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88-551: The Diocese of Laon was established by archbishop Remigius of Reims at the end of the fifth century. Presumably, an early church was erected soon afterward. Laon soon became one of the principal towns of the Frankish Empire . A later church building, dating from the tenth or eleventh centuries, was torched during the Easter Insurrection on 25 April 1112. The merchants and bourgeoisie of Laon had procured

176-419: A communal charter , which was soon revoked by Bishop Gaudry . The commune revolted, murdering the bishop. The episcopal palace was set alight; the fire soon spread to the cathedral. Afterward, the peasant population took the opportunity to pillage the town. Three months after the insurrection, members of the clergy at Laon toured France and England with relics belonging to the bishopric. Using funds raised from

264-521: A lantern tower illuminating the crossing , the two towers flanking the western facade, and the two transept towers. Both transepts were planned to have second towers, which were never completed. Laon Cathedral's completed towers (with the exception of that at the central crossing) all consist of two stacked vaulted chambers pierced by lancet openings. They transition from square profiles at their bases to elaborated octagons at their peaks. Medieval artist Villard de Honnecourt made detailed drawings of one of

352-503: A French public which wanted territory and a French army which wanted revenge. The situation did not suit either France, which unexpectedly found itself next to the militarily powerful Prussian-led North German Confederation, or Prussia, whose foremost objective was to complete the process of uniting the German states under its control. Thus, war between the two powers since 1866 was only a matter of time. In Prussia, some officials considered

440-463: A bad situation much worse was the conduct of General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot , commander of the 1st Division. He told General Abel Douay , commander of the 2nd Division, on 1 August that "The information I have received makes me suppose that the enemy has no considerable forces very near his advance posts, and has no desire to take the offensive" . Two days later, he told MacMahon that he had not found "a single enemy post ... it looks to me as if

528-596: A broad deployment which made envelopment highly likely but the effectiveness of French Chassepot-rifle fire inflicted costly repulses on infantry attacks, until the French infantry had been extensively bombarded by the Prussian artillery. The Battle of Spicheren on 5 August was the second of three critical French defeats. Moltke had originally planned to keep Bazaine's army on the Saar River until he could attack it with

616-551: A column or line formation , Prussian infantry moved in small groups that were harder to target by artillery or French defensive fire. The sheer number of soldiers available made encirclement en masse and destruction of French formations relatively easy. The army was equipped with the Dreyse needle gun renowned for its use at the Battle of Königgrätz , which was by this time showing the age of its 25-year-old design. The rifle had

704-692: A contact-detonated shell, the Krupp gun had a longer range and a higher rate of fire than the French bronze muzzle loading cannon, which relied on time fuses. The Prussian army was controlled by the General Staff , under General Helmuth von Moltke . The Prussian army was unique in Europe for having the only such organisation in existence, whose purpose in peacetime was to prepare the overall war strategy, and in wartime to direct operational movement and organise logistics and communications. The officers of

792-482: A distant plateau south of the town of Spicheren, and took this as a sign of Frossard's retreat. Ignoring Moltke's plan again, both German armies attacked Frossard's French 2nd Corps, fortified between Spicheren and Forbach. The French were unaware of German numerical superiority at the beginning of the battle as the German 2nd Army did not attack all at once. Treating the oncoming attacks as merely skirmishes, Frossard did not request additional support from other units. By

880-526: A fierce opponent of Prussia who, as French Ambassador to Austria in 1866, had advocated an Austro-French military alliance against Prussia. Napoleon III's worsening health problems made him less and less capable of reining in Empress Eugénie, Gramont and the other members of the war party, known collectively as the "mameluks". For Bismarck, the nomination of Gramont was seen as "a highly bellicose symptom". The Ems telegram of 13 July 1870 had exactly

968-516: A major obstacle in terms of logistics. Only one railway there led to the German hinterland but could be easily defended by a single force, and the only river systems in the region ran along the border instead of inland. While the French hailed the invasion as the first step towards the Rhineland and later Berlin, General Edmond Le Bœuf and Napoleon III were receiving alarming reports from foreign news sources of Prussian and Bavarian armies massing to

