“One night comes suddenly, I will add your kingdom to my empire.” – Mehmed II

After considerable gains last season, the Ottoman Empire has further consolidated its lead with the occupation of Trieste. After centuries of changing hands and the fall of the Austrian Empire, is the city’s fate to be subsumed within the Ottoman demesne? With its armies marching steadily westward through Serbia and Bulgaria, the Empire’s position in mainland Europe now seems unassailable.

At sea the Sultan has been less successful. After the seizure of Sevastopol late last year, the conquering Ottoman fleet set sail around the Black Sea to take the key Romanian port of Constanța. They were unable to dislodge the Austrian army stationed there however, and were forced to retreat. In the west, Ottoman and English navies clashed for the first time as they both tried occupy the Iberian coastline, although neither side gained the upper hand. With formidable naval forces at their command, this stretch of ocean may form the fulcrum of further conflict between the two powers.

Aside from its clash in the Atlantic, England’s other main engagement this year has been in supporting the Austrian occupation of Moscow. Ever the fickle ally, after helping the beleaguered defenders last year in halting a previous Austrian advance, England has now switched sides and put the final knife into the Tsar. With Austria suffering so many losses at the hands of the Ottomans, Whitehall must be desperate to form any kind of buffer between themselves and the Ottoman advance. Elsewhere other British forces have been on the defensive, with no major moves other than the most northern fleet repositioning from the Norwegian Sea into the North Atlantic. This surely indicates a determination to force a move past Gibraltar into the Mediterranean in the coming year.

After catastrophic losses last season, the Kaiser scrambles to prevent further setbacks for Austria. Aside from the aforementioned occupation of Moscow, once-and-for-all ending the Austrian vendetta against Russia, things are looking grim. A resurgent Germany has moved in to occupy Munich (is this the final time this poor city will switch sides in this conflict?) and Ottoman forces have pushed into Trieste. Armies have fallen back to defend the home territories, but in this hurried retreat one Austrian army was left stranded in Ukraine, supporting a Russian backed invasion of Sevastopol that never occurred. The coming months will be critical in ensuring Austria’s continued survival, and such errors cannot be afforded for this weakened nation.

Germany has continued to consume what is left of the shattered French Republic. With its forces now occupying the entire country, the final stronghold in Marseilles has also fallen to a coordinated Germany attack. With its eastern borders finally free from repeated Russian assaults, the main bulk of Germany’s forces is now free to move south and take previously held territories such as Munich. It is now only a matter of time before it comes into conflict with the only other power of similar size, the Ottoman Empire.

With its final home centre lost, the Russian forces commanded by the Tsar make a retreat for Livonia. Without crucial supports it is certain that the army will disband by the end of the year, but at least the Romanov family have escaped with their lives, unlike their counterparts in Italy.

With the loss of Marseilles France has been reduced to a rump state in Spain. Now surrounded on all sides by Ottoman, English and German forces, it is unlikely the remaining forces will survive the year.