Well the original mobilisation in OTL was III. Corps + 2 westphalian brigades, so that seems to be the OTL opinion of being the best men for the job.
If they will not meet us on the open sea (a Trent TL)
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Saphroneth
Banned
Fair enough, I'll make it III. Corps that gets mobilized, though frankly with the bodywork job I've already done on the Prussian military it's not too much longer before OTL performance of a given formation matters barely a whit.
Updated my last post - also, the Corps were garrisoned in their own districts pretty soon after the Napoleonic wars. There is a map on line showing the Prussian Corps districts for the empire period, the Corps for this periods areas would have been the same up to 8th Corps
Hannover, for example, became tenth Corps, Silesia was Fifth. Any wehrkries map for any period after 1850 would show which Corps was where
Hannover, for example, became tenth Corps, Silesia was Fifth. Any wehrkries map for any period after 1850 would show which Corps was where
Saphroneth
Banned
Okay, thanks for that - that's useful information.
And to answer your question, no, I. Corps was because I hadn't known that Corps were actually constituted in peacetime! I used "I. Corps" because one is the first number. (It's because the British system used only divisions in peacetime and that that was big by US standards... derp.)
So I compiled the OTL composition of the prussian forces at the beginning of the war. Don't know if you need it, was fun to do anyway 
.
They had 4 infantry brigades, those being:
Brigade Canstein, commanded by Philipp Carl von Canstein, consisted of the Brandenburg Fusilier-Regiment (Nr. 35) under Colonel Elstermann von Elster and 7th Brandenburg Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 60) under Lt.-Colonel von Hartmann.
Brigade Roeder, commanded by Major-General Julius von Roeder, made up of the 4th Brandenburg Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 24) and the 8th Brandenburg Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 64). Commanded by the Colonel Count von Hacke and Colonel von Kamiensky, respectively.
Brigade Schmid (Major-General von Schmid), 1st Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 13), commanded by Colonel von Witzleben and 5th Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 53), commanded by Colonel von Buddenbrock.
Brigade Goeben (August Karl von Goeben) consisted of the 2nd Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 15) under Colonel von Alvensleben and 6th Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 55) under Lt.-Colonel Stolz.
Brigades Canstein and Roeder were organised in the 6th Division (General Lieutenant von Manstein), the other two made up the 13th Division under General Lieutenant von Wintzingerode.
Each Division had one artillery and one cavalry brigade, plus one Jäger and one pionier batallion. 6th Division cavalry consisted of the regiments „von Zieten“ (husars) and „Kaiser Nikolaus I. von Russland“ (cuirassiers), lead by Colonel Flies. 13th Division had the 4th cuirassiers and the 8th husars, they were lead by major-general von Hobe.
Artillery was commanded by Colonel Colomier.
All in all the combined Army-Corps consisted of 28 batallions, 24 squadrons and 96 artillery pieces, adding up to about 25.000 men, all commanded by prince Friedrich Karl von Preußen.
.They had 4 infantry brigades, those being:
Brigade Canstein, commanded by Philipp Carl von Canstein, consisted of the Brandenburg Fusilier-Regiment (Nr. 35) under Colonel Elstermann von Elster and 7th Brandenburg Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 60) under Lt.-Colonel von Hartmann.
Brigade Roeder, commanded by Major-General Julius von Roeder, made up of the 4th Brandenburg Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 24) and the 8th Brandenburg Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 64). Commanded by the Colonel Count von Hacke and Colonel von Kamiensky, respectively.
Brigade Schmid (Major-General von Schmid), 1st Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 13), commanded by Colonel von Witzleben and 5th Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 53), commanded by Colonel von Buddenbrock.
Brigade Goeben (August Karl von Goeben) consisted of the 2nd Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 15) under Colonel von Alvensleben and 6th Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 55) under Lt.-Colonel Stolz.
Brigades Canstein and Roeder were organised in the 6th Division (General Lieutenant von Manstein), the other two made up the 13th Division under General Lieutenant von Wintzingerode.
Each Division had one artillery and one cavalry brigade, plus one Jäger and one pionier batallion. 6th Division cavalry consisted of the regiments „von Zieten“ (husars) and „Kaiser Nikolaus I. von Russland“ (cuirassiers), lead by Colonel Flies. 13th Division had the 4th cuirassiers and the 8th husars, they were lead by major-general von Hobe.
