The White Horse (Hanover AAR) Updated Dec 24

[Scottish King]

I'm going to try my hand at another Empire AAR this time with the faction of Hanover using the Empire Total Factions mod. I've already played to the point where I want the AAR to end so all I have to do is write and edit pics. Hope you enjoy!

Faction: Hanover
Mod: Empire Total Factions
Difficulty: Normal/Normal
Unit Size: Large

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: War is Coming
Chapter 2: The Decision
Chapter 3: The Army
Chapter 4: The Diplomat
Chapter 5: Battle is Nigh
Chapter 6: Battle of Breslau Part I
Chapter 7: Battle of Breslau Part II
Chapter 8: Battle of Breslau Part III
Chapter 9: Diplomacy
Chapter 10: You Never Forget
Chapter 11: Careful What You Wish For
Chapter 12: Battle of Vienna: Part I
Chapter 13: Battle of Vienna: Part II
Chapter 14: Battle of Vienna: Part III
Chapter 15: Battle of Vienna: Part IV
Chapter 16: Diplomatic Issues
Chapter 17: Reminders
Chapter 18: Guilt
Chapter 19: Coronation
Chapter 20: Rebellion
Chapter 21: Heading Home
Chapter 22: Threats
Chapter 23: Home
Chapter 24: He's Gone
Chapter 25: The Pit
Chapter 26: The Queen
Chapter 27: Back at it Again
Chapter 28: The Mission
Chapter 29: The Mission Pt 2

[Scottish King]

Chapter 1: War is Coming

“What do you mean Gustav that the alliance with Prussia is bad for Hanover?!”

“I mean exactly what I said Hans. Not only that but that alliance with the United Provinces is bad as well.”

Hans Sander’s eyes widened as he ran his hand through his long blonde hair. “You are out of your mind!” he exclaimed. “The alliance with the Dutch and the Prussians was a smart move by the Elector. Having strong friends is always an effective deterrent.”

Gustav Prisor shook his head in disbelief. “Really? It feels more like we’re painting a target on our backs. You think that France is shaking in their boots right now? If anything they are going to keep a keen eye on us because we’ve thrown in our lot with the other side.”

“Then what would you have us do?”

“I would have rather we stayed neutral.”

“Friends with everyone and no one?”

Gustav paused to think as looked down at his now empty mug. “Something like that. I need a refill.”

Hans shook his head and smiled. He and Gustav had been coming to the local tavern every Wednesday for the past two years. As youngsters they used to be neighbors but Gustav had moved away from their little town to be with his father where he worked as a blacksmith. Hans had stayed behind and continued his father’s trade as a carpenter but they agreed to meet once a week at the Weeping Soldier Tavern that was midway between their two towns. Every time they met they would usually end up arguing about something or another. Usually it was things like was Hanover’s army too small or too big (it was definitely too small), was there going to be a plentiful harvest, or who was the prettiest girl in all the countryside. This week it was politics.

The Electorate of Hanover under the leadership of Georg Wilhelm I had been military allies with the United Provinces since 1700 and with Prussia since 1707. A year later, the Prussians and the Austrians declared war on each other. There were rumors going around that Prussia was pressuring the Elector to lend aid to the war effort in the form of troops. If it was true then Hanover would be involved in the war with one of the major powers of Central Europe something many people were not too keen about in Hanover.

Gustav returned with a filled mug and took his seat again. His clothes and his normally brown hair were dirtied with the hard labor of the blacksmith’s trade but his playful green eyes showed that he was nowhere near tired though he had worked hard all day long. He took swig of his beer and swiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“War is coming, Hans. Mark my words.”

“It’s possible,” Hans replied.

“If it does happen and our glorious Elector decides to throws us in the gauntlet with the Prussians would you enlist or wait and hope you aren’t compelled to join?”

Hans opened his mouth up to answer but closed it again. He had never thought of that before. It was likely true that war could be declared any minute but he had never thought of himself on the front lines dressed in the red soldier’s uniform of the Electorate.

“Well, I know I would. I would in a second.”

A puzzled looked appeared on Hans face. “Why?”

