Le Châtelier And The Franco-Prussian War

World War 2 began in September 1939, mainly due to German Reich Adolf Hitler attempting to create a perfect world, which in his mind excluded mainly Jews, but also Gays, Gypsies, Poles, and people with physical, or mental disabilities. Hitler’s plan was to slowly take over the entire continent, converting the entire area slowly to his idea of Utopia, and hopefully at one point Germanize the entire world. He had formed the Nazi party in 1920, a group of over three thousand members all soldiers literally looking for a fight. German Nazis launched their first attack in 1940. France 's vaunted Maginot Line, engineered to protect the country failed to hold back the Nazi onslaught and the German Blitzkrieg poured into France. The city of Paris fell under German control, only weeks after the first invasion. France was then split into two parts, One-half being occupied France, which would be ruled by the Germans and guarded by the Nazi soldiers, Which also happened to hold the most populated city, Paris. The other half was called Vichy France, and would still be under French rule.

After the fall of Napoleon III’s empire and the Franco- Prussian war, one event emerged from France, the Paris Commune. The Paris Commune was one of the four major events that shaped modern France today. As France lost the war, Napoleon’s nephew, Louis Napoleon III, stupidly provoked with Prussia and lost in 1870. When France lost, Paris became overrun by German troops, as the German troops moved in the French working class retaliated. Louis Napoleon wanted France to flourish like it has in the past and hence declared war on Prussia. The Franco- Prussian war caused French to be besieged in 1870. But the Paris Commune was started because the Government of National Defense betrayed the besieged city by handing them over to the Prussians.

Vichy France is a period of French history that has only fairly recently begun to be examined for what it truly is: a period in which many of the French turned against their own state and collaborated with the German forces to betray their own country. Until the eighties, the Vichy Regime was regarded as “an aberration in the evolution of the French Republic” (Munholland, 1994) , repressed by the French in an attempt to regain their national pride. ‘Lacombe Lucien’ (1974), directed by Louis Malle is a film which aims to capture the ambiguity of the era through the documentation of fictional collaborateur, Lucien.

In the world we have seen many technological advances throughout time. We have seen telegraph lines, hot air balloons, airplanes, computers, and cellphones. Through technology we have been able to use it to our advantage. Whether it be to write a paper or defend ourselves against our enemy. Such is the case of the Franco-Prussian War. The technology they used/ didn’t use helped make or break their countries. Technological advances help us greatly in times of need. It is more beneficial for us to be ahead in technology than it is to not use it at all.

Arguably one of the darkest times in French history, the violent era known as the reign of terror was quite a rough time for me. At the time, you could argue that I was a bit of a counterrevolutionary. I wasn’t so much against the revolution, but I was just not for it. I believed things had been going fine in France. The problem here is that people like Robespierre believed that if you were not for the revolution, you were against it. That spelled trouble for me, because they were executing basically every counterrevolutionary they found, whether they were against, or just not for, the revolution. I lived in constant fear for two years. Obviously, if anyone asked, I was all for the revolution, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. To be on the

Once Guderian's tanks had crossed the Meuse on May 13th, 1940, France was defeated in a mere four weeks. So too was the British Expeditionary Force. But Britain was able to fall back across the Channel: the French were relentlessly pursued in a retreat which gathered its own frantic momentum. It was a civilian as well as military disaster. Ten million refugees took to the roads and rail to escape the invasion, the most dramatic exodus of population seen in Europe for centuries. There were family tragedies by the thousand every day of those few short weeks("History of the French Resistance - the Alliance Reseau, Maquis, FTP and

Philip and the King of France sign a pact ceding Naples to France in exchange for the marriage of Philip’s infant son, Charles, to infant French princess, Claude, ending the war behind Ferdinand’s back. Ferdinand's agent fails to prevent the signing. The French King sends word of the peace treaty to his commander in Naples. Philip sends orders to Cordoba in Naples to desist. Enraged, Ferdinand notifies the King of England and Maximilian of Austria that he hasn't agreed to the Treaty. Infuriated, he sends word to Cordoba to ignore the treaty. He sends word to Philip repudiating the Pact. Philip replies arrogantly, the Pact is signed and

There is conflict between the British soldiers and the French. The argument could lead to war and there are no plans for the British soldiers to achieve victory. The southern needs a plan to defend ourselves from getting destroyed.

