The Frenchman

The Frenchman reminiscing on his time during the Indochina War

Vietnam War

The Frenchman is an abnormal humanoid believed to possess the first name of Jacques, not much else is known. He appears in several war videos briefly with varying importance. His rank and unit is unknown as his locations often change. In World War I: Battles of Absolute Destruction he appears to be an officer in the French army leading a charge against the German trenches before the Christmas Ceasefire. InWorld War II: The European Front, he appears again as a Free French soldier of unknown rank exhibiting strange behavior. He appears in Vietnam once again as a former member of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps during the French Indochina War, continuing his own personal conflict well into the American War in Vietnam as he comes across Pvt. Boys and Sgt. Bushido. This character can be compared to Clint Eastwood's "The Man with No Name" from the *Dollars Trilogy* since in each video the character is not intended to be the same person, yet they each act the same.

## In WW2: TEF

The Frenchman is briefly seen in this film at first in the middle of the U.S. section and then in two more instances throughout the video. At his first appearance he is seen eating a baguette when Lt. Bushido calls him over to join the company since they had just received orders to move locations. The Frenchman quickly sticks his baguette in his left jacket pocket and then grabs a French flag and his Thompson exclaiming "Vive la France!". He then runs across a ridge line with his iconic French laugh to an unknown destination as it seems he is an ethereal being that goes where he chooses. He is not seen again until the close of the U.S. section apparently having lost the baguette from his pocket which he searches for during the rest of the war. It is then at the end of the video once the Soviets capture Berlin that the Frenchman finds his baguette and then salutes the French tricolor, signifying the end of the war.

## In Vietnam

In Vietnam the Frenchman is referred to by the name, "Jacques" receiving much more focus then in WW2 with his own section entailing the French Indochina War. After Captain Indiana climbs a tree to figure out where his squad was heading, Private Boys and Sergeant Bushido are left on the ground when they suddenly hear a commotion coming from some bushes. Upon investigating they are suddenly attacked by the Frenchman who springs out from the bush hitting Boys with his stick. The Frenchman is now heavily bearded, in torn clothing, and still wearing his M51 helmet now dented from years of use. Upon realizing the pair he attacked were Americans he became friendly seemingly unconcerned that Boys had his M16 trained on him. The Americans asked just what the Frenchman was doing in Vietnam to which he began his tale. This section of the video is a flashback of his experiences during the French Indochina War, the conflict directly preceding American intervention in Vietnam, by recalling the Frenchman's journey since his retreat from the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ in 1954. In black and white film the Frenchman's unit attempts to retreat but is completely surrounded by Viet-Minh forces with much of his comrades getting wiped out. With only his Captain and another unnamed soldier remaining they continue to attempt a retreat. Jacques is eventually separated after a brief firefight and ends up in close call with a communist guerrilla that surprises him by knocking his MAT-49 smg out of his hands. The two begin fighting with their fists eventually ending up on the ground attempting to beat each other to death. Jacques' captain then finds him getting right up to the communist shooting him point blank in the face with his pistol. In his narration Jacques is greatly for the captain saving his life but claims he could have defeated the man by himself. After this when the remnants believe they are safe they are once again attacked with only Jacques surviving. Jacques does not want to leave his Captains side yet he is urged to do with a direct order and is then given what is described as his officers most prized possession. When retreating Jacques comes under further attack but runs out of ammunition so he drops his gun to the ground and runs. When stopping behind a tree to drink from his canteen he finds a stick which Jacques says, "Is his greatest weapon and companion". This stick becomes Jacques' primary weapon which he uses to ambush Viet-Minh guerrillas using their own tactics. To avoid detection Jacques does not make camp opting to always change his location and surviving by raiding enemy camps. After he is done reciting his story the video shifts back to the Americans after Jacques runs into the woods in a flamboyant manner laughing his French laugh. Boys and Bushido attempt to tell Indiana of this encounter but the captain dismisses it. Later in the film when the platoon is ambushed and going to evac the area, Boys and then Indiana end up wounded with Indiana ordering Bushido to go help the private. Suddenly a Viet-Cong soldier pops out ready to shoot the unprepared Captain when suddenly Jacques appears knocking out the soldier with his stick. Jacques then takes the soldiers AK-47 for his own use, salutes the Captain, and then runs off leaving Indiana in complete awe. In the post credits scene Jacques is seen one last time saving a U.S. soldier by unloading his new AK-47 into a Vietnamese solider laughing as he is quite pleased with his new weapon.

## In WWI: BAD

In this film the Frenchman is sighted again further back in time than ever before as an officer in WWI. In the Christmas Truce portion of the video the Frenchman is seen leading an allied attack on the German trench wielding a Modèle 1892 revolver. A soldier runs ahead of him to try and urge the other side to cease fighting for Christmas but is then shot before the Germans decide they should have a truce. While the Indian soldier alongside the Frenchman is excited for the peace like the Germans, when the two sides meet to shake hands the Frenchman slaps the German known as "Pinhead Larry" in the face with his glove before shaking. Later on it seems as though the two accept each others company when Larry gives his spike to the Frenchman so that he may shave his mustache. The Frenchman is upset that his comrade was killed directly before the peace and goes to pay his respects to the fallen soldier but is startled when the man jolts back to life briefly yelling he was slain before going back to being slain. While quite surprised the Frenchman was not disturbed by this for long and went to discuss with the other soldiers how he believed the baguette was the superior baked good. After this the both sides wished each other well and returned to their sides. The Frenchman remarked to his Indian ally how happy the Germans were in French which the Indian failed to understand. The two sides then immediately returned back to fighting with every individual seemingly killed. This would prove false however as the Frenchman is shown to be an incredibly powerful entity that exists only to fight for France, appearing whenever he is most needed.

## Trivia

-The Frenchman was original going to make an appearance in WWI:TW because Jack wanted to show off his Adrian helmet, but him and Eric could not come up with anything to do with such a character. This seem desire to use the helmet led Jack to create the character in WW2.

-In Vietnam the character was brought back as Jack really enjoys doing the French accent and exaggerated movements leading to the French Indochina involvement.

-In Vietnam there is a hole in the Frenchman's shirt exactly where Jack's left nipple was that was covered by the beard.

Vive La FranceBaguetteThe Frenchman finding his stickA young Frenchman at the battle of Dien Bien PhuAttacking the trenchSlapShavingFighting the CongHONHONHONHON