The Franco-Prussian War - looking for M & F for fun, somewhat realistic roleplay

[RedEve]

The Franco-Prussian war is a sometimes forgotten conflict that was nevertheless the largest European war after the Napoleonic conflicts and prior to the Great War.

I would like to use this conflict as the framework for a game that only touches upon it second-hand. That is, the game itself will not feature the battles, but the aftermath and how they are experienced by the French civilians. The basic set-up I have in mind is the civilian interactions with first the retreating French army and then later, the advancing Prussian troops.

Romance, bravery, intrigue are all welcome, but it will also explore darker themes like death, murder, betrayal, cowardice and rape. I am specifically looking for three types of PCs.

French soldiers: This group will be ragged and desperate, they will be retreating in a disorganized fashion after a large defeat. They will stop at farms and towns on their rush back West to rest and eat. Fraternization with the civilians will of course occur.

French civilians: The townsfolks and farmers who live in the areas nearby (or, as the retreating French army advances, not as nearby) the battlefield and first are confronted by their own retreating troops and then – should they choose to stay – by the advancing Prussian forces.

Prussian soldiers: They will be chasing the French fleeing army. How they treat the civilians they encounter will be determined by each individual PC as well as by any orders they might get from the NPC commanders.


As for the tone of this game, I am not looking for something 100% historically accurate. I chose this conflict because it hasn’t been overdone already in roleplays and because I enjoy the period as well as it geographical setting. Even though some of the themes we might explore are possibly quite dark, I see this game in its entirety as more skewed towards the lighter end of the scale. Think ripping bodices, heaving bosoms and the smell of gunpowder.


Please leave any message of interest in this setting in this thread. My time on Elliquiy will be pretty limited until late next week, but I hope to get to your replies ASAP. I only put this idea up already to let it gestate a bit until my return. :)

[AlexStone]

...And here I was, thinking I was the only person who thought there was great roleplaying potential using this war as a background.  Admittedly, I thought more about the Siege of Paris- both of them, of course- but, there's a lot to be said for everything else.  Count me as interested, but undecided as to character for now.

[Napanee]

I'd be up for this. I quite like the period. I suspect it is something to do with all the buttons on the uniforms. It add so much to the sense of anticipation if it takes ten minutes to get your kit off!

N

[IrishWolf]

Color me interested in playing as a Prussian soldier

[Oldknight]

I think it could be interesting to play a junker in the Purssian army

[RedEve]

Grand, I love all the interest so far. :)
Feel free to start working on a CS, I will be pretty busy this next week, but should have the time to possibly start the actual thread as early as next weekend.

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[float=right][img][/img][/float]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Role:[/b] (Prussian soldier, French Soldier, French civilian)
[b]Background/Bio:[/b]

[IrishWolf]

Thinking about my character and I have a question. Which of the Prussian Armies will we be using? The First, Second or Third. Just want to make sure I can plan with the other Prussian players with the correct regiments.

[RedEve]

I would suggest they are all part of the Prussian Second Army.

[IrishWolf]

Ah, very nice, lots of Guard regiments were in the Second Army.

[RedEve]

click for Marie Claire's physical appearance

click for an era-appropriate attire for Maire Claire

Name: Marie Claire Le Terme
Age: 22
Role: French civilian
Background/Bio:
Marie Claire never knew her father, her only link she has to him is her name and the few things her mother ever told her about him. The man left before Marie Claire was three months old, after having conceived the child out of wedlock with Marie Claire’s mother. Her mother was a dirt-poor seamstress who made barely enough to support herself, let alone a child. When Marie Claire was eight years old, she was put up at an orphanage just outside of Paris. In showing her resistance to the harsh regime implemented by the nuns, she often found herself punished quite severely by the sisters. By the time she was eleven, she was quite fed up and ran away.
For the next seven years, she worked countless different jobs for many different employers, some lasting only a couple of days, others – when she was lucky – entire seasons. She picked crops, tended to animals, worked in factories, even served drinks in taverns – though only when she could not find any other employment. At the age of 18, she ended up in Faulquemont. Rémy La Roux owned the biggest farm in the area and was always hiring help. After several years in his employ, she worked herself in enough favor to get off the fields and tend to the family’s needs in the farm house itself. She assisted in the kitchens, cleaned the many rooms and acted as a de facto nanny to the families four young children. On top of her room and board, she received a modest salary, a new attire twice a year and her Sunday afternoons off. For someone who had come from such modest and unfortunate beginnings, the La Roux household had been a little slice of paradise.

