A More Personal Union

[Razgriz 2K9]

I thought Hungary was placed under a personal union with Austria, considering that Austria had control of Upper Hungary/Slovakia since before the PoD.

[Thespitron 6000]

Autumn 1595: Ernest, faced with the loss of his heartland at the hands of the invading Poles, has no choice but to abandon western Germany to Marischal and Montmorency and move east to fight both Viktor and Augusta. It is an extremely uneven match, as Ernest, aided by Eggenberg, once more faces off against Viktor on the outskirts of Prague. The Emperor is aided by Ferdinand of Bavaria, who has linked up with the Imperial forces in the hopes of driving off at least one of the invading armies. The combined Imperial army is sufficiently large enough to give Viktor pause, and as a result he withdraws from Prague rather than getting caught up in a battle he’ll probably lose. The two armies watch each other warily across the Bohemian countryside, neither wishing to move first and risk a pointless loss.

Vienna, meanwhile, is in much worse condition. Although its city walls are massive, it still cannot withstand a siege; no city can. But it is holding out much longer than Augusta expected it would, despite her army’s continued bombardment of the city. It appears the siege will last on, through the fall and into the autumn.

“It is black days.” So writes Robert Greene, printer, as the Siege of London seems to be drawing to a close. The city simply isn’t arranged properly to hold off a long siege. Much of the city now lies outside the medieval walls, and the defenders have little in the way of arms or ammunition. Thousands of Londoners have fled the city, moving north, while Shrewsbury harasses the Spanish in small battles at Enfield Chase, Watford, and Uxbridge, but with most of the experienced fighting men in France, they are able to do little damage to the professional Spanish.

Hundreds of buildings in the city have been damaged, and large parts of the city south of the river have been burned during battles between defenders and encroaching Spaniards hoping to force a river crossing.

“A pillar of smoke by day, a pillar of fire by night,” notes Philip Sidney bitterly as he watches the city under siege. His own force is too small to drive off the Spanish, or even serve as an effective distraction. It is with a heavy heart that he can only watch as the Spanish throw cannonball after cannonball against the city walls, hoping to knock them down and pave a way into London proper.

“The testament of Elizabeth, being first of that name and God’s anointed in the Realm of England...” There will be no chance of capture. Elizabeth begins composing her will, and instructs one bold young man that, should the city fall, he is to get it to Shrewsbury without fail. She herself will not allow the Spanish to take her alive. A small dagger stands ready for that task, as she sees the Spanish squeezing the city ever tighter.

October 3rd is the day. Everyone can feel it. The city will fall. “I am the English Constantine,” says Elizabeth in idle distraction to one of her bodyguards. In Lime Street, some vandal, classically educated apparently, scrawls, “476 1453 1595.” Recalde feels it too, and steps up bombardment of Cripplegate, that old defender of the city, which is showing signs of cracking. Philip Sidney prepares to throw his meager complement of men down the maw of the Spanish army, to distract them if only for a moment. Inside the wall, Londoners kneel in the streets to pray.

“Sound advance,” orders Sidney to his trumpeter, and the men begin to march forward, pikes at the ready, their only weapons, for there is no shot left. Thunder rolls on the horizon. As Sidney advances his men, the Spanish unfold to meet them, confident and eager to destroy this weak prey who comes so willingly into their jaws. I die today, thinks Sidney.

And then, from the east, the clarion call of a horn.

The thunder of hooves on soil.

At last, from Romford, hundreds of cavalrymen, knights of the old school, charge forward, followed closely by thousands of musketeers, their Besson knives glittering in the afternoon sun, their faces grim beneath their helmets.

And at their head, a golden knight, his armor like burnished sun itself, his visor flipped upward to reveal eyepatch, Scottish thistle, English rose, French lily.

As the Spanish frantically try to swing their positions to meet these new challengers, the defenders raise a lusty cheer.

His horse rearing, King Henri the Cyclops roars, “MEN OF ENGLAND! FRANCE IS HERE!!”

[G.Bone]

Wow I did not expect King Henri to arrive and save the day.

