Could Eugene de Beauharnais have kept Milan in 1814?

Here I come with another italo-centric POD, sorry if I am a bit monotonous...

Eugene de Beauharnais had been installed by Napoleon as the viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, including Lombardy, Venice, most of Emilia Romagna (but not Parma) and the Marche. He remained loyal to Napoleon after the defeat at Leipzig and managed to repel the Austrian general Bellegarde on the Mincio in february 1814, so that when Napoleon abdicated he was still in full control of Lombardy as well as several strongholds in Veneto (Venice, Osoppo, Palmanova).

He was menaced also by Murat, who had switched to the Austrian side and had occupied the Marche, Romagna and Modena.

At this point Eugene was forced to come to terms with the Austrians and on the 16th of April he signed the Convention of Schiarino Rizzino, according to which he had to evacuate Venezia and the other fortresses in Veneto and to rempatriate the French soldiers to France.
At this point he still controlled a strong defensive line along the Mincio (including the fortresses of Mantua and Peschiera) and a decent Italian army, reinforced by several French officers who decided to stay with him.

Eugene could not have resisted against a determined Austrian invasion obviously, but the Kingdom fell more quicly than expected because of a political disaster when on the 20th of April the Senate meeting that would have had to appoint him King after Napoleon's abdication was disrupted by a (probably paid) mob, which killed the Finance Minister Prini.


I know that this is rather far-fetched, possibly even requiring ASB levels of good luck, but could the Kingdom of Italy under Eugene be saved?

I propose the following POD: Eugene's double encirclement plan works and Bellegarde is decisively defeated at the Mincio, leading to the collapse of his army. In the aftermath Eugene feels more confident and starts lobbying the Lombard magnates for support.
When news of the fall of Paris arrive, he goes personally to Milan instead of staying in Mantua, along with his elite and loyal royal guard (to keep order in the city) and convinces the Senate to accept him as King. Most of the french soldiers still under his command are recommissioned to serve as volunteers in the talian army, while the fortresses of Veneto are handed over to the Austrians in exchange for a ceasefire.

He was somehow respected by the European Courts, can he be allowed to keep Lombardy in this scenario? A possible secondary [but much more significant] POD is that there is no 100 days campaign, either due to the death of Napoleon or some other factors, so the Polish-Saxon crisis worsens, distracting the powers from the Italian theatre.
 
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Well, would Austria be willing to lose Milan and gain Venice?

I don't think so: Lombardy was one of the most prosperous regions of the peninsula; Venetia, on the other hand, was an impoverished backwater. A restoration of the Serenissima (under heavy Habsburg influence) would be much more likely than Beauharnais keeping even just the lands that made up the Duchy of Milan (and Mantua) in the late 18th century.

Hell, Genoa regaining its independence would be more likely.

...it'd be an interesting concept to explore, actually. If only because Mazzini could end up being slightly more successful in his endeavours in a more or less independent Genoa than in a Genoa ruled by the House of Savoy. :D
 
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I'm currently reading "Napoleon's Satellite Kingdoms" by Connolly, and am on the chapter on the Kingdom of Italy, but am not yet up to 1814-15.

There was actually a slight chance of all the satellite kingdoms except Bonaparte Spain surviving even the fall of Napoleon himself, and Bernadotte wound up keeping his throne. The legitimate courts of Europe liked Eugene.

Also one POD is that Napoleon makes Eugene King of Italy, which he was widely expected to. This strengthens Eugene's claims in 1815.

However, I agree that Lombardy was too important to the Austrians for them to let it go. But if Eugene was in a stronger position in Italy in 1815, could the Congress of Vienna found some other kingdom for him? Also of potential relevance is his marriage into the Wittelsbachs.
 
I'm currently reading "Napoleon's Satellite Kingdoms" by Connolly, and am on the chapter on the Kingdom of Italy, but am not yet up to 1814-15.

