Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => VSF Adventures => Topic started by: Malamute on November 13, 2007, 01:46:59 PM
-
I am midway through a Franco/Prussian war project with a friend. I am supplying the Prussians and he the French. We were originally going to play some straight fights between the Frenchies and Prussians. :)
However, I have been thinking in overtime (as usual) and now fancy the idea of pitting the Prussians against my home Service British troops. I am going to extend this into full scale VSF with the aid of my various steam tanks, mechanical soldiers, Cavorite powered flying machines and various Victorian stuff, including subplots involving Moriarty, the bank of England etc :)
I am going to use my existing Victorian London terrain and buildings as the basis for the games, so the games will be played in the British isles. (My new smugglers project will supply the buildings for rural skirmishes/battles.
Now I need some plausible reasons for the Brits to go to war with the Prussians and for it to take place on English soil. To be honest I am struggling to think of a decent reason, especially for England to be invaded.
I suppose the Prussians, flushed with their success in France could look to extend their empire, but I can't see why they would attack their allies the British, especially when the recently departed Prince Consort Albert was from Saxony. :?
Any suggetsions will be greatly received. Whilst this is pure fantasy its always useful to have some basis of fact to make it more interesting. :?:
-
I suppose you could use the abdication of Queen Victoria after Alberts death and the resultant scramble for power to the throne, that waay you would have the German backed exisitng Royal Family verses??? hmmm Jacobites perhaps? then an excuse for civilians and Highlander troops :D
-
That's a tricky one.
Why not just move it up to the turn of the century, because by that time England and Germany were colonial and naval rivals, and the UK was almost universally hated for the Boer War. Almost everybody sided (emotionally, at any rate, if not physically) with the Boers on that, Germany included. It would only take a little spark. An accidental sinking of a ship (think of something like the incident with the USS Maine), or some kind of conflagration in East Africa over disputed territory.
I don't think the Germans went over to Field Grey until 1910, you could get away with using your Franco-Prussian boys for that.
Though I'm not sure about the Brits at that time. Would your Home Service boys still cut the mustard in 1901 or so?
-
Jacobites might be pushing it a bit, but there was a tide of Republicanism sweeping the UK around the time of Albert's death and after. Not to mention Anarchists and Sinn Feiners.
-
Queen Victoria (God bless her), insane with grief at the loss of her beloved Albert, has ordered a ban on trade and diplomatic relations with Prussia/Germany to avoid seeing anything that would remind her of him.
Her loyal subjects, in an effort to please the increasingly erratic Empress have gone a step too far, and begun attacking German interests abroad, and the Kaiser has reacted in kind with a punitive expedition up the Thames in an attempt to push on to London, seize the Queen and restore a balance of power.
By using the newest steam driven weapons in his arsenal, fliegertruppen and Kriegsmaschinen, he hopes to overwhelm British oposition and achieve his aims quickly and with a minimum of fuss. But he hasn't reckoned with the Ministry of Extraordinary Defence and their feindish counter measures...
Just off the top of my head, like.
-
Its just one big excuse to use the various figures at hand. :) The home service boys will be fine for turn of the century.
I don't think the Jacobites will be revolting especially given Queen Vicky's love of all things Scottish etc. And besides my new Black Watch regiment needs to stand firm on the side of the Brits :)
I don't think moving the timeline will be a problem as long as Vic is still living and on the throne (I want to use my queenie figure in some of the scenarios.) :)
Its definately a tricky one and a nice idea from Plynkes :)
-
Jolly Bob - Fantastic stuff, just what I am looking for :) :) :)
-
You're welcome. :wink:
The frustrated author strikes. I can give you a scenario, I just couldn't write an ending to save meself.
-
That's a tricky one.
Why not just move it up to the turn of the century, because by that time England and Germany were colonial and naval rivals, and the UK was almost universally hated for the Boer War. Almost everybody sided (emotionally, at any rate, if not physically) with the Boers on that, Germany included. It would only take a little spark. An accidental sinking of a ship (think of something like the incident with the USS Maine), or some kind of conflagration in East Africa over disputed territory.
