1870-1871: The Franco-Prussian War

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[edit] General Information

War Documentary hosted by Hans Henrik Wohler, published by Arte in 2020 - German narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

The war of 1870-1871, largely forgotten and eclipsed by the two World Wars, was nonetheless a decisive conflict that changed the balance of power in Europe. On the German side, the Treaty of Versailles laid the basis for the unification of a victorious Germany. And on the French side, the disastrous Battle of Sedan accelerated the fall of the Empire and the proclamation of the Third Republic. But it was the loss of Alsace-Lorraine that marked the key turning point in the relations between the two peoples. Losing this border region wounded French patriotism deeply. Over the decades that followed, it would represent a war trophy for some and a dream of revenge for others. Looking back at this conflict in 2020, some 150 years later, we are reminded how the relationship between the two neighbours has evolved into a privileged friendship between the two peoples. The story is told by 3 contemporary witnesses through their diaries, a 20-year-old Parisienne, a 38-year-old Prussian officer and a 49-year-old British war correspondent reporting on the war. The entries in their diaries form a mosaic with historical photographs, reconstructions of the original scenes, interviews, maps and the narrator's voice to form a panorama of the war that changed Europe 150 years ago. Troop movements, the traumas of Bazeilles and Sedan for the French, the terrible siege of Paris, the coronation of William I in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles: so many crucial events, which, told in the words of these three witnesses, with complementary visuals, provide an illuminating picture of this fratricidal war, which was to shape for several decades the conflicting relations between the resurgent French Republic and the very young German nation. Pictorial material consists of historical photos, interviews with historians and re-shooting of scenes. A Film by Hermann Polking and Linn Sackarnd ; LooksFilm Production with ZDF, Mediawan, ARTE and Toute l'Histoire

[edit] A Parisienne: A Parisienne's Memoirs of War

The siege of Paris by Prussians, Bavarians, Saxons and Wurttembergers in 1870/71 is not as devastating as the siege of Leningrad in 1941-1944. But in the five months between September 1870 and January 1871 almost two million Paris residents experience that a modern war makes little difference between civilians and soldiers. After the capitulation of Sedan, on September 2, 1870, the Emperor Napoleon III was deposed, and the Second Republic was proclaimed on September 4 by a government of national defense which Leon Gambetta formed. While France decides to continue the war, the Prussian armies and their allies march on Paris. For five months, they besieged the city, condemning the Parisians to starvation. In the episode "A Parisienne" in the series "The Franco-Prussian War 1870/71" the 20-year-old Genevieve Breton uses her diary to report on events, the happiness and pain of love in times of war, glowing patriotism and the realization that not the enemy, but the war is the real evil.

[edit] A British War Correspondent: William Howard Russell, War Photographer

When it broke out on July 19, 1870, the war between France and the coalition of kingdoms united under the banner of King William I of Prussia was one of the first conflicts in which the technical advances of the industrial era played a major role: the train, the telegraph, photography, but also the popular press, then in full swing. So the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 is also a media war. When it erupted in July 1870, the world's most famous war reporter at the time rushed to the scenes in France. The 49-year-old Briton William Howard Russell writes for the London Times. After having cut his teeth in Crimea and India Russell was dispatched by the Times to the Prussian general staff. From the battle of Bazeilles, in August 1870, until the birth of the German Empire, proclaimed at Versailles after the French defeat in January 1871, this clever observer delivers balanced testimony on the cruelty of the conflict, not only for the combatants, but also for civilian populations. The episode "A British War Correspondent" takes excerpts from Russell's war diary and his sense of heroism, tragedy, drama and suffering through a war in which civilians and enlisted men are the losers.

[edit] A Prussian General Staff Officer: The Diaries of a Prussian Lieutenant Colonel

It is also thanks to him that the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 devastated Alsace, Lorraine, the Ile-de-France, Burgundy and the Loire region and not the German countryside: 38-year-old Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff was in charge the Operations Department in the Prussian General Staff. He brilliantly planned the deployment of the German armies, contributing to the overwhelming success of the army of King Wilhelm I of Prussia, and it is also he who will lead the preliminary negotiations for the surrender of the French at Sedan. But when it comes to supplying the army in enemy territory, the limit is reached. His "Secret War Diary" has the almost empathetic tone that the whole world believes the capabilities of Prussian Junker- and Officer Corps. With his quasi-scientific precision, the account he gives of his daily life in his "secret war diary" reflects the cold image, devoid of empathy, that one could have of the high ranking Prussian officer - and constitutes a testimony important for historians. The episode "A Prussian General Staff Officer" follows the lieutenant colonel in his already scientific craft that brings him a moment of glory on the day of the Battle of Sedan.

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[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: x264 CABAC Main@L4
Video Bitrate: 2 200 Kbps
Video Resolution: 1920x1080
Display Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Frames Per Second: 25.000 fps
Audio Codec: AAC (LC)
Audio Bitrate: 132 kb/s VBR 44.1 kHz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: german
RunTime Per Part: 51 min 33 s - 52 min 54 s
Number Of Parts: 3
Part Size: 854 MB - 871 MB
Source: WEB DL
Capper: DocFreak08