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Great update, especially Fritz's touching letter to the Mrs.! :cool:

Hopefully Prussia will be able to rebound from this Frog invasion and smash the French army and take the battle back to Louis Napoleon's own back yard!
 
Just caught up again and it's been busy over here. Your Crimean War is much like I have experienced in the past. It seems much larger than the real thing, but the outcome is often similar. And a great post to set up the Franco-Prussian War. But it appears that you were caught unawares, eh? Good luck. Surround those reserves and wipe them out. Then take it to the perfidous frogs!

And I liked that letter as well. Quite touching and spot on in theory. Keep up the great work!
 
coz1 said:
But it appears that you were caught unawares, eh? Good luck.

And I liked that letter as well. Quite touching and spot on in theory. Keep up the great work!
Coz, thank you for your loyal and careful readership, and also to Cornelius, Draco, Lord GQ, Lamprey and the many others!

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the letter. I am trying to stay with the spirit of the real personalities and the real love relationship between this fascinating couple. To foreshadow, I will be changing some of their timeline/history from RL, such that the Crown Prince will figure quite intensely in the future. I'll leave it to your speculation where that might lead Prussia! ;)

I appreciate the suggestions to surround the French. Unfortunately, the Rhineland and Westphalia seem to be somewhat of a bottleneck, which caused me some problems. You will see when I update in a moment what happened.

And, no, I did not expect the French (or the Spanish!) "inquisition"! I was hoping that, with my badboy fluctuating between 25-30, that I wouldn't be in anyone's crosshairs after a few years of letting it decline. In any case, I also found it impossible to pay down debt and also maintain a sufficient defensive army, so... This is the mess I've gotten myself into.

We shall see how I get out of it! Or if.... ;)

Rensslaer
 
And, no, I did not expect the French (or the Spanish!) "inquisition"!
Well, no one does, you know. ;)
 
From The Eagle Rising: The Story of Prussia’s Arrival On the World Stage, pub. 1989 by Professor Reinicke Herz

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In March and April, while General Haber held the northern line in Nienburg, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and General Tegel mounted a last-ditch counteroffensive in Korbach, attempting to prevent the French breakout via Hesse-Kassel into Thuringia, Prussia’s vital interior. This was quite an undertaking, and was very nearly successful in turning back not one, but two French spearheads. The attrition taken by French troops was enormous. But, ultimately, French troops were able to turn the Prussian flank and enter Hesse-Kassel. Under threat of envelopment, Friedrich Wilhelm ordered a fallback and a fighting retreat toward Erfurt, where the Crown Prince arrived with his cavalry on May 2nd, 1859.

At the end of June, French armies broke through Kassel and engaged Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm at Erfurt. This became another battle of attrition, and France’s General Sommer required continuous reinforcements to keep the effort going. However, the French had moved throughout Hesse-Kassel, and had begun to turn Friedrich Wilhelm’s flank to the south by moving toward Gotha. General Haber had meanwhile fallen back from Nienburg.

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Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm recognized that his armies were falling apart. He made the difficult decision to fall back and reorganize his infantry and cavalry for a counteroffensive that might have some hope of dislodging the French before they could consolidate their position and reinforce.

By mid-July, no observer could contend that things were progressing well for Prussia. It was at this time that the first two Prussian allies made separate peace with France, which was to have vast consequences for the course of the war.
 
I have faith that the Prussian Eagle will eventually crush the vile invading Frogs! I just hope that it's not before to much damage is done to the Prussian landscape (as well as prestige, eh?) :eek:
 
It's just not getting any better, is it? Let's go Fritz! Let's get this thing organized and push them back!! We have faith!
 
Coz, Draco, Cornelius & Delicious, thank you for your comments. Naturally, I enjoyed leaving you with that cliffhanger. ;)

I am leaving tomorrow on a mini-vacation over the weekend. I considered leaving it so I could see what more reactions the perception of Prussia heading over the precipice might elicit. But I cannot do that to you.

I was somewhat concerned myself... I've been committed to not re-starting and just taking what comes. And obviously I've made some major mistakes. One of the most impactful, you will see in the near future. Among the others (in answer to Cornelius' question) was trusting that I might hold the French (AND Spanish, AND Sardinians, AND Tuscans) off without mobilizing (I figured I'd mobilize if they broke through, and at first it seemed they might not). I mobilized late, and paid the price. In the previous graphic you might see some of them, as the western reserve deployment areas had been overrun, and the rest appeared far away in Polish Silesia!

