On the march!

(xxx-1683)

Report from Colonel Sturm to the Stadtrat

The troops are in good heart and we have just embarked on barges for the final stage of our move to Austria. As you have probably heard independantly, Vienna is now besieged by the Ottomans and we will now join the relieving force.

The additional uniforms and equipment have come in useful as we have raised over a 150 extra men enroute. Each evening when we halted I sent recruiting parties to the local towns stressing the importance of our mission and the need for true sons of the fatherland to support our cause. This message was supported by a toast to the Emperor and the recruits knowledge that pay for the Frundsberg forces is always regular and on time.

Musket practice has been sucessfully completed while we were travelling by barge on the Rhine, this included target shooting using a small skiff towing a target raft.

We also had a minor incident where vagabonds from the other side of the Rhine attempted to raid our anchorage. The sentries were alert and raised the alarm and many of the raiders were killed and the remainder fled back across the river. I atribute this success to my advice to the officers and senior NCOs to share their military experiences with the troops so that they properly understand their responsibilities and the consequences of failing to carry them out adequately.

We expect to disembark close to Passau and then make our way to the main army in conjunction with other units.