The Defeat of the Republican Armies: The Siege of Paris 1870-71 Volume 1: Chatillon to Le Bourget

Following the surrender of Emperor Napoleon III after the catastrophic defeat of the Army of Châlons at Sedan, the Siege of Paris became the focal point of the Republican phase of the war, with both sides recognising that the fall of the capital would spell defeat for France and victory for Germany.

Unlike previous English-language studies, this groundbreaking work — the first of a two-volume study on the Siege — addresses a notable gap in scholarship by providing a detailed operational analysis of the military aspects of the siege. The richly detailed text is supported by numerous appendices, maps, and illustrations.

Adopting the same approach as the author’s earlier volumes on the Defeat of The Imperial Armies, it draws extensively on French sources to counterbalance the traditionally Prussian-centric narrative, while extensive use of personal memoirs offers vivid insights from key participants in this monumental struggle— during which the far more numerous but inexperienced French forces made repeated attempts to break through the lines of the inferior yet battle-hardened German armies.

Subsequent works will take a similarly detailed and comprehensive look at the campaigns in the west, east, and north which together with the author’s previously published studies on the Imperial phase of the war will provide the definitive military history of this conflict.