Divyanshu67/squad_v2 huggingface dataset:
United_States_Army

The army has relied heavily on tents to provide the various facilities needed while on deployment. The most common tent uses for the military are as temporary barracks (sleeping quarters), DFAC buildings (dining facilities), forward operating bases (FOBs), after action review (AAR), tactical operations center (TOC), morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) facilities, and security checkpoints. Furthermore, most of these tents are set up and operated through the support of Natick Soldier Systems Center.

Question: What does the army use for facilities while they are deployed?
Answer: tents

Question: What are the barracks used for?
Answer: sleeping quarters

Question: Where are the dining facilities called?
Answer: DFAC buildings

Question: What does FOB stand for?
Answer: forward operating bases

Question: What is the abbreviation for a tactical operations center?
Answer: TOC

Question: What does the Coast Guard use for facilities while they are deployed?

Question: What are DFAC ships used for?

Question: What does FAB stand for?

Question: Where are horses stabled?

Question: Who dismantles tents?
United_States_Army

The American Civil War was the costliest war for the U.S. in terms of casualties. After most slave states, located in the southern U.S., formed the Confederate States, C.S. troops led by former U.S. Army officers, mobilized a very large fraction of Southern white manpower. Forces of the United States (the "Union" or "the North") formed the Union Army consisting of a small body of regular army units and a large body of volunteer units raised from every state, north and south, except South Carolina.[citation needed]

Question: Which war had the most U.S. casualties associated with it?
Answer: The American Civil War

Question: What were the U.S. forces referred to as?
Answer: the "Union" or "the North"

Question: What state did not contribute any troops to the Union Army?
Answer: South Carolina

Question: Which war had the least U.S. casualties with it?

Question: What were the Southern forces referred to as?

Question: What state contributed the most troops to the Union Army?

Question: What was the least expensive war for the U.S.?
United_States_Army

Starting in 1910, the army began acquiring fixed-wing aircraft. In 1910, Mexico was having a civil war, peasant rebels fighting government soldiers. The army was deployed to American towns near the border to ensure safety to lives and property. In 1916, Pancho Villa, a major rebel leader, attacked Columbus, New Mexico, prompting a U.S. intervention in Mexico until 7 February 1917. They fought the rebels and the Mexican federal troops until 1918. The United States joined World War I in 1917 on the side of Britain, France, Russia, Italy and other allies. U.S. troops were sent to the Western Front and were involved in the last offensives that ended the war. With the armistice in November 1918, the army once again decreased its forces.

Question: In what year did the army start using fixed-wing aircraft?
Answer: 1910

Question: Who attacked New Mexico in 1916?
Answer: Pancho Villa

Question: What year did the U.S. join World War I?
Answer: 1917

Question: What date did the U.S. intervention in New Mexico end?
Answer: 7 February 1917

Question: What year did the army start the left-wing aircraft?

Question: Who surrendered New Mexico in 1916?

Question: What year did the Chinese join World War I?

Question: What date did the U.S. intervention in New York end?
United_States_Army

During the 1960s the Department of Defense continued to scrutinize the reserve forces and to question the number of divisions and brigades as well as the redundancy of maintaining two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. In 1967 Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided that 15 combat divisions in the Army National Guard were unnecessary and cut the number to 8 divisions (1 mechanized infantry, 2 armored, and 5 infantry), but increased the number of brigades from 7 to 18 (1 airborne, 1 armored, 2 mechanized infantry, and 14 infantry). The loss of the divisions did not set well with the states. Their objections included the inadequate maneuver element mix for those that remained and the end to the practice of rotating divisional commands among the states that supported them. Under the proposal, the remaining division commanders were to reside in the state of the division base. No reduction, however, in total Army National Guard strength was to take place, which convinced the governors to accept the plan. The states reorganized their forces accordingly between 1 December 1967 and 1 May 1968.

Question: Who was the Secretary of Defense in 1967?
Answer: Robert McNamara

Question: How many divisions did the Secretary of Defense cut the original 15 down to?
Answer: 8

Question: How many brigades did the Secretary of Defense increase the number to?
Answer: 18

Question: Who was the President of Defense in 1967?

