Diplomatic Exchanges and Other Affaires of State

13th May 1813

Your Majesties, Grand Duke, Dukes, Marechals, Gentlemen :~

We present this forum as a place to discuss matters of political or diplomatic import. Truces, cease-fires and other arrangements limiting military activity may be proposed and discussed here.

You are free gentlemen to use a historical persona to speak (or write letters to) this arena based on your nationality in the campaign and your role in the discussions here. If anyone would like a suitable persona assigning, send me a private letter and I will find one.

As a matter of etiquette, Emperors, Kings and generals would not be active in this forum, leaving such matters to men skilled in the arts of negotiation and so on.

Please remain in-character at all times.

When you post a letter or speech to this area, please append the in-game date. It is presently 13th May and we will shift the date forwards at suitable increments.

Thank you, good sirs.

13 May 1813

Representatives of his Imperial and Royal Majesty Napoleon, by the Grace of God and the Constitutions of the Empire, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, Mediator of the Helvetic Confederation, etc, etc.

Greetings,

I present my diplomatic credentials conferred upon me by Friedrich Wilhelm III, König von Preußen.

I am authorized to propose a truce between the Empire of France & its Allies and the Empire of Russia & the Kingdom of Prussia.

We are prepared to offer the following terms:
- Cessation of hostilities for a term of four weeks (eight turns).

- Withdrawal of all Coalition forces to the east of the Elbe River.  All French forces will remain west of the Elbe River except for pre-existing garrisons.

- In return for our evacuation of Dresden and the free passage of the French Garrisons at Stettin and Kustrin to the west of the Elbe River, the French will evacuate Wittenberg.

We will take no further offensive military action while negotiations are active and, as an indication of your good faith in these negotiations, assume that you will do likewise.  

We await your response.  

Je vous prie de croire, à mes sentiments les meilleurs,
Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt

14 May 1813

Gentlemen,

It is most disappointing to hear of your forces marching towards Leipzig while these negotiations remain open.  

Hostile actions such as this only serve to harden the resolve of the Russian and Prussian people to continued conflict and make a successful conclusion of these negotiations less likely.  

I sincerely hope that you will successful impress upon your political and military leadership the potential consequences of such actions.  

Your obt svt,
von Humboldt

Your missive regarding the negotiations of a potential truce were postmarked for the 13th of May, 1813. Our orders of march were issued on the 12th, of May, 1813. Therefore, unless you suggest I am the master of the movement of the stars and sun, our forces were moving before the word of your request for truce negotiations reached Imperial Headquarters.

I am in the process of naming a plenipotentiary; if one is not found soon I will conduct these negotiations myself. However, since I have pressing military concerns that take up my full attention, please be patient as France formulates a response.

Do tell your masters that I look forward to visiting Berlin and Moscow again under better circumstances.

~N

To the Honourable Gentlemen

I have the duty and honour of passing on to you the wishes of our Emperor:

"So, essentially, what you are offering France is the return of all of her garrisons, thereby freeing up your lines of supply in return for a capital which is soon to be liberated by the armies of France. Where is the advantage for France?

France is most certainly not opposed to an eight week truce, that much we can agree. As for the terms and conditions, we seem to be far apart.

For such a truce France would require 5,000 horses (1,000 cavalry horses and 4,000 draught horses) from Prussia, in addition to all Prussian forces are to retire north of the Elbe and west of the village of Dennewitz.

Additionally we demand Prussia pay an indemnity of 250,000 francs to France.

We further propose that all Russian forces retire east of the Elbe and south of the village Dahme.

If these conditions are met France will withdrawal the garrisons of Stettin and Kustrin west of the river Elbe.

France will pay Russia an indemnity of 150,000 francs.

France will return all Russian prisoners of war taken in the last four weeks.

And, in conclusion, France will grant peace for a period of 4 weeks."

I will add nothing to this at this stage.

Regards

Marquis de Caulaincourt, Duc de Vicenza

Most Honourable Marquis de Caulaincourt,

Thank you for informing us of the desires of your Emperor.  We are well aware of your need for horses and well as your unstated needs, such as supplies for Prince Eugene’s forces.  

