The Second French Empire! A revival of what was once the most powerful state in Europe! None could stand against it! Its Emperor ruled over a massive state with a powerful army. In early 1870, you could have been forgiven for believing that the Second French Empire would never fall. True, the Prussians had united the North of Germany- but the Catholic south still fiercely resisted, and without them, Prussia could not touch the French. But what if Napoleon had listened to saner heads? What if he realized that a single telegram was not worth hundreds of thousands dead?