The Revolution's Greatest Foe: Archduke Charles and the Imperial and Royal Army

[volksmarschall]

Hello AARland. I am volksmarschall, who shall be taking you on a journey through the Revolutionary Wars, concentrating on the exploits and heroism of the Archduke Charles (Erzherzog Karl in the game). This AAR will not be overtaking “Decline and Fall” for anyone who is following that AAR – rather, this AAR is intended to be a fun and hopefully, somewhat quick AAR that will build to my list of completed AARs; since it is substantially lacking at this moment, and will be a nice relief from the aforementioned heavy-handed AAR which I think will take a very long time to complete.

For those who know me, I bid you welcome once more. For those who do not, I bid you welcome! This AAR will be conducted in the history-book format, which I am partial to. However, I hope to include more screenshots than those familiar with my two history-book AARs: The Presidents, and Decline and Fall, which are generally bereft of screenshots! I also want to give a shout-out to Seelmeister for his MotE AAR “In the Shadow of Greatness,” which inspired me to do an AAR primarily focusing on an in-game character (who is also historical) rather than a sweeping history of the period.

Historically, this is a topic of great interest of mine. For those not aware of my background, I have a BA in history, and working towards a PhD. in the coming years. I have written on the Napoleonic Era, which was one of my two principle fields of study as an undergraduate (the other being Near East history, American history doesn’t count for me!). I am not an Anglophile, nor do I have Anglophobia, but I hope that in this AAR, even though it follows the EUIV campaign of the Revolutionary Wars, that I bring a much not highlight to the often neglected Imperial and Royal Army of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era. Historically, the Austrian Army at the start of the Revolutionary Period was considered to be the best army in Continental Europe – contemporaries of the period praised the individual Austrian soldier, and believed the Austrian artillery and cavalry to be the finest in Europe (cf. Christopher Duffy, Owen Connelly and Gunther Rothenberg’s books “The Army of Maria Therese,” “Blundering to Glory,” and “Napoleon’s Greatest Adversary” respectively. Yes, the title of this AAR pays tribute to Rothenberg’s magisterial English-speaking narrative of the Archduke and the Austrian Army of the period). Napoleon lost 9 battles during his career, only 4 of which he was defeated in personal battle against a single army (without coalition help), 3 of these battles were against the Austrian Army, of which the Archduke Charles handed Napoleon his first defeat in over a decade. He is the only Napoleonic Era commander to personally defeat Napoleon’s Grande Armée without the help of allied forces.

House Rules : No cheating, no reloading, no gamey-tactics, etc. I will also be handicapping myself to use Austria’s historical military units (i.e., the White Coat Infantry), which Paradox developers modeled after the historic Austrian Army. This AAR ends when the Revolutionary Wars conclude (arbitrarily in the game of course, although I have the right to make that determination). The War will end when I defeat France, to keep it challenging I must take Paris before I can conclude such a peace. In the event that I sue for peace with France, assume that such an event will be but a lull in the war.

So, without further ado, I present to you all, The Revolution’s Greatest Foe!




CHAPTER INDEX:
The Road to the Revolutionary Wars (below)
Ch. I: Panic in Vienna
Ch. II: The Battle of Lambach and Trouble in Italy
Ch. III: The Battle of Landschut and the Rise of the Revolutionaries
Ch. IV: Across the Rhine
Ch. V: Retreat and Reform
Ch. VI: The Battle of Innsbruck, Part One
Ch. VII: The Battle of Innsbruck, Part Two
Ch. VIII: The Fall of Paris and the Legacy of Archduke Charles

 

[volksmarschall]

The Road to the Revolutionary Wars

The young Charles had managed to divide and defeat two French armies, which had penetrated into Germany, driving them back across the Rhine River. He [was] the "Saviour of Germany."
-Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, commenting on the Rhine Campaign of Archduke Charles in 1796. Gunther Rothenberg, “The Emperor’s Last Victory,” p. 33 (2006).

Smarting from Austria's humiliations in 1805, the Archduke inflicted on Napoleon his first defeat in thirteen years as he tried to cross the Danube to take Vienna, and denied him outright victory at the great battle of Wagram that followed some weeks later.
F. Lorraine Petre, “Napoleon and the Archduke Charles” (1909).

