Michel was an older French soldier serving in the 2nd Army, during World War I. Along with his military gear at the Battle of Verdun, he carried a small box of personal possessions, including a photograph of his wife, Nicole.
Biography[]
Michel was married to a woman named Nicole who lived in Marseilles[2] and they had two children, one of whom likely was born while Michel was at the front.[3]
In September 1916, he was in a unit led by Major Gaston, in the trenches north of Verdun.[2] A few days before an attack at Fort Douaumont Michel met an other soldier named Emile and a strong friendship sprung up between them. Emile too had a wife waiting for him back home, so he and Michel had promised that they would meet up after the war was over.[4]
That month, after a Belgian courier arrived with orders to attack Fort Douaumont, the soldier, recognizing his own likely mortality in battle, opened his box, and showed the young courier the picture of his wife, explaining that she lived in Marseilles, and her address was in the box, and that the box needed to be sent to her.[2] The box included a ring he bought in Vittel, untouched by the fighting.[3]
Wounded in battle.
The courier took the box, though claiming that he couldn't accept it. Gaston's whistle blew, and the soldier charged up out of the trenches, and into no man's land. After the initial charge halted in no man's land, Gaston gave the order to retreat. During the retreat, the soldier was hit by machine gun fire and fell down. Another soldier came to his aid but was also shot. The courier later attempted to rescue the men.[2]
Legacy[]
Shortly after his death, his wife Nicole was notified of his demise.[3]
Two days later, the courier recalled a mental image of the older soldier handing him his possessions and remembered the men at the front dying in battle. He used that as moral justification for destroying new orders to attack the fort, which would have resulted in their slaughter from increased German arms.[2]
During his staying in Paris, Indy managed to find Nicole and gave her Michel's box.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
The role of Michel in the episode "Verdun, September 1916" of the The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is not credited, though this role may be that of the French Private. While his death is not confirmed in the TV episode,[2] it's confirmed in the novelization[5] and in the comic book adaptation.[1] In Field of Death he also reveal that Remy Baudouin got wounded in battle.[5]
In The Mata Hari Affair Michel is called instead Marcel de Mourney. He's also described as around nineteen,[3] despite the actor playing him in the TV episode being visibly much older.[2]
In The Day of Destiny Michel states that he and Nicole were married by a year and that they were expecting their first child in January.[4] This doesn't jibe with the fact they have already children in other adaptations.[3][1]
Appearances[]
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Verdun, September 1916" → Demons of Deception
- Verdun, September 1916 comic
- Field of Death
- The Day of Destiny
- The Mata Hari Affair (as "Marcel de Mourney")