An unlikely historical accident - The rise of a new nation

USA

After 5 years of civil war, USA was a tiered nation. It demobilize his huge army to a level that was barely enough to bordering and fighting the Indians who were slowly pushed to reservations. Finishing the transcontinental railway was a huge bonus for commerce and colonization of the west.

The USA was turned inside, adopting an isolationist policy. The war with Spain was nearly happened, because of bellicose journalism made by Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst who militated for USA involvement.

The negotiations to buy the Alaska from Russia dragged for many years to achieve nothing. Russia see that land useless and wanted to sell it but they do not agree upon the price. The American Civil War, dragging till 1866, hurt the USA economy and no negotiations were performed till 1868.

United States Secretary of State between 1861 and 1868, William Henry Seward, was a partisan of acquisition, that become known as the "Seward's folly" but he was forced to retire from the office before the negotiations were achieved. The new Secretary of State become Elihu Benjamin Washburne who was less enthusiastically. So, the final price proposed to Russians at the beginning of 1869 was 3.6 million dollars, about 1 cent per acre, a price who do not pleased the Tsar who requested at least 10 million. Also, selling Russian territory after the loses to the Ottoman Empire imposed by the European powers, was not appreciated among many Russian officials, even if that territory was quite worthless and consumed far more money than produced.

There is another aspect that is sometime ignored. In the negotiation commission was a former general of the Union army, George Pomutz, a Romanian native born in Transylvania near Brasov and emigrated in USA after the failed 1848 revolution. At the beginning of the Civil War, Pomutz enrolled in the Union Army as a first lieutenant in the 15th Iowa Infantry. He was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh. In May 1864 Pomutz was appointed Provost Marshal of the 17th Iowa Infantry. In August 1864, he returned to the 15th Iowa Infantry, which he commanded in the Battle of Atlanta. He was appointed a brevet brigadier general on March 13, 1865. In 1866 he took part of the brutal repression against the civilians in the South, a campaign that let big scars in his character. Pomutz start to drink a lot. In 1867 he was appointed consul of USA in Saint Petersburg were he become heavily involved in the negotiations. A small incident happened one night at one of the party he participated when he insulted one of the members of the Russian negotiation commission. He tell the Russian the fact that Russia is the enemy of the democracy and of the progress as it crush the ‘48s revolutions and that he was glad to see it humiliated by the Western Powers at Paris, by giving so much land to Moldavia.

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Union General Brigadier George Pomutz

The incident, quite minor, had the consequence of the expulsion of Pomutz from Russia. Still, the Pomutz absence was filled was feel, as he knew well the Russians and their mentality. The negotiations were not progressed. We will never know if the Pomutz presence could have affect the negotiations or how important his presence was. Pomutz never returned in USA, preferring to go to Romania. After wall, the melancholy of his birth places hunt him and he visit it many times before dying. He found job in the Romanian army as consultant on training. Pomutz died poor in 1888 at the age of 70.

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Source:[FONT=&quot] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pomutz[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 
Uh... This is a mistake of mine...

Can we consider that the Northern part of the Rhine Province (on the right bank of the Rhine) was attached to Westphalia so, Essen remain Prussian?

Or at least, Krupp factories were moved 1-200Km east? I really do not want to let Prussia without a powertful military and weapon making as it's quite crucial for my timeline to have an aggressive Prussia as armament supplier for the most of the world...

Thank you guys! :cool:


I see. As Krupp would have worked for Prussia before the war agaisnt France, You can assume that there are plants in Parts Prussia still retains. Maybe Krupp will relocate some assets to TTLs Prussia.
So if you WANT Krupp working for Prussia its possible. OTL Krupp sold guns to all European nations (except France !), so Krupp won't have a problem with having plants in "both" German states... ;)

Austri OTOH might want to have a domestic weapons factory, so it might prefer Skoda in later years forcing Krupp to focus on Prussia ;)
 
You just married off Rudolfs bride to the Spanish king... I am wondering what you have in mind ;)

Well, Rudolph married her sister TTL ()... :cool: What I have in mind... we will see.

Concerning Krupp working in both German states, I do not see this working very well, as the Austrians already had an advanced weapon industry, plus each state will try to have superiority against another.
 
Skoda was founded just a few years ago (late 50s) and Steyr-Mannlicher is more small arms. Krupp sold guns to both Austria and prussia before (and after) the 1866 war. When (south) Germany was established TTL Krupp was already firmly stablished, I don't assume it completely withdraws from South GErmany, but I agree that (South) Germany will establish an Austrian centered weapons industry.
 
