1870 - 71: The Franco-Prussian War

In 1869, life was good for Geneviève: she was young, rich and in love. She lived in a fashionable part of Paris and her future should have been bright. But that future was shattered when France and Prussia went to war. The Prussian army beseiged Paris. As Paris starved, Geneviève wrote. A record of how one woman's hopes and dreams are forever changed by world events beyond her control.

After having cut his teeth in Crimea and India, British journalist William Howard Russell was sent by The Times of London to cover the Franco-Prussian war up close. From the Battle of Bazeilles, in August 1870, until the birth of the German Empire, which was proclaimed at Versailles after the French defeat in January 1871, he saw it all. One of the world's first war photographers, he was an impartial witness to the cruelty of the conflict, inflicted on civilians and soldiers alike.

Prussian Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff, 38, details in his diary how his brilliant battle plans contribute to the success of the Prussian army and his negotiations for the French surrender at Sedan. With almost scientific precision, he gives a clear-eyed, unempathetic account of the war.