A duel of nations: Germany, France, and the diplomacy of the war of 1870–1871

by David Wetzel, Madison, University of Wisconsin Press, 2012, xvi + 310pp., £17.50 (paperback), ISBN 978 0299174941
A Duel of Nations is the second part of David Wetzel’s study of the Franco-Prussian War, examining the diplomatic tensions that shaped the outbreak and conduct of war, the international responses and the peace terms of May 1871. The first volume, A Duel of Giants (Wetzel, 2001), focuses on the lead-up to war, while this volume deals with the war itself and the negotiations to end the fighting. Arguing that the Franco-Prussian War was one of the most significant turning-points in nineteenth century European history, Wetzel’s aim is to provide an updated English-language study that brings together a range of archival and printed primary sources with developments in the secondary literature. The result is an impressive study which is more international in scope than the title suggests.