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Contact: Katrina-Bettina von Heffelfinger
Die Krankenstad Tageblat
4 Schlossplatz
Krankenstadt
The Grand Duchy of Stollen


For Immediate Release:

ARMIES OF STOLLEN AND ZICHENAU ON THE MOVE
Opening Shots Expected within the Next Week

Krankenstadt, Grand Duchy of Stollen, 29 June 1770 -- As the various units in the Army of Stollen assemble just to the west of the capital city Krankenstadt, the Zichenauer juggernaut has firmly established itself in the extreme southeast of the Grand Duchy during the last several days. General Phillipe de Latte, commanding the Army of Zichenau, has chosen the small town of Zwieback, just inside Stollenian territory, as his main base of operations. His men have begun digging fortifications around the town and establishing a small magazine there as well as a field bakery and supply depot. Firm lines of communications have also been established between Zwieback and Hissig, the capital of Zichenau.

Deep Advance by Zichenau into Stollen Expected

Stollenian officers who have faced General de Latte on the field of battle before fully expect his army to advance further into Stollen during the next several days. When asked in an interview this weekend, the commander of the Stollenian army, General von Tschatchke, opined that it seems likely de Latte and his army will head up the road for the villages of Effibriest and Instetten. The two, along with the nearby Crampas Farm, sit in the shallow Teodorstal Valley along the main highway that runs between this outlying part of Stollen and its capital.

Regional Zwieback-Effibriest-Instetten Highway of Strategic Importance

General von Tschatchke, along with most Stollenian government ministers, feels that the Zichenauer army will move on the aforementioned valley and attempt to occupy it, thus controlling all traffic, post, and commerce along the Zwieback-Effibriest-Instetten Highway. More significantly, this vital artery runs straight toward Krankenstadt and would put that city within an easy few days march for General de Latte's troops should they defeat the Stollenian army in battle.

Stollenian Army Expected to Begin Counter-Advance This Week

Meanwhile, the Army of Stollen is expected to begin its own advance by Thursday or Friday, trying to reach the Teodorstal Valley before the Zichenauers. If the two forces indeed converge on the valley simultaneously, as experts predict, it seems highly likely that battle will commence with victory going to the more able general. While General de Latte has been successful in every previous military campaign waged against the Grand Duchy of Stollen, his opponent General von Tschatchke, The Flamboyant Silesian, a mercenary officer of good reputation, also comes from a long background of military experience gained in the service of Austria and Prussia during the wars of 1740-48 and 1756-63 respectively.

Grand Duke's Attention Focused Elsewhere

And what of the Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II? Reports from the Palace indicate that His Highness has been occupied by rather more domestic matters than the political and military situations facing his country. While palace representatives have not been entirely forthcoming about the precise situation of his concern, an unidentified member of the kitchen staff has suggested that Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II is in the midst of wooing a young woman of strong character, who belongs to the family von Kessin, an extremely minor branch of the House of Hohenzollern. The young lady in question also has distant ties to the Electorate of Zichenau as well as several other princely houses throughout Central Europe. Besides a military campaign, then, it would seem that the Grand Duchy of Stollen, along with its populace, has a second matter of diplomacy, tactical acuity, and, indeed, luck on which to keep an eye in the coming weeks.

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