The Treaty of Versailles of 1871 ended the Franco-Prussian War and was signed by Adolphe Thiers, of the French Third Republic, and Otto von Bismarck, of the German Empire on February 26, 1871. This was a preliminary treaty used to solidify the initial armistice of January 27, 1871 between the two states. It was later ratified by the Treaty of Frankfurt on May 10 of the same year. The 1871 Treaty of Versailles made the decline of France obvious to the rest of the continent, and at the same time demonstrated the strength of a unified German empire.