The Russian Empire

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[FONT=&quot]Tsar Alexandre II, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias

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[FONT=&quot]The Empire of all Russias, led by the Tsar Alexandre II, was the land of the contrasts. He was the second vastest state on the earth, after the British Empire, his main competitor and adversary, stretching from the German border to the Canadian one. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]After the defeat in the Crimean war and the humiliated peace at the Paris, the Tsar swore to take the revenge. But the first thing to do it was recovering both military and economically, as well as reasserting the Russian domination in the Asia. A big program of modernization took place starting with the years 60s. In 1861, the Tsar promulgate the most important law of the entire 19 century Russian history: the emancipation of the serf. More than 23 million serf were liberated. Still, the reform had his bugs: instead of receiving their lands as a gift, the freed peasants had to pay a special tax for what amounted to their lifetime to the government, which in turn paid the landlords a generous price for the land that they had lost. In numerous cases the peasants ended up with the smallest amount of land. The unfavorable terms for the peasants only grow the discontent against the government.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Many other reforms were passed, especially in the army who become a true modern force. Russia will have the rematch but till them it turned to Asia. Soon after the Treaty of Paris, Russia invaded the Chinese Qing Dynasty and occupied the big swats of Manchuria, who will be known as the Outer Manchuria (the Inner one remaining Chinese). After the capitulation of the French in the hand of the Germans, the Tsar announced that the treaty of Paris that ended the Crimean war is now void and start rebuilding a Black see fleet.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Even if the Austrian betrayal in the Crimean war was not forget, the forming of the German Empire opened interesting perspectives of cooperation. The Kaiser gives to the Tsar the free hand in the Balkans and all that need was a pretext to start a new war against the hearted Turkish. The man who worked hard for the doom of the Ottoman Empire was the Russian Chancellor Alexander M. Gorchakov. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He enter in negotiations with the Germans, the British, the Prussians, the Italians and the French for a possible dismantling of the Empire. Except the Russians, no power desire to actual fight the Turks but each one of it wanted a piece.
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Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov

[FONT=&quot]The Turks knew very well that and, under the Sultan Abdul-Aziz., start an important program of rearming, mainly using French and British armament. The French and British had no remorse to sell weapons to the Ottomans while negotiating with the Russians to take a piece. The war was certain, but the powers were not yet agreed how much will each one should gain. Also, a reason should be find, but this was not an issue, especially in the Balkans. All that region was a mess in term of nationality compositions. The Ottoman conquest lead to a patchwork of ethnicities, with a very difficult way of tracing the frontiers between, was sometime do not have continuity. To complete the mesh, there was also the religion question, as the Muslims and the Orthodox overlaps in many areas. Turks, Greeks, Tatars, Gagauz (a Turkish people but of Orthodox religion), Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians (in majority [/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Muslims but with a [/FONT]Christian minority), Bosnians (sometimes considered Serbs, where Muslims), Macedonians (some time being considered Bulgarians, other times Greeks), Romanians (being also knew as Wallachians, Vlachs, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians) and even Russians and not forgetting the Jews and the Gipsies (who sometimes were spread over, other times forming enclaves).
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[FONT=&quot]The Great Russo-Turkish war will start in 1876, and the Cassus beli was the brutal repression of the Bulgarian and Serbian uprisings by the Ottoman army, as well by the irregular Bashi-bazouks, recruited mainly among the Tatars and the Muslim refugees, who [/FONT][FONT=&quot]had committed [/FONT][FONT=&quot]acts[/FONT][FONT=&quot] of genocide and ethnically cleaning against the Christians, especially the ones closer to the northern border in order to secure it. [/FONT]


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Source: Wiki
Map source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Balkans-ethnic_(1861).jpg




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The Romanian Army

Seeing his position unstable in his new state, surrounded by 3 hostile Empires, Carol was decided to modernize this bloody unstable coin of Europe and make it a viable state who other European powers will respect and consider. Of course, his huge ego played a lot… He also knew that a state without army was not a state, so he decide to build a strong and a modern army. What he succeeded, was nearly the same situation with old Prussia: he created an army who owned a state, not vice versa.

So, Carol move further with reformation and re-organization of the Romanian army started by his predecessors. The laws of 1 March 1870 and 26 August 1874, creates a new legal structure for the army who was organized after the Prussian model with French and local specific influences, having 4 major components:

1. The Permanent Army (approx. 35.000 men) formed of:

  • The General Staff under the general command of the prince Carol
  • Guard infantry regiments : approx. 3.800 men
    • 2 infantry guard regiments of 3 battalions of 4 companies each (named “Mihai Viteazul” and “Prince Carol”) (total strength of 1896 men each)

  • The Cavalry: approx. 2300 men
    • 1 cavalry regiment of blue lancers “Lăncieri” (named “Mircea”) of the nominal peace strength of 680 men
    • 2 cavalry regiments of red hussars “Roșiori” (one in Iasi – named “Ștefan Vodă” and the other in Bucharest – named”Vlad Țepeș”), of the nominal peace strength of 800 men

