Post by Catsmate on Aug 15, 2014 12:34:13 GMT
Taking a brief break from the Evil Doctor universe to return to an interesting, to me anyway, opportunity for historical meddling.
The assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1853
Given the centenary of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, I was interested to look at another assassination of an Austro-Hungarian, his uncle Emperor Franz Joseph.
Franz Joseph ascended the Austrian throne in 1848 as part of a plan, devised by Minister-president (prime minister) Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, to end the 1848 revolution in Austria.
Franz Joseph was a lifelong reactionary, opposed to any liberalisation within the empire, and while he restored the empire to the status of a great power his reign was beset by tragedy both personal (the execution of his brother, suicide of his son, insanity of his sister-in-law, assassinations of his wife and nephew) and imperial (loss of territory to Italy, the Crimean War, military defeat by Prussia and diplomatic defeat by Prussia over the question of German unification).
On the 18th of February 1853 an attempt was made by a Hungarian nationalist, and apprentice tailor, János (Johann) Libényi, to kill the new emperor, then only 22. The emperor was walking on a city bastion (the Kärtnertor Bastion) accompanied by one of his officers, an Imperial Adjutant, Maximilian Karl Lamoral O'Donnell, when Libényi attacked him with a knife.
Unfortunately while Libényi approached the pair quietly, and got into striking range, he struck at the young emperor's neck which was protected by the stiff, reinforced, uniform collar (intended to resist sabre blows to the neck). O'Donnell, aided by another witness to the attack, a butcher named Joseph Ettenreich, overpowered Libényi. The emperor was wounded, but not seriously.
So far this is a matter of historical fact. But what if Libényi had succeeded? Perhaps he aimed for the body and stabbed Franz Joseph in the heart, or at least fatally wounded him. Or perhaps he acquired a pistol and shot the emperor. The Ganahl revolver, an Austrian version of the Colt Dragoon in 9mm chambering, for example.
Consequences.
If Franz Joseph dies in 1853 history will see significant, indeed huge, changes. He'll be succeeded by his younger brother Ferdinand Maximilian, who'll become Maximilian I.
Maximilian, unlike his brother, harboured somewhat liberal sentiments. Under his rule it's likely that Austria would have moved, albeit slowly, towards a constitutional monarchy (Franz Joseph repudiated the constitutional promises he'd made and ruled absolutely) with a parliament possessed of actual power.
Speculations.
Gaming.
Obviously in a Who game the players will be interested in preventing or reversing such a change to the timeline.
There are three general ways to introduce the players to the alteration:
Of course the later the party discover the new history the more radical the alterations, but it'll also easier to find out at least basic details of the assassination from historical sources, once they figure out roughly when history changed.
Who's responsible?
1. Random fluctuations.
Libényi changed his plans for no one particular reason. Perhaps a long chain of minor events that were triggered by a time traveller far earlier led to him finding or acquiring a pistol and employing that. Perhaps he overheard a conversation between soldiers complaining about the collars, and their function.
2. Deliberate intervention.
Libényi as a puppet, armed and dispatched by someone with the intention to alter history by assassinating Franz Joseph. This may or may not be obvious; a successful knife attack might be a random change, whereas Libényi wielding a Glock machine pistol for the attack would be an obvious sign of tampering.
Of course a degree of subtlety, or hypnosis, would be needed; simply approaching Libényi and saying "I believe you're planning to murder the Emperor, I suggest you use this revolver" probably won't work. All the evidence is that Libényi had no co-conspirators and would probably react violently or abandon the attack.
You'll also need to supply a plausible reason for someone arranging the killing Franz Joseph; to establish Austria as a major power, abort the Great War long before it happened, stifle German Unification et cetera. Or maybe a time meddler (an insane academic from the ArcHive perhaps) just wants to see what'll happen.
3. Accidental intervention.
Libényi decides to change his plans because of an accidental influence, perhaps the conversation regarding sabre blows to the neck was between the PCs in a tavern. Or one of them misplaced a weapon (cap-and-ball revolver, derringer, revolver, pistol, blaster, disrupter et cetera), Libényi discovers it and decides to use it.
Or maybe the PCs aren't the only time travellers in Vienna on that cold February and they'll need to clean up someone else's mistakes.
References.
Wiki article on Maximilian.
The assassination, a picture by J. J. Reiner
The execution of Libényi was commemorated by this song (rather poorly translated).
On Simmering Heath a tailor was hanged,
Serves him right for making
such a bad stab at it.
On Simmering Heath a tailor was hanged,
With
needle and eye, with scissors and thread.
On Simmering Heath a tailor
was hanged,
A lesson for all, he’s no longer alive.
