Brushfire - Combat in 1960's Africa - Still recruiting!

Updated map up top. Yes, I misspelled "prairie" but I also would have to undo massive amounts of work to correct it and I'm lazy.

I did set up the top of the page as a table of contents with links to characters, threw in the map and so forth. It helps keep things organized.

I'm working on a post, and while I was hunting around, I came upon some interesting photos of various elements involved in the Congolese Civil War, particularly the mercenaries working for Tshombe in Katanga.

Interesting stuff, thought I'd share:

MilitaryPhotos.net

Note, it's a pictorial history of mercs in Africa and Southeast Asia. Pretty cool shit.

Alright, I'm going to clarify a bit on the posts;

For Justino, the choice is one of calculated risk; staying in one place or staying moving despite the difficulty. Up to you. Either way, you should pick the route (overland travel off the main roads is possible right now, due to good weather conditions) and decide on how to execute any other action, like staying. Triage, organization, so forth.

For Hartley, it's a pretty stark, simple choice. I left the individual armaments of the troops up to your discretion; I wouldn't find it amiss if they had a recoilless rifle or bazooka on one of the jeeps, incidentally.

Ndinga has to figure out how he's going to either a: deceive his ex-allies or fight them and b: how he's going to get the hell out of where he is when it's done. Terrain counts, even though they are defending an airfield in the grassland. But that doesn't mean the situation is entirely bad, tactically.

You guys can all surprise me and think out of the box, I have a general idea of things in mind, but I'll roll with the plausible too.

Alright, so we're losing Gilbert. It happens, I'm going to carry on. New posts up tonight as a result.

Did he tell you he was leaving, or are you assuming because he hasn't posted? Not really important, I'm just curious. XD

No, we chatted.

Hey, being a nice little Mod here.

Just dropping by to say I've been keeping up with everything here, and it's quite amazing! Lovin' this roleplay. I might eventually join if no one has a problem with that; I'm still contemplating how on Earth I'm gonna' be able to keep up with those AMAZING posts you guys have got goin' on.

Nice job people.
Keep it up, I need entertaining stuff to read while I'm doing my dutily... duties...

Feel free to chip in, and I appreciate the positive feedback.

It's a pretty adaptable setting, in the end.

I'd actually perhaps like to work in a Missionary character.

Would that be okay?

Yeah, sure. Just make sure to post the bio and stuff up. Nothing too huge, just so I know who they are and what their background is.

All right, if ANYTHING needs editing, you can most definitely tell me.


Name: Adelina Maude // goes by an alias: "Claire Emmaline"

Sex: female

Age: 27

Nationality: Predominantly French, and a little German

Hometown: Le Havre, France

Occupation: Missionary / Studying architecture

Appearance:

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Claire is a lean slender woman with a ballerina's body style. She stands a graceful height of 5'5, and is petite by nature. Her skin is just barely tanned, and also appears flawless, save for a few scars that cannot be seen thanks to her clothes. She has a very shapen face, with high visible cheekbones that slope into a feminine jaw, with a small nose and full lips. Her brows are thin and somewhat short in length. Claire's eyes are dark, the color of stained oak and appearing almost an ebony tone in shade, encased by long black lashes that have a bit of curl to them. Framing this face, is a head of long messy black hair that falls in soft waves, but more-so straight. Usually she keeps it pinned up, messily or neatly; preferring it away from her shoulders.

Biography: Adelina was born in Le Havre, France; to a French mother and French/German father. Life, as a child, was pretty plain. She was a usual child, admiring dolls and beauty, but having a strange little infatuation with building structure. She always admired the church architecture, and had a good eye for large-scaled beauty.
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But upon getting older, she became an adult, as do all children. And her childhood dreams seemed to be smothered by the dousing cap of reality. She was alone when her parents passed, and tried to learn as much as she could about architecture. She dove into the field for a short two years, but finally was withdrawn from it by a seemingly perfect marriage to a French soldier.
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Long behold, nothing is perfect. When this soldier began to cheat, she sat back and let it happen. She did not want to make a scene of what had become of her most prized marriage. She also didn't want to lose the financial benefits. But after a period of time, violence befell their home and Adelina was left no choice but to fight back. And a divorce was taken under wing, and for her own protection from an angry ex-husband, she fled France to stay in Spain.
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There, she has lived for a passing three years. She changed her name and decided then to become greatly involved in the Church, becoming a devout Christian. But even with the passing of time, she feels sin's pull on her strengthening. Most of which came from a devilishly handsome priest who's form of comfort was all too consuming. So she chose then to move again, this time out of the country; out of the continent. She has signed up as a missionary for the Church, fleeing the past to start anew once more, hopefully to do things right this time. And she has been placed in a church centered in a town called Charleville that all too well reminds her of home.

