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.
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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