 After the Capture of Rome by Victor Emmanuel in 1870, the French contingent of the former Papal Zouaves served the government of National Defence in France during the Franco-Prussian War.Renamed as the ' (Volunteers of the West) but retaining their grey and red Papal uniforms, the Zouaves fought the Prussians and their other German allies outside Orléans, with 15 killed or wounded between 11 and 12 October 1870, and also engaged the enemy at Patay.Numbering about 1,800 men, the experienced former Papal Zouaves fought with distinction at the Battle of Loigny where they lost 216 men while covering the retreat of other French units.