#löffelbande

[lieblingskoch]

Unsere Löffelbande wartet schon auf mich..denn heute gibts wieder was auf die Löffel...ich präsentiere heute in Essen den Spreewald mit "Spreewälder Hechtschaumklößchen, grüne Erbsen, Meerrettich & Sauerkraut" u. "Kir Royal mit Spreewaldduft, prickelnder Weintraube u.Blattgold #lieblingskoch #kolonieschänke #löffelbande #spreewald

[josefavomjaaga]

(view of Magdeburg, mid-18th century) - This is yet another story of Prussian officials meeting with one of the French marshals - Michel Ney -, taken from Karls Immermann, “Knabenerinnerungen”. The author was a boy at the time of Magdeburg’s occupation. It’s also another story of marshals making money during war.

Like most Prussian fortresses, Magdeburg capitulated rather quickly on 8 November 1806, barely three weeks after the siege had begun (Ney did not even have time to get proper siege artillery to the place). And like in most cases, the people who made that decision, the Prussian officers, were released on parole (i.e., they had to promise they would not fight against the French again, which they did not want to do in the first place), while those who had no say in the matter, the soldiers, were taken captive and brought to France. (Sorry for stating this again, it still makes me furious.)

Also no say in the matter had the townsfolk, who now witnessed the French entering their town.

French hussars with their thick braids of hair burst into the city, chasseurs followed, and soon infantry regiments moved in as well, which, compared to our troops, had a rather beggarly appearance, for in fact Ney led only half-ragtag troops. The so-called "spoon band" [Löffelbande] had appeared sufficient for the fortresses, and the best regiments had left for the more serious fighting in Poland and East Prussia. [...] The French were not at all behaving as if in a place that had surrendered by capitulation, instead a multitude of excesses marked the day of their entry.

Immediately, a commission was formed from the notables of the city to communicate with the French army commander and to take care of the city's affairs. This commission turned to Ney, since nothing had been achieved with the subordinate commanders, and asked for protection. Ney received the petitioners extremely politely, but replied to their request that he could not possibly believe what they told him, that he commanded troops that were too disciplined, and that the soldier deserved a little recreation from his exertions. During the night and on the following day, however, these recreations increased. Cupboards were broken into, silver objects were stolen, the first inhabitants were maltreated and women were violated, so that the situation was close to looting and was bound to turn into looting if the authorities did not immediately put a stop to it.

The poor commission therefore went to him again, was at first not allowed in at all, and was later received with a frowning face and harshly rebuked: He could not understand how the city of Magdeburg could keep bothering him, since it had not yet concerned itself with him at all! - The members looked at each other in dismay, knowing that no norm had been violated which is owed by the conquered to the conqueror. Dismissed ungraciously, they lingered outside in the antechamber for a moment, pondering the meaning of this obscure speech. A commissaire-ordonnateur, who had been with them in Ney's room and had followed them, presumably sent by the marshal to assist German obtuseness, laid it out for them. He told them quite kindly that by "concern"  the marshal meant the usual gift of money by which a conquered city must buy itself out of the loss of its church bells, which according to the laws of war had fallen to the conqueror. After the commission had thus grasped the meaning of the French artistic expression, it timidly asked the obliging paymaster, who in this case was to become the collector, how much the "concern" was to be estimated at, and was told that one hundred and fifty thousand thalers would hopefully suffice.

The initial horror at this exorbitant demand was followed by formal haggling and bargaining, and the price was negotiated down to one hundred thousand thalers (if I remember correctly). Seventy-five thousand thalers were raised in a few hours by contributions from the richest inhabitants, and Ney accepted a bill of exchange for the rest of the sum. It goes without saying that the people around him also had to be considered, and that the interpreter of the foreign language in particular received considerable translation fees. […]

As soon as Ney had received the bell ransom money, the strictest orders were issued to establish discipline, some of the lower-ranking conquerors who still allowed themselves to grab their share of the bell money from our citizens' chests were severely punished, and everyone was now secure of his property and his limbs. All these events, about which the biographies of the Prince of the Moskva are silent, we heard from our father, who had also joined the commission.

I’m somewhat sceptical abut this story. First of all, the author is a novelist and theater author, so he was writing for an audience and may have allowed for some artistic licence even when he claims to write his childhood memoirs. Secondly, I just don’t believe the Magdeburg commission was really that dumb as to not understand what Ney wanted; marshals or other high officials expecting and receiving "gifts" can hardly have come as a surprise. Thirdly, the sum of 150,000 thalers seems extremely high. I imagine in truth those were not thalers but Franc (roughly one fourth of the value). - 100k Francs, if this really was the final sum they agreed on, seems to have been the usual fee a marshal took for gracing a conquered town with his presence.

Other than that, this story generally does sound a lot like Ney’s similar negotiations in Bozen; one has to wonder if the author knew that report.

