9. Fostering Ties with the Military Loyalists
June 12, 1775, France, Tuileries Palace, King's office.
I decided to hold a meeting with the military to build some rapport. Starting with Army Minister Claude Louis de Saint-Germain, a throng of distinguished generals filed in. And among them came the Marquis de Lafayette, one of the French officers I'd seen in my world history classes.
I familiarized myself with their faces while reviewing the dossiers on their backgrounds. They certainly looked the part of an old-fashioned army. The top brass were all dukes, counts, and marquises. Saint-Germain in particular struck me as a doddering old man on his last legs.
Wait a second. He was a doddering old man on his last legs. Born in 1705? That made him seventy years old. And... Count de Saint-Germain. The name rang a bell. Wasn't there a famous one among the Saint-Germains?
Ahem, ahem.
As I lapsed into thought, Saint-Germain cleared his throat to liven up the atmosphere. Ah, right—I was the highest-ranking one here, so they couldn't speak first.
"Thank you all for coming. No doubt the recent events have left you all in some confusion. Indeed. So I'd like to hear a bit about the military's grievances. Let's start with the Army Minister. What troubles you? No, that's the wrong question. What must we do to make the French army a strong army?"
"Your Majesty. The current French army is little more than the private forces of the nobility. The recent demobilization retired officers who abused their soldiers to a severe degree, reducing the problem somewhat, but rank is still secondary to birth."
Saint-Germain spoke without a moment's hesitation. Even among the loyalists, there were officers treating the army like their personal fiefdoms.
"Continue."
"Moreover, the officers' extravagance has reached absurd heights. The demobilization culled those who flaunted their luxury most outrageously, but the culture of ostentation they spread lingers. Some officers bedeck their uniforms with glittering precious metals. Precious metals that sparkle on the battlefield? It's practically begging to be target practice. If a commander's debauchery ended with personal ruin, that would be one thing, but when a commander falls in wartime, every soldier under him is endangered. Thus, I propose establishing strict military discipline and regulations, and standardizing uniforms to eliminate displays of wealth."
I'd heard that line plenty in school. Uniforms are needed because clothes show class differences. In reality, uniforms were so damn expensive that you still had hand-me-down wearers versus those buying new ones, splitting right along class lines.
"I understand the Army Minister's point well. Conveniently, that's just what I had in mind. Shall we fund textile factories from the treasury, producing only vast quantities of grayish-white patterned fabric? Build attached sewing workshops beside them to produce the uniforms. What say you?"
This was the perfect chance to roll out camouflage uniforms too. Grayish-white dye could be made with charcoal or ink. This was a tech cheat, right? History changed from little things like this. Obviously.
"Your Majesty. What of blue?"
"No. Didn't the Army Minister just say it? Not just glittering metals—flashy uniforms are dangerous too."
"Quite right, Your Majesty."
In World War I, they wore blue coats and red pants, failed at camouflage, and got slaughtered. Wait another 150 years or so. They'd all be singing my praises.
"I'll ban ornamental jewelry and permit only standard military gear. That said, a total ban won't do. Parade uniforms will come with authorized parade accoutrements."
"An excellent measure."
That settled the Army Minister...
"Captain Lafayette. Any inconveniences on your end?"
I addressed the eighteen-year-old junior officer.
"I'm content, Your Majesty. Satisfied as is."
Ah, right. I was the king. In modern terms, it was like the U.S. or Korean president gathering the defense secretary and generals, then asking a captain if he had gripes.
"Lafayette, speak freely without worry. Being here means you've passed my scrutiny. Talk about your company, other companies—what you've observed, what needs fixing."
Even then, he'd probably clam up. I'd been grilled plenty by captains during roll call as a private. Lafayette was a soldier too; he'd likely...
"Your Majesty. The training regimen is a mess. To build a strong army, we must systematize training to forge elite troops."
Lafayette. A true soldier.
"Captain Lafayette. Can you elaborate on how training currently operates?"
