The Fallen Eagle: A Byzantine Empire AAR

[SeanB]

Seven Years' War: 1758 and the Soldier-Emperor​

The Archduchy of Austria, at first being able to focus all of its efforts on its smaller rival to the north, was now forced to divide its attention between Prussia and the Empire. Realizing that the large army under the Greek Emperor was now the larger of the two threats, Maria Theresa sent Field Marshal Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Prince of Thiano, with an army of 80,000 to confront the Emperor.
Both armies were of similar size, and Thiano, being the more cautious sort, was reluctant to throw his army into an all out confrontation with the Emperor. Emperor Konstantinos XVI on the other hand believed that a strong offense would be the Empire’s best defense in this war, and for several weeks maneuvered against Thiano, attempting to force the Austrian army into a confrontation.

Thiano however, though cautious, did not suffer from the incompetence that plagued the Prince of Soubise. His maneuvers against the Emperor were not merely to avoid a direct confrontation, but to lure the Romans into terrain favorable to the Austrian army. The terrain he chose was in the Austrian province of Krain, near the city of Celje.
The Alpine terrain of the area favored a defensive position, while still allowing Thiano to maneuver his army enough to prevent Konstantinos from simply going around him. Though the Emperor was now concerned with the fact that the Austrians held an important defensive position near Celje, he was still as determined as ever to deal the Austrians a crushing defeat.

In an attempt to cut off Thiano’s flow of supplies, Konstantinos besieged and quickly captured Celje. Thiano however, was still able to receive enough supplies from Valenje to keep his army in fighting condition. Unable to starve his enemy out of his defensive position, the Emperor was forced to attack on September 17th of 1758.
Thiano had placed the center of his army along the pass leading out of Celje. His army had constructed wooden palisades to augment the mountainous terrain’s natural defensive advantage, as they prepared for the Imperial army’s assault.

Konstantinos opened with an artillery barrage at 6 AM, attempting to shake the morale of the Austrian army and to hopefully destroy some of their palisades before his attack. The Austrian’s fired their own cannon at the enemy to better affect, as the Roman army remained mostly out in the open prior to their advance.
Finally, at roughly 10 AM the Emperor gave the order for the army to advance. In a show of discipline and coordination, the majority of the ’first line’ troops - some 30,000 men - were on the march by 10:20.

Thiano’s line was carefully positioned at several key spots in order to fully exploit the uneven terrain. Roman soldiers attacking the Austrian line would find themselves often having to do so uphill, offering the defenders a notable advantage.
The Emperor had sent nearly his entire first line of 30,000 men to attack ahead of the rest of the army. He believed the superior drilling of his soldiers were counteract the Austrian’s height advantage. The Austrian defenses proved to be strong however, and the Romans suffered extensive casualties attempting to breach them.

The heavily drilled Roman soldiers however were beginning to break through the Austrian palisades despite their high losses. Seemingly in response to this, the Prince of Thiano sent a detachment of 40 cavalry squadrons from his right towards the extended Roman center, hoping to isolate them. The Emperor responded by sending the bulk of his cavalry, including those in reserve, to head the Austrians off.
The Imperial cavalry succeeded in preventing their Austrian counterparts from charging into the Roman center, and proved their superiority against them, gradually driving them back towards the Austrian line.

However, while he had deployed the bulk of his cavalry in the aforementioned attack, Thiano had quietly dispatched a force of 30 squadrons to circle around to the left of their armies, using the line of hills present in the terrain he had lured the Emperor on to as cover. By the time the Emperor saw them approaching his exposed center from around the left, the majority of his cavalry had already pursued the Austrian squadrons they were engaged with a good distance away from the main battle.
Knowing that his first line divisions would soon have their exposed flank attacked by the Austrian cavalry, the Emperor gave into to his commander’s pleas and ordered his army cease their attack on the Austrian palisades and withdraw from the field.

The Roman infantry withdrew in good order, though quickly. Many of the Austrian infantry behind the palisades attempted to climb over their bettered defenses to pursue the Roman infantry, but had difficulty forming a coherent and effective bayonet charge in a timely manner after reaching the other side.
The Roman infantry were able to successfully withdraw in good order, the 30 squadrons coming from the left ceasing their attack once they saw that the infantry had disengaged the main line and were capable of facing them coherently.

The Roman army retreat to Celje in good order. The Emperor had hoped to win a decisive victory, but instead had found his enemy to be tough and resilient. The Imperial Army suffered some 5,000 casualties in the Battle of Krain to Austria’s 2,000.
Though it was not a major defeat, it dashed Konstantinos’ hopes of dealing Austria a quick and crushing blow and forcing them to make a favorable peace to both the Empire and Prussia. In the Austrian camp, though Thiano had won, the Roman army was far from defeated, and he felt attacking them in Celje was too great of a risk.

With her most competent commander in the south occupying the Romans however, Maria Theresa was becoming increasingly distressed with the news she received from her generals in the north against Prussia. At the battle of Hochkirch, Frederick the Great defeated a larger Austrian army under Joseph von Siskovits.
This caused the Archduchess to panic and order Leopold back to Vienna in order to take command of an army that would be sent against Prussia. Though he lost against Frederick, Joseph von Siskovits had helped defeat a larger Prussian army earlier in the year at the Battle of Domstadtl, and the Archduchess felt he could handle the Emperor.

However Siskovits, eager to erase the perceived humiliation of his defeat at Hochkirch, was eager to go on the offensive against the Roman army at Celje, not content to merely keep them at bay while Prussia was dealt with.
Knowing that winter would soon be upon him, Siskovitz successfully convinced his commanders to reluctantly go along with his planned attack against the Roman-occupied city. The Emperor, taking his previous defeat as a lesson, had decided to take the cautious approach against this new commander, ordering his army to fortify Celje and camp there for the winter.

On November 7th, Siskovitz marched his army towards Celje, leaving the easily defendable alpine terrain Leopold had used behind. Both armies were still roughly the same size, but it was now the Imperial Army that had the advantage of a well prepared defense. The battle began with an exchange of artillery fire which lasted for several hours. Of the exchange the Austrians received the greater casualties, being mostly out in the open as opposed to behind the strong defensive barricades of the city.
Though hardly a fortress, the Emperor had used the weeks following his defeat to fortify the town as much as possible, forcing the civilian population to aid the army in constructing defensive palisades around and near the city.

Following the artillery exchange, Siskovitz ordered his first line of infantry forward, focusing his attack on the palisades built east of the city, and the ones he perceived as the weakest. Though outnumbered, the defenders of the palisade put up a dodged resistance. The Austrian soldiers’ attempts to tear down or climb over the palisades were met with only limited success, and they suffered heavy losses as a result.
Noticing the mistakes he had made only months earlier in his opponents tactics, Konstantinos decided to use his enemy’s strategy against him, and sent 35 squadrons of cavalry to attack an increasingly exposed Austrian center.

Siskovitz, not having read the reports of the previous battle extensively in his eagerness to attack, sent a larger force of cavalry to confront the Romans. However, despite being outnumbered, the superior Roman cavalry more than held their own, and actually began to press the Austrian cavalry back.
While the bulk of Siskovitz cavalry were tied down against the Roman horses, the Emperor had sent a second force of 40 squadrons, the larger of the two in this case, around the city of Celje, keeping it out of the site of the Austrians.

