cc cc schrieb:
> 
> "Silvio Franke" <silvio.franke@unibw-muenchen.de> wrote in message
> 
> > The Prussian officers were not that different from other officers.
> 
> Well, they made a lasting impression in Metz.

Metz and Sedan are two in Germany well known French places... 
 
> > The main differences were their effectiveness and the level how the
> > Prussian society was influenced by them.
> 
> And the rest of German society too, and their idiot neighbours too...
> 
> > 1870 and 1914 the Soldiers
> > and societies of all involved countries were enthusiastic about
> > the wars, there was no difference...
> 
> The French enthusiastic in 1870 ?! You have a lot of imagination.
> There was only one guy enthousiastic about 70. I've met him. I was taken to
> Gravelotte in the middle of nowhere. They have 2 rooms full of rusty old
> stuff in a farm, they call that a war museum. I was supposed to watch it  2
> minutes before going to drink a chocolate while the men would visit it
> seriously. But at the entrance, a Poilu (veteran of 14, he was at least 95)
> took me in hostage and explained me in detail each gun, then he'd seize it
> and started jumping around, yelling and killing imaginary enemies. That was
> really funny because he was talking at the first person as if he had really
> participated. At the end, he decided to teach me how to use a baionnette on
> a dummy, I had to do like him. That lasted 2 hours, then we were lucky the
> angelus rang and he had to go home to take his lunch and his medecine for
> blood pressure. I'll never know the end. Did we win the battle of Gravelotte

I can understand, that most French are now not very enthusiastic about  
70/71. But some parts of the French society 1870 wanted a war and 
demanded for example "Revenge for Sadova"...
At Vionville, Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte the French troops fought hard 
to break through the encircling German lines. The German troops there 
had some heavy losses, but managed to keep the encircling intact and in 
the end the Germans won the battle. To give a short answer to your 
question: No.

Silvio
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Sometimes I feel the strong urge to march east...