Anyway... back to the war! As you will see, a peculiar quirk of diplomacy managed to hand me the initiative!

Rensslaer

p.s. Oh! And btw, I edited in a small graphic for the MayDay story from a few days back... found some neat pix of French soldiery.
 
It was raining, and Denis Chapelle was suffering from chill and damp again for the third time this week. Like most of the men in his regiment, he had laid his second greatcoat aside many days back when the July temperatures had begun to wear upon him. At that time, it had seemed that there would be no use for such a thing now that the cold of winter and spring were gone. Now, even though it would contribute to his burden for marching, he wished he had it back.

No matter… There would be a supply train along soon, and he would find himself another greatcoat.
frenchinfantry1859b.bmp


Chapelle cared nothing for the war… except that it was not right here, right now, and thus he could imagine there was no war. He had felt largely the same about the war in the Crimea, where he had been for a time, though he had seen little action. The rumors around his company were that France had participated in that war mostly so they could be seen to be present, and to show the French people that the President, or Emperor, or whoever he was at the time that the conflict started, was running the government in a needful and effective manner.

For days his infantry regiment had been marching along roads of dirt or mud, lined almost everywhere by the countless trees of the Thuringer Forest. These had certainly given some protection against the occasional summer rains – reducing them from downpours to distributed dribbles. To Chapelle, it had at least been more tolerable than being exposed to the sweltering summer sun in the rolling Hessian wheatfields – the same sun which had compelled he and his companions to find ditches along the roadside to stash their heaviest equipment where it would not be seen by the officers.

True, there was some concern about the cover the forest provided for snipers, but Chapelle’s 27e Regiment d’Infanterie, at least, had been largely spared the attentions of Prussian sharpshooters.

Other nearby divisions, probably further up this same road upon which they marched, had kept the Prussians at bay. In fact, the word they had was that the Prussians were on the run once more, after having held up the advance for a short time. When they did stop and give stiff resistance, that was when Chapelle would see countless stretchers and ambulances passing en route to the hospitals that existed in their rear areas. As well as the war seemed to be going for France, it certainly seemed to Chapelle that there must be a lot fewer Frenchmen now. But what did that matter to him, so long as he and his friends were safe?

“Sergeant!” called a gruff voice from behind Chapelle, probably atop a certain gray mare he had thought he heard clopping nearer. LaFavor was angry again, as usual.

“Oui, mes Capitaine?”

“Why do your soldiers not have their oilcloths?”

“I am sorry, my Captain. I have no idea,” he lied. LaFavor tightened his gaze on Chapelle, noting that he, too, was missing some gear. Aware that he would have to provide a better answer, Chapelle explained, “The march has been exhausting, Captain. I think many of them felt they could not go on while carrying so much equipment. The coats were heavy, so…” he made an excusing shrug. He figured to sugar the captain’s mood – “But we have moved fast, my Captain! These constant victories have had us running to catch up with the enemy!” He giggled, nervously.

LaFavor peered around unhappily at some of the nearby soldiers as they trudged past. “That man is missing his rifle!” he exclaimed, pointing with great energy. “And him! And him!” He wore an incredulous expression of horror.

“Captain, when the supply train arrives I shall ensure that they all get resupplied. And,” he added, hoping to damp some of the captain’s fury, “I will make sure they know there will be discipline for any who lose things along the path.”

“They are not coming!” LaFavor stated with finality. Chapelle looked on dumbly, not comprehending. “L’Empereur,” LaFavor explained, “Or, for all I know, his meddling wife – has negotiated peace with the Hessians. Our general is trying to decide whether to now violate their neutrality and retreat across their territory, or to make a stand.”

Then LaFavor locked eyes with Chapelle and chose to lay out for Chapelle exactly their situation, so perhaps he would understand the consequences of his laziness. “Sergeant, we have just chased a Prussian prince with 200,000 men under arms and 80,000 horse 200 miles into the heart of Germany, and – soudainement! – we are cut off from supply, reinforcement and paths of retreat.” Chapelle felt the blood draining from his face. “This prince is angry,” the captain emphasized. “He is coming back… and your men had best find their rifles!” With a flurry of splashes, the captain wheeled his horse and galloped away.

Chapelle was left drenched, with rain dripping down his face, and wiping mud off his cheek as he tried to decide what he, as these mens’ sergeant, should do.

