God is a Frenchman - a Timeline (Seven Yrs War POD)

Totally random question but what happened to the Hudson Bay Company? Did France annex the region or are the English still there?
 
Totally random question but what happened to the Hudson Bay Company? Did France annex the region or are the English still there?

Gonzo. From the TL:
May-August, 1774
Hudson Bay Campaign
King Louis's War: In the spring of 1774 a flotilla of French warships under Admiral La Touche-Tréville enters Hudson Bay with orders to destroy or capture British infrastructure along the shoreline before winter. Hudson Bay Company vessels are outmatched and La Touche-Tréville's forces are able to secure the HBC's factory ports by the end of August. La Touche-Tréville dispatches agents to negotiate with the Cree and deliver them supplies to make up for the loss of HBC trade. An expedition is also sent to establish overland contact with Montreal. La Touche-Tréville leaves the bay well before the encroaching ices of winter set in, with promises to the Cree that France will resume seasonal trade in the spring.

I don't think I mentioned it in the London Treaty entry, but the HBC is disbanded along with the EITC in 1775.
 
Talleyrand's War, Year 2 (1815)
Another year of war... enjoy! Not as much discussion of the North Sea naval engagements, but I assure you... they're still happening. Nothing notable just more blockade running convoys having mixed success... Onward to the campaigns! Any questions about the war or goings on elsewhere that I've left out let me know!

God is a Frenchman: Talleyrand's War, Year 2 (1815)

1815
7 January-9 February, 1815

19 June, 1815-14 January, 1817

1815 Campaign for West Australia
Talleyrand's War: French victory. In mid-November, 1814, Governor-General Condé of French India dispatches Admiral Dordelin and the Marquis de Valoris on an expedition to conquest the British colony in West Australia. Twelve warships, led by the 74-gun Dupleix, escort twelve troop transports from Pondicherry on 12 December. The force arrives on 7 January and encounters a flotilla of British frigates and privateers led by one third-rate warship, HMS Persephone. Known as the Battle of Point Stirling, the British ferociously give battle to the French, but are hopelessly outgunned by Dordelin's fleet. All but two British ships are sunk, scuttled, or captured; the Dupleix itself sinks six British vessels, one by ramming.

Sailing north, Dordelin refuses to enter the narrows leading to New Edinburgh's harbor, leaving the Marquis de Valoris to land his troops on the coast west of New Edinburgh. A bluff stands between his 2400 men and the British settlement; a fortress known as Holyrood Heights sits atop the bluff. The French have poor intelligence overall on the conditions of the New Edinburgh colony. Since they last captured it, New Edinburgh has exploded in population. In 1800 colony hosted only 9,000 settlers; in 1815 there are over 20,000. In the town and across the countryside most settlers (male and female) are well-acquainted with firearms, due to frequent combat with the aboriginal people. This lack of intelligence backfires on Valoris. As the French march up the bluff at the Battle of Holyrood Heights, British militia keep reinforcing the fortress. Valoris's men climb the bluff three times, each time being forced back by incessant fire by the militia in the fortress.

After losing over 1,000 men, Valoris retreats back to his boats. The Anglo-Australians, led by Owen Bennion, lose 550 men. Thousands of miles away from reinforcements, Valoris and Dordelin accept their miscalculation. Rather than admit defeat, Dordelin leads his squadron into Cook Bay and firebombs the settlement for two hours. Thousands of settlers are displaced as the town burns to the ground. Dordelin delivers a shipment of provisions to the settlers before setting sails for a return to India.

The French return in late-June with 4,000 soldiers, engineers, and provisions. They find the settlers have abandoned the site of New Edinburgh, consolidating in several outlying villages in the vicinity, rationing the limited food stores they still have. Long having since run out of ammunition for their muskets, the settlers are malnourished of meat, with limited grain and fruit provisions sustaining them along with infrequent fish plates. Several merchant ships from the Dominion of America had arrived in May, but hadn't carried significant provisions. The French, again led by the Marquis de Valoris, are not viewed with warm hearts by the settlers; nevertheless the settlers have no fight in them and are in great want of the provisions the French bear. With suspicious and begrudging acceptance, Owen Bennion and several other notables among the settlers meet with the French to discuss terms.

The French relay that they're impressed with the Anglo-Australian tenacity and resilience in the face of hardship. Bennion reminds them that the hardship is due to French tyrannies. Valoris lays such actions at the feet of Admiral Dordelin, who is not present, and insists that the colony need not be left to ruin. French engineers from India are prepared to assist in rebuilding the town and that they will generally be left to self-govern with a token French administrator and a garrison of troops. Trade and provisions will be more abundant under French rule, Valoris insists, as French outposts are far nearer to New Edinburgh than any other existing British outposts. The French will help rebuild and govern as occupiers until a treaty settlement in the current war, which Valoris assures the Anglo-Australians will grant their settlement to France.

All things considered, the settlers accept the French offer to help rebuild and give provisions. If the French are correct about the eventual outcome, all the better to be in their good graces; if the British prevail, the colony will be ceded back and they will have been able to take advantage of French overconfidence. The coming two years in West Australia feel less like wartime and more like progressing colonization expedition.

New Edinburgh=~OTL Perth, WA
21 January, 1815
Battle of Cayman Brac
Talleyrand's War: Alliance naval victory. Spanish admiral MacDonnell leading a fleet of French and Spanish ships encounters the main body of the British Caribbean fleet under Admiral Somerville off the coast of the Cayman Islands. MacDonnell's flagship, the 104-gun Cartagena, goes head-to-head with Somerville's 94-gun HMS Marlborough; both ships are heavily damaged in the engagement. The two fleets savage each other but the Alliance fleet comes out on top. Half the Alliance fleet is sunk or out of commission; two-thirds of the British fleet founder or are unable to remain in service. Somerville's fleet limps towards friendly ports in the Dominion, while McDonnells' damaged ships head for Havana. McDonnell moves to the 74-gun San Sebastian, and sails for Jamaica with a dozen ships.
21 February-14 August 1815
Occupation of Kingston
Talleyrand's War: Spanish Admiral McDonnell sails into Kingston Harbor with the remains of his Alliance fleet. A flotilla of merchant ships, holds full of sugar for export, sits in the harbor. McDonnell keeps far enough away to avoid the guns of Fort Charles, but threatens to destroy any ships that attempt to leave the harbor. The Alliance fleet holds in place for six months greatly disrupting the sugar trade between Jamaica and the Dominion of America. McDonnell leaves Jamaica for Louisbourg at the onset of hurricane season.
28 February, 1815
Battle of Ede
Talleyrand's War: Dutch forces from Amersfoort, led by General van Bylandt, attempt to break the siege around Arnhem and bring in needed supplies. A French rear brigade under the Marquis d'Osmond moves to intercept them at Ede, northeast of Arnhem. The Dutch fight valiantly but are unable to push past d'Osmond's forces. Van Bylandt is forced to retreat back to Amersfoort.
13 March, 1815
Battle of Trincomalee
Talleyrand's War: French victory. A French fleet under Admiral Troude attacks the main Dutch force on Ceylon at Trincomalee. France had been negotiating with the King of Kandy for several years and had received a guarantee that no native forces would aid the Dutch in a conflict. The majority of remaining Dutch warships in the Indian Ocean is destroyed or captured at Trincomalee, with sixteen ships lost. Following Trincomalee, French forces move from port to port around the perimeter of Ceylon. By the end of summer, the Dutch are defeated all around the island.
23 March, 1815
Battle of Canajoharie
Talleyrand's War: Continental Army general Charles Devens assembles his force of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York men in early March for an expedition against the Iroquois. New Englanders are angry about the Iroquois incursion into the Berkshires and are eager to exact a toll against them. Since the devastation of the War of 1800, the Haudenosaunee central government in Onondaga has welcomed an increased French presence in Iroquois territory. While settlers are still highly regulated by Onondaga, over a dozen significant fortifications have been built between the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, and the Great Lakes. Any expedition against the Iroquois must deal with these forts as well as highly skilled and well-equipped Iroquois militias.

Devens believes that his his collection of men are up to the task. He has among his number the famed Queen's Rangers, well-known for their ferocity against Acadians and Indians over the decades. Leaving Fort Hunter on 17 March, Devens's army must first confront the formidable fortification at Canajoharie. Once the center of Mohawk life, Canajoharie has transformed into a garrison town with crack French troops and the most experienced Mohawk fighters. A victory for the Continental Army would open the way to push deeper into Iroquois country, no easy task. For the French and Iroquois, decisively wrecking the Americans is a ticket to preventing the violence and destruction of the Dearborn Expedition a decade before.

With such high stakes, both sides are prepared for a brutal and bloody engagement at Canajoharie. Devens faces a French force commanded by Richard de Chartreville and Thomas Brant. Seeking to avoid placing his army under the fort's guns over the Mohawk River, Devens lands his boats southeast of Canajoharie, and mounts the heights to approach from the west on more level ground. Informed of the Continentals' movements by scouts, Chartreville is not the sort to wait out a siege. He tells Brant, "you know what to do and how to win," and shifts to his company commanders. Brant leads his Mohawk riflemen into the forested hills north of the battlefield planning to ambush Devens's flanks. As they lay in position they are themselves flanked by the Queen's Rangers. Vicious at-will volleys and close-range combat ensues in the woods between the Rangers and the Mohawk as Devens and Chartreville begin their more traditional engagement on the field below.

