In response, Neuville aimed at depicting episodes of the Franco-Prussian War in his works, and began by representing the "Bivouac before Le Bourget" (1872). His fame spread rapidly and was increased by "The Last Cartridges" (1873), memorializing an episode involving the Blue Division of the French marines, in which it is easy to discern the vast difference between the conventional treatment of military subjects, as practised by Horace Vernet, and that of a man who had lived the life that he painted.