As much as I would like to discuss the merits of our respective offers and come to an acceptable agreement, the pending combat at Grautzsch renders further discussions meaningless at this time.  

I look forward to our continued conversations in the future.

Your obt svt,
von Humboldt

Monsieur le Marquis,

Since it appears that our armies are approaching each other at a slower rate than expected, perhaps we should continue our discussion at a less formal level.  I have brought along a few bottles of my favorite pre-revolution Clos de Vougeot.  

You must realize that your request for horses and gold is unrealistic, just as we realize our request for you to evacuate Wittenberg is unrealistic. Maybe we are both over-complicating the discussion with complex demands when all either of us really need is a little time, for our own respective reasons.  A simple line of demarcation and a set length of time might be the correct answer.      

Your obt svt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt

PM 14 May 1813

Monsieur le Marquis,

I have just seen our initial battle reports from Grautzsch.  In light of these reports, and rather than suffer further bloodshed attacking our fortified positions in the town, perhaps you would now reconsider a truce. Given the current location of our forces, a line of separation of the lower Elbe, to the Saale, to the Pliesse, to Chemnitz seems equitable for both sides.  For a term of four weeks (eight turns).  And you may retain your garrisons on our side on the line.  

What say you, Sir?

Your obt svt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt

The emperor has sent his Colonel Marbot with his personal terms for an immediate truce:

"For such a truce France would require 1,000 horses (350 cavalry horses and 650 draught horses) from Prussia, in addition to all Prussian forces retiring to north of the Elbe and west of the village of Dennewitz.

Additionally we require four 12 pounders from Prussia.

We further propose that all Russian forces must retire east of the Elbe and south of the village Dahme.

Additionally we require four 12 pounders from Russia.

And, in conclusion, France will grant peace for a period of 4 weeks."


~N

My Dear Colonel Marbot,

Interesting that your Emperor sends such a junior officer instead of a known diplomat.  He must have great confidence in your ability and judgement.

Magdeburg, Prince Eugene and his Corps are all out of supply, and our cavalry approaches the outskirts of Hannover and Bremen, further threatening your northern supply lines at multiple points. Our offered terms would remove our cavalry to the east of the Elbe, freeing your supplies from threat.  Our offered terms would also cause us to evacuate our strong defensive positions at Gera and Zwickau.  Given this, we feel that our terms are appropriate for the current situation.  

With a fair offer on the table, do you really want to risk waiting for an almost certain negative outcome on the second day at Grautzsch, which will make your bargaining position worse?  

Ours is a reasonable offer and I sincerely hope you will see it as such and convey your recommendation of support back to your Emperor.  

Your obt svt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt

Is that a rejection of the emperors generous terms?

Sir,

Who are you?  And what have you done with my good friends the Marquis de Caulaincourt and Col Marbot?

Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt

[OOC: This is hilarious.]

Sir, I was given this mission because I have carried missives from and to the Emperor for years. I crossed Germany from Paris in three days. Is that a rejection of the Emperor's terms? I will ride back before the battle of Grautzsch rages on.


Sincerely,

~M

To the Honourable Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt


My apologies for the our deviation from proper channels of nagotiation.

I can only confirm that the instruction given to Captain Marbot is from the Emperors own hand.

It would appear that both our sides feel that they are in a strong position and that little will interfere with the continuation of hostilities, for now.

Unless I get further instruction from my Emperor, I will leave the present state of affairs as it is but will be willing to speak further at request.

Yours Sincerely

Marquis de Caulaincourt

Monsieur le Marquis,

Thank you for your most recent note.  You must know that we have suffered almost as much as France during the campaigning of 1812.  We cannot give you what we do not have, namely gold, horses and cannons.  Nor can we give you so much of our land as to make Berlin indefensible.  

From our perspective, you need three things:

1. Supplies for Prince Eugene and his Corps around Magdeburg.
2. Time to rehab Ney’s Corps and build additional strength in the Center.
3. Room to maneuver your Bavarian allies who are currently bottled up at Bayreuth.  

