No French efforts to do anything navally. Two British efforts to capture Spanish treasure fleets both failed due to Spanish patience and tropical fevers similar to OTL Anglo-Spanish War of 1727.
Baltic Blunder: Europe at war in 1727 (the 2nd Edition)
- Thread starter Archduke
- Start date
18: Kaboom or How Spain Took Back the Rock
18: Kaboom or How Spain Took Back the Rock
King Felipe V of Spain at Gibraltar
King Felipe V of Spain at Gibraltar
Upon King Felipe V and Queen Isabel Farnese of Spain's return to their neglected capital of Madrid, they were met by both courtier and commoner alike with jubilation and boundless excitement. This welcome was not the mere result of the standard, organized pageantry reserved for honoring a state's monarchs. Although Felipe V and Isabel's first minister, Jose Patino, did play some role in lining the streets of Madrid with people, for the most part, this passionate reception was natural. For years, the nobility and people of Spain had watched in dismay as their beloved empire slowly ebbed with provinces being slowly stripped away. Under Felipe V and Isabel, Spain had been tantalized with the prospect of recovering its empire and cloaking itself in glory once again by Cardinal Giulio Alberoni's bold schemes and that glimmer of victory in the War of the Quadruple Alliance. However, that glimmer was cast into the shadows once the great powers of Europe decided to act with force. Britain wiped out Spain's fleet, France liberated Navarre, and the Hapsburgs recovered Sicily. Spanish hopes of recovery were briefly revived by Juan Guillermo de Ripperda but his disgrace and downfall left the Spaniards uneasy. That uneasiness seemed to be valid when the Hapsburgs wavered in their support of Spain.
Even once the war expanded, Spanish dreams remained in jeopardy when Spain's erstwhile conqueror, James FitzJames, Duke of Berwick, bore down on Navarre with a true army. For months, the Spaniards had waited with bated breath as the Siege of Fuenterrabia dragged on under the watchful eyes of Spain's King and Queen. Finally, in November of 1727, poor weather and logistics forced Berwick to abandon his siege and leave Spain. Although perfectly expectable from a military standpoint, for the untrained minds of most Spaniards this triumph over the famous Berwick and the French army came as a glorious surprise. Instantly, the nation and particularly the capital was swept with great pride and a sense of rejuvenation. Once more, Spain stood defiant to the whims of other nations, free to carry out its own policies and rebuild its ambitions. Who was to thank for this glorious achievement, none other than Spain's rulers, Felipe V and Isabel, particularly the latter, who through all the mishaps and misdeeds of her reign had maintained the tenacity and perseverance to bring Spain back to glory. This respect and gratefulness rather than organized ceremony was responsible for the exultant welcome given to Felipe V and Isabel [1].
Despite this reaction from his subjects, Felipe V's predeposition toward melancholy allowed fears of disaster and defeat to slink into his mind. Felipe V worried that just like the early successes of the War of the Quadruple Alliance, this early victory over Berwick would be overshadowed by later, more concerted efforts by Spain's enemies. Felipe V failed to recognize that Berwick's invasion was already a concerted effort. This type of pessimism might have been enough to convince Felipe V to accept the Franco-British peace offers of inheritance to the Duchies of Parma and of Piacenza for his son, Infante Carlos. However, Felipe V was not alone in his rulership of Spain. Instead, Isabel Farnese, his beloved wife and strong queen, took a great part and oftentimes a greater part in leading Spanish governance and policy [2]. In this case, Isabel used her influence over her husband to persuade him to decline Cardinal Fleury and William Stanhope's overtures of peace and continue the war. Naturally, this course of action won Isabel the praise of many Spaniards who were still clamoring for the return of Gibraltar and Menorca and reluctant to accept any peace that failed to include that article. However, Isabel cared little for Gibraltar and Menorca and they played no role in her decision. Instead, she refused to accept the Franco-British offer because it only granted to her eldest son, Carlos, Parma and Piacenza but Isabel also coveted Tuscany for her son. Nothing less than establishing Carlos as a practical king in northern Italy would suit Queen Isabel.
Since Felipe V and Isabel had chosen to continue Spain's fight within Empress Catherine's War, it became necessary for Spain to consider how best to continue that fight. The previous year had seen Spain bring its army up to a strength of around 35,000 men who were subsequently split between besieging Gibraltar and defending against the French invasion. Following the victory at Fuenterrabia, Spain's blustering confidence led some Spanish nobility to suggest an invasion of France in 1728 to reconquer Roussillon and Cerdagne. However, Spain's primary general, Jose Carrillo de Albornoz, Count de Montemar, doubted the ability of Spanish arms to manage an offensive against France and Spain's prime minister, Jose Patino, doubted the ability of Spain's treasury to finance such an operation. As a consequence, Felipe V and Isabel were persuaded to leave Spain's military strategy unchanged. Once again, Spain would focus on besieging Gibraltar and defending against a French invasion. Despite this unchanged strategy, the Spanish monarchs still found it necessary to organize a reinforcement of both armies and took advantage of the upswell in patriotism among the Spanish people to make recruit and train a significant number of new soldiers. Since the Marquis de Verboom's reports of the Siege of Gibraltar spoke of good progress, his army was bolstered to just 14,000 men. More importantly, Verboom's requests for more supplies and munitions were met. The Count of Montemar's army, on the other hand, gained 10,000 new souls to ensure that Spain's resistance to French trespassing at Fuenterrabia proved to be a departure from rather than an anomaly in France's recent history of successful invasions of Spain.
In northern Spain, Montemar smartly reasoned that although Berwick's past two invasions of Spain had taken place in Navarre that Berwick's recent embarrassment at Fuenterrabia could make Berwick more interested in testing Catalonia, which was also a region that Berwick had previously invaded and conquered. As a consequence, Montemar would have to defend two possible routes of invasion adequately or risk conceding significant ground to the French invasion. Ultimately, Montemar decided to concentrate his army in Catalonia and sent roughly a fourth of his troops, 7,000 men to defend Navarre. To command this army, Montemar selected a native of Fuenterrabia and a veteran of all of Spain's recent wars, General Gabriel Jose de Zuloaga y Moyua. To the east, Montemar personally took charge of the defense of Catalonia, which involved just over 20,000 soldiers. The reasons for Montemar's decision to preference Catalonia's garrisoning over that of Navarre were that he felt Navarre to more defensible and loyal than Catalonia. Already, Fuenterrabia had proven itself to be a powerful block to French invasion if well-supported and during the 1727 Siege of Fuenterrabia, the Basques had not shown any favor toward the French. In contrast, Catalonia was less fortified than Navarre and had less restrictive geography. Importantly, Catalonia's biggest prize, Barcelona, could easily be pummeled by the superior French navy as it had been by the English during the War of the Spanish Succession. Finally, the Catalans were no good friends of the current Spanish government that had seen fit to strip them of their traditional rights by Felipe V after they had fought against him for the Austracistas.
As expected, France had not been deterred by its lack of success at Fuenterrabia and prepared to invade Spain once again in 1728. However, contrary to fears of Felipe V, Cardinal Fleury had turned the Duke of Berwick's army into an endless horde of Frenchmen. Even though Cardinal Fleury had wished to punish Spain for his insolent refusal to compromise, he still saw Spain as an inferior power possessing an inferior military. Indeed, Fleury did not think that it was Spain's strength that needed to be curbed but rather Spain's ego. As a result, Fleury had refrained from evoking the heights of French militarism to besiege Spain in 1728. Instead, Fleury replenished Berwick's army to just 30,000 men, which was barely more than the Spanish forces in Navarre and Catalonia. Furthermore, Spanish anxiety over the possibility of a French naval bombardment of Barcelona proved unnecessary since Fleury elected to keep France's Mediterranean fleet at port. The cost of organizing and deploying the fleet seemed to be an unnecessary expense to Fleury. Surely, Berwick would be able to overpower the weak Spaniards when they did not hide behind a great fortress's walls, Fleury believed. The contrast between Spanish vigor and French foot-dragging was reflective of the overall difference in energy and commitment between the Viennese camp and the Hanoverian camp, and just as that difference cost the Hanoverian Alliance in northern Germany, on the Rhine, and in Northern Italy, it would do so again in Spain.
In spite of the less animated French war effort, Berwick's army was able to cross the Franco-Spanish border into Catalonia without much incidence or resistance. Although Montemar had understood Catalonia as the most likely victim of Berwick's invasion, the simple disparity in numbers between his Catalonian army and that of Berwick made it impossible to hold the border. For the same reason, Berwick's army was able to capture the towns of Camprodon and Figueres after only token resistance. However, Berwick's cautious and meticulous nature cost the French their initiative as he turned to take the port of Rosas rather than marching on Girona [3]. In the meantime, Montemar only further developed the defenses he had been building at Girona and Torroella since the spring of the year. Once Berwick reached these defenses he paid dearly for his delay and lost a couple of hundred men testing the strength of Montemar's fortifications. This early demonstration of Spain's resoluteness and reminder of the poor quality of French troops sapped much of the confidence and daring Berwick had left in him. Indeed, when one of his subordinates, Jean-Baptiste Francois des Marets, Marquis de Maillebois, suggested a bold flanking maneuver, Berwick reprimanded him on account of the approach of Zuloaga's army from the west endangering any flanking maneuver [4]. Although Berwick would try to force some of the forces and bridges of the Ter River in the following weeks, he did so with little success. Ultimately, the French army ended up settled into camps on the left bank of the Ter River to the north of Girona and Torroella while trading cannon fire with the Spanish.
Importantly, during the French invasion of Catalonia, the Catalan population came out decidedly in support of the Spaniards rather than the French, which came as a considerable shock for the French but had a clear explanation. Although Felipe V had taken away the rights of the Catalans and earned their disdain for it, it was actually the Duke of Berwick at the head of a French army who had brutally conquered the Catalans during the War of the Spanish Succession. Berwick's role in the suppression of the Catalans created a personal distrust towards the general. However, the Catalans also had a strong distrust in the French that had been generated by France's fostering of a Catalan revolt in 1687 only to never bother supporting that revolt and ultimately to abandon that revolt to Spanish reprisal. This distrust toward Berwick and France was further increased due to their actions during the War of the Quadruple Alliance. In that war, Berwick had ejected the Spanish military presence entirely from the Basque countries with the help of the locals. However, when the Basque people offered to make themselves an autonomous part of France they were rejected and eventually abandoned by the French in the Treaty of the Hague. For these reasons, when Fleury and Berwick spoke mildly about protecting the liberties of Catalonia, the Catalans responded coldly. When the French subsequently lodged their troops in Catalan homes and demanded monetary and food contributions from the Catalans to support the French army, the Catalans were enraged [5]. By the time Berwick reached Girona and Toroella, Montemar's army had swelled in number with miqueletes, which lessened advantage over Montemar. Of even greater importance were those miqueletes who conducted raids against the French army and those Catalans who denied French supplies. The Catalans crucially kept Montemar informed of Berwick's troop movements, which prevented any successful trickery by Berwick. Ultimately, the aid of Catalans is responsible for permanently stalling the French invasion of Spain.
Since Montemar and the Catalans succeeded in containing Berwick's army before Zuloaga could arrive to reinforce Montemar, a question arose over what to do with Zuloaga's army. At first, some members of the Spanish court suggested having Zuloaga join his army to Montemar's so that they could drive the French out of Catalonia. If counterattack proved successful enough then the Spanish army might even be able to snatch Cerdagne and Roussillon from the French. However, Montemar himself disliked the idea. Thus far, Montemar had managed to halt the French invasion and he did not wish to risk throwing away that small victory in a chancy battle. The other main ideas raised involved sending Zuloaga to Gibraltar or Menorca. If the Spanish navy could distract or deceive the British then perhaps they could open up one of the two British bases to attack. Finally, as an afterthought, someone recommended taking the opportunity of an unencumbered army and a continental war to seize some Italian land for Italy. All three of these proposals involved a naval expedition. Accordingly, Zuloaga's army was ordered to march to Valencia until Felipe V and Isabel could sort out, which target they preferred.
To the south, at Gibraltar, the Marquis de Verboom continued his siege while Montemar and Zuloaga attended to the French invasion. Verboom was happy to see his army somewhat replenished in the first half of 1728 as the Siege of Gibraltar had been harsh and costly for the Spaniards. Still, under Verboom's command, the Spanish had seen greater success than under the Count de la Torres. The Spanish siege efforts had become more organized and concentrated, which had resulted in increasing damage being dealt to Gibraltar's fortifications and casualties among its defenders. However, the integrity of the fortress remained intact and although the garrison was battered it was not beaten. These two facts provided the Governor of Gibraltar, the Earl of Portmore, with some solace as the siege of Gibraltar continued through 1728. Such solace was crucial since Portmore felt as if the needs of Gibraltar were being extremely neglected by the British government. Already, in the latter half of 1727, Portmore had been forced to accept that Britain would not be reinforcing his garrison in any timely fashion due to its focus on Northern European fighting. Next, in 1728, Portmore was incredulous when he heard of how little priority his desperate plea for supplies was being given. Instead of relieving the haphazard logistics of Gibraltar, the British Admiralty had focused its naval resources on Germany. As a consequence of this focus on Germany, the lingering damage of the Baltic mission, and the French naval nothingness, the Royal Navy could not supply Gibraltar as quickly or effectively as Portmore wanted. Additionally, the presence of King George II of Great Britain's army in Brunswick-Luneburg brought many of wartime merchants to the North Sea rather than to Gibraltar. All in all, Gibraltar fell victim to a subpar supply situation that facilitated a serious breakout of scurvy among the garrison. With their teeth falling out and their wounds healing slowly, the garrison of Gibraltar's morale fell. However, as stated earlier, the defenses remained strong enough that Portmore and the British soldiers carried on. On the Spanish side, there was also a problem of rampant disease and poor logistics. Yet the progress Verboom was making above ground was promising and kept the Spaniards' spirits high. Additionally, King Felipe V and Isabel decided to visit Verboom's siege camp to encourage the soldiers to continue their siege until the prized Rock of Gibraltar was once again Spanish. Most importantly, Verboom's effort to mine under Willis' Battery was proceeding at a reasonable pace and gave Verboom hope that he actually could win the Siege of Gibraltar.
In late June, Felipe V and Isabel finally decided how to make use of Zuloaga's army idling in Valencia. Rather than come to the aid of Verboom or make a daring attempt on Menorca, Zuloaga was to sail to Italy. Obviously, this command was the result of the Italian queen's influence. However, Zuloaga's army was not destined for the Italian Peninsula to secure Infante Carlos' rights to Parma, Piacenza, or Tuscany, which had been the center of Isabel's Italian ambitions for her son. Instead, Zuloaga was told to conquer the Savoyard-held island of Sardinia. Although Isabel had no connection to Sardinia as she did to Parma, Piacenza, and Tuscany, she realized that a Spanish presence in Sardinia necessarily increased Spanish influence in and projection into Italy. Thus through the conquest of Sardinia, she imagined that Spain was taking a firm step toward establishing Carlos on his rightful northern and central Italian thrones. However, the Spanish were very careful to keep the word of this decision from slipping out. Even though the Royal Navy had been stretched thin by its current operations, the British still maintained superiority over the Spanish in the Mediterranean Sea. As a consequence, if the British were allowed the concentrate the naval squadrons of Gibraltar and Port Mahon then they might be able to repeat their complete devastation of the Spanish at Cape Passaro and smash Spain's Italian ambitions in the process. By maintaining secrecy over the intended target of Zuloaga's army, the Spaniards avoided this fate. So long as the British believed that Gibraltar or Port Mahon was at risk, the Royal Navy had to maintain squadrons at each base or risk an unopposed Spanish landing. The success of the Spanish in keeping this secret can be attributed to very few individuals being made aware of Zuloaga's aim as well as a serious disinformation campaign by Patino that included starting a rumor that the Spanish meant to attack Scotland. For this reason, when the Spanish put to the sea, the British remained uncertain about their destination and remained in their defensive postures at Gibraltar and Menorca.
Three weeks later, the Spanish fleet arrived at Sardinia on August 3, 1728. This time similarly to the 1717 invasion of Sardinia, the Spanish landed unopposed due to their naval and military edge over the island's defenders and the element of surprise. However, since the Savoyards were already embroiled in a defense of their mainland territories and had a worse military and economic situation than that of the Austrians who held Sardinia in 1717, the island's defense was even weaker than it had been during the last invasion. Lacking practically any opposition, the Spanish captured most of the island within just a few weeks. By the third week of August, all that was left in Savoyard hands were the forts of Alghero and Castellaragonese and the city of Cagliari. These places held out a little longer not because of Savoyard stalwartness but because the Spanish relaxed after having realized that the island was surely theirs. These final sieges ended in an amicable and honorable fashion when the final Savoyard garrisons surrendered under the condition that they could return to Piedmont unmolested to reinforce the Savoyard army broken by Bassignana. The ease of this conquest was heavily facilitated by the continued favorable Sardinian opinion of Spain as well as the lack of an established loyalty toward the government of Turin.
