German unification done the other way

[Q-Kee]

Hi guys, welcome to my AAR or the 1850 GC with Kensai's "Großdeutschland mod"! I have no idea how long I will keep it up and I will not post regularly, but for those interested and willing to cope with that - here it is.

Intro: It is 1865, and my game persona is Emperor Franz Joseph I of Habsburg-Lothringen, ruling over a very peaceful, more or less 100 happy population in the Habsburg's empire. The empire has not lost its Northern Italian posessions due to successful war on S-P and France in 1859. The empire is top dog in military strength even when Russia does their annual partial mobilisation. Overall rank is 2, prestige rank is 5.

Wars with the Ottomans (Crimean War, which the Emperor joined enthusiastically on Russia's side) and the Netherlands ( ) gave troop xp, lots of promotions to 3 star general, and 3 important colonies which are needed to become as much as possible self sufficient (Guyane and Curacao for sugar, tropical fruits, gold and later on tobacco - under development, Lybia for dyes and as base to attack French/Italian Tunesia and Algeria if needed). The Empire also went to war with Denmark in 1862/63 over Schleswig-Holstein, no gains to be had there though - even with all of Denmark occupied and the Danish army dead war score was much too low to free Holstein.

Foreign relations are good (100, defensive treaties) with Russia to cover our back, Hannover as base to attack from if needed and Brasil as most important trade partner (sugar, tobacco, coffee) and resting place for fleets that sail the world. The Empire is on quite good terms with the US (around 20, trade agreement) and Japan (2-11, refuses any treaties) as esteemed trade partners for hard to come by commodities (tobacco, wine, rice, tea). Prussis used to be 100 but the defensive treaty has been cancelled by us a few turns ago since we heard that they were negotiating with S-P and France to bring us down to a size that suits them - well, reason I start this AAR now is that I am very much looking forward to them trying, it will be the war that changes known history BTW, anyone who likes, I'd happily engage in a discussion about where today's Austria and the other former lands of the Empire would be now had they stuck to the Habsburgs after WWI. Could WW2 and the Cold War be avoided? Would the EU have formed earlier or not at all? I am Austrian, and I am pretty sure no Habsburg could have done worse (besides thinking they could go to war with the world in 1914, of course, but I'd prefer to blame Wilhelm for that) in politics than those supposedly running our country atm, not to speak of this little fuck from Braunau who nearly killed both my grandfathers along with millions of my countrymen of whatever origin, features or beliefs, neighbouring peoples and whoever he could get at in the whole wide world.
Besides my own I know of only one other defensive treaty which is between France an S-P. Italy has not yet formed in the "minor" variation, I have loki's script and am waiting for it to fire in the future. The rest of the world tends to dislike the Emperor, especially S-P, France, the Ottomans, Serbia and (though I never did anything to them) Great Britain at around -30 to -50, the rest of the smallish is between -1 and -20.

Our peoples are happy with our rule (99-100), except the recently aquired German provinces one of which is even in general strike, we are sure though that they will soon see the advantages of being subjects to the Emperor and become as happy and productive as the rest. Taxes are set at 4% for consumer tax, 40% for luxury tax which is the primary source of state income, and tariffs are at 36% to protect national trade from overly much competition and price dumping.

Trade is going well, the domestic market is quite satisfied. Tobacco, coffee, dyes, sugar and wine are imported quite regularly so the population's demands are met, luxuries cannot be provided in adequate amounts since neither silk nor opium are available on the international market and gold, gems, luxury goods and rum are hard to get. Also rice and tea are only to be had if the Japanese have a good day. Imperial trade posts supply tiny amounts, gems are mined in a single own site in Bohemia, gold and sugar in a colony but colonial production is not yet up to meet the demands. The Empire encouraged the establishment of factories for luxury goods before all others at the very start but the capacity is maxed and the game does not allow for more. The trade balance is negative, the primary exports are munitions (monopolistic atm) and supplies (nearly monopolistic), small quantities of textiles and foodstuffs are sold as well.

