In a story set during this conflict, the impending arrival of soldiers causes a teacher to write a patriotic phrase on the blackboard while giving the title “Last Lesson.” Six stories about this conflict make up the collection Evenings at Médan. During this conflict, two men are killed by firing squad for not revealing the password they used to get to their fishing spot. In another story, (*) a church bell is rung everyday until this conflict ends by a woman who killed an officer with a dessert knife. The story “Two Friends” is set during this conflict, as is a story in which travel companions pressure the prostitute Elisabeth into sleeping with an officer in order to get passage to Le Havre. For 10 points, name this 19th Century war which is the setting of “Mademoiselle Fifi” and “Ball of Fat” by Guy de Maupassant. ■END■
ANSWER: Franco-Prussian War [or Franco-German War; or War of 1870] (“The Last Lesson” is by Alphonse Daudet.)
<MH, European Literature>
= Average correct buzz position