The Promise of Progress
Map of the current politic status of Europe.
Map of the current politic status of Europe.
Welcome one and all to the Promise of Progress. This is a steampunk, alternative history forum game based around nations and the men who drive them forward. You will play as Ministers, Kings, and Generals of any nation on this map. Below is a history of this world.
The History
The death of Charles II, last Hapsburg King of Spain, sent shockwaves throughout Europe. Severely mentally and physically disabled due to the famed Hapsburg penchant for inbreeding he had no direct heir to suceed him, and thus the crown fell to those who had claim through the lines of his sisters. Both the Austrian Hapsburgs and the French Bourbons had strong dynastic ties to Spain, and the son of Louis XIV just so happened to be Heir-General to Charles II's claim. Having died without nominating an heir (1) Charles left the recipe for a war in his wake. Louis, le Grand Dauphin was also the man with the strongest claims to the Spanish throne and the powers of Europe feared the union of the French and Spanish crowns would forever destroy the delicate balance that held sway over Europe and the world.
Because of this, France entered the war diplomatically isolated. Having the support only of her traditional ally, the Electorate of Bavaria, and those Spanish loyal to the Dauphin, France faced a Grand Alliance composed of the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, Portugal and the Duchy of Savoy, all determined to preserve the Spanish throne for their Habsburg candidate, Archduke Charles. The war opened with mixed results initially in Italy as the Duc de Villars was captured at the Battle of Cremona, but Austrian forces under the allied Eugene of Savoy suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Luzzara in 1801 (2) at the hands of Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme and the Hapsburg forces were temporarily driven from Italy, with France in control of the north and Naples fallen into her own small civil war between Hapsburg and Bourbon supporters.
In the meantime, Marlborough sailed for the continent and landed at the port of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the capital of the Dutch Republic, on 16 May 1702. He was given the position of Commander-in-Chief of all Allied forces in the Low Countries. During the 1702 campaign season, Marlborough captured several important fortresses, most notably Liège. On the Rhine, an Imperial army under Louis of Baden captured Landau. The threat to Alsace, and thus France, was relieved by the entrance of Bavaria into the war on the French side. Max Emanuel II, the Elector of Bavaria, captured Ulm from the Holy Roman Empire on 8 September 1702. Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden was forced to withdraw across the Rhine, where he was defeated by a French army under Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars at Friedlingen on 14 October 1702. Meanwhile, the Spanish general Francisco Castillo Fajardo defeated a combined Anglo-Dutch invasion led by the English Admiral Sir George Rooke, who had intended to seize Cadiz. During his return to England, Rooke won an important naval battle, the Battle of Vigo Bay, which resulted in the complete destruction of the Spanish treasure fleet but marginal financial gain as most the treasure had already been unloaded ashore.
The next year, Marlborough captured Bonn on May 15th and drove the Elector of Cologne into exile. Marlborough failed in his efforts to capture Antwerp. On the other hand, the French were successful in Germany. A combined Franco-Bavarian army under Villars and Max Emanuel of Bavaria defeated Imperial armies under Louis of Baden and Hermann Styrum at the first battle of Höchstädt on 20 September 1703; having routed and destroyed the Austrian army. The 34,000-man strong Franco-Bavarian army immediately, on the advice of Villars, drove towards Vienna. (3) A hastily-thrown together defense could not defend the city (Francis II Rákóczi's flourishing War of Independence having severely depleted the number of Hapsburg troops in the area) and Vienna fell to French forces on October 10th. The Treaty of Vienna knocked Austria out of the war, but the Archduke Charles managed to escape to Allied territory as the war continued to rage in Germany and Iberia.
The looming threat of annexation by a Franco-Spanish empire forced Portugal, long pro-Allied, into the war against the Bourbons and the Spanish civil war continued between pro-Charles and pro-Dauphin forces. The Battle of the Pyrenees forced the partisans of the Dauphin to seek refuge in France for much of 1704 as Hapsburg Spain attempted to consolidate itself but a French drive into Iberia ended with the Battle of Almansa in which a Franco-Spanish force decisively defeated the combined Anglo-Dutch-Portuguese forces. By 1706, the Grand Alliance was in tatters and only survived in pockets along the Rhine before British forces surrendered on behalf of all Allied troops. The resulting Treaty of Utrecht was as equitable as it could be made under the circumstances: le Grand Dauphin was to succeed Charles II, and pave the way for a Franco-Spanish union, while the Philippines and generous portions of South America were ceded to Great Britain. France annexed Savoy and Naples -which had finally been established under pro-Bourbon-control while the monarchs and petty dukes of northern Italy were forced to bend the knee to the Hapsburgs in order to retain a semblance of balanced power on the Continent.
(1) - Initial PoD; OTL Charles II chose the Dauphin's son, the Duc de Vendome, as his heir.
(2) - Secondary PoD; in OTL the battle ended in a draw despite the Duc de Villers' favourable starting position on the field.
(3) - Major PoD; in OTL the Bavarian commander declined Villers' suggestion to follow the fleeing army to Vienna. Casualties for this battle are also much more severe, due to the rear detachment advancing on time. OTL they advanced too early and had to be rescued by the main force, obviating any element of surprise.
The Rules
In The Promise of Progress you play as one of the great men or women of one of 15 nations. Your job will be defined for you and you will send me orders with what you do in regards to your job in government. I will write updates and create issues for the nations to react too.
Of course the military system must be spoken about. Battles will conducted by a roll with a number of modifiers. Namely, the number of troops, the type of units, the technology of the unit, the training of the unit, the state of either defense or attack, and the presence of artillery support.
In addition to the affairs of the nation you will be playing a living human being who has opinions and interests. Sometimes these interests are more in keeping with private rather than government life. That is why in addition to the nation stats there will also be private character stats so that characters may invest in a factory, bribe the Parliament, etc.
Roles that can be played. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r5aRTpqmjrd6xLOa7OgAljnchYnjrqSs1Xa-IaOUrEk/edit
Sign ups should be conducted in the tried and true format,
Name
Age
Nationality
Date and Place of Birth
Position in the Government
Biography
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