Boucher

"You are being irrational, letting emotion cloud your judgment. A good officer must learn that one bad decision can endanger his men and put his entire command at risk."

- Boucher

Major Boucher was a Belgian military officer in East Africa, under the command of Colonel Mathieu. His command included Lieutenants Henri Defense (Indiana Jones) and Remy Baudouin and many Askaris and soldiers of the Force Publique.

In December 1916, he led his troops into a battle in German East Africa, calling for a run to overtake a German picket. In the battle, the Germans unveiled a machine gun emplacement, killing many of Bouchet's men, and Bouchet ordered a retreat. Lt. Defense, seeing that the machine gun had jammed, called for a charge instead, and turned the tide of battle. Due to Defense's initiative, the Germans were forced to retreat, and the Belgians won the battle, and captured the machine gun.

After the battle, Boucher dressed down Defense for disobedience, but Colonel Mathieu downplayed the issue, with news of General Tombeur's commendation for the company, and a captain's promotion for Defense. Mathieu then paired Boucher and Defense as leaders of an expedition across Africa to Cape Lopez to pick up a wayward shipment of machine guns and other arms that were needed for the assault on Tabora.

One day, the expedition came across an Ubangi village, seemingly deserted, but actually killed off by smallpox. A search of the village turned up a single surviving orphan, whom Boucher ordered to be left behind as a potential disease carrier. However, the Ubangi boy was brought along secretly by Sergeant Barthélemy and cared for by some of the other soldiers and porters.

As the expedition headed into the Congo, the men started weakening from yellow fever of the jungle, and Boucher had to make the decision to start leaving the sick behind to prevent wider infection and press on with the mission.

When Boucher, starting to show signs of illness, discovered the boy's presence among them, he was furious at Defense for allowing the men to endanger the mission by caring for the child and ordered again that the child be left behind. However, the next morning when Sergeant Barthélemy brazenly refused to surrender the boy, and his fellow soldiers also disobeyed Boucher's orders, Boucher threatened to kill them for treason. Defense stepped in for his men and held Boucher at gunpoint until Boucher accepted that the boy, still in good health, could accompany the mission.

Boucher's health continued to decline, and when he collapsed on the trail, Defense compassionately ordered the men to build a stretcher and carry the major.

Eventually, the survivors of the expedition reached ??? where they hired Zachariah Sloat and his riverboat and began the journey downriver. By this time, even the five Belgian officers were starting to succumb to sickness. With Boucher ill, Defense attempted to divert the mission to the hospital at Lambarene, but even Barthelemy agreed that seeing a German doctor would endanger the mission.

..in progress..

Behind the scenes
Michel Duchaussoy played Major Bouchet in the episode "German East Africa, December 1916" of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

The name Boucher means "Butcher" in French.

Appearances
re-released as part of
 * The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
 * "German East Africa, December 1916"
 * Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life