Grenadye Alaso!:A Haiti TL

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

"One People, One Island, One Nation."

Jose Nunez de Caceres

Simon Bolivar
In the Spanish East, the war had yet affected the area in 1825. The Spanish were angry about living under the yoke of “negro” tyranny. When word spread, that France had landed troops in the West many Spanish Haitians saw it was the time of separation. However, the biggest problem that prevents a full secession was the Haitian troops in the east and that Black east Haitians heard that the French would come to bring back slavery. Guerrier made it clear that word would spread to blacks in east Haitians that France wanted to occupy the entire island to enslave the blacks again. However, Perrins dispatch reached many of the Spanish elites. It reached the hands of Jose Nunez de Caceres as well. He was the leader of the Spanish elite. He rejected it and told his fellow countrymen to help their fellow Haitians. The reason for the rejection was the tone of the letter. Charles X of France promised that the war will not affect them and that they would receive autonomy. However, the catch was that heavy taxes would lay on the island to pay for damages of the war and the previous war with Haiti! Also, those French forces have the authority to seize land property to pay for damages of the war. The biggest reason why the Spanish East did not join the French was the fact that the bombardment of Port Au Prince was horrifying. Many felt that France would do the same and who is to say the French would honor such conditions. Jose Nunez wrote a letter to Guerrier that the East Haitians will throw support for the regime against the French unless concession were made. Jose Nunez knew it wouldn’t be soon that France could land troops in East Haiti. Nunez knew even though Haiti was isolated from the outside world it needed help. And that help would come from a certain leader in South America. On August 18th, 1825 the congress of East Haiti agreed that they would fight alongside the Haitian government. Guerrier sent a young general by the name of Soulouque with 10,000 soldiers to strengthen the defense of the east. At the time there were about 15,000 Haitian soldiers with 4,000 local militias. Soulouqes job was to organize the mobilization of the levee en masse. Guerrier knew that Spanish support would not be a guarantee in the future.


Hinche Resolution-So it was on August 13th when he met Spanish elites in Hinche on a new contract. The Hinche resolution as it was called gave the Spanish east rights. It granted Spanish can be openly spoken. Spanish and French was the official language of the island. Laws the prohibited secret meeting and group travels were outlawed. It also allowed Spanish Haytians to have a voice in the government. One issue was the removal of the cattle tax which was lifted. They could run for public office. It also allowed Catholicism to be practiced openly. Opened the state university, and the end of night curfews. Another was that Spanish Haiti would be allowed to be officers in the military. Many of the mulatto elite were angry at Guerrier for what they saw was massive concessions to the East Haytians. Guerrier said of it “One people,One Island One Nation. Now is not the time to turn against each other. We need all the help we can get. The French will seek to divide us to weaken us. The Spanish Haitians are our brothers.” The Compact was signed in the presence of the Spanish elite. In the meeting, Juan Pablo Duarte and Jose Nunez de Caceres with Philipe Guerrier. The Compact was one the reasons the Spanish Haitians supported the Western half of the island. Guerrier knew that he needed the whole island to resist the French this time. Plus, he used this compact as a way to divide the separatist. The agreement satisfied the moderates who just wanted equal rights. Now the separatist would be a radical fringe group. However, this was not the end the radical separatist.



