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First of all, I am going to destroy the myth that the Marines were the only ones that fought at Belleau Wood. The Marine 4th Brigade consisting of the 5th and 6th Marines and the Army Infantry 3rd Brigade consisting of the 9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments fought side by side as part of the Army’s 2nd Infantry (Indianhead) Division at Belleau Wood. Belleau Wood was a bloodbath that lasted more than a month and the real baptism of the American Army in World War I from which many mistakes were made and lessons were learned. My great grand father, then Colonel (later Major General) Paul B. “Follow Me” Malone commanded the 23rd Infantry Regiment at Belleau Wood and Soissions and the 10th Brigade, 5th Infantry Division at Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne through the Armistice and into the occupation. I am writing a biography about his service in WWI. Most of what has been written about Belleau Wood is about the Marine Brigade however, they were closely supported by the Army’s 2nd Battalion, 2nd Engineer Regiment as well as the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (the 1st and 2nd Brigades were in the 1st Infantry Division) and they were relieved for a couple days by the Army 7th Infantry Regiment from the 3rd Infantry Division. I am a graduate of the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College and love my Marine Corps brethren but my answer will be more expansive than just discussing the Marine Brigade at Belleau Wood. Also of note, several of the officers leading Marine units were Army officers and vice versa throughout the American Expeditionary Force. As most Marines know, Major General John A. Lejeune was the only Marine to ever command an Army Division; the 2nd Infantry Division. That happens later than this battle. My great grand father and he were great friends during and after WWI. In fact, when Major General (Ret) Lejeune was Superitendant at Virginia Military Institute in 1932; he asked my great grandfather to to be the the graduation speaker which he gladly did. For comparison consider the battle of Gettysburg lasted only 3 days; the battle of Belleau Wood lasted more than a month and was fought by only one division, the 2nd Infantry Division, which was “Second to None” and along withe the 3rd Infantry Division at Chateau Thierry; saved Paris in 1918 and shut the door on the possibility that the Germans could win World War I.WWI began in August 1914. Through the alliances the Central Powers of Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria and Turkey were arrayed against Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy. Due to a number of incidents and factors including the Zimmerman letter, the sinking of the Luisitania; the United States finally declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917. General John Pershing was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson as Commander and Chief of the American Expection Force (AEF). At this time the largest permanent military formation that existed in the United States Army was the Regiment. Most of the Army had been scattered in small detachments across the country, Hawaii, Alaska, the Canal Zone and the Philippines. Just prior to America’s entry into WWI, some of the Army under then BG Pershing had a dress rehearsal chasing Pancho Villa at the Mexican border and in Mexico.The 1st Infantry Division “Big Red One” was formed in the United States and brought over to France along with the AEF and included Infantry regiments that had distinguished themselves to Pershing in Mexico (16th, 18th, 26th and 28th). The 1st Division was Pershing’s favorite. The 2nd Infantry Division was a different story. It was formed in France with the Army’s 9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments. The Secretary of the Navy offered the Marine units to the Secretary of War. The Marines hoped for a Marine Division. Pershing would not agree to it. However, he did agree to the Marine Brigade being the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division. With the caveat that he made his trusted Chief of Staff, BG James Harbord, USA, as its commander. My Great grandfather started out in the AEF as the Chief of Training (G5) and set up the school system for the AEF from basic and advanced individual training and Officer Candidate School to an abbreviated Command and General Staff College and everything in between. During this time he ran amuck of a very serious adversary, then BG Petain C. March the Commanding General of the AEF Artillery and soon to be the Chief of Staff of the Army. Pershing was very happy with Malone’s performance as Chief of Training and when asked by Pershing where he wanted to serve, Malone said, “at the fighting front.” Pershing assigned him to command the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division in February 1918. The 2nd Infantry Division was just forming for operational deployment in combat an was put into quiet sectors to acclimatize for real combat. Although these were Regular Army soldiers most were recently drafted and minimally trained soldiers. The Marines on the other hand were predominantly veterans of banana rebellion combat in Central and South America and some were veterans of the battle of Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1914. The Leathernecks were a tough bunch. The 2nd Infantry Division proved to be one of the best, if not the best Division in the AEF due to the healthy competition that existed between its two brigades; the Infantry Brigade and the Marine Brigade.As 1918 began, the British and the French were in dire straits. They had lost a generation of men in the 3+ years of the war. Their tactics were suspect and had not achieved success. They insisted that the Americans provide “cannon fodder” to replenish their units. General Pershing resisted with all his might allowing Americans to fight under a foreign flag. The British tried to strong arm him by refusing transit American troops to France on British transports unless the Americans relented. Both the British and French had little confidence that the Americans were up to the challenge of defeating the Germans. The British and French had committed to staying on the defensive for 1918 until the Americans would be ready in 1919. The Germans also had a low opinion of the Americans but knew that their numbers could make the difference so they launched their final push to capture Paris and break the will of the Allies in May-June 1918. The US 1st Division was committed to Cantigny and the 28th Infantry Regiment “Black Lions of Cantigny” under Colonel