The Empire's Economy is first rate, although the building limits are annoying. The domestic market would love more luxury goods, and manufactured goods are even with demand and consumption by industry so whenever something needs to be built those have to be imported. Iron and coal are found in our lands so no shortage of coal or steel is to be feared for the next few decades, especially since the coal mines were upgraded.

In the field of technological research we have noted that in some civilian tech others are more advanced but we do fine. All military research is done as quickly as possible, as well as some key industrial techs and everything that increases satisfaction or lowers militancy. We have breech loading rifles which give the Imperial armies an outstanding bonus at the moment. Contrary to original plans the Emperor also dedicates funds to the navy, the goal is to build a small but advanced navy that will control the Mediterranean Sea - at the moment we have to make do with screw driven wooden ships, but so do potential adversaries and at least the Imperial Navy is the biggest fish in the Med atm.

Colonial affairs are nice, no own colony has yet been established but 3 colonies have been gained in war (see above) and the Ivory Coast should become a colony within the next years after the unification. We are anxious to see if our newly created Holy Roman Empire will also obtain the future German colonies in Africa, especially Zanzibar which would supply some opium.

Changes to the game: Malus for deactivated leaders off, SOI off, mod by Kensai of course but number of unifications events increased to 5 in 1865 and 15 in 1866, script for Italian unification south of the Po, script for colonial options for Austria, Suez canal fix (does not work though), patch 1.03 and hotfix for heavy HQ bug.

This is Central Europe since the Catholic South of Germany has been united with the lands of the Emperor in early 1865:
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The colonies lack work force but already provide a sizeable contribution to the needs in sugar and gold. This is our most recently acquired colony Curacao (formerly Dutch Carribean):
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And this is the older one, Guyane (formerly French Guyane and Dutch Guyane) - with British Guyane to be added if they ever move against us:
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Anyone interested in more stats or pics, say so here. I did not want to bore you, actually I fear I overdid it already

[Kensai]

Subscribed!

[loki100]

sounds good, you obviously negotiated the early game problems successfully, now for revenge on Prussia?

[Q-Kee]

The above post is now finished

Yes, I will take my electronic revenge on Prussia for starting a process that led to the decline of what was a smaller and more Central European (and created for different reasons, but created nonetheless) version of the European Union. And for starting 2 world wars (never mind that said little fuck was not exactly German in origin, actually).

Outline of the plans for the next decade:
- Hit Prussia in the western part by invasion from north (Hannover) and south (Bavaria) and seperate their western army from the eastern ones, advance on Berlin from the south (Bohemia), take on their stronger eastern armies there until the western forces join up or they counterattack Bohemia, and finally annihilate what remains of them in a constant battle from Berlin to Königsberg
- Unify Germany with the Großdeutsche Lösung, comprising all German lands and all non-German lands under Austrian and Prussian rule
- Make the Ivory Coast a colony to mine gold there and have a naval stepstone to East Africa and the Arabian peninsula where opium can be found (since the Suez canal does not work)
- Make war on France once again just for the taste of it (and because I believe it is scripted )
- Make war on Italy as soon as Rome is the capital, so I can take Torino with its industry and wineyards
- Get steel ships and cars

[Kensai]

Impressive list. I wish (for your own sake) that Russia remains neutral. Otherwise your Eastern soft ventre might be exposed. I don't know if the AI will cancel the starting alliance between Austria and Russia, but for extra challenge you might want to do it yourself after a while.

Something I don't recall: what is the overall ranking (F10) of Austria once it creates the Southern German Confederation?!

[Q-Kee]

Here is the F10. It has not changed much, I just lost 2 ranks in social (I think I was 1st there?). As for Russia, I gather from the forum that the AI does not cancel those defensive treaties And even if it does, I have used the Karpaten mountain range as a barrier to the east and south east, each region there has a fully upgraded fort with garrison so it will at least buy me time if not stop dead any Russian advance until the counterattack hammers them. Well, I might be introuble if attacked on 3 fronts simultanously, but then I can shift to defensive, hide the field armies behind the forts that guard all frontiers except the Bavarian and Ottoman. 4 fronts (if the Ottomans join in too) could make things hard.

