Narodna Odbrana
09-11-2005, 02:35
State of Siege
OOC: This is the RP thread for the Great War of 1912, which is in turn part of the Age of Imperialism Campaign (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=433959); you have to be part of that campaign to play in this one. The OOC thread is here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=9903551). Please note that this thread only covers the Western European theatre, which includes France, the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, the Western Mediterranean and North African littoral, Switzerland, the Rhine Valley and the Low Countries, the English Channel and the British Isles, and the adjoining waters of the North Atlantic; other theatres of war will be covered in other threads
This post will review the RP history leading up to the Great War. A complete history can be gained by reviewing the entire Age of Imperialism RP thread; the history that can be found below is a simplification, and probably a biased one at that. Thus I make no claim to the completeness or accuracy of what is found here; it is only furnished to provide you some basis for what the conflict is all about.
History
With a clink of champagne glasses, Aristide Briand, President of the Council of Ministers of the Third Republic, and Wilhelm II, Emperor of the Second German Empire, toasted what they believed to be an agreement of historic importance: an alliance between the two former rivals, made possible by Germany’s decision to return the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to France. But the hope and the promise of that shining moment proved fleeting: ess than two years later, Europe was to find itself at war.
How did this happen?
The origins of the Great War of 1912 could be found in dark whispers at the corners of that same ballroom in Metz where, on December 1st, 1910, the leaders of the two nations came together to sign the compact that would transform their respective countries into allies. Many in both lands condemned the arrangement as unnatural, and worked not only to undermine it, but to displace from power its authors. In less than eighteen months, the Radical government that had embraced Germany as an ally and partner would be toppled, and the Kaiser who had extended the olive branch to France would be dead.
Once the respective “war parties” of these two countries had risen to the top in early 1912 – behind Raymond Poincaire in France and Manfred von Richthofen in Germany - it was only a matter of time before the alliance ended and the two nations came to blows. It was France that acted first, a blunder for which it would pay dearly, as France’s aggressions allowed Germany to wear the mantle of justice and saddle France with the millstone of world condemnation. This was magnified by further threats, provocations, and dark plots instigated by the Poincaire government, all of which failed and each of which placed France at an ever-greater diplomatic disadvantage.
By July, France could scarcely count a single nation as its ally, although its pact with Russia remained (nominally) in force. Worse, its misbehaviour had created an anti-coalition, led by Germany and the Dual Monarchy of Austria and Hungary; these nations now began to plot a war to punish France for its actions, although many of the prospective coalition members had other, less noble, objectives.
The Balkan Crisis of 1912 gave these nations the excuse they needed to mobilise; still, France quickly saw through this “justification” and belatedly realised its danger. Then Paris got its first break – although this would hardly prove to be its last. Rather than wait for one of the Mediterranean members of the coalition to provoke France into war, Germany mobilised and challenged Paris directly, an act that threatened to bring Russia into the fray. The Dual Monarchy saw in a war with Russia excessive risk and no profit; consequently, Vienna used its diplomatic skill to bring the would-be belligerents to the table.
The agreement that resulted – the Treaty of Vienna – was widely (and correctly) interpreted to be a deliberate humiliation of the French government, made worse by the fact that, once the full scope of the plot against France became revealed, Paris had little choice but to accept. But the Treaty also had a fateful side effect; now apprised of the threat against it, France was able to manoeuvre to avoid the problem.
The agreement did not, however, leave France very much room to manoeuvre. As one Austrian diplomat put it, “If they so much as sneeze, they break the Treaty.” The problem that France’s enemies ran into now was in getting her to sneeze: aware that any misstep might result in disaster, Paris danced around every provocation, embarrassment, infringement on her sovereignty, or other sort of trap her foes laid at her feet.
And with that, something strange happened: the constant hounding of la 3eme Republique by her adversaries turned public sentiment away from her tormentors and toward Paris. More and more nations came to view the campaign to force France into starting a war for which she could be blamed an unjust effort; ultimately, it was this that lead the United States to embrace the French cause and threaten to undo the efforts of the rest of Europe to punish the miscreant within their midst.
