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You should play return of the obra dinn… it’s true

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I think he should stay bald he’s TERRIFYING with hair

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Napoleon and his Commanders (3/3)

"It is a melancholy but instructive fact to remember that, in the opinion of him whom nature had adorned with the greatest intellect that the world has yet seen, selfishness and self-interest lie at the root of all human action. "For," as Napoleon said, "in ambition is to be found the chief motive force of humanity, and a man puts forth his best powers in proportion to his hopes of advancement." It was on this cynical hypothesis therefore, with a complete disregard of those higher aspirations of self-sacrifice and self-control which raise man above the mere brute, that the Corsican adventurer waded through seas of blood to the throne of France, and then attempted, by the destruction of a million human beings, to bind on his brow the imperial crown of Western Europe. In spite of loud-sounding phrases and constitutional sleight-of-hand, none knew better than Napoleon that by the sword alone he had won his empire and by the sword alone he could keep it. Keen student of history, it was not in vain that again and again he had read and re-read the works of Cæsar, and pondered on the achievements of Charlemagne and the career of Cromwell. The problem he had to solve was, how to conceal from his lieutenants that his dynasty rested purely on their swords, to bind their honours so closely to his own fortune that they should ever be loyal; so to distribute his favours that his servants should never become so great as to threaten his own position."

NAPOLEON'S MARSHALS

[R. P. DUNN-PATTISON, M.A.]

From "Napoleon's Commanders (2) c1809-15"

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more monstrous regiment doodles

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Finally started reading Monstrous Regiment 🥁

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Maladict…. I like this guy (?)

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Omg please draw Aimevout! I love Davout couple so much

HEARING YOU LOUD AND CLEAR. I really hope the 2 other aimevout fans will be satisfied with this I suck at drawing ship art

And some doodles because oomf gave me the idea and I thought it was funny

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Can you please draw Davout and Aimee

YES YES

They are so adorable hdfhdh

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davout-posting

It's just me and my 47 different art styles against the world

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Hi I don’t know if anyone still remembers this account but I participate in artfight.. heh

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The Cold Before the Crown

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Aimeevout nation I know youre out there. We are few but we are powerful....

also random Davout stuff

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Here's the cover for vol 1 of Incorruptible! (the cover for now, hmmm I might tweak it a bit more~)

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Davoustposting,,,,,

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Davout on Gudin's Death

One of the few friends that Davout had in the army was General Gudin who was also one of his divisional generals. He died of wounds at the Battle of Kolodnia during the 1812 Russian campaign.

On the 11th of August, eight days before Gudin died, Davout wrote to Aimée how happy he was to see Gudin again but then on the 20th of August, after the battle but before he died, Davout wrote this sombre letter:

I have to give you, my dear Aimée, an unpleasant task, that of preparing the Comtesse Gudin to receive bad news which will soon arrive concerning her husband in a combat which his division covered itself with glory. He has had one leg amputated and the muscle of the other leg is shattered by a cannon ball which exploded near him. There is little chance he will survive. He took the amputation with rare courage: I saw him shortly after his misfortune, and it was he who tried to console me...I cried like a child. Gudin said that I need not cry; he spoke to me of his wife and his children, saying that he died peacefully on their part, because he knew the benevolence of the Emperor towards his servants, and that he took with him the certainty that I would do that which was necessary for his family. You may assure Madame Gudin, that if she has the misfortune to lose her husband, that I will justify on every occasion the sentiment and confidence of her husband.

So yes, another reason Davout is not an emotionless robot, he did have friends and cared about them dearly -- he was even sobbing in front of Gudin. Davout's intimate closeness with Aimée allows us to see the marshal at his most vulnerable as he tells her what he will rarely reveal to others. This letter in particular though, makes him very relatable; it almost seems as if he's speaking to us.

In addition, to illustrate how hard this hits home for the Davouts; shortly before the Russian campaign, Madame Gudin just gave birth to her youngest child. This little girl was named after Aimée -- Aimée-Louise Gudin, and the Davouts were her godparents (Blocqueville, 3: 527).

Davout to Wife, Aug. 11, 1812, Blocqueville, 3: 163.

Davout to Wife, Aug. 20, 1812, Blocqueville, 3: 165-166

Gallaher, John. “The March to Moscow.” In The Iron Marshal: A Biography of Louis N. Davout, 219-252. The United States of America: Southern Illinois University Press, 1976.

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Davout and His Mistress: Did She Exist?

Davout’s marriage to Aimée Leclerc is known in Napoleonic fan circles as one of the most tender and loving matches of this era. He was also one of the rare men of the period who was utterly devoted to her as he never womanised or took a mistress. However, as seen by the title of this post, he did have a mistress at one point in his life – or did he?

The main source we have for this mistress of his was Countess Potocka (yes, her again) as this occurred while Davout was in Poland in 1807. She wrote,

He, like all the Frenchmen, raved over the Polish women, and seemed ill inconvenienced by the presence of his wife, and he had, besides, a Frenchwoman who was supposed to be his wife’s image, and who, thanks to these legitimate externals, had followed the army, to the Emperor’s profound displeasure.

Basically, Davout chased Polish women and he had a mistress that looked like Aimée. Because of this, she marched all the way to Poland to the chagrin of Napoleon.

I find it amusing that this mistress looked like Aimée. It’s as if there was an awareness of Davout’s fidelity so just saying he had a mistress is not going to cut it, the woman had to look like Aimee to make it more believable.

Marshal Davout has a mistress!

Pfft, yeah right, you know how devoted he is to his wife.

No, no, you don’t understand, this mistress is the splitting image of his wife.

(now believing) Really?!

Now, Davout’s biographer, John Gallaher, highly doubted that this mistress existed. He remarks that the only person who agreed with Countess Potocka was Thiébault, who not only was he in Spain at the time, his account was also riddled with inaccuracies. However, there is always a sliver of truth to rumours and Gallaher concluded that the infidelity accusations were perhaps, in actuality, just Davout taking a passing fancy to a young lady in the Polish court.

Then if no mistress, why did these rumours emerge? Gallaher believes it had to do with Davout’s general unpopularity in the army.

Davout’s abrupt and frequent rude manner, and the strict discipline which he imposed upon officers and men alike under his command, earned him few friends during his career, while he could count among enemies kings and princes from Stockholm to Naples. Yet of all the criticisms and derogatory statements which his enemies leveled against the man, only these two are to be found accusing him of infidelity.

In short, there is not enough evidence to go against the original observation that Davout was devoted and loyal to his wife. Hence, we can safely say that their marriage was indeed loving and strong until the end.

Gallaher, John. “The Administrator.” In The Iron Marshal: A Biography of Louis N. Davout, 151-172. The United States of America: Southern Illinois University Press, 1976.