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The Zichenauer Army Approaches. . .

The bucolic River Elbow, a tributary of the Lesser Zwischen River between the Grand Duchy of Stollen and its bitter enemy the Electorate of Zichenau.

Stollenian jaegers along the frontier have sighted occasional small detachments of Zichenauer cavalry on the far side of the River Elbow during the last several days.  As of yet, it has been impossible for Stollenian officers determine the exact size or composition of General Phillipe de Latte's army based on these early reports, and no enemy troops have crossed the river into the Grand Duchy of Stollen as far as advance scouts can tell.  

However, agents operating within Hissig, the Zichenauer capital, have supplied the Stollenian War Ministry with a key piece of information.  The evil and conniving Princess Antonia III has, apparently, cautioned General de Latte that there will be no further adventures in the boudoir until he has marched his forces into Krankenstadt with bands paying and banners flying.  

De Latte, according to Antonia's strict instructions, must then secure both an unconditional surrender from the Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II as well as significant territorial gains for Zichenau from the Grand Duchy of Stollen before normal relations are restored between the two.  De Latte and Princess Antonia, or Zichenau and Stollen?  We'll leave it to you to figure out the precise meaning of that convoluted little morsel.


De Latte -- "Aw Peaches, come on!  My starched ruffles are mussed, and my pants are too tight."
Princess Antonia III --  "Not another word my dear de Latte. There will be no more schnooky-schnooky until the Grand Duchy of Stollen has been brought to its knees!"

Comments

Old School ACW said…
No more "schnooky-schnooky" until I what?

Schnooky-schnooky is all very well, but there are chambermaids who may be had for a bright, shiny pfennig, you know. A dime a dozen as it were.

Mordieu.

deL
Bluebear Jeff said…
The opening image reminds me of that great piece of Stollenian music, "The Azure Elbow Waltz" . . . which is surely a most popular piece of dance music in the Grand Duchy.


-- Jeff
Ah, The Azure Elbow Waltz! Played in 5/4 time of course. Imagine trying to waltz to that? But Stollenian society managed to. . . somehow.

Best Regards,

Stokes
Bloggerator said…
blonk, blonk, blonk, blonk-blonk
yaah-di-daaaah-da
yaah-di-daaaah-da
blonk, blonk, blonk, blonk-blonk
yaah-di-daaaah-di-daaaah-di
da-da-da; da-dump
Why, yes! That's it exactly.

Best Regards,

Stokes
Der Alte Fritz said…
I don't believe that the Waltz had been invented yet.

BTW, it looks to me as though Zichanauer needs some pontoons since they always seem to be crossing the Elbow River. Black primer, a couple passes of copper with the dry brushing technique and BINGO! instant pontoon bridge. Coffee stirrers from Starbucks make for great planking material.

Thank God you don't use that inane type in the scrambled words to prove you are not a robot thingy.

Jim
Bloggerator said…
I'm a robot.
Phil said…
The river Elbow game by David Barnes (in the old Wargames Newsletter I think) is one of my favourites, so I'm looking forward to your take on it Stokes. I've even played with some of the David Barnes collection. Great stuff.
By the way, whatever happened to the rest of the Sittangbad game from a few months back? Did I miss the conclusion?
Phil
Hello Phil,

In a word, "kittens" happened to the Stttangbad game before its natural conclusion, and everything had to be picked up, dusted off, and put away prematurely. My table now resides in another room, more or less catproof. I've also removed a wall between it and my office/painting area to create a single large, rather comfy, room across the front end of our basement. I hope it holds out against the cats' relentless attempts to join me when I'm down here in Zum Stollenkeller.

Best Regards,

Stokes
Bloggerator said…
Don't get me started on those cats.
Hello there, Greg. . . Onyx and Gunnlaug say, "Meow!"

Best Regards,

Stokes
Der Alte Fritz said…
The hapless Stollen Army was saved by cats? Tis better to be lucky than good. :)

I hope that they finally win a battle. It would be as stupendous as the Chicago Cubs playing in the World Series.

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