August 19, 1870 · Lorraine Theater
August 19, 1870
Following Gravelotte, Marshal Bazaine's Army of the Rhine — 180,000 men, the largest and best-equipped French force in existence — retreated into the fortress city of Metz and was surrounded by the German Second Army under Prince Friedrich Karl. Bazaine conducted several sorties that accomplished nothing and eventually ceased all offensive effort, conducting what his critics characterized as a passive defense amounting to deliberate inaction. Food and ammunition ran low through September and October. Bazaine entered into negotiations with the enemy and with the deposed imperial government about political arrangements that might justify a capitulation. On October 27, 1870, the garrison surrendered: 173,000 French soldiers became prisoners of war, together with 1,570 cannon. It was the largest surrender in French history.
Commanders