1-154-339 - Art Media-Private Collection/Heritage Images

French soldiers departing for Buzenval, Siege of Paris, Franco-Prussian War, 18 January 1871 (1872). From a private collection. 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. The Battle of Buzenval on 19 January 1871 marked the final unsuccessful attempt by the French to break out through the Prussian lines.