There was actually a slight chance of all the satellite kingdoms except Bonaparte Spain surviving even the fall of Napoleon himself, and Bernadotte wound up keeping his throne. The legitimate courts of Europe liked Eugene.

Also one POD is that Napoleon makes Eugene King of Italy, which he was widely expected to. This strengthens Eugene's claims in 1815.

However, I agree that Lombardy was too important to the Austrians for them to let it go. But if Eugene was in a stronger position in Italy in 1815, could the Congress of Vienna found some other kingdom for him? Also of potential relevance is his marriage into the Wittelsbachs.

The aforementioned independent state in Genoa, perhaps? A Kingdom of Corsica, if France is screwed hard enough during the Congress of Vienna? Some small state in Emilia?
 
Alexander even mentioned de Beauharnais as possible leader of France.
- In 1813, when Eugene was defending Northern Italy, he met with his father-in-law (the King of Bavaria) who offered him, on behalf of Metternich, a Duchy or Kingdom in Italy. He was offered this again in 1814. Both times Eugene refused.
- Eugene had a very good reputation as a chivalrous and competent general who was admired because of his loyalty to Napoleon.
- The Ionian Islands and Pontecorvo were also mentioned as compensations for Eugene. The latter was actually assigned to him but without the means to actually take possession of it.
From an earlier thread of mine

And while, this is perhaps on a different course, Napoléon indicated that he would've preferred Eugène to Bernadotte as candidate for the Swedish crown, but Eugène refused to renounce his Catholicism which the Swedish council required.
 
Well, would Austria be willing to lose Milan and gain Venice?

I don't think so: Lombardy was one of the most prosperous regions of the peninsula; Venetia, on the other hand, was an impoverished backwater. A restoration of the Serenissima (under heavy Habsburg influence) would be much more likely than Beauharnais keeping even just the lands that made up the Duchy of Milan (and Mantua) in the late 18th century.

Hell, Genoa regaining its independence would be more likely.

...it'd be an interesting concept to explore, actually. If only because Mazzini could end up being slightly more successful in his endeavours in a more or less independent Genoa than in a Genoa ruled by the House of Savoy. :D

But would an Austria that is in a sort of "cold war" with Prussia and Russia over the Saxon-Polish question have a spare army to send to Milan to remove Eugene?

The problem with Genoa is that many wanted to "reward" the Savoys and also to create a mid-power on France's border, similar to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (although on a lesser scale). [Also Genoa would be helpless militarily, so even if Mazzini somehow sized power there in the thirties or forties I doubt that it would be a good nucleus for a future Italian unification. Mazzinian Genoa would likely be quickly put down by Austrian/Sardinian or even French arms.


I'm currently reading "Napoleon's Satellite Kingdoms" by Connolly, and am on the chapter on the Kingdom of Italy, but am not yet up to 1814-15.

There was actually a slight chance of all the satellite kingdoms except Bonaparte Spain surviving even the fall of Napoleon himself, and Bernadotte wound up keeping his throne. The legitimate courts of Europe liked Eugene.

Also one POD is that Napoleon makes Eugene King of Italy, which he was widely expected to. This strengthens Eugene's claims in 1815.

However, I agree that Lombardy was too important to the Austrians for them to let it go. But if Eugene was in a stronger position in Italy in 1815, could the Congress of Vienna found some other kingdom for him? Also of potential relevance is his marriage into the Wittelsbachs.

It seems to me that he was also supported by the Russian Emperor.

After Napoleon's demise Eugene would immediately want to make peace with the Coalition and would give everything, apart from Lombardy itself. His question would have to be solved at the Congress of Vienna, and there his cause would be upheld by Alexander because of the worsening relationship between him and Austria over the Saxon-Polish question.

Obviously if Austria is adamant on kicking him out, he cannot resist, but I think there is a chance for him to endure, if the diplomatic situation is different and his hold on Milan is somewhat solid.

From an earlier thread of mine

And while, this is perhaps on a different course, Napoléon indicated that he would've preferred Eugène to Bernadotte as candidate for the Swedish crown, but Eugène refused to renounce his Catholicism which the Swedish council required.