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[Q-Kee]

The Emperor declared war on Prussia to settle the question of dominance in Germany by force. Saxony, with its defensive treaties with both parties sided with Prussia but did not dare to declare war yet. Loyalty to the Emperor is above 50% in all non-Prussian German states, and the Emperor's generals order their armies to advance. All advancing armies show offensive stance and have orders to hold the field at all cost.

In the west, Fürst Schwarzenberg first has to cut off the enemy's route to the east and then engage directly. Ramming is to prevent the enemy from seeking refuge in the fortified city of Cologne and lend support to Schjwarzenberg in the battle the high command hopes to fight. The corps from Baden will protect Mainz, staying in contact with Ramming's army should the enemy decide to counterattack.

In the east, von Gablenz advances on the enemy, hoping to be able to bypass the fort at Breslau, Archduke Karl Ferdinand will begin siege operations on Breslau. Von Benedek and von Henikstein will guard the border against counterattack.

In between, the Bavarian army is led by von Clam-Gallas on an advance on Erfurt, this move is half diversion and half an alternative try to seperate Prussian east from west. Von Clam-Gallas is not expected to win against same or bigger sized enemy formations.

Fürst Schwarzenberg will be in overall command of the German theatre. Von Liechtenstein is in reserve at Vienna with a highly mobile force of cavalry and mountein infantry and has command in the Austrian lands, the Northern Italian possessions are protected against hostilities from Sardinia-Piedmont by von Maroicic's army, with Gyulay at Venice in command on this theatre.

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[Q-Kee]

Fürst Schwarzenberg and Ramming managed to dislodge the western Prussian army under Albrecht von Preußen from Düsseldorf, pinned them down between them around Cologne, and annihilated the entire army. Fürst Schwarzenberg will now immediately march west, Ramming besieges Cologne. Captured equipment will be destoryed right there on the field.

Von Gablenz' advance was blocked by the fort at Breslau, after a small field force there was easily wiped out. An oncoming enemy army has been spotted, so now Archduke Karl Ferdinand will advance north-west since he is as good in offence but lacks von Gablenz's defensive qualities while von Gablenz will besiege Breslau and hopefully lure the advancing enemy into an attack on him - giving him 4 to 1 superiority with the other armies marching to the battle.

Von Clam-Gallas faces an equal foe and has halted his advance, he is to defend but fall back before casualties build up. Maybe Fürst Schwarzenberg will reach him to join forces and figth the battle together soon, or the enemy army might try to race west to meet Fürst Schwarzenberg voluntarily in which case von Clam-Gallas will move to cut off its retreat.

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[loki100]

dramatic start, interesting to see a campaign between two large armies and the early attempts to gain key positions

[Kensai]

The reason I wanted to see the F10 screen was double: first, to remember (I could not recall!) how high Austria was getting to the overall ranking by creating a "tighter" Southern German Confederation with Franz-Josef on top; second, to see your power ratio against Prussia which looks to me rather promising. But if your relations with Sardinia-Piedmont and France go sour again, they might declare war on you. This tends to happen as far as I've seen (I've seen it happening in my own AAR as well).

But if it doesn't and you want extra challenge... you know how to do it! Actually, it would be quite realistic if ITA and FRA declared war on you the moment you were seen marching en masse towards Berlin. It's your game, do as you enjoy, but I am getting ideas here to make it further challenging in a future version of the mod! For example, I could add an event to check some conditions (1) relations of ITA/FRA with Prussia and (2) relations of RUS with Prussia. If these are rather high then a low probability chance of declaring war on you could fire.

