The end of the Franco Prussian War resulted in the defeat of <em>France and subsequent loss of its territories of Alsace and Lorraine to the Germans</em>. This ended the balance of power that had existed in Europe since the Congress of Vienna in 1915.
<em>France was determined to regain its lost territories</em>. This caused Germany to form alliances with the Austro Hungarian Empire and reinforce its military. This period was the prelude to the First World War in 1914.