I read that thread some days ago, it was interesting, so thanks for linking it! The idea of setting him up in Romagna is intriguing, but it would necessitate the creation of an entirely new state, which seems a bit strange in the context of the Congress of Vienna. Those lands would also be in the hand of Murat, at least until he does something stupid.
 
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The aforementioned independent state in Genoa, perhaps? A Kingdom of Corsica, if France is screwed hard enough during the Congress of Vienna? Some small state in Emilia?

But if you're screwing France there are a lot of other people far ahead of Napoleon's stepson in the queue to be given thrones.
 
Thanks for posting to the other thread.

I think there are two parts to this. The first is to strengthen Eugene's political position in Italy in 1815.

The second is for deals go to down at the Congress of Vienna that result in a kingdom for Eugene, which means screwing someone out of a kingdom.

The main POD for strengthening Eugene's position is that Napoleon decides to crown Eugene as King of Italy, which was IOTL considered. Now that this happens there can be other butterflies that help Eugene. For example, he is confident enough to intervene to prevent the arrest of the Pope. He goes into 1815 in control of the territory and with more goodwill from the legitimists.

For the second, Metternich, the Hapsburgs, and the Wittelsbaches are persuaded that it would be a good idea for the Wittelsbaches to exchange Bavaria for what became Belguim. This comes with enough Rhineland territory to connect with the historical Wittelsbach enclave in the Rhineland. Prussia gets compensated elsewhere, most simply with what IOTL became the northeastern part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. This screws the Oranges. You get your anti-French state on France's northern frontier, but joining Belguim with the Rhineland instead of with Holland-Utrechect.

To get Bavaria, the Hapsburgs have to give up something elsewhere, so with Alexander pressing them, they decide to give up ground in Italy. This also means you have a Wittelsbach state blocking France to the northeast, and a half-Wittelsbach state blocking France in Italy. In both cases, a contiguous Austria is looking over their shoulder, just over the frontier.

This could work, and you may get away with doing just one POD and herding the butterflies the right way.
 
Thanks for the scenario Galba Otho Vitelius, it is very thought provoking!

I particularly like the Wittelsbach throne swap. If they manage to consolidate the Walloon lands with the German speaking ones this could well turn into a wank, considering the industrial potential their lands have.
Maybe the Orange can be compensated with some other minor German lands, what would happen to Luxemburg ittl?

I am not sure that being appointed King by Napoleon would change very much Eugene's legitimacy, unless you mean King of "all" Italy, including Naples, maybe after a falling out between Napoleon and Murat.
 
I'm currently reading "Napoleon's Satellite Kingdoms" by Connolly, and am on the chapter on the Kingdom of Italy, but am not yet up to 1814-15.

I've always found that to be a terrific resource. Picking it back up and re-reading the pertinent sections confirmed my initial assumptions which is that something has to happen before 1814. The February campaigns were critical. If Eugene took up the offer of his father in law in the fall of 1813 perhaps he could retain Lombardy. Or if, as you suggested, the board was set differently going in, perhaps with Eugene as King rather than Viceroy, circumstances could be different.

One thing that struck me on re-reading is that Eugene's fate is going to be tied up with Murat's. Murat destroyed his reputation with the allies by withholding his Neapolitan troops from direct combat against Eugene's when the Austrians attempted the invasion of Lombardy in 1814. Critically if Eugene has brokered a deal by then this problem is resolved.

Interestingly Connolly suggests that the political crisis in the summer of 1814 is what really undid Eugene. Even after Fontainebleau Eugene was still in control of his Italian troops and administered most of Lombardy. But the Kingdom was riven by three factions, the pro-French, the pro-Austrian and the 'pure-Italian'. If Eugene had been able to manage the situation in the capital better and avoid the riots of 1814 Bellegarde wouldn't have had the excuse or opportunity to move Austrian troops into Milan. Though, given that the Austrians clearly wanted Eugene out his long term prospects are still not great.
 
