The Dandy Italian: A Murat Timeline

Hey so this is going to be my Murat Italy TL.

Already subscribed, since Joachim Murat is just a fascinating figure.

In 1798 Ferdinand took his army north to fight the French with his wife's urging. He thought that with Napoleon in Levant that he has a chance to push out the devious Frenchman. However it was the French who him. Seeing defeat as it was Ferdinand ran to Napoli then hopped on the HMS Vanguard to escape. Yet hopping that ship was only hopping out of the frying pan and into the fire. For while navigating to Palermo a storm hit the the small fleet of ships. Nelson quickly tried to escape it but the storm wouldn't let them go easy. No instead it fought them like the devil soon the Vanguard was taken away from its escorts. And out there where no one could help them the Vanguard sank to the bottom of the sea. Days later a row boat with a few sailors, marines, a lieutenant, Prince Leopold, Princess Marie Isabelle, and Nelson was found by the escorts [1]. Immediately Nelson said, "Have you seen Emma?"

[1] Yes MAJOR POD. Ferdinand IV, Francis, Maria Cristina, Maria Amalia, Maria Antonia, and Prince Alberto are dead.

Excellent so far.

I look forward to reading more.

The British maintained a blockade of Naples following its fall to the French under General Championnet. Meanwhile Cardinal Ruffo was leading a popular counter revolution called the Sanfedisti. This religious army enter Naples in June forcing Championnet to retreat to the city's fortifications. However on the eve of total defeat he was saved by the Neapolitan troops falling into chaos and disorder. With neither in a good position Championnet decided to sue for general amnesty. Which Ruffo gladly granted. Yet Nelson refused to let this pass. He had just been in the worst disaster of his life and it was the fault of these Frenchmen and rebels, so he instead began a period of terror known as the Naples Trials. These mock trials tried and found every single rebel guilty. Unfortunately the Frenchmen were allowed to return to France before Nelson could get his hands on them.[1]

Meanwhile the new king, Leopold I of Sicily and Naples, found himself drowning in a sea of advisers and nobles all trying to manipulate him to their own ideas. But the crows dispersed when Archduke Louis of Austria arrived to take his place as regent. It would Louis who lead Naples into the the utter failure of the War of the Third Coalition.

[1]OTL he was cruel with the rebels

Entering the War of the Third Coalition was by far the worst decision Archduke Louis could have ever made. But he caved to the pressure from his brother. First Naples was defended by a large army of Russians and British. Though once word of the terrible defeat at Austerlitz reached Naples the Russians left. After the withdrawal of the Russians the British decided that they weren't fighting this alone and withdrew to Sicily. Meanwhile the French invasion under Massena forced Leopold and Louis to run too. Which was all the better for French you placed Joseph on the throne then proceeded to seize the nation. Soon all but two places fell, Calabria where the Royal Neapolitan Army was and Gaeta, the Neapolitan's last fort.

In Calabria Roger de Damas with 14,000 men took up position at Campo Tenese while his fellow general Marshal Rosenheim marched towards Cassano all'Ionio where they were to meet up. However Reyneir was determined not to let that happen. With his light foot scattering Damas' rear guard Reynier's scouts were soon able to discover Damas location. The very next day Reynier attack. While the wind blew snow into the Neapolitans eyes Reynier's light foot appeared in Damas' flank after hours of single file marching through the narrow defiles. And at the same time General of Brigade Louis Fursy Henri Compère charged forth in frontal assault and took a redoubt. Being attacked on two sides the Neapolitan army collapsed and routed. This rout through the narrow exit rout allowed the French to capture 2,000 men, 2 generaks, all the Neapolitan artillery, and all the Neapolitan baggage. Meanwhile the French casualties were far less.

To follow this victory Reynier force marched his army to the Strait of Messina in a week [1]. His counterparts, Duhesme and Lechi, chased the remnants of Damas' army and also Rosenheim's army. Yet the majority of the Neapolitans deserted before battle was met at Reggio. At Reggio Duhesme and Lechi expected to see Reynier, so they attempted a hammer and anvil tactic. In contrast this fell flat, because Reynier had disappeared. Without anyone to stop them the Neapolitans just took up positions in the buildings and the streets. After taking some losses Duhesme and Lechi drew back and deployed their cannon, which ripped through the Neapolitans. Soon the Neapolitans gave way and surrendered. Though the real question was where in the world did Reynier go?

Sicily. In a series of night crossings Reynier and his army of about 10,000 had crossed over the Strait of Messina. Quickly they set up a siege at Messina. With the later arrival of Duhesme and Lechi on the Strait they too crossed following their victory in Reggio while the British was held at bay by heavy gales [2]. At Palermo all chaos broke loose, the invasion had begun. Many generals had given up and were considering switching sides. The 15 year old king, Leopold, was not going to give easy and ordered his generals to attack with their 10,000 men. So on April 2nd the Battle of Messina occurred. While the British tried to bomb the French 10,000 Neapolitans came from the west while a further 4,000 sallied from the city. But quickly the sally fell apart with the death of the leading commander, and the western assault was blunted. This battle was a clear example of the power of French genius and discipline. Firing in line they sheared through the advance. Accepting that the battle was lost the Neapolitans sounded the retreat. Yet instead of an orderly retreat they saw shattered regiments running for their mothers. This rout was easy pickings for the French sharpshooters and cavalry. On May 3rd, Messina fell even with all the British attempts it was just bound to occur [3]. Two months later Gaeta fell when Massena bluffed out Hotz.

