One of my favourite sayings, but what exactly does it mean? This words, attributed to Marshal Michel Ney, one of Napoleons Marshals and one of the few @ Waterloo, were said rite when the French position was collapsing (The Catastrophe) . Ney, attempting to rally the disintegrating French force, found himself on the battlefield amidst lots of scurrying back troops ((and near Count D'Erlon (you know - the same guy who followed the feint on the Hougemont with the 17, 000 strong attack of I Corps @ 1.30pm that Belgian afternoon.) ))So, with the destruction underway all of the army ('cepting for certain units of the Old Guard) about them on this terrible field of collapse, Ney yells this out. But I have always wondered what the fuck he was saying. The meanings in my mind vary. More or less it's 'Come and see how a Marshal of France dies'.
But:
Was he trying to tell the troops to buck up, form to-gether, and fight back - as in you cowards, let me show you how a brave man faces battle.
Or, was it a suicide wish, as in, well, it's all over, and you regulars on the field saty and fite for a bit, becaus eif you do, have you ever seen so one so esteemed as a Marshal of France dies on the battle field? Stay and fite and you will see this.
So, I dunno. Didn't stop me from writing this quote on a pair a raggy shorts I used to champion and used it to try and hit on a wonderously wonderous french girl who was staying @ the same hostel as I in London in 1999. She ended up not wanting to see a Marshal of America die or her battlefield.
Merde.
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