Should the President be able to be re-elected in consecutive terms?

  • Yes

    Votes: 24 96.0%
  • No

    Votes: 1 4.0%

  • Total voters
    25
  • Poll closed .
So the war started do to both sides not know what the other was up to and what side of the 49th they were on, Britain has to keep an eye on Europe while all this is going on, Lincoln is off to fight, and Grant and Lee are becoming friends. The Oregon War is off to a great start.

Now to get down to brass tacks, for the US to do its best in this war it need to take advantage of speed. The US does have a larger population and a much shorter supply line, but Britain has a better over all army at the moment. Given time the US can become thier equal (and Texas can be used to keep supplies coming if Britain gets a blockade going), but the sooner the US occupies Canada and sets up an independent Quebec,* the sooner Britain will come to the table. Either a modified Carolus plan, or the one Grant put forward should do the job, but the US needs to move.

Item two, you hint at something interesting when you say Grant and Lee form a life long friendship. Now it is possible the in the coming civil war each go there seperate ways and then make up (If memory serves Grant and Longstreet weren't on bad terms after the war), but it may be possible Lee sides with the north in your timeline. I'll wait and see myself, but I expect something more than just drinking buddies to come of this.**

Anywho, good updates.

*You said something about plotters going to Washington, and it'll give the US a good ally while relations with Texas are in the dumps. Plus it is probably easier than annexing the thing.
**Although I'm sure President Johnson wouldn't mind them coming to The President's Pub and buying a few rounds.

Rest assured that both Grant and Lee will have a deeper friendship than just being drinking buddies who reminisce over old war stories (though you have given me inspiration to write a fun little narrative of the President's Pub). I have extremely big plans for Lee ITL that will result out of a huge incident that will take place shortly after Fort Sumter. Not only will this change Lee's role but it will also create an entirely different civil war than what we saw in OTL, besides Texas not joining the Confederacy this time around.

Also in reference to your ideas of Quebec I'll have a narrative focusing on the US's plans for Quebec and Canada as a whole. Also just because Lamar and Johnson butted heads over annexation it doesn't mean that United States-Texas relations are horrible. Most Texans still look at the United States favorably as their sort of motherland while Americans look at Texas as its sort of wild little cousin. Relations are somewhat cool between the two governments but it's only going to go up from here.

Here is a sneak peek for my plan for the rest of the week: Vive le Quebec (narrative), Chapter 35 Liberation of Lombardy, Chapter 36 The Border Wars.
 
Rest assured that both Grant and Lee will have a deeper friendship than just being drinking buddies who reminisce over old war stories (though you have given me inspiration to write a fun little narrative of the President's Pub). I have extremely big plans for Lee ITL that will result out of a huge incident that will take place shortly after Fort Sumter. Not only will this change Lee's role but it will also create an entirely different civil war than what we saw in OTL, besides Texas not joining the Confederacy this time around.
A look in at the Presidents Pub, when the time comes for that I look forward to it. I'm also genuinely curious about your alternate Civil War and the run up to it (still haven't figured out your South's plan to get more slave states yet). I know all will be reveled in time, but the hints you keep dropping are just enough to keep me trying to figure it out.

Also in reference to your ideas of Quebec I'll have a narrative focusing on the US's plans for Quebec and Canada as a whole. Also just because Lamar and Johnson butted heads over annexation it doesn't mean that United States-Texas relations are horrible. Most Texans still look at the United States favorably as their sort of motherland while Americans look at Texas as its sort of wild little cousin. Relations are somewhat cool between the two governments but it's only going to go up from here.
I thought I remembered you saying US Texas relations would be in the dumps (more so than this) for awhile. Oh well, I'll admit when I'm wrong. Glad to know relations are better than I thought, and as always looking forward to what comes next.
 
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Here is a sneak peek for tomorrow's update

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Banner of the Patriotic Order of Saint Jean Baptiste
 
Lone Star Special: Vive le Quebec
Vive le Quebec

August 1st, 1846. Washington D.C. 9:00 A.M

As of right now Washington was in a gloomy mood as a huge storm had come in last night that had continued to day. Most of the businesses and pedestrians were currently staying inside their homes away from work, the opposite could be said to be true of President William Harrison who had to bring work to his home. Harrison was as of right now in the oval office looking over various plans the War Department had given him. It had been a week and a half since he asked congress to declare war on the United Kingdom and since then himself and the Chiefs of Staff had been racing frantically to implement the Carolus plan as soon as possible. Already word had been spread that there were skirmishes taking place on the border and that the British garrisons were now mobilizing to meet the American invasion. While reports seemed to indicate that Army Group West and the Oregon forces had been making considerable gains against the Canadians, Army Groups Central-New York-Maine had yet to enter Canadian territory yet and were expected to face fierce resistance from like the War of 1812. While the Americans were overall prepared thanks to Harrison's reforms, he knew that time was of the essence since there was only an estimated 4-5 months that they had before Britain made the first retaliatory strikes through a possible invasion. As of right now they were also focused on Europe but unless something happened such as say German Unification, then they would unleash the might of the empire against America. The situation was so desperate that William Harrison was seriously considering traveling to Army Group New York in order to personally command the invasion of Quebec. While no President had lead a military force in office since Washington, Harrison had more than enough qualification from his time fighting Tecumseh and the British in the War of 1812. As they said if you want a job done sometimes you just gotta do it yourself.

Speaking of Quebec, the Secretary of War William Marcy and Vice President Daniel Webster had just made their way into the Oval Office for a meeting that was about to take place with representatives from some organization called the Patriotic Order of Saint Jean Baptiste. 'Probably nothing more than a bunch of over dramatic performers like those Masonry the Founding Fathers were so obsessed with.' In Harrison's first months in officer he received word from the Secretary of State Francis Granger that apparently in the previous Johnson administration the US had formed secret ties with the order. Unofficially they didn't exist to the Canadian government as they were a secret militant side of the Society of Saint Jean Baptiste, a Francophile group of politicians and intellectuals within Canada that had taken up the mantle of Parti Patriote after they were forcefully disbanded in the wake of the Lower Canada Rebellion. According to Granger these men were remnants of the Parti Patriote that had spent their time in the shadows organizing a future rebellion, actively looking towards the US for support. They had first come into contact with the United States when they approached a New York representative on the issue who acted as a middle man between them and President Johnson, since then they had discretely received funds as well as arms from smuggling operations over the border through the Fenian's. Personally, Harrison didn't believe these men to be worth the attention of the Presidency and Department of State, but he did hold a strong hatred for the British so he supported any action that would give them an headache across the border. Now though these men were making themselves known and wanted to help in the Oregon War. 'If they supply troops and help us gain the support of the population that's fine and all but we better get something out of this damn meaning. I could be using the time to meet with the army or congress.'

Right after that thought, Secretary Granger came in with the two representatives from the Order. One of theme being dressed in robes that would suggest the profession of a Catholic priest, and the other being a man dressed in a New England business suit with a top hat. Harrison then promptly gave put the war plans in his desk lest the representatives be spies, and then proceeded to greet them, "Gentlemen welcome to the White House. I am President William Harrison and these two men right beside me are Secretary of War William Marcy and Vice President Daniel Webster. It's a great privilege for us to meet fellow supporters of democracy and enemies of London." The priest then chose to speak up, "Hello Mr. President, I am Father Xavier Marois and this is my colleague Doctor Matthew Cumberbatch." "A pleasure to be here Mr. President. We come here as representatives of the Patriotic Order and would like to speak to you on an issue of the upmost importance, the liberation of our dear nation of Quebec against Victoria the tyrant." 'So these people are real after all.' "Alright men I have a war to run so could you please sit down and then we can quickly get to business." All of the men present within the room promptly sat down with Harrison sitting at the Oval desk while the US cabinet and Order members sat across from each other in the sofas in the middle of the office.

"First off gentlemen before we begin I would like to know just how you managed to make your way across the border. After all, all crossings were under heavy patrol by men of both armies and I would think that you would get shot by the redcoats for acting as spies," asked Webster. "Ah Mr. Vice President you probably assume we are some kind of spies. I can assure that we are no such thing. While this is our first time here in America, both Father Xavier and I have kept regular correspondence with our contacts in the State department so we aren't exactly unknown." "This is true Mr. President, I have seen some of their letters come to my office so they are high ranking members," said Granger. "You see the reason we have managed to come here before the war is due to our respective professions. Xavier as a priest is given freedom to travel across national borders while I as a Doctor traveled here using the excuse of a smallpox outbreak in a nearby border town. In addition we both have circumstances that keep our allegiances away from London. Father Xavier of course swears fealty to Rome firstly so he has no love for Victoria. As for myself I am descended from old American loyalists who escaped to Quebec after the Revolution, not because we were diehard supporters of George but because my grandfather was a foolish man who thought the revolution could not succeed. My family has helped the American army during the War of 1812 and have still maintained ties to some of our relatives across the border." "Alright then we can trust you, though I do wish to know what your objectives are." "You see Mr. President we were sent here for one purpose and one purpose only. That is to seek full support for an independent nation of Quebec," stated Xavier.

With that revelation it was clear what the meeting was now about, the main issue still remained on whether or not America would fund this new nation. "While the idea of taking another crackshot at the British Empire is exciting, as Secretary of War I would like to remind you that we are presenting this war first and foremost as a fight for our rightful territory of Oregon. That in and of itself is going to be a large demand to try and negotiate for even if we do successfully manage to conquer all of Canada. So I need to know whether or not you can actually bring anything to the table or I'll walk out of this room right now." "Calm down Bill," said Granger. "If there's one thing that Britian doesn't want that's a second American Revolution. Sure they may try and bring divisions of men to try and defeat us but if they have to deal with a an entire colony that's in rebellion then the public will force them to come to the tables initially. The only reason these people failed in the first place is due to the fact that they were scattered, disorganized, and had no external support from us. Now if we were to use the army in coordination with the rebels then we can control the entire country. After all what's the point of keeping a colony if their people will hate you for generations." "What Secretary Granger said is correct Mr. Marcy. And I don't think that you need to necessarily worry about the extent of our capabilities. We have thousands of men sworn to the cause and are ready to rise up if we receive the proper call," said Cumberatch. 'THOUSANDS! Clearly this is more well planned than I ever imagined.'