Artillery was commanded by Colonel Colomier.
All in all the combined Army-Corps consisted of 28 batallions, 24 squadrons and 96 artillery pieces, adding up to about 25.000 men, all commanded by prince Friedrich Karl von Preußen.
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Bugger - I was gonna do that! Baby sitting grandsons at mo with she who shall be obeyed so no access to my books. Bummer.So I compiled the OTL composition of the prussian forces at the beginning of the war. Don't know if you need it, was fun to do anyway
They had 4 infantry brigades, those being:
Brigade Canstein, commanded by Philipp Carl von Canstein, consisted of the Brandenburg Fusilier-Regiment (Nr. 35) under Colonel Elstermann von Elster and 7th Brandenburg Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 60) under Lt.-Colonel von Hartmann.
Brigade Roeder, commanded by Major-General Julius von Roeder, made up of the 4th Brandenburg Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 24) and the 8th Brandenburg Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 64). Commanded by the Colonel Count von Hacke and Colonel von Kamiensky, respectively.
Brigade Schmid (Major-General von Schmid), 1st Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 13), commanded by Colonel von Witzleben and 5th Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 53), commanded by Colonel von Buddenbrock.
Brigade Goeben (August Karl von Goeben) consisted of the 2nd Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 15) under Colonel von Alvensleben and 6th Westphalia Infantry-Regiment (Nr. 55) under Lt.-Colonel Stolz.
Brigades Canstein and Roeder were organised in the 6th Division (General Lieutenant von Manstein), the other two made up the 13th Division under General Lieutenant von Wintzingerode.
Each Division had one artillery and one cavalry brigade, plus one Jäger and one pionier batallion. 6th Division cavalry consisted of the regiments „von Zieten“ (Husars) and „Kaiser Nikolaus I. von Russland“ (cuirassiers), lead by Colonel Flies. 13th Division had the 4th cuirassiers and the 8th husars, they were lead by major-general von Hobe.
Artillery was commanded by Colonel Colomier.
All in all the combined Army-Corps consisted of 28 batallions, 24 squadrons and 96 artillery pieces, adding up to about 25.000 men, all commanded by prince Friedrich Karl von Preußen.
That one Corps on its own will awe the Danish Army. However, The Danes were no pushover !!!
Saphroneth
Banned
So it sounds like the TTL mobilization is a bit oversized compared to OTL - here it's nearly twice as many battalions, though the artillery's likely to be about the same and there may well be less cavalry.
That actually encapsulates how TTL's Prussian army is compared to OTL's at this point - it's larger due to the greater prominence of the Landwehr, less skilled on a man-for-man basis (there's half as many regular infantry as OTL though the count of total infantry is twice the size, and the balance consists of troops who are good shots but don't have the same level of drill) and there's less cavalry in an absolute sense and less artillery per man (but the same amount in an absolute sense).
This has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that a given fraction of the Prussian army has more staying power (simply from being larger), though the disadvantage is logistic heft and a loss of some of the great Prussian army flexibility of OTL. (Not all of it, though - Mission Command training means that everyone is instructed to think two levels up, TTL that means that the Prussian regular officers are going to be relatively able to handle their wartime position of "being in charge of larger formations than expected".)
That actually encapsulates how TTL's Prussian army is compared to OTL's at this point - it's larger due to the greater prominence of the Landwehr, less skilled on a man-for-man basis (there's half as many regular infantry as OTL though the count of total infantry is twice the size, and the balance consists of troops who are good shots but don't have the same level of drill) and there's less cavalry in an absolute sense and less artillery per man (but the same amount in an absolute sense).
This has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that a given fraction of the Prussian army has more staying power (simply from being larger), though the disadvantage is logistic heft and a loss of some of the great Prussian army flexibility of OTL. (Not all of it, though - Mission Command training means that everyone is instructed to think two levels up, TTL that means that the Prussian regular officers are going to be relatively able to handle their wartime position of "being in charge of larger formations than expected".)
Might have forgotten, but are the austrians in this this time around? If not, the prussians are probably going to need these men.
