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>Germany attacked France in July 1870

It was France that declared war on Germany.

If we have to be pedantic, France declared war over Prussia. Germany did not exists at the time.

And because Prussia mobilized much more effectively, it attacked France first.

You are being nitpicky about the names while missing the substance. The first battle was the French capture of Saarbrucken. So no, Prussia did not "attacked first".

I am sorry you feel I am being nitpicky.

You are right that behind words like "attack" or "Germany" they are complex human interactions that are hard to understand in retrospect, but I fell obligated to push that discussion a little further: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ems_Dispatch

Have a good day.

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