HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
An historical based What if? In 1796 Europe is at war with revolutionary
France, one of the key enemies of France
is Great Britain (Funding emigre armies, supporting Austria, the vendee rebels
etc) so France planned a three pronged attack on GB – A large force landing in
Ireland to support revolution there, a small force landing in Bristol to cause
economic disruption and a medium sized force landing in the North East (hoping
the working class would support it as sailors had already mutinied there ) In
reality the Ireland invasion was turned back by a storm, the North East
invasion force did not set off (Due to mutiny) and the Bristol landing ended up
in Wales (Fishguard) where it surrendered soon after landing.
The North East was the industrial heartland of England in 1796, providing
almost all its coal and iron, the paper mills of the Derwent and Tyne valleys
provided paper to the one of the biggest printing presses in Europe (Based in
Newcastle) The dock yards of Sunderland were building around nineteen navel ships per
year making it one of the most important shipbuilding centre in the United Kingdom. While
the banking system of Newcastle was second only to London. But the difference
between rich and poor was pronounced with a motivated working class forming
associations the French thought it was ideal to start a revolution or at the
very least disrupt the economy of the UK
The plan is to have a series of games (and hopefully the full campaign) starting from the French landings. Using a 1790 historic map of the area, the action takes place across a 30 mile by 30 mile section of the North East
England. Players play the main commanders of the time. The initial set up and
organisation is based on the historical one – there are historical records of
the troops, their commanders and meeting points organised in defence of an
invasion. Although a military game, players
must consider public opinion, economic impact of their actions, workers and
sailors’ opinions in their plans which they have some agency in influencing
The maps Im using are Armstrongs 1769 maps of the North East. Ill post the initial British dispositions once the game is up and running.
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