The War of Franconian Succession, Part 4: An Unfortunate Choice of Words

Now, by this point, negotiations were getting nowhere.  The good Herr Major insisted on a rather heft sum of marks and thalers, while the Hessian commander, Le Baron de Boncheveux , was particularly adamant that no fees of tolls were due as they were here at the request of the der Herzog selbst, or at least his prime minister, Herr Dropov. Burgebrach wasn't buying that and said he would send a fast messenger to his immediate superior for clarification. The whole thing would only take a couple of days, so perhaps Le Baron and his troops would like to set up camp on their side of the border, only a couple of miles away.

Le Baron de Boncheveux

Le Baron was enraged! And it was at that point he muttered something, which in hindsight, was rather unfortunate. Now he was not altogether fluent in the German, or specifically Hessian dialect, as a rather plebian argot common to his holdings in the south of France was more his milieu.

Turning his back on the Major, he shouted (in frustration no doubt): "Allons, fou...e, sacre bleu!" (see explanatory note below*)

The commander of the lead Hessian battalion had formed line earlier out of an abundance of caution. But now things went from bad to really bad: being more than a bit deaf and not familiar with  Le Baron's unusual accent, he misunderstood, thinking it "Feuer!"

So he did. 

The Hessian line belched fire and smoke and a rolling thunder rolled over the plain. Fortunately, they were more than a bit high since the Landgrave typically only allowed the use of powder on his birthday and local feast days. 

Not a Franconian soul was scathed, although Burgebrach did require a new hat.

The Border Guards did a bit better. All rifle armed and frequently dealing with wild boars, marauding bunnies, and occasional poachers, they dropped a few of the Hessian line. Even their little 3-pounder (mainly used for salutes) earned its keep.

The War had begun!

*The actual term was the French equivalent of a common English vulgarity not generally used among the polite. Like many English terms, it is highly versatile depending on context. It's often used as a curt dismissal or derisive epithet. Likewise, depending on person and/or tense it can be an effective statement of one's condition and/or future prospects.