Hanson Ely, seized Cantigny and fought off counter attacks in May. The 2nd Infantry Division under Major General Omar Bundy was scheduled to relieve them when the call came to reinforce the French. The Germans were driving for Paris. Pershing offered the American Army to be at the disposal of the Allies. The 3rd Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne” went to Chateau Theiry along the Marne River and blocked the Crossings. The 2nd Infantry Division was diverted to stop the German advance four miles northwest of Chateau Thierry near Belleau Wood, Bouresches and Vaux which controlled crossroads leading to the Paris-Metz road; less than 40 miles from Paris.The French XVII Corps was near collapse. They were send French units against the Germans piecemeal were they “evaporated immediately, like drops of rain on a hot iron.” The French Commanding General Degoutte wanted to deploy the 2nd Infantry Division as they arrived and became available. Both Major General Bundy and his Chief of Staff, Colonel Preston Brown disagreed vehemently since the Infantry units which were arriving first only had rifles and 100 rounds of ammunition. General Bundy ended the discussion by stating that the Americans would not go into battle without their artillery and machine gun units and recommended that the Americans establish a defensive line which the French could retreat through and at the same time stop the German advance. French General Degoutte gave grudging approval but expressed doubts about the fighting ability of the untested 2nd Division. Colonel Brown replied, “these are American regulars. In one hundred and fifty years they save never been beaten. They will hold.”Despite their orders, the situation remained fluid as the parts of the Division arrived on the battlefield on 1 June 1918. The Army 9th Infantry Regiment was first to arrive went in on the right of the line and tied into the French 43rd Division. The next to arrive was the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines and they were deployed to the left of the 9th Infantry. The rest of the 6th Marines fell in on the left as they arrived. Then later that night the 5th Marines arrived and fell in on the left of the 6th. The 23rd Infantry arrived late on the 1st and after midnight on the 2nd, Colonel Malone led a task force of the 23rd Infantry Regiment; 1st Battalion, 5th Marines; 5th Machinegun Battalion and an Engineer Company 6 miles northwest of Lucy to tie in with French units on the left which spread the defensive line pretty thin. BG Harbord inspected the line and stiffened it by deploying the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines in the gap between the task force and the end of the Marine defensive line. As the defensive line stabilized, both of the Army Regiments were on the flanks and the 4th Marine Brigade was in the center on 2 June.On 3 June, the 2nd Division artillery finally arrived and the responsibility for the defensive line passed from the French to the US 2nd Infantry Division. Contact between units all along the line and on the left flank was elusive. The German rained the heaviest artillery fire on the Marine Brigade prior to sending assault waves with bayonets fixed moved toward the Marines. At 300 yards, the Marines opened fire with machine guns, well aimed rifle fire and American artillery. The Germans fell back after suffering 800 casualties and had to go into defense, they did not know that they were no longer fighting the French; they were fighting the Americans. BG Harbord gave the Marine Brigade the order, “hold our positions at all costs.”'On 4 June the French 167th Division relieved the 23rd Infantry Regiment on the left of the line. The 23rd was redeployed in between the Army 9th Infantry Regiment and the 6th Marines taking over some of the area previously occupied by the 6th Marines and providing a vital link between the two brigades. Now the 4th Marine Brigade was on the left and the 3rd Army Infantry Brigade was on the right. Enemy artillery continued to rain on the American line with the Germans using liberal use of poison gas as well as high explosive rounds which continued throughout the 19 day battle.On 5 June planning began for an attack on the 6th by the the left of the 2nd Division, the 5th Marines was ordered to attack into Belleau Wood in conjunction with a French attacking their left at 1500 hours followed by the rest of the Division. As the commanders and staff were learning since this was the first major action for the Americans except for Cantigny, inadequate time was given for a deliberate attack and little intelligence on the dispositions of the enemy or terrain had been obtained. Maps were either nonexistent or scarce. To make matters worse, adjustments of the defensive line was made during the night of the 5th that put many of the units on unfamiliar ground added to the confusion. Finally, inadequate artillery preparation was planned. It should be remembered that wireless radio was not available at this time and most artillery was planned using a timetable rather than being adjusted like it would be when wireless communications became widespread. The objective of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines was Hill 142.On 6 June the 2nd Infantry Division was ordered to attack along multiple axis toward Belleau Wood, Bouresches and toward Vaux. From left to right, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines attacked at 0345 hours into St. Martin Wood and seize Hill 142. It was recommended by Colonel Brown, 2nd Division Chief of Staff, that they use infiltration tactics and closely coordinate artillery however, the 4th Brigade provided a limited artillery preparation and the Marines attacked in waves. After being stopped they were hammered with repeated German counterattacks for the rest of the day. At 1700 hours, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines attacked into Belleau Wood. Units took heavy losses. Several companies are pinned down. A few companies penetrate Belleau Wood. 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines attacked Bouresches. 