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Part LI –Late January 1759 – Austria in sorrow !

Early January 1759 was good. Really.
But Late January would prove to be outstanding for Prussia. The plan worked better than expected.

Frederick marched toward Dresden, and first met Kheul. Unfortunately for Kheul, unfortunately for everyone, Nadasdy was nearby and marched to the sound of the gun, taking command with his 5-4-1 stats instead of Kheul’s 4-3-4…

Openingtheway.jpg


The battle itself was just a minor defeat for Austria, with the Austrians losing 2886 men to Prussia 1614. The Austrian retreat in good orders (6 hits only), I get 1 NM.

On day 8, Von Daun and Kollowrat, who finally are dashing to Dresden, meet Frederick’s army who is marching in the same direction. The result is a clear defeat for Von Daun :

PushingVondaunaside.jpg


It is quite bad for Von Daun, as he loses 15 units of cavalry, including 2 very elite Guard units. Frederick only lost 1400 men. The retreat itself is disastrous, with an epic 118 hits received ! It is 9 more NM for Prussia.

Then Frederick carries on his march and reach Dresden. Nadasdy is waiting for him :

FreeingDresden1.jpg


This is a huge defeat. 9000 Austrian dead to 2800 dead Prussians. Austria loses 52 elements and 10 national morale.

But it is not over. Nadasdy has the reckless trait. This means he did not retreat when he should have (Baris told me he had ordered Nadasdy to retreat if engaged). Instead, he carried on fighting. And when finally he decided to retreat, it was too late : the Prussian columns had enveloped him (you can read this sort of information in the hour-by-hour report on battles). As Nadasdy had not retreated, there was another battle :

FreeingDresden2.jpg


3000 dead Prussians, 8000 dead Austrians. 5 elements destroyed, and 9 NM lost for Austria (that much for me).
… and Nadasdy could still not retreat, hence a last battle.

FreeingDresden3.jpg


13500 dead Austrians, to 4400 dead Prussians. 137 elements destroyed. The Austrian army is wiped out.

Here is a little Excel to sum up the campaign to “free” Saxony… so far. I only do them when I am winning :)

BilanSaxony1.jpg



The Austrian army should not be a problem for the time being, all the more since I don’t know how much damage the retreat and the frostbite inflicted. I expect my opponent to have at most 40 000 more Austrians ready to fight.

Here is the current National Morale situation. There is a huge gap, which makes my troops fight even better.

Hugemoralegap.jpg


The situation can only get better for me : Karl Kheul finally managed to flee (I suppose Nasdady lost so much seniority due to his defeat that he has the worst seniority of all the Austrian 2-stars leader now), but he fled north of Dresden, and is thus trapped in Saxony :

While winter is extremely mild (the mildest I have ever seen), no supply can kill by good weather as well.

I expect Baris to try to breach through Dresden, and I must take the city itself. Only Frederick will be ordered to assault – the other general will be in defense.

EveryoneoccupyexceptFrederick.jpg


Note two things :
- Frederick and his army captured 4 or 5 supply units in the battles. Useful, and it also means the Austrians have that much less supply trains.
- I miss an opportunity to move Bevern to cut the exit through Chemnitz. I am worried that von Daun could defeat him, but it would have been worth a try.

On the other fronts, the news are so-so :

I try to use the good weather to attempt to take Breslau again :

AttemptonBreslau.jpg

My cavalry has been trapped stupidly by bad weather in some small town West of Silesia, so Ferdinand will be on his own for now.

I received English reinforcement in Bremen.

RenfortaBreme.jpg


5000 men – can’t complain.

And I decide to evacuate Hannover with Cumberland, as Baris is massing his troops (3 columns) in Minden :

EvacuationofHannover.jpg
 
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this is suddenly going amazingly well for you ... again nice (ie rather cunning) strategy around Dresden-Leipzig, can't wait to see how it works out

(edit - this after your post appeared)

ok, I didn't have to wait very long - that was indeed an impressie victory. Presume the Austrians can rebuild (at least numerically) though, but was that enough damage to mean you can now concentrate on the French?
 
