The Guns of August 1914
Summer 1914, Bavaria. Special editions announce that an archduke has been shot in Sarajevo. The young men in the square laugh that they will be home before Christmas. You are one of those young men.
Historical background
On 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife were shot dead by a young Bosnian Serb. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in July, the chain of alliances pulled tight link by link: Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August and on France on the 3rd, and Britain entered the war on the 4th. The regiments of the Kingdom of Bavaria, which kept its own army within the German Empire, also left for the Western Front.
The war was not over by Christmas. At Christmas 1914, at many points along the Western Front, British and German soldiers laid down their arms in the Christmas truce — among them near Messines, where Bavarian regiments faced the British. Hundreds of thousands died at Verdun and on the Somme in 1916, and the armistice took effect at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918. After the war the monarchy fell in Munich, and in April 1919 a Bavarian Soviet Republic was briefly proclaimed before it was crushed.
Who you are
You begin as an ordinary 22-year-old young man in Bavaria, with no land or title — and soon, perhaps, a uniform. Franz Obermaier, a farmer’s son, Klara Reuter, a field-hospital nurse, and William Brooks of a London regiment across no man’s land are the people of this life.
The current of history: The Great War
An invitation called "August 1914" arrives, followed by stages for Verdun and the Somme in 1916 and the eleventh hour of 11 November. You choose whether to go to the front or stay behind the lines.
Sides you can take
- The front Put on the uniform and go to the trenches, where Might and luck decide life and death.
- The rear Endure the war in factories, hospitals and at home — a way, too, to prepare for the world after it.
Tips
Questions and answers
How close is this scenario to real history?
The Sarajevo assassination of 28 June 1914, the chain of declarations of war in July and August, the departure of the Bavarian army for the Western Front, the Christmas truce of 1914, Verdun and the Somme in 1916, the armistice at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918 and the Bavarian Soviet Republic of April 1919 are historical. The starting map, realms, real historical figures and the major events of the current of history follow actual history. You and the companions, rivals and loves around you are fictional people who could have lived then, and once you start, history may diverge according to your choices and those of the AI rulers.
What station do I start in?
You start as a 22-year-old common man living in Bavaria. You have no land.
Is it free? Can I play right away?
Yes. Crown & Plough is a free browser game with no account and nothing to install. The "Start in this scene" button on this page opens the scenario's intro screen directly, and progress is saved automatically in your browser. It works on phones too.