Sedan Disaster — France Defeated, Napoleon III Captured

Prussian forces decisively defeat France at the Battle of Sedan, capturing Napoleon III and 100,000 troops. The Third Republic is proclaimed in Paris two days later. Prussia besieges Paris (September 1870 – January 1871) and the resulting Treaty of Frankfurt (May 1871) forces France to cede Alsace and most of Lorraine and pay a 5 billion franc indemnity. The defeat feeds French revanchism for the next 44 years.