Upon French Fields

The sixth in the 105th Foot, ‘Rag and Bone Boys’ series. The Allies under Wellington are poised on the border of France to cross the Pyrenees. San Sebastian and Pamplona continue to hold out and the former has to be taken by siege for which young Willoughby Carr has volunteered to become a member of the ‘Forlorn Hope’. Meanwhile his elder brother, Henry continues to run and lead his beloved 105th, first pursuing the wreck of the French defeat at Sorauren, then witnessing the doomed French attempt to relieve San Sebastian. Finally, they form part of one of the many columns that descended from the Pyrenees to advance deep into France and menace Bayonne. Willoughby Carr’s 16th Light Dragoons are heavily involved in the French offensive alongside the River Nive to push the Allies back to the mountains. This included the desperate conflict of St Pierre in which Henry Carr played a part as a ‘detached Colonel’. However, the main issues soon evolve into the siege of Bayonne and Wellington’s ambition to push Soult Eastwards away from reinforcements in Bayonne. This resulted in the hard-fought battle of Orthez which pushed Soult further Eastwards and soon after comes the tragic and unnecessary battle of Toulouse which finally ended the war, unnecessary because Napoleon was by then off the throne. All throughout, Agent Jacques Dulongue is secreted into Bayonne to relay information out to the Allies, making good use of his ‘cover’ as a local fishmonger. However, this eventually comes apart when he is heavily involved in General Thouvenot’s costly sortie from Bayonne many days after Napoleon had abdicated. Eventually, on an anonymous road South of Toulouse, the 105th hear that the war has ended with Napoleon’s abdication, Soult is now convinced. Soon after, they march for the coast to hear, to their great relief, that they will not be required to fight the Colonists in America nor police the island of Ireland. The ship they embark upon is bound for England and home.