Well - yes, I can concentrate on the French now. First I plan to finish off what's left of the Austrian army, then I ll focus on the French.

Baris still outnumbers me, but mostly due to the Russian forces that are "stuck" in front of Königsberg. Without this victory, I would have lost for sure, but now,... well we are in march 1760, and after a very easy 1759 year Baris won a nice victory late 1759 - so I am far from sure that I will win.

I don' see the Austrians seriously rebuilding an army. Not before a couple years at least.
 
The destruction of the Austrian army gives you a nice opportunity: if you can spare any troops and guns, you can march on Prague. Then his rebuilt army would have to spend a lot of time and effort retaking it.
 
Very impressive stuff. To think but months ago things looked rather grim for Prussia, now it seems as if Austria is struggling. The constant rise and fall of both sides is proving a very good read. Hopefully you can press on and capture a major city or two and I daresay Baris will leave Nasdady in some backwater Austrian village from now on!
 
Part LII –Early February – Some rest for the Prussian forces

Baris very nicely sent me his OOB as of 15/12/1758 :

Orders-1.jpg


As you see, Baris has less troops compared to last year, and I have no idea when he lost them since there was no battle. You can also see that even with 40 k dead Austrians, he still has a numerical advantage… but not sure it compensates for lower NM and lower quality.

As for early February 1759, not much action, except the recapture of Dresden.

Dresdenismineagain.jpg


3 NM for me and 14 elements destroyed, but only 535 men killed. Those were the wounded units Baris had left “behind”.

The enemy is trying to retreat through Chemnitz.

Moves.jpg


I won’t block it - too late now.

I am face with a choice : either I go full steam on the Austrian army, with all my armies, but let the French get Hannover and then be a little too close of Berlin, or I split my force but let Baris a chance to recover in Austria. I decide for the latter : I am going for Dippodswald with Frederick and Von Schwerin, its fortified camp and its depot. Von Zastrow and Keith are going to go North to help the city of Hannover, if they can... (not showed on the pic). I wish I could make sure to crush the Austrians forever and take Prag with my troops, but the situation in Hannover is an emergency.

In Silesia, Glatz is breached by the Austrians, but I am sieging Breslau :

Glatz.jpg



Finally, Hannover is still NOT under siege :

Hannoverstillthreatened.jpg
 
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Actually, I believe Bevern had the strenghts to block Von Daun before he crossed the pass of Chemnitz, but I was counting on winter and I was afraid of the mythical Von Daun. Mistake for me that will enable Baris to save most of the rest of his army... But it is not yet over.
 
Part LIII –Late February – Trapped Austrians
Note : I had forgotten to say on the previous posts that Von Zastrow and Keith were moving North. Previous post edited – have a look at it to know why

Frederick’s march on Dippodswald is successful :

Detachement.jpg


As you can see, Von Daun succeeded in doing a miracle : with almost no supply (I suppose) and badly battered troops, he managed to cross the mountain and arrive at Dipposwald… just after Frederick.
Battle ensues :

VonDaunoftheMarne.jpg


That’s Von Daun all there ! Exhausted, short on supplies, badly hit, outnumbered, he STILL manages to inflict a draw on Frederick and inflict more damage. This is due to two facts :
- Keith and von Zastrow are not here anymore
- Frederick, as the C-i-C, was committed in the battle quite late. I decide to give back Gransby and Wurthenau the command of their armies.
Now, the good news : von Daun is retreating, and Picolomini is trapped in the structure. I won’t let Pico get out.

Meanwhile, Keith and Von Zastrow, as I forget to say in the previous message before editing, are rushing to Hannover :

TotheNorth.jpg


Bevern has many guns and supply trains, as I left all the exhausted guns behind in Dresden to go faster :

Beverngotallthegoodstuff.jpg


On the other fronts, quite a few news :
In Silesia, Breslau is breached, and the Austrian general renounced to the siege of Glatz to attack Ferdinand :

SecondsiegeofBreslau-1.jpg


Hannover is sieged :

Hannoverthreatened.jpg


This is bad news. That is the capital of my most powerful ally. I hope Von Zastrow and Keith can arrive on time.