The problem is that Eugene was too much of an honorable type to betray his adoptive father before Fontainbleu. For sure he cannot be convinced to declare war against France, especially considering that a significant part of his army was French and almost all were veterans of the various Napoleonic campaigns.

Politically, the "Pure Italians" faction was particularly stupid, if we apprach the situation with a bit of hindsight: they wanted an Austrian prince, thinking that he would preserve their independence better than Eugene...
Obviously, as soon as they invited in the Austrians, they were reduced to a mere province and the army was laid off or sent out to distant corners of the Empire.
Their position can be somewhat justified by the good administration that the Austrians exercised in Milan during the XVIII century, but it's still terribly naive.

I will try a schematic TL of events. Disclaimer: it will contain a degree of handwaving and "butterfly-herding", so probably it is rather wankish for Eugene, in reality he would probably at most keep Lombardy, more likely just Romagna or a reduced Veneto or Parma (or even nothing and go back to Bavaria as in OTL).

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1814, February: POD the Merville division doesn't receive the order to stay in reserve and goes to Borghetto. As a consequence, the Italo-French pincer movement succeeds and the Austrians army is routed after a bloody battle. thousands of Austrians are taken prisoner, the others retreat in disorder towards Verona. Eugene however soon retreats back to Lombardy, which is still menaced by Murat and Nugent.

1814, March: Eugene crosses the Po and occupies Modena and Reggio, where he is heartily welcomed. Murat and Nugent's forces are now cut off in Parma. Eugene, understanding that the end is nearing for the French cause, starts negotiation with Murat and the Austrians, while using his influence among the Freemasons to weaken the Italian and Muratian "parties".

1814, April 12: Napoleon commits suicide after having been forced to abdicate, rumors of him being murdered spread.

1814, April 17: Eugene makes an inspired allocution to the Milanese senate, while the city is secured by the Guardia Reale. The senate acclaims him as King of Italy. In the following days many French soldiers and officers, despairing of a career in Bourbon France enrol in the Italian army, which thus remain a small, but viable fighting force.

1814, April 26: Ceasefire with Austria and Murat: Venice and the other fortresses in Veneto are evacuated, but Eugene still controls Milan and Modena, Murat retreats to Bologna, hoping to keep hold of the Papal lands he had seized before. The destiny of Eugene is to be decided at the Congress that is being prepared in Vienna.

1814, April-August: Shaky peace, Eugene's legitimacy in Italy grows, now that he is not anymore seen as merely Napoleon's creature. Tensions grow in the Papal territories still occupied by Murat. He also somewhat mends is relationship with the Austrians.

1814 September: Talleyrand and the British want to take out Murat to give his lands back to their "rightful owners" and support an invasion of the mainland from the Sicilian Bourbons. The Kingdom is engulfed by sanfedisti revolts, and quickly collapses. Italian and Austrian troops enter Romagna to "preserve order".


1814 October: the Congress opens in Vienna, tensions immediately start rising over the Polish-saxon crisis. The Kingdom of Italy has only an unofficial delegation, but is supported by Emperor Alexander (wary of Austrian hegemony over Italy). Austria becomes more interested in German affairs, and focused on balancing Prussia there.

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1815: January, the Final Act of the Congress is signed with the following differences with OTL:


  1. Germany: Prussia gets all Saxony and some minor territories.
  2. Posen goes to (Russian) Poland - note that here the Prussians haven't been so important in defeating Napoleon, without Waterloo.
  3. Austria adds the Rhineland to her Netherlands, forming a strong anti-French buffer.
  4. Other changes that I cannot think of right now are probably needed to make this work.

