The mental illness continues, in this, the second part of the Total War to control Europe. Tonight we meet our plucky heroes as they deal with the immediate aftermath of declaring war on the entire world all at once. What can possibly go wrong? How many men can the other European powers possibly dress up in a uniform and give a musket? Will my PC manage to render the immense smoke walls that this game creates? All these answers, and more, lie ahead….
Refresh your memory of part one here.Â
April 1805
Friedrich
There has been little time for writing in these cold months. Europe has been a whirling cyclone, centered on Berlin. Enemies advance on all sides: from the north, the Swedes, from the east the Russians, from the south the Austrians and our ex-allies in Dresden and Essen. The west is quiet for now, the Frisians and Bavarians choosing to bide their time. Luckily not all has been ill news. With a new use for the army it has been reformed into main forces – one with the objective of striking north and securing Denmark and the North Sea/Baltic Sea channel. The second is to hold the eastern front against the Russians and Austrians: make them bleed for every foot of Polish ground they claim. The east is a lost cause, it would take a miracle to stop the Russian bear. Hopefully Blucher winds up dead somewhere in the frost.
Blessings be upon God, for I managed to convince the Kaiser to put me in command of the northern army. He perhaps suspects I do not want a part in this insanity, especially not to the degree of that choleric madman Blucher, but he saw fit to put me in command of our attacking force. Perhaps I can avoid leading it to ruin, and securing our northern borders against aggression. I’ve already been forced to fight off a large Swedish army that saw fit to besiege Schwerin shortly after we captured the city, and I now find myself camped less than a day’s march from Copenhagen itself. With Sweden’s army destroyed, a swift campaign north to seize their centers of production and recruitment will keep them off balance and mean I can return home within the year. Hopefully to convince Frederick to put an end to this idea and sue for peace.
So there is a clear account for future generations: German forces pulled out of the Cleves pocket in order to better defend Hannover. Schwerin captured. Large Swedish army destroyed near Schwerin in late February. Copenhagen besieged. Denmark on the run. The nations in the Lowlands keep their heads…low.
Blucher
None are more loyal to Germany than myself, and Kaiser Frederick has seen fit to reward this loyalty with command of the entire eastern front! The Russians and Austrians will come to fear my name, and fear the tread of the soldiers of the fatherland. They have already tasted defeat: a large force attempted to take Warsaw in February, but with my combined forces they were destroyed utterly. Many a Russian was introduced to which end of the musket was the killing end – a fact they seemed to require much help with. Meanwhile Austria sits to the south, too timid to seize any sort of opportunity. They’re no threat. Beyond them lies the Ottoman Empire. They sleep yet, and I know not whether they’re a threat or not. For now they are too far away to concern myself with. Greater honour lies close at hand.
I have split my forces between Konigsberg and Warsaw, while recruiting from both. I know the Kaiser instructed me to only hold the line, but the best defense is a good offense! Come the summer my soldiers will roll over the Neman River and set the Russia bear in chains. At first when I was shown to my posting in the east I thought it was a fool’s errand, that I had been put here to keep me out of the way. But now, when I look over the land, at the troops at my back, and at how the Russians cower before me I know the truth: this is the real focus of the German attack. Give me two years, and Russia will cease to exist. I will write history.
