Regular visitors of our server certainly noticed an increasing number of messages about preparations of the festive event in Paris, which was intended to remember in a dignified way the 200th anniversary of the presentation of Imperial Eagles on the occasion of the declaration of the French Empire and the coronation of Napoléon I. the Emperor of the French. The Eagles were to symbolize the beginning of an era of upheaval in the French army and the change of its perception as a whole. nike air max pas cher Following the current trend of Napoleonic societies to remember various 200th anniversaries of the era of the Napoleonic Wars, the Central European Napoleonic Society (CENS) in association with the Project Austerlitz 2005 (PA2005) organized a grand meeting of representatives of leading Napoleonic societies in Europe. christian louboutin On this occasion, on Sunday December 5th 2004, the CENS representatives presented copies of Imperial Eagles – legendary symbols of Napoléon's soldiers – and hand-made replicas of flags to selected units.

However, months of accurate planning and dealings preceded the event. adidas femme pas cher The original idea was born around March and particular plans arose during the summer. For the purpose of official dealings with Parisian government and metropolitan institutions, the CENS had its emissary Xavier Robin directly in Paris. adidas ultra boost In September, the CENS and PA2005 representatives visited the casting atelier of the Louvre museum to sign a contract for the production of 16 copies of 1804 Imperial Eagles after the Emperor Napoléon's own piece, which decorated the entrance to his field tent and today is exhibited in the museum of the chateau Malmaison. Petr Kolejka and Zdenek Pelikan took on the extremely difficult job of producing the flags.

Shortly before the event in November difficulties occurred with the previously planned lodging for the participants in the Military Academy (L'École Militaire) which finally led to a decision to move the entire logistical background to the sports complex in Lassy north of Paris. The Lassy complex had already hosted the CENS units in September during the Days of European Heritage. Other parts of the plan ran more or less according to original planning and so no-one could wait until the following weekend after "Austerlitz". nike chaussure The vanguard of the organizational team set off for Paris on Wednesday December 1st to supervise the final part of preparations and secure a smooth start to the event. On Thursday, this team arrived to the Czech Centre at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Rue Bonaparte. nike air huarache There they finalized the program and released press messages. On Friday, they dealt with people from the security and press departments of the Army Museum (Musée de l'Armée) regarding the details of the weekend program in Les Invalides (L'Hôtel national des Invalides). Later that day they picked up the now completed replicas of the Eagles. They were of a truly superb quality!

During the Friday evening, most of the participants including two Czech busses arrived to Lassy (although some participants preferred to stay in hotels or hostels in the city) and broke out their "camp" there. People rested, had a chat and – as usual – had a glass or two! However, this could not be enjoyed by the ‘mobile flag manufacture' Kolejka-Pelikan who right after their arrival seized the first proper room and started to complete unfinished flags. There were some details still missing and Eagles were to be fitted on to their poles.

On Saturday morning after breakfast and the morning roll call, the entire group set off for the Congres Palace (Palais des Congrès). There the very first international Napoleonic fair called the Salon of the First Empire (Salon du Premier Empire) was held. Booksellers, producers of tin soldiers, weapons, furniture, textiles, exhibited their products there and there were many antiquarians, museums and other subjects focused on the Napoleonic era. There was a lot to see! Soldiers had free entrance and with their presence, they created a sensation and furore thus advertising the upcoming highlight of the event, the ceremony of presentation of Eagles. Around lunchtime, the entire group moved on busses to Les Invalides. There the units first practised the line-up and ranking for the ceremony under the strict supervision of the Légion d'Austerlitz (i.e. the French part of the CENS) staff, and particular commanders and NCOs were given last detailed instructions. The presence of almost 200 uniformed soldiers in Les Invalides created an undisguised amazement and great interest among the visitors. Then soldiers showed some exercises and manoeuvres on the Court of Honour (Cour d'Honneur) and possibly gave the visitors a close chance to see their weapons and uniforms. Soldiers also had the possibility of free entrance into the famous Military Museum, which brims over with unique collections. Therefore, not surprisingly the local guards had to remind several fanatical enthusiasts that the closing hour was over! After that the soldiers were dismissed and had a couple hours to spend in the city – some went into a pub, others went for sightseeing or souvenir shopping. The group returned to Lassy only in the late evening hours looking forward to the following festive day.