Enter El Libertador: 1825 in New Granada was a year of happiness but also a year of uncertainty, Simon Bolivar liberated Latin America and put forth an idea of new nation. However, he was to be faced with opposition. Bolivar wanted a centralist government but it was not popular. In 1825 it seemed the nation of Gran Colombia would cease to exist. There was an uprising in Venezuela and the fear was that Gran Colombia would collapse. Also, the biggest problem was that the federalist opposition was divided between those who wanted a strong executive branch and those who wanted a strong legislative branch. On April 15th, 1825 a constitutional convention was called upon in Caracas. There was an agreement that Gran Colombia would be a federation. The states of Venezuela, New Granda, Ecuador. To have governors and legislative branches. The confederation shared a common currency, central bank, nd army. The Central government had a president and a legislative branch. The Congress of Gran Colombia was unicameral. Each province sends four representatives to the Congress. The president was elected by by each province legislative branch. His power was limited. He was commander in chief in times of was and civil strife. He served two-year terms but had no limits to how many terms he can serve. He had the power to raise an army and navy. The legislative branch had the power to wage war, coin money, place taxes on foreign goods and apply taxes. They were not elected by the people but by provincial states assemblies. Simon Bolivar agreed to the constitution reluctantly. He famously said, “I will do what ever it takes to keep this nation united.” The constitution of 1825 was agreed on June 17th. The constitution divided the opposition to Simon Bolivar. Venezuelan secessionist was divided between two camps. One was was the liberal moderate faction who just wanted a confederation system and more autonomy. It wasn't that they wanted to leave Gran Colombia. It was just that they wanted more autonomy. The other camp was the radial secessionist who detested the idea of Gran Colombia and believed Venezuela should be a free independent nation. So when the constitution was agreed. The liberal faction went along with the new constitution. The radical secessionist, however, was enraged and started a failed short-lived regionalist insurrection in 1825-1826 led by Jose Antonio Paez. However, the insurrection did not garner the popular support it hoped it could have got. Bolivar himself went to face Paez and brutally crushed the insurrection. At the height of the Venezuela insurrection, he receives news that the French landed troops in Haiti to retake the island. This news disturbed him since he went to Haiti for aid and supplies to fight the Spanish. It also disturbed him because it could start a trend of European power attempting to retake their lost colonies especially Spain. Spain made it clear it will pursue its old colonies. Also, he hears of the Marchand Compact which the french Haitians gave the Spanish east more rights and representation in all facets of the government. Simon received the letter from Jose Nunez about aid and support. Simon had met with his advisers. Many were against aiding Haiti because they were black. Others said this would be an act of war against France and bring ruin to the new nation. One asked him “Do you think they can defeat the French. They will be crushed Charles X will not repeat the same mistakes of Napoleon.”

Bolivar looked and said “When people who were bondage made free again they will fight to the death for freedom. They will defeat the French as they are repeating the same mistakes. They underestimate them.”
Bolivar wrote letters to Jose Nunez Caceres on the issue of aid. Bolivar agreed to send weapons and supplies to Haiti. Bolivar thought this was the least he can do since it Alexandre Petion the former leader of Haiti who aided him in his own war against Spain. Bolivar was against European imperialism. And feared if Haiti fell then Latin America was next. The support from Gran Colombia was a major shot in the arm into the war effort. Bolivar wrote to Guerrier that he was going to declare war against France. Guerrier wrote back "No this is our fight. We have enough men to push the French back into the sea." Gran Colombia with aid from UK ships sent weapons and supplies to the Haitian resistance. The UK was not thrilled with France trying to reclaim lost colonies in the Americas. They saw it as a threat to their interest in the Caribbean. So UK ships in the America along with the few Gran Colombian ships send weapons to southern Haiti and the Spanish East far out the reach of French ships. This was to prevent clashes. Ports in Jacmel, Les Cayes, Santo Domingo were locations these ships landed to offload the weapons. This secret operation was never noticed by the French until the end of the war. This allowed Haitian defenders to get a steady supply of weapons even though the island was filled with forts already stocked with plenty of ammunition and artillery. Famed French military historian Piere Yves Le Drian said in his book on the war "Paradise of Hell-History of the Second French Expeditionary force 1825-1828," that "It was at this point France lost the war. The collusion of Gran Colombia and Great Britain to supply the Haitian fighters without the French military knowing proved that the war was poorly planned from the start."

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Background:
Haiti in 1825 was a young isolated nation. It just fought a bloody war of freedom 20 years earlier. Now the new leader Jean-Pierre Boyer was living in fear of France coming back. So, Boyer started “negotiations” for France to agree to recognize Haiti unless it paid 150 million Francs. King Charles X of France also sent 14 warships off the coast of Haiti with 500 guns to send a message to Boyer that if the negotiations fail it would lead to a new war. However, Boyer died unexpectedly in late July 1825 in a horseback riding accident. The mulatto elite scrambled to find a new leader. They decided to elect a black man to temper black peasant rebel feelings. The country descent into chaos as a peasant uprising was rising in the south. They put Philippe Guerrier. A black man who was a Haitian revolution veteran. He hated the French and former supporter of Henri Christophe. He told the French diplomats that negotiations are off. And that Haiti will prepare for war. Many call Guerrier a great war leader. He called a levee en masse across the nation and a call to arms. Every able-bodied male 16-45 was to take arms and fight. And what begins is what historians call the second Haitian war of independence 1825-1828.