The political map of Europe on the ascent of the Revolutionary Period, September 1792.​

The Revolutionary Wars embroiled Europe following the overthrow and murder of King Louis XVI of France, who was married to the beautiful Queen Marie-Antoinette, a member of the Habsburg Royal Family of Austria. Soon after the French revolutionary republic was declared, the conservative and reactionary monarchs of Europe, principally led by Francis II, Archduke of Austria and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, established a predominately German coalition of states, including the Kingdom of Prussia, to stop the revolution in its tracks. His fear, as was the fear of many aristocrats throughout Europe, was that the ideology that fueled the revolution would spread to their countries if not checked, and none were ready, nor willing, to lose their ancestral thrones as Louis XVI had.

At the Battle of Valmy, 20 September 1792, the French republican forces under the command of Francois Dumouriz and Francois Kellerman defeated a joint Austro-Prussian army under the leadership of Charles William Ferdinand, the Duke of Brunswick. Although the battle was pivotal in giving confidence to the republican cause, the engagement was not much a battle. It was often referred to “as the Affair at Valmy,” because less than 500 men on both sides were killed, wounded, or captured. The Prussian advance was halted by withering French artillery fire, and in the midst of the foray, the Duke of Brunswick lost his nerve and withdrew from the battlefield without offering a formal engagement to the enemy.

The Battle of Valmy, 20 September 1792. The French victory demoralized coalition hopes of a swift victory.​

The French publicized this engagement as a great victory, and perhaps rightly so. Many had expected the seasoned and disciplined armies of Austria and Prussia to crush through the French defenses and march on Paris. Some were expecting an end to the war by Christmas! Famous Prussian poet and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who had accompanied the Duke and his army during the invasion, wrote concerning the battle, "From this place, and from this day forth begins a new era in the history of the world, and you can all say that you were present at its birth." The Prussian armies fell back to Prussia, meanwhile, the Austrian armies were scattered throughout Europe.

Austrian forces were spread thin from Belgium to Italy to Hungary. General Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, commander of the German armies of the Hababurg Monarchy, was ordered to retreat back across the Rhine River and prepare a decisive strike against the French when the opportunity presented it. In Italy, Johann Peter Beaulieu and Joseph von Alvinczi united their forces under a single military structure, with Alvniczi as the overall commander of the Army of Italy. General Karl Mack von Leiberich, more famously known as General Mack, was appointed command of the Army of Bohemia and tasked with silencing the Hungarian rebels who had embraced revolutionary ideology and had risen up against their Habsburg masters.

The situation was made more confusing when the French rapidly pursued von Wurmser’s forces. French General Gabriel Louis Suchet had crossed the Rhine sometime in early October in pursuit of Wurmser’s forces. The Austrian general grew nervous of the progress of the French on his tail. The French forces caught up with his army at Ansbach on the 30 November 1792 and crushed the Austrian army in a single day of battle [1]. Over 15,000 Austrians had been killed, wounded, and captured during the battle, including the loss of 17 regimental standards. French casualties amounted to just over 9000 casualties, mostly wounded. After the decisive French victory, the road to Vienna lay open.

The Battle of Ansbach, fought 30 November 1792. It was a crushing blow to the Austrian war effort as General von Wurmser's Army of Germany was shattered by the French under the command of Gabriel Suchet and Andre Messena.​

[1] Note, since this is a history-book AAR, dates of battle will be changed to reflect a more historically accurate outcome of length. Obviously, battles do not last a month (like they often do in the game). The battle dates in the AAR will be reflected by the end date or beginning date, whichever I feel to be most appropriate.

 

[General_Hoth]

I will follow you but I will hope for Napoléon's victory!

 

[volksmarschall]

I will follow you but I will hope for Napoléon's victory!

I would not expect anything less from you! Of course, I wouldn't mind that either, since my bias towards Napoleon is so extreme some of my colleagues have called me an apologist for him. I agree with Carlyle, Napoleon is a "Great Man" in the Hegelian understanding of the word - that is, he was an agent of Hegel's Spirit.