Great work so far, have you managed to instill loyalty to the rest of small German States of the North? What does the Grand Duke of Hesse in Kassel and his people say?

[Q-Kee]

Yes, they are rather bad - France is -30 and S-P -45 or so atm. Both are weak in military terms though so they will not take the chance I suppose - they are not even listed in F10 anymore. Even if they do, they will not penetrate my North Italian defenses, at least not easily so the war with Prussia might be won before they make enough progress to really hurt me in terms of morale and production. The only ones I fear are the Russians, and they have nobody in the world but me who likes them so they will not abandon our friendship. In a realistic historical view, I actually agree completely with you, the Italians would jump to the chance - they would have, had the war of 1866 lasted longer, I think. The French would probably have done what they usually did if they had no Napoleon on hand - provide financial support to one or more parties and keep the conflict up as long as possible if only it weakens one or more other power(s). I don't think they would have joined the fray.

The Grand Duke seems to hold out still - all the others have already said "Unification? Check!" Saxony and Hannover did so with onyl 50+ loyalty, BTW. I used 15 unification events between February and March to achieve this, you might want to think about providing 2 or 3 per year in the mod, or make the effect stronger for each.

[Kensai]

If your relations are less than -25 and you are not at war with them they won't appear in F10! Be wary!

I will need to run further tests to see if 2 or more unification decisions are needed. I wanted to leave this to minimal as to have it cliffhanger, only the most insisting Austrian players should achieve it just before 12 hour. But perhaps you are right, one might be too little, will need to do my calculations again.

Keep us posted on new developments!

[Q-Kee]

By the end of June we get this picture of the situation:

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In the west, Schwarzenberg was moving east, intending to bypass Dortmund, but the Prussian army under Luitpold von Bayern rushed west, probably in an attampt to stop our advance at Dortmund. The armies met in very brief encounter - Luitpold ceded the field immediately and fell back.

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The Emperor would have preferred to order Clam-Gallas forward on Magdeburg to pin Luitpold's army down between him and Schwarzenberg, but it seems to be too great a risk with Wrangel's army at Berlin to give support. So Clam-Gallas is to take advantage of the breach at Erfurt and take the city while Henikstein moves into Saxony to advance togther with him the next turn.
Ramming will leave Cologne as chances to strom the city are much too low. We know of about troops worth 1000 power within the fortress and neither is it our priority nor a threat to our rear - those troops are leaderless and not good for anything but manning a fort. Prussia has ordered a partial mobilisation, we are aware that this will give the enemy additional manpower, but we are sure that manpower in itself will not change much as long as it cannot be organised into armies and deployed as the situation would need it. So Ramming and Schwarzenberg will advance against Luitpold the next turn, while Clam-Gallas and Henikstein cut off his retreat.

In the east, Archduke Karl Ferdinand cleared the area around Görlitz of the small enemy force there, Wrangel came to support but only got a bleeding nose against the combined power of the Imperial armies deployed in Silesia. With Gablenz still stuck in the siege of Breslau, Benedek will move by rail to Görlitz to add his weight and considerable defensive talent in case Wrangel comes for another helping.

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The Imperial battle fleet has arrived in the Baltic for reconaissance.

[Q-Kee]

The enemy makes no moves besides joining the locally available forces into Luitopld's army. So the Imperial armies set out to execute the plans, with only small changes: Schwarzenberg will not advance further east but besiege Dortmund, since the mobilised forces at Cologne have been organised into a corps and might need attention later on. Seeing the army readying itself for an all-out assault, Erfurt has struck its colors, freeing Clam-Gallas to advance. In an attempt to take pressure of Clam-Gallas' and Henikstein's incursion into the Magdeburg area, Archduke Karl Ferdinand will engage Wrangel's army with Benedek in support. And a corps of mountain infantry has recieved permission to seek out smaller enemy forces in the east of Prussia, more or less as a training mission, diversion and reconnaissance in force.

