The General's HQ Game 1

[Odysseus]

In Italy, the Austrians are making gains...

[Odysseus]

And along the Rhine, the minors are being gobbled up by the great powers...

For a look at the East, I'll ask Spain or France to post screens of the Russians, so no military secrets are given away [:D]

[Odysseus]

Oh, and thanks Hoff for the Paint-idea![:)]

[gazfun]

Looks good Odysseus, all you have to do in future is to trim the Victory, and Political charts down next time.

[gazfun]

Ok here is Nelson home having a beer

[Odysseus]

Gazfun - a tip, next time, paint over your corps markings and the economics window to preserve your military secrets . I know that at this stage of the game, it's probably not gonna make a huge difference, but in the long run it might...

[Odysseus]

At the end of the December phase, a long list of minors fell to majors:

Wurtemburg, Berg and Romagna to Austria.
Genoa to France.
Holstein and Hamburg to Russia (the French 6 factor garrison in Hamburg was, for some reason, transferred to Lille by the computer - bug?)
S Pommerania fell to Prussia.

Lapses of war between Prussia and Nassau and Austria and the Papacy - the latter was also a bit mysterious, the computer moved the Austrian land forces back to their points of origin before the land phase. Another bug?


The news from the Diplomacy phase of January 1806:

Pretty much nothing happened at all...lots of attempts to influence minors to and fro, none succeeded. GB made the Papacy Free state Conquered.

Oh, and France declared war on Liege, which became an Austrian Freestate. Musta been one the least eventful diplomatic phases so far this game, but that was kinda expected with a major war past and winter reigning over Europe...

[Odysseus]

Bolkonskij breathed deeply and took in the view. As far as the eye could see, the sea was filled by ships, ships of the line as well as merchant vessels, their masts forming a forest on the Baltic Sea. The rigging sang in the wind as he descended with his company into the sloops that would ferry them to shore.
 
Shore - the white landmass just ahead. All along the shoreline, tents had been raised like mushrooms and the smoke of campfires hung like a dirty roof over the otherwise wintery landscape. It crept slowly closer, and the anticipation among the troops was palpable, not only because of the smell of food that became ever more present with every stroke of the oars. Nine months was a long time to be away from home.
 
With a grind, the boat finally pulled up on the gravel of land, and the men quickly fell out. Bolkonskij followed, savoring every step his feet took on the soil of mother Russia.
 
--------
 
January is over. Mecklenburg fell to France, and the diplomacy phase of February 1806 is about to begin.

[Odysseus]

-------
Bezukhov looked out over the brave soldiers in green as they marched down the snowy streets of Kovno towards their encampment. Behind him, the door opened, letting in the chilly winds of February. A familiar voice called his attention:
 
"My friend, on your way to Denmark at last, I see!"
 
"Bolkonskij! The hero returns to the Motherland! And a colonel, no less!"
 
The two embraced warmly and kissed each other hello the Russian way.
 
"But where are my manners! Here, tea, and something stronger to keep the cold at bay. You must tell me everything, I mean every---"
 
As Bezukhov eagerly cleared the table, the door opened once more, this time letting in a very stressed out messenger.
 
"Sir, the latest dispatches from our Embassy in Spain! The English navy is defeated!"
 
Bezukhov blinked a couple of times, and then tore open the document, eyes quickly scanning through it.
 
"Dear God! The Spanish sailed out of Cadiz and engaged the British, commanded by Nelson himself. And won! And turned the tables on him. The English...retreated to Gibraltar...were blockaded...and...defeated again as they tried to brake the blockade! I'm sorry, dear friend, I must immediately make a report to the Foreign Minister!"
 
Bolkonskij left the busy civil servant scurrying for more ink to his pen with a feeling that time stood still during a precious moment as the balance of power in Europe shifted once more...

[Odysseus]

Mostly, the naval turns in this game have been uneventful, but when something happens, it does with a bang!

The Spanish gambled and tried to break out of Cadiz. They were most succesful, even against Nelson, and succeeded to lock the Royal Navy into Gibraltar. The Royal Navy then tried to break through the Spanish blockade, but apparently rolled a 2 to Spain's 3. And this the tables have turned in the Med.