And, people,
listen, the wind is dropping,
If it had gone on blowing, the tailor
wouldn’t be there any more.
O'Donnell's statement:
On 18 February 1853, I, Imperial Adjutant Count Maximilian O’Donell, was escorting the Emperor on a walk along the Kärtnertor Bastion, as on so many occasions. A small number of passers-by were also making use of the day and promenading along this bastion. At a short distance ahead of meI also saw Emperor Franz Joseph leaning against a balustrade. I was about to approach him when suddenly, from behind, a man with a knife in his hand rushed at him. After initial confusion I realised that the target of this man was the Emperor himself. I immediately ran to the Emperor and seized the attacker by the hand. But the dagger sped on downwards inexorably. Blood stained my glove. Another passer-by, the butcher Josef Ettenreich, as we later learned, prevented the attacker from stabbing the Emperor again. Whilst I held the miscreant at bay with my sabre, fortunately the Emperor straightened up again without having suffered any serious injury.
Strauss's musical celebration of the Emperor's survival.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Requests?
The assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1853
Given the centenary of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, I was interested to look at another assassination of an Austro-Hungarian, his uncle Emperor Franz Joseph.
Franz Joseph ascended the Austrian throne in 1848 as part of a plan, devised by Minister-president (prime minister) Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, to end the 1848 revolution in Austria.
- It wasn't the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the Ausgleich in 1867
Franz Joseph was a lifelong reactionary, opposed to any liberalisation within the empire, and while he restored the empire to the status of a great power his reign was beset by tragedy both personal (the execution of his brother, suicide of his son, insanity of his sister-in-law, assassinations of his wife and nephew) and imperial (loss of territory to Italy, the Crimean War, military defeat by Prussia and diplomatic defeat by Prussia over the question of German unification).
On the 18th of February 1853 an attempt was made by a Hungarian nationalist, and apprentice tailor, János (Johann) Libényi, to kill the new emperor, then only 22. The emperor was walking on a city bastion (the Kärtnertor Bastion) accompanied by one of his officers, an Imperial Adjutant, Maximilian Karl Lamoral O'Donnell, when Libényi attacked him with a knife.
- O'Donnell was an Irish-Austrian, Maximilian Karl Lamoral O'Donnell von Tyrconnell in full, descended from the O'Donnell of Tyrconnell via the Wild Geese. He was made a Count of the Habsburg Empire for his actions.
Unfortunately while Libényi approached the pair quietly, and got into striking range, he struck at the young emperor's neck which was protected by the stiff, reinforced, uniform collar (intended to resist sabre blows to the neck). O'Donnell, aided by another witness to the attack, a butcher named Joseph Ettenreich, overpowered Libényi. The emperor was wounded, but not seriously.
- Ettenreich was also ennobled for his actions. Libényi was executed for attampted regicide eight days later.
So far this is a matter of historical fact. But what if Libényi had succeeded? Perhaps he aimed for the body and stabbed Franz Joseph in the heart, or at least fatally wounded him. Or perhaps he acquired a pistol and shot the emperor. The Ganahl revolver, an Austrian version of the Colt Dragoon in 9mm chambering, for example.
Consequences.
If Franz Joseph dies in 1853 history will see significant, indeed huge, changes. He'll be succeeded by his younger brother Ferdinand Maximilian, who'll become Maximilian I.
- Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph Hapsburg, Maximilian I, Emperor of Austria; Apostolic King of Hungary; King of Bohemia; King of Croatia; King of Galicia and Lodomeria; Grand Duke of Cracow and also . He also became Ministerpräsident (Prime Minister) of the Austrian Empire as well, as his brother had held that office after the death of Schwarzenberg in April of 1852.
- Thus Maximilian will not die ignominiously in Mexico in 1867.
Maximilian, unlike his brother, harboured somewhat liberal sentiments. Under his rule it's likely that Austria would have moved, albeit slowly, towards a constitutional monarchy (Franz Joseph repudiated the constitutional promises he'd made and ruled absolutely) with a parliament possessed of actual power.
Speculations.
- Maximilian was a navy officer, and would have continued to be interested in naval matters; this suggests rather more emphasis would have been placed on the navy under his reign.
- In late 1853 the Crimean War would (probably) start. Preventing this would require far more changes to history that replacing the Austrian monarch. Would Austria under Maximilian remain neutral or intervene? And on
which side? The Ottomans were a useful buffer against Russian expansion, but Russian troops had helped defeat the revolutions of 1848. - What would happen over Italian Unification? Historically the Austrians lost, but mainly down to French assistance to the revolutionaries. If the Orsini affair didn't happen Napoleon III might not be as willing. Palmerston wasn't interested in intervening.
