Napoleonic Wargame Club (NWC)

The Adventures of Kliff Dumas in pictures

My next mission after returning from Strasburg in 1806 was to bring along with me the new replacements for my Artillery Company. We lost many in the opening battles before Austerlitz in 05 at Ulm.
Most of our loosest were in the Pontonniers Corps they lost their lives digging the trances around Ulm.
I was ordered to the II Corps Artillery Park, to see the Commander of Artillery General Sebastien Maximillien Foy I was to be reassigned, to his staff on a temporary basicF2. The uniform that I was given was Mameluke clothing of the Dromedary Corps of 1800 in Egypt.F3 My new commanding officer was Major Boquer. Major Boquer of the Gendarme de elite. It was he that would be the technical commander or field commander. A fiery tempted person with little to say to his homme (men), he only gave orders and had no personal contact with his officers or soldat’s!
Adventures in Persia 1806-07F4
With the many new victories that the Emperor won in Germany in 06 and early in 07, news came to our command in Türk. That we would be assigné to a new command in Persil.




Léger’s de PoF5
We were given a small company of Leger’s de Po as guardians! Once we arrived at Jerablus we met up with the rest of this Grandee expedition. No sooner had we landed,F6 I saw my former ship mates once again, which gave my weary body joy and a chance to talk and to renew friendship we all went though the same thing in those months.
I didn’t think that Joc f7 would ever forgive me for bringing him on this expedition or the others. But after we all looked at one another we felt that this most have been a test by God!
We all renewed our friendship and we proved to one another that we were true Brothers worthy of going before a grand master and being made Freemasons which we all felt was better then the oath we took in Italy 01.
F8

F9
We were also told that there’s a Masonic lodge here by Master Mason Chef de Genie Cassel.
We could began our studies till be were able to move out of Jerablus. All of my mates and a few from the Cavalry join the order under Major Cassel F10

Bravo, very nice.

_________________
Field Marshal Sir Edward Blackburn, 1st Duke of Aberdeen K.G.
85th (Buck's Light Volunteers) Regiment of Foot
16th British Brigade
7th Division
III (Peninsular) Corps
2nd Battalion, Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards

I DON'T PLAY WITH ROUT LIMITING OR NME OFF

We set about getting our cannons loaded first to go to this strange city called Jerablus. The Silk road is where the Emperor sent us to control. My thoughts were, with what were we to control this vast land with. We had a small company of Legers de Po about 150 men and officers and one horse gun crew. A full battery could have a combined front of riders over 50 men strong. If the horse artillery was mistaken for cavalry, the enemy might receive an unpleasant surprise when the towed batteries wheeled around, unlimbered, loaded, sighted and opened fire in less than a minute. But we just had one gun at this time!
The best solutions involved creating hybrid units of mounted infantry, most notably dragoons. Although they proved highly useful and versatile troops, whether they fired mounted or dismounted, they still had to slow down or stop at least temporarily, and thereby losing their main advantages as cavalry. We were twelve in number but we were all veterans of ten years by 1807. The flag that we first saw was that of Agha Mohammad Khan. A descendent of the great Genghis Khan.

We also had a very dashing Artillery Commander Major Blancheville , Claude Basile Gaspard. Later to my surprise we were joined by a company of Dragoons, how they got here was beyond me. The nearest French base of Operation was the isle of Malta for Greece was under Ottoman rule. .
I was next surprise to see an old ami of mind Monsieur Charles Nicolas Fabvie. I met him at the Palace of Selim III.I was assign to him in the shoring up of the defenses of Constantinople.
He was born at Pont-à-Mousson in Meurthe and was a student at the École Polytechnique before joining the 1st Artillery Regiment in Napoleon’s army in Germany in 1804. He participated in the 1805 Ulm Campaign, and was wounded in the battle of Dürenstein. In 1807, he was part of the French military mission to the Ottoman Sultan Selim III, tasked with shoring up the defences of Constantinople.
Fabvier then managed to join the diplomatic mission of General Charles Mathieu Gardanne, Napoleon's envoy to Persia, who tried to combat British and Russian influence in the region. Fabvier was tasked with creating an artillery school and arsenal at Esfahān, and was awarded the newly constituted Order of the Lion and the Sun for his