The Mohawk get the best of the Rangers, driving them down into the field of battle. The accuracy of their rifles contributes to the collapse of the American left flank just as his forward formations charge the French. Both generals are wounded and Devens orders a general retreat back to the boats. The French and Iroquois suffer 2900 casualties, while the Continentals lose 4400. Though both sides have been savaged, the American push into Iroquois country has been successfully halted, bringing great relief to the Iroquois.
6 April-18 July, 1815
Auger Quebec Campaign
Talleyrand's War: On 6 April, Continental Army general Samuel Auger is dispatched from Fort Greene with 18,000 men to push up through Lake Champlain and invade the heart of Quebec. The French commander-in-chief, the Comte de Guichen knows that with so many defensive positions, France can choose the field of battle. Guichen leaves only a token rear guard at Fort Bourlamaque to force Auger's forces into an engagement and slow their progress; the Battle of Lac Saint-Sacrement on 14 April is an easy victory for the Continentals. Local Quebecois in the nearby town view the Americans with great suspicion, but do not act with overt hostility, mostly being women and children. Auger has his army halt at the bottom of Saint-Sacrement to construct a fleet of bateau, and canoes, and several larger sailing vessels for transporting horses and cannon.

During the pause in the campaign, the French continue their strategic withdrawal of the southern Lake Champlain region, consolidating their forces at Saint-Frederic. On 31 May, Auger's army departs Fort Bourlamaque and travels up Lac Saint-Sacrement. They have to portage to reach Lake Champlain but before they can do so they must deal with the garrison left behind by the French at Fort Carillon. Despite not having significant numbers, the French artillery positions are still well-supplied and manned. It takes the Americans two weeks to capture Carillon, upon which they put their boats in at Lake Champlain and travel towards Saint-Frederic, fourteen miles up the lake. Auger's force again finds that the bulk of Guichen's forces have retreated, leaving a small garrison behind to delay the Americans.

On 6 July at Saint-Frederic, Auger's explosive artillery ordinance is used to great effect, weakening the old stone walls of the fortress, but the barricade of trees makes for long work for his men to take advantage of it. When the French cannons stay quiet on 10 July, the Americans realize that the garrison abandoned the fort in the night, leaving by boat. Several American companies enter the fortress and conduct a search for usable supplies and intelligence. They don't know that the French have left their powder stores in shallow pits around the fortress's perimeter, rigged to time bombs. Massive explosions wreck the fortress and the three hundred Americans inside. Furious at the cowardly deception, Auger directs his army to make haste north into the open waters of Lake Champlain. Guichen has set a trap there as well, dispatching three corvettes from Abenaki to hinder Auger's progress. On 12 July, the french warships sink or capture whole sections of bateaux, an equine vessel, and an artillery vessel before the Americans are able to reach the shallows of the western banks. From the waterline, Mohawk and Quebecois militia harass Auger's men with musket and rifle shots. Pinned between the French corvettes and the militias, several sections of Auger's convoy are driven to shore where they fight the militia. Most who venture on land do not return to the boats.

Now with 14,000 men, General Auger presses north as fast as possible given French countermeasures. On 15 July, the Americans finally land south of Nouvelle-Genéve, forming up and taking the Quebec town with little action against the local militia. Auger's plan requires a march of 45 miles to reach Richelieu. Now deliberately avoiding the lake, the Continentals march 20 miles north and on 17 July cross the Chézy River. Scouts bring word that the Comte de Guichen is on the move with his own force of 18,000 men, finally liking the ground for a fight. Meeting on the 18th, the two armies slug out the battle, but Guichen is able to best Auger when the American cavalry is neutralized by French box formations and artillery barrages.

Additionally, the French reposition their right flank to box the American left and pin them between the Chézy and Lake Champlain; this leads Auger to order a charge, which breaks like waves against the French formations. The whole campaign is a storied but costly failure for the Americans, who penetrate the deepest into Quebec since the 1770s, but similarly face defeat. Guichen controversially adopts the growing European consensus on prisoners of war and escorts the captured Americans to Richelieu. Officers are paroled within the city, while soldiers are housed in a series of encampments nearby, where they are held for the remainder of the war.

Fort Bourlamaque=OTL Fort William Henry
Lac Saint-Sacrement=OTL Lake George
Fort Carillon=OTL Fort Ticonderoga
Abenaki=OTL Burlington
Nouvelle-Genéve=OTL Plattsburgh
8 April-14 August, 1815
1815 Italian Campaign
Talleyrand's War: Austria's armies enter combat in the spring campaign of 1815. General Alois von Metternich is at the helm of the force that pushes into Venice on 8 April with 60,000 men. The allied Italians who face them have difficulty holding back against Metternich's tactics. Between April and June the Austrians advance west with major engagements at Pordenone, Fontaniva, Mantua, and Pavia. At each engagement Metternich's army outmaneuvers the Italians, changing his formation tactical moves as the Italians attempt to adapt. He receives acclaim in Vienna for his skill. During July his army supplies and convalesces in Milan before a planned thrust into Lower Savoy and ultimately a push into southeastern France. That month the French respond to the floundering Italians and dispatch reinforcements to take command of the Alliance efforts.

By early August French Marshal Absalon du Motier, the son of the Marquis de Lafayette, arrives with 40,000 fresh troops, uniting with 30,000 Italians at Turin. The Austrians cross the Sesia and the Allied force meets them on 14 August outside of Vercelli. Finally, Metternich miscalculates the tactics of his opponent; Motier is able to encircle Metternich's right flank causing his center to collapse. The amazing victory for the Alliance at Vercelli halts the Austrian advance in its tracks as Metternich retreats across the Sesia. He never regains the initiative during the campaign and the campaigning halts as the armies make camp at Turin and Milan respectively.
10 April, 1815
Tambora Eruption
A massive volcanic eruption occurs in April in the East Indies; the largest of a series of blasts in Southeast Asia in recent years. The eruption shoots large amounts of ash and gas clouds into the atmosphere that spreads over the globe and creates severe weather impacts over late 1815 and 1816. 1816 becomes known as the l'Année sans Été (the Year without Summer). Temperatures stay low throughout the spring and summer of 1816 leading to poor harvests across the northern hemisphere. This severely taxes many countries and colonies in Europe and North America, in particular affecting the course of the ongoing war between France and the Coalition. The Year without Summer is responsible for much social unrest and hardship across the globe in 1816 and 1817.
22 April-2 May, 1815
Battle of Apeldoorn
Talleyrand's War: French victory. As it becomes evident that Arnhem will soon capitulate, Marshal Kellermann feels comfortable to dispatch divisions to soften up other Dutch targets in anticipation of his move against the cities west of the waterline defenses. In late April the Marquis de Wargnie is sent north with a division of 13,000 infantry and 1600 cavalrymen to Apeldoorn. Most Dutch forces have been moved to Utrecht and Holland, leaving only light defenses behind east of the waterline. The defenders hold out in Apeldoorn for almost two weeks before breaking and pulling northward. It's the last significant action of the war east of the Dutch waterline. Wargnie meets with a Westphalian force arriving from the east and together the Alliance force finishes the rest of the inland Netherlands by October, 1815.
9 May-15 September, 1815
Rhine Campaign
Talleyrand's War: Leading an Austrian and Hessian army from Frankfurt, General Knyphausen pushes across the Rhine into the Palatinate on 3 May, 1815, smashing the defenses arrayed against them at Frankental. Knyphausen's army easily moves towards the French border meeting the bulk of the Palatinate army on 9 May at Freckenfeld just south of Landau. General Zweibrücken is forced to fall back across the Lauterbach and into France, meeting up with Marshal Broglie north of Strasbourg and creating an Alliance army number over 70,000.

Knyphausen is reinforced from Württemberg before crossing into France, giving the Coalition forces 64,000 men. The Coalition enters France with much fanfare; this marks the first time France has been invaded since the 1770s. Knyphausen moves with little opposition down the Rhine Valley towards Strasbourg, for which he credits his orderly formations, impressing the German locals who are being "liberated" from French dominion. The Alliance chooses the village of Hœnheim, just north of Strasbourg, as the field of battle, waiting for the Coalition forces who arrive on 18 May.

This time the battle is fought in several locales around Strasbourg and Knyphausen keeps maneuvering his forces to the southwest, attempting to encircle the Alliance army. In the end the Coalition's right flank gets too far ahead of the center and is itself encircled by Broglie's cavalry. The remainder of the Coalition army quits the field and retreats, pursued by Zweibrücken's divisions. Knyphausen's retreating army is pinned at the Rhine on 22 May between Zweibrücken's force and an army across the Rhine led by the Duke of Baden. The Coalition attempts to break out at Drusenheim, but only three brigades manage to escape north, with the bulk of Knyphausen's divisions, including the General himself are captured by the Alliance.

To rescue the wayward brigades under Brigadier Ricker, A Württemberger army under General Leuchtenburg moved into northern Baden, occupying it for the Coalition and fighting off Baden at Weinheim on 28 May. After a month of planning, Broglie and Zweibrücken lead the Alliance army to Mannheim, capturing it from Leuchtenberg on 30 June. Retreating Coalition forces are pursued by the Alliance into Hessia. Leuchtenburg successfully crosses the Rhine at Mainz and determines to hold and reinforce at Wiesbaden, to prevent ceding more ground to the Alliance. The Alliance forces attempt to take Wiesbaden on 15 July but suffer a dramatic defeat after miscalculating the Coalition's strength.

