Blue Ravens: Historical Novel

15 Pont des Arts

› 15 ‹ Pont des Arts — — — — — — — 19 19 — — — — — — — The German government had consented to end the war on November 11, 1918. Yes, a mere promise between generals, an agreement to cease the brutality , but never an actual declaration of surrender. The armistice was formally signed in a railway carriage in Forêt de Compiègne, the Compiègne Forest, between Saint-Quentin and Paris. The birds of misery cautiously returned that afternoon of the armistice to the decimated forests. Tawny owls and marsh harriers had evaded the battlefields. Bohemian waxwings migrated around the poisoned forests. A wing of cranes circled the river, an uncertain flight of peace, and then flew south to a bird sanctuary. The weary citizens of the war emerged from the ruins and waved the tattered national colors of liberty, and saluted the future of the French Third Republic. Three common ravens cawed at a great distance, a tease of presence, and then a haunting silence. Nature was hushed, and the shadows of the entire countryside were uncertain scenes of wicked rage, bloody, muddy and mutilated bodies stacked for collection at the side of the roads. Later the elation of the armistice was rightly overcome by the undeniable memories of slaughter, separation, and the inevitable sense of suspicion and vengeance. The commune survivors craved an ordinary mention of mean suns and easy weather, evasive sounds of white storks, common scoters, the cluck of hens and crow of roosters in the morning, and wine with dinner, and the shy turns and smiles of children. More men were dead than women and the culture of église de village, church, families, and farms would never be the same. The eternal rats tracked down the last dead soldiers and civilians on the armistice to scratch out an eye and chew a tender ear or cold hairy jowl. The native forests and fields would bear forever the blood, brain, and cracked bones in every season of the fruit trees and cultivated sugar beets. The soldiers were honored, ceremonial graves were marked, and the 142 G e r a l d v i Z e N o r glorious national monuments were envisioned with godly stained glass and heroic stone sculptures. That poignant sound of military taps at the graves of honorable soldiers would be heard for more than a hundred years. 12 November 1918 Soldiers of the Allied Armies: After having resolutely stopped the enemy you have for months attacked him without respite, with an untiring faith and energy. You have won the greatest battle of history and saved the most sacred of causes: the liberty of the world. Be proud. You have covered your colors with immortal glory. Posterity will hold you in grateful remembrance. The Marshal of France Commander in Chief of the Allied Armies Ferdinand Foch The First Pioneer Infantry and other military units marched into Luxembourg two weeks after the armistice, and a few weeks later entered Germany as the Army of Occupation. Allied soldiers had defeated the enemy, but the armistice was not an admission of defeat, or surrender, and not a peace agreement. The end of the war was actually a negotiated armistice, and we learned later that the French were prepared to continue the war if the Germans had not accepted the peace specified in the Treaty of Versailles. The First Pioneer Infantry soldiers were quartered at the ancient Ehrenbreitstein Fortress on the eastern shore of the Rhine River overlooking the city of Koblenz. Finally, and for a few months, the division, scouts and trench survivors, were stationed in positions of comfort, cold custom, and royalty. The kitchen trucks served regular meals at the fortress, but many soldiers could not resolve the obvious contradictions of peace, occupation, and moral conscience of the war because starvation was common in Germany . Mighty artillery, machine guns, and scouts were essential to defeat the enemy, but the routine provisions of food determined the actual outcome of the war, and civilians were starved to serve the soldiers. B l U e r a v e N s 143 Christmas Eve was a natural touch of remembrance, family, reservation, and country, the first lonesome celebration and tease of peace since we had been mustered for active military service. The tease was native, not monotheistic , and the music was a communal sentiment. Centuries of monotheism had been weakened by the demons of nationalism and empires. There were no godly reasons to justify...