Causes of the Franco-Prussian War volunteers at the Prussian embassy in Florence, and a Prussian diplomat visited Giuseppe Garibaldi in Caprera. After the fall of Napoleon III following the Battle of Sedan, Bismarck's demand for the return of Alsace caused a dramatic shift in that sentiment, which was best exemplified by the reaction of Garibaldi soon after the revolution in Paris, who told the "Movimento" of Genoa on 7 September 1870, "Yesterday I said to you: war to the death to Bonaparte. Today I say to you: rescue the French Republic by every means." Causes of the Franco-Prussian War The causes of the Franco-Prussian War
Causes of the Franco-Prussian War Causes of the Franco-Prussian War The causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the German unification. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War (1866), Prussia had annexed numerous territories and formed the North German Confederation. Prussia then turned its attention towards the south of Germany, where it sought to expand its influence. France was strongly opposed to the annexation of the Southern German States (Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt), which would have created too powerful a country next to its border. In Prussia, a war against France was deemed necessary to arouse German nationalism in