Revolution and Reaction - A (very) French Victoria II Interactive AAR

[m.equitum]

 

[Rolman99]

((@ThaHoward, @Luftwafer, @Korona, @baboushreturns, @oxfordroyale and other former Grande Armée public figures, assume that you are invited to deliver speeches if you wish. Keep it tame.))

The following pamphlet is distributed throughout France and in particular the South of the country.

A RALLY.
VETERANS OF THE GRANDE ARMÉE URGED TO ATTEND.
TO BE HELD IN THE SQUARE BOULINGRIN IN TOULOUSE BY THE LEAGUE OF VETERANS OF THE GRANDE ARMÉE.

Show to all France that we are good men and are fearless of the Verdet mob. Throw our support behind fearless Capitaine Lothaire Lécuyer.

To be held on August 21. Speeches by esteemed veterans every half hour from eight o'clock in the morning til eight o'clock in the night.

A GUIDE FOR THOSE IN ATTENDENCE.

I. Wear your uniform in all pieces barring the cartridge pouch. Officers may bring their sabres and soldiers may bring a visibly unloaded musket and a bayonet. Never unsheathe your saber or affix your bayonet, never point your musket at any man, nor brandish your blades. We are peaceful, show the world that that is so.

II. Quarrel not with the Verdets or the general populace, but when confronted hold fast and retreat never. Behave well, we are guests in Toulouse. Do not become drunk, steal or swear. Fighting may only be tolerated to save yourself and when no law enforcement is there to help.

III. Carry not the old Imperial Flag, the Republican tricolor, l'aigle, or past regimental colors. Do carry the flag of His Most Christian Majesty. Army musicians may perform as they please, but avoid blatantly Imperial pieces.

IV. Cooperate with the soldiers of the Kingdom and local constables alike in all matters.

RESIST THE RABBLE AND SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR THE KING, THE VETERANS OF THE GRANDE ARMÉE MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTEN OR HUMILIATED.

GOD SAVE THE KING.​

 

[Davout]

((Private - to @ThaHoward ))

Dear Capitaine Lecuyer,

I trust that my letter meets you in good health.

I wish to express my admiration for your efforts in providing care and solace to the returned veterans of our armies. I appreciate that this is not a popular move in the current political environment so that your willingness to step forward is all the more admirable.

It is my belief that, the time of war being behind us, the most pressing issue is to find opportunities for men to make their way in their future civilian life, which is so different from the rough and ready life of the soldiers' camp. Their rehabilitation is to be of the soul but also of the more physical needs of earning their keep, both for themselves and their families. I understand that you are to be a father soon, so that you will appreciate the need to ensure a steady job to provide the satisfaction of labour and to pay for your family's needs.

To this end, I am seeking to establish new manufactories in the Loire and Picardy once the present unrest settles. I will have need of strong men, willing to work hard to build new industries from the ground up and stand in the serried ranks of the factory floor. I can offer foreman positions to sergeants and manager positions to officers on salaries commensurate with their responsibilities. There will be work and wages for all who want them.

However, such industry can only exist in a stable and peaceful France. We cannot work with one hand on a musket for fear of mob violence.

It is therefore with some concern that I perceive a revolutionary tinge to your League. I may be wrong, but I certainly have no desire to hire men who are still fighting yesterday's battles. A more moderate and conciliatory tone is what France needs, to still the trouble mood of the public, not retaliate to the provocations of the vindictive and mean spirited.

Upon demonstration of such moderation, I would be more than happy to give preference to veterans in hiring of workers.

And for those unfortunate, brave men who are invalided, I have enclosed a donation for the League to distribute to their care. I would be willing to make further philanthropic gestures upon the reassurance of the League's desire to use its resources for conciliation rather than confrontation.

May God keep you safe from the present troubles.

Your servant,

Jacques de Rothschild

***********************************************************************************************************************

((Private - to @CloudStrife ))

Dear Marechal Gouvion-Saint-Cyr

I have read with interest a proposal which you recently prepared for the extension of canal works in the Loire.

My family is currently considering establishing a Winery in the Loire region which would greatly benefit from such canal works. We are waiting for peace to truly come to France, an exercise which you are currently assisting in. However, we anticipate a significant operation in the region when the elections are finalized, with a large volume of produce following the amalgamation of the current landholdings.

I would appreciate a moment of your time, after the present public troubles have passed, so that we might discuss your involvement in my family's plans. We would appreciate both your foresight in planning such large operations, and the good grace of your name, as a fellow director of our consortium, in return for a suitable retainer for your services.

Your servant,

Jacques de Rothschild

 

[ManuelD'Garkia]

- Another bad midnight, another walk trough the streets of Paris. Alexandre walked slowly through dark alleys and empty streets, smoking cigarettes and drinking wine from one of the two flasks he tooked that night.

He was thinking to much, he had too many concerns, about the future of France, about his future, he wanted to make a change, but three nearly three dozens of men armed with flintlock pistols and short swords were not going to be enough for anything.

With two nights in a row with no incidents, Alexandre didn't expected any trouble, even more as he was walking in a zone that within the Revolutionary circles it was well known to have a great quantity of Republicans and Revolutionaries, but what he didn't expected was two see two men, one in the bottom and the other one in the roof of a building, trying to get up the roof what seemed like a flag pole with a flag hanging on it.

He started to get near, getting his gun out in case there could be problems. As he got closer, he could see the color red on the flag, and that was all that he needed. He crossed the street, having the two men at his left and entered in an alley that was near enough so they could hear him and he said as quietly as possible "VRVR". The answer took a few seconds, but when a man answered "LEF" he walked out still gun in hand.

Alexandre approached the man that was on the ground and when he saw that the guy was unarmed, he quickly put hes gun in the holster and asked what they where doing, as puting that flag will be like indicating to the Ancien Régime dogs where the République was still missed. The two men answered that they knew the risks and that they would accept the responsability if the Royalists came, but that they were not going to be quiet while the dark ages returned to France.

Alexandre saw the truth in both men words, and after helping the man on the ground to get the pole on the building, he himself got on the rooftop and helped to place the flag where it should be, high in at the skies of Paris.

Once they where done, the three men got down to the ground, and before leaving, he said to them that they should see the next edition of a famous republican underground newspaper, as they may be surprised of what will appear on the front. Once said, Alexandre turned around and started to return to the pub, asking himself how long would that banner fly through their sky, but even more, he wanted to know how would the Ultras and Doctrinaires react after hearing of a tricolour in the streets of Paris again.

He sleeped well that night, as well as man that just returned from being showed that possibilities where still there, and that hope was not lost.