Okay, that works. Though odds are, if she's in Charleville, she's caught up in the fighting in some fashion. There's been a lot of refugees hitting the road from the city, going in two directions; north and east. Of course, as a white woman, she might try her luck going south and hope the mercenaries treat her well.

And not to hit on a nasty subject, but if she didn't get out and/or doesn't have a weapon, she's bound to be raped. That's pretty much a standard in Africa, particularly places like the Congo or Gwunfa, which the Congo is modeled on.

If you need any advice on a typical weapon for the time/place, I can easily throw suggestions.

addendum: I realize that the above sounded pretty, oh, I dunno straight out whacked, but racism and sexism and rape and violence are very much a part of Africa. This RP is trying to give a fair treatment of the issue. This is definitely not a reflection of any political beliefs whatsoever.

lol I know.
I've been watching and I've done my fair share, and I was thinking about these things before you said something and I wanted to ask something else which was would you mind if I created a small-part side character of a guard?

I'm still thinking up things on her.

I thought of either having her with a weapon, or with an African guard who works under the Church.

Throw ideas at me, and as well weapons of the time period would be nice.

Oooh yay, Eternity is here!

And I'm cooking up a post right now, will be up by tonight.

Information on Weapons

Here's a break down of example weapons.

Any shotgun type, though they're more likely to be straight hunting models, as combat shotguns, ie. Trench Guns, are fundamentally an American invention. As Gwunfa is a former French colony, I list the French weaponry first, and then the German stuff second, because the French looted the Germans pretty well in their occupation. The Americans sent considerable supplies to the French from 1943-1954, and so that stuff is laying around too. The Russians have an interest in the region, so their equipment is around as well, though most of that is in the Gwunfi military.

French: MAS-36 7.5mm bolt action rifle, MAS-49 7.5 Semi-Automatic Rifle, MAT-49 9mm SMG, MAC Mod. 1924/29 light machine gun. AAT-52 GPMG

German: Mauser 98K 7.92mm Bolt action rifle, MP-38/40 9mm SMG, Walther P-38 Pistol (the French stole the factory at the end of WWII), MG-42 7.92mm GPMG

US: M-1 .30 Carbine, M-1A1 .45 Thompson SMG, M-3A1 .45 "Grease Gun" SMG, M1903 .30-06 Springfield bolt action rifle. M1917 Enfield .30-06 Bolt Action Rifle, M1911 .45 Semi-Auto Pistol, M1919A4 .30-06 MMG, M1917 .50 HMG,

USSR/China/Warsaw Pact Members: DPM Degtyarev 7.62x51mm LMG, PPSh-41 7.62x25mm SMG, PPS-43 7.62x24 mm SMG, Tokarev 7.62x25mm SMG, Mosin-Nagant M44 7.62x51 Bolt Action Rifle, SKS 7.62x39mm Semi-Auto Carbine, AK-47 7.62x39mm Assault Rifle (I only list this because it's only starting to be seen in Africa), Tokarev TT-33 7.62x25mm Semi-Auto Pistol

English: .303 SMLE bolt action rifle, Sten 9mm SMG, Bren .303 LMG, Webley .455 revolver.

Belgian; FN-FAL 7.62x51mm Battle Rifle (or L1A1 SLR if British-made), MAG-58 7.62mm GPMG, FN model D machine gun - multiple calibers.

Other: Danish Madsen SMG's, Swedish Karl Gustav "Swedish K" SMG, Israeli Uzi's (rare)

Here's the reality of these weapons in an example; the Egyptians were formerly colonized by the Brits and had lots of leftover weapons from the WWII era/1950's era when they got out. They since contracted with the neutral Swedes for some weapons, like the Carl Gustav (Known as a "Port Said") SMG, and then formed relations with the Soviets, who provided other weapon designs, notably the AK-47, once Nasser pissed off the west in 1956 with the Suez Canal Crisis and the Soviets decided to make an ally out of them.

These weapons, literaly, can be produced from all sorts of places, often are not new, and are a hugely mixed bag. For example, old German designs are produced in places like France, Italy, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Spain, while American stocks may be brand spanking new or leftovers from the 1943 landings in North Africa.

These things can show up anywhere, basically.

All right, and my last question here is what are your thoughts about a guard provided via the church? (A side character)

I'll probably throw in a character to help take the place of Hartley.