In Gibraltar, GB has 10 Swedish Heavies, as well as 34 of his own, plus 5 Transports. The blockading force is made up of 35 Spanish heavies and 11 Lights as well as 8 Portugese Heavies.

And the French fleet is no longer under blockade! GB is now in Instability, and the rest of the powers of Europe are watching this with great interest. I think...[8D]

[Rosen]

London

Adm Collingwood and Rear-Admiral Northesk at both sides of a table at the Amiralty:

Sir, says Northesk, -prepare yourself for something that couldnt happen

-Whats your problem lad?

-HMS Shannon have come to Portsmouth with some news, bad news
-please continue, isnt Shannon with the blockade of Cadiz?
-Was, sir, was
-Have they left Cadiz?
-The darn Spaniards ran the blockade and pursued our fleet to Gibraltar
-Nooo!
-They tried to make a breakout with no success, Shannon made it, passed the Flagship Santissima Trinidad which cudos to them amazingly did not fire, it would have been very dishonorable with 130 guns vs 36, anyway Shannon thanked them by raking their Stern, Lt-Commander Shaw been suggested for promotion, sir.
-This is indeed bad news
-And even then they had not the nerve to put the Swedes in the first line, who havent lost a single ship, whats you orders sir?
-Withdraw the blockade of Amsterdam immediately, wouldnt surprise me if the Spaniard would try to take them too, oh, and get me an audience with the King.

[gazfun]

Captain Auclair has returned from Marshall Davout HQ, he stands and waits his turn, for despatches to be given to him.
Napoleon snaps,to everyone in the room. "Where is that report on the Spanish Victory over the British at Gibralter, do I have to do every thing myself?" Sire! "Bernodotte has only given us a brief of the situation there" Talyrand replied "I know I know, you have earned your ridiculous pay for this month, monsieur, we have a more direct say with Turkish affairs now thanks to you.  And now we have an enforced peace with Great Britian.......perfect perfect"
Napoleon continues. " We have a security leak. Please inform all commanders that we will execute plan............" Napoleons voice fades as Captain Auclair is ushered out by Bessieures Chief of Staff  aide Colonel Mathe that he is to make all speed to Davout HQ, with this dispatch, the Captain asks but Jean you seem to have a serious base to your voice whats the matter.  Jean replies "Its all in the dispatch" I cant tell you, now go, Auclair returns his look, and Jean can only offer, an assuring grin.

[Odysseus]

Cool stuff, Gazfun. Now you got us all curious and wary about France's plan [:D]
 
I'll be hardpressed to make updates for a while, with new baby and all, but I'll be back with stuff in time, just be patient!

[Odysseus]

March 1806 saw a bit of drama. After the British navy got pounded by the Spanish, Great Britain sued for peace, and got a conditional with both France and Spain. Spain claimed Sweden and 1/2 the next quarter income and France went for No Trade and Enforced Peace for 24 months. GB slipped into Instability and lost Malta, Corsica, Tunisia and the Papacy.

Meanwhile, Russia declared war on Chechnya, which became Spanish.

As for actions during the turn, it was very calm. The Russian assault on Grozny was the only fight and produced no result.

Victory points tally shows Spain in the lead!

[Odysseus]

Early April was not as calm: France and Austria both attempted to declare war on the Papacy, but both are still under enforced peace to each other, so they simply lost 1 pp each and Papacy remains free and peaceful. Meanwhile, Great Britain declared war on Naples (Spanish), Turkey on Egypt (Austrian) causing Turkey the loss of 1 extra PP due to Egypt being its minor ally, and Spain on Algeria (Turkish). Turkey also allied with both France and Spain.

Current Political status is thus:

[Odysseus]

April is finished. It wasn't terribly dramatic, aside from the Russian gaining control of Grozny.

Oh, and the Spanish navy has been sighted off the coast of Denmark. The ENTIRE Spanish navy. And in May diplomatic, Spain Freed Sweden, so now relations between Spain and Russia are frosty it seems...

