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The Political State of Europe

September 1807

MAPS

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End-of-Session Reports and Situation Maps

The following session summaries may have a distinct Franco-centric flavour, as that is the country I am playing!

January 1805
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War broke out immediately as Austria, Prussia, Russia and Spain announced pre-existing states of war with France, joining Great Britain in their crusade against the Corsican Tyrant.  The first turn involved the main forces of the Austrian and Prussia armies combining at Dresden.  Several Russian corps started on the long march to the front from Lithuania, and the small Austrian force in Illyria was bolstered by a Russian corps transported from Corfu.  A couple of Spanish corps crossed the border to raid southern France, taking Bordeaux and besieging La Rochelle. The main strength of the British army (2 corps, the cavalry corps remained in England) landed at San Sebastien.  Additional Spanish armies landed in Sardinia and Corsica. Two French armies under Davout and Napoleon moved into position to strike at the German armies gathering in Saxony, invading Berg on the way.

In the Middle East disaster struck the Turks as the dice betrayed their well prepared invasion of Egypt.  First the Egyptian fleet drove off a Turkish fleet transporting a corps to land behind the Egyptian corps set up on the frontier.  Then the main Turkish force of 4 corps under Pechlivan Khan was defeated in the Sinai by Muhammed Ali and sent packing back into Palestine... having anticipated this unhappy turn of events, Turkey had marched a cavalry corps into the southern Sinai to prevent any possibility of a lapse of war.  However Muhammed Ali then took the bulk of his remaining force and fell upon this lone corps, defeating it handedly and sending it routing back to join it's fellow in Palestine.  In this way, Turkey's war with Egypt lapsed, and Egypt became a full-fledged client state of the British Empire.

Note:  Cossack positions were not noted on the above maps... hopefully I'll remember them in the future!

April 1805
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In February the first clash between French and Coalition forces erupted at Dresden where 5 French corps under Napoleon moved in at great expense to attack the 8 Austrian and Prussian corps commanded by Charles.  A bloody battle ensued (Escalated Assault vs Escalated Counter-Attack, 5G, 83I, 15C French vs 5G, 100I, 22C Coalition) which the French got the better of, both sides committing the Guard at +1 in the second round.  The Austro-Prussian force broke and Murat managed to put in a decent pursuit.  Total losses were 2G, 30I, and 6C Coalition vs 24I French. A few corps moved south to threaten the Spanish raiders, and 1 Corps under Davout raced to Soissons to cover Paris, just in case the British Cavalry corps made any sudden moves... as it turned out it did move, but it's target was no Paris.  The British Cav crossed the channel and laid siege to Le Havre, where the 13 ships of the French I Fleet were sheltering.  Fortunately the garrison held. Drawing in reinforcing corps, Charles led a counterattack with 9 corps vs Napoleon in Dresden, but Napoleon deftly refused battle (Probe vs Withdraw) and withdrew to Leipzig.  The Russo-Austrian force in Illyria led by Bagration moved into Northern Italy, with a detachment occupying Bologna in Romagna, and the Spanish raiders at La Rochelle withdrew to Gascony to join the slowly advancing Anglo-Spanish force under Blake. In the meantime, a Spanish force crossed the Portuguese frontier and captured Lisbon, and in the North, Russia invaded Denmark, easily brushing aside the defending Danish troops and occupying Copenhagen. Berg was annexed by France, Sardinia and Corsica by Spain.

March saw the unblockaded French Mediterranean fleets conducting a daring port raid on Gibraltar which the the overconfident British had neglected to garrison properly (the one factor in Gibraltar was garrisoning the supply depot there... a small oversight!).  10 British ships were sunk by the 26 French ships of the line, but a British fleet under Nelson came rushing down from the channel and caught the French flat-footed... 18 French ships were lost to 3 British, and the remains of the French fleet fled to Toulon where they were blockaded once again... however Nelson was wounded in the action and would not be availble for command again before July.  The British now had 23 hulks waiting for refit in Gibraltar. On the continent, Napoleon retired into Hesse and Duchies behind a screen of pickets while the ponderous Austro-German stack followed on.  Davout moved to destroy the British Cav corps in Le Havre, which he did with dispatch, eliminating 4 cavalry and suffering no casualties. Little movement of note occurred on the Spanish border, except for a small, one-sided skirmish fought between Massena and some Spanish raiders that inexplicably attacked them. In Italy the Austrians took Milan.  Spain invaded Papacy with no resistance. Denmark/Norway became Russian property, Spain annexed Portugal, and the Austrians annexed Romagna.

