Brödrafolkens Väl - The Lion of the North

Prologue
Brödrafolkens Väl
Or
The Lion of the North

"Sweden is the Lion of the North, and when she roars, Europe trembles."​

Storkyrkan, Stockholm, January 14th 1778
“Do you, Charles of Holstein-Gottorp, By the Grace of God, King of the Swedes, the Goths and the Wends, King of Finland, take Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain and Ireland, to be your lawfully wedded Wife, until death do you apart?” King Charles stood up confidently; “I do.” He replied. The Priest turned to the girl beside him. “And do you, Elizabeth of Hanover, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland, take Charles, King of Sweden, to be your lawfully wedded husband, till death do you apart?” Elizabeth looked nervous but never the less replied “I do.” Charles noticed that her Swedish was improving. The Priest smiled and closed the bible in his hands, “I now pronounce you man and wife.” Many in the audience cheered and Charles kissed Elizabeth tenderly, he loved her dearly and one day, perhaps she would be Queen.

Friedland, Prussia, 14th July 1807
“Stand and fight, you fools!” Storms of men, clad in the dark green of the Russian Empire broke and scattered as French Canister Shot tore through their ranks, the cavalry had been decimated by Napoleon's forces and now all hope seemed lost. Major Isaac Dubrov watched in horror as the Dragoons under his command scattered with the rest of the Russian forces. The flag bearer he had liked so well had been a coward like the rest and the banner bearing the Eagle of House Romanov laid trampled and muddy on the ground. Dubrov stood defiant, he and the twelve men brave enough to die for their country. Cannister shot ripped through the ground around him and the last few Russian drummers ceased their sound, they had either been slain by the French onslaught or proven themselves cowards like the rest of the army. All of a sudden, the French bombardment stopped and silence fell over the battlefield. The French began shifting their forces away from the hill to the east. Dubrov looked through his spyglass and noticed the panicked movement away from the east, he didn’t understand. Why had the French artillery stopped firing? Why wasn’t Napoleon pressing his advantage? Despite the frantic French movement, Dubrov heard nothing bar the breathing of his men and horse. What broke the deathly silence was peculiar, it was a marching song, not a Russian one, Dubrov noted. It wasn’t coming from the French lines either, the song was strange and fast paced, far lighter in tone than any French song…

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French and Russian Cavalry Clash at the Start of the Battle of Friedland

Dubrov’s face lit up with happiness as, advancing over the hill to east he saw a beautiful sight, a banner, flying high and proud. A yellow cross on a blue field, it was the most beautiful thing Dubrov had ever seen. He turned to his fleeing men and cried; “Look to the east, Russia is not alone!” Men turned their heads, they too had heard the strange song. Most men continued their flight, but enough turned to make a difference. The Russian retreat slowed, men cheering their new found friends. Suddenly, with a thundering of hooves, a hoard of cavalrymen, many bearing more banners of Sweden slammed into the French flank. The infantry buckled and ran, Russian men were now no longer running away from the French line but towards it, cheering as they went. The Swedish cavalry cut past the French infantry and into the artillery as Swedens own guns rang out and holes in the French infantry began to appear. The French cavalry, which had been pursuing Russian forces to the west had finally circled around and came to face their Swedish foes. The Swedish Cavalry pulled back and as they did, the first numbers of Swedish Infantry marched over the crest of the hill. The French, caught between the Russians to the North and Swedes to the East, began to crack. In a final attempt to savage the battle , Napoleon deployed much of the cavalry he had kept in reserve, throwing everything he had against the advancing Swedes. The Russian Infantry began advancing up to engage with their Swedish Allies and a hole formed between the lines. Dubrov put his officers looking glass to his eye and saw something incredible. Sitting atop his horse, exposed bar a few dozen guardsmen and advisors, was Napoleon Bonaparte himself.Napoleon’s officers had begged him not to show in person, but he insisted that he lead himself, partly because it would be good for morale and partly because he didn’t trust his generals to secure the complete victory needed to knock the Russians out of the war. Dubrov would make him pay for that decision. Pulling his carbine from his shoulder and rallying as men Russian cavalrymen as he could, he ordered a group of Russian infantrymen on an advance towards Napoleons position from the North, whilst he and the Dragoons he had gathered stormed west, into the forest.