 

[oxfordroyale]

THE MILITARY CAREER OF ALEXANDRE LOUIS DESROSIERS, 3RD BARON DE ROYBON

Part I: The Grande Armée (1809-1814)
​

The 13th Cuirassiers Regiment​

"One of the French cuirassier regiments – I believe it was the 13th – developed a unique test for newly assigned officers. You were given three horses, three bottles of champagne, three 'willing girls', and three hours to kill the champagne, cover the girls and ride a twenty-mile course. Of course, you could draw up your own schedule of the events!"
-- Colonel John Elting of the US Army​

Alexandre Louis Desrosiers graduated from the École Militaire in the summer of 1809 with a commission as a sous lieutenant (second lieutenant) in Napoleon's Grande Armée, as many young noblemen eager for adventure were wont to do. His seventeenth birthday had come and gone only three weeks prior to his entrance into the ranks of the Empire’s junior officers, and he was equal parts excited and terrified. While the boy in him desired an assignment to an army in Central Europe, where it was said (and rightly so) the greatest glory would be found, he soon discovered himself bound for eastern Spain; the Peninsular War had recently ground to a halt, and more French bodies were needed in order to break the stalemate. Needless to say it was not the prestigious first posting he had imagined, though it would prove a highly irregular one nonetheless.

The 13th Cuirassier Regiment which Alexandre was to report to had been formed only a few months prior to his assignment, and yet they had already become quite the unorthodox collection of men. The unit’s origins lay with Napoleon’s decision in 1807 to send to Spain several detachments from the 1st and 2nd Cuirassiers and the 1st and 2nd Carabiniers, giving birth to the 1st Provisional Heavy Cavalry Corps, comprised of three regiments of horse. The 1st Cuirassiers and much of the 2nd, having escaped Dupont’s capitulation at Baylen in 1808, thus became the famous 13th Cuirassier Regiment, named “the Intrepid" for their daring and adventurous nature. It was the only cuirassier regiment to retain the five-squadron organization, and would form the spearhead of Marshal Suchet’s victorious campaign in the Iberian Peninsula -- a campaign which would constitute the only bright spot of the long and grueling Peninsular War.

“The Intrepid” were a peculiar case, being as they were entirely made up heavy cavalry in a region ill-suited for horsemen. Furthermore, when it came to equipment the cuirassiers were supposed to be riding arsenals, equipped with body armor, helmets, pistols and long straight sabers; however, ammunition was always scarce and the armor was impractical in hot climates, and as a result many young cuirassiers deigned go without. Few units bore the consequences of strained supply lines more than the 13th, for while Alexandre and his fellow soldiers had been initially uniformed in the standard dark blue coats, white breeches, and crimson collars and turnbacks, once these uniforms had endured several months of service without resupply they soon opted for sturdier brown coats made from locally-produced materials. It was an environment far removed from the rigid structure and precision of the academy, and perhaps an unlikely place to find an officer of noble birth -- nevertheless, Alexandre quickly learned to adapt to the rough reality of the Spanish campaign, overcoming any initial awkwardness born from divisions of class and age through tests of courage and the kind of fellowship that is bred only by the sharing of harsh conditions. Many of the newer soldiers were hastily-assembled raw recruits like himself, though most without the benefit of a first-class military education, and as such they were quick to a form a strong bond of brotherhood in the face of the hardships.

The colonel of the Regiment in 1809 was Guillaume-Francois d’Aigremont, an accomplished soldier made a Baron of the Empire by Napoleon, though by 1813 he would be replaced with the less-distinguished Francois Bigarne. While both were good men, the senior officers whom Alexandre truly looked up to were Major General André Joseph Boussart and Marshal Suchet. He admired from afar their great capacity for leadership and resolved (in the way only a child can) to emulate them once he received his senior commission. The rest of the regiment's command structure was ordinary: each company of the 13th had a captain, a lieutenant, second lieutenant, four marechaux des logis (marshal of lodgings), a chef, a fourrier (quartermaster), eight brigadiers, eighty-two troopers and a trumpeter. While caribiniers, hussars and dragoons had their important roles to play, it was the cuirassiers, the descendants of France's medieval knights, who could turn a battle with their sheer weight and brute force. They looked dangerous every time they took to the field, and any general worth this salt never employed them frivolously. Alexandre was proud to belong to such a regiment, especially in his most formative years as an officer.

The Peninsular War

"I am here with the soldiers who conquered at Austerlitz, at Jena, at Eylau. Who can withstand them? Not your wretched Spanish troops who do not know how to fight. I shall conquer Spain in two months and acquire the rights of a conqueror."
-- Napoleon Bonaparte, in all his wisdom​

The 13th Cuirassier Regiment holds the dubious distinction of being the only regiment of its kind to serve throughout the entirety of the Peninsular War. Alexandre’s own combat experience with the regiment (and in general) began on 23 April 1810, when Suchet’s army encountered 7,300 Spaniards and six artillery pieces under Henry O’Donnell. More of a skirmish than a battle, the engagement itself was a prelude to the much more important Siege of Lérida; while Suchet was preparing to invest the city, he received intelligence that a relieving column was en route and sought to intercept it with a force of approximately 6,000 men, which included Louis François Félix Musnier's division as well the 13th Cuirassier and 4th Hussar Regiments. Unbeknownst to Suchet, Major General Henry O’Donnell’s relief army had avoided detection and was camped nearby, bringing the number of Spanish up to as many as 8,000 men, including three-hundred cavalry and six cannons. In the early hours before dawn, the Spanish and French forces stumbled upon each other just east of Lérida and began a small skirmish which, despite the numerical imbalance, seemed to initially favor the French. At the hamlet of Margalef, the Spanish were attempting to fend off a French assault on their center when the 13th Cuirassiers charged their flank; Major General Miguel Ibarrola Gonzáles’ division disintegrated as the heavy cavalrymen slashed and hacked at the fleeing foot soldiers in what could only be described as an episode of animal butchery.