A few days after the Spanish army landed on Sardinia, the Siege of Gibraltar erupted into an explosion, quite literally. On August 7, 1728, after over a year of hard work scrapping away at the limestone underneath the Rock, Verboom and his engineers were finally able to dig under the troublesome Willis' Battery and set off a bomb. With a loud, thunderous blast, the slope on which Willis' Battery stood shook and suddenly collapsed. Amidst the quake of the earth, the magazine behind Willis' Battery was lit by flying sparks as Willis' Battery had been firing at the time of the bomb went off. The subsequent explosion of the magazine created a bright, blinding light that accompanied a terrifying sound. Besides making a spectacle of fire and raining rocks, two explosions accounted for the deaths or serious injury of all the soldiers and artillerymen who had been stationed at the battery. The gravity and immenseness of this event crushed the weakened spirit of the Earl of Portmore who proclaimed that "All in lost, the Rock has fallen!" Portmore's exacerbation combined with the lack of knowledge about Zuloaga's destination was almost enough to provoke the surrender of Gibraltar. Fortunately, in this moment of crisis, Gibraltar's Lieutenant Governor, Jasper Clayton, supplied the needed resoluteness to steel Portmore's nerves. Once calmed down, Portmore rejected Verboom's demand for surrender. Still, the loss of Willis' Battery was acutely felt as the Spanish siege lines were able to advance over the next weeks so that Spanish cannons could inflict more direct and severe damage to Gibraltar's defenses and defenders. This advance pushed Portmore and Clayton closer and closer toward surrendering until Richard Kane was able to send some supplies and even soldiers from Menorca to temporarily boost Gibraltar's spirits. Nevertheless, the situation looked grim.
For the tragedies of Munster and Bispingen to be followed in succession by the Spanish landing at Sardinia and the explosion at Gibraltar was lethal to the British war effort. Even in the Americas, the British did not find success as Rear-Admiral Richard St. Lo and Vice Admiral Edward Hopson had both died of tropical maladies trying to renew their blockade of Porto Bello, which left the British Caribbean fleet and Jamaica Station commanded by a mere commodore, William Smith [6]. Of course, the deaths of these admirals were also accompanied by reports of even more sailors of Royal Navy being wiped out by the same diseases, which left the British Caribbean fleet in a state of total impairment. At the same time, the French naval units in the Caribbean fared no better. Across the Channel, Berwick's failure to accomplish anything of note could easily be called another Spanish victory. Overall, somehow, someway, ruinous Spain had managed to not only defend itself against the actions of two of Europe's great powers but had also managed to take offensives of its own and find success with them. Although Spain's victories did not match its wildest dreams, they certainly exceeded the wildest expectations that the rest of Europe had held for its former hegemon. Spain's return? had become Spain's return!
In France, the French failures on the Rhine and in Catalonia had left Cardinal Fleury certain of the foolishness of Empress Catherine's War and France's part in it. Although Fleury did not yet know how to extricate itself from its struggle with the Holy Roman Emperor, Fleury found a willing partner in Britain when it came to finding peace with Spain. In fact, Britain was even more desperate for peace with Spain than France. In Britain, Sir Spencer Compton's government had been a faltering sham from the very beginning and its latest string of disasters unleashed an unfiltered, vicious, and violent assault on the government. This attack was even more severe than that experienced by Compton after Kymmenedalen. For Gibraltar to be under real threat, for the Royal Navy to be bamboozled, and for the Caribbean to be nothing but a tropical hellhole was utterly unacceptable to the British parliament. Barraged by insults and accusations, Compton broke down in tears and fled from parliament [7]. In fact, Compton broke down in tears in front of parliament as he was barraged by insults and accusations. The only reasons Compton stayed in power were that George II remained abroad unable and unwilling to manage the parliament and that Robert Walpole furtively worked to keep Compton in the power. The reason for Walpole's surprising aid toward Compton was that Walpole understood he was the natural successor to Compton's hideous administration, and Walpole had no desire to be the one to sign the humiliating peace treaties with Spain and Russia that Britain's current situation warranted. In fact, Walpole was almost certain that if he did sign those treaties then there would be nothing he could do to prevent being dismissed by George II afterward. Consequently, Compton remained the figurehead of the British parliament when negotiations with Spain began.
Due to Compton's lack of political tact and lack of much of a mandate to rule, the peace talks between Britain and France and Spain were led by Cardinal Fleury's men rather than British ambassador in Spain, William Stanhope. In vain, Cardinal Fleury hoped that the Spanish would misunderstand the strength of their position and the poor mood of Britain and France and thus be timid in their demands. The Spanish were not. The Spanish demanded the cession of Gibraltar, of Menorca, of Sardinia, an end to all British commercial rights in the Spanish empire, and strong guarantees to be backed by British and French arms if necessary for the rights of Don Carlos to the Duchies of Parma and Piacenza and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. This excessive string of demands was, of course, rejected by France and Britain but so was Cardinal Fleury's offer of rights to Parma, Piacenza, and Tuscany. Continued discussions failed to advance far since Isabel considered Cardinal Fleury's France was a weak, unwarlike nation and Britain to be on the verge of collapse [8].
Ultimately, William Stanhope would prove to be the most important player in the peace talks despite Compton's lack of authority. Stanhope from his years of experience with Spain realized the futility of resisting Spain and the value of turning Spain into an ally, which Stanhope's cousin, James Stanhope had attempted when he was leader of the British government. Rather than communicate this sentiment to Compton, Stanhope wrote to Walpole and Lord Charles Townshend, Secretary of State for the Northern Department, since Stanhope understood that any peace that did not have their approval would be bound to fail in the Commons. Walpole and particularly Townshend agreed with Stanhope's assessment. Walpole and Townshend both wanted to wean Spain off of the Holy Roman Emperor to end Spain's vital support of the Ostend Company of subsidization of Hapsburg policy. Townshend specifically felt as if the Hapsburgs were the greatest threat to British policy [9]. In the proceeding discussions, Stanhope, Walpole, and Townshend agreed to make major concessions to Spain in return for breaking it away from the Hapsburgs. Once Walpole and Townshend signaled their support of this deal to Fleury he consented to the peace arrangement out of a desire to maintain an alliance with the probable next British government. The result peace was the Treaty of Madrid by which Gibraltar and Sardinia were returned to Spain and Infante Carlos' succession to the thrones of Parma, Piacenza, and Tuscany was recognized. Furthermore, Britain and France agreed to support Infante Carlos' succession by the means of arms if necessary. In return, Spain reaffirmed Britain's possession of Menorca, accepted Britain's commercial rights in Spain's colonies, removed Infante Carlos from the Spanish line of succession, ended their subsidies to the Hapsburgs, and broke the betrothals between Infantes Carlos and Felipe and Archduchesses Maria Theresa and Maria Amalia. Soon after France and Britain forced the rest of its relevant allies, particularly Savoy, to accept the treaty. Thus ended Spain's role in Empress Catherine's War.
[1] Spain's people were very much invested in their empire and its glory. For example, in OTL when Spanish armies reached Piacenza the soldiers honored the retired and exiled Giulio Alberoni for his efforts to reestablish Spain.
[2] Contrary to popular belief, although Felipe V was heavily influenced by his wife, Isabel Farnese, she was not the sole and completely dominant actor in Spanish governance. Felipe V did make decisions contrary to her, at times. This is just meant to serve as a reminder of that fact.
[3] Berwick's cautious nature especially later on in life was well-noted during the OTL War of the Polish Succession and was why he was selected to command the politically treacherous Rhine campaign over Villars.
[4] Berwick notably strongly rejected similar plans from his subordinates during the OTL War of the Polish Succession to upset the Imperial positions in the Rhineland.
[5] This constitutes the typical behavior of an army in occupied territory during this age but is also of particular aggravation to the Catalans who fought two wars over these issues.
[6] Much like OTL, the British fleet is wiped out by tropical disease and a commodore ends up in charge of the fleet.
[7] Compton's lack of fortitude under pressure is recorded in OTL.
[8] This is Isabel Farnese's historical opinion of France until the War of the Polish Succession.
[9] This is Townshend's historical foreign policy stance.
Word Count: 4808
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Remington 2.0
Banned
So the Spanish manage to be victorious but how long will the Spanish victory and military and political strength last and what those a spanish victory mean for its Spanish colonies in America?
The Spanish victory's result can easily be reversed. The Spanish navy remains weak relative to the British and French fleets in the Mediterranean. As a consequence, Spain can be cut off from Sardinia and denied access to Italy if Britain and France so choose. In which case, Spain's ability to hold Sardinia and inherit Parma and Tuscany would be jeopardized. Importantly, Britain retained Port Mahon on Menorca so they can still project power into the Mediterranean. Spain's army is in a better state with competent commanders winning laurels and the army being no worse than any of its potential rivals. Regarding political will, Isabel's will remains strong and is unlikely to be dissuaded easily after having seen Spain eek out a victory in Empress Catherine's War. In the colonies, Spain's ability to hold like OTL will encourage Britain or potentially France to rely on joint-arms operations to confront Spain's colonies. Instead of a simple blockade, the British will be encouraged to use naval and army forces side by side like the Siege of Cartagena. Within Spain's colonies, the war will motivate some fortification expansion but not much else.
The important result of the Treaty of Madrid is that Spain was forced to abandon its ties to the Hapsburgs, at least temporarily. Isabel probably wanted to play the British and French off against the Hapsburgs, however, the strong Spanish desire for Gibraltar gave the British and french enough leverage to wean Spain off of the Hapsburgs. However, even if Spain was weaned off, Spain was not required to declare war on the Hapsburgs or take a similarly aggressive action. Although the Hapsburgs certainly won't appreciate the Spanish abandonment, there is still room for a Spanish-Hapsburg reconciliation or at least cooperation. More likely, however, Spain will lean on Britain and France to support Spain in its Italian ambitions as a means of counterbalancing the Hapsburgs. In that case, the Treaty of Madrid might be setting up a Spanish-French reconciliation similar to the OTL First Family Pact. Fleury historically was very open to the idea of a Franco-Spanish alignment.
Damn a quite Machiavellian way to win a war, quite reasonable being Isabel de Farnesio the queen, good to see a reasonable Spanish victory for once, though will the hold of Menorca on English hands i doubt Spain and England would reconcile.
Wouldn’t participation in war with Spain be enough of an excuse for Fleury to get out of war altogether after the peace with Spain is signed (and France is getting nothing out of it)? After all, France is running out of the plausible (not that it had too many to start with) goals and the only remaining reason for participation is loyalty to Britain. Surely, this can’t be popular in France and Fleury is not almighty. France is spending money, which it does not have, not getting any “glory” and does not even have any plausible territorial or dynastic goal. Louis XV could afford stupidity like that but he was a King.
The biggest problem for Fleury's extricating France from the war is that Brunswick-Luneburg has been overrun, which creates a few issues for France. If France exits the war without Britain then there's absolutely no pressure on the Viennese Alliance, the British and Brunswickers are crushed and the Dano-Norwegians can at best save themselves. For that reason, Britain could see a very harsh price that could cripple Brunswick-Luneburg. In that case, there is not much potential for Brunswick-Luneburg to serve as more than a doormat to the Hapsburgs and their allies. Furthermore, George II would surely not forgive such a betrayal which would complicate Franco-British relations. On the other hand, if France stays in the war perhaps they can outlast the Russian will and pressure Hapsburgs into a generous peace. In that case, Brunswick-Luneburg will still be reduced by the Viennse Alliance most likely, which would mean that George II would be resentful toward the Hapsburgs. In turn, France might be able to use George II's resentment to facilitate anti-Hapsburg policies, which might be more successful with Spain possibly by France's side. So yes it mainly down to France wanting to maintain the British friendship and foster lasting British resentment toward the Hapsburgs.
So Fleury is not eager to quit the war without Britain. However, Fleury is looking to bring the war to an end. Fleury will look to negotiate with the Hapsburgs through the winter before campaigns began anew in the Rhine and Italy. Fleury is hoping that the prospect of Berwick's army and the lack of Spanish subsidies can pressure the Hapsburgs into coming to acceptable terms. If the Hapsburgs should refuse Fleury, however, then Fleury is in a bad spot. As you say, Fleury does not want this war as France has little to fight and is wasting money. Fleury's opponents like Villars and du Ble were actually originally in favor of the war because they see the potential for gains for France and because they care deeply about French honor, having come to power under Louis XIV's glorie. However, they too have been dissuaded by the Hanoverian defeats from that original position. They will suggest that Fleury mismanaged the war and that French defeats lie at his feet but they don't think that this war is winnable any longer.
So, if I understood your idea correctly, Fleury is going to stick to the British alliance no matter what expecting some unidentified favors from King George in a future. At the same time he does not have any serious plan, military or political, for the French actions. Except, if this can be considered a plan, for the strong intention of not letting the French generals to do anything that could advance the French & British cause. An assumption that King George and the British politicians would accept this policy as a whole-hearted cooperation and reciprocate (which would be naive to expect from the Brits even in the best case scenario) would seem extremely naive if it was not (as far as I can tell) quite plausible for the French politicians of that time. 😜
Now, at that point it is rather difficult to figure out which of the main participants, with the possible exception of Spain, is planning to get what out of the whole mess. So, as far as I can figure it out (and probably I’m missing various important parts):
Russia - (a) to kick Swedish butt a little bit and probably grab some border land to secure St-Petersburg, (b) to demonstrate the Brits who is the boss on the Eastern Baltic, (c) help Catherine’s in-laws.
Sweden - to kick Russian butt and return some of the lost territory but, realistically, to try not to be beaten too hard by the Russians.
Prussia - get a piece of the real estate which is not their (which is what it was always doing) but which one? Also not to be invaded by the Russians (which is a very serious consideration on its own).
Saxony - ?
Denmark - to hold territory to which Holstein also had a claim
Britain/Hanover - not to lose <what exactly?> in Germany (Hanover) and to show who is ruling the seas (Britain).
Hapsburgs - not to lose territory in Italy and to show that they are bosses in the HRE.
France - to please Britain expecting that this may be helpful in the case of a future confrontation with the Hapsburgs which somewhat contradicts to the intention to conduct a restrained foreign policy.
19: A Final Push
19: A Final Push
Herrenhausen Palace
Herrenhausen Palace
In the wake of the calamitous series of defeats suffered by the Hanoverian Alliance at Munster, Soltau, and Bispingen, the Hanoverian armies of northern Germany were in complete disarray. Both the army of King George II of Great and the Earl of Stair and the army of Poul Vendelbo Lovenorn and the Earl of Orkney had barely escaped total annihilation. In the process, the Hanoverians were forced to abandon practically all of their baggage, artillery, and supplies. The Hanoverians fled only with what they carry in their own two hands and on their backs. To add to these troubles, despite weeks of campaigning with the purpose of uniting the two Hanoverian armies, they remained apart. Under these dreadful conditions, the Hanoverians no possibility of resisting the Viennese conquest of Brunswick-Luneburg any longer. Instead, the two Hanoverian armies did the only thing they could and ran toward the Dano-Norwegian-occupied Holstein as fast as they could. As they raced northward, the Hanoverians were beset by Russian Cossacks and Saxon cuirassiers from Generalissimus Aleksander Menshikov's grand army. The Russian garrison of Luneburg joined in this harassment by making attacks of its own on the retreating columns of Hanoverians. Only a series of well-organized delaying actions and difficult night marches allowed the two Hanoverian armies to avoid capture and destruction. However, the delaying actions required the sacrifice of hundreds of soldiers and the night marches afford thousands of scared, broken men the opportunity to desert. By the time the two Hanoverian armies arrived in Hamburg, their number barely exceeded 50,000, which was less than half of the number the Hanoverians sent into Brunswick-Luneburg.
After chasing the Hanoverians out of Brunswick-Luneburg, Generalissimus Menshikov wished to pursue them into Holstein much to the pleasure of Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp. Although Menshikov did not care about Holstein or Charles Frederick's claims to it, Menshikov still wanted to add to his personal glory by finding another triumphant victory over the Hanoverian forces. Furthermore, Menshikov recognized that Empress Catherine cared for her daughters Anna and Elisabeth dearly and thus cared for their husbands, Charles Frederick and Charles Augustus of Holstein-Gottorp. Conquering Holstein could only increase Catherine's favor of Menshikov, so if the feat was within reach then Menshikov was willing to undertake it. However, when Menshikov voiced his plan to march into Holstein the Viennese army showed its first cracks. Like Menshikov, King Augustus II the Strong of Poland-Lithuania had no attachment to Holstein. Unlike Menshikov, Augustus the Strong had no other reason to make invading Holstein sensible. Indeed, Augustus the Strong's were much better served by occupying the southern portions of the Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg to ensure that they ended up as part of his domains when the war ended. As a consequence, Augustus the Strong announced his intention to separate from the Viennese army to accomplish this task. Menshikov attempted to convince Augustus the Strong otherwise but Augustus the Strong was not moved by Menshikov's carousing or threats. In turn, Menshikov refused to grant Augustus the Strong his wish of Russian support for the nomination of Augustus the Strong's son as the next King of Poland-Lithuania, which Menshikov understood as being too great of a concession and possibly contrary to Russian interests [1]. Only through the mediation of Maurice of Saxony was it agreed that beyond occupying the south portions of Brunswick-Luneburg that the Saxon army would pacify the whole of Brunswick-Luneburg and thus allow the Russian garrisons of the electorate to return to the field army. The Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, Augustus Wilhelm, joined the Saxons in this operation out a desire to avoid the Saxons taking all of Brunswick-Luneburg for themselves.
