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These cold and tired soldiers are wearing the uniforms of French troops in the Franco-Prussian war, which had occurred a few years before this painting was made. Showing a winter campaign, it may represent the Battle of Le Mans where the French were defeated in January 1871. The artist was born in Sedan, France, where one of the definitive battles of the war was fought. The French defeat at Sedan decided the war in favor of Prussia and its allies. That defeat seems to resonate in this painting.