The Dandy Italian
Chapter 3: L'invasion
French cross the Strait of Messina
"God is a bastard."
-Maria Isabelle
Entering the War of the Third Coalition was by far the worst decision Archduke Louis could have ever made. But he caved to the pressure from his brother. First Naples was defended by a large army of Russians and British. Though once word of the terrible defeat at Austerlitz reached Naples the Russians left. After the withdrawal of the Russians the British decided that they weren't fighting this alone and withdrew to Sicily. Meanwhile the French invasion under Massena forced Leopold and Louis to run too. Which was all the better for French you placed Joseph on the throne then proceeded to seize the nation. Soon all but two places fell, Calabria where the Royal Neapolitan Army was and Gaeta, the Neapolitan's last fort.
In Calabria Roger de Damas with 14,000 men took up position at Campo Tenese while his fellow general Marshal Rosenheim marched towards Cassano all'Ionio where they were to meet up. However Reyneir was determined not to let that happen. With his light foot scattering Damas' rear guard Reynier's scouts were soon able to discover Damas location. The very next day Reynier attack. While the wind blew snow into the Neapolitans eyes Reynier's light foot appeared in Damas' flank after hours of single file marching through the narrow defiles. And at the same time General of Brigade Louis Fursy Henri Compère charged forth in frontal assault and took a redoubt. Being attacked on two sides the Neapolitan army collapsed and routed. This rout through the narrow exit rout allowed the French to capture 2,000 men, 2 generaks, all the Neapolitan artillery, and all the Neapolitan baggage. Meanwhile the French casualties were far less.
To follow this victory Reynier force marched his army to the Strait of Messina in a week [1]. His counterparts, Duhesme and Lechi, chased the remnants of Damas' army and also Rosenheim's army. Yet the majority of the Neapolitans deserted before battle was met at Reggio. At Reggio Duhesme and Lechi expected to see Reynier, so they attempted a hammer and anvil tactic. In contrast this fell flat, because Reynier had disappeared. Without anyone to stop them the Neapolitans just took up positions in the buildings and the streets. After taking some losses Duhesme and Lechi drew back and deployed their cannon, which ripped through the Neapolitans. Soon the Neapolitans gave way and surrendered. Though the real question was where in the world did Reynier go?
Sicily. In a series of night crossings Reynier and his army of about 10,000 had crossed over the Strait of Messina. Quickly they set up a siege at Messina. With the later arrival of Duhesme and Lechi on the Strait they too crossed following their victory in Reggio while the British was held at bay by heavy gales [2]. At Palermo all chaos broke loose, the invasion had begun. Many generals had given up and were considering switching sides. The 15 year old king, Leopold, was not going to give easy and ordered his generals to attack with their 10,000 men. So on April 2nd the Battle of Messina occurred. While the British tried to bomb the French 10,000 Neapolitans came from the west while a further 4,000 sallied from the city. But quickly the sally fell apart with the death of the leading commander, and the western assault was blunted. This battle was a clear example of the power of French genius and discipline. Firing in line they sheared through the advance. Accepting that the battle was lost the Neapolitans sounded the retreat. Yet instead of an orderly retreat they saw shattered regiments running for their mothers. This rout was easy pickings for the French sharpshooters and cavalry. On May 3rd, Messina fell even with all the British attempts it was just bound to occur [3]. Two months later Gaeta fell when Massena bluffed out Hotz.
With the mainland under French control and the French holding a significant foothold in Sicily the British considered an evacuation to Malta. When Massena began marching south to the Strait of Messina, Leopold's generals decided that it was over and launched a coup in favor of the French. The British quickly ended in a short engagement in Palermo. However the costs of the coup were great, for Leopold had been assassinated. Worried about a repeat the British reluctantly evacuated to Malta with Princess Maria Isabelle, Archduke Louis, and several loyal nobles. Within a month Sicily in whole was taken by the French. Victory at last.
[1] The POD is that instead of staying the night which resulted in murders and rapes he force marches. Of course he would probably forage some, but with a speedy march to the coast all he does is forage instead of the many rapes and murders that happened OTL. This gets rid of the the uprising.
[2] I needed a way to make it more justifiable.
[3] Due to the 1783 Earthquake Messina was wrecked