Changes

====Background====

Germany at this time was still divided among various, often small principalities and dukedoms. Prussia was the most powerful German state, and under the leadership of Chancellor Otto Bismarck, it sought to unify Germany under its leadership. Bismarck had cleverly engineered wars with Denmark and Austro-Hungary, which resulted in Prussian coming to dominate the Northern German States. Bismarck sought to unite the Southern German states under the leadership of Germany. However, Bismarck knew that France would resist this, as Napoleon III did not want a strong and united Germany on its borders.<ref>Taylor, A.J.P. (1987). ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198221010/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0198221010&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=9bcbcf09a3ab75451756dedba1242e71 The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848–1918]'', p. 345.</ref>

France had lost most of its army and was defenseless before the German army.<ref>Wawro, G. (2003). ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/052161743X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=052161743X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=c58bdc68dd260093aaeccd66ef3dd771 The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870–1871]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 167.</ref> During the battle, Napoleon III was captured by Prussian forces. The war continued, and the French refused to surrender. Napoleon III abdicated, and he was replaced by a government of National Defense, who carried on the war. The Germans advanced to Paris and besieged the city, where the Prussian Kaiser has crowned the monarch of a united Germany in Versailles. The Government of National Defense, after increasingly heavy French losses during the siege of Paris, accepted the inevitable and agreed to a Peace Treaty with the newly created German Empire.<ref>Wawro, p. 345.</ref>

====Aftermath of the war====

====Conclusion====

The Franco-Prussian War decisively changed the balance of power in Europe. The origins of the war lay in the process of the unification of Germany. Bismarck provoked a war with France to complete the unification of Germany. The aftermath of the war was the fall of Napoleon III and left Germany as the most important state in Europe. However, the growing power of Germany eventually led to the formation of two opposing alliances. The Franco-Prussian War ‘led to a united Germany, but a more divided Europe,’ and this ultimately led to the great catastrophe of the First World War.<ref>MacMillan, p.78.</ref>

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