A fresh study of the tumultuous events of summer 1870 when Moltke's German armies destroyed Napoleon's Imperial army, laying the foundations for a military and political hegemony lasting into the 20th Century. This volume examines in detail the capitulation of the Emperor Napoleon at Sedan, the siege of Strasbourg and Metz, including the battles of Noisseville and Landonchamps and concludes with a study of the French and German tactics of the period and is complemented by extensive OOB's, maps, illustrations and photographs. AUTHOR: Grenville Bird is a retired Chartered Surveyor who, during the last twenty years, has made repeated visits to the Franco-Prussian War battlefields around Metz and Sedan, whilst assembling an extensive collection of long out of print and obscure works relating to the subject, and in particular, the opening months of the war in August and September 1870. 18 colour & 38 b/w illustrations, c. 120 colour & 71 b/w photos, 12 colour maps, 17 tactical diagrams