  • Infantry: approx. 24.000 men
    • 10 line infantry regiments (peace strength of 1874 men) composed as following: 2 field and 1 depot battalions of 4 companies each
    • 10 “Vânători” chasseurs battalions (peace strength of 512 men) of 4 companies each
  • The artillery of the permanent army: 144 guns and approx. 3.600 men
    • 2 artillery regiments of 2 battalions each having 4 batteries (4 guns/batteries = 64 guns and approx. 1.600 men). 2 of the batteries were cavalry ones and 2 were of heavy siege ones. The number of the batteries per battalion will be increased later from 4 to 6.
    • 20 regimental batteries (2/reg.) of 4 guns each = 80 guns and approx. 2.000 men
  • The special troops (the sappers, the pontoniers, the telegraphs units, the rail specialists, the militaryhealth service, the military police)
2. The Territorial Army (approx. 40-41.000 men) containing:

  • 14 infantry regiments of “Dorobanți” of 2 or 3 battalions, one battalion coming from each county (40 in total, at a nominal peace strength of approx. 800 each) total = approx. 32.000 men
  • 40 irregular cavalry squadrons of “Călărași” (1 for each county), nominal peace strength being 150 men/squadron; total = approx. 6.000 men
  • 28 batteries of territorial artillery (of 4 guns each) = 112 guns and approx. 2.800 men
3. The Security forces (approx. 6.000 men), having special statute and containing:

  • the border guards – “Grăniceri” (2 regiments of mounted infantry for border patrol = approx 2.800 men)
  • the gendarmes – “Jandarmi” (12 squadrons of mounted infantry, divided in 2 brigades = approx. 1000 men )
  • the firefighters – “Pompieri” (4 battalions organized in batteries = 10 batteries with 1600 men and around 40 guns, used especially for defensive and garrison duties)
  • the foresters – “Pădurari”(6 companies of chasseurs = approx. 500 men)
4. The Militia – all male between 17 and 46 years, not including in the previous, only raised on time of war and for defence of the territory as well as for replacing the loses. The total militias forces were around 20.000 men who practiced 1 day/month.

In time of war, the manpower regiments were planed to double or even triple the size (in case of dorobanti regiments).

Romania have a very small armament industry, focused on munitions production, reparation and adaptations of the existing weapons. Therefore, the troops were armed with different types of guns from different countries. After the performances observed in the Franco-Prussian and German war, Romanian Government pass an order to buy Chassepot rifles form France. An order of 40.000 rifles was passed in 1873, designated for the permanent army. In 1874, the infantry line regiments also received the portable shovels Linneman. The Territorial Army received “Dreyse” rifles model 1867 and several regiments had also American “Peabodyu” rifles model 1868. The militias were armed with Russian older models “Krnkau” rifles.

The permanent artillery received breech-loading 78.5 mm Krupp artillery guns. In 1874, the regimental artillery received the 87 mm Krupp and the siege artillery and the coast artillery received the Russian “Lavrov” mortars and guns of 152.4mm calibre. The territorial artillery was armed with the older muzzle-loading French canons “La Hitte”, model 1859 and 1865: “cannon de 4”, having the calibre of 86.5mm and “cannon-obusier de 12” with calibre of 121.3mm. Also, several Gatling
guns model 1874 and Montigny mitrailleuses were brought and 4 defensive redoubt batteries were created.

The fleet, especially the fluvial one, was also expanded by acquisition of several navies of different types. The Danube Flotila contains in 1876: 2 fluvial monitors, 3 gunboats, 3 fluvial torpedoes, 1 signal ship and several rapid motorboats and barges.

The Uniforms: The officers wear epaulettes and have the kepi stile head dress.
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Romanian Officers of the general staff - reenactment photo

Line Infantry uniform:
dark blue tunic, grey trousers, grey cloak, head-dress similar to French kepi, black boots.
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Romanian line infantry


Chasseurs (Vanatori) uniform: dark brown tunic, grey trousers, dark green rifle-hat, black boots
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Romanian vanatori officers and privates

Rosiori
uniform: scarlet red hussar-tunic, white pantaloons (for parade), grey ones for the campaign, Napoleon boots, black head-dress.
Calarasi uniform: similar with rosiori, but with green or dark-blue tunic.
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Romanian cavalry

Artillery
uniform: dark-brown tunic, grey trousers, kepi, black boots

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Romanian
artilleryman from the permanent army

Dorobanti uniform:
black lamb’s fur cap with turkey feather plume, blouse in white linen, breeches in undyed cloth, greatcoat in grey cloth, black leather jack boots or peasant style “opinkas” in undyed, natural leather. Cause of the turkey's feather, they were pejoratively nicknamed "turkeys".

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The 3rd Regiment of Dorobanti - historical photo
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Romanian Territorial Artillery - reenactment photo


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Sources:
The Ottoman Empire and Its Tributary States (Expecting Egypt), by W. S. Cooke
http://www.armyacademy.ro/e-learning/working/capitol_4.html
Artileria Romana in date si imagini, by Col. dr. A. Stroea and lt. col. G. Bajenaru
Infanteria Română – 180 de ani, by Col. dr. A. Stroea and others
http://www.6dorobanti.ro/index.php?article=13&language=en
http://only-romania.com/2014/07/military-uniforms-1896/

 
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So what was the Romanian army like before 1870 reforms? The "permanent" part was smaller, I assume...

