British Imperialism of the 19th Century TL: Mk I

[DAv]

For those who haven't blotted out the horrid memory, I once posted the begginnings of a TL called 'the Anglo-American War' which basically died on its arse. The last month or so, I've gone back to re-writing the Tl to actually make it... good. I was planning to take it up to 1850 before posting the redone version but considering the work involved, I thought it would be better to post the first four years in order to get an idea of how likely it was.

Anyway, here's the opening of the TL, I hope it's good and any help or feedback you can give will be much appriciated. Also, to make it easier to read, I'll seperate the years into posts. I tried to post this in Help and feedback but since no one seems interested, I'll post the stuff here.

1812:

June:

In this month, America declared war on Britain. The War of 1812 continues as it did in OTL for the time being.Also in this month, Napoleon’s Grand Armee crossed into Russia. Napoleon had laid out a careful plan that sent his army up north through Russia alongside the Baltic coast. This way, Napoleon was able to keep his supplies up by having the Prussians ship them up along the coast. Several minor battles occurred but nothing on the scale of Smolensk. His target was the capital of St. Petersburg; this plan focused on capturing the actual head of Russian government rather than the spiritual capital.

(The major POD at this point is that Napoleon has set a clear target for St. Petersburg rather than his ill thought out campaign towards Moscow)

July:

The Battle of Salamanca ends with the complete rout of an entire French Army. In OTL, the French Army was given an escape point when a Spanish Commander and his Army abandoned a road which the French Army retreated along. But in this TL, the Spanish commander holds it and the remainder of the French army are wiped out by the coalition forces with the injured Marshal Marmont captured by a Hanoverian Unit.

In the end, only 2000 men escaped and retreated to Madrid. On hearing the news, King Joseph immediately ordered a retreat to the Ebro River, hoping to build up his defences there. With him went all of the French/Spanish court who feared the onset of a British attack and the reprisals of an angry Spanish population.August:
Wellington entered Madrid as jubilant celebrations were taking place within the city. With Marmont’s army smashed, central and southern Spain was free from French forces. Wellington paused in Madrid as he collected his forces and thought about his next tactical step. With Napoleon busy in Russia, it was tempting to march onto Joseph’s position, defeat him and then march across the Pyrenees into France.

Wellington dismissed the idea until he was certain of Napoleon’s position in Russia. Instead he opted for attacking Joseph but staying in Spain and building up his forces while also finishing off the remaining French garrisons. After pausing to reorganise his forces, Wellington marched north-east at the end of the month.

September:

Ten miles south of St Petersburg, the Armies of Napoleonic France and Tsarist Russia collided. The force personally under Napoleon’s command (at this time, it numbered roughly 180,000 men) led an attack against the Tsarist forces of 188,000 men. Tsar Alexander himself had taken it upon himself to lead the defence of St Petersburg, feeling it was his duty to defeat the threat to his Kingdom, despite the advice of many of his counsellors. The battle began at 7:17 AM with a French artillery bombardment.

The battle was enormous in scale and the defences of the Russian army were taken and retaken at least eight times during that day. Though Russian forces put up a brave fight, they were gradually pushed backwards while reinforcements from Prince Eugene had arrived and a contingent of 20,000 men started to turn the Russian’s right flank. The final break came when the news that Tsar Alexander had been killed began to filter through the Russian ranks.

Though future records were hazy and somewhat vague, during 2:00 PM when the French forces had beaten back the latest Russian assault, Tsar Alexander had taken it upon himself to lead a group of Cossacks in a charge against the French infantry. The charge was a disaster as in the confusion of battle; the unit got lost and emerged in the thickest of French units. An unknown French soldier (though thousands would later claim the deed) shot the Tsar through the chest and he fell down dead.

The remaining Cossacks managed to return the Tsar’s body to the Russian lines but the news had travelled down the ranks and the remainder of the Russian army gradually fell apart. By 4:12 PM, it was in flight back to St Petersburg. The French had won the field, albeit with the cost of 32,000 men, the Russians had definitely come off worse however as their casualties were estimated at 60,000; a good portion coming from the French cavalry charges against the retreating Russian forces.

With the Tsar dead and the army in tatters, the Russian command surrendered to Napoleon by 7:00 PM. Napoleon marched into St Petersburg and dictated terms to the Russians. Finland was to be given to Sweden, ten million Francs were to be paid in indemnities and Russia was to rejoin the Continental Blockade. Many believed that the relatively relaxed terms were due to Napoleon’s grief over Tsar Alexander’s death in battle, a sentiment surprisingly felt by many of the Russian people who saw the Tsar as having died fighting against one of the greatest evils of any age.

While the Treaty of St Petersburg was negotiated and signed, Napoleon received word of the Battle of Salamanca. Furious at the loss, he consulted his Marshall’s and decided that he and 50,000 Imperial Guard and 20,000 cavalry should leave the army in the hands of Ney until spring while Napoleon raised a new army in France to combat the British threat by early 1813. Ney would then take the Grand Armee out of Russia and leave garrisons at the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and the Western Prussian border.

Napoleon prepared to leave for France but was unprepared for the bad news that is coming to greet him along the way. During the last month, the French position in Spain had collapsed. Choosing a position at Tiron, Joseph had tried to put up some defences but the mass of people and loot that weren’t part of the army severely got in the way and Joseph’s own lack of authority prevented any actual work from happening. When Wellington attacked then, the French defences were in his own words “A laughably small ditch with some wooden posts seemingly placed at random.”

The one advantage to Joseph’s position though was a bridge across the Ebro which would allow him to retreat with at least some of his forces intact should things go wrong. Realising that to let the French escape now would seriously damage his chances to completely liberate Spain, Wellington decided on a risky strategy. While the bridge was held by the right flank of the French, Wellington decided to centre his army on them and using his left flank to swing round and force the French off the bridge. Knowing his right flank would be vulnerable, Wellington planned to scatter the French left by a huge cavalry charge by at least two thirds of his forces. Incredibly risky as this strategy was, Wellington realised that the opportunity of defeating King Joseph himself would be worth it.

The Battle of the Ebro began at 8:00 AM when the Allied cavalry started their charge. Unknowingly, they had several advantages over the enemy as the French high command was deeply divided over the battle. Many disagreed to actually standing to fight the British forces, not sharing the sense of shame Joseph had over the abandonment of Madrid. As soon as the Allies began to deploy, several Generals had ordered a retreat while Joseph had ordered the army to fight. The confusion ran through the ranks and the army was completely demoralised and unable to deploy for the battle.

As the Allied cavalry smashed the French left, only a few units were able to get into square formation while the remainder panicked. Lord Uxbridge later recalled “I’ve never encountered anything like it. In one instant, the French army had vanished, only to be replaced by a bunch of headless chickens.” The sentiment wasn’t felt on the British left and centre though as Marshal Jourdan had been able to rally the troops and put up a fierce resistance.

Despite the dogged defence though, the bridge was captured by a Portuguese battalion at 10:45 AM effectively cutting off the French line of retreat. With the flanks now being turned back, Joseph bowed to the inevitable and surrendered to the Allied army. Negotiations followed and Joseph agreed to surrender his men as prisoners of war, return all the loot taken and hand over all weapons to be used by the Allied army. Joseph himself was to be sent and held in England until peace between France and the Allies existed once more.

Soult, who had been able to send reinforcements to Joseph, now pulled back over the Pyrenees. He had been at San Sebastian since Salamanca, waiting for Joseph to arrive so they could counter attack. Now with his forces to meagre to do anything, Soult retreated.

October:

The Convention of the Ebro is signed. When one soldier tried to compliment the Duke by saying “Why sir, Cintra is redeemed!” Wellington replied “It isn’t redeemed, it as if it never happened.”

On his way to the coast in order to be transported to England, Joseph’s carriage was discovered by the guerrillas. Despite some brave fighting by his guards, they are overpowered and Joseph was murdered in cold blood. His body was left nailed to a tree as a sign of some bloody vengeance. Wellington was infuriated by the attack, seeing it to be another sign of Spanish duplicity and general incompetence. The Spanish press however, actually celebrated Joseph’s murder and made it seem as if the Spanish guerrillas had fought off a French assault and Joseph had been killed in the fighting rather than being brutally murdered.

Despite this setback, Wellington concentrated his forces and marched back to the north of Madrid, to the town of Segovia. Wellington chose this spot as it allowed him to defend Madrid and also forced any French invasion force to leave behind substantial garrisons in order to protect communications and also would be constantly attacked by guerrillas. Wellington used Segovia as winter barracks and trained his army, now around 65,000 in number.

When hearing of his brother’s death in Paris, Napoleon flew into a fit of rage against the British, the Spanish, the guerrillas and most of all, Wellington himself. Denouncing him a traitor and coward, Napoleon ordered a conscription of 100,000 men for the invasion of Spain which he planed for February and promised “My brother’s death shall be repaid in a torrent of British blood. “Wellington that shit wrapped in British cotton shall suffer a dozen times what my brother suffered!”

Joseph Bonaparte was buried in a small cemetery outside Madrid attended by several French generals and lower ranks. Wellington attended the funeral to pay respect to the man he failed to protect. But he also kept a close eye on the situation in France, knowing that it won’t be too long before Napoleon resumed his march.

 

[DAv]

1813:

February:

Napoleon marched from Paris with revenge in his mind. His army stood at 100,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry and over 200 guns. Despite the manpower however, this campaign suffered from the same faults as OTL Russian campaign. Napoleon’s utter contempt for the ‘Sepoy General’ and the British army in general, led him to believe that a march onto Madrid and a quick victory over Wellington would leave the Iberian Peninsula wide open for conquest.

Napoleon’s forces reached the Pyrenees by the end of February and Napoleon decided to leave a force of 40,000 under Massena north of the Ebro to secure his communications to Paris. 10,000 cavalry was also left with Massena as a defensive measure. Though this severely weakened Napoleon’s army, it did secure Northern Spain and opened up a line of retreat that Joseph didn’t have. Napoleon then marched south west, onto Madrid.

