La Prusse s'Arrêtant. La Ligne Exacte De Démarcation De L'Armistice. [Prussia Halts. The Exact Line of Demarcation of the Armistice.]
- Title:
- La Prusse s'Arrêtant. La Ligne Exacte De Démarcation De L'Armistice. [Prussia Halts. The Exact Line of Demarcation of the Armistice.]
- Alternate Title:
- La Prusse s'Arrêtant. La Ligne Exacte De Démarcation De L'Armistice
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Unknown
- Other Creators:
- Edward Stanford, publisher; R. Canton, lithographer
- Date:
- 1871
- Posted Date:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2388.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2388_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1870 - 1899
- Subject:
- Imperialism
Other War & Peace
Pictorial
Politics & Government
Satirical
Unusual Graphics/Text - Measurement:
- 34 x 42 on sheet 42 x 50 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This striking broadside was published at a critical point in the Franco-Prussian War, after the Germans had won a crushing victory and agreed to halt their attacks ("s'arretant"), pending completion of a definitive treaty under negotiation. The text under the title says, "The Exact Line of Demarcation of the Armistice. The outline of the animal shows in an Absolutely Accurate manner the lines occupied by the belligerents during the armistice as specified in the text of the convention, and the part of the French territory occupied by the Germans at the date of the the Capitulation of Paris." Whether or not the lines are "absolutely accurate," the artist has embellished them with the image of a fierce lion, complete with fur and the facial features of the Prussian King, William the First. The text at the foot of the map makes the message even more clear: "Notice the extraordinary coincidence that the lines of demarcation set by the armistice represent the silhouette of a carnivorous animal, typical of uncontrollable Prussian voracity exemplified by their present rapacious demands.”
The most puzzling aspect of this map is why it was produced by Edward Stanford, one of the most prominent publishers in Britain, a nation officially neutral in the War and thought to be overwhelmingly sympathetic to the German side. The answer is found in a review of the course of the fighting and the evolution of British opinion.
In the period leading up to the War, both sides were motivated for conflict: Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by the desire to pressure the Southern German states into alliance with the Prussian states in the north, and Napoleon III by concern over the threat of German unification. Provoked by a doctored communication, France acted first, declaring war on July 16, 1870, and invading German territory.
At the onset of the War, British sentiments were almost universally with the Germans. Notwithstanding Prussia's wars of 1864 and 1866, most Englishmen believed that "the Prussian military organization [was] essentially anti-warlike," and the nation itself "necessarily averse to war," while France was regarded as "eager for war." Pratt 1985, 548. France was the nearer state and the one that had historically threatened Britain. France had been the aggressor, the first to declare war. Queen Victoria and her consort were themselves German.
Perhaps most significantly, British intellectuals, leaders and the public generally regarded the Germans people as superior to the French. "Since the French Revolution, . . . several generations of British thinkers from Samuel Taylor Coleridge to Matthew Arnold had . . . cultivated an image of Germans as noble intelligent, peaceful, civilized, and profoundly religious people. France they saw as unsettled, frivolous, vainglorious, licentious, and atheistic." Ibid. 543. The British press and British leaders - "despite the official neutrality of the government" - were "nearly unanimous" in their support for the German and their criticism of the French. Ibid. 546-47.
Although the French struck first, the Germans responded rapidly and successfully; in less than five weeks, they had fully mobilized, achieved a series of victories, and besieged a French Army in Metz, where it surrendered two months later. But the decisive battle of the War was at Sedan, where the French were forced to surrender on September 2, 1870. The Prussians captured an entire French army of some 100,000 soldiers - and Napoleon III himself! After the Prussian victory at Sedan, one French army was besieged at Metz, another imprisoned, and the Emperor captured. The War was effectively over.
But the War didn’t end. With the collapse of the Second French Empire, the legislature proclaimed a Third Republic and a Government of National Defense. By the end of September, the Germans had surrounded and besieged Paris, cutting off its communications and its access to food and other vital supplies. In early January 1871, the German's began to bombard the city, and Paris formally capitulated on January 28. The Germans agreed to an armistice, paraded in victory through the city, and withdrew again pending negotiation of a peace treaty.
These events led to a sea-change in British opinion. “The war after Sedan forced many Englishmen to reassess the image of Germany that Carlyle and his successors had cultivated, and the re-evaluation was inordinately harsh because the earlier image had been idealized. The beneficent and salutary effects of the war against France had always been postulated on the premise that Germany would grant an honourable and generous peace [rather than] seek the destruction and humiliation of another power . . . . the very prolongation of the war appeared to Englishmen unnecessary, unjust and cruel.” Ibid. 559-560. British commentators decried “the massacre of French peasants, the increasing cruelty of the Germans, the destruction of French property and capital.” The English were appalled by reports of plunder, pillage and the execution of civilians, “but no aspect of the war so incensed them as the bombardment of the civilian population.” And “the shelling of Paris [was] the greatest outrage . . . . the most violent, and at the same time the most stupid and unjustifiable, bombardment ever yet attempted.” Ibid. 562-563.
Thus was the mood of Britain when this broadside was produced on February 14, 1871. “By February, it was clear that territorial cession with forts and inhabitants would be a condition of peace” exacted by Germany. Ibid. 566. These were the “rapacious demands” of the “carnivorous” Prussians. But the efforts of Britain and others to moderate the German demands were not successful. Under the Treaty of Frankfort, signed on May 10, 1871, France ceded most of Alsace and Lorraine to the newly unified German Empire (setting the stage for future conflict) and agreed to a massive war indemnity. And in the meantime, Paris had been further ravaged from within, by the Commune and its civil war with reconstituted French forces.
For other maps in the Collection related to the war, Search > "Franco-Prussian."
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.