1-154-292 - Art Media-Private Collection/Heritage Images

'Francs Tireurs Arronssohn - Tirailleurs des Ternes', Siege of Paris, 1870-1871. Print from a series titled Souvenirs du Siege de Paris. Francs tireurs were members of irregular guerrilla infantry units, many of them drawn from rifle shooting clubs. 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 and great hardship until a bombardment with heavy siege guns led to its surrender on 28 January 1871. From a private collection.