Fall of Prussia - A Raptor1 vs. Crécy RoP PBEM AAR

[Raptor1]

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen and Austrians, to yet another AAR written by myself. In this special edition of Raptor's Ramblings, I shall play AGEOD's Rise of Prussia, a most excellent strategic wargame covering the European theater of the Seven Years' War, against Crécy.

It has often been said that the Seven Years' War marked the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia as a great power in the German states, paving the road to the unification of the German Empire under its rule. It has been further noted that Frederick II's innovative military maneuvers kept the nascent Kingdom, surrounded by enemies on all sides, from succumbing against massive odds, earning his place among the greatest military commanders in history.

This is not that story.

Instead, here you shall witness the certain destruction of Prussia as it squanders its meager manpower in botched operations, lose battle after battle and is ultimately overrun by its enemies. I know this shall be the outcome because I am in control of the Prussian armies; it cannot be different.

As always, I shall not be reading Crécy's AAR and he shall not be reading mine (You heard me, go away! :stare:). Any person caught spying or leaking information to the enemy shall be shot. Twice.

So without further ado (excepting all the ado-ing that will take place until I finish my next post, which will hopefully begin pertaining to matters of actual gameplay), I declare this AAR to have officially begun!

[Oberon]

I expect plenty of particularly marvellous moustaches. :yep:

[Raptor1]

On August 29th, 1756, following the outbreak of war between France and Great Britain, the Prussian army crossed the border into the Austrian-allied Electorate of Saxony in a preemptive attack against an anticipated invasion of Silesia, which was taken during the War of the Austrian Succession ten years previously. This action, in the annals of the history of the war, shall be recognized as the Kingdom of Prussia's first mistake.


The invasion proceeds rapidly, and the Saxon capital of Dresden soon falls. The Saxon army, realizing that any attempt at direct engagement with the Prussians is hopeless, retreats into its fortified camp at Pirna to await relief by the Austrian army. At the start of September, the Prussian Elbe Armee, personally led by the King, is encamped in Dresden and Bautzen with some 65,000 men, the majority of which are organized into five major columns:

Prince Ferdinand von Brunswick - 9,724 infantry, 5,724 cavalry, 96 guns
Prince Wilhelm von Preußen - 5,416 infantry, 2,497 cavalry, 72 guns
General James Keith - 12,512 infantry, 5,555 cavalry, 96 guns
Major General Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau - 3,640 infantry, 3,144 cavalry
Major General Johann von Wedell - 10,702 infantry, 3,173 cavalry, 96 guns

General Kurt von Schwerin also stands ready with an army of 16,556 infantry, 3,090 cavalry and 96 guns in Silesia. In addition to those forces, detached cavalry units number approximately 15,000 men.

September, 1756

When the Prussian army began its invasion of Saxony, it had two major goals envisioned: The first, to destroy the Saxon army before it can be relieved by Austria; the second, to advance towards Bohemia and capture the two major fortresses of Prague and Königgrätz before the onset of winter.

In his misguided aspiration to achieve these objectives, Frederick's plans for September called for the main body of the Elbe Armee in Dresden to advance past the Saxon encampment in Pirna, seizing the road leading from Dippoldiswalde and advancing towards the banks of the Eger river near Lobositz and Brux. By doing so, the Elbe Armee hoped to isolate the Pirna Camp and gain strong defensive positions against the inevitable Austrian counterattack by forcing a river crossing.

Wedell's column, located across the Elbe river in Bautzen, would secure the crossroads and bridge east of Pirna, then turn southward to advance along the Elbe's eastern bank, allowing it to scout enemy positions near Prague and possibly endanger the flank of the Austrian army. Meanwhile, Schwerin's Schlesien Armee will advance directly from its position in Glatz to Königgrätz, laying siege to the fortress. Once Königgrätz is taken, Schwerin could proceed towards Prague.

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The first two weeks of September go mostly according to plan. The Elbe Armee leaves behind Prince Wilhelm to directly besiege Pirna and Moritz to guard Dippoldiswalde, then advances towards Lobositz, where it briefly meets the Advance Guard of the Austrian army. The latter force, unwilling to give battle against the bulk of the Prussian army on its own, retreats behind the Eger without engaging. Schwerin advances quickly, encountering no opposition and laying siege to Königgrätz. The cavalry detachments of Karl von Katte and Friedrich Leopold Gessler link up near Bautzen to form a cavalry corps of some 12,000 men in support of Schwerin's army.

