1-154-335 - Art Media-Private Collection/Heritage Images

'Les Francs-Tireurs', Siege of Paris, Franco-Prussian War, December 1870 (1872). French irregular infantyrmen firing on Prussian positions. 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.