Burgers

Burgers
Flag of the Burgers
Leader	List of Burger commanders
Dates of operation	1 Prairial 69 – 27 Pluviôse 71 (20 May 1873 – 15 February 1875)
Country	The Furbish Islands
Headquarters	Nijverdal, Willemia, Nieuw Maasland
Active regions	Mainly Nieuw Maasland
Ideology	Agrarianism Nieuw Maasland self-determination
Notable attacks	List of Burger attacks
Size	X
Means of revenue	Bank robbery
Allies	Eastern Alliance Northern League
Opponents	The Furbish Islands Army Gendarmerie
Battles and wars	Burger rebellion

The Burgers were a militant organization active during the Time of Troubles. Founded by 19 deserting Gendarmes in 1873, the group would fight the Furbish government for nearly two years in the Burger rebellion before the third republic was established. The group reorganized into De Burgers, a northern agrarian party active in the present day.

Name

The first address published on newspapers by the Burgers said:

We are brothers, fathers, husbands, sons, farmers, factory workers, soldiers, villagers, townsfolk, citizens. We are Furbishmen.

The Dutch word for townsfolk, "Burgers", became adopted by English newspapers as the name of the rebels.

History

Origins

Non-English speakers were treated as second class citizens since the establishment of the second republic, which increased resentment.

In 1869, the Army refused to send reinforcements requested by General Gabriël van Aarle when his forces were overrun by natives and his headquarters in Fort Hillen was besieged. Details about his requests and replies were sent to newspapers, which began riots across Nieuw Maasland. The Army was eventually forced to send reinforcements, but this delay and violent suppression of the riots became a cause célèbre for the treatment of the north by Boston.

In March 1873, the Army Railroad company cut wages for workers in Nieuw Maasland, despite the inflation. Workers went on a strike as a result. The strike quickly spread, affecting other companies, mostly railroads not owned by northerners.

While spending the night in the village of Maastricht, Willemia, Van Aalzum learned of his regiment's main mission. Some gendarmes deserted, meeting in the village of Nijverdal two kilometers away, where the Burgers were founded.

Early campaigns

The first action the Burgers saw was the Prairial campaign, taking place around Maastricht and Nijverdal. Knowing they were outnumbered, the Burgers developed guerilla tactics, such as ambushes and hit-and-run attacks. They proved to be successful, inflicting heavy casualties against three companies sent to capture them, while talking very few.

Organization

Early organization

The original 19 members included 4 commissioned officers, 5 non-commissioned officers, and 10 enlisted gendarmes, and were joined by some locals. This was the origins of the original four-tiered organization. The four commissioned officers became commanders, who would plan and authorize attacks, and sometimes lead. The five NCOs became officers, who would assist in planning and leading attacks, or do so on their own. The rest were simply fighters, with the 10 gendarmes becoming distinguished fighters, who can lead smaller teams.

Nijverdal became the Burger headquarters after the Prairial campaign. The commanders spent much of their time there, but some continued to lead attacks.

Further organization was ad hoc, being shifted around as needed rather than permanently assigned. In the Prairial campaign, the Burgers were split into 5 teams, each with an officer, two distinguished fighters, and 4-6 fighters. Each team was under command of one of the commanders. Some officers were placed in command of others in some battles, though these assignments were never permanent. De Flandre's attack on Boston was led by him, then an officer, and XX, another officer. Dorman attacked Harrisbarig with over 200 fighters and 12 officers which had their own hierarchy.

As a result of the successful attack on Boston, a new unit was formed within the Burgers, known as the Jagers. Lead by Jean de Flandre, who was promoted to commander, they executed urban guerilla operations, such as assassinations, bank robberies, attacks on armories, and gathering intelligence.

Vendémiaire reforms

As more joined the Burgers and more were promoted, the limitations of the structure were seen. In Vendémiaire 70, the commanders met to restructure the Burgers in what were known as the Vendémiaire reforms.

Some of the commanders were assigned to oversee local operations.

Some commanders already dealt with non-combat tasks, such as intelligence, logistics, medicine, and public affairs. The Vendémiaire reforms established permanent units to handle all four. Along with the main fighting force and the Jagers, these became the six branches of the Burgers for the next year and a half.

Intelligence: The intelligence branch was tasked with gathering intelligence and reconnaissance.

Logistics: The logistics branch was tasked with managing supplies and transportation.

Medical: The medical branch was tasked with treating disease and wounded fighters.

Public affairs: The public affairs branch had three different tasks: recruitment, publishing addresses on newspapers, and speaking with governments, including provincial governments and alliances such as the Northern League.

Local operations

Before and after the Vendémiaire reforms, the vast majority of Burgers were part-time fighters and were organized into local units which fought in and around their home villages.

Strategy and tactics

Civilians

The Burgers were heavily assisted by civilians.

Membership

See also: List of Burger members

Membership in the Burgers was loosely defined.

Women in the Burgers

Women served in combat roles since XX 1873, over a century before they were allowed to serve in the Furbish Army. This policy was heavily debated among the commanders.

Women in the Jagers

When the Jagers were founded, women were also allowed to join. Though this was heavily debated too, officers argued that women could better hide in the population when carrying out attacks, as women would be less suspected of doing so.

Financing

The majority of Burger weapons and money were stolen from the Gendarmerie.

Legacy

After the third republic was established, many Burgers joined the Gendarmerie, provincial national guards, or left for their old jobs. The Burgers reorganized into an agrarian political party which remains a prominent party in the present day, being in the Liberal Union and many governing coalitions in northern provinces.