The Spark of Revolution (1848, #1)

Popular protest is a classic tool to bring about political change. Sometimes the protests are successful – like the revolutions against Communist rule in Eastern Europe in 1989. Sometimes they are put down (like the Prague Spring had been in 1968). Sometimes, the result is mixed – the Euromaidan protests in Kiev during the winter of 2013/14 strengthened democracy in the country by removing its autocratic president Viktor Yanukovych, but the Ukrainians paid a steep price for their freedoms as Vladimir Putin took the removal of his vassal Yanukovych unkindly and has been attempting to dismantle Ukraine since then. And sometimes, the success of revolution is still in the air – like in Iran, where large crowds have been protesting for the last months against their fundamentalist government’s meddling in private affairs.

As these examples show, success and failure are sometimes not so easy to assess. They also demonstrate that protest is often limited to a few cities or one country. Only rarely does revolution leap from one place to another. The closest Europe has ever come to a revolutionary conflagration was 175 years ago, in 1848. This post traces the roots of these revolutions to the French Revolution, takes a look at the restaurationist interlude and the mounting political pressures before 1848, and then looks at the outbreak of revolution in the Paris of February 1848. With that, the stage is set for the 1848 series of posts on this blog!

The Rise of the Great Powers / Imperial Struggle (Book & Game, #3)

Back to the book & game pairings to educate & entertain about a certain historical topic! Today, we’re looking at the power struggles of the 18^th century with Britain and France occupying center stage, often called the Second Hundred Years’ War. Our book & game for this topic are The Rise of the Great Powers 1648—1815 (Derek McKay/H.M. Scott) and Imperial Struggle (Ananda Gupta/Jason Matthews, GMT Games).

Check out my previous Book & Game posts here:

Eastern Front: Russia’s War and No Retreat! The Russian Front

Reformation Era: Four Princes and Here I Stand

Four Princes / Here I Stand (Book & Game, #2)

Back to the book & game pairings to educate and entertain about a certain historical topic! After our kickoff with the Eastern Front of World War II, we’ll go a little bit further back in time, landing in the early 16^th century: The Reformation is shaking up Europe, and powerful rulers try to make the most of these turbulent times… both in Four Princes (John Julius Norwich) and Here I Stand (Ed Beach, GMT Games).

How to Win as England in Here I Stand (Three Basic Tips, #5)

Earlier this year, I’ve written two strategy posts for Here I Stand (Ed Beach, GMT Games) – one on the Hapsburgs, one on the Papacy. You liked them and seemed to be craving more, and as ever, I was most anxious to oblige my esteemed readers. However, I haven’t won with all Here I Stand factions yet, and you’d rightfully demand that someone who tells you how to do things has done them themselves already. This is where Naty comes in. Normally, she writes about literature over at her blog natysbookshelf.wordpress.com (check it out, it’s amazing), but she’s also an accomplished Here I Stand player who’s run roughshod over everyone else at the table in her last game when she played England. Over to you, Naty!

Decolonization in the Cold War (Decolonization, #3)

Sixty years ago, a whopping 17 former African colonies became independent nations. In commemoration, I’m doing a miniseries on decolonization on this blog. So far, you can read an overview over decolonization and a closer look at decolonization processes within a colony. Today, we’ll deal with decolonization in the international context of the Cold War. All too often, it is assumed that the anticolonial movements and newly independent states were mere pawns in the games of the superpowers. However, they had quite some agency of their own. As you rightly expect, we’ll look at how different board games deal with the complex relationship between the Cold War and decolonization.

Two Kingdoms, One King? England, France, and the Hundred Years’ War

For hundreds of years, England and France were the fiercest rivals in Western Europe – from the wars of the Plantagenet kings of England to expand their holdings in France, to those of Napoleon against various British-led coalitions, and then the overseas bickering in the Age of Imperialism as when the two powers clashed at Fashoda. However, at one point it seemed as if this rivalry might come to an end and the two countries might be united: 600 years ago, the king of France recognized the king of England as his heir! We’ll find out how this came to happen and why it did not work out – and what happened instead. It goes without saying that you can expect board games on the way.

The Treaty of Versailles (Century of German History, #10)

Friends of history, board games, and history in board games! Last year, I started a series called „Century of German History“ covering Germany’s turbulent 20^th century. For every decade, I picked one crucial event (that happened in the year ending in a 9), placed it into the wider context, and illuminated it with exactly one board game. Now those of you who counted might have noticed that I didn’t finish this series in 2019. One event was missing – that of 1919. You might blame that on my laziness, but I swear, this time, that’s not true. The defining event of 1919 is the Treaty of Versailles to end World War I – and I wanted to cover that with the upcoming Versailles 1919 (Geoff Engelstein/Mark Herman, GMT Games). However, while I was ready for Versailles 1919, Versailles 1919 was not ready for me yet. Now, the game is about to go to the printers, and I can write about this intriguing design which made it to my list of most anticipated historical board games to be released this year. We’ll talk about the powers involved in the peacemaking at Versailles, the process of negotiations, and what became of it.

Note of Susanna Pouvreau (USEAAR, #10)

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.
Note from Susanna Pouvreau to her neighbor Marianne Dutour, Châtillon-en-Diois, October 16, 1940.

Marianne,
in all brevity: I am gone and will not come back to Châtillon anytime soon. I know what they are doing to our kind in Germany and do not doubt that they will want to do the same to us here. I have taken what I need and know where to go. When Pierre comes back, let him know I left on my own terms. When liberty returns, so will I. Please burn this note.
All my love,
Susanna

French prisoners of war. Is Pierre among them? The picture is based on image 101I-055-1592 of the German Federal Archives, CC-BY-SA.

You can see the current state of affairs in the game in the Twitter thread:

As the French armies surrender, the right flank of the British forces is unguarded. They are trapped in the Normandy pocket. #USEAAR @gmtgames pic.twitter.com/uWSEVWN2G9

— Clio's Board Games (@cliosboardgames) November 2, 2019

 

Diary entry of Josephine Lefèvre (USEAAR, #7.1)

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.

Brussels, May 18

The sweetest euphoria, the bitterest presentiment! The French 3^rd Army has come to our liberation.

Excerpts from the reports of the French 3rd Army to the Assemblée Nationale (USEAAR, #6)

Written by Pierre Laval, major at the staff of the French 3^rd Army

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.

Verdun, May 7, 1940

The army has left their defensive positions in the Maginot fortresses under the cover of night. Strict secrecy is the soldier’s first duty. No radio contact whatsoever. So far, we advance on Sedan unopposed.