When they came into view of the Austrian general, he ordered the cavalry already fighting to disengage and attack the larger force. However they were already fighting a losing battle, and only suffered further casualties as they attempted to break away. Desperate to halt the incoming cavalry squadrons from attacking his exposed center, Siskovitz sent his ‘second line’ troops forward to cover them.
However, these were troops mostly from the left wing of the Austrian army, which were considered the weakest and least capable soldiers; they were the only ones close enough to reach the cavalry in time however.

The Imperial Cavalry, considered some of the best in Europe, quickly cut a swath through the Austrian troops sent against them. Though they managed to fire several volleys before they reached their line, as soon as the cavalry closed to melee, most of them fled in panic, scattering across the field.
Following their orders to the letter, the Imperial cavalry continued on towards the exposed Austrian center unhindered. Though Siskovitz had ordered them to retreat, the soldiers found themselves facing a counterattack by the Romans as soon as they started withdrawing.

Unlike their Austrian counterparts, the Roman infantry had been drilled extensively on sallying out of fortifications and palisades quickly and efficiently, and were capable of launching well organized charges against their retreating enemy.
This served to slow the withdraw of the Austrian center down, allowing the approaching cavalry to reach the majority them before they had safely made it back to the rest of the army. The Austrian center was thrown into utter chaos when the cavalry hit their exposed left flank, very few regiments being able to turn and face them in time.

While this was happening, the Emperor ordered his army to leave their palisades and fortifications and assemble for an attack. With the Austrian center hopelessly tied down fighting the Roman cavalry, the bulk of the Roman infantry were able to assemble into a line of attack and begin their march towards them.
The rest of the Austrian army attempted to come to the collapsing center’s aid, but with the sallying of the rest of the Imperial Army found themselves too being overwhelmed. As Austrian morale collapsed, more and more regiments began to break and scatter.

By 6 PM, the battle was practically over, as the Austrian army scattered across the field in panicked disarray. Siskovitz was only able to retreat in an orderly manner with about 20,000 troops. He and the remains of his army fled to Graz to the north west, where shortly after he was forced to resign by Maria Theresa for his ineptitude.
The Battle of Celje was a decisive victory for the Roman Empire, with the Imperial Army suffering only around 3,000 casualties, while the Austrians suffered over 12,000, mostly captured and/or wounded in the cavalry charge.

More than redeeming himself from his previous loss, the Emperor had opened the way to the north, where he could send an army to assist Prussia against the allies. The Austrians were now in a dire situation, and if Russia was not able to come to its aid quickly, then the Archduchess could face a humiliating defeat that could greatly upset the balance of power in Europe…

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There you go, read and reply.

 

[Maximilliano]

Damn thats quite a victory there... The Romanovs should be bringing some forces to the front soon, but if the emperor can force a confrontation on favorable terms, he could also send them reeling back... I forget, who do the Romanov's have in charge now? Anyone competent?

Considering that Konstantinos has some decent manpower, perhaps he can take a page out of Frederick the Great's playbook and apply the Oblique Order of Battle...

Great update, can't wait for the next one
-Maximiliano

 

[Andreios II]

Hah! Talk about learning from the enemy! Konstantinos is a Soldier-Emperor, if perhaps not quite on the level of Frederick. Russia is worrying, on account of it's manpower advantage, but I'm sure Prussia and the Empire can drive them back.

Georgios should do something soon, to keep the French from interfering. Or are they not posing much of a threat this time around? And what about the colonies? Perhaps you can help the Brits out, but in a way that you gain from it more than the British do? Maybe to get Bayou or somewhere strategic

 

[unmerged(58610)]

Austria could soon be knocked out of the War, possibly as vassal to the Empire.I would like to see the colonies of France taken by the Empire, but it is a matter of the manpower than can be spared to complement local forces.

 

[SeanB]

Seven Years' War: 1759 and Darios' rise to power​

Following the battle of Celje, the Archduchess of Austria furiously demanded Siskovitz resignation, and had him replaced with Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Loudon, his superior at the battle of Domstadtl whom the Archduchess hoped would prove to be a more able commander then Siskovitz had in the previous battle.
However, Emperor Konstantinos was not interested in fighting within Austria itself. His main goal was reaching Prussia, where he could aid Frederick in fighting against the Russian army, which had by that point already overran East Prussia, and was now marching across Poland towards the heartland of Frederick’s Kingdom.

The urgency of the Emperor’s arrival was only made more clear at the Battle of Paltzig, where a Russian army of 70,000 decimated a 26,000 man Prussian army under von Wedal. Knowing that time was of the essence, the Emperor ordered his Grand Domestic, Georgios Curcuas, to bring part of his army into Austria, and take command of their forces there while he and his army move north to help the Prussians.
Curcuas and roughly 30,000 men met with the Emperor at Steiermark, who left him with orders to prevent the Austrians from entering Roman soil. Leaving 20,000 of his own men with the Grand Domestic, he marched into Prussia with a force of roughly 60,000.

Georgios Curcuas, Duke of Malta, Count of Lesbos, was already in his late 70s by this point, a very old age by the standards of the day. Despite this however, he still remained a capable general. While the Emperor and his army was in Prussia, the Grand Domestic would maneuver against von Loudon in Austria.
In terms of generalship, von Loudon was no match for the Grand Domestic, but did have the advantage of fighting on Austrian soil. It had been over 100 years since the Empire had been at war with Austria, and so von Loudon’s maps were in general more accurate and up to date than Georgios’.

The Austrian army contained roughly 40,000 men, being all Austria could afford to send to the south at that time following their disastrous defeat at Celje. The Grand Domestic’s main objectives in his maneuvers against von Loudon were to both prevent him from marching into Roman territory to the south, and arguably more importantly, to prevent him from moving north where he could possibly cut off or delay the Emperor’s unprepared army, which was at that time carefully moving through Austrian Bohemia, the Emperor successfully outmaneuvering and passing the Prince of Thiano (Leopold Joseph Graf Daun.), the man who had defeated him in 1758.

The Roman army arrived in Berlin on August 29th, 1759. Upon reaching Berlin however, the Emperor was informed of Prussia’s disastrous defeat at Kunersdorf earlier that month. Nearly the entire Prussian army had been eliminated at that battle, and Prussia’s King, Frederick the Great was on the verge of abdication and suicide.
When he saw 60,000 Roman soldiers march into his capital however, the Prussian monarch once again saw hope for a victory against his bitter enemies. The two old friends met and spoke of Prussia’s current situation, under attack from four sides.

Sweden and France had been held off with relative ease by Prussia and her other allies, but following Kunersdorf, Russia and Austria both looked to be on the verge of victory. It was only the coming of winter that had allowed Frederick time to reorganize his army, and help it to recover as best he could for the following year.
Back in southern Austria, the Grand Domestic and von Loudon had spent the majority of 1759 engaged in indecisive maneuvering against one another, though that was precisely what Curcuas had hoped for. He wished to tie down the Austrian army for as long as he could, and make them believe that he intended to march on Graz, the capital of Steiermark.

Also during 1759 was a daring French plan to invade the British Isles. They planned to do this by gathering troops near the mouth of the Loire, while concentrating their Brest and Toulon fleets in order to guarantee them safe passage.
However, military defeats on the high seas would put an end to this plan. The French navy lost both the Battle of Lagos and the Battle of Quiberon Bay to their British counterparts, putting an end to any planned invasion of Britain. This victory over the French navy was won solely with British naval power, the Roman Empire contributing very little in the effort. This fact lead to accusations by British Prime Minister Thomas Pelham of the Empire purposefully avoiding coming to Britain’s aid during the war.

