Comte.

This is coolbert:

Success or die? Failure is not an option?

Military loss or defeat in revolutionary regimes often meaning for the commander the death penalty.

 "1793: Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine"

"The best defense would have been a good offense for French General Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine — guillotined in Paris this date [August 28] in 1793 for inadequacy in command of the French revolutionary armies fighting continental monarchist armies."

"You must be this tall to go on the General Moustache* ride, and poor results in the field at this time could leave you shorter. Losing to the enemy looked an awful lot like conspiring with the enemy, especially when there was a 'Comte' in your name."

Consider also from a much more recent period those Soviet military commanders their "inadequacy" also resulting in the death penalty.

"1941 Red Army Purge"

"Between October 1940 and February 1942, in spite of the ongoing German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Red Army, in particular the Soviet Air Force, as well as Soviet military-related industries were subjected to purges by Stalin"

Purges of the Red Army PRIOR to WW2 I was familiar with. Those most senior military commanders many hundreds of them subjected to mock trials and executed with all due speed as the saying goes.

See previous blog entry, Red Army tank men abandoning their vehicles because of "breakdown" suspected by Stalin of  "wrecking", deliberate sabotage to avoid battle.

Being a revolutionary often can be a bitch! And be prepared for it.

coolbert.