The final days of the kingdom of Italy are at hand, as rival powers circle like vultures…

Munich has fallen! Russian forces have continued their conquest of Germany by taking another key city. Munich has changed hands the most often of all cities in this war, having briefly been occupied by Italy back in 1901. Russian attacks in Scandinavia have been less successful, but this is likely a tactic to delay an English invasion as much as a chance to claim territory in Norway or Sweden. Further south, the Russian navy has moved into Constantinople, although this correspondent is assured that the Ottomans should not be alarmed. The alliance between Russia and the Ottoman Empire continues, and it is likely that the Russian navy will pass through the Bosphorus in the fall with the Ottoman army retaking Constantinople in turn.

Germany has held firm this season, with all of its forces taking a defensive posture in the surviving key territories. Time will tell if this strategy is successful, but with the Russian army continuing to devour its territories one-by-one, it seems unlikely.

After a slow start to the war, the French Republic has taken its revenge against Italy and forcibly taken Spain by marching over the Pyrenees. The French navy was not as successful, clashing with the retreating Italian navy heading into Portugal. Although French forces failed to take Portugal they successfully trapped the Italian navy, and it seems unlikely this force will manage to survive to the end of the year. With its southern border secure, it will surely interest other foreign leaders to see where the newly resurgent Republic heads next.

The English have been less successful this season, with no major territorial gains. Again the British forces in Scandinavia held off a Russian invasion, allowing their northern fleet to round Finnmark and once more occupy the Barents Sea. Surely after so many attempted incursions from Russia the English will be aiming for a full scale invasion of Russian territory.

The situation has gone from bad to worse for the Italians. After the loss of Spain to the French, the Italian kingdom has been reduced to the city of Rome and its surrounding territory. The newly minted fleet in Naples has been destroyed by a combined land and sea attack from Ottoman forces, as the final ragged Italian defenders retreat to their capital. Following the assassination of his father only three years earlier, the young Victor Emmanuel has overseen the dismantling of his fledgling kingdom.

The Ottoman Empire can continued to feast on the still living carcass of Italy. One of its many fleets has taken Naples, cementing Ottoman control of the southern end of the peninsula. Its conquering fleet has also left port in Tunis into the Tyrrhenian, presumably for a final assault on Rome. The Sultan still maintains a strong defensive force at home however, with armies and fleets stationed in Smyrna and Bulgaria. Is this suspicion over an Austrian attack, or a Russian betrayal?

Finally, Austria has continued to hold northern Italy, although in a less aggressive fashion than the Ottomans.Content to hold Venice, other Austrian forces are heading northwards. Do they intend to take advantage of a crippled Germany, or to slip behind Russia’s rear lines?