96th Company captured Bouresches with just a few men. With 50 minutes notice, Colonel Malone drove an automobile into the front line in his haste to make sure his two battalion commanders got the order to support the Marines on their left attacking Bouresches sketching positions on their maps before being recalled to 3rd Brigade Headquarters. The 1st and 3rd Battalions, 23rd Infantry attacked supporting the 6th Marines on their left as they attacked Bouresches. Throughout the day, lack of adequate artillery preparation due to planning and insufficient ammunition frustrated attacks and increased friendly casualties. Confusion, inadequate coordination and vague and conflicting orders also stymied progress as well as a determined enemy who was shocked by the determination of the Americans in contrast to the French who had been giving way readily. Colonel Malone reported, “at 5:00 PM the Marines were seen advancing in splendid order. The spectacle was inspiring.” Malone’s orders to Major Waddill, 1/23 Commander was to keep up with the Marines and let their eventual position govern his left flank. The men of the 23rd Infantry were unable to restrain themselves when so many buddies on their left (6th Marines) were fighting for their lives. Malone’s report continued, “A fight thus spontaneously resulted was conducted with great dash and courage, without adequate artillery support as the supply of artillery ammunition was running low and it was absolutely necessary to conserve the supply for the next morning when an attack was expected.” Malone reported about the fighting spirit of the men of his Regiment and how they exceeded their limits because of “enthusiasm and by the desire for combat.” Malone’s 3rd Battalion, under Major Elliott to the right of Waddill’s seized Hill 192 beyond Triangle Farm. They we’re brutally counterattacked by the Germans and took many casualties; Company M almost wiped out. Malone brought up reserves to prevent a breakthrough and moved them back to their original line after receiving orders to return from 3rd Brigade. Apparently, the tactics of the day was to fight one brigade at a time and the 4th Brigade was in the fight. The Division casualties for the day were in the neighborhood of 30 officers and 900 enlisted including the commanders of the 6th Marines, the 3/5 Marines wounded and several company commanders killed and wounded. Officer shortages would plague the Division for the rest of the battle. Twenty-six Years later, on this very day was D-Day. The 2nd Infantry Division followed the 1st and the 29th Infantry Divisions across Omaha Beach.On 7 June, the lines were tidied up. 2/5 Marines were moved into St. Martin Woods and tied into 1/5 on the left and 3/5 on the right just in time along with the 6th Machine Gun Battalion to repulse a German attack from Torcy. 3/5 Marines launched a successful attack toward Torcy and gained some ground. All around the rest of the line German attacks were beat back. 3/5 Marines was withdrawn from Belleau Wood to reorganize. 2/23 Infantry relieved 3/23 Infantry in the line near le Thiolet. 3/23 Infantry became a reserve. The 23rd Infantry and then the 9th Infantry repelled major enemy night attacks which left a 100 enemy dead and lost only 6 soldiers.On 8 June there was aborted attack by 3/6 Marines that was pinned down by German machine guns. On 9 June the German relaunched their offensive and continued to pummel the American line with artillery and gas. On 10–11 June 1/6 Marines attacked Belleau Wood from south to north but were stopped short of their objective. Meanwhile 2/5 Marines attacked Belleau Wood from West to East and become disoriented winding up south of their objective but hit the flank of the Germans which causes them to retreat to the north. One company from 2/5 Marines reaches the eastern edge of Belleau Wood and erroneously reports all objectives taken. This report is relayed to BG Harbord. Reports keep coming in that the woods to the north are still full of enemy. Word gets back that Belleau Wood belongs to the Marines and makes it into The NY Times.As reality becomes clearer, the 1/6 Marines begin moving north and run into German reinforcements that were preparing to roll up 2/5 Marines left flank. Replacements were sent to the Marines during the night. One company was down to 16 men (out of 200+). BG Harbord began requesting relief for the Marine Brigade since they had been in the line for almost 2 weeks. “Officers and men are now at a state scarcely less than complete physical exhaustion. Men fall asleep under bombardment and the physical exhaustion and the heavy losses are a combination calculated to damage morale, which should be met by immediate arrangements for the relief of this brigade.” On 12 June 1/6 and 2/5 Marines attacked north to take the northern portion of Belleau Wood. Colonel Malone, CO of 23rd Infantry sent BG Harbord a message (Harbord had been the Chief of Staff and Malone G5 (Training) on the AEF staff), “Hearty congratulations on the splendid work of your brigade. It will inspire all Americans”….he added that he had a small slice of the action but wished he had more and soon: “We rejoice in your victory.” Harbord replied, “Many thanks….The Marine Brigade is certainly a superb lot of officers and men…All you need is the opportunity, which I hope you may soon get.” At the end of the day the 2nd Infantry Division acknowledged that only a portion, but a large portion, of Belleau Wood was taken the previous day.During 13–14 June, the line shifted to the left expanding the coverage of the 9th Infantry and to shorten the coverage of the 23rd Infantry and Marines who had been taking the bulk of casualties. The 23rd Infantry took over responsibility for Bouresches which was a salient in the lines from the Marines. Artillery and heavy gas continued to rain on the American line. In reading the orders and memorandums in the National Archives, Malone continually pushed for the United States to use offensive chemical (gas) warfare with their artillery. He apparently wrote a recommendation 25 May 1918 and later on 25 June 1918 after he had sustained 855 casualties in his Regiment of which 334 were produced by gas. He said he Regiment was allocated about 3,000 artillery shells of support per day yet The Germans who used gas were more effective with less rounds were 9 times more effective at producing casualties when using gas. He recommends to obtain large quantities of yperite to launch a gas offensive.In Belleau Wood, 2/6 Marines joined 1/6 and 2/5 Marines under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Logan Feland, Deputy Commander of the 5th Marines. The effort to get relief for the Marines was picking up momentum. The 3rd Brigade was recommended by the French Commander and seemed to have the support of AEF headquarters but General Bundy, CG of the 2nd Infantry Division objected and pressed for the nearly idle 3rd Infantry Division to provide a Regiment. The 7th Infantry Regiment was provided to provide the relief. On 15 June the reliefs occurred one battalion each night for Three nights. The orders from BG Harbord were, “You must hold the woods at all costs.”By 17 June, Colonel Malone, “The Marines are being relieved, are are we going to be also? …If not, I am going to have to replace Capt. Charles E. Moore and I Company in Bouresches, because the strain is more than they can stand for long.” Malone was right, the town was constantly being shelled and attacked from three sides by the Germans. It was a key point which both sides understood.No relief was to come, Capt Moore and his company stayed in Bouresches. The 7th Infantry attempted two attacks into the northern portion of Belleau Wood; both failed. On 22 June the Marines began to relieve the 7th Infantry. 