The campaign slows for the summer as opposing brigades shadow one another across the Rhine, hoping to find a good location to push across. The bulk of the armies remain in Wiesbaden and Mainz. The Coalition fails to cross Rhine on 16 August at Bodenheim, famously losing hundreds of cavalrymen to capture after the horses are stuck in unexpectedly thick mud. Alliance finally manages to defeat a Coalition brigade at Nierstein and crosses the river. Zweibrücken feints towards Frankfurt, enticing Leuchtenburg to leave his encampment at Wiesbaden and give chase. The Alliance doubles back and entraps Coalition forces as they cross the Main River at Rüsselheim on 12 September. With Leuchtenburg's surrender, the campaign ends with an Alliance success.
3 June, 1815
Battle of Pelagosa
Talleyrand's War: Austrian naval victory. The Austrian Adriatic fleet encounters the Naples fleet off the Pelagosa Islands. It is the largest naval battle to take place in the Mediterranean during Talleyrand's War and it features no French ships at all. The Austrians defeat the Neapolitans and maintain their supremacy in the Adriatic Sea.
4 June, 1815
Battle of Amersfoort
Talleyrand's War: French victory. With the capitulation of Arnhem, Kellermann makes his opening moves in the campaign to capture Holland. There are two waterlines between the French and allied armies and the main Dutch cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The two biggest obstacles ahead of them are the cities of Amersfoort and Utrecht, which the eastern waterline lies between. Kellermann moves against Amersfoort first, so that the full eastern edge of the waterline is under French control. On 4 June the French forces engage the Dutch garrison. It's hardly the battle Kellermann expects, as most of the Dutch fighters load into boats and fleet for Utrecht rather than make a stand at Amersfoort. With the city captured and pacified, Kellermann turns his full attention to the amphibious operations that will be required for the next phase of the in the Netherlands.
5-21 June, 1816
Battle of Carillon
Talleyrand's War: The Continental Army's General Auger seeks to continue his trek north into Quebec by capturing the old fortress at Carillon. Since the French withdrawal to fairer battlegrounds, the leading companies of Auger's army are caught off guard by barrages from Carillon's cannons. The fort itself is barricaded with large masses of fallen trees, branches broken off and sharpened to points. Bypassing Carillon will be no easy task for the Americans, but General Auger has a trick up his sleeve. The Continental Army has requisitioned a number of observation balloons made by engineer John Figulus of New Jersey, and Auger has brought one of these "Figulus Platforms" along. Though intended for observation and reconnaissance, Auger sends up his balloon manned by Sergeant David Yardley and Private Andrew Price with a stockpile of grenades. The balloonists manage to maneuver the balloon over the fortress with some difficulty and lob several grenade into the fortress below. While they do manage to detonate a powder store near an artillery emplacement, the balloon is not as effective as Auger had hoped. Still the action marks the first use of military balloons in North America. Ultimately the fort is taken by old-fashioned time and brute force, as the French gunners run low on powder and American cannons breach the fortress walls. Despite the American victory, the French skeleton crew in Carillon successfully delays Auger's progress for two weeks.
31 May-22 August, 1815
Ruhr Campaign
Talleyrand's War: The Ruhr Campaign of 1815 becomes one of the most storied military adventures of the early-19th Century. Coalition forces under British General Henry Wellesley & the Duke of Brunswick enter Westphalia in late-May. Westphalia is a vital French ally in the war, serving as a buffer preventing Coalition reinforcements from Hanover relieving the besieged Dutch. The Westphalian army under General Wittelsbach stands to deter any such moves by the Coalition.

The Coalition forces march across much of eastern Westphalia without significant opposition and on 16 June, Wellesley and Brunswick defeat Wittelsbach's forces at the Battle of Warendorf, about halfway between Bielefeld and Münster. Fearing a Coalition breakthrough across the Rhine, France calls in the celebrated Marshal Napoleon Bonaparte who arrives at Münster with French reinforcements on 20 June. Bonaparte is known as a pioneer of the more fast-paced warfare that has become increasingly common in European campaigns. He moves to confront the Coalition, drawing them into an engagement at Bochum on 27 June. For both Bonaparte and Wellesley the battle tests the waters. Both generals are similar in their battlefield demeanor and tactical instincts and at Bochum, Bonaparte drives back Wellesley.

This sparks a famous chase across the Ruhr Valley in the Rhineland between Bonaparte and Wellesley, as each attempts to get the better of the other. Wellesley bests Bonaparte at Sauerland on 4 July, but is unable to prevent the French from retreating. Bonaparte holds off Wellesley at 1st Raesfeld on 19 July and successfully counter attacks at Borken on 24 July. Wellesley pushes back at 2nd Raesfeld on 1 August and breaks through Bonaparte's formations. Brunswick detains the French left division forcing Bonaparte to come to their aid while Wellesley disengages and moves to the west. Wellesley's three divisions move to cross the Rhine at Wesel, pausing to assess the strength of Cologne forces on the west side. The pause gives Bonaparte's army time to catch up to Wellesley by 12 August. Bonaparte's 50,000 men pin Wellesley's 35,000 against the Rhine at their backs. Wellesley determines to stand and fight.

The Battle of Wesel begins orderly but breaks down as elements of both armies break formations and charge one another; ferocious Coalition soldiers fight hand-to-hand but French reserve forces means that French lines can keep reinforcing themselves. Coalition artillery are fired in parabolic arcs, savaging the French lines. Both Wellesley and Bonaparte die in the battle, which is ultimately won by the Alliance. After Wesel, the Duke of Brunswick retreats with his remaining 25,000 men to Hanover, ending the campaign. The back-and-forth campaign between Wellesley and Bonaparte culminating in both general's deaths becomes legendary in Europe.
20 June, 1815
Malreaux Reforms Announced in France
After several years of development and planning in the French Cabinet, Premier Malreaux announces a major package of reforms in the midst of the Coalition's offensive campaigns in Germany and Italy. For the first time, Malreaux announces regular taxes on the aristocracy as a wartime measure. While the duties are relatively low, the symbolism of requiring tax payment from the nobility is recognized among the middle and lower classes. The taxes are framed as a wartime measure that all French people must contribute to the defense of the nation; after the war's end, the tax reforms are made permanent, causing outrage from elements of the aristocracy.

For the Church, the government does not directly tax, but requires each diocese organize and fund social programs for communes in their ecclesiastical jurisdiction and makes the diocese accountable to the government to cut down on graft in the clergy.

Reforms are also made to local government, with a uniform structure imposed and a bureaucracy established that is directly accountable to the central government in Paris. For the first time property owners will be able to elect local candidates to serve on communal councils with limited legislative powers and serving as advisors to an intendant appointed by the Maison de Roi, recently a department that is a bastion of liberal thought.

Malreaux also announces new guarantees for the press in France. Censorship is rolled back, particularly for purveyors of the news. The limits of these new press freedoms are greatly tested in the coming years.
12 July, 1815
Battle of Shawnee Springs
Talleyrand's War: French/Shawnee victory. In early June General Francis Lloyd Porter of the Continental Army musters a division of men from Maryland and Virginia to penetrate the Appalachian Mountains and seize as much territory as possible. The Americans know that the French are too well entrenched to claim the Ohio Country outright, but anticipate positive adjustments to their border in a favorable treaty negotiation, particularly in the sparsely populated plateau south of the Ohio River, a region still mostly controlled by the semi-nomadic Shawnee.

Porter's Brigade makes slow progress after leaving Fort Devonshire in the Shenandoah Valley. His 12,800 men successfully clash with the French garrison at Fort Tonnetuit, guarding one of the passes through the mountains. Porter has brought provisions for two months and then plans on living off the land; he hopes that they will be able to strip resources from French trading posts in Shawnee territory and then French towns off of the Ohio River. After capturing Fort Tonnetuit, Porter's plan is to raid Shawnee camps and march to the Ohio River and begin raiding settlements.

Marshal Phélipeaux, the commander at Duquesne, dispatches 8,000 troops stationed in and around the Forks of the Ohio to travel down the Monongahela and draw additional troops from garrisons at forts Marron and Macron in order to intercept General Porter's expedition. The French division numbers nearly 11,000 men who are joined by almost a thousand Shawnee militia, who are experts on navigating the mountainous terrain.

The two armies meet on 12 July at a narrow floodplain in the valley of the Conti River, an area the Americans call "Shawnee Rapids." Porter's men have no room to maneuver as the French block the way forward with a broader formation. Porter attempts to use a column formation to punch through the French lines, but the Shawnee flank the Americans from positions on a steep hillside to the southwest. Shortly before he's shot, General Porter is heard saying, "this terrain is not suited for field tactics." The French lines close around the American columns, devolving into close quarters combat that only becomes more ferocious when elements of the Shawnee militia descend into the battle. The Americans surrender and the Battle of Shawnee Rapids marks yet another failure by the Americans to make a significant push into French America.

