Union and Liberty: An American TL
- Thread starter wilcoxchar
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The Balkans has indeed changed from OTL. Right now I'm chalking it up to one of the Russo-Turkish wars and/or revolts in the area. I'll flesh it out when I get to the update on it. Maybe Serbia and Montenegro are still Ottoman satellites and were given the extra territory in order to quell complaints wanting more autonomy in the region?
Nice map. The Papal States are going to get crushed by the Italians fairly quickly.
Why is Andorra allied with Prussia?
Why is Andorra allied with Prussia?
May I ask why Limburg is part of the German Confederation? I might have missed or forgotten the part of the timeline you explained it. OTL Limburg only became part of the confederation as a compensation for the loss of the western half of Luxemburg, which remained Dutch in this timeline, so I see no reason for Limburg to enter the Confederation, certainly as it would be considered as Dutch as Brabant or Gelderland now.
Andorra's supposed to be neutral. A mistake on my part in their coloring.
And the Pope might not get crushed quickly, as I imagine Italy will be more focused on Austria first.Hmm. I didn't know that Limbuirg was included in OTL because of the loss of Belgian Luxembourg. Perhaps it was included as part of the Treaty to get support from Prussia and Austria?
I doubt that would happen. Both Prussia and Austria would prefer Limburg to be Dutch as they both were pro-Dutch during the conflict and feared (correctly) that Belgium would become part of the French sphere of influence. Also why single out Limburg? There is no good reason to do that. A large part of it had ben Dutch for a long time and the rest of it was part of the southern Netherlands for most of the time. Personaly I doubt it would happen.
It only explains that Limburg and Luxemburg stay Dutch, not that Limburg becomes part of the German Confederation.
Maybe van Buren's participation in the negotiations among other factors lead to Limburg joining the confederation as part of the London Treaty? Or possibly because it was part of the Holy Roman Empire prior to its dissolution. Liege could be excluded for religious reasons as it was a Catholic bishopric.
Yeah, the German Confederation is rather confusing.No offense to anyone or historical German politics
That seems very unlikely to me, but if it is important for your timeline you could use it. Still I see no reason for it to happen, so if possible I would retcon it (if it isn't possible, too bad, I have seen even more unlikely things happen in other timelines).
It's somewhat important for justifying stuff that happens a while later. And anyway, wasn't the Netherlands considered German back then, at least by most historians and the major powers of the German Confederation?
I can't really comment about the German confederation, but wouldn't the Ionian Islands be given to Greece by this time?
Besides that very nice updates.
Besides that very nice updates.
Saying things like that here in Western Michigan might get you an angry stare - at least, and perhaps a tongue lashing by an irate Dutch senior citizen.
I imagine that Martin Van Buren considered himself Dutch, not German or even Germanic-Dutch.Yeah, the German Confederation is rather confusing.
Amen to that! I felt like I was juggling several bowling pins while riding a unicycle whilst going through the German Confederation & Austrian Empire of the 1840's & 50's in my Course of Human Events TL. You're doling a fine job of keeping things coherent and clear.
No, that idea ended basicly at the treaty at Westphalia, when the Netherlands left the Holy Roman Empire. The Netherlands created its own identity. If the Netherlands was still considered German, it would have been part of the German confederation.
Thanks. I actually forgot about the Ionian Islands. Just looked on Wiki and they were given to Greece in OTL in 1862. Give or take a few years and the necessities of war, I think it's reasonable that the Brits hold on to the islands for a bit longer.I can't really comment about the German confederation, but wouldn't the Ionian Islands be given to Greece by this time?
Besides that very nice updates.
Saying things like that here in Western Michigan might get you an angry stare - at least, and perhaps a tongue lashing by an irate Dutch senior citizen.
Well, maybe the Dutch didn't consider themselves to be German, but I think some Germans would.Thanks!Amen to that! I felt like I was juggling several bowling pins while riding a unicycle whilst going through the German Confederation & Austrian Empire of the 1840's & 50's in my Course of Human Events TL. You're doling a fine job of keeping things coherent and clear.
The parts of the Netherlands I have joining the Confederation didn't leave the HRE in 1648. And the Dutch may have their own identity, but the German powers might want to reincorporate parts of the Low Countries into the confederation as a way to keep some hold over the region. And since Luxembourg is already in the German Confederation, why should the Dutch king object to having more votes in the confederation without actually being part of it and bound by its rulings.
Next update should be done by the weekend. Why is it so hard to find a map of Belgium with the major rivers?
The parts of the Netherlands I have joining the Confederation didn't leave the HRE in 1648. And the Dutch may have their own identity, but the German powers might want to reincorporate parts of the Low Countries into the confederation as a way to keep some hold over the region. And since Luxembourg is already in the German Confederation, why should the Dutch king object to having more votes in the confederation without actually being part of it and bound by its rulings.