Italy:

  1. Eugene is recognized as King of Lombardy(1), including the former duchies of Milan and Modena, Guastalla and the territory of the Legazione di Romagna (minus Ferrara). Lombardy loses the territories west of the Ticino to Sardinia.
  2. The Duke of Modena recieves Parma, without Guastalla, but enlarged with Pontremoli and the port of La Spezia, taken from the former Republic of Genoa.(2)
  3. Marie Louise receives the principalty of Elba and Piombino.
  4. Tuscany is compensated with Papal Umbria and elevated to Kingdom.
  5. The Kingdom of Two Sicilies receives the Papal March.
  6. Austria gets Veneto to the Mincio river and Ferrara.
  7. The Kingdom of Sardinia gets Liguria (minus La Spezia) and the Ticino border with Lombardy, but loses Haute Savoie and Nice to France.
  8. The Pope keeps only Latium, but is guaranteed by all the powers and becomes the President of a (mostly cerimonial) Italian Confederation(3).
(1) Ideas for a better name? Being King of Italy implies a claim over the rest of the country, so it would not be accepted, Cisalpina has too strong memories of the Revolutionary republic... What would be of the Iron crown?
(2) This was proposed in OTL, as it makes a lot of sense economically, but the idea was discarded because it seemed to be an opening for Napoleon to link with his wife and stir up problems.
(3) Through Veneto Austria is part of the Confederation, her puppets in Tuscany and Parma are also stronger than OTL. Sardinia and Lombardy should balance each other and the restored Bourbons in the South hould not cause problems to anyone. Italy is now imho much more stable than otl.
 
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Well, OTL, the house of Nassau was/wished to be the ruler of the German territories that connected the Netherlands to the house of Nassau possessions in Germany proper. That said, I propose the following game of musical chairs from Galba's suggestion:

Bavaria gets the former Austrian Netherlands and former Rhineland Palatinate (plus maybe the former territories of the Archbishopric of Mainz/Cologne/Trier/duchy of Munster) - IDK if they will get the 1793-size Luxembourg or only the 1815-size shorn of some territory.
Prussia gets given the northern part of Bavaria (to make up their population ratio that was promised), whilst Austria gets the rest
Eugene keeps his Italian kingdom/duchy
The Nassaus get the Dutch throne, plus perhaps one or two of the Rhineland Electorates/the grand duchy of Berg) as compensation for losing the south
With Prussia taking something from Bavaria, she doesn't necessarily have to take anything from Saxony, which leaves that kingdom in a somewhat larger/better position.
 
Perhaps Eugene keeps a bit of his title of Viceroy of Italy, though various Habsurgs and Bourbons are restored to their thrones, or given new ones. If you can get him actually leading troops against the French, all the better.nthough perhaps that is a tad unlikely, as his family was far more loyal to Napoleon than the Napoleons' second in-laws, or own family, was. Or maybe he gets a smaller territory as well as a position of minister to a unified Italian King. Or for the Austrians to try reestablishing the HRE.
 
Well, OTL, the house of Nassau was/wished to be the ruler of the German territories that connected the Netherlands to the house of Nassau possessions in Germany proper. That said, I propose the following game of musical chairs from Galba's suggestion:

Bavaria gets the former Austrian Netherlands and former Rhineland Palatinate (plus maybe the former territories of the Archbishopric of Mainz/Cologne/Trier/duchy of Munster) - IDK if they will get the 1793-size Luxembourg or only the 1815-size shorn of some territory.
Prussia gets given the northern part of Bavaria (to make up their population ratio that was promised), whilst Austria gets the rest
Eugene keeps his Italian kingdom/duchy
The Nassaus get the Dutch throne, plus perhaps one or two of the Rhineland Electorates/the grand duchy of Berg) as compensation for losing the south
With Prussia taking something from Bavaria, she doesn't necessarily have to take anything from Saxony, which leaves that kingdom in a somewhat larger/better position.


Mmm, sounds right, but... Wouldn't Prussia rather have Saxony than part of Bavaria?

Also nobody wants to tear down my TL attempt? Maybe one day I will write a true TL out of it...
 
"Wouldn't Prussia rather have Saxony than part of Bavaria?"

They would, but Austria and Russia would have problems with this for balance of power reasons. And there is the issue of whether the King of Saxony gets another job.