April brought some militia reinforcements to most of the major powers.  The main body of the French Army withdrew to Zurich and stretched a picket force along the Rhine to the North Sea to slow any aggressive German moves.  Davout moved his force south to Bourges to threaten the Anglo-Spanish southern front.  The German combined force moved to the southern area of Duchies, which Prussia DoWed and occupied to boot.  Mecklemberg was similarly occiped by Prussian forces, while the Austrians occupied Frankfurt in berg.  The 4 corps of Russians under Kutusov marched in two stacks to Magdeburg and Berlin, and in Italy Bagration led his small force to Grenoble and laid siege.  Meanwhile the Austrians inexplicably abandoned their occupation of Milan and moved forces to screen Bagration's army from possible attack from Napoleon's army in Zurich.  Spanish raiders laid siege once again to La Rochelle and Perpignan as well, while a British corps cleaned up a militia garrison that had popped up in Bayonne. In the meantime the British landed an Egyptian corps at Toulon, taking the city in a quick assault and forcing the remains of the French Mediterranean Fleet to attempt to force the blockade, an attempt which was bloodily repulsed, ending the Mediterranean fleet's existence as an effective entity (2 hulks escaped along the coast to Marseilles).  Turkey landed in Cyrenaica, their declaration of war on this north African country causing Rhodes to declare it's independence.  The Turks however continued to be dogged by bad dice, only narrowly forcing the Cyrenaican field army to withdraw and failing to breach the walls of Benghazi.  The turn ended with Papacy accepting Spanish administration.

June 1805
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At the start of May, Turkey declared war on the newly independent Rhodes, Spain declared war on Tuscany in a bid to expand the Italian foothold gained in Papacy, and Russia declared war on Sweden. France sued for peace to Spain and Russia, signing the Treaty of Perpignan and activating a secret protocol to contain the growing naval power of Great Britain.  Peace conditions for Spain were: A.1 - Needn't remove corps, B.4 - V Corps (15I, 2C), B.5 - Royal Marriage, and for Russia they were A.5 - Needn't cede a province, B.3 - Reparations (1/3rd for two turns), and B.7 - Holland (conquered).  An insulted Prussia forced Russia to terminate their alliance due to separate peace. Russia's decision to take Holland as a conquered minor rapidly proved to be an error, as Great Britain gained control of Sweden, and, recognizing the grave impending danger, immediately declared war on Russia in support of it's new client state.  Russia slapped itself on the forehead and promptly free-stated Holland and Denmark to gain the fleets.  The Russo-Dutch fleet then proceeded to evade the main British fleet of the cost of Holland and proceeded to deliver a severe beating to the small Channel Fleet (by interception), which, despite the overall inconclusive result, retired with several ships wrecked.  The Russian and Danish fleets in the Baltic were penned up by British and Swedish fleets, and the Egyptian corps was transported out of Toulon and dropped on Corfu, destroying the Russian garrison there.

Russian land forces crossed from Copenhagen to Malmo, attacking the two corps of the Swedish army there... the Russian force under Benningsen achieved initial success (echelon vs counterattack) and drove the Swedes up the coast, but the Swedes reformed and counter-attacked (echelon vs defend) defeating Benningsen handedly and forcing the surrender of his force of over 20,000 men.  Russian forces previously headed for combat in France now redirected into Holland and southern Denmark.  In central Germany, the Austro-Prussian army advanced to Mainz in Palatinate despite the loss of their Russian and Spanish allies.  Smaller forces split off to besiege Brussels, Cologne, Turin, and one Austrian corps marching to the gates of Paris from southern France.  Paris was the only city to hold as the French army responded.  Napoleon took two corps to attack the Austrian force in Grenoble, now bereft of leadership and it's erstwhile Russian allies.  The French force of 44I, 6C administered a sharp defeat (outflank vs defend) to the 2G, 14I, 3C of the Austrian IV and II Grenadier corps, inflicting 2G, 4I, 3C in casualties and suffering only a single loss.  The surviving Austrians withdrew to Turin.  In the meantime, Milan had been reoccupied by the French, the small Austrian force (2I, 1C) outside Paris had been completely annihilated, and Murat and 2 corps had induced the surrender of the entire army of Saxony at the city of Brussels, amounting to 4I, 2C. The turn ended with the conquest of Duchies and Mecklenberg by Prussia and Berg by Austria.

