Ka cika wannan jumla: Napoleon III cikin hikima ya bar yaƙin ga janar-janar nasa na sana'a. Babban yakin farko na yakin, a ranar 4 ga Yuni, 1859,
aka yi a garin Magenta. Ya kasance mai tsawo da jini, kuma cibiyar Faransanci ta gaji kuma kusan ta rushe, amma a ƙarshe yaƙin ya ci nasara ta hanyar kai hari kan lokaci a kan Austrian flank da sojojin Janar MacMahon. Austrians sun kashe mutane dubu bakwai kuma an kama dubu biyar, yayin da sojojin Faransa suka kashe mutane dubu huɗu. An tuna da yaƙin ne saboda, jim kaɗan bayan an yi yaƙi, masu ilimin kimiyyar kishin ƙasa a Faransa sun ba da sunan yaƙin ga sabon abin da suka gano mai launin shuɗi mai launin shuɗi; launi da launi sun ɗauki sunan magenta.