January 21st, Kingdom of Frederick, outskirts of Berlin, Potsdam, Sanssouci Palace.
Snip!
The crisp sound of a scissor echoed as the cigar butt dropped onto the silver tray, revealing the tobacco inside.
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck struck a match and lit his cigar, picking up the battle report in front of him. His gaze penetrated the swirling smoke as he read the black ink on the page.
After a long moment, he set down the report and sighed deeply, "The surprise attack has failed..."
Sitting across from him, King William V's face was filled with anger, and he said in a sharp voice, "We've lost the initiative. Now the Romanov Kingdom is on guard. We should have won this war! Our troops grabbed the attention of the Romanov Kingdom, but the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was supposed to circle around to the enemy's rear for a surprise attack, got lost!!!"
