HAVING LOST CONTROL OF THE ARMY, THIERS CALLS ON GUARDS OF THE WEALTHY WEST BUT ONLY ABOUT 30 SHOW UP
He does not keep cool under pressure: In 1848 he had to be taken home, "gesticulating, sobbing, speaking incoherently."
Now he leaves by the Ministry's back door and gallops off to Versailles, stopping only to rest the horses while he scribbles an order to retreat.
# # #
He is so terrified that he forgets to protect the fortress that dominates the left bank:
(The Mont Valérien)
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| Suresnes et le Mont Valérien / ("Suresnes and Mont Valérien"), 1931 (image and article gone from the web) |
Once sacred as many heights have been, it was a pilgrimage site.
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| Brief article in French, zoom |
It was the most important of the 14 forts built in 1840 to encircle the city.
Image gone from the web
Cannons on Mount Valérien
# # #
This modern photo shows how the height
dominates the southern suburbs and the route to Versailles,
so the how completely Thiers goes berserk.
Webmuseo / zoom
A week later
La Commune is proclaimed.
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