In any event, the five-hundred cuirassiers won the battle almost single-handed, suffering only a handful of casualties and riding down O'Donnell's hapless troops with ease. It was during this engagement that Alexandre killed his first man, lopping off his head with a saber as he screamed and fled in terror. While he had heard stories of men who were haunted by similar experiences, Alexandre felt nothing but a deep, inner calm and the satisfaction that comes with vanquishing an enemy -- he knew, then, that this was what he was destined for. In total, the Spanish lost five-hundred killed and wounded, and 2,000 soldiers were captured. The successful Siege of Lérida quickly followed, where Alexandre was directly involved in crushing several attempts by the Spanish cavalry to break the French encirclement. Between 29 April and 13 May, Marshal Suchet forced García Conde to capitulate with six generals, three-hundred officers, 7,000 soldiers, and one-hundred cannon; during the siege operations, the Spanish lost 1,700 (killed and wounded) while the French lost only a thousand men. The 13th Regiment suffered only twelve casualties, earning them praise from the high command and lending a certain aura of invincibility to the fearsome horsemen in the eyes of the other regiments. Alexandre was struck by Suchet’s strategy at Lerida: showing no moral scruples, he had ordered his soldiers to drive the civilian population under the castle’s walls, forcing the Spanish commander to admit the non-combatants into the citadel before beginning a high-angle bombardment which left most of the five-hundred civilians dead. The resulting carnage had broken the man's spirit and compelled him to surrender the garrison. By the end of May, Alexandre had undergone his first baptism of blood and fire -- he was a boy no longer, for what child could order men towards certain death?

In December of that year, Alexandre and the rest of the 13th were formally incorporated into Suchet’s 12,000-man Army of Aragón in its investment of Tortosa, a siege which concluded less than a month after the French inflicted 1,400 casualties on the defenders whilst suffering only four-hundred killed or wounded themselves. The 13th Cuirassier, alongside the 4th Hussar and 24th Dragoon Regiments, was also present during an operation which forced the capitulation of 3,975 survivors of Conde de Alacha Lilli’s garrison -- Alexandre’s platoon was the closest to the gate, and thus it was he who received the initial terms of surrender. A flurry of activity followed; at the Siege of Tarragona, which lasted from 5 May to 29 June 1811, Alexandre was part of several expeditions formed by Suchet to chase off armies attempting to relieve the garrison. In the end, the city fell with 7,000 Spanish and 4,000 French casualties, the bloodiest battle he had witnessed at that point. In a letter home to his sister Celeste, Alexandre expressed his dismay at seeing the true, grim nature of warfare, though he emphasized his continued commitment to serving his country. He did, however, become disturbed when his captain ordered the summary execution of a local family for obviously fabricated charges of “aiding the enemy”, only to be commended for it by their colonel.

​

With the arrival of late summer, the Army of Aragón launched an invasion of the province of Valencia, arriving before the ancient fortress of Saguntum on 23 September 1811. After the garrison repelled two French assaults, a relief army led by Joaquín Blake y Joyes appeared and the two sides clashed in the Battle of Saguntum on 25 October. While the French dispersed Blake's left flank rather easily, the fighting in the center and right of the Spanish line was much more difficult. Early in the action, Suchet committed three squadrons of cavalry to retake some ground; soon afterward, the Spanish cavalry overran a French battery and Suchet sent in three-hundred troopers of the 13th Cuirassiers. Riding in the vanguard, Alexandre and his men helped to scatter the Spanish horsemen and recapture the guns. Hewing a path through their opponents, the armor-clad heavy cavalrymen captured a Spanish artillery battery before their impetus was spent. When Suchet ordered the 24th Dragoons to attack, the rout of Blake's army became complete. For a loss of a thousand men, the French inflicted 6,000 casualties the Spanish and took several hundred prisoners. The Saguntum garrison, their morale utterly shattered by the spectacle, capitulated the next day. For his heroic actions in the initial charge, Alexandre was promoted to the rank of lieutenant at age nineteen, an accomplishment he bore with pride -- even Napoleon had accomplished the same at twenty-two.

In the operations immediately preceding the Siege of Valencia, Suchet concentrated most of his army in an envelopment of the landward flank of Blake's defenses. Fooled by diversionary attacks, Blake failed to detect Suchet's maneuver until too late. Led by Alexandre’s squadron of Cuirassiers, a main French division under Jean Isidore Harispe reached a position behind the Spanish left flank. Coming upon the Spanish cavalry reserves near Aldaia and Torrent, Boussart recklessly led sixty Cuirassiers to attack the vastly more numerous Spanish horsemen. Soon, he was covered in saber wounds and his bravest men were cut down around him. Luckily, Jacques-Antoine-Adrien Delort came to the rescue with more cavalry. After Harispe and the French cavalry routed the Spanish troopers, they found Boussart lying among the fallen after having been robbed of his medals and sword. Alexandre was said to wept openly upon hearing news of the general’s injuries, though fortunately they would not prove fatal.

The 13th Cuirassiers would see ever more action throughout 1813, first at Castalla and then at Ordal. By the winter, however, the war had turned decisively against France. While Alexandre and the rest of the regiment would participate admirably in Marshal Soult’s ultimately unsuccessful defensive campaign of 1814, defeats at Nivelle, Orthez and Toulouse took their toll, with Alexandre suffering a sharp blow to the head in the final of those three battles. He would awake in a hospital bed on 12 April 1814 to learn of Soult’s signing of the armistice and Napoleon’s abdication from the Imperial throne -- friends would later recount that he not surprised. The last five years had rather soured him on the Bonapartist view of the world, and he remarked in a letter to his sister Lyra that he believed the decision to exile the Corsican was a necessary measure to restore peace, prosperity and stability to France. "Once recovered, " he wrote, "I shall do my utmost to defend this new nation, just as I had the old."

(Stay tuned for Part II: The Bourbon Restoration ...)

 

[99KingHigh]

THE "BATTLE" OF TOULOUSE

​

It is Monday, August 21st. The second and conclusive round of elections are due to be held tomorrow. The common classes are ignorant of the occasion; elections are pastimes for the rulers. But indignity is not a rich man's monopoly.

The veterans of France march on Toulouse. Their leaders have blundered into — or masterfully created — an act of defiance; they have called upon too many veterans and too few are governed by moderate sentiments. The leaders have exonerated themselves by their pamphlets yet fanned the flames of violence.

The good Captain has no part in the little event. The baron de Briançon has organized the occasion, but demands calm from its participants; yet he marches the veterans into the hotbed of royalist indignation.

The royalists are not intimidated. They gather in strength to match the march of the Veterans League. The royalists have come from across the adjacent Departments; this is no simple gathering of verdets.

The duc de Angoulême, returning from the pacification of Marseille, is delayed by sudden rains. A terrible storm consumes the standoff as the two sides gather in the streets. The city officials gather the garrison; one side bares the standard of the King, the other explicitly does not.

It doesn't take long. The tri-coulour is raised, the royal banners are bared, and a brawl ensues.

"A Piombino? What's a Piombino? I want myself to catch myself a Briançon!"

La Marseillaise is sung.

Who knows who fires first?

But the guns ring out. Impoverished commoners, and little else, rush each other. The cavalry charge. There is mayhem in the city. None hide their uniforms. None hide their loyalties.