March:

Wellington spent the winter formulating a plan in order to fight off Napoleon when he came. The best course of action appeared to be a defensive battle at Segovia while the French army would be whittled down by the guerrillas and leaving garrisons behind. Wellington also decided to try a ploy of intelligence, sending out a message to the Spanish army in Valencia, Wellington informed them that he is currently stationed in Madrid and will soon head south to Cadiz to pick up recently arrived reinforcements from England. The Allied army in Segovia would be headed by Beresford and distract the French army while the reinforcements moved north.
Wellington sent out several messengers straight across French lines, seeing that although Napoleon could see right through his ploy, he doesn’t lose anything if he did.

However, when the false message is caught by the French army and Napoleon read it, he decided to split his force further and race to catch Wellington. He took 5000 infantry and 5000 cavalry personally and started the march to Madrid, leaving the French army under Soult to destroy the Allies at Segovia.


When Wellington realised his ploy had worked, he waited for Soult at Segovia. The armies were well matched with the Allies standing at 50,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry and 200 guns. The French forces stood at 55,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry and the same number of guns. One major difference between the forces though was the difference of quality between the two armies. While the Allied army was made up of mainly veteran forces, the French army was a mix of several veteran units but the majority were youths recently pulled up from conscription.

Soult was by no means keen to attack Wellington; memories of his retreat from Portugal continually haunted him along with the superb defence position occupied by the Allies. But Napoleon’s orders couldn’t be countered and Soult launched the attack on the 15th of March. The Battle of Segovia began at 8:00 AM when Soult ordered a bombardment along with the infantry advance. The battle played out like many others in the Peninsula before it where the French were beaten back from the Allied defences.

The Allied defence was laid out with the infantry standing in deep ditches at least 3 ranks apiece. Cavalry was separated into three thirds each covering the left right and centre of the Allied position while the Allied cannon was situated on a ledge some way away that could only really damage the French right flank while only doing paltry damage to the centre. Soult laid out his forces with his ranks much deeper and his cavalry split in half. His cannons were centred on the whole Allied line which were spread too thinly to do any real devastating damage and the Allied ditches protected them from the worst of the cannon.

During 11:00 AM an Allied cavalry attack over extended itself when attacking French guns and was wiped out by French cavalry. This left the Allied left vulnerable and Soult ordered the veteran units to attack it before any reinforcements could arrive. The French assault is brutal and almost overwhelmed the Allied position. But the defensive measures taken along with most of the Allied reserves arriving in the nick of time save the position and the French forces retreated with heavy losses.

By 2:00 PM when the latest battalion has been repulsed, Soult signalled a retreat from the field as the remaining Allied cavalry began to turn the exhausted French flanks. The final casualties stood at the French army losing 28,000 men while the Allies escaped with 16,000 casualties. During the retreat, the Allied cavalry successfully managed to capture two thirds of the French artillery while most of the remainder had to be abandoned though most of the guns were sabotaged beyond use by the retreating French.

Soult led the remains of his army to the south-east, hoping to converge with Napoleon and retreat to the Ebro. Wellington paused to reorganise his forces before chasing after Soult. Soult had gained a days march over Wellington and used it to his advantage by meeting up with Napoleon east of Madrid before Wellington was able to scout ahead.

Learning of the defeat of his forces and the loss of practically all of his cannon, Napoleon flew into a rage over the disaster. Accusing Soult of treachery and incompetence, he had him arrested pending a court martial. Taking stock of his position, Napoleon decided to retreat to the Ebro, merge his forces with Massena’s and strike back at Wellington. He was preparing to do this when devastating news is heard; Wellington has cut off his line of retreat and forcing the Emperor to fight. Rather than chase Soult directly, Wellington had instead used his scouts to find the French position and placed his forces across their line of retreat to the Ebro.

With no other option available Napoleon hastily organised his forces and marched to battle twenty-five miles east of Madrid. The battle was definitely in the favour of the Allied forces as their army was still cohesive, largely experienced, had cannon which the French lacked and had high morale. The only downside was that after a battle and two days forced march had left the army exhausted. The French army on the other hand was disorganised and had much less supplies than the Allies but they had gained a days rest and also had complete faith in the genius of Napoleon.

Weighing up the numbers, the Allies had 38,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry and around 190 guns (Several gunners had been killed at Segovia and there had been no time to organise replacements). The French army on the other hand had 40,000 infantry, 14,000 cavalry and only 30 guns. The French army, though while having larger amounts of infantry and cavalry, suffered from them being largely new conscripts.

The lines of battle were drawn up along a wide open plain with the artillery placed along the flanks of both armies. Wellington placed the majority of his cavalry by his artillery in order to protect them while his infantry were deployed along the centre.The Battle for Iberia (as it was called) would be the final in the Napoleonic Wars. The Allied army opened the battle and 10:15 AM with an almighty bombardment on the French position. It soon became clear that the lack of artillery was severely damaging the French army as they are unable to fully respond to the guns. Despite that though, the French army was able to rally forward and engage the Allied position.

Despite such courage on behalf of the French though, it soon became obvious that victory was going towards the Allies as without adequate support from artillery and Napoleon withholding cavalry until it could deliver a decisive blow, the infantry was constantly repulsed from the Allied position. By 1:00 PM, Napoleon was clearly running out of options.

With no alternatives left, Napoleon signalled for a general advance against the Allied position, hoping to overwhelm them. The Imperial Guard and all other remaining units surged forward against the Allies, spirited by Napoleon’s lead. The assault struck the Allied position and drove it to near breaking point. The only thing that saved it was Wellington leading the Light Division against the French centre which was already stretched to the limit.

Constantly bombarded by the artillery and facing a counter attack across the centre, the French line began to crumble and several units started to retreat. With his army almost destroyed, Napoleon reluctantly ordered a retreat south. Unable to pursue, Wellington ordered his forces to halt in order to recover. The total casualty list was French losses at 24,000 while Allied forces lost 17,000. Both armies are exhausted and were unable to fight for days. But Wellington realised he had the advantage as Napoleon was stuck in a hostile country with few supplies.

Before he could make any plans for an assault on the French position though, a messenger was sent by the French, Napoleon wanted an armistice. Faced with imminent defeat, Napoleon’s Marshals forced him to face reality and negotiate with the Allies or face a mutiny and being abandoned to the Allies. Practically spitting blood, Napoleon agreed to negotiate with Berthier representing French interests.

Knowing the weakness of the French position, Wellington forced them into negotiating a general peace for the war on the Peninsula. The negotiations took over a month to agree to anything as Britain fished for another coalition against Napoleon. But with Russia still devastated, the Grand Armee currently marching through Prussia and Austria unwilling to start war against Napoleon, the search proved fruitless. As Wellington later said “If Napoleon had waited for a month, all of Europe would have been liberated.”

April:

The Treaty of Madrid was signed between France, Britain, Portugal and Spain. The Treaty was regarded as a triumph in Britain while France and Spain considered it a humiliation. The basic points of the Treaty are as follows:

1: The Continental Blockade is to be lifted immediately as is the British blockade of Europe.
2: A policy of ‘you get what you grab’ is agreed. Britain keeps all of the seized possessions in the Caribbean and Asia while France keeps all of its European holdings.
3: All prisoners of War were to be exchanged.
4: Spain was to lose the Basque territories to France in return for the sum of 30, 000, 000 francs to be paid over 15 years. (This really acknowledged the French military presence in the region and lack of British and Portuguese interest in pursuing the war any further)
5: Ferdinand 7th is recognised as King of Spain.
6: An article of non aggression is signed between all four nations for a period of 10 years.

The Treaty is signed by the Duke of Wellington as a representative in Britain (Representatives from the British government had been rushed in to negotiate for the Treaty along with Wellington) And Napoleon himself For France. The Treaty was signed by Napoleon only when Wellington wasn’t in his presence, finding it hard to sign the Treaty in any circumstances, with Wellington around, impossible. Wellington returned to Britain in late April with the Treaty in hand and was given a heroes welcome, but was unable to rest for long.

The situation in Canada had become a stale mate and a firm command was needed. With the war in Europe over, Wellington was the man for the hour. Extremely reluctant to leave, Wellington was eventually convinced to head west after an appeal by various government Ministers to take command in Canada, playing on his sense of duty and the fact that he had otherwise no major responsibilities to be taken care of.

May:

Wellington set sail from Ireland on the way to Canada, accompanied by Beresford, Picton and Uxbridge who would be his chief commanders. Confident of victory over the American forces, Wellington pours over maps and charts of Northern America, marking out a strategy.

In Paris however, Napoleon returned to a mixed welcome. On one hand, France had gained significant land in Spain. On the other hand, Napoleon was defeated beyond a shadow of a doubt. The Imperial magic was dented and the nations of Europe realised that it wouldn’t be long before Napoleon was vulnerable.
Marshal Soult was tried, convicted of treachery and shot in Paris on a warm, pleasant morning.

The death of the Marshal was deeply unpopular and many of Napoleon’s Marshals started to think that Napoleon has begun to over step the mark. As for Napoleon himself, the defeat had marked him deeply and much of the old spark had left him. Any mention of Britain sends him into a flying rage and he put high tariffs against a majority of British goods but as the rest of Europe was importing British products, the damage to the economy isn’t too severe.

September:

Wellington and his staff arrive in Canada, three months after they left Britain. Wellington assessed the situation and quickly assigned Beresford as Commander of forces in the strategic Great Lakes area. Wellington himself decided that the best way to end the war would be to attack the eastern coast of America and drum up support in New England.

With the merchant classes lending their own support to anti – American sympathies, Wellington believed any strong show of major British support would scare the American government into negotiation.

Marching down through Maine, Wellington made brilliant progress as his experienced units and siege train reduces many forts, his iron belief in discipline of troops and the well treatment of many prisoners of war make the British Army, if not popular, then surprisingly well tolerated.
October:

American forces attacked a British position at the River Thames. Beresford had taken command of British forces at this point and had rushed out to the small British force retreating from American forces. He laid out his forces in a purely defensive position, placing Tecumseh’s Native forces in reserve rather than guarding in the flanks. The battle progressed into a stalemate until Beresford sent Tecumseh’s forces against the Americans in a shock movement, the tactic works and the Americans are repulsed and are forced into retreat. With the North – Western frontier now quiet, Beresford decided to concentrate on securing the British position.

Wellington marched onwards meeting little resistance; he reached New Hampshire by mid October and was greeted by representatives of the Federalist Party. Discussions in Concord lead to Wellington agreeing that, if the opportunity should arise, he would recommend to the British government that they should recognise an independent New England Republic, led by people who had little patience for those who brought New England into such a costly and pointless war.

Representatives of the New England states agree to allow the British army pass unmolested through New England territory in return. Wellington is delighted at such a deal, believing that it is only lip service and won’t amount to much. The American Government upon hearing this immediately orders an army to fight the British and Canadian forces and also to bring the New England states back into the fold.

November:

An army under General Jacob Brown was sent to combat the British and Canadian forces. Though unable to advance far because of the winter, he still advanced as far as New York and drummed up support there for his army. Wellington, hearing of the army approaching him, decided that a quick offensive in the spring with a decisive battle against Brown should bring the war to a conclusion. He dug in at southern New Hampshire and prepared his army for the upcoming campaign.

 

[DAv]

1814:

March:

Wellington marched his forces southwards from New Hampshire into Massachusetts by the end of the month. Knowing that supplies and reinforcements would be harder to come by, he waited for his army to be fully aligned before marching further south at the end of the month.

Jacob Brown had also been busy during this time as he quickly marched north as soon as the worst of winter passed and marched north east from New York City to catch Wellington on the hop and beat him back to Canada. Welling ironically considered the same option only from the opposite side so to speak. By eliminating Brown’s army, Wellington hoped to scare the American government into a peace treaty. At the end of the month, both forces are converging onto northern Connecticut, both aware of the others movements.

April:

The British and American forces met on the 15th seven miles north of the town of Waterbury. Meeting at a clearing by a nearby forest, Wellington assigned his forces so they spread out and over three miles. With infantry at 20,000, cavalry at 8000 and 120 pieces of artillery, Wellington feels more than equally matched to Brown’s despite the fact they both roughly have the same number of forces. At 10:30 AM, the battle commences by a brave but futile attack upon the British position.

Brown’s plan to put pressure on the British centre while flanking the right was thwarted by the superior quality of the British troops, many of whom were Peninsula veterans. The battle continued for six hours as Brown tried to outflank either the British left or right but to no avail. After 5400 casualties, Brown called off the attack and ordered a retreat, leading the rearguard himself, Brown managed to prevent the orderly retreat from turning into a rout. Having suffered 3800 casualties, the British army paused and sent messengers to negotiate a cease fire and hopefully a general peace. This is accepted by Washington and negotiations followed.

By the end of the month, the Treaty of New York made the following points clear in the after war situation:
1: America would recognise British supremacy over the Oceans (This was mainly for show as RN activities decreased significantly as in OTL)
2: Britain would agree to evacuate all forts south of the boundaries agreed in the Treaty of Paris.
3: Indemnities to the total of $3,000,000 were to be paid to the British government.
4: America was to now recognise the Republic of New England.
5: The dispute over Maine border was finally ended by settling it in the favour of Canada. Gratitude of giving them the chance to forge a new nation had allowed Britain some leeway from the NER. British North America was seceded all territory north of the Aroostook River.
6: The Great Lakes border was finally settled between three different factions. The big loser was the US as they lost all influence in the Western Great Lakes, keeping only a southern border on Lakes Erie and Ontario. For their art in the War, the Native American Tribes under Tecumseh were able to regain the land from the 1795 Greenville territory while also securing the Michigan territory and a border circling Lake Michigan all the way to the south side of Lake Superior. The British were to gain the Detroit area (Including the settlement itself) and dominance over the Great Lakes themselves.

The final clause finally destroyed the American influence over the Great Lakes completely and re-established the Shawnee as a force in the region. The American government believed that it would have gained the Shawnee land later on without too much hassle but reckoned without Tecumseh, who was looking to live up to the new statehood. To that aim, Tecumseh began to look for ways to bind his Confederation even tighter together and strengthen it.

The fourth clause came through negotiations between New England and Britain with Wellington being held to his promise by the New England government and speaking on their behalf. Realising the benefits of having an extra ally on the American Continent, the British Government recognised the fledging Republic and its President, DeWitt Clinton. With no alternative, The American government was forced to recognise the seceding states which soon became widely regarded as a nation of traitors.

The reaction in America over this Treaty was violent reactions against both the British and New Englanders. Believing the Treaty had let the British start their Imperial ambitions in America once again and that the Republic of New England was nothing more than a British puppet state, public nationalism caught on quickly. One person who realised this was General Andrew Jackson who made his political ambitions known very quickly as advertising himself as the only man who won a battle for the Americans in the war. While untrue, he became very popular amongst the common voter. The Senate also began to look over the Constitution in an attempt to make a state virtually impossible to secede, ironically going to accomplish one of the Federalist’s ideals in the process.

New England on the other hand started its nationhood very well. Booming trade with England complimented the political system which was almost a copy and paste of the American system. The Federalist Party was the dominating force with the opposition being made up of the newly created Industrial Party, which was made up of people who were fighting for greater rights of the working class and less interested in trade like the Federalist Party. Though the Federalists dominated the political landscape for the next decade, the Industrial Party soon became the biggest opposition.

After the Treaty was signed Tecumseh settled into the region given to him and his people via the Treaty of New York. Grateful to the British though wary of their motives, resumed trade with Canada Tecumseh set about organising his Confederation into a much greater cohesive force, centralising them into on large United movement. Supplied by Britain, he knew he needed to create a strong Shawnee Nation to resist the oncoming American settlers.

May:

Despite being offered a handsome sum along with a high position within the Canadian government, Wellington returned to England. Partly due with the feeling that his duty has been done and he should return home, partly because there was a real threat of assassination by an American patriot. Of all the hatred stirred from the War, most of it was directed straight at Wellington for being the man who broke the Union into two.By the 8th of May, Wellington got onto a ship to Britain with his staff and left the Americas without regret. He was joined by Picton and Uxbridge but Beresford remained temporarily in the Canadian military as a general, organising a new Canadian military.

After the political turmoil following the creation of the Republic of New England, a constitution was finally settled between all leading New Englanders. The Constitution of New England followed many protocols of the American Constitution only with exceptions in slavery (which at the behest of Britain, was outlawed) and secession issues where the Constitution made it virtually impossible to secede unless ‘under the most dire of circumstances’. Maine was finally allowed its statehood in the Republic and the lines were drawn between Maine and all the other states concerned. Finally, Boston was chosen as the Republic’s capital and work began on the construction of the seat of government which comprised of one major building to house the new House of Representatives and the new House of Congress.

June:

The loss of New England caused such an outcry within the American political structure that many call for the impeachment of James Madison. Despite that though, the actual Constitution doesn’t actually allow impeachment for what has happened. Disheartened, Madison nevertheless made it known that he would retire from politics after his term as President was over. The lack of an opposition Party also began to be felt as the Federalists had gone north to New England to make that government work to their own ideals. Those who were left were made very uncomfortable as they were identified with the ‘traitor party’ as it was known.

Amongst those who eyed the vacuum of power with thoughts of opportunity, Andrew Jackson was one began to plan his own nomination for the Presidency and gathered support amongst the Democratic-Republicans to do so.

August:

Wellington arrived back in Britain to a hero’s welcome. Seen as the man who won two wars for Britain, his prestige was through the roof and many people called for him to be made Commander in Chief of all British forces. The Duke of York, having never liked Wellington much in the first place, refused to even budge from his position despite enormous public pressure. Despite that though, Wellington was able to make enough pressure felt upon the Duke so that he has no choice but to reform the Army in some way.

It was agreed that a new Academy was to be set up to train officers above the rank of lieutenant. It was agreed that the Academy should be built in Yorkshire, it was unnamed as the Duke of York refused to call it the Wellington Academy and nobody else wanted it to be called the Duke of York Academy. The name was eventually agreed to be called The Yorkshire Academy of Warfare. Its purpose was to train the higher ranks of the British army in order to be better prepared for war.

The role of commissions was agreed to be gently phased out as the Academy would bring in new soldiers to take over the regiments. It soon became law that only officers that graduated from the Academy (Or others like it) were able to reach the top ranks of the army, because of the rather high fees for the Academy, the officer corps of the British Army continued to be held by aristocrats. This began change as the ‘new money’ of businessmen started to be felt in an increasing industrial Britain.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Treaty of Lyons, which bound America and France close together, was signed. Realising the potential of an ally in the US, Napoleon started to make movements towards the Republic in order to bind the two countries together and also balance against the threat of Britain. The Treaty made economic links between the two countries tighter and ideas came forth about using the resources of the US with the naval yards of France to create two great navies.

Napoleon himself by this time was worried, Britain was now undoubtedly the most powerful nation on Earth (Or at least, the one nation with the most prestige) and the French economy was taking a downturn due to the lack of plunder and a still huge military force. Looking for ways to improve the situation, Napoleon decided to complete his domination of Germany by taking out Prussia once and for all.

Prussia was by this time regaining it strength as its military had grown to be the strongest it had been in years and had been resisting French demands ever since mid 1813. Seeing an easy target because Prussia was isolated from the rest of Europe, Napoleon started to plan a campaign that would bring Prussia permanently to heel and regain the prestige of France once again. He chose March of 1815 to begin his campaign and Europe once again prepared for war.

 

[DAv]

1815:

March:

In America, Tecumseh was trying to come to grips with leading a new Native American Confederacy. Uniting the various tribes into a single cohesive state proved exceedingly difficult due to long standing religious beliefs, rivalries and grudges. Tecumseh’s leadership abilities were able to hold things together but it was a sheer cliff struggle throughout. Help arrived from an unexpected source…

After the War of 1812, Andrew ‘Stonewall’ Jackson turned the Creek War to his advantage by grabbing 23 million acres of land from both Allies and Enemies during the war. Forced from their homes, most of the refugees went north to their former leader, Tecumseh. Bolstered by stories of the horrors of the invading American army and the loss of their land led to several tribes to go north where old loyalties to Tecumseh sprang up, enlarging his support base considerably.

When the reality of what the Americans have done to a tribe that was an Ally sunk in, most of the tribes began to rethink their position and gradually came round to thinking that a Confederacy might not be all that bad. Tecumseh organised a huge conference to take place in May of 1815 while Britain agreed to send representatives to help sway opinion in favour of a united Native American Confederation with the promise of weapons, supplies and general aid in establishing a proper government.

Back in Europe, war plans for Prussia came to a steady halt as all was prepared except for a catalyst for invasion. Prussia however had been preparing for a war with France and had been able to find to Allies against Napoleon. One was the Kingdom of Spain which wanted the territory lost by the Treaty of Madrid. The other Ally was none other than Regent Bernadotte of Sweden and Finland, who wanted a united Scandinavian kingdom by attacking Napoleon’s ally, Denmark.

The one Ally missing that could have really affected the outcome of the upcoming war was Austria. Despite the attempts of Metternich, Austria wanted to keep out of any conflict unless France suffered a severe loss. Inspired by the Peninsular Warfare of Wellington, the Prussian High command redrew their tactics to copy Wellington’s own style of battle. Despite severe opposition in some quarters, the more pragmatic elements of Prussian High Command forced the measures through and the Prussian Army prepared for the oncoming onslaught.

All this was completely blown out of the water however when on the 18th of March, during an inspection of troops outside of Magdeburg, Napoleon almost died in an assassination attempt. While driving in a carriage to inspect troops during a tour in the Confederation of the Rhine (Which was really a cover for him to prepare for invasion), a bomb that was hidden in a cart disguised as a wine barrel blew up as his cart passed by.

Although he wasn’t killed by the attack, Napoleon suffered severe injuries along his right side and his face was permanently scarred. After a brief scouring of the crowd, the French Army grabbed hold of the owner of the cart and arrested him. A brief struggle ensued with several civilians who fought the troops over the man. Shots were fired by the troops and several of the civilians were killed which soon made the situation deteriorate into a full blown, anti – Napoleon riot.

With Napoleon’s health in mind, the French Command withdrew from Magdeburg as army reinforcements arrived and the riot is put down with a huge amount of bloodshed on either side. Though the riot was put down, the news spread throughout all of Europe about the massacre. Prussia was appalled and Austria agreed to join the Alliance whenever war was declared on the basis that Napoleon’s wife and child were to be put into Austrian custody.

Demands by Prussia and other European powers were made to the French government for the soldiers involved in the Magdeburg Massacre to be brought to justice. But with Napoleon incapacitated and the French government in chaos, no reply was forthcoming. Therefore, on the 28th of March, Prussia, Austria, Sweden and Spain declared war on the French Empire, citing the infractions of German sovereignty as a casus belli. The true irony of the situation being that Napoleon now had his war, but was unable to do anything about it.

The British Parliament debated over whether or not to interfere in the latest war but declined on the basis that no immediate threat to Britain was present. When news of the War reached Wellington while he was shaving, his answer was characteristic to say the least “War you say? Well I must say I’m not altogether shocked.” He then carried on shaving.

April:

The War between the French Empire and the Allies got off to a laughable start. As events had progressed so rapidly and Napoleon still incapacitated from his injuries, the first half of the month constituted of the Allies calling up armies and trying to get them to the front while France had the armies but no sufficient leadership.

Eventually leadership of the army was divided into three with Ney taking the Spanish front; Murat took the Italian front while Massena took control of troops in Germany. A provisional government was set up in Paris with Talleyrand as its President, though still some what chaotic, the system of control did allow a structure of command to exist that made the war easier to fight.

The real fighting began on the 22nd of April when an Austrian Army converged upon the Italian border while a Prussian army marched into the Confederation of the Rhine. While an Army under Murat marched to fight off the Austrian Army, Massena was forced to pause along the border of the Confederation as the huge public uprising against France was still continuing. Massena decided that his army of 60,000 was better served fighting a defensive war rather than marching through an extremely hostile country.

Ney on the other hand, took the fight to the Spanish Army and invaded Spain, taking the route from San Sebastian. Ney marched west with an Army of 60,000 to push Spain out of the war. The Prussian Army also marched west, in order to converge on Holland, liberate it and then move south into France itself. This was coincided to match with the strategy of the Allies; each was to march into an area that particularly resented French occupation (Holland, the Papal States and the occupied territories of Spain) liberate it, and use the resources of that area to further fight France.

Though this plan was widely over optimistic though, for Prussia at least, it seemed to be working as the Confederation of the Rhine fell apart and the people welcomed the Prussian Army as liberators. For Austria though, Murat’s Army stood at the Venetian territories and they kept at a wary distance until further reinforcements. The Spanish Armies were barely organized however, when word reached them of Ney having crossed the border. An Army of 48,000 under Jose de Zayas immediately marched east to counter the threat but the troops were of low quality compared to the French Army and it was plagued throughout the march by numerous troubles.

May:

The Meeting between the Shawnee Tribes and the refugee tribes from the south was a success. Rumours and stories of American atrocities spread by the refugees really mad various tribes worried about losing their own way of life. An agreement was reached between the factions to form a new Confederacy. The Leaders of the Tribes also began work on a new Constitution, which would bind the Tribes together but there were divisions within the Confederacy from the outset as some wanted aid from Britain to set up a government while others rejected the notion outright. These would later evolve into the Nationhood Party (Those against British aid and the more conservative Party) and the Union Party (Those who favoured British aid and the more liberal Party).

The shape of a central government was agreed whereby the Chiefs of the Tribes would set up a Great Council for them to meet and discuss the issues affecting the Native Tribes. This would eventually evolve into the Great Lakes Parliament. With two houses of government with one being made of selected officials while the other was made up of the Chiefs of various tribes who were given the power over the passage of any laws that the lower house passed through.

In Europe, the War between France and the Allies continued with France starting off better than most people expected as Ney fought the Spanish Army by the Ebro and pulverized it, losing 3000 men to Zaya’s 12,000 and threatening to march onto Madrid. Ferdinand VII instantly caved into pressure and agreed to pull Spain out of the War while also agreeing to cancel all debts over the captured Spanish territories. By the end of the month when the Treaty of Barcelona was signed, Ney was back in France ready to reinforce Murat.

The Italian theatre of War was also going well for France as Murat was able to push the Austrian Army back to Dalmatia after a fierce battle on the edge of the Venetian territories. Though heavy reinforcements later caused him to retreat to Northern Italy where he reassembled his forces to counter the new Austrian threat. The German theatre was the only place where French Armies suffered difficulties at this time. With the attack upon Holland by a Prussian Army, Massena fought to a bloody draw and was forced to withdraw further west as even more Prussian Armies converged on the border. Reinforcements in the form of an Army under Marmont arrived before an actual invasion of French territory occurred and the two enemy forces paused along the border, waiting for their first move.

June:

The War in Europe became bloodier as French, Prussian and Austrian forces clashed in Italy and Holland. Massena managed to defeat Blucher’s oncoming force but was unable to pursue him into Germany due to disagreements with Marmont over the progression of the assault. This was to be the immediate pattern of the war, while French Commanders were usually able to defeat their Prussian and Austrian counterparts; their own squabbles prevented them from pressing the advantage.

These events were seen also in the Italian theatre where Murat and Ney sharply disagreed over how to progress against the Austrian Army and were subsequently forced to retreat to North West Italy when an Austrian army of 80,000 converged onto their position. Having retreated as far as Milan, Murat finally decided to set Ney straight and pulled rank, as King of Naples, he didn’t have to put up with Ney of all people. Murat ordered Ney to return to France while he took control of the Italian front, if he was unwilling to do so; Murat made it clear that France would lose an Ally in the Kingdom of Naples.

Spitting blood, Ney had no other choice to comply with Murat’s demand. He left Italy in mid-June with his Army and upon reaching Paris, told the Provisional Government what had taken place. Talleyrand allowed Ney to draw up plans to avenge this insult but realised that it was also a depressing indictment of the Napoleonic Empire. Without Napoleon himself, his supposed Allies were more than eager to turn on the state the Emperor had created.

Elsewhere in Europe, King Ferdinand was in deep trouble. Not only had he got Spain involved in a War that cemented French control over the Basque regions but had also started to prove himself anything but the great hope for the liberalisation of Spain as he had rejected the Constitution of 1812 practically out of hand. The Army (Particularly the guerrilla bands who had risen to prominence during the Peninsula War) and the Liberals who had gained power during the chaos were quickly becoming hostile to the new King.

In order to secure his power base, Ferdinand ordered the arrest of several leading Liberals who had opposed his reign since his return from France. The plan went awry though and the Liberals were tipped off about the conspiracy against them. After fleeing the capital, the Liberals gained support from elements in the Army and prepared to fight to restore the Constitution that Ferdinand had refused. Leading the forces of the Liberals was Colonel Rafael Riego, a commander who was determined to end Fernando’s tyranny.

July:

In the far north of Europe, Swedish forces finally managed to defeat the last standing Danish Army in Norway. Having never really recovered from the second Battle of Copenhagen, the Danish Navy was unable to match up to the Swedish Navy and its (Albeit patchy) blockade of Danish ports. With Norway now under his control, Bernadotte then began to move away from the general campaign against France. Though he had gained support from Prussia in the form of equipment and several units of soldiers, Bernadotte himself was very reluctant to return the favour lest he risk losing everything.

Having allowed the Prussian units to return home, Bernadotte concentrated on a naval campaign against France, using his Army to subjugate elements hostile to the rule of Sweden, Bernadotte proclaimed the United Kingdom of Sweden-Norway-Finland on the 18th of July. The Union of the three nations was furthered with plans of a grand Parliament centred in Stockholm with representatives of all the nations meeting to rule the Realm. Though many people in Norway were hostile to the idea, the Finnish were agreeable to it, however, seeing as any government was better than the Russians.