Disaster of Port Au Prince:

Philippe Guerrier

Philippe Guerrier was the unlikely leader chosen by the mulatto elite. He was selected to pander to black disgruntlement in the north and south. He was a plantation owner who cared more about his land then power. However, when Boyer died unexpectedly on July 6, 1825, by a horseback riding accident he was selected by the elite. The nation of Haiti needed a new ruler. There was a peasant insurrection in the south led by the insurgent Accau. And there was grumbling in East Haiti. So on July 11th Phillippe Guerrier was selected as the new president of Haiti. And the first order of business was the negotiations with France. Guerrier first encounter with the French envoy was an intense one. The French envoy told Guerrier that King Charles “demanded” that Haiti accepts the agreement that Boyer was close to agreeing to. The agreement was the payment of 150 million francs. Guerrier told the envoy that is impossible for the island to agree to. The envoy threatened him that there are 14 warships and 500 guns that will bombard Port Au Prince to ash and rubble if the government disagree with the agreement. Guerrier angrily said, “We defeated you once and we will do it again but this time there will be no French soldier left in Haiti!” Negotiations immediately ended for that day. The next day Guerrier declared that Haiti will not agree to this and that demanded the French fleet to leave the Port Au Prince bay. Guerrier was a career officer. He fought alongside Henri Christophe and was well learned in military history and tactics. He knew how to read and write since he was part of Henri Christophe royal family. He knew that war was near. He ordered an evacuation of Port Au Prince and moved the capital to Marchand in the interior of the island. However, it was too late. The bombardment began at the peak of the evacuation. In early July 15th, French guns bombarded Port Au Prince into rubble. It was estimated 8,000 people died that day. In Haitian history, it is known as the Massacre of port Au Prince. Large sections of the city laid in ruin. Guerrier survived along with his Cabinet and the mulatto elite. The entire Haitian government moved into Marchand to make war plans. Guerrier studied the French revolutionary wars and the Peninsular war. He knew that to defeat a second French invasion the entire nation must put everything on the line. So on July 17th, 1825 he called for a levee en masse. Every able bodies male was to take arms across the island to fight the French invasion. The bombardment of Port Au Prince shocked many at the brutality of the French. It enraged black Haitians. It horrified mulattoes at brutality the French were willing to go to retake the island. Also, the casualties consisted of many mulattos. And when word spread that the French were back to re-enslaving the black Haitians it caused a wave of hysteria in the nation.

Claude-Victor Perrin

Auguste Marmont

France landed troops in Port Au Prince on July 18. It was a force of 50,000 troops led by the Napoleonic war general Claude-Victor Perrin. Charles X of France told Perrin that if negotiations fail bombard Port Au Prince and launch an invasion into the island. Also, he said to send correspondence to the Spanish East that they would receive autonomy if they pledge allegiance to France. Perrin took Port Au Prince with little resistance. Then he sent forces to take Leogane. Perrin's plan was to take the capital and hopefully force the Spanish to start a second front in the war. Perrins plan to take the coastal towns of southern Haiti to break the resistance. However, things did not go according to plan. On July 25 10,000 french troops engaged some Haitian soldiers outside Petit Gouve and defeated them easily. Perrin was accompanied by Auguste Marmont who wanted to prove his loyalty to the king since he defected from Napoleon and many did not trust him. However, he wanted to prove himself reliable.


