The battle of Sedan in 1870 was to prove to be the decisive battle of the Franco-Prussian war and effectively witnessed the capitulation of France to Germany. The resulting abdication of Napoleon III and end of the second empire resulted in a power vacuum. IN response to this a general election (with universal male suffrage) was called in January 1871 which saw monarchist candidates winning huge support from the provinces. The result of this was the formation of the National Assembly under the leadership of the monarchist Adolph Thiers.
In February the National Assembly had established its…
