Character page for Gunka no Baltzar.
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Weissen
Bernd Baltzar
Bernd Baltzar is an officer in the Weissen Army who quickly climbs up the officer ranks during the First Norden-Trade War. After the war he is reassigned as a military advisor and lecturer to Baselland's military academy.
- The Ace: He is top of his class at his military academy days and see Do-Anything Soldier below.
- Badass Teacher
- Do-Anything Soldier: Theorist, instructor, and practitioner of artillery, infantry, cavalry. He is also a diplomat.
- Majorly Awesome: His rank for most of the series.
- Nerves of Steel: Few things can make him panic but if he does, he always can quickly regains his wits.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: see the Main page for details.
- Oblivious to Love: Helmut's feelings for him grow over the course of the story, but he is remains unaware of this due to being more concerned with military matters.
- The Paragon: His superior, Groener, praises him as exemplary Weissen soldier in mind, body, and spirit. He is also able to detach his emotion from his reason.
- The Rival: He and Liebknecht competed to be top of their class in their academy days. Then Liebknecht starts to use extreme methods to strengthen Weissen.
- Sole Survivor: Along with Liebknecht to his whole academy, after failed coup attempt.
- We Used to Be Friends: With Liebknecht.
Hermann Groener
Baltzar's immediate superior in the Weissen Army.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: When Baltzar was first jailed in Baselland, he didn't blame for it and acknowledging the fault is in him and other higher-ups for not having enough information as Baselland only tells minimum info for their request.
Holst Von Stauffenberg : Weissen Army Chief of Staff
The head of the Weissen armed forces and de facto leader of the country.
Baselland Royal Family
Reiner August Winklefeldt
Chief drill master of Baselland's Royal Military Academy and 2nd in line for the throne. Later he attempts to use his influence to modernize his country's military and to keep Baselland independent from great power realpolitik.
- Broken Pedestal: He used to idolize his brother but his brother changed...
- Child Prodigy: He made a very detailed (rude, but still has a chance according to Baltzar) plan of a coup before he was 12.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Used to this until he met Balzar.
- Fake King / Body Double: He is not the real Reiner, only randomly chosen Erzreich child.
- The Puppet Cuts His Strings: The Baselland Civil War could be considered his personal fight to free himself from Empress Maria's influence and blackmail. He eventually succeeds, abolishes the monarchy and declares Baselland an independent republic. The aristocrats who supported Crown Prince Franz, who still obeyed the Empress, are stripped of their noble status and political power becomes more centralized in the government. Needless to say, Empress Maria is not pleased with this turn of events.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: He uses the his influence and kingdom's treasury to educate people, strengthen his nation, and keep his nation's independent.
Franz Theodor Winklefeldt
Crown prince and heir apparent to the Baselland throne. His conservative and isolationist policies stand in opposition to Reiner's. Later it is revealed that he plans to align the country to Erzreich under Rudolph's influence.
- Becoming the Mask: Deconstructed. Despite not being the original Prince Franz, he comes to truly enjoy his role as Crown Prince of Baseland. Part of the reason why Franz indulges himself in fantasy and luxury is so that he can deny the truth as much as he can. Unfortunately, this also makes him a pliable pawn for Empress Maria, who could destroy his royal status at any time she wished. When Franz is stripped of his royal status after the abolishment of Baselland's monarchy, he suffers a mental breakdown.
- General Failure: He orders a frontal attack on the Royal Military Academy and accomplishes nothing but making the cadets waste a fifth of their ammunition in exchange for a lot of dead on his side.
- The Caligula: Minor, but he is a ruler who tends to give tantrums if something does not go in his way. Not to mention his hobby in art.
- Fake King / Body Double: He is not the real Franz, only a randomly chosen Erzreich child.
- Hollywood Psych: He is diagnosed with psychosomatic lapse and paranoia when Reiner brings some psychiatrists to him.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex
- Royal Harem: Has two young girls at his side dressed up in scantily fantasy garb.
Baselland Military Academy
Dieter Strunz
Second year student in the artillery division. He is the heir to Strunz Heavy Industries.
- Genius Ditz: Has some shades of this. He can gawk at wonder of modern arms for hours, making people question if he understands if those arms are used for bloodshed.
- Puppet King: He is instated as Director of Baselland Railroad Company but everyone knows Baltzar is the one pulling his strings. His only concerns are whether the company is used to draw Baselland into Weissen's conflicts instead. Baltzar then explains to him, in the short run the company will be used as Weissen's tools but in the long run, HE, Dieter will be the one to choose what direction the company will take.
Paul Breitner
Second year student in the artillery division.
- Always Second Best: To Dieter in Artillery Class.
- Humble Goal: To be a governmental clerk in peaceful office after he graduates.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: He has 8 siblings.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: As Baltzar points out himself, Paul's understanding of his choices' consequences means that he has the greater soldierly potential over Dieter. When he is chosen as part of the academy contingent for the war against Holbeck, he does not ponder over his future lightly.
Marcel Jansen
Student in the infantry division.
- Friendly Sniper
- Heroic Sacrifice: Minor. He used to have bruises and scratches all over him to protect Thomas.
- The Quiet One: He talks less than his peers.
Thomas Rinke
Student in the infantry division.
- The Load: Used to be this. So Marcel has to protect him. Not his fault really but his musket.
Helmut Markus von Babel
Student in the cavalry division.
- Blue Blood: She is a noble by birth, just like the other cavalry cadets. This is later revealed to be a major source of personal angst for her, since she feels constrained not just by her gender but also by aristocratic traditions. Baltzar incidentally teaches her how to have more confidence and respect for herself, which is why she decides to ally with Baltzar and Prince Reiner during the Civil War despite her parents and her friends allying with Prince Franz.