Question: How many division did the Secretary of Defense cut the original 10 down to?

Question: How many brigades did the Secretary of Defense decrease the number to?

Question: What suggestions did the states have regarding increase of division?

Question: What year did the federal government reorganize their forces?
United_States_Army

On September 11, 2001, 53 Army civilians (47 employees and six contractors) and 22 soldiers were among the 125 victims killed in the Pentagon in a terrorist attack when American Airlines Flight 77 commandeered by five Al-Qaeda hijackers slammed into the western side of the building, as part of the September 11 attacks. Lieutenant General Timothy Maude was the highest-ranking military official killed at the Pentagon, and the most senior U.S. Army officer killed by foreign action since the death of Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner, Jr. on June 18, 1945, in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II.

Question: How many victims were killed in the attack on the Pentagon?
Answer: 125

Question: What aircraft was hijacked?
Answer: American Airlines Flight 77

Question: Did they crash into the eastern or wester part of the Pentagon.
Answer: west

Question: Who was the highest ranking official killed in the attack?
Answer: Lieutenant General Timothy Maude

Question: How many victims were killed in the attack of the White House?

Question: What aircraft was released by terrorists?

Question: Did the plane crash into the eastern or western part of the White HOuse?

Question: Who was the lowest ranking official killed in the attack?
United_States_Army

The army is also changing its base unit from divisions to brigades. Division lineage will be retained, but the divisional headquarters will be able to command any brigade, not just brigades that carry their divisional lineage. The central part of this plan is that each brigade will be modular, i.e., all brigades of the same type will be exactly the same, and thus any brigade can be commanded by any division. As specified before the 2013 end-strength re-definitions, the three major types of ground combat brigades are:

Question: What is the army replacing divisions with?
Answer: brigades

Question: How will the brigades be structured?
Answer: modular

Question: Who can command any brigade?
Answer: divisional headquarters

Question: What is the Coast Guard replacing divisions with?

Question: How will the brigades be deconstructed?

Question: Who can command any branch of the Army?

Question: What is being dismissed?
United_States_Army

The army employs various individual weapons to provide light firepower at short ranges. The most common weapons used by the army are the compact variant of the M16 rifle, the M4 carbine, as well as the 7.62×51mm variant of the FN SCAR for Army Rangers. The primary sidearm in the U.S. Army is the 9 mm M9 pistol; the M11 pistol is also used. Both handguns are to be replaced through the Modular Handgun System program. Soldiers are also equiped with various hand grenades, such as the M67 fragmentation grenade and M18 smoke grenade.

Question: What is the primary sidearm used by the U.S. Army?
Answer: 9 mm M9 pistol

Question: What type of frag grenade is used by the U.S. Army?
Answer: M67

Question: The M18 is a type of what kind of grenade?
Answer: smoke

Question: Through what system are handguns being replacedby the U.S. Army?
Answer: Modular Handgun System

Question: What is the primary sidearm used by the Coast Guard?

Question: What type of frag grenade is used by the Coast Guard?

Question: What type of grenade is the M17?

Question: What system is replacing hats in the U.S. Army?

Question: What are the most common weapons used by the Navy?
United_States_Army

The army's most common vehicle is the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), commonly called the Humvee, which is capable of serving as a cargo/troop carrier, weapons platform, and ambulance, among many other roles. While they operate a wide variety of combat support vehicles, one of the most common types centers on the family of HEMTT vehicles. The M1A2 Abrams is the army's main battle tank, while the M2A3 Bradley is the standard infantry fighting vehicle. Other vehicles include the Stryker, and the M113 armored personnel carrier, and multiple types of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.

Question: What does HMMWV stand for?
Answer: High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle

Question: What is the HMMWV also known as?
Answer: Humvee

Question: The M1A2 Abrams is an example of what?
Answer: battle tank

Question: What does MRAP stand for?
Answer: Mine Resistant Ambush Protected

Question: What does HMMWA stand for?

Question: What is the HMMWA also known as?

Question: What does MRAA stand for?

Question: What is the least common type of combat support vehicles?
Franco-Prussian_War

The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king, Wilhelm I, uniting Germany as a nation-state. The Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen).The German conquest of France and the unification of Germany upset the European balance of power, that had existed since the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and Otto von Bismarck maintained great authority in international affairs for two decades. French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, became factors in the causes of World War I.

