Colonel Henri Vandal (pronounced "Van-DAL" with the emphasis on the second syllable) is one of the two main antagonists of the Bernard Cornwell novel Sharpe's Fury, the other being Father Montseny. He is a French officer at the time of the Siege of Cadiz.
Biography[]
Colonel Vandal was the commander of the French 8th Regiment of the Line and a veteran of Austerlitz. In early 1811, he was stationed at a fort on the Spanish side of the River Guadiana, preparing to advance into Portugal over a nearby bridge. A British force under Brigadier-General Moon and including Captain Richard Sharpe captured a fort on the Portuguese side from the French and began making preparation to blow the bridge. Vandal sent his subordinate Captain Lecroix to negotiate the return of their wounded, while he prepared a counter-attack. Moon sent his aide Major Gillespie and Sharpe's second-in-command Lieutenant Bullen to Vandal as envoys, but Vandal took them prisoner, refusing to release them unless the British withdrew. Meeting Sharpe and Moon, he initially justified his actions by pointing out the British had brought the gunpowder over at the same time as the women from the captured fort, preventing him firing on them, before telling Sharpe that the only rule in war was to win.
Moon gave the order to blow the bridge but he, Sharpe and a group of men ended up trapped on a segment of it as it floated down the river, ending up in French-held Spanish territory. Vandal pursued them and came close to catching them when French sympathisers alerted him to their presence at a farm. The British escaped and Vandal settled for claiming Moon's expensive sabre.
Vandal led his regiment at the Battle of Barossa, where he again crossed paths with Sharpe, who fired a cannon at him, killing his horse and several of his men. In the confusion that followed, Vandal lost his regiment's eagle standard to troops from the 87th. Surrounded by Sharpe and his friends, Vandal surrendered, saying rules of war allowed him to keep his sabre. Sharpe reminded him that the only rule in war was winning, returning the sabre to Moon. Vandal said Bullen was being treated well as a prisoner of war but Sharpe punched and kicked him in revenge for the dishonourable behaviour. Vandal tried to report him but his claims were dismissed when Moon backed up Sharpe's version of events.