June started with the Spanish declaration of war on Great Britain and the confirmation of the alliance of Russia, Spain and France.  A large combined fleet of Dutch, Russian, and French ships (totaling 54 ships) took station in the channel, while the Russian II fleet of 16 ships transporting a cavalry corps moved to the Skaggerak... the Russo-Danish fleet trapped in Copenhagen (and vulnerable to the Swedes crossing and scuttling) also attempted a breakout but were repulsed, both sides losing some 10 ships.  The British fleet chose to concentrate on Denmark, and a 45 ship Anglo-Swedish force blockaded Copenhagen while a 35 ship English force attacked the Russian II fleet.  Unfortunately, without Nelson's brilliant leadership, the British Admiral in command  was unable to close with the Russian Linear Defence and the British were forced to withdraw in disarray.  The British Admiral was immediately recalled to face the courts-martial...  As a result of this action, the Russian cavalry successfully disembarked into Copenhagen and the Swedes were prevented form crossing.  In the meantime, a sizable Spanish force arrived to join the combined fleet in the channel transporting a single corps under Castanos.

On the continent, the French concentrated their force just south of Mainz, 5 corps under Napoleon crushing the full Austrian Light Infantry with ease.  Another French corps under Davout besieged the remaining Austrian forces in Italy in Turin.   A Russian force under Kutusov  moved to Lille, and Russian Cossacks crossed the channel, bypassing British regular forces and raiding London, destroying several hulks.  In Germany the Austro-Prussian army moved to engage Napoleon's force (5G, 61I, 13C) with 9 corps (6G, 88I, 19C)... the French Outflank turned into an expensive boondoggle against Archduke Charles's Probe, with the flanking force failing to arrive until the 3rd round.  Decisive defeat was only narrowly staved off by timely commitment of the French Imperial Guard, but nevertheless the butcher's bill was too high... 1G, 38I,1C French losses vs 2G, 17I, 1C coalition losses, a casualty ratio of 2:1 in favour of the Germans, leaving them with an overwhelming advantage in numbers in the field.  However the Austrians suffered an additional loss: Archduke Charles was wounded and would not be expected back in the field before September, leaving John in command of the Austro-Prussian army. In the meantime, the British army in southern France, finding itself betrayed by it's erstwhile allies, was quickly beseiged in the cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse by Spanish forces.  Meagre British home-defence forces managed to clear the Cossacks form the London area only to be besieged  in the city by Castanos's corps.  Gibralter fell to Spanish forces in a spectacular assault, and the British VII Fleet staioned there managed to only narrowly escape destruction (with only 1 ship left!) at the hands of the blockading Spanish fleets, which by a wierd twist of fate found themselves now blockaded in Gibralter by a single British ship. At turn end, Prussia annexed Palatinate and Hanover, Austria conquered Kleves, Turkey re-incorporated Rhodes into the empire, and added Cyrenaica to it's territory, Spain annexed Tuscany, and Great Britain annexed Corfu.  Lastly, Great Britain abided by the terms of a previous agreement and ceded Egypt to Turkey.  And so the session ended with the French army in shambles and London besieged by Spaniards and under threat from strong Russian forces sitting a days march across an English Channel thoroughly dominated by foreign navies.  Not a good day for the dominant powers!