"How is it possible that you managed to raise up a force so big?" "You see Mr. President within Quebec there is little cause of love for the British. Many of my fellow countrymen and men of faith died in the hundreds when the redcoats where sent in to quell the rebellions a decade ago. So far unlike your nation or Texas, Canada has not yet become a popular destination for immigrants, leaving the country homogeneous. Much like Father Hidalgo of Mexico, many of the men in the archdiocese are working within the parishes to covertly encourage sedition against the British. We have also been recruiting members who joined through official channels in the SSJB. The only reason your men will face any difficulty invading the country is due to the large amount of soldiers and the loyalists who harshly remember the previous war such as the sack of Toronto." 'Ah yes, not one of our finest moments unfortunately.' "However, if you make this into a war of liberation instead of annexation like the last fight, then there is no doubt that the people of Quebec will rise into arms with their American cousins. We only ask that you may conquer Montreal or Quebec City so that the people will know this time that Independence is within reach." "Well gentlemen you clearly have grabbed our attention, just what are your demands," asked Webster. "No matter the outcome we desire a free and independent Quebec. We will not shed bled for greater autonomy. A republic, nothing less. Secondly, we want favorable status with the United States. While you may have fears that we will turn to France the recent revolution has proven that the home country is highly unstable, so we ask to become your first allies. This would include a common defense pact, U.S bases within our borders, low tariffs or a possible free trade agreement, and if we do so manage to gain greater concessions then the annexation of Newfoundland, Acadia, or Ontario," proclaimed Cumberbatch. 'Interesting, very interesting. If we do manage to make this successful then we shall have acquired a great ally to the north. If we manage to get closer to Texas then this ensures a complete domination of North America. Forever securing our nation from the Brits.' "These are all somewhat reasonable demands. What I would like to know though is the status of the rest of Canada, if this war becomes too bloody then the American people will demand for more lands, as their leader I will have to oblige by this request first." "This is very understandable Mr. President, your armies are going to be doing the heavy work so we can compromise for now. All of Rupert's Land shall go under your sovereignty with possible negotiations over Ontario. What I need from you though is a promise that Quebec's liberation will come first before America gains more territory after you gain Quebec."

'This, this could work' "
So gentlemen, I have your guarantee that after we liberate Quebec City or Montreal then your people will rise?" "Yes Mr. President, just take the cities and then the order will send out riders much like Paul Revere to bring out the call for Revolution," replied Xavier. "Well gentlemen this sounds like a venture that I, and in extension the American people would love to go forward with. First however I will need the approval of my staff. Should we go forward with this grand crusade?" "Mr. President as a New Englander I can full heartedly say that anything that will get the Brits off our borders is a blessing to the American people. I would love to go on a vacation to a Republic of Quebec with my family one day," replied Webster. "While this may have to require some substantial changes among our current plans I'm sure the generals would agree to this idea. Any group that can support our boys in the field will be welcome comrades in arms, you have the army's support," stated Macy. "If all goes well on the battlefield then I can assure you that I can make this a success on the field of diplomacy. Our reports from Europe indicate that vast changes are currently underway and since the Hannoverians are so obsessed with keeping the balance then they will place their attention in the Old World rather than new. Create a quick enough conquest along with a prolonged European conquest, then we will be offered very generous terms. I give my full support and will make sure the United States will be the first nation to recognize a free Quebec," answered Granger. William Harrison then looked back to the representatives whose faces now betrayed themselves with looks of glee. "Well that settles that. The Oregon War shall no longer be just a conflict of Manifest Destiny, rather a righteous crusade for freedom and liberty against our common oppressors. Vive le Quebec as you people would say."
 
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Will this timeline run into 2016/2017?

Yes I will continue the timeline until modern day. I do have an issue of which year to exactly end it though, if I should do it at either 2017 or continue the TL to 2036 for Texas's Bicenntennial. I even have plans to continue this timeline all the way into the 23rd century with a separate story as the first ever sequel timeline in alternatehistory.com to take place in the far future. Though after this reaches modern day I'll take a break no matter what and focus on a ASB or After 1900 TL. Currently working on Chapter 35 and will post in a few hours.
 

Deleted member 82792

Yes I will continue the timeline until modern day. I do have an issue of which year to exactly end it though, if I should do it at either 2017 or continue the TL to 2036 for Texas's Bicenntennial. I even have plans to continue this timeline all the way into the 23rd century with a separate story as the first ever sequel timeline in alternatehistory.com to take place in the far future. Though after this reaches modern day I'll take a break no matter what and focus on a ASB or After 1900 TL. Currently working on Chapter 35 and will post in a few hours.
That's good. I like the idea of the Texas Bicenntennial and another TL set in the future. Let me know if you need any ideas.
 
Chapter 35 Liberation of Lombardy
Chapter 35 Liberation of Lombardy

"The Italian Army is one of the finest armed forces in all of the world. For the past seventy years we have acted as the elite legions of Rome, uniting all of our people and establishing dominance across the Mediterranean. With the success of the Tenth Crusade we have become defenders of the holy land. France and Germany may take us on, but they'll have to go through hell if they want to get anywhere near Rome."- Field Marshal Luigi Cadorna 1916
"Come my brothers! Abandon your Austrian oppressors and join us in the grand crusade to unite all of Italia."- Giuseppe Garibaldi 1846
"Day 36. The Italians refuse to abandon the siege and are constantly bombarding us with artillery fire every hour. Their ranks grow more and more everyday as all of Italy seems to fall in bed within the leauge. Half of the time the Italians we're fighting aren't even outside but within the walls, with the populace growing more agitated every day. I would pray to God but it seems the Holy Father is on Italy's side."- Captain Erich Maximoff 1846

At the start of the Lombard-Venetian War of Independence both sides were evenly matched against each other. The professional troops of the Italian league comprised of over 115,000 men with the greatest portion being from Sardinia-Piedmont who contributed over 50,000 of these armed forces. While the Italians could draw from large sources of manpower they were not the most professional or elite force within Europe, that distinction going to Prussia and Great Britain. In addition very few soldiers were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars and while they were united in the cause of a united Italy there was still many regional divisions within command and the cooperation of the troops. On the side of the Austrian army was a 100,000 men force led by Josef Radetzky. On paper the Austrians were superior with their large pool of officers, heavy amount of artillery and rifles, and large amount of veterans from the Napoleonic Wars. Had the war been going at any other time the Austrians would have succeeded but with the beginning taking place in 1846, the empire was currently under much strife with revolution. Across the army mass insubordination took place as Hungarians withdrew to their homeland, democrats refused to fire a shot against revolutionaries, and the Italian troops flocked to the rebel banners en mass with an estimated 10,000 soldiers defecting to the league in the conflict. With Austria being multi-national there were many different languages that were spoken through the enlisted ranks which made communications and orders quite difficult. For now in the beginning it was a race against time to see who could take the tactical advantage in Northern Italy first, the Italian organization of their forces, or Austria successfully suppressing its dissident forces.

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King Charles Albert of Sardinia-Piedmont (Right) Giuseppe Garibaldi (Center) Josef Radetzky (Left)

The first side to take decisive action in the war was the Piedmontese with their main army under the personal command of King Charles Albert. On April 4th the Piedmontese vanguard entered into the city of Milan where they liberated the head of the revolution much to the delight of the native Italian populace. From there a main base of operations was established with Piedmontese forces rolling in the surrounding countryside to liberate it from what little Austrian resistance there was left. For the next month the Piedmontese army waited in Milan as the rest of the Kingdom mobilized in order to enlarge the army and be prepared for a possible prolonged war. The reason for this lull in advance was due to the desire to continue Italian resistance within Austrian occupied lands, with more people joining the movement as the revolutionaries in Milan under Garibaldi continued to spread their rhetoric. Further east the Papal armies and those of Tuscany, Parma, and Modena, were securing the borders and slowly moving into Lombardy in order to apply the same strategy. The main goal of the Papal army along with Sicilian reinforcements at the time was to make slow advances in order to connect a supply line with the Republic of San Marco, both forces waited for an advance in order for their respective nations to mobilize as the distances where longer in the two kingdoms. The Austrian army during all this did not sit idly by and chose to consolidate their main citadels at the Quadrilatero. West and North of Venetia, Radetzky was busy dealing with Italian movements in Tyrol and Slovenia, due to the role of the Italian populations as minorities these uprising were quickly quelled. Despite the difficulties faced by Radetzky with the ongoing unrest in Austria he was able to consolidate their positions and receive reinforcements from the Austrian side of the empire, primarily the Slavs from Bohemia and Slovakia. During the first month many skirmishes and small battles took place on the front lines with most initial victories going to the Austrian forces.

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Borders of War at the end of April 1846. Italian territory in Green, Austrian in Red.