Hi Halagaz!

Thank you for reading my timeline :D.

Actually, there were a long series of reforms... The Romanian army evolved from several regiments to nearly the effective I mentioned above in roughly 30 years.

So, in approx 1859, the OTL Romanian permanent army was 10.000 men +3.000 territorial troops (a.k.a. border guards and gendarmes, all named "dorobanti").
Already in 1865, the OTL army was nearly 20.000 men + 24.000 territorial troops (still, the artillery was not too great).

In the beginning of 1877: the OTL Romanian army (both permanent and territorial) was around of 59.000 men + 16.000 militias and town guards, while artillery in the permanent army had 144 guns (I don't found data for the territorial one, enured by the firefighters). In time of war, the full mobilized army could reach 100.000 men. The recrutment were by lot.

In my timeline, I inflated the numbers, as Romania is larger (had Bassarabia and Trans-Dniester) and also Carol fill less protected by his own native country, so invest more in the army, make it far stronger.

So, the effective of the army is 35.000 permanent + 41.000 territorial + 6.000 security = 82.000 + 20.000 militias = 100.000 men (from a total population of more than 6 million).

Also the artillery it's far more powerful (same number of 144 guns for the permanent army + another 112 for the territorial one who is better organized and armed then OTL + another 40 from the firefighters batteries).
Also, this army is better armed than OTL, where the most modern rifle was the Dreyse needle gun. ITTL it had Chassepot and Dreyse.

The flotilla is also 50% stronger ITT than OTL.
 
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The Great Russo-Turkish war - The begining

Article 9 of the 1856 Paris Peace Treaty, concluded at the end of the Crimean War, obliged the Ottoman Empire to grant Christians equal rights with Muslims. The jizya tax was abolished and non-Muslims were allowed to join the army. However, some key aspects of dhimmi status were retained, including that the testimony of Christians against Muslims was not accepted in courts, which granted Muslims effective immunity for offenses conducted against Christians.

In 1866, start the Cretan Revolt, having as objective the unification with Greece. Without having external help, the insurrection was suppressed by 1869, but the Porte offered some concessions, introducing island self-rule and increasing Christian rights on the island.

The Crimean war, the rebellions and the corruption and economical inefficiency, put a heavy financial strain on the treasury and forced the Ottoman government to take a series of foreign loans at such steep interest rates that, despite all the fiscal reforms that followed, pushed it into unplayable debts and economic difficulties.

This was further aggravated by the need to accommodate more than 600,000 Muslim Circassians, expelled by the Russians from the Caucasus, to the Black Sea ports of north Anatolia and the Balkan ports of Constanţa and Varna, which cost a great deal in money and in civil disorder to the Ottoman authorities. The Ottoman choice to have them settled in Dobrudja province, at the expense to the native Bulgarian, Greek and Romanian population who sometime was expelled, from their land, was seen by all Christian habitant of the Empire as a new measure of ethnical cleaning of the Black Sea shore and of the Danube mouths region in order to establish a strong Muslim presence.

A severe drought in Anatolia in 1873 and flooding in 1874 caused famine and widespread discontent in the heart of the Empire. The agricultural shortages precluded the collection of necessary taxes, which forced the Ottoman government to declare bankruptcy in October 1875 and increase taxes on outlying provinces including the Balkans.

An uprising against Ottoman rule began in Herzegovina in July 1875. By August almost all of Herzegovina had been seized and the revolt had spread into Bosnia. Supported by nationalist volunteers from Serbia and Montenegro, the uprising continued as the Ottomans committed more and more troops to suppress it. The revolt of Bosnia and Herzegovina spurred the Romanian-based Bulgarian revolutionaries into action. In 1875, a Bulgarian uprising was hastily prepared to take advantage of Ottoman preoccupation, but it fizzled before it started.
In the spring of 1876, another uprising erupted in the north-central Bulgarian lands. That event was even more haphazardly planned than the previous one. The Empire completely lost the control of the most of the regions closed to the northern frontier and the rebellions spread far to the south of Bulgarian lands.

The Ottomans, lacking adequate regular troops because of the problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were compelled to use irregular Bashi-bazouks to quell the Bulgarians. Those irregulars were mostly drawn from the Muslim inhabitants of the Bulgarian regions, many of whom were Circassian refugees expelled from the Caucasus or Crimean Tatar refugees expelled during the Crimean War.

The bashi-bazouks brutally suppressed the revolt, massacring more than 15.000 people in the process. Sometimes, the vehiculated numbers increase up to 30.000 victims. Other victims were added by the brutal treatment of the regular army who, after crushing the Bosnian rebellion, returned to Bulgaria. Up to 60.000 Bulgarians were forcibly removed from the adjacent Danube regions and resettled in Anatolia. When the words of the bashi-bazouks's atrocities arrived to the outside world, mainly via the Bulgarian students who studied in Romania. All the world condemned the abuses of the Ottomans. In Russia, this was the pretext it waited for.