The garrison shoots at anyone who disturbs the King's peace. The affair is done by nightfall. Angoulême has returned with his army. There is martial law across Southern France, and none dispute its merit.

Twenty-two are dead. Briançon is among them.

Le Boucher is wounded and arrested.

The Captain has fled.

South France returns to Bourbon control.

The aristocratic electorate is panicked.

The Allied Powers faith in the Bourbons is diminished. Negotiations will be harder.

The election ends tomorrow, at 7 PM. What 99 giveth, 99 taketh away.

 

[Rolman99]

((

))

 

[oxfordroyale]

No One Laughs​

The barracks are unusually quiet -- the men of the 1st Cuirassier Regiment are restless, agitated, on edge. They speak in low, hushed voices, and while their talk is of little consequence their faces betray the grievances they do not air. More news from the south, and far worse than before.

Alexandre Louis Desrosiers writes in the corner while the lower officers half-heartedly play at cards. Yesterday there had been japes and drinking, but not tonight -- there are dead soldiers in the streets, and no one laughs. The prospect of further violence seems inevitable.

He recognizes this feeling, as do many others. It is the calm before a storm, and they are a nation that has been wracked by one too many. Could France withstand yet another ferocious gale?

Levasseur, a blond, broad-shouldered lad, is the first to break the oppressive silence.

“Are we to march, sir? Do you know?”

Alexandre does not lift his gaze; his quill continues to dance, unbroken, on the parchment. He can feel a dozen eyes bearing down on him. “I do not know, corporel.”

It is the truth. But just like that, a flood-gate is opened.

“Is it to be Martial Law, sir?”

“What about our leave? My mother is coming to visit next week, and …”

“My nephew lives in Toulouse, sir, should I send him a letter …?”

“But sir, we only just got home …”

“… can’t expect us to …”

“… outrageous …! The King won’t stand for this!”

“… damn criminals! How dare they …!”

“This the fault of those Bonapartist f--”

Alexandre stands abruptly, and all fall quiet. He rubs the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, trying and failing to hide his exhaustion. He has been awake since last night for frequent meetings with the major, and his nerves are frayed at the ends.

“I am afraid that I have few answers for you, gentlemen --- alas, they do not tell me much more than you. I promise that you shall hear what is to be done in the south as soon as I do, and not a moment later. Until then, I advise you all to sleep. Who knows when you may yet return to these bunks.”

The room quickly disperses into groups, their members briefly muttering among themselves before departing. While not content, they are -- he hopes -- sated for the moment.

Alexandre lets out a breath he did realize he had been holding and stalks towards his private cabinet, loosening his collar on the way. The letter can wait, and he desperately needs a drink.

 

[Cloud Strife]

((On the command on the King and his Government, the Marshal Saint-Cyr gathers his 2nd Division and other available forces to reinforce the Army of the Duc de Angoulême. Now designated the VI Corps, Saint-Cyr and his forces are ordered to place Toulouse and its hinterland under martial law and maintain order throughout region. @99KingHigh))

Toulouse, August 31, 1815

The march from Paris has been swift because Saint-Cyr had ordered it so. He had moved Heaven and Earth to scrape together two and a half divisions to serve in the Duc de Angoulême's "Army of the South." A motley bunch of Grand Army veterans, emigres, and volunteers arrived in good order and were immediately directed to create new billets for themselves and to work to relieve the extraordinary pressures put on the local garrison by Ultra rioters and Bonapartists causing trouble nearly a week ago. What Saint-Cyr had warned the Government would come to pass, came to pass, and now there was little choice left but to take necessary measures to root out dissent.

The City of Toulouse lay at the heart of Occitanie. This Romance speaking part of France was very different than North and required a steady hand to govern. The town hall and government compound, the Capitole de Toulouse, spread itself over two (2) hectares. This edifice was re-purposed to lend its vastness to house the organs of military command and local control. A steady stream of local officials and officers from the VI Corps staff came and left at all hours of the day, and night, to attend to various matters; both important and sundry. The King's justice would have to be merited out, the ring leaders of both the Verdets and Veteran's League detained, and the rank-and-file of both groups disarmed. Both Angoulême and the Government in Paris were kept up to date on Saint-Cyr's careful efforts to defuse the threat of further violence.

A curfew was organized and enforced by regular patrols. No locals were accosted as they went about their business during the daytime but at the city gates and at pickets spaced some distance on the main roads--outwards from the city proper--all travelers would have to state their business and be recorded. To prevent the accusation of being a Verdet or a member of the Veteran's League from being abused, a new gaol was constructed someways from town; any who were proven to have falsely accused another subject would be thrown into it. Indeed, Saint-Cyr was less concerned with arresting common rioters than maintaining calm throughout the city. It was enough that the leading agitators were rounded up, there would be no need for further proscriptions so far as the public remained pacified. The leaders would be punished to the fullest extent of the law and mercy would be granted to those lead astray.

Sitting in the Prefect's Office, Saint-Cyr summoned his orderly to fetch the Sous-Lieutenant, Count Barrande (@naxhi24), and his commanding officer, Major Jean Luc Gottoliard (@Luftwafer) and deliverer them into his presence immediately for orders.

Meanwhile, spread out on his table, Saint-Cyr reviewed written evidence gathered on Emile-Charles de Couteau (@Dadarian), professionally known as "Le Boucher," and the self-appointed leader of the Verdets of Tolouse. Perhaps if he had more direction he would have turned out to be more than just another cutthroat? As it stands, he is accused of planning the murder of Medárd François, baron de Briançon and leader of the local chapter of the Veteran's League, and furthermore, is accused of several other offenses against the State. Additionally, to better ascertain how a gathering of the Grand Army veterans could arrive all in once place without altering Fouché and his Police, summons were sent out for Lothaire Lécuyer (@ThaHoward), a man known to be in correspondence with Briançon at the time of his demise; he would come to see Saint-Cyr voluntarily lest the Marshal write a letter to the Duc d'Otrante on the matter.

 

[Syriana]

((@Cloud Strife))

Letter to the Secretary of His Excellency, Laurent de Gouvion, comte de Saint-Cyr, Maréchal de France, commander of the VI Corps;​

My Marshal,

Engaged on behalf of the Ministry, I am writing to His Excellency regarding the deployment of the VI Corps to the southern departments to contain the disturbances therein. You must forgive my intrusion on military matters, but with negotiations pending for a final settlement of affairs between France and the Alliance, the latter have conveyed their discomfort at the sudden movement of several divisions across the interior.