As May began each side took to the offensive in order to gain the initial momentum of the war and prevent a full invasion of their lands. The Piedmontese marched eastward with the objectives of the fortresses of Verona and Peschiera in their mind. The Austrians diverted their forces to meet the Piedmontese advance in order to retake Milan. Both sides met success and defeat as the Piedmontese won the battle of Pastrengo where they managed to overwhelm the Austrian army in a 4:1 superiority, after this the left flank of the Piedmontese army diverted there forces to Peschiera in order to siege the fort. Another army led by Charles Albert made its way further east in order to assault the fortress of Verona to consolidate the north. On May 6th the Piedmontese assaulted Verona with both sides having an army of 33,000, resulting in much failure due to the main force of the Austrian army being stationed in the fort as well as the positioning of multiple canons across the walls to deflect all Piedmontese attacks. The assaults where a disaster with 385 Piedmonts KIA, 776 WIA, and 421 POW. The Austrians overall suffered lighter casualties with 110 KIA and 292 WIA. Among the side of the Austrian defenders was Archduke Franz Joseph. After the assaults failed and the Piedmontese retreated, Radetzky lead the Austrians to charge in order to push the Italians back and win some much needed morale for the Austrian army. What resulted was the Battle of Mincio on May 8th with the Austrian army advancing en mass on the Piedmontese troops in an organized and multi-flank charge, pushing them across the Mincio river. The Piedmontese suffered more casualties with 560 KIA, 808 WIA, and 444 POW; Austria having a casualty list of 197 KIA, and 252 WIA. With Western Venetia now secured Radetzky had raised the morale of his troops considerably and continued moving west to free Peschiera from siege and capture Milan, afterwords he would turn southwards and eliminate the Papal presence outside the fortress of Mantova to cut off access to San Marco. For the next twenty days each side played a game of cat and mouse until the Battle of Curatone on May 28th where the Piedmontese were once again pushed backwards after another Austrian defeat. Radetzky cornered Charles Albert and his forces around the city of Goito on May 30th. Here the Austrians advanced but were unable to overcome the Piedmontese as they had set up defensive positions at this location within the last month and had a superior artillery advantage. Near the evening the Austrians had managed to break through the left flank when Italian reinforcements had come from the South led by General Julius Veneziano of the Papal States in coordination with additional brigades from the Sicilies. With the arrival of reinforcements the Italians were able to fill the gaps in its defenses and push the Austrians back behind their starting lines. Radetzky chose to retreat the next day when word came that both the forts of Verona and Mantova had surrendered to the Italian forces. The Battle of Goito was the first major victory for Italians of the war as while they had taken heavier casualties with 634 KIA along with 506 WIA compared to Austria's 268 KIA, 324 WIA and 135 POW; they had managed to strategically push the Austrians out of Lombardy permanently and regain the offensive momentum.

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Battle of Goito (Right). Borders of War at the end of May 1846

For all of June the allied Italian armies continued to overrun much of Venetia with the aid of tens of thousands of volunteer revolutionaries who joined their ranks. The Italians gained another substantial victory at the Battle of Cuzstoza on June 9th where they had broken up an Austrian gathering to counterattack into Lombardy and had inflicted enormous casualties with over 2,000 Austrian casualties compared to the Italians 754. Towards the end of the month the Austrians were pushed back across the Adige river with the forts of Verona and Legnago being actively siege while the Romans and sicilians were pushing actively into Venice with the Ventian revolutionaries encouraging cities across the Kingdom to rise up in revolt and head west in order to link up with the Western Italian armies, resulting in the remaining half of the Quadrilatero being encircled with over 50,000 Austrians cut off from greater forces. At sea meanwhile a great armada of the Italian league had formed with over 100 ships being directed by Sicilian Admiral Romano Girardelli. The Italian fleet had been assembled over the past two months within Naples and made their way towards the Adriatic where they would make an effective blockade with the Austrians. This would have a huge longterm strategic impact on the war as the Unification of Germany under Prussia three months later would essentially cut off Austria from most of the outside world. With the uprisings in Venice many of the Austrian navy defected to the Italian cause while the remainder was essentially destroyed in the Battle of Istria where a 50 ship strong fleet of the Italians basically crushed all but 3 of the remaining 22 Austrian forces in port. Unintentionally the blockade of Austria would also help the Austrian cause as Croatia swore their loyalties to Vienna, causing their ports to be actively blockaded.

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Battle of Castoza (Right) Battle of Istria (Center) Borders of War at the end of June 1846 (Left)

July became the greatest success for the Italians in the early stages of the war as Radetzky retreated with the remaining 35,000 forces of the Austrian army under his command after suffering a string of defeats in Lombardy, facing multiple assaults from the Ventian civilian population daily, and under active blockade from the Italian navies. After hearing word of the retreat of their main commander the forts of Verona and Legnano surrendered on July 7th and 9th respectively. The rest of the month was dedicated to liberating the remainder of the Kingdom of Venice and finally linking up with the young republic of San Marco. All of Venetia would be consolidated and the Italians would gain more volunteers flock to their armies in numerous numbers. With their main goals achieved a peace offer was sent to Emperor Ferdinand on July 21st with the offer of a cease fire until a decisive treaty would be signed where Austria would relinquish control of its Italian territories to the league, the reason no decisive terms were offered yet being due to the disagreement on which nation the countries would go to. Unfortunately Ferdinand would refuse to back down as until then the Frankfurt Parliament was still ongoing and Hungary had not yet rebelled. Wanting to gain more glory and power for Sardinia-Piedmont, Charles Albert had ordered the Piedmontese to advance into Austria proper in order to gain control of the remaining Italian territories for the purpose of total unification. This was done against the advice of Garibaldi and Pope Pius as they both wished to consolidate control of their main objectives and wait until the Austrians would enter negotiations. Charles Albert turned them off and continued onwards with his Piedmontese Army with small reinforcements from the other member states of the coalition who had stayed behind to fortify the region. The advance into Austria commenced on August 1st, and unlike the previous engagements, was a failure for the Italian army. The reason for this being was due to Radetzky consolidating his forces within the last month and finally receiving total support from Austria after the main revolutions in Vienna had died down. In addition Sardinia was taking on the role of a foreign invader as they were advancing unto lands with German or Slavic majorities, earning little cooperation from the local populations. Three decisive battles were fought with the Battles of Tyrol, Istria and Ljublana from August 6th-10th. All of which resulted in Austrian victories with the Piedmontese forces being overrun and pushed backwards due to poor knowledge of the terrain as well as poor coordination against the well organized Austrian defense. The Piedmontese took over 8,000 casualties out of their 60,000 soldiers in this campaign while the Austrians only took 5,000 out of 55,000. The Piedmontese were pursued back all the way to Venetian lines with the Austrians in pursuit hoping for a counterattack which would give them an entrance back into the peninsula. While at first they were successful the Austrians had met fierece resistance from the rest of the league's armies in the Battle of Udine on August 17th where the Italians under the command of Garibaldi held a united line against the Austrian attack force, standing off multiple assaults and barraging the Austrians with large amounts of artillery. The Austrians thereafter were driven back across the province of Udine to the border with Austria on August 24th where both sides would be in a state of stalemate for the next month. The campaign into Austria was a huge strategic blunder for King Charles Albert as it added to his string of defeats against the Austrians and made him seem like a weak general. On the other hand Pope Pius used the Papal occupation of Venice to venture out to the front lines and liberated territory in order to greet with the revolutionaries and congratulate them on their victories agaisnt the Austrian oppressors. With the Catholic Church actively giving out aid to refugees and praising the holiness of Pius's cause, it strengthened Pius's position as head of Italian unification and made him a hero of all of Italy. The remainder of the war would remain static until October 1846 where the Italians would once again go on the offensive in order to decisively defeat Austria in response to German Unification as well as Hungary's revolt for independence.

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Complete Italian control of Lombardy-Venetia in August 1846 (Right) Pope Pius meeting with revolutionaries and Italian General (Center) Austrian Cavalry at Battle of Ljulbana (Left)
 
Chapter 36 The Border Wars
Chapter 36 The Border Wars

"What do those idiots think they're doing?! We cannot possibly invade Texas... at least not now."- Presidente Valentin Gomez Farias 1846
"Men, we may have once been Mexicanos but no longer do we owe allegiance down south. I am a Texan and I shall die one." Sargent Carlos Fernandez 1846
"Based on my time down south the Republic of the Rio Grande looks to be a complete and utter disaster. The central government has very little power over the people with outlaws and Indians roaming the countryside as they see fit. While they may act as a buffer to Texas now in the future they will become a hindrance. Mark my words the Rio Grande will not survive in twenty years."- Sam Houston 1846

For the previous two years the Republic of Texas had been relative uneventful in terms of domestic events with President Lamar continuing much of his policies that he had created in his first term. This peace continued until early summer of 1846 when the border wars occurred. After word spread about the January Revolution to the nation of Mexico there was a large divide on how exactly to proceed with these new revelations. Several revanchist congressmen and governors wished to use this as a opportunity to declare war on Texas now that they no longer had the support of France. A small minority of liberals under Farias wished instead to ignore Texas and focus on continuing the development of Mexico. Since the end of the Civil War Mexico had been slowly recovering but was no where near the power she previously had in 1835. The new Federal constitution had granted large amounts of autonomy and self-rule to the state governments, essentially turning Mexico into a Confederation. Farias repeatedly advised the governors not to attack Texas and instead focus on internal development of their own states, yet all of these attempts failed and the Governors went through there plot anyway, with Farias powerless to stop it. The attacks began on May 1st the Veracruz militia along with help from Oaxca launched a direct attack on the province of Tabasco in order to bring it back into the fold of Mexico. This attack was later followed the next day with a group of Central Mexican states under the leadership of Zacatecas moving into the Rio Grande, followed by a Sonora expedition moving to California. When word reached Texas the army was once again mobilized, with volunteers flocking to defend the Republic once more along with the remnants of the French army currently stationed in Texas to honor their pact. War had begun.