The only engagement during the first half of September occurs as the culmination of a raid by Hans von Zieten's two Hussars battalions against an Austrian supply depot in Karlsbad. After crossing the mountains between Chemnitz and Karlsbad, the Hussars assault the depot, hoping to capture it in a coup de main. However, the garrisoning infantry company takes up defensive positions inside the depot and, despite suffering heavy casualties, thwart Zieten's attempts to capture it.

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As the third week of September starts, Wedell has successfully secured the area east of Pirna and begins moving southwards. Meanwhile, Ferdinand von Brunswick's column is ordered to advance towards Brux, where it can block the Austrian army from attempting to outflank the Elbe Armee in Lobositz. This would become the second mistake of the Kingdom of Prussia.

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Towards the end of the month, leading units of the Austrian army commanded by Maximilian Browne, moving faster than anticipated by the Prussian General Staff, crossed the river into Brux in the course of their well-predicted flanking attempt. It is not clear whether Ferdinand disregarded, misinterpreted or never received Frederick's explicit orders to assume defensive positions, but as his column enters Brux on September 25th, Ferdinand immediately moves to attack the Austrian army, beginning the first major battle of the war.

Taking command of the battle, Frederick barely managed to hold the Prussian forces together long enough for the columns of Keith and Moritz, force-marching to join the battle, to arrive and even the odds. However, the damage incurred to Ferdinand's column by this point is too great, and shortly after the arrival of reinforcements it withdraws from the field. Once again outnumbered by the Austrians, the Elbe Armee makes a valiant stand before effecting a general retreat towards Lobositz.

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Though total forces in the Battle of Brux prove to be nearly equal, with both armies fielding approximately 45,000 men, poor coordination on the Prussian side allowed the Austrians to enjoy at least a two-to-one advantage in numbers for the majority of the engagement. This, in addition to Ferdinand's decision to attack the Austrians rather than take up defensive positions, have culminated in a clear strategic defeat. However, the well-trained Prussian units have managed to extract a heavy toll from the Austrians; casualties on both sides are high, with Austria losing nearly 12,000 men to the Prussians' 10,000.

With both sides exhausted by the bloody battle, September of 1756 ends as both the Prussian and Austrian armies stop to recover and reconsider their operational plans.

[Raptor1]

I expect plenty of particularly marvellous moustaches. :yep:

Not quite as many as you might think. Will powdered wigs do instead?

[Raptor1]

October, 1756

As the Brux campaign unfolded in the west, Schlesien Armee continued siege operations against Königgrätz, bombarding the fortress with its dedicated battalion of 24 siege guns and numerous field cannon. By the end of September, a sizable portion of the walls have been effectively reduced, allowing Schwerin to assault the fortress at the start of October. The attack is brief and bloody, and Schwerin's infantry soon makes their way inside the fortress, compelling the remaining defenders to surrender. Alongside the fortress itself, 44 guns of the defensive battery and a sizable amount of supplies are also captured.

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Scouts from Gessler's cavalry corps, arriving in Jungbunzlau on the opposite bank of the Elbe from Prague, report that there are no Austrian field units near Prague itself. Acting on this intelligence, Gessler and Wedell's columns begin crossing the river towards Prague, where they can either lay siege to the fortress or cut off the Austrian army opposing Frederick. Meanwhile, the Elbe Armee takes up defensive positions in Lobositz as it continues to recover from the Battle of Brux.

These are the third and fourth mistakes of the Kingdom of Prussia.

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Gessler's cavalry corps, moving faster than Wedell's column, crosses the Elbe with no initial opposition. However, a previously unspotted army of 30,000 Austrians under Aeneas Piccolomini moves into the province at the same time, soundly defeating Gessler and forcing his remaining forces back across the river while distance and poor organization leave Wedell's forces out of reach.

Meanwhile, the main Austrian force in Brux has split. The majority of the army appears to retreat back to Prague, where they come across the now isolated forces of Johann von Wedell and crush it, forcing the column to retreat across the Elbe in disarray as well.

More disastrously, the remaining Austrian force in Brux, comprising the First Line commanded by Joseph Lucchese, bypasses Elbe Armee and enter Dippoldiswalde, which in a fit of idiocy the Prussian army has neglected to reinforce after Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau left his position to join the Battle of Brux, completely unopposed. Lucchese then moves on to Pirna, where he engages Prince Wilhelm outside the walls of the fortified camp. Outnumbered two to one and without support, Wilhelm retreats back to Dresden after a brief engagement, allowing the Austrians to link up with the Saxon army and effectively breaking the siege.

