The British military historian, professor of the Oxford university, devoted the labour to the military conflict between the empire of Napoleon III and German states at the head with Prussia. The war provoked by the Prussian chancellor О. by Bismarck and formally begun by Napoleon III made off a defeat and crash of France, as a result Prussia managed to transform the NorthGerman union in the single German empire. Working on a book, an author investigated and attracted the huge volume of scientific and documentary material and offered the look to reasons and consequences of this war. Ховард analysed the state of troops of opponents, including a structure, armament and technique, gave vivid description of battles and presented the gallery of portraits of key figures of events, among them William I, Bismarck, Leopold Гогенцоллерн, Бенедетти et al. A scientist marks in conclusion, that great victory of Germany afterwards turned around a calamity, both for her and for other world.