Fort Devonshire=near OTL New Market, VA
Fort Tonnetuit=near OTL Seneca Rocks, WV
Fort de Longueuil=near OTL St. George WV
Fort Marron=OTL Blainsburg, PA
Fort Macron=OTL Point Marion, PA
Rivière Conti=OTL Tygart Valley River

Battle of Chézy
Talleyrand's War: on 17 July General Auger's American remaining army of 14,000 crosses the Chézy River on the northwestern bank of Lake Champlain. Scouts bring word that the Comte de Guichen, finally liking the ground for a fight, is on the move from Richelieu with his own force of 18,000 men. The Americans, exhausted and depleted, move into their formations, still itching for a chance to exact a large victory against the French on their own turf. Auger confers with his generals on tactics; he still has cavalry and artillery at his disposal and leveraging both with skill will be needed to defeat Guichen's larger force.

Guichen managed to neutralize Auger's cavalry by organizing his infantry battalions into square formations and his artillery battalions to corral the horses around the battlefield. The training discipline of the Quebecois soldiers is clearly outmatches the Americans. Auger orders his battalion commanders to charge the French when he realizes that his force is losing. The charging Americans largely break like waves against the French formations, leading to an ignominious end to Auger's campaign into Quebec.
31 July-8 August, 1815
Battle of Utrecht
Talleyrand's War: French victory. Finally consolidating control over the Dutch countryside, Marshal Kellerman and his French divisions are ready to deal with the core of Holland itself. In late July, five French and allied divisions load into boats and cross the first defensive waterline, cutting off Utrecht from the eastern Netherlands. Dutch defenders await them on the western banks and the landing is a bloody affair as Dutch artillery crashes into the flood plains and skips across the water into boats filled with men. French numbers overwhelm the bankside defenses and Dutch armies withdraw north to guard Utrecht itself. For every withdrawal, the Dutch release more dams and levies, hindering the French advance. French cannon are much slower to transport through the mire, as are cavalry horses.

Kellermann is prepared for this event and has plans to rely on his infantry and specialized artillery units. These specialized units are not made up of traditional cannon batteries, but by fusées Dumaurier, artillery rockets modeled after those used in the Mysorean army. These weapons are easier and faster to transport than traditional cannon, making them valuable to the French advance in the flooded plains of the Netherlands, raining fire and explosions down on retreating Dutch formations. Utrecht itself is ringed by a series of moats carved into the outskirts of the city and defended by over 60,000 soldiers and militia, many of whom have already faced the French in other engagements over the previous year. Kellermann wins an initial engagement outside Utrecht on 31 July, scattering or capturing over 30,000 defenders, and settles in for a siege. As at Arnhem, the French roam the countryside offering privileges to any citizens who pledge cooperation with France and raiding and foraging from any who refuse.

The French artillery commander, the Comte de Lariboisière, positions batteries of fusées Dumaurier behind embankments out of reach of the Dutch cannon defenses. The rockets are able to cover infantry advances along the causeways between flood plains, though their accuracy is less impressive than the traditional fieldpieces. As more artillery units arrive the first week of August, Kellermann pushes his cordon closer to Utrecht, bringing the city in range of his rockets and cannons. Explosive and incendiary ordinance is used to cause much fear and discord, although their effect is lessened by the damp conditions. The civilian administration of the city pressures the Dutch military commanders to relent to French occupation lest the city be destroyed. French triumphs over Utrecht on 8 August, 1815.
October, 1815-May, 1816
Prusso-Swedish War
In the midst of Talleyrand's War, Prussia takes advantage of regional distractions and moves to occupy Mecklenburg in August, 1815 after a breakdown in relations between the Prussian King and the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The expedition is Prussia's first significant military adventure since the Six Years War crushed the kingdom's military spirit. King Friedrich Wilhelm III has spent over a decade building back Prussia's army and military capacity, admiring the history of his kingdom and wanting to reassert Prussian power in the region. Sweden views the Prussia invasion of Mecklenburg as threatening to Swedish Pomerania. King Gustaf Adolf has similarly wanted to bring Sweden to more glory on the European continent and moves a large army to Swedish Pomerania, declaring war in October, 1815. While Sweden ostensibly is allied with Mecklenburg to support its independence, Sweden hopes to bring the duchy under Swedish hegemony and expand their footprint in northern Europe.

British-Hanover warily watches as Prussian and Swedish forces clash in Mecklenburg, anxious of any hints that either power will enter the conflict in Western Europe. Prussia assigns the von Rauch brothers, both generals, to handle the Swedish in Mecklenburg. Brilliant maneuvers by the Rauchs manage to rout the Swedish forces outside of Neubrandenburg and at Görmin in November. Crown Prince Ferdinand is tasked with defending Prussia's homeland. He successfully protects Stettin from a large-scale Swedish assault in March, 1816. Ultimately the Prussians succeed at occupying Mecklenburg and holding back the Swedes.
6 October-1 November, 1815
1815 Stuttgart Campaign
Marshal Broglie and the Duke of Zweibrücken launch an Alliance campaign against the Coalition in Württemberg. General Anton von Quosdanovich leads the Coalition forces facing them. The Coalition is forced to retreat at Mannheim on 6 October, abandoning 15,000 soldiers to capture. The Alliance then splits their force of 55,000 into two corps, all with the goal of capturing Stuttgart before the winter. Broglie's force marches south toward Karlsruhe while Zweibrücken heads southeast to take Heilbronn. Quosdanovich neglects to place significant obstacles in Broglie's path, focusing on defending Stuttgart from northerly attacks by Zweibrücken; as a result, Alliance forces sweet through Karlsruhe and Pforzheim by 19 October. Coalition reinforcements finally arrive near Pforzheim on the 21st. While the Alliance is defeated near Heilbronn on 14 October, Zweibrücken crosses the Necker and outmaneuvers Quosdanovich, clashing again Marbach where the Coalition force is shattered on 27 October. The final battle of the 1815 campaign occurs just northwest of Stuttgart, and Quosdanovich is forced to surrender. Alliance forces sweep through Stuttgart on 1 November.
 
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I should note that this Napoleon Bonaparte is not our Napoleon Bonaparte. OTL Napoleon is butterflied away of course. BUT his parents still had kids and still named one of their sons Napoleon. So think of this Napoleon as a brother of sorts to ours. Not the same man, but also not completely alien. Same goes for Henry Wellesley who is NOT OTL Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, but born of the same family around the same time. There are a few others in this update who are kin to our OTL folks, but different.
 
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I should note that this Napoleon Bonaparte is not our Napoleon Bonaparte. OTL Napoleon is butterflied away of course. BUT his parents still had kids and still named one of their sons Napoleon. So think of this Napoleon as a brother of sorts to ours. Not the same man, but also not completely alien. Same goes for Henry Wellesley who is NOT OTL Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, but born of the same family around the same time. There are a few others in this update who are kin to our OTL folks, but different.
I almost asked this question but didn't because I figured that you were working it out this way. Good stuff 👌
 
I almost asked this question but didn't because I figured that you were working it out this way. Good stuff 👌

Thanks. I try to have a cohesive "theory" behind the alt timeline. 9 months-ish out of the PODs is butterflied with a little more fudging the further away geographically you get from places that would be impacted by the POD. But the way I think about it, even just conceiving a kid on different... thrust... would change the person from OTL... yeesh... sorry... So sometimes ITTL people will rhyme with OTL siblings, at least 50 years out.

we need more maps please

Haha what do you want to see?
 
Thanks. I try to have a cohesive "theory" behind the alt timeline. 9 months-ish out of the PODs is butterflied with a little more fudging the further away geographically you get from places that would be impacted by the POD. But the way I think about it, even just conceiving a kid on different... thrust... would change the person from OTL... yeesh... sorry... So sometimes ITTL people will rhyme with OTL siblings, at least 50 years out.



Haha what do you want to see?
Everything ,the whole world if possible
 
Hello,

Well, that is a impressive effort. A quieter lifetime for Robespierre here ITTL. No doubt his writings here will carry weight well into the future.

So, thank you for this writing. Looking forward to more.

Thank you! I quite enjoyed the idea of Max being an "extreme moderate" ITTL. Still manages to get stung by his own vindictiveness, but avoids power-delusions and mass-executions that preceded his demise OTL. ITTL, Max gets to be fondly remembered as a movement leader and martyr rather than a cautionary tale.
 
Got an update coming shortly, but I'm curious if readers want to be involved at all in what I produce. Here's a quick Google Form survey of my top ideas for the next personal profile. If there's significant engagement, I'll do the one that gets the most votes first!

Feel free to make other suggestions, but they'll be put on the docket for future surveys. I'll post results after a few days.

God is a Frenchman: Personal Profiles Survey
 
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The Year with no Summer - Talleyrand's War, Year 3 (1816)
1816 is a doozy. Sorry all you poor Europeans and New Englanders.

God is a Frenchman: The Year with no Summer - Talleyrand's War, Year 3 (1816)
3 March-16 December, 1816
Holland Campaign
Talleyrand's War: From Utrecht, Marshal Kellermann moves his forces across the west waterline in winter, taking advantage of the frozen conditions. It's slow going as the Dutch fire artillery at the ice ahead of French columns, forcing them to adjust their movements and tactically pull back to avoid falling into the freezing flooded marshes. The French close on Rotterdam and Amsterdam by early March. Dutch defenses of the cities are formidable. Numerous rings of fortification make frontal assaults difficult and costly. French forces split between Rotterdam and Amsterdam, limiting their ability to call upon reinforcements for large-scale assaults, a problem that increases as the ice gradually thaws, locking the French and Dutch in Holland.