Sending founds and weapons to the Ottoman vassals Serbia, Montenegro and Romania, as well as to the Bulgarian rebels, the Tsar encouraged them to fight the Turks. When Serbia, led by prince Milan Obrenović, and Montenegro declared independence in June 1876 from the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish reaction was swift and brutal. In less than 3 months, the Serbian army was completely crushed and the country put under the military occupation. In October 1876, Russia issue an ultimatum to the Ottomans to release Serbia and Montenegro as independent nations, evacuate them military and give Bulgaria the autonomy similar to Romanian one. Of course, those terms were rejected by the Turks who prepared to the war.


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Russia preparing to release the Balkan dogs of war, while Britain warns him to take care. Punch cartoon from June 17, 1876

Having the benevolent attitude of German Empire, as well as the tacit agreement of all the great powers, Russia declared war to Ottoman Empire in 31 January 1877. Before that, Gorchakov negotiated with the Romanian government free passage of the Russian troops in the Romanian territory, as well as he signed a treaty by recognising the integrity of the Romanian territory.


Prince Carol of Romania, request more founds for the army and increase of the forces. The parliament votes 12 new more Credits designated for the army, as well as the creation of 6 new Dorobanti regiments of 2 battalions each, as well as increasing the permanent artillery batteries guns from 4 to 6 each. Because the Germans tried to limit the Romanian increase of the army, Carol was forced to accept the Russian proposal to buy Russian armament. So, the new raised regiments of Dorobanti were armed with “Krnkau” rifles. Despite the protest, the Russians sell older models of the rifles.

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Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1877–78)
http://www.armyacademy.ro/e-learning/working/capitol_5.html


 
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Actually, there were a long series of reforms... The Romanian army evolved from several regiments to nearly the effective I mentioned above in roughly 30 years.

So, in approx 1859, the OTL Romanian permanent army was 10.000 men +3.000 territorial troops (a.k.a. border guards and gendarmes, all named "dorobanti").
Already in 1865, the OTL army was nearly 20.000 men + 24.000 territorial troops (still, the artillery was not too great).

In the beginning of 1877: the OTL Romanian army (both permanent and territorial) was around of 59.000 men + 16.000 militias and town guards, while artillery in the permanent army had 144 guns (I don't found data for the territorial one, enured by the firefighters). In time of war, the full mobilized army could reach 100.000 men. The recrutment were by lot.

I see. Thanks
 
The Balkans in 1876

Below there is the map of the Balkans in 1876, just before starting the war.
Serbia, Montenegro and Romania are still Ottoman vassals but with very large autonomy.

Balkans_1876.png
 
The Great Russo-Turkish war - The Campaign

In 21 February, the first Russian troops pass the frontier and attacked Odessa, the town belonging officially to Romania but directly administrated by the Turks and having a Turkish garrison. The Russian assault was repelled with high loses. The Romanian government protested against this act.

The Russians then signed a new agreement with the Romanians. The Romanian army will cover the Danube and will capture Odessa from the Turkish hands in order to secure the free passage of the Russian forces and the free Danube crossing. On exchange, the Russian Empire will recognise the Romanian Independence if it will be declared, as well as respecting the integrity of her territory. As consequence, the Turkish batteries opened fire against the Romanian shore.

The first Romanian shoot in the war was the sinking of a Turkish monitor in the Danube by the Galati heavy coastal battery. The Romanian army start to fully mobilize and 2/3 of effectives were placed on the Danube, while the rest was sent to Odessa to capture it. The Romanian artillery also opened fire on the Danube shore against the other shore, outgunning the Turkish one. In 1st April, the Odessa was captured by the 10th and 13th “Dorobanti” regiments after an audacious bayonet attack at 5PM in the morning. This will be heavily commemorated by the Romanian army as it was its first major victory.

The Ottomans had in Balkans already 240.000 men and 300 guns, they were divided in 3: about 100.000 were assigned to fortified garrisons, about 100.000 for the army of operation and another 40.000 as strategically reserves. The Turks were heavily fortified, possessing superior arms, including new British and American-made rifles and Prussian-made artillery, but they make a major mistake: They believed that the Russian army was lazy so the bulk of their army will cross the Danube at Galati. In consequence, they planned to defend to the line Cernavoda-Constanta, with a backup line in Silistra-Dobrich-Kavarna.

