Edge of Europe - A Belgian Interactive AAR

[ThunderHawk3]

"It is almost like every known dissident from down in the forum has risen at once. You know it is quite sad, for these little men seek to turn us into some horrible and unstable nation like Chile or Austria. Truly the fact that they all rose at one within the year of a popularly elected government is a paradox, an interactive one at that."

((Hahahaha.))

((Indeedy, Viola did state that he had GM approval for his post. If that is the case, I believe that means ThunderHawk is aware of the Coup and has acknowledged it as having occurred. Of course, this is just what I believe can be inferred from the information about. The safest bet for all is to wait for ThunderHawk to give a statement, saying what has and hasn't happened.))

((I approved Viola to accuse the Liberals of vote rigging - whether they have or they haven't in fact is a very different matter.))

((Viola said he got GM approval for his, I think Harpsichord is saying without GM approval we can all throw around nonsense like this, and then what's the point?))

((True.))

((I think that is a new record, for coups at least. I don't think it happened so quickly in any other forum game.))

((I imagine this is a new record, yes. One and a half years is pretty swift. I guess I'm just lucky you all didn't do it immediately.))

((Thunder shall clear everything up. And from what I have heard from some people who played his last game, Shadow of the Andes, he is well used to coups, revolutions and rebellions. Something as cleanly cut as this coup seems to be looks like shouldn't worry him too much.))

((Yeah, this is no problem. Unfortunately, I'm pretty busy this morning so you're going to have to wait at least an hour or two for me to finish up my RL problems.

In the mean time, voting on the various bills and constitutional amendments are obviously suspended.))

 

[Otto of england]

((Well until thunderhawk said you couldn't coup before elections that was the plan . Though I am still in shcok this worked so well.))

 

[Plutonium95]

((Well until thunderhawk said you couldn't coup before elections that was the plan . Though I am still in shcok this worked so well.))

((Classy ))

 

[viola]

The good Baron addresses his followers in Brussels...

I have just heard that numerous Jacobin Capitalists are destroying "their" industries and employing thugs to destroy roads and other infrastructures, as always the farmers will be to ones to pay the higher price as trade will stop and revolutionary bandits will launch raids on the countryside.

And I suppose that all of you have heard the atrocious rumors about the Jacobin project to sell our own territory to finance their reign of terror! We do really live in dark times...


The Jacobins are guilty of these and far worse atrocities! Should they regain control of the country they will doubtlessly try to kill us all and our families! We must stop them in every way and defeat them wherever they are!

May these sad news encourage you to fight against this Jacobin tyranny with even greater fervor!
God is with us! And He will defeat all of their heathen plans!

- Baron Frederick Van Den Brucke

 

[yourworstnightm]

I am starting to wonder if this union with the Walloons are viable at all.

 

[DensleyBlair]

I shall not flee.~Jean-François, Vicomte du Sint-Niklaas, MWO, Foreign Secretary

 

[viola]

I am starting to wonder if this union with the Walloons are viable at all.

As a fellow Flemish I can say this: this union is currently the only thing that protect us from a Dutch invasion, these heretics must not be allowed to occupy our lands again.
Sure, the Jacobins made many errors, that's in their vile nature, but once the military government will have restored peace and order to our nation I'm sure that any conflicts between the Wallon and Flemish peoples will be promptly resolved.

I shall not flee.~Jean-François, Vicomte du Sint-Niklaas, MWO, Foreign Secretary

Very well! It will be a pleasure to bring you to justice!


- Baron Frederick Van Den Brucke

 

[Dadarian]

Very well! It will be a pleasure to bring you to justice!


- Baron Frederick Van Den Brucke

You realize he is not only a greater aristocrat, therefore better than you, but he was also at one point considered for King of Belgium?

Shall you be continuing with your twaddle or shall you be ceasing trying to burn my crops with your hot air and fragile ego?

