Armée de l'Est

The task of the army was intended to be the relief of the besieged fortress of Belfort and the interruption of the German supply lines.

The retreat to the south went chaotically and slowly, and the army was surrounded in the area of Pontarlier, close to the Swiss border.

Hans Herzog (1819–1894), Swiss general during the border occupation 1870–71, oversaw the internment of the defeated army.

And there was theoretically a motive for such an attack: Prussia had waived its rights to Neuenburg in the Neuenburgerhandel in 1856/57 after mediation by the European powers.

In addition to military, government and relief agencies, the civilian population also contributed substantially to the aid and housing of the soldiers.