- The Lad-ette: Just before her gender reveal, everybody (except the cavalry cadets) saw Helmut as a guy.
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: No one in the academy [except cavalry cadets(not even the reader] knew that Helmut is a girl. Baltzar (except cavalry cadets) is the first person to discover this when Helmut tries to get rid of the leeches from her body and then, Baltzar saw her breasts.
- Oblivious to Love: She saw Jurgen only as her best friend until shortly before he is killed in battle. Helmut is also a victim of this because her own growing feelings for Baltzar are unnoticed by him, since he is more concerned with military matters.
- Open Secret: To Cavalry Division those spoilered bits are this. Then Jurgen spilled the beans to Paul, Dieter, Marcel and Thomas.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: At the gala in Weissen's Embassy in Erzreich, she had to wear a dress. She doesn't look much different but still a feast to the eyes.
-
Suppressed Mammaries: Done in the same way as Mulan - You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Baltzar gradually teaches her how to have more confidence in herself, if largely for the sake of her becoming a better soldier. She gradually falls in love with him because of this.
Jurgen
Student in the cavalry division.
- Arranged Marriage: To Helmut
- Blue Blood: Like all the cavalry cadets of the Baselland Military Academy, he is a noble by birth. This eventually results in his death when his family and many of his friends ally with Crown Prince Franz during the Baselland Civil War.
- Cannot Spit It Out: To Helmut
- Conflicting Loyalty: He has to choose between 1) Helmut who stay in Academy 2) his family and friends who chooses to join Prince Franz's faction. Ultimately, he sides with his family and is killed.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Subverted. He and the other cavalry cadets stay behind in an attempt to prevent pursuing forces from capturing Prince Franz and the other Baselland nobles. Despite their courageous death in battle, Franz is captured and his supporters are killed.
- Killed Off for Real: He, along with almost all of the cavalry students, are killed in battle against Prince Reiner's forces.
Frank von Baumann
Headmaster of the academy.
Heiko Gerber
Head instructor and vice-principal of the academy.
- All Men Are Perverts: He frequently visits the brothel house in capital.
- Eyes Always Closed
Holbeck
Captain Nielsen
A cavalry officer in the Holbeck Army. During the Second Norden-Trade War he leads the invading Holbeck troops on the Norden-Trade peninsula's eastern coast.
- Blood Knight
- Colonel Kilgore: He LIKES war.
- Kick the Dog: Ordering the execution of the wounded Weissen soldiers in direct opposition to the agreement regarding the treatment of occupied territories, simply because he finds the idea of a "humanitarian war" disgusting and unmanly.
- War Is Glorious
Erzreich
Empress Maria Ludovica
The monarch of Erzreich.
- Appeal to Tradition: She told Baltzar of how members the royal families of Ezreich and Weissen have married each other over the past three centuries and how this was a tried-and-true method to ensure peace between the two countries. In a final bid to prevent Civil War in Baselland, Empress Maria planned to marry off her granddaughter Helena to Reiner (who is anti-Ezreich) while Franz (who is anti-Weissen) is to marry a princess from Weissen. She then told Baltzar to persuade Reiner to agree to this, knowing that Reiner was on bad terms with both her and his brother.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Implied, she looks like a kind old lady, but has been manipulating Baselland long before the series began.
- The Chessmaster: Oh yes.
- Expy: To Maria Theresa.
- I Was Quite a Looker: While she still looks good for age, she was quite beautiful 25 years ago.
- Not So Stoic: A look of fury spreads on the Empress' face when she learns that Baselland became a republic after the Civil War and she angrily breaks her fan in half. She has finally lost influence over Baselland after 25 years and it's likely that the new government would consider Ezreich an enemy for the foreseeable future.
- Secret-Keeper: The real princes Franz and Reiner were kidnapped in 1845, never be found (kind of hard to find your baby in a midst of 315 children), so she convinced their mother to pick anyone and then essentially blackmailed the two "princes", using the truth as leverage. This is an important reason why Reiner later abolishes the Baselland monarchy, in addition to strengthening the country.
Others
Rudolph von Liebknecht (WARNING: SPOILER)
A political agitator and a former junior officer of the Weissen Imperial Guard; he was once Baltzar's friend during their military academy days. When the First Norden-Trade War began, he led a military coup in Weissen, that in spite of its failure gave the Weissen military a more prominent role in the country. Officially, he is a Baselland court musician, but he later reveals himself to be an officer serving under the Ezreich Empire. He has a spinoff called Yuukoku no Liebknecht, Liebknecht the Patriot.
- Bomb Throwing Anarchist: Can disguise himself to be one when leading a worker's coup.
- The Chessmaster
- Evil Redhead: Morally ambigous and has red hair.
- Eyepatch of Power: He has both in his right eye.
- Impoverished Patrician: He has a noble title and a manor but not much wealth. What makes exemplary is he doesn't mind this part much and focus to pursue his military career, and later a mysterious goal.
- The Paragon / The Paragon Always Rebels: He with Baltzar competed to be top of their class in their academy days. Then he incites a revolt...
- The Rival / Rival Turned Evil: He with Baltzar competed to be top of their class in their academy days. Then he starts to use extreme methods to strengthen Weissen.
- Sole Survivor: Along with Baltzar to his whole academy, after failed coup attempt.]]
- We Used to Be Friends: With Baltzar.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He claims his goal is to strengthen Weissen but he does so with war. Also the readers know the one strengthened the most is military and that will incite equivalent of WW1.
President Strunz
Dieter's father and the head of Strunz Heavy Industries.
- Doting Parent: He lets his only(?) son to a military academy and, usually, sends him rare, imported goods like Elish-language military journal.
- Reasonable Authority Figure
