Army of the Vosges The Army of the Vosges was a volunteer force in the Franco - Prussian War , led by Giuseppe Garibaldi . Background . Garibaldi had led volunteer forces with great success during the unification of Italy , and had also fought in South America . He had a worldwide reputation as a liberal revolutionary . Most Italians including Garibaldi had supported Prussia against France in this war . However , after Napoleon III was defeated and the French Third Republic was proclaimed , and Bismarck demanded the cession of Alsace , Italian opinion reversed completely . This was best exemplified by the reaction of Garibaldi , 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 . " " Subsequently , Garibaldi wrote a letter to the government of the new republic offering , “ what is left of me . ” The French were reluctant at first to accept his offer , “ but help from such a distinguished source could not be rejected . ” Garibaldi arrived in Marseilles on November 7 , 1870 , to a cool reception . The French commanders were unsure of the wisdom in bringing on Garibaldi , as well as harboring old feelings of distrust , as they had been enemies until a short time ago . Garibaldi was initially put in charge of a few hundred Italian volunteers , but after much arguing took command of 5 , 000 - 15 , 000 men . Organization . The Army of the Vosges was a part of the French Third Republic Army that was made up primarily of volunteers . The volunteers included men from Poland , Italy , Ireland , England , Spain and America . The Army also included Frenchmen who were loyal to their country , but uninterested in the constraints that joining the regular army would have brought about . These men were often members of a francs - tireur , guerrilla forces that fought outside the scope of the regular army . The Army was organized into four brigades , “ the first commanded by General Bossack , the second by Colonel Delpeck , … and the third by Menotti [ Garibaldi , Giuseppe ' s son ] . ” The fourth brigade was under the command of Ricciotti Garibaldi , another of Giuseppe ’ s sons . The chief of staff for the Army of the Vosges was General Bordone , the man largely responsible for Garibaldi going to France . Among other things , Bordone was in charge of procuring any supplies that the Army might need . Campaign . The campaign started out impressively enough . On November 14 , 1870 , a small force led by Ricciotti Garibaldi surprised a Prussian force of one thousand men at Châtillon and won the day . Giuseppe issued an order of the day detailing this victory . While this was great news to the army at large , it would prove to be a problem for Garibaldi ’ s men . With such an astonishing victory over a superior force , the army developed a false sense of security . For the rest of the Army of the Vosges , the campaign started a few days later in November 1870 . The city of Dijon was under siege by the Prussian army , so Garibaldi and his men set out for Dijon , intent on helping the citizens defend their city . A few miles from the city , the army received word that the city had surrendered . Upon hearing the news , the army headed back towards Autun . On the march back , Garibaldi began to consider returning to Dijon in an attempt to regain control from the Prussians . He felt that attacking at night would minimize the effect of the Prussians far larger numbers . As the army headed towards Dijon , they passed through Lantenay , where , standing atop a plateau , they spotted a contingent of the Prussian army headed their way from Dijon . Garibaldi and his officers decided that this was their chance to make an impact . They prepared the field of battle to their advantage and waited . Once the Prussians were within range , the army began to fire on the Prussians , who , caught by surprise , fought for a moment then retreated . Sensing victory , Garibaldi pursued the retreating army all the way back to Dijon . Arriving at Dijon with roughly 5 , 000 men Garibaldi attacked the Prussians that evening . Though his soldiers were passionate and aggressive , they were also raw recruits against an army larger and better trained . The assault went on into the night ; however , victory was not to be , and once again the Army of the Vosges retreated back to Autun . This time , the Prussians followed them . The Prussians arrived at Autun and laid siege to the city . Just as it appeared that all hope was lost , General Carl Wilhelm von Werder recalled his troops to Dijon . General von Werder had noticed a build up of French troops near Dijon and therefore wanted the army back to help defend the city . This was not to be however , as shortly after the arrival of the army to Dijon , in late December , von Werder ordered that the city be evacuated . With the Prussian army gone from Autun , the Army of the Vosges had precious time to recoup and recover . In addition to the rest , the time also gave the to Army time to plan . It was decided that the Army , along with other French forces , would return to Dijon , now unoccupied , and hold the city once more . Due to the winter weather , getting the Army to Dijon took some time . The battle for the Army of the Vosges resumed on January 21 , 1871 . The Prussians attacked Dijon from the West in great numbers ; however , the French had been preparing and the defenses of the city were well in place . The two armies went back and forth for three days , each time one army made headway , the opposing army would push back , gaining ground . On the fourth day , The Prussian army pulled back and the fighting ceased for a while . The fighting renewed the next day and continued sporadically until January 31 , 1871 . At this point , the Army of the Vosges was tired and had taken many casualties . Because of this , the Army of the Vosges pulled out of Dijon and retreated to Courcelles . The Prussians once again held Dijon , beginning the morning of February 1 , 1871 . Peace . " The French government surrendered Paris to the German army at the end of January , and brought the war to a close . " The Army disbanded and Giuseppe Garibaldi was elected to serve in the National Assembly of Dijon . Garibaldi wanted to attend and speak at the first meeting of the National Assembly ; however , he was shouted down and therefore resigned his seat and returned to Italy .