Albert Schmied

Albert Schmied after the Great War

***“**The death of one old man resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of young men. Those who do not see that the Republic is a failure are idealistic fools.**”***
— Albert Schmied

**Albert Schmied** is a former Fühlgartian general who played a crucial part in both the Fühlgartian Civil War and the later Great War. After the death of Jan Luftschwert in 1227 AW, Schmied deserted and overthrew the local government in his hometown, Amberg, with the help of his famous Second Army.

## Biography

How does one begin to sum up the life of Albert Schmied? The mastermind behind the Fühlgartian war effort and the conqueror of Wyrsia. Albert Schmied was the Republic of Fühlgart's golden boy, put on a pedestal for all the world to gawk at. Yet, his betrayal shook the Republic to its very core, and many blame him for the ongoing civil war. A misguided genius or an opportunistic fool? It is hard to say.

Born to a family of nobodies in Amberg, Albert grew up like most peasants in the Kingdom of Fühlgart: working the land day in day out. However, as a teenager, Albert was reportedly very discontent about the state of affairs in Fühlgart, and the boy had high ambitions, teaching himself how to read and write and infecting his friends and family with his sentiments against the ruling nobility.

All this got him into significant trouble with the crown, and Schmied became an outlaw in 1199 AW, forced to flee far to the west. Schmied ended up in Kirchenstau but would later move to Freistadt to enroll in the Freistadt Military Academy, which had recently begun accepting those not born of nobility. While many assumed Schmied was destined to fail, he showed remarkable talent for the art of war and subsequently became a lieutenant in the retinue of Jan Luftscwhert.

When the Fühlgartian Civil War broke out in 1202 AW, Schmied traveled to Amberg, where he recruited a large pro-Republican militia. With his newly formed militia, he raided Monarchist supply depots and outposts with guerilla tactics before later linking up with the main Republican force. For his efforts, Schmied was promoted to the rank of captain in the Republican army.

Schmied became one of the Republican heroes in the civil war, leading from the frontline with bravery unmatched. He was injured multiple times, yet this never deterred the young officer, who rose through the ranks at unheard-of speeds. When Schmied took Amberg in 1205 AW, near the end of the war, he found out that the Monarchists had rounded up his whole family and killed them in an act for revenge. The enraged Schmied charged ahead of the main force with a relatively small vanguard, where he managed to defeat Reinhart von Kalzberg at the decisive Battle of Pabensburg despite being heavily outnumbered. When news reached Jan Luftschwert, he had Schmied promoted to a proper general, making him the first Fühlgartian general in history to not have been born in a noble family. Schmied played a primarily supportive role for the rest of the civil war, as Ulfric Luftschwert handled the cleaning up of pockets and the Siege of Kalzberg. However, Schmied's fame was far from its height.

In 1211 AW, the Republic of Fühlgart invaded the Kingdom of Wyrsia, sparking the Republican-Wyrsian War, which would later become a part of the larger Great War. The First Army under Ulfric Luftschwert hit a stalemate in the Highlands of Death, the natural chokepoint between the two nations. However, Albert Schmied and his Second Army marched through the Green Grove alongside the Divine Syarus. After the end of the Darkest Decade, the Green Grove was strictly off-limits for any army, yet the Second Army pushed onward, taking Nyara's Heart by early 1212 AW in an act that shocked the world. Appearing behind the lines, Schmied took Wyrsian city after city virtually unopposed while trapping the Wyrsian armies at Stavia. Alongside the Wyrsian turncoat general, George Wallace, he took Woodhall near the end of 1212 AW, securing the conquest of the Wyrsian mainland with the exception of Redlyre. When Schmied returned to Freistadt in 1213 AW, he was met with cheering crowds as the Fühlgartian Senate had a propaganda field trip. While Ulfric Luftschwert was technically the most important commander in the Republic, Schmied had taken that spot from him in all but name.

Throughout the Great War, Schmied would play a critical role in keeping the peace in the North and conquering new lands. He put an end to the Kirchenstauer Civil War in 1214 AW, ended the War for Whitecrest in 1215 AW, partook in the Northeastern War in 1219 AW, and secured a Republican coup in Marenbach in 1219 AW. However, despite his many victories and lavish praises, Schmied began to secretly become spiteful towards the Republic, as it began to resemble the old monarchy in many ways. Nobles still held all the power, and they frequently looked down on Schmied, calling him an upjumped peasant behind his back.

It is debatable whether or not these nobles were trying to get rid of the general, but in 1220 AW, Schmied was granted the position of military advisor to the allied Empire of Daletia. The Daletian Empire, involved in its own civil war and crumbling under corruption and nepotism, served as a position of exile in all but name for the general. In Daletia, the first cracks in Schmied's loyalties appear as he secretly began feeding insider information to Rooftop Rebellion contacts. He would eventually give away long-term strategies, exact troops movements, key target locations, informants, and whatever else could be used in a war.

When the Monarchists invaded Weckstein alongside the Grey Temple, Schmied was recalled in 1224 AW and given the unthankful task of restoring order to the region. He fought a futile war until the end of 1225 AW, managing to salvage a small rump state of pro-Republican forces and bureaucrats, which was already more than most in Freistadt were expecting. At the end of the year, Schmied was recalled to Fühlgart, briefly sitting idle in Freistadt before being sent to Ostland where a monarchist-sponsored rebellion was growing out of control in the form of the Kingdom of Vachstadt.

Albert Schmied failed to defeat the armies of Vachstadt as he was sent on his own and was utterly overextended on all fronts. The general would spend almost all of 1226 AW fighting in vain, all his requests for reinforcements being flat-out denied or ignored entirely, all the while the local noble governor, Horst von Targsow, all but refused to cooperate with a "peasant." When, in early 1227 AW, word reached Schmied of Jan Luftschwert's death and the chaos it was causing in Freistadt and beyond, he simply packed up his Second Army and left Ostland.