[Grouchio]

Henri!!

[Timmy811]

Excellent news!

[Yorel]

Originally Posted by G.Bone

Wow I did not expect King Henri to arrive and save the day.

Well, it was only natural for him to do so. After all, the English helped him halt the Spanish Invasion in France, under the cry "Men of France! England is here!". Now that the Spanish threaten English soil, it was only natural for the King of France to pay his debt

Not to mention it will probably help him secure the English throne after Liz's death

[The Duke of Waltham]

I didn't expect this intervention either, but the recent victories over the Spanish in France seem to allow the (temporary) removal of forces from the Continent; Osuna's army has been destroyed and Alva seems to be in no position to respond at the moment. I don't think Elizabeth expected it, but the expedition to the New World may well have saved her head.

[Xgentis]

A defeat in England would be yet another disaster for Spain. I am not sure they can hold their territories in southern France that mutch longuer.

[Razgriz 2K9]

It's official, this timeline is rated "M" fo Manly.

But I agree, a defeat in England might put Spain on the defensive, quite possibly for good.

[Xgentis]

And I doubt they have the money to raise more mercenaries and equip them.

[Saya Aensland]

And as long as Henri is in London, Lizzie might as well proclaim him the Prince of Wales real quick...

[Xgentis]

On the other hand defeating the Spanish in England and then droping thoses troups around today Bilbao might be a nice move invading Spain proper might prompt somes league member to seek peace while they can still get "generous" peace term. A seeing London in ruin Henri might have a taste of what the Spanish would have done to Paris.

[Razgriz 2K9]

Speaking of the League, how would a peace with the HRE look, what are your predictions in this case? Will some of those German states find themselves under Direct Danish/Polish/French/Dutch control?

[Grouchio]

I wonder how powerful the Dutch would become if a good chunk of the Northern Rhine became theirs...
And do the Dutch have control over Belgium yet?

And WHERE exactly does Navarre have colonies?
What's happening differently in India?

[Razgriz 2K9]

The Dutch does hold control over Belgium. In fact the whole point of the war stemmed from the Dutch claims to the Bishopric of Liege.

[Xgentis]

Originally Posted by Razgriz 2K9

The Dutch does hold control over Belgium. In fact the whole point of the war stemmed from the Dutch claims to the Bishopric of Liege.

But it is strange that they got it and not France considering that France always wanted the Spaish then Austrian Netherlands that is a thing that bugs me a little.

[Razgriz 2K9]

I always thought that France's fixation on the Spanish/Austrian Netherlands was a more recent affair, I mean OTL sometime around the 17th century.

[TaylorS]

Vive La France!!!

[Evan]

AWESOME!!!

This will cement Henri's place in the English popular mind, I'm sure. France and England will now, maybe, actually be ready for personal union.

[Thespitron 6000]

Autumn 1595: The Battle of London lasts for three days. Henri and his men hammer the Spanish from the east, while Shrewsbury links up with Sidney and hits the Spanish from the west. Caught between the pincers of England and France, the Spanish are thoroughly thrashed, losing thousands of men before Recalde finally surrenders, yielding his sword on October 6.

Alva pulls back towards Toulouse, but faces a new adversary in Turenne, who has come south to launch himself into the body of the Spanish invasion. Nevertheless, Alva is able to hold off the Frenchman’s attacks until the arrival of fall rains make further campaigning impossible. However, it is becoming clear that the Spanish position is becoming untenable. In Madrid, Ferdinand pushes Sebastian to put more men in the field, and sends urgent messages to Rudolf of Serbia, who, although a member of the League, has not entered the fight, not even sending troops into Germany to combat Poland and Denmark. The King of Portugal is reluctant, however, to further commit himself; only a great fool would not realize that the Prince of Asturias has almost certainly reached his high-water mark. Serbia, meanwhile is keeping an eye on the Ottomans, and is in no position to send troops anywhere. Balked on the diplomatic front, Ferdinand has to come to grips with the notion that he may need to pull Alva and his army south of the Pyrenees come spring.