Springtime of Nations: A German Republic Quest

The following is an explanation of how Militia recruitment works:

With the depletion of the national Landwehr pool, all factions must henceforth recruit untrained or partially-trained Militia, who must then be taught the basics of soldiering in a hurry. Unlike the Landwehr, who formed a politically-active body that could be swayed, Militia are drawn from regional sources. Germany can only sustain a limited amount of recruitment before being unable to field any more able-bodied soldiers, and extreme measures will be required to expand one's forces beyond that limit.

A map is enclosed giving a rough district-by-district breakdown of available manpower, with green meaning "full," yellow meaning "reduced," and red meaning "depleted." Depleted areas are not completely devoid of manpower but will yield far less than other areas. Areas that have been subject to intense fighting will have fewer available recruits than areas the war has yet to reach. Areas divided between factions will give their available recruits proportionately according to the amount of territory controlled.

Recruitment can be accomplished by including a plank in a prominent figure's plan; their location during the turn will determine where they recruit from.

The following are clarifications:

Units follow a linear hierarchy of promotion, starting with Militia at the bottom, then moving up through Landwehr, Regulars, and finally Guards. Volunteers occupy a separate slot between Landwehr and Regulars and do not promote. Bundeswehr are more effective Regulars, not quite up to par with Guards, and Freischar are more effective Volunteers, on par with and promoting like Regulars. A percentage of all units, the exact percentage differing per unit type, promote at the end of the turn prior to new unit recruitment. Factions with alternate unit types have lower-ranking units promote into the alternate types instead. Some factions skip promotion steps.

Attrition is a percentage-based loss to a force inflicted either per-turn in the case of normal attrition, per-movement in the case of partisan attrition, and per-month in the case of siege attrition (which also applies to encirclements). Sources of normal attrition include lack of agricultural supplies, lack of industrial supplies, disease, and desertion. Winter attrition applies normal attrition every month and every movement instead of once per turn. Partisan attrition is not reduceable. Winter attrition and siege attrition are not reduceable without specific orders.

United Front
[] Louis Kugelmann (Front)
Chairman of the Revolutionary Assembly, orthodox Marxist, prolific rear-echelon organizer.
Currently located in Bonn.

[] Viktor Schmidt (Front)
Comrade-Marshal of the Northern Red Army, Marxist-Jacobin, direct action proponent.
Currently located in Darmstadt.

[] Wilhelm Liebknecht (Front)
General of the Southern Red Army, Chairman of the Stuttgart Commune, conscripted public official.
Currently located in Ulm.

[] Walpurga Voight (Front)
Valkyrie General of the Western Red Army, ardent communist, aerial warfare pioneer.
Currently located in Luxemburg.

[] Peter Kropotkin (Front)
Reluctant General of the Eastern Red Army, committed mutualist, logistics expert.
Currently located in Frankfurt.

Republican Alliance
[] Otto Heubner (Alliance)
President of the Committee for National Defense, instigator of the Dresden Uprising, skilled orator.
Currently located in Hanover.

[] Claus Dillinger (Alliance)
Citizen-General of the 7th Army, die-hard Jacobin, Five Weeks' War veteran.
Currently located in Gottingen.

[] Edward Salomon (Alliance)
Citizen-General of the 1st Army, veteran of the American Civil War, leader of the Republican Guard.
Currently located in Potsdam.

[] Christoph Mueller (Alliance)
Citizen-General of the 3rd Army, former Deputy Minister of the Interior, mobilization specialist.
Currently located in Stettin.

[] Wilhelm Richter (Alliance)
Citizen-General of the 5th Army, son of a Radical martyr, popular with the men.
Currently located in Leipzig.

National Coalition
[] Karl Eisenach (Coalition)
Chancellor of the German Republic, former nobleman, committed republican.
Currently located in Fulda.

[] Carl Schurz (Coalition)
Chief of the German Combined Staff, commander of the Army of the Center, American Civil War veteran.
Currently located in Wurzburg.

[] Irwin Altmaier (Government)
General of the Army of Franconia, apolitical, known for fighting on the front lines.
Currently located in Ansbach.

[] Peter von Sparneck (Coalition)
General of the Army of the Elbe, former Landwehr officer, un-renounced title of nobility.
Currently located in Chemnitz.

