普法战争(1870～1871年)

Franco-Prussian War，亦作Franco-German War。

结束法国在欧洲大陆的霸权，建立普鲁士支配下的德意志帝国的一次战争。这次战争的直接原因是霍亨索伦－西格马林根家族的利奥波德亲王欲继承西班牙王位，利奥波德是普鲁士王室亲属。这一行动导致普西联合共同反法，普鲁士首相俾斯麦发表埃姆斯电报，触怒法国政府，对普宣战。德军由毛奇将军制订作战方案并指挥进攻，取得多次胜利。拿破仑三世在色当战役失败後投降。法国组成抵抗政府，宣布废黜皇帝，建立第三共和，在极不利的条件下抗击德军。德军开始围攻巴黎，巴黎失陷。和约谈判进行当中，激进分子建立了自己的短暂的政府巴黎公社。不久公社被镇压下去。苛刻的和约条件：德国并吞整个亚尔萨斯和洛林的大部分，法国赔偿巨额赔款，同时在赔款偿清之前，德军占领法国北部诸省的费用亦由法国支付。1871年普鲁士国王威廉一世宣告为德意志皇帝。同时成立德意志帝国。自从法国决定收复亚尔萨斯－洛林和德国日益扩张的帝国主义，使得德、法间的和平极不稳定。彼此憎恨迫使把两国推入第一次世界大战。

English version：

1870～1871年

Franco-Prussian War

War in which a coalition of German states led by Prussia defeated France, ending French hegemony in continental Europe and creating a unified Germany. The immediate cause was the candidacy of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen for the Spanish throne, which raised the possibility of a combination of Prussia and Spain against France. Following diplomatic maneuvers to block Leopold's candidacy, the Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck published the Ems Telegram to provoke the French government into declaring war, which it did. The other German states sided with Prussia, and German troops under Gen. Helmuth von Moltke, superior in numbers and organization, scored repeated victories. After Napoleon III surrendered at the Battle of Sedan, French resistance was carried on by a new government, which deposed the emperor and established the Third Republic. Paris surrendered, but while treaty negotiations were going on, an insurrection by radicals in Paris created a short-lived government, the Paris Commune. After its suppression, a harsh peace treaty was implemented: Germany annexed Alsace and half of Lorraine, and France was occupied until a large indemnity was paid. The German empire was established when William I of Prussia was proclaimed German emperor in 1871. The peace was an unstable one, marked by France's determination to recover Alsace-Lorraine and Germany's mounting imperialism, led by Prussian militarism. Their mutual animosity was a driving force that led to World War I.