Question: Under what Prussian king did the German empire unite as a nation-state?
Answer: Wilhelm I

Question: What was the date of the Treaty of Frankfurt?
Answer: 10 May 1871

Question: The Treaty of Frankfurt gave Germany which Imperial territory?
Answer: Alsace-Lorraine

Question: Following the unification of Germany, who maintained great authority in international affairs for two decades?
Answer: Otto von Bismarck

Question: Which specific fear was a factor in causing World War I?
Answer: another Franco-German war
Franco-Prussian_War

The Ems telegram had exactly 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 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 15–20,000 people, carrying flags and patriotic banners, marched through the streets of Paris, demanding war. On 19 July 1870 a declaration of war was sent to the Prussian government. The southern German states immediately sided with Prussia.

Question: What telegram had the intended effect on French public opinion?
Answer: Ems telegram

Question: Following the Ems telegram, what reaction did the French foreign minister report that he felt?
Answer: he felt "he had just received a slap"

Question: In Parliament, who was the leader of the monarchists?
Answer: Adolphe Thiers

Question: Which French prime minister believed he had done all that he could to prevent a war?
Answer: Emile Ollivier

Question: On which date did France issue a declaration of war to the Prussian government?
Answer: 19 July 1870
Franco-Prussian_War

The army was still equipped with the Dreyse needle gun of Battle of Königgrätz fame, which was by this time showing the age of its 25-year-old design. The rifle had 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 (3 kg) steel breech-loading cannons being issued to Prussian artillery batteries. Firing 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 faulty time fuses.

Question: In which battle did the Dreyse needle gun gain its fame?
Answer: Battle of Königgrätz

Question: At the start of the Franco-Prussian War, what was the age of the Dreyse gun's design?
Answer: 25-year-old design

Question: What was the Dreyse rifle's tactical range?
Answer: 600 m (2,000 ft)

Question: What was the name of the famous cannon issued to Prussian soldiers at the time?
Answer: Krupp

Question: What type of shell did the Krupp weapon fire?
Answer: a contact-detonated shell
Franco-Prussian_War

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 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 defenses of the town. Douay held a very strong position initially, thanks to the accurate long-range fire of the Chassepots but his force was too thinly stretched to hold it. Douay 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 threatened the French avenue of retreat.

Question: What was the date of the first action of the Franco-Prussian War?
Answer: 4 August 1870

Question: On that date, which elements were assisted by Prussian artillery forces?
Answer: Bavarian and two Prussian corps

Question: Who initially held a strong position during the battle at the border? 
Answer: General Douay of I Corps

Question: Douay's initial success was credited by what?
Answer: long-range fire of the Chassepots

Question: What threatened the French avenue of retreat?
Answer: the encirclement of the town by the Prussians
Franco-Prussian_War

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 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 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 the heights.

Question: What factor were the French unaware of at the start of the battle?
Answer: German numerical superiority

Question: Which French commander miscalculated the severity of the battle?
Answer: Frossard

Question: What was a key factor in Frossard's disasterous retreat to the south?
Answer: Seriously flawed communications

Question: What factor was credited to the large number of German casualties?
Answer: effectiveness of the chassepot rifle

Question: What outcome surprised the Germans the following day?
Answer: Frossard had abandoned his position
Franco-Prussian_War

The Battle of Gravelotte, or Gravelotte–St. Privat (18 August), was the largest battle during the Franco-Prussian War. It was fought about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Metz, where on the previous day, having intercepted the French army's retreat to the west at the Battle of Mars-La-Tour, the Prussians were now closing in to complete the destruction of the French forces. The combined German forces, under Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke, were the Prussian First and Second Armies of the North German Confederation numbering about 210 infantry battalions, 133 cavalry squadrons, and 732 heavy cannons totaling 188,332 officers and men. The French Army of the Rhine, commanded by Marshal François-Achille Bazaine, numbering about 183 infantry battalions, 104 cavalry squadrons, backed by 520 heavy cannons, totaling 112,800 officers and men, dug in along high ground with their southern left flank at the town of Rozerieulles, and their northern right flank at St. Privat.

