iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

📜Austerlitz Campaign, 2 October 1805 Four days' bread, and more road ahead. Friant's division is moving through the Möckmühl and Sindringen area, carrying provisions brought from Mosbach. Davout reports that his troops are advancing in good order.

130

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

One of the men who helped stop Napoleon at Acre had once sat beside him at school. Antoine de Phélippeaux was a fellow pupil at Brienne, where both boys received the military education that would shape their later careers. The Revolution sent them down very different paths.

111

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Before Napoleon conquered Europe, his classmates mocked his Corsican accent. They turned his pronunciation of his own name “Napoglioné” into "la paille-au-nez" or “straw up his nose”.

111

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

📜Austerlitz Campaign, 28 September 1805 Davout's III Corps is crossing the Rhine in the Mannheim area during 27–28 September.

130

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

As Napoleon’s Grande Armée crossed the Rhine, another army was marching west. Under Kutuzov, the Russian army crossed into Austria to join the coalition against France. War and Peace brings that to life. Russian troops on the road, singing as they enter Austria. The road to Austerlitz had begun.

060

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

📜Austerlitz Campaign, 26 September 1805 After almost a month marching east, the Grande Armée approaches the Rhine. An account describes grenadiers raising bearskins on bayonets, shouting: "Menez-nous à l'ennemi! Qu'on nous fasse passer le Rhin!" "Lead us to the enemy! Let us cross the Rhine!"

030

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

On 29 November, I'm attempting something ambitious: 78 km on foot starting at 9 pm. Davout's corps did it in 1805 to reach Austerlitz. Napoleon needed the men.

110

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I know plenty of French music from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars: Le Chant du Départ, La Victoire est à nous, Veillons au salut de l’Empire, La Chanson de l’Oignon… But what were the soldiers opposing them singing?

100

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Not everything goes according to plan on my hikes. Here you see the road to Montigny-le-Tilleul, June 15 2026. Can you see it? Me neither. I tried anyway, until the “road” became a muddy stream and ended at a slope I couldn’t climb.

120

Reposted by Benny Michielsen

Tom Egan @tomjmegan.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

🚨 #FestiveTankChallenge2026 🚨 Warning Order! Folks, 2026 #FestiveTankChallenge is the StuG. ANY scale & variant - completed between 21st-31st Dec 2026. Here’s my kit - 1/48 Tamiya Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.G Hope you get involved - stash those kits! #Wargaming #Scalemodels

208318

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Three days on foot retracing Friant’s forced march to Austerlitz. I know a weather forecast this far out is basically wishful thinking, but still… If this is what’s coming at the end of November, I’ll happily take it. Cold, dry, and just a little snow would be perfect. ❄️🥾

000

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Mapping my Prussian route to Waterloo, I found towns grown beyond recognition. Yet roads from 1815 remain. Once I knew where to look, they emerged on modern maps. Along my Austerlitz route, many villages seem barely to have grown. I can't wait to discover this new landscape.

020

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

On 2 December, my march will end as the battle begins. On my third day with the French army, I’ll go through Telnice and Sokolnice, retracing the fighting of Friant’s men before ending at the Austerlitz visitor centre.

010

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Napoleonics unite! Listening to THE COWARD’s creator on @napwarspod.bsky.social, I recognised the same fire that pushes me on. I’ve backed it. Perhaps we can heal some of the pain inflicted by the film that shall not be named. Help bring it to life! www.kickstarter.com/projects/ex...

kickstarter.com

"THE COWARD" SHORT WAR FILM (2026)

Set in a battle of the War of 1812, an Irish immigrant soldier becomes overwhelmed by fear and starts to break.

000

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

William Livingstone Robe was 24. Waterloo was his 33rd action. Mortally wounded, he sent word to his father that he had died like a soldier. He died on 19 June 1815. His gold medal was sent home to his family.

121

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

The British took Antwerp on 4 September 1944. Then they stopped. On 4 September Antwerp fell astonishingly quickly. The Resistance had seized bridges over the Albert Canal and urged the British to push straight on into Merksem. youtube.com/shorts/cwSP... 1/4

youtube.com

7 September - Battle of Merksem

7 September 1944 – The Monmouthshire Regiment, supported by Sherman...

110

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Day 2 of retracing Friant's march to Austerlitz. Most of the route has no footpaths. Weather and road conditions will decide whether I stick to road shoulders or need to find an alternative. The historic road remains the priority, even if it means walking in traffic.

040

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

📜 Belgium won a legal battle in 2005 using a treaty from 1839. The Iron Rhine was a railway linking Antwerp to Germany through Dutch Limburg. When Belgium invoked its historic right to the route, an arbitral tribunal confirmed that the treaty ending the Belgian Revolution still applied. 1/3

130

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The march of Friant towards Austerlitz gets mentioned in most books but I have yet to find one that gives it more emphasis. Let's correct that. This November, I'll retrace it. Starting after dark, just like they did through unfamiliar terrain.

020

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

My next hike project is Austerlitz 1805. This December I’ll be retracing part of Davout’s march to the battlefield, with Friant’s division at the heart of the story. Not just the battle itself, but the road that brought them there. Got a favourite source on Austerlitz? Let me know.

151

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Alexander Hay was 18. Waterloo was his first and last day in battle. He left no will. When officials inventoried his estate, they calculated even the interest owed to him for his final 34 days. A young life, reduced to names and numbers.