Should His Excellency be agreeable, I would beseech him to keep the Ministry abreast of his movements and any developments under his command, so that I may convey these to the President of the Council of Ministers and enable him to speedily reassure the Alliance of our good faith. In addition, I would be most grateful for daily reports of your progress in pacifying the departments. The sooner peace is restored in the South, the stronger our hand shall be in the coming negotiations.

Naturally, the Ministry offers its strongest support to His Excellency, and may God grant him swift speed in restoring the general order.​

Please receive, Monsieur, my most sincere salutations,

Marquis de Valence​

 

[Marschalk]

GAZETTE DE FRANCE

ON THE BATTLE OF TOULOSE
​

THE sad events in Toulose are both lamentable and tragic. The loss of human lives is regretable, one can only send his condolences to the relatives of the deceased. But all this pity apart, this situation reminds me of the old saying: as you sow, so shall you reap.

His Royal Highness, the Duke of Angouleme have managed to pacify the people of Toulose and return orderto these lands. It took a number of hotheads to undo what he has done.

A union of (ex?) bonapartist veterans has decided to march to the southern provinces, being armed and flashing their uniforms and as if provoking such a clash. For only a naive person would not understand that glorifying the deeds of the Grand Armee now is simply asking for trouble and reminding the Frenchmen of the unhappy memories of the military tyranny, of the times when they were sent away to fight in the wars that only enlargened the ago of a Сorsican despot who considered himself the reborn Julius Caesar?

To some people, like the marshals and ministers to Napoleon, his bloody adventures have given titles, riches and lands, to some even crowns. To most common Frenchmen they gave quite the contrary. Before organizing this ill-fated march these veterans of the Grand Armee should have asked themselves a few questions. Would this march, voluntarily or not, glorifying the conquering armies of Napoleon, would the tricolours then risen and the revolutionary hymn sung - would all of it appeal to the southern mothers, the bones of whose sons were left rotting under the Russian snows, or to the inhabitants of the southern villages, dried out by war taxes and sentenced to harsh punishment for one deserter from their midst? Would such marches be beneficial for the future settlement with the Allies? If they have thought about it, instead of bathing in their pride and rage against the Verdets, they maybe would have not marched - and blood would not have been spilled.

The people of France have spoken decisively against the Corsican, against his disastrous wars and pagan traditions of his "empire". We all know that the Bonaparte was booed during his long travel to exile, and what the common people of Avignon have shouted to him, as the former master of their fates passed: "Long live the King! Down with the tyrant, the scoundrel, the lousy beggar!”

This page in the history book has turned over, finally and decisively. We should get used to that.

The death of M. de Briançon is regrettable - as is regretable death of any others that have fallen in this affair. However, would not this man have decided to participate in the ill-timed political demonstration and street warfare, he could continue to serve the King as an officer. But he did participate in it, and the politics, especially street level ones, are a grim thing - they take no prisoners.

We now know that the Second Division under one of the Napoleonic Marshals, M. Saint-Cyr, has been deployed to keep order in Toulose. Hopefully the Marshal would stick to doing his duty - and not use it as a chance to stamp out Ultraroyalism, the hatred towards which he has already many times expressed. If it is so, then this bloody clash, which currently benefits nobody, would then benefit only former Bonaparte associates. For, by destruction of the true devotees of Restoration, this reserve of the Monarchy, they have a chance to make themselves irreplaceable to the King. For when one does not have loyal vassals and followers, he has to appeal to hired help.

Hopefully His Royal Highness the Duke of Angouleme would once again guarantee that the restoration of order in the South is done in a fair way that would not damage the love towards the Crown that the Southern people, without doubt, have.

The disorders must end, it is clear. Only the King should disperse justice in his Realm. But how should it done? By shooting all who wear a white cockade and are loyal to the King? By filling the governmental cabinets with these who have turned cloaks after 1814?

Nay, nay, nay. The people of France, rejoiced by the return of their King, await true justice and a new live under the Bourbon banner, free of the shadows of the revolutionary and Bonapartist past. These who have voted for the death of the King Louis XVI, who participated in the murders and suppression of the royalists during the past decades, should be judged. The close friends and associates of the Corsican should leave the political scene, retiring to their majorats and manors, which the King so graciously allowed them to keep. New people should step in - people with clear conscience and clean hands, one that are trusted by all, one who would not bring back the painful memories.

Only then true internal peace would take place.

- B.d.S.A.

 

[ThaHoward]

((The following is the events of the "Battle of Toulouse" in the eyes of Lothaire)).

On the way to Tolouse:
As Lothaire rode in full haste to Tolouse a messenger intercepted him. The courier suddenly appeared on foot and uttered "I've been looking for you. Got something I'm supposed to deliver - your hands only". Lothaire would never cease to amaze of how the courier would always find him and catch up. He read the letter from Baron Medard Francois. Alltough he were happy for the support he were concerned that the evenrs might spiral out of control and rode at great haste to the south.

Arriving in Toulouse:
His body were stiff and tired. For days he had been riding with little rest and almost no food. But such he were used to, the wars had molded his body and persona in many ways. Lothaire arrived in his uniform, but had left his weapons at home, and were even at the outskirts recognized. This time around he would have no hero's welcome as he had when he paraded under the Brandenburger Tor. Peasants, lawyers and landowners alike gathered with pitchforks and slogans. Spewing their hatred toward Lothaire, Bonaparte and the Republic. But Lothaire held his head up high raises his hand to signal silence. "Fellow citizens! I have come here to your beloved city. I am your guest today, and as a guest I will behave. I have come to support those who are cast away and to face the threats against my life. I mean you no harm and I hope you will go on about your day in a peaceful manner".

The crowd clearly showed that he was not welcome, but fortunately troops and police were deployed in the streets, and for now it is was peace. But soon many other men in uniform would join Lothaire. They would march with him and the peasant crowd soon dispersed. In its place curious citizens would go out of their homes to watch the parade. Some, women and chilsren too, even joined the veterans. Several cries to the cause of the Veteran League and more disturbing the glory if the Grand Army were chanted. Even worse they carried weapons!

Lothaire took aside a man he recognized as an Officer. On him he found a pamphlet from the Baron. "Merde!" Lothaire cried out loud, but non could hear him. Why weapons? The ordinary man can’t see the difference between a weapon for violence and one for nostalgia. Even worse the Verdets may use this as an excuse. Lothaire rode up front and stopped the parade. He would yell out an order loudly: "Remember; no political songs or chants. No antagonizing the reactionaries, as we are better! If you have to sing, sing Le Retour des Princes français à Paris! We are law abiding citizens of France!"

