Carefully Applied Force: A Prussian AAR

[robou]

So yes, as promised, the full works are here. With experience from my failed Swiss AAR, i hope to give you something remenisient of that, with a little more actual action. I will be playing as Prussia, as you probably worked out, and this will be conducted as a History Book AAR, much the same as my Swiss and Italian AARs. I hope you enjoy and the first update will be here soon.

Enjoy
Rob

Contents Page

1. Introduction

1836:
2. Diplomacy and Allies
3. Areas of Intrest
4. Domestic Situation
5. Early Times
6. The 'Kraków Two-Step'

1837:
7. Economical Crisis and a Liberal Victory
8. First Rung on the Ladder
9. Quiet Times (World News inc.)

1838:
10. The Quiet Before the Storm
11. Imperial Ambition
12. Expect the Unexpected (1839)

1839:
13. The Real Leader
14. Benefits

1840:
15. Planning and Execution

1841:
16. Win the Battle to Win the War
17. International Outrage!
18. First Steps (1842)

1842:
19. Bumbling Along

1843:
20. Peace is War

1844:
21. Chink in the Armour
22. The Extended Front
23. The Charging Bear
24. Miracle at the Vistula

Monthly Quiz: November, 2008

25. Communication Problems
26. A Nation Unprepared
27. One at a Time, Please!
28. The Lighthouse Keeper (1845)

1845
29. The Second Reich
30. United Problems
31. Which Way?
32. A Formidable Foe
33. Overstretched

1846:
34. The Half-Time Whistle
35. An Old Firecracker
36. The Quiet Colony
37. The Cunning Fox

1847:
38. Brutal Reforms
39. And Rumours of War

1848:
40. Paused
41. First Inconclusive Blood

1849:
42. The Unholy Alliance
43. A Defeat for Victory
44. Securing the Flank
45. Here's Our Chance!
46. A Phyrric Victory
47. Redrawing Old Maps

You've Been Robbed!: Director

1850:
48. A Quick One

-

[comagoosie]

Sweet!

I have enjoyed your Swiss AAR very much. I can't wait for this one

What are your goals?

[Ahura Mazda]

History book is the best :nods:

[Sematary]

I can't wait for the first update.

[robou]

Prussian history is old, and hard to track. As far as can be seen, the Prussians were a tribe, unknown as to when they became so, that heralded from the area of the Baltic currently known as Prussia. At some point, the Prussians, probably due to Polish agression, became Germanized by the marauding Teutonic Order of Knights, which were fighting a crusade against Pagan Lithuania. This was the first major step for the Prussians, as they embraced Catholicism and became part of the ever-expanding Holy Roman Empire.

However, often brute force wins out against a claim to civilisation, and the Poles, in the Polish-Lithuanian Coalition which had been formed to defeat the Teutonic Order and had never ended, over-powered the Prussians in their homeland. Merging with the realms of the Elector of Brandenburg brought the Prussians great power, and even a realm in northern Germany to their name, but they would have to wait their turn. When Russia and Austria, both up-and coming powers, decided to split Poland-Lithuania up, the Prussians were more than eager to help, and were rewarded as such, with their homeland of Prussia returned to them, and also the lands of the Duchy of Posen to add to that, as well as having Warsaw inside their territory.

The Kingdom grew, inheriting land in Germany, most notably Koln, and expanding their influence of the Empire, though hardly contending with the might of Hapsburg Austria. That would all change in 1793. When the French Revolution broke out, a coalition was formed to place King Louis 16th of France back on the French throne. Alas, it was not to be. A Prussian army was defeated at Valmy and the revolution was success. Prussia, and even Germany on a whole, had met their enemy of generations to come.

Things only worsened when Napoleon Boneparte, commander of the French Armée d'Italie, took control of the country. He quickly went to war with another coalition of nations, Prussia among them, and dealt several stinging defeats to it. Austria became a puppet of France, Prussia was reduced to little land around Berlin, and the Holy Roman Empire was disbanded. Prussia was betrayed by Russia, who entered an Alliance with France and got land off Prussia, something that would not be easily forgotten by the Germans. However, in his victory, Napoleon had laid the foundations of a superior Prussian Kingdom, no longer held back by the reins of Austria domination over Germany.