Despite the loss of the Saxon and Brunswicker-Wolfenbuttel armies, Menshikov's determination to invade Holstein and fight the Hanoverians did not change. Even without the Saxons and Brunswickers, the remaining Viennese army was still considerably larger than the regrouped Hanoverian army. Also, the Prusso-Mecklenburger army had just received the capitulation of Wismar after months of starving the Swedish exclave. Afterward, King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia and Duke Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin decided to offer the services of the Prusso-Mecklenburger army to Menshikov since it was in their best interests to continue cooperating with the Russians. Friedrich Wilhelm I felt that ensuring Viennese pressure on the Hanoverians was critical until Stralsund had fallen. Otherwise, the Hanoverians might decide to interfere with Prussia's efforts in an attempt to finally find at least one victory in Germany. Karl Leopold's position was much more desperate. Although Karl Leopold's Reichsexekution had been lifted by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and Karl Leopold had managed to capture Lauenburg and Wismar for himself, all of these rewards could easily be stripped away from Mecklenburg by its much stronger allies. Only if Mecklenburg continued to fight and demonstrate loyalty to the almighty Russians and the Emperor did Karl Leopold feel that he could expect his ambitions to be honored.
Faced with both the army of Menshikov and the Prusso-Mecklenburger army, the Hanoverian army in Holstein was severely outnumbered, at risk of being flanked, and needed to defend a long boundary lacking heavy fortification. Worse yet the earlier haphazard Hanoverian escape from Brunswick-Luneburg left the Hanoverian army with a woeful amount of cannons and ammunition. The Viennese army with commanders such as Menshikov, Peter Lacy, Maurice of Saxony, Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, and even Charles Frederick had proven that it was fully capable of exploiting these advantages. Nevertheless, George II and the Hanoverian commanders decided that they would attempt to resist the invasion of Holstein. Boldly, the Hanoverians spread themselves along the Elbe and the eastern border with Lauenburg to catch and repel the Viennese. The northern reaches of the Elbe were even guarded by the Royal Navy. Menshikov likewise spread out his army to match the Hanoverian positions but in every place was stronger due to the greater numbers of his army.
Once the divisions of the Viennese army were in place, Menshikov began to move these divisions around to pull the Hanoverians from one place to another to answer his movements until finally, Maurice of Saxony's contingent saw an opening near Gluckstadt. Without hesitation, Maurice began to cross the Elbe during the night of August 14, 1728, and by morning had assembled 3,000 soldiers on the other side. As the Hanoverians grouped to respond to this intrusion in force they left other portions of the Elbe underdefended, which invited a series of attacks against the Hanoverian positions. Some were driven back but others were successful. More importantly, all of these attacks created points of pressure that confused the Hanoverian defense of Holstein and left them struggling to react. In this manner, the Viennese managed to get thousands of soldiers into Holstein without fighting anything more than skirmishes. At this point, George II realized the impossibility of stopping the Viennese with any degree of success and ordered the retreat. Although this retreat initially was meant to fall back to Eutin, Karl Leopold and the Prusso-Mecklenburger army arrived there first and prevented the Hanoverians were establishing a new defensive position there. Instead, George II was forced to retreat from Holstein altogether, crossing the Eider into Schleswig on August, 24.
Menshikov refused to attack his strategic coup of conquering Holstein with limited bloodshed. Instead, Menshikov still lusted for a large, set-piece battle to cover himself in more glory. For this reason, Menshikov compiled with the urgings of Charles Frederick to continue chasing after the Hanoverians into Schleswig, which Charles Frederick also claimed as his rightful land. Soon enough Menshikov caught up to the Hanoverian army but when he did so it was at the fortified line of Danevirke. This fortified line was in itself not very imposing as it was outdated and small, which made it ill-matched for a bombardment from the cannons of the age. However, in preparation for a potential showdown at Danevirke, the Dano-Norwegian militias commanded by King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway himself had already dug a series of trenches and earthworks to provide more meaningful cover for the Hanoverian army. These defenses were further developed upon the Hanoverian army's arrival. Furthermore, the Royal Navy had transported some of its cannons to augment the Hanoverian defenses. Overcoming and clearing out this defensive line would be a costly endeavor and by no means was guaranteed to be successful. Also, unlike in Holstein, Menshikov did have the opportunity of flanking Danevirke. To the west of Danevirke, a set of swamps complicated any advance. Before those swamps, the old coastal fortresses of Tonning had been demolished a decade earlier. However, the Royal Navy ensured that any attempted crossing at Tonning would end in disaster. To the east of Danevirke, the Schlei Inlet was filled with Dano-Norwegian warships. The only path forward was straight through the narrow defenses of Danevirke [2]. Presented with this challenge, Menshikov hesitated for the first time in this war and was obliged to be cautious. Thus Menshikov opened a bombardment of Danevirke with the intention of exploiting his greater number of cannons to slowly beat down and break the Hanoverian defenses.
While the Viennese forces under Menshikov conquered Holstein and then invaded Schleswig, the Prussians under Friedrich Wilhelm I had continued their siege of Stralsund. For over a year, the hardened fortress of Stralsund had managed to survive the dedicated effort of a Prussian army several times the size of the Swedish garrison. In fact, Stralsund showed few signs of falling due to the Prussian inability to cut off Stralsund's access to the sea with which Stralsund was repeatedly resupplied by Dano-Norwegian or Swedish ships. Even with these difficulties, Friedrich Wilhelm I was unwilling to give up his siege of Stralsund as it was the key to northern Pomerania. Without Stralsund, the Prussian domination of Pomerania could not be secured and would always be under threat. Friedrich Wilhelm I had hoped that a Viennese victory over the Hanoverian army in either Holstein or Schleswig would free up the Russians to assist him. However, the defensive line at Danevirke denied that possibility and placed pressure on the Prussians to take Stralsund on their own. If they failed to, Friedrich Wilhelm I worried that Russia or the Holy Roman Emperor would not champion Prussian possession of Stralsund in eventual peace talks.
Due to this pressure, Friedrich Wilhelm I aggressively advanced his siege lines even as it endangered his soldiers and artillery. During this episode, Friedrich Wilhelm I's heir, the young Fritz, continued to demonstrate his bravery by putting himself in harm's way. Eventually, this behavior brought Fritz too far into harm's way as a cannonball ripped through a nearby breastwork and sent splinters flying. Several of these splinters hit Fritz and injured him. Fortunately, although these injuries necessitated the heir of Prussia being sent away to recover in Brunswick-Luneburg, the injuries were not fatal. Other Prussian soldiers and officers were not so fortunate as hundreds died in Friedrich Wilhelm I's effort to bully Stralsund into submission. By September, the casualties had risen so high that Friedrich Wilhelm I felt it necessary to withdraw the bulk of his forces from the main Viennese army. Subsequently, thousands of Prussians were redeployed from Schleswig to Stralsund. Without these soldiers in Schleswig, Menshikov found the thought of attacking Danevirke too daunting and laid aside the idea for the time being. Although the bombardment of Danevirke continued, it was at a less intense level as the remaining Russo-Mecklenburger army retreated into winter quarters.
At Stralsund, the arrival of Prince Leopold and many thousands of Prussians provided Friedrich Wilhelm I with both the bodies and the confidence to finally make his attack on Stralsund. On the evening of November 9, 1728, the Prussians emerged from their trenches to scale the outer defenses of Stralsund with ladders and ropes. Restless after months in a diseased and cramped siege camp, the Prussians shrugged off being hit by cannon shot after cannon shot and musket volley after musket volley. Once the Prussians reached Stralsund's wall they fearlessly climbed it under heavy fire. Even with this disciplined, gritty assault, the Prussians were still thrown back from Stralsund's wall. However, the fearless Lieutenant General Kurt Christoph von Schwerin rallied the Prussians and led them in a charge back toward the wall twice more until the Prussians wrangled control of the wall from the Swedes. From there on despite repeated Swedish counterattacks the Prussians held on to the walls and allowed further Prussian soldiers to flood into the outer defenses of Stralsund. Following this success, the Swedish garrison admitted the impossibility of defending Stralsund any longer and surrendered its citadel [3]. Thus, Stralsund became Prussia's.
With the stalemate at Danevirke and the capture of Stralsund, the German campaigns of 1728 came to a close. At their closing, the Viennese Alliance had undoubtedly won the German seat of conflict. Brunswick-Luneburg and all its dependencies were occupied, Pomerania was captured, and Holstein was possessed. Furthermore, the main Hanoverian army was destroyed and the crown prince of Great Britain and Brunswick-Luneburg had been captured. However, the indefatigable Viennese Alliance had begun to strain. The Germans had been willing to fight alongside the Russians so long as they had to, and with their victories seemingly secure they abandoned Russia to fight its own war. This shift in the strategic situation gave the Hanoverians the necessary reprieve to stop the endless string of defeats and losses of land. However, this shift did not put the Hanoverians in a position to turn the war around. The Russo-Mecklenburger army remained superior to the Hanoverian army and was well-placed to block any Hanoverian effort to reach Holstein or Brunswick-Luneburg. Although the Hanoverians still possessed Oldenburg that a result of Viennese nonchalance rather than inability. If the Hanoverians did look like they would use Oldenburg as a base to reclaim Brunswick-Luneburg then Augustus the Strong and his Saxon army would surely move to stop them. Thus although the Viennese did not look as if they could push their advantages any further, the Hanoverians had little hope of reversing the tides of war.
Interestingly, following the conclusion of active campaigning in northern Germany, the occupied Herrenhausen Palace became a center of social activity for a number of Europe's most important and interesting characters [4]. Among those figures to enjoy balls and festivities at Herrenhausen during the winter of 1728-1729 were Augustus the Strong; his heir, Frederick Augustus, his bastards, Frederick Augustus, Count Rutowsky, and Anna Karolina, Countess Orzelska; Menshikov; his generals, Peter Lacy, Maurice of Saxony, and Johann Gunther; Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp; Prince Charles Augustus of Eutin and several of his siblings; Friedrich Wilhelm I; his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Hanover; his son, Fritz; his daughter, Wilhelmine; his generals, Prince Leopold, Kurt Christoph von Schwerin, and Friedrich Wilhelm von Grumbkow; Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; his daughter, Elisabeth Katharina Christine; Frederick Albert II of Brunwsick-Wolfenbuttel and his children; Imperial representative, Friedrich Heinrich von Seckendorff; and ironically, the captured, Prince Frederick or Griff. This assembly of people made for some entertaining events including the purported seduction of both Fritz and Griff by Anna Karolina Orzelska and Charles Frederick out drinking his Russian comrades.
The most significant episode of the winter at Herrenhausen was the interaction of the Hohenzollern family with Griff, the capture prince of Hanover. For years, Queen Sophia Dorothea of Prussia had been campaigning for the marriage of Griff and her eldest daughter Wilhelmine as well as a marriage for Fritz and one of Griff's sisters. Right before Empress Catherine's War broke out, King George I of Great Britain on been on his way to Prussia to finalize discussions about these matches with his son-in-law and daughter, the King in and Queen of Prussia. However, George I's death and the subsequent outbreak of war between Britain and Prussia suspended this effort. Even in the midst of war, however, Sophia Dorothea remained passionately committed to these proposed matches and decided to travel to Herrenhausen in Hanover so that she and her daughter, Wilhelmine, could meet the prospective husband. Although Friedrich Wilhelm I lacked Sophia Dorothea's enthusiasm he had never opposed the idea of marrying his daughter to a Hanoverian [5]. Indeed, in 1728, he had come to see the match as a potential route of reconciliation between the House of Hohenzollern and the House of Hanover. Additionally, the reports of Griff's bravery in battle were well appreciated by Friedrich Wilhelm I. Upon meeting Griff, the Prussian king's favor toward the match grew as the boy was respectful and honest [6]. Sophia Dorothea and Wilhelmine's meeting with Griff was similarly successful. Sophia Dorothea was thrilled with the man her nephew had become and felt he was the most suitable husband for her daughter. Wilhelmine although not enthralled by the immature Griff felt he was someone acceptable [7]. On the other side, Griff was positively thrilled by the idea of marrying Wilhelmine and acted as if the two were already engaged [8]. Of course, any negotiation of this marriage would have to wait until after the war's conclusion but as it stood, the Hohenzollerns were all favorable to match. Importantly, the Imperial agent, Seckendroff took note of these proceedings and reported them to his master, Emperor Charles VI [9].
[1] In OTL, the Russians were not initially supportive of Augustus the Strong's desire to place his son on the throne of Poland-Lithuania as they preferred a weaker, more manipulatable candidate. I think, Menshikov would have the same stance.
[2] Danevirke is not an imposing, formidable defense in 1728. However, Danevirke is still chokepoint and the natural geography favors the defender.
[3] Whenever a siege of Stralsund looked unwinnable, the Swedes surrendered. Here they do the same.
[4] Herrenhausen Palace was actually one of Europe's finer palaces, so occupying forces taking advantage of the palace seems perfectly plausible. Once a few people of importance are there, others will follow.
[5] Friedrich Wilhelm I was never the problem when it came to the proposed marriage between Frederick of Wales and Wilhelmine.
[6] Bravery, respectfulness, and honesty are among the traits that Frederick of Wales was said to hold by his friends. Importantly, in OTL when Frederick first encountered his family after more than a decade of isolation, he treated his father with the utmost respect. I imagine he would treat Friedrich Wilhelm I the same way upon first encounter. This type of behavior would appeal to Friedrich Wilhelm I.
[7] Wilhelmine in OTL never met Frederick but also was never that large of a fan of the match. I am not sure that meeting an immature Frederick in his twenties will be particularly exciting for Wilhelmine.
[8] This is how Frederick acted in OTL without even meeting Wilhelmine. Reportedly was attractive so I imagine he will respond positively to her.
[9] Just like OTL the idea of a Prussian-British match is alarming to the Hapsburgs.
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Fleury is not blindly loyal to Britain. He is favorable toward the British alliance as a means of having a reliable ally against the Hapsburgs. Currently, Spain although disaligned from the Hapsburgs is not a certain French ally. Also, having Britain in one's back pocket is typically helpful. Fleury does not necessarily want to fight the Hapsburgs but sees it as a strong possibility given the Hapsburgs' growing power and the historical animosity between France and the Hapsbrugs. Importantly, right now, Townshend is still in power and his anti-German policy looks like it will last longer due to the fact that George II's prized Brunswick-Luneburg was mauled by Hapsburg-sponsored states. Townshend's foreign policy was naturally more favorable to France and could make Britain a useful ally. However, Fleury is probably more favorable toward the British alliance than he should be.
Fleury in OTL misplanned and mismanaged the military and political aspects of the War of the Polish Succession and later of the War of the Austrian Succession due to his reluctance to achieve goals through warfare. Indeed, France's main gain from the War of the Polish Succession, Lorraine, was not a planned war objective but rather an adaptation by Fleury after the failure of French strategy in Poland and Italy. Fleury is also mismanaging this TTL war but even more so because he did not expect this war and because he Chauvelin has not established himself fully and Belle-Isle is not yet a diplomat. Fleury's artificial restrictions during the War of the Polish Succession avoided a lot of potential for exciting French victories in Germany.
The Russian war goals are spot on. Beat up the Swedes and gain further protection for Saint Petersburg. Beat down the Hanoverian Baltic aspirations. And support the Holstein-Gottorps. Additionally, Osterman, Lacy, and Menshikov have set up a revival of Russian influence in Mecklenburg.
Sweden is just trying to survive at this point, nothing more that they can do.
Prussia's main objective has been the conquest of Swedish Pomerania. Prussia additionally has interests in Brunswick-Luneburg and seeks to transform his demonstration of loyalty to the Emperor into possession of Julich-Berg.
Saxony's objective is mainly land. Since Poland is by no means guaranteed to be inherited by Augustus II's son, Augustus II is seeking lands that can be added to his hereditary domain from Brunswick-Luneburg. Historically, Augustus II even had an interest in conquering Stralsund during the Great Northern War despite it being no where close to any of his holdings. Brunswick-Luneburg's southern extremities are not too far from Saxony.
Britain wants out of the war as the war is lost. Brunswick-Luneburg wants to find some way to avoid the complete destruction of the electorate.
Denmark's goal at this point is to hold Schleswig and possibly reclaim Holstein.
The Hapsburgs are winning in Italy so they do not have to worry about losing land. Meanwhile, on the Rhine, the Hapsburgs are holding. If the Hapsburgs had the funding then perhaps they would consider trying to take Turin and force a hard peace on Piedmont-Savoy, which is not the most appreciated power in Europe. However, the Hapsburgs lack the funding to confidently pursue that goal. Instead, the Hapsburgs will use their Imperial dignity and their respectable military success to secure signatures for the Pragmatic Sanction. Hapsburg superiority in the Holy Roman Empire is an added bonus of the necessary work required for the Pragmatic Sanction.
I think we need some map to show the precise complexities of the situation
The dark green territory is the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, the region still under the Gottorp after the Great Northern War, if Denmark had been on the winning side that was what they wanted. In OTL they traded it for County of Oldenburg in 1772. The Bishopric of Lübeck is also under the House of Gottorp.
The military goal of the Gottorps is to regain the territories lost north of the Eider, below is a map of Gottorp (yellow) before the Great Northern War, which show the territories formerly owned by Gottorp.
While it’s not impossible that the Russian military goal expand to taking the royal parts of Schleswig-Holstein, no one beside Russia and Gottorp have any interest in that, in fact everyone else in their own alliance except Spain have every interest in stopping that from happening, as it would fundamental give Russia a Hanover size vassal in North Germany and a chokehold on the Baltic and Elbe.