Saphroneth
Banned
The matter's still being discussed in the German Confederation at this point. This is a warning order to prepare for mobilization - OTL it wasn't until early 1864 that the Austrians and Prussians jointly decided to take prompt action without regard to the decisions of the German confederation, which is when the two resolved to attack. (The preliminary occupation of Holstein was done by Saxon and Hanoverian troops in December, though the result of that was stalemate - Denmark did not want to give up claims to the province, but fell back to their fort line, the Danneverke)
TTL I'm thinking that there'd be more of a focus (by Frederick III) on getting a German Confederation resolution in favour of action rather than acting unilaterally without action. This may delay things a bit.
Would the Confederation then leave it to the prussian and austrian forces if it comes to war or would some of the Corps from VII to X see mobilisation?
Saphroneth
Banned
My personal image of it is that - if it became a Confederation-wide action - there'd be small units (regiments/brigades or batteries) from a lot of states, including quite small ones.
Sort of like a UN intervention of OTL.
Coordination would be the problem as the two main states providing the direction would be in opposition to each other, Austria and Prussia
Saphroneth
Banned
Well, there's many possible resolutions to that one.
One of them, of course, is that Austria decides "sod this for a game of soldiers" (badum tish) and decides to let Prussia deal with it if it's so eager, while another one is that there simply are coordination problems.
24-27 November 1863
Saphroneth
Banned
24 November
A question is asked in the House of Commons whether the Royal Navy can guarantee the ability to enforce the London Protocol against either Denmark or the German Confederation, if it is necessary.
While the question is at first innocuous - the answer is "plainly yes" as the Danish navy is rather small (they have one Coles-designed ironclad) and the combined German navy hardly any larger - the questioner is himself a former navy man (Dalrymple-Hay), and has an ax to grind. He has seen correspondence about the Prussian General Staff and how they have contingency plans for all manner of issues, and by comparison the Admiralty system strikes him as slow, ad-hoc, and missing opportunities.
Informed by personal correspondence with his former colleagues, Dalrymple-Hay points out that the campaigns of the Royal Navy in recent times - while carried out with the full bravery and verve that should be expected of any campaign of the Royal Navy, were marked by the spirit of improvisation which should not be required for a long-anticipated naval engagement (with the only exception being the Charleston campaign, for which some planning was available in advance).
Coming to the end of his speech, Dalrymple-Hay declares that, as Prussia is a land power, so should Great Britain be the foremost of the sea powers; as Prussia has a General Staff, so the British Empire should have an Admiral Staff to make plans for contingencies before they arise rather than after; and that as the British Army is a projectile to be fired by the Royal Navy, then the two services should collaborate to have plans to put into place in any contingency.
Put this way it is hard to argue with. (Arguing about it promptly starts anyway.)
26 November
The German Confederation issues a resolution that Holstein should be occupied as soon as practical. No mention is yet made of Schleiswig.
Additionally on this date, Cowper Coles demonstrates a model turret design which makes the problem of passing ammunition into the turret easier - relying on four cutouts in the turret floor at 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees and three cutouts in the roof of the deck below at 330, 0 and 30 degrees, this reduces the maximum angle change to allow ammunition to be passed to just fifteen degrees.
Reed points out that three of these twelve loading positions place the ammunition feed chain directly in front of the turret guns, and Coles retaliates by turning the rest of the ship 180 degrees - so the ammunition will always be passed up from positions close to the superstructure - before asking Reed under what circumstances a turret gun would be aimed directly at the main body of its own ship. (Reed concedes the point.)
The problem of steam training for a Coles-type turret is still being worked on - the Monitor style spindle system is considered frankly unsafe, and the current Royal Navy alternative of having several dozen seamen push the turret around is inelegant.
27 November
Grenadierzy advance on the Warsaw Citadel under cover of a heavy snowfall.
In a daring move, Traugutt has the three heavy Krupp guns manned by the Polish army fire a pre-registered barrage of three shots each. While this has mixed results (only five of the nine shots hit the citadel at all) the result is shattering on both the wall and on the local morale of the defenders.
