial possessions stripped of their garrisons thanks to the Franco-Prussian War, Napoleon set his heart on the publicly popular invasion of Britain as the only way to quickly settle the conflict. General Treville, victor of the Battle of Metz, was given command of the new Armée de l'Angleterre (Army of England), and with war plans already far advanced, the invasion took place less than a week after the declaration of war.
The initially small French force nonetheless had crucial advantages in experience and weaponry: captured Prussian Krupp steel artillery, and the breach-loading Chassepot rifle, one of the most modern mass-produced firearms in the world at the time. Early success against the inexperienced British forces led to the securing of a beachhead around Folkestone, and an early move inland. However the steady French advance on London was checked at the crucial Battle of Alder’s Lane, and a simultaneous attack on the French left flank at Ashford. The French armies persevered, but with their supply lines cut and his troops taking heavy fire, Treville and the Emperor finally surrendered at the Battle of Bluebell Hill.
The news of the Emperor’s surrender reached France at the same time as news of the loss of France’s overseas possessions in the Caribbean, South America, the East Indies and East Africa. Amid calls of imperial treachery and the smell of revolution, Napoleon declared the war lost from his captivity in London. The Empire collapsed, revolutionaries roamed the streets of Paris, and the war was over.