~ His August Presence, Wilhelm Vanderhoof Delegate for and Honourary Lord Protector of Ghent

 

[Scrapknight]

I shall not flee.~Jean-François, Vicomte du Sint-Niklaas, MWO, Foreign Secretary

A letter arrives at the Vicomte's residence from Orleans

Monseiur du Sint-Niklaas,

This is Savarin. Daret, Brabant and I have arrived safely in Paris, and I know that Peeters and a few others have gotten out as well. I'm writing to you from Orleans, where I am currently staying with friends. If you haven't left yet, I must implore you to get out while you still can. I am afraid for your life, my friend, for if the military and reactionary brutes catch you, you will surely hang. Moreover, as Foreign Secretary, you are the man in the best position to negotiate with Britain or France to assist us in ending this madness. Without them, and accordingly without you, all may be lost. Please, save yourself while you can and help us bring these anti-democratic thugs to justice.

I'm sorry I must be brief, but I have a meeting with the mayor of Orleans tomorrow regarding confidential matters. I would elaborate, but the military is likely rifling through the mail, especially from one high-ranking government official to another. I can only hope to see you (in one piece) as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Georges Savarin

 

[DensleyBlair]

A letter arrives at the Vicomte's residence from OrleansMonseiur du Sint-Niklaas,This is Savarin. Daret, Brabant and I have arrived safely in Paris, and I know that Peeters and a few others have gotten out as well. I'm writing to you from Orleans, where I am currently staying with friends. If you haven't left yet, I must implore you to get out while you still can. I am afraid for your life, my friend, for if the military and reactionary brutes catch you, you will surely hang. Moreover, as Foreign Secretary, you are the man in the best position to negotiate with Britain or France to assist us in ending this madness. Without them, and accordingly without you, all may be lost. Please, save yourself while you can and help us bring these anti-democratic thugs to justice.I'm sorry I must be brief, but I have a meeting with the mayor of Orleans tomorrow regarding confidential matters. I would elaborate, but the military is likely rifling through the mail, especially from one high-ranking government official to another. I can only hope to see you (in one piece) as soon as possible.Sincerely,Georges Savarin

Do not fear, sir. I am fully aware that while I am in this country – our country – I have no rights.~J-F

 

[yourworstnightm]

A letter arrives at the Vicomte's residence from Orleans

Monseiur du Sint-Niklaas,

This is Savarin. Daret, Brabant and I have arrived safely in Paris, and I know that Peeters and a few others have gotten out as well. I'm writing to you from Orleans, where I am currently staying with friends. If you haven't left yet, I must implore you to get out while you still can. I am afraid for your life, my friend, for if the military and reactionary brutes catch you, you will surely hang. Moreover, as Foreign Secretary, you are the man in the best position to negotiate with Britain or France to assist us in ending this madness. Without them, and accordingly without you, all may be lost. Please, save yourself while you can and help us bring these anti-democratic thugs to justice.

I'm sorry I must be brief, but I have a meeting with the mayor of Orleans tomorrow regarding confidential matters. I would elaborate, but the military is likely rifling through the mail, especially from one high-ranking government official to another. I can only hope to see you (in one piece) as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Georges Savarin

((has there been any GM approval that you all made it to France?))

 

[theAhawk]

In light of the accusations levelled against this government and its legitimacy, I fear I have little choice but to side with the rest of the General Staff against these corrupting forces. I am neither enamoured by a Bonapartist leader nor a military distracted by petty politicking, but in the face of such national scandal we must act or forever fall into the dirty hands of those willing to cheat the system.

However, I must stress that I will be working to organise legitimate elections at His Majesty's earliest convenience. The retention of the Military Council as an institution may be unpalatable, but it is necessary in the long term to allow this arm of the government to act as a stabilising influence against the corruption displayed already in this nation's short history. My vision is for a partnership between Parliament and Council that will forge a brighter future, at least until such a time as our politicians prove themselves worthy of the privileged position they talked themselves into at the Constitutional Conference. I hope that what elements of the original parliament still remain loyal to the Kingdom will ensure this process can be carried through and legitimate elections organised.