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1056-520: A massacre, the French army disengaged and retreated in a westerly direction towards Bitche and Saverne, hoping to join French forces on the other side of the Vosges mountains . The German 3rd army did not pursue the French but remained in Alsace and moved slowly south, attacking and destroying the French garrisons in the vicinity. About 160,000 French soldiers were besieged in the fortress of Metz following

1144-436: A range of only 600 m (2,000 ft) and lacked the rubber breech seal that permitted aimed shots. The deficiencies of the needle gun were more than compensated for by the famous Krupp 6-pounder (6 kg despite the gun being called a 6-pounder, the rifling technology enabled guns to fire twice the weight of projectiles in the same calibre) steel breech-loading cannons being issued to Prussian artillery batteries. Firing

1232-583: A reserve and to guard against a Prussian advance through Belgium . A pre-war plan laid down by the late Marshal Niel called for a strong French offensive from Thionville towards Trier and into the Prussian Rhineland. This plan was discarded in favour of a defensive plan by Generals Charles Frossard and Bartélemy Lebrun , which called for the Army of the Rhine to remain in a defensive posture near

1320-667: A result of the Franco-Austrian War of 1859 . During the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the Empress Eugénie , Foreign Minister Drouyn de Lhuys and War Minister Jacques Louis Randon were concerned that the power of Prussia might overtake that of France. They unsuccessfully urged Napoleon to mass troops at France's eastern borders while the bulk of the Prussian armies were still engaged in Bohemia as

1408-488: A return to the French borders of 1814, with the annexation of Luxembourg , most of Saarland , and the Bavarian Palatinate . Bismarck flatly refused what he disdainfully termed France's politique des pourboires ("tipping policy"). He then communicated Napoleon III's written territorial demands to Bavaria and the other southern German states of Württemberg , Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt , which hastened

1496-542: A revolutionary uprising which seized and held power for two months before its suppression; the event would influence the politics and policies of the Third Republic . The causes of the Franco-Prussian War are rooted in the events surrounding the lead up to the unification of the German states under Otto von Bismarck . France had gained the status of being the dominant power of continental Europe as

1584-471: A rubber ring seal and a smaller bullet, the Chassepot had a maximum effective range of some 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) with a short reloading time. French tactics emphasised the defensive use of the Chassepot rifle in trench-warfare style fighting—the so-called feu de bataillon . The artillery was equipped with rifled, muzzle-loaded La Hitte guns . The army also possessed a precursor to the machine-gun:

1672-402: A war against France both inevitable and necessary to arouse German nationalism in those states that would allow the unification of a great German empire. This aim was epitomized by Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck's later statement: "I did not doubt that a Franco-German war must take place before the construction of a United Germany could be realised." Bismarck also knew that France should be

1760-557: A warning that no territorial changes could be effected in Germany without consulting France. As a result of Prussia's annexation of several German states which had sided with Austria during the war and the formation of the North German Confederation under Prussia's aegis, French public opinion stiffened and now demanded more firmness as well as territorial compensations. As a result, Napoleon demanded from Prussia

1848-444: Is divided into four tiers: ground-level side aisles, a tribune -level passageway with double arches, a short triforium -level passageway with triple arches, and clerestory windows. The passageways on the two middle levels circumnavigate the entirety of the building, possibly indicating Norman influence. The unusual four-tiered configuration was previously used in both Tournai Cathedral in modern-day Belgium and Noyon Cathedral, and

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1936-439: Is one of the most elaborate and best-preserved of the early French Gothic cathedrals. It is notable for the stylistic unity and consistency maintained over the different phases of its construction. The cathedral consists of a cruciform plan with the traditional nave, transepts, and choir, all flanked by single side aisles. Numerous chapels have been built projecting out the exterior aisle walls. The nave has twelve bays (including

