Radio War Nerd EP152—Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1

Recorded October 8, 2018 SYRACUSE, SICILY—The War Nerd picked up a copy of one of the great defeat-in-war novels — Zola's La Debacle — and was inspired to do a whole episode on the Franco-Prussian War that Zola wrote about. After the break, Ames and the War Nerd discuss the much-romanticized, highly infuriating Paris Commune that briefly appeared in the political vacuum of defeated France. Turns out there's not much to romanticize—just a gruesome turkey shoot by an extremely vengeful French ruling class and defeated officer corps.