Kellermann has planned for long sieges of the two biggest Dutch cities, and the French are forced to make good on that planning. Kellermann coordinates with admiral Leissègues and Brueys, who manage the blockades of the numerous flows of the Rhine River delta and IJsselmeer. Wet, cold weather into the spring and summer makes life miserable for the French soldiers, with many taken out of commission due to injuries and illnesses caused by the perpetual damp chill. Conditions similarly cause the Dutch to suffer. Food stores begin to run low by late summer, 1816, and some of what remains is compromised by mold and fungi. Both cities also host thousands of additional refugees from the countryside, further straining resources. Famine conditions take hold by late autumn. French foraging parties lay waste to much of the Netherlands' agricultural sector, already suffering from the poor climate conditions. Amsterdam capitulates on 12 October. Rotterdam lasts longer, until 16 December. The "Siege of Holland" has lasting memory for all who suffered in the Netherlands during the "Year with no Summer."
15 March, 1816
Oldenburg Accord
Talleyrand's War: By the end of campaigning in 1815, Foreign Minister Talleyrand is frustrated. He's staked French power for the coming decades and his own reputation's rehabilitation on France prevailing in this war. While France is not losing, the development of an anti-French coalition with Austria has complicated the war effort. Talleyrand spends much of 1815 bickering with LaFayette, the War Minister, about launching a strong offensive against Austria. LaFayette refuses to counsel redirecting resources to more fully confront the Austrians. France, LaFayette says, cannot capture Holland, hold back the British in Hanover, and advance on Austria. For him, the primary goal of the war is to pacify Holland and bring it under French hegemony, therefore playing effective defense against the Habsburgs is acceptable. Talleyrand's broader view of European struggle strongly disagrees with the War Minister's assessment.

The King however, is inclined to agree with LaFayette, leading Talleyrand to get creative with solutions to his Austria problem. Talleyrand convinces Louis that he can get the best of both worlds if he can exert more pressure on Austria from another source: Russia. Ever since Tsar Alexander's state visit the two monarchs have enjoyed friendly relations; and the Russians have remained almost suspiciously neutral in the ongoing conflict; demuring overtures from both the Alliance and Coalition. He has Louis write to Alexander offering a meeting of envoys to "discuss matters of mutual import on the ongoing conflict," which is delivered by the French ambassador in St. Petersburg. Russia agrees to a secret summit in Oldenburg, a neutral German state with dynastic ties to Russia.

Meeting in Oldenburg in February, 1816, France finds the Russians highly prepared for the negotiations, bluntly questioning why Russia would benefitted from siding with France rather than the coalition. Russia, the French reply, has the power to decide the outcome of this conflict, but only stands to strongly benefit from the peace if they side with France. If Russia opens another front against Austria in the east, France will allow them to deal with Austria in a treaty of their own, decoupled from a treaty between Austria and France, potentially allowing Russia to claim more territory from the Habsburgs. France also commits that Russia will enjoy greater access to produce from the Americas.

Russia demands an additional term before making any agreement: France will not interfere if Russian troops enter Poland to maintain their control of the Commonwealth government, essentially nullifying the Treaty of Warsaw. France agrees, and the Russians commit to launching a campaign against the Austrians before the end of summer.
16 April, 1816
Battle of Mellum
Talleyrand's War: British naval victory. 1815 was a year of relatively minor and indecisive naval operations in the Channel and North Sea, mostly convoy actions and minor raids on one another's seaside towns. After their defeat in the Ruhr Campaign, the British intend to again invade west from Hanover, but must deliver more divisions of redcoats to the Continent to reinforce the Duke of Brunswick. A large armada of troop carriers escorted by the Royal Navy sails for Bremerhaven in April, 1816. The French fleet of Admiral Brueys blockades the entrances to both the Weser and Elbe rivers. The French misjudge British intentions, thinking they're making for the Elbe and reinforce the blockade there. The Weser is left more lightly covered and that is where the engagement occurs, off Mellum Island. The Royal Navy is able to sink thirteen French ships while losing only five of their own warships plus a troop transport. The success of the blockade run ensures a strong campaign season for the Coalition in northern Germany.
5 May-8 July, 1816
Weser Campaign
Talleyrand's War: The Duke of Brunswick and his British counterpart, General John Baskerville, plan a fresh campaign against the Alliance forces in Rhineland in the late-spring of 1816. They are surprised by news that the Duke of Oldenburg has joined the Alliance, potentially opening a new front against Hanover and forcing them to change their calculations for the season's campaigning. This delay gives France time to get more troops in place in Westphalia setting up another clash. The Alliance forces are commanded by Marshal Montmorency.

The armies first meet at Petershagen on 17 May, where the cold, muddy conditions impact the Coalition's cavalry to the point of uselessness. Montmorency bypasses Baskerville's army by pressing north into Oldenburg and then invading into western Hanover. On 29 May Baskerville forces an engagement at Sachsenhagen, driving back the French. Montmorency then attempts to evade the Coalition by rounding north of Lake Steinhuder, but is intercepted by Brunswick's divisions at the swollen Leine River near Neustadt on 8 June. Unable to get across the river, Montmorency retreats to higher ground, meeting additional brigades from Oldenburg at his camp at Steimbke.

His primary task is to lead the Coalition forces on a chase and avoid getting drawn into any punishing battles. The longer Coalition forces are worried about his army, the less ability they'll have to push into the Netherlands and threaten French operations there. Montmorency's Alliance forces then push further east, crossing the Leine at Schwarmstedt on 16 June and maneuvers south towards the city of Hanover. On 24 June Coalition forces again seek an engagement at Wedemark, but only manage to engage the Alliance left flank in dense fog before Montmorency again slips away from a decisive engagement.

Frustrated, Baskerville makes the risky choice to end his chase and make for Westphalia, hoping to draw the French "Ghost Army" into battle. Coalition forces cross the Weser at Minden with Montmorency on their tails. The Battle of the Bastau is the largest engagement of the campaign, as Montmorency finally faces his adversaries. Again, damp conditions make for a muddy and chaotic battle once central formations charge. Montmorency is able to sweep his left division around, forcing Baskerville's to break formation to meet them, opening up a gap and allowing French forces to attack the British left-center. Baskerville withdraws to Minden and Montmorency decides not to pursue, satisfied with his performance preventing a Coalition invasion.
29 May-9 August, 1816
1816 Italy Campaign
Talleyrand's War: Metternich preempts the campaign season in mid-May by abandoning Milan and moving east, forcing Motier's Alliance force to make up ground. The two armies tangle at Crema on 29 May, Castelleone on 9 June, and Pontevico on 21 June. None of the engagements are decisive. Metternich pushes back against Motier's advance on 2 July at Bozzolo. Motier drives Metternich north towards the Alps planning to take advantage of the terrain to force the Austrians to surrender in the face of the larger Alliance army.

Metternich hits the foothills of the Alps at Bardolino on the eastern shore of Lago di Garda and decides to stand against Motier's superior force. On 14 July, the Austrians act quickly as the Alliance approaches, marching in parallel columns that split the allied army. Austrian rear formations swing wide and pinch closed on the Allied rearm collapsing the block formations and forcing Motier to signal a general retreat. They regroup in Mantua while Metternich moves his army to Verona. Austrian confidence is boosted by the victory at Bardolino and they move out to confront the French again at the end of the month. On 9 August the two armies clash at Marsiletti, with the Alliance again being bested.

As many Italian divisions resolve to leave Motier's force and guard their population centers, Motier is left with a much smaller force. For both armies, provisions are running low by late-summer and foraging yields disappointing quantities. Neither France nor Austria will spare reinforcements for operations in Italy. France is overcommitted as it is between the Siege of Holland and actions in Bavaria. Austria is rushing soldiers to the east to face a Russian invasion and are more likely to recall Metternich's army completely than offer him reinforcements. The campaign fizzles to an end in mid-August.
1816-1856
Reign of Jose II of Portugal
Reign marked by continued development in Brazil that causes the colony deepen its reliance on slavery. By the end of Jose's rule, Portuguese Brazil is the most dependent of all New World colonies on the continued trade of enslaved Africans. A growing liberal movement puts pressure on the monarchy to make concessions. The end of his reign is consumed by conflict in Iberia as a consequence of the upheaval in France.
18 June, 1816
Battle of Pensacola
Talleyrand's War: Dominion naval victory. In early-1816, Dominion President-General Richard Wellesley and Vice-Admiral Robert Harrelson of the Continental Navy receive word from the Pitt government and the Admiralty to launch a campaign against Spanish and French targets. The Continental Navy is not a particularly formidable force compared to those of Europe, but they are considered auxiliaries of the British Royal Navy and have built up considerable projection capabilities in the decade since the War of 1800. Harrelson assembles two fleets at Norfolk, Virginia. He commands one that sails south in June. The other sails across the Atlantic.