I would also like to raise the issue of foreign policy; Bonapartist as the Chief of the General Staff might be, the rest of us are not, by any stretch of the imagination, of the same mindset. I would like to reassure the nations of Europe that this merely internal change will not affect our foreign policy or increase the likelihood of conflict - I for one, and I expect I have the support of the General Staff in this statement, will not let Belgium become the new Pariah State of Europe.

I hope that this short statement will reassure both the nation and the world in understandably unsettling times,

Major-Général Phillippe de Bertrix

 

[ThunderHawk3]

It is with the love of Belgium in my heart that I declare the Government in Brussels null and void and the Constitution suspended. I call for the immediate surrender of the Prime Minster and the Government of Brussels to military forces. Long may Belgium thrive!

For all those of you who haven't heard, that means that Field Marshall Damseaux has declared a coup to install military rule over Belgium! ((The first of many? Perhaps.))

-------------------------

Player Actions Needed:
Voting on bills presently on the table is suspended.

I need all the generals and ministers to tell me which side they're backing as soon as possible, Support the Government/Support the Coup. These are the following people:

Generals:

1st Infantry Division: Field Marshall Damseaux ((Fingon888)) - COUP
2nd Infantry Division: Phillipe de Bertrix ((theAhawk)) - COUP
3rd Infantry Division: Charles de Ligne ((Marschalk)) - COUP
1st Cavalry Division: Aaron van der Goltz ((Jako473)) - COUP

Ministers:

Prime Minister: Maximiliaan van Brabant ((Gen. Marshall)) - GOVERNMENT
Minister of Finance: Michel Daret ((Plutonium95)) - GOVERNMENT
Minister of Commerce: Georges Savarin ((Scrapknight)) - GOVERNMENT
Minister of Justice: Franz Ludwig Wolff ((Thoctar))
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Jean-François Achille van der Wyngaert ((DensleyBlair))
Minister of the Interior: Willem Loewen ((Somberg))
Minister of Innovation: Pierre-Claude de España ((czechmasaryk))
Minister of War: Aimeus Aerts ((jeeshadow))

Of course, I have noted your allegiances here if you've already declared, or if I think you have. I'd like the remaining declarations of support for or against the coup as fast as possible.

 

[DensleyBlair]

((I am of course supporting the government. Sorry for the OOC. I don't to repeat my cryptic declaration ))

 

[Dadarian]

Vanderhoof packs some tobacco into a flyer advocating Flemish independence and lights it. He then starts ordering the servants on decorating the parliament building. He signs his name to a paper which is sent to most private corporations, banks, industries and other businesses.

Dearest Gentlemen of Value and Hardwork
​

You have obviously heard news of the anti-materialist coup that has occurred in this nation. I immediately recommend that you pull any and all money out of the nation before it is seized by the army as a national asset.

If some of you wish to risk the probable profits from such a venture as to stay in the nation following the chaos, I invite you to the parliament buildings to discuss the economic future of the nation under a traditionalist and anti-material regime.

No risk, no reward. Safe business, safe profits. All up to you.

~ His August Presence, Wilhelm Vanderhoof Delegate of and Honourary Lord Protector of Ghent, CEO and Founder of Northern Flemish Grains

He turns and signs another one, which is sent to the remaining members of the political class in the nation

Dear those that Concern​

You see before us a traditionalist rebellion against the legitimate government. Now if you think your life at stake, I encourage you to flee the nation and keep safe. However I ask that all that will risk staying in the nation return to their ridings so we can actually run our nation.

Just because we are in chaos is no reason that we cannot have our nation to be an anarchic heap.

Good luck, long life, and pleasant sleep to all of you, for we may need it.

~ His August Presence, Wilhelm Vanderhoof Delegate of and Honourary Lord Protector of Ghent

P.S. If any of you wish to serve the nation (regardless of government) centrally, I have been keeping the parliament buildings warm

 

[Somberg]

Loewen has fled to France with the rest of the government, leaving his wife, Kathrina, and 9 month old son, Christiaan, in Belgium.