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It is at this point that Prussian army's command staff collectively punched itself in the face and began looking at how to put the situation back in its favour. It is nearly certain that the enemy expects Elbe Armee to pursue the Austrian army back to Pirna, where together with the Saxon army it can take up defensive positions in the mountainous terrain and defeat it, so this course of action must be avoided. Instead, with Schwerin's army now free to pursue further operations after the successful capture of Königgrätz, a plan is put in motion to attack Prague, hopefully catching the Austrians by surprise and allowing the defeat of the now joined armies of Maximilian Browne and Piccolomini.

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The operation proceeds exactly as predicted. The Austrians and Saxons, as expected, combine their forces outside of Pirna and prepare for attack, but the only move made by the Prussian army in that direction is to leave Hans von Zieten's Hussar Brigade in Dippoldiswalde to watch the Austro-Saxon army and cut it off from supplies.

Elbe Armee and Schlesien Armee both head towards their objective, and on October 28th the Battle of Prague begins as Frederick's forces begin crossing the Moldau river and are engaged by Browne's army. An hour later, Schwerin joins the battle alongside Gessler and Wedell, taking the Austrian army in the flank. The battle continues for some time more, but with the Austrians now outmaneuvered Browne's army begins retreating in disarray to the east and south.

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The largest engagement of the war so far, the Battle of Prague sees nearly 75,000 Prussians and 50,000 Austrian troops actively engaged. As with the Battle of Brux, losses prove nearly equal, largely owing to the Austrians' defensive positions on the Moldau, with 8,000 Prussian casualties to Austria's 10,000. While the Prussian army has successfully taken the field and routed the Austrians from Prague, it has unfortunately not managed to decisively destroy Browne's army.

[HunterICX]

That's indeed a large and bloody battle, guess the Prussians caught the Austrians without their wigs on and received commanding penalties for that.

HunterICX

[Oberon]

Not quite as many as you might think. Will powdered wigs do instead?

Aaah yes, wrong era. :salute:

Looking good so far, if a bit confusing.

[Raptor1]

Looking good so far, if a bit confusing.

Yeah, I tried to make it less confusing but, like my attempts to stop writing novel-length posts, I didn't achieve much. If someone wants something specific unconfused, I can try explaining it, and if anyone has a suggestion on how to make things clearer that would be helpful.

[Raptor1]

November, 1756

Over the second half of October, reports begin filtering in that Austria is redeploying dozens of battalions from Hungary and Transylvania to reinforce their armies, which is terribly unsporting. If that was not bad enough, with the start of November snowfalls begin across the theater in Saxony and Bohemia. The continuous operations of the last couple of months, combined with the battles of Brux and Prague and the dubious state of the Prussian supply lines, have resulted in Elbe Armee running very low on supplies. At such a state, winter attrition will result in disastrous casualties.

The most prudent course of action in this situation is to fall back to Königgrätz and take up winter quarters until the next year. However, there is another possibility. It is likely snow will be intermittent until December or January; if the time until then can be used to successfully besiege and capture Prague, the Austrians will be forced to either fall back to their depots and abandon any chance of counterattack or face massive attrition, while captured supplies could be used to replenish the Prussian armies and the fortress could be used to greatly strengthen Prussia's position for the following year's campaign. It is this course of action that King Frederick chooses to pursue; a decision that will quite likely become the fifth mistake of the Kingdom of Prussia.

To resolve coordination difficulties that have arisen from operating under two separate army commands, Kurt von Schwerin's Schlesien Armee is disbanded, and his 16,500 men force, as well as Friedrich Leopold Gessler's 10,000-strong cavalry corps, is placed under the command of Frederick's Elbe Armee, bringing its total strength around Prague to 66,000 men.

Wedell's column, still across the river in Jungbunzlau, is ordered to begin construction on a depot that could serve as shelter for the winter and will also allow the distribution of supplies coming from Königgrätz across the northern bank of the Elbe. The army columns that lack an undepleted supply trains, namely those of Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau and Gessler, are moved across the river to the new depot, while the rest of the army stays in Prague to begin siege operations. Additionally, two Dragoon battalions are detached from Gessler's force and sent to secure the supply route from Königgrätz to the new depot in Jungbunzlau.