3/6th Marines relieved 2/7 Infantry. On 23 June 2/5 Marines now under the command of Major Ralph Keyser relieved 3/7 Infantry. 3/5 Marines launched another attack into the northern part of the woods that evening with heavy losses and no gains.On 25 June after a full day (0300–1700 hours) of heavy Americans and French artillery, 3/5 Marines along with a company from 3/6 Marines the Marines seized most of the woods. At the end of th day, 2/6 Marines relieved 3/5 Marines in Belleau Wood and 2/23 Infantry relieved 3/23 Infantry in Bouresches. The lines were adjusted around Belleau Wood during 27–29 June. Planning to take Vaux was began and in earnest on the 30th. One battalion from 9th (2/9) and another from the 23rd (3/23) were selected to attack under the command of the 3rd Brigade Commanding Brigadier General Edward M. Lewis. Colonel Malone was not happy with the command arrangement which cut both of the Regimental commanders out of the action. By this time, the 2nd Infantry Division understood how to use artillery including gas. They followed the rolling artillery barage. Within an hour it was over. The 3/23 Infantry Commander sent a message, “All the front is secure. Many machine guns captured.” The Germans hiding in the cellars were defeated by the gas. The Germans made serious counterattacks but could not drive the Americans from Vaux. 3/23 Infantry took the majority of the casualties and were replaced by 1/9 Infantry that night. The Germans lost 926 most that became POWs after being made ineffective by the gas..The 2nd Infantry Division consolidated their positions from Vaux to Belleau Wood. The 26th Infantry Division relieved the 2nd from 4–6 July. The 2nd Infantry Division had suffered 7,876 casualties and attached units another 375. The 2nd would be thrown back in combat in two weeks time in the Battle of Soissons again under the French with little opportunity to plan and none to reconnoiter. Prior to the battle, General Harbord would replace General Bundy as Division Commanding General. Colonel Lee USMC would command the 4th Brigade, BG Hanson Ely came to command the 3rd Brigade from the “Black Lions of Cantigny,” 1st Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Holcomb commanded the 5th Marines and Colonel Feland the 6th Marines. BG Lewis was promoted to command the 30th Infantry Division. Colonels Upton and Malone remained to command the 9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments, respectively.BibliographyAmerican Battle Monuments Commission Map of Belleau Wood with graphics.Bonk, David, “Chateau Thierry and Belleau Wood 1918,” Osprey, Oxford, UK 2007.Clark, George B., “The Second Infantry Division in World War,” MacFarland, Jefferson, NC 2007.Davis, Henry Blaine Jr., “Generals in Khaki,” Pentland Press, Inc., Raleigh, NC 1998.“Infantry in Battle”, The Infantry Journal Inc., Washington, DC, 1939.Stallings, Lawrence, “Bloody Belleau Wood,” American Heritage, Volume 14, Issue 4, 1963.23rd Infantry Regiment at Belleau Wood documents, National Archives, College Park, MD, June 1918.Thomason, John W. Edited by Clark, George B., “The United States Army Second Division Northwestof Chateau Thierry of World War I,” McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2006.

I find that most explanations for the 1830 invasion are not accurate enough or not profound enough. I have long since resolved to find some more form of a suitable explanation.The Barbary pirates, originating from North Africa, were the cause of many European outrages. The pirates, reaching as far as Ireland, captured slaves by the thousands. In 1664, France invaded Algeria at the city of Jijel (where my family originates) and occupied the territory for several months before being forced to leave. In 1682, Admiral Duquesne bombarded Algiers in retaliation to the Berber piracy of the Mediterranean. It should be mentioned that France was not the only country to have bombarded, attacked, or invaded Algeria, as the list also includes the Netherlands, Spain, England, Portugal, and the United States.In 1541, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire attempted a serious invasion of Algeria with a very large force. He ultimately failed, and his army took massive casualties. One of the more haunting scenes of that invasion was the Chevalier de Malte dying in front of the walls of Algiers saying, “Nous reviendrons!” (We will return).There is a clear pattern. For centuries European nations (most frequently France) had been attempting to solidify a hold on Algeria, but failed to do so. France, in the 17th and 18th centuries, was simply uninterested in trying to conquer some domain belonging to the Ottoman Empire (there was a tacit alliance between the two), as interests were elsewhere. Besides, colonialism was an alien concept to the major European powers during that time. As a matter of fact, it was a comparatively liberal idea that really cemented after the fall of Charles X, establishing itself in the less conservative governments that followed.Fast forward to the French revolution. The French armies are fighting most of Europe, and the French government(s) needed resources. The Directory, which sent armies to Northern Italy in 1795 and Egypt in 1798, had to supply them somehow. The government turned to Algeria, which was a nominal Ottoman province, but was almost completely autonomous. The Dey of Algiers, Ali V Ben Ahmed, agreed to give France large quantities of grain via a line of credit provided by the Algerian Jewish families Bacri and Bunasch. The Dey acted as a sort of intermediary, or guarantee. Several million of francs were loaned out.When Napoleon took power in 1799, he set out to create some sort of stable peace. He fixed French relations with the United States, ending the Quasi-war. After his victory at Marengo in 1800, he tried to do the same with much of his European adversaries. Talleyrand, the foreign minister of France and chief diplomat, was achieving these goals. He sought to achieve some sort of peace with Algiers and the Regency.We cannot hope to succeed fully in our given goals, in our dealings with the Barbary States, unless we deal efficiently with