Sonora-California: In order to deal with the events of the border wars on land from least to most important we must first discuss the often overlooked California War of the Border Wars. The reason most outside of California forget about its existence is due to the relatively low key nature of the theater with Sonora diverting most of its troops to an invasion of nearby Chihuahua. Still an expedition of around 750 offered to reclaim California from the Texans which would be led by Major Luis Fernando. From its onset the expedition met much trouble as they had to march across hundreds of miles of dessert with a long chain of supply (designated in secondary importance to Chihuahua) and the onset of attacks by Apache Indians who were hostile to this new army which was passing into their territory. By the time they had fully crossed the border a full 24 members of the expedition had died due to heat and attacks by the Apache. The group had two options to attack, Santa Fe or Los Angeles. The latter was chosen in order to cut off Texas from the Pacific as well as the supposed probability of success due to the Mexican army believing that they would be welcomed as liberators. While they would have arrived undetected, their plan was caught on when a platoon of 24 Texan rangers had arrived under the command of the Walker brothers approximately 50 miles northwest of modern day Tucson, Arizona. The Texas Rangers were alerted by their Navajo allies (who had joined the Indian Commission Initiative 5 years earlier) that a large Mexican force was making its way across the desert. The rangers sent out the Walker brothers to confirm these sightings which they did on June 5th following a skirmish which resulted in 5 Mexicans killed and one ranger wounded. The rangers swiftly rode west in order to spread word to Monterrey and alert them of the oncoming Mexican force, while sending a message to Austin in order to alert them of the invasion. On June 20th the Mexican force had arrived outside of Monterrey and began to besiege it, demanding that the Tejano population surrender and overturn the garrison. Much to their shock the Tejanos of Monterrey were near unanimous in rejecting the Mexican offer by signing a full petition that stated that they were citizens of Texas and would never surrender to the Mexican force. Angrily Major Fernando tore up the paper and planned to target the town for an assault on June 28th. Fortunately on the 27th reinforcements from the French garrison had arrived from San Diego and Los Angeles, which the Mexicans did not expect due to the ongoing situation in France. What occurred was the Battle of Monterrey where the well trained French force under the combined command of Colonel Joseph Petain, along with the Texas garrison led by Colonel Frank Johnson, launched an assault into the Mexican camp and used the French cavalry to surround and entrap the army. The battle was a clear Texan/French victory with the combined armies suffering 38 KIA and 44 WIA. The Mexicans suffered 62 KIA along with 75 WIA, with the rest being taken prisoner. Major Fernando surrendered and was forced to retreat back to Sonora with all of the troops under his command swearing an oath to never take arms against the Republic of Texas again or they would be executed. Afterwords half of the French forces went to the border where they would watch over it for the remainder of the Border Wars. California was now safe and firmly in Texan hands.

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Battle of Monterrey

Yucatan Theater: The Veracruz militia under Governor Javier Torano had launched the invasion into the Yucatan not to completely conquer the nation but retake the states of Tobasco and Chiapas. He knew from the Guatemala War that the Yucatan was a force to be reckoned with and could not entirely be conquered with their aggressive and patriotic Mayan population. Instead he focused on the bordering two states as they had the largest ratio of Hispanics to Natives within the Republic. A combined force of around 1500 Mexican millitia had gathered in Veracruz and launched an official invasion of Tobasco in order to capture the capitol of Villahermosa. Meanwhile a force of 1,000 men from Oxaca launched a similar invasion into Chiapas in order to capture of Tuxtla. At first both forces were successful in their aims and had defeated all Yucatan border forces who had tried to stop their advances, resulting in a siege of the Capitols around May 10th. The Yucatan however would not sit idly by and had General Santiago Iman once again mobilize the army to meet the current threat. An overall impressive force of around 20,000 soldiers had gathered, with the majority of volunteers once again coming from the Mayans who had flocked to the military in order to repulse the Creole invasion of their homeland. While this was going on some minor rebellions in the former Central American states had erupted by Creole Patriots. The 5000 stationed French troops were dispatched in order to quell the revolt by President Barbachano as he did not want Yucatan to fight Yucatan. When the French arrived they had dispatched the rebels with relative ease as they were already overwhelmed by the empowered Mayan population who had bitterly fought against them to retain their rights. Back to the border zones the Yucatan had arrived on June 3rd with the 20,000 army being split in half to relieve both sieges. In the resulting battles of Villahermosa and Tuxtla, the Yucatan overwhelmed and broke the Mexican militias as their troops were far more experienced with the Mayan battalions fighting in a savage ferver. The Mexicans had taken over 1,260 casualties in both battles with the rest becoming prisoners, while the Yucatan had suffered combined casualties of 391 men. Once the Mexicans were driven off and the border was secure the Yucatan were not done. In order to teach Mexico a lesson the Yucatan army marched directly to the city of Veracruz and sacked the port, burning much of the city and killing around 100 civilians. While this act of savagery would be condemned today the Yucatan celebrated as they thought the teached Mexico a lesson once and for all. Following June the Border Wars was unofficially over for the Yucatan as the Mexicans would not launch another invasion. Though Southern Mexico was filled with much grief and anger that would give rise to mass support for Unification and the Mexican War.

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Battle of Villahermosa (Right) Sack of Veracruz (Left)

Rio Grande Theater: Compared to the Yucatan and California, the Republic of the Rio Grande suffered horribly in the Border Wars. Since the end of the Mexican Civil War the central government of the Rio Grande had become increasingly corrupt with lawlessness and chaos surrounding the country. Oftentimes the French garrison was the only force of order within the country, with many stationed there wondering why this was worth so much to France. While Mexico had undergone much instability in the past decade it was a paradise compared to the Yucatan. Thus when a force of around 5,000 Mexican troops invaded the Rio Grande under the command of General Filisola, they found much support among the population. The Republic of the Rio Grande attempted to gather its forces of around 3,000 troops to meet the Mexicans head on. What resulted was the Battle of Torreon where the Mexican forces won a decisive victory with the Mexican militia rushing a large assault against the poorly organized Rio Grande army with the Rio Grande troops breaking under combat with the Mexicans along with their superiority in cavalry in artillery. During the battle many of the Rio Grande troops simply surrendered or deserted in large droves. The results showed the one sidedness of the battle with the Mexicans only suffering 167 KIA and 184 WIA. The Rio Grande suffered an immense 624 KIA, 890 WIA, and 350 POW with the rest retreating to the national capitol of Satillo. The Mexican forces then followed suit and pursued the Rio Grande army to the capitol where they laid a siege, with the expectation that by capturing the capitol the nation would collapse. A portion of the Mexican army was dispatched to Durango in order to capture the west. While initially successful they meet fierce resistance from the garrisoned 1000 French soldiers and were defeated in the Battle of Victoria de Durango on June 7th. During all of these events the Republic of Texas did not sit by and on May 25th, President Lamar had dispatched The Texan Army under the command of Brigadier General Travis and the reinstated Major General Sam Houston. The army had gathered over 15,000 volunteers and regulars along with 500 Texas Rangers with the intent to launch an expedition to protect Rio Grande in order to keep Mexico away from its borders. Among the army where several major Texan soldiers who would play key roles in the Mexican War which included Albert Sidney Johnson, John Hood, John Wharton, and Santos Bienavedes. The Texan Army was increasingly diverse as it reflected the now mixed racial buildup of Texas with several companies of Anglos, Tejanos, Germans, French, and Indians. The Texan Army crossed the border in Laredo on June 10th, making its way towards Coahuila at a fast pace. Unfortunately they were too late after Satillo surrendered on June 16th with capitol's defenders surrendering while the French fought a battle and lost to the Mexicans due to numerical superiority, later retreating to north to link up with the Texan Army. Fortunately the Rio Grande government had already evacuated to Nuevo Leon before the city fell, though this gave the national government the reputation of cowards. Strategically it would have made sense for the Mexican Army to consolidate their territory and reach peace with the surrounding nations. Instead the greedy officers in the army forced Filisola to consolidate Satillo and send out a call to Mexico City to officially invade the rest of the Rio Grande. This planned invasion never came as on July 4th the an overwhelming force of over 18,000 Texan and French troops converged on the city in order to liberate it from the Mexicans. In the days since the siege and first battle the Mexican militia forces in incompetency had not erected the defenses and thus the city came under waves of hundreds of men from the Texan-French forces. The Second Battle of Satillo was one of intense hand to hand combat and intense street warfare as the Mexican militia fought fiercely in order to preserve their gains from Texas. The bloody battle went on for the rest of the day before the Mexican forces under Filisola surrendered at dusk due to their tired state and increasingly low numbers. The casualties of the battle were high as the Texans suffered 215 KIA, 322 WIA; the French 191 KIA and 285 WIA, and the Mexicans and astounding 773 KIA and 694 WIA, with the rest surrendering. The main factors that allowed Texas to win was its specialization in hand-to-hand combat, the diverse fighting styles of its troops (especially the Indians) and the support from combined Texan-French artillery and cavalry. For the next three months the Texan-French army would sweep the rest of the Rio Grande, restoring order and kicking all Mexican forces out.

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Second Battle of Satillo

Gulf of Mexico: Immediately after hearing word of the Mexican invasions of the Border states, President Lamar immediately dispatched Commodore Edwin Moore and all 15 ships of the Republic Navy to the Gulf in order to institute a blockade of Mexico. While the task would seem overwhelming it was relatively easy with only the Mexican states of Mexico, Puebla, and Veracruz having full access to the Gulf. While the campaign was nowhere near as largescale or intense as the Napoleonic Wars, there was still much action as the Texas Navy was working on a daily basis to halt all ships from going to and from Mexico. They were highly successful with over 100 ships of various kinds seized from Mexican civilian and military hands during the Border Wars. All other nations where convinced to abandon trade with Mexico which the United States complied with as they had little business and the Latin American states did along with in order to not provoke a war. While the European nations such as Great Britain would have attempted to challenge the Texas Navy, no such attempt went forward as the European nations were too focused on the revolutions back home while the Royal Navy focused its attention on the United States. Several small scale battles resulted during this time with the majority being one-on-one duels between ships of both Navys. The Texan Navy was near victorious in all of them as they had superiority with 10 ships of their fleet being steam powered vessels led by the flagship RTS Zavala along with the 5 steam ships bought from France with the steamship RTS Alamo receiving the most action. The only major casualties for the Texan Navy was the sinking of the RTS Potomac on June 18th by an enemy brig while the RTS San Bernard was badly damaged in another. The Texan Navy also resulted in the Sack of Veracruz by cooperating with the Yucatan virtually destroying the port along with all remaining ships in dock, though Commodore Moore did not allow any Texan Marines to assault the city directly or its civilians. When the war ended the Texas Navy was praised once again by the population for virtually destroying the remnants of the Mexican Navy. Edwin Moore was promoted to Rear Admiral while the Texas Congress would order the development of 10 more ships for the Navy, with 5 going to the Gulf Fleet while the other 5 would head to the California to form the Pacific Squadron.