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Siege operations begin immediately, and Elbe Armee follows its simple orders to bomb, bomb, BOMB the fort to the ground. Under the combined firepower of no less than 72 siege guns and well over a hundred field pieces breaches in the walls begin appearing immediately. But Prague is a mighty fortress, and despite suffering terrible damage, it manages to survive the entire month just intact enough to prevent an assault. Meanwhile, the Austrian army in the Bohemisch Brod, just east of Prague, stays in place and watches, likely waiting for the Prussian army to vacate Prague or for reinforcements by the Saxon force to attempt to drive it out and break the siege.

The Austro-Saxon army itself makes no move to break out of Pirna for the first half of the month, likely fearing winter attrition. However, the snowfall stops at the beginning of the second half of the month. Using this opportunity, the Austro-Saxon army takes the opportunity to head south. The blocking force under von Zieten fights several small skirmishes with the enemy army, managing to inflict some casualties, but it is too small to stop it and the enemy manages to arrive at Lobositz by the end of the month.

Meanwhile in Great Britain, Thomas Pelham-Holles, the Duke of Newcastle, resigns as Prime Minister because of repeated defeats against France in North America and Minorca. William Pitt and the Duke of Devonshire form a new government. In other news, Austria redeploys even more troops from the Netherlands and Croatia.

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[Raptor1]

December, 1756

Surveying the damage done to Prague on the first day of December, Frederick decides that the walls have taken sufficient damage to allow an assault. The Prussian infantry is immediately formed up into assault columns and sent in to storm the fortress through the thick snow. A savage melee with the defenders begins as the Prussian troops climb the ruined walls, with each side losing some 1,000 men, and as the weight of Prussian numbers becomes too great the remaining defenders surrender.

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The capture of Prague arrives just in time. By December, Elbe Armee has effectively run out of basic supplies, and winter attrition begins to take its toll on the army. As soon as it falls, Prague is immediately pillaged for any useful supplies, and winter quarters are arranged inside the city for the exhausted Prussian troops. Additionally, much of the fortress battery is captured intact with 82 guns, alongside a most curious prize of eight Bateuax river boats.

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Throughout these events, the Austrian army east of Prague stands and watches without intervening. As the second half of the month starts, it withdraws towards the south, likely to take shelter in the cities of southern Bohemia, abandoning Prague to the Prussian army. Similarly, the Austro-Saxon army begins moving southwest after its breakout, likely towards Karlsbad or Eger. Hopefully these winter marches have cost the Austrian army a sizable amount of men.

Meanwhile, a brigade of some 5,000 men arrives in Dresden to reinforce Wilhelm's column, which decides against besieging and taking the now nearly evacuated Pirna until the end of the winter. Zieten's Hussar brigade, also reinforced with its other two battalions, is sent out to open the road from Dresden to Prague before returning to shelter.

And so ends the year 1756.

[Raptor1]

January, 1757

With the capture of Prague and the reopening of supply lines, Elbe Armee's supply situation stabilizes, and attrition is brought down to a minimum as the Prussian army takes up winter quarters inside Dresden, Jungbunzlau and Prague. The Austrians remain out of sight and are presumably doing the same thing. No action is undertaken by either side.

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Meanwhile, reports from the rest of the world arrive in Berlin. Marshal Browne, the commander of the Austrian army during the campaign of 1756, is incapacitated by disease and replaced by Prince Charles of Lorraine, Empress Maria Theresa's brother-in-law, who has no great record of victories, having been thoroughly defeated in multiple battles during the War of the Austrian Succession. In India, a British East India Company force under Robert Clive recaptures Calcutta from the forces of the Nawab of Bengal.

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In addition to those come news of the declaration of war by the Holy Roman Empire against Prussia, bringing those German states under Austrian influence into the war. Even more worryingly, the Russian Empire signs the Treaty of Versailles, allying itself with France and Austria, on whose side it will likely soon join the war.

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The most likely route of Russian advance in its very probably invasion attempt of the Kingdom of Prussia is through East Prussia and Pommerania. In the direct line of the Russians would be the two East Prussian fortress of Memel and Königsberg, the latter of which is a large fortress with a garrison of nearly 4,000 men, but which will likely not deter the Russian army for long. Beyond these is the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, whose territory cuts off East Prussia from the rest of the Kingdom, which is technically neutral but, having lost the majority of its power over the previous century, now allows both sides to do as they please in its territory.

The fortress of Kolberg lies along the only major road along the Baltic coastline after Poland-Lithuania, with a garrison of 3,000 men. This fortress also houses the only Prussian field units in the area, an army of 23,000 men under Hans von Lehwaldt, which has been moved there from its forward position in Königsberg because it is far too small to threaten the Russian army. Finally, Stettin and Schwedt bar the way towards Brandenburg and the capital of Berlin.

