WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Alsace-Lorraine, German Elsass-Lothringen, area comprising the present French départements of Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin, and Moselle. Alsace-Lorraine was the name given to the 5, 067 square miles (13, 123 square km) of territory that was ceded by France to Germany in 1871 after the Franco-German War.

Detailed explanation-2: -In the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, the victorious powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, and other allied states) imposed punitive territorial, military, and economic provisions on defeated Germany. In the west, Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Franco-Prussian War, which started in July 1870, saw France defeated in May 1871 by the Kingdom of Prussia and other German states. The end of the war led to the unification of Germany. Otto von Bismarck annexed Alsace and northern Lorraine to the new German Empire in 1871.

Detailed explanation-4: -Alsace-Lorraine is an area along the border between France and Germany. It is not just a term for the two provinces Alsace and Lorraine taken together; it refers specifically to the parts of them that were amalgamated under German rule 1871-1918. France calls it Alsace-Moselle.

Detailed explanation-5: -Alsace is a region in north-eastern France that borders Switzerland and Germany. In fact, it is so close to Germany that you can travel by tram from the regional capital Strasbourg, to Kehl, the nearest German city, in just 15 minutes. Although Alsace is part of France, its borders have not always been clear.