In Constantinople, with the Emperor away leading his army in battle, Darios Rshtuni II, son of Damien Rshtuni IV, an old ally and friend of Georgios Curcuas within the Agora Nymfon until his death in 1749, was the lead politician within the Agora.
Taking on a role very similar to the British Prime Minister, though never acknowledged as such, Darios was mostly responsible for the day to day governing of the Empire during the Seven Years’ War. The Duke of Thessalonica, as his father was, Darios proved to be a capable administrator and diplomat.

One interesting occurrence during the war was the stream of harsh letters that were exchanged between Darios and British Prime Minister Thomas Pelham, caused by the Empire’s lack of aid for the British during the war.
One letter in particular came extremely close to direct insults, following a British naval defeat off the west coast of Sardinia at the hands of the French. There had been an Imperial fleet of 18 ships docked in Corsica, relatively close to where the battle took place. Pelham accused Darios of giving the Imperial Navy orders not to assist their supposed allies in any Mediterranean naval engagement, which Darios staunchly denied. A copy of this letter exists, the letter supposedly having been recovered by one of Darios’ political consorts.

To Lord Darios Rshtuni II

I write this letter on the behalf of His Majesty to inform you with the utmost respect that your actions as of late have soured our alliance. While our brave heroes of His Majesty’s Navy fought against our vile French enemy, your fleet, conveniently docked in Corsica, made no attempt to come to our salvation and uphold the accords of our treaty.

I am unsure as to what His Imperial Majesty’s intentions are as of writing this, however, know that Britain will not look kindly upon any further acts of betrayal. We hope that you shall see reason and aid us in ridding the Mediterranean of the menace that is France, for our mutual benefit.

His Majesty also must express His disappointment at the lack of Roman aid in North America. While Britain, during the previous war, helped to defend Roman Caribbean territories against French aggression, we have received little aid in return. Our war in North America continues, and we hope His Imperial Majesty will consider sending an army to help defeat our hated enemy once and for all.

It has also come to His Majesty’s attention that you have successfully captured several French trading posts and colonies along western coast of India. We are pleased to see France’s position in India weakened, but ask that His Imperial Majesty remember that any permanent settlement in regards to the acquisition of new territories shall be decided at the conclusion of the war.

Signed, His Majesty’s faithful minister, Duke Thomas Pelham-Holles.

Darios is said to have responded with an equally inflammatory letter, however no known copy of it currently exists. Suffice it to say, the two men held a great disdain for one another. While Darios Rshtuni II openly denied that he was anything resembling a “Prime Minister”, the fact that the Emperor was on campaign with his army in Prussia forced him to perform many of the same functions associated with the office.
Darios was a staunch Monarchist, and supported the Emperor fully, and it is suspected that he took his high position in order to prevent one of the many noblemen who opposed the Emperor from trying to weaken the throne while Konstantinos was away.

Darios was able to attain this level of power and influence mainly due to Imperial Favor, being close to the Imperial Family and having their support, but also due to his family’s influence within the Agora itself, which allowed him to gather support for his administration. While the Emperor was in Prussia, Darios essentially had the authority to command any army or fleet not under the direct command of the Sovereign or the Grand Domestic, whom still outranked him in terms of military command.

Darios used this on several occasions to move fleets to the Caribbean in order to protect their valuable sugar plantations from possible French attack. The Roman fleet, docked in Sozopolis, the main city of Martinique, had 16 ships of the line.
Sozopolis was considered to be the ‘capital’ of the Imperial Caribbean, with a population of nearly 9,000 it had the only port capable of supporting so many ships. The French naval presence in Caribbean consisted of 12 ships of the line docked at Trinidad, which frequently attempted to reassert the naval dominance they had gained over the Empire in the War of the Austrian Succession.

The Imperial Fleet scored a decisive victory at The Battle of Guadeloupe however, sinking 4 French ship of the lines and capturing 2 more while only losing 1 themselves. With the French Navy already stretched to the breaking point, this victory secured Imperial dominance of the waters around the Wayward islands for the rest of the war. Though invasions of the French held islands were planned, none really materialized due to a combination of bad weather and a general shortage of supplies for the soldiers stationed in the colonies.

1759 had seen great victories for both sides, and the outcome of the war was still uncertain. With a large Russian army bearing down on Prussia, it looked as if it would perhaps be the last hurrah for Frederick’s Kingdom. And if Prussia fell, then France, Austria, and Russia all would be able to turn their attention against the Empire itself…

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There you go! Read and reply, and I hope you're all having a fun Summer too.

 

[unmerged(58610)]

Curcuas has one more grand battle left in him, not thatthe Austrians will be in a position to appreciate it.

The Emperor's arrived just in time to save Prussia.

Pelham's letter is not what you would expect an ally to send. The cheek of it, suggestingthat the Empire's gains in India couldin any way be dictated by England.

 

[SeanB]

Okay, time for some much overdue responses!

Rirre: Yes, though France I would say is stronger than Austria, France is more focused on fighting its most bitter of enemies, Britain, allowing the Empire to focus on fighting Austria and helping their Prussian allies.

Maximilliono #1: While I can not claim to have as much knowledge on the historical Roman/Byzantine Empire as Vincent Julien or Chief Ragusa, I still know more than enough to say assuredly that no real trace of Republicanism would remain by the 18th century. As to whether it will be reestablished or not, if it was, it wouldn't be 'peacefully', thats for certain.

Vincent Julien: I'm always glad to recieve comments from my readers. Its why I do this.

LordAmurele: Ah, I'm glad you appreciate that. I'm trying to keep things realistic. You may wonder sometimes why the Empire doesn't take more territory. The simple fact is that the Empire is already so large, that in treaties, the other European powers tend to not like to give too much more land to them, in fear of upsetting the balance of power.

Andreios II: Georgios is getting on in years, and while he is no doubt still a great General, his mind may not be quite as sharp as it once was. As for future Roman international politics, who knows what will happen between 1760 and 1914? Though I personally can't see any Emperor tolerating Napoleon's regicidal army conquering most of Europe.

Maximilliano #2: The Roman and Russian Empires will soon clash, so you can look forward to that encounter. As for who the Romanov's have in charge, the current Empress is Elizabeth of Russia. She was quite a competent ruler, who historically pushed Frederick the Great to the brink of defeat. Though, in Frederick's defense, he was under attack from four sides by Austria, France, Russia and Sweden.

Andreios II #2: Yes, the Emperor is a talented General, though still not on the level of Frederick. The two may make a good team however when it comes to fighting the Russians. The likelihood of the Empire getting anything worthwhile from interference in the colonies is slim. It was pretty clear that Britain's goal in the war was to take it all, and not share any of the spoils there that it didn't have to.

Chief Ragusa #1: The current defensive posture in Italy is due to a far more urgent need to help Prussia turn back the overwhelming odds brought against her. If Prussia falls, then the Empire will essentially be alone on the mainland.
The Agora Nymfon as of now is still mostly powerless in the face of a direct proclamation by the Emperor, but is gaining in influence. Influence may one day turn into real power.

CR #2: Vassalizing Austria is probably a bit much, but claiming some Caribbean colonies from France is definitely a goal worth shooting for. With the Emperor in Prussia, the directing of naval operations in Caribbean is really in the hands of Darios and his appointed admirals.