[] Felix von Salm-Salm (Coalition)
General of the Army of the Danube, veteran of foreign wars, intimate of the Austrian royal family.
Currently located in Erfurt.

[] Eduard von Totleben (Coalition)
Baltic German General of the Army of the Baltic, engineering expert, recently returned from the Balkans.
Currently located in Stargard.

[] Friedrich von Blau (Coalition)
General of the Army of Silesia, descendant of an infamous criminal, intent on redeeming the family honor.
Currently located in Cottbus.

---

Voting will open in 48 hours and will remain open for 24 hours. Keep it civil and constructive.

Example plan below:

[] Markus Wittelsbegen Jr. (Neutral)
-[] Oversee completion of the dedicated wing of the estate to house my growing all-female retinue.
-[] Oversee completion of the dedicated wing of the estate for Bundie's toy and catnip storage.
-[] Hire a portrait painter to take down likenesses of the whole family (me and Bundie).

Due to a comprehensive breakdown in player good faith, which nothing I say or do seems to be able to alleviate, I am changing the method by which people submit plans for voting in this quest. This change will remain in effect for the duration of the civil war.

If you want to have a plan voted on for the civil war, please PM me on SV at this username with "[Faction Name] - Summer 1879". Instead of [Faction Name], please include the faction you're submitting for. Please format your plan in the usual method.

I will leave plan submissions open for 48 hours from the time this post goes up. Any and all are welcome to submit plans for any number of characters.

I deeply regret that we've come to this point and wish there was another path forward, but ultimately this is the only viable approach I see to having the quest continue without a major format overhaul or prematurely ending the civil war arc. Thank you for working with me on this.

[] Louis Kugelmann (Front)
-[] Plan "The Materiel Conditions"
- Begin providing the RA with some of our artillery production (Essen Steel) in exchange for some of their experienced artillery crew trainers (Superior Firepower). If the RA does not fulfill their part of the deal, then instead recruit more militia in <Nordrhein II> and transfer them to Koblenz.
- Improve the standard kit of every UF soldier to also include, among other things: a steel helmet, Linnemann spade, and first aid kit (w/instruction manual), and with barbed wire for every unit. Everyone in the Red Army is valuable, and should be given the best chance of survival.

[] Viktor Schmidt (Front)
-[] Plan "Direct Action"
- Organize the builders and labourers of Frankfurt to plan, coordinate, and enact the rebuilding of key city infrastructure and housing, using the prewar union structures suppressed and driven underground by the NC if possible. Arrange for appropriate channels to existing UF logistical organizations.
- Grab Kropotkin's army, unite forces, then attack Schurz's army. Goal: remove him & his army as a threat. Details: Use balloons & numbers for flanking in the field, otherwise heavy guns with balloon spotters to crack fortifications for an assault. If successful, send a detachment to seize Coburg.

[] Wilhelm Liebknecht (Front)
-[] Plan "Please Do Not Pass"
- Fortify the southern front: Organize logistics & soldiers to meet NC offensives, build field forts & prepared artillery firing positions at key points to harry, delay, & bleed. Use balloon/partisan recon to outmaneuver attacks & fight at the field of our choosing. Hold at Stuttgart.
- Go to <Swaben II> and recruit more militia, transferring them to Koblenz. Make a speech about peace and being able to return home to your vocation, and about how service in the war is preventing that. Plead with the people to search their hearts and do what they know to be the right thing.

[] Peter Kropotkin (Front)
-[] Plan "The Fatherland Calls"
- Go to <Rheinland-Pfalz II> and recruit more militia, transferring them to Koblenz. Call on able men and women to take up arms to continue fighting the reactionary threat.
- Go to <Rheinland-Pfalz III> and recruit more militia. Extol the successes of their comrades, both in the production war and on the battlefields of Luxembourg, the Frankfurt Triangle, and Schwaben. Everyone has been heroes of the home-front war, but now the torch, and rifle, is passed to you!