Question: On which date was the Battle of Gravelotte?
Answer: 18 August

Question: Which battle was considered the biggest in the war?
Answer: The Battle of Gravelotte

Question: Where was the location of the Battle of Gravelotte? 
Answer: 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Metz

Question: Under which Field Marshall were the combined German forces commanded?
Answer: Count Helmuth von Moltke

Question: Who commanded the French Army of the Rhine?
Answer: Marshal François-Achille Bazaine
Franco-Prussian_War

With the defeat of Marshal Bazaine's Army of the Rhine at Gravelotte, the French were forced to retire to Metz, where they were besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second Armies. Napoleon III and MacMahon formed the new French Army of Châlons, to march on to Metz to rescue Bazaine. Napoleon III personally led the army with Marshal MacMahon in attendance. The Army of Châlons marched northeast towards the Belgian border to avoid the Prussians before striking south to link up with Bazaine. The Prussians, under the command of Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke, took advantage of this maneuver to catch the French in a pincer grip. He left the Prussian First and Second Armies besieging Metz, except three corps detached to form the Army of the Meuse under the Crown Prince of Saxony. With this army and the Prussian Third Army, Moltke marched northward and caught up with the French at Beaumont on 30 August. After a sharp fight in which they lost 5,000 men and 40 cannons, the French withdrew toward Sedan. Having reformed in the town, the Army of Châlons was immediately isolated by the converging Prussian armies. Napoleon III ordered the army to break out of the encirclement immediately. With MacMahon wounded on the previous day, General Auguste Ducrot took command of the French troops in the field.

Question: What factor forced the French to retreat to Metz?
Answer: the defeat of Marshal Bazaine's Army

Question: At Metz, what was the approximate number of Prussian troops?
Answer: over 150,000

Question: Who formed the new French Army of Chalons?
Answer: Napoleon III and MacMahon

Question: Along with the Army of the Meuse, what other army did Moltke march north with?
Answer: the Prussian Third Army

Question: How many casualties did Moltke suffer at Beaumont?
Answer: 5,000 men
Franco-Prussian_War

When the war had begun, European public opinion heavily favored the Germans; many Italians attempted to sign up as volunteers at the Prussian embassy in Florence and a Prussian diplomat visited Giuseppe Garibaldi in Caprera. Bismarck's demand for the return of Alsace caused a dramatic shift in that sentiment in Italy, which was best exemplified by the reaction of Garibaldi soon after the revolution in Paris, who told the Movimento of Genoa on 7 September 1870 that "Yesterday I said to you: war to the death to Bonaparte. Today I say to you: rescue the French Republic by every means." Garibaldi went to France and assumed command of the Army of the Vosges, with which he operated around Dijon till the end of the war.

Question: At the start of the war, which country did European public opinion champion?
Answer: the Germans

Question: In which city did many Italians attempt to proffer their services to the Prussian embassy?
Answer: Florence

Question: What caused a dramatic shift in Italian sentiment toward the war?
Answer: Bismarck's demand for the return of Alsace

Question: To whom is the quote, "Rescue the French Republic by every means" attributed?
Answer: Garibaldi

Question: What army did Garibaldi gain command of in France?
Answer: the Army of the Vosges
Franco-Prussian_War

On 10 October, hostilities began between German and French republican forces near Orléans. At first, the Germans were victorious but the French drew reinforcements and defeated the Germans at the Battle of Coulmiers on 9 November. After the surrender of Metz, more than 100,000 well-trained and experienced German troops joined the German 'Southern Army'. The French were forced to abandon Orléans on 4 December, and were finally defeated at the Battle of Le Mans (10–12 January). A second French army which operated north of Paris was turned back at the Battle of Amiens (27 November), the Battle of Bapaume (3 January 1871) and the Battle of St. Quentin (13 January).

