In 1870, Paris, the illustrious heart of Western art, literature, and culture, was reduced to rubble. It was a disaster brought on by France’s ruler, Napoleon III, who started a losing war with Prussia in a vain attempt to improve his country’s standing as a major European power. Sadly, for the fortunes of peaceable Parisian life, he underestimated the Prussian army. The French implored England to come to its aid. The English refused. At the Battle of Sedan, France was crushed. The capital was surrounded and cut off.