Harrelson's fleet targets the redoubt at Pensacola, the main western settlement in Spanish Florida and much sought after by the Americans. Harrelson's flagship is the 74-gun HMDS Connecticut. Elements of the Spanish fleet are in Pensacola for repairs since the engagement at Cayman Brac the previous year. Several ships are easily targeted by the Americans, while the fortress's cannons exchange ordinance with the American warships. Spanish Admiral McDonnell is not present, supervising a merchant convoy from Pensacola to Havana, and his absence is felt. Harrelson's raid of Pensacola costs him two sloops, but none of the Dominion's valuable warships.
22 June, 1816
Battle of Mobile Bay
Talleyrand's War: Alliance naval victory. French ships guarding Mobile set sails after hearing of the raid at Pensacola. The 86-gun d'Estaing leads the French warships to intercept the Americans as they sail towards New-Orleans. Admiral Harrelson's fleet is crossed to the rear by the French ships; three ships caught in French fire and sinking immediately. Harrelson is unable to form a line as the French sail alongside the disorganized American fleet, firing broadsides into their hulls and rigging. In 45 minutes of fighting the rout of the Americans is complete. HMDS Connecticut is boarded and captured. Harrelson is taken as the highest ranking prisoner captured in the Americas during the war. The defeat of the fleet has major consequences for the Dominion's war effort later that summer.
26 June-10 August, 1816
Iller Campaign
Talleyrand's War: Under pressure from Paris to bring the fight to the Coalition, Marshal Broglie plans a summer campaign against Bavaria. Broglie has a worthy opponent in Bavarian General Thalfingen, who leads the Coalition defense. Broglie struggles to establish a foothold across the Iller River. Between June and August Broglie and Thalfingen engage at Ulm, Altenstadt, Buxheim, Legau, and Kempten. Each time the Bavarians hold back the Alliance army.

Finally on 10 August, Broglie bests Thalfingen by splitting his forces and making for several bridges around Memmingen while also building floating bridges. While several of his divisions are driven back, Broglie is able to outflank the Bavarians. The harsh fighting on the banks of the Iller ultimately leads to a Bavarian surrender. Broglie pauses in Memmingen, planning his next campaign with his commanders. Crop failures in France and Bavaria make advancing a risky proposition, if the army should run out of provisions. But Broglie believes, with a wide open field to Austria that he has a responsibility to France to press onwards.
21 July-15 August, 1816
Chesapeake Campaign
Talleyrand's War: In June, the French receive intelligence that the Dominion's naval forces are dispersed, leaving the heart of British-America under-defended. A fleet of ships escorting a division of soldiers is dispatched from Lafayette in July aiming for the Chesapeake Bay commanded by Admiral Doiron. In the many decades of on-again, off-again fighting between New France and British-America, the mid-Atlantic has never been successfully targeted by French forces. Only four warships guard the entrance to the James River, dwarfed by Doiron's fleet, which makes short work of them at the Battle of Hampton Roads on 19 July. Doiron avoids the guns of Fort Washington, navigating to Norfolks where he demands the surrender of the important merchant city. Officials in Norfolk refuse and fire is traded between fortifications on the shore and Doiron's ships. This action culminates in the Burning of Norfolk on 21 July, leaving Virginia's largest commercial center in ruins.

Doiron navigates north into the Chesapeake, leading his fleet toward Baltimore. At Annapolis the French encounter a half-dozen Dominion warships under Commodore Hughes, engaging in a ferocious battle that disproportionately damages the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake on 3 August. News spreads rapidly of the French campaign against coastal Virginia and Maryland leading to panic as troop ships are identified. Doiron engages the redoubt at Fort McHenry, guarding Baltimore, on 9 August. No Dominion support allows the French free reign in the waters around the fortress pouring heavy fire into it while firing rockets down upon them. The Fort holds for four days until a battalion of French soldiers is able to land on Point Locust and storm the fortress, opening the way for a mass landing at Baltimore. After putting up a spirited defense from the shore, Continentals and Maryland militiamen retreat through the city making for some brutal street fighting as the French pursue with bayonets fixed. Hundreds of civilians either join in or are caught up in the fray. The Mayor of Baltimore, Levin Winder, formally surrenders the city on 15 August, horrifying the people of the Dominion.
19-26 July, 1816
Battle of Barbados
Spanish Admiral McDonnell and French Admiral Rigaud combine their forces at Saint-Domingue and sail for the Lesser Antilles. Transport ships pick up additional marines in Martinique and Dominique and set course for Barbados. Only Bridgetown's redoubts, two warships, and the garrison of Royal Marines guard the island. While the French marines land north of the town while the French warships wreck the British ships at anchor and bombard the redoubt just south of town. The garrison scrambles to defend the town but are met with well prepared and fierce French combatants. Alliance warships threaten the town if they do not surrender and submit to occupation. Governor Fellowes concedes, allowing occupation and negotiating with Rigaud and McDonnell over economic impact. Importation of grains from French and Spanish colonies is guaranteed as is the fair purchase of sugar crop for export. The occupation is understood to be a bargaining chip rather than a permanent seizure.
31 July, 1816
Gorée Raid
Talleyrand's War: British-American naval victory. Unaware of what's happening at their home base in the Dominion, the second Continental Navy fleet under Commodore Philips sails for the west African coast to target French factories in Senegal. The fleet successfully hits Gorée Island causing much discord and torching all docking facilities before being driven off by the redoubt on the island. The action is the largest actions by the Continental Navy outside of North America.
August, 1816-July, 1817
Great Gain Crisis of 1816
The climate shift resulting from the volcanic activity in the East Indies makes the suffering of people in Europe and North America intensify. While effects vary, the general impact of the eruption is that the warmth of summer never arrives and precipitation does not fall as expected leading to crop failures. With the powers of Europe at war, this had even more pronounced effects on the availability of food, impacting politics as well as the course of the war itself. Farmers begin sounding the alarm in May as weather stays chilly and wet, spoiling their seeds. Many are unable to plant anything with success until late July, greatly shortening the growing season. Food prices are already high due to war rationing and blockades, particularly in Britain, which has become increasingly reliant on imports from Ireland and the American provinces to supply needed grains.

As the summer turns to fall, famine conditions emerge in New England, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, southern Germany, and parts of Austria. France and Spain are able to increase their food imports from Louisiana and New Spain, staving off famine conditions, though food prices remain extremely high and the policy creates tensions, particularly in the heart of Mexico. The high price and relative scarcity of food causes King Louis's Cabinet to rethink extending the war into 1817.

In New England many small farms are abandoned as families seek refuge in larger towns and cities, exacerbating food shortages there. Riots break out in many New England communities as people fight over grain allotments. Concerns are also high among the families of war prisoners in Quebec, fearing that French authorities watching over them will allow them to waste away amid the grain shortages. All thought of additional campaigning between Quebec and New England disappears as the grain crisis worsens.

In Great Britain conditions are dismal. The French blockade, while not complete, prevents even limited shipments of foot from America. As hunger and unrest worsen, the wisdom of joining this war seems increasingly misguided. Prime Minister Pitt resigns in late November and is replaced by the young Lord de Grey, a Tory who nevertheless knows that things cannot continue as they are. With the full support of the Prince of Wales, the government reaches out to France to end the fighting. What limited harvest is had in Ireland is largely shipped out to Britain, worsening famine conditions for Irish Catholics, who live under the heavy yoke of British rule, thousands will die by the end of 1817 and riots break out in the winter and spring of that year. The conditions on the island become a major topic at treaty negotiations between France and Britain over the winter.

In the Netherlands both the people and the occupying soldiers are in poor condition. After Amsterdam and Rotterdam capitulate, the devastation in the cities due to food shortages is heartbreaking. France quickly reverses course from their siege and ships in what food they can, though famine conditions continue into 1817. Similar conditions exist in the Danubian Plains, which heightens Austrian concerns leading to peace talks.

Following the war's conclusion, the Grain Crisis leads to a number of policy changes, particularly regarding colonization. France determines that development of their nascent colony in southeast Australia must be accelerated to ensure that food crops are growing in the northern and southern hemispheres. Britain resolves to deal with their population and food production problem, leading to colonies in North Australia and an expanding presence on the Gold Coast of Africa. Countries without colonies realize that they need to foster positive relations with potential food suppliers in the event of a similar climatic disturbance in the future. Fortunately, the environmental effects of the Tambora Eruption prove temporary, with a normal growing season returning in 1817, but its political and policy effects subtly impact the globe for decades.
15 August, 1816-28 February, 1817
Occupation of Baltimore
Talleyrand's War: After the capitulation of Baltimore, the Marquis de Verchamps settles in for a long occupation. He sets up his headquarters in the city hall and works with Mayor Winder to ensure peaceful, cordial relations between the Marylanders and the French soldiers. Verchamps orders frequent patrols of the surrounding countryside and repurposes coastal defenses. Food is brought in from Louisiana and New Spain, providing ample food supplies to Baltimore at a time when much of British-America faces food shortages. French patrols invariably find engagements with American militias, but no major counterattack presents itself. Philadelphia is panicked and the Congress orders Continental Army divisions to fortify in place. The Susquehanna River is heavily guarded in case of a French overland move against Pennsylvania as are the commercial centers on the Potomac. French warships continue to rule in the Chesapeake, making business-as-usual impossible. The inability to get produce shipped between the southern provinces and the northern ones contributes to famine conditions in New England, where crops failed due to the cold.

