Frankszonia on th e move again?

Battle of Ginnheim ... opening moves ....

Since I fully agree with Otto that the fun in the 18th century comes from the interplay of dances, balls, affairs, and intrigue, I’d planned a lovely scene in which L’ Intendant, while attending a low key dinner = dance honoring Granny Loomis, is whisked off by Madame Rosenschnauz “to be measured by Mistress Ewarp again for a fancy dress outfit (the Madame is VERY dedicated to her husbands career),” courtesy of Granny Loomis, of course.

Unfortunately, a minor health setback has resulted in me dumping two attempts at writing a nice baroque flirtation ... and one attempt at believable dialogue between officers. So, here’s to just the setting and plan .... fill in your own imaginary giggles, winks, sashaying, chamber music, and illicit cuddles ....

Once in the side chamber, however, Bastille is secretly met by the Hurtshog and some key advisors to request the loan of a few siege guns and engineers to compel Russleheim to behave. As Russelheim is but a small town that happens to be strongly posted, they doubt that Gallia will want to undertake a real siege .... but it has proven to be an irritating entre pot for Cheezers, Germanians, and opposition Frankfurters. So a few guns to smash a few warehouses and to start some other fires ought to be enough to get Russelheim to promise to be more circumspect in the future.

Bastille hears this, and promises to consider it, but he is also aware (thanks to Master Philippe) of some other factors:
A: the immediate threat from Stagonia is eliminated, and there has been a steady movement of Frankszonia forces to good semi-permanent barracks north of Frankfurt ... near the roads leading to the Gallian depot.
B: Frankszonian troops have been engaged in extensive drill work, in spite of the inclement weather (okay, cold, wind, sleet .... not the tornadoes, hail, and floods I’ve been dealing with lately!).
C: General Meyer has twice conducted “assembly drills” to train the natives to muster quickly (like most German states, Frankszonian native troops get extensive furloughs in winter and in peacetime to practice civilian crafts and business).
D: Discontented former Frankszonian officers have collected units in Hesse Homburg, in spite of their alleged opposition to Gallia .... but that these units have not been fielded during the recent Homburg / Fedora clash.
E: Thanks to his New Year’s clemency, the Frankfurter countryside is seething with intrigue again.

Now does he grant the Hurtshog’s polite request?
After all, a couple of 24 pounders and a few mortars with their crews and engineering officers would provide him with a good lodgement within the Frankszonian ranks to obtain more detailed intelligence and influence.
On the other hand, there’s rumors that the conflict in the north is heating up, and these units may be requested anytime by Broglie or Chevert ....
And ...
does Bastille really want to move heavy armaments out of their protected position into the Frankszonian forces???

If he refuses, what might the Frankszonian reaction be??

:)
* Francios l'Marquise de Hottatrot:

from:
http://www.hoeckmann.de/deutschland/hessensued.htm

There's a discussion on the EvE blog about how to generate a map of our imagi-nations.
I've argued that we use a "real" map and just plug in the country names without worrying about borders.
The picture above is just southern Hesse, and AFTER the post Napoleonic reduction of autonomous states. (Historical Frankfurt, btw, is the tiny red blob about middle / right.
A century earlier, the wild juxtaposition of land claims and heritages would make any deeper precision on a "real" map impossible anyway.
So, some dozen different princes claim the same spot ... your point is?
And it would make a handy excuse for a wargame, and could just as handily ignored!
:)
Arthur