A Rash of Raids

Prussia and Austria both reach for their special operations troops in early June. The difference in their SOF abilities is shown by the results.

A small Prussian raiding force is chased off by Konigsegg's dragoon outposts.

A large Austrian raiding force, however, drives in the piquets of Frederick's camp around Tabor and burns tents, wagons, destroys ammunition dumps, bread ovens, horse lines, and slays many Prussians as they stumble from their tents.

to-ings and fro-ings

All sorts of light horse are seen dashing about northern Bohemia, but it isn't entirely clear what they are doing, where they are going, or what they have seen. Generals and field marshals sit late into the night in their tents, tapping their fingers and pacing about their maps. But no great fireworks take place, and staff officers wear out a good many horses to no (apparent) good end.

April showers bring May... battles?

As the divisions of Prinz Heirich and FM Schwerin were being combined into a single command under the latter (in the Prussian Army, at least, experience outranks the blood royal), Austrian irregular attacks stepped up, causing losses in the invader's ranks.

At the same time, patrol clashes took place further west in Bohemia, as Frederick attempted (unsuccessfully) to scout the western and central Austrian forces.

April II: feints and jabs

The Prussian and Austrian armies continue trying to complete their operational picture of the battlefield. This time the action is moving east. Prussian patrols drive off an Austrian attempt to raid Zittau. At the same time, patrols of black-clad hussars are foiled in their attempts to scout the Austrian positions around Reichenberg.

However, Hapsburg spies do achieve some intelligence. It seems that the Prussian force based in Zittau is commanded by none other than Prinz Heinrich, detailed to take over command of the central front from Brunswick Bevern. [Josh had originally assigned him here, but I neglected to note that his generalship rank places him in command and to label the force appropriately.]

April I: raids and recon

April, it is said, is the cruelest month. This is certainly true for the Prussian troops stationed at Freiberg, who are woken from their sleep one night by the sound of musket fire. In some cases, the dazed troops stumble out of tents and barns, trying to assemble into their units, only to be cut down by the curved sabres of Austrian pandours or gutted by bayonets wielded by fiercely mustachioed grenzers. A brutal surprise attack on the army of Prince Maurice of Anhalt-Dessau by light troops of the Imperial Army is beaten off, but only with heavy losses.

Perhaps the newly-raised regiments of Prussian light troops might have been able to detect this attack and foil it before it happened, but they seem to have been far away, trying to reconnoiter the lines of the Kaiserlich und Königlich forces under Königsegg at Reichenberg. Still raw and uncertain at this new form of warfare, however, the Prussian scouts are beaten off by the Austrian screening forces.