Eternity wrote:All right, and my last question here is what are your thoughts about a guard provided via the church? (A side character)

Muscle's cheap, particularly in a shit economy. Yeah, it'd be easy for her to have a guard, and they'd be fairly inexpensive.

All right, well let me whip up a teeny sheet for him. Just basic stuff.
And I'm going to do a pic instead of a super long description (though I will most likely get carried away), just know that he won't be fighting with a microphone, and he also won't have a nice jersey. XD



Name: Morak Okafo / "Moe"
Age: 30
Gender: male
Nationality: Nigerian
Occupation: Guard hired by Church / Claire's Guard
Short Personality: Stern, quiet, solemn. To himself, he has little to say and doesn't really respect people until they earn that respect. So far he has learned to put a small bit of trust in his charge, but he merely sees it as a job. And he does it well, and silently. A deadly force to be reckoned with.
Weapons:
-MAS-39 7.5 Semi-Automatic Rifle
-Walther P-38 Pistol
-English Stiletto
Appearance: Stands about 6'3, with broad shoulders and skin the color of cocoa. He is lined with tribal tattoos and piercings here and there, with long black dreadlocks that fall down his back. He is strong, and that's something noticed obviously. He usually walks about in a long pair of black breeches with a strap around his chest that attaches itself to a semi-automatic rifle. At his hip is holstered a pistol, and on the other hip is a long English stiletto (the blade, not the shoe XD)

Name: Frederick Bergfalk

Sex: Male

Age: 42

Nationality: German (French citizenship)

Home town: Waldenberg, Lower Silesia, Germany (now Walbzych, Poland)

Occupation: Mercenary

Appearance:



Biography:

Born in 1921, in Waldenberg, Lower Silesia, the eastern part of Germany, he grew up in a time of great uncertainty and instability in Germany due to the imposition of the Weimar Republic government in Germany after the Kaiser was deposed at the end of WWI per the terms of the Versailles Treaty. Germany as a whole was uncomfortable with this forced change of government and was less than enthusiastic about what felt like a government imposed by the enemy, a symbol of their defeat in the Great War. That social unrest, combined with the crash of the economy in the late 1920's, caused a degree of anti-government sentiment and ultra-nationalism that Adolf Hitler took advantage of to gain power, a combination of heady nationalist rhetoric and 'feel-better' scapegoat blaming of other countries and 'non-Germanic traitors on the inside' were used to reassure Germans and make them follow where he led.

Frederick was little different from other Germans, in that regard. He was a supporter of Hitler because Hitler restored their national prestige and made the other countries fear Germany once more. Like most Germans, it was hard to see the disaster coming.

Originally part of the "Wachtregiment Berlin" in 1939 as a boy fresh out of the national labor service units Hitler established, he was in on the invasion of Poland, and the later stages of the invasion of France under Guderian, in an infantry unit, serving as a private. The rest of his wartime career was spent in Russia, from the initial invasion of Russia, too the battles of Kharkov, Kursk and others to the endgame, fighting along the Vistula and then in Germany itself, holding the Russians down as they implacably drove for Berlin. They were one of the most elite units in the Wehrmacht, getting priority in weapons and people, and Frederick was one of the veteran survivors, climbing up the ranks into an NCO position as he distinguished himself.

But it was mostly luck that got him the Knight's Cross, and preserved him through the years, despite sustaining wounds in combat. The divsion, known as "Die Feuerweher” or "The Fire Brigade" were often thrown into the hottest battles against numerically superior Russian foes. He watched through the years as his fellow soldiers died and his unit disintegrated; by the very end in 1945, he was with the elements of the division that broke out of the final fight at Pillau and struck east.

Luck would have it that while the Großdeutschland fought the Soviets through much of its career and forces that fought on the Eastern Front were supposed to surrender to the Soviets, who had a sinister reputation for prisoner treatment (later justified by the prison camps that killed a large number of German POW's after the war) the reputation of the Großdeutschland meant that the troops were allowed to surrender to the Western Allies. Bergfalk was one of the lucky group of Großdeutschland veterans who surrendered to the British and thus avoided the Gulags that many of his comrades endured.

After finally being mustered out, with Silesia occupied by the communists and his family mostly destroyed, he agreed to the offer given by a French recruiter; join the Legion. He had no other real place to go; Silesia itself was being purged of all Germans by the Poles and the towns themselves renamed accordingly.