Further south, the war was continuing apace for France as both Austria and Prussia began preparing for large offences against Holland and the Kingdom of Naples. Unable to count upon neither Spain nor Sweden, Prussia and Austria resolved to take the fight upon themselves and destroy French power in Germany and Italy. More pragmatic elements began to realise that an actual invasion of France would be next to impossible without aid from another nation. Overtures towards Russia were turned down as the nation was still recovering from the chaos of the French invasion and the memories of the might of the French Army were quite overwhelming. Tsar Nicholas was eager to avenge his brother’s death but had no means to accomplish this.

In France, things were hardly any better. The French Marshals had gathered hastily at the Northern Front to sort out the question of command once and for all. Talleyrand was present to preside over the meeting and sooth over the egos to help save France. The meeting quickly descended into a shouting match between the Marshals, each pushed his case forward to be the one to lead the Armies of France. Tempers soon began to run high and it looked as if no agreement was going to be reached when Talleyrand finally interrupted the proceedings.

After banging his fist on the table, Talleyrand reminded the Marshals of their duty to France, to the state and to the Emperor. If they could not work together, then all would be lost. Talleyrand then put it to the vote, which among them would the Marshals want as their overall commander? After a few tense moments, the Marshals began to vote for Ney as Commander with Massena refusing to acknowledge the vote, his experiences with Ney in Spain and wanting to retain command of the Northern Front colouring his view.

Wanting to keep a united front, Ney allowed Massena to lead the Army of the North, giving him authority to run the campaign as he saw fit. Massena grudgingly accepted the offer though it rankled that he would be unable to gain complete command. Ney also sent an Army of 80,000 under Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin down south to the border with Naples, unwilling to trust Murat after his actions. Another Army of 60,000 under Marshal Jozef Antoni Pontiatowski was sent as reinforcements to the other French forces in the Basque Counties. The destabilising situation in Spain meant extra security was needed for French interests in the area.

By the end of July, Prussian and Austrian Armies were converging on French and Naples territory once more. With the Confederation of the Rhine now dissembled and Jerome Bonaparte having to flee his Kingdom as it was overran by Prussian forces, it looked unlikely that the glory days of 1805 could ever be recovered. Ney and Talleyrand both agreed that with Napoleon still recovering from his injuries, it would have been unwise to pursue a campaign in Germany. Better to defend core French territory and cut their losses it seemed.

Elsewhere in Europe, Spain was starting to descend into a full Civil War. While Ferdinand VII was drumming up support from Spain’s central regions, the rebel forces had gained much support along the outer regions of Spain. The loss of support of the Liberals, the Army and the disastrous campaign against France had cost Spain dearly. As a result, Ferdinand’s only supporters were the reactionary nobility and the more conservative elements of the Church and peasantry. At the end of July, Armies of both sides were marching out to determine the fate of Spain and what remained of her ravaged colonies.

August:

On the 3rd August, an Army under Murat managed to repel the Austrian invaders back to the Venetian territories, leaving Naples safe for the time being. In the Netherlands however, a combined Prussian force of 100,000 moved onto the Northern Netherlands under the overall command of General Blucher who was determined to regain Prussian honour on the battlefield. He would be countered by three French Armies of 40,000 each under Marmont, Massena and Oudinot with Massena as overall commander.

The invading Prussian force had been split into two major forces, one with 70,000 men was sent to attack the Northern Netherlands in the Groningen province under Hermann von Boyen. Blucher remained in Germany with 30,000 to secure communications and a supply route. While gradual reinforcements were expected, it was believed by the Prussian High Command that the sooner the French Army could be overcome before Napoleon had recovered, the better.

The Prussian Army under Boyen tried to move quickly and secure the most of the Netherlands as possible. Massena, the spoilt child of victory had other ideas however. Ten miles east of the city of Groningen, the Prussian Army under Boyen had advanced with a forward force of 40,000 soldiers. Boyen had sent scouts before him who informed the General that the French forces were at least two days march away to the south. And they were right, to an extent; it had been Marmont’s force that the scouts had come across while Massena and Oudinot’s Armies were barracked fifteen miles west of Groningen itself. Believing there to be only one French Army in the Netherlands, Boyen failed to send any further significant scouting troops in the area. When Massena realised the gift he had been given, he took it with relish.

Ordering Oudinot to take a long Northern route that curved around the Prussian Army, Massena led his own force out to fight the enemy. His strategy being that while the French Army under himself attacked the Prussians head on, Oudinot would circle around the battle and strike from the rear. On the 12th August, the Battle of Groningen took place, resulting in a complete French victory over the invading forces. The strategy devised by Massena was a complete success, the Prussian forces were surprised and then overwhelmed by the French. Crushed in a classic pincer movement, the Prussian lines were broken easily, resulting in 12,000 Prussian casualties and 8000 prisoners to 1500 French casualties. The cherry on the cake was the fact Boyen himself was one of the prisoners as the Prussian Army fled the field.

To say that Blucher was furious at the news was like saying Russia was a bit big. Taking those who had escaped, Blucher joined them to his own force and ordered a march westwards, leaving 15,000 to secure supplies and communications, Blucher took the remaining 65,000 and marched onto the Netherlands. When he heard of the victory in the Netherlands, Talleyrand approached Ney with an idea. If France could keep its ‘natural frontiers’ (Plus Naples, the Basque territories, the Netherlands and Switzerland), couldn’t they sacrifice other territories and let the Allies fight amongst themselves as to who got what? The Grand Duchy of Warsaw, the Dalmatian territories and even the Venetian territories were unnecessary to France’s defence so let the Allies squabble over them.

Ney, though appalled at the idea, did agree that it made some sense in the long term. Talleyrand also made a suggestion concerning Murat, if Austria wanted the Venetian territories, let them on the bargain that France would be rid of the traitor without Austrian interference in the matter. Wanting to avenge the humiliation he had gone through in Italy, Ney readily agreed to this on the provision that any move would wait until the Prussians were safely out of the Netherlands, wanting to negotiate on a position of strength.

Ney was to get his wish when Massena received word at his camp in Slochteren that Blucher was marching towards him with his Army. Massena called Marmont up from the south to aid him in driving Blucher from the Netherlands and prepared his forces in a defensive position. With 75,000 troops, Massena was confident of victory and only called up Marmont’s forces as an afterthought. The two Armies met at Slochteren where Blucher looked to avenge Tislit. He was to be very disappointed.

The Battle of Slochteren was another great French victory as Blucher found himself outmanned and outgunned from the outset. On the 20th August, fifteen miles of east of Slochteren, the Armies of France and Prussia met once more to decide the fate of Europe. The battle began with a Prussian bombardment at 10:17 AM on the French positions while the Prussian infantry advanced onwards. The attack faltered however as the French line continually managed to send the Prussians into retreat with their constant firing.

At 12:46, Massena launched a counter attack from his right flank, sending his columns into the Prussian lines, overwhelming them. When the Prussian left flank had almost crumbled, a desperate cavalry charge saved them from complete and utter defeat. The French infantry was sent reeling back in panic as the Prussian cavalry cut through them. By 1:49 PM, the lines had stabilised but it was quickly becoming clear that the Prussians needed a miracle to actually win the battle. They weren’t to get it.

As Massena ordered an advance from his infantry in the centre at 2:20 PM, Blucher received news that his beleaguered left flank was once more under pressure, but not from Massena, Marmont had arrived. Upon hearing the sound of cannon, Marmont had doubled the speed of his march and struck forward. After finally reaching the battlefield, Marmont sent his forces to attack Blucher’s right flank while also sending a messenger to Massena to tell him what was happening. By the time the messenger had managed to meet with Massena however, the Prussian lines had all but crumbled before the oncoming French attack.

At 2:52 PM, an assault by Marmont’s infantry on the Prussian flank finally caused it to break and the Prussians began to flee from battle. With his entire right flank now being turned, Blucher had no choice but to order a retreat. But due to the crumbling Prussian lines and Marmont’s fresh forces, the retreat soon developed into an utter rout with large portions of the Prussian Army being overrun by the French cavalry. The total casualty list for the battle was 19,000 Prussian dead and wounded with 10,000 prisoners while the French lost roughly 12,000 soldiers during the battle.

By sunset the chase had been called off and had finished with the Prussian Army in complete chaos and having to flee the Netherlands. Massena prepared to march onto the former Confederation of the Rhine when he received word from Paris, a cease fire had been reached between France and the Confederation. On the 29th August, in the city of Siegen, French, Prussian, Swedish and Austrian diplomats met to hammer out another treaty to change the face of Europe once more.

These events had little bearing on what was happening in Spain however as Royalist and Revolutionary forces clashed outside Madrid. The battle which took place was quite laughable compared to what was happening in the rest of Europe at the time. The troops of King Ferdinand were utterly routed as the better led Revolutionary forces struck them from the field of battle. The Army of Rafael Riego quickly captured Madrid after the battle and took King Ferdinand prisoner. As August ended, the cowed King was forced to accept the Constitution of 1812 and a new Liberal government. With no help forthcoming from other sources, King Ferdinand was stuck with his situation.

September:
Negotiations in Siegen went on apace as the French diplomats (Led by Talleyrand) managed to keep one step ahead of their counterparts. Amazed with the French concessions, the joy of the Prussians and Austrians almost instantly turned to backbiting when they began to argue over Poland. Talleyrand also sent word to Russia, managing to earn the ire of the Tsar who saw this as a threat to Russian interests.

