A Curious Predicament
The army moved slowly, as if, quite literally it was on it's stomach. The mass of men, their faces and clothes worn from weeks of battle, shifted lethargically along the ancient Roman roads. Faces were no longer distinguishable, and instead came to vision a mass of blue and white, with the occasional smudge of red. Standards bearing the fleur-de-lys superimposed on the chest of a eagle waved slanted in the air, their carriers lacking the strength or will to hoist them up into their proper position. The sight was somewhat disenchanting, yet understandibly, the men were tired - and had recently finished several weeks of campaigning. The officers, lead by Generale Patrice MacMahon, a frenchman of irish descent, marched at the head of the column, flanked by numerous aids.
"Congradulations, Général." intoned M. Percival de Villipen, Imperial aide-de-camp to the Second Army, the Armée de l'italie. "You have achieved a victory, perhaps not stunning, but a victory it was, and you managed not to bankrupt us at the same time. His Imperial Majesty will be most pleased."
His tone was as haughty as ever as he complimented MacMahon in his usual manner of sarcastic understatement.
MacMahon, almost as tired as his men, though he would not admit it, replied rather in a rather unenthusiastic "Indeed". This was contrary to his nature. Usually the General would jokingly combat Percival's sardonic wit.
The aid, noticing the Général's less than happy mood, left the conversation at that, and adjusted his glasses, returning to an almost laughable pose atop his horse.
Meanwhile, MacMahon went over the past several weeks in his mind. So many deaths, he thought to himself. So many lives wasted. He had seen combat before, no doubt, but most of it had been in the colonies. They, he stated confidently in his mind, were savages, and needed proper punishment before they could be civilized by the grace of France. There was nothing wrong with civilizing a peoples, yet his recent actions in Europe had left a considerable mark on his psyche. What did he fight for, he wondered. Why did men think it neccessary to send thousands to their deaths for titles and land? Why were good Europeans destroying themselves as the world burned around them? He thought on these issues for quite some time, staring aimlessly at the road ahead. However, fearing his own train of thought, he quickly brought his attention to more urgent matters. Such questions were not for soldiers to ask.
Things seemed rather quiet along the road. The silence made him nervous.
"Louis, how much longer until nightfall."
Louis, a rather young officer of the Garde, replied "Some hours until then, Monsieur, we should reach camp before that time."
"Verywell." MacMahon replied.
The army continued on its path for quite some time afterwards as an endless rumble against the soft earth. The sun stood in a usual midday position, and its heat emphasised the tiredness of the soldiers.
"Le message pour le Général!Le message pour le Général!" cried a scout, rearing his horse in next to those of the officers.
He was quite filthy, his face and trousers splattered with mud, yet behind the mask of dirt one could see that he was quite young. Perhaps no older than 17.
"Umbertoist forces have been most stunningly defeated. All of France praises you.." His voice listed out the usual laudatory praise which MacMahon found himself constantly assaulted by.
"Enough, Enough" declared Louis, waving his hand in the air. "Get to the point, boy."
"Yes, sir." He paused.
"Umbertoists, though defeated, have raised one final force in an attempt to destroy his majesty's Grande Armée. That force lies just some distance over the hill. The Chasseurs, to which I belong, were attacked by a force of Italian cavalry. Our numbers were small, and so we fled. I wish to inform you of this threat, as they are headed in our direction, intent on capturing Turin."
Louis and Percival laughed together. "A rag tag force of Italians defeating us?" Louis jibed.
"We are not mere cavalry scouts, this is the Grande Armée, boy. Not get going before you are killed." He waved his hand arrogantly oncemore.
Percival, noting with pleasure the situation, was about to say something, yet was interupted by a sound which was at the same time familiar and horrifying.
The ground infront of them erupted in a pillar of smoke and dust. The unmistakeable hum of an artillery shell and the following explosion silenced them all. The standards stood perpendicular to the ground.
"Men at the ready! Form a line! Form a line!" Barked the Général. A signifier played his horn.
The men assembled quickly, the noise of combat quickly shaking them from their near inebriated state. This was the result of years of drilling, and weeks of combat. Pride filled the Général's heart before being eclisped with greater concerns.
The artillery fire stopped. Now was the time.
"Marchon!" He declared, his saber waving in the air.
And now the men, lead by MacMahon, surged forward, a wave of bodies and bayonets which consumed whatever lay infront of it. Quickly they overcame a small hill coming into full view of the Umbertoist forces. What they saw though, was not what they expected. Instead of finding angered Italians, what they found was both angered Italians and Germans fighting amongst each other. The Grey coats of the Holy Roman Empire's men stood out clearly against the green of Umberto's forces.
The war, it seemed, had not yet ended. Instead, it had only got more confusing.
The sons of France, determined, confident, and unaffected, charged forwards.