[Odysseus]

Also, in May, Austria and France continued DoWing the Papacy and backing down - each loosing another 1 pp.

In Egypt, Turkey won the first battle against their former allies and it seems safe to assume that they'll go straight for Cairo now.

[Odysseus]

We had to replay May because of a bug that teleported France's lent fleets away from Spanish control Lisbon. That replay had Austria DoW Dalmatia, with Spain gaining control, and France DoWing Tunisia, with Prussia gaining control. The first was unproblematic, Austria came, saw and conquered. The second ended with France not transporting troops to Tunisia and thus a Lapse of War. Moreover, when GBs temporary access to Spain was ended, the program decided that his access to Naples (Spain gained control) also ended, and his troops were teleported to Naples - clear case of Bug. Naples is still listed as at war with Britain, we'll see how that pans out, but it's certainly frustrating, particularly since GB is in a vulnerable position right now and can't really afford loosing them PPs.
 
June has started. Austria DoWed the Papacy again, and the third time is the charm - France did not DoW this time, meaning that Austria finally gets to invade. Spain gained control. Finally, GB being in instability and with no corps in Gibraltar resulted in the rock declaring neutrality. Ouch!

[Odysseus]

Lots of interesting things have happened! [:D]

June ended with Dalmatia falling to Austria, and a (predictable) lapse of war between GB and Naples.

July has started. France has DoWed Corsica (Russia FS) and Liege (PR FS), GB Dowed Gibraltar (SP FS).

Then Russia and Austria DoWed Spain! Spain called its allies Prussia and Turkey, but both declined, breaking their alliances, so Spain stands alone...but certainly has naval superiority anyway, so this can go either way.

Meanwhile, GB Allied with RU, AU and PR, completing the old Alliance.

Will post PP standing and VP standing soon...

Oh, and the Russian communiké:

St Petersburg, July 1, 1806

It grieves us that we cannot yet enjoy a time of peace in Europe, but the time has come for War against the Kingdom of Spain. We call upon three reasons for this, for the edification of the sovereigns of Europe:

Pro primo, Spain agreed to the Treaty of Madrid, thereby directly affecting Russian interests negatively, in spite of Russia having taken no actions against Spain during its conflict with Great Britain. That France, clearly hostile to our Realm, would stipulate such terms, is understandable. Spain professed to be our friends, yet acted in no such way.

Pro Secundo, Spain has in communications with our government explicitly stated that in case of a new war between the Alliance and France, Spain would, without hesitation, give France its full and unconditional support, thereby declaring itself the potential enemy of Russia.

Pro Tertio, by arming the Swedes, Russia has to conclude that Sweden, if a conflict of the nature mentioned above would ensue, would become a launching ground for hostilities against Russia. Such a threat cannot be ignored by any responsible government.

Thus, We find Ourselves at War with Spain, until such a time when the government of Spain can bring satisfaction to Our government. May God have mercy on Us all.

[To the new player: Sorry bud, you just had the misfortune of taking over once decisions had been made, obviously motivated by the policies of the former player. Let's hope it'll make for an interesting start of your pbem!]

There have also been Prussian and French statements about the current ongoings:

From Prussia:
Prussia now finds itself in the awkward position of having it's allies at war.

Therefore we intend to stay neutral in this conflict, unless Prussian interests are directly threatened by any of the waring nations.

We urge these Monarchs to be wary of their goals, should this conflict flow over into involving other nations.

From France - headlined "Russia stay out of Corsica and Sardinia"

I have given a warning to all powers for them to stay out of this area.
Looks like Russia must not have ears

[allrocco]

Madrid, July 1, 1806

"Oh what a party..., the food, the wine, the entertainment, the women...it must surely have been the best new year's eve party in history", the king exclaimed rubbing the sleep out of his eyes!
"My king, you are awake." the king's first advisor Alfonso said waiting just outside the door to the sleeping chamber. "Of course, is it still snowing outside? I promised my children we would play in the snow today." Alfonso, obviously set back by the king's remark, with surprise in his voice said: "Snowing? But your majesty, it is in the middle of summer!" The king was out of his bed in a flash, running towards the big window in the sleeping chamber. "Well, indead it is...summer...what magic is this?...what has happened? Have I been ill, have I been asleep for half a year?...Alfonso, just don't stand there like a statue...speak to me!"

