Axis & Allies - damowords

Earthquake!
Old Portugal still european prince,
Lord of diamoniferous Amazon,
Capital rarely matchʹd before or since,
Watchʹd golden sunrise, but by nightfall gone;
Under the sea,
Ground would groan & bellow,
Sending the Tsunami to lay old Lisbon low.
First her famous towers topple,
Now the flames follow the flood,
Legacies lost in the rubble.
Massʹd thousands slain where they stood,
Bursting manʹs beautiful bubble
As only nature could,
Her message deliverʹd with a shiver,
From Rochester to the Guadalquivir.
The world wilts beneath the pressure,
Doom‐stricken with intent,
France, Austria, Britain, Prussia,
A brooding continent,
All waiting for warʹs catalyst or one they would invent.
Europe
1755
Pre‐emptive Strike
Musing at the Sans Souci, free from care,
Fredʹrick shall contemplate his nationʹs fate,
A friend & confidente of Herr Voltaire,
Thinks deep into the future of the state;
The answers come,
Great powers on each side,
To solve the conundrum to warfare all must slide.
If he who laughs last laughs longest,
Those striking first strike strongest
Facing the self‐inflicted test,
Fredʹrick proclaims the contest,
Now men in battle must he best,
No momentary rest
For Russia, Austria & France allied ‐
Only Great Britain tends the Prussian side.
He proves once more that genius
Exists in martial arts,
His warriors victorious
For battleʹs many parts
Like children kept; from ammo carts to patriotic hearts.
Saxony
1756