I was taken out of the Artillery company and made Deputy commander of dragoons. I was back once more were I started ten years ago. Mounted Infantry a proper dragoon was an infantryman with a horse, meaning he had a musket, pistol, saber and a shovel. The shovel is very significant, because with it the dragoons could entrench themselves just like regular infantry. Other significant aspects of our equipment were the fact that we did not have the expensive horse a cavalryman needed and that we lacked cavalry boots. In theory dragoons should therefore operate just like regular infantry except for the fact that they went to the battlefield on horseback. This meant that they were very suited for taking posts that were out of reach of the infantry, or for escorting convoys. The big danger in employing dragoons was of course the temptation to use them as a kind of cavalry. For them one needed not only a horse that could be used in the massive charges of the day, but also cavalry boots that weighed about 3 kilo's each and I fail to see how we could fights on foot. Anyway, the French dragoons were indeed expected to able to fight both ways.
My new first company of Eclaireur’s de Dragoons consisted of Lieutenant Jules Dirigeant the winner of a Prussian standard at Jena in 06. The second commander of this company of Dragoons, was Louis St.Jus along side of him was his sergent Honore Hercule, and their trumpeter Olivier Menesthel.
My second squad was commanded by a brigadier by the name of Amime de ‘Bateau with fifteen homme under him, then their third squad under Sergent Alphonse Chasseresse with fifteen homme. Their forth and fifth were under brigadier’s Timothee Timonier and Chiron Charlot and a doctor by the name of Alexandre Guerisseur these homme sailed from Italy to here. I was put in charge of a four pounder cannon that they brought with them and the sixth company went to Joc. Over all field command was Major Boquer! Major Boquer command which consisted of four hundred and fifty Cheval and four Artillery guns, we were to guard the topographical unit of Colonel Remi.






Monsieur Ali also joined our Blue lodge and many others of the Turks. We all had more then Glory to look forward to with the fall of Jerablus. This was the first battle that I really looked forward to! L’e Major Denicount the commander of the Leger’s asked for volunteers to spy out the city. I at the quick said that I would lead a small unit into the city. Major Denicount wanted to know the numbers of the European Janissaries and the location of their stores. Also he want to know the amount of ammunition and their leaders and where was their Cavalry located. He could not have Joc and Ali go along with me since they were two of his senior combat officers. Ali
Ali Joc
Lieutenant Jules of the Leger de Po would go as my adjutant with his troop, we dress as Syrians natives; Joc gave opposition to that plan stating that I was the senior Capitaine and that it was not the rule of a senior officer to go on such a mission. The command went to monsieur Ali. I step down from that Command which he knew would irritate me. I got over that quickly and step back, after darkening their faces and along with a few of the loyal government troops they went out in the cover of night. As they stole their way, into that city unaware of what lays ahead of them. All we could is wait on the results of their adventure in the dark. I was joyful in my thought for some unknown reason? Here was my new found ami in the belly of danger itself and I was feeling reborn!
What was it that rises a man to this level was it the reality of salvation or the closeness of God in his heart. I know not and all I could think was how I was now truly content with life. When the eastern sky broke forth that morning I ran to the picket line in full dragoon uniform to see if my ami was successful the Guard reported that no one as of now have came forth from the bowls of that hell hole.
The next day I bacon to appear watching for my ami and his companions but at last no one appeared, till the third night one did appear from that den of vapors it was a Turc who brought us news that the Janissaries had more then one leader and that most of their mounted men were far in the rear of the city. Most of their mounted men were mounted on camels also they had old siege cannons. Not like the more modern mobile ones that we had. And their numbers were less then two thousand men to hold the city. I asked pray tell me the health of my Brethren; he said that they took us in Deus Meumque Jus, a Jewish Masonic Temple.