Book 9780371976760. This item is unavailable.Book 9780371976760

Lettres Militaires Du Siège by T. Colonna Ceccaldi. This eyewitness epistolary account recounts the siege of Paris during the Franco?Prussian War (1870–1871). Written as a sequence of letters published in Le Temps, the pieces document strategic debates and practical plans for organizing a defense in five provincial circumspections, the capital’s garrison and forts, and the evolution of ideas toward an army of operation under Paris. The author analyzes enemy movements around Paris, the state of fortifications, and the prospects for armistice or offensive action, while offering a critique of leadership and the potential to convert defensive success into broader political and military aims. The text includes detailed tactical discussions, reflections on mobilizing the garde nationale, and an appendix listing battalions raised by the Parisian National Guard. First published in Paris in 1872, it remains a crucial source for understanding urban defense, mobilization, and the politics of war in France.