2024-442: Is reflected locally in the south transept of nearby Soissons Cathedral . The height of the interior is emphasized by the colonnette shafts rising from the tops of the columns separating the aisle bays; these colonnette shafts regularly alternate between three and five in number. Although the choirs of most Gothic churches terminate with apses, Laon's choir is an exception: it terminates with a flat wall. The cathedral's original choir

2112-765: The Oratorians . De Bérulle refused the see. 49°33′52″N 3°37′26″E  /  49.5644°N 3.6239°E  / 49.5644; 3.6239 Franco-Prussian War German victory Before 18 January 1871 : [REDACTED]   North German Confederation [REDACTED]   Bavaria [REDACTED]   Württemberg [REDACTED]   Baden Total deployment : Initial strength : Peak field army strength : Total deployment : Initial strength : Peak field army strength : 756,285 144,642 The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War , often referred to in France as

2200-699: The Siege of Metz and the Battle of Sedan , resulted in the capture of the French Emperor Napoleon III and the decisive defeat of the army of the Second Empire ; a Government of National Defense was formed in Paris on 4 September and continued the war for another five months. German forces fought and defeated new French armies in northern France, then besieged Paris for over four months before it fell on 28 January 1871, effectively ending

2288-628: The Treaty of Paris following the Crimean War a precondition for the union. But Imperial France was not ready to do this. "Bonaparte did not dare to encroach on the Paris Treaty: the worse things turned out in the present, the more precious the heritage of the past became". The French Army consisted in peacetime of approximately 426,000 soldiers, some of them regulars, others conscripts who until March 1869 were selected by ballot and served for

2376-658: The War of 1870 , was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia . Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to reassert its dominant position in continental Europe, which appeared in question following the decisive Prussian victory over Austria in 1866 . According to some historians, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck deliberately provoked

2464-468: The choir and portions of both transepts between approximately 1160 and 1170. By 1180, the transept arms were finished and the eastern portion of the nave was erected. In the next phase of construction, lasting until the end of the century, the nave and most of the massive western facade were completed. Shortly after, the Chapel des Fonts, cloister , and chapter house were built onto the south side of

2552-422: The mitrailleuse , which could unleash significant, concentrated firepower but nevertheless lacked range and was comparatively immobile, and thus prone to being easily overrun. The mitrailleuse was mounted on an artillery gun carriage and grouped in batteries in a similar fashion to cannon. The army was nominally led by Napoleon III, with Marshals François Achille Bazaine and Patrice de MacMahon in command of

2640-459: The 2nd Army in front and the 1st Army on its left flank, while the 3rd Army closed towards the rear. The aging General von Steinmetz made an overzealous, unplanned move, leading the 1st Army south from his position on the Moselle . He moved straight toward the town of Spicheren, cutting off Prince Frederick Charles from his forward cavalry units in the process. On the French side, planning after

2728-475: The Austro-Prussian War, were treading carefully before stating that they would only side with France if the south Germans viewed the French positively. This did not materialize as the four South German states had come to Prussia's aid and were mobilizing their armies against France. Napoleon III was under substantial domestic pressure to launch an offensive before the full might of Moltke's forces

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2816-506: The Franco-Prussian War broke out before these reforms could be completely implemented. The mobilisation of reservists was chaotic and resulted in large numbers of stragglers, while the Garde Mobile were generally untrained and often mutinous. French infantry were equipped with the breech-loading Chassepot rifle , one of the most modern mass-produced firearms in the world at the time, with 1,037,555 available in French inventories. With

2904-459: The French defended their position just outside Frœschwiller. By afternoon, the Germans had suffered c.  10,500 killed or wounded and the French had lost a similar number of casualties and another c.  9,200 men taken prisoner, a loss of about 50%. The Germans captured Fröschwiller which sat on a hilltop in the centre of the French line. Having lost any hope for victory and facing