(AARthor’s note: This is not an attempt to stereotype – I have read two separate accounts that dwelt upon the fact that French (and sometimes Prussian) conscripts during the Franco-Prussian War regularly ditched equipment and even rifles and cartridges to lighten their load while marching! Incomprehensible to the military mind, but… these conscripts aren’t possessed of military minds.)
 
I would hate to be in that man's shoes right now. Unfortuately of late I've only been able to follow sporadically, but fine work Rensslaer. Fine work.
 
I'd like to have some pity on those poor Frenchies.... but for some reason I can't be finding any in me. Hopefully Fritz's counterattack will make their misery short! ;)
 
I have heard of that exact same thing, especially coats and such in the summertime. The French seem to be over-stretched and undersupplied, which puts them in a perfect position to lose a few battles. Let's hope that is the case.
 
From The Eagle Rising: The Story of Prussia’s Arrival On the World Stage, pub. 1989 by Professor Reinicke Herz

Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm was forced to retreat from Erfurt in August in order to reinforce and reorganize his troops. However, he waited to do so until General Tegel, leading 13 divisions of the newly assembled reserve armies, was nearly on the scene. The French had only just secured the region, but had little time to entrench or reorganize their own units when Tegel charged in with what was an untrained holding force at best, but which was sufficient to occupy the French until Friedrich Wilhelm could re-enter the battle. Beleaguered, unsupplied and unreinforced, the French forces in Erfurt fell quickly, most of them surrendering by the end of August, 1859.

ss17x.jpg


Other French divisions, however, had established themselves in Gotha. A portion of this force fought a brief delaying action against the Crown Prince in early September, covering the breakout of other French divisions throughout southern Prussia. Thus began a chase throughout Sachsen, the Crown Prince being forced to hunt down French and Spanish brigades in Gotha, Meiningen, Weimar (as soon as it was rid of French troops, exhausted Saxe-Weimar signed a separate peace, joining Kassel and Lubeck in a nervous armistice), Halle and Leipzig.

ss18x.jpg


None of these enemy armies accomplished anything beyond disruption, and delay of the planned Prussian counteroffensive. An army of infantry under Prince Friedrich Karl briefly broke out from Kassel and held Korbach, but without the full support of cavalry that was occupied elsewhere, he could not hold on.

Nevertheless, once all of the trapped divisions of the French Entente had been cornered and destroyed or captured, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm had put more than 200,000 enemy soldiers out of action.

Meanwhile, the battle in the north remained desperate. The French had landed at Bremen, and had quickly captured and annexed both Bremen and Oldenburg. General Haber had lost another battle at Luneburg, and was forced to divide his forces to defend both Stendal and Wittenberge in an attempt to feebly screen the near approaches to Berlin. This also exposed Schleswig and Holstein, which already were suffering from a plague of rebels.

ss23x.jpg


Elsewhere in the world, the Spanish retook Puerto Rico. Von Bittenfeld’s corps in northwestern Spain had lost at Vigo, and was in bad position to defend la Coruna. Feeling sure that Spain had concentrated its divisions against him in the north, he chose to reposition his corps by sea to the south of Spain. He landed in November, 1859. Soon, Bittenfeld had seized Seville and Cordoba. Also, in the Pacific Ocean, Prussian troops successfully seized the entirety of the Philippine Islands.

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Good luck with the task at hand!
 
Aye, things look a little rough in Germany, but things are lookup somewhat up in the rest of the world, eh? I think the Frenchies took a mighty big leap without looking to check how far the fall might just be! :cool:

Here's to a Prussian victory! :)
 
I actually detected a faint feeling of positive action in that last update. The north does look bad at the moment, especially so close to Berlin, but you seem to have done well cleaning things up in the south. Now when will you be fully mobilized?
 
coz1 said:
I actually detected a faint feeling of positive action in that last update. The north does look bad at the moment, especially so close to Berlin, but you seem to have done well cleaning things up in the south. Now when will you be fully mobilized?
I wasn't very clear... I refer to "newly assembled reserve armies" instead of to the mobilization, but those 13 infantry divisions Tegel used to stop the French in their tracks prior to Fr. Wil's counteroffensive are my mobilization (reduced from the potential 16 divisions, I think, by the occupation of the Rhineland and Westphalia).

I did, perhaps, get 16, but if so I sent the others off to make hash of some rebels in the backcountry.... what backcountry I had left! :rolleyes:

Rensslaer