With the mainland under French control and the French holding a significant foothold in Sicily the British considered an evacuation to Malta. When Massena began marching south to the Strait of Messina, Leopold's generals decided that it was over and launched a coup in favor of the French. The British quickly ended in a short engagement in Palermo. However the costs of the coup were great, for Leopold had been assassinated. Worried about a repeat the British reluctantly evacuated to Malta with Princess Maria Isabelle, Archduke Louis, and several loyal nobles. Within a month Sicily in whole was taken by the French. Victory at last.

[1] The POD is that instead of staying the night which resulted in murders and rapes he force marches. Of course he would probably forage some, but with a speedy march to the coast all he does is forage instead of the many rapes and murders that happened OTL. This gets rid of the the uprising.
[2] I needed a way to make it more justifiable.
[3] Due to the 1783 Earthquake Messina was wrecked

A little ambitious but I think I pulled it off

Ok so next update will be one with little action probably two paragraphs about Naples then in the 5th update we'll get to Sixth Coalition and have Murat betray and not rejoin Napoleon. Around that time is the time I'll start including the rest of the world and stop being just Naples. Expect the 4th chapter tonight or Friday

This will be epic

Over the course of two years Jospeh lead Naples and Sicily. His rule was a quiet one with the peasants trudging along and the mayors kissing his feet. Under Joseph all that occurred was the rebuilding of Reggio and some small naval skirmishes. The rebuilding of Reggio was met with suspcion by the Calabrians who had always been mistreated by the kings (with the exception of Carlo of Borbon). Also from Malta the British launched a few raids but most of their ships were focused in the north. Then in 1808 Napoleon sent Joseph to Spain.


Joseph's replacement was Joachim Murat. However though this king would become one of the greatest figure in the history of Italy during the early years he would be off fighting for Napoleon. Instead Caroline, Napoleon's sister, did the majority of the ruling. She launched many projects to build up Naples and Sicily, which was now called the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Meanwhile her husband fought in Spain then Russia. Though following the Malet coup, Joachim grew more protective of his holdings in Italy and came running back to find everything in place. Then he returned to duty only to come running back after Leipzig. Many in Naples feared that the coalition would come after Murat next, but Austria agreed to let Murat keep his throne.

Next the alternative Neapolitan war

I'm filled with energy right now so I'll do it now.

Though his rule had been recognized by the Austrians he was fearful of the British pushing him out for the last member of Bourbons of Sicily, Maria Isabelle [1]. That's why he declared war on Napoleon and to further his point he went as far as to invade France. Disembarking near Toulon with 30,000 men he soon found himself in battle. Brune who had been retreating from Bianchi and Lowe's army had not expected to run into his old friend. However neither had Murat, yet wielding his army he quickly formed lines that shot through Brune's men. This occurred while his cavalry swung around Brune's rear and then crashed into it. But their was trouble at Murat's centre when Brune's column smashed into it. For a few seconds the battle was lost and the centre began to crumble, then jumping from his horse Murat charged into the fray. His soldiers with renewed vigor counterattacked while his cavalry devastated Brune's rear. Accepting that the battle was lost Brune tried to run to Lyons, but Bianchi stopped him before he could.

This victory is what man historians claim saved Murat's crown, though some point to his Siege of Toulon. There Murat and Bianchi built brestworks and initiated a long siege. Murat however believed that if he could win this victory faster that there was no way that the Coalition would kick him out. So in the pitch black darkness of the night he had his men take four ladders in an escalade. Bewildered by this the small French garrison at first dismissed it as a trick. Yet when Neapolitan soldiers jumped over the wall and started to fight with the sentries the French found themselves in dire straits. While some men stayed to defend the ladders and the flank the rest of the Neapolitans stormed the gatehouse. In the blood bath that ensued a group of four Neapolitan soldiers were able to open the gate and signal the main army. Shortly hundreds of Coalition soldiers came thundering through the gates and the city fell mere hours after.

Only a few days later word of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo arrived. That night the men rejoiced, Boney had been defeated. Though they still sat on the edge of their seats until they heard that the Prussians had taken Paris. It was that night that Murat knew victory was the the theirs, no his. Though Murat was not actually invited to attend the Congress of Vienna he was pleased to hear that to Britain's displeasure he had retained his throne.

[1] Everyone else either died OTL or in shipwreck, plus OTL the British didn't like him however the Austrians tolerated him until he betray them.

Picture Update

Flag of Two Sicilies Flag

In production

Joachim as King



Neapolitan Soldiers

The Bourbons would definitely do anything to get Naples back.

Interesting.

Caudillo Bonifacio said:

The Bourbon would definite do anything to get Naples.

Interesting.

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I intend for the French to be plotting with Isabelle and the Spanish will probably support Isabelle after lsoing their colonies

Flag thanks to Flamelord

Oh... one of my AH dreams was finally realized. Hoped to see this for a long time. Subscribed!

Huh. I wonder if Sicily is really that viable, as a Napoleonic conquest. It's cut off from the rest of the empire by sea, so Britain can harass it from Malta pretty easily, no?

Faeelin said:

Huh. I wonder if Sicily is really that viable, as a Napoleonic conquest. It's cut off from the rest of the empire by sea, so Britain can harass it from Malta pretty easily, no?

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Yes, Britian harasses it often which causes issues that would be brought to light after peace had fully returned. However due to the wars in the north, Britain was not able to deploy a larger amount of ships