The Latest Breaking News from Stollen. . .

For Immediate Release

Contact: Katrina Bettina von Heffelfinger, Political Editor

Die Krankenstadt Tageblat

73 Flickenhofferske Square, Krankenstadt, Grand Duchy of Stollen

Electorate of Zichenau’s Army Concentrates at Zollamtstadt

General de Latté Leads Troops Northwest along Postal Road toward Stollenian Capital

Krankenstadt, Grand Duchy of Stollen – 01 August, 1768 -- Stollenian cavalry officers have confirmed that on 31 July, the Zichenauer army began moving to the northwest in the direction of Krankenstadt. The French mercenary adventurer General Phillipe de Latté is known to command this strong force of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, which is also accompanied by a battalion of pioneers.

Tiny Duchy of Schleiz at the Root of Conflict between Stollen and Zichenau

The precise cause of the current conflict is thought to be the Duchy of Schleiz, a small, historically contested area between the Great and Lesser Zwischen rivers is richly wooded, providing timber, considerable game, and iron ore for both export and domestic consumption. Since 1723, the Duchy of Schleiz has been a possession of the larger Grand Duchy of Stollen. However, Zichenau’s deceased Prince Ruprecht VII, and now his mother Princess Antonia III have recently made it their mission to regain the previously lost province for Zichenau.

Immediate Military Situation for Stollen Bleak

Little stands between de Latté’s army and the Stollenian capital Krankenstadt. An under- strength Stollenian force, commanded by our own General von Drosselmaier, holds a dispersed position in the vicinity of Pelznikkel, a small town on the same postal road between Zollamtstadt and Krankenstadt. However, it is unclear just how effective a resistance this body of men can offer to the white-coated Zichenauers, who defeated troops under von Drosselmaier in December of 1767 at Zollamtstadt on the Greater Zwischen River, separating Stollen from Zichenau.

Pillau-Zerbst Sends Troops to Assist General de Latté

Worse, troops allied to Zichenau are on the way to join General de Latté from the tiny Principality of Pillau-Zerbst on our northwestern frontier. Stollenian agents in that principality report that an independent company of the Wolmar-Bock Regiment of infantry marched from the Schmitten town square two days ago. Under Captain Ernst Licentius von Meckern, these men have orders to join de Latté and his army in southern Stollen and assist in seizing the Stollenian capital. The Zicheenauer aim is to force the hand of Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II into returning the Duchy of Schleiz, its population, and resources to the Electorate of Zichenau.

Krankenstadt Population Leaving City in Droves as Stollenian Ministry Opens Emergency Session

For its part, the general population of Krankenstadt has started to evacuate the city, fleeing northward toward the cities of Mittau and Riga across the frontier. The household of Irwin-Amadeus II, in the meantime, remains in residence at the summer palace, Spiessburg, a day’s journey north of the capital, where Stollenian ministers have converged for an emergency session. Meanwhile, General von Drosselmaier and his tiny army are all that stands to face the Zichenauer hoards from the south.

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