As to the spoons on the French infantry’s hats (that’s how I actually found the story): this time they’re called a »spoon band« instead of a »spoon guard«.

Maybe also of interest: the ransom money that had to be paid for a town’s church bells. I’ve found references to this dating back to the 17th century (Thirty Years’ War) but I do not know when it started and if it may be already older. There’s also another reference during the same campaign; Soult also took bell ransom money in Königsberg, and in his case this praxis even was checked and (grudgingly) approved by Napoleon himself (grudgingly, because this rule apperently originally only applied to fortresses, which Königsberg was not, but Napoleon admits that this has hardly ever been respected lately, and as the town had already paid, so be it).

The main difference in case of Königsberg is that Soult only demands the ransom (and insists on payment when the magistrate protests about Königsberg not being a fortress etc), but does not take the money himself; the magistrate had to pay it to the general in command of Soult’s artillery, whose aides-de-camp independently negotiated with the magistrate. The ransom was fixed at 2250 ducats in the end.

I have tried to convert this into other currencies, but I am not sure if I have really succeeded, the sheer amount of currencies confuses me immensely. I think (!) that one ducat was in about 5 guilders, 1 thaler in about 2 guilders, which would make 2,250 ducats → a sum between 5600 and 5800 thaler, or 22,500 Francs. Let it be 25k, then Soult would have demanded one fourth of what Ney wanted in Magdeburg. Apparently Magdeburg had much nicer church bells.

[lieblingskoch]

Knackt mit mir die magische Grenze von 100000klicks u.abonniert meinen Youtube Kanal/ Lieblingskoch..vielen Dank #lieblingskoch #gourmet #jörgthiele #löffelbande #youtuber #youtubechannel

[lieblingskoch]

Ich wünsche Euch ein gesundes neues Jahr, maximale Erfolge u.genussreiche Stunden. #lieblingskoch #jörgthiele #spreewald #löffelbande #neujahr #2018 (hier: Brandenburg, Germany)

[lieblingskoch]

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Geheimtipp: Wenn die Gans mal nicht knusprig ist...hilft Feuer 🔥 #lieblingskoch #gänsebraten #knusprig #lieblingskoch #weihnachten #weihnachtsessen #löffelbande (hier: Brandenburg)

[lieblingskoch]

Die ersten Löffel sind fertig denn gleich ist wieder The Taste Abend....#thetaste #lieblingskoch #löffelbande #spreewald365 #spreewald (hier: BIO Boutique-Hotel Kolonieschänke)

[lieblingskoch]

The Taste-Abend...mein Thema:Insekten!!!Die Vorbereitungen laufen u.ich hoffe der Löffel kommt weiter #thetaste #löffelbande #lieblingskoch

[lieblingskoch]

Hechtschaumklösschen mit grüner Erbse, Sauerkrautperlen u.Meerrettich #Lieblingskoch #löffelbande #bosch

[lieblingskoch]

Bei mir gibts, kreative Löffel aus der Waschmaschine..mein großes Idol... Fürst Pückler...wäre begeistert.#nachtderkreativenköpfe #Lieblingskoch #jörgthiele #löffelbande #fürstpückler (hier: IHK Cottbus)

[lieblingskoch]

Mein kulinarisches Kunstwerk am Morgen..."Müsliaquarelle"....ich wünsche Euch einen erfolgreichen Tag u.einen guten Start ins WE #Lieblingskoch #jörgthiele #müsli #aquarell #lecker #löffelbande

[lieblingskoch]

Das war gestern...heute gibt es eine neue Kochshow mit der Löffelbande.Kommt nach Schlepzig und seit dabei...#löffelbande #lieblingskoch #schlepzig #streetfood #jörgthiele #kolonieschänke (hier: Schlepzig)

[lieblingskoch]

Die Löffelbande schlägt wieder zu..freut Euch auf eine tolle Bühnenshow am nächsten WE beim Streetfoodfestivalbin Schlepzig. #lieblingskoch #löffelbande #schlepzig #thetaste #streetfood

[lieblingskoch]

Malen entspannt u.macht gestresste Leute..wieder Fit 💪 #lieblingskoch #jörgthiele #antistress #löffelbande

[lieblingskoch]

Offener Raviolo mit Spargelragout, Wildkräutern u.roten Rüben.....#lieblingskoch #jörgthiele #löffelbande #kolonieschänke #spreewald (hier: Bio Hotel Kolonieschänke)

[lieblingskoch]

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Ich liebe den Spreewald...#lieblingskoch #kolonieschänke #jörgthiele #löffelbande (hier: BIO Boutique-Hotel Kolonieschänke)

[lieblingskoch]

Hafer ist nicht nur die Heilpflanze des Jahres...sondern auch Megagesund..ich wünsche Euch ein entspanntes Frühstück...#lieblingskoch #jörgthiele #kolonieschänke #löffelbande