CR #3: I agree that Georgios has one last hurrah to give the Empire. Don't count him out just because he is old! And yes, hopefully the Emperor and his army will be able to turn the tide of Prussia's fortunes in the war. Yes, tensions between the Empire and Britain are at an all time high. It is a miracle they can still call themselves allies in this war.

 

[Rirre]

Great updates Sean, with the emporer in prussia trying to save his friend from defeat one can only hope that Darios is as loyal as he seems to be (this would be the great time for him to build up a veary powerfyl base of influence inside the goverment).

The empire should be carfull with sendning old generalls out in to the field of battle, the last one died right after the battle was won.

About peace terms in this or uppcoming treatis, if you can't take land then maby colonies (french colonies in india) or allot of war redemtions could have the same affect (strenghtening the empire and giving its foes a powerful financial blow) without interupting the powerbalance in europe to mutch.

I'll be waiting for the next update.

 

[SeanB]

Seven Years' War: 1760 and the Romano-Prussian Alliance​

With the arrival of the Roman Army under Emperor Konstantinos XVI in August, Prussia’s fortunes began to look up. With his decimated army now propped up by his ally, Frederick was able to reorganize his forces for the coming battle. At the Battle of Maxen later that year, a Roman army of 25,000 joined with a Prussian army of 14,000, facing off against Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Prince of Thiano.
The smaller Prussian force was intended to cut off the main Austrian army’s communications with Bohemia, hoping Daun would withdraw his armies if his line became threatened. However, he instead chose to take advantage of the isolated Prussian army and drive them off their strong position at Maxen.

The Prussian army was not as isolated as it appeared however. The Emperor, working with King Frederick the Great, devised a plan in case the Prussian army became trapped behind the Austrian line. With the help of the notoriously effective Imperial spies often employed by Emperors since Ancient times, word reached the main Romano-Prussian camp of the increasingly desperate situation of the army at Maxen.
Demonstrating its own superior organization and superb drilling, a Roman army of 25,000 quickly maneuvered its way past Daun’s main army, now distracted with the Prussian army at Maxen.

The small Prussian army under Friedrich August von Finck was on the verge of being driven from Maxen by the Austrians by the time the Roman army under General Gregorios Lebournos arrived on the field. Overall, Leopold von Daun had roughly 42,000 men to the Romano-Prussian’s 39,000. With the Roman army now bearing down on the outskirts of the battlefield, however, the Austrian left flank found itself trapped between Finck’s army in Maxen, and Lebournos’ army approaching from the west.
Daun, fearing heavy losses, ordered the left most part of his army to withdraw from its siege of Maxen, thus allow the Prussians to escape.

The Romano-Prussian army then withdrew from the field in good order, fleeing back to Magdeburg, in Brandenburg. Though Frederick’s plan to force Daun to retreat had failed, Prussia fortunately was able to avoid a costly defeat. The preservation of this army would later help Prussia to win the Battle of Meissen on December 4th of 1759.
With a Prussian army of 35,000, plus 5,000 Roman soldiers, a much smaller Austrian army of 21,000 was overwhelmed and driven from the field. This victory was an important one, since it eventually led to Austria’s ally Saxony once again withdrawing from the war.

With these two victories giving new hope to the Prussian army, if still not erasing the great loss at Kunersdorf, Frederick and Konstantinos made winter camp, using this time to further reorganize the Prussian army and return it to a serviceable condition in order to hopefully take the fight to Austria once summer came.
They would not receive this chance however, as Leopold von Daun resumed his offensives with an attack on Landeshut, Silesia on June 22nd, 1760. The Prussian army there, 22,000 strong, was augmented by a Roman army of 10,000. Against this army were 28,000 men under Daun’s command.

Thanks only to their superior numbers, the Prusso-Roman army was able to stave off Leopold von Daun’s effective and well planned attacks and hold the town, if only just. This victory was important however, in that it yet again preserved the Prussian army to fight again another day, that day being August 15th.
On that day at Liegnitz, Silesia, a Prussian army of 40,000 under Frederick the Great himself defeated an Austrian army of 25,000 under General Wehla. After repelling the initial Austrian cavalry charge, the two sides engaged in an artillery duel, which was concluded when the Austrian powder wagon was struck. An infantry attack was then ordered, but was quickly decimated by concentrated Prussian artillery fire. Following a Prussian counter-attack, the Austrian army broke and fled the field.

Prussian victories continued in the west against France without any need for Roman supplies or soldiers. Under Prince Ferdinand in particular, the French were defeated battle after battle, thanks in part to Prussia’s allies, Hanover, Hesse, and Britain. With the victories against Austria buying Prussia some much needed breathing room, Frederick’s fortunes looked to be on the rise once more.
Prussia once again found itself victorious at the Battle of Torgau. Frederick’s army at 58,000 strong was joined by a Roman army of 25,000 led by Emperor Konstantinos himself.

Opposing them at this battle was an Austrian army of 65,000 under the command of Field Marshal Leopold von Daun. The outnumbered Austrians had fortified themselves on the high ground of Süptitzer Höhen. The two armies engaged in a vicious artillery duel, with neither side initially gaining the upper hand.
Upon hearing the artillery however, King Frederick the Great decided to launch a premature attack with ten Prussian battalions and five Roman battalions. However, these battalions faltered under heavy artillery fire from the Austrians, and Frederick reluctantly chose to call off the bloody uphill attack after casualties mounted to over 5,000 losses.

The failure of this attack however made Leopold von Daun overconfident. He sent away General Charles Flynn to deliver a preliminary victory dispatch to Empress Maria Theresa. At dusk however, the columns under General von Zieten, who had been engaged in a pointless battle with General Lacy, assaulted the heights and captured the Austrian gun batteries. Turning these guns upon their former owners, Zieten caused panic and chaos in the Austrian army, which unsuccessfully attempted to retake their lost artillery.

By the end of the battle, with the Prussians still in control of the heights and possessing a numerical advantage, Leopold von Daun was forced to withdraw from the field in good order, giving the day to the Prusso-Roman army, despite heavily casualties.
This victory, on November 11th of 1760, helped to weaken the Austrians enough so that Frederick could send much needed reinforcements to his army in Poland, which was desperately trying to delay the Russians from reaching the Prussian heartland.

In the south of Austria, meanwhile, Grand Domestic Georgios Curcuas continued to frustrated von Loudon by outmaneuvering his attempts to reinforce Marshal von Daun in the north. Finally, Loudon decided that he would have to confront and defeat the Greek general if he was going to have any chance of reaching the main army in Prussia. Marching through Tyrol, von Loudon forced Georgios to stay one step ahead of him in order prevent the German commander from entering Northern Italy.
Eventually, Loudon managed to come within only a few miles of the Roman-Austrian border in Northern Italy. Knowing that he either had to fight, or allow the Austrian General into Roman territory, Curcuas chose to stand his ground.

The two armies met each other not far from the great city of Venice. Though it had been devastated by the Roman army in 1492 upon the old Republic’s defeat, in the following centuries it had once again become a prosperous city of nearly 350,000 people, with the population remaining mostly Italian.
A puppet Republic had been established following their defeat by the Empire, with a Greek Doge coming to power through a rigged election, the Venetian nobility being more or less held hostage while he rose to his office.

The Emperor at the time, Manouel III, had unleashed one of the most horrendous pillages in history upon the city, reducing its population of perhaps as much as 200,000 at the time, to a mere 60,000, selling at least 80,000 people to the Timur Khan.
Despite this, however, the city survived. The vassal-Republic under the Greek Doge continued for only a short while. Istria was soon invaded by Genoa, which seized it without any interference from the Empire. With hardly a population to speak of, they were unable to defend themselves.