Question: On which date did hostilities between the German and French troops begin near Orleans?
Answer: 10 October

Question: Which side was initially successful at the Battle of Coulmiers?
Answer: the Germans

Question: On which date did the French triump over the Germans at the Battle of Coulmiers?
Answer: 9 November

Question: On which date were the French forced to abandon Orleans?
Answer: 4 December

Question: Of the three battles that occured north of Paris, which was the first that forced the French army to retreat?
Answer: Battle of Amiens
Franco-Prussian_War

Although public opinion in Paris was strongly against any form of surrender or concession to the Prussians, the Government realised that it could not hold the city for much longer, and that Gambetta's provincial armies would probably never break through to relieve Paris. President Trochu resigned on 25 January and was replaced by Favre, who signed the surrender two days later at Versailles, with the armistice coming into effect at midnight. Several sources claim that in his carriage on the way back to Paris, Favre broke into tears, and collapsed into his daughter's arms as the guns around Paris fell silent at midnight. At Tours, Gambetta received word from Paris on 30 January that the Government had surrendered. Furious, he refused to surrender and launched an immediate attack on German forces at Orleans which, predictably, failed. A delegation of Parisian diplomats arrived in Tours by train on 5 February to negotiate with Gambetta, and the following day Gambetta stepped down and surrendered control of the provincial armies to the Government of National Defence, which promptly ordered a cease-fire across France.

Question: What was public opinion in Paris strongly opposed to?
Answer: any form of surrender

Question: On what date did president Trochu resign?
Answer: 25 January

Question: Who replaced President Trochu?
Answer: Favre

Question: In which French city was the surrender made official?
Answer: Versailles

Question: Who disregarded the surrender and launched a failed attack on the Germans?
Answer: Gambetta
Franco-Prussian_War

The quick German victory over the French stunned neutral observers, many of whom had expected a French victory and most of whom had expected a long war. The strategic advantages possessed by the Germans were not appreciated outside Germany until after hostilities had ceased. Other countries quickly discerned the advantages given to the Germans by their military system, and adopted many of their innovations, particularly the General Staff, universal conscription and highly detailed mobilization systems.

Question: What stunned neutral observers about the end of the war?
Answer: The quick German victory

Question: What outcome had most people expected from the war?
Answer: French victory

Question: Whose strategic advantages were not appreciated until after the war over?
Answer: the Germans

Question: What German advantages were discerned by other countries in the aftermath? 
Answer: their military system

Question: What is at least one German innovation that other countries would later adopt in other wars?
Answer: highly detailed mobilization systems
Franco-Prussian_War

The causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the unification of Germany. In the aftermath of the Austro–Prussian War of 1866, Prussia had annexed numerous territories and formed the North German Confederation. This new power destabilized the European balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon III, then the emperor of France, demanded compensations in Belgium and on the left bank of the Rhine to secure France's strategic position, which the Prussian chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, flatly refused. Prussia then turned its attention towards the south of Germany, where it sought to incorporate the southern German kingdoms, Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt, into a unified Prussia-dominated Germany. France was strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states, which would have significantly strengthened the Prussian military.

Question: What are the causes of the Franco-Prussian War deeply rooted in?
Answer: the unification of Germany

Question: In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian war, formed what group?
Answer: North German Confederation

Question: What was the effect of that new group on the European balance of power?
Answer: new power destabilized

Question: What established the European balance of power in 1815?
Answer: the Congress of Vienna

Question: As Prussia sought to incorporated several German kingdoms, what stance did France assume?
Answer: strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states
Franco-Prussian_War

The French Army consisted in peacetime of approximately 400,000 soldiers, some of them regulars, others conscripts who until 1869 served the comparatively long period of seven years with the colours. Some of them were veterans of previous French campaigns in the Crimean War, Algeria, the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Franco-Mexican War. However, following the "Seven Weeks War" between Prussia and Austria four years earlier, it had been calculated that the French Army could field only 288,000 men to face the Prussian Army when perhaps 1,000,000 would be required. Under Marshal Adolphe Niel, urgent reforms were made. Universal conscription (rather than by ballot, as previously) 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, 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.

