How could the French had won the Franco-Prussian War ?

The only winning move is to not play.


Also,
Have no defences along the Franco-Belgian border, to tempt the Prussians to invade France through Belgium.

BOOM Britain declares war on Prussia in violation of the Treaty of London and enters the war on the side of France.
Bismarck would never do something so stupid.
 
Remove Failly and replace him with Trochu before Beaumont, ideally at the start of the war. Keep the Emperor in Paris throughout the war as already mentioned. Find a way to supply MacMahon while there are still French troops in Saarbrucken. Stop Douay's death by cannon explosion - maybe replace him with Ducrot at the cannon site as it happened and give French morale a serious boost at Wissembourg, maybe not enough to win but hopefully enough to keep the spirit de corps intact.

I'm not suggesting a dominating French victory, that is likely impossible under the circumstances given Germany's early mobilization. But if France performs well early in the war or wins a minor victory or two in the early weeks it will cause pause in Berlin and especially in the southern German minors whose lands are more likely to be devastated should a roaming cavalry unit fluent in German be unleashed behind the lines to devastate at will. At best the French will perhaps annex Luxembourg and perhaps split Belgium into French Wallonia and Dutch Flanders while curtailing German expansion for another decade or two.
 

Anderman

Donor
Have no defences along the Franco-Belgian border, to tempt the Prussians to invade France through Belgium.

BOOM Britain declares war on Prussia in violation of the Treaty of London and enters the war on the side of France.

Is this a feasible strategy when France declared war on Prussia ?
 
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