A. J. P. Taylor — British Historian born on March 25, 1906, died on September 07, 1990

Alan John Percivale "A. J. P." Taylor FBA was an English historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his television lectures. His combination of academic rigour and popular appeal led the historian Richard Overy to describe him as "the Macaulay of our age"... (wikipedia)

In my opinion, most of the great men of the past were only there for the beer - the wealth, prestige and grandeur that went with the power.
The great armies, accumulated to provide security and preserve the peace, carried the nations to war by their own weight.
Like most of those who study history, he (Napoleon III) learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.
No matter what political reasons are given for war, the underlying reason is always economic.
Nothing is inevitable until it happens.