- The European intervention in Mexico in 1861 would probably happen, Napoleon III was somewhat adventurous in foreign policy. Assuming that the Mexican monarchists offered the throne to Maximillian's youngerbrother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, he would end up as emperor Karl of the Second Mexican Empire. Would he be more successful than his brother at building a coalition to support the monarchy? Will the USA eventually intervene, possibly triggering a war with the European powers in the aftermath of the US Civil War?
- German unification; would Austria have been more involved in the process, rather than effectively letting Prussia under Wilhelm I and von Bismarck run the show? Probably a Austro-Prussian war in inevitable, over who dominates the new Germany, but the form of the war (particularly a French-Austrian alliance) would be very different.
Gaming.
Obviously in a Who game the players will be interested in preventing or reversing such a change to the timeline.
There are three general ways to introduce the players to the alteration:
- discovering plans or preparation for the attack and forestalling it. This seems unlikely unless there is direct influence from a time traveller or other meddler.
- witnessing the actual attack, and hopefully realising that Franz Joseph wasn't supposed to die.
- learning of the change soon afterwards, within months or a few years, perhaps while visiting Britain during the Crimean War.
- learning of the change much later, perhaps arriving in the mid twentieth
century, only to find history on a radically different path.
Of course the later the party discover the new history the more radical the alterations, but it'll also easier to find out at least basic details of the assassination from historical sources, once they figure out roughly when history changed.
Who's responsible?
1. Random fluctuations.
Libényi changed his plans for no one particular reason. Perhaps a long chain of minor events that were triggered by a time traveller far earlier led to him finding or acquiring a pistol and employing that. Perhaps he overheard a conversation between soldiers complaining about the collars, and their function.
2. Deliberate intervention.
Libényi as a puppet, armed and dispatched by someone with the intention to alter history by assassinating Franz Joseph. This may or may not be obvious; a successful knife attack might be a random change, whereas Libényi wielding a Glock machine pistol for the attack would be an obvious sign of tampering.
Of course a degree of subtlety, or hypnosis, would be needed; simply approaching Libényi and saying "I believe you're planning to murder the Emperor, I suggest you use this revolver" probably won't work. All the evidence is that Libényi had no co-conspirators and would probably react violently or abandon the attack.
You'll also need to supply a plausible reason for someone arranging the killing Franz Joseph; to establish Austria as a major power, abort the Great War long before it happened, stifle German Unification et cetera. Or maybe a time meddler (an insane academic from the ArcHive perhaps) just wants to see what'll happen.
3. Accidental intervention.
Libényi decides to change his plans because of an accidental influence, perhaps the conversation regarding sabre blows to the neck was between the PCs in a tavern. Or one of them misplaced a weapon (cap-and-ball revolver, derringer, revolver, pistol, blaster, disrupter et cetera), Libényi discovers it and decides to use it.
Or maybe the PCs aren't the only time travellers in Vienna on that cold February and they'll need to clean up someone else's mistakes.
References.
Wiki article on Maximilian.
The assassination, a picture by J. J. Reiner
- The picture is somewhat inaccurate Libényi wore a brown cloak during the attack, O'Donnell didn't react until after the first blow, when he drew his sabre and ran to the Emperor's side, and Ettenreich also.
The execution of Libényi was commemorated by this song (rather poorly translated).
On Simmering Heath a tailor was hanged,
Serves him right for making
such a bad stab at it.
On Simmering Heath a tailor was hanged,
With
needle and eye, with scissors and thread.
On Simmering Heath a tailor
was hanged,
A lesson for all, he’s no longer alive.
And, people,
listen, the wind is dropping,
If it had gone on blowing, the tailor
wouldn’t be there any more.
O'Donnell's statement:
On 18 February 1853, I, Imperial Adjutant Count Maximilian O’Donell, was escorting the Emperor on a walk along the Kärtnertor Bastion, as on so many occasions. A small number of passers-by were also making use of the day and promenading along this bastion. At a short distance ahead of meI also saw Emperor Franz Joseph leaning against a balustrade. I was about to approach him when suddenly, from behind, a man with a knife in his hand rushed at him. After initial confusion I realised that the target of this man was the Emperor himself. I immediately ran to the Emperor and seized the attacker by the hand. But the dagger sped on downwards inexorably. Blood stained my glove. Another passer-by, the butcher Josef Ettenreich, as we later learned, prevented the attacker from stabbing the Emperor again. Whilst I held the miscreant at bay with my sabre, fortunately the Emperor straightened up again without having suffered any serious injury.
Strauss's musical celebration of the Emperor's survival.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Requests?