Meanwhile, back in France.....

The Duc de Pinotage and (ahem) staff watch the Corps du Vin fall in - Picture from P Joux's marvellous drawings

Darumadum, Darumadum, Darumadumdumadumdumadum.....

The drums are beating as the Corps du Vin falls in. The Duc de Pinotage reads the orders one last time. The Champagne and Alsace brigades are to proceed by main road to rendezvous on Soubise's north flank in 10 days time. The guns will go with them. The Bourgogne Chevauleger brigade is to take the smaller road to the south to ease the flow on the main road. The Dragoon brigade is to follow them.

He is to also take a fleet of barges down the River Fluss to pick up Reichsarmee regiments readied en route by various tinpot kingdoms valued allies - the Chasseurs de Bergerac, the Sarkozy Hussars, and the Saxe-Märchen contingent, and he needs to now embark the Regmnt Mosel (which makes up the remainder of the Reichsarmee brigade)

Just in case there is trouble, Pinotage decides to also embark the crack Swiss Batalion de Valais, and the heavy artillery - there is nothing like a battery or two of 12 pounders to focus a reluctant valued ally's mind - and they are such a pain to move by road anyway.

The Comte de Syrah is put in charge of the flotilla.

Syrah is most put out, as his mistress hates water, and that also means he will be missing the minuetting on the march.

"Good point" says the Duc. "You can take the String Quartet, that'll prevent lots of pointless prancing on the road.-  maybe they can learn Handel's Water Music on the voyage ahar ahar ahar"

The Duc wheezed at his jest and trotted off to supervise the packing of his bathtub......

Bugger - more like the "Music for Fireworks" thought the Comte, as he went to tell the lovely Charlotte that a boat trip was on the cards.....