"Your majasty, you haven't been ill at all...you have been running this country in the most exemplary way possible, leading us to a great victory against the British empire. But I have dire and urgent news for you sire. As of July 1st 1806 we are at war with Austria and Russia."

"1806? Did you just say 1806 Alfonso?" The king's first advisor looked around the room and with great concern laid a hand on the king's shoulder. "My king, are you not feeling well today?" The king, raising his left eyebrow said "Feeling well....what nonsense are you talking about now Alfonso....I feel great....in fact, I feel as if I was the king of the world......but my last memory is of new year's eve 1804, where has my mind been in the meantime....am I going insane as my grand uncle?" Alfonso, now clearly set back by the king's most unusual conduct went to the bedside table and refilled the king's glass with wine. "Alfonso, what has happened in the last year and a half, what have I done? Tell me...and Alfonso, not a word of this conversation leaves this room or it will be your head on the block. Understood...?" Alfonso, walked back with the half-filled glass of wine and gave it to the king who stood gazing upon the countryside surrounding his summer castle in Cadiz. "Of course my king, I am here to serve you, and you only."

After a few minutes of silence, Alfonso handed the king the dispatch from the foreign minister in Madrid. "What do you want me to do with these sire, should I give the foreign minister the reponsibility of drafting an appropriate response". The king, walking around in circles, clearly lost in his own thoughts suddenly looked up. "No Alfonso...this is a matter for me and me alone to deal with, I will give the under-educated peasants of eastern Europe a response which is appropriate considering the circumstances....Alfonso, send this out immediately to all the free and righteous countries in the world"

"In an unprecedented act of aggression, the Russian and Austrian empires have attacked the peaceful and righteous kingdom of Spain. We, who want nothing more than to live in peace and raise our children, have been assaulted by blood thirsty and savage empires who crave money and manpower. Money and manpower which they will use to increase their already overfilled armies and fleets. Which sovereign country will be next? Who will stand with Spain in the hard times ahead of us?"

"Marvelous, my king, just marvelous!!!" Alfonso exclaimed, eagerly writing it all down. "And Alfonso...send a message to the admiral of the fleet and the general of the army...I want all my forces to be readied to meet this savage attack....We, Spain must be the lighthouse of Europe in the barbaric, dark and sinister time ahead of us." Alfonso stopped writing and looked towards his king. "My king, that can take some time as our mighty armada is in Sweden". "What, in Sweden? All our ships?" The king exclaimed. "What idiot sent the armada to Sweden?" The first advisor, a bit embarrased carefully answered: "Well your majesty, it was you. As you hold great influence at the swedish court at this time." The King, obviously surprised by the response sat down in a chair, took a sip of his wine and said in a quiet voice. "You don't say...me of all the people in the world...well my influence at the swedish court obviously explains the Tsar's declaration of war. That moneyhungry, doubblecrossing, son-of-a bitch!!!!"

After a few minutes of silence the king rose and walked quietly to the window again. His gaze setteling on a church in the nearby hillside. "Well Alfonso, you can send this message to the Tsar and the Austrian emperor: what goes around comes around....and you can put an exclamation mark at the end.....no, wait....put five exclamation marks at the end of it.....and send it with a ton of horse manure."

"As, you wish my king...anything else before I get to work on my assignments"

"No, Alfonso......well there is one thing you can do. I think it is time to invite our dear friend Napoleon to our summer estate. Could you send an invitation to the french emperor..., and please add some carts of our finest red wine! We have much to talk about."

The first advisor immediately headed for the door, and as he carefully closed it, with pride in his eyes he said: "Your majesty, it is good to have you back!"

The king, still looking outside the window at the small church spoke quietly to himself: "Well, well, well...if it is war they want, war they will get. What can they possible hope to take from me which I cannot take back at a time of my choosing. What short-thinking creatures am I facing in this puny war? Hmm...well, I believe I have more urgent matters to see to. I have apparently not seen my queen in a year and a half...."