One month later, on 9 Mai 1877, from the tribune of the Romanian Parliament in Iasi, the Romanian foreign minister Mihail Kogalniceau declared:
We are in state of war with the Ottoman Empire, our suzerain, with all the ties broken. So what are we then? We are independents! We are a freestanding nation! Long live the free Romania!”
Soon, the Russian Cabinet welcomed the declaration of independence and recognised the state, encouraging the Serbs to do the same.
The Russians underestimated the Ottoman forces, relying on the Serbian re-entry in the war, as well as a new Bulgarian uprising and a Greek participation. While the Greeks and the Serbians, who were heavily battered in the last campaign, waited to see the Russian winning the war before participating, the Bulgarians raised a forced of 20-25.000 voluntaries, but who greatly lacked munition and artillery.
In the meantime, the 280.000 strong Russian army and 500 guns crossed the Danube in two points: The First army, strong of 60.000 and led by the Count Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko, crossed at Galati. The Second and the Third army, each strong of 110.000 men, crossed at Nikopol and Zimnicea with the help of Romanian fleet and artillery. The overall command of the Russian armies was ensured by Tsarevich Alexandre Alexandrovich, the future Tsar.
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Tsarevich Alexandre Alexandrovich

After a short battle at Nikopol, the Russian army split in two, one army lead by Grand Duke Nicholas moving to east to capturing the fortress of Ruse - Rasgrad – Shumen – Varna and the other led by Tsarevich Alexandre, moving to Pleven who found it very well defended by the Gazi Osman Pasha at the head of 40.000 men.
The army led by Nicolas was stopped in east at the line of Russe – Katselovo – Byala – Tarnovo by a Turkish army of 60.000 men led by Suleiman Pasha.
The Russian tried several times to assault the complicated system of Redoubts built around Pleven but without success. The big number of Russian artillery was quite inefficient against the latest modern defensive earthworks. Also, they found that they were outgunned by the Turkish artillery equipped with Krupp canons. The Russian took incredibly loses and their moral dropped. Several Turkish contra-attacks nearly droves the Russians from their positions.

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Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich

A tentative of reinforcement from Constantinople was prevented by the Bulgarian volunteers who stopped a 35.000 recently raised Turkish army, led by Veysel Pasha and arriving directly from Anatolia at Shipka Pass, despise the heavy loses.

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The Turkish defeat of Shipka Peak

The Tsarevich Alexandre requested Grand Duke Nicholas to send more troops but the response was under the expectation as the Duke’s forces were engaged by the Turks as well and they do not win. The first army in Dobrudja, founded itself also in a difficult position as they could not could not break through the line of Cernavoda – Constanta and do not bypassed either. The Russian high command request the Tsar to send new troops, but those troops will took long time to arrive on the battlefield.

In June the Turkish army, 25.000 strong, from Vidin led by Mehmed Ali Pasha, moved east with the orders to cut the Russians from their bases and destroy the bridge head. Recognizing the danger, the Tsarevich Alexandre meet Grand Duke Nicholas and decided to send a telegram to Romania for requesting their immediate intervention. While in the beginning they do not wanted at all the Romanian participation, being overconfident, they were now in the danger to being cut from the bases and possibly defeated. Also, they do not liked the perspective to have a neutral strong army on their back, with the possibility to make a deal with the Turkish and fall on their backs. The Russian General Staff was really concerned with this last hypothesis, as the latest information from the spies at Constantinople mentioned the fact that the Porte was ready to give the Romanians independence if they will join against the Russians.

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Prince Carol of Romania

The Romanian Headquarters were set in the village of Piatra, close to the borders. When the telegram arrived, signed by both Alexandre and Nicholas, Prince Carol request the permission of entering in the war. Then the Prime Minister Bratianu make a stand against this decision and request several days of negotiation for the Romanian participation. He and Kogalniceanu both meet Gorchakov and signed a treaty: Romania will be equal member in the war, in case of victory will received her share of the spoils of war and she will participated at the peace conference. Also, the Romanian forces will be under Romanian command. Gorchakov agree with half heart but was strongly pushed by the Tsarevich who just learn that the Turkish reinforcements succeeded to force the Balkan passes.

In 26 June 1877, the Romanian army, 60.000 strong, crossed the Danube at Zimnicea. Another army, 40.000 strong was deployed along the Danube. The army led by Mehmed Ali Pasha which aimed capturing Nicopol was repulsed by the Romanian forces led by the general Alexandru Cernat, so the communication to the north was secured.

At the Romanian arrival, the Russian high command request a new general assault but at the end of three days of fighting, the only achievements were the piles of dead bodies. The most ferocious fighting’s were conducted around Grivitza redoubts who were token by Russians twice to be lost again. The Russians Forces were so badly mauled there then the General high command decided to replace them with the Romanian troops.

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Gazi Osman Pasha

Finally, Pleven was surrounded and all communications were cut. The Grivitza redoubts (4 at number), were captured one by one by the Romanian troops by the end of the August. Seeing that his position was hopeless now and lacking munition, Osman Pasha decided to break the Russian siege in the direction of Opanets on the morning of 30 November 1877. They fought hand to hand and bayonet to bayonet, but they were repulsed back in Plevna. The next day, Osman surrendered the city, the garrison, and his sword to the Romanian colonel, Mihail Cerchez.