Schmied marched on his hometown, Amberg, defeating the demoralized Eighth Army and taking the city for himself. Ulfric Luftschwert, the new ruler of the rapidly destabilizing republic, declared Schmied an enemy of the state and a traitor and launched a massive campaign to defeat the general. However, the demoralized armies of the Republic failed to dislodge Schmied from his defensive position, and mass desertions and defections followed. As the Republic was forced to deploy many of its armies to its failing protectorates, Schmied simply had to wait out the storm. That storm would come in 1228 AW, as rebellions sprung up all over Fühlgart, later evolving into a full-blown civil war.

Present-day, Schmied remains in Amberg, ruling over both the city and its surrounding area. While technically a military government, Schmied has allowed the establishment of a proper republic within his territory, allowing for actual citizen input and the creation of multiple ruling councils that handle the non-military affairs of the area. Ultimately, the Peasant General is a beloved celebrity for the common folk and an opportunistic turncoat who betrayed Fühlgart at its weakest, according to his enemies.

In the end, the future actions of the man himself will determine his legacy once and for all...

## Career

* Republic of Fühlgart
	+ Independent Militia Leader (1203 AW)
	+ Republican Volunteer Captain (1203-1204 AW)
	+ Republican Captain (1204 AW)
	+ Republican Commander (1204-1205 AW)
	+ Republican Colonel (1205 AW)
	+ Republican General (1205 AW-1206 AW)
	+ General (1206-1227 AW)
* Amberg Defense Army
	+ General (1227 AW-)

## Military Career

* Fühlgartian Civil War
	+ Battle of Amberg - Victory
	+ Battle of Pabensburg - Victory
	+ Siege of Kalzberg - Victory
* Great War
	+ Republican-Wyrsian War
		- Battle of Stavia - Stalemate
		- Battle of the Green Grove - Victory
			* Battle of Caran Yrion - Victory
			* Battle of Caran Paeloch - Victory
			* Battle of Caran Maenher - Victory
			* Battle of Caran Alaeri - Victory
			* Battle of Caran Taevyrum - Victory
			* Battle of Nyara's Heart - Victory
		- Battle of Wyrgate - Victory
		- Battle of Sunfort - Victory
		- Siege of Woodhall - Victory
	+ Kirchenstauer Civil War
		- Battle of Westerdorn - Victory
		- Battle of Allenberg - Victory
	+ War for Whitecrest
		- Battle of the Western Districts - Victory
		- Battle of Whitecrest Bridge - Victory
		- Battle of the Eastern Districts - Stalemate
	+ Northeastern War
		- Battle of the Elver - Victory
		- Battle of Schinnberg - Victory
		- Battle of the Crimson Bog - Defeat
		- Battle of Red Grass - Victory
	+ Republican Coup in Marenbach
		- Battle of Hofbach - Victory
		- Battle of Schwarzberg - Victory
	+ War for Weckstein
		- Battle of Weckstein - Victory
		- First Battle of Appesberg - Stalemate
		- Second Battle of Appesberg - Stalemate
	+ Ostlander Civil War
		- Second Battle of Vachstadt - Defeat
		- Battle of Volksberg - Stalemate
* Second Fühlgartian Civil War
	+ First Battle of Amberg - Victory
	+ Second Battle of Amberg - Victory

## Awards

* ~~Civil War Victory Medal - Republic of Fühlgart~~ (revoked)
* ~~Hero of the Republic Medal - Republic of Fühlgart~~ (revoked)
* ~~Wyrsian Victory Medal - Republic of Fühlgart~~ (revoked)
* ~~Order of Syarus - Republic of Fühlgart~~ (revoked)
* ~~Kirchenstau Victory Medal - Republic of Fühlgart~~ (revoked)
* Hero of Whitecrest - City-State of Whitecrest
* ~~Nordelver Victory Medal - Republic of Fühlgart~~ (revoked)
* Service Medal - Empire of Daletia
* ~~Defender of Ostland - Republic of Ostland~~ (revoked)
* Bravery Medal - Kingdom of Fühlgart

## Personality

The fact that Albert Schmied grew up as a peasant shows, as he is unlike most Fühlgartian generals. His army primarily consists of commoners, and he trusts those commoners utterly. He has granted practical nobodies high-ranking officer positions and is generally patient when they make mistakes. Furthermore, he leads from the front, fighting alongside his troops as an equal – an act that has earned their respect and absolute loyalty. However, one would be unwise to view Schmied as a soft general. The man has a natural talent for waging war, becoming famous for his ability to rapidly besiege fortified positions and effectively use machines of war to his advantage.

## Relationships

* Jonas Rotherz - The son of the late general Philipp Rotherz, Jonas is something of a son I never had. The young officer all but grew up in the Second Army, later becoming my second-in-command. To this very day, Jonas continues to be my closest ally and confidant.
* Tobias Pfeilmacher - Pfeilmacher was a general in the Freistadt Military Academy who was a commoner, much like myself. As such, we became friends simply by both being the odd ones out. However, Pfeilmacher and I now fight on opposing sides, which has not helped much when it comes to our friendship.

* Ulfric Luftschwert - The rivalry between myself and Ulfric has become relatively well-known across Fühlgart. I have always viewed Ulfric as a worse general who only got his hands on the First Army through nepotism, while Luftschwert views me as an upjumped peasant who has forgotten his place, biting the hand that feeds him.
* Horst von Targsow - Horst von Targsow is the ruler of the Republic of Ostland, a typical Fühlgartian noble from the days of the monarchy. As a result, he always looked down upon me while I was deployed in Ostland against rebels in Vachstadt. While forced to work together, we both hated each other openly.