Using the other Powers against each other, Talleyrand managed to lessen the damage done to France and managed to wrangle the agreements that failed to hurt France to any substantial amount. The Treaty of Siegen which was signed on the 20th September agreed to the following clauses:

1: Peace between the four nations would begin immediately with an exchanging of prisoners and withdrawal of troops.
2: The Confederation of the Rhine was to be broken apart. While the nations created by Napoleon were to remain, those governments deposed during the German Rebellion (As it came to be known) were banished and new governments were set up be Prussia though all were more or less the same in form as the Napoleonic ones.
3: All states agreed to recognise the United Kingdom of Sweden-Norway-Finland and Bernadotte as its King.
4: The Duchy of Warsaw was to be spilt thusly; Prussia was to regain the territories that had been taken from it at Tislit, Austria was to gain the city of Krakow and its territories while the rest was to be turned into a buffer state against the Russian Empire. Realising that none of the states could trust a German or Frenchman in charge of the State, Talleyrand suggested that Marshall Jozef Poniatowski be made King of this new Polish state. Well known for being a proud Polish soldier and popular in his homeland, Prussia and Austria reluctantly accepted him as King of Poland on the clause he agreed to surrender his French titles completely.
5: Both Prussia and Austria pledged to protect the new Kingdom of Poland from any interference from outside interference. To say Russia was upset at this, is like saying the sea is rather damp.
6: Austria was to regain Dalmatia and the Venetian territories with a secret clause that they wouldn’t interfere with the French invasion of the Kingdom of Naples and the overthrow of Murat.

With the Treaty signed at the end of the month, Europe was once more at peace. It should be noted that the Treaty of Siegen was the start of the ‘Great Isolation’ of Russia from European affairs. Insulted and mortified at the creation of this new Polish state without even consulting Russia, the nation began to withdraw from European affairs (Apart from keeping an eye on Poland itself) and began to look at Central Asia and Siberia to bolster its position in the World.

The Treaty only hit with one problem however, it needed the signature of Napoleon Bonaparte himself in order to finalise it. Napoleon up to this point had been residing in his Palace outside of Paris, recovering from the attempt on his life and spending time with his son. He had been constantly fed news of great victories by his Marshals and had been expecting yet further concessions from the European Powers (Even the elimination of Prussia) with the end of the War. What he got however, was something completely different.

What transpired on the 25th September was to shake the foundations of the Imperial government itself. Napoleon had given a private interview to Talleyrand and several of his Marshals (Ney, Massena and Marmont) concerning the end of the War. When Talleyrand began to outline the clauses of the Treaty, Napoleon flew into a rage. Abandon the Venetian territories? Hand the Duchy of Warsaw over to his enemies without firing a single shot in retaliation? Why had they agreed to such clauses?

The final words ever spoken by Napoleon Bonaparte were of extreme venom against his former favourite Marshals and diplomatic aide “What is this? Are the Marshals of France such cowards that they agreed to sully the name of their nation so? Cowards! Traitors! You are so much shit in medals and silk! You…”

In mid rant against the four men, Napoleon suddenly stopped, gasped and then collapsed to the ground. The fit of rage brought on by news of the Treaty had overcome the weakened Emperor and caused him to have some sort of seizure. As he lay on the floor, it was Ney who was the first to rush to Napoleon’s side only to mutter “My God, he’s dead.” When he realised the truth. A horrified moment of uncertainty was overtaken when the ever opportunist and pragmatic Talleyrand offered a quick solution. Pointing out that the death of Napoleon could destroy France at this point, he suggested that the death be kept a secret until such a time when Europe was settled and France would be unthreatened from the machinations of their enemies.

The Marshals still horrified at Napoleon’s death, agreed on this and began to further the plan. The news would be put out that Napoleon had suffered a relapse and though too weak to see anyone, appeared to be in a position to recover at some point. Ney would rush down to Naples and deal with Murat once and for all while Napoleon’s signature would be forged and the Treaty finalised. The Empress and the Prince would be kept under house arrest so that the news would never get out until it was time. The four organised Napoleon’s body to be buried in a quiet, remote location while the actual funeral of Napoleon would be undertaken with a weighted coffin.

The Treaty of Siegen was fully ratified by the Great Powers when Talleyrand presented Napoleon’s signature to the other diplomats. While in the south of France, Ney prepared an Army that would overrun Naples and destroy the traitor Murat. Only time would tell the full affects of the duplicity of the four men however…

 

[Krall]

I can honestly say this is the longest TL that I've completely read start to finish without skipping any bits.

More! Give me more!

Also, I'd like to see a map of the world in this TL [Or at least, a map of what N America looks like after the formation of the Great Lakes Confederation and thhe Republic of New England].

 

[DAv]

Thanks. Here's the map. Any other feedback people can give me would be nice. Keep in mind that this is only a sketchy map as I've possibly overlooked one or two things.

 

[stevep]

[FONT=&quot]DAv

Good scenario and you have obviously put a lot of effort into it. Hell of a lot of detail in there.

A few comments.

a) From what I have read I doubt if Ney would have got the vote to lead France in the crisis. Very brave but hot-headed. With Soult dead I suspect the vote would go to either Massena or Davout, the latter probably being the best of the Marshalls. However think the squabbling cats in a bag does well represent what the French empire would be like with Napoleon removed from the helm.

b) Not sure either Britain or Russia would have stayed out of the anti-French alliance. For Britain Napoleon is still a major threat, controlling the low countries and seriously disrupting British trade. [While French tariffs may only apply inside France it is very large and includes the mouths of the Rhine, both a rich area in its own right and controlling access to much of western Europe]. Furthermore, without British financial and industrial support they would have great difficulty supplying and maintaining sizeable armies against the French for any length of time. Even more so for Russia I would say the royal family especially would want revenge on the man who killed the previous Tsar and captured their capital. With sizeable allies thrown into the match as well. I do agree that having not joined in the Russians are going to be very unhappy about the resultant treaty with regards to Poland. Very clever work by Talleyrand.

c) In N America I think slavery will be a very, very important matter. Don't think that Britain would pressurise the New England Republic [NER] to ban slavery as it was another 15-18 years before Britain abandon it itself, although that might be earlier in this scenario. However the big impact will be in the remains of the US. The loss of the NER states means the slave holding states have a clear majority especially in the senate. Furthermore the Indian state will compound this as it bars the historical path for development of new states in the south. Furthermore with slavery being increasingly opposed by Britain it might be taken more as a symbol of national identity in the US and gain support as a result. Depending on the circumstances as to whether it becomes the dominant factor long term or a much closer divide if/when it comes over the issue.

d) Wellington was pretty reactionary and conservative so not sure he would approve of the sort of military reforms your suggesting? Didn't realise that the Duke of York had any hostility towards him and thought they got on pretty well. Not sure that the banning of purchasing of commissions would be possible that early. However its founding will strengthen the British army in the short term. Could have some nasty social and political consequences later on.

A few ideas and questions:


[/FONT]

 

[DAv]

Thanks for the comments stevep. I'll try to answer them best I can.

1: The thing with choosing Ney is that, in this TL, he has the most prestige of the Marshals at that time. Most of the others were either tainted with the mutiny in Spain or weren't seen as good a leader as Ney. He also has the backing of Talleyrand who has his own reasons for doing so...

2: With Britain for the War, the general feeling was that with Napoleon seemingly out of action and no threatening moves to be made by France itself, there was no point in getting involved in yet another war in Europe. For Russia, there was still the chaos of the invasion and the delay to call up the Army. While the Tsar indeed wanted to avenge Russia's defeat, by the time anything was being organised, the cease fire had settled in.

3: Are you sure about Britain not presurising the NER to abandon slavery? I'm pretty sure they tried to get France to ban it when Napoleon was defeated in 1814. Though I might be mistaken...

4: When Wellington first retired from actual battles in the Army, I believe he was actually itching for reform, the incompetence of various commissioned officers really got too him. It was only later on that he got the idea of 'No. 1 so why try harder?'. Keep in mind that the reforms Wellington wanted in this TL still favoured the rich and privelged. I had read somewhere that the Duke wasn't fond of Wellington for some reason (I think his brothers figured into it somehow). And how do you mean about there being problems about the banning of comissions? It's not as if the upper classes aren't allowed to be in the Army, it's just that the easy way no longer exists.

Hope that answers it for you and anything else you can think of, please point out.

 

[The Gunslinger]

Great timeline

Just like to throw my 2 cents in and say that this is an awesome timeline. I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

[stevep]

Thanks for the comments stevep. I'll try to answer them best I can.

Many thanks. Its your scenario but there were a couple of things I were uncertain of.

1: The thing with choosing Ney is that, in this TL, he has the most prestige of the Marshals at that time. Most of the others were either tainted with the mutiny in Spain or weren't seen as good a leader as Ney. He also has the backing of Talleyrand who has his own reasons for doing so...

I can see why Talleyrand might want Ney in charge as I suspect it would be easier for him to control things from the shadows so to speak. Not sure that Ney had that good a military reputation apart from the rearguard in Russia, which doesn't apply in this scenario. However could see Talleyrand finding him a good puppet and possibly his simpler character might fit in with the common soldier and also possibly various other groups/Marshals see him as a temporary figure to stop Massena getting the post.

2: With Britain for the War, the general feeling was that with Napoleon seemingly out of action and no threatening moves to be made by France itself, there was no point in getting involved in yet another war in Europe. For Russia, there was still the chaos of the invasion and the delay to call up the Army. While the Tsar indeed wanted to avenge Russia's defeat, by the time anything was being organised, the cease fire had settled in.

Could be although I would suspect both that there would be time for intervention, especially while the Prussians are marching through the Netherlands, which would spark British interest. Possibly in terms of seeking to have the region neutralised to get it out of French control. Also I suspect that the Germans would want British funds and some Russian troops to boost their position. However could have problems in both states with internal crisis causing enough disruption to prevent them getting involved.

3: Are you sure about Britain not presurising the NER to abandon slavery? I'm pretty sure they tried to get France to ban it when Napoleon was defeated in 1814. Though I might be mistaken...

Working from memory but are you sure your not mixing up the slave trade with slavery? Since Britain didn't ban the latter until the 1630's it would seem odd to seek to block it in the NER. A bit of a moot point as there would be few if any slaves in the NER so I suspect the new state could well ban it themselves, partly to separate themselves from the US. However either way the NER will I think have a big indirect impact on this later on,

4: When Wellington first retired from actual battles in the Army, I believe he was actually itching for reform, the incompetence of various commissioned officers really got too him. It was only later on that he got the idea of 'No. 1 so why try harder?'. Keep in mind that the reforms Wellington wanted in this TL still favoured the rich and privelged. I had read somewhere that the Duke wasn't fond of Wellington for some reason (I think his brothers figured into it somehow). And how do you mean about there being problems about the banning of commissions? It's not as if the upper classes aren't allowed to be in the Army, it's just that the easy way no longer exists.