In 1529, the city was invaded by Austria, which easily breached its meager defenses and annexed the weak vassal-Republic, sending the Greek Doge fleeing back to the Empire, which didn’t care enough at the time to come to its defense.
The Austrians rebuilt the city while it was under their care, from 1529 to 1591, and its population gradually recovered. When it was captured by the Romans in march of 1591, the Strategos commanding the army ordered it not to be sacked. At that point the city had grown to over 150,000 people, starting to recover some of its former glory.

Though it was now under the direct control of the Greeks, the Italian culture of the city was respected, and in the 17th century Venice became a valuable Mediterranean port for the Empire once more. Trade Galleons from the far east would often stop in Venice, and through it goods would flow to the rest of Europe.
In over 250 years since its horrific sacking, the city had more than recovered and was once again, along with Constantinople and Alexandria, one of the largest trade centers in the Mediterranean.

Curcuas knew that it would be a heavy blow to the Empire’s trade if Austria was to take the city. Though the sacking of cities had become highly uncommon by his time, the occupation of the city by the Austrian army could severely cripple the Empire’s economy for the rest of the war.
Standing his ground, Curcuas and his army of 40,000 stood ready to defend Venice from the Austrian army under Loudon, which had the numerical advantage with 50,000 men. Knowing that he would have to make the best use of his defensive position, Curcuas made his headquarters in the town of Traviso, just north of Venice.

From there, he ordered his army to form a two column line just north of the town. Though relatively narrow in its width, the Grand Domestic knew that Loudon was eager for a confrontation and would likely pay it no heed.
Indeed, confident in his numerical advantage, von Loudon formed a wider single column line with a strong guard on each flank to insure that the Roman cavalry would not find it easy to flank them. Once his soldiers were in proper formation, von Loudon advanced on the Grand Domestic at 6 AM.

Curcuas responded to Loudon’s advance with a barrage of artillery that was strong enough to cause von Loudon to order his army to halt its advance and return fire. The Roman and Austrian armies engaged in an artillery duel for the next several hours. Curcuas, hoping to gain the upper hand sent 15 cavalry squadrons to ride behind the enemy line and capture the artillery.
The Roman cavalry were successfully repelled by their Austrian counterparts however, and the artillery duel continued. By 11:30, little had been achieved by either side, and von Loudon grew tired of the stalemate.

Ordering his own cavalry to flank the Roman left while his main army advanced forward, the Austrian cavalry bravely rode in advance of the infantry towards Curcuas left flank. Curcuas had the artillery turned on them, as well as his own cavalry.
This however, was part of Loudon’s plan. The Austrian cavalry were in truth a distraction to draw Curcuas’ artillery away from his advancing troops. He knew he had the numerical advantage, and he believed if he could directly confront the Roman infantry, he could easily crush them with the weight of his army.

With the Roman cavalry mostly distracted and in pursuit of their Austrian counterparts, the Roman center was left to its own devices. Behind their wooden palisades they awaited the approaching Austrians, opening fire on them when they came within 100 yards. Though the Austrians suffered relatively high casualties in the initial advance towards the main line, their numbers made up the difference.
By the time Curcuas realized what had happened, the Austrian infantry had already advanced too close for him to order his artillery to fire upon them. The center of the Roman army found itself pushed to its limits by the stream of Austrian soldiers climbing over the palisades, much of which had been damaged by Austrian cannon fire.

The Austrian flanks had also mostly engaged their Roman counterparts, keeping them busy and preventing the German center from being compromised. As the situation grew more desperate, Curcuas began issuing orders for his command staff to evacuate the town while he stayed behind to command the army’s retreat.
However, unbeknownst to both Loudon and Curcuas, the Roman cavalry that the Grand Domestic had sent after the Austrian General’s decoy had been reorganized by its commander, Adrianos Phokas.

Riding from behind a series of hills to the west of the battlefield, Phokas and his 50 squadrons emerged from behind the Austrian army. Shocked and completely taken off guard by this, Loudon attempted to order his army to pull back and turn to face the cavalry. However, in the heat of battle, and with the Austrian infantry already partially within the Roman palisades, his orders were difficult to relay to the troops.
Though he sent his remaining 22 cavalry squadrons to engage the Roman cavalry, they were both outnumbered and outclassed, and were quickly routed after a brief engagement.

Phokas quickly turned his horsemen upon the exposed rear of the Austrian army, his cavalry creating panic and chaos among their ranks. His soldiers, seemingly on the verge of winning the battle a few minutes earlier, were utterly confused by the sudden arrival of the Roman cavalry, and could do little to oppose them.
Curcuas, mere minutes away from ordering his army to retreat was shocked when word reached him of his cavalry’s attack on the Austrian flank, exclaiming: “Phokas has saved us from utter disaster!”.

With much of his army already starting to break and flee, Loudon sounded a general retreat, wishing to save what was left of his army. Much of his army was able to break away from the main fighting and reorganize a distance away. Under von Loudon’s orders, they retreat in good order from the field, leaving victory to the Romans.
Casualties for both sides were heavy, with the Romans suffering some 8,000 losses, and Austria suffering over 10,000, with an additional 8,000 taken prisoner. Most of the remaining Austrian army retreated in good order to Belfuno, in the Austrian part of Northern Italy.

Curcuas had managed to defeat von Loudon, if only just, and with that, he prevented him from joining Field Marshal Leopold von Daun in the north. This would enable Frederick to better prepare for the coming of the Russians, who were now on the verge of entering the Prussian heartland, having already conquered East Prussia.
With Pyotr Saltykov, commander-in-chief of the Russian army only miles away from Brandenburg, victory was still far from certain for the Roman Empire and its allies…

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Hope you enjoyed. Read and reply.

 

[unmerged(58610)]

The Romans are doing well, even if they have no provinces taken to show for it.If any man can takea whole slew of Austrian provinces, it would Curcuas. I remain confident that his final campaign will lead to Austria's vassallage to the Empire.

The coming of the Russians sounds ominous, A battle will need to be won, if Brandenburg is to be saved.

Any good news reaching the City from the rest of the world?

 

[Acularius]

Well, I'll have to say. (As an incredible late comer to this series)

I love the series.
So much so, I decided to join the forums in order to reply.

Granted not invading Southern France may seem a good idea, although they should however move probably one province in to draw in the French. Assuming the french are contributing anything to the actual land war.

Unfortunately I believe that Geogios should start thinking about training or finding someone who could replace him similiar to how Alexandros put faith into Georgios.

All in all I am quite impressed with how the empire is doing.

 

[Andreios II]

A series of very important victories there, but they'll soon be dwarfed by the new Russian threat. That's when Prussia and to some extent the Empire's fate will be decided.

Perhaps if you can win a great victory against Russia, you can bring them to terms, since the serfs are always angry and probably won't take kindly to another beating by the Romans. If Russia signs peace, then I guess Austria would follow suit. I'm not sure how the Seven Year's War ended in OTL, but it'll probably be similar here.

 

[SeanB]

Response time!

Rirre: Darios has his hands full with the Emperors opposition. They don't like him, and he certainly doesn't like them. Most of his current legitimacy comes from support from the Emperor, so if he attempted a coup he would lose that, and well, it wouldn't be a very successful coup. And its nice to see someone remembers good ol' Ibrahim.