Question: In peacetime, what the approximate number of French soldiers?
Answer: 400,000

Question: Veterans of the French Army had prviously fought in which war in Italy?
Answer: the Franco-Austrian War

Question: The "Seven Weeks War" was between which two countries?
Answer: Prussia and Austria

Question: Who reformed the low numbers of troops by implementing universal conscription?
Answer: Marshal Adolphe Niel

Question: If a citizen was for some reason not conscripted, in what militia were they were registered?
Answer: the Garde Mobile
Franco-Prussian_War

General Frossard's II Corps and Marshal Bazaine's III Corps crossed the German border on 2 August, and began to force 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 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 Le Bœuf and Napoleon III were receiving alarming reports from foreign news sources of Prussian and Bavarian armies massing to the southeast in addition to the forces to the north and northeast.

Question: On which date did Frossard's and Bazaines's troops cross the German border?
Answer: 2 August

Question: Which regiment did their respective corps force from the town of Saarbrucken?
Answer: the Prussian 40th Regiment of the 16th Infantry Division

Question: What proved its worth against the Dreyse rifle?
Answer: The Chassepot rifle

Question: How many casualties did the French suffer at Saarbrucken?
Answer: 86 casualties

Question: How many casualties did the Prussians suffer at Saarbrucken?
Answer: 83 casualties
Franco-Prussian_War

According to some historians, Bismarck adroitly created a diplomatic crisis over the succession to the Spanish throne, then edited a dispatch about a meeting between King William of Prussia and the French ambassador, to make it appear that the French had been insulted. The French press and parliament demanded a war, which the generals of Napoleon III assured him that France would win. Napoleon and his Prime Minister, Émile Ollivier, for their parts sought war to solve their problems with political disunity in France. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia and hostilities began three days later. The German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the French and rapidly invaded northeastern France. The German forces were superior in numbers, had better training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railroads and artillery.

Question: What diplomatic crisis was Bismarck credited with skillfully creating? 
Answer: succession to the Spanish throne

Question: A dispatch was edited about a meeting between the French ambassador and what Prussian king?
Answer: King William

Question: What was the purpose of editing the dispatch?
Answer: to make it appear that the French had been insulted

Question: On which date did the French parliament vote to declare war on Prussia?
Answer: 16 July 1870

Question: Where did the quickly mobilised troops first invade in France?
Answer: northeastern France
Franco-Prussian_War

The fighting within the town had become extremely intense, becoming a door to door battle of survival. Despite a never-ending attack of Prussian infantry, the soldiers of the 2nd Division kept to their positions. The people of 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, 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.

Question: Which town's people surrendered to the Germans?
Answer: Wissembourg

Question: In which direction did the French troops who did not surrender head?
Answer: westward

Question: How many dead troops leave behind?
Answer: 1,000 dead

Question: How many prisoners did the French leave behind?
Answer: 1,000 prisoners

Question: What weapon once again increased the effectiveness of the infantry attacks?
Answer: French Chassepot
Franco-Prussian_War

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War (German: Deutsch-Französischer Krieg, lit. German-French War, French: Guerre franco-allemande, lit. Franco-German War), often referred to in France as the War of 1870 (19 July 1870 – 10 May 1871), was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the German states of the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification. Some historians argue that the Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck planned to provoke a French attack in order to draw the southern German states—Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt—into an alliance with the North German Confederation dominated by Prussia, while others contend that Bismarck did not plan anything and merely exploited the circumstances as they unfolded.

Question: What is the Franco-Prussian War also known as?
Answer: Franco-German War

Question: What was the war often referred to in France as?
Answer: the War of 1870

Question: In the conflict, who lead the German states of the North German Confederation?
Answer: the Kingdom of Prussia

Question: Whose ambitions are credited with causing the conflict?
Answer: Prussian ambitions

Question: Which Prussian chancellor's motives in the conflict are still disputed?
Answer: Otto von Bismarck
Franco-Prussian_War

The immediate cause of the war resided in the candidacy of a Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a Prussian prince, to the throne of Spain. France feared encirclement by an alliance between Prussia and Spain. The Hohenzollern prince's candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, but Otto von Bismarck goaded the French into declaring war by altering a telegram sent by William I. Releasing the Ems Dispatch to the public, Bismarck made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a demeaning fashion, which inflamed public opinion in France.