Great maps, thank you. The Russians honestly do not even care about Schleswig, royal or ducal. Menshikov was just chasing after the Hanoverians to fin a battle. Menshikov feels no obligation to conquer Schleswig and even if he did, he would feel completely justified in only provided the Holstein-Gottorps with ducal Schleswig. And you are 100% correct that the other Germans are opposed to the Holstein-Gottorps gaining Schleswig in its entirety, not just because it might create a strong Russian ally in the region but because it would create another strong, player in general. They like the idea of a Holstein-buffer against a strong military state like Denmark-Norway but beyond that fear making Holstein too strong.I think we need some map to show the precise complexities of the situation
The dark green territory is the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, the region still under the Gottorp after the Great Northern War, if Denmark had been on the winning side that was what they wanted. In OTL they traded it for County of Oldenburg in 1772. The Bishopric of Lübeck is also under the House of Gottorp.
The military goal of the Gottorps is to regain the territories lost north of the Eider, below is a map of Gottorp (yellow) before the Great Northern War, which show the territories formerly owned by Gottorp.
While it’s not impossible that the Russian military goal expand to taking the royal parts of Schleswig-Holstein, no one beside Russia and Gottorp have any interest in that, in fact everyone else in their own alliance except Spain have every interest in stopping that from happening, as it would fundamental give Russia a Hanover size vassal in North Germany and a chokehold on the Baltic and Elbe.
I'm curious what is the purple/pink color around Als and Aero?
20: The Fall of Osterland
20: The Fall of Osterland
Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn
Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn
1727 had seen the Hanoverian Alliance suffer twin reverses against the Russians in Osterland, both at sea and on land. At sea, the renowned Royal Navy and its Swedish ally had been dealt a true defeat by General Admiral Fyodor Apraksin near to Kymmendalen. On land, Generalissimus Menshikov and Field Marshal Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn had evicted Major Generals Henrik Magnus Buddenbrock and Karl Emil Lewenhaupt from Villmanstrand and Fredrikshamn respectively. This set of defeats for Sweden and her supposed protector, Great Britain, disavowed the jingoistic foreign policy of Carl Gyllenborg and Lewenhaupt, which allowed Arvid Horn and his partisans to regain control of the Swedish Riksdag. Under Horn's influence, King Frederik I and Queen Ulrika Eleanora of Sweden were convinced that the war was unwinnable and that the only path forward was to seek terms with Russia. Thus the Swedes spent the end of 1727 and the beginning of 1728 trying to persuade Russia to have mercy on Sweden and grant it peace. The Russians, however, found little interest in ending the war with Sweden. Even though Menshikov was readying to ride toward Germany for his ultimate glory, he still wanted a war to be fought at his rear, close to home. As Menshikov understood it, a war all the way in Germany was of little real worth to Russia and if that was the only war being fought he could expect his opponents to vilify him for a blatant glory-trip. In which case, Menshikov's opponents would surge in his absence. However, if Menshikov maintained a war only tens of miles away from the capital and against one of Russia's oldest fores, Sweden, then he could at least maintain the illusion of the necessity of the war while he chased after fame and fortune elsewhere. Thus Menshikov instructed the foreign minister, Andrey Osterman, to reject all Swedish peace missions until otherwise instructed, and so Sweden's diplomatic efforts fell on deaf ears.
Since Menshikov denied Sweden peace, Marshal Golitsyn was able to resume his offensive against the Swedes in Osterland in the summer of 1728. When the campaign began, the Swedes had maintained the positions they had established after abandoning the Osterland's coast with Lewenhaupt holding Helsingfors and Buddenbrock holding Nyslott. Accordingly, Golitsyn decided to split his army in two and confront both Swedish forces. Golitsyn imagined that he chased after just one of the Swedish armies that the other would move to retake Fredrikshamn and Villmanstrand or even threaten Saint Petersburg. Despite this division of forces in no way was Golitsyn weakening his forces and exposing the Russian position to counterattack. In fact, to match Lewenhaupt's 8,000 men, Golitsyn assigned an army of 16,000 and to chase Buddenbrock's 4,000 men, Golitsyn had an army of 8,000. Thus, in both western and eastern Osterland, the Russians outnumbered the Swedes two to one. Just in case the Swedes should be so brave and lucky as to bypass either Russian army, Christoph von Munnich was left behind to garrison Fredrikshamn and Villmanstrand with the remaining Russian soldiers. In light of these troop depositions, the desperation of Arvid Horn for peace is made even more clear.
When the Russian army came Lewenhaupt considered attempting to hold Helsingfors despite the severe inferiority in the strength of his army. However, after the Russians brushed aside the Swedish formation left to defend Borgoa, Lewenhaupt realized that he would not be able to hold Helsingfors for any significant amount of time. Thus, Lewenhaupt prepared to abandon Helsingfors and ruin its defenses. However, beyond superiority on land, the Russians had superiority at sea. At the war's beginning, this superiority had already existed but was not so severe as to make it impossible for the Swedish to resist. In wake of Kymmeneladen that no longer remained true as Russian capture of powerful British-built ships of line and the destruction of part of Sweden's fleet left the Swedish navy woefully outmatched. Golitsyn and General Admiral Apraksin made use of this advantage by transporting half of Golitsyn's army up Osterland's coast and past Helsingfors [1]. This ambitious operation failed to be stopped or even hindered by the Swedish navy, which too afraid of the Russians and too busy supplying Stralsund to respond. As a consequence, the Russians succeeded in leapfrogging Lewenhaupt's army and practically encircling him, which left Lewenhaupt with no choice but to retreat into Helsingfors.
Cut off by land and sea from all hopes of relief, not as if Sweden had any army to relieve him, Lewenhaupt's situation was hopeless. Still, Lewenhaupt felt that his garrison could hold out for some time and that each week that he hold on was a week that the Russians could not otherwise spend wasting Finland and threatening Sweden. Clinging to the legacy of King Charles XII of Sweden who was ever resolute in the face of danger, Lewenhaupt resolved to hold Helsingfors for as long as God might allow him to [2]. Lewenhaupt even got some idea about surviving till the winter when the Russians would be forced to retire towards Borgoa. Presented with this defense, Golitsyn did not throw away the lives of his men in costly assaults. Instead, Golitsyn established a siege to starve and bombard Lewenhaupt until he gave up. Thus through July and August, a siege of Helsingfors was undertaken with only the occasion sortie breaking the monotony. Eventually, in early September after two months of sustaining bombardment from land and sea and three months of starvation, the Swedes' will to fight on any longer had withered away and died. As far as Lewenhaupt was concerned, two months was an honorable defense and considerable time taken away from the Russian army. Hence on September 4, 1728, Lewenhaupt offered his surrender to Golitsyn. The Swedes were subsequently interned while Golitsyn went on to conquer Abo, Nystad, Bjorneborg, and Vasa before the year's end. Apraksin even ferried soldiers through the Archipelago Sea to the Alands Islands, which the Russians proceeded to conquer.
Unlike Lewenhaupt, Buddenbrock thought better of defending his post, Nyslott. Instead, Buddenbrock took to the countryside to engage in a war of skirmishes with the intention of delaying and wearing down the Russian conquest of Osterland. Although this strategy vexed and frustrated the Russians at times, it did not prevent them from gradually capturing more villages and gaining more land. This Russian advance was facilitated by the lack of support from the local people for the Swedes and lack of resistance toward the Russians. Less than a decade earlier, Osterland had been occupied by the Russians and was brutally oppressed during that occupation with rape, murder, looting, and over-taxation being common themes. This oppression spawned some degree of hate toward the Russians but more so fostered dread and fear. Thus when the Russians came again and offered the locals a choice of the sword or cooperation, the locals chose the latter. Without the support of these people, Buddenbrock was hard-pressed to stymie the Russian conquest. Ultimately, Buddenbrock was forced to abandon Osterland after Lewenhaupt's capitulation and fell back to Kajaneborg.
The surrender of Lewenhaupt's army and the evacuation of Buddenbrock's left Osterland entirely in the hands of the Russians. By the end of 1728, they held the entirety of Osterland and even infringed on Norrland. However, Lewenhaupt's honorable delay of the Russians had succeeded in preventing the Russians from conquering more of Norrland or taking their army across the Gulf of Bothnia to attack Sweden's core. Given the Swedish army being split up between Stralsund and Osterland, a Russian attack would have been able to devastate Sweden. Still, the Russian progress over the course of 1728 was immense and left Russia in possession of hundreds of square miles of land. Additionally, Apraksin's capture of the Aland Islands left the Russians in firm control of the Gulf of Bothnia, the Aland Sea, and the Archipelago Sea, which the Russians had used to bombard Stockholm a few times during the winter of 1728-1729. At this point, it seemed likely that 1729 would be filled with more Russian achievements and perhaps even a Russian occupation of Stockholm. However, all expectations of 1729 were shattered when news from Saint Petersburg promised to dramatically change the course of Empress Catherine's War.
[1] In wake of the Russian victory at Kymmenedalen, the typical Russian naval daring is increased even more and Apraksin is confident enough to attempt this operation.
[2] Honor was still a major factor in warfare at this point in time and defenders in sieges who had no chance of being relieved were mainly considered with honorably acquitting themselves. Also in the OTL Hats' War, Lewenhaupt despite being blame for the loss of Finland did not surrender Helsingfors. Lewenhaupt was recalled to Stockholm while Helsingfors was still in Swedish hands. Jean Louis Bousquet was the one actually responsible for surrendering Helsingfors. I think that Lewenhaupt who was an important Swedish general and politician is likely to focus on achieving an honorable capitulation.
Word Count: 1489
It seems that you finally decided to let Catherine die.20: The Fall of Osterland
Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn
1727 had seen the Hanoverian Alliance suffer twin reverses against the Russians in Osterland, both at sea and on land. At sea, the renowned Royal Navy and its Swedish ally had been dealt a true defeat by General Admiral Fyodor Apraksin near to Kymmendalen. On land, Generalissimus Menshikov and Field Marshal Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn had evicted Major Generals Henrik Magnus Buddenbrock and Karl Emil Lewenhaupt from Villmanstrand and Fredrikshamn respectively. This set of defeats for Sweden and her supposed protector, Great Britain, disavowed the jingoistic foreign policy of Carl Gyllenborg and Lewenhaupt, which allowed Arvid Horn and his partisans to regain control of the Swedish Riksdag. Under Horn's influence, King Frederik I and Queen Ulrika Eleanora of Sweden were convinced that the war was unwinnable and that the only path forward was to seek terms with Russia. Thus the Swedes spent the end of 1727 and the beginning of 1728 trying to persuade Russia to have mercy on Sweden and grant it peace. The Russians, however, found little interest in ending the war with Sweden. Even though Menshikov was readying to ride toward Germany for his ultimate glory, he still wanted a war to be fought at his rear, close to home. As Menshikov understood it, a war all the way in Germany was of little real worth to Russia and if that was the only war being fought he could expect his opponents to vilify him for a blatant glory-trip. In which case, Menshikov's opponents would surge in his absence. However, if Menshikov maintained a war only tens of miles away from the capital and against one of Russia's oldest fores, Sweden, then he could at least maintain the illusion of the necessity of the war while he chased after fame and fortune elsewhere. Thus Menshikov instructed the foreign minister, Andrey Osterman, to reject all Swedish peace missions until otherwise instructed, and so Sweden's diplomatic efforts fell on deaf ears.
Since Menshikov denied Sweden peace, Marshal Golitsyn was able to resume his offensive against the Swedes in Osterland in the summer of 1728. When the campaign began, the Swedes had maintained the positions they had established after abandoning the Osterland's coast with Lewenhaupt holding Helsingfors and Buddenbrock holding Nyslott. Accordingly, Golitsyn decided to split his army in two and confront both Swedish forces. Golitsyn imagined that he chased after just one of the Swedish armies that the other would move to retake Fredrikshamn and Villmanstrand or even threaten Saint Petersburg. Despite this division of forces in no way was Golitsyn weakening his forces and exposing the Russian position to counterattack. In fact, to match Lewenhaupt's 8,000 men, Golitsyn assigned an army of 16,000 and to chase Buddenbrock's 4,000 men, Golitsyn had an army of 8,000. Thus, in both western and eastern Osterland, the Russians outnumbered the Swedes two to one. Just in case the Swedes should be so brave and lucky as to bypass either Russian army, Christoph von Munnich was left behind to garrison Fredrikshamn and Villmanstrand with the remaining Russian soldiers. In light of these troop depositions, the desperation of Arvid Horn for peace is made even more clear.
When the Russian army came Lewenhaupt considered attempting to hold Helsingfors despite the severe inferiority in the strength of his army. However, after the Russians brushed aside the Swedish formation left to defend Borgoa, Lewenhaupt realized that he would not be able to hold Helsingfors for any significant amount of time. Thus, Lewenhaupt prepared to abandon Helsingfors and ruin its defenses. However, beyond superiority on land, the Russians had superiority at sea. At the war's beginning, this superiority had already existed but was not so severe as to make it impossible for the Swedish to resist. In wake of Kymmeneladen that no longer remained true as Russian capture of powerful British-built ships of line and the destruction of part of Sweden's fleet left the Swedish navy woefully outmatched. Golitsyn and General Admiral Apraksin made use of this advantage by transporting half of Golitsyn's army up Osterland's coast and past Helsingfors [1]. This ambitious operation failed to be stopped or even hindered by the Swedish navy, which too afraid of the Russians and too busy supplying Stralsund to respond. As a consequence, the Russians succeeded in leapfrogging Lewenhaupt's army and practically encircling him, which left Lewenhaupt with no choice but to retreat into Helsingfors.
Cut off by land and sea from all hopes of relief, not as if Sweden had any army to relieve him, Lewenhaupt's situation was hopeless. Still, Lewenhaupt felt that his garrison could hold out for some time and that each week that he hold on was a week that the Russians could not otherwise spend wasting Finland and threatening Sweden. Clinging to the legacy of King Charles XII of Sweden who was ever resolute in the face of danger, Lewenhaupt resolved to hold Helsingfors for as long as God might allow him to [2]. Lewenhaupt even got some idea about surviving till the winter when the Russians would be forced to retire towards Borgoa. Presented with this defense, Golitsyn did not throw away the lives of his men in costly assaults. Instead, Golitsyn established a siege to starve and bombard Lewenhaupt until he gave up. Thus through July and August, a siege of Helsingfors was undertaken with only the occasion sortie breaking the monotony. Eventually, in early September after two months of sustaining bombardment from land and sea and three months of starvation, the Swedes' will to fight on any longer had withered away and died. As far as Lewenhaupt was concerned, two months was an honorable defense and considerable time taken away from the Russian army. Hence on September 4, 1728, Lewenhaupt offered his surrender to Golitsyn. The Swedes were subsequently interned while Golitsyn went on to conquer Abo, Nystad, Bjorneborg, and Vasa before the year's end. Apraksin even ferried soldiers through the Archipelago Sea to the Alands Islands, which the Russians proceeded to conquer.
Unlike Lewenhaupt, Buddenbrock thought better of defending his post, Nyslott. Instead, Buddenbrock took to the countryside to engage in a war of skirmishes with the intention of delaying and wearing down the Russian conquest of Osterland. Although this strategy vexed and frustrated the Russians at times, it did not prevent them from gradually capturing more villages and gaining more land. This Russian advance was facilitated by the lack of support from the local people for the Swedes and lack of resistance toward the Russians. Less than a decade earlier, Osterland had been occupied by the Russians and was brutally oppressed during that occupation with rape, murder, looting, and over-taxation being common themes. This oppression spawned some degree of hate toward the Russians but more so fostered dread and fear. Thus when the Russians came again and offered the locals a choice of the sword or cooperation, the locals chose the latter. Without the support of these people, Buddenbrock was hard-pressed to stymie the Russian conquest. Ultimately, Buddenbrock was forced to abandon Osterland after Lewenhaupt's capitulation and fell back to Kajaneborg.
The surrender of Lewenhaupt's army and the evacuation of Buddenbrock's left Osterland entirely in the hands of the Russians. By the end of 1728, they held the entirety of Osterland and even infringed on Norrland. However, Lewenhaupt's honorable delay of the Russians had succeeded in preventing the Russians from conquering more of Norrland or taking their army across the Gulf of Bothnia to attack Sweden's core. Given the Swedish army being split up between Stralsund and Osterland, a Russian attack would have been able to devastate Sweden. Still, the Russian progress over the course of 1728 was immense and left Russia in possession of hundreds of square miles of land. Additionally, Apraksin's capture of the Aland Islands left the Russians in firm control of the Gulf of Bothnia, the Aland Sea, and the Archipelago Sea, which the Russians had used to bombard Stockholm a few times during the winter of 1728-1729. At this point, it seemed likely that 1729 would be filled with more Russian achievements and perhaps even a Russian occupation of Stockholm. However, all expectations of 1729 were shattered when news from Saint Petersburg promised to dramatically change the course of Empress Catherine's War.
[1] In wake of the Russian victory at Kymmenedalen, the typical Russian naval daring is increased even more and Apraksin is confident enough to attempt this operation.
[2] Honor was still a major factor in warfare at this point in time and defenders in sieges who had no chance of being relieved were mainly considered with honorably acquitting themselves. Also in the OTL Hats' War, Lewenhaupt despite being blame for the loss of Finland did not surrender Helsingfors. Lewenhaupt was recalled to Stockholm while Helsingfors was still in Swedish hands. Jean Louis Bousquet was the one actually responsible for surrendering Helsingfors. I think that Lewenhaupt who was an important Swedish general and politician is likely to focus on achieving an honorable capitulation.
