Backstories for my Belle Époque imagi-nations: The Republic of Burgundy

This was the first Belle Époque army that I created as part of this project. I had painted a large number of 15mm Minifig Union Infantry in the 1980s, but never got around to using them. I did toy with repainting them to use as French Franco-Prussian Infantry, but that project fell by the wayside. In the end they spent the best part of forty years in storage before they became the basis of what was originally named ARMY RED and what later became the Army of Burgundy.

Burgundy is based on late nineteenth century France, and the idea of having a President-General is based on what might have happened if General Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger had gained power in 1889.

---

The Republic of Burgundy

Burgundy was originally a kingdom, but after a revolution in the late eighteenth century, it became a republic. Over recent years the republic has become very militarised, and the President has been drawn from the upper ranks of the Burgundian Army.

The flag of the Republic of Burgundy.

The country’s economy is a mixture of heavy and light manufacturing industries, mining, and agriculture.

Burgundy has had a long-standing rivalry with the Kingdom of Schwarzenberg, and the two countries have fought several wars. The Burgundians also have aspirations to create a colonial empire, which they see as being both a source of raw materials and a market for their manufactured goods.

The country's army is composed of a small but well-equipped regular core which trains annual classes of conscripts, who then pass into the first- and second-line reserves.