Perrin decided to divide up the force of 50,000 into two forces. He wanted to march up north to defeat the resistance up north. Marmont would stay and pacify the south. Throughout of July, the Haitian military position in the south was nearing disaster. Marmont took over Petite Gouave Leogane and Miragoane. Guerrier gave a command to the south Accau, Jean-Louis Pierrot, and Charles Riviere-Herard. Accau commanded Les Cayes and since he was very popular with the peasant he could rally troops behind him. Guerrier also commanded that Haitian soldiers should retreat from the cities and towns to the mountains after the defeats in Mirogane. He followed the same military tactic that Dessalines, inToussaint and Christophe followed the 20 years prior. Marmont was ruthless. He was on warpath to prove himself and was a virulent racist who saw blacks as inferior. He had his sights on the city of Cayes but the mountains of the south would become hell on earth for the French. Guerrier next plan was to bring the Spanish East and that meant major changes would have to be made. Major changes that would change the course of Hispanola.

To be continued.......

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Koupe tet boulay Kay!

Charles-Riviere Herard


Guerrilla Resistance: Phillipe Guerrier was a former captain under Christophe. His war plans was that similar to Christophe. He ordered massive withdrawing from the coastal cities to the forts, hill, and mountains that dot Hayti. After the bombardment of Port au Prince he moved the capital to Marchand Dessalines. It was strategic move because the town was surrounded by mountains and hills. Plus five forts surrounded the town. The area was a fortress of Haitian soldiers and militiamen. In the town and surrounding area, every able bodies man was to protect the areas of Marchand. Guerrier knew that Haitian forces would not be able to fight the french in open battle at the time being. The strategy was burn crops and supplies that could be useful for the french. Ambush and harass french forces to prevent them from moving then wait for attrition and yellow fever deplete french forces. Then move to fight them in battle in a crushing defeat. The trump card for Guerrier was the Citadelle Laferriere which as the largest fort in the Americas. It had 535 guns and could house up to 15,000 defenders. The french forces under Perrin mad their first mistake in landing in Port Au Prince. This gave time for defenses to further strengthen throughout the island. In August of 1825 Perrin sent a letter to Charles X of France for reinforcements. The french forces needed more men to fight on multiple fronts. The north, center, and east were unaffected. Mormount's campaign in the south was to pacify the entire region with 26,000 troops. Perrin was making a march to Dessalines to take the city in hopes destroying the government and make resistance futile. Also, Perrin heard of the Citadelle and knew if he could take it Haitian resistance in the north would collapse. The french second mistake was that they took the Haitian withdrawing from the cities as weakness and desertion. Accau a famous general who led a popular uprising rallied the fighters of Les Cayes and throughout southern Haiti to fight. In August of 1825, Marmont moved quickly to take the cities of the coast. In July 31st Marmont moved to Fort Jacques which housed 5,000 defenders. The Fort was of two forts that were on the outskirts of Port Au Prince. The battle of Fort Jacques was a bloody one. The battle lasted for 30 days. The First day was a disaster. Marmont ordered his infantry to march to take the fort. 25 french troops lost their lives from the assault. With 50 wounded. The man leading assault was former war and navy minister Andre Laidan. His heroics kept the fort out of french hands for 10 days. In those ten days over 300 French troops were lost with 800 wounded. Each day the french attackers were repelled. On the 6th day, some french troops made it to the courtyard but were encircled ambushed and wiped out. Marmont ordered cannons to bombard the fort. He was obsessed with taking the fort. He ordered his men to take the position to take Kenscoff a town outside of Port Au Prince. The battle ended in late August when the defender ran out of munitions and food. They withdrew into the mountains. Some to Fort Alexandre. The battle was a Pyrrhic victory because Marmont lost so many men. He knew he had little choice. In order to break the resistance, he needed to take the forts. The battle of Fort Alexandre and Jacques took the whole summer of 1825. Even though the Haitian army lost those forts it succeeded in its goals. The one thing was to bog down the french forces, force them to waste men and resources and give the other areas time to mobilize the levee en masse. Fort Alexandre was taken quickly since it ultimately unfinished however the french lost 500 men in the assault with 900 wounded. Marmont once said, “If we continue to have more battles like this we will lose more men then the blacks.” The resistance fighter that survived both assaults fled into the mountains to fight a guerrilla war.
Perrin himself didn’t fare as well. The march to Marchand was a terrible one. He faced ambushes and more forts.