I don't think the Germans went over to Field Grey until 1910, you could get away with using your Franco-Prussian boys for that.
Though I'm not sure about the Brits at that time. Would your Home Service boys still cut the mustard in 1901 or so?
There were definately German and Irish American Commandos in the Boer war so this is a good ploy, perhaps the British are blockading and seizing German assets to stop arms dealing with the Boers or they massacre the foreign volunteers leading to an international incident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boer_foreign_volunteers
Rudi Geudens has a campaign with the Franco Prussian War in Africa which is a nice twist and might give some ideas, and could expand it even beyond UK???
http://www.rudi-geudens.be/
-
You might consider reading Stephen Baxter´s novel "Anti-Ice", which concludes with a Anglo-British cold war "fueled" with Britain checking the victorious Prussians after the FPW with their "anti-ice" grenades, pseudo-nuclear warheads made from meteoric material.
Or have John Brown sent on a clandestine mission to assassinate that meddling Prussian Junker Bismarck which makes dealing with Queen Vicky´s German relations so awkward.
-
Just use the Berlin Congress 1878 as a starter. The Conference (unlike in history) fails due to british arrogance, leaving behind a furious, embarassed Kaiser Wilhelm who sides with Russia when war between Russia and Britain starts over the bulgarian question.
Besides, I remember having heard about a british anti-german book/pamphlet called the battle of Reading (?) from shortly after the war of 70/71. Might be of interest.
-
Just use the Berlin Congress 1878 as a starter. The Conference (unlike in history) fails due to british arrogance, leaving behind a furious, embarassed Kaiser Wilhelm
Move on to 1881 and the first Boer War. The Brits take a pounding from modern weapons in the hands of the Boers - including anti-armour weapons capable of penetrating the prototype light armoured steam vehicles used by the Brits (left behind in South Africa after giving sterling support on the march to Ulundi in the 1879 Zulu War). The Boers are being supplied weapons by the Kaiser, wanting to embrass the Brits with some military defeats on froeign soil.
Then things go horribly wrong. The Royal Navy introduces a blockade to stop gun runners. They stop and search ships off South Africa, especially any German ships. One German ship tries to outrun the Navy. Warning shots are fired. There is a small explosion and then a series of bigger ones as the munitions in the hold explode and take the ship to the bottom (including important German passengers who would have had no idea that they were travelling on a floating bomb).
Things escalate, diplomacy fails and Prussia and her allies declare war.
The Germans bypass the Royal Navy by using airships and there you have your game. 1880s Home Service Brits are perfect and you are not yet in the realms of magazine rifles and maxim guns, so firepower will be lower. Also Queen Victoria still has about 20 years to go before she dies of old age!!!
-
Why not move it the other way, have Saxe-Coburg ally with Austria in the 1860s. As Austria gets trounced in the Austro-Prussian war, Saxe-Coburg valiantly (but briefly) offers aid to its ally, before Prussia obliterates their small forces and warns Britain not to get involved. Political repercussions spread like ripples on a pond and a (hopelessly small) British expeditionary force is hurriedly sent to rescue Saxe-Coburg from Prussian occupation.
The kaiser is incensed at the audacity of the move and sends a punitive expedition to London with orders to find and arrest the prime minister (either Lord Russell or the Earl of Derby for giving such poor advice to Queen Victoria). Benjamin Disraeli seizes his chance to take power in a coup d'etat.
The political upheaval sees a fenian uprising (some of them raid Wales and venture into England), plus various uprisings by miscellaneous chartists, luddites, etc. who dislike the new military machines.
The Queen is luckily in Scotland at this time , and rushes south at the head of a Scottish volunteer force.
-
Why not move it the other way, have Saxe-Coburg ally with Austria in the 1860s. As Austria gets trounced in the Austro-Prussian war, Saxe-Coburg valiantly (but briefly) offers aid to its ally, before Prussia obliterates their small forces and warns Britain not to get involved. Political repercussions spread like ripples on a pond and a (hopelessly small) British expeditionary force is hurriedly sent to rescue Saxe-Coburg from Prussian occupation.