Ah the paradox I have concerning this period of European history. I absolutely love Napoleon and can't contain my biases toward him, but at the same time, I'm part Austrian, and the bulk of my undergraduate work in Western European history was on the Habsburgs and the Imperial Army post Maria Therese. Too bad someone has to lose...

 

[volksmarschall]

Panic in Vienna

News of von Wurmser’s defeat at Ansbach caused panic to befall the halls and streets of Vienna. Francis II, Archduke of Austria, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Hungary and Bohemia, feared that before Christmas a French army would enter the cultural capital of Europe and the city that displayed the great wealth and power that European monarchs were fighting to maintain their hold on in the face of this godless revolution sweeping through France. The Army of Italy was not in an amble location to turn north and halt Suchet’s advance, neither was Mack’s Army of Bohemia, which had recently put down a Hungarian uprising in the center of the country.

Archduke Francis II of Austria, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Hungary and Bohemia, among other titles. He was the principal monarch on the European continent opposed to the revolution.​

Emphasis was placed again on von Wurmser’s Army of Germany, which was licking its wounds following the embarrassing defeat. In the midst of the chaos, the emperor entrusted the command of the Imperial and Royal Army to his younger brother, Archduke Charles, who was but 21 years old. The young archduke was, at this time, the chief of staff for Field Marshal Francois Sebastien Charles de Croix, the Count of Clerfayt, a Walloon by birth, but a man who had distinguished himself during the Seven Years’ War. While de jure command was given to Charles, Charles remained a faithful student to the Count of Clerfayt, who retained de-facto command of the Army north of Vienna, which totaled about 19,000 men by December 1792. This force was hardly enough to stop a thrusting French advance; at least, that is what Charles had told Clerfayt after hearing the news of the defeat at Ansbach.

The situation looked bleak indeed. French forces were besieging the Austrian Netherlands almost unopposed. With Great Britain still sitting out of the ongoing conflict on the continent, it became the policy of Vienna to begin efforts to bring the British, Swedes, and Russians into the conflict with the Austrians, and to a lesser extent, Prussians, who were bearing much of the burden of fighting in these early months. Furthermore, although various German states within the Holy Roman Empire had joined the Austria war party, most notably the Kingdom of Wurttemberg and the Electorate of Trier, which provided about 30% of the von Wurmser’s Army of Germany (and suffered about 4,000 of the 15,000 casualties at Ansbach), the real hope for Vienna remained a broader coalition of European monarchies to silence the revolutionary threat running amok in Paris.

Although the swift French advance on Vienna did not materialize, as Suchet and Messena decided to halt north of Munich for the Christmas season, the streets of Vienna were littered with fleeing aristocrats, including the Emperor Francis II, who gathered his personal entourage, the Austrian administrative cabinet, and left for Prague, which had always been a sort of secondary capital for the Habsburgs in times of trouble. Meanwhile, the Hofkriegsrat, the Austrian war council, declared that Vienna mustn’t fall into French hands – even though they, and the Austrian notables, had fled the city in anticipation of its falling.

By early February, the French Army of Germany, or so it had been labelled by the Hofkriegsrat, had begun their advance on Vienna once more. Once more, General von Wurmser was called south from southern Bohemia to block the road to Vienna as Archduke Charles and Count von Clerfayt assembled their forces and called for General Mack’s army to quickly come up and assemble with them north of Vienna on the Marchfeld, the traditional parade and training grounds for the Austrian army. The French army that had assembled to seize Vienna was slightly over 50,000 strong. Naturally, von Wurmser’s smaller force of about 40,000 men, of which 15,000 were soldiers from the Germanies [1].

To the French, the moment to strike was presenting itself. However, the Austrians had decided upon a cunning and daring strategy that would entice a French attack on von Wurmser’s apparently isolated and exposed forces. Just north of Wurmser’s army, Archduke Charles had positioned some 30,000 soldiers hidden in the forests to enter the battle at an opportune moment. Likewise, he had dictated that General Mack’s forces be positioned just to the south, roughly 16,000 men, and to almost immediately enter the battle once the engagement had begun. A further 35,000 soldiers under General Alvinczi were expected to arrive on the battlefield sometime by nightfall. In total, nearly the entire Austrian army had assembled in the vicinity to give fight to the French. Nearly 120,000 men in total would hopefully serve as a stone wall against the seemingly invincible French armies.

