The War of Bavarian Succession 1778-1779

June, 1778. Vienna, Austria

“Bavaria... That annoying little brat?” Austria said with an obviously disgusted tone, looking down at the large map set before him. “Are you truly expecting him to cede any territory?” he asked, finally looking up to the two rulers that stood before him.

“Austria, please,” the woman said, “Bayern is related to you, why do you hate him as such?” It was none other than the Empress, Maria Theresa. She had visibly aged since the last conflict. Next to her stood her son, Archduke Joseph, who sighed as the two argued.

“I’m sure I wouldn’t dislike him if he wasn’t as annoying as he was,” Roderich replied, “Truthfully, I thought family members weren’t supposed to stab each other’s back.” Bavaria had helped the Prussians during the War of Austrian Succession and was often sided with his enemies, such as France.

“Austria, we have no choice but to expand into German territories if we want to ensure our dominance in the Holy Roman Empire and in the east. We have a strong claim in Bavaria, it’s an opportunity we cannot let pass!” the Archduke said, his first words since the little meeting had begun.

“It does not matter,” the Empress added, “We already have an agreement with Bavaria and his Duke.”

Roderich sighed hopelessly. He had no chance to convince his bosses. “Very well, I hope you are aware that this means war with Prussia.”
The Empress replied: “We are ready for some territorial exchanges in exchange of Prussian Neutrality.”

The meeting continued as they discussed the strategy. It was quite simple: They would send an army in the lands they claimed in Bavaria while most the troops were to be sent in Bohemia, where they could fight back any expected invasions from Prussia.

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July, 1778. Königsgratz, Bohemia

Prussia had declared war. It was expected as Austria knew that the Prussian’s boss was not interested in seeing his influence in the Holy Roman Empire to be diminished. Both armies were massing and Roderich was currently inspecting the troops. He was honestly surprised at how the quality of the Habsburg troops rose ever since the fiascos in Silesia. It made him slightly more confident since that his armies had the advantage of defending in the rough terrain of the Czech lands. Prussia’s armies were formidable and had gained quite a reputation after the Seven Years War and the Austrian armies had suffered both in prestige and notoriety. Suffering a defeat here would destroy his hegemony over Central Europe and Prussia would grow even stronger, completely shattering the fragile balance of power in the European continent.

After the inspection was done, Austria mounted his stallion and joined the group of officers that were leading the army. After quick introductions, he verified if his pistol was loaded and that his sabre was sharpened. At the orders of the commanding officer, the soldiers began to move to their positions north of the city, where they expected to encounter the Prussians. It was going to be a tough fight, but Roderich was confident that this wouldn’t end in fiasco. He had learned from his previous mistakes, and now he had to regain his lost prestige…