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The small cavalry forceat Wiesbaden has been successfully engaged and routed by our corps from Baden. Saxony has let its last chance slip to declare war on the Emperor to save its face - but we are fine with that, since we can move our troops through it still. Breslau's walls have been breached for the first time.

[loki100]

you are doing a good job squeezing the Prussian armies, makes it very hard to see where they can manage a counterstroke

[Q-Kee]

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Karl von Preußen has taken command of Luitpold's army, but to no avail. It was decisively beaten by Schwarzenberg and Ramming at Magdeburg and ran off in retreat into Saxony - where it was joined soon by Wrangel's army which had to cede the Berlin area to Archduke Karl Ferdinand. Breslau surrendered, so Gablenz will have the honor to lead the final assault on the Prussian armies with the poplace of Dresden watching.

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The Emperor has turned down an offer for peace from the Prussian king - it is all or nothing, at stake is nothing less than the future of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.

Ramming will let his army rest in camps around Düsseldorf, besieging it in the process. Later he will move on Cologne. All other armies advance into the heart of Prussia to get their share of glory on the field of battle.

[Q-Kee]

The Emperor is pleased with his generals and the soldiers wearing his colors - news of the defeat of the Prussian field armies at Dresden have been recieved at the court in Vienna. Armies spread out now to hunt down small enemy forces, Berlin is under with the walls already breached.

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[Kensai]

well, reason I start this AAR now is that I am very much looking forward to them trying, it will be the war that changes known history BTW, anyone who likes, I'd happily engage in a discussion about where today's Austria and the other former lands of the Empire would be now had they stuck to the Habsburgs after WWI. Could WW2 and the Cold War be avoided? Would the EU have formed earlier or not at all? I am Austrian, and I am pretty sure no Habsburg could have done worse (besides thinking they could go to war with the world in 1914, of course, but I'd prefer to blame Wilhelm for that) in politics than those supposedly running our country atm, not to speak of this little fuck from Braunau who nearly killed both my grandfathers along with millions of my countrymen of whatever origin, features or beliefs, neighbouring peoples and whoever he could get at in the whole wide world.

This is more or less the reason I created this mod so I am happy that you investigate this aspect. Of course we cannot say "what if" in history without making serious assumptions, nevertheless, if Austria had prevailed in the German War of 1866 life might have been very different in the German States. But all would have depended on the "type" of Germany Austria would want. And this is something, luckily, the final 4-choice decision gives. Would Austria continue being a multiethnic nation or go to be a nationalist German country as Prussia tried. Both cases mean a bigger Germany than the historical one. In v2.0 of my mod I plan to give (1) challenges while you try to achieve the Großdeutschland goal and (2) implications and envy from other major nations once you achieve it.

The above because I truly believe an alternate reality Germany WITH Austria is nearly unstoppable and this can already been seen in the metrics of the game. Population-wise it is a behemoth. Resources and area wise, the same, albeit I do think there is need "to get things straight" with Britain sooner or later due to a blockade possibility and choking. Would the world avoid the World Wars of the early 20th century, I do not know. It is really puzzling to me how the hell the First World War even started when the three Emperors (the Russian, the British, and the German) were first cousins... Anyway, perhaps it could have been avoided given that Franz-Josef declared war on Serbia in fear of his own realm's destabilization. So if he had not lost the Prussian-Austrian War, perhaps he would NOT have to do the dual compromise of 1867 which after all was the first serious crack in the Austrian sovereignty over the multiethnic country.


---
Regarding the map developments.

I love how fast and efficiently Austria is mopping up the Prussian armies. I have to give you credit for playing hardcore the first decade or so of the game to close the historical handicap Austria had against Prussia in its armed forces. It seems that your armies (since you are first ranked in F10 in tech) are up to the task and well-qualified with the latest equipment and engagement techniques. You are already in Berlin which is cool, the war might be over soon. And I see you have been joined by Bavarian (blue) and Württembergian (purple) Generals. Is purple Württemberg?