“Why not,” Gustav replied. “I don’t want to be stuck here for the rest of my life as a blacksmith who has never gone twenty miles beyond the place he was born. In the army, you travel, you eat, and you get women.”

“If you survive the fighting.”

“Fighting, Hans? The Hanoverian Army will see little if any action in the war when it starts-”

“If it starts.”

“The Prussians will probably use us to guard their rear or something menial. If we do see significant fighting then that is fine by me too. I have to die someday right? As long as I get away from here.”

Hans was about to open his mouth to say something when suddenly a man burst into the tavern door out of breath. Everyone in the tavern stared at him in silence as he collected his breath.

“For goodness sake what the matter?” someone shouted. “We haven’t got all night. I have a drink to-”

“The Elector has declared war against Austria to aid the Prussians,” the messenger said finally able to speak again.

Silence fell on the tavern again. Everyone looked around room as the news sunk in. Suddenly, Gustav raised his mug and brought it violently back down onto the table again.

“Well then if it is war, then it is war. Where do I enlist?!”

Everyone in the tavern erupted into a cheer except for Hans who looked thoughtfully at his mug.

“Well, Hans,” Gustav shouted over the noise of the tavern, “what are you going to do?”

Hans looked up from his mug to his friend’s toothy grin across the table. Slowly a grin crept across his face and he too held up his mug. “May the Austrians fall before our advance!”

[IneptCmdr]

Great to see some more activity in the Empire section. Looking forward to reading more of this.

[Scottish King]

Thanks IneptCmdr! I hope I can keep this going with school and all!

[Scottish King]

Chapter 2: The Decision

“Are you out of your mind Hans?! No, son of mine is headed off to war! Your place is here with your family.”

Hans sighed audibly. He had come straight home with the news from the tavern that war had been declared with Austria. When he also declared his intentions for joining the army, his father, now in fifties nearly jumped through the ceiling roaring his displeasure at such a decision.

“It’s that Gustav,” Hans’ father said wagging his finger at Hans. "It’s Gustav who has convinced you to join the army. That boy has always been trouble. When you boys were young you got into all kinds of trouble. You boys nearly burned the schoolhouse down one time. I bet now he’s filled your head with stories of grandeur and adventure of army life. But let me tell you this! You’ll find none of the first and the second is sure to end with the loss of limbs or worst. I fought in the Bremen–Verden campaign in the years of Lord 1675-76 with our Elector against the Swedes and I tell you this I wish I had never seen the battlefield!!!”

Hans’ father fell silent and from the look in his eyes it looked as if he was remembering his experiences of the campaign. A sorrowful expression replaced the one of anger and for what seemed like hours both men sat in silence.

“You should listen to your father Hans.”

Hans turned to his mother who was busy sewing next to the blazing fireplace. She had been so silent that he had forgotten that she was even in the room.

“Your father came back a different man than he was before the war and not for the better.”

“If it hadn’t been for your mother’s patience and loving care, I would have never come back from that dark place. I wouldn’t be the man that I was today.”

Hans turned back to his father to see him looking lovingly at his mother. He couldn’t imagine his father any other way than the man who had raised him to be the man he was today. His father was known around the town as the most friendly and generous man around. If someone needed help with something he was always willing to lend a hand. His father a different man? What did that look like? It must have been quite a change from the way his mother was talking.

“That said Hans has to choose his own path.”

Hans saw his father’s raise his eyebrows in surprise.

“You were young and stubborn too,” his mother continued, “If I remember correctly your father said the same thing.”

Hans’ father mumbled something under his breath.

“A son will be just like his father. I would not like to see my only child march off to war, to uncertainty. I don’t want to one day receive a message saying that my son died on some desolate battlefield or worst not knowing what happened to you at all because you are a prisoner of war. But Hans is man now and he has to make his own decisions for better or for worst.”

His mother smiled sadly at him as she sat her sewing aside. His father shifted uneasily in his chair.

“You confounding woman! Well, she’s right as always. You have to make your own decision; however, if you decide to march off to this stupid war I cannot give you my blessing. So what will it be son? Stay here and work the trade with me or will it be off to Austria with you?”

