The stated that “the situation of the King of France concerns the common interest of all the sovereigns of Europe,” and thus the declaration would invite all friendly monarchies in Europe to coordinate and to take effective action—including military means—to ensure that the lawful rights of the King of France would not be violated…
“…On this point, the Military Intelligence Office and my own judgement are in complete agreement: the symbolic meaning of this ‘Declaration’ far outweighs any real threat—or deterrence. It is merely a requirement of preserving the honour of the House of Habsburg, and of that empire which is neither holy nor Roman. Reliable intelligence proves that as early as July this year, the Austrians reached a battlefield ceasefire with the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans; and before any formal peace treaty was even signed, they impatiently disbanded two of their corps—38,000 men.
“Why? Because Leopold II has run out of money!
“Major Penduvas told me that this Holy Roman Emperor has poured every last copper coin—down to the repair of each stone of the Hofburg—into the Balkan war, and has even borrowed a huge sum of high-interest loans from foreign financiers. Today, the Austrian imperial treasury is no richer than Louis XVI’s cabinet. The only advantage is that Leopold II has never dreamed of becoming the Father of America, nor could he ever be the Father of France—so he lacks that colossal foreign debt of 1.06 billion livres!”
“Ha, ha, ha!” The officers below the rostrum burst into laughter; in their eyes, the Austrian monarch and France’s Louis XVI were alike—pigs in different crowns.
At that moment, at the Bacourt camp, André was delivering a current-affairs briefing to more than a hundred officers of the Champagne Composite Brigade. Whenever André remained in the Marne, he would usually—on the Saturday itself—go to the headquarters building at the camp and give the officers a collective commentary on domestic and foreign affairs: key developments, trend analysis, and forecasts. To put it plainly, André was wearing the mysterious halo of “the God-Favoured,” a prophet, or a strategist, and conducting mass indoctrination among his officers. And as an aside: in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe, especially among the upper elite, mysticism was extremely fashionable. The monarchs of Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Russia all believed in that sort of thing.
The effect of these briefings was excellent. The officers had moved from initial scepticism to a near-blind reverence and trust in their commander, carrying out any order he issued without condition. The main reason was not that André was eloquent, but that his past analyses and predictions had repeatedly proven to be undeniable fact—leading from one victory to another. In that light, their boundless trust in General André was not hard to understand.
Most recently, André had seized the opportunity created by the King’s flight and successfully forced the isolated General Bouillé to dissolve the German Legion. And earlier in the year, André had predicted that Marquis de Bouillé and his 30,000-strong German Legion might look formidable, but in truth were only a castle built on sand: one light poke, and they would collapse.
By contrast, the Champagne Composite Brigade might appear small, yet it had a commander whose hand could cover the sky and who had never known defeat—from Paris and Bordeaux, to Reims and Chalons, and even into the neighbouring Ardennes, there was nowhere he did not prevail. Although the General was soon to go to Paris and take a seat in the new National Assembly—the Legislative Assembly—and would therefore have to resign his post as brigadier commander of the Champagne Composite Brigade, every officer admitted that André remained their supreme commander, and that they would obey only orders bearing General André’s signature.
When the laughter in the hall subsided, André handed his coffee cup to his intelligence adjutant, Lieutenant Lozère, and continued:
“Beyond the Austrians, the Prussians also harbour designs against France. We all know that Frederick Wilhelm II has never stopped thinking about Alsace, and at Pillnitz he demanded that the Austrian Emperor list Alsace as booty for the Prussian intervention force.
“However, what these two feudal monarchs are saying about France is not the main point. I believe the core of the meeting between Leopold II and Wilhelm II is to reach—at some point in the future, my forecast is within the next two years—an operational plan to partition Poland together with the Russians, even though both Prussia and Austria publicly claim to be Poland’s allies. On that matter, I can only say so much for now. In future, Major Penduvas will reveal more to you.
“As for the other feudal monarchs of Europe: Russia is too far away; the Swedes are preoccupied with their own troubles; Spain and Portugal are weak (though hard to conquer); the Italian peninsula remains fragmented; Denmark and the Dutch Republic have armies that are too feeble. None of them can pose a substantive threat to France. Only Britain…”
Here André turned abruptly, shifting his gaze to Macdonald. “Alexandre—give us your view of Britain.”
Lieutenant Colonel Macdonald, caught off-guard by the General calling on him, rose at once and stood in perfect military posture. In a pure Paris accent, he said, “My apologies, General! I am a genuine Frenchman, born in Sedan—not one of those damned English!”
At once, the hall filled again with the officers’ laughter, and they greeted Lieutenant Colonel Macdonald again and again with the nickname “Englishman.”