Field Marshal Francois Sebastien Charles de Croix, the Count of Clerfayt (left), and a young Archduke Charles (right), two major Austrian military officials who had the unfortunate task of devising a battle plan to stop the French advance on Vienna and save the Habsburg Dynasty from collapse.​

Field Marshal Clerfayt accepted the Archduke’s battle plan. The French were to be enticed into an attack, thinking they had the advantage. Later in the battle, from the north and south, Austrians forces would reinforce von Wurmser’s battered men and also begin to envelope the French forces from the flanks. If necessary, Alvinczi’s men were to be deployed as a last resort (after all, Alvinczi’s men had yet to arrive on the battlefield, all the Archduke had when drawing up the plans for battle was a promise made by several of Alvinczi’s aides who had arrived in time for the war meeting that the Army of Italy would had done the impossible and made it up to Upper Austria in time to stunt the French advance. Of course, the French would have a brief window of opportunity to shatter the Austrians before the prospective trap could be employed. The forthcoming Battle of Lambach [2], which would be fought for a series of three days from March 5-7, 1793, had all of Europe closely watching.


[1] A name for the German states of the Holy Roman Empire before unification.

[2] Lambach is an Austrian town in Upper Austria. In game, the province is Linz. I will be taking some liberties in the names of battle, rather than just report the mundane "Battle of..." as the victory/defeat announcement is made in the game.

 

[Seelmeister]

Great idea for a (relatively) short AAR. The Austria contribution to the Revolutionary Wars is not one I know a great deal about, so I've really enjoyed your introduction.

Do you intend to play until the war against France is over, one way or another, or will you see the game out to 1821?

 

[BogMod]

Playing as Austria right now...I feel I must support Austria! Down with the French!

 

[volksmarschall]

Great idea for a (relatively) short AAR. The Austria contribution to the Revolutionary Wars is not one I know a great deal about, so I've really enjoyed your introduction.

Do you intend to play until the war against France is over, one way or another, or will you see the game out to 1821?

Well, since I am painstakingly writing a dissertation on Archduke Charles and the Austrian war effort during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Period, this is a topic very near and dear to me. I will be playing just the Revolutionary War, whatever I really decided that is. Essentially, I'll be handicapping myself to having to take Paris (or a coalition ally taking Paris) and having a +50 warscore before I negotiate a peace and declare myself the winner. In the event that Vienna falls, I will have to negotiate a peace with the French, but in that case, the wars will continue until I meet my handicapping criterion. After all, winning a few big battles and having the leverage to negotiate a peace will not be as much fun as having to prolong the war until Paris falls...

Playing as Austria right now...I feel I must support Austria! Down with the French!

willkommen mein Freund! "The Revolution must be contained, -1 war exhaustion!"

 

[Milites]

I never knew that there was so much to know about Archduke Charles and his Austrians. Thanks for the enlightening setup and thanks again for what promises to be a smashing AAR!

 

[Enewald]

It is all about stacking artillery!

DIE ARTILLERIE GREIFT AN

 

[DensleyBlair]

Naturally, I must follow what proves to be a fine piece of work indeed. I expect great things from what is a pleasingly unique set-up, and I have no doubt that you will be able to deliver.

Onwards, maestro! (Or should that be "Meister"? )

 

[volksmarschall]

I never knew that there was so much to know about Archduke Charles and his Austrians. Thanks for the enlightening setup and thanks again for what promises to be a smashing AAR!

I seek to be upfront about my biases, but Austria moreover than any other country deserves recognition for their role in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period. Perhaps 5-6 years from now, I can bring them justice to the English speaking world! No other nation fought more battles, lost more battles, won more battles, lost more men, and killed more men in the long struggle with France than Austria. Constantly defeated, they always rose up like a phoenix to challenge, defeat, and cause problems for the French. Not to upset our British friends, Archduke Charles's campaigns and accomplishments are much more impressive than Wellington's imo.

Btw Milites, "Paris isn't worth a mass" is still one of my favorite AARs on these forums!

It is all about stacking artillery!

