Blood on the water ... September 1758
well in planning for the first turn, It was so quiet I didn't even take any screenshots. The Austrians at Dresden are mostly inactive, Lucchese rests on his glories at Leipzig, my new shiny ex-Prussian supply wagon moves to help the Bavarians at Chemnitz. The French did some shuffling, the Russians are recovering, Charles is asleep.
across Saxony, bunny rabbits run in sunlit quiet meadows, fish plop in the Elbe, curlews curl ... all is calm and relaxed
(you have to now imagine the music from jaws)
oh hallo Frederick ... mind you I didn't even know I had forces at Torgau
easy come, easy go (that was my captured supply wagon regained by its rightful owners)
well I never wanted Leipzig in the first place ...
so overall that changes things, all those gains in NM wiped out, Lucchese's forces are badly mauled, but at least I pull him back to the Bavarian lines at Chemnitz. To make it worse, Daun et al chose this moment to go into slumber (well I'm not sure I would have done anything anyway)
this is better news, about 4 brigade worth of French troops can now be deployed from Paris, so I organise them into commands and send them off to the Rhine.
The Bavarians had also gone to sleep, which was a pity as otherwise I'd have fallen back from Chemnitz
In the circumstances not too bad, as Fred is retaking Leipzig
so after the rather huge shock of early Sept, that, overall is ok, lets look at where things are:
This is the Austrian sector. Lucchese is falling back to a depot and to regain his strength (lots of casualties and trashed organisation) so that is 1 corp lost.
The Bavarians are sort of ok and retreating into the hills but towards Dresden.
Now between Fred and Von Braunscweig (who won at Chemnitz) there are about 70-80,000 rather good Prussian troops. Daun has 80,000+ in Dresden, the Bavarians have 30,000+. Luchesse is lost for this campaigning season.
So I have a huge dilemna. In theory I can supply Daun even in winter using the Elbe, but at the moment if Freddie hits him, I know I'll lose. Fred is 4 on attack, Daun 6 on defend, but the Prussian troops are a lot better.
If I retreat, I've lost all the gains of this campaign season on this sector, but I may be able to fight a defensive battle in the hills before Lebowitz. If I stay, the danger is I retreat somewhere bad (you don't seem to have much control over retreat direction). But the gamble is if I can join the Bavarians to Daun, I might just have enough to win a defensive battle.
choices, choices, choices ... this game is too intriguing for its own good.
Now if thats not enough
Cumberland is being feisty again. I have 2 corps at Dortmund and have sent two more to help, so I think I'll hold him off, but there is a risk to losing control of the area around the town (I've increased the garrison so it should withstand a short siege).
I'm going to play defensive over here. All those new units moving from Paris will give me 2 quite powerful forces for the next campaigning season, and if Freddie is snacking on Austrians, I reckon I can beat Cumberland if I take my time.
The Russians are recovering and its too far, too late in the year for anything else anyway.
I've two questions about that sector though. One is the Russian army seems very cavalry heavy (about 50%). Now this may be accidental in that I lost a lot of infantry to attrition to last winter.
Second is the status of the Polish towns between Koenigsburg and Prussia proper. My guess is I can pass freely and build depots as I wish/need?
If so, 1759 will see French and Russian attacks on the flanks of the Prussians while hopefully their main army is engaged with the Austrians - that of course assumes i retain a viable Austrian army.