“Marvelous, isn’t it, Angleterre?”

“I haven’t a clue what you’re referring to, frog,”

“Now, now, there’s no need for hard feelings, you know. You’ve always been a sore loser, but I think even you can share in my victory just this once.”

———

Francis as a Horse Grenadier of the Imperial Guard and Arthur as a Major-General during the Napoleonic War in 1810

Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale, aka, Horse Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard were heavy calvary regiment (1166 men at it’s height) that acted as personal guard to the Emperor on the battlefield at times. They were considered, when under the command of Jean-Baptiste Bessiéres, to be the best heavy calvary unit in Europe. Their bear skin bonnet and standardized use of dark horses (in a time of some of the first instances of military standardization, including the first ‘military haircuts’) earned them the nickname of Les chevaux noirs de Bessières, or, The Dark Horses of Bessiéres. Their ranks were normally recruited from the 9th dragoons of the French military (which was in shambles for some time after the Revolution) and were an absolutely terrifying force when charging enemy ranks. I’d easily place Francis as being a part of their ranks throughout the war above any other position.