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| Republic of Rome |
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| Napoleonic French Infantry Uniforms |
The Emperor never expected to avoid war, but for sake of teh French peace party the gesture had to be made. Once the intentions of the Allies were made manifest and they could be castigated as aggressors by French propaganda, the mask could be dropped with safety. On April 8 mobilization was ordered, but the Emperor still hesitated to reintroduce the hated conscription for a further three weeks. In the meantime a torrent of edicts poured from Paris to make the most of available resources, for speed was vital if the Allied retribution was to be forestalled. Every military commodity was in short supply - horses, harness, ammunition, clothing, weapons - but by tremendous efforts the deficiencies were slowly made good. Every week a million and a half cartridges were manufactured; every day Paris workshops produced 1,250 uniforms. Arsenals and depots were ransacked for firearms, however ancient, and teams of ordnance experts worked night and day to adapt the old weapons and refurbish them.
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| Bonaparte the Ogre ... |
Napoleon hesitated to order full mobilization, for he was well aware that the vast majority of the people were wholly opposed to a renewal of hostilities.
As a gesture to public opinion - and to win time - the Emperor at once put out peace feelers toward the Allied governments, hoping that their growing disillusionment with the House of Bourbon and the festering political divisions within their ranks would play into his hands and persuade at least a few to accept a fait accompli and acknowlege Napoleon as the ruler of France.
Any such hopes were soon dashed ino oblivion. Seven days before the Emperor reached Paris, the representatives of the Powers met at Vienna to outlaw the Emperor and to pledge over half a million men for the destruction of "the Ogre" once and for all. On March 25 a formal treaty of alliance was signed between England, Austria, Prussia and Russia, and the Seventh Coalition came into being, backed by a promise of £ five million in English gold. Prussia and England at once put a joint force of 150,000 men into the field, and the other governments began their preparations. All negotiations with Napoleon were broken off.
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| Napoleon enters the Tuileries |
On March 20 Napoleon entered the Palace of the Tuileries, and was once more in control of the apparatus of government, though he never regained his old absolute power. Revolutionary figures from the dim past -- Carnot and Constant -- were persuaded to serve in his government, but the Chamber remained aloof and cautious. Napoleon and the State were never again synonymous, and the Emperor could no longer repeat the proud claim of Louis XIV: "L'etat, c'est moi." Vast efforts were made to rally the Parisians behind the new regime, culminating in June 1 in a huge celebration entitled Le champ de mai. The civic part of the ceremony proved a ludicrous fiasco, but the military parade that followed was as impressive as ever.
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| The Royal Family. From left to right: Charles, Count of Artois, Louis XVIII, Marie Caroline, Duchesse of Berry, Marie Thérèse, Duchesse of Angoulême, Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême and Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry. |
Small incidents sometimes sway great events. Just as James II of England is reputed to have decided that his cause was hopeless when he overheard one of his sentries whistling "Lillibullero" -- the marching song of William of Orange's rebels --- so the Bourbon Government noted with growing concern the signs of popular alienation. In addition to humorous lampoons, grimmer slogans of Jacobin origin appeared overnight on the walls of Paris: "Down with the Priests! Down with the nobles! Death to the Royalists! Bourbons to the scaffold!" Exacerbated by the hard conditions of economic inflation, the Paris mob and metayers were once agani becoming restive. Serious rioting in the streets of the capital was not calculated to cheer the heirs of St. Louis, already hypnotized by Napoleon's seemingly inexorable advance, and on March 19 the Royal Court decamped from Paris and fled for the Belgian frontier and renewed exile. Over one hundred days were to pass before they regained their capital.
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| promotional image used for Command Zone invitation |
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| Marshal Ney |
Meanwhile the Bourbon Government vainly issued orders for the Emperor's arrest and dispatched increasing numbers of troops to intercept his journey. Marshal Ney promised Louis XVIII the he would return to Paris with Napoleon "in an iron cage," but when his forces met the Emperor near Auxerre on March 14 the old attraction again proved too strong and the men once more destered en masse, followed by their commander. In Paris some wit posted a large notice in the Palace Vendome: "From Napoleon to Louis XVIII. My good brother -- there is no need to send any more troops -- I have enough."
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| this time more promotional images were made to tell the story on the Arcadian Guild site |
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| while the normal panorama shots were still made for the players |
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| France map |
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| British Map |
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| promotional view, showing off the new smoke and burning effects |
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| greater detail of the burning effect, I like how the pond looks in this shot also |
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| late in the battle, the French could not win the day ... |
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| Prussian map |
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| Napoleon at balcony addressing the crowds |
The advance toward Paris continued in an atmosphere of general jubilation. At every stop Napoleon harangued assemblies of local people, adapting the tone of his address to suit the tastes of his varied audiences. To countrymen he promised security of land and tenure; to townsfolk he guaranteed fiscal reform; to everybody he spoke of peace and prosperity. Napoleon was at all times a brilliant opportunist.
The First real crisis took place at Laffrey, fifteen miles south of Grenoble, where the small band of adventurers found themselves faces by the 5th Regiment of the Line. Bloodshed was narrowly averted by the coolness of the Emperor, who once again displayed his personal power over soldiers. Advancing alone be bared his breast to the leveled muskets. "Soldiers of the 5th, you can shoot your Emperor if you dare! Do you not recognize me as your Emperor? Am I not your old General?" Noticing the growing hesitation, Napoleon won over the waverers by repeatedly adding a piece of blatantly untrue propaganda. "It is not ambition which brings me among you. The forty-five best heads of the Government of Paris have called me from Elba and my return is supported by the three first powers of Europe." With one accord the soldiers broke ranks and flocked forward, shouting "Vive l'Emereur." The crisis was past an the moment was decisive -- for the first units of the army had rallied to Napoleon and he was consequently once more a force on the international scene. Grenoble opened its gates and the citizens gave Napoleon a rapturous welcome, while the local dignitaries feverishly sought their old tricolor sashes and locked away the Bourbon insignia. At St. Helena the Emperor reminisced: "Before Grenoble I was an adventurer; at Grenoble I was a ruling Prince."
Napoleon & the 5th Regiment of the Line
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| re-en-actors in 2014 |
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| Napoleonic Chess Set |
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| Axis & Allies an old favorite |
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| Republic of Rome - impossible task ... win the 2nd Punic War with straw men |
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| Conquest of the Empire ... deep into the cash |
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| some time in the sun |
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| still learning how to hold the weapon and needing a close steady hand watching him |
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| my 'action man' hitting target almost every time now |
