Three German Invasions of France: The Summer Campaigns of 1870

Three German Invasions of FranceAuthor(s): Douglas Fermer\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Pen & Sword Military\nISBN-13: 9781781593547, 978-1781593547\nSynopsis\nFrance was invaded by German armies three times in seventy years, in the Franco-Prussian war of [tel] as well as in the First and Second World Wars. On each occasion the country's fate was decided in the first six weeks of hostilities. In 1870 the imperial armies of Napoleon III under Bazaine and MacMahon were defeated at Rezonville and Gravelotte outside Metz, and most spectacularly at the Battle of Sedan, leading to the downfall of the regime and the rise of the German Empire. The Third Republic which succeeded to power in France survived the disastrous Battle of the Frontiers in 1914 and Joffre turned back the German tide at the Battle of the Marne. But the Third Republic was toppled in its turn by the German Blitzkrieg of May 1940 after another decisive assault at Sed'