-------

“Here he is?!” Gustav shouted from the front seat of the old wagon where he sat with the driver he had rented the services of. “We thought you were going to be a no show.”

Hans walked breathlessly the final steps to the wagon and stepped on board. It had been a tearful goodbye with his parents. Even his dad had shed some tears. He promised to write back when he could and after giving his mother a goodbye hug and kiss he turned and walked away as quickly as he could without looking back. Now here he was about to embark on a journey to the capital city of Hanover with the other seven young men including Gustav to discover their future. Their uncertain futures.

[Scottish King]

Thanks for reading guys! I'll be able to update sometime next week!

[Scottish King]

Chapter 3: The Army

“Drills, drills, drills and more drills,” Gustav moaned as he plopped down on the ground underneath a tree. “All we do is march and get yelled at.”

“We shoot too,” Hans reminded him. “Remember this was your idea.”

“Yeah, but I envisioned being already out in the field not here on the drill grounds outside our dear capital.”

Hans sighed. He had envisioned the same thing as well. It had been almost a month since they had arrived at the city of Hanover to join the army. Gustav and Hans had been put into the 2nd Hanoverian Regiment of Foot to fill in the ranks of soldiers who had died from disease. Every day since, they had trained with the veterans of the regiment. The Colonel of the regiment, Karl Braum, was really hard on them making them do extra drills in order to sharpen them up. Hans and Gustav went to bed every night sore and dead tired. However, Hans had noticed that with each week that he was less tired and after four weeks his muscles didn’t hurt as much. The pack, however, did not get any lighter with each passing week.

“Did I say that you were done for the day!”

Hans and Gustav jumped to attention as the colonel’s voice rang out.

“I don’t know if I can make soldiers out of you but the battlefield will soon take care of that. You’ll either be dead with the birds devouring your corpses or you’ll be helping dig the trench in which to bury your comrades!”

The colonel looked them over then turned to his left and stared toward the walls of Hanover. Construction was in progress to make them more fortified than before. Being allied to the United Provinces brought the danger of being invaded by the French or the Spaniards. It was also possible that the Danish to the north might pose a threat one day. It was best to be prepared in any case than to be caught off-guard.

“Those walls are something aren’t they?” the colonel asked as he turned back to Hans and Gustav. “They should be finished in two months and able to withstand practically anything. Too bad we won’t be around to see it.”

Hans raised an eyebrow. Did this mean…

“We are moving out tomorrow at first light. I was just on the way to tell the rest of the regiment when I spotted you two lazy bums lounging under this tree here. We’re going to be led by Albert Ketterer. He’s never commanded a whole army before and since we need our experienced generals here to defend the capital he's going to get his feet wet not in water but in blood for the first time and hopefully not at our expense. Now get back to the 2nd but don't tell them anything. I’ll do that. If you do you’ll wish you never join the army! Now let’s see if you can be trusted. Get out of here!”

Hans and Gustav immediately ran off, their tired muscles forgotten, to rejoin the regiment. Soon they would be on the battlefield and while it was something Hans had thought he looked forward to he wasn’t so sure about it now.

-------

“Marching, marching and more marching,” Gustav moaned as leaned on his musket in the chilly air as the army took a break from the day’s march for lunch.

Hans laughed softly. It had been almost a month and a half since they had left Hanover for the front. They first traveled to the city of Berlin to meet up with the Prussian army. The Hanoverian troops were surprised at how well trained and polished the Prussian soldiers were. It was no wonder why they were considered some of the best in Europe. Gustav and Hans had been excited to arrive at the city expecting that they would be allowed to go into the city and have some fun. They were sorely disappointed as they were confined by their officers to the campgrounds and any soldiers found outside of it was severely punished. A week later, the disappointed duo was on the march again.

Prussia had concentrated its forces against Prague after successfully taking the city of Dresden, conquering Saxony. The Prussians had asked Ketterer to take the Hanoverian Army into Silesia to try to distract the Austrians and split their forces. Rumors had it that the target was the city of Breslau but no one knew for sure. So they marched forward with small skirmishes taking place but for the most part they marched through unimpeded.

“Everyone fall back into formation. Form up!” was suddenly called out by a lieutenant.

“What this?” Hans cried out. “We haven’t had lunch yet.”

“Forget about your stomach, boy,” one of the veterans shouted back. “The enemy’s been sighted ahead. After the battle, you’ll be glad your stomach’s empty and if you're ain't then you're probably dead.”

Hans and Gustav looked at each other and then quickly grabbed their gear and fell back into the marching line. Soon they would find out what being a soldier really meant.

[IneptCmdr]

Great update. It will be interesting to see how Hans and Gustav fare in their first battle.

[Inkie]

Looks like an interesting story in the making, mate. I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading an AAR focused on one of the Imperial states other than Prussia. It makes for quite a 'niche' narrative - I like the idea that this is Hanover's only army, fighting in an expedition away from home which has swept up a lot of random commoners like Hans and Gustav looking for adventure. Will be interesting to see how the battle goes.

Your writing is as good as ever and the pacing is nice - getting things moving and enticing at the end of each chapter.

If I'd have criticisms, aside from a some puny grammatical mistakes it'd be more on the level of authenticity. I think even from the perspective of two simple dudes, more of a deal could have been made about the conflict itself, and the idea of joining Prussia in war against the Emperor of the Reich. Historically, when the Elector of Bavaria decided to throw in his lot with the French during the War of the Spanish Succession, it was a grave move that caused a lot of fear and dismay from among his people. It was a clearly momentous decision which put him at risk of losing all of his territories under an Imperial Ban, yet I'm assuming that part of his cause was the perennial rivalry for predominance in the Empire between the Habsburgs and Wittelsbachs.

Will we get a glimpse of what motives Hanover has to side with Prussia, or of the larger issues at stake in the war or its causes? Some background fluff like that might be cool.

Another thing is the role of the colonel thus far. I think that in almost all European armies of the 18th century, it was exceptionally rare for colonels to have much direct contact with the individual soldiers under them, and in a casual way almost never. I have the impression that in Imperial forces it would have been no different, with colonels as somewhat distant, aristocratic figures and most of the troopers' training, discipline and contact outside of the battlefield being overseen by subordinates of some sort. In that way the colonel's conversation with the two soldiers was kind of unconvincing in my view, though of course I can't claim to know about the particularities of every colonel of every army of the 1700's

Either way, please do keep up the writing. +Rep

[Scottish King]

Looks like an interesting story in the making, mate. I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading an AAR focused on one of the Imperial states other than Prussia. It makes for quite a 'niche' narrative - I like the idea that this is Hanover's only army, fighting in an expedition away from home which has swept up a lot of random commoners like Hans and Gustav looking for adventure. Will be interesting to see how the battle goes.

Your writing is as good as ever and the pacing is nice - getting things moving and enticing at the end of each chapter.

If I'd have criticisms, aside from a some puny grammatical mistakes it'd be more on the level of authenticity. I think even from the perspective of two simple dudes, more of a deal could have been made about the conflict itself, and the idea of joining Prussia in war against the Emperor of the Reich. Historically, when the Elector of Bavaria decided to throw in his lot with the French during the War of the Spanish Succession, it was a grave move that caused a lot of fear and dismay from among his people. It was a clearly momentous decision which put him at risk of losing all of his territories under an Imperial Ban, yet I'm assuming that part of his cause was the perennial rivalry for predominance in the Empire between the Habsburgs and Wittelsbachs.

Will we get a glimpse of what motives Hanover has to side with Prussia, or of the larger issues at stake in the war or its causes? Some background fluff like that might be cool.

Another thing is the role of the colonel thus far. I think that in almost all European armies of the 18th century, it was exceptionally rare for colonels to have much direct contact with the individual soldiers under them, and in a casual way almost never. I have the impression that in Imperial forces it would have been no different, with colonels as somewhat distant, aristocratic figures and most of the troopers' training, discipline and contact outside of the battlefield being overseen by subordinates of some sort. In that way the colonel's conversation with the two soldiers was kind of unconvincing in my view, though of course I can't claim to know about the particularities of every colonel of every army of the 1700's

Either way, please do keep up the writing. +Rep

Thanks for reading and the advice! I've been reading some about the politics at that time so I'll try to add that in this too. I've been trying to find some good reading material on the organization if armies in the 1700s particularly Hanover but can't find much but I'll keep looking.