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The shortage of field units in the area means that any attempt to oppose the Russian army directly is likely doomed to failure, at least not without major reinforcements. However, the many fortresses in the way could slow down the Russian advance for a long time, possibly even until the following winter depending on when they choose to join the war, which might allow the Prussian army to set up proper defences. Additionally, the poor infrastructure in the region might allow light cavalry to harass Russian supply lines as they besiege the forts along the way.

Besides this route, the Russian might also choose to advance towards the south after taking Königsberg before moving west, allowing them to arrive much closer to Berlin, or go even further to link up with the Austrian army in Bohemia. Both these options will likely stretch Russian supply lines very far, however, as they will require extended operations inside the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Whether they attempt either of these options remains to be seen.

[Raptor1]

February-March, 1757

The month of February is quiet as both sides remain in winter quarters. More news come in from India about the signing of the Treaty of Alinager between the British East India Company and the Nawab of Bengal. In Britain, William Pitt and King George II begin the constitution of an Army of Observation in Hanover, intended to protect British possessions in Germany from French invasion.

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Early March sees the first break in the snowfall since the start of the year, and the opportunity is used by the Prussian army to scout out the positions of the Austrian army. Zieten (who seems to be doing everything around here) and his newly combined and reinforced brigade of four Hussar battalions finds the Austrian and Saxon armies under Joseph Lucchese, the same force which had broken out of Pirna last year, encamped in Karlsbad. Wilhelm von Preußen's column, now comprising some 12,000 men, moves out of Dresden to begin the final siege of Pirna.

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Major snow storms begin once again in late March, probably for the last time this winter. With them come yet more news. In North America the French raid Fort William Henry, doing little damage beyond the burning of a few buildings and a sloop. More importantly, Sweden becomes the latest country to join the anti-Prussian coalition, declaring war in order to expand its possessions in Pomerania.

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[Raptor1]

April, 1757

Though some areas are still frozen, April marks the beginning of the campaign season of 1757. Throughout the winter of 1756-1757, new drafts have managed to replenish most of the losses suffered by the Prussian army over the last year. Frederick's Elbe Armee has been reinforced to a total number of 80,000 men, including Wilhelm von Preußen's column outside Pirna.

The total strength of the two Austrian armies spotted in Karlsbad and Tabor are currently unknown. The Austro-Saxon force in Karlsbad, apparently still led by Joseph Lucchese, likely comprises approximately 35,000 men. The main army in Tabor could contain anything from 50,000 to 90,000 men, depending on how many of the Austrian reinforcements have reached the front. The Austrians have also placed Leopold Joseph von Daun in command of this army, not Charles of Lorraine as previously expected. Daun is one of the best commanders in the field and will likely perform significantly better than Browne did last year.

On the diplomatic front, the entry of Sweden and (likely) Russia into the war means that the Austrian coalition now effectively surrounds the Kingdom of Prussia. Combined, the forces of Austria and its allies dwarf those available to the Prussian army. To counter these, the minor western German states of Brunswick, Hanover and Hessen have entered the war on the side of Britain and Prussia. Their armies, which number some 50,000 men, are neither as well trained or led as the Prussian army, and will nearly certainly be outnumbered by the French forces they will soon face.

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April opens with a very much not unexpected event, namely, the French are invading! Columns of French troops have assembled around Brussels in the Austrian Netherlands and are now crossing the Rhine river towards Hanover. The lone Prussian fortress of Wesel stands in their path and is in a hopeless position, but rather than destroy anything of use to the enemy and evacuate it, the Prussian army decides to raise more militia to reinforce the fortress and have its garrison fight to the last in order to delay the French advance as much as possible.

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In response to the Swedish declaration of war, Lehwaldt's forces are pulled back from Kolberg to Stettin, where they will be better able to respond to any invasion by armies coming from Stralsund in Swedish Pomerania. This will put Lehwaldt away from where he can oppose the Russian army, but since the Russians have not yet declared war and will take a lot of time to get through the fortresses in their way when they do, this is probably the most prudent course of action.

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In Saxony, Pirna falls to Prince Wilhelm's forces after a brief siege. The small garrison left in the camp, apparently made up mostly of logistics personnel rather than fighting men, surrenders to the Prussian forces after a brief engagement which incurs no Prussian casualties.

