White Eagle (1990)

From the back cover:

"Don't tell me, let me guess. We have to save western civilization again, right?"
We all thought Ski was crazy. "We are the last hope of civilization in Poland," he said. "Julian is a dictator. Krakow is run by a bunch of gouging, mercantile profiteers. There are bandits everywhere, and the only one who cares about the Polish people is Father Wojiech. We have to help him - it's the only way to keep everything from sliding into the pit."

All of us in the squad argued for hours. I said helping Father Wojiech is insane and is only gonna get us all killed. We should hole up somewhere and see what the situation is in the spring.

So who are we linked up with? Guess.

In White Eagle, powerful forces are struggling to control a nation. The armed might of King Julian of Silesia is matched against the equally powerful economic forces of the free city of Krakow. Opposing them both is the Wojsko Ludowa (People's Army) of Father W. Niekarz. Krakow has mercantile connections. money, and technological expertise. The "king" has military expertise and a steadily expanding government of local warlords backed by an organized military. Father Niekarz and his followers have a devout belief in the righteousness of their cause, a burning desire to see Poland free of tin-pot dictators and petty warlords backed by "soldiers" who are nothing more than bandits - and the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, a religious icon and a powerful symbol of Polish nationalism.

For the WL's banner, Father Niekarz has chosen a white eagle (the tradional symbol of Poland) on a red field (red and white are the Polish national colors). The People's Army has no stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, no vast treasury, no great military leaders. That's where you come in....

White Eagle outlines what has happened in southern Poland since the players last saw the region: the transmutation of General Julian Filipowitz into the despotic King Julian, the power struggle within Krakow for control of the region's industrial economy, the deteriorating agricultural situation that threatens to spark another round of civil unrest within the towns and villages of Poland - these factors and others threaten the fragile blossom of civilization.