Word Count: 1489
But even without her death it seems that Menshikov's War outlived its usefulness for the Russian side:
1. Menshikov already won enough glory for a triumphant reception in St-Petersburg. However, let's not forget that in Russia of the XVIII no amount of glory was a guarantee of someone's well-being if that person falls out of favor and leaving St-Petersburg for too long meant that the empress is surrounded by Menshikov's enemies (he was not good in making friends, to put it mildly). Even the few generals who own him are not necessarily his clients: Maurice may still want Curland and Lacy is a hired hand with no clout in Russia. Golitsyn (who can be a valuable ally patching relations between Menshikov and Golitsyns) may hold grudge because the first part of campaign in Finland was "stolen" from him. Apraxin is an independent figure, Munnich is still a subordinated commander and is itching for his own glory.
2. Search for a glorious battle is fine but he already won few of them and nobody should dare to exceed the glory of Poltava. So, getting excessively successful would not be adviceable.
3. All practical goals are achieved and continued war exclusively on behalf of the Holsteinian in-laws is a little bit too much: they got (back) a reasonable part of what they claimed to be their territory and more ambitious plans (as @Jürgen correctly noticed) are lacking an international support. Menshikov, with his GNW experience should remember similar situation with the Russian operations in Pomerania: all successes ended up with nothing because the allies were not interested in a continued Russian presence in the region.
4. The longer the war continued the more obvious it becomes that the persons who are going to end up with a real glory are going to be M.M.Golitsyn and Apraxin: their operations are going to bring the territorial gains (unless you decide otherwise
) while Menshikov is fighting an expensive war God knows where by not too obvious reason and definitely without any chance to get new territories for the Russian Empire. Which means strengthening of the Golitsyn clan (and their allies Dolgoruky family).5. The war keeps hitting Russia in a pocket: Britain and (remote second) the Dutch are the greater importers of the Russian goods and as such the main source of a hard currency of which Russia is desperately short. This situation could not keep going forever just to please Menshikov.
6. Russian Empire does not really care about the territorial ambitions of Prussia, Saxony and the Hapsburgs: its acquisition-related interests involve only Sweden. So the peace with Britain (which is also very interested in trade with Russia - a major supplier of numerous items needed for the navy) can be reasonably easily arranged if both sides involved are ready to throw their allies under the bus. What Russian government would like to see is a big (by the Russian standards) pile of cash and I'd assume that this can be arranged in exchange for backing up reasonably modest loss of the Brunswick territories. A smaller pile would go to Menshikov under the table. Not being a fool, Menshikov has to understand that the best moment for gaining the most is right now, before the German allies start making their personal deals and pursuing their personal goals. So, while the war is interrupted by winter, he can start playing diplomacy. Taking into an account that Catherine's health is not a secret for him, a diplomatic result must be achieved fast letting him to get back to St-Petersburg ASAP. It seems that at this point the British side also should be open to the negotiations, especially if the Russians are ready to offer reasonably generous and honorable conditions. Which they should because the humiliating parts are coming from their allies who Edit: are of no vital importance to Russia (Brandenburg already was a questionable ally during the GNW and Saxony seriously depends on Russian cooperation in Polish succession) and anyway may end up with close to nothing if Russia is making a separate peace.
Edit: It is reasonably to assume that in the case of CI death and accession of PII call for peace is going to be even stronger because the Holsteinian interests are going away. Of course, there is certain connection to the Hapsburgs but it is hardly strong. OTOH, it is more than possible that some finger pointing related to the death of Peter's father will take place and one member of Dolgoruky family even suffered physical damage and disfavor during Alexei's process while Menshikov's role was quite negative. Being at court, Menshikov could for a while block the opponents (not for very long, as OTL demonstrated) but his presence is required and the same goes for the presence of the loyal troops. So there should be a glorious and fast peace at all costs. Preferably, with the members of the important families being involved to avert possible reprimands, but this would not be Menshikov's style.
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21: Treaty of Vienna
21: Treaty of Vienna
Andrey Osterman
Andrey Osterman
Prince Aleksander Menshikov returned to Saint Petersburg from the Schleswig front on January 21, 1729. Despite the brevity of Menshikov's absence from the capital, less than a year abroad, the Russia which welcomed Menshikov home was quite different than the one he had departed from. Without his powerful figure close at hand to observe and respond to the machinations of his opponents, Menshikov's enemies had managed to gain a foot in the door to real power in Russia by carousing Empress Catherine I. The Golitsyn family had turned the military success of Marshal Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn into absolute triumphs in Empress Catherine's eyes. Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn had so vividly and vibrantly described Mikhail's victories that Catherine had felt it necessary to name Mikhail to the Supreme Privy Council of Russia. This promotion turned the already heroic and honorable Mikhail from a celebrated general into a potential political rival of Menshikov. Additionally, the allies of the Golitsyns, the Dolgorukovs had risen back to the top. After months of entertaining the Empress, Vasily Lukich Dolgorukov had managed to convince Catherine of his indispensability to the functioning of the Russian state and earned himself a place on the Supreme Privy Council. Using this new position, Vasily Lukich secured the title of Field Marshal for his kinsman Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgorukov [1]. Overall, Menshikov's enemies gained two council positions and came to constitute half of Russia's field marshals. The only saving grace was that Menshikov's personal nemesis, Pavel Yaguzhinsky, was still far away in Poland struggling to manage the Sekm's politics [2].
Confronted with strengthened enemies, the reason for Menshikov's early return to Russia was all the more worrying. Once again, the Empress, Catherine, had fallen dangerously ill and provoked concern for her well-being. This time, it seemed doubtful that Catherine could miraculously recover from her illness. When Menshikov had left Schleswig he had still had some hope of possibly returning and walloping the Hanoverian army once he had defeated any of his opponents' plans to take advantage of Catherine's weak health and mental state. However, upon seeing both the dangerous growth of his rival's power and Catherine teetering on death's door, Menshikov understood that there was no place for him out on the front. Instead, Menshikov needed to be in Saint Petersburg, the center of all the Russian Empire's intrigues and plots, to personally oversee the transition of monarchs upon Catherine's death and prevent any plots against his power. Otherwise, even he, the all-powerful Menshikov, might end up being among the political exiles of Siberia.
Since Menshikov was no longer going to personally fight and lead Empress Catherine's War allowing the war to continue any longer immediately became worthless to Russia's first man. No longer was Menshikov going to add to his personal renown with victories as the Generalissimus of Russia. Instead, only his rivals, Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, Marshal Mikhail Golitsyn, and General Admiral Fyodor Apraksin, stood to gain glory in coming battles. Without the triumph of victory, Menshikov's Russia had no reason to fight. Already, Russia's war effort had achieved its primary objective of fulfilling Empress Catherine's command to destroy Hanover and crush Britain and all its allies for their grievous assault on Russia. Brunswick-Luneburg had been overrun with Herrenhausen even being occupied, Britain had been trounced at Kymmenedalen, and Sweden and Denmark had both received beatings as part of the Hanoverian army. King George II of Great Britain had even been personally defeated a series of times. Russia's obvious war goal of humiliating the Swedes and securing the border had been more than achieved as Russia occupied all of Osterland. The only other potential war goal of Russia would have been to liberate Holstein and Schleswig for Catherine's son-in-law, Charles Frederick. The Russians had freed the former and part of the latter, which Menshikov convinced Catherine was enough. Anything more was not worth the bloodshed. If anything, the current front was a better border for Holstein-Gottorp's Schleswig anyway as it was easily defensible, or so Menshiov claimed to Catherine. All in all, Menshikov and other Russians concurred that Russia's war effort had done what was required of it and that no further war was necessary. Thus, Menshikov decided that the time for peace had come.
Typically in this age, despite fighting alongside allies countries would quit wars without them. Indeed, Spain had done just this in 1728 with the Treaty of Madrid and Russia had previously done the same in 1721 with the Treaty of Nystad. However, to conclude Empress Catherine's War Menshikov did not feel that the typical approach was appropriate. Although Russia could certainly secure a more than honorable exit from the war with a separate treaty that was not Menshikov's primary concern. Instead, Menshikov remembered that throughout Russia's history, foreign powers had consistently intervened in Russian politics. Since Catherine was expected to die, Menshikov desired to avoid provoking the ire of either the Hapsburgs or the Prussians. If any of Russia's allies had reason to harm Menshikov then their agents might interfere with the delicate process of a Russian succession and support or fund plots against Menshikov, which might be the key factor in Menshikov ending 1729 in a Siberian cabin. Aggravating Emperor Charles VI was specifically undesirable as he was the uncle Grand Duke Peter, Peter the Great's grandson. Thus Emperor Charles VI already had a significant interest in the Russian succession. To avoid unnecessary conflict, Menshikov sent Russia's foreign minister, Andrey Osterman, to Vienna to confide with the Emperor and even had the disgraced Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin descend from Copenhagen to meet with King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia at Herrenhausen.
Considering the might and influence which the title and dignity of Holy Roman Emperor still held in 1729, Osterman came to Vienna prepared and expecting to make a number of concessions to Emperor Charles VI in order to create a set of peace terms amenable to both the Emperor and Menshikov. Had Prince Eugene of Savoy and Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf had their way then Osterman certainly would have had to find a serious compromise. Instead, Charles VI asked practically nothing of Osterman and Russia. Even though the Hapsburg armies had won the great victory of Bassignana and a political victory at Bellheim, Charles VI asked for no land for his realm. Instead, Charles VI's primary demand was that the signatories of the final peace treaty guarantee the succession of Charles VI's eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, to the Hapsburg family's territories. Besides this support of the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles VI asked that the Maritime Power's restrictions on the Ostend Company be ended or at the very least lowered. Neither of these terms was opposite to Russia's interests nor very demanding of the Hanoverian Alliance, in Osterman's view. For those reasons, Osterman gladly agreed to make those terms part of his negotiating position with the Hanoverian Alliance.
While Osterman quickly discovered and acceded to the desires of the Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, Bestuzhev arrived at Herrenhausen to handle the interests of Prussia, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel. The quick agreement between the Emperor and Osterman allowed for the Imperial minister, Friedrich Heinrich von Seckendorff, to join Bestuzhev in these discussions as an ally and a representative of the Emperor's interests. Together, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff first approached Friedrich Wilhelm I. Boldly, Friedrich Wilhelm I conveyed to the Imperial powers that Prussia wanted both the whole of Swedish Pomerania and the bulk of the Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg as the price for its army's effort. The first request was necessary for Prussia's expansion and growth as a Baltic power and the second request was meant to humiliate Friedrich Wilhelm I's personal rival, King George II, and greatly augment Prussia's German eminence [3]. Furthermore, from the Holy Roman Emperor, Friedrich Wilhelm wanted his rights to Julich-Berg formally recognized to allow their annexation to the Prussian state. However, in light of the occupation of Brunswick-Luneburg by Saxony and Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel as well as the disinterest of both Russia and the Hapsburgs in greatly strengthening Prussia, the demand for Brunswick-Luneburg was flatly rejected. Indeed, Friedrich Wilhelm I's boldness was punished as Bestuzhev and Seckendorff proved to reluctant to grant Prussia even a piece of Brunswick-Luneburg or to promise him all of Pomerania. Meanwhile, talk of Julich-Berg was ignored entirely until the Prussians tabled the matter. Neither the Prussian king or the Russian and Imperial representatives were willing to budge easily and a difficult stalemate ensued.
While negotiations with Prussia stalled, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff engaged with the other German princes to discuss their interests. To Bestuzhev and Seckendorff's annoyed surprise, bold demands unequal to a state's power or influence were a common theme beyond Friedrich Wilhelm I. The smallest member of the Viennese Alliance, the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel also went so far as to demand the whole Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg. At the very left, Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel produced a copy of the last will and testament of King George I of Great Britain, which stated a plan for Brunswick-Luneburg to be bestowed upon a latter son of Prince Frederick's upon his death [4]. In the case that Prince Frederick failed to produce issue then rather then having George II's second son, William Augustus, inherit Brunswick-Luneburg, the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel would. Another copy of the will in the possession of the Holy Roman Emperor confirmed this plan. Although this will gave Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel some weak chance of inheriting Brunswick-Luneburg in the future, Augustus Wilhelm, the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbuffel had felt it cause enough for him to be granted all of Brunswick-Luneburg in the coming peace. Naturally, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff found this to be an overreach. importantly, giving all of Brunswick-Luneburg to Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel would damage Bestuzhev and Seckendorff's efforts to please other German princes with territorial concessions. Furthermore, the elevation of the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel to the place of an electorate would aggravate not just the German allies of the Viennese Alliance but the neutral powers of Germany who would all feel a sense of injustice at the empowerment of another German prince. Unlike Friedrich Wilhelm I, however, Augustus Wilhelm allowed himself to talked down into accepting just the Principality of Calenburg, which still constituted a major expansion of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel and would have been out of the reach of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel without the assistance of the Viennese Alliance. The only reason, Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel was treated so generously was that one of Augustus Wilhelm's nieces was the mother of Grand Duke Peter of Russia, a potential successor to Catherine, and that another was the wife of Emperor Charles VI.
King Augustus II the Strong of Poland-Lithuania also went so far as to demand all of Brunswick-Luneburg. Although Augustus the Strong did not have some semi-relevant claim to the electorate, he noted that his armies were the ones garrisoning most of Brunswick-Luneburg. For Augustus the Strong this demand was a question of gaining hereditary lands for his only son, Frederick Augustus, to inherit upon Augustus the Strong's death since the Polish and Lithuanians looked as if they would not elect Frederick Augustus as the next King of Poland-Lithuania. Of course, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff could not concede Brunswick-Luneburg to Augustus the Strong. However, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff were willing to hint at the possibility of Russian and Hapsburg support for Frederick Augustus in the future Polish-Lithuanian election. Although they did not put down anything in writing for Augustus the Strong to hold on to, the idea of Russian and Hapsburgs support was enough to push Augustus the Strong away from demanding all of Brunswick-Luneburg. Instead, he was talked into on principal accepting a small slice of the electorate, the Principality of Grubenhagen, near the western extremities of Saxony. However, Augustus the Strong continued to negotiate for more.
In contrast to his Prussian, Brunswicker, and Saxon counterparts, Duke Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin proved much easier to please. Duke Karl Leopold recognized his precarious position as a ruler who was only recently under Reichsexekution who had to worry about losing his own imperial estate let alone his new conquests. Due to his weakness, Karl Leopold only demanded the Swedish city of Wismar, the Duchy of Lauenburg, and affirmation of his position as Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. All of these objectives had already been accomplished for Karl Leopold so it was merely confirmation, which he sought. Rather easily, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff agreed to give Karl Leopold Wismar and affirm his title. However, on the subject of Lauenburg, the Russian and Imperial proved less tractable. The issue was that Lauenburg remained an important bargaining chip for the Russians and Hapsburgs in their talks with both other Viennese allies such as Saxony and with the Hanoverian Alliance. As a consequence, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff held off on promising Lauenburg but left the idea on the table.
Regarding Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, his demands did not need to be discussed with Bestuzhev as Menshikov and the whole Russian court were already fully aware of them. Charles Frederick wanted all of Holstein and all of Schleswig for his personal realm. For Charles Frederick's cousin, Charles Augustus, Charles Frederick asked for fair compensation in the form of Lauenburg or Bremen-Verden. Russia's opinion on these demands remained deliberately unclear as Menshikov did not want to upset the influential duke with a succession crisis approaching. In the past, Charles Frederick had shown a good degree of tact in handling Russian politics. Charles Frederick had even achieved a temporary reconciliation between Menshikov and Pavel Yaguzhinsky against all odds. Additionally, Charles Frederick as a member of Swedish royalty was the nominal head of the Supreme Privy Council. Charles Frederick made for a powerful opponent and it did Menshikov few favors to aggravate him at this point. Instead, Menshikov played his cards close to his chest and left Charles Frederick thinking that all his demands were possible.
Even though Bestuzhev and Seckendorff were still hammering out negotiating principles and treaty articles with the German princes, the imminent death of Catherine caused Menshikov to instruct Osterman to open negotiations with the French and English diplomats in Vienna, Theodore Chevignard de Chavigny and James Waldegrave, 2nd Baron Waldegrave, respectively. Alongside Osterman was the Imperial minister, Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf. Still, unsure of the final compromises that Bestuzhev and Seckendorff would reach, Osterman and Sinzendorf decided to push Chavigny and Waldegrave from the very beginning with an impressive and overpowering set of demands. Firstly, Russia was to be compensated financially for Britain's attack on Apraksin's fleet at Osel and Britain would apologize for breaching the peace. Secondly, Sweden would give up Wismar to Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Pomerania to Prussia, and Osterland to Russia. Next, Charles Frederick was to get his wish of Holstein and Schleswig from Denmark while Charles Augustus was awarded the Duchy of Oldenburg. The Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg would be partitioned with Bremen-Verden going to Saxony, Kalenberg to Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, and Lauenburg to Mecklenburg. Only Brunswick-Celle and the electoral vote would remain in Hanoverian hands. To satisfy the Emperor, the Maritime Powers would end their opposition to Ostend Company and all signatories would accept the Pragmatic Sanction.
