Saturday, December 29, 2018

Tiroler Landsturm #6, Franz Dienstag


Freiherr Franz Dienstag commands the last of the 6 units of Landsturm in my Tyrolese forces. 


His men (and women) wear light grey coats with pants in shades of brown, and the famous green hats. 


As the last of the units, they got the "leftovers" when it came to armament... a mixture of scythes, ancient halberds, pitchforks, poleaxes, and awls!


Our narrative by Charles Morris continues, with the sad account of Hofer's end. Napoleon was not a man to have sympathy for rebels of any kind, his roots in the French Revolution notwithstanding!
    
His captors treated him with brutal violence. They tore out his beard, and dragged him pinioned, barefoot, and in his night-dress, over ice and snow to the valley. Here he was placed in a carriage and carried to the fortress of Mantua, in Italy. Napoleon, on news of the capture being brought to him at Paris, sent orders to shoot him within twenty-four hours.



    He died as bravely as he had lived. When placed before the firing-party of twelve riflemen, he refused either to kneel or to allow himself to be blindfolded. "I stand before my Creator," he exclaimed, in firm tones, "and standing will I restore to him the spirit he gave."



    He gave the signal to fire, but the men, moved by the scene, missed their aim. The first fire brought him to his knees, the second stretched him on the ground, where a corporal terminated the cruel scene by shooting him through the head. He died February 20, 1810. At a later date his remains were borne back to his native alps, a handsome monument of white marble was erected to his memory in the church at Innsbruck, and his family was ennobled.

13 comments:

  1. I like the mix of farm implements in this one, Peter.

    I once read a reference to Hofer's fate wherein Napoleon said, "give him a fair trial and then shoot him."

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    1. The mix is certainly more likely what they showed up with rather than uniformity!

      From a purely legal standpoint, if not a moral one, Hofer was involved in not only fomenting rebellion against his ruler, the King of Bavaria, but even established himself briefly as ruler of the Tyrol. As far as any French or Bavarian court would be concerned, there could be no question that he was guilty of high treason. The Austrians, as far as peace negotiations, did nothing to protect him, although they tried to make amends for that after the danger was over. We are not fully done with the story of the rebellion just yet!

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    1. Yep, infesting Alpine mountain passes and valleys everywhere!

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  4. You're really cranking these out Peter, great work! Grim story in this post!

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    1. Thanks; yes a sad end for Hofer. I doubt it would have been much different had the Bavarians captured him.

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  5. Another fine unit Peter, but a sad (if not unexpected) ending for Hofer.

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    1. Thanks, Lawrence. Napoleon would probably have been wiser to have kept him imprisoned, rather than creating a martyr. More humane as well. There is still a bit yet to our tale, however.

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  6. Nice unit,I like the mix of weaponry,Napoleon did seem to have a blind spot as far as creating martyrs was concerned!
    Best Iain

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