Today in History - September 19, 2022

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Incitatus Ch.

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Published on September 19, 2022 6:41:50 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUjRnTj8iAA

Duration: 0:59

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On this day, a brutal siege of one of the world’s great cities commenced, leading to starvation, disease, and humiliation. On September 19th, 1870, German forces under the overall command of Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke besieged the city of Paris as part of the Franco-Prussian War. Fearing that a direct assault on the city would cause massive civilian casualties and turn international opinion against Prussia, Moltke instead chose to starve Paris into submission. What followed was an absolutely brutal winter: typhus ran rampant in the city, Parisians were forced to eat horses and housepets, and multiple failed breakout attempts by the army were repulsed with horrific casualties before the city finally surrendered after 4 months, bringing the Franco-Prussian war to an end. The victorious Germans united as one empire, while Paris would only see further strife with the rise of the Paris Commune.