040

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

📍Skanderborg, 🇩🇰 It’s not all uniforms, guns and maps in the Skanderborg bunkers. I was pleasantly surprised to come across something I had never seen in person before. An original Enigma machine. 1/2

130

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

📍 Andholm Battery, Denmark 🇩🇰 Close to the completely destroyed battery 11 I shared yesterday, we can find the completely intact battery 10! Including its gun pit. 1/5

120

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

📍 Battery 11, Rugbjerg 🇩🇰 I managed to carve out some time in the family schedule to hunt for bunkers of the Sicherungsstellung Nord. At first, Battery 11 looks like little more than concrete scattered across a clearing. Walk around for a while and the battery slowly begins to reappear. 1/5

120

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

📍 Southern Jutland, Denmark 🇩🇰 Surprised to find German WW1 fortifications . I’m not in the fields of Flanders but still in neutral Denmark. How did they get here? 1/5

110

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

🇪🇸 There was one more extraordinary fate awaiting some of the Spanish soldiers left behind in Denmark. Many were incorporated into the Régiment Joseph-Napoléon and marched into Russia with the Grande Armée in 1812. During the retreat, some began crossing over to the Russians. 1/3

110

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

🇪🇸 Not every Spanish soldier chose to follow La Romana out of Denmark in 1808. Some were cut off or captured. Others accepted Joseph Bonaparte and remained in French service. From these men, the French formed the Régiment Joseph-Napoléon. In 1812 they marched east with Napoleon. 1/3

130

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

🇪🇸 The Spanish soldiers that escaped Denmark were going home. Around 9.000 Spanish troops reached the British fleet and were carried back to Spain. Within weeks, veterans of La Romana’s Division of the North were fighting Napoleon’s army. 1/3

120

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

📍 Fredericia, Denmark 🇩🇰 Yesterday I left the Spanish soldiers of 1808 trying to escape Denmark while searching for what is left. La Romana was trying to gather his scattered division and get them to the coast, where British ships were waiting to take them home to Spain. 1/4

120

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

📍 Fredericia, Denmark 🇩🇰 Today I spent time on these ramparts, built to keep enemies out. In 1808 some of the men here were desperately trying to get out. Thousands of Spanish soldiers had been sent to Denmark as allies of Napoleon. 1/2

160

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign: The Grave at Kermt 🇧🇪 On 7 August 1831, Captain Nicolas Joseph Blondeau commanded Belgian artillery during the fighting at Kermt. When his position was overrun, he refused to abandon his gun. He was killed beside it. He was 28. His body was found days later.

121

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

🕵️‍♂️ Waterloo: Why Did This Officer Get His Own Plaque? A while ago I was reading the memorials in the Waterloo church. There is already a large plaque listing the Dutch-Belgian officers killed on 18 June 1815. One of them has another plaque entirely to himself. Why him?

1145

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The kids took the fort, so my force had to dig in. “Why isn’t your trench a straight line?” Well… allow me to explain. 😏 You can never start too early learning the finer points of trench warfare. Next lesson: flooding the garden.

082

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I shared a small clip from the reenactment of the Battle of Kermt yesterday. If you want to see more, I’ve uploaded the full video to YouTube: youtu.be/SSMV2gmGkT0?... Shoutout to the Dutch reenactors for adding some extra flavour to the battle! 🇳🇱

youtu.be

Battle of Kermt Reenactment (1831)

YouTube video by Battlefield Hikes

021

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign: The War Belgium Forgot? 🇧🇪 The campaign is over. But what remains of it today? There are still traces to be found in the names of streets, squares and tunnels. Yet how many people still know why they were given those names?

143

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign: The Diplomatic Shield over Antwerp 🛡️⚓ At the beginning of the campaign, I focused a lot on Antwerp. But what happened there as the fighting moved east towards Limburg?

133

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign: How Close Did Europe Come to War? 🇧🇪🇳🇱 What began as a war between Belgium and the Netherlands threatened to become something much larger. With France intervening, how did the other Great Powers react?

152

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign: Did the French Come as Rescuers or Rulers? 🇧🇪🇫🇷 When 50.000 French soldiers crossed into Belgium in August 1831, they saved the new kingdom from military defeat. The Belgians were suspicious of the French intentions.

2156

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign. Incompetence, Treason, or Greed? 🇧🇪🇳🇱 Lieutenant General Nicolas Joseph Daine led the Belgian Army of the Meuse to a humiliating defeat at Hasselt in 1831. But was his disastrous command simply military incompetence, or was there more going on?

142

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign 🇳🇱🇧🇪 The Ten Days Campaign achieved everything King William publicly claimed to want, yet he refused to sign.

162

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign, 12 August 1831 ⚔️ 🇳🇱🇧🇪🇫🇷🇬🇧 Checkmate. By dawn three Dutch divisions launch their final coordinated assault, closing the trap around Leuven.

142

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign, 11 August 1831 🇧🇪 A determined King Leopold drives the Dutch back at Boutersem. But a defiant Prince of Orange has no intention of stopping.

163

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign, 11 August 1831 🇳🇱 While the Dutch vanguard is driven back at Boutersem the 2nd Division moves unseen. King Leopold stays at the front, personally directing reconnaissance as his troops launch an aggressive counterattack along the Leuven–Tienen road.

153

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign, 10 August 1831 🇧🇪 The young kingdom is running out of ground. At Tienen, Belgian skirmishers and garde civique barricade the gates and fire from the gardens. When the Dutch 2nd Division arrives, the defence is overwhelmed. Tienen is lost.

153

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign, 10 August 1831 🇳🇱 Only one Belgian army now stands between the Dutch and a decisive victory.

132

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

@jurdj.bsky.social bedankt voor het delen en de vind ik leuks he 😉

110

Benny Michielsen @bennymichielsen.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

📜 Ten Days Campaign, 9 August 1831 🇧🇪 In the space of a few hours, King Leopold goes from asking the French to slow down to hurry them along. Belgium’s military position is collapsing.

174