The litany of demands was flatly refused by Chavigny and Waldegrave who understood that neither of their governments could ever accept such a document. Indeed, when Cardinal Fleury and the leaders of the British parliament, received these terms they were piqued at the sheer audacity of the Russians and Hapsburgs. However, the French and British were still committed to carrying out negotiations. In France, Cardinal Fleury was desperate for an exit from the miserable war that he had never wanted. Meanwhile, in Britain, Compton's weakness made peace and the return of George II an urgent need for the British parliament so that George II could finally realize Compton's inadequacy and end the embarrassment of his leadership. Furthermore, the merchants were putting considerable pressure on Sir Robert Walpole to help Compton achieve peace through his brother-in-law Lord Charles Townshend, Britain's Northern Secretary. Even George II still commanding the Hanoverian army in Schleswig alongside King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway expressed his amenability to peace. However, George II stressed that the sovereignty and integrity of Brunswick-Luneburg had to be preserved. Despite being a guest in the Kingdom of Denmark and dining with Frederik IV, George II expressed to Townshend his favorability toward Denmark-Norway and Sweden paying the price of peace. Townshend, however, the impossibility of imposing an unbalanced peace on a state as strong as Denmark-Norway.
As the subsequent negotiations between Osterman and Sinzendorf and Chavigny and Waldegrave proceeded slowly, the German princes and members of the Hanoverian Alliance began to talk amongst each other directly rather than negotiate through Russia and the Hapsburgs. After the Russians and Hapsburgs denied Friedrich Wilhelm I's ambitions for Brunswick-Luneburg or Julich-Berg, Friedrich Wilhelm I approached Britain with a proposal to reconcile their two countries and end Prussia's role in the war. The proposal called for Prince Frederick to be married to Princess Wilhelmine but also demanded that Prince Frederick be made regent of Brunswick-Luneburg. In essence, Friedrich Wilhelm I sought to turn Brunswick-Luneburg into a Prussian-friendly state that was separated from the politics of Britain. In exchange for Prussia's generosity in not seeking any part of Brunswick-Luneburg, Britain would support Prussia gaining Pomerania and its rights to Julich-Berg. Although Townshend was willing to accommodate this proposal as a means of separating Prussia from the Hapsburg camp, George II absolutely refused to condone the idea of giving up his sovereign rule over Brunswick-Luneburg to his son. A son, mind you, who remained very much a stranger to his father and a stranger who seemed to be stealing the glory and now the lands of his father.
Another significant set of discussions emerged between Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Friedrich Wilhelm I. Prussia had both interests and claims to Mecklenburg-Schwerin so it was not typically appreciative of the empowerment of Mecklenburg. However, since Karl Leopold had no son to succeed him, Karl Leopold suggested marrying his only daughter, Elisabeth Katharina Christine, to Friedrich Wilhelm I's heir, Fritz. Using that marriage, Friedrich Wilhelm I could try to claim Mecklenburg-Schwerin for Prussia upon the death of Karl Leopold. As a consequence, Friedrich Wilhelm I became much more favorable to Mecklenburg-Schwerin's claims to Wismar and Lauenburg, which Friedrich Wilhelm I imagined his son would later inherit. At the same time, Karl Leopold was courted by George II who proposed a marriage between his heir, Prince Frederick, and Elisabeth Katharina Christine with the same intentions as Friedrich Wilhelm I. Before either of these proposals could be finalized, Seckendorff caught wind of them. To put an end to these plots, Seckendorff first informed the Prussians and British of the double-dealing of Karl Leopold to sour their relations with Karl Leopold and then threatened the isolated duke with a Reichsexecution if he did not comply with the Emperor's wishes.
Even though both the Hohenzollern-Hanoverian and Mecklenburger matches fell apart quickly, their existence did cause alarm for the Russians and Hapsburgs. With the potential of the Viennese Alliance being broken apart, there was pressure on Menshikov and Osterman to Charles VI and Sinzendorf to bring an urgent end to the war. Fortunately, Menshikov had expected difficulties in the negotiations and had already been planning accordingly. In northern Germany, Charles Frederick detached himself from Peter Lacy's army in Schleswig and invaded the undefended Duchy of Oldenburg. Meanwhile, in the Baltic, Russian soldiers landed on the western coast of the Gulf of Bothnia and Major General Henrik Magnus Buddenbrock was attacked at and pushed out of Kajaneborg. These attacks served as a strong reminder that Russia alone was a scary beast and through its leadership, the Viennese Alliance had won several decisive victories over the Hanoverians. Furthermore, the attacks threatened to add more prizes to the already immense set of Viennese conquests, which would mean even more bargaining for the Viennese Alliance. Additionally, for Menshikov, these attacks had the added bonus of preventing both Charles Frederick and Marshal Golitsyn from returning to Saint Petersburg. Both generals had planned to do so due to the lull in fighting and the prospect of peace but once Menshikov, the Generalissimus of the Russian Empire, ordered them to go on the offensive they were forced to comply. for this reason, neither Charles Frederick nor Marshal Golitsyn could join the intrigues revolving around the fading Empress Catherine and the question of who would succeed her.
These attacks succeeded in making the Hanoverian Alliance anxious and more willing to make concessions to the Viennese Alliance. However, Cardinal Fleury felt that accepting the Pragmatic Sanction was a much greater concession than the Russians were willing to consider it. Through acceptance of this succession law, the French damaged their ability to negotiate with Elector Charles Albert of Bavaria and Augustus the Strong, who both had claims toward the Hapsburg dominion and had been resistant toward the Pragmatic Sanction. Additionally, if France sought to keep Spain away from friendship with the Hapsburgs then it was best to make them look toward Hapsburg lands with envy. Townshend and George II shared Cardinal Fleury's reluctance to accept the Pragmatic Sanction for much the same reason. Additionally, the Russian and Imperial proposals to take Bremen-Verden away from Brunswick-Luneburg seriously endangered Britain's ability to support and protect Brunswick-Luneburg in future wars so George II was adamantly opposed to the idea. However, George II struggled to get Frederik IV to consent to give up his Duchy of Oldenburg so that Britain could keep Bremen-Verden, especially when the prevailing sentiment in Copenhagen was that if Denmark should lose Holstein then Brunswick-Luneburg should lose Bremen-Verden as Denmark's consent to Brunswick-Luneburg gaining Bremen-Verden had been conditioned upon Denmark gaining Holstein.
An additional reason for the French and British reluctance to make final terms with the Viennese Alliance was that they began to sense the possibility of chaos in Russia upon Catherine's death. Despite Menshikov still being Russia's preeminent figure, France's agents in St. Petersburg had taken note of the growing strength of Menshikov's opposition. As mentioned earlier, in Menshikov's absence the aristocratic Golitsyns and Dolgorukovs had risen to a challenging position. Also, a Holstein party solidified in the Russian court under Pyotr Tolstoy. In the past, Tolstoy feared that his role in capturing Tsarevitch Alexei and bringing him to Peter the Great to be killed would give cause to Alexei's son, Grand Duke Peter, to seek revenge against Tolstoy. This ear had brought Tolstoy to ask Catherine to make one of her daughters, Anne or Elizabeth, her heir. However, she had previously promised to make Grand Duke Peter her heir and refused to go back on her word. Yet as Catherine's health and mental facilities left her and left the succession shrouded in uncertainty, Tolstoy felt that he still had a chance to bring one of Catherine's daughters to the throne. Tolstoy preferred Elizabeth, Catherine's younger daughter since Anne's husband, Charles Frederick had proven himself a little too adept at navigating court intrigues for Tolstoy's comfort. Other members of the court of St. Petersburg supported the idea of circumventing Peter Alexeyevich's rise and Menshikov's continued supremacy but they believed that Catherine's first daughter, Anne, should succeed to the throne as Anne was seen as the better daughter. Furthermore, Anne had given birth to a son, Charles Peter [5]. This uncertainty and factionalization over the Russian succession allowed the Hanoverian Alliance to envision a future in which more favorable terms could be found.
Under these conditions, the French and British became liable to delay and dawdle in their negotiations. However, at the urgings of Menshikov, Osterman decided to put a definitive end to negotiations. as one of Europe's premier statesmen, Osterman recognized Chavigny and Waldegrave's delaying tactics and the low likelihood of negotiations progressing naturally. Consequently, Osterman played the only card he had left: an ultimatum. Just as Osterman had done at Nystad in 1721, Osterman delivered to Chavigny and Waldegrave a list of articles to conclude the war. If Chavigny and Waldegrave failed to sign the treaty then Osterman promised to cut off all negotiations until the following year. In this action, Osterman was supported by Charles VI and Sinzendorf who were eager to put an end to it all.
The brusque ultimatum knocked both Chavigny and Waldegrave off balance and the ticking clock ensured that they remained so. Without the time to contact their respective leaders of state, the diplomats needed make a decision about peace or war and do so fast. Over the course of the night, Chavigny and Waldegrave discussed the proposed treaty between themselves with the rest of their party in a heated debate. For hours, Waldegrave refused to concede Bremen-Verden under any condition until finally, Chavigny convinced him that there was no way George II would retain Bremen-Verden in an extended war. However, the two diplomats struggled to accept the idea of a Russian Osterland. Although not generals, Chavigny and Waldegrave was smart enough to realize that ceding Osterland to Russia would effectively cede Sweden too since the Russian navy and army could easily descend from Turku and Helsingfors on Stockholm. This capability would make Sweden helpless to Russian aggression and thus make subservient to Russian interests just as Poland-Lithuania was. Yet Chavigny and Waldegrave understood that Russia needed a buffer for Saint Petersburg and that it also needed its considerable war effort to be recognized. Finally, two hours before dawn, Chavigny suggested to and convinced Waldegrave of the idea of separating Osterland from Sweden and giving it to the House of Holstein-Gottorp. In this fashion, a buffer for both Russia and Sweden could be created. With this single amendment in hand, Chavigny and Waldegrave returned to Osterman and Sinzendorf willing to accept the treaty. Presented with this amendment, Osterman had a choice say yes and put an end to the war but risk upsetting Menshikov in the process or say no and continue the war and certainly upset Menshikov in the process. Ultimately, Osterman chose the former option both because it felt that it was the correct move for Russia and also because he wished to serve his own interests by returning to Saint Petersburg before Catherine's death.
The document that Osterman, Sinzendorf, Chavigny, and Waldegrave signed on April 8, 1729, was called the Treaty of Vienna. The treaty's terms were as follows. Every signor of the treaty accepted and guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and consented to oppose violators of the Pragmatic Sanction. The Kingdom of Sweden ceded its Pomeranian possessions in their entirety, including Rugen, to Prussia, and Wismar to Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg forfeited the Principality of Calenberg to Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, the Principality of Grubenhagen to Saxony, the Duchy of Lauenburg to Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and the Duchies of Bremen and Verden to Charles Augustus of Holstein-Gottorp. Denmark ceded Holstein-Gluckstadt and Schleswig south of Danevirke to Charles Frederick and relinquished all its claims to Holstein and the southern slice of Schleswig. Charles Frederick in turn relinquished all his claims to the rest of the Duchy of Schleswig. Sweden separated Osterland and Norrland south of Kajaneborg as the Kingdom of Finland, which was awarded to Charles Frederick. To honor the commitments of Bavaria and Cologne, the Holy Roman Emperor promised to nominate the Prince-Archbishop of Cologne to the position of Prince-Archbishopric of Osnrabruck under the death of Ernest Augustus and to reward Karl Leopold, the Emperor confirmed the lifting of the Reichsexecution against him. Finally, all territory not otherwise discussed was returned to its owner before the war and all prisoners were exchanged.
Among the Hanoverian Alliance, this treaty was accepted with reluctant shame for the most part. In Britain, Compton was convinced by Walpole and Townshend that these terms were the best that could be accomplished and with their help, Compton got the treaty passed through the Commons. Importantly, the treaty avoided the complete cession of Brunswick-Luneburg, which was something for George II to hold on to, and avoided any protections for the Ostend Company, which pleased Britain's merchants. In France, Fleury finally had extricated himself from the wretched war and was glad of it. However, beneath Fleury, there were many generals and politicians who felt France had dishonored itself with its bungled war effort. The Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II, was happy to see no demands made of him but nevertheless felt as if he was a failure for having lost his Sardinian crown. The Dutch Republic was simply happy to end its role in an expensive and pointless war. In Denmark-Norway, Frederik IV was saddened by the loss of Holstein but saw no way to continue the war without Britain's support. Finally, in Sweden, King Fredrik I and Queen Ulrika Eleanora of Sweden struggled to accept the loss of both Pomerania and Finland but were bullied into ratifying the treaty by Arvid Horn and Britain. Horn did not think Sweden had any chance of recovering from the war and worried that if the war went on that Stockholm would be razed. Meanwhile, Britain viewed the cession of Finland as essential to avoiding more concessions in Germany.
Among the members of the Viennese Alliance, there were also some ranged reactions to the final treaty. The Holy Roman Emperor was saddened to see that Sinzendorf and Osterman could not work the Ostend Company into the treaty. However, the acceptance of the Pragmatic Sanction was a significant victory in Emperor Charles VI's eyes, which made the whole war worth it. The Elector of Bavaria, Charles Albert accepted the treaty because they expected further rewards to come from Charles VI down the line perhaps in the form of the Southern Netherlands. Charles Albert's brother, the Prince-Archbishop of Cologne, Clemens August, accepted the treaty since it promised him Osnabruck for his minor war contribution. Augustus the Strong signed the treaty since it did augment his hereditary holdings but also because he was left under the impression by Bestuzhev and Seckendorff that Poland-Lithuania could remain in Wettin hands. Karl Leopold and Augustus Wilhelm were very happy to see their realms greatly expanded for small efforts in the war. Friedrich Wilhelm I was left mainly discontented by Russia and particularly Charles VI's refusal to formally recognize his rights to Julich-Berg. The fact that Friedrich Wilhelm I had not gotten any part of Brunswick-Luneburg was a lesser issue.
Finally, in Russia and among its high circles, the treaty was also received in a mixed fashion. For Menshikov himself, the treaty was a mixed bag. On one hand, the war was ended and Menshikov could focus on Russian politics. On the other, Menshikov had intended to turn Finland into his own private estate but Osterman had ended up giving Finland and a crown to Menshikov's rival Charles Frederick. A small solace to Menshikov was that he could expect Charles Frederick's new occupation as King of Finland to keep him and Anne out of Saint Petersburg. Regarding the rest of the treaty, Menshikov had much to celebrate and made sure that Catherine in her waning days felt the same. Among the Holsteiners, Charles Frederick was perhaps the least excited man to ever be named a king ever as he had desperately wanted Schleswig. Finland was a place that Charles Frederick had no attachment to outside of having Swedish blood in his veins. Furthermore, Charles Frederick had been forced to renounce his claims to Schleswig, which was not necessarily permanent but did signify a setback in Charles Frederick German ambitions. At the same time, Charles Frederick's Russian ambitions were sidelined by being sent to Finland to be crowned as king while Catherine lay on her deathbed. In contrast, Charles Augustus was extremely happy to be given a duchy in his own right for him to rule and for his many siblings to enjoy.
In this manner, Empress Catherine's War finally came to a conclusive end. The war had begun on February 11th, 1727 when Spanish soldiers started a siege against British-held Gibraltar. However, for months this war remained nothing but an Anglo-Spanish conflict until May 23rd of 1727. On that day, the Royal Navy fleet of John Norris engaged the Russian fleet of Fyodor Apraksin in what turned a Baltic blunder. Over the course of the next month, both Great Britain and Russia escalated this naval battle in a full-blown war by calling up their respective allies from the Treaty of Hanover and the Treaty of Vienna. However, importantly, the Kingdom of Prussia chose against fighting on Britain's side and instead joined the Russo-Austro-Spanish alliance. In the first year of the war, the Viennese Alliance won a number of battles both small and large, which handed them the initiative and they never let go. In the second year of the war, the Viennese Alliance struck the Hanoverians hard and devastated them at Munster, Bassignana, Kymmenedalen, and more. These powerful blows shattered the already weak will of the Hanoverian Alliance and made peace an imminent prospect. The first country to quit the war was actually the one to start it, Spain. The Kingdom of Spain quit in glorious fashion as the Treaty of Madrid restored to them Gibraltar and Sardinia and promised one of Spain's sons a northern Italian domain. Over the course of the winter that followed, the illness of Empress Catherine, for whom the war is named, cut back the aggression of Aleksander Menshikov and prompted peace talks. These talks spearheaded by Andrey Osterman ended rather speedily, in under three months, due to the growing pressure caused by Catherine's worsening health and Britain and France's weakening willpower. Ultimately, the Treaty of Vienna put an end to Empress Catherine's War and greatly changed the balance of Northern European politics while also interestingly tying almost all of Europe's powers together in a guarantee of Maria Theresa's rights to the Hapsburg Realm
[1] OTL Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgorukov was promoted to Field Marshal slightly later, Vasily Lukich is merely speeding up the process.
[2] Pavel Yaguzhinshy was in Poland at the beginning of the war as Russia's representative to Sejm, he would likely have been ordered to remain there especially as Russian armies needed to march through Poland-Lithuania.
[3] Historically there was some Prussian interest in Brunswick-Luneburg.
[4] This is George I's OTL will.
[5] The date of the POD seems to line up for the OTL Peter III to still be born. Of course, TTL, Anna has not died giving birth to this son, which will play an important role in his development.
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And that ends Empress Catherine's War but not this timeline expect more updates in the coming weeks about the postwar world starting with the death of our dear Empress Catherine. This is also the end of the revised version of the original timeline, from here on everything is completely original content.