September 1805
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July rolled around and after a very long and intense round of diplomatic talks, Great Britain saw the writing on the wall and sued for peace to Spain, Russia, and France, accepting unconditional surrender to all three in exchange for leniency, and the so-called "Dictado de Londres" was signed.  France imposed conditions C.1c, removal of two fleets, the VI and VII consisting of 4 ships total, C.5 unconditional access, and C.3 Reparations (2/3rd for 2 turns), Spain took C.4  territory: Gibraltar, Malta, and Sweden (which was accepted as conquered), B.5 royal marriage, and C.7 half of all trade money, and lastly Russia took only condition C.2 36 month enforced peace.  Great Britain retained Corfu as it's sole overseas possession.  The war over, the Russian army concentrated it's forces in Holland and Denmark while the French elected to move last.  The leaderless Austro-Prussian army did not move against Napoleon, however... things were afoot on the diplomatic front leading to a reduction in the tempo of operations.  French screening forces advanced rapidly to Magdeburg, feeding on the depot there, while the main French army (such as it was) suppressed Austrian picket forces in Berg, Kleves and Flanders, and new corps moved towards the front gathering together garrisons from the French rear-areas to bolster the desperately under-strength French army.  Davout's corp in Italy advanced into the Tyrol after being relieved by another French corps in the siege of Turin, potentially threatening the poorly protected Austrian capital.

August brought more intense diplomatic talks regarding an Austrian brokered peace deal.  Rumors of potential Spanish, Russian, and possibly even Turkish (whose forces were gathering on the border) intervention in the war on the side of France caused much consternation in the German camp.  France was to offer peace on generous terms that would allow the German nations to keep most of what they had conquered, allowing them to keep the strength to resist any further potential enemies or combinations thereof.  After much deliberation the deal gained acquiescence by all parties and the Treaty of Mainz was signed by France, Austria, and Prussia.  As the diplomatic phase ended, Prussia declared war on Hesse, Turkey declared war on Tunisia, Spain declared war on Algeria and Naples/Sicily and bumped heads with Great Britain over Morocco, which both powers were forced to back down over due to enforced peace.  This was quickly followed by Austria and Prussia suing for peace to France, who granted them both conditional surrenders. Prussia selected A.5 and protected it's home province of Magdeburg, and France chose condition B.5 royal marriage and B.7 territory consisting of Palatinate.  Austria selected A.2 needn't pay reparations, and France chose B.5 royal marriage and B.7 territory consisting of Tyrol and Romagna.  Thus ended conflict between the Major Powers of Europe and there was a general peace, even between the ancient arch-enemies of Great Britain and France.  The warring armies in Europe slowly dispersed as the Turks landed in Tunisia with a force under Pechlivan Khan, but failed to take the capital after the first assault.  Prussia moved to crush all organized resistance in Hesse, occupying Kassel after a quick assault.  Spain was victorious over the defending forces of Algeria, and easily took possession of Algiers, landing simultaneously in Sicily and occupying Palermo while Spanish forces moved into Naples from the north, crushing all opposition but failing to gain possession of the capital.

September saw a French declaration of war on Baden and a Spanish declaration of war on Morocco, this time unopposed by Great Britain who chose instead to send military advisors to both countries.  Spain offered Turkey an impromptu alliance and was rejected.  The French campaign for Baden was short and decisive, with Davout and the I and VII corps investing Freiburg and carrying it in a short and bloody assault.  The Russian army withdrew almost entirely to Russian soil, with only a single corps remaining in France.  Tunis fell to the invading Turks.  The Prussian and Austrian armies spread out to winter quarters in Germany. The French V corps on loan to the Spanish army landed in Morocco and invested the defenders in the capital of Tangier while a Spanish corps fresh from the conquest of Algeria moved up to the frontier.  Spanish forces in Naples besieged he capital but failed to breach the defences.  Spain officially annexed Algeria and Sicily while Prussia incorporated Hesse into it's territory.  Great Britain announced that it would trade with no one, to limit Spain's gains from the surrender conditions, and Holland was ceded to France by Russia, in accordance with a secret clause from the Treaty of Perpignan... the Netherlands were quickly organized into the newest provinces of the French Empire, Dutch autonomy finally at an end. An uneasy calm fell over Europe...

June 1806
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And so began a nine-month period of relative peace. Austria proceeded with the conquest and annexation of Bavaria and Wurttemburg facing only token resistance.  Turkey similarly added Tripolitania to it's North African possessions.  France officially annexed Baden, and Spain at long last subjugated Naples, quickly granting it some measure of autonomy, reconstituting the Kingdom of Two Sicilies under a Spanish puppet monarch.  Spain also transferred it's new Scandinavian holdings to Russia over a 3 month period in exchange for undisclosed sums of money.  In an attempt to heal the rifts that had torn Western Europe apart, Prussia and Austria pledged alliance with France, and shortly thereafter with Turkey too.  Surely with this all-encompassing web of alliances, peace would be maintained?  Only time would tell...

