The decisive victory in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) is marked with an annual celebration
The coalition of German forces dispatched to France in 1870 succeeded in encircling a French army in Lorraine in mid-August. By September, they had captured French battle plans and were able to pin down and encircle a further French army at Sedan in northern France. Stunned by the rapid German advance and riven by internal disagreement amongst its generals, the French retreated to the area around the fortress of Sedan, where they hoisted the white flag of surrender shortly afterwards. When the guns fell silent and the terms of surrender were negotiated, the victors were surprised to learn that the French Emperor Napoleon III was also in the fortress. The German high command had wanted to avoid his capture at all costs, as the consequences were obvious: once news of the defeat and Napoleon’s capture reached Paris, the French people deposed the emperor and proclaimed a republic, which immediately decided to continue the war.
Despite the misfortune of too much success, Germany declared “The Day of Sedan” as a public holiday. Marking the victory over the French every year until 1918 with speeches and parades through opulently decorated squares and streets, the imperial government sought to evoke the memory of German victory as a means of binding the young nation together.
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