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It’s the dukes of Sönderburg, Gottorp was founded by second son of Frederik I, while Sönderburg was founded a generation later by a son of Christian III. If you look at the first map you can see three lines still owned independent duchies in Schleswig-Holstein in 1730, Glücksburg (elder line), Norburg and Plön. There was other lines but they mostly served other royal house like Beck (which later took the name Glücksburg and became kings of Denmark after 1863) who were generals and governors for Russia and Prussia and Augustenburg who only owned a little territory (but this territory wasn’t a independent duchy) around Sonderborg but they got most of their money by serving the Danish king.
So basically two most involved participants, Britain and Russia, got pretty much a big fat nothing for all their efforts and, strictly speaking, their confrontation was against the national (as opposite to the dynastic) interests on both sides. BTW, it is not clear if the issue of a financial “compensation” for Russia even made it into the final document.21: Treaty of Vienna
Andrey Osterman
Prince Aleksander Menshikov returned to Saint Petersburg from the Schleswig front on January 21, 1729. Despite the brevity of Menshikov's absence from the capital, less than a year abroad, the Russia which welcomed Menshikov home was quite different than the one he had departed from. Without his powerful figure close at hand to observe and respond to the machinations of his opponents, Menshikov's enemies had managed to gain a foot in the door to real power in Russia by carousing Empress Catherine I. The Golitsyn family had turned the military success of Marshal Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn into absolute triumphs in Empress Catherine's eyes. Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn had so vividly and vibrantly described Mikhail's victories that Catherine had felt it necessary to name Mikhail to the Supreme Privy Council of Russia. This promotion turned the already heroic and honorable Mikhail from a celebrated general into a potential political rival of Menshikov. Additionally, the allies of the Golitsyns, the Dolgorukovs had risen back to the top. After months of entertaining the Empress, Vasily Lukich Dolgorukov had managed to convince Catherine of his indispensability to the functioning of the Russian state and earned himself a place on the Supreme Privy Council. Using this new position, Vasily Lukich secured the title of Field Marshal for his kinsman Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgorukov [1]. Overall, Menshikov's enemies gained two council positions and came to constitute half of Russia's field marshals. The only saving grace was that Menshikov's personal nemesis, Pavel Yaguzhinsky, was still far away in Poland struggling to manage the Sekm's politics [2].
Confronted with strengthened enemies, the reason for Menshikov's early return to Russia was all the more worrying. Once again, the Empress, Catherine, had fallen dangerously ill and provoked concern for her well-being. This time, it seemed doubtful that Catherine could miraculously recover from her illness. When Menshikov had left Schleswig he had still had some hope of possibly returning and walloping the Hanoverian army once he had defeated any of his opponents' plans to take advantage of Catherine's weak health and mental state. However, upon seeing both the dangerous growth of his rival's power and Catherine teetering on death's door, Menshikov understood that there was no place for him out on the front. Instead, Menshikov needed to be in Saint Petersburg, the center of all the Russian Empire's intrigues and plots, to personally oversee the transition of monarchs upon Catherine's death and prevent any plots against his power. Otherwise, even he, the all-powerful Menshikov, might end up being among the political exiles of Siberia.
Since Menshikov was no longer going to personally fight and lead Empress Catherine's War allowing the war to continue any longer immediately became worthless to Russia's first man. No longer was Menshikov going to add to his personal renown with victories as the Generalissimus of Russia. Instead, only his rivals, Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, Marshal Mikhail Golitsyn, and General Admiral Fyodor Apraksin, stood to gain glory in coming battles. Without the triumph of victory, Menshikov's Russia had no reason to fight. Already, Russia's war effort had achieved its primary objective of fulfilling Empress Catherine's command to destroy Hanover and crush Britain and all its allies for their grievous assault on Russia. Brunswick-Luneburg had been overrun with Herrenhausen even being occupied, Britain had been trounced at Kymmenedalen, and Sweden and Denmark had both received beatings as part of the Hanoverian army. King George II of Great Britain had even been personally defeated a series of times. Russia's obvious war goal of humiliating the Swedes and securing the border had been more than achieved as Russia occupied all of Osterland. The only other potential war goal of Russia would have been to liberate Holstein and Schleswig for Catherine's son-in-law, Charles Frederick. The Russians had freed the former and part of the latter, which Menshikov convinced Catherine was enough. Anything more was not worth the bloodshed. If anything, the current front was a better border for Holstein-Gottorp's Schleswig anyway as it was easily defensible, or so Menshiov claimed to Catherine. All in all, Menshikov and other Russians concurred that Russia's war effort had done what was required of it and that no further war was necessary. Thus, Menshikov decided that the time for peace had come.
Typically in this age, despite fighting alongside allies countries would quit wars without them. Indeed, Spain had done just this in 1728 with the Treaty of Madrid and Russia had previously done the same in 1721 with the Treaty of Nystad. However, to conclude Empress Catherine's War Menshikov did not feel that the typical approach was appropriate. Although Russia could certainly secure a more than honorable exit from the war with a separate treaty that was not Menshikov's primary concern. Instead, Menshikov remembered that throughout Russia's history, foreign powers had consistently intervened in Russian politics. Since Catherine was expected to die, Menshikov desired to avoid provoking the ire of either the Hapsburgs or the Prussians. If any of Russia's allies had reason to harm Menshikov then their agents might interfere with the delicate process of a Russian succession and support or fund plots against Menshikov, which might be the key factor in Menshikov ending 1729 in a Siberian cabin. Aggravating Emperor Charles VI was specifically undesirable as he was the uncle Grand Duke Peter, Peter the Great's grandson. Thus Emperor Charles VI already had a significant interest in the Russian succession. To avoid unnecessary conflict, Menshikov sent Russia's foreign minister, Andrey Osterman, to Vienna to confide with the Emperor and even had the disgraced Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin descend from Copenhagen to meet with King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia at Herrenhausen.
Considering the might and influence which the title and dignity of Holy Roman Emperor still held in 1729, Osterman came to Vienna prepared and expecting to make a number of concessions to Emperor Charles VI in order to create a set of peace terms amenable to both the Emperor and Menshikov. Had Prince Eugene of Savoy and Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf had their way then Osterman certainly would have had to find a serious compromise. Instead, Charles VI asked practically nothing of Osterman and Russia. Even though the Hapsburg armies had won the great victory of Bassignana and a political victory at Bellheim, Charles VI asked for no land for his realm. Instead, Charles VI's primary demand was that the signatories of the final peace treaty guarantee the succession of Charles VI's eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, to the Hapsburg family's territories. Besides this support of the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles VI asked that the Maritime Power's restrictions on the Ostend Company be ended or at the very least lowered. Neither of these terms was opposite to Russia's interests nor very demanding of the Hanoverian Alliance, in Osterman's view. For those reasons, Osterman gladly agreed to make those terms part of his negotiating position with the Hanoverian Alliance.
While Osterman quickly discovered and acceded to the desires of the Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, Bestuzhev arrived at Herrenhausen to handle the interests of Prussia, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel. The quick agreement between the Emperor and Osterman allowed for the Imperial minister, Friedrich Heinrich von Seckendorff, to join Bestuzhev in these discussions as an ally and a representative of the Emperor's interests. Together, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff first approached Friedrich Wilhelm I. Boldly, Friedrich Wilhelm I conveyed to the Imperial powers that Prussia wanted both the whole of Swedish Pomerania and the bulk of the Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg as the price for its army's effort. The first request was necessary for Prussia's expansion and growth as a Baltic power and the second request was meant to humiliate Friedrich Wilhelm I's personal rival, King George II, and greatly augment Prussia's German eminence [3]. Furthermore, from the Holy Roman Emperor, Friedrich Wilhelm wanted his rights to Julich-Berg formally recognized to allow their annexation to the Prussian state. However, in light of the occupation of Brunswick-Luneburg by Saxony and Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel as well as the disinterest of both Russia and the Hapsburgs in greatly strengthening Prussia, the demand for Brunswick-Luneburg was flatly rejected. Indeed, Friedrich Wilhelm I's boldness was punished as Bestuzhev and Seckendorff proved to reluctant to grant Prussia even a piece of Brunswick-Luneburg or to promise him all of Pomerania. Meanwhile, talk of Julich-Berg was ignored entirely until the Prussians tabled the matter. Neither the Prussian king or the Russian and Imperial representatives were willing to budge easily and a difficult stalemate ensued.
While negotiations with Prussia stalled, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff engaged with the other German princes to discuss their interests. To Bestuzhev and Seckendorff's annoyed surprise, bold demands unequal to a state's power or influence were a common theme beyond Friedrich Wilhelm I. The smallest member of the Viennese Alliance, the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel also went so far as to demand the whole Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg. At the very left, Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel produced a copy of the last will and testament of King George I of Great Britain, which stated a plan for Brunswick-Luneburg to be bestowed upon a latter son of Prince Frederick's upon his death [4]. In the case that Prince Frederick failed to produce issue then rather then having George II's second son, William Augustus, inherit Brunswick-Luneburg, the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel would. Another copy of the will in the possession of the Holy Roman Emperor confirmed this plan. Although this will gave Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel some weak chance of inheriting Brunswick-Luneburg in the future, Augustus Wilhelm, the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbuffel had felt it cause enough for him to be granted all of Brunswick-Luneburg in the coming peace. Naturally, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff found this to be an overreach. importantly, giving all of Brunswick-Luneburg to Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel would damage Bestuzhev and Seckendorff's efforts to please other German princes with territorial concessions. Furthermore, the elevation of the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel to the place of an electorate would aggravate not just the German allies of the Viennese Alliance but the neutral powers of Germany who would all feel a sense of injustice at the empowerment of another German prince. Unlike Friedrich Wilhelm I, however, Augustus Wilhelm allowed himself to talked down into accepting just the Principality of Calenburg, which still constituted a major expansion of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel and would have been out of the reach of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel without the assistance of the Viennese Alliance. The only reason, Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel was treated so generously was that one of Augustus Wilhelm's nieces was the mother of Grand Duke Peter of Russia, a potential successor to Catherine, and that another was the wife of Emperor Charles VI.
King Augustus II the Strong of Poland-Lithuania also went so far as to demand all of Brunswick-Luneburg. Although Augustus the Strong did not have some semi-relevant claim to the electorate, he noted that his armies were the ones garrisoning most of Brunswick-Luneburg. For Augustus the Strong this demand was a question of gaining hereditary lands for his only son, Frederick Augustus, to inherit upon Augustus the Strong's death since the Polish and Lithuanians looked as if they would elect Frederick Augustus as the next King of Poland-Lithuania. Of course, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff could not concede Brunswick-Luneburg to Augustus the Strong. However, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff were willing to hint at the possibility of Russian and Hapsburg support for Frederick Augustus in the future Polish-Lithuanian election. Although they did not put down anything in writing for Augustus the Strong to hold on to, the idea of Russian and Hapsburgs support was enough to push Augustus the Strong away from demanding all of Brunswick-Luneburg. Instead, he was talked into on principal accepting a small slice of the electorate, the Principality of Grubenhagen, near the western extremities of Saxony. However, Augustus the Strong continued to negotiate for more.
In contrast to his Prussian, Brunswicker, and Saxon counterparts, Duke Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin proved much easier to please. Duke Karl Leopold recognized his precarious position as a ruler who was only recently under Reichsexekution who had to worry about losing his own imperial estate let alone his new conquests. Due to his weakness, Karl Leopold only demanded the Swedish city of Wismar, the Duchy of Lauenburg, and affirmation of his position as Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. All of these objectives had already been accomplished for Karl Leopold so it was merely confirmation, which he sought. Rather easily, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff agreed to give Karl Leopold Wismar and affirm his title. However, on the subject of Lauenburg, the Russian and Imperial proved less tractable. The issue was that Lauenburg remained an important bargaining chip for the Russians and Hapsburgs in their talks with both other Viennese allies such as Saxony and with the Hanoverian Alliance. As a consequence, Bestuzhev and Seckendorff held off on promising Lauenburg but left the idea on the table.
Regarding Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, his demands did not need to be discussed with Bestuzhev as Menshikov and the whole Russian court were already fully aware of them. Charles Frederick wanted all of Holstein and all of Schleswig for his personal realm. For Charles Frederick's cousin, Charles Augustus, Charles Frederick asked for fair compensation in the form of Lauenburg or Bremen-Verden. Russia's opinion on these demands remained deliberately unclear as Menshikov did not want to upset the influential duke with a succession crisis approaching. In the past, Charles Frederick had shown a good degree of tact in handling Russian politics. Charles Frederick had even achieved a temporary reconciliation between Menshikov and Pavel Yaguzhinsky against all odds. Additionally, Charles Frederick as a member of Swedish royalty was the nominal head of the Supreme Privy Council. Charles Frederick made for a powerful opponent and it did Menshikov few favors to aggravate him at this point. Instead, Menshikov played his cards close to his chest and left Charles Frederick thinking that all his demands were possible.
Even though Bestuzhev and Seckendorff were still hammering out negotiating principles and treaty articles with the German princes, the imminent death of Catherine caused Menshikov to instruct Osterman to open negotiations with the French and English diplomats in Vienna, Theodore Chevignard de Chavigny and James Waldegrave, 2nd Baron Waldegrave, respectively. Alongside Osterman was the Imperial minister, Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf. Still, unsure of the final compromises that Bestuzhev and Seckendorff would reach, Osterman and Sinzendorf decided to push Chavigny and Waldegrave from the very beginning with an impressive and overpowering set of demands. Firstly, Russia was to be compensated financially for Britain's attack on Apraksin's fleet at Osel and Britain would apologize for breaching the peace. Secondly, Sweden would give up Wismar to Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Pomerania to Prussia, and Osterland to Russia. Next, Charles Frederick was to get his wish of Holstein and Schleswig from Denmark while Charles Augustus was awarded the Duchy of Oldenburg. The Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg would be partitioned with Bremen-Verden going to Saxony, Kalenberg to Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, and Lauenburg to Mecklenburg. Only Brunswick-Celle and the electoral vote would remain in Hanoverian hands. To satisfy the Emperor, the Maritime Powers would end their opposition to Ostend Company and all signatories would accept the Pragmatic Sanction.
The litany of demands was flatly refused by Chavigny and Waldegrave who understood that neither of their governments could ever accept such a document. Indeed, when Cardinal Fleury and the leaders of the British parliament, received these terms they were piqued at the sheer audacity of the Russians and Hapsburgs. However, the French and British were still committed to carrying out negotiations. In France, Cardinal Fleury was desperate for an exit from the miserable war that he had never wanted. Meanwhile, in Britain, Compton's weakness made peace and the return of George II an urgent need for the British parliament so that George II could finally realize Compton's inadequacy and end the embarrassment of his leadership. Furthermore, the merchants were putting considerable pressure on Sir Robert Walpole to help Compton achieve peace through his brother-in-law Lord Charles Townshend, Britain's Northern Secretary. Even George II still commanding the Hanoverian army in Schleswig alongside King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway expressed his amenability to peace. However, George II stressed that the sovereignty and integrity of Brunswick-Luneburg had to be preserved. Despite being a guest in the Kingdom of Denmark and dining with Frederik IV, George II expressed to Townshend his favorability toward Denmark-Norway and Sweden paying the price of peace. Townshend, however, the impossibility of imposing an unbalanced peace on a state as strong as Denmark-Norway.
As the subsequent negotiations between Osterman and Sinzendorf and Chavigny and Waldegrave proceeded slowly, the German princes and members of the Hanoverian Alliance began to talk amongst each other directly rather than negotiate through Russia and the Hapsburgs. After the Russians and Hapsburgs denied Friedrich Wilhelm I's ambitions for Brunswick-Luneburg or Julich-Berg, Friedrich Wilhelm I approached Britain with a proposal to reconcile their two countries and end Prussia's role in the war. The proposal called for Prince Frederick to be married to Princess Wilhelmine but also demanded that Prince Frederick be made regent of Brunswick-Luneburg. In essence, Friedrich Wilhelm I sought to turn Brunswick-Luneburg into a Prussian-friendly state that was separated from the politics of Britain. In exchange for Prussia's generosity in not seeking any part of Brunswick-Luneburg, Britain would support Prussia gaining Pomerania and its rights to Julich-Berg. Although Townshend was willing to accommodate this proposal as a means of separating Prussia from the Hapsburg camp, George II absolutely refused to condone the idea of giving up his sovereign rule over Brunswick-Luneburg to his son. A son, mind you, who remained very much a stranger to his father and a stranger who seemed to be stealing the glory and now the lands of his father.
Another significant set of discussions emerged between Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Friedrich Wilhelm I. Prussia had both interests and claims to Mecklenburg-Schwerin so it was not typically appreciative of the empowerment of Mecklenburg. However, since Karl Leopold had no son to succeed him, Karl Leopold suggested marrying his only daughter, Elisabeth Katharina Christine, to Friedrich Wilhelm I's heir, Fritz. Using that marriage, Friedrich Wilhelm I could try to claim Mecklenburg-Schwerin for Prussia upon the death of Karl Leopold. As a consequence, Friedrich Wilhelm I became much more favorable to Mecklenburg-Schwerin's claims to Wismar and Lauenburg, which Friedrich Wilhelm I imagined his son would later inherit. At the same time, Karl Leopold was courted by George II who proposed a marriage between his heir, Prince Frederick, and Elisabeth Katharina Christine with the same intentions as Friedrich Wilhelm I. Before either of these proposals could be finalized, Seckendorff caught wind of them. To put an end to these plots, Seckendorff first informed the Prussians and British of the double-dealing of Karl Leopold to sour their relations with Karl Leopold and then threatened the isolated duke with a Reichsexecution if he did not comply with the Emperor's wishes.