The tension is at an all time high. More and more veterans flock to the parade. Soon commoners and borgouise swarm into the streets to make a counter demonstration. Good meaning citizens also fill the ranks of the Veterans demanding justice and an end to the terroe. The security forces seem uncertain of what to do. They too are split. There is no secret that many served in the Grande Armée and would rather have a Napoleonic Restoration than a Bourbon one. Others are recruits, just fresh out from their homes. They are clearly tense, eyes shifting faster and faster all around the place. Their fingers go up to the triggers - they are prepared for the worst.

Lothaire try to difuse the situation. He approach the highest ranking officer and ask if he can make a public speech. The officer agree. Lothaire try his best. He say that as they were loyal soldiers, they are to be loyal subjects now. The most Christian King of France is now their ruler, and their duty now is not to fight in the field of battle, but to plow the farmlands, work in the factories and respect the law and uphold the peace. He would condemn the Verdets, but said that the government indeed look after them as they have now deployed forces to ptotect them, and now they must strive toward securing their remaining rights.

As Lothaire hold the speech, Chant du Depart is heard. Soon several of the soldiers desert their posts and join the veterans - armed citizens take their places. Soon more commoners join the veterans and the Marseilles is once more heard! The white flag is taken dowm and the tricolor raised.

Chaos follows. Gunshots are heard, fighting erupt. Lothaire hear the dreaded calvary charge order. One he have heard many times, but never on this side. He escapes in the chaos with no oversight or order. This was meant to be an event to ensure unity, it led to deaths.

As the smoke settles Lothaire hear that he is summoned. Lothaire go to the Marshal willingly and head to his quarters. (( @Cloud Strife Lothaire surrender to the security forces)).

 

[TJDS]

((Private - @TJDS))

Monsieur Durand,

Thank you kindly for your letter.

I await your reply, and wish you the best of luck in your official duties, for the sake of both Le Roi and the Nation,

-- A.A. Tremblay

((Private - @LordTempest ))

Monsieur Tremblay,

I thank you for your quick reaction and your explained sentiments. If such a Comission du Agriculture is to be established, I believe I could use my influence in Paris to contact the Minister of Finance to suggest the matter for his Department's considerations. I have, however, a few questions regarding the exchange of goods between the Commission du Agriculture and the consumers, as how should said exchange be conducted without falling into traps of human character, such as corruption?

Regarding the restoration of confidence in the banking sector, I suggest the selling of stable government bonds to the banking sector, combined with an appeal to the mercantile classes to invest in and restore ventures across France to increase productivity.

Your Obedient Servant,

Victor Durand,
Préfet du Nord

 

[Davout]

La Semaine

En Marche or
The Salutary Tale that the Men who are always looking back
may trip over their own Future​

"As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly" - Proverbs 26:11

The Battle of Toulouse has tragically illustrated to the Nation the insanity that reigns with Mob rule. The guilt stains in the hands of the cretins, Verdets and Veterans, who chose to look back to the past to fuel their hatred, instead of looking to the future to see the glory of better days to come.

It is the nature of man to progress. We cannot travel back in time. We can only move forward and build upon the works of our forefathers.

Men who look back, who cannot let go of past glories, or past grievances, have no place in our society. They seek to chain us to yesterday. They will not let go, they will not learn, they will not grow. They remain stunted and twisted out of natural shape. They suck the life out of the Nation, drawing blood which they spill on the ground like pagans, wasting precious lives for no purpose than satisfying their atavistic urges. Selfish, vain and nihilistic.

These men shout the names of the King, or Bonaparte, but the words spewing forth are as meaningless as their violence. The Verdets care nothing for the good name of the King, which they drag through the mud in mockery of His Majesty. Nor do the ruffians care for the departed Emperor, as if their shouts could change the verdict of History.

And what have we, the Nation of France, gained from the bloody self indulgence of these supreme fools? More death, more destruction, more shame in the eyes of the foreign armies occupying our country. They weaken the people they claim to champion and betray the Nation.

And what should they have done? Be true men, shouldering the task of rebuilding their Nation. Be true Frenchmen, in taking joy in working together. Be true heroes, by working hard to bring home money for food and shelter for their families.

France is better off without these fools. Only those who can look to the future, who are prepared to bear the duty of labour and enterprise, deserve the rewards which will flow from the cornucopia of fair France.

The Justice of the King must now pursue them. We wait with bated breath for news of Marechal Gouvion-Saint-Cyr restoring order and peace to Toulouse, to the investigation and arrest of those persons from the Verdets responsible for the murder of M. Briancon, and the suppression of these Mobs who have sought to rob us of our future.

 

[Maxwell500]

Claude-Joseph François Dieudonné Laurent de Béthune
duc de Sully, marquis de Rosny et Nogent, comte de Muret, vicomte de Meaux,
prince de Henrichemont and baron de Bontin​

Born: 8 April 1777
Died: 27 June 1861 (aged 84)
Party: Ultraroyalists
Profession: Aristocrat
Department: Loire

Born to Maximilien Paul Armand (1758 - 1793), the third son of the Duc de Béthune, Claude-Joseph was never expected to inherit any titles or honors, and so was spared from the royal court at Versailles. It was nonetheless that his father provided him with an exemplary education, seeing to it that tutors were brought to the Château de Sully to educate the young noble in the works of the philosophers, the classics and mathematics; alongside this however he ensured that the young Claude-Joseph also received a firm influence from the Catholic Church, a local Abbot brought forth to instill Christian values in him.

It was in Claude-Joseph's thirteenth year that the Kingdom of France was shaken to its very foundation: the Bastille was stormed on the 14th of July and the French Revolution ignited. When in August the National Constituent Assembly abolished privileges and feudalism it was decided that the boy and his mother would be sent abroad to spare them from the chaos that was engulfing France: it was thus by the end of the year that Claude-Joseph arrived in Vienna, he and his mother taking up residence in a small estate. The young boy's education continued once more, this time however under the mixed tutelage of Frenchmen and Austrians.

Chaos further engulfed France when Louis XVI and the Royal Family attempted to flee the country in 1791, igniting a popular wave against the King and the monarchy. Such would culminate in the execution of the King in 1793, the monarchy being abolished. Claude-Joseph's father Maximilien Paul Armand, a firm monarchist, spoke out in dismay of these turn of events and was himself targeted in the Reign of Terror, facing the guillotine a mere month after Louis XVI had been executed. These events firmly hardened Claude-Joseph's hatred of the revolution, and cemented his view of the Divine Right of Kings.

