Ferdinand of the Artillery (Frog Stomp Diaries)

[marcuspeddle]

This story is based on the Frog Stomp PBEM being played by myself, Paddythescot, Aqualung, and Ricketyclik. Nothing fancy here; just the story of a poor sap sent to war by his dad.

[marcuspeddle]

It was February of 1802 when Ferdinand¡¯s father put his paper on the table one morning and said patriotically, ¡°All the sons of Europe are leaving their farms and boats to fight the tyrant that rose in France. Ferdinand, my boy, I believe you should also volunteer for the army like your two older brothers.¡±

"But father, I have no skills. I cannot ride a horse well and I have never been good with a rifle.¡±

¡°Then join the artillery. If a man can¡¯t aim he can at least load a cannon or tie it to a team of horses.¡±

And so Ferdinand left his home the next week and learned the science of artillery. Training was rigorous but somewhat disappointing as most gunpowder was sent to the front and hardly any was available for training. Still, now and then Ferdinand¡¯s group received a box of powder and for a day or so they pounded targets on a hill with cannon shot.

After three months of training, Ferdinand and his company attached their artillery pieces to a team of horses and set off for France. Although gunpowder was in short supply during training, the army was not stingy with it once training was finished. The army also supplied strong, hardy horses to pull their weapons across the Pyrenees.

[marcuspeddle]

During the Spanish campaign against the French, Ferdinand kept a diary in which he occassionally wrote. Some of his entries have been selected for the

Frog Stomp Diaries

[marcuspeddle]

February 1802

Training is over and we are leaving for France today. My unit received a large amount of gunpowder which we put in cases on the artillery carts. Our local commanders say that the roads to Pamplona are safe so we are not travelling with any infantry or cavalry and we have just our own small arms to fight with should the French make their way into the country. It is craziness but we cannot say so to our superiors. I heard rumours that many of our cavalry and infantry have been killed crossing the mountains.

[marcuspeddle]

May 1802

May 5th, 1802

We crawl slowly across Spain. I don¡¯t know why we don¡¯t have a cartwright of our own instead of having to look for one in the villages every time a wheel breaks. On the one hand it¡¯s irritating but on the other hand it means we will be slower getting into action . . . .

May 15th, 1802

Good news today! The 2nd Army sucessfully crossed into France and is heading for Bordeaux. And even better news! The 1st Army took Montauban with only a few casualities and no units were completely destroyed. Our corporal tells us we may be joining the 1st Army but he¡¯s not sure.

[marcuspeddle]

July 2nd, 1802
Travelling is dreadful. A number of our horses became ill with something near Medina and we were delayed again. The war will be over by the time we get to France.

July 29th, 1802
More rumours. The 1st Army is sitting in Montauban and is not eager to leave. Apparently there have been a few executions because of drunkeness and insubordination. I also hear the locals are revolting and reinforcements are arriving slowly. Like ourselves. The 2nd Army is doing somewhat better and has moved into a forested area near Bordeaux to defend against Napolean¡¯s Royal cavalry.. They are waiting for reinforcements and will then try to take the town.

[Paddy]

interesting

bloody good to read

hope you enjoy the game and continue with this story

[marcuspeddle]

Thanks for the compliment. The game is loads of fun and writing about it makes it even more fun.

[marcuspeddle]

September 10th, 1802
The weather is still warm but getting cooler as we go up the Pyrenees. I hope we can be over them by the time the rains and snow come; the cannons will be impossible to move over winter terrain on these mountain roads.

September 14th, 1802
We have arrived at the top of the mountains and below us lays France. The autumn landscape is beautiful and I can almost smell the vinyards from here. In the far distance I can see columns of smoke that we are told come from Bordeaux. The 2nd Army has been shelling the town a little to soften it up for the main attack.

September 17th, 1802

On our way to Bordeauz we met the 2nd Army¡¯s 1st Cavalry heading back to Spain. They had many casualities and many soldiers were without horses. Apparently they made a premature attack on Bordeaux but were defeated by infantry hidden about the town. The 2nd army is now waiting for the recently arrived reinforcements to get organised before launching an all out attack on the city. I wonder if we¡¯ll get there in time to see action.

September 23rd
More news from the top. The French have retaken Valence (which was held by the Austrians) and so the 1st Army has had their cups taken away and are now marching in that direction. That is somewhat to our advantage as they are no longer hording the wine and some of it has come to us.
Apparently the British are also near Valence so it looks like retaking the city will be something of an international effort. Or an international mess once the generals start arguing about who should control the city.

