Anning: "What is the Commander of the Guards doing? The people are armed; to open fire would be suicidal, wouldn't it?"
While speaking, he approached the window and looked out into the courtyard.
What he saw was the crowd toppling the walls of Versailles Palace and flooding into the royal courtyard.
The Guards tried to stop them but were disarmed by the enraged masses.
Anning also saw the guard officer who had just been arrogantly posturing at him, now impaled by a pitchfork, held high like a flag.
Anning immediately leaned out and yelled to his own troops in the courtyard: "Don't obstruct the people, fall back, just block the building's main entrance!"
He feared his small force of two hundred would evaporate amidst the tidal wave of the oncoming crowd.
Having said that, he withdrew and then saw Queen Mary glaring at him furiously: "Why don't you make your troops do something!"