The Shadow of Great Britain
Chapter 974 - 47 Vendee Past_2

Chapter 974: Chapter 47 Vendee Past_2

In the old mindset, joining the army was never seen as an obligation but as a right. They neither understood nor wanted to hear those newly invented terms, such as ’national interests’ or ’patriotism.’ What they saw was the new government arresting and executing their spiritual leaders while trying to force them to leave their farms to join the army and die.

What they found most unbearable was that the members of the National Guard sent from Paris were all so arrogant, being unwilling to go and die themselves but forcing others to do so.

So, unsurprisingly, when the conscription order for 300,000 people was issued to the provinces, these farmers rose up in rebellion.

Moreover, in the beginning, this movement could not even be called an uprising, as it did not have a unified organizer. Typically, residents of villages teamed up to kill the conscript officer who came to forcefully conscript them or spontaneously attacked lone republican soldiers to seize their guns and weapons.

These riots, when looked at individually, were small in scale, but they were extremely numerous.

However, when the republican government labeled these farmer riots as a counterattack and restoration of feudal forces and began dispatching troops to suppress them, under external pressure, the farmers quickly joined forces.

Curiously, they did not initially claim to be Orthodox Party Royalists, nor did they ever intend to speak out for Louis XVI or the Bourbon Dynasty. But if they were to be defined, they could, at most, be considered defenders of Catholic faith.

When the republicans regarded this group of rebel farmers as the base camp for the restoration of feudal forces, the Orthodox Party Royalists belatedly realized they had a territory of their own.

This is not to blame the Royalists for their slow reaction, as during the Bourbon Dynasty, they always regarded the farmers of Brittany and Vendee as unruly, and their reverence for the Royal Family was unlike that of other regions.

However, these least obedient farmers resolutely stood out when everyone else turned to the republicans.

Consequently, the Orthodox Party Nobility who were originally disheartened and ready to flee abroad abandoned their plans for escape and took up the task of leading and commanding this farmer army equipped only with spears, sickles, and hunting rifles.

These farmer army leaders were also very willing to hand over command to these true Nobility. As the farmers would say, they did so because: "Let the Nobility lead us, not because they are braver than us, but because they understand strategy and tactics better."

After the Nobility joined, the farmer army finally began to have banners like the ’Catholic Prince Army.’

The well-trained Orthodox Party Nobility, seasoned in military life, also excelled in accomplishing their tasks. They inspired the farmers’ courage through the heroic battle techniques passed down through generations.

For example, the romantic 21-year-old Marquis Henry de La Rochejaquelein was brave in battle and charming, being quite famous locally.

During the siege of Tours, Devigny saw that the attack was not progressing and personally led four officers to penetrate the heavily defended theater inside the city, capturing two cannons. His rallying cry to inspire the farmers remains talked about to this day: "I charge, follow me! I retreat, kill me! I die, bury me!"

In the second Battle of Fontenay, noble commander Lescure issued an attack order, but the rebels hesitated due to fear. At this moment, Lescure rode alone on a white horse, waving his hat and shouting: "Long live the King!"

When the Republican Army showered him with bullets, Lescure returned unscathed to his ranks and shouted loudly: "You see, there’s nothing to fear! Those Republicans don’t know how to shoot at all!"

With Lescure’s demonstration, the rebel soldiers gathered courage and won the Battle of Fontenay.

However, although the rebels initially achieved a series of significant military victories and almost captured the entire northwest stronghold of France, internal discord soon arose.

The staunchest Royalist Nobility wanted to take advantage and attack Paris.

But the Nobility who understood the situation were aware of their soldiers’ demands; these farmers simply wanted to oust the republican government from their homeland so they could live peacefully, not to restore royalty in Paris. They believed they should consolidate their existing territories and capture all of Brittany while seeking Britain’s support from across the Channel.

During this time, the rebels also suffered heavy losses in the battle to capture the strategic town of Nantes, with farmer leader Cathelineau being killed by a cannonball on the spot. Meanwhile, 22-year-old noble commander Larochejaquelein Marquis, during a guerrilla reconnaissance mission with his remaining troops, encountered two Republican soldiers claiming they wanted to surrender to him. After talking with them and turning to leave, unexpectedly, the two soldiers shot him in the head.

The unfavorable attack and the significant casualties among the rebel leaders and noble commanders gradually demoralized the soldiers.

When the Jacobin Party armed itself and seized power in Paris, replacing the Girondin faction, the rebels were met not with negotiations but with a tough order from the National Assembly—the Western Army must immediately launch a full-scale attack on the Vendee rebels and conclude the northwest conflict.