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Romanian conquest of Grivitza redoubt - stamp

In the meantime, another 50.000 Russians crossed the border into Romania as reinforcements for the Balkan theatre and another 40.000 Romanians crossed the Danube near Silistra and attacked the garrison, conquering it after vicious fight and huge casualties. The entire Turkish defensive in Dobrudja was now under the risk of being reversed, so the northern army start retreating south to Dobrich-Kavarna, destroying everything they could.

Seeing all those victories and having finally secured monetary aid from Russia, the Serbians decided to declare war against the Ottoman Empire. The Serbian army made an attack on Vidin who arrived to conquer itin January 1878 with Romanian help, as the Romanian artillery from Calafat bombarded the town and 3 regiments of Dorobanti passed the Danube to cut off the garrison.

The Caucasian front was also heavily fought. The Turkish army 100.000 strong and led by the General Ahmed Muhtar Pasha, faced the 100.000 strong Russian army led by Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich, Governor General of the Caucasus. The Russians fought very hard with mixed results. The fortress of Kars was sieged thrice but relieved each time. Still, by the end of November 1877 was finally captured, not after the Russians received another 40.000 men as reinforcements. The city of Zividin was captured by Russians on January 1878, while Erzurum resisted till the end of March 1878.

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Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich

In the spring 1878, the Russian army forced the Balkan Passes, while the Romanian one start clearing the Turkish garrisons in Norhern Bulgaria, one by one. The Romanians also occupied the fortress in Dobrudja, freeing the Russian troops for the offensive against Edirne and Constantinople.

Seeing the Ottomans crumbling and fearing of Russian conquest of the Straits, the British forced an armistice. The Ottomans agreed.

----
Attached, it the operational map of the 1877-1878 campaign
- In red, the Turkish defensive lines
- In green the Russian movements
- In blue the Romanian movements
- In pink the Serbian movements


Balkans_campaign_1877-1878.png
 
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The new order in the Balkans

At the end of June 1878, the Treaty of Constantinople was finally sign, after long negotiations between the involved powers. And all the great powers were presents there and every single one wanted a piece of the Ottoman carcass.

The plenipotentiaries at the Congress were:

  • From Ottoman Empire:
    • Midhat Pasha, Grand Vizier
    • Ali Pasha, mushir of the armies
    • Saffet Pasha, Foreign Minister
    • Edhem Pasha
  • From Russia:
    • Prince Alexander Gorchakov, Chancellor and Foreign Minister
    • Count Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev
    • Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, commander of the Russian Army - as consultant
    • Tsarevich Alexandre, commander of the Russian Army - as consultant
  • From Britain:
    • Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister
    • Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Foreign Secretary
  • From German Empire:
    • Count Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust, Chancellor
    • Count Gyula Andrássy, Foreign Minister
  • From Prussia:
    • Baron Ernst von Bülow, Chancellor and Foreign Minister
    • Baron Karl von Werther
  • From France:
    • Patrice de MacMahon, Premier Minister
    • Count Jean-Baptiste de Chaudordy, Foreign Minister
  • From N Italy:
    • Count Lodovico Corti, Prime Minister
  • From United Romanian Principalities:
    • Ion Bratianu, Prime Minister
    • Mihail Kogalniceanu, Foreign Minister
The inclusion of Romanian delegation was long debated, but finally agreed as there were several agreements with Russia which stipulated the Romanian equal participation to the war and to the peace.

The treaty stipulate:

  1. The Ottoman Empire will recognize the independence of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania (The United Principalities of)
  2. The Ottoman Empire will cede to:
    • Empire of Russia: Trebizond and Armenian and Georgian territories in the Caucasus, including Erzum, Ardahan, Artvin, Batum, Kars, Olti, Beyazit, and Alashkert, as per the map attached;
    • German Empire: Corfu island and the territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the west of the Vrbas river, as per the map attached
    • Great Britain: the Cyprus and Rhodes islands;
    • France: the Tunis, already occupied but the French army
    • Romania: the Dobrudja province, following the rail line Russe -Razgrad - Varna, with the mentioned cities included;
    • Greece: Thessaly, Epirus and Salonika, regrouped into an Autonomous Province of Thessaly, having a special statute as a British protectorate;
    • Serbia: the rest of the Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Novi Pazar, and all the territories west of the Morava Valley;
    • Montenegro: has his territory expanded but will become a principality attached to the Serbian state.
    • N. Italy and Two Sicillies : Albania as a joint protectorate
  3. The State of Bulgaria will be constitute as independent state, containing the two autonomous provinces - Macedonia and Thrace - as per the map attached.
  4. The Turkish people from the lands ceded by the Ottoman Empire should have their freedom guaranteed and freedom to exercise their religion
The last mention was the single provision that the Ottoman Empire succeed to obtain in his favour. Still, this provision was quite ignored by the other countries and the Turkic people was treated quite badly.

The British requested the Palestinian territories in order to being closer to the Suez Chanel but the German Empire opposed as the Kaiser had as title the King of Jerusalem and wanted it for himself. The Tsar also strongly opposed as it was a region he highly desired. The French either were not very keen to have the British next door as they had plans with the Egypt.