On November 1st representatives from all three nations met in the neutral nation of Nicaragua in order to discuss terms for the end of the conflict. Though the Mexican side tried to explain that it was the rouge actions of the governors and not the central government that started the conflict, the southwestern nations would have none of it and sought to enforce their terms. For the Yucatan a status quo antebellum was reached in relation to borders though A 15 mile demillitarized zone was established on the Mexican side of its border with Yucatan. Texas sought to strip a piece of territory from Sonora which was responsible for the invasion of California. This piece of territory which was called the Archer purchase in relation to Secretary of State Branch Archer, was a 29,670 square mile piece of land obtained for the purpose of building future railroads in California. For its compensation Mexico would receive $1.5 Million Redbacks. France meanwhile would petitioned for $200,000 of Francs and demanded fishing rights in Mexico's pacific ocean. The Rio Grande for its part could not enforce any demands as it was on the verge of near collapse in the conflict. Both sides later agreed to exchange prisoners of war by the end of the year. The resulting Nicaragua Accords caused very different reactions within all parties. In Texas the population cheered in jubilation as they once more managed to defeat Mexico on their turf and received extra territory from the conflict. Lamar would later be elected to his third term the next year in a landslide victory against Western Unionist Robert Fulton. The Republic of The Yucatan also rejoiced for they had protected their sovereignty and defended Mayan lands, while the rebels in Central America were punished harshly. When Paris received word of the conflict hey were quite happy that the French forces performed well and next year would pledge to renew their security pacts with the Southwest nations under the demand of then-President Napoleon III. Napoleon also offered a complete pardon for the loyalist french soliders and gave them a chance to settle in the three countries so long as they swore to not support the Bourbons, most French loyalists would later settle in Nagodoches. For Rio Grande the nation once more descended into chaos and anarchy as the population was quite discontent with the central government for failing to protect them, many now started to look towards Mexico as their homeland. As for Mexico itself, the nation once again reeled in shock as they had lost for a second time to the rebels. The state governments of the participating states were disposed and President Farias was assassinated on February 17th for failing to officially declare war on the southwest nations. The next four years was a period of anarchy and turmoil in Mexico. This would all change in 1851 with the arrival of British aid and support after the Oregon War. The United Kingdom did not want to see France gain further influence in the Americas and wanted Mexico to become its proxy satellite to establish total British dominance. For the next decade the Unification movement would be born as millions of Mexicans across the nation cried out for blood, reconquest, and punishment for the secessionists. One man would emerge during all this with a mission to make Mexico great again, Benito Juarez.

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President Valentin Gomez Farias 1781-1847 (Right) California Commonwealth in 1846 with the Archer Purchase in Tan (Left)

A/N: Yeah! A post about Texas in the Texas timeline. For those of you who read the Lone Star Republic primarily for independent Texas, as a warning I will not be posting another Texas chapter until the end of the Revolutions and the Oregon War. After that the next decade or so will once more be devoted to Texas with a mix of chapters being dedicated to European and some Asian events. The next big War for Texas will be the Mexican War around 1861/1862. Until then stick around and let's see how well our revolutionaries can do. Preview for future chapters is Chapter 37 Invasion of Canada. Chapter 38 German Unification. Chapter 39 Might of the Magyars. Chapter 40 The Legions Advance.
 
Yeah! A post about Texas in the Texas timeline. For those of you who read the Lone Star Republic primarily for independent Texas, as a warning I will not be posting another Texas chapter until the end of the Revolutions and the Oregon War.
I'll be honest, I'm not just here for Texas so I'm not one of the readers invoked here. However, I do like seeing the timeline's namesake show up.

Anywho, I've been a bit quiet the last three updates, so lets get down to brass tacks. Starting with Italy, I can't claim to know much about their history (shame on me) so all I can say is way to go for the Italian League. Italy isn't fully united yet, but I can't imagine it will be to much longer before they become a united nation. Now with both Germany and Italy united ahead of OTL colonialism in Africa and Asia is probably going to get interesting. More so if the Ottomans give out early and Hungary tries to get a piece of the colonial pie. Looking forward to more to come on this front, but one European question if I may. What is Russia thinking of all the goings on to their west?

Moving on to the border wars, what is in the water in Mexico to make the state governors think this was a good idea? I'd bet they knew there was a good chance the central government would not help them, yet they went to war anyway. Sure they moved mountains and did well in the Republic of the Rio Grande, but they are a failed state unlike Texas and Yucatan. Takes all kinds to make a world I guess, but all they have done is set Mexico up for more heart ache down the road as I know Texas and the Yucatan are going to put up far more of a fight in the Mexican War. The Rio Grande on the other hand may just fold unless something major happens to change the situation on the ground there, but I'm thinking the people of that Republic are going to keep drifiting back towards wanting union with Mexico.

Speaking of the Rio Grande, given its chaotic nature I wonder if anyone in the US is going to be dumb enough to try and filibuster the country? It is far from a good idea, but since when did that stop the people behind filibusters?

Now the big war at the moment, the US vs Britain, round three. President Harrison's meeting with the Quebec revolutionaries was interesting, and I think it bodes well for the future of the war. That said I think the US would be well advised to stop short of meeting their full territorial requests. I'm not sure what the level of revolutionarie sentiment is in British North America, but I am going to guess it is a lot higher in Quebec than in Ontario and the Maritimes. So if Quebec was established controling all of modern OTL Canada east of the Ontario Manitoba broder it would have a population of about two million and only 650,000 of these will reside in OTL Quebec. With that in mind I'm thinking a Quebec established with those borders would have problems keeping down pro-British paritsans and revolutionaries determined to set up their own countries or rejoin Britain. So in the interest of keeping our new ally stable (if I were in Harrison's place) I'd give them OTL Quebec and everything to it's east, but nothing in the west as the US is better positioned to keep the area under control until the subjects still loyal to Victoria decided to move to Australia or the new British ally of Mexico. This is just me spitballing though, maybe Ontario wants to throw off the crown too, or maybe you have plans for Quebec that deal with the pro British citizens, or maybe something else. I'll just need to wait and see, regardless, it was a trio of good updates.

Oh, two more things, first, an Anglo-Mexican alliance is going to have some serious repercussions on the political situation in the south west. France has already reaffirmed its allinace with Texas and Co, and we know another war is coming between them and Mexico and British guns and support are going to make it interesting. Secondly, if this alliance involves Britain putting troops in Mexico I wonder if they will try anything in the coming US civil war? Support for the South is going to be higher in this world, maybe even including recognition of the Confederacy by Britain, but I do wonder if it will be more than that. Time will tell.
 
I'll be honest, I'm not just here for Texas so I'm not one of the readers invoked here. However, I do like seeing the timeline's namesake show up.

Anywho, I've been a bit quiet the last three updates, so lets get down to brass tacks. Starting with Italy, I can't claim to know much about their history (shame on me) so all I can say is way to go for the Italian League. Italy isn't fully united yet, but I can't imagine it will be to much longer before they become a united nation. Now with both Germany and Italy united ahead of OTL colonialism in Africa and Asia is probably going to get interesting. More so if the Ottomans give out early and Hungary tries to get a piece of the colonial pie. Looking forward to more to come on this front, but one European question if I may. What is Russia thinking of all the goings on to their west?

Moving on to the border wars, what is in the water in Mexico to make the state governors think this was a good idea? I'd bet they knew there was a good chance the central government would not help them, yet they went to war anyway. Sure they moved mountains and did well in the Republic of the Rio Grande, but they are a failed state unlike Texas and Yucatan. Takes all kinds to make a world I guess, but all they have done is set Mexico up for more heart ache down the road as I know Texas and the Yucatan are going to put up far more of a fight in the Mexican War. The Rio Grande on the other hand may just fold unless something major happens to change the situation on the ground there, but I'm thinking the people of that Republic are going to keep drifiting back towards wanting union with Mexico.

Speaking of the Rio Grande, given its chaotic nature I wonder if anyone in the US is going to be dumb enough to try and filibuster the country? It is far from a good idea, but since when did that stop the people behind filibusters?

Now the big war at the moment, the US vs Britain, round three. President Harrison's meeting with the Quebec revolutionaries was interesting, and I think it bodes well for the future of the war. That said I think the US would be well advised to stop short of meeting their full territorial requests. I'm not sure what the level of revolutionarie sentiment is in British North America, but I am going to guess it is a lot higher in Quebec than in Ontario and the Maritimes. So if Quebec was established controling all of modern OTL Canada east of the Ontario Manitoba broder it would have a population of about two million and only 650,000 of these will reside in OTL Quebec. With that in mind I'm thinking a Quebec established with those borders would have problems keeping down pro-British paritsans and revolutionaries determined to set up their own countries or rejoin Britain. So in the interest of keeping our new ally stable (if I were in Harrison's place) I'd give them OTL Quebec and everything to it's east, but nothing in the west as the US is better positioned to keep the area under control until the subjects still loyal to Victoria decided to move to Australia or the new British ally of Mexico. This is just me spitballing though, maybe Ontario wants to throw off the crown too, or maybe you have plans for Quebec that deal with the pro British citizens, or maybe something else. I'll just need to wait and see, regardless, it was a trio of good updates.

