As Bonaparte loved stories he listened attentively, interrupting only to tell Roger what he ought to have done on several occasions when he might have taken some different line in his defence. By the time the tale was completed everyone had finished eating, the wine was circulating freely and several officers had lit cheroots. Bonaparte's comment on Roger's account of himself was:
' Like myself, Breuc, you were born under a lucky star. Desmarets I know only by name. He is one of those Old Guard Generals who owes his rise to the Revolution. Most of them should never have been promoted above Sergeant-Major. His attitude shows laziness as well as irresponsibility. On that account
I shall take steps to have him removed from his Command. Now tell me the impression you formed of the defences of England.'
In replying, Roger had to be extremely careful. It was in the interests of his country to report that the south coast now bristled with formidable obstacles designed to prevent an enemy landing. However, he knew that the French must have numerous spies in England who would be sending back more or less accurate assessments; so he dared no#t depart very far from the truth. With a thoughtful look, he said:
'The English have certainly not made the best of the time they have been given since you last contemplated a descent on their shores, but they are now definitely in a position to give us a hotter reception. In '96, apart from such great castles as Dover, Walmer and so on they had virtually no fixed coast defences, whereas they have since built a chain of forts along the Kent and Sussex beaches. There is one every few miles and they call them Martello Towers.'
'That I had heard. What are they like? Are they armed with cannon? Do you consider them formidable? '
' They are round, with inward-sloping walls and thirty or forty feet in height. Some have cannon on their roofs, the others are expected to receive their armament shortly.' In the latter statement Roger lied, as he knew the deliveries from the arsenal to be hopelessly behindhand. He continued, 'To storm them will not be easy, as they will be defended by resolute men.'
Bonaparte smiled. 'To have built them with inward-sloping walls was folly. That makes it less easy for a garrison to thrust the top of a scaling ladder back and cast it down with the men upon it.' Looking across at Bourrienne, he added, ' But we shall need many scaling ladders. Make a note to treble the quantity normally allotted to each Division.' To Roger he said: 'You consider the morale of the British to be good? ' 'About that I have no doubts. In every past campaign they have displayed their doggedness in defence. And you may be certain that in defending their own soil they will fight like tigers. You may recall, mon General, that when you asked my view on this two years ago I told you that not only will the troops show great bravery but people of all ages for miles round will come to their aid with shotguns and pitchforks, and I have seen no reason to change my opinion.'
'Unorthodox resistance of that kind will be only temporary,*
Bonaparte shrugged. * After I have had a few hundred of them shot as francs tireurs the others will be glad enough to run back and tend their pigs. But what of Regular forces? Have these been materially increased? 1
' Not greatly,' Roger admitted, ' but to some extent. However, they will now have the support of a considerable Militia. Virtually every able-bodied gentleman and yeoman within twenty miles of the coast has been embodied in these volunteer units, given a uniform and equipped with weapons.'
'Pah! ' exclaimed the General. ' My veterans will make mincemeat of such amateurs. And you say that the Regular forces have not been much increased? Well, God is always on the side of the big battalions. Once ashore we shall drive all before us.'
Lannes suddenly put in, ' But we have first to get ashore. And in its present state our Navy is no match for that of the English.'
' What of that? ' Bonaparte replied promptly. ' Looked at on a map, the Channel appears to be no more than a gulf between the two countries; but in fact it consists of hundreds of square miles of water. The English Fleet cannot be everywhere at once and it should take us only about seven or eight hours to get across. If we make our crossing on a foggy night the chances of running into their Fleet will be negligible.'
' We might run into one of its frigates,' argued Lannes. ' If so, the frigate would bring the Fleet speedily down on us, to our destruction.'
Bonaparte gave him an impatient glance. ' Should that happen our own escorting ships-of-war would swiftly overwhelm the frigate. Even if she did escape, the odds are that it would be many hours before, in fog, she could locate the Fleet and bring it down upon us. By then we should be safely ashore and with our artillery landed.'
' Would not fog prove as great a handicap to us as to the enemy? ' Roger asked. ' Surely our flotillas would be liable to become dispersed. Many units would then find themselves lost and fail to reach their objectives.'
'1 should take precautions against that. Each ship or barge would carry a fog-horn and keep in touch with her companions by sounding recognition signals at short intervals.'
Bonaparte's only experiences of sea travel were his brief crossings between Corsica and France, whereas Roger had voyaged many thousand miles. Moreover, he had learned much during his boyhood of the storms and currents of the Channel, so he did not think it all likely that this idea could be made to work in practice. But he refrained from voicing his opinion.
After a moment Bonaparte asked, ' Do you know who has been nominated to oppose me when I land in England with an Army? '
Roger smiled. 'Alas, no! I was neither in the confidence of Downing Street nor tlje Horse Guards. I think it almost certain, though, that the Duke of York would assume command in person.'
'What! That barber's block whom Pichegru chased out of Holland in '95? '
'Since he is the King's son and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, it is hardly likely that he will allow himself to be passed over.'
' Then I will eat him for breakfast.'
After the laughter had died down Roger remarked, ' He could, of course, have a Second-in-Command well qualified to advise him. Faced with such a desperate situation, they would probably recall Sir Ralph Abercrombie from Ireland.'
' He did well in the West Indies,' Bonaparte admitted. ' But he is an old man now. He must be well over sixty and, I am told, near blind; so he will give me little trouble.'
The conqueror of Italy would have spoken less disparagingly of Sir Ralph could he have foreseen that three years later the Army he had left to garrison Egypt was to be totally destroyed by this veteran.
' It is possible,' Roger suggested, ' that Lord Cornwallis might be given the post, or even the Command. He has a great reputation-'
' Reputation! ' Bonaparte snorted. ' That fellow! Why, he lost the war in America for the British! He allowed himself to be boxed up in York Town by a mob of colonial farmers and was compelled to surrender. He is, too, nearly as old as Sir Abercrombie.'
' I think you underrate him. In America it was not his strategy that was at fault but the Navy's failure to break the blockade and bring him reinforcements and supplies. Later, in India, he did extremely well in the wars against the native Princes.'