the settlement and reimbursement of the debts.Talleyrand arranged for the debts to be paid, mainly through installments. Several were paid through. However, relations between the French diplomats and the Algerians steadily worsened. Piracy continued, and many Frenchmen were taken slaves, greatly contributing to Napoleon’s anger.The details concerning the Bunasch family are long and complicated. In general, the trend that decided actions and attitudes taken by the French and other parties was the fact that the Bunasch family was Jewish. This led to a good deal of condescension on the French part, and contributed to any possible unwillingness or hesitance.There were further complications in Algiers, as the constant plague of the Regency were coups and instability in the leadership. In addition, there were a lot of familial issues with the Bacri and Bunasch, resulting with one of their members being assassinated. As the Napoleonic Era went on, Talleyrand increasingly distanced himself from this Algerian affair as he had greater matters to attend to.It should be noted that these pecuniary conflicts annoyed Napoleon considerably, so much so that he drafted invasion plans of Algeria. They saw light of day 22 years later.In 1816, after the fall of Napoleon, Talleyrand approved the Consul to Algeria, Pierre Deval, and sought to liquidate the debts to the Bacri family. By 1819, several agreements were reached between the parties, and several installments were going to be pushed through. The problem, however, lay in the fact that, by resolving the debts to the families, the Dey Hussein was to be excluded and lose any claims to reimbursement from the French government. This served to worsen the relations between the Regency and Paris.Dey Hussein wanted Deval gone and Paris disagreed. So Berber piracy continued. As a response, Charles X (r. 1824–1830) sent ships to blockade the Algiers port.Tensions came to a breaking point in 30 April 1827, when Dey Hussein struck Deval in the face with his fly-whisk (or fan handle) in this famous coup d’éventail.This was just the pretext Charles X needed to finally invade Algeria. In 1827, he fully blockaded the Algerian coast, and in 1830, sent a fleet carrying troops to conquer Algiers.Let us study in greater detail why Charles decided to invade Algeria because of some seemingly harmless strike.Charles X is a figure too quickly glossed over in the textbooks in which the main takeaway is that he was too conservative, reckless, and imprudent.Indeed, he was someone who valued the power of Monarchy. However, he was by no means an ignorant man.Charles was acclaimed when he took power in 1824. He made a mistake when the crown passed to him; he accepted official coronation in the Reims Cathedral, a symbol of traditional Catholic power. For the remainder of his reign, he always implicitly conformed to the ancien régime’s ideal mixture of Catholicism and Monarchy.Charles himself was a robust man. He was infamous during his youth because of his drinking, lavishness, and misbehavior. However, his attitude drastically changed as he grew older.(This was painted in 1827, when he was 70 years old. He aged extraordinarily well.)Charles was a king of positive and good demeanor. He an active ruler and presided over most of his cabinet meetings. He was, for a time, wildly popular. However, this started waning when he organized a government led by the Ultra-Royalist Joseph de Villèle.With Villèle, Charles drafted several laws that were in favor of the nobility, such as restoring primogeniture (which was met with so much fury that it had to be withdrawn), and paying indemnities to noble lands. He also gradually restricted freedom of the press, which the liberals greeted with outrage.Charles’ proclivities for Catholicism endangered him and his government. He was suspected of being a supporter of the Jesuits, which worsened his reputation.In general, Charles’ good nature, combined with his subtle naïveté, was a recipe for disaster. He possessed neither the shrewd passivity of his brother Louis XVIII nor the occasional foresight of Louis XVI.The noticeable decline began in 1827. When Charles was inspecting the National Guard, he was the met with the cries, “À bas les ministres! À bas les Jésuites!” (Down with the ministers! Down with the Jesuits!)Charles immediately dissolved the National Guard, which alienated the regime from the middle classes. Villèle’s government soon lost re-election, and, despite Charles’s pleadings, he resigned from his position in 1828. The Vicomte of Martignac replaced him. He was a moderate, which Charles disliked. Martignac tried to reconcile the left wing by proposing a new system of elections and division of power that would relax the centralization favored by the conservatives. In addition, he attempted to restrict the activity of Jesuits and to relieve censorship. In 1829, Charles fired Martignac and installed a new prime minister, the Prince of Polignac.Polignac was an Ultra-Royalist who was highly unpopular. When learning of his post, the liberal bourgeois François Guizot declaredCharles X has hoisted upon the Tuileries the flag of the counter-revolution.The new prime minister was quickly criticized. In March 1830, Charles openly stated that he would fight to keep his ministers. The chamber then demanded that he appoint other ministers because they distrusted Polignac. So Charles dissolved the entire chamber in May. He felt that these measures were absolutely necessary, statingIf I accepted these demands, they would treat me as they did my unfortunate brother [Louis XVI], for his first compromise signaled his fall.The King and Polignac were hoping that the new elections would take place, and the position of their government would be secure when French learned about their glorious victory in Africa. Technically, his actions were constitutional, as the Charter permitted for the creation of a new electoral system.As of all this was occurring, the French launched the expedition on Algiers. They quickly defeated the Algerian army guarding the capital. However, these conquests did not have the intended effects. Charles’s government still lost the elections. Driven to the brink, Charles set forth his July Resolutions, suspending the chamber of deputies, liberty of press, and introducing new electoral colleges for September.This was enough to drive the French to revolution, and Charles subsequently lost his throne.There are other reasons to consider the invasion of Algiers other than the political climate in which Charles had found himself.France was seeking to ally itself more closely with Russia, which was leading the destruction of the Ottoman empire. Polignac