Question: In whose cadidacy did the immediate cause of war reside?
Answer: Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

Question: What did France fear by an alliance between Prussia and Spain?
Answer: encirclement

Question: Who goaded the French into war by editing a telegram sent by William I?
Answer: Otto von Bismarck

Question: What was the name of the famous telelgram?
Answer: Ems Dispatch

Question: What was the reaction of the French people to the deceptively crafted offense in the Ems Dispatch?
Answer: inflamed public opinion
Franco-Prussian_War

The Battle of Wörth (also known as Fröschwiller or Reichshoffen) began when the two armies clashed again on 6 August near Wörth in the town of Fröschwiller, 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, the French defended their position just outside Fröschwiller. 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 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.

Question: What battle began when two armies collided in the town of Froschwiller?
Answer: The Battle of Wörth

Question: On what date did the Battle of Worth begin?
Answer: 6 August

Question: What was the estimated number of troops in Prussia's 3rd Army?
Answer: 140,000 troops

Question: What number of troops did France have to contend with?
Answer: 35,000

Question: Instead of pursuing the French as they retreated, the Germans decided to remain where?
Answer: Alsace
Franco-Prussian_War

In Prussia, some officials considered 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 the aggressor in the conflict to bring the southern German states to side with Prussia, hence giving Germans numerical superiority. Many Germans also viewed the French as the traditional destabilizer of Europe, and sought to weaken France to prevent further breaches of the peace.

Question: In which country was a war against France condsidered desirable?
Answer: Prussia

Question: What was the overarching Prussian motive in starting a war with France?
Answer: unification of a great German empire

Question: Who had no doubts that a Franco-German war was totally necessary?
Answer: Chancellor Otto von Bismarck

Question: Who did Bismarck feel needed to be viewed as the aggressor in the conflict?
Answer: France

Question: In bringing the southern German states to align with Prussia, what tactical outcome was achieved?
Answer: Germans numerical superiority
Franco-Prussian_War

On 18 August, the battle began when at 08:00 Moltke ordered the First and Second Armies to advance against the French positions. By 12:00, General Manstein opened up the battle before the village of Amanvillers with artillery from the 25th Infantry Division. But the French had spent the night and early morning digging trenches and rifle pits while placing their artillery and their mitrailleuses in concealed positions. Finally aware of the Prussian advance, the French opened up a massive return fire against the mass of advancing Germans. The battle at first appeared to favor the French with their superior Chassepot rifle. However, the Prussian artillery was superior with the all-steel Krupp breech-loading gun. By 14:30, General Steinmetz, the commander of the First Army, unilaterally launched his VIII Corps across the Mance Ravine in which the Prussian infantry were soon pinned down by murderous rifle and mitrailleuse fire from the French positions. At 15:00, the massed guns of the VII and VIII Corps opened fire to support the attack. But by 16:00, with the attack in danger of stalling, Steinmetz ordered the VII Corps forward, followed by the 1st Cavalry Division.

Question: On what date did the battle begin?
Answer: 18 August

Question: Who order the First and Second armies to advance against the French?
Answer: Moltke

Question: Which general opened the battle with artillery from the 25th Infantry Division?
Answer: General Manstein

Question: Who did the battle first appear to favor?
Answer: the French

Question: Who was the commander of the First Army?
Answer: General Steinmetz
Franco-Prussian_War

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 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: 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.

Question: What modern, mass-produced weapon were the French infantry provided?
Answer: Chassepot rifle

Question: What was the maximum effective range of the Chassepot rifle?
Answer: 1,500 metres (4,900 ft)

Question: In which type of warfare did the French best utilize the Chassepot?
Answer: trench-warfare

Question: What precedent of the machine gun did the French troops also possess?
Answer: the mitrailleuse

Question: On what was the mitrailleuse mounted?
Answer: on an artillery gun carriage
Franco-Prussian_War