Facing two armies and probably superior numbers, Frederick decides to send the entirety of Elbe Armee to the west, attacking and destroying Lucchese's army in Karlsbad before it can join up with Daun. This will allow Daun to march north and lay siege to Prague unopposed, thus quite probably making it the fifth mistake of the Kingdom of Prussia, but is most likely better than the alternative of facing a combined army of over a hundred thousand men.

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Due to poor coordination, Schwerin and Gessler arrive in Karlsbad first and engage the Austro-Saxon army there, finding 40,000 men under the (incompetent) command of Charles of Lorraine, rather than Joseph Lucchese. The First Battle of Karlsbad becomes a draw as the outnumbered Prussians withdraw after having fought the Austrians and Saxons to a standstill; both sides lose nearly 3,000 men.

Ten days later the bulk of Frederick's Elbe Armee crosses the Eger river and initiates the Second Battle of Karlsbad. The Austrians stand their ground and inflict over 4,000 Prussian casualties, but this time the numbers are equal, and they are ultimately overwhelmed, losing 6,000 men and retreating in disarray towards the fortress of Eger under pursuit by Prussian troops.

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Meanwhile in Britain, William Pitt is dismissed by King George II. Also, the commander of the Army of Observation arrives in Germany to lead the Hanoverian army against the French, a certain Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, who is probably best known for killing some Scots once (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Culloden) and also happens to be utterly incompetent. God help us.

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[Oberon]

This may be one of the few times I'm hoping that the French defeat the English...

[Raptor1]

May, 1757

Austria and France meet in the Palace of Versailles to sign the Second Treaty of Versailles. Austria promises to cede the Austrian Netherlands to France in exchange for 129,000 French troops and a large amount of money until Silesia is returned to them. Meanwhile, large amounts of militia troops are raised throughout Prussian territory, as well as the first Freikorps battalions; irregular units inspired by the Austrian Grenzers.

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The pursuit of Charles of Lorraine's army in Karlsbad continues. Two days following the Second Battle of Karlsbad, a Saxon force of some 5,000 men under Graf von Gersdorf, lagging behind the main body of the retreating army, is caught by Frederick's troops and is utterly annihilated for almost no Prussian casualties. Soon afterwards, the remainder of Prince Charles' troops, nearly 30,000 men, arrive in Eger and retreat behind the walls of the fortress, which is promptly placed under siege by Elbe Armee.

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At the same time, Daun leaves his encampment in Tabor and advances north. A small Prussian cavalry force under Johann von Hülsen sent to watch the Austrian army fails to get out of the way in time and is promptly crushed. Daun arrives in Prague unopposed and lays siege to the Fortress.

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In the west, French armies cross the Rhine and besiege the recently reinforced Wesel, while detached elements are also sent to take the Hanoverian town of Dortmund. The armies of Hanover, Brunswick and Hessen struggle to assemble around the Prussian fort of Minden in time for the French attack.

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[Raptor1]

June, 1757

The Siege of Eger and the Austrian army trapped within continues, but the walls of the fortress manage to withstand the bombardment with no significant damage. Elbe Armee continues to encamp around Eger and the nearby city of Karlsbad, making no moves to oppose the Austrians elsewhere.

Daun's army has better success with its siege of Prague, largely owing to the fact that Prague's garrison is significantly smaller and thus less able to repair damage and fire back at enemy gun batteries. Gaping holes appear in the only recently repaired fortress walls throughout the month, but they are not yet enough to allow the Austrians to assault and re-take the city. Zieten's Hussars (of course) are sent to the rear of Daun's army, on the road south of Prague near Ritschan, to cut off its supply lines and hopefully starve it.

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Meanwhile, receiving news of who the British have sent to lead the armies of Hanover, Hessen and Brunswick against the French, Frederick is not impressed and immediately orders Schwerin to go to Hanover and assume command of the army himself; his troops are given to Prince Heinrich von Preußen, who is a better commander anyway. The Duke of Cumberland is tied up by some Prussian cavalrymen in the middle of the night and dragged off to Berlin to...err, assume command of the vital defences there. Yes, that's it.

Arriving near Minden, Schwerin takes command and immediately begins reorganizing the Army of Observation into something that can fight. As this happens, the commander of Wesel's garrison panics and surrenders to the French, utterly ruining the plan to use the fortress to delay the French for a long period of time. Dortmund, which is also under French siege, manages to withstand despite its meager garrison and lack of walls.

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Also, a forward detachment of the French army, apparently made up of some cavalry advances beyond the French army, dodges by the troops of the Hesse army and arrives many kilometers behind Schwerin's army. The reason for this is still unknown.