When Napoleon was defeated by the Russians during the War of 1812, Napoleon quickly lost his grip over power. Austria and Prussia declared autonomy from France and quickly assembled armies which, along with a large Russian host, defeated Napoleon at the Battle of the Nations, near Leipzig. Napoleon was defeated and Prussia restored. However, they couldn't rest more than a year before Napoleon returned from exile and marched into the Low Countries. The Anglo-Dutch forces, under the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian Army faced him on the road to Brussels. General Gerhard Von Blucher was closely beaten at Lingy, after he lost control of the battle when he was de-horsed. He quickly marched around the French and hit them in the side while Wellington was fighting them at Waterloo. Prussia had saved the day, and was rewarded as such.

In the Congress of Vienna, Prussia was awared most of her lands back, minus the area around Warsaw, and also gained the Rhineland. This area, although not connected to Berlin, was a highly industrialized area for the time, with rich Coal deposits to match. It would make a big difference to the Prussian economy, and the post-Napoleonic years would see an economical boom for Prussia, as she entered the select vault of the Great Powers, and would be hateful if she was ever taken out of them.

The Kingdom of Prussia, 1836

Prussia was now a member of the German Confederation, a scheme set up by the Chancellor of Austria, Clemens von Metternich, which was a loose confederation of the German states, now down in number since the reorganisation of Europe in the Congress of Vienna. It was a confederation that was unlikely to hold together if one state could challenge it, but at that time (1836), there was nothing to challenge Austria as leader of the German states. Prussia would have to play her cards right to have a chance to stab at Austria. An enlarged military would be one step, and a Chancellor of the Reichstag, the Prussian Parliment, that was capable enough to handle the war, to take on the Hapsburg giant. We will look more into the status of Austria-Hungary later on.

The States of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1836

We will look at the states individually. The Rhineland (Red) had been gained in 1815, by the Congress of Vienna, and held massive Coal mines, almost unrivavled in the world, barring the United Kingdom of Great Britain. It also had some of the Kingdom's fledgling industry that would provide a steady base of income to the realm. Unfortunately, it also brought a border with the enemy of Germany, France. This would have to rectified through diplomacy or war, but for now it would cause few problems.

Westphalia (Yellow), otherwise known as the Provinces of the Northern Rhine, was partially gained through Vienna, and also already partially in Prussian hands before the Napoleonic Wars. It had a few coal mines, though nothing compared to its southern neighbour, and a small lumbering industry, though nothing large as yet. It had great pontential to be an industrial powerhouse, but lacked the land route to Berlin, which would hinder its progress for many years.

Swabia (Black) was under the lose control of the Prussians, though nothing could be said of its use or right to the Prussian Kingdom. It would take a back seat role in Prussia affairs, though did allow the Kingdom a small outpost in Southern Germany.

Saxony (Pink) was another state partially given by Vienna. Northern Saxony, centering around the areas near Magdeburg, had long been part of the Kingdom since the days of the Elector of Bradenburg, and was a central part of Prussian land. The area south of that, centering aroudn Erfurt, was given to the Prussians by Vienna, as the Elector of Saxony had been an ally of the French. It had a high in population, and brilliant farmland, though held good promise for Industrial development.

Brandenburg (Blue) was the central area of Prussia, with the Capital, Berlin, being located within it. Most of the land was devoted to farmland, though industry was starting to take hold in Berlin, and would no doubt be built upon as funds became availible.

Schlesien (Orange) was another state devoted to Coal Mines. Taken off the Austrians by Fredrick the Great, one of the best known Prussian monarchs, it was split between a large German, Polish and Czech population that would no doubt cause hassle later on. The region also held the bulk of Prussian Industry and the time, including one of the largest Fabric factories in the world.

