1-154-319 - Art Media-Private Collection/Heritage Images

After the Battle of Champigny, 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. Champigny was one of the unsuccessful attempts by the French to break out through the Prussian lines between 30 November and 3 December 1870.