Napoleon acted exactly as Dubrov would have expected, faced with overwhelming force from North and East he called a general withdrawal to the south-west, through the wide road that led through the Prussian forests. Dubrov and his men were already there, their horses several hundred yards behind them, the Russians had concealed themselves in the forest. As Napoleon and his guard marched through the woodland path, Dubrov and his men put their muskets to their shoulders and fired. The French Emperor was hit with 7 bullets, his throat instantly spurted blood and his horse fell to the ground. The Imperial Guard stood, stunned for a moment, before pursuing those who had slain their emperor, but it was too late. Dubrov and his men had already fled and though French shot whipped past them, not a single Russian Dragoon fell.
 
Hey, its time for a new TL!
This first post is definitely a prologue and I already have several other chapters written up, each longer than this. It is not primarily a Napoleonic timeline, but will stretch for many years to come. I hope you enjoy.
 
Humm interesting,
I think that alot will now depend on how exactly take power in France (since they are far from beaten and still the greatest land power in Europe at that point).
Personnally I saw two possibilities: 1. Another French general or 2. a second republic.
 
This looks very interesting. I've always had a soft spot for Sweden, so can't wait to see how this TL goes. :)
 
Part 1: Following the Fall


After Napoleon Bonaparte's death in Prussia, it hadn’t taken long for his Empire to dismantle itself quite completely. His puppet Kingdoms, each ruled by another member of his family, crumbled to revolts from Lords and Peasants alike.

France
Word of Napoleon's death reached Paris within a week and people immediately lost confidence in their government, with no clear heir and the French Empire being little more than a cult of Personality based around Napoleon himself, the administration was somewhat lost. IN the days that followed the Emperors death, two major figures emerged. One was Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, commonly known commonly as Talleyrand, a close advisor and friend of Napoleons, the two fell out following Napoleon's harsh treatment of Austria in the Treaty of Pressburg though he and Napoleon still remained on good terms. Talleyrand was popular and became the clear leader in Paris, his famous “Brothers in Blood and Stone” speech, helped to rally to people of Paris and prevent a local protest from escalating into a riot Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, put forward his claim to the throne, stating that he was the legal heir.

On the 22nd of July, people flocked the streets of Paris, demanding that something be done. As far as the common French Peasant could tell, their nations leaders had been doing nothing. In fact, Talleyrand had assembled a council of generals and intellectuals to decide Frances future. A democracy was seriously considered, with both Talleyrand and some of Napoleons top generals and advisors being highly in support of the move. However, after much discussion, it was decided that such a dramatic shift in policy would be too destabilizing. A monarchy seemed to be the way to go and Joseph Bonaparte was chosen, again for purposes of stability. Talleyrand was constantly under threat of a military coup and he knew it, making moves to avoid such a situation by playing many of the French Generals off each other. Talleyrand was the sole stable aspect of the French Government and was something of a puppetmaster, as Joseph took the title of Emperor, he enjoyed the palaces and luxuries but not the ruling, this suited Talleyrand just fine and he lead France as Chancellor.

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Joseph I, Emperor of France

People again lined the streets of Paris, Joseph was not popular and nothing like his brother. Joseph took a massive step back from the direct ruling of the nation and refused to lead armies, which was considered a wise decision, as Joseph lacked even basic military understanding, nevermind Napoleons superb tactical genius. It was decided that the War would continue, but should be brought to a profitable end as quickly as possible.

Germany
The Confederation of the Rhine had, at best, been a loose collaborative state held together by the might of France and with French forces in Prussia either entirely scattered by the Swedish/Russian Force or attempting to lick its wounds, little held the confederation together. On the 25th of July, The Kingdom of Bavaria declared its independence, immediately followed by the Kingdom of Saxony, supported by a large number of Saxon dukes who had not previously been a part of the Kingdom of Saxony. Saxony and Bavaria each raise militias and began fighting against those who remained loyal to the central government of the Confederation, though one by one the loyalists flocked to the banner of the rebels. Eventually, on the 15th of June, the Confederation collapsed entirely and each of the rebel German states came to Munich to sign the “Treaty of Munich” wherein which each of the former states of the Confederation would leave the French sphere and declare war on France, this massively expanded the Fourth Coalition and is cited by historians today as a key moment in the history of German Nationalism. The one state to refuse to sign the treaty was the Grand Duchy of Baden, however the Kings of Saxony and Bavaria, who had become De Facto leaders of what is now referred to as “The German Revolution”, paid this little thought. The German Alliance began to train new armies with which to combat France, though much of the old forces of the Rhine, those who had not accompanied Napoleon into Prussia, defected to Bavaria, some had been killed during the initial chaos. France now had a powerful new foe and things were about to get even worse.

