The Reign of Philipp Wilhelm I von Wittelsbach
Back in the HRE
With the declaration of war against Alsace, Bavaria and her vassals marched to war once again. As war approached, another promising young Bavarian officer rose to generalship. Philipp, as always, was himself firmly ensconced in München while he sent the armies of Bavaria marching around Europe.
As the armies on both sides moved into position, another neighbour found itself in a crisis.
Alsace react forcefully to the declaration of war...
but find themselves quickly overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, in the north, Hesse's advancing armies are stopped rapidly in their tracks as Luitpold Satzenhofen continues the recent tradition of excellence in the Bavarian general staff.
Alsace's single province falls rapidly.
Through the deft machinations of Philipp's spy corps, the 'mission' had somehow achieved a level of acceptance amongst the various courts of Europe. While few, if any, actually saw it as a legitimate subjugation
casus belli, the impact on Bavaria's foreign relations was significantly dampened.
Following the success of this promotion of a 'mission', Philipp's diplomatic and administrative staff gained greater confidence and experience. Not wanting to waste this momentum, Philipp issued a directive to further enhance Bavarian's standing in Europe and the world.
Further in east, Muscowy's fall from grace ends in the worst possible way.
With the massed armies of Bavaria's vassals in the HRE swarming Austria, the eastern front of the way had been surprisingly uneventful for the Bavarian forces as Austria found herself too busy defending her lands to launch any meaningful attack on Bavarian lands. Satzenhofen was dispatched to prove himself further on the battlefield, and did not disappoint as he soundly defeated the remaining Austrian forces, led personally by the Habsburg king.
The HRE gained two more members, as the Hapsburg king bitterly regretted his decision to involve Austria in this war. Austria influence was to be fatally weakened by the peace settlement.
Hesse, which had for some odd reason been the alliance leader over Austria, were reduced to becoming yet another vassal state of the Emperor.
The level of success in this war surprised even Philipp, as one dangerous neighbour had now been decisively, permanently de-fanged. Poland in the east had troubles of their own to handle, and only Burgundy in the west posed an immediate threat.
Nevertheless, Philipp had little desire to further expand his forces to match Poland's numbers. An alternative direction was sought.
God, apparently, had something of a penchant for ironic humour.