The Hohenzollern King of Prussia who, along with Bismarck, creates a unified Germany by consolidating the northern confederation with the southern duchies during the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War. He commands the Prussian Army at the crucial battle of Sedan and emerges as the first German Emperor (“Kaiser”). His grandson, Wilhelm II, will lose the throne in WWI.
Wilhelm Kaiser (1797-1878)
View of buildings destroyed east of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees during the four month long siege of Paris which ended the 1871 Franco-Prussian War.
John J. Pershing and Ferdinand Foch (autographed by both men)
Napoleon III
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (1800-1891) -- father of WWI Feldmarschall von Moltke the Younger
Other Military Events
Lord Herbert Kitchener (1850-1916)
John J. Pershing
Feldmarschall von Moltke the Younger (1848-1916)
World War I (1914-1918)
WW1 German Soldier
Paris Commune executions
After the French surrender ends the Franco-Prussian War in January 1871, radical socialists rise up against the government and form the Paris Commune. On March 18, 1871 a mob captures and brutally beats and shoots Generals Claude Lecomte and Jacques Thomas. After the Commune falls, the killings are commemorated by photographer Eugene Appert, who stages a “cleaned up” version of the “execution” in this photo, including a made up firing squad.
Franco-Prussian War destruction in Paris
Photography Book