Slight nervousness and tense expectations – so were the feelings of most participants on the Sunday morning. After the roll call the group was transported on busses again into the Paris centre to the National Opera building (Opéra national de Paris) where it lined up into a parade column of march after the protocol for the ceremony. nike soldes From the Opera, the defile set forth to the gates of the Louvre, passed through the Gardens of Tuilleries to then cross the bridge of Alexander III. onto the boulevard Maréchal Gallieni and headed towards the gate of Les Invalides. nike air max It then passed through the Court of Honour into the Court Vauban in front of the entrance to the Dome where units lined-up according to the scenario. mu legend zen for sale All the guests of the ceremony arrived, too. Present were generals Stefan Roda and Oleg Sokolov with their staffs, representatives of the European Napoleonic Society (ENS), descendants of the Napoleonic aristocracy, the director of the Czech Centre Michael Wellner-Pospisil, French veterans and others. Thousands of curious spectators had watched all this. nike air max soldes Shortly after noon, chef de bataillon Ivan Vystrcil gave command to start the ceremony. The command was then taken over by Martin Lancaster, commanding officer of the 9th light infantry. First a welcoming address to the guests and lined-up troops had been read. Then Xavier Robin took over and begun to call up the names of units' commanders who were coming to receive the Eagles with flags from the hands of Ivan Vystrcil. After the acceptance of the Eagles, their new holders lined-up on the stairs to the Dome. Some of the Eagles were handed over by generals Roda and Sokolov on request of particular units. With an acceptance of the last Eagle their bearers with troops behind them entered the Dome to continue with the ceremony above the Napoléons tomb. There the Eagle bearers lined-up in a circle around the balustrade above the sarcophagus and inclined the Eagles with flags. General Sokolov then repeated the words delivered by the Napoléon 200 years ago: "Soldiers, these are your flags; these Eagles will be pointing out the place to assemble for you; they will go everywhere where your Emperor would consider it necessary to defend his throne and his people. Vow to sacrifice your life to defend them a lead them with your bravery forever on the ways of victory!" He then ended-up his address with an emotive call up "Vive l'Empereur!", which was then repeated with a huge echo by the lined-up troops. In these moments, the atmosphere of the ceremony graduated and perhaps everybody in the French uniform (and not only this one!) had to feel the intense frisson! Many veterans' eyes filled up with emotion. asics soldes The CENS representatives then received congratulations, pictures were taken and everybody just enjoyed that unrepeatable moment. The Eagle bearers with troops then left the Dome and once again lined-up in the open square. Some more salutations to the Emperor were called and with that, the ceremony came to its end. adidas gazelle pas cher There was nothing more left than to command a dismissal. At once the soldiers crowded around the flags to look at them and touch then. Photographers and tourists enjoyed the moment, too. In the cold afternoon it was then an excellent opportunity to go with friends and have a cup of coffee or glass of wine and to share the immediate impressions. A few hours later, the busses were taking the entire group back to Lassy. Adidas soldes There all the stuff and baggage were quickly packed. Naturally, an extraordinary care was given to Eagles and flags, many had prepared special packages or cases already. Finally there was the time for final leave-taking, last addresses and phone numbers were exchanged and in the late evening everybody set off for home.

From the organizers' point of view we can claim the event as very successful (except some minor details) as it reached its main goals one hundred percent. The commemoration of 200th anniversary of the Emperor's coronation and the presentation of Eagles passed off in a very dignified way as both the participants and the independent observers among the guests agreed. Perhaps everyone will bear the unrepeatable impression from the ceremony forever in their memory! Another strong effect was the generally friendly atmosphere, which, as it seems so far, introduced positive relationships between leading Napoleonic associations where cooperation had at least stagnated in recent years. We hope that the positive outcome of the common meeting will soon bring a clear wish to continue this feeling in

future large European Napoleonic re-enactment events.

In the ceremony on the occasion of 200th anniversary of the presentation of Imperial Eagles following units and their respective commanders were presented:
Line infantry (drapeau challiot)
8e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Kamil Madera, Czechia
8e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Jan de Coster, Belgium
18e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Christophe Cormary, France
18e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Oleg Sokolov, Russia
18e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Michal Luksicek, Czechia
19e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Mario Muscat, Malta
22e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Oliver Schmidt, Germany
30e Régiment d'infanterie de ligne, Marek Kosacek, Czechia
51e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Alessandro Garula, Italy
57e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Renné Ragas, Czechia
59e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Gina Pozzi, Italy
113e Régiment d'Infanterie de ligne, Paolo Coturri, Italy

Light infantry and foot artillery (drapeau picot)
9e Régiment d'Infanterie légère, Martin Lancaster, Great Britain/Germany/Benelux
5e Régiment d'Artillerie à pied, Petr Rozsypal, Czechia
6e Régiment d'Artillerie à pied, Radek Parizek, Czechia

Imperial guard (drapeau/étendard challiot)
Régiment de Grenadiers à pied, Vladimir Zarboch, Czechia
Régiment de Grenadiers à pied, Partice Farcenio, France
Bataillon de Marins de la Garde Impériale (2e Equipage), Jaroslav Janusek, Czechia
Régiment d'Artillerie à pied de la Garde Impériale, Paul Dawson, Great Britain
1er Régiment de Chevau-légers lanciers, Jerry Lavender, Great Britain

Cavalry (étendard challiot)
2e Régiment de Dragons, Gérard Bourlier, Belgie

Acknowledgments:
The event's organizers would like to express their thanks and appreciation for help by its realization especially to:

• director of the Czech Centre at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Paris Mr. Michael Wellner-Pospisil and his great team
• director of L'Hôtel national des Invalides Sir general Robbert Brasse and colonel Gérard-Jean Chaduc for the intermediation of the permit to enter the Louvre
• ambassador of the Czech Republic in France Mr. nike air max classic bw soldes Pavel Fischer for providing his auspices over the event and invaluable help by providing us with important contacts
• employees of the Army Museum Mr. nike chaussure Jean-Jacques Monte, chief of security and Mrs. Céline Gauthier of the Press Department for their kind help and assistance by planning and securing the program in Les Invalides
• Southern Moravian region and its governor Mr.