The English reinforcement are going to try to reach Prussia by bateaux, as the “normal way” can be cut anytime by the French :

Combinedmoves.jpg


Finally, in India, the siege of Madras is lifted, giving me NM back.

Madras.jpg
 
Worrying stuff with regards to Hannover, you have a real race on your hands there. I can also now see why you fear von Daun so much, he did rather well all things considered. Still, even if von Daun has been able to retreat, hopefully Picolomini does not escape Prussia's wrath!
 
Part LIV –Early March – Problems in the North, successes in the South !

Early march is a mix of good and bad news…

First the bad news : Hannover instant surrendered to enemy forces :

FallofHannover.jpg


That’s really bad luck ! Usually, instant surrenders only happens when a garrison is skeletal and supply level low. Here, the garrison was much lower than the French forces but large compared to a garrison, and there were 8 full supply elements.

Keith and Von Zastrow are on the way. As I expect the French to move on the city of Braunschweig – that I stupidly let without walls, Keith and Von Zastrow will stop at Magdeburg. I cannot win against the French in attack ; but in defense I can still stop them and keep Berlin away from the French clutches the time for Frederick to come.

MarchingonMagdeburgwithpoorsan.jpg


Note that Keith is C-i-C, by the way, in lieu of Cumberland.

Now, the good news :

Von Daun fought against Frederick again… only this time he was defeated :

BattleofDippos.jpg


And where do you think Von Daun retreated ? You got it : INSIDE the fortified camp :

Twoarmiestrapped.jpg


Inside the structure, you can find Picolomini’s forces (power : 544) and Von Daun’s (power : 2089). My plan is to let them die slowly by not letting any supply in or out. But I don’t want you to have high expectations on this, so I can say it now : even though Baris will try the impossible to free them, they will free themselves by the most stupid way possible : just walking out. I learnt a new rule on siege, but more on this later.

In Breslau, Bilberstein tries to break the siege. But with inferior skills, (4-1-4 versus 5-3-3), less soldiers (less than 15K versus more than 16K), troops of lesser quality and on attack, he had not a chance :

FirstBreslau.jpg


SecondBreslau.jpg

That’s 16 elements less for them – and 5 NM more for me.

With a second breach, Breslau should fall anytime :

Imminentfall.jpg


I decide to assault. I am not really worried of Bilberstein using the opportunity of Ferdinand not being in defense anymore to attack me.
 
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b]Part LV –Late March – A small interlude of winter [/b]

Winter finally bites… a little. It surprises both Baris and me, but was probably more painful for him than for me, with all his units short on supplies and retreating through tough terrain.

In the North, to my surprise, the French don’t go for Braunschweig but shuffle their troops occupying Hannover and start to siege Bremen.

Braunschweig-1.jpg


If Bremen falls, I will have no more English reinforcements! Just a few months before, with the British success in America, I could start to receive more of them.
I move my troops to protect Braunschweig. I don’t want to lose all my allies. Gerd von Brunck, arrived in reinforcement, will be hit by frostbites on the way (he has no supply trains, as supply trains would slow this cavalry stack down).
A short note on the fall of Hannover : it has no impact for the Hannoverian forces under my command. In the beta of the game, it would knock, for a time, Hannover out of the war as per history. It was considered too harsh on the Prussian, though, and cut – but the event can still be seen in the scenario file (it is just “locked”).

In Dipposwald, Von Daun tries a sortie.

Failtobreak.jpg


Expectedly, it is a failure.

Breslau surrendered without combat ! As the enemy retreated to Koeniggratz, Ferdinand marches on Schweidnitz now without defense. Let’s recover what is our !