France is historically and culturally amongst the most important nations in the Western world, France also plays a very significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps and the Pyrenees, France has long provided a geographic, economic, and linguistic bridge joining northern and southern Europe. It is Europe’s most important agricultural producer and one of the world’s leading industrial powers.

The Treaty of Versailles contained some very harsh terms that were designed to punish Germany for its role in World War 1. The treaty looked to weaken the German empire by diminishing its colonies and taking away German lands. For example, in the west Alsace-Lorraine, which had been seized by the Germans nearly half a century before the war, was given back to France. Belgium received Eupen and Malmedy respectively. They also took the German coal mines in the very industrial Saar Region and placed them under hold of the League of Nationals for fifteen years. Northern Schleswig was given to Denmark. We also saw the creation of the 'The Polish Corridor', which gave the country of Poland a large band of land that linked the mainland to the sea.

Henri Louis Le Chatelier was a world renowned chemist known primarily for his work in developing “Le Chatelier’s Principle”. Henri was born to an academic bourgeoisie family on October 8th, 1850, in Paris France (1). Le Chatelier was fortunate as his father, Louis Le Chatelier, was able to teach him the basics of math and science, thus giving him a head start, and due to his parent’s status and wealth he was able to study at several universities (2). Le Chatelier’s earned his first degree from the College Rollin in 1867 and another in 1868 (2). He then went on to attend l’École Polytechnique after which he was named second lieutenant with the rest of his class (3). Before continuing his education he briefly served in the French army during the Franco-Prussian war and fought in the siege of Paris (3). After the war he studied at l’École des Mines in Paris earning a degree in mining engineering in 1873 (2). Le Chatelier spent the next few years working as an engineering miner throughout France but he switched careers and became a lecturer in 1877 after being offered a position to teach chemistry at l’École des Mines (2). The year before Le Chatelier married Genevieve Nicolas who bore him three boys and four girls (2). There Le Chatelier studied the chemistry of cement, plaster and various alloys becoming an expert in these fields and uncovering that when cement mixes with water a super saturated solution is formed which in its solidification forms

As the allies’ focuses were fixated on other theatres, their vigilance over the Treaty of Versailles and its policies would slip. This would lead to Germany gaining a zealous political mindset. As Germany would regain its strength over a twenty-year period following the armistice, it would carry a deep seeded resentment for the allied European powers. World War Two with its outbreak in 1939 would be a cause of many things, but most importantly it would be the cause of extreme nationalistic backlash against the unyielding terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler’s’ rampant empire-building and warmongering would be justification for the crimes committed by the allies, twenty years prior.

The Schlieffen Plan was under the guidance of General Alfred Von Schlieffen. This plan called for a “two front war” between France and Russia. A Two Front War is when a war takes place on two geographically separate fronts. France and Russia had formed an alliance in 1894.

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord (in short, Talleyrand) was born in February 1754 in Paris into a family background of power, ancient nobility, and wealth since his father held a high position in the French Royal army. Since his childhood, Talleyrand suffered from certain physical distortion in the feet that contributed to an impaired physical mobility. As a result, he had some limitations on his possible future career to an extent that he was formally stripped of some of his birth rights. At some stage in his life, Talleyrand became one of the few Catholic Church bishops who subscribed to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy with which the National Constituent Assembly wanted to exercise authority over the Catholic Church in France ("The Diplomacy of Talleyrand", n.d.).

All my life I maintained respect for order and law. Order is one of the most perfect forms of civilization (L. Guillet)”. As a child, Le Chatelier attended College Rollin where he studied engineering (Henry Louis Wiki). When he turned 19, after only one year of instruction in specialized engineering, he followed in his dad's tracks by enrolling in the Ecole polytechnique on October 25, 1869. Like all the scholars of the school, in September 1870, Le Chatelier was named second lieutenant and took part in the Siege of Paris against the German and Prussian forces. After dazzling achievements in his technical schooling, he entered the Ecole des Mines in Paris in 1871 which was a prominent French engineering school at the time (Lette).