Napoleonic restoration attempts 1870/1871
After his deposition on September 4, 1870 , the former Emperor Napoleon III tried . a Napoleonic restoration . At that time he was in Wilhelmshöhe in Germany after suffering the defeat at Sedan in the Franco-German War . It was important to Federal Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to be able to conclude a peace with a French government capable of acting, in which the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine and war compensation were agreed.
For Bismarck, that government didn't have to be the National Defense Government that was formed on September 4th. She was at odds and thus a difficult negotiating partner, and she had also strictly rejected annexation and compensation. Therefore, there were several conversations with the ex-emperor and his wife Eugenie , who had gone into exile in London with Napoleon's son, Prince Napoleon , and also conversations with the Napoleonic general François-Achille Bazaine in the enclosed fortress of Metz .
However, the talks did not produce any results. In January 1871 negotiations between Bismarck and the Government of National Defense resulted in an armistice. By then, at the latest, Bismarck was no longer interested in weakening this government as such.
Conversations with General Bazaine
On September 1 and 2, Napoleon III lost. the battle of Sedan when he wanted to help the besieged General Bazaine in the fortress of Metz. Napoleon III capitulated, whereby many soldiers became prisoners of war and a large amount of military equipment fell into German hands. Thereupon a government of the national defense was formed in Paris, which continued the war. Although the government kept the question of the form of government open, it was essentially a republican government.
Bazaine foresaw that there would be no position for him in a republic. He therefore negotiated with the Federal Chancellor in both September and October 1870. On September 23, a Prussian negotiator came to the besieged fortress. According to reconstructions of the conversation between him and Bazaine, Bismarck made this proposal: Bazaine’s Rhine army may leave the fortress. The parliamentary chambers of the Napoleonic regime were to come together in a neutral zone and set up a conservative government. Bazaine then negotiates the terms of peace with Bismarck, has them adopted by the government and establishes a new regime - either for Napoleon's son or his own dictatorship. A French spy for the Republican interior minister Gambettas claims that Bismarck would be satisfied with five million francs and the razing of the fortresses in eastern France (instead of Alsace-Lorraine) if Bonapartes or another dynasty came to power.
With the secret support of the North Germans, a confidante of Bazaines was able to ask the ex-empress in London whether she approved the plan. But she was only prepared to make Bazaine Lieutenant-General de l'Empire . Bazaine and Eugenie needed each other and played for time. But Bazaine didn't really have that, who wanted to benefit from his encircled army before it had to give up because of hunger.
In mid-October, Bismarck negotiated with another confidante of Bazaines on October 14 at the North German headquarters in Versailles. This confidante declared that the Rhine Army in Metz was loyal to Napoleon. His idea was: The North Germans would let the Rhine Army move from Metz towards southern France or Algeria . Then the North Germans quickly defeat the republic in Paris and transfer France to the Rhine Army.
Bismarck's armistice calls, according to historian Geoffrey Wawro , were tough but not extreme given that France had started the war. Internationally, the Republican government lost sympathy as its insistence prolonged the war. It also suppressed new elections, which would have led to a majority in favor of peace. There were even rumors that they would encourage Prussia to attack the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Bazaine's devious arbitrariness therefore proved a skilful timing. Bismarck and Moltke, however, treated Bazaine's offer with indifference, since France's weakness made cooperation seem unnecessary. There were also doubts what the Rhine Army could do in France.
Napoleon's memorandum, November 1870
On November 27, Bismarck received a memorandum from the ex-emperor. Napoleon recognized Bismarck's great influence on European events and the imminent prospect of a German victory. He proposed the establishment of a new parliament. This would negotiate a peace with Bismarck. After Paris surrendered, the Prussian King Wilhelm could call on the French people to have Napoleon and Eugenie become Emperor and Empress again.
Bismarck, however, declared Napoleon's mediator, Henri Castelnau, that the prospects of a restoration of the empire were slim. General Bazaine had been defeated in Metz. This meant that there was no longer an army that Napoleon could possibly have used as a power base. Furthermore, there was no way of knowing how a newly elected parliament would behave. Above all, Napoleon would have looked like the enemy's puppet.