More Polish infantry - both regular and huszaria - move in behind the assault penetration (which captures a section of the wall, rendering it unable to cover the beaten ground) and close-quarter fighting in which the front Grenadierzy regiments can make best use of their repeaters rages for most of an hour before - with the magazines and a large stretch of the defences in Polish hands - the garrison commander offers his surrender and that of his men.
A question is asked in the House of Commons whether the Royal Navy can guarantee the ability to enforce the London Protocol against either Denmark or the German Confederation, if it is necessary.
While the question is at first innocuous - the answer is "plainly yes" as the Danish navy is rather small (they have one Coles-designed ironclad) and the combined German navy hardly any larger - the questioner is himself a former navy man (Dalrymple-Hay), and has an ax to grind. He has seen correspondence about the Prussian General Staff and how they have contingency plans for all manner of issues, and by comparison the Admiralty system strikes him as slow, ad-hoc, and missing opportunities.
Informed by personal correspondence with his former colleagues, Dalrymple-Hay points out that the campaigns of the Royal Navy in recent times - while carried out with the full bravery and verve that should be expected of any campaign of the Royal Navy, were marked by the spirit of improvisation which should not be required for a long-anticipated naval engagement (with the only exception being the Charleston campaign, for which some planning was available in advance).
Coming to the end of his speech, Dalrymple-Hay declares that, as Prussia is a land power, so should Great Britain be the foremost of the sea powers; as Prussia has a General Staff, so the British Empire should have an Admiral Staff to make plans for contingencies before they arise rather than after; and that as the British Army is a projectile to be fired by the Royal Navy, then the two services should collaborate to have plans to put into place in any contingency.
Put this way it is hard to argue with. (Arguing about it promptly starts anyway.)
26 November
The German Confederation issues a resolution that Holstein should be occupied as soon as practical. No mention is yet made of Schleiswig.
Additionally on this date, Cowper Coles demonstrates a model turret design which makes the problem of passing ammunition into the turret easier - relying on four cutouts in the turret floor at 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees and three cutouts in the roof of the deck below at 330, 0 and 30 degrees, this reduces the maximum angle change to allow ammunition to be passed to just fifteen degrees.
Reed points out that three of these twelve loading positions place the ammunition feed chain directly in front of the turret guns, and Coles retaliates by turning the rest of the ship 180 degrees - so the ammunition will always be passed up from positions close to the superstructure - before asking Reed under what circumstances a turret gun would be aimed directly at the main body of its own ship. (Reed concedes the point.)
The problem of steam training for a Coles-type turret is still being worked on - the Monitor style spindle system is considered frankly unsafe, and the current Royal Navy alternative of having several dozen seamen push the turret around is inelegant.
27 November
Grenadierzy advance on the Warsaw Citadel under cover of a heavy snowfall.
In a daring move, Traugutt has the three heavy Krupp guns manned by the Polish army fire a pre-registered barrage of three shots each. While this has mixed results (only five of the nine shots hit the citadel at all) the result is shattering on both the wall and on the local morale of the defenders.
More Polish infantry - both regular and huszaria - move in behind the assault penetration (which captures a section of the wall, rendering it unable to cover the beaten ground) and close-quarter fighting in which the front Grenadierzy regiments can make best use of their repeaters rages for most of an hour before - with the magazines and a large stretch of the defences in Polish hands - the garrison commander offers his surrender and that of his men.
Saphroneth
Banned
Yes, it is indeed.But it's so traditional
Which is the problem. Those men should be handling the sails, damnit!
More seriously, OTL they had it worked out by HMS Monarch. Given the mad things I have planned for Coles to try TTL, he's focused very much on turrets, rigged ships, contrivances for the use of.
29 November - 5 December 1863
Saphroneth
Banned
29 November
An article by Charles Darwin is published by the Royal Society. The title is "An Examination of the Problem of Heredity and the Flaws of the Blending Inheritance, and Implications for Natural Selection".
In the article, Darwin summarizes both the current state of science on inheritance and why it cannot be true - using examples from his own life as an example - and laments the lack of any alternative interpretation. He also explores why this is important for evolution (specifically that even any beneficial change will blend into the population with barely a ripple).
The article is translated into several languages, including French and German, as Darwin's summation is considered a good look at the modern understanding on inheritance.