The kaiser is incensed at the audacity of the move and sends a punitive expedition to London with orders to find and arrest the prime minister (either Lord Russell or the Earl of Derby for giving such poor advice to Queen Victoria). Benjamin Disraeli seizes his chance to take power in a coup d'etat.
The political upheaval sees a fenian uprising (some of them raid Wales and venture into England), plus various uprisings by miscellaneous chartists, luddites, etc. who dislike the new military machines.
The Queen is luckily in Scotland at this time , and rushes south at the head of a Scottish volunteer force.
Just the king in those years, but the idea is very good. You might remember Hannover was an enemy of the prussians in '66 and got annexed afterwards
-
This is all far too inspiring for me not to get involved! So its up to my painting room to finish varnishing my Home Service Impervious Suits and start work on the Guards in busbys that I undercoated last night.
The down side of this is that it will set back completion of my Chinese project.
I will have to look for some suitable Prussians at the Reading show on Saturday ....
-
As its VSF why not have a fiendish German invasion/raid via Zeppelin (perhaps to capture Queen Vic)?
-
Thanks alot guys, some superb suggestions there. :)
You have galvanised my ideas and nows its off to finish painting the steam tanks and plough on through with the Prussian forces. I already have enough Brits and anyway you only need a few to form a thin red line :lol:
Bullshot - for your reference I am using Foundry Prussians. But you could look at Parroom Station, they have Prussians in both normal uniforms and suitable VSF ones. There is always Eureka Minaitures. I think they have some as well. :)
-
Bullshot - for your reference I am using Foundry Prussians. But you could look at Parroom Station, they have Prussians in both normal uniforms and suitable VSF ones. There is always Eureka Minaitures.
Eureka do some nice ones with rocket packs and clockwork helicopter packs - I have the helicopters and will replace clockwork mechanisms with steam generators..
Other manufacturersworth looking out for are:
Baker Company (1866 Prussians) - these work out at 1 GBP each
Warrior Miniatures (Over the Wire Games/England Invaded VSF Germans) - these include good prussian types in armoured face masks. Not shown on the website are the new cavalry figures (German Lancers with torpedo lances, face masks and horses wearing gasmasks)
-
I thought it all started when one S. Holmes failed to stop the plans for the Bruce Partington submarine from being smuggled out of old Blighty. Or was it when he again fumbled and allowed the details of the naval treaty to slip out?
-
I get a kick out of these Eureka Bavarian Wind-up Merchants
(http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/ekmps/shops/fighting15s/images/paxee08.jpg)
-
The Congress of Vienna in 1815 created an defined Belgian state. In 1839 the Treaty of London further guaranteed Belgian independance. British foreign policy assumed that Belgium must remain independant as a bulwark against the invasion of England. Even up until 1914 the independance of Belgium was key foreign policy.
If Prussia threatened to annexe those areas of Belgium that were German speaking, Britain would intervene. Therefore, a pre-emptive strike by Prussia might be considered as a fictional campaign. Another possibility would be Prussian support in Ireland for insurrection keeping the British eye off the ball in Europe and events in Belgium. I.E. we stop supplying support to Fenian nationalists in Ireland if you allow our intervention in Belgium.
-
Warrior Miniatures (Over the Wire Games/England Invaded VSF Germans) - these include good prussian types in armoured face masks. Not shown on the website are the new cavalry figures (German Lancers with torpedo lances, face masks and horses wearing gasmasks)
I wish that they had more pictures of this range up. They sound interesting, but I hesitate to buy without seeing more.
-
I wish that they had more pictures of this range up.
Chairface, I assume you mean the Warrior figures:
http://www.warrioronline.demon.co.uk/OTWGames/miniatures.htm
Most of the figures are compatible with Westwind, Foundry, etc. However, at one stage they changed sculptor and produced some really crap skinny figures.
The newer cavalry (not on the website) are in the same style as the original range. This is the British lancer (German is same but with pickelhaube):
(http://www.displacedminiatures.com/images/img.1195073411462.jpg)
(http://www.displacedminiatures.com/images/img.1195073458926.jpg)
I will be slightly converting the British lancers' tunics for use in my VSF Russian army (Siberian Torpedo Lancer Regiment).
-
Thank you!