Diary of a Frenchman: A Soldiers Story Part 3

From the diary of Pierre Maugin, Corporal 119th Regiment of the French Army, we catch a glimpse of a soldier defending France against the invading Prussian army, who have captured Napoleon III and surrounded Paris. From an entry dated February 2, 1872: "Bombs were falling everywhere. The ground was trembling. It was very cold. We got up at 5:00 in the morning and started shooting, and the Prussians fled. When a horse was felled everyone jumped on it and cut the flesh and put it in the fire on the end of our knives. Some ate it raw. It was very bloody." February 5th: "Today we were asked to lay down our weapons. We were considered as prisoners, we had to deposit our weapons in the Pantheon church. This church is very beautiful! Lots of bombs are stored here. On the 4th of February a census was organized to know how many men were eligible to vote. The trains were starting to work again. Some trains loaded with flour arrived from the south of France. In the fortresses we found wine and bacon. Onions the size of an egg cost 50 centimes a unit, and potatoes were 20 centimes!" February 8th: "Today we voted. I went to see the Notre Dame. There were 400 steps, and I could see all of Paris, but not to it's limits. We slept in the Louvre." Next week Corporal Maugin gets a little R&R!