Did you know that the first Kaiser of a united Germany was crowned in the Hall of Mirrors at the famous French landmark, the Palace of Versailles? How did this happen? The answer is the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. As one of the few major post-Napoleonic wars of the 19th century, the Franco Prussian war was unique in how it affected the future of Europe. This conflict is usually forgotten in the shadows of World War 1 and the American Civil War, but it played a major role in creating the pressures that eventually led to World War 1.