Posen (Gold) was Prussian since the Second Polish Partition, though was lost to the Russians during the Napoleonic Wars. It was won back during the Vienna Congress and became a core Prussian province. While most of the population was Polish, a small Germany populace would allow for small scale industrialsation. The Poles, however, would stay on the farms and in the lumber-mills.

West Prussia (Purple) was one of the original Prussian lands, and it was centered around Danzig, the principle port of the country. The population was small, beaten down after years of war, and was predominantly Polish, but a small German populace would allow some indutrialisation. Wood was a useful product from this area.

East Prussia (Brown) was another area of multi-cultural Prussia. While Poles, mainly in farming, were predominant in the south, German lumberjacks ruled the center region, around the city of Konigsburg. Lithuanians made up the larger ammount of the population of the northern city of Memel, though this was a tiny percentage of the population. Without the people to drive it, this state would not add up to much, but that could change.

Pomerania (Cyan) had been claimed by Prussia during the Great Northern War, and the defeat of Sweden by Peter the Great of Russia lead to this land being signed over to Prussia. The country made little use of the long coastline, but the area brought in enough fish to keep the economy running, as well as some small scale farming in the central regions where Swedish and Danish fishermen ruled the seas.

It was a complicated nation, but it would prove its worth, to be sure. But how it would do so will remain a mystery for a little while longer, if you can hold on.

[comagoosie]

Good to know the history of such a proud country.

And I did learn something today. Swabia!!

[likk9922]

Good intro. I'll follow this one like I followed that little bit of your Swiss AAr.

[Capibara]

Excellent writing! Feels like reading a book, I'll be following

[Sematary]

I would say something but it would end up being the same as I have been saying since Rocky Road.

[Force Change]

A good read and a nice background.

Will you be marching into Poland or France in the near future?

[Nikolai]

Well written as always. Count me in.

[RGB]

German lumberjacks? Are they okay? Do they work all night and do they work all day?

[stnylan]

Good introduction.

[English Patriot]

I love Prussia I'm in!

[robou]

Thanks to everyone who gave a quick nod, and now feedback:

comagoosie: Goals: Kill, conquer.... that is all

Force Change: Most probably in the future, yes, but i can't guarentee anything

RGB: As long as they work, nothing bothers me... up to and including cross-dressing.

Right lets get on with it, shall we?

[robou]

Prussia was in a suprisingly strong diplomatic position to make use of in 1836. As part on the German confederation, Prussia could count of the German minors, the Kingdoms of Bavaria and Wuttemburg and the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary as allies to the Crown. Austria was leader of the confederation, although as time went by its grip began to slowly losen, as minor German Kings began to favour the more ethnically German Prussians to the Austrians, seen as outsiders to Germany. Therefore, the twenty-one members of the Confederation, except Austria, began to show signs of being warmer to Berlin than they were were to Vienna, a step that would significantly help Kaiser Fredrick Wilhelm IV to increase his power over the German minors.

This would be further increased with the implimentation of the German Customs Union (Zollverein), which protected all trade within Germany, making all Germans follow strict protectionist policies. Austria was disallowed from joining due to Metternich's insitence that Austrian Industry was highly protected. This did damage Austro-Prussian relations, but allowed Wilhelm some freedom over the German states that thee Confederation disallowed him.

A Diplomatic Map of Germany, 1836. The areas in Yellow denote Prussian Territory. Areas in Light Green are members of the German Confederation. Those in Dark Green are German states or territories which are not members of the Confederation

It is probably best to take a look, now, at Prussia's diplomatic situation in Europe as a whole, and how the nations stands compared to others.

Austria

Austria was an age old nation, and had exerted control over much of Germany, and held that ever since, even with Napoleon's dismantlement of the Holy Roman Empire, which the Hapsburgs had held the mantle of more than most. With Prussia's rise to power after the defeat of Napoleon, the Austrians are now in a perilous position. They must help Prussia for the greater good of the German Confederation, but are also in a subtle contest with the newly risen nation for influence over the German minor, with the German Confederation being cancelled out in influence by the Zollverein.

