The Prussian Army continues to be the small but mighty partner of the coalition. Our numbers have remained fairly steady and, in fact, two old members have sought to sign up once more: Dennis Glavin and Oliver Kreuls have returned from the "real world" to take up arms against the Corsican Ogre.
Eight players are participating in the hard fought Prussian Maneuvers. The first round is still ongoing and the action has become desperate indeed. True to the history of the Prussian soldier, the officers are determined adversaries. More on the Maneuvers below.
There may be some minor reshuffling of the brigades to even them out a bit better. We currently have enough officers to lead all the infantry regiments and brigades with the cavalry being well represented as well.
"It was with great honour and privilege, in the name of the Honourable Feldmarschall Stefan Ritter von Reuter, himself a servant of our revered King, Friedrich Wilhelm III, sovereign of Prussia and protector of Germany, that the Prussian Army offered promotions to the following officers for gallantry in the face of the enemy and for furthering the glory of Prussia. God save the King and Fatherland."
The Prussian Army presented a medal to GM Iain Thompson who has long since earned it.
It is the Iron Cross II Class.
Herr Thompson has vanquished foes at Waterloo and Ligny leading the Prussian Army to at least three minor victories
on those fields. GM Thompson also earns the 1815 Campaign Medal for
participating at Ligny and Waterloo.
A special award was presented to Oberst Brett Schulte; the Military Merit medal in silver. Herr Schulte has just completed a marathon campaign in Russia where six games were played with 5 draws. Only in the last game did victory escape him. However, I believe that six games and an amazing 102 turns deserves some recognition for the commitment and determination shown by this officer.
Wir Friedrich Wilhelm, von Gottes Gnaden, König von Preußen (tot. tit.)
on Feldmarschal Blucher's recommendation, hereby presents to those Gallant units of His glorious Army that
have seen action against the hated enemy of the Fatherland, the Eiserne Kreuz Fahnenspitze. With this Cross may these
regiments demonstrate their determintation to rid the Fatherland of the French scourge and
lift forever the yoke of Bonaparte.
Gegeben Breslau, Juni 1814.
Although this is an Infanterie award, the Feldmarschal would also like to acknowledge the gallantry of:
Sadly, no new recruits to report. John Tiller, where is the 1813-14 campaign?
We can't still reveal details about the Maneuver, but fights are heavy on all the 4 fields. The Armee Kommandeur are well determined to obtain victory and this could bring soon to a fast erosion of their forces. So, they are fighting to win the first round of this tournment and, at the same time, they're trying to keep their armies alive. Not an easy task! Here is the situation from the field:
Fight 1 - 09.00 AM - GFM v.Reuter is using all his experience to reach a quick conclusion of the game. He's been pressing Sek.Lt. O'Day very hard since the beginning of the battle. Now GFM v.Reuter is scoring a Minor Victory, but the situation is improving minute after minute. Sek.Lt. O'Day has realized how desperate the situation is and he's slowly retiring his forces from the battlefield, taking advantage from the river protection. Probably he has decided to not ill-treat his Armee too much in sight of the loser tournament. Anyway his honour is safe; he met the strongest adversary of the tournament and his task was not easy at all.
Fight 2 - 07.00 AM - The fight on this field is extremely hard. Neither side wishes to retreat from the high ground and the artillery of both sides is firing at point blank against enemy forces. Losses are growing turn after turn. Now Prem.Lt. Hames has a little advantage over GM Hamper, but the situation is fluid and changing every moment. It's impossible to say who will win the round, but it's easy to predict that it will be a dirty affair!
Fight 3 - 07.00 AM - Things are going slower on this field. Both the Armee are on the field, but they're studying themselves. Oberst Schulte has a little advantage against Oberst Kral, but the battle has not yet really started and anything may yet happen. Oberst Schulte controls the low ground, or Ungluckstadt (the Valley of Death) as it has been named, but Oberst Kral is deploying his forces on the high ground. Both the adversaries seem to be well aware of the tournament format and don't wish to waste their forces in useless skirmishes. They prefer to carefully choose the time and place of a well prepared attack.
Fight 4 - 07.00 AM - Two different strategies are arising on this field. Oberst Takacs decided to spread his forces to control the high grounds, while GM Thompson grouped all his Korps for a single, coordinated attack. Until now Oberst Takacs' tactic seems to be the winning one, but the game is still far from over. Skirmish fights have burned out around the town and on the near hill, but they have been only probe actions. When and where will be the main attack? Only the two Kommandeur could know.
And that's all for now from the Preussisches Maneuver!
General Major R. Hamper
Kommandeur I Korps
Das Heer des Niederen Rhein