Les Muscadins As France reacts to the end of tyranny, the prison doors have opened, and a new force is to be seen on the streets of Paris. Former detainees, artists, and middle class types now find them-selves with time on their hands and the country is being taken over by a new craze. Ostentatiously dressed in tight fitting coats, and close knee breeches, they roam around the Cafes and bars bedecked with large monocles, wigs, and ribbons. Their female companions are equally provocative strolling almost naked in sheaths of transparent gauze. All this would be fun, but some have taken to carrying clubs to beat up those they associate with the former regime One benefit from the Muscadins has been the dispersal of the Jacobins. Their clubs are being closed down and their members driven out. This should ensure there can be no return to the reign of terror. The biggest threat to France now seems to be food shortages. A very poor harvest alongside the unrest in Paris has lead to worries that there will not be enough to feed the country through the winter. Conscription has lead to a shortage of labour in the fields, and cattle have been requisitioned by the Army. It is to be hoped that angry farmers will not horde grain in an attempt to push prices up. De Beauharnais A favourite of Citizen Barrass, Josephine de Beauharnais, was amongst those reprieved by the fall of Robespierre. Too late though for her husband, Alexandre was beheaded a month before Thermidor. Like many other former detainees she will have difficulty picking up the threads of her life in the new republic. Victoire des Sanculottes The Austrian government seems to have decided to evacuate the Netherlands and the Army of Sambre et Meuse has advanced to the Rhine. Troops under General Championnet have entered Cologne, and a new frontier has been established. In the south, too, General Dugommier has secured the Pyrenean front, and actually advanced into Catalonia, driving the Spanish Armies before him. Talk is now rife that the Austrian and Prussian governments will want to open peace negotiations especially in view of some news from the east. A Russian Army under General Suvorov has destroyed the Polish Army and the leader of the Polish Patriots Thadeusz Kosciuszcho has been taken prisoner. Whilst the Polish uprising mirrored that in France, the Prussians will not take kindly to a strong Russian presence on their borders. La strategie du Maquis In France unrest continues in the Vendee where Charette and Stofflet are fermenting further rebellion from their bases in the Marshes. Additional concern was voiced with the news that Cadou-dal, the Royalist terrorist, had escaped from custody in Brittany and had been able to rejoin Les Blancs. Much of the reason for the continued unrest has been the brutal atrocities committed in the name of the revolution by Jean Baptiste Carrier. General Canclaux has been recalled to head the Army of the West, and has asked Colonel Grouchy to join him as Chief of Staff. It is to be hoped that this conflict can be brought to an end, and that the Chouans can be appeased. Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #20 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com