Prussia
Prussia, having been soundly defeated by Napoleon's armies after foolishly declaring war upon France alone, was now in a position to strike back. Gathering what armies he could, Friedrich II ordered them to move east, in an attempt to trap the Grande Armee between Prussian, Swedish and Russian forces. Jean Lannes, who had assumed command of the Grande Armee upon Napoleon's death, feared that leading it south would be suicide, as that would place it squarely within striking distance of Austria and so he lead it west. Pursued by the forces of the Fourth Coalition, the Armee was pushed towards Berlin, whereupon they would clash with a large reinstated Prussian force. Demoralised and in very poor supply, much of the army broke even before the battle lines had been drawn, leaving Jean Lannes with a force of little more than 35,000 men. Faced with over 40,000 Prussians to the west and over 100,000 Swedes and Russians to the East, Lannes surrendered to Friedricks army on the 19th of August, before a battle could take place.

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Prussian Forces Assemble

The French government despaired at the loss and attempted to raise a new force, though lacking support from the Rhine and with Frances own male population depleted, they called upon their Spanish Allies for support. The Spanish were the sole French ally to remain steadfast, despite Napoleon's death and as such provided a large force of 50,000 men, which would march into France on the 5th of September. This force combined with some 140,000 French Conscripts and 30,000 remnants of both the First Grande Armee and other small French forces to form The Second Grande Armee, though it was very weak in comparison to the first, with little artillery to speak of, poorly disciplined infantry and a highly decentralised command. Talleyrand and the French government realised that it would be impossible to fight a long term war with so weak an army, however it was believed that if one major victory could be won, France could cut her losses and bring about peace. It was little more than a mad dream, which Talleyrand and Joseph Bonaparte would soon discover…
 
Part 2: The Bonaparte Exodus
The Grande Armee had been crushed at the disastrous Battle of Friedland and disintegrated entirely a few weeks later. The entire war had been something of a disaster for the French, after trouncing Prussia they moved into Pommerania and attempted to siege Swedish holdings there, however a relief force consisting of large Swedish and British armies, led by Arthur Wellesley, repelled the French force. The Grande Armee was eventually able to defeat the considerably smaller Coalition force, but not completely, and as the Grande Armee marched east to fight the Russians at Friedland, the remains of the Swedish Army would pursue the French force, leading to a Coalition victory at Friedland. The British meanwhile, prepared a large force for a push into the Rhine however, this would become irrelevant following the German Revolution. In France the Second Grande Armee was assembled rapidly and within 2 months the French had assembled a large, albiet disorganised, army with which to combat the massive Coalition force at its doorstep. The French had to slow the coalition and give themselves time to raise their army, as such they bluffed the British into believing they had a large army remaining in defence of France. Through false intelligence and a few shows of force, the British Government were successfully fooled.

Fearing the non existent French army, the British waited until coalition forces could be organised before striking into France.The British had consolidated the Coalition armies in Munich, where a temporary Coalition headquarters had been established. It was decided that each general would remain in command over his own force, whilst the up and coming British General, Arthur Wellesley, would take High Command. The force numbered 190,000 men and consisted of:
-50,000 British Troops
-60,000 Russian Troops
-30,000 Prussian Troops
-25,000 Swedish Troops
-25,000 Assorted German Soldiers, from what had been the Confederation of the Rhine.