Oh, two more things, first, an Anglo-Mexican alliance is going to have some serious repercussions on the political situation in the south west. France has already reaffirmed its allinace with Texas and Co, and we know another war is coming between them and Mexico and British guns and support are going to make it interesting. Secondly, if this alliance involves Britain putting troops in Mexico I wonder if they will try anything in the coming US civil war? Support for the South is going to be higher in this world, maybe even including recognition of the Confederacy by Britain, but I do wonder if it will be more than that. Time will tell.

Colonialism is going to be quite interesting as Germany and Italy will surely want a bigger piece of the pie this time around. Like I said before we'll be going into full details around the 1860's but there will be radical differences by TTL's Berlin Conference, one being the American Africa I mentioned previously. Russia is pretty pissed off at the events that are happening west and Nicholas will want to intervene soon. Expect Russia to become a factor during or after Chapter 39.

Humans tend to think pretty irrationally sometimes, greed and nationalism being one of them. Like I said in the post the Mexican governors thought they would easily conquer the nations as France was at the moment unable to help because of the revolutions. What they didn't expect was for Texas and the Yucatan to be pretty hard fighters and for the stationed French troops to honor their pact. In the case of the Rio Grande this proved more than correct and the governors were starting to act too independently of Farias's authority as his reforms ironically made him powerless to prevent a war. What's going to happen next is a large revanchist movement similar to OTL post Franco-Prussian France with Mexico eyeing the other nations greedily and preparing for total war. The Rio Grande population wanting to rejoin Mexico isn't making the situation any better.

There might be some filibusters in the future but Washington won't support it as there is no way for them to control the territory and by attempting to annex it they would incur the wrath of Texas, France, Mexico, and Great Britain.

You'll have to remember that Harrison and the revolutionaries were talking about potential annexations, not full plans besides confirmation of an independent Quebec and annexation of Oregon. Also citizens in Ontario and the maritime are more rebellious for reform instead of independence. Will cover more on the Canadian situation in my next update.

I won't reveal anything right now but the Mexican War will be bloodier and more intense than the Border Wars. Let's just say that 1861 is going to be a near repeat of 1846 in terms of the number of conflicts and wars in the world. Thanks for continually reading and giving feedback. Chapter 37 will come out sometime on a weekday with 38-40 being released on the weekend.
 
Small update for Lone Star Republic status. I am currently writing Chapter 37 and will post some time during tomorrow. Next week from the 18th-20th I will not be able to post an update so I will try to get to at least 41 or 42 before the November 17th. Also in the future I will have one modern day narrative in reaction to the election, it's going to be one more for comedy purposes than an insight of future developments though. If all goes well then around Thanksgiving I will probably finish the 1846 Revolutions and Oregon War. After that the goal will be to finish the Civil War/Mexican War story arc before Christmas.
 
Chapter 37 Invasion of Canada
Chapter 37 Invasion of Canada

"We may have won the battle here. Though it remains to be seen if history will see us as conquerors or liberators."- Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Lincoln 1846
"Congratulations boys, Oregon is ours. Now let's head back east and make sure the British stay the hell away from America."- Colonel Stephen Keary 1846
"Ah the Oregon War. It's kind of a stupid conflict really, it all started over a simple misunderstanding and the greed of land between nations. I will say this though. Without it I would have never gained the experience to fight the south."- General Ulysses S. Grant 1865

For the third and not the last time, the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain were in a state of war. Unlike the Great War the Oregon War would be fought primarily within North America and mostly within the plains and forests of Canada, where the fate of America's expansion to the Pacific would be decided. Each side both had their advantages and disadvantages in the conflict. For the United States they had recently modernized and enlargened their professional army to a fighting force equivalent to the average Prussian Corps. Since the theater of war was directly on the border the United States could immediately dispatch and coordinate its armies in a quick time compared to the months of organization of the British Imperial forces, by the time redcoat reinforcements could arrive from Great Britain America would make considerable gains and conscript tens of thousands of volunteers. On the downside the United States did not have the industrial or economic capacity for a prolonged war with Britain. The United Kingdom's main strength was that it could draw multiple resources from the largest empire in the world. At the time Britain was also the leading financial and industrial producer in Europe. Though as mentioned previously if it wanted any reinforcements from say India, then it would take near a year to get them organized and ship them to America. Due to these strengths and weaknesses the Oregon War became one of speed and tactical maneuvering. If America could conquer Canada and defend its coast then it would have an upper hand in any negotiations. If it's objectives under the Carolus Plan were not achieved by the end of the year then the advantage would go to Britain. The Third Invasion of Canada had begun.

Western Theater: The Western theater of the war was perhaps the one that had the most amount of success for the Americans at the start of the war. With relatively no one to stop him after the fall of Fort Vancouver, Colonel Kearny was free to move about his army and conquer the rest of the Oregon territory. To say that this itself was a conquest though is mostly an exaggeration, there were no highly developed towns or cities in Oregon so it was mostly a matter of securing any British ships on the post as well as securing the multiple trade outposts and farms on the British side in order to prevent any form of rebellion. With the large amount of the Oregon territory captured the United States then held their Casus belli and thus could assume a superior role in negotiations. Around mid-September Kearny took around 1200 of his men and headed southeast in order to join the main fight before the arrival of winter would impede any troop movements. He would not be able to see action for the rest of the year but for his actions in securing Oregon, was promoted to Brigadier General. As for Army Group West itself, the army received a similar amount of success due to most Canadian/British defenses being set up around Southern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime provinces. This left the west door open in what was analyzed by historians to be one of the worst strategic mistakes for an defending nation. Under the leadership of Brigadier General William J. Worth, Army Group West would virtually tear through the Canadian countryside in a manner slightly similar to modern day Blitzkrieg. The two most noteworthy battles of this time were the Battles of Thunder Bay and Lake Nipigon. At Thunder Bay the American force had met an opposing force of 2000 Canadian soldiers who were guarding a small port that was used as the Canadian's main access to Lake Superior. The battle was fought on August 5th with the outcome being a decisive American victory due to the British garrison not yet receiving word of the war's deceleration as well as support from the U.S Coast Guard who bombarded British positions at Thunder Bay. After the battle the remaining ships left in port were either burned or captured by the Coast Guard to be served for defense of Minnesota and Michigan. The battle of Lake Nipigon was fought around two and a half weeks later on the 23rd when the Americans rested at the lake and were then assaulted by 1500 Canadian forces and their Indian allies in the region. Unfortunately for the Canadians the battle was only meant to be a raid to cripple the Americans, but failed when the infantry stood their ground and protected the supply lines due to advance warning from other Indian elements who were dissatisfied of Canadian rule. The Americans would win the battle after the cavalry was organized and began a rout to displace the Canadian army. The aftermath of the battle was 137 Americans KIA, 156 WIA, and 12 MIA. For the Canadians it was 208 KIA, 216 WIA. 32 MIA, and 364 POW, the Indian forces of the battle however were not properly accounted for. For the next month Army Group West would sweep through Ontario and proceed to crush any resistance. They later gathered in a group of 15,000 troops due to reinforcements from the Midwestern states and proceeded to Oshawa, Ontario on October 1st with half going to help Army Group Central, while the other half proceeded to reinforce Army group New York.

Michigan/Ontario: For the first month of the war the Michigan/Ontario theater was one in a high stalemate. The first action of the theater would be do to the Canadians in the Battle of Detroit on July 31st where a group of around 2,000 Canadian troops under the command of Brigadier Wesley Jenkins would launch an assault on the city. Like the previous battle in the War of 1812 it was a Canadian victory, though unlike the previous battle it was far bloodier due to the American's not being outduped this time and fierce resistance from the American garrison as well as the civilian population. Over the course of several hours a large street battle took place, with American troops and frontier rifleman taking multiple potshots of the Canadian forces from within the town's buildings and around hastily erected barricades in the streets. The main reason that the Canadian force was able to hold superiority throughout the battle was due to their superior artillery positions with a ratio of 4:1 to the Americans along with the larger Canadian cavalry force. In order to draw the Americans out Brigadier Jenkins made the mistake of ordering his men to set fire to the local fort, while this succeeded in forcing the Americans to retreat and giving the battle to the British, it also resulted in the fire spreading and forcing most of Detroit to be burned to the ground. These actions would make the Canadians and British much hatred among the Midwestern population and contributed to much resentment and distrust of the American population towards Canada until the Great War. After the battle Brigadier Jenkins then made the poor mistake of proceeding to continue a march into the rest of Michigan. Although his army took around 700 casualties in the previous battle he had wanted to set control of much of Michigan in order to conquer the state in a British victory. For two weeks he marched with his men were they were constantly attacked by guerrilla forces in retaliation for the burning of Detroit. These conditions caused the Canadian force to have a high amount of fatigue and low morale when they met Army Group Central under the command of Major General Zachary Taylor at the Battle of Lansing. Here the Canadian forces were virtually wiped out by the American force who outnumbered them 5 to 1, only around 100 Canadians survived form the bloody battle (Brigadier Jenkins being among the dead) due to most of Army Group Central being made up of Michigan natives who were furious of Detroit, some of them men even hailing form the city. The Americans in counterpart only suffered around 200 casualties. After the battle Army Group Central would march back to the border where they met a hastily set up group of 3,000 Canadian men who were intended to reinforce Jenkins's position at Detroit before he made his blunder. For one week Taylor would make his forces wait at the Border in order to hear word of the Great Lakes battles and see which side had Naval superiority. Luckily for him the Americans were constantly gaining the advantage in all lake operations due to the United States Navy constantly investing a heavy amount in the coastal lake fortifications and freshwater navy of the Great Lakes region. The British in contrast had little funds used for the upgrade of the Great Lakes fleet due to the Royal Navy's constant priority of spending. For the past month the Americans had been wiping out Canadian ships with their use of recently upgraded steamers. The climax of the naval campaign was the Battle of Lake Huron on August 26th where reinforcements from Lake Michigan totaled the United States Coast Guard forces to around 60 ships under the command of Commodore David Kirk versus the opposing 20 Canadian ships. The resulting battle was one where the Americans would pick off the Canadians one by one until the end of the day where only 3 Canadian ships remaining to surrender compared to the only 4 American losses. The American fleet would then head straight for the British camp at Samia on August 31st where they proceeded to bombard the Canadian encampment while the Americans under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Lincoln across the border advanced to overtake the Canadian forces and surround them. Down south a similar charge was being lead by General Taylor at Windsor with the American group now numbering 15,000 men due to reinforcements. After the victories of the Battles of Windsor and Samia, Army Group Central would then march North where they managed to successfully invade Canada this time around with superior equipment as well as numbers of men. Taylor's forces would rendezvous with elements of West and New York where they would surround the capital of Toronto on September 19th, causing the town to surrender unconditionally to the army (much to the dismay of Michigan troops who wanted to burn it a second time in revenge for Detroit).