I really doubt that would happen, but it looks like it is important for your timeline and as I said I have read less likely things.
Part Fifty-Two: Mountains and Trenches
Update time!
Part Fifty-Two: Mountains and Trenches
French Victories:
The Second Napoleonic War started with several French offensives against its neighbors. The initial French invasion of Belgium was very successful. Within weeks, border towns in Belgium were captured and by July, French armies were only fifteen miles from Brussels and had occupied much of the French-speaking regions of Belgium. However, the French marshal Cannobert was hesitant in attacking the Belgian capital, and began preparing for an assault and siege of the city. Meanwhile, the British sent a large force into Belgium that landed at Oostende and pushed south toward the French city of Lille. The threat to the country's main textile manufacturing center and the main rail link between Paris and Belgium caused France to cease plans for an attack on Brussels and pull the front in that area back to the main divide between the Flemish and French speaking regions in Belgium. France was able to stop the British force from capturing Lille, but they could not push back into western Belgium. As the front settled for the winter months, both sides began to create trenches all along the front, from Nieuwpoort to Roubaix[1] to Waterloo.
In the Spanish front, France performed much better than in Belgium during the first year of the war. With only a few major accessible passes along the line of the Pyrenees, the fighting was much more concentrated than in Belgium. Here, France had a clear edge over Spain as the tight engagements favored France's use of field artillery. The French also had a greater advantage over Spain due to Louis Napoleon's reinstitution of conscription in the French armed forces. France managed to capture several border towns including San Sebastian on the Basque coast and Baztan further inland within a week of the start of the war. In a large basin in the Pyrenees near the city of Puigcerda, the Spanish launched a cavalry assault on the French forces moving through the basin, but the use of the French artillery rendered the cavalry useless and the Spanish army had to retreat out of the Pyrenees. By the end of 1865, France had reached as far as Girona in the east and Pamplona in the west.
France also scored many surprising initial victories at sea as well as on land. The French Navy had been strengthened with ironclads and oceangoing steamer ships while the British had been lagging behind. Despite the British taking to industrialization in their economy, the ruling Parliament had neglected the navy after the First Napoleonic Wars out of complacence and only began improving it after the National War in the United States showed the effects a modern navy could have. While the British still held sway over the Channel, the French succeeded elsewhere. The French Navy landed a force on the Belaeric Isle of Minorca which soon secured the whole island. Victories for France in the Red Sea and the Ionian Islands displayed the superiority of a navy driven by metal and steam.
Battle of the Po Valley:
While the French were achieving great success in the beginning of the Second Napoleonic War, the Grand Unification War got off to a slow and sluggish start. The Prussian invasion of Denmark was halted by the wetlands and marshes that made up most of the Schleswig region. A combined army of Hanoverians and Danes defeated a Prussian attack at Eckemforde as the Prussians got stuck in the muddy terrain. While it was not much of a tactical victory for the Danes, it was a great national victory. The Dannevirke, used as a southern defensive position by Denmark since the age of the Vikings, had proven successful once again.
Prussia also had major difficulties crossing into Austria over the Sudeten Mountains. The traditional defensive position for Bohemia and then the Austrian Empire, the Habsburgs had set up a series of fortifications all along the mountain range. Prussian and Bavarian attempts to break through were thwarted by the Austrians in most places, but Prussia did manage to occupy Liberec and Ostrava before the winter set in. German general Steffen Osisek[2] led the attack through the Sudeten that captured Liberec in September of 1865. Bavarian attempts were less successful in the mountains and very little progress was made in the Alps or along the Sudeten range. The Austrians even launched an offensive into Bavaria following the Danube that took Passau and reached over fifty miles into the country before being defeated at Straubing.
By far, Italy had the most successful beginning campaign of any country in the Grand Unification War. Coming off of recent subjugation of the Two Sicilies, Garibaldi and the Italian army in Naples simply began moving up the coast into the Papal States. The Papal army had to retreat continuously in the face of the Italian cavalry but stopped the Italian advance in the pass at Ferentino. The Italians had more victories in the Po Valley as nationalist revolts in Milan and other cities aided Garibaldi's cause. While an army advanced on Milan from the west, Italian general Enrico Cialdini led an army up from Parma to capture Piacenza and then turned northeast. Cialdini pushed north and reached Lodi on the Adda River before being stopped by an Austrian army. The Second Battle of Lodi resulted in an Austrian victory that halted the Italian advance, but Milan had been captured and Italy had taken the Austrian lands west of the Adda.
[1] A town just north of Lille but still in France.
[2] Fictional general, the surname originates from Silesia.