2992-578: The French had a chance to sweep away the key Prussian defense, and to escape. Two Prussian corps had attacked the French advance guard, thinking that it was the rearguard of the retreat of the French Army of the Meuse. Despite this misjudgment the two Prussian corps held the entire French army for the whole day. Outnumbered 5 to 1, the extraordinary élan of the Prussians prevailed over gross indecision by

3080-524: The French into declaring war by releasing an altered summary of the Ems Dispatch , a telegram sent by William I rejecting French demands that Prussia never again support a Hohenzollern candidacy. Bismarck's summary, as mistranslated by the French press Havas , made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a demeaning fashion, which inflamed public opinion in France. French historians François Roth and Pierre Milza argue that Napoleon III

3168-443: The French into declaring war on Prussia in order to induce four independent southern German states— Baden , Württemberg , Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt —to join the North German Confederation ; other historians contend that Bismarck exploited the circumstances as they unfolded. All agree that Bismarck recognized the potential for new German alliances, given the situation as a whole. France mobilised its army on 15 July 1870, leading

3256-751: The General Staff were hand-picked from the Prussian Kriegsakademie (War Academy). Moltke embraced new technology, particularly the railroad and telegraph, to coordinate and accelerate mobilisation of large forces. On 28 July 1870 Napoleon III left Paris for Metz and assumed command of the newly titled Army of the Rhine, some 202,448 strong and expected to grow as the French mobilization progressed. Marshal MacMahon took command of I Corps (4 infantry divisions) near Wissembourg , Marshal François Canrobert brought VI Corps (4 infantry divisions) to Châlons-sur-Marne in northern France as

3344-517: The German border and repel any Prussian offensive. As Austria, along with Bavaria, Württemberg, and Baden were expected to join in a revenge war against Prussia, I Corps would invade the Bavarian Palatinate and proceed to "free" the four South German states in concert with Austro-Hungarian forces. VI Corps would reinforce either army as needed. Unfortunately for Frossard's plan, the Prussian army mobilised far more rapidly than expected. The Austro-Hungarians, still reeling after their defeat by Prussia in

3432-668: The III Corps launched a risky attack. The French were routed and the III Corps captured Vionville, blocking any further escape attempts to the west. Once blocked from retreat, the French in the fortress of Metz had no choice but to engage in a fight that would see the last major cavalry engagement in Western Europe. The battle soon erupted, and III Corps was shattered by incessant cavalry charges , losing over half its soldiers. The German Official History recorded 15,780 casualties and French casualties of 13,761 men. On 16 August,

3520-701: The North German Confederation to respond with its own mobilisation later that day. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on Prussia; France invaded German territory on 2 August. The German coalition mobilised its troops much more effectively than the French and invaded northeastern France on 4 August. German forces were superior in numbers, training, and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railways and artillery. A series of hard-fought Prussian and German victories in eastern France, culminating in

3608-437: The Prussian 40th Regiment of the 16th Infantry Division from the town of Saarbrücken with a series of direct attacks. The Chassepot rifle proved its worth against the Dreyse rifle , with French riflemen regularly outdistancing their Prussian counterparts in the skirmishing around Saarbrücken. However the Prussians resisted strongly, and the French suffered 86 casualties to the Prussian 83 casualties. Saarbrücken also proved to be

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3696-557: The Prussian Army, when potentially 1,000,000 would be required. Under Marshal Adolphe Niel , urgent reforms were made. Universal conscription and a shorter period of service gave increased numbers of reservists, who would swell the army to a planned strength of 800,000 on mobilisation. Those who for any reason were not conscripted were to be enrolled in the Garde Mobile , a militia with a nominal strength of 400,000. However,

3784-508: The Rhine in Saarbrücken back across the river to Spicheren and Forbach. Marshal MacMahon, now closest to Wissembourg, spread his four divisions 20 miles (32 km) to react to any Prussian-Bavarian invasion. This organization was due to a lack of supplies, forcing each division to seek out food and forage from the countryside and from the representatives of the army supply arm that was supposed to furnish them with provisions. What made

