Reality was harsh. Whether the French were willing to accept it or not, what was bound to happen had happened. Now that the war had begun, it was no longer something the French Government could control.
In this world where the weak were meat for the strong, nations speaking with their fists was far more reliable than any grand principle.
If they could defeat the Russians on the battlefield, there would still be room for negotiation; but if they were defeated again, then from now on, France should settle down and be a third-rate small country with no military strength!
For the future of their country and nation, the French now had no choice but to fight to the death. If they wanted to win back everyone's respect, they could only take it back from the battlefield with blades and guns.
The French Government had no way out—but was the Tsarist Government any different?
The Russian Empire's formidable reputation, which shook the world, rested on nothing more than sheer hardheadedness. If they shrank back at the first sign of difficulty, what right did they have to make the nations of Europe fear them?
This Franco-Russian War had been stirred up by the Russians themselves. If they could not even handle a defeated and declining France, the Tsarist Government's face would be swept clean off the ground.
Losing face was one thing, but their power to deter others absolutely could not be weakened. Open any history book of the Russian Empire, and it was nothing but a history of wartime expansion.
Throughout that unceasing expansion, the Russians had offended every neighbor around them. No one dared provoke a powerful Russian Empire, but once it fell into decline, things would be very different.
The First Prusso-Russian War was the best example. The