[JackWhite]

I'm bookmarking this! Definitely interested after 13th of June

[AlexStone]

Finally managed to put together some ideas.


Name:   Josef von Kietler
Age: 21
Role: Prussian Soldier
Background/Bio:  Josef was born with two major advantages: the von before his surname and access to the stables of Finckenstein Palace.  The owner, the Count Dona-Schlobitten, believed that young men of quality should have the ability to learn to ride and other important skills on his grounds, and invited Josef and his three other brothers, among many others, to ride and, eventually, hunt on his lands with him and his sons.  Josef knew that, as the third son, his choices were the army or the clergy, and he knew that girls did not dance much with clergymen. 

Once it was settled that he would join the army, the Count agreed to pay for his education, and smoothed the way into military school for young Josef.  There, he probed an able horseman, a good fencer, and the sort of person people would follow into utterly stupid situations- and Josef enjoyed getting into utterly stupid situations, believing that they were, in fact "adventures."  Between that attitude and the really cool uniforms, he was destined to be an officer in a hussar regiment.  Once again, his patron stepped to the fore, and suggested that the 1st Life Guard Hussars could use a man like him.  Josef wasn't too sure, until he saw the giant death's head on their busby, and signed up right there.

The war came at a pretty opportune time.  They were getting pretty close to figuring out who had smashed all of the windows in that tavern, and Claudia seemed to think that bastard she'd had looked like Josef for some reason.  Time to ride!

[RedEve]

Okay I am back darlings.
Send me your CS or post them on here. :)

[Haibane]

I have to take my hat off to you at a very brave premise. My husband is a wargamer and has large painted miniature armies of French and Prussians from the 1870 war, plus a fairly big library so I've picked up a few things about the conflict, which seemed terribly one-sided. I think it was the real start of the concept of Prussian efficiency and military unstoppability wasn't it? Didn't they organise train timetables to exact degrees to get their troops to the front in a very short time?

I hope the writers that have come forward are loyal to the period and role-play this in the spirit that it deserves, I shall be watching it closely.

[RedEve]

We will try to match your expectations! :P

Still waiting for some more CS. :)

Also some more players, if possible.

[Oldknight]

Name: Fredrick Von Zenner
Age: 24
Role: Prussian Solider
Background/Bio: Born to an elite family in Prussia, actually Silesia, he grew up on a large farm which was given to his family not long after their service in the 7 years war. His family had always been of noble birth, a Junker, he was going to be the next in line to take over the family farm and run it. Still as such, it was his responsibility to take up arms and fight for Prussia in its wars with its enemies.
Fredrick named after Fredrick the Great, was always a man whom loved cannons since he was young, he learned the math that went behind the use of the cannons in battle, and worked on new ideas of the flying artillery after reading about their successes in the Mexican American war, which happened a good while before his birth. He was always interesting in the newest ways of fight, learning more tactics, and looking at reports of past battles across the world, including the American Civil War, which he looked at the tactics of their generals closely. He went to military school and accelled getting his commission and advancing up the chain of command rather quickly till he was now a captain in the Horse Artillery of the 3rd Brigade of the Calvary division of the Army of the Rhine.

[JackWhite]

RedEve, looking for French soldiers too or what's the plan really? Because I only see Prussian warwinners so far :p

[RedEve]

Yes, I would have preferred a bit of all three groups.

[JackWhite]

Then I might go for a French one :)

[RedEve]

Could everyone who hasn't yet done so put up his CS in here?
Thanks!

