1-154-322 - Art Media-Private Collection/Heritage Images

Hand-to-hand fighting, Siege of Paris, Franco-Prussian War, 1870 (1871). After the disastrous defeat of the French at Sedan and the capture of Napoleon III, the Prussians surrounded Paris on 9 September 1870. The city held out despite famine, disease and cold until a bombardment with heavy siege guns led to its surrender on 28 January 1871.