DIE ARTILLERIE GREIFT AN

Artillerie ist für Feiglinge! I do think you should do an AAR Enewald, just so I can be a loyal follower/reader to repay you after all these years my friend! And perhaps I'll correct a typo or slip of history from time to time! Sprechen Sie auch Deutsch Enewald?

Naturally, I must follow what proves to be a fine piece of work indeed. I expect great things from what is a pleasingly unique set-up, and I have no doubt that you will be able to deliver.

Onwards, maestro! (Or should that be "Meister"? )

Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you Densley, since this AAR should be rather short compared to my other works, particularly since I really need to stack my "finished" AARs category. I should have finished my Victoria AAR before I left these forums in 2011, but alas, its finally coming to an end after all these years - thank God!

Ich denke Meister ist ein bisschen zu viel! I think "master" is going a bit too far...although by 2020, I wouldn't mind that title.

 

[volksmarschall]

The Battle of Lambach and Trouble in Italy

On March 5, the French Army of Gabriel Suchet and Andre Messena looked upon von Wurmser’s defeated, but not destroyed army occupying the town of Lambach, south of Linz. One might say they fell into the Archduke’s trap, but others might say they stunned the Archduke and the Austrian army during the onset of the battle. Around 8 o’clock in the morning, Suchet seized the initiative, which was due to Austrian miscommunication.

The bridges over the river separating the two armies were supposed to be destroyed, but for whatever reason, two bridges along the northern outskirts of the town remained intact. General Messena personally led the French forces across the bridge at dawn, catching the Austrian forces by surprise. To make matters worse, five Austrian regiments had positioned themselves on the wrong side of the town, opposite the river where the French were located. They were immediately isolated and destroyed, and as Messena’s forces crossed the bridges, von Wurmser panicked. By 9 o’clock, the French had seized the bridges and Suchet began his attempt to ford the river south of the town, where most of von Wurmser’s army had positioned itself. Unfortunately, the defense of the northern bridges fell to the hands of German soldiers supplied from various principalities and kingdoms within the Holy Roman Empire.

In the confusion, General Mack ordered his men out from their defensive positions hidden in a nearby forest and pressed down the French flank, or so Mack had thought his forces would. Mack’s advance was decimated by French artillery fire, and his forces fell back behind von Wurmser’s army, only to be caught in a devastating crossfire. By noon, the French had swung south and crossed the river where Mack had originally been located. Unopposed, they struck into the left flank of the Austrian army. Bidding between retreat and another hasty defense of Vienna, or committing his forces without the arrival or whereabouts of Alvinczi, Archduke Charles convinced Clerfayt to commit his forces and fierce fighting in the towns and villages around Lambach ensued, but the front was stabilized.

By nightfall, Alvinczi’s forces had arrived on the field, and come the morning, the fresh Austrian troops launched a vicious and heroic attack on the French right. The French were stunned at such a large column of Austrian soldiers advancing upon them, but were determined to hold their own as the Austrians under Clerfayt attacked the town of Lambach itself, in a bid to recapture it from the French. Knowing they would be overrun if they did not hold the ridge where some 40 or 50 French cannons had been placed, for they were keeping the Austrian center at bay, Alvinczi’s men made a mad dash for the French artillery. The chaos and bloodshed was immense, one Hungarian grenadier battalion lost 60% of its men, but managed to seize the ridge and silence the French guns.

Two of the more "colorful" episodes during the Battle of Lambach, at left, French forces isolate and destroy Austrian infantry in the early stages of the battle, and at right, Austrian grenadiers (among the most feared soldiers in Europe) fight for control of the French artillery.​

This was the opportunity the Austrians needed. Without artillery holding back Clerfayt’s attack on the town center, the French were forced to withdraw back to their side of the river lest they be cut off and completely destroyed. By the end of the second day of fighting, it was clear that the Austrians had blocked the road to Vienna. While the French had lost less than 5,000 men in the first day of battle (in comparison to the Austrians who had lost upwards of 15,000), the second day saw the dramatic totals reversed. Some 25,000 French soldiers had been killed, wounded, and captured during through the tenacity of the fighting, while Austria likewise lost another 15,000 or so men. However, Generals Suchet and Messena still had a decision facing them. With their advantage gone, and hope of victory slim, what should they do? Withdraw or beat back a potential, and likely, Austrian counter in the morning. They chose to save the rest of their forces.