3872-400: The aggressor in the conflict to bring the four southern German states to side with Prussia, hence giving Germans numerical superiority. He was convinced that France would not find any allies in her war against Germany for the simple reason that "France, the victor, would be a danger to everybody—Prussia to nobody," and he added, "That is our strong point." Many Germans also viewed the French as

3960-485: The armies of France would take up a defensive position that would protect against every possible attack point, but also left the armies unable to support each other. While the French army under General MacMahon engaged the German 3rd Army at the Battle of Wörth , the German 1st Army under Steinmetz finished their advance west from Saarbrücken. A patrol from the German 2nd Army under Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia spotted decoy fires nearby and Frossard's army farther off on

4048-434: The bay over the organ platform), counterbalanced by the ten in the choir. Both transepts have four bays. A central lantern tower, the focal point of the cathedral's interior, rises over the intersection. The ceiling over the choir and the nave (with the exception of the west end, near the organ) incorporates sexpartite vaulting , while the ceiling in the transepts incorporates quadripartite vaulting. Vertically, Laon Cathedral

4136-459: The bishop of Laon was a Pair de France , among the elite. The Diocese of Laon was evangelized at an uncertain date by St. Beatus ; the see was founded in 487 by St. Remy , who cut it off from the archbishopric of Reims and appointed his nephew St. Genebaldus as bishop. After an attempt made by the unexecuted Concordat of 11 June 1817 to re-establish the See of Laon, the bishop of Soissons

4224-478: The border at Wissembourg. Upon learning from captured Prussian soldiers and a local area police chief that the Prussian Crown Prince's Third Army was just 30 miles (48 km) north from Saarbrücken near the Rhine river town Wissembourg, General Le Bœuf and Napoleon III decided to retreat to defensive positions. General Frossard, without instructions, hastily withdrew his elements of the Army of

4312-415: The border, attacked in overwhelming but uncoordinated fashion by the German 3rd Army. During the day, elements of a Bavarian and two Prussian corps became engaged and were aided by Prussian artillery, which blasted holes in the city defenses. Douay held a very strong position initially, thanks to the accurate long-range rapid fire of the Chassepot rifles, but his force was too thinly stretched to hold it. Douay

4400-701: The choir. Finally, the south transept's facade was remodeled in the early fourteenth century, resulting in the current twin doors and tracery window. Laon lost its status as a bishopric during the French Revolution . Following the Concordat of 1802 , the building has functioned as a parish church under the Diocese of Soissons . The cathedral was modified extensively during the nineteenth century. The tower foundations were rebuilt with masonry to prevent them from collapsing. The flying buttresses attached to

4488-432: The church; an arched passageway sits over them; between this passageway and a second, higher one, two Gothic-arched lancet windows and the central rose window cut into the wall. The facade is topped by the uppermost portions of the twin towers and four smaller pinnacles. Of the seven planned towers , only five were completed to the height of the base of the spires . These include the square central crossing tower that forms

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4576-578: The comparatively long period of seven years. Some of them were veterans of previous French campaigns in the Crimean War , Algeria , the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Mexican campaign . However, following the " Seven Weeks War " between Prussia and Austria four years earlier, it had been calculated that, with commitments in Algeria and elsewhere, the French Army could field only 288,000 men to face

4664-401: The conclusion of defensive military alliances with these states. France had been strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states, which would have threatened French continental dominance. The only result of French policy was the consent of Prussia to nominal independence for Saxony, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden, and Hessia-Darmstadt; this was a small victory, and one without appeal to

4752-419: The defeats on the frontier. A retirement from Metz to link up with French forces at Châlons was ordered on 15 August and spotted by a Prussian cavalry patrol under Major Oskar von Blumenthal. Next day a grossly outnumbered Prussian force of 30,000 men of III Corps (of the 2nd Army) under General Constantin von Alvensleben , found the French Army near Vionville, east of Mars-la-Tour. Despite odds of four to one,

