1-154-368 - Art Media-Private Collection/Heritage Images

'Pendant la garde', Siege of Paris, Franco-Prussian War, November 1870 (1872). French soldiers relaxing during a lull in the action. 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. From a private collection.