The Legion, also an elite formation, was a place where a man could disappear. Most of the Germans signed up as "Swedes" or "Norwegians" and so forth, but many of the troops were remanants of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS, quality troops. They were soon deployed to an unfamiliar place to fight a war; Indochina.

Years of service in Indochina, first as a private and then moving up the ladder as a reliable and efficient soldier, gave him French citizenship, but by that time, he was fairly institutionalized and unable to cope outside of the regimentation of military life, something he'd experienced almost all his life in one form or another. In the late 1950's, after the final defeat in Vietnam (though he wasn't actually at Dien Bien Phu) he was involved in the Algerian war, which unfolded in a similar way.

However, as the French looked to pull out of Algeria, leaving French colonists (pied noirs) high and dry, the Foreign Legion leadership, men like Helie St. Marc and others, staged a "General's Putsch" against France. The soldiers, including Bergfalk, who was a senior NCO in 1eme Regimente Etranger Parachutists (1REP) at the time, followed their orders, as they were trained to do.

The coup did not succeed and the Legion was broken up; the senior NCO's and many troops were tossed out of the legion. The officers were tried and jailed for treason. Bergfalk was left on his own in 1961. After a couple years of trying and failing to get by as a merchant sailor out of Hamburg, West Germany, he jumped ship in Cape Town, South Africa, and found his way into being hired for the war in Gwunfa, once again in uniform and once again heading for a war.

You are just going to hate my eternal guts for this Heysuess... lol... but I am a Mod. And double-posting within the IC of a roleplay is not exactly admired. BUT I understand COMPLETELY why you did it.

If you don't mind, either you could merge it into your last post using ''edit'', or I can try and do it for you.

Hell, I might let it slide since it's an acceptable thing though. Just next time, try to edit it into your last post and make an OOC post stating the addition.

Sorry.
Just doing my job.

You can totally slap me for it. XD

I tried to stick the messages together, and I got the "Post is too big" in red letters. Sorry, I tried.

it's okay...
Wow. I didn't know you could have... a post... too... big.

Well, no problem them, it'll slide. No harm no foul. I'm still trying to read it all though XD

I put out a nine thousand word to-do on another board recently. I had to chop that bastard up too.

And yes, the ability to throw together 2000 words in about an hour's work (I had to re-write the initial post because I LOST the first incarnation due to sloppiness; I should have written it on a word processor and saved it) tends to make me think I can do this job professionally. Novels are technically over 40,000 words, probably more like 100,000; so that RP post alone was along the lines of 10% of a novel.

That was three days' work, though I probably would have to edit and revise and tighten it up for professional purposes.

Now I'll put away the tape-measure and zip up the writer-thingy I'm trying to measure and get back to RP.

Wow, I'm jealous Heysseus. Hell, it takes me -forever- to get most of my RP posts up, let alone 9000 words! Bravo, sir.

Having trouble deciding where I want to take my next post, so I'll try to get it up as soon as possible.

I'm trying to post myself; working on it in WordPad actually. But it'll be a while before I get it up. Geez, I'm almost shy. I hope I can keep up with you guys, you're both kickass writers. And I've read a lot of stuff, and regardless that I'm so easily oblivious to things and have a horrible memory at times, I'm going to try and make a post that might just make sense.

lol.

IF I post and it makes absolutely no sense, and is just a big old wall of hilarious shame, then tell me and I'll either try to do a bit better XD

I find it easiest to write things out on a flo-chart if I have difficulty immediately envisioning the entire concept. That way, I keep ideas organized. Just take a blank piece of paper, write the objective of the post, the end result you want , and then proceed with ideas on how to reach it.

I've been using that trick a lot lately.

So more questions, because I would like to do this right.

- Would it be better if I have her in the Church hiding, or if I can take her outside of the town; in an attempt to escape the fighting? (and follow the paths of other characters)?

You can do it however you want. I set up the church scenario as an easy in, but it's not entirely necessary.

Granted, it might be best if they were hiding in a hiding place directly -outside- the church, as Bergfalk and his guys assaulted the place with grenades and gave it a good working over.

Since it's a shantytown full of rubble and so forth, it wouldn't be hard to find a hiding place. I would imagine a 19th century colonial church of that sort would have an extensive cellar system, not necessarily right under the church itself. Given the political climate in Gwunfa, I would also imagine they have a good hideaway.

Best suggestion would be to use a white flag if she is approaching the mercs.

Either that or, yeah, place her elsewhere and take her chances. There's refugee traffic North and East of Charleville, the mercs are coming in from the South. It's a gamble no matter what.

Feel free to throw her in with the lot of Justino if you want. XD