God’s Arsenal

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It was a glorious spring morning in the Italian Alps. Warm winds had finally melted their impenetrable snowy fortresses. Foaming, singing water rushed down the streams. Over the passes from France came an army of 10,000 French soldiers. Up the valley of the Chisone came 12,000 Piedmontese soldiers to join them.

Marshal Nicolas de Catinat, the most renowned French general of the time, reviewed his orders with satisfaction: “Exterminate the heretics and maintain the Piedmont valleys for God and for King Louis XIV.” Catinat had many wagons filled with food and ammunition. Hundreds of soldiers pushed and pulled strong cannons to batter down the heretics’ fort. Catinat also had 400 ropes with which he intended to hang every one of the “traitors.”

That morning, the 400 Waldensian patriots looked down from their log fortress on La Balsiglia and saw the sun glitter on 22,000 bayonets. It was May 1, 1690. Three and