[] Walpurga Voight (Front)
-[] Plan: Voight's Kampf Test
- Publish a book Voight has written (with input from her comrades), "Struggle", about progress, revolutions, warfare, conflict, morale, empathy, the human condition, & their task as the vanguard of humanity. Give copies to the hardened core of the army & reorganize it according to the theories.
- Go to Marburg, then attack Eisenach's force in Hessen. Goal: remove him & his army as a threat. Details: Implore them to end the bloodshed, to surrender with honor. Use balloons & agents for leaflet campaign & to coordinate flanking moves. Exploit new gear for more concentration of force.

[] Otto Heubner (Alliance)
-[] Plan: Lazare Carnot Reborn
- Enact and travel around to personally oversee the execution of a new total mobilization law that requires all males above the age of 17 to register with the national mobilization board. Draft every male not employed in an industry critical for the war effort. Focus on our least depleted areas most.
- Expand trade with the UF, sending Gatling guns and training officers from our artillery corps in exchange for the UF's high quality artillery pieces.

[] Christoph Mueller (Alliance)
-[] Plan: Master of Ships
- Defend Stettin with the 3rd army. Coordinate with Salomon to relieve the 1st army should they come under attack and the 3rd can spare the troops. If no attack is forthcoming, instead drill the 3rd army over the summer, with particular focus on the training of the landwehr.
- With the mouth of the Oder under our control, patrol the river with our navy, preventing any NC crossings. Demolish bridges if needed. Also, gather intel of enemy movements near the river that can be relayed to Salomon and Mueller.

[] Edward Salomon (Alliance)
-[] Plan: Fortress Berlin
- Use the 1st army to defend against NatCo pushes into our territory especially focusing on defending Berlin and Potsdam. Coordinate with the other citizen-generals commanding our armies in case they must relieve the 1st army.
- Deputize a few trusted officers to oversee the execution of the total mobilization laws in the state of Brandenburg. Strengthen the 1st by integrating the new units directly after they have finished basic training. Use propaganda to support the recruiting drives.

[] Wilhelm Richter (Alliance)
-[] Plan: Pleading the Fifth (Richter totally blew up Erfurt)
- Personally command the 5th army in their defence of our territory using Leipzig as a lynchpin for the defence. If the 5th doesn't come under too much pressure relieve the 1st or 7th army if they are outmatched. Maintain communication with Salomon and Dillinger to evaluate the strategic situation.
- Deputize a few trusted officers to oversee the execution of the total mobilization laws in the region around Leipzig. Strengthen the 5th by integrating the new units directly after they have finished basic training. Use propaganda to support the recruiting drives.

[] Claus Dillinger (Alliance)
-[] Plan: Flexible Defence
- Conduct a flexible defense of the region, skirmishing and ceding territory if needed to delay any offensive. Support the 5th army if it is under pressure and troops can be spared from the 7th. If no attack is forthcoming against the 5th or 7th, support our UF allies in their offensive in the region.
- Deputize a few trusted officers to oversee the execution of the total mobilization laws the region around Göttingen. Strengthen the 7th by integrating the new units directly after they have finished basic training. Use propaganda to support the recruiting drives.

[] Irwin Altmaier (Coalition)
-[] Plan: New national arsenal
- Fortify Ansbach against a western and southwestern attack, work with Schurz to defend the area; look out for air balloons. Scout towards Ulm and Darmstadt to get give warning of enemy attacks to Schurz and Altmaier both. If Ulm attacks Bavaria, intercept. If not, give flanking support to Schurz.
- Divide troops evenly between his and Schurz's force, except for their Landwehr troops, which will travel directly and rapidly to Eisenach's force. Transfer 200K Militias from Salm-Salm's and Sparneck's forces to his sector and divide them evenly between himself and Schurz. Coordinate by telegraph.
- Organize our unions and industrialists to prepare a new center for the mass production of small arms, field guns, artillery and munitions. Leverage the support of our industrialists and international imports to procure and setup necessary capital. Prefer Munich, but adjust if the enemy takes it.

[] Carl Schurz (Coalition)
-[] Plan: Eye of the Tiger
- Fortify Wurzburg against a western and northwestern attack. Improve on Blau's earlier entrenching techniques. Use the river Main to our advantage, beware naval support. Use the hills around the city and castle Marienberg for artillery points. If not attacked, give flanking support to Altmaier.
- Work with fellow officers, local experts and foreign advisors to create a training curriculum for our Militia recruits to more rapidly train them for soldiering. This training method will seek to protect troops' dignity by prohibiting the hazing in the National army as a matter of policy.
- Recruit troops from Franconia.

