Alternate Napoleon Invasion of Russia

chris N · Jan 8, 2015

The Grand Army was on the March Napoleon was making a probe into the Ukraine. The Austrians were also pushing into the Ukraine. In the North The French and Prussians were pushing toward St Petersburg and the Swedish-Finnish Army was doing the same. Intelligence indicated that the city might well fall to the allies.
Word had also come that the Ottomans were pushing northward.

chris N · Jan 9, 2015

The Swedish-French Siege of St Petersburg began in late April of 1813. The Emperor was doing it to appease the Swedes. It would create some problems for the Czar if the City that Czar Peter had founded fell into allied hands. For Sweden it would be great revenge and would secure.
Meanwhile the French-Austrian Probe into the Ukraine would hopefully force the Czar to come out and fight. Napoleon was hoping for a decisive battle so as to end the war and secure the eastern front..

Progress had been made regarding an agreement with the English. the Emperor was showing a willingness to bend to reach an agreement. What only the Emperor knew was his health was not what it once was. The strain of these many years of campaigning had taken a great strain on him. He would like to get a true peace agreement that would allow him to spend his remaining years teaching his son the art of statecraft and how to run the army.

chris N · Jan 12, 2015

The push into the Ukraine continued. There was some discussion about breaking Russia up even more by separating the Ukraine from it.
The Proclamation freeing the Serfs in Russia was something that the French Emperor was seriously considering using as it would undermine Czar Alexander even more.
French and Swedish delegation arrived in St Petersburg demanding the city's surrender.

chris N · Jan 16, 2015

Napoleon had finally decided to unleash everything by finally issuing the proclamation. The whole idea behind it was to undermine the Czar.
The Swedish and French command had demanded the surrender of St Petersburg. The city was still not totally prepared for a siege.

chris N · Jan 18, 2015

The French-allie and Swedish Armies had begun the siege of St Petersburg.
Napoleon had left the matter to Marshal MacDonald. Meanwhile his thrust into the Ukraine was aimed at not capturing cities but forcing an engagement with Czar Alexander.
Napoleon had finally pulled the Proclamation out of his pocket and issued it . It proclaimed that the serf were now free of their Russian Masters. This only started to become a problem as word of mouth reached the Serf population. Alexander was now forced to make a decision issue his own decree freeing the Serf or fact a real prospect of civil disturbances.

chris N · Jan 19, 2015

The Siege of St Petersburg was underway. Czar Alexander was now facing increasing pressure from the Nobles to do something. The French Proclamation freeing the Serfs was beginning to cause problems. There had been some skirmishing between the Russian and French-allied armies. Napoleon had taken Kiev but seemed to have little interest in keeping it. The French Emperor had reportedly been considering allowing the establishment of an independent Ukraine Kingdom with perhaps a Hapsburg King.

chris N · Jan 20, 2015

Talks between the British and the French were showing some progress. Napoleon's flexibility on the Netherlands as well as some willingness to compromise on Hanover had seen hope rising for a deal. The French delegation also hinted at an end to an embargo on trade with Great Britain.
Meanwhile the siege of St Petersburg continued.
Napoleon's Grand Army had skirmished with the Russian Army in the Ukraine.

chris N · Jan 22, 2015

The siege of St Petersburg got serious as the French put pressure from one direction while the Swedish army pounded the city from another. This put a great strain on the cities garrison. It had not been reinforced and there were not enough well trained troops in it. Most of the troops that would have been there was serving with the Czar,
The French had captured Kiev and Napoleon had turned it over to the Austrians. The Austrian Emperor was caught by surprise. Suddenly there were dreams of a Hapsburg Kingdom being set up in the Ukraine.Napoleon was well aware in doing this he was deeping the divisions between Austria and Russia. And for France this was good.

chris N · Jan 23, 2015

Czar Nicholas was well aware that the Imperial Capital was under siege
and that his enemies were making progress.
He had a very unhappy group of Nobles that were wanting him to do something. The Serfs were creating problems . leaving their estates as word arrived that the French Leader had proclaimed them all to be fre men. Then Napoleon and his damn Grand Army would appear close by and the Russians would have to lose some troops so that their man army could be safe.
Meanwhile talks between the British and French were showing progress. It appeared that the Whigs in Britain were urging the Tory government to seize the opportunity and make peace and at the same time to reach a settlement with the Americans.
The House of Orange upon learning of the deal began to lobby the British government to accept it as this would mean that they could go home to a country that would be free of France.

chris N · Jan 24, 2015

Finally word arrived from Paris that talks between the British and French had reached the point that an agreement was now possible between the two Parties. The Netherlands was to be returned to the House of Orange. Hanover was also to be turned over to a person which both the British and French could agree to. The Continental Embargo was to be ended. Trade between Europe and Britain would once again be allowed to flow.
Meanwhile the French and Swedes had both breached the defenses of St Petersburg.

chris N · Jan 25, 2015

Finally the British and French Governments signed the Treaty of Copenhagen . It upon ratification would end the state of hostilities between France and Britain, France would withdraw all forces from the Netherlands and return control of it to the House of Orange, 2nd Hanover would be turned over to a person selected by the British Government and 3rd the Continental System would be dropped allowing Free trade between Europe and Great Britain.
With the Breech of the Defenses of St Petersburg its fall was only a matter of time. Austria had lost no time making sure its gains in the Ukraine would be permanent.
Napoleon str\ill had been unable to bring Czar Alexander to the Battlefield but work was the Czar was losing support among his nobles.

chris N · Jan 27, 2015

The House of Orange had arrived in the Netherlands. Great Britain landed a small force to help train a Dutch Army . The plan was that the british force would remain for only 3 months and then gradually be reduced over the final 3 months.

chris N · Feb 6, 2015

The French Army had fought three engagements with the Russians. Unfortunately none of them had been the decisive engagement that the Emperor had been seeking. But the fact that there had been any showed that the Czar was cracking under the pressure. The Serf's were rising up and pressure was increasing on the Czar to resolve things before things got worse.
They already had with the French and Swedish forces holding St Petersburg. It was embarrassing that the city created by Czar Peter was in enemy hands..
Napoleon knew that he was running out of time for campaigning. He had chipped away at the Czar's Empire. The Baltic states were gone and he had allowed the Austrians to keep the part of the Ukraine that had been taken. The Czar was quite angry with the Austrian Emperor. It was unlikely that Napoleon would bring troops into Russia for a third campaign. so barring a Russian invasion of Poland or the Baltic states that was it. The Emperor knew something that no one else did. He was feeling poorly and doubted that he would be able to handle another campaign.
The war with the British was over. It had meant having to turn the Netherlands back to the House of Orange and restore Hanover but it was worth it. France needed peace and he needed peace to prepare his son for the job of being the next Emperor of France..
He told the American Ambassador to make peace with the British.