At this time, the number of Franco-Prussian troops on the front line was 490,000 and 260,000 respectively.

France has fallen from 330,000 at its peak to more than 100,000 now.

At this stage, their reserve force is mainly patriotic young people in major cities, but since the conscription bill has not yet been passed in parliament, these young people have to rush to the front with their own dry rations to bypass government restrictions.

Usually the recruits do a short training session near Reese, which is secretly conducted by the Army itself.

Of course, the government knew, but because of the small scale and the fact that the war ahead was really tight, they turned a blind eye.

However, the soldiers who can be recruited by this method are only a small number after all - they have to be like thieves to play for their lives on the front line, and they will contribute money, effort and life, who can do it?

Only people who are truly full of patriotic enthusiasm can do it.

Not to mention the fact that there are very few replenishments of troops, Prussia also likes to fight siege and annihilation battles.

A considerable part of the 100,000 lost by the French army surrendered after being surrounded, and these captured soldiers could not be demobilized.

Prussia, on the other hand, due to the superiority in numbers, the cooperation between the various armies was relatively closer, not to mention the loss of 60,000 men during this period, and many of them were only wounded and returned to recuperate, if the war was prolonged, it might be able to reappear on the battlefield.

Thanks to the combined efforts of Henry's Red Cross and military medical staff, Prussia's demobilization rate was absolutely second to none in its time.

However, the French military did not set up field hospitals, and the treatment relied on the Red Cross, which was much less efficient.

It has to be mentioned that in addition to the frontal battlefield that touches people's hearts, the Red Cross of both Franco-Prussian and Franco-Prussian sides is the most prominent presence in this war, and their hard work has greatly reduced the mortality rate of wounded soldiers.

Even in the heaviest battles, soldiers on both sides consciously avoid each other's paramedics.

Unfortunately, there has been so much news lately, and if it were only the Franco-Prussian War, the Red Cross would definitely attract a lot of attention.

Rao is so, and there are many related reports.

In these reports, apart from Henry, the president of the Red Cross, Alfonso's name is mentioned the most, after all, he is a patron and honorary president.

Past events have also been compared by the media, and it is not difficult to see that Alfonso anticipated this war a long time ago.

It was not easy to foresee that it was nothing two years in advance, and the most important thing was that he could still contribute money for it.

The Newspaper Nouvelle Democratic, a well-known leftist newspaper in Germany, commented that he was "a rare aristocrat with a conscience".

Although it is only a short sentence, this newspaper generally only mocks the powerful and needles the current situation, and it is not easy to praise it.

It is by virtue of this deed - of course, there is a certain age and appearance advantage, Alfonso's reputation in Germany is not bad, although the two countries are quasi-hostile relations, but after all, there is no real fight.

Even if there is a real fight, the interests of the country and the image of the monarch are two different things.

……

By noon on the 15th, Kirchbach, commander of the 5th Army of the Prussian Third Army, led 60,000 men to advance towards Belfort, and the main force of the Third Army was near Tours, and 60,000 men were already a considerable force they could dispatch.

This aroused a high degree of alarm in France, and they suddenly changed direction to the south, and there was reason to suspect that they were trying to use this as a breakthrough to attack the interior of France.

Nasan did not doubt that he had him, and ordered the Xia Long legion, which was on standby in Nance, to intercept it.

But the unexpected happened, and on the 16th, the 7th Corps of the Charon Corps and a cavalry division were advancing down the Marne, and the overwhelming 1st Corps suddenly gave up the fruits of victory and shrank back to the vicinity of Bribec.

When the Belfort soldiers reported the news to them, the first reaction of the army commander, Félix Douai, was that something was wrong!

His hunch soon came true, and the attack was just a feint.

Almost at the same time that Douai received the news, Prussia changed its previous style of advancing slowly and valuing war damage more than anything else, and directly launched a three-way army in unison and quickly occupied the Verdun area.

The strategic location of Verdun was quite important, since Marshal Bazin's Metz corps was defending the fortress of Metz, and they were the first line against Prussia.

As soon as Verdun was occupied, it was equivalent to cutting off their connection with the French mainland and blocking their retreat.

Although Marshal Bazin's strategic thinking and command ability were not outstanding, he could still see such an obvious danger.

He immediately organized a manpower to attack westward, but unfortunately his troops and combat strength were inferior to the Prussians, and he did not succeed.

During this time, the northern siege also followed, completely turning Metz into a lonely city in a sea of soldiers.

How many people were there in Metz at this time? A whole legion! Including the militia transporting supplies, there are about 200,000 people!

Almost half of the military forces of all of France are located here.

Nasan fainted as soon as he heard the news, which made his already unhealthy health worse.

However, no one cared about the Emperor's health anymore, and the remaining Chalond army of Reims was ordered to try to rescue his compatriots in the Metz Fortress.

However, Prussia dared to make a move to besiege 200,000 troops, how could it not be prepared?

The French were subjected to the expected interception in the province of Meuse.

Due to the rush of time and the fact that it was the attacker, the French army suffered a very heavy defeat.

However, it is better than in history, where they were driven to Sedang after this defeat and embarked on the road of total destruction.

However, due to the length of the war, the front was relatively stable, and after their defeat, they were not driven to Sedan, but returned to Shalon.

But they couldn't organize another attack in a short time.

To make matters worse, after the loss of Marshal Bazin's army, the apparent balance of power in Prussian law had been broken.

On the 19th, with a total army of just over 100,000 troops, Napoleon III, who was at a great disadvantage, could no longer afford to face an enemy three times his size, and retreated all the way to the outside of Paris despite the dissuasion of Empress Eugenie.

The whole country was in an uproar.

This is tantamount to handing over the rich north of France to Prussia to be poisoned, and leaving 200,000 people in Metz is a small matter compared to this, after all, they will stay there for a while and a half and nothing will happen, but they will not be able to come out.

It is only at this moment that French politicians understand how bad the situation really is.

The conservatives and centrists, though dissatisfied with the Emperor, immediately began to push for conscription, most notably, on the day Nasan retreated outside Paris, there were three more conscription points in the city.

The only people who stand in the way of this are the leftists, who love the country and the nation, but who hate the war and see it as an unjust war waged by careerists for their own selfish interests.

With this in mind, some people began to make secret contact with Prussia to see if there was any possibility of peace.