OBT Forum

As this is the first of the Character Profiles we have to make, the form might not be definitive as I had to start from somewhere.

I will first focus on facts or written (i.e. official) statements and then in a second part, I will try to make something coherent out of it.
To do so, I will use the Classical BattleTech setting until Prince John Davion dies and then get back to our Shattered Dawn times.
My main two sources are House Davion Sourcebook (HDSB) and Handbook House Davion (HHD)


So what do we know about John Davion?

He had few time to prepare itself to his role as Prince of the Federated Suns, being designated Heir in 2743 after Richard Davion's son and heir was killed in a training exercise.

For the efficiency of his two years of training, we have two different assesements.
House Davion Sourcebook states that “He merely set out to prepare himself for the job-if it ever fell
to him-as quickly and as efficiently as he could.” while George Hasek states something completely opposite as according to him “You can go all the way back to the Star League. The two worst Princes we had during that time were John and Michael Davion. And you know what they have in common, don’t you, mother?” […]  “Peace, mother. They were ‘peace Princes.’ John grew up in an era without real war. Until Amaris, that is..” (HHD).

However, he was resolute and had a certain strength of character as he never let things go down even during the disastrous initial years of the 1st Succession War and tried to react in spite of what happened following his first withdrawal order.
“To stop the decay eating away at the AFFS, Prince John authorized a crash program of militarization. The government seized almost all of the Federated Suns major industries for the production of military equipment, and most other resources became the property of the AFFS. One welcome effect of this drastic policy was that it lowered the realm’s high unemployment rate, easing the economic doldrums. Within six months of this industrial mobilization, the manufacture of JumpShips, ‘Mechs, AeroSpace Fighters, and tanks was steadily increasing.” (HHD)

He lead his troops from the front several time (against the Capellan Confederation at least two times and against the Draconis Combine several times, nearly costing him his life once on Carthago).

He knew the value of striking quickly (as illustrated by his ill-fortunate counter-strikes against House Kurita advances) but usually, he was not one to rush unprepared as he took time to build forces to strike back at House Liao during the Border War.
He did this also during the initial phases of the 1st Succession War when he tried to invade the Capellan Confederation.
“Prince John knew that he needed more than this to stop an opportunistic enemy, and searched about for away to stall at least one of his “neighbours” from attacking. He ordered his Marshals to devise an offensive to spoil the plans of the realm most likely to attack the Federated Suns.” (HHD)

He was slow to react when the risk of the Succession War rose. “The Towne Debacle made even Prince John realize just how ineffective the AFFS had become. The idea of inheriting  the title of First Lord had apparently blinded him to the needs of his realm.” (HDSB)
And again during the Purge, he needed time to assess things and react. “Still, it took Prince John Davion a full two years before addressing the problem, and even then he did so in a decidedly laissez-faire manner.”(HHD)

His approach to the Star League is two sided.
“He was the man General Kerensky dubbed “the best and noblest of all the Lords” in 2764. Twenty years later, the General accused this same John of being “the traitor who destroyed all that I’ve worked for.”” (HDSB)
“As long as the Star League seemed worth preserving, John was its most stalwart supporter, but he would not be tied to that institution once its existence ceased to benefit the Federated Suns.” (HDSB)
“Determined to look after the interests of his nation, he continued to encourage less reliance on the Star League.” (HHD)
But at the same time, he like all his government and kingdom had relied too much on the Star League “The slight slide in the Davion economy that had accompanied the collapse of the Star League now turned into an all-out crash late in 2786. Those who believed that the days of wine and roses would never end would now pay for their unwillingness to revise economic policies to meet the changing times.” (HDSB)

Also, Prince John Davion acted as a generous/fool prince during the months following the fall of the Star League “First Prince John Davion, attempting to act like a First Lord, largely refused to allow the AFFS to loot the Hegemony (an activity the other Successor States engaged in with enthusiasm). With few exceptions, the Federated Suns had to covertly buy or steal what it wanted, using diplomacy to convince helpless worlds to ask for the Davions’ protection.” (HHD)


Now that we had a better knowledge of what he did, what can we learn from it?
Unlike what appears above, the lines below are merely my opinions and as such can be wrong, ignored and so on.

The main trait of character of Prince John Davion is that he is irresolute when put under great deal of pressure.
He reacts slowly during the Purge and after the fall of the Star League (although he should have been ready for it by now).
He prefers things that follow a clear plan, where he can build up his strength slowly until he has superiority.
He  knows how to react when left with enough time (see his attitude after the Towne debacle)..

He is courageous as he doesn't hesitate to lead his troops or to nationalize the whole industry when it is needed.
But on the other hand, he seems reluctant to use force against his own people when needed like during the Purge or after the wrong assessments made by his intelligence services (he might have been missing time to do that but it was his successor Prince Paul Davion that dealt with all the reforms that were never intended but that seemed necessary due to the poor performance of House Davion in the initial years of the 1st Succession War).

I also see it a bit like Richard Cameron living in a world of chivalry (perhaps a bit less than the Last Cameron): he do believe his kingdom needs to be less reliant on the Star League but doesn't take the appropriate measures, he prevents his troops from looting the former Star League facilities as it would be “improper”.

Some of these traits could have been changed if he had received a proper education aimed at making him a Prince but time was too short (2 years).
He probably received a military education, probably as a 'MechWarrior but this is all we know about his early education.
However, I don't think he is really the one to be blamed as he is probably the victim of a system that forgot what real war was, a system that to me feels like a sheep among wolves.