The morning of 7 March saw the French attempt to withdraw via a rearguard action. However, a young and daring Austrian cavalry commander, Johann von Kleneau swept north and blocked the French road to retreat. By noon, the battle was all but over. The French had been defeated with serious losses. Of the 50,000 men who began the battle, nearly 40,000 had been killed, wounded, or captured; the majority of the dead and wounded coming on the second day of fighting, with the surrender of 15,000 men on the third and final day of battle. Austrian casualties were almost as high, about 35,000; most coming on the first day of battle. The Austrian victory at Lambach was not a stunning victory, after all, at the outbreak of hostilities, the “Army of Maria Therese”, as it was still called, was considered the finest in all of Europe [1]. The battle itself included some 170,000 men, about 120,000 for the Austrians and their allies, and about 50,000 French. The immensity of the scale of the battle was but a precursor for many of the engagements of the Revolutionary Wars, with many battles totaling well over 100,000 men, some battles were even fought with as much as 200,000 soldiers on both sides! Although an Austrian victory, the scales to which Austrian forces were necessary to achieve victory was bleak to Archduke Charles, who commented that “even in victory, we have little to be proud of.”

The Austrian victory at the Battle of Lambach was impressive, but considering their tremendous advantage in combatants, there were still many more questions left than answers. This painting depicts the acceptance of the French surrender on the third day of battle. Note, Davout arrived late in the battle (in game) and took over command of the French, who were otherwise led by Suchet through much of the in-game battle.​

The victory at Lambach changed the situation in central Europe dramatically. The Austrians no longer feared a French march on Vienna, but the Austrians themselves were still recovering from their defeat at Ansbach and the bloodletting at Lambach before coming up with a new strategy for the continuation of the war. The new plan called for a 3-pronged offensive, Alvinczi would move through Italy and silence the Italian revolutionaries and advance into Southern France. Archduke Charles and General Mack would lead the main thrust into Bavaria and engage the French forces along the Rhine River. General Ferdinand Wenzel von Shönburg, who had replaced von Wurmser who retired following the battle of Lambach, along with the majority of the German allies, would move north and provide cover for the Archduke and save the Austrian Netherlands.

The plan went well initially, but Mack quickly fell behind the Archduke, causing the central push to halt in the middle of Bavaria. This also forced von Shönburg to halt his advance, lest he get to far ahead and become isolated. However, news of this slowdown did not reach Alvinczi. Although he managed to defeat 2 of the 3 major Italian uprisings, by late August, Alvinczi was separated and isolated from the rest of the Austrian army. The French seized upon this strategic advantage and pushed toward Italy from Germany. Some 25,000 French soldiers under the command of Louis Nicholas Davout intended to crush the Austrian forces in Italy, but Archduke Charles had called for Alvinczi to move north so the two forces could reunite, and stop a potential catastrophe from happening.

Unfortunately, on 14 September, at the town of Bolzano (Bozen) in South Tyrol, Davout caught up with Alvinczi’s men who had not fully crossed over the Rienz River. Of Alvinczi’s 33,000 strong army, about half had made it opposite the river, and were safe from attack. However, Alvinczi’s rearguard, commanded by the stout but conservative General Johann Beaulieu, had not safely crossed over. Davout seized upon the opportunity and scored a modest victory over the Austrians. Of the 15,000 Austrians in the rearguard, they suffered about 9,000 casualties, while the French lost about 7,000; most of whom were wounded as the Austrians sought to preserve their army and cross over and reunite with the Archduke. By the end of the September, French forces were in Tyrol, and now von Shönburg, who had moved south into Bavaria to cover the Archdukes withdrawal to meet up with Alvinczi, was exposed.