In Pomerania, militia and Freikorps cavalry are sent out into the forests to scout out enemy positions and forces. A Swedish army is found near Stralsund, while a small force of the Imperial Army garrisons Rostock. No move is made by either side to attack the other in this area yet.

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Finally, more news come from India of a crushing victory by Robert Clive's outnumbered British East India Company's army against the forces of the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies at the Battle of Plassey, allowing Britain to effectively annex Bengal.

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[Raptor1]

This may be one of the few times I'm hoping that the French defeat the English...

Curiously enough, my other choice to replace the Duke of Cumberland besides Schwerin was James Keith, who is not only a Scotsman but also a Jacobite. That would have been highly ironic. Unfortunately I had to decide not to do that because Keith is easily my best commander and I need him around with Elbe Armee to fight Daun, also Schwerin has more seniority so I have to pay less penalties to give him an army command anyway.

[Oberon]

Curiously enough, my other choice to replace the Duke of Cumberland besides Schwerin was James Keith, who is not only a Scotsman but also a Jacobite. That would have been highly ironic. Unfortunately I had to decide not to do that because Keith is easily my best commander and I need him around with Elbe Armee to fight Daun, also Schwerin has more seniority so I have to pay less penalties to give him an army command anyway.

Perhaps Keith can ride to the rescue of Cumberland when he inevitably screws up in Berlin. That would be quite a delicious paragraph in the history books.

[Raptor1]

Rise of Prussia AAR Thread of Earth-Prime. RISE.

[Raptor1]

We now (attempt to) return you to your regularly scheduled war.


Recap

It is 1757, and Euorpe is once again at war. An alliance of mainland Europe's great powers converges on Northern Germany to destroy the Kingdom of Prussia. The Austrian army of Leopold Joseph von Daun has besieged Prague, while the defeated troops of Prince Charles of Lorraine retreat behind the walls of the mountain fortress of Eger, pursued by Frederick II's Prussian army. In the west, the French army invades Hanover, with nothing but the poorly organized armies of minor states standing in its way. Meanwhile, Russia and Sweden prepare their troops for war.

Is all hope lost? Probably!

July, 1757

Invasion! A corps of Russian troops crosses the border to East Prussia and lays siege to the fort at Memel and its single garrison battalion, which is utterly doomed. The main body of the Russian army gathers at the border depot at Wierzbolow, preparing to move on Königsberg. With the Prussian corps in the area having been evacuated to Pomerania last year, there is no-one that can save East Prussia. Prussian envoys offer the Polish city of Danzig 75,000 thalers in exchange for remaining neutral, hoping to deny the Russians the use of the city as a depot for further operations against Pomerania.

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The Siege of Eger escalates as Elbe Armee encamps in the mountains outside with nearly 84,000 men. The combined weight of Prussian artillery begins crumbling the walls, but the fortress and the Austrian army within continue to resist. Daun has better luck with Prague, which falls back into Austrian hands after a brief assault at the start of July. Daun remains in Prague following his recapture of the city as more Austrian columns arrive from the south to reinforce him.

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Meanwhile, Austrian General Nadasy leads a column (probably composed of Hungarian cavalry) east of Karlsbad into the mountains of southern Saxony, probably intending to cut supply to Elbe Armee from the mountain passes. He is pursued by an infantry brigade under Gottlob von Pannwitz, which has just returned from a brief raid on southern Bohemia.

Hearing that Schwerin has been dispatched to lead the Army of Observation, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick approaches Frederick and offers his services as the more suitable commander of the armies of Brunswick and Prussia's other minor German allies. Agreeing with his logic, Frederick sends Ferdinand to replace the only recently arrived Schwerin, who himself is sent to join the army in Pomerania.

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The first skirmish between the Army of Observation (no longer worthy of the name) and the French in Hanover is fought on July 3rd as Heinrich von Wutignau's 13,000-men Hessen contingent destroys the far outnumbered French cavalry detachment at Lemgo, just south of Minden. The survivors of this engagement promptly retreat to rejoin the main French force.

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As the month of July draws to a close, the armies of French and Russia begin marching east and west, besieging Münster and Königsberg, respectively.

