The Crimson Snow - A Story of the Napoleonic Wars (Part 3)

[dupuy 318]

           The days crawled by as Philippe and his unit, as well as all the other foreign and French troops, grew closer to their destination. They finally left the French border behind and ventured into the many Germanic allies of Napoleon. These included Prussia and Austria, with which shaky peace treaties had been signed, and the Kingdom of Saxony.

            As the Grande Armée neared Dresden, the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony, word arrived that Napoleon himself would be reviewing the army when they reached the city. An excited chatter of discussion went through the ranks for several days. Neither Philippe nor Andre had ever seen the emperor, and as a result, they were among the men that were looking forward to the moment the most.

            "What do you think he looks like?" asked Andre for about the fourth time that day. Philippe sighed and gave a slight chuckle. He had quickly learned that his young friend's questions were boundless.

            "I don't know outside of what I've seen in his portraits," Philippe replied, just as he had done the other times the question was asked. Andre gave a laugh.

            "Every time I ask you I hope you'll remember something that you may not have been thinking of the last time. I guess that's not a possibility," he said.

            "Well, after what feels like the twentieth time of your asking the same thing, I think that's safe to say," Philippe replied with a grin. Since he had met Andre, some of the young soldier's boyish qualities had rubbed off on him. Ironically, as he was marching to a possible death, his sense of positivity and humor was better than it had been in years. Now as his unit approached the outskirts of Dresden, he laughed and joked with his camarades like the life of a party.

            The detachment entered Dresden that day, expectant for Napoleon to be there. They were disappointed to find that he was not yet in the city, but brightened up when they learned that he would be arriving in two days, on May 16th. Philippe expected the army to take some rest after their long march from the heart of France, but the officers had different plans. Philippe's detachment met up with the rest of the army in the city and they all began to prepare for the emperor's arrival. Drills were held every hour in rehearsal for the moment when Napoleon himself would review their ranks. Philippe grew more tired from the constant activity, but his excitement sustained him.

            Finally, the sixteenth of May came. As Philippe rose from his bed, nearly all of his tiredness was disposed by his excitement. He ate quickly and did not talk to anyone but Andre, who seemed as enthusiastic as he did. Before long, the army was assembling outside the city, awaiting the arrival of their emperor. No area within Dresden could hold the massive Grande Armée, meaning that they would have to wait on the outskirts of the city. Philippe stood on the tips of his feet, searching for the horse bearing the man who had built this force. Finally, he saw it.

            "Present arms!" came the bellow of the sergeant ahead. Four hundred thousand French rifles and roughly two hundred sixty thousand allied ones were raised on the order, creating a resounding sound of flesh slapping on wood and steel that echoed many yards away. Despite his fatigue from the long march, Philippe was awestruck by the scene all around him. A glimmering sea of bayonets and cavalry sabers flashed as far as the eye could see, and thousands upon thousands of soldiers stood in perfect formation.

            "Surely," thought Philippe, "Surely, we are unstoppable. We could not fail at this invasion."

 

            "Vive L'Empereur!" came a distant shout. It was repeated by the army in a deafening roar of voices that carried farther than a cannon shot. Immediately after, the cry was transformed into a steady cheer that filled the air for miles. Philippe strained his eyes at the front ranks of the crowd and could just make out Napoleon's snow-white horse clopping along the length of the lines. The emperor himself sat as tall as he possibly could in the saddle, but was still noticeably shorter than all of his aids. Philippe had expected him to be taller than he was.

            Napoleon dismounted and began to walk along the front ranks, reviewing the regiments. Philippe was surprised to see how many soldiers he took time to address, and how many regiments he reviewed. Philippe was too far from the front lines to talk directly with the emperor, but he heard later that Napoleon had even promoted some soldiers to officers. The cheering continued as the emperor finished his review and waved to his soldiers before remounting his horse. The fervor that swept the army reached its climax as they bid their commander adieu with the loudest cheers yet. Philippe was nearly hoarse from yelling, and he could hear Andre screaming out a last "Vive L'Empereur!". Eventually, the call to disperse came from the regimental officers, and the soldiers disassembled to eat. Philippe finally had a real meal for the first time after leaving France. Even though a bowl of soup was not necessarily a banquet, it was much appreciated relief from the hardtack and dried meat that they had been forced to survive on while traveling. Spirits were very high among the soldiers, and they seemed ready to take on the Russian army with their bare hands.

            "We'll beat them! I know we will!" said Andre enthusiastically. Even though Philippe didn't let his excitement show quite as much as his young friend, he felt the same way. Russia was a nation of poor and undernourished serfs, after all: How good could their army really be?

            "Maybe the emperor isn't mad after all," thought Philippe as he finished his meal. He had been foolish to ever question the judgment of Napoleon as he did back in France. No, the emperor was most certainly sound in mind and deed. He knew what he was doing.

            "Victory is ours already," though Philippe. He was almost sure of that phrase - almost.

 

Spoiler

camarades - comrades

 

Vive L'Empereur - Long Live the Emperor

 

[Venerable 2,971]

Approved!

In chapter three, dupuy gives us a peek into the daily life of the soldiers. As the Grande Armée advances further towards Russia, the soldiers get a short break from their mundane routine in the form of an imperial inspection by none other than Napoleon himself. As far as the plot is concerned, this chapter doesn't have anything overly extravagant or exciting - but it does help the story progress. 

This piece could have been longer, dupuy; and in my opinion, this was a good opportunity to describe the daily routine of the soldiers of the Grande Armée in a slightly more detailed way. 

Edits: A few typos, minor rephrases. 

Spoiler

• "As Philippe's unit, as well as all the other units neared Dresden" was changed to "As the Grande Armée neared Dresden", to avoid repetition and confusion.
• "after what feels like twenty times of you asking the same thing" was changed to "after what feels like the twentieth time of your asking the same thing" for clarity. It also sounds better.
• "Philippe stood at the tip of his feet" is incorrect. I changed it to "Philippe stood on the tips of his feet". An even better alternative is "Philippe stood on the tips of his toes".
• "creating a resounding sound of flesh slapping on wood and steel" sounds better than "creating a resounding slap of flesh on wood and steel", but feel free to return it back to your version. I liked your choice of words. :)
• "Immediately thereafter" was changed to "immediately after", even though they mean pretty much the same thing. "Immediately after" is almost like a collocation.
• There were only two typos: a missed capitalization, and one usage of "bear" instead of bare...  Well, we Reporters are here to edit any mistakes, but it always feels good when your piece is almost perfect - no one likes too many edits! Try and devote more time to proofread your work. Don't be in a hurry to submit a piece!
• Can't wait for the next chapter!

By the way, thank you for adding the spoiler in the end explaining all the French phrases used!

[Sabry 1,074]

Yeppers, French sentences are correct