Accau the black Fox: He knew the jungles and mountains of southern Haiti like the back of his hand. He had the support of thousands of peasant farmers. He was a former general in the Haitian military. He supported black rights and hated the mulatto elite. He fought an insurgency against the Boyer regime. However when Guerrier was selected as president and declared war against France he supported him. Accau was a fierce fighter. He fought the revolutionary war under Dessalines when he was a young man. He hated mulattoes but hated whites even more. Accau was described by a French officer “ tall ferocious wild man. Always have anger and rage in his eyes. His voice was curt and laconic and harsh. He was Dessalines resurrected.” Accau and Charles Rivière-Hérard were commanders of the southern front. Faustin Soluque, Auguste Brouard were in charge of the Spanish east front. Jean-Louis Pierrot, Jean Baptist Riche commanded the north. Accau was given complete control of the southern front but Guerrier to the chagrin to the mulattoes but his knowledge was needed. He ordered Haitian troops to leave the cities and head to the forts, mountains, and jungle and organize guerrilla forces to fight the french. He led his men personally into combat. Under his control of 10,000 men motivated to fight the french. Accau was a black nationalist and when word was that the Blanc francais has returned to enslave blacks he famously said “We will kill all of them with the spirit of Dessalines. We will cut off heads and burn houses(Koupe tet boulay kay!)” Accau strategy was to ambush French troops and supply lines. After taking Kenscoff Marmont then went on to Mirogoaune which has a small garrison of 300 fighters. Marmont wanted to pacify the west and south by the end of the year. But his campaign soon became a quagmire. Accau was a powerful orator and could rally the black masses in the south and west to wage a guerilla war against the French. Ambushes by Accau's men hurt Marmont. Marches into the jungles were met with daily attacks. This type of guerrilla war was slowing down French troops. Accau's forces moved quickly through the dense jungle mountainous terrain. Sniping of French forces in the rear or resting was a daily thing. The french soldiers knew no rest. Attacks on their stretched supply and communication lines made things miserable. General Riviere was told to prepare for a possible counterattack when the French were slowly degraded. Phillipe Guerrier felt a major defeat against the French in the South would be enough to encircle Perrins men and force a peace. Another thing that was hurting Marmont's men was the beginning of yellow fever spreading amongst French soldiers. The rainy season in April was coming.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Reality Starting to Hit.

Fort Drouet

Perrin's campaign: Perrin's force goal was to take Marchand Dessalines. He went on to take the towns of thomzeau, Croix des bouquets, Gantheir and Fond Parisien with little ease. With that, he marched up north. He asked Charles X for reinforcements because they were being slowed down by guerrilla attacks and the outbreak of yelloe fever. Perrin believed opening another front in the East was important because it would divide the Haitian forces. Perrins forces engaged Haitian troops in the battle of Gros Morne. Haitian fighters had the high ground and were bombarding French troops at the bottom. The battle started at 9 am and finished at 11 pm. It was an intense contest. In Perrin's memoirs, he recalled that at that point “No end in sight. The black fighters would not give up or surrender. They made up pay heavily in each engagement. I knew that this war would not end quickly as promised.”

In every engagement, French troops won. French forces took more land but were still harassed by guerrilla forces in jungles and mountains in the countryside. By the end of August French troops control all of the Ouest provinces of Haiti. Perrin then in September believed he needs to take the coastal areas. So he marched west to Archaie which would be a scene of intense fighting. Perrin strategy was simple. Take the coastal areas and starve the fighters of food and supplies. He, of course, thought that the fighters wouldn’t last by January especially with reinforcements inbound.