[hanibalthegreat]

awesome work so far

I'm about to start writing my own AAR funny enought

[Scottish King]

This isn't dead yet. I've been busy with school. A update may be available next week. Hopefully

[Scottish King]

For the next update I took some liberties with history a bit so forgive me but I felt like I had too for the sake of the story (though I never planned to stay to close to history anyway). Hope you enjoy!

[Scottish King]

Chapter 4: The Diplomat

Otto Schiller’s carriage arrived outside of the Schönhausen Palace in the city of Berlin and he hastily rushed inside to get out of the rain. For the past week, clouds had covered the sky over the city and with it Otto’s mood. The rain didn't do much to help either, he thought as his coat was taken from him and he quickly turned to follow a servant who had been sent to meet him. It had not been the Otto’s first time to see the King of Prussia and he passed by the elaborate tapestries and suits of armor as if they were not even there. He had other things on his mind anyway. His meetings with the King early in the year had led to Hanover becoming involved in what people were now calling the Austrian-Prussian War.

It all started in 1707 after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession. Prussia had been made a kingdom by in 1701 in exchange for joining the Austrians in the war against the Spanish and the French. The war ended with the Austrians suing for peace with Philip V of France being made King of Spain, though he was taken out of the line of succession to the throne of France, and the Spanish being allowed to keep all their land possessions including Spanish Netherlands and Naples. After the signing of the treaty, rumors began to circulate that the Prussians had been undermining the Austrians during the entire war through sabotage and that they were secretly in league with Spain and France to overthrow Austria's government. Relations being the two powers became considerably strained with Leopold I, the Holy Roman Emperor, officially revoking Prussia’s right to be a kingdom in 1708 to which the King of Prussia, Frederick I, refused to comply declared war on Austria.

The two sides had fought to a stalemate by late 1709 and in the intervening time began vying for the support of the other German states. Otto had sat in on many meetings between his Elector and Prussian and Austrian representatives but all that had come out it was material support for Prussia. Neither side had been able to convince the other states to enter open war with them until suddenly Bavaria announced its support of Austria and declared war on Prussia. Hanover, which had been supplying Prussia with supplies, with the announcement of Bavaria’s declaration believed that they could become a target of a Bavarian invasion. Otto had been quickly dispatched to Berlin to discuss the terms of Hanover’s involvement in the war with Austria. Frederick had guaranteed that upon total victory, he would take over the mantle of Holy Roman Emperor and he would elevate Hanover to a kingdom with the Elector becoming a king.

Otto smiled as he climbed the stairway leading to the second floor of the palace. It was a prize Otto’s elector could not refuse. He immediately threw in his lot with the Prussians and one year later the Hanoverian Expeditionary Force was moving across Europe to fight. Many in Berlin questioned whether such an army could be of much good against the experienced forces of the Austrians. Otto reached into his pocket and produced a message that had come to him in the early hours of the morning from General Albert Ketterer and it bore good news. Prince Eugene of Savoy, one of Austria’s best commanders had been captured by Hanoverian forces on his way to Breslau in Silesia.

It may not have been a military victory but it was quite a blow to the Austrians. With determination, Otto clenched the message in his hand as he neared the king’s chamber. A small victory this time but a greater victory would soon follow.

[Inkie]

Ah this is great! Shame there isn't a little more text to delve into after the wait, but I think this really adds a necessary global dimension, context and explanation to the events of the story

[Scottish King]

Thanks. Im hoping to have some up soon.

[Scottish King]

Due to schoolwork I won't be able to update this until Thursday. Thanks for reading.

[IneptCmdr]

This is progressing nicely. Its interesting to see the political intrigue behind the conflict.

[McScottish]

*Cough*Where'sthenextupdate!*Cough*

Just passing through, pay me no heed.

[Scottish King]

Here's your update