accepted the very real possibility of Constantinople falling to the Russians. However, all of these designs upset Great Britain. The British had always stalled the collapse of the Ottoman empire because of their distrust of Russia, the most powerful country after the fall of Napoleon. Algiers technically belonged to the Ottomans, and invading it would have provoked them.The reason that there was a lull of three years between the French blockade of the Algerian coast and the actual invasion was largely because of England, which did not want to entertain the possibility of French hegemony in North Africa. England had recently created new trade routes to the East through the Mediterranean. In addition, the English did not enjoy Charles’s “crusader attitude” towards the prospect of an Algerian expedition. He saw that it was duty to reinstall the Christian religion into such lands.Talleyrand was very opposed to an Algerian expedition. He saw that it was a futile move that would create uneasiness with England, which he deemed vital for any sort of enduring peace.Although Talleyrand proposed to Louis-Philippe that he give up Algiers as a gesture to the British, Louis-Philippe declined…Nonetheless, the British could deal with Louis-Philippe as someone who shared their vision of Europe, as they could not have dealt with Charles X.The Modern World-System IV: Centrist Liberalism Triumphant, 1789–1914, Immanuel WallersteinThe general reaction in France to the conquest of Algiers was at first taken with indifference. Politicians did not really see the use of Algeria, and it was not until 1870 that France truly became heavily invested there.I wonder what would have happened to Algeria if Charles had remained in power. The concept of colonialism was not a very conservative one, as the Royalists wanted a more stable France that was not reminiscent of Napoleonic ambition. They did not think that France needed to spread its values, and understood that silence and subtlety would have secured their position.The conquest of Algeria was greatly encouraged by more liberal thinkers, such as De Tocqueville. He wrote that France needed to create a republican, agrarian, society in Algeria that would model the French vision of the world, which resembled the current American/Jeffersonian ideal.And so it was all these reasons that France should go on such a fateful expedition that would result in a lot of pain, controversy, and socio-political issues that still resonate today.

‘My mother donated a kidney to me on 5th February 2016 to save my life.’Let me start off from the very beginning. It is going to be long. Hope you can bear. Span of 23 years summed up, kind of an autobiography!I would describe myself coming from below the middle class because that is the truth. Being the only son and with no siblings probably I got everything that I asked for. Materialistic things used to be motivation for studying hard.My father started doing a permanent job as a stenographer from 2nd september 2013 in the State Government. I was in 3rd semester in engineering then. My mother being a housewife, father has managed us beautifully and still continues to. Before the job he had to switch between numerous professions. He is good in stenography. During the 90′s he used to teach students Shorthand and typewriting in the newly constructed room in the garden. It was a registered school. We used to live in the railway quarters then. Grandfather used to work in the railways. I was very little. I have memories of disturbing my father during teaching time and throwing away pencil, rubber etc., of all the students in the drain. Computers were getting popular and grandfather was to retire and he already built a home elsewhere, the home where I still reside. The idea of typing school was scrapped off.Then father opened a PCO shop and started doing the business. The job he does now was applied during that time. Talk about GEN catagory and government job! He cleared the exam but they didn’t take him. The vacancies got filled.The business kept going, neither too bad nor too good. But I studied in a private school. You know the expenses. Well, a part of the grandpa's pension came into the picture. Almost every exam in school life I gave I showed him the question paper. He died while I was in class 8 due to grief of grandma who died earlier while I was in class 6. She was murdered.It was a tragic night, the night of Maha Aastmi on the auspicious occasion of Durga puja which is celebrated in huge roar in Assam. In almost every nook and corner of a neighbourhood you can see a idol during this time. I, my mother, my aunty and my grandfather went pandal hopping seeing different idols along the way. Grandma decided to stay home. We literally begged to come with us and not to remain alone. She would go the other day. Maybe death was in her fate. Father as usual was in shop and uncle was there too. It was 10 P.M. The 4 of us returned. Something was odd.I remember it clearly. The main gate was closed but the aldrop open meaning somebody came in and was probably there or left in a hurry. There is some distance between main gate and the living room door. You have to walk through the garden. All lights in between were off. Same happened to the living room door closed but keeping the aldrop open. We went in. The TV was running. No one there. Honestly after seeing all these I stood there in the TV room without inching a step. I was afraid like hell. I was just a school going kid.My grandfather stood with me but my mother and my aunty went inside more, the room next to it calling grandma. She was in her sixties and not very old too and was in good health. So after both the ladies went in, my aunty caught sight of her first near the refrigerator collapsed in the floor and called my mom there. They panicked and thought that maybe she fainted. Everywhere phone rang. People and neighbours rushed. Immediately she was taken to the hospital. That was the last time I saw her, a bunch of people carrying her to the ambulance. Many people gathered until then. Everybody was told what happened. It was then someone noticed few droplets of blood in floor near where she was lying, dried. The doctors declared her dead upon arrival. In the hospital someone noticed that there was a tight knot in her neck with the Aanchal of her saree which crushed her windpipe choking her to death. Also all jewellery she wore were gone and the blood on the floor came when the snatching was done. Post mortem revealed that she was dead for more than 4 hrs and we returned home at 10 PM. Police came and so sniffing dogs. Lots of investigation followed and till date the case is unsolved.Then during class 