I declare myself against this damned coup. I will support the legitimately elected government of Belgium with my last breath. These claims of the reactionaries have not been proven by the courts and until such a time should be taken with a grain of salt. Of course, that has not stopped them from treating these claims as fact and using it to attempt to sway the people of Belgium to their side, using the military to seize control of the nation. Soon all the progress that has been made will be reversed. We cannot let this happen! The legitimate, democratically elected government must be restored!

~ Willem Loewen, Minister of the Interior

 

[Belgiumruler]

de Leeuw has fled to Sweden, together with his family and his friends.

I hate it that damm Catholic fanatics now are in control of our nation, the dammed reactonaries must be eliminated! I will gather a force and one day I liberate Belgium from this terror!

- Jos de Leeuw

PS: to all those Reactonary scum: GO TO YOUR OWN HELL!

 

[viola]

In Brussels The Baron gave a warlike speech before a burning pile of books, all written by Liberal authors. All around him there were armed militiamen...


People of Belgium!
We know that the deranged Jacobins, who have illegaly usurped the government of our country, are now preparing their revolutionary bands for a general uprising! This is a desperate attempt to regain control of our nation who has clearly rejected their lies and their fabrications!

We, the God-fearing people of Belgium, Wallons and Flemish united, are ready to fight these evil anarchists who wish to create a new Revolutionary France and a new Reign of terror. We will not let the infamous heirs of Robespierre to start another great European massacre, their forces shall be stopped here by the proud armies of Christ, we will utterly crush them, and we will give to this nation a new, moderate, pious and reasonable government led by the our most heroic generals!

We gained our freedom by defeating the most strong Dutch soldiers, and we won because God was on our side! How can the Jacobins think to have any chances against such heroic and loyal men, who have nothing less than God on their side? They truly are foolish!

the crowd cheered

There is now no doubts that this was their plan all along! Since the so-called constitutional assembly the Jacobins have plotted against the nation and against the legitimate order to create a deranged republic, filled with blasphemies like mob-rule and unrestricted incendiarism! The very election of the King was nothing more but a trick: the Jacobins were planning a coup d'etat against the good King Prosper to kill him, just like the French King!
The army is truly saving the nation from madmen, extremists and vile atheists!

the crowd cheered

Belgians! You must have trust in your priests, in your nobles and in your soldiers! We are the defender of real order and prosperity, and we only truly care about your well-being! The greedy Jacobins only care about money and Industries, their promises of "Freedom" and "Equality" are only lies! Lies that have thrown nations into Chaos and allowed their monstrous revolution to spread! Just like what happened here in Belgium.
But we will stop this!

the crowd cheered

The time has come for the final battle! Join the army of the Holy Virgin, join the loyal Belgian army, take arms against the invaders and the traitors! We will throw these savages out of our Country!

None can stop the army of the righteous!

the crowd cheered again and again, enthusiastic

- Baron Frederick Van Den Brucke


((None of this has any effect in-game.
Just some fun propaganda.))

 

[Belgiumruler]

Above the city of Brugge ((Bruges)) a hot air balloon was flying,it appeared to be a Swedish one, but it must be coming from England. it was dropping flyers on the city. On that flyers the text was:

People of Belgium, Rise up! Take the weapons against your Suppressors! They say they are faithfull, but they are not! They kill people for there own power! The poor working families are poor, while they enjoy luxury in the name of God! This can't be what god wants, so I ask you all, rise up! Help is coming from overseas! For Belgium!!!

- Jos de Leeuw

 

[Thoctar]

Another Letter is printed widely in the Liege Area.

There have been rumours floating around that I may capitulate to this coup in exchange for monetary concessions, well I must tell you it is completely a lie! I will fight this awful tyranny to the very end, along with the rest of the people of Belgium who I know will not stand for this Military Coup!- Franz Ludwig Wolff

((Against))