Bastion Saint-Gervais
The Bastion Saint-Gervais was a fortified position near La Rochelle that became the stage for one of the most famous exploits of d'Artagnan and the three Musketeers. What began as a public wager to demonstrate their audacity transformed into a crucial strategic council, a deadly skirmish, and the event that finally secured d'Artagnan's long-desired entry into the Musketeers. The action unfolded on a single morning, but its consequences reshaped the fortunes of the four friends and their war against Cardinal Richelieu.
The Wager and the March
The idea originated with Athos, who, needing a secure place to discuss the grave secret of Milady's identity and her plot against d'Artagnan, proposed a bold diversion. In the crowded inn of the Parpaillot, surrounded by soldiers of all ranks, Athos challenged a light-horseman named Monsieur de Busigny to a wager: that he and his three companions—Porthos, Aramis, and d'Artagnan—would go and breakfast in the bastion St. Gervais and remain there for a full hour, regardless of enemy action. The stake was an unlimited dinner for eight. The bet was accepted with enthusiasm by de Busigny, a dragoon, a Swiss soldier, and a fourth auditor. Athos paid the host two pistoles for a breakfast of viands and wine, which he ordered Grimaud to pack into a basket. Setting his watch against de Busigny's, Athos led the four friends and their silent lackey out of the camp and across the open plain toward the bastion, followed by the curious eyes of hundreds of soldiers who had gathered to witness the spectacle.
Breakfast and the Secret Council
Upon entering the bastion, the four friends found it occupied only by a dozen corpses, French and Rochellais, from the previous night's fighting. While Grimaud spread the table, Athos directed the others to collect the fallen soldiers' muskets and cartridges, amassing twelve guns and a hundred shots. As they loaded the weapons, they began the true purpose of their mission: a private council. Seated on the ground with their legs crossed, they ate their breakfast while Athos revealed that he had seen Milady the previous night at the inn of the Red Dovecot, that she had demanded d'Artagnan's head from the cardinal, and that she was now bound for England with the mission of assassinating the Duke of Buckingham. The friends debated their course of action, considering plans to warn Lord de Winter, to inform the queen, or to send their lackeys as messengers. It was during this council that they formulated the plan to write letters to Lord de Winter and to Aramis's contact in Tours, a scheme that would ultimately lead to Milady's capture and trial.
The First Assault and the White Flag
The friends' breakfast was interrupted by the approach of a troop of sixteen pioneers and four soldiers. Athos, with characteristic bravado, mounted the breach and courteously requested the men to wait until they had finished their meal, or to join them in drinking to the health of the King of France. The reply was a volley of four shots, which flattened against the wall around Athos without touching him. The four friends returned fire with deadly accuracy, killing three soldiers and wounding one pioneer. A second volley felled the brigadier and two more pioneers, sending the rest into flight. The friends then made a sortie, collecting the enemy's weapons. To taunt the Rochellais, Athos ordered Grimaud to tie a napkin to a half-pike and plant it on the bastion as a white flag, a gesture that drew a thunder of applause from the French camp.
The Second Assault and the Crumbling Wall
A larger force of twenty to twenty-five soldiers from the garrison then advanced. Outnumbered, the four friends resolved to hold their ground, as they had not yet finished their breakfast nor completed their conversation, and the hour of their wager was not yet up. They fired with precision, dropping men with every volley, but the Rochellais continued their advance. When the enemy reached the ditch and prepared to scale the breach, Athos gave the order to push down an enormous sheet of the wall. The four friends, aided by Grimaud, shoved with the barrels of their muskets, and the wall detached itself from its base, falling with a horrible crash into the ditch. The assault was crushed; only three or four limping survivors fled back to the city. Athos checked his watch; they had been in the bastion for an hour and a half, having won their wager and secured their secret council.
The Return and the Promotion
The four friends marched back to the camp in triumph, greeted by cries of "Live the Musketeers! Live the Guards!" The cardinal, hearing of the exploit, sent his captain of the Guards to inquire. Upon learning the names of the participants—Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and d'Artagnan—he murmured, "Still my three brave fellows!... Still my young scapegrace. Positively, these four men must be on my side." That same evening, the cardinal instructed Monsieur de Treville to take d'Artagnan into his company of Musketeers, declaring that when four men were so attached to one another, it was only fair they should serve together. The exploit of the Bastion Saint-Gervais thus directly led to the fulfillment of d'Artagnan's lifelong dream, while the secret council held within its walls set in motion the chain of events that would lead to Milady's downfall.