Chief Ragusa: The idea of Austrian vassalage would make any Emperor's mouth water, however it would also gravely upset the balance of power in Europe, and likely turn all of their former allies, possibly even Prussia, against them. And if that war starts going badly, well, Austria may decide to turn on them. And which city do you mean?

Nazaroth: I'm always glad to see newcomers to the AAR! Welcome! France is currently fighting in west-central Europe against several small pro-Prussian/British German states, with support of their two larger allies of course. Its interesting what you said about Georgios finding a replacement. Maybe he will. And I appreciate your support and comments.

Andreios II: I'm sure the arrival of Russia's powerful armies will test Frederick's resolve here, just as it did in real life. It won't be an easy fight against the Russian Hordes.

I look forward to reading more of your replies! I should have another update out later today or tomorrow!

 

[unmerged(58610)]

latinised approximately eis ten polis = in the City, how the Romaion referred to Constantinople (Ottomans corrupted it to Istanbul).

 

[Acularius]

Nothing bad, but after playing a good game of EU2 with the "Fantasy Byzantium" scenario. I find that a large proportion of my population to be Southern and Northern Italian in a Greek state.

(EDIT) Note: This is when I transfer over to Victoria:Revolutions.

Now to your story again.
I would think it would be a good idea to draw of some of the French (or her allies) forces by moving into Southern France via Italy. It doesn't have to be far, one province in. Which should be good enough to draw away some forces.

 

[SeanB]

Seven Years' War: Colonial War and Political Intrigue​

While the main theater of the war was Europe, the colonies were not spared the bloodshed, as the rival naval powers, Britain, Rome, and France, vied for control of each other’s overseas Empires. While the Roman Empire and Great Britain where technically allies in the conflict, growing tensions between the two, as well as conflicting interests had brought the two powers to the brink of conflict themselves.
In truth, the current war itself was all that kept the two from coming to blows. The most notable point of tension between the two was India, where both the Empire and Britain held important colonies.

By 1760, most of the east coast of India was under British domination after their victories against the French there. The Romans on the other hand, dominated much of the west coast. Overall however, the British position in India was stronger, though, as they also held colonies at the Southern tip of India.
The Empire’s colonies however were much older than those of the British, and were therefore better established and more stable. The city of Alexandreia in Mangalore had nearly 60,000 Greek citizens. This was larger than the population of most of New France in the Americas in comparison.

Alexandreia (Not to be confused with the Egyptian city Alexandria), was a great trading port, and granted easy access to the Far East. From there, the Empire was able to easily trade with the Qing Empire and other important Asian states of the time.
Several notable diplomatic envoys were sent to the court of the Qing Emperor, requesting trading agreements that excluded the other European powers. Though meeting with mixed success, they did manage to successfully secure the Empire a monopoly on Asian luxuries as well as the valuable silk that China possessed.

With their Malaysian colonies, unstable though they might have been, the Romans were able to form a diverse and extensive trade network that saw goods and materials flow from Nanjing in China, to Singapore in Greek Malaysia, to Mangalore in India, and finally to Alexandria in Egypt.
This, since the 17th century, had given the Empire an almost unopposed monopoly on all goods from Asia, but the rising power of Britain in India had began to erode this dominance, as the British aggressively sought to dominate the Indian trade.

France, for their own part, had established several minor colonies and trading posts in India, but couldn’t rival the other two powers, and was forced to take what scraps they could. France at first saw this as a potential opportunity to weaken both the Empire and Britain in India, and even gain the upper hand there themselves.
The exact opposite happened however, as the French navy suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of the British and Imperial navies. Instead of a war against France, the East Indies campaign became a race between the two allied powers to occupy French colonies, as well as to take what Indian Territory they could before their “allies” could get to it.

The North American Theater of war had, by 1760, become dominated by the British. France was being solidly defeated in their New France colonies, and was on the verge of facing total defeat. In the Caribbean, the Roman Empire had gained almost complete control of the seas around the islands, and had successfully occupied several French colonies. France’s overseas power was quickly falling, and French King Louis XVI was beginning to contemplate asking for terms of peace.

Britain had annexed several territories in Eastern and Northwestern India by 1760, while the Empire had expanded their colonies further along the coast of western India, capturing several important cities from the crumbling Mughal Empire.
Now mostly deprived of their access to the Indian Ocean by the colonial powers who, “ruled in the Mughal Emperor’s name”, the Mughal Empire’s collapse was hastened. States in central India rebelled, pushing the overstretched Mughal army to its limits, as the last breathes of life seemed to be fading from an Empire that at one time had nearly unified India.

With the Roman Emperor in Prussia and the governing of the Empire in the hands of Darios Rshtuni, tensions between the Agora Nymfon and the Emperor’s appointed minister continued to rise in Constantinople; with opposition to the Emperor’s absolute power growing stronger by the year.
Hoping to use the Emperor’s absence to their advantage, several of the ministers opposed to the Absolute Monarchy began to plot the downfall of Darios, who they saw as the Emperor’s watchdog. Hoping to slander Darios and force him to resign as a minister, the conspirators attempted to spread rumors that Darios was embezzling large sums of ducats from the Imperial treasury and giving them to his relatives and House.

These rumors caused a firestorm of controversy within the Agora, as Darios staunchly denied the accusation, going as far as to call the Megas Logothetes to show the annual spending of the Imperial funds. Though the Megas Logothetes was once a powerful position in the Middle Empire, in the 18th century, the post merely was responsible for keeping watch over the Imperial Treasury.
His reports showed that there had been no signs of corruption or embezzlement in recent times, however, much of the opposition ministers in the Agora in turn simply accused Darios of having bribed the Megas Logothetes to hide his activities.

It was only with the support of the ministers that still favored absolutism that Darios was able to hold onto his power in the Emperor’s absence. As he struggled to keep order within the Empire’s political structure, troubling news reached Rshtuni from Austria. Georgios Curcuas, Grand Domestic of the Empire, had fallen ill, and collapsed while his army was moving through Northern Italy.
This came as greatly troubling news to Darios. The Rshtuni and Curcuas families had been close following the War of the Spanish Succession, but more importantly, the opposition ministers in the Agora Nymfon attempted to seize upon the opportunity by naming their desired replacement for Curcuas, despite the fact that he was not yet dead.

This man, Curticios Ampelas, was from a prominent Western Anatolian noble family and also opposed the Absolute Monarchy. The Opposition Ministers within the Agora Nymfon hoped that with him as Grand Domestic, they could literally force Darios to resign, as well as bring the Emperor himself “under control.”
The Agora Nymfon’s limited powers in the mid 18th century did not include the ability to appoint the Grand Domestic, however. Only the Emperor himself could appoint the next commander-in-chief.

This fact did not dissuade them from trying however, and Darios was faced with the threat of completely losing his grip on power to the ambitious ministers, who would then attempt to severely limit the Emperor’s power within the government.
Still in Prussia, and with communications being slow, the Emperor was not aware of the political turmoil back in Constantinople, and his chief concern remained aiding his ally, Frederick the Great, King in Prussia, in defeating the newly arrived Russian army under Pyotr Saltykov. With over 100,000 men under his command, Saltykov in the summer of 1761, attempted to attack the city of Kolberg, which, if it fell, would open the way to Berlin itself.

With Russia bearing down upon them, both Emperor Konstantinos XVI and King Frederick the Great knew that 1761 would be a decisive year in the Seven Years’ War…

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There you go, read and reply.