[marcuspeddle]

January 2nd, 1803

It¡¯s the new year but not a very happy one. Our troops had a glass of wine on New Year¡¯s Day and started marching the last few kilometers to Bordeaux. The 2nd army did not wait for us to begin the attack but no doubt they wish they did. Three complete units of cavalry were killed and several other severely weakened in the attack. When the Cavalry were all used up they sent in foot soldiers. Four units of foot soldiers were wiped out but they finally took the city. I heard that the cannon fire before the battle was extremely ineffective. I wonder if we could have done better?

February 12th, 1803

Messengers have told us of events at Valence. A real bloodbath. Austria retook Valence but it was almost immediately retaken by the French. Many civilian casualties and both the Austrian and the French armies are weakened. The British have taken no action though I do not know why. Our 1st Army is now outside Valence and ready to take the city. If they can.
Things are still a mess here in Bordeaux but getting better. We are organising our army and trying to keep the people from revolting. Our unit is stationed in the north part of town ready to fire at French cavalry that might come down from the north. It¡¯s cold at night but at least we¡¯re in the city where there is lots of food and a few luxuries like wine. Our generals were wise to not let the army ravage the countryside on the way here. I hear Napolean takes everything he needs from the peasants and towns he conquers. Not a good way to win the hearts of peoples.

[Paddy]

wow - keep it coming old chap

the battle for Valence...

[marcuspeddle]

As soon as Ricketyclik sends the turn round

[marcuspeddle]

March 4th, 1803

Time moves on and nothing happens here in Bordeaux. The locals have accepted our presence, I think, and some are even glad to be rid of Napolean. Though I think they would also like to be rid of us. Tobacco is a bit scarce but luckily last year¡¯s harvest was good and we are not short of food or wine.

The French have not attacked this city since we took it and I imagine they are pressed elsewhere. Possibly they are concentrating their efforts on holding Valence or defending Paris. I wonder, not for the last time, whether or not I will see any action this war. To tell the truth, I¡¯d like to just go back to my father¡¯s farm. It¡¯s almost time for planting.

April 19th, 1803

Today a man climbed the hill up to out unit of cannons and introduced himself. It turns out he is an artillery engineer from the 1st Army. Of course, we were all anxious to know what happened at Valence. After we offered him our last bit of tobacco and some Bordeaux wine and cheese he told us something like the following story.
¡°Well, there we were parked next to Valence with the Turks and the British also sitting nearby. The Turks looked eager to throw themselves into Valence and pillage it but the British just lazed around and sure enough, after a few days they packed up and marched north towards Lyons. Our commanders were nervous about the Turk eyeing Valence so greedy-like so it was decided that we would try to take it first. As commander of the 1st Artillery it was my job to start the attack. When the French saw us getting ready to attack they lined up their cavalry outside the town to charge us. As soon as the French commander yelled ¡®charge¡¯ we let loose with our shot. Our cavalry and infantry stood behind us so we had a clear line of fire. We used lots of little cannonballs instead of large shot and it tore the incoming horses and riders to shreds. The couldn¡¯t get more than halfway to us because dead horses were piling up and making it impossible to pass. Seeing that the French were unable to charge, we sent in our own cavalry. They charged up to the pile of dead and shot over it into the confused French army. Without losing hardly a man or horse we slaughtered all the defenders of Valence and marched into the city. It was horrific, beautiful, and absolutely amazing all at the same time.¡±
So that¡¯s what a battle is like. The engineer left us after telling his story and smoking a few more pipes. He said he was on his way to the capital to help design new ways of using artillery in battle. The king said his experiences and expertise would be invaluable in helping to win the war. Could I ever have such an honour, I wonder?
A few cavalry reinforcements have arrived but certainly not as many as we need. Is there a problem back in the homeland?

[marcuspeddle]

June 25th, 1803

Two months and nothing has happened. Some of us have taken to helping the local farmers when we are not on duty. Our commanders approve but tell us not to go out alone and not to go far.

June 27th, 1803

The Turks have razed Lyon!!!! A good thing we got to Valence before them. How cruel . . .

[Aqualung71]

Ferdinand has been very quiet lately and his letters to his neice Maria in St. Petersburg have not arrived for many a month. I think the poor man must have been killed in the recent battles.

Lovely girl, that 14 year old Maria....married off to the Czar's uncle.......