[Q-Kee]

Hi Kensai, I have not much time atm but a big question: how do I proceed? Make a white peace? I want Silesia, so if I get the choice of Großdeutsche Lösung all will be fine, but if maybe I cannot choose I will claim them to make sure I get Maria Theresia's heritage in Silesia back. When I get it it will, afaik, not be national region however but "occupied". I will answer to the rest tonight if possible - very much looking forward to it!

Yes, blue is Bavaria, purple Würtemberg, there is also Baden which is a very bright yellow so it seems white as Austria. These leaders I inherited with the formation of the SGF - plus Karl of Bavaria, but I exiled him in Lybia since his seniority was 1 but his abilities suck

[Kensai]

I should probably not tell you all the details (and you shouldn't read the events), but let me tell you simply this which is almost all anyway:

The war is won when you have won convincingly over Prussia and all prerequisites of "loyalty" of the rest of German States are met. If you do have the 60% of loyalty in the capital regions of the Northern German States and the Prussians have lost all hope (guess how!), then there is a big probability that the event of the war's end will fire in a turn or two. Then you will have the ending decision of four possible outcomes. Nationalistic or multicultural Großdeutschland under Austria, with or without Prussia. 4 choices.

Yes, blue is Bavaria, purple Würtemberg, there is also Baden which is a very bright yellow so it seems white as Austria. These leaders I inherited with the formation of the SGF - plus Karl of Bavaria, but I exiled him in Lybia since his seniority was 1 but his abilities suck

Haha, the truth about Karl of Bavaria was in the event that fired for the institution of tighter military (Southern) German Confederation!
("disagreements in certain Bavarian circles...")

[Q-Kee]

Thanks for the info! And this report slipped my attention, obviously. What Karl got for his "disagreement" is a nice command of 12 regiments in the North African steppes and deserts, I hope he enjoys it. Thanks also for the hint with the F10 and -25 relations, I just didn't know that. AGEOD games are whole worlds of mysteries to be discovered one by one

Besides internal politics, Franz Joseph was also pushed into this war by Wilhelm, who used him to trigger the war ultimately meant to aggrandise himself and his realm. Also Germany had an edge in technology it could not keep up for long, so it was use it or lose it. It was the second crisis with Serbia already, had he chosen war in the first as suggested by some sensible advisors it might (only might) not have set the whole world afire as it did later. After all, Serbia really was a problem to deal with, even without the annexation of Bosnia.

The compromise of 1867 or any other solution to this problem was inevitabel though IMO. I personally liked Karl's attempts at a triple monarchy, maybe some day they would have found out that tolerance and respect are marvellous things and treat all ethnic groups as equals, thus making the best of all their peoples' abilities for the greater glory of the Empire. This common goal, the available impressive leader and an underlying sense of historic mission as subjects of the house of Habsburg would have made a tolerant multi-ethnic Habsburg monarchy a much better, more focused, version of the EU, one might even speculate. Anyways, time to get on with the AAR

[Q-Kee]

The peoples of the Habsburg realm are enthusiastic and cheer their successful generals. At the very peak of his military career, Edmund Fürst zu Schwarzenberg decided to leave service with the army and make way for those he so successfully trained to take his place after him. The Emperor showers Fürst Schwarzenberg with the thanks of the dynasty and proudly announces Ludwig Wilhelm Freiherr von Gablenz as the new commander-in-chief of all land forces wearing the Emperor's yellow and black colors.

Less noticeable, the commander of the North Italian theatre, Ferencz Joszef Gyulay, and admiral of the battle fleet Archduke Ferdinand Max took the same step an retired to their estates. A rising star in the Imperial Navy, Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, was promoted to second in command of the fleet under Bernhard von Wüllerstorff-Urbair. The fleet returns to Trieste to take aboard their new commanders.