Verchamps does dispatch a number of raiding parties throughout the occupation, though they are almost universally in response to an American action against his men. To the south, raids are carried out against Georgetown, MD and Alexandria, VA; to the north, York, PA fights off a French attack. Dominion fears of an attack on Philadelphia never materialize and planning for a counterattack against Verchamps forces fizzles by the winter. When fighting in western Europe mostly ends in December an unhappy truce in put in place. Both French and Dominion forces are instructed that no actions should be taken that would jeopardize diplomatic negotiations. Fresh provisions continue to be shipped into Baltimore from Spanish colonies; residents quickly resell many items at price-gouging rates. The French leave Baltimore in an orderly manner once word arrives of a Treaty between Britain and France.
20 August-13 October, 1816
Salzburg Campaign
Talleyrand's War: Marshal Broglie embarks on a campaign towards Austria in late August. He already is aware of the food shortages given how difficult it was for him to receive needed provisions from France for his campaign. But what he sees in Bavaria shocks him; sopping fields devoid of any growing crops and largely abandoned towns and villages. As his army approaches Munich in early September they receive only token opposition and a messenger from King Karl Wilhelm offers safe passage so long as the French do not disrupt the already scant supply of food into Bavaria. A stunned Broglie accepts the offer, continuing east. Broglie first encounters true opposition from Austrians in the hills of eastern Bavaria.

On 18 September, Austrians stand across the Inn River at Gars forcing the French into an engagement in order to cross the river. The bridge at Gar is detonated and French artillery is needed to scatter the Austrians and allow a new one to be constructed, causing several day's delay. Broglie next engages the Austrians on 1 October at Freilassing outside of Salzburg where Austrian defenders successfully divery the French to the northeast around the city. On unfamiliar ground, Broglie allows the Austrians to pursue while he seeks suitable ground for a decisive engagement. He settles on the Traun River valley near the town of Gmunden. Broglie is heard to comment that "never have seen so beautiful a landscape prepare to be sullied by the bloody disagreements of men." On 13 October he engages the Austrians north of Gmunden. The Austrians display great zeal in their effort, but are clearly more fatigued than their French opponents. The Austrian commander, Graf Schönborn surrenders after an hour of fighting. Broglie decides not to continue his advance and returns toward Salzburg, making camp in the village of Bergheim, sending messengers back to France to relay his success.
21 October, 1816-5 June, 1817
Galicia Campaign
Talleyrand's War: In keeping with the Oldenburg Accord, Russia spends months mobilizing and planning their attack on Austrian Galicia. Their goal is the seizure of lands east of the Carpathian Mountains. Count Nikolai Miloradovich is tasked with leading the campaign. The Austrians are not caught completely off-guard as the Russians push into Galicia, but Austrian Graf Apponye does not have the resources to perform any more than a delaying action at the Battle of Tarnopol on 27 August.

Russian divisions sweep northwest to encircle Lemberg, while a second force pushes into Galicia from the north. Austrians are swept aside at Krisnipolye on 8 September and Drohobitz 14 September. Apponye's divisions move to defend Lemberg, which has been busily fortifying since word arrived of Russia's mobilization. Thousands more Austrian troops make it to the city before the Russians link their forces surrounding it. The Siege of Lemberg begins on 3 October and lasts until the end of the war. For both sides, Lemberg is the prize; if Russia can take it, all of eastern Galicia will fall under their dominion; if Austria can hold it, they can limit Russian seizures in negotiations.

Miloradovich smashes an Austria relief mission at Vorderberg on 16 October. A Russian attempt to push deeper into western Galicia is halted by Austrian General Radivojevich at Premissel on 30 October. On 29 November, Radivojovich attempts to break the Russian siege of Lemberg at Jaworow but is forced to retreat. While Jaworow is a heartening victory for the Russians, Count Miloradovich is frustrated by the stubbornness of the Austrian forces in Lemberg. As winter sets in, operations die down. Cossack raiders penetrate Lemberg's defenses on a number of occasions, but the status quo continues until winter begins to gradually thaw.

With ample snow still on the ground, the Austrians send an army from the south that the Russians march to meet, smashing them at Kolomea on 23 March. By this point fighting in western Europe has ceased, but Russia wants to hold out, expecting a weakening Austria to give up the fight. Kaiser Franz is mindful of the near famine conditions in much of his realm, but authorizes a final campaign to aid Lemberg before committing to a peace conference with the Russians. General Radivojovich, reinforced with more than 80,000 men, stuns Russia by capturing more than 50,000 troops at Jaroslau on 4 April, opening the road to the Russian force surrounding Lemberg.

On 12 April, the Austrians and Russians fight themselves to exhaustion at Komarno. Tactically a Russian victory, Komarno ultimately proves to be a strategic Austrian one. Several wagon trains make it to Lemberg when the Austrians temporarily clear an important roadway. With the soldiers and residents in Lemberg on the brink of starvation, the provision delivery could help the city survive some time more. Austria seeks a peace conferences after Komarno, and a ceasefire is called in mid-April that allows the people of Lemberg to get relief from the six month siege.
6 September, 1816
Battle of Brighton
Talleyrand's War: French naval victory. By late August, France is frustrated by the length of the sieges in Holland and the continued British ability to occasionally run French blockades. Louis's Navy Minister the Comte de la Pérouse, aging yet spry, alongside Talleyrand and LaFayette, advises drawing the Royal Navy into a large action they cannot avoid, pulling attention away from the Dutch and towards defending Britain itself. France superficially makes moves designed to convince British spies that an invasion force is massing in Normandy, a ruse backed up by the consolidation of French naval forces in the Channel. The French fleet under Admiral Picard sets sail on 4 September with thirty ships-of-the-line and nearly two dozen escort ships along with a number of merchantmen loaded down with crates of earth.

The British fleet under Admiral Raeburn faces them with slightly smaller force sailing off the coast of Sussex. The two fleets engage on 6 September about seven miles off the coast of Brighton. It is the largest naval clash in over a decade and a rematch between Picard and Raeburn. Civilians on the shore in Brighton can hear the rumbling of the cannons and see the billowing smoke over the horizon. Forming several lines of battle, the fleets hammer each other for some time, performing multiple tacks in southwesterly winds. The lines beat to windward for nearly an hour, all the while blasting away at one another. Several ships break away into point blank duels and crews board their opponents as riggings become entangled.

Admiral Picard however, is not satisfied with fighting to a draw. Picard signals his ships to perform a downwind turn directly into the British sail lines. This maneuver throws the battle into chaos as ships split off into dueling groups and run downwind. Picard's Île de France blasts the deck off of the HMS Dauntless and sinks several smaller vessels despite sustaining serious damage itself. Raeburn's HMS Queen Charlotte ends up surrounded by a flotilla of French warships, most notably the Côte d'Azur, and is unable to effectively direct his fleet. Raeburn rams the Côte d'Azur in a maneuver that wrecks Queen Charlotte's forecastle but allows him to break from his French harassers. Still flying his flag, Raeburn signals any ships that can spy him to break away from the engagement and form on Queen Charlotte. Picard also signals his own fleet to return to Île de France, ending the main action.

Several duels continue among ships whose captains could not observe the flag signals. One such fight between the HMS Charybdis and the Sauvage gets within a mile of Brighton before Charybdis's masts are brought down and she's left adrift. Sauvage, listing but fully sheeted, peels away from the British coast to run for open waters. She's later captured by elements of Raeburn's fleet.

Picard's daring maneuver has paid off. More British vessels have suffered crippling damage than French and he is satisfied with the outcome. The battle is not a knockout blow against the Royal Navy, but it did not need to be. The British fleet has been sufficiently savaged that it will less capable of significant action going forward. The Battle of Brighton is one of the growing number of factors that creates dissention in the British government, ultimately leading to Pitt's resignation and suing for peace talks.
11 September, 1816
Capture of the Channel Islands
The French conspicuously avoid any engagement on the Channel Islands in the war other than maintaining a blockade against British trade. By late-summer 1816 the people of Jersey and Guernsey are suffering with shortages of food and other basic needs. When French navy ships sail past the islands triumphant after the Battle of Brighton, they are signalled by people on shore. The French who arrive find the towns filled with famished people. Provisions are quickly brought over from France and arrive with Marine escorts. The Marines do not leave the islands, and French flags replace the Union Jacks over the main towns of the islands. Officials protest but are in no position to fight back or bargain otherwise. Without firing a shot, and indeed by bring bread, France has captured the Channel Islands once again.
October, 1816-June, 1818
Cambodian War
Cambodian factions loyal to Siam attempt to gain control over the kingdom with Siamese aid. Cambodia, which is officially allied to Vietnam turns to the Ngyuen emperor for assistance. Ultimately the King's pro-Vietnam faction succeeds at ending the rebellion and halting the Siamese advance into Cambodia. The Kingdom is under a Vietnamese suzerainty for several decades, which also opens the region up to increased contact with the French.
16 December, 1816
Armistice of 16.12
Talleyrand's War: By mid-December, the Coalition countries are in crisis due to the effects of the Grain Crisis and are increasingly unable to continue prosecuting the war, especially on multiple fronts. After consulting with one another in November, Britain, the Netherlands, and Austria approach France requesting an immediate armistice and negotiations for peace. Despite the dire circumstances that led to this outcome, Talleyrand is practically gleeful with the request. France should consent to the armistice, Talleyrand advises, but should deal with each member of the Coalition separately, refusing to allow a united negotiating front. King Louis agrees and Talleyrand puts together hand-picked teams of envoys to handle each of France's opponents. The fighting in what becomes known as Talleyrand's War ends in western Europe as soon as word arrives on the front. The official armistice date is 16 December, 1816. The armistice does not affect fighting in the east between Russia and Austria.
19 December, 1816
Treaty of Stockholm
Prusso-Swedish War: After a successful campaign, Prussian negotiators travel to Stockholm to end their war against Sweden. The Swedes fear that Prussia could annex Swedish Pomerania outright if war continues into a new campaign season and so is generous in the negotiation. Prussia outright annexes Mecklenburg, while both Sweden and Prussia commit to demilitarizing their shared border for ten years subject to renegotiation. France and Russia are signatories marking them as enforcers of the treaty. Russia secretly sidebars with Prussia that it will support any future Prussian action against Sweden if Prussia assents to Russian annexation of Poland in the coming years.