In the Spring of 1806, Austria ceded Kleves to France in accordance with the "Sphere of Influence" clauses of the Treaty of Mainz.  Shortly thereafter Austrian troops started to build up in northern Italy.  The bulk of the British fleet transferred to the Mediterranean and made Venice it's base.  Something was afoot...  What did the Austrians and British hope to accomplish?  It seemed as if perhaps the peace of Europe was not so assured after all.  Diplomatic exchanges heated up as the Spanish recognized the potential danger to their holdings in Italy despite the buffer of French-controlled Romagna.  What were France's intentions?  Finally in June it became obvious... Romagna was ceded to Austrian control and Berg ceded to France.  France had abrogated the secret protocols of the Treaty of Perpignan; Austrian armies were now poised to dominate the Spanish possessions in Italy, seemingly with the acquiescence of France, once thought to be Spain's closest ally. At the same time Turkey announced the reconstitution of the Ottoman Empire, stretching from Tunisia to Syria. Once more, it seemed Europe would be engulfed in flames...

September 1806
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At the start of July, war broke out in the Mediterranean amidst a flurry of diplomatic activity.  Russia and Spain declared war on Turkey, as Austria declared war on Spain.  The Russian I and II fleets numbering 33 ships sailed for the eastern Mediterranean where it caught the significantly smaller Turkish I fleet of 18 ships of the eastern coast of Crete... however, Russian gunnery proved no match for the well-drilled Turks who administered them a sharp reverse.  The Turks took possession of 4 crippled Russian ships and in the company of 6 badly damaged Turkish ships they set off for Constantinople, unfortunately running afoul of a violent summer storm in which all but 1 of the crippled vessels foundered.  Realizing that despite their victory their fleet was no match for the combined Russian and Spanish navies that threatened them the Turks withdrew their navy to comparative safety behind the straits of the Bosporus.  Taking advantage of the relative lack of opposition the Spanish landed 4 separate expeditionary forces on Turkish possessions in the Med, occupying Tunis, Tripoli and Benghazi with Spanish troops while a Neapolitan force occupied Rhodes.

In Italy the Austrian army rapidly moved into Tuscany and Papacy.  The main Austrian army under Charles took up position at Ancona, while an Austrian corps lay siege to Florence.  John and the Light Infantry Corps forced their way into Rome, where they faced an beat off a brisk counterattack form a Neapolitan force moving up the coast form Naples.  The Russian army gathered it's forces behind the Dneister river on the Turkish frontier, sending Cossack raiding parties as far south as Galatz; the Turks for their part concentrated behind the Danube, drawing in Feudal forces form the surrounding areas. In the still-peaceful West, the bulk of the French army began moving into southern France for annual exercises in Languedoc and Gascony, and the several Prussian corps moved east towards the Russian frontier.

August saw little activity on the Turkish front.  The Russian navy prowled the Aegean and kept the Egyptian Navy penned up in Alexandria.  The gathering Turkish and Russian armies gazed at one another form behind their respective river barriers across the no-man's land of Bessarabia and Moldavia although one daring party of Cossacks crossed the Danube at Silistra.  The Neapolitans in Rhodes crossed into Asia Minor proper, while back in Italy four corps of the Austrian army under Charles advanced to Naples, forcing the surrender of the Neapolitan and Spanish garrison there.  The Spanish garrison of Florence was starved out and the Austrians took formal control of the city.  The French army continued it's movement south and the Prussians continued to shift forces east, concentrating around the port of Konigsberg.  The Papal States were officially annexed by Austria and Spain added Tunisia, Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Rhodes to it's Mediterranean holdings.

September came with more intense diplomacy. Russian agents-provocateurs provoked a Serbian peasant revolt, while trouble on the Perisan frontier forced the departure of some Russian forces (10I, 2C) to deal with the threat.  Spain transported a corps to Rhodes to reinforce the Neapolitan forces who were deserting in droves at the word that their capital had fallen, and maintained amphibious forces ready to move at a moments notice at Malta and Benghazi.  The Turks stayed put behind the Danube and the Russians withdrew their Cossacks from Silistra to Bucharest and sent forward a single infantry corps to besiege Ismail in Bessarabia. The Austrians marched the Light Infantry down the toe of the Italian boot but were prevented from crossing into Sicily by the presence of the Sicilian Navy guarding the straits.  By the end of September Austria took over administration of Naples and Tuscany.  Fully 2/3rds of the French army were now within a short distance of the Spanish border, with more on the way; equally the Prussians had now concentrated 2/3rds of their force around Konigsberg.  The war threatened to expand to encompass all of Europe...