Even though both the Hohenzollern-Hanoverian and Mecklenburger matches fell apart quickly, their existence did cause alarm for the Russians and Hapsburgs. With the potential of the Viennese Alliance being broken apart, there was pressure on Menshikov and Osterman to Charles VI and Sinzendorf to bring an urgent end to the war. Fortunately, Menshikov had expected difficulties in the negotiations and had already been planning accordingly. In northern Germany, Charles Frederick detached himself from Peter Lacy's army in Schleswig and invaded the undefended Duchy of Oldenburg. Meanwhile, in the Baltic, Russian soldiers landed on the western coast of the Gulf of Bothnia and Major General Henrik Magnus Buddenbrock was attacked at and pushed out of Kajaneborg. These attacks served as a strong reminder that Russia alone was a scary beast and through its leadership, the Viennese Alliance had won several decisive victories over the Hanoverians. Furthermore, the attacks threatened to add more prizes to the already immense set of Viennese conquests, which would mean even more bargaining for the Viennese Alliance. Additionally, for Menshikov, these attacks had the added bonus of preventing both Charles Frederick and Marshal Golitsyn from returning to Saint Petersburg. Both generals had planned to do so due to the lull in fighting and the prospect of peace but once Menshikov, the Generalissimus of the Russian Empire, ordered them to go on the offensive they were forced to comply. for this reason, neither Charles Frederick nor Marshal Golitsyn could join the intrigues revolving around the fading Empress Catherine and the question of who would succeed her.
These attacks succeeded in making the Hanoverian Alliance anxious and more willing to make concessions to the Viennese Alliance. However, Cardinal Fleury felt that accepting the Pragmatic Sanction was a much greater concession than the Russians were willing to consider it. Through acceptance of this succession law, the French damaged their ability to negotiate with Elector Charles Albert of Bavaria and Augustus the Strong, who both had claims toward the Hapsburg dominion and had been resistant toward the Pragmatic Sanction. Additionally, if France sought to keep Spain away from friendship with the Hapsburgs then it was best to make them look toward Hapsburg lands with envy. Townshend and George II shared Cardinal Fleury's reluctance to accept the Pragmatic Sanction for much the same reason. Additionally, the Russian and Imperial proposals to take Bremen-Verden away from Brunswick-Luneburg seriously endangered Britain's ability to support and protect Brunswick-Luneburg in future wars so George II was adamantly opposed to the idea. However, George II struggled to get Frederik IV to consent to give up his Duchy of Oldenburg so that Britain could keep Bremen-Verden, especially when the prevailing sentiment in Copenhagen was that if Denmark should lose Holstein then Brunswick-Luneburg should lose Bremen-Verden as Denmark's consent to Brunswick-Luneburg gaining Bremen-Verden had been conditioned upon Denmark gaining Holstein.
An additional reason for the French and British reluctance to make final terms with the Viennese Alliance was that they began to sense the possibility of chaos in Russia upon Catherine's death. Despite Menshikov still being Russia's preeminent figure, France's agents in St. Petersburg had taken note of the growing strength of Menshikov's opposition. As mentioned earlier, in Menshikov's absence the aristocratic Golitsyns and Dolgorukovs had risen to a challenging position. Also, a Holstein party solidified in the Russian court under Pyotr Tolstoy. In the past, Tolstoy feared that his role in capturing Tsarevitch Alexei and bringing him to Peter the Great to be killed would give cause to Alexei's son, Grand Duke Peter, to seek revenge against Tolstoy. This ear had brought Tolstoy to ask Catherine to make one of her daughters, Anne or Elizabeth, her heir. However, she had previously promised to make Grand Duke Peter her heir and refused to go back on her word. Yet as Catherine's health and mental facilities left her and left the succession shrouded in uncertainty, Tolstoy felt that he still had a chance to bring one of Catherine's daughters to the throne. Tolstoy preferred Elizabeth, Catherine's younger daughter since Anne's husband, Charles Frederick had proven himself a little too adept at navigating court intrigues for Tolstoy's comfort. Other members of the court of St. Petersburg supported the idea of circumventing Peter Alexeyevich's rise and Menshikov's continued supremacy but they believed that Catherine's first daughter, Anne, should succeed to the throne as Anne was seen as the better daughter. Furthermore, Anne had given birth to a son, Charles Peter. This uncertainty and factionalization over the Russian succession allowed the Hanoverian Alliance to envision a future in which more favorable terms could be found.
Under these conditions, the French and British became liable to delay and dawdle in their negotiations. However, at the urgings of Menshikov, Osterman decided to put a definitive end to negotiations. as one of Europe's premier statesmen, Osterman recognized Chavigny and Waldegrave's delaying tactics and the low likelihood of negotiations progressing naturally. Consequently, Osterman played the only card he had left: an ultimatum. Just as Osterman had done at Nystad in 1721, Osterman delivered to Chavigny and Waldegrave a list of articles to conclude the war. If Chavigny and Waldegrave failed to sign the treaty then Osterman promised to cut off all negotiations until the following year. In this action, Osterman was supported by Charles VI and Sinzendorf who were eager to put an end to it all.
The brusque ultimatum knocked both Chavigny and Waldegrave off balance and the ticking clock ensured that they remained so. Without the time to contact their respective leaders of state, the diplomats needed make a decision about peace or war and do so fast. Over the course of the night, Chavigny and Waldegrave discussed the proposed treaty between themselves with the rest of their party in a heated debate. For hours, Waldegrave refused to concede Bremen-Verden under any condition until finally, Chavigny convinced him that there was no way George II would retain Bremen-Verden in an extended war. However, the two diplomats struggled to accept the idea of a Russian Osterland. Although not generals, Chavigny and Waldegrave was smart enough to realize that ceding Osterland to Russia would effectively cede Sweden too since the Russian navy and army could easily descend from Turku and Helsingfors on Stockholm. This capability would make Sweden helpless to Russian aggression and thus make subservient to Russian interests just as Poland-Lithuania was. Yet Chavigny and Waldegrave understood that Russia needed a buffer for Saint Petersburg and that it also needed its considerable war effort to be recognized. Finally, two hours before dawn, Chavigny suggested to and convinced Waldegrave of the idea of separating Osterland from Sweden and giving it to the House of Holstein-Gottorp. In this fashion, a buffer for both Russia and Sweden could be created. With this single amendment in hand, Chavigny and Waldegrave returned to Osterman and Sinzendorf willing to accept the treaty. Presented with this amendment, Osterman had a choice say yes and put an end to the war but risk upsetting Menshikov in the process or say no and continue the war and certainly upset Menshikov in the process. Ultimately, Osterman chose the former option both because it felt that it was the correct move for Russia and also because he wished to serve his own interests by returning to Saint Petersburg before Catherine's death.
The document that Osterman, Sinzendorf, Chavigny, and Waldegrave signed on April 8, 1729, was called the Treaty of Vienna. The treaty's terms were as follows. Every signor of the treaty accepted and guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and consented to oppose violators of the Pragmatic Sanction. The Kingdom of Sweden ceded its Pomeranian possessions in their entirety, including Rugen, to Prussia, and Wismar to Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg forfeited the Principality of Calenberg to Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, the Principality of Grubenhagen to Saxony, the Duchy of Lauenburg to Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and the Duchies of Bremen and Verden to Charles Augustus of Holstein-Gottorp. Denmark ceded Holstein-Gluckstadt and Schleswig south of Danevirke to Charles Frederick and relinquished all its claims to Holstein and the southern slice of Schleswig. Charles Frederick in turn relinquished all his claims to the rest of the Duchy of Schleswig. Sweden separated Osterland and Norrland south of Kajaneborg as the Kingdom of Finland, which was awarded to Charles Frederick. To honor the commitments of Bavaria and Cologne, the Holy Roman Emperor promised to nominate the Prince-Archbishop of Cologne to the position of Prince-Archbishopric of Osnrabruck under the death of Ernest Augustus and to reward Karl Leopold, the Emperor confirmed the lifting of the Reichsexecution against him. Finally, all territory not otherwise discussed was returned to its owner before the war and all prisoners were exchanged.
Among the Hanoverian Alliance, this treaty was accepted with reluctant shame for the most part. In Britain, Compton was convinced by Walpole and Townshend that these terms were the best that could be accomplished and with their help, Compton got the treaty passed through the Commons. Importantly, the treaty avoided the complete cession of Brunswick-Luneburg, which was something for George II to hold on to, and avoided any protections for the Ostend Company, which pleased Britain's merchants. In France, Fleury finally had extricated himself from the wretched war and was glad of it. However, beneath Fleury, there were many generals and politicians who felt France had dishonored itself with its bungled war effort. The Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II, was happy to see no demands made of him but nevertheless felt as if he was a failure for having lost his Sardinian crown. The Dutch Republic was simply happy to end its role in an expensive and pointless war. In Denmark-Norway, Frederik IV was saddened by the loss of Holstein but saw no way to continue the war without Britain's support. Finally, in Sweden, King Fredrik I and Queen Ulrika Eleanora of Sweden struggled to accept the loss of both Pomerania and Finland but were bullied into ratifying the treaty by Arvid Horn and Britain. Horn did not think Sweden had any chance of recovering from the war and worried that if the war went on that Stockholm would be razed. Meanwhile, Britain viewed the cession of Finland as essential to avoiding more concessions in Germany.
Among the members of the Viennese Alliance, there were also some ranged reactions to the final treaty. The Holy Roman Emperor was saddened to see that Sinzendorf and Osterman could not work the Ostend Company into the treaty. However, the acceptance of the Pragmatic Sanction was a significant victory in Emperor Charles VI's eyes, which made the whole war worth it. The Elector of Bavaria, Charles Albert accepted the treaty because they expected further rewards to come from Charles VI down the line perhaps in the form of the Southern Netherlands. Charles Albert's brother, the Prince-Archbishop of Cologne, Clemens August, accepted the treaty since it promised him Osnabruck for his minor war contribution. Augustus the Strong signed the treaty since it did augment his hereditary holdings but also because he was left under the impression by Bestuzhev and Seckendorff that Poland-Lithuania could remain in Wettin hands. Karl Leopold and Augustus Wilhelm were very happy to see their realms greatly expanded for small efforts in the war. Friedrich Wilhelm I was left mainly discontented by Russia and particularly Charles VI's refusal to formally recognize his rights to Julich-Berg. The fact that Friedrich Wilhelm I had not gotten any part of Brunswick-Luneburg was a lesser issue.
Finally, in Russia and among its high circles, the treaty was also received in a mixed fashion. For Menshikov himself, the treaty was a mixed bag. On one hand, the war was ended and Menshikov could focus on Russian politics. On the other, Menshikov had intended to turn Finland into his own private estate but Osterman had ended up giving Finland and a crown to Menshikov's rival Charles Frederick. A small solace to Menshikov was that he could expect Charles Frederick's new occupation as King of Finland to keep him and Anne out of Saint Petersburg. Regarding the rest of the treaty, Menshikov had much to celebrate and made sure that Catherine in her waning days felt the same. Among the Holsteiners, Charles Frederick was perhaps the least excited man to ever be named a king ever as he had desperately wanted Schleswig. Finland was a place that Charles Frederick had no attachment to outside of having Swedish blood in his veins. Furthermore, Charles Frederick had been forced to renounce his claims to Schleswig, which was not necessarily permanent but did signify a setback in Charles Frederick German ambitions. At the same time, Charles Frederick's Russian ambitions were sidelined by being sent to Finland to be crowned as king while Catherine lay on her deathbed. In contrast, Charles Augustus was extremely happy to be given a duchy in his own right for him to rule and for his many siblings to enjoy.
In this manner, Empress Catherine's War finally came to a conclusive end. The war had begun on February 11th, 1727 when Spanish soldiers started a siege against British-held Gibraltar. However, for months this war remained nothing but an Anglo-Spanish conflict until May 23rd of 1727. On that day, the Royal Navy fleet of John Norris engaged the Russian fleet of Fyodor Apraksin in what turned a Baltic blunder. Over the course of the next month, both Great Britain and Russia escalated this naval battle in a full-blown war by calling up their respective allies from the Treaty of Hanover and the Treaty of Vienna. However, importantly, the Kingdom of Prussia chose against fighting on Britain's side and instead joined the Russo-Austro-Spanish alliance. In the first year of the war, the Viennese Alliance won a number of battles both small and large, which handed them the initiative and they never let go. In the second year of the war, the Viennese Alliance struck the Hanoverians hard and devastated them at Munster, Bassignana, Kymmenedalen, and more. These powerful blows shattered the already weak will of the Hanoverian Alliance and made peace an imminent prospect. The first country to quit the war was actually the one to start it, Spain. The Kingdom of Spain quit in glorious fashion as the Treaty of Madrid restored to them Gibraltar and Sardinia and promised one of Spain's sons a northern Italian domain. Over the course of the winter that followed, the illness of Empress Catherine, for whom the war is named, cut back the aggression of Aleksander Menshikov and prompted peace talks. These talks spearheaded by Andrey Osterman ended rather speedily, in under three months, due to the growing pressure caused by Catherine's worsening health and Britain and France's weakening willpower. Ultimately, the Treaty of Vienna put an end to Empress Catherine's War and greatly changed the balance of Northern European politics while also interestingly tying almost all of Europe's powers together in a guarantee of Maria Theresa's rights to the Hapsburg Realm
[1] OTL Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgorukov was promoted to Field Marshal slightly later, Vasily Lukich is merely speeding up the process.
[2] Pavel Yaguzhinshy was in Poland at the beginning of the war as Russia's representative to Sejm, he would likely have been ordered to remain there especially as Russian armies needed to march through Poland-Lithuania.
[3] Historically there was some Prussian interest in Brunswick-Luneburg.
[4] This is George I's OTL.
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Menshikov has no tangible gain to show for the spent (or wasted) effort because credit for creating the Finnish buffer goes to Golitsyn and Aporaxin, diplomatic success to Osterman (and in the case of a criticism he’ll blame everything on Menshikov) and it will be quite easy to give credit for the victories in Germany to Lacy and Maurice (figures not associated with any political faction).
However, I’d assume that within your framework Menshikov’s fate could be better than it OTL where after Peter’s death he was just a corrupted greedy upstart with no military fame of his own so him rank of generalissimo looked as a mockery.
Now, he may be disliked but he gained definite respect as a “national figure” and a successful military leader on a major scale so he can be pushed out of his dominating political position but not necessarily sent to exile. In the best case scenario he may remain in the Supreme Privy Council and even Chairman of the Military Collegium (at least for a while). But he is going to be just one of the Council’s members and his power is going to be greatly diminished. Eventually he would be either moved to the Senate (a honorary position) or offered to retire to his estates. Of course, the OTL scenario can’t be fully excluded but, IMO, it is less likely.
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Remington 2.0
Banned
Will the all the powers who accepted the pragmatic sanction as part of treaty actually honor it or as soon as soon as Maria Theresa becomes empress of Austria the other powers will intervene to attempt to install their own candidate as monarch of Austrian empire ?
To be clear, Sonderburg and Norburg were united in the early 1700s and upon the death of the Duke of Reithwisch in 1729, the dispute between Sonderburg-Norburg and Reithwisch over Plon ended in Sonderburg-Norburg's favor. Meaning that Norburg, Plon, and Sonderburg all ended up united, right?
To be fair, Britain did lose the war so getting nothing was to be expected. Russia, however, as you say did not get all that much. Russia's national prestige and pride needs were met during the war, but in terms of territory or tangible compensation, Russia received little. Russia received no financial compensation but Britain in turn ignored Russian seizures of merchant ships at the war's beginning. Likely, Russia will attempt to coerce the Holstein King of Finland into conceding some land so that a properly Russian buffer for Saint Petersburg can be established but that is at best a small prize. The only other thing Russia really gained was renewed influence in Germany. Mecklenburg, Bremen-Verden, and Wolfenbuttel are all very indebted to the Russians, which could help create a Russian sphere in north-central Germany.
Menshikov's most tangible gains are going to be titles and annuities granted to him for his role in the victories at Munster and Bispingen. Additionally, Menshikov certainly skimmed the war chest for money and took a fair share of loot from Brunswick-Luneburg. So Menshikov will end the war a rich man. Additionally, as you say Menshikov has become a national figure similar to Boris Sheremetev rather than a corrupt courtier. Regarding, Menshikov's route from here, dispatching a hero all the way to Siberia should be a difficult matter. However, if there was anyone who could aggravate his rivals to the point where they did end up doing so, it would be Menshikov. Menshikov's poor background and ambition has certainly not endeared him to the aristocracy. If Menshikov aggressively pursues the aggrandizement of his family's prestige and fortune and flaunts his power in front of the aristocracy he might excite enough resentment to trigger a large, organized coup involving multiple factions or foreign agents. One possibly is always that Menshikov gets exiled with honor by being given a prestigious but distant diplomatic post or military governorship away from the capital. More detail on this will be provided with the updates of Catherine's death, the succession, and subsequent Russian domestic politics. Important to note, Elisabeth Petrovna will be in Germany with the husband whom she has fallen head over heels for.
Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Spain, and France, all recognized the Pragmatic Sanction OTL only to be the primary opponents of Maria Theresa. Of these states, Prussia was the only one with a legitimate reason for breaking its promise as the Hapsburgs had failed to uphold their end of the deal and secure Julich-Berg for Prussia.