The French Army, however was more rag tag but still larger than the Coalition force. It contained 215,000 men:
-20,000 Veteran Frenchmen (Remains of the First Grande Armee and other French Forces)
-15,000 Veteran Foreigners (Who had been part of Napoleon’s forces)
-50,000 Trained French Soldiers
-80,000 Militiamen from around France, raised hurriedly
-50,000 Spanish Expeditionaries

Whilst the French had an advantage in terms of Numbers their men were poorly trained and poorly armed, they would require serious strategic leadership if victory was to be attained. The French choice of General was easy, Louis-Nicolas d’Avout, “The Iron Marhsall”. D’Avout was renowned for his skill and stern demeanour. D’Avout decided that geography would win the French the Battle, and so to the surprise of many, the Second Grande Armee marched East, blocking the road from Munich to Paris, positioning their force within the Ardennes, a large series of hills that would make it very difficult to attack. The positioning was genius, the Coalition forces would have to march up two hills with French cannon range before they could even hope to hit the French themselves. However there was one glaring issue, there was very little to stop the Coalition force from advancing West and outmanoeuvring the French Army. In light of this, d’Avout took 90,000 men, including the Spanish force, and positioned them directly to the West, blocking any outflanking the Coalition could achieve. Many criticised this decision but d’Avout planned for whichever force was engaged to hold their hill long enough for the other French force to swing around and trap the Coalition Army between the two. If the Coalition split their force to fight each army at the same time, they would still be fighting uphill and outnumbered, how could they win?

And so on September 21st, the Coalition Army marched North-West, scouts encountering the Second Grande Armee three days later. Wellesley ordered the Coalition force to wait, and used scouted the area extensively. Producing a complete and detailed map of the battlefield, Wellesley assembled his aides and the Coalition Generals in his command tent. This assembly of great military leaders would come to be known as the “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”, due to their surprisingly strong cooperation and friendship. Wellesley had seen d’Avout’s forces and realised his plan and discovered a flaw, a large forest stood in between the two French armies and Wellesley took full advantage of this. His plan was simple, under cover of night, the large majority of Swedish and British troops (numbering 60,000 whilst the remaining 15,000 remained with the main force) would hide within the forest, waiting in ambush. Meanwhile the remaining 130,000 strong force would engage the large army head on, spearheaded by hardened British Highlanders and Russian Imperial Guardsmen, whilst a massive amalgamation of heavy cavalry would strike fast and hard at the eastern French flank, which (whilst being well defended) was manned by ragtag French Militiamen. In recent years, and at the time, many have criticised Wellesley's plan of being too Anglo-centric, relying on British troops to not only hold off the larger French flanking force but also to lead the main assault upon the French. However only time would tell whether this would be a major issue or not.

At 9am, on September 23rd, the Coaltion force began to march towards the Grande Armee. In order to hide his deception, Wellesley slipped extra British and Swedish Banners into the Russian and Prussian forces, to give the illusion of complete British and Swedish presence. D’Avout, seeing the large advance immediately gave the order to his flanking army to begin their advance. As they did, the Coalition force reached the crest of the first hill and French forces began their bombardment. Many of the French artillerymen were surprisingly well drilled, Talleyrand and the French government had prioritised the training of artillerymen, feeling that discipline and skill was more essential among them than among cavalrymen or infantry. The bombardment cut into coalition lines and did massive damage to the tightly grouped Russian and German forces. Coalition artillery was quick to establish its own positions and return fire yet the damage caused by the French bombardment could not be stopped. The German infantry was quick to space out and assume loose formation, as the British and Prussian armies already had, however the Russian force was too large and too compacted to effectively change formation and casualties were huge, causing a serious drop in morale. In an attempt to reinvigorate the Russian morale, Wellesley ordered the 4 Highlander Divisions and 6 Russian Guardsmen Divisions to take their positions forward of the bulk of the force and lead the advance. This would be Wellesley's largest mistake as d’Avout, spotting this, began an advance of his own and had his light cavalry strike at the Russians, in an attempt to completely shatter Russian morale. The Russians had take the most Easterly flank of the main army and their cavalry was committed in the west, there was little they could do to react, there wasn't even time to form square. The Imperial Guardsmen had been in marching order and so the surprise attack from Dragoon shot and charge would deal serious damage. The attack was devastating, 3 of the 6 divisions would withdraw, pulling back to the main Russian line whilst the other 3 would stand and fight. Before long, many Russian guardsmen had broken and fled, it was something of a disaster for the Coalition. Many of the League of Generals were worried, particularly Dmitri Golitsyn, the Russian General. Wellesley however, had trust in the remaining Russians, aided by artillery and Highlanders to repel the attack. The following event, known colloquially as the “Scottish Miracle” would inspire Scottish nationalists and loyalists alike. The bagpipers among the Highlanders had been specifically forbidden from playing any songs deemed purely “Scottish”, for fear of alienating both English Soldiers and other members of the coalition. Despite this, the bagpipes broke, one by one, into an impromptu version of “Scotland the Brave”. The Highlanders, inspired by their musicians, joined in the singing as they advance upon the French cavalry. The cavalry, in an attempt to withdraw, would expose a large flank which the Highlanders would take advantage of. The cavalrymen would break and run and together, Highlanders and Russians reached the top of the Second Hill, they were nor separated from the French Army by no more than a shallow valley. The true battle was about to begin.

