General Seidl sat in his tent studying the array of scouting reports and communiques from Keller. He small army held a low ridge some miles from Leasowe covering both Kliene Hoysee and the Leasowe landings.

The first was undeniable good news. The Kellerite Landwehr had been embodied into the regular army forming a 2nd Division. They were now ready to embark and join his troops to face Hoysee. However the other documents did not make such good reading.

The Hoysee forces under the Grand Duke had surprisingly begun to advance. With the crack Ducal Guard and the longer range of the rifled-musket, Hoysee was superior in almost every category. To make the rapid fire of the Needle gun effective he need to act aggressively and he lacked the numbers and supplies to do that. The small pier at Leasowe Landings was nowhere near the task of supplying the few troops he had, never mind the two full divisions he would soon have in the field. No to support the full army he needed Kliene Hoysee.

The news from Kliene Hoysee was a catastrophe the civil authorities installed by the Chancellor had managed to alienate the entire population, and without a strong military presents in the port an armed insurrection had occurred. There was no doubt the port was vital to the future of the war and he had to act.

Rising from his seat he called his aids. The cavalry would remain and delay the Hoysee advance as long as possible. While the infantry an Artillery would proceed to Kliene Hoysee and with luck catch the civilian rabble before they could organise a defence of the port.