Sensing that events were running away from them, France’s enemies finally broke down and, taking matters into their own hands, began to throw caution to the winds and simply declare war outright. Mexico, the only non-European member of the coalition, issued an ultimatum against France on August 10th, 1912 and – when that ultimatum expired – declared war on August 14th; Italy, for its part, began to work toward an August 30th declaration. But Mexico’s declaration triggered an American one, on August 19th, 1912, accompanied by an threat to extend that declaration to any other nation that might oppose France.
Wars usually occur because the participants see no way to avoid them. short of unacceptable loss. America’s point of no return came on August 15th, 1912: it believed that if it did not bring Mexico to heel in spite of European support for the latter, then it would have bent to European pressure and would never again be able to prevent Old World meddling in the affairs of the New. For their part, the European Powers understood that to back down to France now that France had a powerful ally from across the Atlantic would mean an end to their attempts to contain Paris’ newfound imperialism - with dire consequences for France’s neighbours - at that ultimately even attempts to create a security framework that could end the constant warring between European states – a state of affairs that had plagued the continent for over 1500 years - could become impossible.
With each side certain that it had no choice but to fight and – if victorious – to impose its will and even way of life upon its rivals, the stage was set for the bloodiest conflict the world had seen since the Thirty Years’ War of the 17th Century.
OOC: This crisis and the war erupting from it are, as mentioned above, products of the RP thread. Where appropriate, RL elements have been added.
Historical Note: The term “State of Siege” refers to the legal condition within the 3eme Republique created by General Mobilisation, sometimes referred to today as a “lockdown”. Never publicly discussed before 1914, the “State of Siege” also entailed mass arrests of labour leaders, persons who were expected to oppose the coming war, even political opponents of the current regime. This aspect of France’s mobilisation of 1914 is seldom aired, but produced a tremendous amount of resentment and discontent. In the far more politically volatile environment found in this thread, the effect of implementing a “State of Siege” will need to be considered carefully.
As with my other thread titles, there’s a double meaning here: when French General Mobilisation occurs on August 2nd, 1912, France very much finds herself under siege, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Only in the distance, across the Atlantic, can be heard the drums and trumpets of an advancing host, bent on relieving her ally. The question is, can France withstand this siege and go on to subjugate the rest of Europe, winning for herself gloire and empire greater than even Napoleon enjoyed, or will she be broken apart and consumed by her enemies?
OOC: This is the RP thread for the Great War of 1912, which is in turn part of the Age of Imperialism Campaign (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=433959); you have to be part of that campaign to play in this one. The OOC thread is here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=9903551). Please note that this thread only covers the Western European theatre, which includes France, the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, the Western Mediterranean and North African littoral, Switzerland, the Rhine Valley and the Low Countries, the English Channel and the British Isles, and the adjoining waters of the North Atlantic; other theatres of war will be covered in other threads
This post will review the RP history leading up to the Great War. A complete history can be gained by reviewing the entire Age of Imperialism RP thread; the history that can be found below is a simplification, and probably a biased one at that. Thus I make no claim to the completeness or accuracy of what is found here; it is only furnished to provide you some basis for what the conflict is all about.
History
With a clink of champagne glasses, Aristide Briand, President of the Council of Ministers of the Third Republic, and Wilhelm II, Emperor of the Second German Empire, toasted what they believed to be an agreement of historic importance: an alliance between the two former rivals, made possible by Germany’s decision to return the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to France. But the hope and the promise of that shining moment proved fleeting: ess than two years later, Europe was to find itself at war.
How did this happen?
The origins of the Great War of 1912 could be found in dark whispers at the corners of that same ballroom in Metz where, on December 1st, 1910, the leaders of the two nations came together to sign the compact that would transform their respective countries into allies. Many in both lands condemned the arrangement as unnatural, and worked not only to undermine it, but to displace from power its authors. In less than eighteen months, the Radical government that had embraced Germany as an ally and partner would be toppled, and the Kaiser who had extended the olive branch to France would be dead.
Once the respective “war parties” of these two countries had risen to the top in early 1912 – behind Raymond Poincaire in France and Manfred von Richthofen in Germany - it was only a matter of time before the alliance ended and the two nations came to blows. It was France that acted first, a blunder for which it would pay dearly, as France’s aggressions allowed Germany to wear the mantle of justice and saddle France with the millstone of world condemnation. This was magnified by further threats, provocations, and dark plots instigated by the Poincaire government, all of which failed and each of which placed France at an ever-greater diplomatic disadvantage.
