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Aristide Demange
Fictional Character
The War That Came Early
POD: July 20, 1936;
Relevant POD: September 29, 1938
Appearance(s): Hitler's War
through
Last Orders
Type of Appearance: Direct (POV Coup d'Etat forward)
Nationality: France
Date of Birth: 1890s
Occupation: Soldier
Military Branch: French Army
(World War I, World War II)


Aristide Demange was a soldier in the French Army. He first entered the service in 1918 to fight in the tail end of World War I. He remained in uniform throughout the interwar years and was a sergeant when a new war broke out over Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938.

Demange was a chain-smoking, hard-driving, no-nonsense sergeant. He seldom showed signs of compassion for the mental and emotional stresses of warfare or the psychological welfare of his men. Indeed Demange showed little compassion in general, as he hated the whole human race, himself included. However, he periodically showed respect for his men's accomplishments, a respect that came to be considered high praise by the men who served under him. When a soldier joined his squad, that soldier was likely to take a negative view of Demange at first, but over time many of Demange's men, such as Luc Harcourt, came to admire him.

Demange was firmly convinced that the commissioned officers set above him were hopelessly incompetent. The attitude was common among senior NCOs of every army, but even by their standards Demange was especially scornful of his superiors. Despite his scorn for officers in general, he did develop some respect for the German generals, as they seemed infinitely more competent than their French counterparts.

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