2 December
Ortega accepts the position of imperial advisor to Emperor Maximilien. At his own insistence, the position carries no salary beyond a stipend to keep him in moderate comfort in a small hacienda - still guilty over his actions, he wants the burdens without the Imperial rewards.
The first topic he has to discuss with his new superior is the proposed electoral system. Maximilien feels strongly that the system that previously prevailed in Mexico is not workable as it has sparked off two wars inside a decade, and wants alternatives - for his part, Ortega is no election expert, but he has seen the Republic's old system working from the inside.
Among the ideas discussed are some where each of the states elects a number of delegates proportional to the population, and where each delegate is selected based on one of a variety of arcane formulae that make both men's heads hurt. (The aim is to ensure that divergent viewpoints are respected without allowing disproportionate influence to a fringe view.)
3 December
Saxon and Hanoverian troops undergo mobilization, in preparation for enforcing the resolution of the German Confederation with regards to Holstein.
Frederick III raises a possibility for a new resolution to the German Confederation, one which would allow for the invasion of the Danish Union and to bring their armies to battle with the aim of enforcing a peace in which Holstein is separated from the Danish Union as a component duchy of the German Confederation and Schleswig remains Danish.
The King of Prussia has more than one aim here - first, he is playing politics in that he is signalling a limited intention to war to the Danish, in the hope of earning an easier peace; second, he is making clear that any Prussian annexation of Holstein would be a matter for peacetime, not war; thirdly, he is attempting to show the world that this is not an expansionist move on the part of the Germans and thus mitigate any possible intervention.
5 December
The Mayor of Chicago asks if there is still a chance his city is being considered as the new capital of the United States.
The article Eine Untersuchung des Problems der Vererbung und der Fehler der Blending Vererbung, und Implikationen für die natürliche Auswahl arrives in Brno.
An article by Charles Darwin is published by the Royal Society. The title is "An Examination of the Problem of Heredity and the Flaws of the Blending Inheritance, and Implications for Natural Selection".
In the article, Darwin summarizes both the current state of science on inheritance and why it cannot be true - using examples from his own life as an example - and laments the lack of any alternative interpretation. He also explores why this is important for evolution (specifically that even any beneficial change will blend into the population with barely a ripple).
The article is translated into several languages, including French and German, as Darwin's summation is considered a good look at the modern understanding on inheritance.
2 December
Ortega accepts the position of imperial advisor to Emperor Maximilien. At his own insistence, the position carries no salary beyond a stipend to keep him in moderate comfort in a small hacienda - still guilty over his actions, he wants the burdens without the Imperial rewards.
The first topic he has to discuss with his new superior is the proposed electoral system. Maximilien feels strongly that the system that previously prevailed in Mexico is not workable as it has sparked off two wars inside a decade, and wants alternatives - for his part, Ortega is no election expert, but he has seen the Republic's old system working from the inside.
Among the ideas discussed are some where each of the states elects a number of delegates proportional to the population, and where each delegate is selected based on one of a variety of arcane formulae that make both men's heads hurt. (The aim is to ensure that divergent viewpoints are respected without allowing disproportionate influence to a fringe view.)
3 December
Saxon and Hanoverian troops undergo mobilization, in preparation for enforcing the resolution of the German Confederation with regards to Holstein.
Frederick III raises a possibility for a new resolution to the German Confederation, one which would allow for the invasion of the Danish Union and to bring their armies to battle with the aim of enforcing a peace in which Holstein is separated from the Danish Union as a component duchy of the German Confederation and Schleswig remains Danish.
The King of Prussia has more than one aim here - first, he is playing politics in that he is signalling a limited intention to war to the Danish, in the hope of earning an easier peace; second, he is making clear that any Prussian annexation of Holstein would be a matter for peacetime, not war; thirdly, he is attempting to show the world that this is not an expansionist move on the part of the Germans and thus mitigate any possible intervention.
5 December
The Mayor of Chicago asks if there is still a chance his city is being considered as the new capital of the United States.
The article Eine Untersuchung des Problems der Vererbung und der Fehler der Blending Vererbung, und Implikationen für die natürliche Auswahl arrives in Brno.
Saphroneth
Banned
...oh, hey, we have threadmarks now. I'll go through and threadmark everything later.