[JackWhite]

Name: Henri Beauregard
Age: 23
Role: French Soldier
Background: Henri came from a proud French family, as everyone he knew, he'd say that France was the greatest county in the world. Better than those men that live on the other side of la mer. He couldn't stand their language, not even close to the beauty of their own French. All that hate against them had no real starting point though. It had been there from the moment he was born, thanks to everyone that lived around him. The Englishmen weren't the only ones he hated. Nowadays the Prussians think that they're mighty and can do whatever they want. The annexation of Southern Germany had made him pissed. It was a smack in the face of every true French man and he could feel that war wasn't far off when that happened.

War finally had come and Henri was one of the defenders. He wouldn't let his country fall in the hands of those dirty Prussians. Henri wasn't special, he was just a man like all the others. Some  might say his courage was greater or he loved his country more but Henri didn't believe that. He was only a man amonst his team, trying to defeat the enemy.

[Chrystal]

Hi Eve. This is really quite interesting. As a tomboy with an interest in Military History, I find that the Franco-Prussian war is one of the forgotten wars of Europe - along with the 30 years war and the winter war.

In fact the Franco-Prussian War was the fore-runner to the German invasion of France in WWI. The French were still thinking in terms of Napoleonic conflict, the Germans had taken on board the new "Total warfare".

Britain did not get involved, as I think we were busty elsewhere...

Anyway.... I would be interested to play a French civilian, on the proviso that my character does not get raped. I don't know if there was a "resistance" movement back then, but if there was, maybe she could be in it?



@JackWhite

You might want to change your image? That is a 21st century French soldier. We are talking about the 19th century


Camouflage uniforms did not come in to use until after the Boer Wars in the 1880s and 1890s, when the South African Boers wore dull, drab coloured uniforms and kicked the living shit out of the red-coated British, until the British started wearing olive drab too...



EDIT: Okay a bit of research reveals that there were French Irregulars operating behind the Prussian lines. Most were men, but I'm willing to bet there were women in there too.

Name: Yvette Tonneler

Age: 20

Role:  French civilian

Background/Bio: Yvette is the daughter of Gaston and Marie Tonneler. Gaston owned a bar in the village of Adelange, about a league south of Faulquemont. Yvette works in the bar, with her Maman. Her Papa joined the Army when the mobilisation order came, and has not been seen since. Like most peasant women, Yvette is not only a good cook, good with a needle and thread, and good at making everything go as far as possible, but she is also a crack shot with a hunting rifle! As her uncle works in a nearby gypsum quarry, she has also been taught how to handle explosives.

Yvette is a virgin, as she has been saving herself for "C'est quelqu'un de très spécial", (That certain special someone), as she puts it.

[JackWhite]

It's about the face, not his gear.

[Chrystal]

Fair enough.

[RedEve]

Would love to have you on board Chrystal.

And you do not have to worry about any non-con episodes, I expect all the players to hash out such encounters OOC prior to initiating them IC.

[RedEve]

Okay, I'd like to hear a preferred starting point or even location for your characters?

[Chrystal]

As we are only a few KM from the border (although I think the border has move three or four times since) the logical time to start would be with the outbreak of the war. However, with the few characters we have available, and the huge scope of the setting, that would not work too well for player interaction.

May I suggest we start the action in early September 1871, shortly after the battle Of Sedan?

The German troops are basically settling in to occupy the area, our French soldier could be in hiding, having been wounded perhaps? he is being helped by these two charming French girls who happen to know each other somehow.

That is my idea.

Perhaps we could have the following start: Von Keitler and Von Zenner have been billeted in the La Roux farm house, much to the consternation of Marie-Claire who happens to be hiding Beauregard in the cellar, unknown to her employers. She has confided this to her friend Yvette who is helping her look after the French soldier.

Between the two of them they cook up a plan to try and get Henri back to his unit, which is thwarted at every turn by Joe and Fred

How does that sound?

[RedEve]

That sounds very good actually, it's a set-up that can involve all of the characters.
Anyone else care to weigh in on the subject?

[Chrystal]

A small point for the German players. I'm sure you both know this, but I find that if something everyone assumes we all know isn't stated aloud, it always turns out that someone didn't realise it...