Austria still had a lot of catching up to do, but was an average power on all fronts

Austria was a nation in decline, the Napoleonic Wars had shown that, but it was not a nation about to go down without a struggle and a fight. It still retained much of the prestige it had won over past centuries, but its catastrophic at the hands of Napoleon had reduced this ten-fold. Industrially, Metternich's policies were paying off, and Austria had a modest and growing industrial class, though the multi-cultuarlism of the vast Empire would cause problems as Metternich also confined only racial Germans and Magyrs to be allowed work at factories. It's military was modest, still being slowly rebuilt from it's, near on, annihilation at the hands of Napoleon. However, the resources of manpower were endless for the Austrians, and if needed, a large force could be mustered quickly by the ailing Empire.

The Hapsburg Empire

As for the geo-political features of the Empire, they were as vast as the lands commanded by it. The Austrians still held sway over much of the going ons in Italy, though this was, slowly, being challenged by the French, the age old enemy of the Austrians in that area. Hence, the Austrians had stationed seven out of their twelve divisions in Italy to guard the rich prizes it commanded. To the south, the Ottoman Empire, the sickman of Europe, lay waiting for the Austrians to pick on it once more, along with the Danubian Principalities. These would be easy targets for the Austrians.

As for Germany, Austria still held sway over the most southernly German states, including Bavaria, Baden and Saxony, while the north favoured Berlin as their master. If a war was fought between the two German heavy-weights, the South would liekly be pressured into fighting in the name of Vienna.

Russia

Russia was not as old as some other nations, being created later than Austria from the Duchy of Moscow, but had easily proved itself capable of conquest. As for political intrigue, Alexander I had shunned Prussia to gain land, before in turn being betrayed by France and defeating the French. The Prussian's would never, despite the circumstances, forget this betrayal. However, under Nicholas I, relations between the German and Russian nations were high, and an alliance, for the meantime, would be highly possible.

Russia was powerful, but much of this power was an enigma

She had gained little from Vienna, and her prestige was not high, as she had failed to participate in the 1814 war with Napoleon. She was also seen as an outsider to Europe, only coming in univited to the circle of European powers. Her industrial power was only due to her size, and this would prohibit further expansion later on unless Nicholas I could do something to modernize the country, which was lagging serverly behind the other nations she tried to compare herself to. Her Army, much like her industry, was large but weak. The vast manpower reserves of the Russian Jungernaught meant that the large army could be maintained, but was hard to train, leaving most as badly trained and ill-disciplined mobs. Her navy was also large, but of not much use to her, as she had few maritime enemies.

Russia was, by far, the largest nation the world had ever seen

The Russian Empire, made through centuries of conquest and colonisation, was massive. It stretched from Poland and Finland in the west to snowy Alaska in the East, having claims on three different continents. Unfortunately for the Russians, much of this land was useless. A large percentage of their population were Serfs, with few rights and no skills, the Russians could only employ middle-class Russians to work in the factories, while the serfs farmed land that gave little profit to the country. This was Russians number one weakness, but was unlikely to change due to the highly autocratic system of Russian administration. Her influence over anything in Europe was limmted to alliances with the Germans/French or small scale initiatives in Romania and the Ottoman Empire. Pan-Slavism was a dangerous force, however, and Prussia would need to watch Russia carefully.



next: Areas of Intrest/Concern and Theatres of War

[comagoosie]

Good intro to the major players that are your neighbors.

Her Army, much like her industry, was large but weak.

A paradox that should be taken advantage of.

[English Patriot]

An excellent overview, Prussia is in a good position to take advantage of either Empire, but such a move must be taken cautiously!

[RGB]

Everything going rather historically I see.

Prussian dominance seems very likely...

[RossN]

Very interesting rundown of Prussia and her neighbours/rivals.

Great stuff so far. I'm hooked!