Chapter 150: Demonizing the Enemy
Leon Sinclair had quickly found that the life of a general in the army, even one as low as a Brigadier General, was more often than not an occupation filled with paperwork, and sitting in a chair. The days of him requiring fitness tests, or even going out into the field to test his mettle in war, were long gone.
Then again, the man had only ever fought wars on behalf of the Third French Republic in colonial territories. He wasn't exactly fighting against civilized nations, or at the very least nations whose military might was not on par with the nation he hailed from.
His allies in the Marxist underground had been driven into silence. The French Government stamp out Marxist political activity the best they could after their former Army Chief of Staff was allegedly assassinated by them.
Frankly speaking, his career was stonewalled at the time. He had been appointed to the position of Brigadier General within his mid-thirties as a political stunt.
The man's actions in Madagascar had earned him a fearsome reputation, and with the rise of the "Loup de Prusse" as the French referred to as Bruno, and his tales of infamy on the world stage, the French felt the need to appoint their own menacing figure in order to save some reputation.
And while the French propaganda machine was fully backing Leon, the reality of the situation was that his accomplishments paled in comparison to Bruno's and the higher ups in the French General Staff were acutely aware of this.
Hence why, even as years passed, he remained in his position as the lowest possible general rank given by the French Army. Leon was a spectacle to keep the masses feeling secure. He was a poster child, nothing more, nothing less.
With the assassination of the previous Chief of the French Army General Staff, and Bruno's rise in reputation on the international scale, the French people began to feel a bit insecure. Especially as the Germans continued with their efforts to build fortifications on their western borders.
Leon was chosen for the purpose of being France's own "martial genius" for several reasons. Firstly, his actions in Madagascar had left some with a fearsome impression of him. A man unwilling to give mercy to those who shed the blood of French citizens. This was similar to the infamy that Bruno had gained as the "Red Scourge" in Russia.
Secondly, Leon was of a similar age to Bruno, albeit a little older, and by extension, having more years' experience in the military. Giving a sense of security to the less educated French citizens by virtue of fallacious reasoning.
Finally, Leon and Bruno had a brief history together in the East. Something most people were unaware of, other than the highest-ranking generals in the French Army. Or at least this was the case before propaganda began displaying this shared experience.
So much so that currently Leon was walking through the streets of Paris, where a flier pinned to a nearby wall caught his interest. There were a series of propaganda posters spread across the wall, but one of them was a particular annoyance to the man.