4840-450: The disaster at Wissembourg had become essential. General Le Bœuf, flushed with anger, was intent upon going on the offensive over the Saar and countering their loss. However, planning for the next encounter was more based upon the reality of unfolding events rather than emotion or pride, as Intendant General Wolff told him and his staff that supply beyond the Saar would be impossible. Therefore,

4928-480: The dominant European land power. Bismarck maintained great authority in international affairs for two decades, developing a reputation for Realpolitik that raised Germany's global stature and influence. In France, it brought a final end to imperial rule and began the first lasting republican government. Resentment over the French government's handling of the war and its aftermath triggered the Paris Commune ,

5016-529: The effect on French public opinion that Bismarck had intended. "This text produced the effect of a red flag on the Gallic bull", Bismarck later wrote. Gramont, the French foreign minister, declared that he felt "he had just received a slap". The leader of the monarchists in Parliament, Adolphe Thiers , spoke for moderation, arguing that France had won the diplomatic battle and there was no reason for war, but he

5104-533: The field armies. However, there was no previously arranged plan of campaign in place. The only campaign plan prepared between 1866 and 1870 was a defensive one. The German army comprised that of the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia , and the South German states drawn in under the secret clause of the preliminary peace of Nikolsburg, 26 July 1866, and formalised in the Treaty of Prague , 23 August 1866. Recruitment and organisation of

5192-465: The heights. The Battle of Wörth began when the two armies clashed again on 6 August near Wörth in the town of Frœschwiller , about 10 miles (16 km) from Wissembourg . The Crown Prince of Prussia's 3rd army had, on the quick reaction of his Chief of Staff General von Blumenthal, drawn reinforcements which brought its strength up to 140,000 troops. The French had been slowly reinforced and their force numbered only 35,000. Although badly outnumbered,

5280-596: The late 1150s, construction on the current cathedral had begun under Gautier de Mortagne; it was essentially completed by 1230. The present Laon Cathedral dates from the 12th and early 13th centuries, an early example of the Gothic style that originated in northern France. It was built half a century after the erection of the Basilica of Saint-Denis , which originated the Gothic style. Construction on Laon Cathedral began with

5368-565: The legend of Theophilus of Adana and the Biblical account of Saint Stephen . The rose window above the lancets is dedicated to Mary; it also contains twelve medallions depicting the twelve apostles and twenty-four medallions depicting the Four and Twenty Elders from the Book of Revelation . Departing from strictly religious themes, the rose window in the north transept contains personifications of

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5456-511: The long-term survival of the House of Bonaparte . A national plebiscite held on 8 May 1870, which returned results overwhelmingly in favor of the Emperor's domestic agenda, gave the impression that the regime was politically popular and in a position to confront Prussia. Within days of the plebiscite, France's pacifist Foreign Minister Napoléon, comte Daru , was replaced by Agenor, duc de Gramont ,

5544-457: The menace of the Bavarians is simply bluff" . Even though Ducrot shrugged off the possibility of an attack by the Germans, MacMahon tried to warn his other three division commanders, without success. The first action of the Franco-Prussian War took place on 4 August 1870. This battle saw the unsupported division of General Douay of I Corps, with some attached cavalry, which was posted to watch

5632-424: The nave and transepts were rebuilt to match those bracing the choir. An ornate but structurally artificial upper extension of the cathedral's front facade of unknown date was removed; it was replaced by a balustrade and the current Madonna and Child statue. Open doorways that historically had pierced the walls between the west entry portals were blocked in. Most notably, many of the medieval sculptural programs on

5720-406: The nave. Next, spurred by the donation of a local quarry in 1205, the original choir was dismantled and the current, larger choir was constructed by 1220. Soon after, the treasury and sacristy were built at the junctures of the choir and transepts, along with a large chapel extending from the southeastern end of the choir. Over the century, additional chapels were built off the aisles of the nave and

