hat the Frenchman, Talleyrand, would have done, or the
Austrian, Metternich, or several of the Turkish or Russian diplomats.
It simply proves how helpless the people of European countries are,
when the military class which rules them has decided, for its own
power and glory, on war with some other nation.

The war was short. The forces of France were miserably unprepared. The
first great defeat of the French army resulted in the capture of the
emperor by the Prussians and the overthrowing of the government in
Paris, where a third republic was started. One of the French generals
turned traitor, thinking that if he surrendered his army and cut short
the war the Prussians would force the French to take Napoleon III back
as emperor. Paris was besieged for a long time. The people lived on
mule meat and even on rats and mice rather than surrender to the
Germans, but at last they were starved out, and peace was made.

[Map: Formation of the German Empire]

In the meantime, another of Bismarck's plans had been successful. In
January, 1871, while the siege of Paris was yet going on, he induced
the kingdoms of Bavaria and Wurtemburg, together with Baden,
Hesse-Darmstadt, and all the other little German states to join
Prussia in forming a new empire of Germany. The king of Prussia was to
be "German Emperor," and the people of Germany were to elect
representatives to the Reichstag or Imperial Congress. Although at the
outset, the war was between the kingdom of Prussia and the empire of
France, the treaty of peace was signed by the republic of France and
the empire of Germany.

Bismarck was very harsh in his terms of peace. France was condemned to
pay an indemnity of 5,000,000,000 francs (nearly one billion dollars)
and certain parts of France were to be occupied by the German troops
until this money was fully paid. Two counties of France, Alsace and
Lorraine, were to be annexed to Germany. Alsace was inhabited largely
by people of German descent, but there were many French mingled with
them, and the whole province had belonged to France so long that its
people felt themselves to be wholly French. Lorraine contained very
few Germans, and was taken, contrary to Bismarck's best judgment,
because it contained the important city of Metz, which was strongly
fortified. Here the military chiefs overruled Bismarck. The desire
among the French for revenge on Germany for taking this
French-speaking province has proved that Bismarck was ri