8 of half yearly exams grandpa died. Mobile phones became popular like the Nokia 1100. The PCO business failed. Father had already started a new job of delivering cooking gas cylinders in a carryvan 3 wheeler which he bought then. Exactly like the ones you see running in your locality or on the roads. It followed till the 1st year of my engineering. It was more of a business than a job. Most times he would sell off the cylinders on the spot. As far as I can remember he has sold once 140+ a day with consecutive trips and returning the empty cylinders to the company. The man labour was immense. He used to get tired.I passed class 10 from the state boards. There were elective subjects. One of them was to decide between advanced maths and computer science. I took the former one because people said it would help later on and also the computer subject added an extra tuition fee. But I was interested in the latter. Class 10 results came up in the month of may. It was already 2010. The Assam Government provides laptops or cheque to each and every student securing a 1st division. So what I did was took the cheque of 22k and with a bit of our money of 10k bought a good laptop at 32k. It was the very first laptop I had. Lasted till Jan 2015-the 3rd year of engineering!I switched to CBSE boards after passing class 10 from state boards. Joined class 11 in a school which was not so strict because you know the JEE hype was on! Was already into the coachings by then.Then year 2012 came and I was into 1st year of engineering from august. The days were good. Amongst the old school friends, college friends happened. They still all are in touch. Time flew fast and was already into the 4th year. It was 7th sem. The month was august of 2015. Classes just began properly from the 1st week and placements season had just started. Post july that year I had this little discomfort in walking. I didn't pay much attention. My legs became heavier day by day. I got tired very easily and to walk the slightest of distance I would take much time.It was 05-08-2015. I was returning from a hostel canteen after having a snack at around 3 PM. I had been already alotted a single room by then. I was about to insert the key to the lock to open the room door. Then suddenly everything went black. My whole body developed cramps. I collapsed with my eyes open and was unable to open the door. Someone noticed. He shouted and floormates gathered. I still can't recall who was it that noticed first. It has to be one among these 3– Vinayak, Harsh or Yogesh. My room was opened. Vinayak holded me somehow to lie me on my hostel bed and gave me water sprinkles. I came into senses. Till then the hostel supervisor came and institute's ambulance was called upon. I literally could not walk so I was carried in arms to the ambulance and was taken to the nearest hospital. Yogesh and Vinayak accompanied.Meanwhile my father was informed. He was on his way. Took a night super bus. Takes 12 hrs. In the hospital there were scans. BP was high. I was admitted. Since it was a Government hospital, I was not getting a proper attention. Yogesh and Vinayak took a decision, the best one. They took me to the college campus and let me in the institute guest house. A good A/C furnished room in the topmost floor was opened. Another friend Arpit carried me from ground floor to the topmost one single handedly in his arms across the stairs. He was returning from the city to the college campus in scooty. I was a bit heavy than usual. He was exhausted and sweating. Then he left and vinayak went to get some medicines prescribed by the hospital. Yogesh stayed. After that vinayak returned with medicines and a plate of food for dinner. I ate very little, took the medicines and I was feeling a bit stable but very weak. The two decided to stay for the night. There were two single beds. Yogesh is a very good coder. I watched him doing something in his laptop as I fell asleep. He was on the other bed. The light was dim. Vinayak went outside a little while before and said he'd come back soon.It was 3 AM. Date : 06-08-2015. Suddenly I woke up. My legs fell tearing apart, going cramps as if one nerve was above the other. I called Yogesh. He was asleep too. I could not speak loudly. He supported me in walking around the room because that way maybe I would feel good. Then I noticed Vinayak sleeping in the sofa. He came as he said. Upon walking a bit, the cramps did go and I again went back to sleep. Yogesh too.Morning came. Father had already reached the college. At around 8 AM he came. He saw my condition, brought some breakfast which I couldn’t eat at all. Then he took me to a good hospital in the city area of Silchar. Also the vice president of our college student union body came in the morning along with a person from campus health center who took some blood sample. Upon looking he said maybe I needed some blood. At the hospital, couple of scans like ultrasound and blood tests revealed what was wrong. The doctor recommended to a more better hospital than that to my father. My father didn’t tell me anything. He took me to my homecity Guwahati in an overnight ambulance journey and on 07–08–2015 morning I was admitted to the ICU in a good hospital. From the morning of that day I was vomiting and after a few moments fainted.After 24 hrs I woke up to find myself with an oxygen mask and tubes attached to my stomach with fluid exchange going on. They had already started Peritoneal dialysis. After a week my body became stable and was shifted to the general ward. Normal Hemodialysis was going on after 2 days gap. About a week passed, my dad told me what was wrong.‘I was diagnosed with end stage Chronic kidney disease. Dad had tears in his eyes while saying this. I was taken aback. I didn’t know how to react. After a few days a Renal Biopsy confirmed it. There were some cysts in my both kidneys. I felt my whole life turned upside down. Completion of engineering was out of the picture. I was 21, never drank or tried alcoholic stuffs or smoked not even other things.’There were two options:Continue hemodialysis about 3 times a week for the rest of my life orDo a Kidney transplantation which requires huge amount of money.Continuing hemodialysis was painful. I used to go to the hospital, lied down on the hospital bed while I could the machine purify my whole blood with tubes connected to my body. The process takes 4–5 hrs. The tubes were connected through either of my thighs and after the process the hospital doctors/nurses opened it bandaged the portion and I was sent back home as a normal person. After 2 days, same process in the same spot. This continued till November 2015. Till February 2016 