Anonymous

La Prusse s'Arrêtant. La Ligne Exacte De Démarcation De L'Armistice. Le contour de l'animal montre d'une maniere Absolument Exacte les lignes occupées par les belligérants pendant l'armistice...

London: Edward Stanford, 14th February 1871

A rare caricature map of the end of the Franco-Prussian War

An extremely rare broadsheet caricature map of France at the end of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1), with the area occupied by the Prussians depicted as a lion's head with the face of Wilhelm I.

After France declared war in July 1870 the Prussians mobilised more quickly and swept into northern France and within two months had captured Napoleon III and had Paris under siege. The fall of the French capital on 28th January 1871 led to an armistice while the terms of the French surrender could be agreed. Two weeks later this pro-French propaganda map was published in London, using the symbolism of the carnivorous lion because 'of the uncontrollable voracity of Prussia exemplified by the veracity of their present demands', which included the annexation of both Alsace and Lorraine. The success of these demands led to the rise of 'revanchism' in France and British concern about the balance of power in Europe, both major factors in the outbreak of the First World War