[center][b][u]First Clash of the Giants[/u][/b][/center]

As the nations of Europe prepared for war, raising armies was the first move on everyone's agenda. With railroads now common in Europe, the example set by the Americans demonstrated how swiftly an army could now move, and military advisors on both sides of the war quickly realised this would be a war unlike anything before. Speed was now of the utmost importance, and instead of attempting to raise numbers to their full capacity before engaging, a move that could take many months, commanders instead elected to raise and train as many as possible in a short space of time.

Prussia had a flood of recruits, but decided it could only train 200,000 in time for their first campaigns, so many were turned away and told to wait until they were called up.
(+200,000 conscripts to Prussia)

Austria also found it easy to raise an army.
(+260,000 conscripts to Austria)

France, fueled by nationalism, quickly raised an army to face the Prussians, although the speed at which this war progressed forced them to cut their conscription short before the expected number was reached.
(+250,000 conscripts to France)

Britain, on the other hand, faced numerous problems. Tensions were still high on the home islands, and thousands attempted to dodge the draft.
(+150,000 conscripts to Britain)

Russia found that their earlier emancipation of the serfs freed up large numbers of their population for military service, and the planned number was reached quickly and efficiently.
(+200,000 conscripts to Russia)

The call to Jihad in the Ottoman Empire galvanised thousands to enlist. However, a minor shortage of equipment plus poor census records meant that the Ottoman military could only enlist a portion of those signing up.
(+220,000 conscripts to the Ottoman Empire)

Italy had a flood of volunteers, as a government propaganda campaign convinced many that it was for the defence of Italy itself.
(+260,000 conscripts to Italy)

The Netherlands found conscription fairly easy, and managed to raise as large an army as it could handle.
(+170,000 conscripts to the Netherlands)

Greece also raised a decent army.
(+30,000 conscripts to Greece)

Only Romania managed to raise an army to its maximum - indeed, some ethnic Romanians, frustrated by long waits, snuck over the border from the Ottoman Empire and Austria, and the Romanian government turned a blind eye.
(+100,000 conscripts to Romania)

The first shots of the war were fired in the Rhineland. 39,000 Prussian regulars of the Army of the Elbe moved into the territory heading for Metz. The Austrian government, having only taken control of the territory a few years previously, had placed few soldiers, and those that were there fell back almost immediately. Running parallel was the larger First Army, numbering 81,000 regulars. As they occupied the Rhineland and began to move beyond, they encountered resistance from French defenders. A short battle occurred, with few casualties on either side, before Prussian commanders pulled back their men, as they had not yet received orders to attack the French as of yet.
(-1,100 conscripts to France, -670 regulars to Prussia)

The first major offensive was planned by the Italians. The Army of Veneto, a huge army numbering 290,000 troops, 160,000 of them regulars, crossed over the Adige River and began marching for Veneto. Opposing them was a 230,000 strong force of Austrians, 100,000 of them regulars. The attack began with a heavy srtillery bombardment from both sides. Then, when the cannonfire ceased, the Italian army charged forwards and stormed the Austrian defences. The Austrian soldiers initially found it easy to mow down waves of Italian attackers, but the weight of numbers plus a determined charge forced a gap in the Austrian defences around midmorning. The Italians seized the opportunity and streamed through the gap, forcing the Austrian army back. The Austrian commander gave the order to retreat, hoping to save his army from destruction, and the Austrians fell back to the city of Venice, with the Italians following at a leisurely pace. The Italians had won the first major battle of the war, but it had come at a high price.
(-5,300 regulars, -24,500 conscripts to Italy, -4,900 regulars, -19,700 conscripts to Austria)

Austria also came under attack from the east. A Russian army, the Army of Saint Petersburg, numbering 150,000, attacked Galicia. At the same time, the 125,000 strong Army of Kiev moved from Ukraine to attack Czernowitz. While initially coming under very light retaliation, as they moved west it became apparent that the Austrians had dug in strongly along the Carpathian Mountains, and would not budge easily. The attempted two pronged attack by the Russians was quickly bogged down, as the Austrians held the high ground and cut down the Russians. Russian commanders ordered their men to keep pushing, but it came to no avail and as night fell, they were forced to call off the assault.
(-35,600 conscripts to Russia, -11,500 conscripts to Austria)

Although it was debatable which side was strongest on land, the Allied Powers held a clear naval dominance over the Eighth Coalition. A British naval contingent of 100 vessels moved into the Baltic. The poor navies of Prussia and the Netherlands escaped destruction by hugging the coastline and staying near coastal batteries, but this was not enough to stop the British, with assistance from the French navy, from completely blockading them. The countries of the Mediterranean Pact, Italy, Spain, and Greece, escaped blockade for the time, but with Britain controlling the Straits of Gibraltar and having dominance in the Atlantic, it would be only a matter of time before they were blockaded too. Russia lost any trade through the Baltic, and the Turkish Straits were also closed by the Ottoman government, but they kept a lifeline open through the Far East.
(Prussia and the Netherlands under a blockade. Russia partially blockaded)

In the Mediterranean, the Allied Powers initiated a campaign to take control of the sea. Placed under the control of the British admiral Michael Seymour, the combined allied fleet of British, Austrian, and Turkish vessels attempted to hunt down Eighth Coalition ships. The Eighth Coalition ships, wisely, scattered and attempted to escape destruction. After months of tracking individual ships with little success, the Allied Fleet encountered a gathering of Italian vessels in the Adriatic. A swift battle ensued. The Allies had numerical superiority on their side, but the Italians fought bravely, and made sure the Allies were bleeding for every Italian vessel lost. Although the Allies had the victory, it did not mean the destruction of the italian fleet, as some vessels escaped. More than that, Italian vessels being built in shipyards were moved and disguised, so that they might escape destruction. The Regia Marina would live to fight another day. Elsewhere, a Greek ship was sank, but the others fell back to Athens harbour, defended by coastal guns, and survived. Their new ironclad did not leave the harbour, as the Greeks did not wish to see it at the bottom of the Aegean so soon after its construction.
(-2 ships-of-the-line, -4 screw frigates, -4 sail frigates to Italy, -1 ship-of-the-line to Britain, -1 screw frigate, -3 sail frigates to Austria, -2 ships-of-the-line, -5 screw frigates, -3 sail frigates to the Ottoman Empire, -1 sail frigate to Greece)

The calls by the Ottoman Empire for Jihad reverberated around the Muslim world. There was some response in Spanish and Dutch muslim colonies, but the largest effect was seen in Russia. Russia's calls for Holy War and Christian rhetoric made large numbers of enemies amongst muslims in the Caucasus and Central Asia, and muslim guerilla forces began cutting railway lines and destroying supply routes.
(-1 infrastructure level, -10% public support to Russia, -1 resource level to the Netherlands, -1 resource level to Spain)

With the year's campaigning over, many nations began to train their soldiers better in expectation for even bloodier fighting next year, while others began purchasing or manufacturing weapons.
(-£510, +1 army sublevel to Britain, -£490, +1 army sublevel to Austria, -£530, +1 army sublevel to Greece, -£280, +6% equipment to Russia, -£190, +3% equipment to Romania)