5808-634: The platform's east support. This project remains controversial, as the organ pipes currently block the lower western windows and half of the rose window. However, the older and much smaller stone organ platform still survives under the current timber construction. Although the cathedral suffered some damage during the French Revolution and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it escaped both World Wars unharmed. Contemporary with Noyon Cathedral and Notre-Dame de Paris , Laon Cathedral

5896-465: The sciences of the trivium ( grammar , dialectic , and rhetoric ) and the quadrivium ( arithmetic , geometry , music , and astronomy ). Ancient Diocese of Laon The diocese of Laon in the present-day département of Aisne , was a Catholic diocese for around 1300 years, up to the French Revolution . Its seat was in Laon, France , with Laon Cathedral . From early in the 13th century,

5984-492: The south transept features a massive arched tracery window, which replaced the original rose in the early fourteenth century. The facades of both transepts incorporate twin entry doors; the south doors open next to the cathedral's adjoining cloister and chapter house, while the north doors open near the old episcopal palace. The massive west facade of the cathedral, at the nave end, is notable for its dynamic use of spatial projections. Three deeply recessed portals provide entry into

6072-667: The southeast in addition to the forces to the north and northeast. Moltke had indeed massed three armies in the area—the Prussian First Army with 50,000 men, commanded by General Karl von Steinmetz opposite Saarlouis , the Prussian Second Army with 134,000 men commanded by Prince Friedrich Karl opposite the line Forbach - Spicheren , and the Prussian Third Army with 120,000 men commanded by Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm , poised to cross

6160-473: The thirteenth century, with some nineteenth-century augmentations. Among the surviving medieval windows are the three lancet windows at the east end of the church, overlooking the choir. The right window depicts scenes from the life of Mary and from Jesus' childhood. The central window continues the Jesus narrative, from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem to his ascension . The left windows depicts scenes from

6248-400: The time he realized what kind of a force he was opposing, it was too late. Seriously flawed communications between Frossard and those in reserve under Bazaine slowed down so much that by the time the reserves received orders to move out to Spicheren, German soldiers from the 1st and 2nd armies had charged up the heights. Because the reserves had not arrived, Frossard erroneously believed that he

6336-405: The tour, the church was reconstructed and consecrated on August 20, 1114, under Barthélemy de Jur . However, as the population of Laon grew, it soon became clear that a larger cathedral was necessary. Laon's economy was booming, and Anselm of Laon 's school of theology and exegesis was becoming one of the most acclaimed in Europe. Additionally, Laon's communal charter was reestablished in 1130. By

6424-413: The towers of Laon circa 1230; in his eyes, the towers at Laon perfectly utilized the geometry and "true measure" ideally expressed in Gothic architecture. The two western towers contain life-size stone statues of sixteen oxen in their upper arcades, seemingly commemorating the bullocks who hauled equipment and materials during the cathedral's construction. The cathedral's stained glass dates mostly from

6512-443: The town of Wissembourg finally surrendered to the Germans. The French troops who did not surrender retreated westward, leaving behind 1,000 dead and wounded and another 1,000 prisoners and all of their remaining ammunition. The final attack by the Prussian troops also cost c.  1,000 casualties. The German cavalry then failed to pursue the French and lost touch with them. The attackers had an initial superiority of numbers,

6600-425: The traditional destabilizer of Europe, and sought to weaken France to prevent further breaches of the peace. The immediate cause of the war was the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen to the throne of Spain. France feared an encirclement resulting from an alliance between Prussia and Spain. The Hohenzollern prince's candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, but Otto von Bismarck goaded

6688-446: The various armies were almost identical, and based on the concept of conscripting annual classes of men who then served in the regular regiments for a fixed term before being moved to the reserves. This process gave a theoretical peace time strength of 382,000 and a wartime strength of about 1,189,000. German tactics emphasised encirclement battles like Cannae and using artillery offensively whenever possible. Rather than advancing in

6776-575: The war virtually without allies. The calculation was for a victorious offensive, which, as the French Foreign Minister Gramont stated, was "the only way for France to lure the wary Austrians, Italians and Danes into the French alliance". The involvement of Russia on the side of France was not considered by her at all, since Russia made the lifting of restrictions on its naval construction on the Black Sea imposed on Russia by

