alternatehistory.com

11 November

Death of Frederick VII of Denmark, around one week before the planned signing into law of the (as yet not quite finalized) November Constitution.
Causing particular problems is that the Holstein parliament has signalled that it is not willing to accept the current form of the constitution - creating a particular problem as the Union Constitution that had previously controlled the whole Danish Union has been in abeyance for five years after an act of the German Confederation, and Holstein as such technically does not have a constitution at this point.


13 November

The Ever Victorious Army under Ward achieves another remarkable victory in the service of the Qing dynasty, making heavy use of the Napoleonic "artillery charge" supported by light infantry sharpshooters to defeat the enemy main body - an odd reversal of the normal means of fighting with infantry supported by artillery.
By now close to 7,500 strong, the Ever Victorious Army is creating a corps of trained Chinese officers with a record of success and with experience in thinking "outside the box" - the artillery charge itself is not the brainchild of Ward but of one of his Chinese battalion officers.


14 November

Christian IX of Denmark (the Glücksburg heir, now crowned but without having had a full coronation as yet) is presented with the draft of the November Constitution.
Placed in a difficult position, he feels he has no choice but to sign.

Also on this date, one of the outlying bastions of the Warsaw citadel is assaulted by 5,000 Polish troops spearheaded by two regiments of Grenadierzy. The broken and damaged walls form a substantial scaling obstacle, but one which the defenders also cannot make use of for the normal means of defence, and the bastion is in Polish hands by the evening. (This is greatly helped by the fire of the Krupp rifle Wladislaw destroying the casemates that would be used to direct artillery fire from the main fortress).

Huszaria riflemen move into the bastion over the evening, and begin sniping at any Russian soldiers visible on the near fort face.


16 November

After over a week of soul-searching, Ortega writes a long letter and sends it to Maximilien.
Touched by the sincerity and clear pain in the words, Maximilien agrees to the suggestions and terms of the missive on his own (theoretically absolute) authority.

Holstein formally rejects the November Constitution.


17 November

Frederick III of Prussia formally requests assurances from the King of Denmark (Christian IX) that he does not plan to violate the London Protocol, specifically that section which requests that there be no closer constitutional affiliation between Denmark and Schleswig than between Denmark and Holstein.
As it happens, both men are aware that this is essentially a done deal - the London Protocol has already been violated, and it was probably always going to be violated given the situation of the time. As such, Frederick III also sends messages to his mother-in-law and her parliament (requesting that this be considered a German-Danish affair, a matter for the German Confederation and the Danish Crown, at least in terms of ensuring compliance to the London Protocol), to the Prussian Reichstag (requesting approval for possible military action) and to the German Confederation (also requesting approval for possible military action).
Frederick III feels strongly about the issues as they affect Holstein, but he also wishes this to be done properly.

Ortega takes the amnesty offered by Maximilien, swearing allegiance to the new Mexican Emperor. His oath is conditional, however, and predicated on the establishment within two years of a consultative assembly drawn by election from "as much of Mexico as is practical"; Maximilien also gives assurances that this will be carried out.
The price of a parliament allows Ortega to feel that he has done as much as is realistic to secure the continuation of the values of the Mexican Republic now that the form appears crippled, and Maximilien is taken with the idea on a personal level (as - as far as he is concerned - he has nothing to fear from the will of the Mexican people, who he loves and who did after all choose him by plebiscite).
Napoleon III will be a little less happy when he learns of this, but consider that "Mexico is worth a mass election".


18 November

The reaction to Ortega's announcement is immediate, mixed, and confusing.
As the man who should (if not captured) be leading the Republic, some people take this as an outright and legitimate surrender. Others treat it as a shocking betrayal and vow to fight on, while still others considered Ortega a 'pretender' anyway and are not much moved. The practical upshot to this is an erosion in Republican morale, in both military and civil terms.
One of the most important factors is that it reduces tensions in areas already controlled by Imperialists. Even the people who dislike Maximilien agree that he has been forthright in his dealings with the Mexican people (his ban on child labour being one example) and as such there is a fair amount of faith that the promised parliament will materialize in the fullness of time.