He may well have wanted reforms and pressed for a lot himself. However I think he was on pretty good terms with the Duke of York, who, while a pretty poor military leader was a hell of a good organiser. Reacted strongly on the issue when the Duke was briefly dismissed from Horse Guards over a personal scandal if I remember rightly. Might be more that both Duke's, York and Wellington are working together for limited reform, which would cause opposition to centre around the formers brothers as the family were notoriously striff-riven

One problem with banning the sale of commissions was that without a professional system of promotion by ability the only real alternative was promoting by seniority, which has very serious problems. Also one of the problems with removing the process was that a lot of officers having bought their commissions, saw them as investments. I.e. expecting the ability to sell them on to newer officers later on when they moved on. Was reading a book on Wellington's life a few months back and it was thought that it would cost the government a lot of money to compensate them for the loss of this resource.

What I actually meant by the potential social problems would be that with the new industrial wealth-makers being able to get into the system by having their son's educated at the academy this would cause two clashes:

a) there would be conflict between the older aristocratic and newer mercantile elements.

b) Given that once they got their own share of political power the upper middle classes were possibly the most opposed to further political and social reform i.e. those favouring the poorer elements. Give them a good bit of influence in a socially divided officer corp. and you could have some explosive situations over later reform and power struggles.

Hope that answers it for you and anything else you can think of, please point out.

DAv - hope that clarifies some of the points I was trying to make. Looking forward to reading more.

Steve

 

[DAv]

1: I was actually going to post the solution to the whole power struggle with Ney and Massena in the next update. Also, Ney does have a good reputation from both organising the the withdrawl from Russia in this TL and the lightning campaign against Spain. The Marshals at this point just saw Ney as if not the best candidate, then the one they could at least live easiest with.

2: Well the Prussians never actually managed to penetrate that far into the Netherlands, only managing to get into the Northeast of the country at best. And just how much did the other nations depend on British support actually? I know that Britain lent the Allies a lot of money but they could have surely managed to keep a substantial force on their own.

3: You may be right on this I must confess. I knew about the 30 years difference in Britain but must have overlooked the difference at the French circumstances. In any case, in TTL, it was more a case of the British saying "Do you want to ban slavery? Go on." With the NER pretty much going "Well we were going to do it sooner or later we suppose, go on then."

4: I think you're right here now I come to think about it. I could have sworn that there was some bad blood somewhere that I read about. Ah well, no matter, in any case, I think the DOY wouldn't have retired for Wellington at any case (Or anyone else for that matter)...

As to the commissions, they haven't been banned outright but rather have been put to the point where they will be phased out as the newer officers take over (The full affects of which will take several years to show). Also, would the social elements have really turned out that bad in the Army in this TL? I know there would have been some sneering by the aristocrats at the mercantile officers but it was getting to the point where the merchants were making even more money than the upper classes and even marrying into them. I'm not sure entirely about their being too much conflict outside the occasional duel at sunset over insulted honour.

Thanks for your feedback though. I'll try to post 1816 ASAP.

 

[Wendell]

What will the midwestern United States look like ITTL considering the difference in national borders?

 

[DAv]

What will the midwestern United States look like ITTL considering the difference in national borders?

There will be a lot of differences but they won't show up for several years yet.

 

[stevep]

1: I was actually going to post the solution to the whole power struggle with Ney and Massena in the next update. Also, Ney does have a good reputation from both organising the the withdrawl from Russia in this TL and the lightning campaign against Spain. The Marshals at this point just saw Ney as if not the best candidate, then the one they could at least live easiest with.

Don't forget there is no desperate withdrawal from Russia in TTL - unless you mean a withdrawal after the peace agreement. In Spain he came a cropper against Wellington at Bussaco. [Although Massena was admitedly in command of the overall force it was the vanguard under Ney and another Marshall who made the rash attack that got badly blooded].

2: Well the Prussians never actually managed to penetrate that far into the Netherlands, only managing to get into the Northeast of the country at best. And just how much did the other nations depend on British support actually? I know that Britain lent the Allies a lot of money but they could have surely managed to keep a substantial force on their own.

Historically Britain, with control of the overseas trade and being unplundered have the wealth to fund the wars of the time. Also theri industry supplied a large proportion of the arms, uniforms, boots and other equipment that the conteinetal allies used in 1813-15 in OTL. Not saying it would be impossible for them to wage war without Britain but they would be markedly less effective. Also with Britain in the coalition you have the advantage of a renewed British blockage and threat to French coastal trade and the like.

As such I think the only way you would get a conflict without Britain being involved would be if for some reason Britain choose not to take part. There may well be an element in Britain wanting peace and avoiding the expense of further conflict, especially given the generous peace terms overseas. However a lot will still be concerned about the French domination of the contient and especially the low countries and Rhine region. As such I think it would require some fairly extensive internal problems to make the government turn down the approaches that would inevitably come from the contiental powers.

4: I think you're right here now I come to think about it. I could have sworn that there was some bad blood somewhere that I read about. Ah well, no matter, in any case, I think the DOY wouldn't have retired for Wellington at any case (Or anyone else for that matter)...

In agreement

As to the commissions, they haven't been banned outright but rather have been put to the point where they will be phased out as the newer officers take over (The full affects of which will take several years to show). Also, would the social elements have really turned out that bad in the Army in this TL? I know there would have been some sneering by the aristocrats at the mercantile officers but it was getting to the point where the merchants were making even more money than the upper classes and even marrying into them. I'm not sure entirely about their being too much conflict outside the occasional duel at sunset over insulted honour.

What I was mainly concerned about was possibly later on when the reactionary elements opposing reform might be even stronger.

Thanks for your feedback though. I'll try to post 1816 ASAP.

Looking forward to reading it.

Steve

 

[DAv]

OK, here's the first batch of 1816. I say first because I may have to change it if anyone points out any mess ups I did. I'm a bit unsure about the Corn Laws bit in particular. As usual, any feedback which can be given will be much appreciated. Enjoy!

1816:

January:

The coalition under Tecumseh finally arranged themselves into a bound state with the signing of the Shawnee Constitution. Signed by all the Chiefs of the Coalition, the document set out clear ideals for the new Shawnee nation to follow. The most notable parts of the Constitution were a complete and utter ban of any single Tribe to sell land to any foreign power without first consulting the newly created Shawnee Parliament. Also noted was the complete outlawing of slavery and the promise to recognise any slave who had come to Shawnee Land as a free person, Tecumseh’s famously stating “All men deserve to be free from the whip and chain. Such evil shall not blight my people as it has done the white man.”

The form of government was a strange one. Setting up an actual capital city was a new experience to the Shawnee nation and it had eventually been decided that the new seat of Government would be established at a new settlement called Sawano Asiski (Shawnee Land) on the Western shore of Lake Michigan. The Parliament itself differed incredibly from any other form of government practiced at that time. Wanting to still preserve their independence from anyone, the Tribes found themselves unwilling to completely commit to a permanent government. Instead, the Parliament itself was to meet every two months to discuss and debate the issues that affected the Nation. The members of the Lower House would be chosen from the Tribe on every meeting of Parliament and discuss with the others what was to be done. They would then take any proposals they had to the Upper House of Chiefs who would then themselves decide what to with them.

One major concession Tecumseh was able to achieve was the establishment of a permanent and centralised Army. After seeing the true power of the British Army in the War of 1812, Tecumseh had realised the need for a true modern Army and had consulted his British Allies concerning the supply of guns, equipment and training. The British General Beresford agreed to train the Shawnee troops in modern tactics in return that the British would be allowed to set up mines in the region and have favoured nation trading status. The Army set up by Tecumseh and to be trained by Beresford was 5000 at first, many of whom were already veterans of the War of 1812 and 2000 of which were cavalry. The training itself would take a year while these units would go on to be the nucleus of a fully professional Army, something Tecumseh knew the Shawnee Nation needed desperately.

Some social reforms, such as a new schooling system and a system of taxation were suggested by the more pro-British/American Members of the Parliament only to be shot down almost immediately. Tecumseh himself was quoted as saying “Just because we sit at another man’s table, does not mean we have to eat his food.” While the reforms to modernise the Shawnee Nation to the extent they could resist foreign influence would continue, it would be a long time before adopting their ways would become a credible political issue.

April:

King Murat of Naples woke up on the morning of the 3rd April to be nastily surprised.

He’d been invaded by France.

The long planned invasion had finally come to fruition with a force of 80,000 French soldiers invading Naples from the Northwest. Personally led by Ney, this Army was out to do one thing, secure French power in the region by any means necessary. Murat himself was shocked at this development, ever since Siegen, he had thought his position safe from all threats and that with Napoleon on the mend, no attack would come from either Austria or anyone else. The excuse of such a high amount of troops in the neighbouring Kingdom of Italy had been that they had come from the former Dalmatian Provinces and were waiting to be decommissioned at the most convenient time. Murat began to realise he had been duped and rather regretted his harsh words to Ney.

The Army of France quickly managed to overrun the Northwest of Naples and forced Murat to flee the capital, attempting to raise an Army further south. His efforts were in vain however as the invasion had been prepared perfectly and the French Army was in almost complete control of Naples within a week. Only in the south, near the city of Taranto was even a half hearted attempt made to defend against the French. An Army of 10,000 under Murat’s personal supervision attempted to turn the French back and give him some breathing space to organise an affective resistance.

The attempt failed as the troops under Murat were overwhelmed from all sides and quickly broke rank and fled from the field. Murat himself was captured and taken into French custody for trial on charges of treason. The international reaction to all this was all rather muted, Austria already knew about this and wasn’t all that upset to see the back of Murat, Prussia wasn’t too bothered as they simply saw it as a changing of the guard so to speak and Britain was too busy with internal affairs to really care.