Lieutenant Colonel Chassé, responsible for order in the hall, glanced at André; seeing a smile on his commander’s face, he swallowed the remark that had reached his lips.
André gave a light cough, and the hall instantly fell quiet again. “Since Lieutenant Colonel Macdonald is unwilling to speak, I will continue. As I have said before: Britain will be France’s most dangerous enemy. This is not determined by political systems or ideology; it is determined by geography and economics. Yes—since 1789, in all manner of public settings, I have constantly promoted political friendship and economic exchange with Britain, for the purpose of learning the industrial sciences of that island: the steam engine, textile machinery, industrial machine tools, metallurgical techniques, and so on.
“But in substance, I still hold a deep wariness toward Britain—especially since I decided to plant the Tree of Liberty in the Low Countries and on the Jutland Peninsula; that wariness has only increased with each passing day. There is no doubt that once our French armies occupy the mouth of the Rhine (the Dutch waterways), Westminster will be the first to call for war against France.
“Britain’s great ships of the line cannot come ashore, yet its Atlantic Home Fleet and Mediterranean Fleet are sufficient to blockade every French naval port and commercial harbour, making it difficult for us to obtain cheap Caribbean sugar, coffee, cocoa, indigo, and overseas grain. But the most terrifying thing is the pound sterling in British hands. Millions upon millions of pounds will sustain one anti-French coalition after another on the European continent—arming the monarchs’ armies and all manner of rebellions within France, above all in Brittany and the Vendée…”
At this, Lieutenant Colonel Chassé frowned again and looked toward Major Penduvas of the Military Intelligence Office seated beside him. The latter quickly understood the glance—yet shook his head, indicating that he too did not know the source of the General’s information. Many times, the chief of the Military Intelligence Office suspected that Commander André possessed other channels far more secret and far more effective. It certainly was not limited to the Paris network of Inspector Javert.
André’s voice continued to ring through the hall.
“I believe some of you will ask: if Prussia and the Austrian Empire merely talk and take no real action—and likewise, if we do not take the initiative to seize the mouth of the Rhine and the Dutch waterways—then the British will not enter the war, and there will be no war in Western Europe. To that, I would say: perhaps.
“But Louis XVI and his Austrian Queen do not think so! Imprisoned in the Tuileries, Their Majesties day and night dream of reclaiming from the National Assembly the authority of the House of Bourbon to rule France. Of course, the House of Bourbon would also like nothing better than to execute or exile the rebellious André—and that includes most of us here.
“Still, do not worry—because I am still here, and the National Assembly is still here. And in two weeks, I will enter the new National Assembly—the Legislative Assembly—as a deputy for the Marne. When it comes to leading troops in battle, I am inferior to the gentlemen present; but when it comes to politics and law, I can grasp the wind in the riding arena (the National Assembly).
“Since October 1789, the sceptre—the symbol of the nation—has been placed in the Assembly hall. So it was before, so it is now, and so it shall be. So long as André does not fall, no one will dare step beyond the line! No one will dare lay hands on the Champagne Composite Brigade! No one will dare slight my officers and soldiers! Of this, there is no doubt…”
Amid the heartfelt cheers and cries of “Vive!”, Colonel Berthier applauded vigorously—and, as he did so, he also touched his nose, a habit he had learned from André, at least sufficient to restrain his old impulse to bite his fingers. Beside this former Royalist Party colonel sat a newly joined colleague: Lieutenant Colonel Lefebvre, formerly a Captain of the royal Guard, once even more loyal to the legitimate royal house than Berthier himself. Now, like Berthier, he too was one of André’s subordinates—and one of his believers.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
In late June, during the royal family’s flight, Lefebvre broke his leg and was forced to remain in the palace. He was spared the hardship of travel, but the Paris prosecutor ordered his arrest, accusing him of participation in the conspiracy to aid the King’s escape. During his detention, the Tuileries took no interest in his trial. If convicted, he would, without surprise, be sentenced by a military court to more than twenty years of hard labour—or even death by hanging.
Naturally, André sent men to rescue his former benefactor. The military prosecutor soon withdrew the charge, and Lefebvre’s rank and honour were restored. In a personal letter to the military judges, André stated that Captain Lefebvre had been his assigned agent inside the Tuileries, which was why he had been able to detect the royal couple’s flight in time.
Thus Captain Lefebvre was rid of his legal troubles, became a “hero of the people,” and could of course no longer return to the ranks of the Royalist Party. In fact, shortly after news spread that Lefebvre had been acquitted, many nobles loyal to the House of Bourbon—indeed, even some of Lefebvre’s former comrades—swore to kill this “shameless traitor.” Lefebvre’s pale and feeble protests achieved nothing. For his family’s safety, the former Guard captain ultimately accepted André’s kindness and moved his entire household to Reims.
