Part VI: The Emperor Returns
On August 20th Napoleon III reentered Paris and thus brought about an end to the Regency. Napoleon thanked Count Palikao for his efforts in mobilizing the Garde Mobile over the past weeks and dismissed him from service. Emile Ollivier was restored to the office of Prime Minister. Empress Eugenie was less than enthusiastic about the Emperor’s return as it ended her defacto rule over the country. Eugenie had also made clear in her letters to the Emperor that she thought his place was at the front leading the army. However, with the evacuation of the bulk of French to Chalons, along with the Emperor’s worsening health, made his presence unnecessary.
The Emperor was effectively ceding the military situation to the opinions of his cousin Prince Jerome Napoleon, Marshal MacMahon, and Governor Trochu. The Prince and Marshal would lead the army at the front while Trochu prepared the city for a siege should this event arise. Trochu began to lay plans for the devastation of railways, bridges, etc. Bringing in the livestock from the countryside for food stuffs, cutting down the trees in Bois de Boulogne for fuel and employing urban laborers to improve the city's defenses. The previous Loire plan was now shelved as the situation looked more optimistic.
Thankfully for the French, the Prussian armies had also halted their westward march. The Prussian armies of Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke were operating at the end of long supply lines and we're more focused on keeping themselves feed then marching on Paris. Additionally, Moltke felt that Metz and the other border fortress cities should be reduced before the advance was pressed. If the army were to push on Paris now it would not be able to bring its full force to bare and as standard military practice dictates an attacker should have numerical superiority to the defender.
Note: Decided to stick with Ollivier to keep things smooth and as
galileo-034 elaborated upon was removed by less than legal means.