A man in his own right by 1795, he joined the the Austrian Army as a Leutnant and saw his first taste of action the following year in the Battle of Castiglione and Battle of Bassano, both ending in defeat for the Austrians at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte. After Napoleon's victory at the Siege of Mantua in 1797 he was confined until peace was reached with the Treaty of Leoben, whereupon his return to Austria he received promotion to Oberleutnant.

He next saw action in the Imperial Army under Archduke Charles that fought the French at the Battle of Ostrach in 1799, which led to the French Army retreating. For his actions in the battle he was further promoted to Major. A second battle at Stockach was even more decisive for the Austrians, forcing the French to retreat further. The army saw further success at Zurich before marching north to defend the Rhine, where Charles-Joseph was once more involved in a number of engagements.

When peace was once again signed in the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801, the young de Béthune returned to Vienna and took up service in the General Staff. He found satisfaction in his service there, even receiving further promotion to Oberst in 1805. Two years later however he was thrust to further prominence when his uncle passed away suddenly, followed shortly thereafter by his cousin. With their deaths he inherited the Dukedom of Sully and associated titles, becoming at once a very wealthy and prominent emigre. He would continue his service in the Austrian Army for a short time thereafter but eventually resigned.

The newly-entitled Duc de Béthune made his way east to the Russian Empire, linking up with other emigres that had moved there, most notably the Duc de Saint-Aignan, whose sister he would marry in 1810. His stay there would be brief however, the Duc moving westward once again, this time to Great Britain where he joined the Comte d'Artois in exile. Upon the Comte's return to France in 1814 the Duc followed, his friendship with the former aiding in his appointment to the Chamber of Peers.

A quiet figure, he remained largely aloof from politics before wading slowly into it with the foundation of the Order of Varennes, otherwise called the Order of Louis XVI 'the Saint'; his service as Grand Master, advocating the beatification of Louis XVI, quickly garnered the attention of the Comte d'Artois and thrusted the Duc de Sully into a more prominent light among the Ultraroyalists.

His actions would pay off remarkably when the Marquis de Valence was forced out of office as President of the Council of State in 1821 after the Ultraroyalists claimed a majority in the Chamber of Deputies; although the Ultraroyalists now controlled it, and were poised for government, they were weakened by infighting and personal enmities between the Duc de Saint-Aignan and the Comte de Berstett: this created an opportunity for the Duc de Sully, who portrayed himself as a neutral figure and above 'petty disputes' and allowed him in the end to capture the support of the influential figures within the movement, the Comte d'Artois included, and as such he was appointed President of the Council of State, a meteoric rise for a man who less than than five years ago was not at all involved in politics.

Sully's tenure as President of the Council of State, 1821 to 1828, would represent a high point of Ultraroyalist power in France, furthered more so by Charles X's ascension in 1824. Although Sully and the King would grow increasingly close the latter was obligated to dismiss Sully in 1828; nonetheless he clung to the strings of power with his appointment as Chancellor of France and President of the Chamber of Peers.

His shadow rule would last only two years, with the Ordinances of Saint Cloud creating extreme outrage and leading to Charles X's overthrow, and subsequently the trial of his ministers - Sully included. Eventually the Chamber of Peers, somewhat sympathetic to the ministers, would find them all guilty and remand them to life imprisonment.

Sully's luck was furthered when Philippe VII issued a pardon for all those convicted in 1837, allowing him to go free - he promptly returned to his holdings in the south of France, enjoying his retirement. Although he would remain committed to his abstinence from political life, he would be made a Peer of France in 1853 with Henri V's restoration, and serve de jure in such a capacity until his death in 1861, aged 84.

Family

Maximilien Paul Armand de Béthune (1758 - 1793), father
Agnès Élisabeth de Béthune-Chârost (1759 - 1820), mother

​

Claude-Joseph François Dieudonné Laurent de Béthune, duc de Sully, marquis de Rosny et Nogent, comte de Muret, vicomte de Meaux, prince de Henrichemont and baron de Bontin (1777 - 1861),​

Marthe Sylvie de Beauvilliers, duchesse de Sully, et. al. (1776 - 1834), wife​

Maximilien-François Paul Laurent de Béthune, comte de Villebon (1811- ), son​

Charles Louis Armand de Béthune, comte de Orval (1813- ), son​

Frédérique-Louise de Béthune (1780 - 1865), sister​

Record of Service

In the Austrian Army:

Leutnant (1795 - 1797)
Oberleutnant (1797 - 1799)
Major (1799 - 1805)
Oberst (1805 - 1808)

Public Offices

Peer of France (1814 - 1830; 1853 - 1861)
President of the Council (1821 - 1828)
Minister of the Navy and Colonies (1824 - 1827)
Minister of the Interior (1827 - 1828)
Chancellor of France (1828 - 1830)
President of the Chamber of Peers (1828 - 1830)

Other Offices

Grand Master of the Order of Varennes / Order of Louis XVI 'the Saint' (1817 - 1830)

 

[Marschalk]

To His Royal Highness Louis Joseph de Bourbon, the Prince of Condé, Duke of Bourbon, Prince of the Blood, Grand Maître of the Royal Court ((Sneakyflaps - Private))​

Your Royal Highness,

I must say that it is an extreme joy for me to see you return to France after all these years. It is only just that a hero, who was the first to raise the banner of his King in defiance to the vile jacobins, would finally come back to his homeland to witness the coronation of the lawful Monarch and enjoy the laurels.

I should note that for myself and for many other people during the dark nineties of the last century you were truly the beacon of hope. When the King was prisoner to his own ungrateful servants, when the vile decrees were announced by street demagogues, when the noblemen were killed and the monasteries robbed and plundered, when the Catholic faith was being replaced by the heresies of the Cult of Reason and the Supreme Being... For all who did not want to serve this mad tyranny your army was a symbol of all good and true.

I have myself, as you know, as a young cavalry captain, left France in 1791 and joined Your Royal Highness to fight for my King, my Faith and my Homeland. I have marched for nine years under your proud flag - and, God knows, would have marched more, unless the Emigre Army was disbanded. Therefore for me you would always remain my old general and an object of utmost loyalty and devotion.

If this question would not be too frank, how is the health of Your Royal Highness? How do you find France these days - the land that we all have so missed while breathing the air of foreign lands in bitter exile? Can I be of any service to yourself? Would it be appropriate if I would, at a day suitable for yourself, visit to pay my respects to Your Royal Highness at your palais?

Knowing the honorable character of Your Royal Highness, I would like to share certain doubts that have been gnawing me since my return to France. The Restoration is great and the King is good and merciful - but, alas, there are always people who would try to appropriate and exploit any good deed.