This is not WWII, the Germans are not Nazis, there is no Gestapo. Prisoners of War were treated with a certain degree of respect, especially officers. Of course respect does not imply good living conditions - PoW camps are designed to keep captured soldiers from rejoining the fray, and were never nice places to be. The Geneva Convention of 1863 was already in existence, and both Prussia and France were signatories.

Civilians were regarded as non-combatants and the penalty for hiding an enemy soldier would not in fact have been summary execution as it was in WWII. It would, however, have resulted in being arrested, I'm reasonably sure.

There isn't a lot of information regarding the German occupation of France in 1870-71.

[Vassus]

I would be very interested in joining, but I would have to join when I get back one week from today. Of course, don't stress accommodating me, I'll fit in where I can. My first instinct was to be a Prussian Soldier, but, again, I can do any role. In order of preferance:
1. Prussian
2.French Soldier
3.French Civilian

[JackWhite]

I'm definitely okay with this set up.

[AlexStone]

A small point for the German players. I'm sure you both know this, but I find that if something everyone assumes we all know isn't stated aloud, it always turns out that someone didn't realise it...

This is not WWII, the Germans are not Nazis, there is no Gestapo. Prisoners of War were treated with a certain degree of respect, especially officers. Of course respect does not imply good living conditions - PoW camps are designed to keep captured soldiers from rejoining the fray, and were never nice places to be. The Geneva Convention of 1863 was already in existence, and both Prussia and France were signatories.

While that's true as far as it goes, the Prussians kept to the exact letter of the law when it came to the customs and law of war.  (It's worth noting that the 1863 Convention only prohibited firing on unarmed medical staff tending to the wounded, under the auspices of the Red Cross.  During the the Siege of Paris, the French put a big Red Cross on a hill near their hospital.  The Prussians used it as a reference point for the bombardment of Paris- they never aimed right at it, of course, but just next to it- if there happened to be a hospital near by, it wasn't under the Red Cross.)   This means that the Prussians saw Law and Custom as sort of all or nothing- either you were under its protections fully, or you weren't- and as soon as you broke one of the L&C, you were out of the protections of all of them. 

Of course, it's not like the French were super nice people, either.  The collapse of the French regulars early in the war led to an effort to revive the levee en masse,. This led to an effort to get ill prepared troops to the front, but also boosted the efforts of the Francs-tireurs- quasi official militias and partisans- as they attacked Prussians in the rear areas.  These were usually savage ambushes, conducted by people in civilian clothes- also a violation of the laws and customs of war.  Some of them were intended to be terrifying, and included mutilations and looting.  And, of course, attacks on collaborators and those who supported, helped or sold to the Prussians.  These were usually worse than the attacks on Prussians.

This set up the primary conflict of the rear areas in the war- the Prussians weren't really occupying anything, or setting up governments. They weren't staying, after all.  But, the Francs-tireurs, who saw themselves as part of a legitimate military force, attacked Prussian forces in the rear areas, and then melted into the civilian populace, since they weren't a uniformed, formed body.  In the opinion of the Prussians, this made them murderers, spies and saboteurs,  not soldiers, and thus subject to summary military judgement and execution.  This started legalistically, but reprisals became more and more summary as the war went on, and more and more collective punishments were applied.  In areas where this sort of activity was common, episodes along these lines happened:

1) Francs-tireurs take a few potshots at Prussian column from a church steeple, then bolt.
2) Prussian Column stops what it's doing and heads for village.
3) Prussian officer in charge shoots the mayor.
4) Prussian soldiers burn village, get back on road.

So, yes- there's certainly no Gestapo or secret police, or organized torture rings, or anything like the things we usually think of when we think of World War II.  That said, there's a lot potentially going on, and plenty of rough stuff around.  How much of this we want in the game, it's up to us- we can be in a peaceful part of the rear area, which is fun, or there can be this looming threat of violence, or some rougher stuff.  We can make this work however we like.

[RedEve]

Interesting post Alex.

I suppose the answer to your question is related to how we want the Prussians to treat the French characters?

[Chrystal]

Hi Alex.

Thanks for posting that.

In fact, that was the way of warfare in the Napoleonic era too.... And quite frankly has always been that way. Civilians in the way of the battle have always been legitimate targets, civilians arming themselves and operating as irregulars behind the lines have always been subject to reprisals.

