War in European History by Michael Eliot Howard

Many French units reached the front either late or with inadequate supplies. Within 18 days of the declaration, the Germans mobilized 1,183,000 men and placed 380,000 troops in the forward zone.

Imperial generals were paralyzed by political considerations which led them to view creation of a strong and well-trained reserve as an effort “to prepare an army for insurrection against the Government and society.” The efficient German mobilization contrasted with widespread confusion and delay on the French side. The German system of reserve force manning and training was vastly superior to the half-hearted efforts of the French. The most glaring example of France's outdated methods was mobilization. Modern scientific and managerial practices were neglected. French military thought remained fixed in the era of the great Napoleon, but had been influenced by decades of small unit actions in Algeria and Mexico. Howard emphasizes the staggering incompetence of the French government and its military leaders during the Second Empire. The French did not recognize the new reality. War had changed – and the changes were wrought by the Prussian general staff. To Napoleon III and the French generals, the war would be won by national élan, rather than by such mundane and inglorious considerations as wise strategic thinking, tactical training, dependable communications, solid operational planning, and reliable logistics support. It was among history's greatest miscalculations. His generals, arrogant and eager for glory, but as ill-informed, unprepared, and shortsighted as he, urged him on. The weak Napoleon III, enfeebled by ill health, foolishly went to war to bolster his failing regime, revive his declining popularity, and secure the future of the Bonaparte dynasty. Michael Howard's The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France, 1870-1871 is a prize-winning account of the background and conduct of the war that changed Europe and set the course for the twentieth century.

War in European History by Michael Eliot Howard