The “kind-hearted” André did not neglect his old friend. In late August, he appointed Lefebvre to replace Augereau as deputy commander of the First Infantry Regiment, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. At the same time, Augereau—now promoted—was ordered to form the Second Infantry Regiment and serve as its commander.
Several weeks later, André ordered the creation of an experimental unit: the Mountain Rifle Regiment. Lieutenant Colonel Lefebvre was appointed commander, and Major Davout, André’s staff adjutant, served as deputy commander. At the outset, the regiment numbered only 500 men divided into four companies (battalion scale). They wore green jackets and blue trousers. Their principal weapon was a French-improved North American rifle, with an effective range of 400 metres—five times that of a smoothbore musket. Its shortcomings were that loading was extremely slow (and required a small mallet; its practical best range was 250 metres), and it could manage only one shot per minute. The rifle’s special design also made it difficult to mount a bayonet at the muzzle, preventing rapid transition into close-quarters combat.
The reason André established this mountain unit lay in the mountainous terrain of northeastern France, eastern Belgium, and western Germany. André remembered a classic case from the Spanish theatre: in 1813, a British rifle company of only seventy-five men held a bridgehead and successfully resisted 5,000 French troops for ten hours; in the end, with the late-arriving British main force, they annihilated the French, while suffering only eleven casualties…
As relations between France and the Holy Roman Empire worsened, border tensions steadily increased. In early September, at the request of the Ardennes—and with the approval of the Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, General Lafayette—André ordered the First Infantry Regiment of the Champagne Composite Brigade, commanded by Colonel Moncey (promoted), together with the cavalry regiment of Colonel Hoche (promoted), and three artillery companies—3,000 men in total (including 800 cavalry)—to redeploy from the Reims camp on September 28, then march north to Sedan in the Ardennes, about 100 kilometres away. In early October, once formed, the Second Infantry Regiment would be led by Lieutenant Colonel Augereau and ordered to redeploy from the Reims camp to the vicinity of Chalons-en-Champagne, the provincial capital of the Marne.
By then, the once-bustling Bacourt camp would become far quieter. Apart from serving as the site of the headquarters, general staff, artillery regimental command, two levels of military schools, logistics and supply departments, a field hospital, housing for certain soldiers’ families (chiefly junior and mid-level officers and senior NCOs), and the forming Mountain Rifle Regiment, the Bacourt camp would thereafter bear chiefly a training function for ordinary recruits—including rotational training for the National Guard of both the Marne and the Ardennes. And before long, the Reims artillery school would relocate to the southeast of the camp.
After the King’s flight in June, General André renewed his trust in Berthier, his chief of staff. Beginning on September 30, Berthier would assume André’s duties as Acting commander of the Champagne Composite Brigade, with Moncey as deputy commander. Yet understanding Berthier’s timid character, André stipulated that when André himself—far away in Paris—could not make timely decisions, the nine-man senior officers’ council he designated would bear responsibility for major decisions of the Champagne Composite Brigade. Those nine were: Berthier, Moncey, Hoche, Augereau, Chassé, Penduvas, Macdonald, Lieutenant Colonel Petiet (quartermaster), and Major Percy (medical officer).
After these changes, the combat elements of the Champagne Composite Brigade were as follows:
- Brigade commander: vacant; with Lafayette’s tacit consent, for a period no commander would be appointed, and the chief of staff would serve concurrently.
- General staff: Chief of Staff Brigadier General Berthier, Captain Suchet, and others.
- First Infantry Regiment: about 1,800 officers and men; regimental commander Colonel Moncey; Lieutenant Colonel Macdonald as deputy commander and concurrently deputy overall commander of the Ardennes National Guard. Battalion-level commanders included Captain Morand, Captain Gudin, and Captain Friant (Davout’s uncle by marriage), among others.
- Second Infantry Regiment: regimental commander Lieutenant Colonel Augereau; Major Davout as deputy commander; total strength 1,200. Battalion-level commanders included Captain Villed and Captain Dumas, among others.
- Mountain Rifle Regiment (experimental): regimental commander Lieutenant Colonel Lefebvre; deputy commander vacant; current strength capped at 500.
- Artillery regiment: nine companies planned (in effect, divisional-level firepower allocation), currently eight companies; about 1,000 men; more than fifty guns of various calibres from 4-pounders to 12-pounders. The ninth company under formation was a heavy mortar company dedicated to siege operations. Artillery commander Colonel Senarmont; deputy commander Lieutenant Colonel Laclos.
- Cavalry regiment: about 800 men; commander Colonel Hoche; Major Nansouty and Major Wade served as his right and left hands, each commanding a cavalry squadron. In addition, to strengthen striking power, one horse-artillery company under the artillery regiment—equipped with six 4-pound guns—also obeyed Colonel Hoche’s command.