On 1 September 1870, the battle opened with the Army of Châlons, with 202 infantry battalions, 80 cavalry squadrons and 564 guns, attacking the surrounding Prussian Third and Meuse Armies totaling 222 infantry battalions, 186 cavalry squadrons and 774 guns. General De Wimpffen, the commander of the French V Corps in reserve, hoped to launch a combined infantry and cavalry attack against the Prussian XI Corps. But by 11:00, Prussian artillery took a toll on the French while more Prussian troops arrived on the battlefield. The French cavalry, commanded by General Marguerite, launched three desperate attacks on the nearby village of Floing where the Prussian XI Corps was concentrated. Marguerite was killed leading the very first charge and the two additional charges led to nothing but heavy losses. By the end of the day, with no hope of breaking out, Napoleon III called off the attacks. The French lost over 17,000 men, killed or wounded, with 21,000 captured. The Prussians reported their losses at 2,320 killed, 5,980 wounded and 700 captured or missing. By the next day, on 2 September, Napoleon III surrendered and was taken prisoner with 104,000 of his soldiers. It was an overwhelming victory for the Prussians, for they not only captured an entire French army, but the leader of France as well. The defeat of the French at Sedan had decided the war in Prussia's favour. One French army was now immobilised and besieged in the city of Metz, and no other forces stood on French ground to prevent a German invasion. Nevertheless, the war would continue.

Question: On which date did the battle begin with the Army of Chalons attacking various Prussian divisions?
Answer: 1 September 1870

Question: Who commanded the French V Corps in reserve?
Answer: General De Wimpffen

Question: As the French were hard-hit by the Prussian artillery, what continued to show up to the battlefield?
Answer: more Prussian troops

Question: Which commander of the French calvary led three desperate attacks on Floing?
Answer: General Marguerite

Question: How many casualties did the French suffer?
Answer: over 17,000 men
Franco-Prussian_War

A pre-war plan laid out 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 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 South German states in concert with Austro-Hungarian forces. VI Corps would reinforce either army as needed.

Question: Pre-war, who planned for a strong French offensive?
Answer: Marshal Niel

Question: From Thionville towards Trier, what was the final destination of the offensive?
Answer: the Prussian Rhineland

Question: Niel's plan was cast aside in favour of a plan by General Frossard and what other general??
Answer: Bartélemy Lebrun

Question: The new plan called for which army to remain in a defensive grouping at the German border?
Answer: Army of the Rhine
Franco-Prussian_War

On the French side, planning after 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, 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.

Question: Which disaster made French planning supremely essential?
Answer: the disaster at Wissembourg

Question: Which general was determined to go on the attack over Saar?
Answer: General Le Bœuf

Question: Planning for the next battle was less based on emotion and more focused on what?
Answer: the reality of unfolding events

Question: Who told LeBoeuf that supply beyond the Saar would be impossible?
Answer: General Wolff

Question: What did the French armies decide on to protect against every possible attack point?
Answer: a defensive position
Franco-Prussian_War

Following the Army of the Loire's defeats, Gambetta turned to General Faidherbe's Army of the North. The army had achieved several small victories at towns such as Ham, La Hallue, and Amiens and was protected by the belt of fortresses in northern France, allowing Faidherbe's men to launch quick attacks against isolated Prussian units, then retreat behind the fortresses. Despite access to the armaments factories of Lille, the Army of the North suffered from severe supply difficulties, which depressed morale. In January 1871, Gambetta forced Faidherbe to march his army beyond the fortresses and engage the Prussians in open battle. The army was severely weakened by low morale, supply problems, the terrible winter weather and low troop quality, whilst general Faidherbe was unable to command due to his poor health, the result of decades of campaigning in West Africa. At the Battle of St. Quentin, the Army of the North suffered a crushing defeat and was scattered, releasing thousands of Prussian soldiers to be relocated to the East.

Question: What army's defeats turned Gambetta to the Army of the North?
Answer: Army of the Loire's

Question: Who led the Army of the North?
Answer: General Faidherbe

Question: Several smaller victories were acheived by the protection of what?
Answer: belt of fortresses

Question: The belt of fortresses were in what area of France?
Answer: northern France

Question: This position in the north allowed whose men to launch fast attacks against Prussian units?
Answer: Faidherbe's
Franco-Prussian_War

Despite odds of four to one, 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.

Question: What odds were at stake for the attack launched by the III Corps?
Answer: four to one

Question: What town were the III Corps able to capture?
Answer: Vionville

Question: In capturing Vionville, what was further blocked in the west?
Answer: escape attempts

Question: With battle at Metz, what factor shattered the efforts of III Corps?
Answer: incessant cavalry charges

Question: The Germans recorded how many causualties in the battle?
Answer: 15,780