December 1806
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October brought a flurry of activity on the Turkish front.  Spanish fleets dropped corps in Greece, Albania, and Anatolia where they successfully occupy the cities of Tirana, Athens, and Smyrna.  The main body of the Russian army finally moved ponderously across the Dneister, advancing to the line of the Danube and taking Ismail and Galatz under siege.  The Turks remained sullenly behind their river barrier, awaiting the inevitable assault.  The rest of Europe remained calm... the British repatriated their remaining forces in Europe, the Austrians started to move much of their force north out of the Italian peninsula.

In November the Russians crossed the Danube into the teeth of the Turkish army.  8 corps (87 factors) under Kutusov met 6 corps (59 factors) under Pechlivan Khan in open battle.  Kutusov's caution was rewarded when the Khan attempted to turn the Russian flank (Probe vs Outflank).  The Turkish maneuver failed and the largely Feudal army broke with heavy losses (25FI, 2FC Turks vs 9I Russian), the Russian artillery exacting a heavy toll.  The Turks were not done however, and the Khan ordered a rapid counterattack, bringing 6 fresh corps to bear on the Russian army which had taken up a strong defensive position.  This time the Khan succeeded in turning the Russian flank (Outflank vs Defend) with a small force of feudal cavalry.  Realizing his position was compromised, Kutusov threw in the Imperial Guard in a desperate attempt to break the Turk's morale, but they suffered a bloody repulse and the Russians were induced to withdraw back across the Danube, sacrificing the Cossacks to cover the retreat against the pursuing Turks (12FI Turks vs 2G, 3I, 1C, 3Ck Russian).  In the southern Balkans, additional Spanish troops landed at Athens and the occupying corps there moves inland into Macedonia.  Austrian forces move to the Turkish border in Illyria and a sizable force starts moving through southern France headed for the Iberian peninsula.

December brought bad weather and the Russian offensive drive stalled.  Raiding forces were sent forward to Bucharest and Silistra, but the raid on Bucharest fell apart sue to lack of supply and the force at Silistra was destroyed by a Turkish feudal corps.  The Turks began a general withdrawal from the line of the Danube, for they had suffered heavy losses in the previous month of campaigning. Turkish forces operating in Macedonia managed to destroy one small Spanish raiding force but suffered a sharp defeat at the hands of further Spanish troops moving up from Athens.  Spanish forces also pressed into Serbia from Albania, where the Serbs were still in insurrection against their Turkish masters.  The Turks raised Feudal levies to fill out their army, hoping the winter months would bring them enough respite to concentrate new forces against the invading Russians and clean up the raiding Spaniards.  In the meantime, France ended it's temporary adminstration of Tyrol, returning it to Austrian control, while Austria turned over control of Wurttemberg to France, finally fulfilling the territorial obligations of the Treaty of Mainz.  Great Britain continued it's policy of trade embargo against Spain and Russia, and Europe continues to hold it's breath, general war seeming, always, just over the horizon.

March 1807
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In January Austria and Prussia declared war on Russia.  The Russians nevertheless crossed the Danube in force, Kutusov and 6 corps destroying a weak feudal infantry corps just south of Ismail, while Benningsen and two corps attacked another feudal infantry corps at Silistra.  Unfortunately for Benningsen, midway through the battle (Echelon vs Cordon) 4 Turkish corps under Pechlivan Khan arrived and the Russian force was scattered, their fighting power utterly destroyed and Benningsen taken prisoner (2FI Turks vs 1I, 16M,1Ck Russian).  Pechlivan Khan followed up his success by sending feudal cavalry raiding parties to Odessa and Nemirov, destroying the Russian line of supply, whilst the main body of the Turks withdrew behind the Meric river in Macedonia.  In the meantime the Grand Vizier in command of 3 corps attempted to destroy a Spanish corps on the northern Greek border (Assault vs Defend) but despite inflicting heavy casualties on the well-prepared Spaniards the Turkish morale was not up to the task and the feudal levies routed with some loss (6I Spanish vs 5FI, 1C Turks).  The Spanish for their part landed additional forces at Athens and sent a raiding force to occupy Phillippopolis.