Berlin is besieged, more armies now have orders to join the siege to bring about the fall of Berlin. Unfortunately, in every war there has to be silly blunder, also the Imperial armies have not been spared their share - the areas to the immediate north of Berlin were to be cleared of all enemy forces, and Henikstein stepped forward to demand this as an independent command to gather laurels for himself, since so many other generals have earned aplenty and passed him in seniority. So the other armies nearby recieved orders not to interfere and Henikstein set forth, leading 3 corps of mountain infantry against enemy concentraitons around Stettin on the Baltic coast. Disaster struck him, and even though help was available it did not arrive as generals were under orders not to move out in support. Leading a reckless, desperate charge to save the day Alfred Freiherr von Henikstein fell to a withering fire from prepared positions. Displaying valor and true soldiers' spirit in the best of military traditions, his mountain troops stood their ground and fought valiantly for the Emperor well above and beyond the call of duty, never ceding the field to the enemy even under horrendous losses.

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Newly promoted, Franz Freiherr von John is sent to take command of the battered army and lead it from the field to well deserved rest and refit in Rostock, which has to be taken by them first, though. Gablenz is on his way to Berlin where he is to assume command of Schwarzenberg's army, while the army he lead to the great victory of Dresden may now spend a few summer weeks in pleasant Bohemia, with Pilsner beer on the Emperor's expenses and the adoration of Prague's young ladies. Archduke Karl Ferdinand sets out to Stettin to wash away the stains on the Imperial army's reputation with Prussian blood.

In Central Prussia and Saxony, the remainders of the 2 main armies have been mopped up, resulting in nearly a million of prisoners if reports can be believed. In the west, Ramming moves on Saarbrücken where a reserve corps is known to be dilly-dallying - the decision of whether to join the fray will be made for them, very soon. The Baden corps moves south-west as well to clear the Mainz area of some raiding cavalry.

The strategic situation presents itself as this:
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[Q-Kee]

Thrice breached, Berlin will meet its fate now. Four armies have surrounded the Prussian capital, and Gablenz gives the Bavarians under Clam-Gallas' command the honor of being first through the breach.

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In the east, Prussian troops move about but the Emperor does not wish to advance on them - victory in sight, he sees no gain in slaugthering pressed German peasants and shows mercy and care for those who shall soon be his subjects. Also the siege of Cologne is to be lifted. On all fronts the dust settles and men look forward to years of peace and prosperity under the wise rule of Franz Joseph, father of his peoples.

[Q-Kee]

Towards the end of September the Freiherr von Gablenz proudly reports to His Majesty that the Double Eagle now flies over Berlin and asks His Majesty's permission to suspend all further operations until spring, hoping that no more agression against Germans will be necessary by then.

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[Kensai]

Impressive yet again!

Albeit the first indecisions in Stettin, you managed to claim the region. You really crushed the Prussians before they could even have a chance of organized resistance. The General that was Commander-in-Chief for the attack on the Prussian capital had some astonishing attributes (6-8-4), I presume they were from his added bonuses. With the fall of Berlin, I do not expect them to keep much longer. Their national morale should be at its nadir. Now, you simply need some patience as you wait they come for you with peace terms: acknowledging that Austria is the master of the German Confederation! But these terms will only* come if you have convinced the rest of minor German States that they will be better off under Austria...

(you give me so many ideas to make this harder for v2.0 of the Mod... I really hope you play that as well and make an AAR too... I will add more events to make this more challenging, especially in the early parts of the campaign)

*make sure you have convinced every single minor State, as it is abstracted that only when you have curbed all "political resistance" they will agree to join a stricter Confederation under the Habsburgs' primacy

[Q-Kee]

Yes, he adds +1 strategy +1 attack, the rest were quite good stats from the beginning and much xp as I wanted him to be new c-in-c after Schwarzenberg. 2 minors are still 54%, unfortunately, so I wait for February 1867 now, trying to kill as few Prussians as possible.

I will be happy to play the 2.0 as well, and post an AAR. Actually it's fun to make an AAR, also helps you reflect more about your own decisions and plans.