The Russians also requested the Trans-Dniester as compensation for Dobrudja from Romania who strongly refused as had treaty guarantying the territorial integrity. This incident nearly escaladed to army conflict, as the Tsar Alexandre II threatened to disarm the Romanian army and in consequences Prince Carol responded:
“The Romanian army fought bravely on the Bulgarian fields, adding a significant contribution to the final victory. The Tsar threaten with disarming the army who rescue the Russian army for not being cut off from their base, the army who left 15.000 death on the fields, an army who do not anymore need to prove anything to the world. But I can tell the Tsar that he can defeat and even crush and destroy in battle this army, but he can never disarm it!”
The Romanian contribution of the war was massive and crucial. Romania participated with more than 130.000 men to the war and spent 150 million lei (1leu = 1 French Franc) and they consider as having any reasons to request a big share from the spoils. The several treaties signed with Russia confirmed these and was a strong argument, as the Britain, France and Prussia supported Romanian position considering that the treaties are sacred and must be respected. An important role aslo played the personal relationships that Carol and the Grand Duke Nicholas developed during the war, both acquiring a big respect for another. Finally, the Russians agreed, but requested to Romania that he shall pay to Russia the cost of the rail that linked Ruse and Varna. Also, as compensation, they received a bigger share in Armenia. Also, Romania "agree" to let the Russian warship docking in Odessa if requested. Also, Romania need to grant free passage of the Russian army in his territory for three years, as the Russians will keep an army in Bulgaria for stabilize the country.

Other provision imposed to Romania, this time by German Empire, Prussia and Britain, was that Romania should grant citizenship to the foreigners who lived in the country. This was aimed especially for the Jews who lived in Romania and who formed a big minority. The measure was highly unpopular in the country and the Romanian Parliament voted a law that grant citizenship individually, adding several constraint as speaking the language, paying taxes and living in the country for more than 10 years.


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Nice to see that the Russian Constantinople chiché has been definitively avoided here. Romania is growing nicely, but surely Russia will find an opportunity to try and grab the Trans-Dniester territories?

Also, what's up with all the "autonomous provinces", why weren't they simply added to the respective countries?
 
Nice to see that the Russian Constantinople chiché has been definitively avoided here. Romania is growing nicely, but surely Russia will find an opportunity to try and grab the Trans-Dniester territories?

Also, what's up with all the "autonomous provinces", why weren't they simply added to the respective countries?

Hi,

Thanks for reading this timeline.

No one on Earth (except the Russians) will want a Russian Constantinople, so... nope.
The thing with "autonomous provinces" it's a compromise. I will explain it into the next post. For Bulgaria, it was a way by the Russians wanted to keep in line the Bulgarians (if you do not obey, I will give them independence or let other state to take them) and also a justification to the other great powers for why Bulgaria is so big (yes, it's big, but those two are separate entities).
For Greece, it was a way by Great Britain enforced the control of the country (I give it to you a province for free, but if you do not obey, I will set up a puppet). Also, having the character of a protectorate, imply economical control.
 

Deimos

Banned
Why does the German Empire allow the Italians to establish a protectorate over Albania? With this strip of land the Italian states can easily block the Strait of Otranto and having Corfu is not exactly like having a great naval base if it cannot be supplied.
Should they have not used the islands they got as bargaining chips to make Albania neutral?
 
Why does the German Empire allow the Italians to establish a protectorate over Albania? With this strip of land the Italian states can easily block the Strait of Otranto and having Corfu is not exactly like having a great naval base if it cannot be supplied.
Should they have not used the islands they got as bargaining chips to make Albania neutral?

Hi!

The Corfu was taken more as a touristic caprice, a present for the empress Sisi and not for the strategical or economical purpose.

Albania was given to the Italians as a way to make them working together and become closer to the German Empire. In my previous statement, at the end of the '80s, the Italian state become a loose confederation. Also, the Germans were not keen to be involved policing a "brunch of Muslims" as they saw the Albanians.

I'm working now for an update concerning the repercussions of the Russo-Turkish war and peace, as well as the next evolutions in the Balkans.

What I can say, that "The Belle Epoque"t will not be peaceful for the Balkans...
 
I really like your timeline, just binge-read it in a day :D.

Since trebizond has been taken by the russian empire before the OTL population exchanges after WWI, will we see an independent greek-orthodox trebizond arise in the future? (I know that they were a minority in the region at this point though :s)
 
I really like your timeline, just binge-read it in a day :D.

Since trebizond has been taken by the russian empire before the OTL population exchanges after WWI, will we see an independent greek-orthodox trebizond arise in the future? (I know that they were a minority in the region at this point though :s)

Thanks!

I need a break in writing this timeline... I will add new updates sometime next month.

Concerning the Trebizond, is definitively possible for it to become an independent nation sometime in the future.

Next updates will concern :
- Balkan Situation after treaty of Constantinople
- Far east (China and Japan)
- New turmoils in Balkans
 
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