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Burning of Detroit (Right) Battle of Lansing (Left)

New York/Quebec: At the New York border the Canadian forces would once more try to invade the United States. At first it looked as though an invasion would go through Eastern New York with the Battle of Buffalo occurring on August 3rd after 9,000 of Army Group New York would come to defend the state. When the battle commenced it was a confusing eyes in the those of Major General Winfield Scott as the Canadians had only come with 2500 men and once the American cavalry and infantry had begun to advance on the Canadian lines, the Canadians would retreat in good order without any resistance being put up. It was later found out that this action was a ruse as a main invasion force under Major General Harold Cameron would come as a force of 6000 men through Northern New York. The invading force proceeded to gain victory over the defending Americans at the Battles of Plattsburgh and Ticonderoga with the Americans losing both times due to numerical superiority from their Canadian foes as well as the disorganization in the wake of the unexpected invasion. After these two defeats the remaining American forces under the leadership of Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, would make a stand at Valley Forge with reinforcements from the New York militia in order to prevent a further advancement unto Albany and New York City. For three days and nights from August 12th-15th a bloody battle was fought in the valley as the American forces fought to the death in order to protect their homeland from further invasion. Cavalry charges would be met in bloody frays while fire from the infatry and artillery was always constant across the field. One notable action was that of Second Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant who assumed command of the 3rd battalion on the second day after his superiors were wounded or killed and prevented the left flank from collapsing with his method of last stand fighting. On the third day it looked as though the Americans would collapse, until reinforcements finally arrived from General Scott and were able to drive the Canadians back across the border. The battle resulted in multiple losses with 841 Americans KIA, 888 WIA, and 310 POW. On the Canadian side was an equal amount of heavy casualties with 1023 KIA, 937 WIA, and 459 POW. After two weeks of organization and rest, Army Group New York then proceeded to launch the invasion of Quebec with 20,000 men now in force from reinforcements. The first Major Battle on Quebecois soil would be the Battle of Montreal where the American forces would proceed to converge on the city in a siege on August 27th while 5,000 troops where directed westward to capture Ottawa. On September 3rd Ottawa was captured with relatively light resistance with most of the cities usual defenders being directed to invasions or the defense of Quebec. After this 25,000 men would march from the rest of the forces in the west while 10,000 others would remain in order to garrison the conquered territories while they would receive reinforcements from down south. With the American forces outside of Montreal now numbering 45,000; General Scott sent word to the cities mayor on September 14th to surrender or else face the wrath of the US Army. Knowing that the cities garrison was terribly outnumbered and that a battle would result in the destruction of Montreal, the mayor relented and the city surrendered the next day. It was on September 15th where General Scott would surprise the British Canadians by gathering up members of the Patriotic Order and announce the formation of the Republic of Quebec to liberate the region from British rule and give freedom to oppressed French Quebecois. This battle and announcement would have the desired result intended by President Harrison and on October 2nd, the Quebecois of Quebec City would launch a revolt against the British and after 5 days of intense fighting would force the garrison to surrender. American forces would enter Quebec City on October 18th and were met with much cheers and fanfare from the cities citizens. For the rest of the year Army Group New York would spend its time helping the Quebecois to consolidate their new nation in preparation for a future British invasion.

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Battle of Valley Forge (Right) Quebecois Uprising (Left)

Maine/New Brunswick: Next to the Western theater, Army Group Maine would be met with the least amount of intense conflict. Most of the Canadian forces were directed westward and both sides knew that the Royal Navy could later help to gain superiority in the theater. Still much fighting did go on as some of the Canadian troops advanced into Maine in order to correct the Granger-Ashburton treaty of 1842. Instead of meeting this invading force however, most of Army Group Maine was directed to New Brunswick in order to secure the region before any form of Canadian resistance could be organized. The primary battle within New Brunswick was the battle of Fredricton where the 5000 American force under Brigadier General Franklin Pierce captured the lightly defended town with few casualties on August 11th. For the next month it was a rather odd stalemate between the two forces as the Canadians held control of Northern Maine while the Americans New Brunswick. This stalemate would be broken in September with the American victories at Montreal and the reinforcement of Maine by elements of the northern states as well as Army Group North. Faced with the prospect of being wiped out by superior forces, opposing British General Matthew Elric chose to instead surrender peacefully on September 26th. The remainder of the year had Army Group Maine consolidating New Brunswick while an invasion was being planned for Nova Scotia. The only reason that the Americans did not attack at this time was due to the chance of the Royal Navy cutting off an invasion force as well as the priority to set up defenses of the United States East Coast coming first.

Atlantic Naval engagements: It was on the waters of the Atlantic where the British would clearly gain the upper hand in the fight. Throughout the first months of the war dozens of American merchant vessels were seized by the Royal Navy in retaliation for Canada's invasion and in order to cripple the American economy. This forced the United States to intensify trade with Texas by using them as a neutral party to safely transport American goods under the Texan flag to Europe, an action the British could not counter for fear of creating a war with France. Throughout the Atlantic ocean multiple small battles were being engaged between single American and British ships with the Royal Navy winning 7 times out of 10. For 1846 however there would be no major battles in the direct middle of the Atlantic as most American forces were in the Gulf or Eastern Seaboard. One major engagement of note was the Invasion of Liberia where on November 18th a British squadron of 15 ships defeated the stationed American fleet of two schooners and launched an invasion of the colony with 5000 Royal Marines. Ironically when the Royal Marines captured the capitol of Monrovia they had killed or captured most of the dissident forces within Liberia who were agitating for Liberian independence, this would cause Liberia to remain an American colony after the war well into the remainder of the 19th century. On the American side there were also some amount of success with the Great Lakes engagements being a prime example, all lakes having coming under American control well by October. The most successful American campaign was the St. Laurence river Campaign where forces of the US Navy under the command of Commodore Mathew Perry would proceed to use the American fleet to enter the Quebec coast during the month of September and proceed to virtually wipe out the stationed Canadian fleet with assistance from the Quebecois revolutionaries on shore. Down south was also the Battle of the Bahamas where a 22 ship fleet under the command of Commodore John Sloat would defeat the stationed 5 Royal ships in the Bahamas and then proceed to use the United States Marines to capture the multiple islands, preventing a direct invasion of Florida. The rest of the year would see a series of Skirmishes take place in both the Gulf and Eastern Seaboard. The next naval objective of the United States Navy was a possible invasion of Jamaica which was being planned for the next year after consolidation of coastal defenses.

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Royal Navy on Patrol

Overall 1846 was a great year for the Americans as they had accomplished all of their objectives of the Carolus Plan; conquering western Canada as well as liberating Quebec. In addition multiple future officers of the American Civil War would gain valuable experience from the fighting in the North. By the end of the year the United States had managed to raise up a force of 250,000 men and were now preparing for multiple seaborne invasions while negotiators were sent in order to claim Oregon and the liberation of Quebec while the Americans still had the advantage and Britain was occupied with German Unification and the beginning of the Russian intervention in the conflict. Unfortunately for the Americans, Queen Victoria would not take any defeat easily without putting up a fight first. And so, 1847 would see the beginning of the Second British invasion of the United States.

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Map of the Oregon War by the end of 1846.
 
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Chapter 38 The Legions Advance
Chapter 38 The Legions Advance

"I truly am glad that we were able to resolve this whole crisis quickly without it being dragged for several years. War is a terrible thing after all."- Pope Pius IX 1847
"Some may call me an heretic and an traitor to the cause for this. But if I don't take action now the Pope will gain control of all of Italy and the House of Savoy will forever be lost to the tides of history."- King Charles Albert 1852
"While we are not truly united yet, this is a far better start then I could ever have hoped to achieve on my own."- Giuseppe Garibaldi 1847


At the beginning of the Lombard-Venetian War for Independence, many outsiders were skeptical of the Italian league's ability to combat the Austrian Empire. While historically many Italian states have banded together in alliances during Europe's largescale wars, such arrangements were only temporary and would soon fall to infighting and bickering over who would gain the most control and influence within Italy by the end of the conflict. Yet by September the Italian League had not only proved that it was united in its cause of nationalism, it had managed to beat back the mighty Austrian Empire in multiple battles, with the Italians liberating all of their desired land. Now with the Austrian Empire descending into further division and chaos a decision was needed to be made, seek peace now or prolong the war in order to obtain a greater position. On one side were the compromisers led by Pope Pius who sought to end any further unnecessary bloodshed and just retake Lombardy-Venetia so that work could immediately begin on reorganizing Italy and building up its national strength. On the other side were the Irredentionists led by Kings Charles Albert and Ferdinand, seeking for total unification of all Italian lands in Austria, though this was called more for personal gain of the kingdom's rather than true nationalism. Eventually it was agreed that the offense would continue into the Austrian Empire while peace negotiations were still pursued to end the war. This was done as no foreign presence had entered the war yet though it would soon be likely that either Britain or the new Second Republic of France would want to intervene to gain power and influence in the region. Requiring a quick and decisive conclusion of strength. The final chapter of the First Act of Italian Unification was about to begin.