The AI just did not do well here. I cancelled our defensive treaty in 1865 already, there were the events, and I waited 2 turns after declaring war to cross the border - it should have prepared, started partial mobilisation earlier, move its armies into defeinsive positions, decide where to make a stand etc. But well, strategic deployment is not one of the AI's talents, neither is the decision about priorities. This is what lets the human player win IMO, countering AI mass and cheating by concentrated efforts at the right time and the right place while

[Kensai]

Trust me, I will give you a run for your money in v2.
Indeed there are some sharp angles that I need to correct. For example, after you conclude the SGF there should be an event cancelling the defensive agreement with Prussia to simulate the rising antagonism between the two major Germanic nations. This and some other things I have in mind. Given the unstoppable power a Großdeutschland attains, it should be hard. Last, I plan for some "ending events" according to which of the four decisions the player makes in the unification. Each of them will give a different set of challenges. So if you want to create the huge multinational Empire, Prussia included, prepare for some major challenge. Take a smaller bite and things might be easier.

[Q-Kee]

Things have cooled down. Some Prussian units are lurking in the far east, and some try to cause trouble in the west but with no success. Our armies are camped for the coming winter, and everybody awaits Springtime which should bring about historical changes and see a Habsburg Emperor rule a united Central Europe again. It is time to take a look at the situation besides war affairs.

There has not been any economic development since the start of the war. Imports of goods not produced in large enough quantities have been well managed throughout the wartime, private capital has been plenty every since the South German states have rallied to the Emperor's banner, bringing large funds with them and increasing the domestic demand. There are no shortages that can be remedied by investing in more production sites and no infrastructure needed to build.

Technological research has been emphasized even while on active campaign, iron ships and turrets have been researched, our science teams are now working on armoured frigates and barbettes. Also development in social matters is highly encouraged and financially supported by the government so as to improve contentment of the poplace.

Foreign relations have not really changed, it is noicable that the USA seem to view us a little more more favorably (25) but still do not agree to any treaties we propose except the trade agreement that is already in place. Some ministers have suggested to offer a defensive treaty which they might agree to, the Emperor is at least considering it. There is little advanatge in having a defensive ally overseas, but it might be good for the future to be on good terms with this rising nation - or nations, not so unlike our own realm.

Contentment in the South German provinces has risen to acceptable levels, Würtemberg is still plagued by demonstrations but improvement is obvious, since contentment was 0 at the beginning and the whole province was in general strike back then. Militancy is high in those provinces but it is also higher than in the Habsburgs' lands momentarily, the government is waiting for the next chance to pass measures to counter this.

Why Schleswig and Holstein have started delivering reports about population contentment recently, our secreary of the interior does not have an explanation for.

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[Kensai]

Contentment. It can be achieved either by a healthy prosperous economy and low taxes or some combination of armed forces presence. Given your primacy in the German States, I suppose both of them.

Actually, I am surprised that you managed to turn around Württemberg. There is anecdotal evidence that if a region falls too much in its contentment, it is almost impossible to rise it again without resolving to some script. Thus, this suggests that the system is not broken, it probably needs time. Let us know if Württemberg's demonstrations eventually stop.

Any more minor German States accepting Austria's supreme rule?

PS. I am really curious to see a future F6 screenshot. Prussia has had a lot of "Protestant" influence over the minor States. It will be a great test if the prevailing of "Catholic" Austria might change these numbers. IIRC, though, the F1 attributes of the Austrian rulers are not that aggressive as far as religious perseverance goes.

[Q-Kee]

We have now sent military units to help out the police in suppressing social unrest. A diplomat is on his way to Washington DC to offer a defensive treaty. Our colonies are doing nicely, if slowly in their development. A private enterprise has completed the task of building railroads in Ivory Coast, so in spring another expedition will be sent there to finally make it our colony - transport by rail should make this task much easier than the first expedition's. We have recieved reportsd of French colonial actions in the area, but we are not concerned about it.

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