[] Karl Eisenach (Coalition)
-[] Plan: Tam Giác Sắt
- Coordinate the rapid movement of Militias between the center and the south. All of Salm-Salm's and Sparneck's militias not going south will join his force, for a total of 237K Militias under his command. Send his 24K Bundeswehr to be divided among the southern forces. Speed of maneuver is critical.
- Prepare to defend. Landwehr and Militias will go as guerillas to the countryside from Fulda-Eisenach to Kassel. They will stall, disperse and isolate attackers, kill officers, then skirmish and gang up on vulnerable pockets and send word for reinforcements to Salm-Salm. Look out for air balloons.
- Have partisan commanders recruit remaining militias from the region directly into their guerilla groups. Give them guns and explosives, and tell them to go wild if attacked. I'm talking absolute beast mode, Viet Minh style, bro. Make Uncles Ho and Giap proud.

[] Felix von Salm-Salm (Coalition)
-[] Plan: Lessons learned
- Complete troop exchanges with the south and Sparneck, and move to Gotha. Hastily prepare it to repel attacks from the north and northwest. Use Freischar to prevent Gottingen from interfering with the assault on Leipzig. If Gottingen doesn't move and Eisenach is attacked, assist Eisenach in defense.
- Reform our offensive doctrine and strategy in accordance with the lessons we learned over the last year. Analyze the sucessess and failures of our forces and of our enemies, and solicit the input of our foreign advisors. See if Lt. Col. Guk can offer input on indirect fire.
- Work with fellow officers and industrial experts to modernize our equipment to satisfy the new offensive doctrine. This includes small arms, personal equipment (such as helmets and boots), artillery and field guns (e.g., Gatlings and anti-balloon cannons), and munitions.

[] Peter von Sparneck (Coalition)
-[] Plan: Weakest link
- Prepare a force to assault Leipzig. Send off the Militias requested by the southern forces. Send all Freischar to Salm-Salm, and get all of his Guards, Bundeswehr and Landwehr troops. Simulatneously, take 3K Guards from von Blau to round out his Guards to a full corps. Speed of maneuver is critical.
- Move to storm Leipzig when the force is ready. Deliberately leave them an opening to escape, but prevent the arrival of reinforcements with artillery. If they choose to fight to the death, grant their wish. If storming Leipzig is impractical, siege the city instead. If taken, assist nearby allies.
- Assess the situation after attacking Leipzig. If taken and either Salm-Salm or Eisenach are in trouble, assist them; else, pursue the retreating force and destroy them in the field. If sieging the city, complete the encirclement and Leipzigers who are sympathetic to us for sabotage.

[] Friedrich von Blau (Coalition)
-[] Plan: Active defense
- Recruit troops from Silesia and deliver them straight to Cottbus.
- Move to threaten Berlin-Potsdam. Prevent them from interfering with the Leipzig operation, or from moving on von Totleben's force in the North. Skirmish freely, but avoid engagements at a disadvantage. Supply arms to still-loyal partisans and disgruntled Labor Army workers in Berlin, if any remain.
- Naturalize and repatriate all Freischar, the spurned children of Germany who faithfully returned in our hour of need. Them and their families have more than earned their place in Germany. And they have earned a place in our Regular forces: open the Bundeswehr to them and encourage rapid enrollment.

[] Eduard von Totleben (Coalition)
-[] Plan: Never living that one down
- Fortify the area to prevent attacks and reinforcements from Stettin. Send patrols to monitor our coastline for enemy fleets and intercept if one occurs. Maintain communication with Blau, and work jointly to keep the enemy pinned and from invading our territories.
- Coordinate the movement of 120K Militias and 4K Guards from Blau's force. Arrange for training these militias with the Regulars acting as mentors. Keep an eye out for hazing of juniors and squash it as it manifests.
- Recruit militias from Pomeralia, transport them directly to the force.

---

Vote for the figure and the plan name you support. Do not include the plan details. I'll leave this vote open for 24 hours.