For the Italian strategy there were two primary objectives that needed to be achieved in the next campaign; an invasion of Tyrol and an invasion of Dalmatia. Both parts of Austria had an substantial amount of Italian minorites and if conquered could give an future Italian nation an immense amount of power over the Medditerranean. The main problem was that King Charles Albert had already tried and failed to obtain these two territories. Thus, a plan was drawn up that would keep a large amount of the Italian forces put within Lombardy-Venetia while two armies were created with a minority of forces sent towards Tyrol under the comand of Garibaldi while a second force under General Veneziano was sent to the city of Trieste to finally cut off Austrian access to the sea so that the blockade could stand down and funding would divert to the armies. On Garibaldi's front was a long and tiring journey through the mountainside with his 25,000 men to liberate the mountain regions from the Germans. Tactically Tyrol initially held little of value as the nearby gold mines had long since been dried out. Strategically, Tyrol was needed in order to protect a future Italian state from the advances of a future resurgent Austria. Originally had Garibaldi marched months ago he would have met fierce resistance from the Austrians in defense of their native land, luckily for him most Austrian troops in the region were redirected to meet the threat of the new German Empire in the southern states. The main battle of note was the Battle of Tyrol on October 26th where Italian soldiers surrounded the provincial town and fought desperately to try and take it from the cities defenders of 7000 under the command of Colonel Hans von Mera. For around two weeks the Italians tried multiple times to assault the city, however it was well defended and the Native Austrians used the mountain terrain to their advantage in order to repulse multiple Austrian attacks. With much frustration at the lack of progress Garibaldi controversially ordered the entire town to be leveled with constant artillery bombardments in order to reduce the defenders to rubble. Over the next week the once peacefull mountain city was systematically destroyed with thousands of civilians dead, including many Italians. Finally on November 20th Colonel Maren surrendered in order to protect his men and the town from further loss. Losses of the battle range from 2367 Italians KIA, and 2589 WIA. For the Austrians it was 2944 KIA, 2102 WIA, and the rest taken as prisoners. The cities population would suffer a loss of over 5,000. For the next two months until the end of the war the Italian war would come to consolidate Tyrol and meet minor resistance from Austrian guerrilla forces.

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Battle of Tyrol

Down south a force of 55,000 Italians were marching under General Veneziano to meet General Radetzky in the city of Trieste. For two weeks they had marched on the shoreline and from much aid by the Italian Navies were able to liberate much of the coast. This prompted Radetzky to gather all his remaining forces within the region to make a stand at Trieste in order to prevent the rest of the Empire, especially Vienna which was less than 300 miles away. Radetzky only had around 30,000 troops left to meet the enemy due to the Emperor's demands for the main forces to be sent to either Hungary or Germany. Desperate for help he called on reinforcements from the Croatians to double the army so that they may also protect their homeland, this action would ironically give much aid to the Hungarians in the coming months. On October 5th a large and epic battle began to wage in the Second Battle of Trieste which would come to become one of the most remembered engagements in Italian history. For days on end the city of Trieste came under immense destruction as the army of the Italian Leauge came in waves of multiple assaults in what was the single largest battle since the Napoleonic Wars. Constant artillery and canon fire rained down from the heavens for hours as the Italian Navy would help the Italians to gain control of the seaboard and constantly harassed the cities defenders. Epic cavalry charges were run through the streets with many being slaughtered by well positioned barricades. The Austrian and Croation defenders for their part never relented easily as they fought to the last breath and would often charge in suicide attacks instead of surrendering to the enemy. Even General Radetzky was seen personally leading into the fray, hacking Italian soldiers left and right with his sabre while he also fired upon many with his pistol. After five days of bloody attrition General Veneziano would call his men to retreat on the 10th, leaving a battered but still held city to the Austrians. Tactically the battle was an obvious Austrian victory, but strategically the battle would go to the Italians. Though the Italians suffered around 25,000 casualties the Austrians suffered far more with over 40,000 casualties, virtually eliminating around 2/3rds of the army. When Emperor Franz Joseph heard of the results of the battle he was furious instead of pleased, he then ordered for Radetzky to withdraw into main Austria to Vienna some semblance of support against the Hungarians and Italians. Radetzky pleaded not to go as the battle and the war could eventually be won. Franz Joseph would have none of it. The Empire bled too much for the sake of two Italian kingdoms, it was time to make peace in somewhat favorable terms while they could so that the focus could be shifted on Austria's position in Germany and their rightful rule of the lands of the crown of St. Stephen. So Radetzky begrudgingly withdrew on October 24th while new negotiations were being discussed for the fate of Italy.

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Battle of Trieste

When peace negotiations began in Geneva everyone knew that victory belonged to the Italian League, the question was how much and exactly who would gain the power. A few hardliners among the Sardinians and the Republicans pushed for a march into Vienna in order to extract total terms for the victory. The Papal delegation firmly disagreed with this plan as too many lives were lost and they should not fall into the sins of greed lest all of their gains be for nought. The Sicilians wanted for peace to come quickly as King Ferdinand and the Neapolitan's were on the verge of reconquering the main Sicilian Island. The middle Italian states just wanted for peace. There was also the question of who exactly the new territories would go to. Would they be divided by contribution, given Independnece, or totally annexed by a neighboring nation. By Christmas Eve terms were finalized and through much compromise and negotiations the Treaty of Geneva was finalized. The terms are as followed:
  1. The Italian League shall transform into an official Italian Confederation with a similar structure set up to the Previous German Confederation.
  2. Lombardy was to be partitioned between the Papal States and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, the Kingdom of Venice would be created as an autonomous Republic of Venice within the Papal States.
  3. Financial compensation would be given to the other members of the league totaling $10,000,000 reichsmarks to be paid by 1852.
  4. A Parliment would be formed on March 31st 1852 of the Italian League states to decide on the state of further unification.
  5. Austria would not be permitted to retain any naval vessels in its lands, Croatia would be an exception.
  6. No aid would be given to the Hungarian rebellion or the newly formed German Empire by the Italian League.
  7. The rights of all remaining Italians in the Empire would be recognized and Italian made a legal language.
  8. South Tyrol would be partitioned between Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and the Papal States
Peace was achieved on Christmas day and after nearly a year of long hard fighting in Italy, peace was achieved. The Italians had won and the process of Unification had begun. For the other revolutionaries, it was an outcome of much hope.

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Map showing the aftermath of the Lombard-Venetian War of Independence.
 
Ok, Ok, a somewhat Papal led unification it's not something you see everyday, expecially with the aid of some ardent anticlerical like Mazzini and Garibaldi (but the hero of two worlds was pragmatic enough to understand where the best possibility of unification lie). So we have an italian confederation in the late 40's (i expect it will be also a custom union) with the Pope as it's leader, even if Parma, Lucca and Modena OTL Hapsburg monarch left in a hurry and i doubt that ITTL will be different, this mean that both tiny nation will be absorbed by their neighbours, leaving the confederation a 4 four way affair.
Well, i must say that was entertaining see that reactionary staunch opponent of italian unification of Pio IX being the spearhead of the italian nation; but what strike me it's Cadorna quote and the bastard not only praise the italian army but the note over the tenth crusade...a catholic extremist Italy?
 
Ok, Ok, a somewhat Papal led unification it's not something you see everyday, expecially with the aid of some ardent anticlerical like Mazzini and Garibaldi (but the hero of two worlds was pragmatic enough to understand where the best possibility of unification lie). So we have an italian confederation in the late 40's (i expect it will be also a custom union) with the Pope as it's leader, even if Parma, Lucca and Modena OTL Hapsburg monarch left in a hurry and i doubt that ITTL will be different, this mean that both tiny nation will be absorbed by their neighbours, leaving the confederation a 4 four way affair.
Well, i must say that was entertaining see that reactionary staunch opponent of italian unification of Pio IX being the spearhead of the italian nation; but what strike me it's Cadorna quote and the bastard not only praise the italian army but the note over the tenth crusade...a catholic extremist Italy?

It is important to note that until mid-1848, OTL Pope Pius IX was a very liberal Pope. In fact his election was hailed as a great sign by many of Europe's liberals and republicans that the Catholic Church would soon undertake many long-desired reforms. During his first months in office Pius freed all political prisoners, began the process of shutting down the Rome Ghetto, and even began to develop a constitution for the Papal States. Also during the beginnings of Italian Unification OTL many Italians did want Pius as the head of a unified Italy. I wasn't making stuff up in the post about the 5 Days of Milan when the revolutionaries held up paintings and busts of Pius, that actually happened in 1848. The problem with all of this was that Pius did not want to go to war with Catholic Austria OTL in order to achieve unification. After that Garibaldi came in and created the Roman Republic, leading a revolution that ousted Pius out of Rome. After that Pius switched from liberalism to reactionism as he was afraid that a French Revolution would happen to Italy and that the Church would lose all its power or become the target of persecution. ITTL in the previously mentioned vision, Pius is now convinced to fight for unification and the attempted assassination by an Austrian pushed him towards the war party. Garibaldi doesn't really care either way as long as reforms are launched and Italy is united.

Cadorna and the 10th Crusade is a foreshadowing of the Great War, primarily Italy's role over it. Many things can change over the next 70 years that can actually help Italy's military become a great power equal to the other European nations. I know Cadorna was WWI's worst commander but I plan to make him at least competent in this scenario. Many people's action can change in alternate history, why not a certain Italian general?
 
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