The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 Vol 1 and 2 - Quintin Barry

This review was submitted to Military History Online.

Title: The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 Vol 1 and 2

Author: Quintin Barry

ISBN: 978-1-906033-45-3//978-1-906033-46-0

Publisher: Helion and Company

Year: 2009

Softcover

Pages: 342/530

Photos/Maps: 171/40

Mr Barry has penned a tour de force rendition of the (relatively) short yet dramatic engagement between the French Empire and the German Confederacy. The outcome changed the face of Europe and set the stage for the cataclysm’s to follow in the 20^th century. Barry’s approach is detailed and comprehensive; as such he has divided his volumes around the Battle of Sedan which serves as a natural division between French Imperial and French Republican operations. His analysis and discussion are very detailed and he adds further nuance to his narrative by drawing upon anecdotes from participants. This is primarily a book detailing the role of Helmuth von Moltke as Chief of the German General Staff in building, training and ultimately directing the German Army in war; as well as his challenges in dealing with the sometimes divergent demands of the military and German Chancellor Bismark.

Given the broad spectrum of the war, Barry has done an excellent job at presenting the myriad of military engagements in a logical and straightforward manner. His descriptions focus upon the operational and strategic levels of command and he expends a great deal of effort in presenting multi-dimensional portrayals of the key German and French Commanders. This greatly facilitates a deep appreciation of the myriad of personalities that impact the execution of operations and their influence on events. It also goes far in reinforcing the key German leadership technique of decentralized execution of the Commanders Intent. Time and again, Barry quotes orders and diary inserts that relate the advantages gleaned by the German forces when senior officers did not micro manage their subordinates.

Of course not everything was in the Germans favour and Barry provides plenty of examples of the friction that existed within both the German and French command elements. The reader is also given deep insight into the extremely complicated political turmoil resulting from the collapse of the French Emperor’s government in the midst of the conflict and the profound resiliency of the French military and people in replenishing their losses in short order. Quantity may not replace quality but it certainly gave the German Commanders pause.

The maps are a great disappointment with this publication unfortunately. They are very hard to follow and therefore of very limited value. This is quite a drawback given the complexity of the operations. However, overall Barry has written an outstanding history of this war, in such a way that it retains the reader’s interest despite the complex maneuvering of the vast forces involved. I strongly recommend this work for those who wish to gain insight into the real time effects of the application of Commanders Intent as a tool of command.