In the north the Prussians immediately advanced into Lithuania, occupying Kovno, Grodno, Vilna and Minsk with only minor skirmishing with local garrisons and delaying forces.  The Prussians also moved into southern Denmark, Blucher with a force of Prussians and Hessians attacking two Russian corps at Hamburg (Echelon vs Esc. Counterattack), routing them with significant loss (2I, 2M Prussians vs 9I, 1C Russians).  The Austrians for their part were considerably out of position, nevertheless a force of 6 corps march north to Galicia.  Austrian troops also crossed the Franco-Spanish border, occupying Gerona and starving out the garrison of Barcelona.  The French moved to their staging areas for the coming attack on Spain.

February saw the long awaited French declaration of war on Spain, and against a general lack of opposition, French troops entered Spain occupying San Sebastien and the northern areas of Old Castile, Aragon, and Catalonia.  The Austrian consolidated their supply line and conducted anti-guerilla operations, for indeed the countryside had already started to rise against the invaders.  In the east, the Persian war petered out and Russia was able to withdraw troops (5I, 1C) from that theatre back to Europe where they were sorely needed.  The Russian army withdrew at full speed from the Danube to the Russian side of the Dneister in order to re-establish supply, with two corps left behind foraging at Ismail.  In the north the Russians refused battle with advancing Prussians, concentrating well to the north at Pskov.  The Prussians advanced at a terrific pace, with the Saxon corps besieging Riga and a Prussian corps marching all the way to Smolensk, threatening the gates of Moscow.  A vanguard of Austrian troops crossed the frontier near Brest-Litovsk, with the main body marching behind through Moravia.  The Turks followed up the Russian retreat slowly, keeping an army in reserve to watch the Spanish at Athens and sending a force under Kushanz Ali to oust the Spaniards form their foothold at Smyrna.

In March the Russians agreed to conditional peace with Austria and Prussia, giving reparations (1/3rd for 2 turns) to Austria and 24 months enforced peace and royal marriage to Prussia.  In retaliation for the seperate peace made with his enemy, Turkey required Prussia to break it's alliance.  Russia, no longer under pressure from the west, consolidated behind the Dneister as the Turks moved up once again to Silistra on the Danube.  Kushanz Ali besieged the Spanish troops in Smyrna as the bulk of Spanish troops evacuated Athens to Malta, leaving  behind a single corps.  In Spain, French troops moved to besiege Burgos, Saragossa and Madrid while trying to suppress ever growing numbers of guerilla fighters.  All three cities held against the French, but the Austrians had some more success, clearing the guerillas from the province of Catalonia and occupying Valencia.  The Spanish however had not made any significant attempts to oppose the invaders, despite French troops ringing their national capital, but nor were they suing for peace.  The Iberian campaign was still young...

June 1807
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April saw the continued advance of the French and Austrian forces in Spain, still unchallenged by the Spanish army.  Leon, Burgos, and Cartagena fell to French forces, while the siege of Madrid and Saragossa continued.  Spanish guerillas sprouted in large numbers and a few isolated skirmishes took place as some over-zealous guerillas threw themselves at nearby concentrations of French troops.  The interminable Russo-Turkish war ground on as both sides prepared for a new confrontation.  A Turkish corps under the Grand Vizier managed to stave off a Spanish advance at Thessalonika, but otherwise the front was relatively quiet.

April gave way to May, and the Russians advanced with a strong force to the Danube, facing the main Turkish army across the river at Silistra.  Cossacks ran wild in the Rumanian countryside, however a Turkish cavalry corps debarked at Sevastopol, taking the city and causing great consternation in Moscow.  In fine Iberian weather French troops took Corunna, and Madrid finally capitulated to it's Franco-Austrian besiegers, while Saragossa held out.  A French corps moved to the approaches to Badajoz, thus threatening the final unbesieged or unoccupied Spanish provincial capital of note.  Storm clouds slowly brewed in central Europe, however, as Russian troops massed in Denmark and southern Sweden and the Prussians for their part concentrating in Saxony.