Now we see that the royal council and the military command of the royal army are packed by people who can have no true loyalty to the cause of His Most Christian Majesty, joining it only after the Allied troops entered Paris. These who have fighting for Fleur-de-lis since 1791, who lost all their property, going into exile, who never bent their knee before the Corsican are now being pushed aside by ex-Jacobins and generals of the Usurper, who even dare to debase these most loyal servants of His Christian Majesty, the so-called Ultraroyalists, in written materials! And how can we be sure of the further loyalty of these men, if they have proved to be fickle to their King Louis XVI, whom they betrayed in the nineties, then fickle to the republic whose powers the Corsican usurped, and now fickle to the Corsican himself? How can we be sure of the security of His Most Christian Majesty and his crown, when they are placed in the hands of M. Fouche, a jacobin who voted for the death of the good King Louis XVI and persecuted the royalists under Napoleon? How can we fully claim to be a Christian Kingdom, when the government of His Christian Majesty is now headed by M. Talleyrand, a disbarred priest who first betrayed his God, then his King, and now Bonaparte? How can we be sure of peace and stability if the armies would be headed exclusively by former marshals of the Corsican, the children of the revolutionary volunteer batallions who ransacked Europe upon his bidding and refused to hear about the rightful King until their idol was defeated?

I believe that is it very important for the safety of the Kingdom and the cause of the Restoration that His Most Christian Majesty is surrounded not solely by opportunists, but by true friends, who have proved their worth and not have been tainted by the revolutionary and bonapartist madness. For when all grand offices and especially army corps are in the hands of only the "newly minted royalists", for how long should we wait before a new bonaparte arises?

You, Your Royal Highness, in my opinion, are the advisor which His Most Christian Majesty especially needs at these difficult times. Your record is illustrious, your word carries true weight, your name is known to all Europe. I believe that if you have chosen to speak up, you would have been heard - and could have done much good for France.

I myself am a French general, who served for nearly twenty-eight years in both the French and foreign armies. After my service during the Hundred Days the King has graciously rewarded me with the Order of the Holy Spirit and a place in the Chamber of Peers, but I understand that it is not time when one can simply enjoy his honors and lead a private life. Now everyone who can should serve the Crown actively by pen and the sword - and should I be able to be of use to my King, France and Your Royal Highness, I would always happy too.

I most faithfully remain,

SAINT-AIGNAN

 

[Maxwell500]

Name: Claude-Joseph François Dieudonné Laurent de Béthune
Party: Ultraroyalist
Department: Loire

[Peer of France]
[No Bonus]

 

[Sneakyflaps]

Name: Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
Party: Ultraroyalist
Department: Oise
[Aristocrat, extensive land owner and extensive wealth (Peer of France/prince du sung)]

 

[Ignominius]

The Hussars

"A typical Hussar of the old school was a hard drinker, a brawler, always ready for a quarrel and a fight; brave, moreover, to the point of rashness. He was absolutely ignorant of everything that did not concern his horse, his accouterments, or his service in the field. A jolly ruffian, with his shako over his ear, his sabre training, his flourid countenance divided by an enourmous scar, and withal such an air! An regular rowdy air, heightened further by his words, jerked out in the most barbarous gibberish" - Baron de Marbot

Of all Napoleon's regiments, it may truly be said that the Hussars were less of an organization that an attitude of mind. This 'hussar mentality' incorporated a love of fighting, women, horses, alcohol, and tobacco resulting in exceptional bravery and a professionalism which belied their outward air of swagger and braggadocio. General Lasalle had said that any Hussar who isn't dead by thirty is a blackguard, and he himself had only lived to thirty four before catching a bullet between the eyes at Wagram. At 28, Hector was beginning to feel as though he had outlived his time.

Hector had joined the Hussars de Berry during the war of the third coalition and marched with Napoleon in the encirclement of Austrians and Bavarians at Ulm, during which the 6th Hussars were the vanguard and scouting force for the IV Corps under Marechal Soult and had been part of the encircling move at Gunzburg and later at Aibach. It was during this campaign that d'Argentat became the sous-Lieutenant of his company after the Alsatian de Roy was killed in a Melee. After that the story became that Hector had recovered the Lieutenant's gold-trim saber to fight off an Austrian Jager, in reality he had killed the boy with his musqueton.

The battle at Austerlitz was perhaps the finest hour of the campaign against the third coalition, and the 6th were there with Soult on the second day when Napoleon ordered his charge. The only thing that d'Argentat is able to recall though was the agonizing screams of the Marechal-Ferrant as the Hungarian bayonet stuck him through his gut. The charge was ferocious and unrelenting, and soon the light cavalry was ordered to return to the reserve as the battle raged on.

There was the Danube campaign in 1809, where Hector had been part of the now famous hussar charge under General Lassale. Hector, and indeed every Hussar, owed the prestige of their station to this man, and his death was indeed a solemn yet valiant moment. If ever there was a moment before where d'Argentat had thought of himself as reckless, brash, or larger than life, this battle had erased any trace of those sentiments. In 1810 he met Agathe on leave in Paris, and they were due to be married in 1812 until Hector was called away for the Invasion of Russia.

Hector will not now, and will not ever speak of that campaign, the things he saw, or the deeds he had done, only to say that as soon as he returned he left the military and was married to Agathe.

 

[Dadarian]

End of the White Terror
​

The crowd growled at the gathered veterans. The mob is a beast, barbaric and breathing. To calm it, one needs food, shelter, women, and bribes. To rile it, one needs defiance, threats, and a perchance to violence. The remnants of Le Grande Armee held all the later, none of the former. There was no overture to the plebeians, no give, solely take.

The crowd raged against the speakers, who preached what was seen as open treason. The memory of all the dead in the Germanies, in Russia, Italy, Spain remained top of mind.

The crowd raged against the Baron, who wore his uniform much like the veterans around him.

The crowd raged.

The crowd broke.

At the head of the charge was Le Boucher, blade bared and pistol raised.

Down went a veteran Young Guard, his face exploding as the ball tore through bone, cartilage, and various vesicles.

Down went a Verdet, his internal organs becoming external organs due to mounted bayonets.

Down went the Baron, like a flagmast toppled by a mighty wave.

Alas the army came, and their bullets rang true.

Sides diminished past mob psychology to simple savagery.

Veteran and Verdet, side by side, routed before the royalist troops.

Le Boucher took a bullet to his elbow, removing his left forearm. His favorite forearm.

He was found in the crook of an alley, bound in the tricolours of Le Hommes, and tended to by his men. A romanticist painting in live colour.

Although broken, when taken in, he did not bend. Standing straight, Le Boucher marched lockstep with his guardians.

With him, thus died the White Terror.