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"Many men were frightening to see: Small, gaunt, deformed... they fought so that their children would be less small, less gaunt, less vicious..."
-- Louis Rossel,* cited by Pierre Milza, "The Terrible Year: the Commune," 2009 (in French).
* The sole officer of the regular army to join the Commune, hoping that it would continue the fight against the Prussians. Versailles shot him. He was 27.
"The Call" by André Devambez, 1906, after the memories of his father and survivors. In the foreground, paving stones torn up to build a barricade / zoom
Women
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Louise Michel, Red Virgin of the Commune, told by Alain Decaux, 2019 (in French) |
"The Barricade of Place Blanche Defended by Women" (cut), artist and date unknown /zoom
City Museum (Musée Carnavalet), not exhibited
The myth that all were killed shows men's respect.
On another occasion: "Bearing the red flag unfurled, about 20 women came to join us, among them..." [their names follow]. Again: "They bandaged the wounded on the battlefield and often picked up a dead man's gun."
-- Louise Michel
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Prisoners at Versailles -- The Lost Children of the Commune (in French) |
- "... V. Thiebaut, aged 14, ran through the bullets to bring water. When the guards were forced to pull back, they had to sacrifice supplies. The boy rushed forward on a barrel of wine that he shattered while shouting, 'They won't drink our wine!' He seized the rifle of a guard who had just fallen..."
-- Lissagary, Appendix V,
an account he says chosen among many.
- Maxime Vuillaume calls them "terrifying kids" when they join a platoon to execute hostages (My Red Notebooks, p. 109).
"A Marriage during the Commune" by Félix Guerie / zoom
They transmit messages, build barricades, carry shells and although battalions in principle do not accept anyone under 17, Louise Michel finds much younger boys defending the forts with her.
Many are orphans, obliged to fend for themselves.
They resemble the right-wing mobile guards in origin and behavior, but the way in which they are taken in hand is very different. That mentoring helps explain the rarity of crime.
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The 100,000 POWs Bismarck sends back to France overpower:
The force enters by a gate on the route from Versailles and the wealthy residents hail it with joy. Notice the well-dressed couple:
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"On May 24 1871 the army united at Versailles enters Paris after a classic siege; the population shows its joy and cordially welcomes our troops. The insurrection is defeated and the guilty who have sacrificed Hostages [please read on] and set fire to the Capital, will be punished for their crimes." |
"All along the Grands Boulevards...
well-bred crowds came out to cheer the red-trousered troops. They clapped their hands as if they were at the opera, and called 'Bravo!' as if a battle had been won. Above the marching soldiers, coins showered down from the windows and jingled on the pavements. In this part of Paris, the stones had stayed firmly in place [that is, no barricades]. The people here sat tight, mostly, waiting to be saved,playing cards to pass the time. As soon as they knew they were safe, out they rushed, wine bottles waving. Gentlemen stood smiling while their wives' arms opened, smothering sweaty necks with silk and satin, sowing kisses under kepis."
-- Liberty's Fire, pp. 229-30
After a detour to punish inhabitants of Montmartre where the insurrection began, the soldiers head toward the working-class east...
Advance of the Versaillais troops / zoom
...to continue retribution...
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"Taking a Barricade" by Daniel Vierge, reproduced in l'Humanité |
...in territories considered
"nightmares of the forces of order."
-- Louise Michel
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