Looking at the map, Bavaria in 1815 appears to be big enough to give a Saxony size chunk to Prussia, even if Austria gets most of it.
 
"Wouldn't Prussia rather have Saxony than part of Bavaria?"

They would, but Austria and Russia would have problems with this for balance of power reasons. And there is the issue of whether the King of Saxony gets another job.

Looking at the map, Bavaria in 1815 appears to be big enough to give a Saxony size chunk to Prussia, even if Austria gets most of it.

Russia had not problem with it. It actually encouraged it in the Polish Saxon Crisis.
 
The possibility for Eugene to be awarded a "real" crown in Italy (Pontecorvo was a kind of not-funny joke) is a very remote one and certainly predicated on Napoleon's death soon after the first abdication; even this would not be enough of itself, but would also require a serious amount of luck on his side, as well as a strong support by Alexander (the czar was very generous with his promises, but more stingy in providing actual support). I would believe that a survival of Murat is less unlikely than a throne to be gained by Eugene, everything else being the same (a survival of both would be even more interesting, and beneficial for Italy but it is a very unlikely outcome).

It is also likely that Eugene might end up in a difficult position, since his patrons would be far away, while his potential enemies (Austria and its Italian puppets, France, UK, Sardinia, Two Sicilies and the British) would be much closer. He will need to keep very much on his toes, in particular when liberal insurrections will threaten the restoration scheme.

Obviously the revised version of the Vienna Congress will piss a lot of people: the Netherlands, who lost colonies but are not getting much (if anything) in Europe; Spain, who certainly lobbied hard for a full restoration of the Papal States and on top of this saw the Borbone-Parma not being restored to any throne; Sardinia, who will not be happy to swap Savoy and Nice for Genoa and even more worried by ending up having a post-Napoleonic successor state on its eastern border. The European balance will remain unstable, even assuming that Austria is happy with the outcome.

The title of King of Lombardy is a good one (king of the Lombards would be even better, but it would have unpalatable undertones in the post-Congress Europe), but don't forget that the Iron Crown held sway at least on the whole of Langobardia Major, if not to the duchies of Benevento and Spoleto. With the possible exception of Two Sicilies, all of Italy might be claimed by Eugene or his heirs.
 
Maybe have the Saxon Polish Crisis become a full blown war and have Eugene fight on the side of Prussia and Russia.
 
Well, I agree that it is not a probable outcome, but I still think it is possible. Murat looks to be easier, but the guy was hated by almost everyone and too backstabbing for his own good. Beauharnais is far from a political genius, but he has much better dynastic connections. Also he looks like a person that could heed good advice and know his own limits.

What I would prefer to see is:
-a mid sized independent italian Kingdom centered on Lombardy, hence the Beauharnais option.
-an Austria that is more focused on Germany, leading to a more interesting German dualism.
-if possible, avoiding restoration of the Papal States, or at least reducing them as much as possible.

Maybe a slightly more realistic POD would be agreeing to one of the offers in late 1813, at the latest in January 1814, Melzi d'Eril was lobbing hard for that, but how could Eugene have betrayed his father? At that point a Napoleonic return could be even good, as Eugene could prove his good faith to the allies, in contrast to Murat probably...

As for future enemies, I wouldn't be as worried as you are, my dear Lord Kalvan: the serious ones are Austria and Piedmont yes, but I wouldn't worry much about Spain (too far), the Italian puppets (too weak), the Two Sicilies (not going to expand north very much, and they have their own instability problems), UK (no great divergence of interests) or even France (no common borders and also prone to political instability). If Eugene is recognised at Vienna he will rule as a conservative and be imho quite safe, then, when the reactionary order starts cracking in the next decades... Well let's say that ittl the Savoia won't be the only hope for unification, nor the best one.

As for the title, you are obviously right about the extent of ancient Lombardy, but I wasn't thinking of him actually donning the Iron Crown. Maybe something like Grand Duke of Transpadania could be a less ambitious and hence more palatable title?
 
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