By July, France could scarcely count a single nation as its ally, although its pact with Russia remained (nominally) in force. Worse, its misbehaviour had created an anti-coalition, led by Germany and the Dual Monarchy of Austria and Hungary; these nations now began to plot a war to punish France for its actions, although many of the prospective coalition members had other, less noble, objectives.
The Balkan Crisis of 1912 gave these nations the excuse they needed to mobilise; still, France quickly saw through this “justification” and belatedly realised its danger. Then Paris got its first break – although this would hardly prove to be its last. Rather than wait for one of the Mediterranean members of the coalition to provoke France into war, Germany mobilised and challenged Paris directly, an act that threatened to bring Russia into the fray. The Dual Monarchy saw in a war with Russia excessive risk and no profit; consequently, Vienna used its diplomatic skill to bring the would-be belligerents to the table.
The agreement that resulted – the Treaty of Vienna – was widely (and correctly) interpreted to be a deliberate humiliation of the French government, made worse by the fact that, once the full scope of the plot against France became revealed, Paris had little choice but to accept. But the Treaty also had a fateful side effect; now apprised of the threat against it, France was able to manoeuvre to avoid the problem.
The agreement did not, however, leave France very much room to manoeuvre. As one Austrian diplomat put it, “If they so much as sneeze, they break the Treaty.” The problem that France’s enemies ran into now was in getting her to sneeze: aware that any misstep might result in disaster, Paris danced around every provocation, embarrassment, infringement on her sovereignty, or other sort of trap her foes laid at her feet.
And with that, something strange happened: the constant hounding of la 3eme Republique by her adversaries turned public sentiment away from her tormentors and toward Paris. More and more nations came to view the campaign to force France into starting a war for which she could be blamed an unjust effort; ultimately, it was this that lead the United States to embrace the French cause and threaten to undo the efforts of the rest of Europe to punish the miscreant within their midst.
Sensing that events were running away from them, France’s enemies finally broke down and, taking matters into their own hands, began to throw caution to the winds and simply declare war outright. Mexico, the only non-European member of the coalition, issued an ultimatum against France on August 10th, 1912 and – when that ultimatum expired – declared war on August 14th; Italy, for its part, began to work toward an August 30th declaration. But Mexico’s declaration triggered an American one, on August 19th, 1912, accompanied by an threat to extend that declaration to any other nation that might oppose France.
Wars usually occur because the participants see no way to avoid them. short of unacceptable loss. America’s point of no return came on August 15th, 1912: it believed that if it did not bring Mexico to heel in spite of European support for the latter, then it would have bent to European pressure and would never again be able to prevent Old World meddling in the affairs of the New. For their part, the European Powers understood that to back down to France now that France had a powerful ally from across the Atlantic would mean an end to their attempts to contain Paris’ newfound imperialism - with dire consequences for France’s neighbours - at that ultimately even attempts to create a security framework that could end the constant warring between European states – a state of affairs that had plagued the continent for over 1500 years - could become impossible.
With each side certain that it had no choice but to fight and – if victorious – to impose its will and even way of life upon its rivals, the stage was set for the bloodiest conflict the world had seen since the Thirty Years’ War of the 17th Century.
OOC: This crisis and the war erupting from it are, as mentioned above, products of the RP thread. Where appropriate, RL elements have been added.
Historical Note: The term “State of Siege” refers to the legal condition within the 3eme Republique created by General Mobilisation, sometimes referred to today as a “lockdown”. Never publicly discussed before 1914, the “State of Siege” also entailed mass arrests of labour leaders, persons who were expected to oppose the coming war, even political opponents of the current regime. This aspect of France’s mobilisation of 1914 is seldom aired, but produced a tremendous amount of resentment and discontent. In the far more politically volatile environment found in this thread, the effect of implementing a “State of Siege” will need to be considered carefully.
As with my other thread titles, there’s a double meaning here: when French General Mobilisation occurs on August 2nd, 1912, France very much finds herself under siege, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Only in the distance, across the Atlantic, can be heard the drums and trumpets of an advancing host, bent on relieving her ally. The question is, can France withstand this siege and go on to subjugate the rest of Europe, winning for herself gloire and empire greater than even Napoleon enjoyed, or will she be broken apart and consumed by her enemies?