With all the drama in Prussia and Saxony, Field Marshall Apraskin's unexpected [1] demise went largely unnoticed
The start of the month saw the Swedes join the Russians in siege of Berlin, while the rest of the Russian army moved on to secure Brandenburg.
Not only would this ease any Russian intervention in Saxony, but it would hinder any Prussian attempt to retake Berlin.
In Saxony, some of the Austrian-HRE army fell back on Dresden expecting Torgau to delay Keith's army and in any case there was a desparate need to regain supplies and reorganise [2]. Given the Franco-Russian gains elsewhere, protecting Dresden became more important that destroying the remnants of Frederick's army.
Berlin fell to the usual highly efficient Russian siege tactics [3]
In Saxony Nadasdy managed to take the wrong road to Dresden [4], tangling with the new Prussian army. Despite his defeat, he managed to inflict substantial damage
However, his persistance forced the Prussians to raise the siege and retire to Leipzig
Thus the road to Saxony was clear for the French and Russians.
A major tax was levied on Berlin by the victorious Russians [5]
By mid-September, another barrier was cleared as Magdeburg fell to the French
And some progress was made on the Oder
Despite the concentration of both armies in Saxony, it seemed the war would be decided in Silesia
So it is all going to come down to a set of battles in Saxony. In effect, all I need do is not to lose too badly while the Russians clean up along the Oder. Critical, more than anything else is to hold onto Dresden.
[1] – Nah, not a surprise really
[2] – whatever else I do, I need a break to regain organization, as with the last battle with Frederick only about 25% of my formations can actually fight
[3] – point numerous very big guns at it and fire ...
[4] – probably the one time in the game I really messed up my orders. I'd originaly decided to contest Torgau, then decided to retire to Dresden. I'm not sure if I forgot to change these orders or forgot the check the route chosen by the default move algorithm. In outcome I wasn't that upset at the result, it indicates that even the fresh Prussian force is pretty battered.
[5] – which all went on a emergency production of depot battalions for the Austrian and HRE armies.