Meanwhile, the French Flanking force had begun its advance and quickly approached the forest where the British Riflemen and main Swedish Force awaited. The British 95th Riflemen, positioned themselves at the flanks of the advancing French force and began their surprise volleys. Cutting into the Dragoons who flanked the French and Spanish Infantry, the attack caused great shock among the unwethered French soldiers and whilst the Spanish Dragoons were quick to spread out and search for the British, the French dawdled. It was at this point that the Swedes stepped into open view, a few hundred meters from the French, their advance was slow but deliberate and the French Infantry was again shaken. As the Swedes approached and British volleys continued to rain down from unknown locations, the French Infantry panicked and fired far too early, causing minimal Swedish casualties. The Swedes marched undeterred and whilst the French fumbled to reload, delivered a cutting volley into the French lines. Panicked Frenchmen were already beginning to attempt their retreat and following the ineffective nature of their second volley, the Swedes again cut deep into their ranks. The French infantry broke though their retreat was blocked by the large number of Spanish Infantry which was bringing up the rear. The Spaniards alone outnumbered the Swedish force, however the French Infantry were still forced back towards the Swedish line, causing massive casualties. The one major early victory attained by the Franco-Spanish Flanking force, was its victory over the British 95th. Greatly outnumbered and dogged by Dragoons, the 95th took higher casualties than any other division on either side, losing upwards of 90% of their manpower. The 95ths final stand was made famous in the 1820 Novel “Smoke and Death”, controversial for its gory depiction of warfare, it would none the less become a British classic and one of the most well known novels of the century. The Swedish cavalry had been mostly grouped with the primary Coalition army, alongside Russian, British and Prussian Cavalry men, the Swedish Flanking force contained only the Finnish “Hakkapeliitta”, which had been reformed recently in light of Sweden's greater involvement in European politics. The Hakkapeliitta were light cavalry but proved more than capable of countering the Spanish Dragoons. As the Swedish Infantry cut through the French ranks again and again, the Spanish finally broke through the French lines and faced the Swedish face to face. The fighting was bloody and devolved into bayonet charges and a stalemate. It was only due to the charge of the Hakkapeliitta, which cut through the Spanish rear, that caused a Spanish route and an ultimate Swedish victory. With the French Flanking Force dissipated, the success of the battle would depend upon Wellesley's strategies against the French.

D’Avout saw his armies crumble and is said to have wept. As the Highlanders and Russians entered musket lines they were still singing “Scotland the Brave” and “God Save the Tsar” respectively. As the first volleys were fired, the valley within which most Coalition forces were now situated was filled with smoke. Wellesley's chose this moment to deal the death blow to the French. His assembled force of Coalition Cavalry stormed ahead, hitting the French’s easterly flank and pushing towards the artillery. As they did they were struck by musket and cannon alike and suffered horrific casualties. As the French eyes were turned east, the full might of the Coalition force was brought against the main French line. German and Prussian forces struck in the west and pushed the French force East, whilst the Cavalry pushed it West. The Anglo-Russian force was then able to unleash its fury. D’Avout would go down in history with his final act. Taking his pistol from its holster he famously said;”I shall end this battle with a single bullet.” D’Avout then put the pistol in his mouth and fired. The French force was decimated and shattered. The broke and ran, most were peasants and returned to their homes, though many would be captured by the coalition. Many modern historians believe that the battle was unwinnable for the French, due to the inferiority of their equipment and training though the traditional view that valour and Wellesley's strategies were the key factor in preventing French success is still popular. Though the Coalition had taken more than 40,000 casualties themselves, the French army was destroyed and the road to Paris was wide open…
 
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