- Gendarmerie regiment: likewise about 800 men; equipped the same as light cavalry, including horses. Beyond enforcing discipline within the Champagne Composite Brigade, it would also supervise the National Guard in both the Marne and the Ardennes. In wartime, it would serve as the headquarters’ strategic reserve. Commander Colonel Chassé; Lieutenant Colonel Brune as deputy commander and concurrently commander of the Reims Guard battalion.
Returning our view to the meeting hall, the great General André continued his one-man performance.
“The Paris of the future will not return to calm; it will continue to convulse. The palace wishes to regain authority; the Assembly naturally will not yield it. Within the Assembly, the Constitutionalists and the Republicans are locked in conflict, and even within the pro-republic factions themselves there are contradictions upon contradictions. While conspirators lurk in corners and watch Paris like predators, the repeated quarrels of two sides, three sides, and many sides—incapable of unity—will have the unfortunate result of placing the French nation upon the arena of the European great powers…
“But for us soldiers, it will be a great age—an age to witness miracles and to create glory. Here, I make my prediction without reservation: within six months, and within one year, a great war that will sweep all Europe will erupt—and the opening theatre will be the Austrian Netherlands. Therefore, gentlemen, begin to act from this moment on: everything for war, and together for victory! Prepare, labour—
“Judging by the present situation, the course of war will involve many reversals and much tug-of-war. Yet the end of the war is already decided: France will win the final victory, and the tricolour will be planted on every land of Europe!
“Of this, I am absolutely convinced!”
…
After the meeting ended, André kept Colonel Moncey, Lieutenant Colonel Macdonald, Colonel Hoche, and Major Penduvas of the Military Intelligence Office behind, likely to issue instructions regarding the deployment around Sedan of the northbound advance detachment. The other officers did not leave at once either; they remained in the hall to wait, because the accounting team dispatched by Bernard, finance director of the United Investment Company, had moved into the adjacent room five minutes earlier, ready to verify and honour the officers’ investment returns from September 1790 to August 1791.
By rank and post, Chief of Staff Berthier was the first to enter. After an elderly accountant confirmed the beneficiary’s identity, he produced a form and explained:
“Colonel Berthier, your half-year return from the cigarette company is 52,000 livres. After deducting 32,000 livres for the purchase of the champagne estate and related fees, your half-year balance is 20,000 livres. Please verify it. If there is no objection, please sign here. As for the balance, will you withdraw cash, or—”
“Mm—reinvest it in the cigarette works,” Berthier replied without much thought. A single older man like him had little sense for financial management, so continuing in the existing project felt safer.
At that moment, a well-dressed young man came out from the inner room and introduced himself to Berthier. “Colonel, good day! I am Renault, a financial adviser of the United Investment Company. Would it be convenient to speak with you for a moment? Oh—this way, please…”
Thus, twenty minutes later, Colonel Berthier had poured his 20,000 livres balance, together with all projected earnings from the cigarette works over the next two years, into the United Steel Company project. Since returning from Paris to the camp, Berthier seemed to have withdrawn from lively balls and luxurious fashions, refocusing his attention on professional books and officer training. Even the champagne estate—sold to him at something between sale and gift—was given over to his parents and brothers to live in, while he continued to reside in the camp quarters.
As for the United Steel Company, despite its impressive name, it was indeed a new industry of the United Investment Company. But because of funding problems, André had turned his attention to the officers’ investment proceeds. For at least one year, the steel company would remain only on the drawing board; if all went smoothly, only after two years would it enter scaled production. Even so, the plant site had long since been selected: in the region of Luxembourg and Liège.
It was not only the chief of staff who was “talked into it.” In truth, the great majority of officers invested their proceeds into the steel company, even though that land—rich with the treasures of industrial civilisation—was still in Austrian hands. But who cared? A soldier’s duty was to expand the nation’s frontiers, and, incidentally, to secure some benefit for himself and his family. Of course, in seeking such benefit, one also had to align it with the supreme commander’s strategic intent—binding interests together. André, having lived two lives, understood this profoundly.
“60,000? Damn it, Augereau—you earned 60,000 livres in half a year!” Lefebvre cried in astonishment as he looked at his former subordinate’s statement. As a man who had once been a Guard captain, Lefebvre’s annual pay—even counting all allowances, subsidies, and rewards from Louis XVI and his Queen—had been no more than 10,000 livres.
By the “fine traditions” of the House of Bourbon, an officer’s pay was often only half paid in cash (sometimes a third), with the remainder made up in various shoddy and overpriced goods—including wigs and pomade. Do not doubt it: this belongs to real history. During the Seven Years’ War, the Prussians even turned these French embarrassments into a song—namely the famous .