Opportunite.jpg


Note that a lot of people are going to be hit by the weather : Kheul’s and Kollowrat’s Austrian columns, but also Frederick’s army. But Frederick’s army has a lot of supplies (remember all those captured supply trains ? They will prove useful), so it should not be hit too badly.

My new worry is Kassel – under sieged yet again :

Kasselundersiege.jpg


For once, the Austro-French moved this turn : forced march (I suppose) on Bremen from Hannover in one turn, and this march from Lippstadt… I have nothing to protect Kassel, and in my list it is way under "destroy the Austrian army" and "take Hannover back", so I believe I can write-off Kassel already.
 
Nice update Narwhal :)
Bremen was indeed more attractive then Braunschweig. First of all it has good seaside with more warm weather generally ;) . Secondly it has a road connection to move faster. Thirdly I didnt want British to interfere with French business :cool:

and.. Piccolomini near his commander "Von Daun" in the hour of need. where are the others so called corps ? nobody else:( , It is called loyalty..
 
Disappointing that Hannover fell so easily however I was then bouyed by news that von Daun appeared trapped until you added the following;

But I don’t want you to have high expectations on this, so I can say it now : even though Baris will try the impossible to free them, they will free themselves by the most stupid way possible : just walking out. I learnt a new rule on siege, but more on this later.

This new siege rule seems rather daft. I'll be interested to find out exactly what went on to allow for both to just waltz out of a siege.
 
First of all I want to say this is an impressive AAR Narwhal!
Could you give us a "F5" view of yours and your enemie casualities in general?

I have also some beginner questions:
1. Whats the meaning of "hits" when an army has to retreat (for example related to manpower)?
2. Whats the meaning of units like "Depot Grenadiers" which are not shown on the map after recruting?
3. What impact has artillery in battles? It is worth to recruit those units later on when playing prussia?
4. How strong is the swedish army at this time? Everytime my men came in contact with swedes, they inflicted a nice defeat to me (even with numbers on my side). But i also know the prussian troops in the north are mostly composed of militia and not the best troops.
5. How strong is the french army at this time? I know they are many, but are they as good as my british or hanoverian troops or even better?

So long :)
 
First of all I want to say this is an impressive AAR Narwhal!
Could you give us a "F5" view of yours and your enemie casualities in general?

I have also some beginner questions:
1. Whats the meaning of "hits" when an army has to retreat (for example related to manpower)?
2. Whats the meaning of units like "Depot Grenadiers" which are not shown on the map after recruting?
3. What impact has artillery in battles? It is worth to recruit those units later on when playing prussia?
4. How strong is the swedish army at this time? Everytime my men came in contact with swedes, they inflicted a nice defeat to me (even with numbers on my side). But i also know the prussian troops in the north are mostly composed of militia and not the best troops.
5. How strong is the french army at this time? I know they are many, but are they as good as my british or hanoverian troops or even better?

So long :)

1. Damage in the game is transfered to units (no matter what is the source) via "hits" each one corresponding to a specific loss of strenght in a unit.
2. Depot units are the main way of replenishing your forces in this game. When you end training them you recieve 3 chits (regular or elite depending on the type of the depot unit) which then are used to replenish losses in your units.
3. Artilery with it's range has biggest impact during the first round of battle when forces are "far" from each other. Overall that impact varies from situation to situation. Sometimes it's huge (small battle with only one side having guns) and sometimes it's verysmall (big battle of 80k troops and hundreds of cannons on both sides)
4. I thinks it's about 15k (+5k HRE troops in pommerania) at start and can be reinforced via options with about 10k in early 57 and some more later. Though the swedish leaders generaly suck and they lack a 3-star army commander).
5. Troop quality is comparable but they have less cannons and after Ferdinand gets to hannover they have much worse army commanders.
 
Damn AGEODs games are so bloody sweet. Only problem is that they are way to hard on my laptop :(

Great AAR Narwhal! Keep up the good work!
 
It's always nice to see when your opponent catches you off guard. The move on Bremen seems well-considered, and you didn't see it coming. :) It's a bit of unpredictability that we don't see very often when the writer is only playing against the AI.