The defeat at Bolzano caused a complete re-evaluation of what has been dubbed the Bavarian Campaign. A large French army sat positioned to strike at the Austrians, who were isolated into two major forces, one under Charles and a battered Alvinczi (in eastern Tyrol), and another under von Shönburg and the German allies in the middle of Bavaria.​

[1] This is true from OTL, almost all contemporary sources, whether they were French or British, as well as many German, considered the army that had been reformed by Maria Therese to have the finest artillery and cavalry in the world, and the discipline and vigor of the individual infantryman was praised. However, praise for Austrian commanders was not as generous. Several good histories on the topic are from British historian Christopher Duffy, considered to be one of the English-speaking authority on the Habsburg Army. “The Army of Maria Therese” (1977), and “Instruments of War” (2000) are among his works on the subject.

 

[GulMacet]

That's Bozen, not Bolzano. The Italian name was invented out of whole cloth by the Fascists in the Thirties, to create the illusion that South Tyrol was always Italian.

 

[Enewald]

Ja, ich spreche Deutsch.

As for the update, are the French using simply better tech troops and godmode generals?
Your manpower pool might be nearing zero soon if this continues.

 

[Seelmeister]

That victory at Lambach looks like an important one, Davout is a formidable leader and it seems large numbers, well chosen terrain and Austria's finest generals will be necessary to counter him.

 

[volksmarschall]

That's Bozen, not Bolzano. The Italian name was invented out of whole cloth by the Fascists in the Thirties, to create the illusion that South Tyrol was always Italian.

As an Austrian, I am not surprised that you would point that out. I confess, as an Austrian-American who has traced his family back to South Tyrol, I am a bit upset with myself now that I wrote the Italian name of the town. I do believe that South Tyrol is still majoritarian Austro-Bavarian?

Ja, ich spreche Deutsch.

As for the update, are the French using simply better tech troops and godmode generals?
Your manpower pool might be nearing zero soon if this continues.

Sehr gut mein freund! So this means you speak or know at least 3 languages then? Finnish, German, and English...and possibly something else? I'm sure you are familiar with an American joke when it comes to languages - if you know 3+ you are multilingual, if you know 2 languages you are bilingual, and if you know only 1 language your are American! :rofl: Well, at least this is true for most Americans...

The French have a nice morale and tactics advantage over my forces, so they have that advantage. Plus, they are using the "Blue Coat" infantry while I switched to the "White Coat" infantry (to better reflect Austria's army composition, since Paradox modeled that unit after the historic Austrian forces of the 18th Century. So while I have competent force in defense, I lack offensive power and with the morale sap in relationship to the starting morale of the French when they attack, I have been forced to entice the French to attack smaller or equal sized forces, then quickly move Erzherzog Karl and other armies to join the fight before the French win so I can stop the French... hence the attempt to reflect this tactic in the AAR write-up as Charles in reserve...

That victory at Lambach looks like an important one, Davout is a formidable leader and it seems large numbers, well chosen terrain and Austria's finest generals will be necessary to counter him.

Not even terrain can help me in some battles...although Charles historically was a student of geographical strategy (as was von Daun and many other Austrian commanders before him), which is why many historians compare him to Wellington (who also was a superb student of geographic strategy)...although von Clausewitz criticized Charles heavily for his reliance on terrain advantages for choosing his battles. I will be trying to replicate this of course, not so much for historical reasons but because I need any help I can get when fighting the Revolutionary Armies.

 

[DensleyBlair]

As Seelmeister says, it strikes me that you'll need a fair few things to go your way before Davout can properly be bested. He is quite the formidable leader in the game, it would seem. Hopefully your strategy of using terrain to your advantage will pay off in this regard. That, and a tens of thousands of highly-trained men to throw at the French!

Regardless, another fine update. Despite your insistence on the contrary, I'm sure this will prove a fine AAR in spite of length or scope. Indeed, I often find such things add to works as well written and devised as this.

 

[GreatUberGeek]

How did I miss this?
Great updates! Linz was a bloodbath. Hope Archduke Charles can win in the end.

 

[GulMacet]

Yes, South Tyrol is still over 90% German-speaking, with the few Italians concentrated in the larger cities. The Fascists tried to relocate Italians from the south there during the Thirties, but most of them simply went home after the war. I have been there a few times, while the signs are bilingual, you will be hard-pressed to find anyone speaking Italian and the people want be a part of Tyrol again today rather than tomorrow.