gnovel Chapter 38: The Reorganization of the 13th Army
Chapter 38: The Reorganization of the 13th Army
On the morning of August 10, 1870, the Montparnasse train station, which served as the garrison of the French 8th Army, was filled with the sound of orderly footsteps, which drowned out the train whistles.
Wearing his faded marshal's uniform with a Crimean War medal pinned to his chest, Conrobel stood on the concrete platform, scanning the soldiers lined up below.
After nearly 20 days of rectification, this army, which had been hollowed out by corruption, has finally been revitalized.
While Conrobel himself may not have performed well in the military field, his execution ability and loyalty are beyond question.
"The First Division has 9312 personnel present; all personnel are accounted for!"
"Second Division, 9147 personnel present, all personnel accounted for!"
"The Third Division has 8441 personnel present; all personnel are accounted for!"
"The Guard Regiment..."
The reports from the division commanders and officers of the Independent Guard Regiment and Artillery Regiment rang out from under the platform. After the military discipline rectification in Conrobel during this period, regardless of whether they were lax before, at least now their voices had the unique strength and power of soldiers.
On stage, Conrobel slammed his pen down on the roster, making the final stroke, and closed the brand-new book.
On July 28, after Eugène announced the allocation of 7 million francs, he sent a check for 300 million francs that evening. The speed of this action made the loyal old marshal think he was dreaming.
Conrobel originally thought that it would take at least a month to fill those staggering six thousand vacancies, and that he would have to face layers of difficulties and excuses from the War Department.
But Eugène gave him more than just money; he also the absolute authority of the Crown Prince and Governor of Paris. As for those officers who were embezzling public funds, Eugène didn't bother to investigate who was behind it; he simply ordered Camrobelle to remove them all.
Eugène's actions, which disregarded the allocation of military funds and targeted officers of the lowest rank (no higher than colonel), did not spark any protests in Paris.
Three of the battalion commanders who were most guilty of embezzlement were sent directly to a military court by Conrobel, who was acting on his orders, and were executed by firing squad in the square of the train station on the 30th.
After taking action against the corrupt officers, Eugène, who was then "assassinated" and lying in his hospital bed, simply sent someone to deliver a resolute message to him.
"I only want soldiers who can fight, not parasites. I'll take responsibility for any problems that arise."
Despite being assassinated, and still standing up for himself, even willing to die for Eugène, Conrober was also highly motivated to take action.
With the Crown Prince's backing, Camrobel's reorganization proceeded exceptionally smoothly. Due to France's long history of overseas counterinsurgency and colonial expansion wars, a number of experienced veterans retired each year.
Cornelius directly recalled 1200 experienced non-commissioned officers from retired veterans and recruited 4,800 strong young men from farms and factories around Paris, thus filling the 6,000 vacancies quite smoothly.
The three million francs were also spent by Conrobel, mainly 120 million of which was used to make up for the military pay and resettlement expenses owed for the past three months.
Then $100 million was used to purchase brand-new Chassepot breech-loading rifles from the War Department's arsenal, and the remaining $80 was used to improve the soldiers' food and living conditions.
The more than 28000 soldiers on the platform today are using Chassepot rifles that were transported from the armory and are still coated with anti-rust oil. These rifles in good condition were directly distributed to each soldier.
"Marshal, all soldiers' royal allowances have been distributed."
Having received word that Paris was in turmoil, and that Crown Prince Eugène, who had argued with the new government the day before, was coming to inspect the troops.
So Cornrobel had specially gathered the entire army today. A quartermaster jogged up to Cornrobel on the stage and handed him a receipt covered with signatures.
Because of the numerous matters that kept Conrobel occupied, such as reorganizing the army and recruiting soldiers, the marshal only had time to review the army's funding situation before Eugène arrived.
"Every soldier received an extra ten francs, without any deductions. We checked three companies, and no one reported any problems."
Upon hearing the quartermaster's report, Cornwall nodded, a genuine smile appearing on his face—the first one he'd shown since taking command of the army.
The old marshal picked up a Chassepot rifle, skillfully pulled back the bolt, and the crisp metallic clang was particularly pleasant in the morning air.
"Soldiers, you all know to some extent what's happening at the front. Under these circumstances, we need to train even harder. The Crown Prince said that as long as we win the battle, things will be better in the future."
He promised that after the war, the basic pay for all privates would increase from 22.5 francs to 28 francs, while room and board would remain the same...
Conrobel was not good with words and did not have the personal charisma to stir up the soldiers' emotions. Knowing this, Conrobel simply did not say much, but just repeated the promise that Eugène had made.
As he was recounting this, a royal carriage pulled into the train station, the doors opened, and Eugène Napoleon stepped out.
To maintain a sense of closeness with the soldiers, Eugène did not wear a dress uniform; he wore a military dress uniform. At the same time, Eugène cleverly revealed a bit of the white bandage on his shoulder.
"Your Highness."
"Marshal Cornwall, thank you for your hard work."
As he stepped onto the platform, Eugene returned a military salute to the approaching Conrobel, his gaze sweeping over the orderly ranks below.
This army, which could be said to have decided whether Paris belonged to Bonaparte or the Republicans, seems to be in very good spirits now.
"28000 people, they didn't give me too little, they gave me too much. It seems I didn't trust the wrong person."
"This is all thanks to Your Highness. If you hadn't provided the funds and given me absolute power, this army would probably still be a disorganized mess. Those parasites who embezzle funds have already reduced the Thirteenth Army to nothing but an empty shell."
As expected of Cornelius, who was loyal to Bonaparte, he always had a way with words.
Eugène shook his head at the French marshal's compliment, deliberately raising his voice to ensure the soldiers in front of him could hear him clearly.
"This is not a credit, it is what we owe our soldiers. If we send them to their deaths on the front lines with rusty guns and empty stomachs, that would be a disgrace to all of France."
After pausing to make sure that some of the French soldiers in front of the stage had heard him and that their eyes were starting to light up, Eugene continued.
"Yesterday I reached an agreement with Prime Minister Montauban. For the sake of France, the cabinet finally approved my military expansion bill, allowing us to recruit an additional 60,000 new soldiers from Paris and the surrounding provinces on top of the full strength of the 13th Army."
In other words, we can eventually build an 88000-strong force in Cornwall, and we will have the real ability to reverse the tide at the front.