Moyse Hentz emerged from the chaos of the early French Republic as the architect of its darkest chapter, the "Great Tribulation." As the charismatic and ruthless leader of the radical "People’s Vanguard" faction, he seized control of the People’s Assembly in October 1792 by capitalizing on the national hysteria caused by the Madjriti invasion and internal Royalist insurgencies. Hentz advocated for a policy of absolute mercilessness, arguing that because the Republic’s enemies lacked civility, the state must respond with unbridled brutality. He codified this philosophy in the "Act for the Sanctity of the Revolution," a draconian decree that established political "Purity Officers" in the army, authorized the seizure of private property, and weaponized starvation by linking food rations to political loyalty via civic cards. Under his leadership, France descended into a state of paranoia where neighbors denounced one another to survive, and the countryside was stripped bare by government requisition squads.

Following the suicide of King Henri V and the violent suppression of the 1793 Paris uprising, Hentz escalated his policies into a systematic campaign of terror known as the "Purification of the Revolution." His radicalism took on a theological dimension after the Pope condemned the Republic's violence; interpreting this as a sign that God opposed the revolution, Hentz declared war on the Catholic Church itself. He oversaw the "Protection against the encroachment of the Pope Act," which led to the nationalization of church property and the mass execution of clergy. This campaign of de-Christianization culminated in August 1794 with the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral, an event Hentz greeted with callous approval, famously proclaiming, "The revolution before God!"

Hentz’s reign was defined by an extremism that eventually alienated the very institutions he sought to control. The incessant purges, the weaponization of famine, and the attack on the cultural and religious foundations of France terrified the moderate populace and the military elite. His grip on power was finally broken in May 1796 when General Jean Aubry, representing the disgruntled army and surviving moderates, orchestrated a coup that purged the Vanguard from the Council and the Assembly. The removal of Hentz and his faction marked the end of the Terror, closing the most volatile period of the French Revolution.