In case you didn't notice, I have deliberately given Yvette skill with a rifle and with explosives. This makes her a prime candidate for the Francs-tireurs. Yes, I know they were mostly men in 1870, but I'm sure there would be some women, and we can use a little "artistic licence". Plus, a woman would be less suspect that a man at that time.

And I think the Germans and Japanese have always been particularly brutal.

[AlexStone]

Glad my post was helpful. :) 

Anyway, looking back at the history, since we're looking at the Prussian 2nd Army, may I suggest that we set our game around Metz?  The 2nd Army invested Metz, and was locked down from Mid-August to late October, 1870.  The Army would be pretty stationary, and gives us an easy reason to us Chrystal's setup.  It also gives us something of an ending- the siege ends, and the 2nd Army goes off to fight the Army of the Loire during the winter.  Plenty of time to fill between all of that happening, and a Hussar and a member of the Horse Artillery aren't going to be doing much other than riding around looking for trouble.  Or French dames.  Whatever.

And yes, civilians who shoot up columns of soldiers do tend to get treated pretty poorly, since you can't tell who the civilians and who the soldiers are- and soldiers who just lost friends to people that are thumbing their noses at them while hiding behind other civilians tend to get rather pissed off and smoke the whole village.  At least, if the civilians behave themselves, it's not so bad.

But, yes, the burning question is, how to the French civilians want to be treated?  I mean, I'm game for whatever.

[Chrystal]

In fact, the small town that RedEve placed her character in is about 30km east from Metz, and the village I chose for mine is about 5km south of there.



I actually suggested September for that very reason. Most of the action has moved on... Napoleon III has been captured and the third republic is being formed, Metz is under seige with the bulk of what was left of the French regular army bottled up inside. Faulquemont is close enough to have troops billeted there for R&R but far enough away for there to be no actual fighting and Civilians to be pretty much doing what they would normally do.

Moral of the story, don't blow up a train in your own back yard!

This particular French civilian would prefer to be keeping the Bosch, and the French soldiers for that matter, at arms length, but would happily do a three-way so long as the other French civilian was involved too and was the one doing all the stuff to the bloke involved.... *shrug* Sorry, but my gate swings the other way.

[AlexStone]

Hey, whatever gets you going, Chrystal. I'll have to see if the Zeiss Company is making good optics in 1870, so my Hussar can watch the good stuff. :)

Well, I think that settles a lot, really.  I guess a lot of how the story goes depends on Red, since she came up with the idea, and she'll have to a lot of the... heavy lifting, so to speak.

[RedEve]

Actually you both have done a stellar job at helping me set up the details. :P

I suppose the one we would have to discuss is the role of the troops who have stayed behind as opposed to being part of the forces laying siege to Metz?

[AlexStone]

Well, it's easy for me- my character is an officer in the Hussars, and there's not much for Hussars to do in the middle of a siege that involves actual siegecraft.  He's probably responsible for leading small patrols of cavalry round the area from time to time, but he's not really high enough rank to make many decisions- so, he's here, and he's bored, and he's probably going to get into trouble. :)

[Chrystal]

For those who have no idea what Alex is talking about, Hussars are light cavalry. Most often used for skirmishing, screening, and scavenging. In a siege, there is very little use for cavalry. About the only purpose cavalry can serve to the besieging forces is to patrol the area around the siege and make sure that the enemy don't come sneaking up behind you, also escorting supplies to the besieging forces. The only time they might be involved in the siege itself is if the besieged forces sallied out or tried to break out.

As for Frederick Von Zenner, he's in the horse artillery. Just a suggestion mind, but horse artillery is light, highly mobile artillery. It is very effective in the field in open battle, as it can be brought up quickly, set up, fire at the enemy lines and either advance after the infantry, giving constant support, or retreat very quickly, giving covering fire to a retreating army.

However, the range is relatively short and the shot fired relatively light compared to fixed mount weapons that would be found on fortified defensive positions. To deal with the big guns of a 19th century fort, rail mounted siege weapons would probably be used. Horse artillery would be extremely vulnerable to counter-battery fire and thus would not be much use in a siege.

