Intro
Le Maréchal est Mort!, Alternate Franco-Prussian War
Hello,
This thread will present an alternate history of the Franco-Prussian War based around the death of French Marshal Francois Bazaine, commander of the Army of the Rhine, at the Battle of Borny on August 14th, 1870. At Borny, in our timeline, Bazaine suffered a light shoulder wound.
Marshal Bazaine’ performance during the war left much to be desired. He failed to withdraw to Chalons as ordered, allowing himself to be entrapped in Metz, and missed two key opportunities to deal the Prussians a bloody nose at Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte. He failed to adequately inform the army as to his plans and kept his own chief of staff General L. Jarras in the dark. While having priorly demonstrated skill as a corps commander, Bazaine seems to have been unprepared for the much greater responsibility of commanding the entire Army of the Rhine.
In the event of Bazaine’s death Marshals Francois Canrobert and Edmond Leboeuf were with the army and could have potentially succeeded him.
Happy to hear your thoughts or recommendations you may have.
Hello,
This thread will present an alternate history of the Franco-Prussian War based around the death of French Marshal Francois Bazaine, commander of the Army of the Rhine, at the Battle of Borny on August 14th, 1870. At Borny, in our timeline, Bazaine suffered a light shoulder wound.
Marshal Bazaine’ performance during the war left much to be desired. He failed to withdraw to Chalons as ordered, allowing himself to be entrapped in Metz, and missed two key opportunities to deal the Prussians a bloody nose at Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte. He failed to adequately inform the army as to his plans and kept his own chief of staff General L. Jarras in the dark. While having priorly demonstrated skill as a corps commander, Bazaine seems to have been unprepared for the much greater responsibility of commanding the entire Army of the Rhine.
In the event of Bazaine’s death Marshals Francois Canrobert and Edmond Leboeuf were with the army and could have potentially succeeded him.
Happy to hear your thoughts or recommendations you may have.
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