 

[Maximilliano]

this should be very interesting, Alexandreia sounds like a formidable power base from which to expand in the sub continent... hopefully, you'll be able to beat the British out, can't let them claiming to be the Kaisar-i-Hind. While your at it, why not trying to convert India to the faith, one more orthodox country couldn't hurt, afterall! Can't wait to see what happens next

-Maximilliano

 

[unmerged(54020)]

Sounds to as if the only sollotuin in India is war, or a treaty dividing the sub-continent between the two powers, which, however seems quite unlikely as none of the two great powers seem willing to give concessions. Great update, you succed in bringing medieval Byzantine intrigue into the 18th century. Great job.

 

[Acularius]

Very soon a well known notion in today's world will break away from Britain.

I see this as a turning point in Roman - British relations as I assume the fact that by assisting the rebellion (American War of Independence), would tear away a significant amount of power from the British, which could in turn provide the trump card in taking India. They have to divert their forces. India or America. Valid question that they will have to answer themselves. which would be more strenuous for the tiny island nation of Great Britain.

This however is all speculation on my part.

 

[SeanB]

Seven Years' War: The Battle of Kolberg and the Treason of Ampelas​

In the summer of 1761, the Russian army under Pyotr Saltykov finally entered the Prussian heartland from Western Poland. With an army of over 100,000 strong under his command, Saltykov looked towards the city of Kolberg, intending to use it as a base for his attack on the Prussian capital of Berlin itself.
Though Frederick almost certainly knew this, he was reluctant to engage in battle with Saltykov and his powerful army. Emperor Konstantinos XVI however convinced the King that a direct confrontation was indeed winnable, with his aid.

With the Austrians temporarily beaten after their successes in 1760, Frederick and Konstantinos gathered what men they could, some 85,000, and moved to confront Pyotr Saltykov on the outskirts of Kolberg, capital of Prussian Pomerania.
The Prusso-Roman army consisted of about 55,000 Prussians, and 30,000 Greek soldiers. Facing them were at least 100,000 Russians, lead by the Russian Commander-in-chief himself. Remembering two similar situations a few years prior at the battles of Rossbach and Leuthen, Frederick the Great began to devise a strategy to counter Russian numerical superiority.

Saltykov on the other hand, had been emboldened by his previous victories against the Prussian army in Poland, and expected another swift victory despite Frederick’s successes against Austria the previous year. Saltykov’s plan involved marching his army in a wide two-line formation, his cavalry and artillery both at the wings.
The wide formation would prevent Frederick from using his favorite flanking maneuver, while his numbers were sufficient enough to still allow for a second line in spite of the length of his line of battle. This meant that his line was still relatively sturdy, preventing a direct cavalry charge from simply breaking through it.

Saltykov planned to detach a portion of his cavalry away from his wings and have them launch a mock-attack on the Prussian army’s wings. This, he hoped, would draw Frederick’s cavalry from the main battle as they engaged his Cossacks, and allow for his numerically superior army to simply overwhelm and crush the Prussians.
Saltykov had overlooked one important factor however: the Roman cavalry. While he factored the Roman portion of the army into his overall strategy, he sorely underestimated the skill and strength of the Imperial Heavy Hussars – the heirs of the legendary Roman Cataphracts.

While Frederick’s own Prussian cavalry were considered good for the day’s standard, the Prussian King knew that the Imperial Hussars were arguably the best in Europe, and asked his friend Konstantinos XVI to have them protect his flanks from enemy attack, so that he could focus his squadrons elsewhere.
On August 6th, 1761, Saltykov and his army broke camp and began marching towards the Prusso-Roman camp. Roman scouts quickly reported the approaching enemy, and Frederick ordered his army into a relatively compact and maneuverable three-line formation.

The highly disciplined ranks of the Roman and Prussian armies quickly broke camp, and had for the most part assembled into their defensive formation within only 30 minutes. This great discipline was what made the Prussian infantry so feared throughout Europe and following the War of the Austrian Succession; Grand Domestic Georgios Curcuas had reorganized the Roman Infantry Corps based on a combination of Prussian and classical Roman discipline.
This made the Roman infantry an extremely well organized and dependable force, able to fight alongside their Prussian allies without losing pace. This enabled Frederick to count on them to hold the line in difficult situations, as he knew they wouldn’t simply break and rout.

By 6:30 the Prussian artillery had been brought forward and aimed at the advancing Russian army. Though Saltykov had the numerical advantage in infantry and cavalry, it was Frederick who possessed more artillery.
Prussia had some 230 artillery pieces to Russia’s 180, giving Frederick an important advantage over his overall slower and less maneuverable foe. At 6:45 the two sides engaged in an artillery duel. This lasted until 10:30 AM, when a piece of Prussian round shot impacted near Pyotr Rumyantsev, one of Saltykov’s commanders, and seriously wounded him.

The artillery duel overall had gone better for the Prussians. Being a smaller army, they were somewhat more difficult to hit, while the Russians, who more or less stretched across the entire battlefield, were easy targets. The Prussian advantage in artillery only added to this fact, as Saltykov ordered his army to advance.
It was here that the Russian commander-in-chief ordered his Cossacks to ride forward and launch their mock attack on the enemy’s flanks. The Cossacks successfully circled around the Prussian army, managing to avoid seriously casualties from Frederick’s artillery.

Rather than the Prussian cavalry they expected, however, the Cossacks were surprised when Imperial Heavy Hussars rode out to meet them on both of the Prussian army’s flanks. Dressed in elaborate Imperial purple laced with gold, their breastplates gleaming in the morning’s sun, they were an intimidating sight to behold.
As well trained as the Roman Infantry had become under Grand Domestic Curcuas’ reforms, the Imperial Cavalry were still the pride of the army, and considered the finest in all of Europe, able to go toe to toe with Poland and Hungary’s legendary cavalry in their heydays.

The Cossacks nevertheless continued with their objective, riding towards the Prussian flanks and drawing out the Imperial Hussars. What Saltykov had failed to plan for however, was the sheer ferocity of the Imperial cavalry’s retaliation.
The Imperial cavalry, upon sighting the approaching Cossacks, immediately broke from the main army and charged towards the Cossacks who had only just began to approach the Prussian wings. Though the Cossacks had expected them to ride out to meet them in combat, the speed at which they did so took them by surprise. The Imperial Heavy Hussars launched themselves at the Cossacks in full battle charge from the start, inflicting heavy casualties upon them in the initial collision.

Despite the ferocity of the attack, the Cossacks managed to begin their retreat in good order, pulling back and drawing the Roman cavalry into a pursuit. Thanks to the Roman’s contribution however, the majority of the Prussian cavalry was able to remain in reserve, thus keeping the Prusso-Roman line secure.
Despite his plan not succeeding to extent that he hoped it would, Saltykov still felt confident in his victory. At 1:00 PM he ordered his front infantry line to advance to within firing distance and engage the Prussian line. As they proceeded to do so, he ordered the wings of his rear line to move outward and around those of the front line once the two armies began exchanging fire.

He hoped this would enable him to envelope his enemy and attack him on three sides. With his numerical advantage, Saltykov believed the advantage would fall decisively to him once the armies closed to melee, where his Russian troops were considered second to none in European warfare, though sometimes at the cost of volley speed.
Saltykov’s orders were carried out and the Russians closed to firing distance with the Romano-Prussian army, exchanging volleys as the wings of the rear line gradually circled around those of the first to envelope the Prussians. Despite their numerical superiority, the Prussians quickly showed their superior drilling, by firing 4 to 5 shots a minute to the Russian 3. As casualties started to mount, Saltykov quickly ordered the first line to close to melee with the Prussians.