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1817 Treaties (Talleyrand's War)
Before we move on to the rest of the 1810s, here are the treaties that conclude the recent war.

1817 Treaties (Talleyrand's War)

2 February, 1817
Treaty of Amsterdam
Talleyrand's War: French envoys are sent to Amsterdam to meet with representatives of the Dutch government. The war has proven to be devastating for the Netherlands and the Republic is on the verge of collapse. Accordingly, the Dutch Republic is disbanded in favor of a monarchy under the House of Orange. Under the treaty:
  • Stadtholder Willem VI steps aside and his son is crowned King Willem I Orange of the Netherlands.
  • Terneuzen and Maastricht are ceded to Flanders.
  • Flanders will once again be integrated with France without military restrictions.
  • The trade terms of the Treaty of Calais are maintained and the Netherlands will enjoy free trade with France.
  • The Netherlands is barred from entering into alliances other than with France.
  • France commits to delivering shipments of food and trading other commodities to the Netherlands to assist with recovery after the war and famine.
  • Aruba, Dutch Guiana, Dutch Cape Town, & trade outposts in India and Ceylon are granted to France.
  • The East Indies are kept by the Netherlands but will have perpetual free trade with French East India Company.
  • The India Company may build coastal fortifications at select sites in the East Indies to protect and promote trade.
The treaty is quickly ratified by 2 February. The Netherlands officially maintains its independence as a kingdom, but is entirely cast under the long shadow of France.
20 February, 1817
Treaty of Heidelberg
Talleyrand's War: France, Austria, and a number of German states hold a conference in Heidelberg in the winter of 1817. There are few matters of territorial importance, but the matter of dynastic control is very much on the table.
  • The Grand Duchy of Hessia passes from the House of Hessen-Kassel to the House of Hessen-Darmstadt.
  • The Grand Duchy of Württemberg passes to the House of Baden by way of a marriage between Württemberg's eldest daughter to the second son of Baden.
  • The Prince Electors of the Holy Roman Empire will call for an unprecedented 'no confidence vote' in the Habsburg Emperor and, should he lose, elect a new Emperor from their number.
  • Throughout the Imperial realm, tariffs on French manufactures will be lowered, opening up more markets for French products.
The treaty is ratified by all parties by 20 February. By May, Franz of Austria has been removed as Holy Roman Emperor, replaced with Friedrich August of Saxony, rewarded for his steadfast neutrality in recent years. For the Habsburgs, the war against France is a brutal blow to their prestige in the German-speaking world, but Austria performs well enough in its campaigns that no territory is lost to French-allied Italian and German states.
17 March, 1817
Treaty of Dunkirk
Talleyrand's War: Envoys from France and Britain meet in the Channelside French town of Dunkirk. Britain finds itself in the midst of a campaign, but Prime Minister de Grey insists on sending handpicked envoys ahead of the election. This severely hampers the negotiations as France calculates if stonewalling until the new government is in place will lead to more productive outcomes.

The Pittist coalition is voted out in early February and a new Whig government forms headed by Lord Bedford. Many of the provisions worked out with with the Tory delegation remain including:
  • The colony at New Edinburgh in west Australia is transferred to France with British settlers being guaranteed rights.
  • The British receive a commitment that France will not interfere in any colonization efforts Britain makes on Australia's northern coast, hitherto unsettled by Europeans except for abandoned stopovers used by the Dutch.
  • Of particular priority to the Spanish, the British relinquish all claims to mainland Central America, settling decades of uncertainty on the eastern Yucatan and Mosquito coasts.
  • Restrictions are imposed on the size of the Continental forces of the Dominion for ten years.
  • Jersey and Guernsey are once again transferred to France, the price for the return of Barbados to Britain.
  • High tariffs are imposed on the import of British manufactures into French and Spanish colonies.
Other provisions are freshly negotiated with the Whigs:
  • Britain will waive the Corn Laws on French and Spanish foodstuffs for at least two years.
  • On the topic of Ireland, Britain will repeal the century-old oppressive penal laws targeting Catholics within two years. France demands that Catholics receive equal treatment in Britain or else France will appoint itself as their protector.
  • France commits to strengthening its own protections of protestants in its own territories.
The treaty is finally ratified in mid-March, 1817. The Dunkirk treaty officially ends the war that is credited to Foreign Minister Talleyrand and his reputation, tarnished from the Restitution War of 1800, is fully restored. Talleyrand remains a national hero for France well into the future.
5 June, 1817
Treaty of Krakow
Talleyrand's War: The war between Austria and Russia proceeds into the spring of 1817. Only the strategic Austrian victory at the Battle of Komarno convinces Russia to agree to an armistice. The Austrian-Polish city of Krakow is chosen to host the negotiation summit. Under the terms of the treaty:
  • Tarnopol is ceded to Russia.
  • Austria recognizes Russian supremacy in the Commonwealth of Poland and secretly agrees to not interfere in any Russian actions in Poland.
  • Coal quotas from Austrian Silesia will be exported to Russia.
All in all, the war is a disappointment for Russia, which had hoped to capture Lemberg and wrest northeastern Galicia away from Austria. The Austrian army's heroic performance at the Siege of Lemberg gave enough of a bargaining chip to Foreign Minister Trautmannsdorf to avoid that outcome. In the end, Austria's fortunes are not as dire as the Kaiser anticipated when the December Armistice was called against France, and the Habsburg realm rebounds from the war loss and famine by 1820.

As always, questions are welcome. I've gotten some feedback on the next Personal Profiles survey too! If you want input in the next one, here is the link: God is a Frenchman: Personal Profiles Survey
 
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I'm very interested in how you'll end up dealing with the german unification question and the so-called natural borders of France.
I'm also interested in what you're doing with Australia : is there any reason beyond prestige for the French to claim that part of it? How do they aim to colonise it? Will it be a penal colony like Guiana? I apologize if such a thing has already been hinted at ; I might have forgotten something !
Have the French recognized yet the importance of Singapore and iotl Myanmar/Burma for their Asian interests?
 
I'm very interested in how you'll end up dealing with the german unification question and the so-called natural borders of France.
Ah yes, German unification. France is doing a good job so far of keeping the German states balkanized. Prussia is neutered and sequestered in the east. Austria is crippled with regard to its influence in the rest of Germany. Hanover is closer to Britain ITTL. Most of the western states are under French hegemony, especially after the Heidelberg Treaty.

Nationalism itself is lower at this point ITTL. Without republican revolutions in the late-18th Century, dynastic control and influence is still the ruling ideology in the ruling classes. Certainly national pride exists, but there's not quite as much of a "grab the land" mindset in France as long as regional neighbors stay in line. The Rhineland states abutting France have been careful to keep on-side to maintain their nominal sovereignty.

I'm also interested in what you're doing with Australia : is there any reason beyond prestige for the French to claim that part of it? How do they aim to colonise it? Will it be a penal colony like Guiana? I apologize if such a thing has already been hinted at ; I might have forgotten something !

Yeah, Australia will be a bit messy. You didn't miss anything! I've been ignoring it for the most part. Essentially, France has had a small, self-sufficient colony at Botany Bay that's a part of the India trade, but it's not yet grown at nearly the rate of French America. Claiming western Australia as well is more about keeping the British from rebuilding colonial strength and making them start over somewhere else. "Somewhere else" is becoming a challenge for Britain, so we'll see what happens with western Oz.

Penal colony? Yes, France is in the market for more places to dump undesirables as it begins to industrialize and the more developed Quebec and Louisiana become less receptive to that sort of migrant.

Have the French recognized yet the importance of Singapore and iotl Myanmar/Burma for their Asian interests?

Yes they sure have. Not touched on that much yet either but you can count on France making more inroads with local leaders in the Indies and SE Asia. The Straits of Malacca is certainly on their radar. The only bits I've dropped so far on Burma and Siam is that France intervened diplomatically in a war in the 1760s that prevented Burmese destruction of Ayutthaya. From Bengal, France is certainly working on Burma, while also attempting to maintain positive relations with Siam. The illicit side of the Canton Trade has also led to French trading posts in Vietnam.
 
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Enlightening, thank you ! I think it's a very good point that the rise of nationalism as we know it would be delayed (and, perhaps, changed altogether in many areas). Still, I do not doubt that there would be problems arising here ittl too. A few decades for the situation to evolve, probably.
I had forgotten about that French intervention ittl, thanks for the reminder.
 
interesting stories, but I hope more map especially for India, but otherwise I'm happy with the resurrection of this story, and look forward to see the next :)
 
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