Now, if the guns of Herr Von Zenner's battery were parked in a field near the farm, with the horses stabled there... (Eve, perhaps it's a stud farm, with all the horses commandeered by the French army, and the stabling used by a squadron of Hussars and a battery of Horse Artillery), ... um, where was I? Oh yes, if those guns were near by thgey would provide a tempting target for a certain lady "shoe-thrower" to make some mischief with...

[Haibane]

It's about the face, not his gear.

Coming in at random from the outside and not wanting to cause offence, I'd say the face was inappropriate as well. Its a modern face, modern hairstyle and wearing a very inappropriate expression. He needs long straight hair and almost certainly a moustache, possibly a goatee style beard as well. He would always wear a hat which adds to the character.

Try a few period paintings or as Chrystal suggested some uniform guides.

While I know the clothing is not a part of the characters personality, placing a period face into period costume goes a long way to helping your co-writers connect with the person.

All I see there is a 21st century male, even if he was naked he would not have the look or persona of a 19th century soldier.

[RedEve]

Chrystal: it could quite perfectly be a stud farm.

So we are all more or less in agreement that the game will start at the farm, and that Jack's character will already be in hiding there.
I suppose all I need to know now is how well (or not) the Prussians would have treated the owners and various workmen at the farm.

[AlexStone]

Well, as far as I'm concerned about that question, I think it's more a question of how the French want to be treated.  My character would be inclined to treat them appropriately- not the same as kindly, of course- but wouldn't be violent or abusive without a reason.

That said, if the French players want violent or abusive, then that can change.

[RedEve]

Right, I was speaking specifically about their initial stance.

After they arrive at the farm and commandeer the stables for their own animals.

[rancorius]

i'm interested I would like to play a Prussian jager but i'm willing to do a french soldier if need be

[RedEve]

I'm willing to let you play either, though you should take into consideration that the balance between French and Prussian soldiers is already heavily skewed towards the Prussian side.

[Chrystal]

On the other hand, if we have too many French soldiers hiding in the farm, it's going to be difficult to hide them... And if we have an equal balance of French and Priussian military, fighting will ensue!

I know what your original idea post said, Eve honey, and it's a great idea, and would actually work really well if you had about twenty players... You could have five play French civilians and the other 15 play French soldiers first and then switch to playing Prussians... the French retreat throgh the village and the Prussians follow them!

But with half a dozen or so of us, it is unlikely to be possible to work that, hence my suggestion of the plot-line.

I've tried to run a "grand, sweeping epic story" before with a handful of characters and seriously, it doesn't work!

[JackWhite]

I've tried to run a "grand, sweeping epic story" before with a handful of characters and seriously, it doesn't work!

The Wild West thing?

[Chrystal]

The Wild West thing?

Actually, no, that was supposed to be a sandbox. It was a much earlier idea about a group of human colonists on a world populated by giant driders. I didn't get enough people on both sides to make it work.

[RedEve]

Hey people,

I know you have been waiting some time now for me to start this thing, but my intention is to do so this weekend.
I will be gone for most of today (starting around noon).
I will also be otherwise occupied tomorrow morning, but I have most of Sunday afternoon and night free, and I intend to devote a good chunk of it to getting this game going.
So with some luck, I hope to get the IC thread up by tomorrow night.

[RedEve]

Here is the IC thread:

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=178342.0

OOC thread:

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=178345.0

Get posting! :)

[Clio]

Do you still need female French civilians, or are there too many?

[Chrystal]

There are two... is that too many?

Personnellement je n'y crois pas.

[Clio]

How many men and/or soldiers do you have?

[Chrystal]

Two Prussian, one French...

But my character is a lesbian!

[Clio]

Ok. Then I might make a French civilian if it's still open.

[Chrystal]

Need to ask red that, but I think she was hoping for a lot more players than she got, so, if I were you i'd go ahead and make the character and see what she says.

[RedEve]

The more the merrier, please feel free to make another character Christa. :)

[Clio]

Cool. I'll make a character sheet when I get on the computer.