Why France Kept Using Cavalry Charges at Sedan in 1870

Описание: This historical documentary explains why French commanders relied on outdated doctrine during the Battle of Sedan on September 1, 1870 and how institutional thinking helped turn discipline into catastrophe.

In the Franco Prussian War, France entered the campaign with confidence built on decades of tradition including dense infantry formations and cavalry charges. But by 1870, rifled firearms, modern artillery, rail mobilization, and telegraph coordinated command had changed warfare. Prussia’s general staff system under Helmuth von Moltke applied firepower and encirclement with mechanical precision, while French leadership struggled with delayed intelligence, rigid manuals, and a culture that treated doctrine as identity.

Sedan became the moment when obedience to tradition collided with industrial warfare. Repeated mounted assaults against entrenched positions produced predictable losses, and the defeat ended with mass surrender and the collapse of France’s campaign.

If you watch history for the hidden mechanisms behind major events the incentives belief systems and institutional pressure that make alternatives unthinkable this story shows how a military tradition can fail not from lack of courage but from perfect conformity.

Franco Prussian War documentary. Battle of Sedan 1870. French cavalry charges. Military doctrine and institutional failure.