Murat himself was given something of a show trial before being sentence to death for crimes against the French state. To his credit, the ex-King put up a dignified and spirited defence against the state but it proved to be for little. On the 30th April, Murat was executed by firing squad with the actual order to fire coming from Murat himself.

With the death of one of Napoleon’s greatest soldiers, the throne of Naples was up for grabs. While Ney wanted the throne himself, he was convinced by Talleyrand to instead offer the Kingdom to Massena. In a brilliant move, Talleyrand managed to destroy the threat of the Marshals splitting amongst themselves between Ney and Massena. Massena had been clamouring for more power in the post-Napoleonic government and not only did he find his demands seemingly agreed to by gaining Naples but by accepting the throne, Massena also unwittingly separated himself from the true seat of power of the French Empire. Talleyrand, who found Ney much easier to convince and negotiate with (Translation: manipulate) preferred him in charge of the French Army rather than Massena.

Now that the threat to the Empire finally out of the way, Talleyrand decided to bring the death of Napoleon to light. Using the newly reinstated Fouche to organise matters of the funeral, Talleyrand and Ney decided that the three of them would be of a new Triumvirate with Ney controlling the Army, Fouche controlling the police and various other agencies while Talleyrand gained control of the true workings of the government. While it would there would be a regency council, the three would have the true power.

May:

On the 12th May, 1816, the news that Napoleon had died during the night was released to the French press. The news spread like wildfire and soon Europe was split into two separate stages of sheer joy or grief over the Emperor’s death. While celebrations were being held in St Petersburg and London, Paris was in a public stage of grief unheard of even for the most popular of Kings. The funeral was held at Notre Dame Cathedral with the procession afterwards leading to the Tuileries Palace where he was finally laid to rest.

The funeral itself attracted many of the more interesting of Europe’s political forces. As the funeral process marched slowly through Paris, various Liberal Whigs, Spanish leaders and Germans lined the route with allegedly over 1,000,000 French people. The route was also guarded by over 50,000 troops, Ney wanting to make sure that the procession wouldn’t be overrun by the crowd. Despite his fears however, the crowd remained quiet and respectful for the most part. With the death of Napoleon came the continuation of the Bonaparte with the ascension of Napoleon II.

The Bourbon Dynasty saw the end of any hopes to restore themselves to the French throne. All those who held the true power in France at the time were unwilling to even consider putting a Bourbon back on the throne. The Regency Council which controlled France at the time agreed to stay in power until Napoleon II’s twenty first birthday where he would (Theoretically) assume power.

The death of Napoleon also had interesting side affects on the politics of his greatest enemy, Britain. Earl Liverpool, Prime Minister of Britain had been watching with a worried eye the cheap imported corn from the British territory in North America and the ever decreasing financial situation. With the unpopularity of the income tax, it looked as if the British government would have to abandon the new tax and take a protectionist stance on the corn.

But with the funeral of Napoleon causing many of the Whigs to head to Paris, Liverpool saw his chance and called the remainder of the House of Commons to a session. He put the income tax up for a vote on whether to increase its tenure for a further ten years. With the opposition diminished, the proposal passed through without too much opposition and the House of Lords also passed through the motion with some cajoling.

The move was seen (Rightly so) as underhand, cheating and downright unfair. But it did manage to lessen Britain’s monetary woes to a good extent and while the continuation of the tax was unpopular, the proposed price controls were never going to be the toast of the hour neither. The Whigs were never able to forgive Liverpool and he soon found himself opposed at every turn by them… well, more than usual at least.

July:

In America, the freezing relations between the USA and the NER cooled even more as the NER recognised the Shawnee Nation as a sovereign state by signing a Treaty of mutual co-operation with the Great Lakes nation. As both needed Allies to counter naked US aggression and hostility, it was only natural that the two would come closer together as Allies. The NER had begun movements towards an Alliance with the Shawnee Nation some time before but needed to sort out its own Native tribes before anything else could be done.

For its part, the Shawnee Nation had been wary of the Alliance with the NER but had been swayed by the argument that Britain was a mighty Empire which could decide the fate of nations at the drop of a hat and could really exist without the Shawnee. But the NER was much smaller and much more vulnerable. They needed the Shawnee a lot more than Britain did and were willing to go to great lengths for their Alliance. The Treaty of Boston basically confirmed the two as having a mutual protection pact and agreeing to aid each other in times of need.

The USA, needless to say, was furious at the Treaty, seeing it as a deliberately hostile move against it. Madison, in the last popular move of his Presidency, put forward a rapid expansion of the Army and Navy to increase the US’s power. The training of a Shawnee Army and the increasing number of gun factories in New England (Soon becoming one of the NER’s greatest exports) only increased the fear felt by the US population and government as a whole.

By now, the candidacy for the Presidency looked to be claimed with certainty by James Monroe. The only other candidate who was actually proving popular was Andrew Jackson although his lack of office severely counted against him. With the Federalists all but destroyed as a political Party in the US, new Parties had quickly rose to a certain amount of prominence. Although they were far from near even challenging the Democratic-Republicans, many were making noises at a local level.

November:

At election time, it came as no surprise that James Monroe secured the Presidency. Although a member of the Madison Cabinet, Monroe was able to distance himself from the disastrous war after his spirited rebuilding of Washington. James Madison prepared to retire in March from all political and public life. His standing in the eyes of America had been destroyed after the War of 1812 and he had come very close to impeachment. With the near destruction of the Union, a much tougher line was being toed in American politics. This included the Thirteenth Amendment where secession from the Union was now strictly prohibited.

Elsewhere in the World, it seemed that Europe had finally settled down to peace. While France was still the most powerful nation on land, the other powers of Europe were now in a position to be able to resist the Empire’s demands. The only place of any real conflict was the Iberian Peninsula where Spain and Portugal were split between the Liberal and Reactionary forces at court. While Spain was now dominated by the Liberals and was entering a new age of breaking away from the old prejudices and superstitions, Portugal was at a cross roads with the Liberals steadily gaining power. For now however, Europe was enjoying the fruits of peace.

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

I don't see any way that the 'shawnee land' would be called that. While the confederation is certainly Shawnee led, the bulk of the population will be from other nations. Ojibwa/Chippewa/Ashinabe, Iroquois who don't want to be under the American yoke, refugees from the south. Not to mention Miami, Sauk, etc.

Also, I don't see the US holding onto so much land in the west, given this kind of defeat. I could see the Brits claiming at the start that the Louisiana purchase was invalid, as it wasn't Napoleon's to sell! Starting from that, they could probably get the new line to be rather south of the 49th parallel.

Also, I'd expect the Confederation to get at least some of Wisconsin, but...

 

[stevep]

I don't see any way that the 'shawnee land' would be called that. While the confederation is certainly Shawnee led, the bulk of the population will be from other nations. Ojibwa/Chippewa/Ashinabe, Iroquois who don't want to be under the American yoke, refugees from the south. Not to mention Miami, Sauk, etc.

Also, I don't see the US holding onto so much land in the west, given this kind of defeat. I could see the Brits claiming at the start that the Louisiana purchase was invalid, as it wasn't Napoleon's to sell! Starting from that, they could probably get the new line to be rather south of the 49th parallel.

Also, I'd expect the Confederation to get at least some of Wisconsin, but...

Dathi

Possibly DAv is thinking in terms of what it would be referred to by European nations? Also it might be that a lot of the southern refugees are absorbed into the Shawnee. I do agree that Tecumseh and his tribe have to be careful else they could generate a lot of resentment if the Shawnee look to be taking too much of the prestige.

Historically the borders weren't finalised until 1817/1818 and with a couple of extra nations in the mix and the resentment the US would be feeling from its clear defeat such negotiations could be delayed further. I would expect that the various elements, especially now that the NER are allied to the Shawnee, could well argue for a border some way south of the 49th. Furthermore, with control of the Great Lakes in foreign, not to mention hostile, hands the US will have greater difficulty reaching, let alone settling the northern part of such territories.

The interesting thing would be if the alliance between the two smaller powers was used to try and give the NER a settlement outlet for its surplus population at the same time giving the Shawnee a friendly neighbour on its western flank. Not sure the Indians would go for this but the NER might try it. Otherwise they are more likely to settle in British Canada and speed its development rather than the US given the current state of relations.

Steve

 

[DAv]

I don't see any way that the 'shawnee land' would be called that.

Really? In truth, I just went with the Shawnee as it was the Tribe Tecumseh led and since they were a major force in binding the Confederation together, it just made sense to have it in their language? Can you think of any alternatives at all?

I could see the Brits claiming at the start that the Louisiana purchase was invalid, as it wasn't Napoleon's to sell!

I couldn't myself, for one, it's too much land to take in all at once and for another, the Americans would have had had to have been beaten a lot harder to give up even more than what they had.

Also, I'd expect the Confederation to get at least some of Wisconsin, but...

I went with the Greenville territory because it was afterwards when the Tribes lost that land that Tecumseh had started to really oppose the Americans. I'm not sure if Winsconsin was really part of it...

 

[stevep]

DAv

Only points I would questions are relating to the bit about the British economy and trade. The corn laws were already in place and strongly supported by the conservative establishment. They might be questioned at this point but not with any significant strength. I do like the idea of keeping the income tax as its a very efficient way of funding government. As long as they do something worthwhile with it. [Which always tends to be the big problem with governments]. Don't forget it was the Liberals who reintroduced it a couple of generations later when they did remove the corn laws and other protectionism measures.

Also with the way the British system worked a single vote would not be able to tie future governments on tax for another decade.

Steve

 

[DAv]

Stevep,

I believe the Corn Laws came into affect sometime during 1815. I only thought about them with writing this chater and perhaps the delay can be put down to the new territory in the Americas or something? I think Lord Liverpool himself was against the idea, being an advocate of free trade, he was unwilling to really push the law. I just thought it would be one way to avoid the the chaos caused by the Corn Laws though I may be wrong on this. Also, are you sure about the ten years thing? Some of the laws pushed through back then were a damn sight tougher and more controvesial... perhaps something like a three year use of the tax before it being reviewed?