User blog:Rikun85/The Parisian Apaches vs. the Tong Highbinders

At the beginning of the 20th century, cities were seen as the pinnacle of human civilization and accomplishment. However...every city, no matter the era, hides a seedy underbelly full of tight knit urban gangsters who are more than willing to prey on the fools who wander into their territory. For my debut battle on this forum, I present to you a turn of the century gang battle from two seperate parts of the globe:

Les Apaches: the fierce urban ruffians of Paris that terrorized the populace

vs.

The Highbinders: the enforcers and assassins of the American Tongs

Which squad of gangsters will be left standing?

The Parisian Apaches
The Belle Epoque (1870s - 1914) was, as the name implies, a beautifully optimistic period where French culture was at its peak. Paris would become the center of arts, sciences, and high culture...but not without hiding a criminal underworld within its alleys.

For the less fortunate lower class of Paris, the choice was either backbreaking work or a life of crime, and for much of the disgruntled urban youth they chose the latter. Through countless muggings, assaults, and other acts of violence these hooligans earned the nickname "Apaches" from journalist Victor Morris after the police described to him a particularly gruesome crime scene. The gangsters in question happily accepted and relished in their newfound reputation.

Since then, the Parisian Apaches became the subject of many dime store novels and the terror of the bourgeois. Even the police would have trouble containing the sheer amount of violence the Apaches would wreak upon Paris. Their reign of terror ceased when the first Great War came to France, conscripting the violence of these youths into a meatgrinder of a war.

Don't let their delinquent looks fool you. These thugs would garrote you for cash and shank you for your troubles. Not fair you say? Cie la vie.

Short Range=Laguiole knife. Based off the Andalusian navaja, this folding knife was popular among Paris' working class. A walking cane was both a stylish accessory and a useful tool to defend oneself against potential ruffians. There's little doubt the Apaches themselves would also take to using a cane like this to bludgeon an unsuspecting target. The British Bulldog revolver is a double action pocket pistol that was incredibly popular for its time and was subsequently manufactured and copied throughout both Europe and the United States. It's compact size made it ideal for one to carry in one's coat pocket. A truly bizarre weapon that combines a brass knuckle, a bayonet, and a pinfire revolver into one. Called the "Apache revolver" due to its use by the Parisian gang, this is a weapon that could only be used in extremely close quarters with 3 different options of dispatching the mark. This kind of improvised armor wasn't commonplace amongst all Apache, but was used by one named Liebeuf to hold off the officers that would attempt to arrest him. Liebeuf used his shoemaking talents to create leather straps with needlepoint nails he could hide under his sleeves. The nails would give anybody who tried to grab the user a painful shock and bloody hands, leaving the user enough time to pull out a weapon and end the poor bastard.
 * 12 cm closed
 * 10 cm yatagan-styled blade
 * -|Mid Range=Leaded Walking Cane
 * roughly 90 cm
 * hardwood with leaded weight
 * -|Long Range=Bulldog Revolver
 * .422 Webley
 * 5 round cylinder
 * 15 yards effective range
 * -|Special=Apache Revolver
 * 7mm Lefaucheux pinfire
 * 6 round cylinder
 * -|Armor="Porcupine Armor"

The Tong Highbinders
Between the 1850s to the 1900s, there was a massive wave of Chinese immigration to the United States. Whether it be on the Intercontinental Railroad or prospecting during the Gold Rush, many Chinese sought to start a new life in America. However, they would soon learn that the police in America did little to help their communities. If they were going to survive this new land, these Chinatowns were going to have to look out for themselves: hence the rise of the Tongs.

Like their Triad counterparts in China, the Tongs were secret societies that operated within their own city's Chinatown, with San Francisco being the largest and oldest established in the United States. Though initially formed to protect their own, it didn't take long before the Tongs would seek funding through extortion, racketeering, and anything else a self respecting criminal enterprise would do. When such dealings require force, the residing Tongs would gather men of deadly talents to get the job done.

These enforcers earned the nickname "Highbinder" due to their distinct topknot, but would also be called "hatchet men" due to their weapon of choice during a hit. It would be these Highbinders that would serve as the frontline force within Chinatown, and later on the soldiers during the nationwide Tong Wars between the 1880s - 1930s. And in San Francisco, it wouldn't be until the Great Quake of 1906 that would put an end to the violence.

Brutal, efficient, and serve their own code of justice. You don't like it? Forget it kid, it's Chinatown.

Short Range=Chinese chopper While it may look like a cleaver, this is a tool that weighs and functions like a standard kitchen knife and is commonplace in any Chinese kitchen. Many Tongs have infamously used them as improvised weapons. Weapons like this were imports from the mainland and deathly effective should the user wish to bring them out. They can be stored in the same scabbard and was usually as long as the user's forearm to allow for concealment and maximum mobility. A Colt like this one would've been commonplace enough that nearly everyone would've had access to it. The Tongs of early Chinatown had the money to afford whatever firearms were available, and it's unlikely they would've been picky so long as it gets the job done. A commonplace handheld tool amongst the working class out in the Old West and in Chinatown. These would become the Highbinders' weapon of choice when performing executions, giving them the nickname of "hatchet men". Some Highbinders were reported to be wearing mail vests underneath their coats. While unlikely to save the wearer from a bullet, it was more likely worn to protect the wearer from a surprise stabbing.
 * 7 in steel blade
 * wood handle
 * -|Mid Range=Butterfly swords
 * 15 inch single edged steel blades
 * Overall length 20 inches
 * Often made with a D guard
 * -|Long Range=Colt Navy Revolver
 * .38 centerfire conversion
 * 6 round cylinder
 * 75 yards effective range
 * -|Special=Hatchet
 * single edged iron head
 * wood handle in varied length
 * -|Armor=Mail vest