En avant!
En avant!
In Brief
The first military flourish on the tramp to Burke's pub comes in French: "En avant, mes enfants! Fire away number one on the gun." Literally "Forward (my children!)," en avant is a phrase associated with military advances, like the English "Forward, march!" The obscure reference to cannon fire in the next sentence reinforces one's sense that it should be read this way, and an allusion to the Napoleonic wars may also be at work. The speaker is unquestionably Lenehan, who spouts French phrases throughout the novel.
John Hunt 2024
Napoleon reprimanding the grenadier who shouted "En avant" in a 1836 Horace Vernet oil painting held in the Galerie des Batailles of the Palace of Versailles. Source: Wikimedia Commons.