Part Fifty-Two: Mountains and Trenches
French Victories:
The Second Napoleonic War started with several French offensives against its neighbors. The initial French invasion of Belgium was very successful. Within weeks, border towns in Belgium were captured and by July, French armies were only fifteen miles from Brussels and had occupied much of the French-speaking regions of Belgium. However, the French marshal Cannobert was hesitant in attacking the Belgian capital, and began preparing for an assault and siege of the city. Meanwhile, the British sent a large force into Belgium that landed at Oostende and pushed south toward the French city of Lille. The threat to the country's main textile manufacturing center and the main rail link between Paris and Belgium caused France to cease plans for an attack on Brussels and pull the front in that area back to the main divide between the Flemish and French speaking regions in Belgium. France was able to stop the British force from capturing Lille, but they could not push back into western Belgium. As the front settled for the winter months, both sides began to create trenches all along the front, from Nieuwpoort to Roubaix[1] to Waterloo.
In the Spanish front, France performed much better than in Belgium during the first year of the war. With only a few major accessible passes along the line of the Pyrenees, the fighting was much more concentrated than in Belgium. Here, France had a clear edge over Spain as the tight engagements favored France's use of field artillery. The French also had a greater advantage over Spain due to Louis Napoleon's reinstitution of conscription in the French armed forces. France managed to capture several border towns including San Sebastian on the Basque coast and Baztan further inland within a week of the start of the war. In a large basin in the Pyrenees near the city of Puigcerda, the Spanish launched a cavalry assault on the French forces moving through the basin, but the use of the French artillery rendered the cavalry useless and the Spanish army had to retreat out of the Pyrenees. By the end of 1865, France had reached as far as Girona in the east and Pamplona in the west.
France also scored many surprising initial victories at sea as well as on land. The French Navy had been strengthened with ironclads and oceangoing steamer ships while the British had been lagging behind. Despite the British taking to industrialization in their economy, the ruling Parliament had neglected the navy after the First Napoleonic Wars out of complacence and only began improving it after the National War in the United States showed the effects a modern navy could have. While the British still held sway over the Channel, the French succeeded elsewhere. The French Navy landed a force on the Belaeric Isle of Minorca which soon secured the whole island. Victories for France in the Red Sea and the Ionian Islands displayed the superiority of a navy driven by metal and steam.
Battle of the Po Valley:
While the French were achieving great success in the beginning of the Second Napoleonic War, the Grand Unification War got off to a slow and sluggish start. The Prussian invasion of Denmark was halted by the wetlands and marshes that made up most of the Schleswig region. A combined army of Hanoverians and Danes defeated a Prussian attack at Eckemforde as the Prussians got stuck in the muddy terrain. While it was not much of a tactical victory for the Danes, it was a great national victory. The Dannevirke, used as a southern defensive position by Denmark since the age of the Vikings, had proven successful once again.
Prussia also had major difficulties crossing into Austria over the Sudeten Mountains. The traditional defensive position for Bohemia and then the Austrian Empire, the Habsburgs had set up a series of fortifications all along the mountain range. Prussian and Bavarian attempts to break through were thwarted by the Austrians in most places, but Prussia did manage to occupy Liberec and Ostrava before the winter set in. German general Steffen Osisek[2] led the attack through the Sudeten that captured Liberec in September of 1865. Bavarian attempts were less successful in the mountains and very little progress was made in the Alps or along the Sudeten range. The Austrians even launched an offensive into Bavaria following the Danube that took Passau and reached over fifty miles into the country before being defeated at Straubing.
By far, Italy had the most successful beginning campaign of any country in the Grand Unification War. Coming off of recent subjugation of the Two Sicilies, Garibaldi and the Italian army in Naples simply began moving up the coast into the Papal States. The Papal army had to retreat continuously in the face of the Italian cavalry but stopped the Italian advance in the pass at Ferentino. The Italians had more victories in the Po Valley as nationalist revolts in Milan and other cities aided Garibaldi's cause. While an army advanced on Milan from the west, Italian general Enrico Cialdini led an army up from Parma to capture Piacenza and then turned northeast. Cialdini pushed north and reached Lodi on the Adda River before being stopped by an Austrian army. The Second Battle of Lodi resulted in an Austrian victory that halted the Italian advance, but Milan had been captured and Italy had taken the Austrian lands west of the Adda.
[1] A town just north of Lille but still in France.
[2] Fictional general, the surname originates from Silesia.
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Good start to the war. It seems like we already got a good stalemate or teeter-totter situation in Belgium and the Sudetens. Hard to say whats going to happen in Spain, it seems like their a bit out classed by the French; but the French will probably lose their tactical advantage they had in the Pyrenees, once the front moves deeper into Spain. Though I'm pretty sure the Papal States will be finished very soon, unless Austria has the chance to allocate more resources there.
So Wilcoxchar, will you be spending as much time on these wars, as you did with the National War?
So Wilcoxchar, will you be spending as much time on these wars, as you did with the National War?
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