Our offer current provides you with all these things.  We may have some room to negotiate, but please make us a realistic counter-offer.

I look forward to our continued discussions.  

Your obt svt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt

Monsieur le Marquis,

Our friends in the occupied German States tell us that there are currently three exhausted French Corps: the III, V and VII. Two of which are also out of supply. A loss by the French at Grautzsch will give you a total of five exhausted Corps and significantly reduce your ability to negotiate truce terms.  It does not make sense to us why you do not accept a reasonable offer in hand, vice taking this huge gamble on the outcome at Grautzsch.  Your Generals must have relayed to you the strength of our position there.  

While I highly recommend you accept our current generous offer, we may have some room to negotiate.  I await your reply.

Your obt svt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt

Monsieur le Marquis,

Since it seems I will have a lot of free time awaiting French replies, I have managed to obtain a Stammtisch at the local Stube. I have registered it in both our names, so you and your staff may also use it freely upon your return.  

It is a nice place, this local Stube.  They have a tradition I have not seen before call “Open Dais Night”.  Anyone, sometimes of dubious talent, can come in and attempt to entertain the crowd.  Last night there was a rogue who told jokes.  He told one I think you will like:

“Why shouldn’t you eat French fish?”

“Because it is Poisson!”

Very clever fellow.  I hope he returns tonight so I may share more of his jokes with you while patiently awaiting your reply.    

Your obt svt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt

The Honourable Wilhelm von Humboldt

My good sir,

No doubt, you will be aware of what the proud citizens of Moscow did to their city upon the approach of our legions last winter. With such 'humour' circulating the taverns of your Capital, I expect there is already little need for us now to march on Berlin to acquire the same result!

Jesting aside, I will consult my Emperor further on your proposals and get right back to you.

Yours Sincerely

Marquis de Caulaincourt

Monsieur le Marquis,

Thank you for your kind note.  I will refrain from any more of my poor jokes while awaiting your reply.  

Your obt svt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt

Mes Amis Français,

In light of recent events, should we renew our conversations?

Your obt svt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt

To my fellow Sovereign,

In good faith we have sent a diplomat to discuss a cease fire, such that cannonades of words might settle what our cannons have, so far, been unable to. It was obviously a poor time with the fever of battle upon us all. Now, however, it is a better time. Now is the time to allow the poor wounded and dead to be removed from the front lines of battle. I witnessed the carnage at the battle of Grautszch, on both sides, and my heart opened seeing the immense lines of wounded and dead still moving from the fields the next day.

One wonders if the hand of the divine interceded with the downpours that cut the battle, and slaughter, short that final day. Perhaps it is a sign that we should also pause, and examine our national interests. Your care for your soldiers has long been extolled. I ask that you give them, and our simple soldiers as well, temporary respite such that the dead may be properly dealt with, and the wounded time to escape. A cooling off period of even a few days would give a chance for our diplomats to perhaps make progress.

~Respectfully,

Tsar Alexander I

16 May 1813

My French Friends,

It is not too late to avoid more meaningless bloodshed. We are prepared to offer the following:

- Withdrawal of our Cossacks from your supply lines throughout Hannover and Brandenburg.  

- A line of demarcation defined by the Lower Elbe, the Saale and the Pliesse.

- For a term of six weeks.

As the Tsar said, sometimes it is our job as diplomats to calm the martial spirit of our military colleagues.  I trust you will make a case to your Emperor in support of our generous and reasonable offer.

Your obt svt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt

The Honourable Wilhelm von Humboldt

My humble appologies for having you wait for a response to your honourable overtures. If we had been on a raft at Tilsit, we would all be swept down the river and drowning in the freezing rapids by now. Perhaps this is a fitting metaphore for the unfortunate state we have found ourselves?

I was informed that the Emperor expressed true compassion and empathy when reading the letter he received from the Tzar. How such suffering must lay heavily on the consciences of our great leaders. Much deliberation was given to your offer this time but, with regret I have to inform you that, at this present time, a cease fire has been rejected.

We can hope that His Majesty will be able to instruct me in formulating a counter offer, soon.

Yours Sincerely

Marquis de Caulaincourt