The role of the Gendarmerie extended from cities and towns to rural areas during the first World War, especially those regions behind the front line of the battle. Their duty was to maintain civil order and thereby to help contribute to the war effort.
Apprehension of a suspected army deserter would have been a personal coup for any gendarme, so their vigilance was unsurprising.
If law-abiding citizens had nothing to fear from a visit by the local gendarme, there would still have been a sense of consternation when a heavy-handed knock on their door interrupted their repast.
How much more frightened might an old woman be, with a deserter sitting across the kitchen table from her and the gendarme marching across her threshold?
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