On the tenth
of April in the year 1809 several things happened. First of which was the price
of cheese in the city of Paris rose almost 2 cents. This caused much anguish to
the people of Paris and rioting almost began. The reason the French in Paris
did not riot was the news that the Austrians, those damned Nancys living to the
east, had invaded southern Germany...again. By today's' thinking that is a most
unusual thing, but in the early 1800s the Austrians were always causing some
mishap (if not them then it was most assuredly the English) and so it was up to
the French to move quickly to restore German pride (again, not a common thing
now-days) and so, the Great Cheese Riots of 1809 did not happen.
What did happen was that the Emperor of the French, one Napoleon Bonaparte, ordered his rather large army that had been taking in the sea air on the French coast in preparation for the invasion of England, to pack up and head east. One of these units in the French army was the 21ere Regiment de Ligne, or in the English way of saying it: The 21st Line. It was part of the 3rd Division of the III Corps commanded by Marchel Davout.
There were three battalions in the 21st. Each fielded about 700 men in the ranks in six companies. The one we are most interested in is the 1st Battalion, 3rd company. To be more exact, we are interested in 3 fusiliers. This is the story they have set down about their adventures during this epic campaign. The author cannot comment about the validity of their story, I am merely translating the words from their diaries from French into English, in the hope that someone may find interest in this remarkable story.
What did happen was that the Emperor of the French, one Napoleon Bonaparte, ordered his rather large army that had been taking in the sea air on the French coast in preparation for the invasion of England, to pack up and head east. One of these units in the French army was the 21ere Regiment de Ligne, or in the English way of saying it: The 21st Line. It was part of the 3rd Division of the III Corps commanded by Marchel Davout.
There were three battalions in the 21st. Each fielded about 700 men in the ranks in six companies. The one we are most interested in is the 1st Battalion, 3rd company. To be more exact, we are interested in 3 fusiliers. This is the story they have set down about their adventures during this epic campaign. The author cannot comment about the validity of their story, I am merely translating the words from their diaries from French into English, in the hope that someone may find interest in this remarkable story.
