 Napoleon III and France in the summer of 1870, however, made a serious mistake when France declared war on Prussia.This allowed Bismarck and Prussia to present the war to the world as defensive, although Prussia and Bismarck had aggressive plans, and they soon became known in relation to the annexation of the French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.In his memoirs, written long after the war, Bismarck wrote, "I always considered that a war with France would naturally follow a war against Austria...