The Destruction of the Imperial Army

Volume Two, The Battles Around Metz, continues the most comprehensive account of the defeat of the French Imperial Army in the last 100 years, presenting previously unpublished source material. The Battles Around Metz, the second in a four volume series, takes a fresh and in depth look at the events of the opening months of the Franco Prussian War between Napoleon's Imperial Army and King Wilhelm's German armies when, within the space of four weeks in summer 1870, the established order was overthrown and Prussia laid the foundations for a military and political hegemony in Europe which led directly or indirectly to two World Wars. Whilst many of the German works have been published in English few, if any, of the French works have been translated and their inclusion within this work will offer both a fresh perspective of events as well as providing a useful counterpoint to the somewhat 'Prussian-centric' viewpoints reflected in many previous studies of the conflict. The second volume in the series takes an in depth look at the three major encounters that took place around Metz in mid-August 1870; Borny/Colomby fought on the 14th; the encounter at Vionville/Mars la Tour on the 16th and finally, one of the largest battles of the nineteenth century, the decisive clash at Gravelotte/St Privat on the 18th. As with the first volume, this work includes extensive Orders Of Battles and casualty lists derived from the French and German official histories and is complemented by a number of maps and black and white and color illustrations.