Since no one has screamed ASB at the last update, I'll assume it's all reasonably plausible (if anyone read it, that is). So here's the third update.
(Still on pain meds from having my appendix ripped out, so if there's any errors, I deny responsibility)
British Intervention in the Corsican Crisis, 1812-1816
The summer of 1812 proves to be a trying one for Lieutenant-General Sir Napoleon Buonaparte. Faced with invading the enormous monster that is Russia, he racks his mind for the perfect invasion, one that offers the best chance of success. Aware that his supply line would be severely tested, he suggests hugging the Baltic coastline so the Royal Navy can help with supplying. To make sure everything is done properly, he places Prussian Major-General August Neidhardt von Gneisenau in charge of supplying the invasion. Noticeably absent from either side are the Polish, refusing to fight for either of the two armies since both had earlier partitioned Poland. Napoleon knows that he must take St. Petersburg before late January to avoid the freezing of the Gulf of Finland. Russian Field Marshall Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly knows that he cannot stand against the Allied army, but Tsar Alexander I forces him to either fight or relieve himself of command. Against his better judgment, he meets the Allied army at Riga (July 2, 1812). Reinforced by conscripts, the Russian army numbers around 360,000 troops, compared to the 275,000 of the Allies. The Battle of Riga was a decisive Allied victory, and also the bloodiest battle in the British invasion of Russia. The casualties were worse in the long run for the Allies, because the Russian casualties could easily be replaced from their massive population. Alexander I replaces Barclay with Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, who promises to defeat the invading army in what the Russians now term The Great Patriotic War. Napoleon continues toward St. Petersburg with the Royal Navy just offshore, full of supplies. The Royal Navy, back under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson, now 1st Viscount Nelson and 1st Duke of Bronté, continues to be wary of naval attacks, but after the Battle of the Baltic, the French and Russian navies are of little threat. Napoleon’s forces enter St. Petersburg on September 27th, 1812. Expecting to find Alexander I offering terms of the Russian surrender, he is shocked to find the Russian capital almost deserted. Word soon reaches his army that Alexander I ordered the evacuation of St. Petersburg and has moved his capital to the historical city of Moscow. Without any city officials to organize the feeding and lodging of the soldiers, the Allied soldiers are forced to find their own. Looting and fires soon followed, although they were stopped in short order. With his army of 190,000 camped in the former capital, Napoleon makes the decision to follow Alexander I to Moscow with 100,000 troops (leaving 90,000 in garrison at St. Petersburg) and hopefully put an end to this war. Attacking Moscow is easier said than done, as soon found out by Napoleon and his army. Infused with a massive amount of conscripts, Kutuzov’s army, numbering 330,000, holds Moscow and fights off the Allied army (October 4, 1812). The Allied defeat is due less to the Russian’s leadership or fighting ability as to the ineptness of Austrian Field Marshal Karl Mack von Leiberich, whose incompetence led to a failed assault on Moscow. Field Marshal von Leiberich died in the battle, leading Napoleon to replace him with Prussian Carl von Clausewitz, newly promoted to Lieutenant-General. The Austrians are far from content with this arrangement, but are pacified when their new general proves to be an unconditionally better leader than the late Field Marshal von Leiberich. For six days, Napoleon’s army retreats back to the relatively safe haven of St. Petersburg, fighting the entire way. The Six Days’ Campaign (October 7-12, 1812), as it would soon be called, proved to be the finest of the general’s campaigns. The Battles of Tver, Rzhev, and Novgorod in particular are instantly legendary as Napoleon inflicts massive casualties in the neighborhood of 25,000 on the much larger Russian army, compared to less than 1,500 for the Allied forces. Once at St. Petersburg, Napoleon regroups with the rest of his command only to find that reinforcements have arrived, in the form of Arthur Wellesley and 160,000 fresh troops. At the head of the approaching Russian army is Field Marshal Kutuzov, with Tsar Alexander I beside him to watch the invaders thrown back into the Gulf of Finland. In the ensuing battle, the Allied forces under Wellesley, Buonaparte, von Blücher, and von Clausewitz inflict massive losses upon the Russian army, the two most notable of which are Mikhail Kutuzov and Alexander I. With their army now headless, and having lost almost half their force, the Russians flee in disorder, leaving the march to Moscow wide open. The Allied forces put the eighteen year old brother of Alexander I, Nicolai, now Nicholas I, on the throne of Russia (October 24, 1812). The Treaty of St. Petersburg imposes harsh penalties on the Russians, the biggest of which is the annexation of Poland to Prussia and Austria and of Alaska to the British. General Sir Arthur Wellesley and Lieutenant-General Sir Napoleon Buonaparte return to Great Britain as heroes, Wellesley receiving the Dukedom of Wellington and Buonaparte ennobled as the 1st Duke of Exeter. The Congress of Vienna is held a few months later (February 1813). The main task for the congress is to redefine the borders of Europe. France’s borders are decided to be its pre-1792 border and Russia’s border is reduced to its pre-First Partition of Poland border, with Prussia and Austria assuming control of all Poland, under the banner of the Holy Roman Empire. First Consul Sieyès is exiled to the Island of Elba, where his socialist ideas will hopefully be buried. The Congress of Vienna ends in June 1814.
Note: In OTL, the War of 1812 was fought by the Americans and the British for three main reasons. 1) Trade restrictions imposed by Great Britain between America and Napoleonic France, 2) Impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy, 3) Indian raids supplied by the British. ITTL, there are no trade restrictions, because England is not at war with France 1804-late 1808. No reason for impressment either, for the same reason. Great Britain supplying Indians with materials for raids is still present, but not enough reason to go to war. So no Burning of the White House, and no Battle of New Orleans. Anglo-American relations are gradually improving.
After the Congress of Vienna, King Fredrick I appoints Field Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley) as ambassador to France following the Bourbon Restoration. General His Grace the Duke of Exeter (Napoleon Buonaparte) lives a quiet life at his estates, watching his children (son, Joseph born 1807, son, Charles born 1808, daughter, Elizabeth born 1813) grow. The Holy Roman Empire under Francis II is now the dominant power on the Continent, and rumor has it that he plans to invade the Italian Peninsula in order to legitimize his Holy “Roman” Empire. Louis XVIII has angered almost every citizen in France, refusing to listen to the elected Senate before disbanding them and imposing taxes on tobacco, wine and salt in order to pay off the 75 million franc debt inherited from First Consul Sieyès. Another Revolution in France seems imminent unless something can be done to persuade Louis XVIII that an absolute monarchy is untenable (June 1816).
. Good work William, I'm enjoying this TL.