[Feld Grau]

Nice to see this is still alive :rock:

[Raptor1]

August, 1757

Following their successful capture of Memel in late July (which I forgot to mention; sorry about that), the Russian army spreads across East Prussia, pillaging the forested countryside with its Cossack cavalry. The Siege of Königsberg continues as Russian warships are sighted at the mouth of the Pregel river. Bombardment yields little results for the first weeks, but breaches in the walls begin to appear towards the end of the month. Despite this, the nearly 4,000-strong garrison of the city continues to resist.

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In Hanover, little occurs except for more troops shuffling. The Siege of Münster sees no action of note until its commander too decides to surrender to the French. There might be a conspiracy among the ranks of these Hanoverians, or maybe they're just incompetent; who knows.

Leaving some of his troops behind for garrison, Daun's army moves out of Prague and begins marching on Karlsbad, which is soon placed under siege by the advance guard. Putting up a short resistance, the Prussian garrison surrenders the unfortified town to the Austrians some days later. A contingent of Bavarian troops crosses the river from Prague and assaults the depot in Jungbunzlau, established there by the Prussian army in the winter of 1756, and takes it after defeating the two defending companies of infantry.

By the end of the month the majority of Daun's forces have arrived at Eger. At the same time, the army of the Holy Roman Empire marches up from Bavaria to assist the Austrians, encamping in Hof, just to the west of Eger. All the while, the Prussian army continues siege operations, systematically reducing the fortifications of Eger but not succeeding in forcing a surrender. As the Austrians converge upon it, Elbe Armee finds itself with its supply lines cut and surrounded. Clearly this is the sixth mistake of the Kingdom of Prussia!

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How will our heroes escape certain death this time? Find out...at some point!

[Raptor1]

September, 1757


Seeking to eliminate the threat of Charles of Lorraine's besieged forces in the face of of Leopold von Daun's army's imminent arrival, Frederick draws up the Prussian army surrounding the Austrians in Eger into assault columns and orders the preparations for storming the ruined fortifications to begin. On the dawn of the attack, however, an Austrian messenger approaches the Prussian camp and informs Frederick that Charles is willing to negotiate the surrender of his army, which has run out of supplies. The Austrian army is soon disarmed and no less than 40,300 prisoners, a significantly higher number than previously estimated, are soon marched under guard through the northern mountain trails into Prussian captivity. Charles of Lorraine himself is allowed to go free under the terms of surrender.

Meanwhile, Daun and his army, alongside the Imperial Army in Bavaria, make their way up to Eger. On September 8th, Daun comes across the rear-guard of a retreating Elbe Armee and a four-hour skirmish develops between the rear-guard of the Prussian army and the Austrian troops, claiming approximately 1,500 Prussian and 2,500 Austrian casualties. The Austrian army presses forward but it does not succeed in bringing the main body of the Prussian army into battle by nightfall as Elbe Armee successfully crosses the Eger river into Falkenau to the southeast in good order.

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Frederick orders the Prussian army to commence a steady march along the southern bank of the Eger river back towards the mountain passes leading to Dresden. Wasting no time, Daun regroups his army and commences pursuit, however the Prussians are able to keep several days' lead on the Austrian army. Prince Heinrich von Preußen, leading a Prussian column of 14,000 men, is detached from the main body of the army and sent across the river to take up delaying positions east of Karlsbad in case the Austrian army attempts to cut off Elbe Armee's path of retreat. On September 27th, Prince Heinrich's column runs into the Imperial Army under Joseph von Sachsen-Hildburghausen and, despite being significantly outnumbered by the Imperial troops, attacks and soundly defeats it, losing 2,000 men to the enemy's 4,000.

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The campaign in Hanover does not proceed as well. Cavalry regiments are ordered behind the French lines to cut off supplies, but this turns out to be be inconsequential as the French army decides to attack the positions of the Allied army head-on. The Hesse contingent along with a Prussian cavalry corps under Dohna is surprised by 50,000 French troops in Bielefeld and is nearly destroyed. The main body of the Allied army arrives with Ferdinand of Brunswick at the end of the battle and manage to hold off the enemy for some time, but despite the arrival of reinforcement, the rout of the Hesse army soon forces Ferdinand to sound the retreat. Both sides suffer massive casualties in the engagement, with the Allied army losing some 12,500 men to the French's 8,000. Ferdinand arrives in Minden three days later, but he is closely followed by French pursuit which, alongside more reinforcements, soon arrives and delivers a massive defeat to the disorganized Allied army, inflicting another 12,000 casualties while losing only half that number. Broken by the French assault, the remains of the Allied army rout from the field in disorder. Ferdinand tries to rally the army, but the attempt is futile. The end of Hanover seems imminent.

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