Army of the Vosges

The Army of the Vosges was a volunteer force in the Franco-Prussian War, led by Giuseppe Garibaldi.

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.

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.

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Wikipedia