"Yes. First, the recent demobilization retired many noble officers en masse, so discipline is slowly straightening out. But compared to foreign armies, our line formations are still clumsy. The overall military system suffers the same. We even copy Prussian tactics blindly without independent analysis. We don't grasp why Prussians use triple lines sometimes, or why dispersing dilutes firepower. We just mimic because Prussia trains that way..."
The Seven Years' War's aftershocks had at least instilled recognition that the army needed reform. But no doctrinal research? Had I purged the military doctrine institute during my dormancy?
"Rhine Infantry. You're speaking of line infantry tactics. Can't doctrine research handle that?"
"Lately, with no real combat, the biggest issue seems to be that young officers and soldiers stick rigidly to what they learned at the Louis le Grand Academy without much adaptation. Veterans and senior commanders should fill the gaps, but Seven Years' War participants cling to bad habits and push flawed tactics."
Fair point. Young officers risked blame for botched innovations.
"Then, Captain Lafayette, I'll entrust military doctrine research to you. As a pilot program. Major Lafayette, establish an Army Doctrine Research Institute. Nominate needed officers, research doctrines, devise training methods."
The one who speaks up first gets the job. Right?
"I shall obey. But Your Majesty, officers with Seven Years' War experience outrank me and may balk at my nominations."
"Worry not, Lieutenant Colonel Lafayette. No issue there."
"?"
"Why would there be? Your regiment commander's a colonel, after all."
I pulled the two-star insignia from my drawer and pinned it to Brigadier General Lafayette's shoulder. What was this triple-diamond nonsense? Take this two-star design I made myself. Two lilies? Nah, two stars were way better.
"Major General Lafayette. Field units are at capacity right now. The only major general slot open is Army Doctrine Research Institute Director."
The only major general post available was institute director! Haha!
...No one laughed. Well, it was a meteoric promotion. An eighteen-year-old becoming a general. First teen general without a coup, probably. Stars usually came around fifty.
Still, no plans to go beyond major general. The general structure wasn't solid yet—division and corps commanders held real power, above them just honorary posts for the military. France's generalships were like caps for old-timers like Saint-Germain who'd made names in the past.
...Seemed better treated than 21st-century Korea.
"Then, Major General Lafayette, I count on you. Expecting breakthroughs in line infantry tactics."
This era's tactics baffled me. No machine guns yet, so cavalry still dominated. Trenches? Cavalry would just poke and kill. And I didn't know machine gun blueprints anyway. Steady study was fine, but experts would do better.
"Prussia clings to line infantry for good reason. I'm a layman in military matters. Major General Lafayette, I trust you."
"...I shall devote every effort to meet Your Majesty's expectations."
June 12, 1775, France, Tuileries Palace, King's office.
"Why the long face?"
"Too many sore spots? Pinpoint exactly what's bothering them."
"The Marquis de Lafayette. That sudden promotion will breed envy. A mere company captain jumping straight to division command? The Second Estate will gleefully decry it as dictatorship—er, criticize it."
"Let them. The Marquis de Lafayette has the talent."
History-book material meant talent aplenty, right?
"The Estates-General's deference to royal authority only favors us on taxes—for now. The military power struggle is ongoing. One misstep, and they could seize the army."
Napoleon would turn them all into nobodies anyway. Why fuss? This flashy promotion was precedent for seating him as lieutenant colonel right after academy graduation.
"It's fine. France's state justifies it. Noble officers have family backing, but the king can't? That's the real issue."
"Can't argue there. Truly... Your Majesty does it, but the nobility's something else."
"Isn't that France's current address? A land ruled by powerhouses wielding more authority than any dictator."
"France's future looks bright."
Wrong take.
"Terray. France's future is dark. Just a bit brighter than now."
"Hardly proper. Keep this up, and history might judge us harshly."
"Not proper, no. But not wrong either. Better other nations die than France."
Just as better nobles die than me.