Indeed, as the Russian army engaged their Prussian counterparts in a fierce hand-to-hand combat, their superior numbers began to envelope the smaller Prussian line, which was only worsened as the wings of Saltykov’s rear line began to close in on the Prussian flanks. However, things did not go as Saltykov had planned.
The Prussian cavalry, allowed to remain with the main army due to their Roman counterparts occupying the Cossacks, immediately rode forward to attack the Russian infantry attempting to flank Frederick’s army. Unprepared to face such a large number of horsemen, the Russians flanking maneuver fell apart, and they retreated in some disarray back to the Russian line.

Though the Russian flanking maneuver had failed, Saltykov still possessed the numerical advantage, and the outcome of the battle was still favoring the Russians. The increasingly brutal hand-to-hand fighting between the two armies was beginning to favor the hardy Russian soldiers, who used their size and strength to great advantage.
Fortune would favor Frederick the Great once again however, as the Roman Cavalry, returning from their pursuit of the Cossacks slammed into the right flank of the Russian line, creating havoc among their ranks. The small number of Russian cavalry that remained was unable to halt the charge, and the Cossacks that had led the Imperial Heavy Hussars to pursue them earlier in the battle had been scattered.

Emboldened by the success of the Roman attack on the Russian right, Frederick ordered his own cavalry to launch an attack on the left flank of Saltykov’s line, creating further chaos among the Russian ranks. The forward line of the Russian army, which was still engaged in melee with their Prusso-Roman counterparts, began to break.
Pyotr Saltykov at this point realized that the battle had been lost, and gave the signal for his army to withdraw. Saltykov ordered all of his remaining Cossacks to attack the enemy cavalry who were currently engaged with the desperate Russian flanks. By doing so, he bought precious time for his first line soldiers to break away from the fighting and retreat.

Though the Russians were retreating, both Frederick and Konstantinos knew that their casualties had also been high, and as if to remember Kunersdorf, where his over aggression had brought him a disastrous defeat, Frederick allowed the Russian army to retreat in semi-good order, content with stopping them from claiming Kolberg.
Roman and Prussian casualties at the Battle of Kolberg are said to have been around 12,000. Russian casualties were nearly 20,000. Though they had paid a fairly hefty price, the Russians failed to invade the Prussian heartland, and Kolberg, and as a result, Berlin, were saved.

Seizing upon the opportunity, however, the Austrian army under Field Marshal Leopold von Daun captured the Silesian city of Schweidnitz while the majority of the Prussian army was fighting against Russia in Pomerania.
While the future of Prussia still hung in the balance, another war was being fought behind the great walls of Constantinople itself. A group of Dynatoi in the Imperial Senate of the Agora Nymfon, backed by several wealthy Bourgeoisie had bribed a prominent Anatolian Strategos named Curticios Ampelas into marching his army towards Constantinople.

A minority made up of the more virulent opponents of the Absolute Monarchy “voted” to promote Ampelas to the rank of Grand Domestic, which Ampelas accepted. These bold ministers had been inspired to this act in part by the Swedish parliament, which had, following the War of the Spanish Succession, reduced their King to the point of being merely a figurehead Sovereign, with little real power.
Whether or not they intended to force such harsh restrictions on the Emperor or not is debatable, but it is known that the failed Monarchial coup 1756 launched by the King of Sweden with a handful of faithful Aristocrats had further solidified their belief that they could rule without the Emperor’s authority.

Backed by “Grand Domestic” Ampelas, the Senators and Ministers behind the coup demanded Darios Rshtuni resign as a minister, and retire from politics in general. Unwilling to comply with their treasonous demands, but knowing he could not resist them on his own, Darios was backed against the wall, with few options available to him.

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Darios Rshtuni II sat quietly in his private study at his estate within Constantinople. Shadows danced across the walls of the room as flames danced within the fireplace near the center of the study. The crackle of the fire being the only other sound heard as the wind pounded relentlessly against the shutters.
Sitting quietly in a leather chair near the fire, Rshtuni sipped of his Cypriot wine in deep thought about the past few days’ events. While he maintained control of the Imperial Guard within Constantinople, it numbered only around 10,000. He knew that Ampelus had at least 35,000 men under his command.

As his glass began to grow empty, a slave quickly moved to refill it. The man’s skin seemed as dark as a moonless night, Darios having purchased him from a prominent slave trader in Constantinople a few years prior to the Emperor’s departure.
Another slave of a slightly lighter pigmentation gently knocked on the door of Darios’ study, peaking in. “My Lord, you have a guest.” The man said in a deep African accent.

Darios nodded his head slightly, “Ah, of course. Send him in.” He responded in flawlessly articulated Greek. The slave quickly stepped aside and allowed the well-dressed man to enter. He was clearly a nobleman of some importance, his clothes alone likely costing more than the most well off peasant made in an entire year.

“Welcome to my home Lord Manatius, I am glad to see that you remain in good health despite these troubling times. Please, have a seat.” Darios said as he gestured to the chair that sat adjacent to him.

“Thank you for accepting my visit at this late hour. I would not have troubled you if I did not have a matter of grave importance to discuss with you.” Manatius responded as Darios’ slave quickly poured him a glass of wine.

Darios slowly nodded his head, “Of course, you know you shall always be welcome in my home, Alakaseus. And I know all too well of gravity of our situation.” Rshtuni responded grimly.

“Have you still received no word from His Majesty?” Manatius questioned as he sipped of his wine.

“Unfortunately I have not. I can only presume he is still in Prussia as we speak. I can only hope that he shall return to us with all due haste, for I fear we need him now far more than Prussia.” He stated as Manatius nodded in agreement.

“I am afraid I can offer you only unsettling news, my friend. That treacherous dog Ampelas is indeed marching his army towards the City as we speak. There is little doubt that he plans to besiege us, trap us here like dogs until we surrender to his absurd demands.” Manatius spoke with bitter venom in his voice, utterly disgusted by the treasonous Strategos. There had not been a rebellion within the army since the Reign of Zoe II Palaiologa, over 100 years ago.

“I will not surrender to that insufferable man. I will not give those drooling, treasonous, greed-stricken bastards in the Agora Nymfon the pleasure of seeing me beg for my life either.” Darios spat in disgust.

“Nor shall I. Though our options are sadly limited. You have but 10,000 Imperial Guardsmen who remain loyal. The closest army aside from Ampelas’ is in Italy. I see that it is now to our misfortune that we have allowed the defenses of Constantinople to wane in our prosperity. In days long passed, an army the size of Ampelas’ would have been nothing before its walls.” Manatius stated in a weary voice.

Darios could only sip of his wine as he listened to his friend’s words. A long sigh finally escaped from him, “I took the liberty of sending a letter to Megas Domestikos Curcuas roughly a week ago. I fear that it shall still arrive too late for him to aid us in any way however, given the distance that he must travel.” He said somberly.

“All we can do is wait, it would seem.” Manatius stated calmly. “Though I am afraid that time has allied itself with our enemy this day…”

The two men sat in silence the rest of the night, the very future of the Empire hanging in the balance…

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There you go, a fast update, and a fairly big one too! I hope you enjoy.