6864-484: The war. In the final days of the war, with German victory all but assured, the German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I and Chancellor Bismarck. With the notable exceptions of Austria and German Switzerland , the vast majority of German-speakers were united under a nation-state for the first time. Following an armistice with France, the Treaty of Frankfurt

6952-401: The western facade were heavily altered. By this time, fissures had appeared in the upper walls at the west end of the nave. To help counteract this problem, a low arch was constructed, crossing to nave near the entry portals. In 1899, timber flooring was installed between the towers in the west end of the nave to accommodate the installation of the current organ . The low structural arch became

7040-434: Was authorized by Pope Leo XII (13 June 1828) to join the title of Laon to that of his own see. Pope Leo XIII (11 June 1901) further authorized it to use the title of St-Quentin , which was formerly the residence of the bishop of Noyon . Louis Séguier , nominated by Henry IV of France , Bishop of Laon in 1598, refused the nomination to make room for his young nephew Peter de Bérulle , afterwards cardinal and founder of

7128-410: Was drowned out by cries that he was a traitor and a Prussian. Napoleon's new prime minister, Emile Ollivier , declared that France had done all that it could humanly and honorably do to prevent the war, and that he accepted the responsibility "with a light heart". A crowd of 15,000–20,000 people, carrying flags and patriotic banners, marched through the streets of Paris, demanding war. French mobilization

7216-516: Was in grave danger of being outflanked, as German soldiers under General von Glume were spotted in Forbach. Instead of continuing to defend the heights, by the close of battle after dusk he retreated to the south. The German casualties were relatively high due to the advance and the effectiveness of the Chassepot rifle. They were quite startled in the morning when they had found out that their efforts were not in vain—Frossard had abandoned his position on

7304-427: Was killed in the late morning when a caisson of the divisional mitrailleuse battery exploded near him; the encirclement of the town by the Prussians then threatened the French avenue of retreat. The fighting within the town had become extremely intense, becoming a door to door battle of survival. Despite an unceasing attack from Prussian infantry, the soldiers of the 2nd Division kept to their positions. The people of

7392-536: Was mobilized and deployed. Reconnaissance by Frossard's forces had identified only the Prussian 16th Infantry Division guarding the border town of Saarbrücken , right before the entire Army of the Rhine. Accordingly, on 31 July the Army marched forward toward the Saar River to seize Saarbrücken. General Frossard's II Corps and Marshal Bazaine's III Corps crossed the German border on 2 August, and began to force

7480-414: Was much shorter, and it terminated in a more conventional apse and ambulatory . Although the original choir encoded the stylistic template for the rest of the building, it was demolished and replaced in the early thirteenth century. The longer, current choir was more proportionally appropriate for the cathedral. Each end of the church culminates in a rose window , except for the southern transept. Instead,

7568-444: Was ordered early on 15 July. Upon receiving news of the French mobilization, the North German Confederation mobilized on the night of 15–16 July, while Bavaria and Baden did likewise on 16 July and Württemberg on 17 July. On 19 July 1870, the French sent a declaration of war to the Prussian government. The southern German states immediately sided with Prussia. Napoleonic France had no documented alliance with other powers and entered

7656-439: Was pressured by a bellicose press and public opinion and thus sought war in response to France's diplomatic failures to obtain any territorial gains following the Austro-Prussian War . Napoleon III believed he would win a conflict with Prussia. Many in his court, such as Empress Eugénie , also wanted a victorious war to resolve growing domestic political problems, restore France as the undisputed leading power in Europe, and ensure

7744-489: Was signed on 10 May 1871, giving Germany billions of francs in war indemnity , as well as most of Alsace and parts of Lorraine , which became the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine ( Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen ). The war had a lasting impact on Europe. By hastening German unification , the war significantly altered the balance of power on the continent, with the new German state supplanting France as

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