At the start of June, seeing no hope of assistance from any quarter (the Russians unable to intervene due to a crisis in government over the occupation of Sevastopol) and facing possible civil disorder, the Spanish government sat down at the negotiating table with the three Imperial powers of France, Austria and Turkey.  As provisions in the Treaty of Seville, Spain agreed to conditionally surrender to France (A.1 Needn't remove any corps, B.2 24 months enforced peace, B.3 Reparations (1/3rd for two turns)) and Austria (A.5 - Needn't cede province, B.5 - Royal Marriage) and further agreed to an informal peace with Turkey.  What additional clauses this treaty contained are known only to the four signatories.  Despite Russia's ally Spain dropping out of the war, Russia continued it's third offensive drive and once more crossed the Danube, meeting the main Turkish army at Silistra.  After a pitched battle (Probe vs Cordon), in which the Russians once again committed the guard with heavy loss on both sides, breaking the Turkish army late in the day (23FI, 2FC Turks vs 2G 16I Russian).  Pechlivan Khan managed to recover control of his army in the forests of Rumelia where he consolidated, receiving some cavalry reinforcements.  The exhausted Russian army was not able to oust the garrison of Silistra, but the Turks declined to counterattack.

In addition to the military developments, June saw a shift in British policy towards a more anti-French agenda that had been developing for some time.  This was redered obvious by the formation of an alliance with fromer enemy Spain, and sealed when Britain broke off trade-relations with France, citing excessive protectionism on the part of the French Imperial government, and commenced trade once more with Spain.  Would there be more to come?  Time would tell...

September 1807
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Still the the Russo-Turkish war dragged on.  In July the  Russians caught the main Turkish fleet at sea  of the coast of Egypt and won a decisive victory, taking eight ships and sustaining two cripples... two ships foundered on their way back to the friendly Spanish port of Rhodes. In the Balkans there was little movement, although Bucharest fell to the Russian invaders. In the Crimea, the Russians sent a small force of one infantry and one cavalry corps with Bagration in command to Sevastopol to deal with the occupying Turkish feudal cavalry corps.  The riders of the II Anatolian corps proved to be a much tougher opponent than the overconfident Russians expected, and in a sharp engagement outside the city (Echelon vs Cordon) the attacking Russians were routed and destroyed piecemeal (3I, 3M, 1C Russian vs 2FC Turkish) by the pursuing Turks, and Bagration fell into enemy hands to be dispatched as a prisoner to Constantinople.  The Anatolian cavalry then immediately decamped and pushed north deep into the Ukraine, plundering as it went, eschewing any line of communication.

In August the Anatolians were again intercepted by another small Russian force of infantry and this too was beaten in turn (esc. assault vs esc. counterattack) and pursued to destruction (5I Russian vs 2FC Turkish).  In Rumelia a Russian army of 5 corps under Kutusov attacked Pechlivan Khan and his 6 corps (59 Russian vs 61 Turkish) and after a full day of fighting (probe vs cordon) the Turks broke when Kutusov launched the Imperial Guard into the fray.  Turkish losses were heavy (2G, 3M, 5I Russian vs 5FC, 9I, 9FC) and the Turks withdrew to Adrianople.  Meanwhile in Europe, tensions were mounting to a break point as the Austrian army concentrated around Linz and Salzberg and the Prussians pushed forward their main army into Hesse.

In September the Russians consolidated the small amount of ground they had taken, beseiging the fortress of Ruschuk and occupying the provincial capital of Sofia. The Turkish army withdrew to Phillipopolis, leaving 2 corps to screen Constantinople. The Anatolian cavalry made a mad dash northwards from the Ukraine to the Russian capital of Moscow, besieging it.  The small garrison held on however, but with faint hope of relief.  In the west, the French army had fully extricated from Spain and moved rapidly to the Rhine frontier where a large Austrian army had moved north through Bavaria to Duchies.  There seemed little doubt of the Germans intentions, as angry diplomatic notes were exchanged between the erstwhile allies of Austria and France. Such a buildup of force on France's border could hardly be tolerated!

Next Session: Wednesday, August 20th, 7:30PM EST