salamimikeWith most nations of Europe well committed to the fighting, it was only France and the Netherlands that attempted to recruit more soldiers. Outside of Europe, the Great Qing also built up an army, but there were some fears as to how they would pay for such a force. Mexico also built up its forces, although short of what they were hoping for.
(+200,000 conscripts to France, +70,000 conscripts to the Netherlands, +1,800,000 conscripts to Qing, +100,000 conscripts to Mexico)
Spain also took the opportunity to build a number of ships for their fleet, although the order was too much for their industry to cope with.
(-£8,700, +1 ironclads, +2 ships-of-the-line, +4 screw frigates, +4 sail frigates, +5 transport ships to Spain)
Now with a significant army, Britain finally moved its forces off the home isles. Most went to northern France to join the French army in waiting for a Prussian attack they believed was soon to come. They would be waiting for a while.
Part of the British force, an army of 40,000 conscripts, moved to attack the enemy. Using transport vessels from many different members of the Allied Powers, the army landed on the southern coast of Sicily. It didn't take long for the army to run into some difficulties. Expecting the majority of the Italian army to be busy fighting in the north, the British were shocked to come under heavy fire. Turns out, the Italian High Command had anticipated this attack, and lying in wait for the British was the 130,000 strong Army of Syracuse. The British held their ground bravely, and managed to survive on the beaches for a time with assistance from naval artillery, but eventually the British officers deemed that success was impossible, and withdrew the army. In their haste to withdraw, they left behind plenty of military supplies, to be captured by the Italians.
(-11,200 conscripts to Britain, -23,600 conscripts to Italy, -3% equipment to Britain, +3% equipment to Italy)
Also making use of Allied transport vessels, a Greek force of 30,000 landed in southern Italy near the city of Taranto. An Italian army of a similar size was based in Napoli, and they responded quickly to the news. The Italians hit their former allies hard, and sent the Greek soldiers reeling. As they did not enjoy considerable naval support like the British, the Greek forces withdrew much earlier, leaving behind many casualties.
(-9,000 conscripts to Greece, -7,400 conscripts to Italy)
While the fighting in the south of Italy was fierce, it was nothing compared to the bloodshed that took place in Austria in 1865. Thankfully, the southwestern front stabilised, as the Italian army withdrew back to a more favourable defensive line. However, Austria was still facing an attack from both Russia and Prussia. Leaving the western front with only a minimal force protecting it, almost the entire force marched east to prepare to invade Austria. Joining them was 450,000 Russian conscripts, who recieved permission to march through Prussia. This brought the total invasion force to over 1 million men,a quarter of them well trained regulars. Facing them was a little over 400,000 Austrian forces, spread out through the Carpathians. An army the size of the Coalition force was an easy thing to notice, however, and the Austrians managed to reposition their forces north in time for the attack. However, although the dug-in Austrians fought with all their might, the sheer numbers facing them were too heavy to bear, and the Austrian army was slowly forced south. The Coalition army drove a wedge deeper into the Austrian Empire, but Austrian resolve remained strong, and the going was slow. However, it was still enough, after a fierce defence, to take the city of Prague. The loss of Prague was a huge blow to the morale of the Austrians, but Russian supply lines were stretched to almost breaking point, and the Prussian lines weren't much better. The attack ground to a halt in Prague, while outside the city, the beleaguered Austrian forces dug in, waiting for a chance to take the city back.
(-11,300 regulars to Prussia, -30,000 conscripts to Prussia, -55,700 conscripts to Russia, -42,800 conscripts to Austria)
Outside of Europe, things went better for the Allied Powers. An Ottoman army drove into the Caucuses, pushing hard to catch any Russian defenders by surprise. There was little resistance, and the Ottomans took huge swathes of Russian land.
With the Baltic and the Black Sea closed off, the only remaining outpost of the Russian Navy was the far east. Determined to destroy it, a combined Anglo-French fleet moved against the city of Vladivostok. The Russian navy put up a strong resistance, but was unable to compete against the Allies. Most of it was destroyed, with a few escaping. With the Russion fleet put out of action, the Allies moved to finally blockade Russia fully.
(-2 Ships-of-the-Line, -3 Screw Frigates, -4 Sail Frigates to Britain, -3 Ships-of-the-Line, -6 Sail Frigates to France, -8 Ships-of-the-Line, -5 Screw Frigates, -12 Sail Frigates to Russia, Russia fully blockaded)
Qing Imperial soldiers moved to attack Russia. Russia's far east was sparsely populated, and although every man who could hold a rifle had been handed one, it wasn't enough to prevent the invasion. The city of Vladivostok was cut off and, after a brief siege, was captured. At the same time, Japanese soldiers landed on the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, facing little resistance. Ships from the Japanese Navy began hunting down ship carrying gold from Alaska to Russia, effectively cutting off the route.
(-31,800 conscripts to Qing, -500 regulars to Japan, -11,100 conscripts to Russia, -1 resource sublevel to Russia)
With assistance from the British navy, a Mexican army landed in curaçao. Although there were few Dutch soldiers in the region, the ones that were put up heavy resistance. However, after three days of intense fighting, the defenders surrendered and the island was taken.
(-1,400 conscripts to Mexico, -300 regulars to the Netherlands)
As the fighting for the year subsided, many nations took the opportunities to improve the quality of their militaries.
(-£640, +10% equipment to Prussia, -£500, +1 army sublevel to Austria, -£490, +1 army sublevel to Spain, -£510, +1 army sublevel to Greece in 1 turn)