Instead, Bismarck suggested that the governors-general of Reims, Strasbourg and Nancy (i.e. German-occupied areas) could convene a meeting of previous prefects . The meeting could send out peace signals. But in mid-December Bismarck received a telegram from Berlin. The former Napoleonic interior minister of France, Victor de Persigny , let him know through the North German Foreign Office: Such a plan would have absolutely no chance, if only because the prefects had no corresponding power.
Duc de Persiguy himself had the following idea: Charles Cousin-Montauban , Comte de Palikao, the last Prime Minister of all France, would convene an assembly after the fall of Paris and without Napoleon, which would establish a provisional parliament. This then prepared the choice of a final one. Bismarck was quite open to the plan. Persigny and Palikao feared that the French would have to suffer even more and longer before such a plan could find acceptance. Given the present situation in France, Bismarck found the objection bizarre and his interest waned.
If Paris, but not France, would give up, Bismarck wanted to keep the whole of northern France occupied and pay for the war until a peace-seeking party in the south would form a current government and agree to the German peace conditions including annexations. A British diplomat learned about Bismarck's efforts to establish a Napoleonic government (the current government?). He suspected that the monarchist Bismarck did not want to see a republic in Europe.
Plans of the ex-empress
The former Empress Eugenie suggested to Bismarck that Germany should be given areas of similar size to France from Sardinia-Piedmont (Nice and Savoy). After that, Prince Napoleon would sign a peace at Versailles.
While the empress previously wanted better peace conditions than the republic, Bismarck was now satisfied that she only wanted to get her own position back. A Napoleonic negotiator was supposed to go on a journey from London to get Napoleon's agreement from Wilhelmshöhe and then to come to Versailles to see Bismarck. The delay in the trip did nothing to increase Bismarck's confidence in the company, and Bismarck stated on January 22 that recognition of the Empress would cause resentment with Britain and Russia and cause further difficulties. A day later, Bismarck signed an agreement with Jules Favre of the government of national defense, which prepared a Franco-German armistice. Napoleon, who appeared as a physical and mental wreck at Sedan, died in 1873. His son survived him by only six years.
supporting documents
- ^ David Wetzel: A Duel of Nations. Germany, France and the Diplomacy of the War 1870–1871. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison / London 2012, p. 178.
- ^ Geoffrey Wawro: The Franco-Prussian War. The German Conquest of France in 1870–1871 . Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2003, pp. 244/245.
- ^ Geoffrey Wawro: The Franco-Prussian War. The German Conquest of France in 1870–1871 . Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2003, p. 245.
- ^ Geoffrey Wawro: The Franco-Prussian War. The German Conquest of France in 1870–1871 . Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2003, pp. 245/246.
- ^ Geoffrey Wawro: The Franco-Prussian War. The German Conquest of France in 1870–1871 . Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2003, pp. 246/247.
- ^ David Wetzel: A Duel of Nations. Germany, France and the Diplomacy of the War 1870–1871. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison / London 2012, pp. 174/175.
- ^ David Wetzel: A Duel of Nations. Germany, France and the Diplomacy of the War 1870–1871. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison / London 2012, p. 175.
- ^ David Wetzel: A Duel of Nations. Germany, France and the Diplomacy of the War 1870–1871. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison / London 2012, pp. 175/176.
- ^ David Wetzel: A Duel of Nations. Germany, France and the Diplomacy of the War 1870–1871. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison / London 2012, pp. 176/177.
- ^ Geoffrey Wawro: The Franco-Prussian War. The German Conquest of France in 1870–1871 . Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2003, p. 283.
- ^ David Wetzel: A Duel of Nations. Germany, France and the Diplomacy of the War 1870–1871. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison / London 2012, pp. 177/178.
- ^ David Wetzel: A Duel of Nations. Germany, France and the Diplomacy of the War 1870–1871. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison / London 2012, pp. 177-179.