Amédée Le Faure - Procès du Maréchal Bazaine - 1874

Original Edition - 2 volumes in 1 large quarto volume in half calf, 259; 380 pages - Exterior wear not serious, interior fresh - Pleasant copy.

--------

Trial of Marshal Bazaine is one of the principal contemporary accounts of the famous trial brought against Marshal Bazaine after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.

Bibliographic Notice
Author: Amédée Le Faure
Title: Trial of Marshal Bazaine. Report. Hearings of the first council of war. Minutes written with the addition of explanatory notes.
Publisher: Garnier Frères
Format: 2 parts (or 2 volumes, often bound in a single volume in-4), abundantly illustrated with portraits, engravings and maps.

The work comprises two major parts:

• The complete report of General de Rivière presented to the War Council.
• The detailed account of the hearings: interrogations, testimonies, indictment, pleadings, replies and judgment, enriched with explanatory notes written by Amédée Le Faure.

The book traces the trial of François Achille Bazaine, accused of having delivered Metz to the Prussian armies in October 1870. At the end of the trial, Bazaine was found guilty and sentenced to death; his sentence was later commuted to twenty years of detention by Patrice de Mac Mahon.

Historical interest

This work is a first-rate source for the study of the 1870 war and its political consequences. It presents:

• the complete debates of the War Council;
• the arguments of the prosecution and the defense;
• official documents and contemporary comments;
• rich iconography (portraits, maps and engravings) in most copies.

Bibliophilic interest

--------

1 volume in-8 demi percaline bound in bradel, xv, 304 pages - Minor exterior wear, interior fresh, some rare light and scattered foxing - Pleasant copy.

--------

General Lebrun was one of the main actors in the Sedan campaign. In this work, he recounts and analyzes:

• the battles of the Battle of Bazeilles (31 August – 1 September 1870);
• the military operations preceding the Battle of Sedan;
• the encirclement of the French army;
• the decisions of the French command;
• the capitulation of 2 September 1870 and the capture of Napoleon III.

The author seeks to justify certain decisions taken during the campaign and provides first-hand testimony on the events.

Historical interest

The work is valued for:

• its direct testimony from a general officer who participated in the operations;
• its tactical and strategic analyses;
• its maps and plans facilitating comprehension of the battles;
• its contribution to historical debates on the responsibilities for the French defeat.

It constitutes an important source for historians of the 1870 war, even though his viewpoint naturally reflects that of a participant in the events.

-------

1 volume in-8 demi-percaline bound in bradel, xv, 304 pages - Slight external wear, fresh interior, some rare light and scattered foxing - Pleasant copy.

--------

General Lebrun was one of the principal actors in the Sedan campaign. In this work, he reports and analyzes:

• the Battle of Bazeilles (31 August - 1 September 1870);
• military operations preceding the Battle of Sedan;
• the encirclement of the French army;
• the decisions of the French command;
• the capitulation of 2 September 1870 and the capture of Napoleon III.

The author seeks to justify certain decisions made during the campaign and provides first-hand testimony of the events.

Historical interest

The book is valued for:

• his direct testimony as a general officer who participated in the operations;
• its tactical and strategic analyses;
• its maps and plans to facilitate understanding of the battles;
• its contribution to the historical debates on the responsibilities for the French defeat.

He is an important source for historians of the 1870 war, although his views naturally reflect those of a participant in the events.