The battle of Archaie was didnt take place in the city proper but with fort Drouet. Haiti's system of forts slowed down french forces. Fort Drouet was invested for 10 days. September 15-25. 18,740 french forces were engaging 7700 Haitian fighters. Rain in the first three days made it impossible to storm the fort. French forces attempted to storm the fort 6 times each time repelled. Jean Baptise Riche was commanding the men to resist the french fighters. The battle nearly became a fiasco for french fighters because they couldn't take the fort. Finally on September 25th French naval forces bombarded the fort. And french forces storm the fort and a bloody melee ensued. And Haitian forces nearly repealed the assault. Jean Baptist Riche survived the attack and his remaining 3500 men fled to the jungle mountains to continue guerilla operations. The battle cost french forces 1500 deaths and 3400 wounded. French forces took the fort but abandoned because the destruction of the fort made it useless. Perrin after the battle begged Paris for reinforcements. The rate of attrition was not on their side. France loses daily were anywhere from 60-75 a day thanks to yellow fever and guerilla attacks. By November 1825 French casualties were already at 7500 with 9000 wounded. And the french offensive was already slowing down. Reports of Spanish Haitian guerilla fighters crossing the border and harassing French detachments in Mirebalias was reaching Perrin. Perrin was frustrated at the rate the war was going. French forces were taking territory but their supply lines were vulnerable. “This damn island heat is inhospitable. The day after we hear the report of soldiers being ambushed. Wounded or killed. The capital must be taken with all cost to end this damn war!” Perrin changed his strategy of taking coastal areas and focused on marching to Marchand Dessalines the new capital. He rested his forces in in Archaie But Guerrier was preparing for a massive battle when the french forces came.

Charles X of France
Rumblings of Paris: Charles x of France was an ultra conservative french monarch who wanted to bring things back to the ancien regime. The war in Haiti was something he needed. The Pearl of the Antilles was something he wanted back. The post-Bonaparte years put France in a deplorable economic state. Retaking Hispanola and reinstate slavery would enrich the coffers of the french state. His belief was that the reason Napoleon lost the first war was because he was involved in too many foreign entanglements. Charles X was going to focus sometimes obsess about the war effort. When he received word that Perrin needed reinforcement he gladly gave it to him. He ordered a new force of 55,000 to take the Spanish side. The massive force to retake an island disturbed Frenchmen and many were worried that France would vulnerable at home. Others saw the war being a waste of money and resources. The standing army at the time was 300,000. Another thing was the fact he was against liberal secular forces. He was an avid supporter of the concert of Europe. But rumbling started with the massive high casualties of french fighters. The sending of 55,000 French troops to a faraway island was going to be aa major liability on the budget of France. Charles was all in. But it would be his downfall. And events in Russia would change the shape of Europe late in 1825. Charles X needed a victory and wanted to end the war once and for all.

The Dream of Gran Colombia: After the ill-fated Venezuelan Insurrection Simon Bolivar was focusing on fixing the economy of Gran Colombia and also uniting the nation. After the wars of independence, Gran Colombia was economically in bad shape. Simon Bolivar had a lot on his plate but major events aided his popularity.The federalist constitution took the winds out Paez separatist Venezuelan movement. Also, the French invasion of Haiti was seen as a warning sign that European power could once again try to retake their lost colonies. France and Spain were both close allies. France sent an expeditionary force to retake Hispanola. And Spain made no qualms that they want to reconquer all their Spanish colonies. Simon Bolivar ordered the construction of fortifications across the land.With the wars of independence over money was slowly flowing into the treasury of Bogota. Simon Bolivar made war preparation of the eventual invasion from Spain. Little did he knew that the faraway threat of royalist would come closer than he thought. This land reform system brought revenue to the federal govt. With the fund's roads and reconstruction was the policy of the day. Bolivar was more interested in consolidating control of the nation and repairing the economy of the nation. Gran Colombia opened trade with Great Britain and the United States although the Southern States were not comfortable with Gran Colombia's close relationship with Haiti. Bolivar wanted roads to be built from Caracas to Bogota as a way to unite both provinces into one idea. The fear of Spanish Reconquista was real and it kept the nation together. Peru gave Bolivar power but he wanted to focus more on Gran Colombia so he handed power to Jose San Martin to be dictator of Peru. Santander and Bolivar put their differences aside and worked to prepare the nation for war and try to economically repair economy and infrastructure of a nation wracked by conflict. Simon Bolivar wrote to his mistress that "The dream of Gran Colombia is starting to be realized."

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

A Revolution in December?

Decemberist fouding fathers.

Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich

Czar Nicholas 1st.