dialysis happened through neck.I had informed my college about my situation when I first got to know about my condition. Dialysis had just started then. I felt that if I could do a renal(kidney) transplant I could get a new life. But it required huge sum of money which was impossible for me and my family to arrange. I begged for financial help from my college after going and staying there without dialysis for a week in the month of September 2015. I wanted to live. I wanted to see myself in the college again.Now, a kidney transplant requires a kidney either from a living donor or from a deceased one. I am O+ that means only an organ from an individual with same blood group can suffice. No other could. The question of who would be the donor popped up. My father is A+ and mother B-. One of my aunt came up who was O+ in blood group but was later rejected due to not matching of the Tissue typing test, the final step. I was heartbroken again. By then I had shifted my hospital from Guwahati to Chennai. It was November 2015. I received some amount of money from my college also by then.The doctor suggested against the blood group transplantation costing more and with less chance of success. Not a normal one which required a filtration material imported from Sweden. Then my father decided to become the donor who was rejected after simple tests due to high blood pressure. Last option, my mother.‘My mother successfully passed all tests of being a donor and I did an ABO-Incompatible renal transplant on 05.02.2016 in Chennai. I remember that day clearly too. The operation lasted 6 hrs. After anesthesia, I saw a dream. Parents, friends, relatives everybody I knew their faces kept flashing. I woke up to find myself in tremendous pain. My mother’s kidney had been transplanted beneath my abdomen, my stomach getting numerous stitches. My mother got more. Living donor blood group incompatible kidney transplant became successful!’From the month of august 2015 to Feb 2016, a mammoth sum above 20 lakhs have been disbursed with more than 60% of the money coming from the college i.e., the NITS fraternity consisting of students, its Alumnus and who not donated, something for which I am forever grateful for!For this I would like to mention the student union body of 2015–16 of my college who made very good decisions in the process. Little amount of money from each student hostel advance was cut residing in different hostels irrespective of year and course of study. The student union body consists of different persons handling different posts of college. People worked really hard in the collection process. Some of them needs special mention. The then vice president-Bhaskar, General Secretary-Faizal, Sports secretary-Indraneel, Cultural secretary-Birjon and few others formed the heartbeat of this process. Divye, the then General secretary of computer science society immensely helped from his side by his Alumni connections. I remember giving him a detailed medical report when I came into college in the month of September 2015. Was already on dialysis then. All of the people names I have mentioned were from final year-some from different branches or the same as mine. Three of college classmates Nicky, Aditya and Avinash worked hard alongside with them. Nicky ran like anything in the college from hostel to hostel collecting cheques and approving from higher authorities. In fact he was the first one to visit me at home after the operation. Some of my school friends also contributed. A very good old school friend, Anish co-ordinated this process. The remaining amount was managed through various relatives.‘To the people I have mentioned and all those who helped, thanking you would not be enough. All I can say is hats off your efforts that I live now, this day to write this.’After the operation, with 1 month rest at Chennai I came home in the month of march 2016. In the college, 8th semester was going. I was a pass out of 2016 class. I decided that I would join college not immediately but the then 1 year junior batch- which would pass out in 2017. After successfully completing 4 months in home I returned to college to stay with my mother in staff quarters provided by the college completing both 7th sem and 8th sem to hence complete my degree. Yes mother is the donor but she is very strong, more than me!After operation, I was given medication for whole life and restricted to certain things:Wear a mask for infection purposes whenever outside.No outside food for the rest of life. Some patients eat but I strictly follow.Not going into crowded placesSeparate toilets to use. Can’t use public ones. Only in emergency.Eating freshly cooked home food within 3 hrs from the point of cooking.There are more but let’s not get into these. Upon again returning back to college to complete the last two sems, I sat in placements from September 2016. I failed miserably and couldn’t get a job while passing out in May 2017. I missed all the IT companies as I had to go for a check-up in the month of October that year to Chennai. I couldn’t perform in the high-end ones to go through all the rounds of interview. Convocation happened and I got the degree spanning 5 years from 2012 to 2017 with a year loss. But it is okay, after all now I must become health conscious and not run after packages.My original class in college was this. 3 years I spent with them from 2012 to 2015.Lets do some identification. Sitting positions: rightmost- Yogesh, 2nd from left-Birjon, 4th from left Divye, at 8th Harsh. Me before the disease- at 8th position from rightmost standing 1st row above the sitters. Nicky- 2nd most row above the sitters from the leftmost 3rd one. Well I could go on identify all but I have to finish this.The last year spent with this batch from 2016–2017. Me after the operation at campus without a mask(for photos I take it off for some seconds): 2nd row from leftmost 3rd.Fast forward, as I write this its the month of November 2017. The date being 7th and my PC time shows 23:40. I follow this prescription.I am doing well, mostly remain at home, never miss any daily medicine and prepare for GATE. There are monthly blood tests which I have been doing since after the operation to keep track of everything as the doctors in Chennai advised. I send a soft copy by mail to them every month.Why did I write this?I have been wanting to for sometime to let it all out. No, I don’t want any sort of attention and I don’t want you to feel sad or pity because there are more unfortunate ones than me and even you. Bad things can happen. You remain calm and work hard to make ‘this too shall pass’.Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.Regards,Abhishek Bhowal