J.P.Du Cane

Useful tactical treatise that was designed for use of Staff College students sitting exams in 1907, and as such gives a clear analytical account of two important battles during the opening rounds of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. The observation of foreign armies and their technology provided many tactical lessons at the beginning of the 20thC.

The Campaign in Alsace 1870 presents an excellent military history of two important battles during the opening rounds of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. On 4 August 1870, General Abel Douay's French division was surprised and virtually destroyed by Bavarian and Prussian troops at Wissembourg. Two days later, at one of the decisive battles of the war, McMahon's I Corps was heavily defeated by the Germans at the Battle of Worth. This defeat caused the irreparable splitting of the French Imperial Army, which was to have fatal consequences for Napoleon III. The author offers an incisive and well-organised account of these two important actions. Full orders of battle are included for both French and German forces, with a number of maps tracing the action from beginning to end. About the Author J.P. Du Cane has spent many years researching the Franco-Prussian wars. This is Du Cane’s first book on the subject.