It is 1816 and Zarland is mourning the death of its King. The Kingdom should have crowned Otto king. Prince Otto had caused much angst for his father King Gustav. Always rebellious, Otto had discovered a worrying interest in the liberal ideas spreading across the continent. So much so that Otto had turned up in a failed insurrection concerning the small duchy of Nevaria.
Otto was banished from court for a time which only made things worse. The Kings chief advisors manoeuvred the King to declare Otto’s twin sister Maria as his successor and despite his fears, Gustav pursued this decision.
So on Gustav’s death Prince Otto did attempt to gain the crown but he had little support and fled the kingdom. Queen Maria in fact was named Crown Princess Maria with King Gustav’s brother Duke Constantius acting as Regent until matters settled down: As if appointing a Regent was likely to settle matters?
Prince Otto arrived at the court of King Karel of Vin Alba. Now King Karel had allowed a greater degree of liberal activity in his kingdom much to the advantage of the economy as it turned out. Avoiding disruption the kingdom had embraced industry and grown wealthier in recent times.
King Karel thought his guest might be useful as he considered Zarland and its now fragile position. Indeed the Crown Princess Maria was the focus of two other states – Nuringia and Genachia. Both believed that Maria had been promised in marriage to their respective Crown Princes.
The Zarland Regent Duke Constantius was well aware of dangers that Gustav had created by choosing Maria to succeed him. It just seemed that Otto could not be trusted at all.
Zarland’s own history also played against it. Having aggressively built the kingdom from a smaller Duchy, its neighbours all considered various parts were in fact “on loan” and their return was now inevitable.
It was this heady mixture that saw Duke Constantius focus his attention first on Nuringia and Genachia. He and his advisors were therefore surprised when King Karel declared he would support Prince Otto in another attempt to take the throne. King Karel had carefully persuaded the King of Davaria to join him in this venture.
While the King of Davaria promised troops to King Karel he also decided to set about recovering some of the borderlands lost to Zarland in previous years.
So in quick succession the Regent Constantius had to deal with an apparent invasion by Davaria and now its seems the VinAlbans supporting Otto. A scratch force was despatched to the Davarian border under the command of General Guarnieri. At the same time an embassy was sent to the King of Davaria apparently seeking a political solution to his dispute.
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The more serious attack required a strong response – there could be no discussion with King Karel until he had tasted defeat. The Zarlanders had an excellent martial history and well maintained forces despite their cost. It was well known that VinAlba had neglected its forces over time.
18th March 1816 somewhere in western Zarland.
General Stute of the VinAlban Army was in command of a weak advance guard. As he arrived at a key road junction just below what the local’s called “the Arensburg” scouts returned reporting enemy troops across the valley……..
The Wargaming Erratic 