10 September 1627

The date of 10 September 1627 is the point at which the narrative of The Three Musketeers decisively leaves the courtly intrigues of Paris and enters the theater of war. It is the day d'Artagnan, still a Guardsman in the company of Monsieur Dessessart, arrives without accident in the royal camp established before the walls of La Rochelle. This arrival marks the beginning of the siege's active phase for the protagonist and his friends, a period that will test their courage, deepen their bonds, and ultimately lead to the catastrophic climax of the story's central conflict with Milady.

Arrival at the Siege and the Context of War

D'Artagnan's journey to the front lines is part of a larger military mobilization. The Siege of La Rochelle, a major political and military undertaking of Cardinal Richelieu, was already underway. The Duke of Buckingham and his English forces had seized the Isle of Re, besieging the citadel of St. Martin and the fort of La Pree, while the French royal army, commanded by the king's brother, Monsieur, had begun its own operations against the city. The king himself, though delayed by illness at Villeroy, was expected to take personal command. D'Artagnan, as part of the vanguard sent to the theater of war, finds himself in a camp that is a world away from the streets of Paris, a place of constant skirmishes, trench warfare, and the ever-present threat of death from enemy fire or, more insidiously, from the agents of his powerful enemies.

Isolation and Reflection

Upon his arrival, d'Artagnan is separated from his three inseparable friends, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, who, as Musketeers, have halted with the king at Villeroy. This separation, though initially a mere inconvenience, leaves d'Artagnan feeling isolated and given up to his own reflections. His thoughts are not cheerful. He reflects on his precarious situation: the only woman he has loved, Constance Bonacieux, has disappeared without a trace; he has made a powerful enemy of Cardinal Richelieu, a man who could crush him; and he has also earned the hatred of the mysterious and dangerous Milady. In exchange for these perils, he has gained the protection of the queen, a favor that is itself a source of persecution, and a valuable diamond ring, which he cannot sell without risking the queen's displeasure. This period of solitude and contemplation in the camp sharpens his awareness of the dangers that surround him, both from the enemy outside the walls and from the unseen enemies within his own ranks.

The First Ambush and the Confirmation of Danger

D'Artagnan's anxieties are soon confirmed by a violent event. While walking solitarily along a road leading from the camp to the village of Angoutin, he is ambushed. He sees the barrel of a musket glint from behind a hedge and, with quick instinct, throws himself to the ground just as a shot is fired. A second shot from a different direction tears up the gravel where he had been lying. Recognizing he has fallen into a planned ambush, d'Artagnan flees back to the camp at full speed, a third shot carrying away his hat. This attack is not a random act of war. The accuracy of the aim and the use of an arquebus ball, rather than a standard military musket ball, convince him that this is not a Rochellais ambush but a deliberate assassination attempt. He suspects either a "kind remembrance" from the cardinal or, more probably, a vengeance of Milady. This event shatters any illusion of safety and confirms that his enemies are determined to kill him, even in the midst of the army.

The Trench Fight and the Letter from Milady

The threat becomes more concrete when d'Artagnan volunteers for a dangerous reconnaissance mission to a bastion recently retaken by the Rochellais. He sets out with four companions, but two of them, soldiers he had previously suspected, hang back. At the turning of a trench, the group is fired upon, and one Guardsman is killed. As d'Artagnan stoops to help his fallen comrade, two more shots ring out, one killing the wounded man and the other passing close to d'Artagnan. He realizes the two missing soldiers are the assassins. Feigning death, he allows them to approach, then springs up and attacks. He kills one and wounds the other, forcing a confession. The wounded man reveals that a woman named Milady hired them to assassinate d'Artagnan for a hundred louis. From the dead assassin's pocket, d'Artagnan retrieves a letter from Milady herself, which reveals that she had also been involved in the failed abduction of a woman—Constance Bonacieux—and that she is now determined to kill the man who has thwarted her. This discovery transforms d'Artagnan's vague fears into a clear and present danger, directly linking the siege to his personal vendetta and setting the stage for the final, desperate acts of the novel.