WAR

An emergency congress of the Holy Roman Empire was ordered by his Imperial majesty,  Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I in order to discuss the unfolding events that have so recently taken place in northern Italy. The meeting of the Imperial congress on that fateful morning quickly got underway. The atmosphere was tense as representatives, so recently summoned to the Reichs capital, filled the Imperial parliament building to bursting point. No representative was going to miss the convening of this congress. All around there was shouting and yelling. The many different accents known through out the Empire could, for the first time, be heard in a single congressional hall. The room was dominated by a feeling of anxiety, and one of anger with regard to the French aggression. Many were shouting "the time has come...now we must fight", "The French are our enemy now, we must turn to face them with full force". Then the Emperor entered, not a sound was heard, and everyone was seated. The Imperial flag of the Holy Roman was stood at the front centre of the congressional hall, the meeting had started.

Below is a summary of the congressional meeting of the Holy Roman Empire at the Reich's parliament building in Frankfurt

The Congress of Frankfurt 1689:

It has been decided by the Holy Roman Emperor, his imperial majesty, Leopold I, that the Holy Roman Empire and its very existence are being directly challenged by the unjustifiable aggressions of the Kingdom of France. The Kingdom of France has deliberately, and with out just reason, attacked, during a time in which Austria and the HRE looked to France as an equal in European affairs, the Holy Roman Empire in northern Italy. The victim state in question, a state which put up a brave and commendable fight to last, a fight which made their Emperor proud, Genoa, has been defeated by the armies of France deployed in northern Italy. Since then the forces of the Kingdom of France have taken steps to force an unacceptable peace, one that Austria does not recognise, upon the state of Genoa. The Court of Vienna declares this peace as null and void, and in saying this the Emperor implores that the rest of the Holy Roman Empire follow this example.  Austria feels that it has only one policy path now left to it, a commitment that it wishes to uphold for the foreseeable future. France's act of aggression runs directly against the Declaration Leipzig, the promise that Austria would, in the event that if any member of the Holy Roman Empire were to be attacked, that Austria would, and with immediate effect, mobilise all available military and economic means to ensure the defence of the victim state. This was an absolute promise made by the Emperor himself that the protection of the Holy Roman Empire, with all possible means, would be Austria's single foreign policy objective. France has therefore made a historic error by underestimating the resolve of Austria, the Austrian people and the Holy Roman Empire, to defend the Holy Roman Empire and its members. The Declaration of Leipzig is of this moment in effect and Austria is at war with the Kingdom of France, our justification is clear, Austria intends to defend the Reich, its members and ensure the continued existence the Holy Roman Empire und die volksdeutsche, and the Italian peoples. Austria shall as of this moment take the steps necessary to ensure that these aims are carried out with immediate effect. Austria, as of this day, would like to make it know that it, a single nation, seat of the Holy Roman Emperor marches in the name of the defensive of the Holy Roman Empire.

His Imperial majesty, Leopold I, though asks the member states of the Holy Roman to now realise that an attack on one is nothing less than an unacceptable attack on all. The steps taken by the Kingdom of France against our friend, Genoa, are steps that threaten to weaken the entire Empire. The Reichsbank, the finical centre of the entire, has been raid and demolished by the Kingdom of France with no just reason. The Empires economy is now at direct risk, and following a period of great economic prosperity throughout the Holy Roman Empire, unless we take the required steps to remove the French threat and rebuild our financial centre, we risk losing this. We must establish a collective defence of the Reich, and take collective steps, together, to reinforce the borders of the Reich on which our continued way of life and economy stands. His Imperial majesty, Leopold I, asks kindly that the member states of the Holy Roman Empire once again rally to her defence. This area of Europe, our Germany, is under attack, and we must now, where we can, defend our homes, our wife's and our children once more. It should now be our absolute goal to convert our fears, our passions into a means to an end, that end being the complete defence of every member in the Holy Roman Empire. Leopold I asks the Holy Roman Empire member states put aside its common internal differences, those areas of friction, and instead direct all our passions against our new and common enemy: The Kingdom of France. From this moment on a state of war exists between the HRE and France.

Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser