Review: The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71

I BOUGHT this under-100-page summary of the Franco-Prussian War after seeing an online reviewer praise its maps.
The book was first published in 2003 as part of Osprey's Essential Histories series. My copy cost £6.21 plus £2.80 postage from BOOKS etc via Amazon.

Essential Histories … the cover shows Ernest Meissonier's The Siege of Paris

Osprey is best known for its highly specialist books for wargamers and model-soldier enthusiasts, but neither hobby gets a mention here as the book is clearly aimed at a more general audience.
Author Stephen Badsey is credited as a senior lecturer in war studies at Sandhurst, which makes him something of an ideal choice if you are looking for a summary of a conflict that concentrates on its military aspects.
I am no expert on the Franco-Prussian War, but his account reads like the sort of non-controversial account you would expect from Essential Histories.
It is lavishly illustrated with (mainly black-and-white) reproductions of contemporary illustrations, and modern maps of the more important battles and campaigns.

Two maps of the battle of Gravelotte-St Privat

The maps are mostly exactly what I was hoping for - stripped of excessive topographical detail while not so simplified as to be of no practical use. My main complaint with them is that more battles should have been covered, especially if this meant sacrificing some of the less-appropriate contemporary illustrations, eg the colour portrait of Napoleon III's wife that takes up the whole of page 23.
Badsey's text makes some important points that are easily overlooked, including:
1. The French army was highly regarded in the run-up to the outbreak of hostilities, having acquitted itself well in the Crimean War (1853-56) and having beaten the Austrians in the Second Italian War of Independence (1859).
2. The result of the Franco-Prussian War was not "the unification of Germany," but rather the creation of a smaller Germany that excluded one of the main German states, Austria.
The book is an entertaining easy read, and a bargain even if you have to pay the full recommended price of £10.99.