They told my grandfather the war would be over in a few weeks.
They told my father the war would be over by year’s end.
They told my older brother that the war would be over in a few years.
When I got to the front, my sergeant said to me, with a little luck, your grandkids wont have to enlist.

For the past seventy-nine years, two great nations have been locked in bitter conflict. For reasons lost to all but those high in the chain of command, the Laudik Empire and the Confederacy of the Herzigovan continue to grind their armies against each other. In the beginning, the Imperial armies had a rapid advance through the Herzigovan countryside but were pushed back to their own borders by the great general Alexis Chevalier. However, the advance faltered and came to a halt. The Imperials had dug trenches, determined to hold the Confederates in their own territory. The four armies of Laudik unveiled a new weapon at that time, something they were calling a machinegun. The infantry charges, which Chevalier was convinced would win the war, were torn to ribbons by the terrible rate of fire from the machineguns.

With his army unable to advance and fearing a counterattack by Imperial troops, Chevalier ordered his soldiers to dig trenches. He then ordered his artillery corps to retire the light field pieces and to bring up the siege guns. Gaining a light edge, the general was content to blast the Imperial lines until his troops would stroll across the no-man’s land. However, the forces of Laudik quickly brought up their own siege weapons, starting a race to build the biggest artillery piece.

The war dragged on, becoming a set pattern of artillery bombardment, infantry assault, and counter-assault. After the death of Alexis Chevalier, the generals that replaced him stick to his belief that great infantry charges would win the war for them. New weapons of war came long during the conflict, things like the airplane, poison gas, flamethrower and the reintroduction of hand grenades. Neither side really gained an advantage, in the past forty years, the Confederates have only pushed five miles into Imperial territory.

Both nations have been stretched to the breaking point. Within the Confederacy, the once constitutional monarchy has slipped back into an absolute monarchy. The dollar has been debased so many times that its worthless. The government has been dictating the careers of the citizens. At the age of sixteen, after ten years of propaganda filled schooling, the youth are given jobs. Eight out of ten boys are sent to the training camps, with four out of ten girls, to keep the river of reinforcements to the front flowing. The remaining youths are assigned to factories, mines or farms to keep the troops supplied with bullets, guns and food.

There is also a breeding program of sorts going on. Before leaving for the front, all male recruits are expected to visit selected women. If they survive for two years, the boys get to go back home for a month and do their best to get a girl (more the better) pregnant. After eighteen, a three-year cycle starts. Knowing that soldiers of different sexes will find ways to get to know each other better, the army has strict regulations about getting the female soldiers on an anti-fertility drug and try to keep the troop supplied with condoms. It is seen as cowardly and nearly treason for a female soldier to “escape” the front by becoming pregnant. However, like the boys, when a female soldier turns eighteen, she gets taken off of the anti-fertility drugs and heads back to the reserves for two months. If she gets pregnant, then she gets three years leave and can return home. After those three years, she is required to leave the child (or children) with a relative or in one of the official Homes for Soldier’s Children.

The Confederacy needs a war-winning weapon. Their vaunted infantry has failed to gain any ground. Their massive siege guns have been matched by the Imperial Artillery Corps. Their proud dreadnoughts have dueled with the mighty battleships of the Imperial Navy and failed to win control of the high seas. For years now, Lieutenant-General Richard Knight has been proposing what he calls a Landship, a massive fortress on tracks. His superiors in the army have always shot him down for not recognizing the strength of the infantry and the Admiralty has always screamed that they need the steel needed for such a construction, to build more dreadnoughts.

At long last, King Edward XI, has approved the project. Coded as a program to created new loom machines and the like, to free up works to join the military, research and development began. Members of the Admiralty designing committee were drafted to help draw up the plans for the Landship, as they were the only ones with experience in planning the needs of such a large metal beast.

The resulting blueprints outline a dreadnought-like vehicle, nearly four hundred feet long and eighty feet at the widest. Two dual-acting triple expansion reciprocating steam engines were called for, each powering a pair of continuous tracks, one set in front and one set in back. Ten, six cylinder sleeve valve petrol engines were needed, to power the six turrets and the lights within Landship. Rising from the middle of the beast were a single, massive smoke stack and the dorsal fin-like superstructure, which was capped with the communication tower. It’s armament was detailed as two main turrets, set forward and aft, each containing two twelve-inch guns. Set in four smaller turrets on each corner of the superstructure, were twelve three-inch guns. Placed in sponsons on the prow, were ten two-inch guns and ten M2965 heavy machineguns. Eighteen more M2965s were set in sponsons to protect the hatches, three on each side of the Landship and three on the stern. The entire vehicle is covered with thirteen-inch thick armor.

Steering was to be controlled by the varying speed of the four tracks. The driver would use levers to send signals down to the gearsmen on the tracks, using clusters of red lights to indicate what speed to set the gearboxs to. To communicated more complicated orders and receive reports from the vastness of the Landship, there was installed a telephone system, controlled from the core of the superstructure, with a phone for each department and phone banks on the bridge, the main engineering section and gunnery command. Communication with headquarters takes place in the tower, wit the crew there using flares, flags or lamps to signal airplanes or releasing pigeons to carry reports. The tower is also used for spotting and helping the main guns to target enemy artillery or fortifications.

Constructed in a naval yard and transported on a train, by night, the first test of the Landship is about to takes place. A crew has been assembled, from both the army and the navy. A contingent of infantry has been selected, to serve in the same capacity as marines would aboard a warship. Now that remains is to see if the monstrosity of ironmongery will work.






Alright folks, if you struck through this, then you have my gratitude. We will be playing as members of the landship’s crew during it’s first test (and hopefully through more war winning missions. I would prefer it if we all played officers. I will be taking care of the commander and the top infantry officer. The communication and gunnery positions have been claimed already but we still have room for a head engineer, as well as gun captains and officers leading platoon or companies for the infantry.

Beware, for the Imperial Army as a few tricks up there sleeves and their not going to get caught with their trousers down!




Now then, just a little info about soldiers (any sailor will have to wear an army uniform) in the Confederacy

Basic uniform & equipment of a Confederate Soldier

Wool tunic, breeches, trench cap, and greatcoat, plus underclothing. Steel helmet. Ankle boots with leggings. Web cartridge belt, one-quart canteen, entrenching tool, first aid pouch, mess kit, waterproof shelter half, blanket, gas hood.



Weapons:
M2966 bolt-action rifle, caliber 7.62x63, and 16-inch sword bayonet. Capacity is 10 rounds. Standard load is 100 rounds on the cartridge belt, plus 1-2 fifty-round bandoliers. An accurate and reliable, if aged, rifle, it is deadly in the right hands.

Image a bit large

OR

M2975 pump-action shotgun, 12 gauge, with trench knife instead of bayonet. Capacity of five rounds, plus however many shells you can fit in your pockets. Developed for clearing trenches. Devastating at close range, but absolutely useless beyond 30 yards. (limit this weapon to 2-3 players, please.)

Big image

For officers and NCO’s: M2960 revolver, caliber .46. Capacity of six. Hard-hitting and reliable.



We may have one of these attached to us at some point: M2965 heavy machinegun. Caliber 7.62x63, same as the rifle. Water-cooled and very heavy. Capable of sustained fire without risk of overheating. One man cannot move the gun, tripod and ammunition. It requires two minimum.

Same, large image

Also, players are encouraged to experiment with improvised weapons. Trench clubs, butcher knives, hunting knives, etc are more than welcome.

The GM of this roleplay hasn't created any rules! You can do whatever you like!

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Irish Wolf: 0%