The Russian Revolution of 1826: Russia in 1825 was a massive empire that survived the Napoleonic wars from the previous decade and aided the Coalition in destroying Napoleon. Alexander 1 of Russia was a national hero leading Russia through times of war and hardship. He was a man who defeated napoleons half a million invading army. He died in November 1825. He had liberal sympathies but he was too preoccupied with the wars with Napoleon to make any semblance of change. One was the issue of serfdom which was an issue that never got resolved. His death was met with national mourning. His successor was thought to be his brother since Alexander had no children. But his younger brother Nicholas seized power. This enraged many liberals who saw Nicholas as an extension of the old regime. Many Russian military officers were tired of the aristocracy of Russia while Europe was surpassing them by. Two groups were plotting revolution. The groups, however, continued to function secretly: There was the Southern Society, based at Tulchin, a small garrison town in Ukraine, in which Pestel was the outstanding figure, and a Northern Society, based in St Petersburg, led by Guard officers Nikita Muraviev, Prince S.P Trubetskoy, and Prince Eugene Obolensky. Pestel wanted to overthrow the Russian monarchy, free the serfs, write up a bill of rights for Russians, make Russia into a republic and land reform. The northern Society wanted a constitutional monarchy akin to Great Britain with a new Constitution with Constantine as Tsar. There were differences but both agreed that Nicholas needed to be taken out. Trubetskoy secretly met with Pestel and both agreed with a plan. The plan was for the revolutionaries to seize the winter palace and proclaim Constantine as tsar. When word spreads to the south for Pestel to organize the serfs into revolt and rebellion and create a peasant army that would overwhelm tsar Nicholas and a monarchist counter-revolution. They agreed to the date to be December 28. The reason was for more careful planning. The other plan was to kill Nicholas. On December 28th Trubetskoy with a force of 15,000 Imperial defectors marched to St Petersburg and denounced Nicholas as Tsar. The hailed support to Constantine as tsar and the Decembrist Constitution. The battle of St Petersburg occurred. The 15,000 Decembrist defeated the 9,000 Monarchist and stormed the Winter Palace. The battle of St.Petersburg is an iconic event in the revolution and Russian history. They arrested and executed Nicholas and his family for crimes against the freedom of Russian people. With St Petersburg under their control. Trubestoky declared that Constantine as tsar and named himself a temporary protector of the Empire until Constantine returned from Poland. Serfs were freed and a revolutionary council was made that was called the Assembly of the Fatherland. Word spread fast that serfs were free and that a revolution happened in Russia. Imperial soldiers who had peasants ties quickly defected to the side of revolutionaries. Pestel started a revolt in Ukraine with a serf/peasant army two weeks later. Monarchist was surprised at how fast the revolt was spreading and they didn't have time to prepare for a counterattack. Nobles were executed in the streets. Constantine was in Poland and when he heard news of the revolt he reluctantly accepted it. However, he was assassinated by Polish nationalist on January 5th. Poland erupted in revolt. Pestel's army grew massive in size and he was marching to St. Petersburg to meet with his comrades in arms. However, when he heard Constantine was assassinated he said to a crowd in Rostov “Well the time has come for Russia to change. This is a sign by God himself who loves Russia that the age of Tsars is over. It is time for a republic!” This drew cheers for him. The Decembrist regime in St.Petersburg was caught off guard by Constantine untimely death and the revolt from the poles. Now they didn't have a tsar for their constitutional monarchy. And the word was pestel had a massive peasant army marching to St. Petersburg. They didn't want to plunge the nation into civil war and they knew the concert of Europe would soon respond with war so they decided to have a meeting with Pestel. Trubestoky met with Pestel on the outskirts of St Petersburg on January 21. They agreed to the formation of a Russian Republic. Elections would start in the spring. Pestel and Trubestoky both were named Guardian protectors of the Russian Republic. They created the revolutionary council that was called the Committee of National Safety. Cossacks soon acclaimed allegiance to the new Republic. Monarchist simply fled Russia for the Austrian-Hungry Empire en masse since the events happened so quickly and they were leaderless for now. They also had major plans for Poland.

Iconic Battle of St.Petersburg

Pavel Pestel

Polish Rebels Praying before battle.


European Reaction: The chancellor of the Austrian Empire Metternich received the words of a republican revolution in Russia with dismay and fury. He worked hard at Vienna to preserve the monarchy balance of Europe and crush liberalism and republicanism. Revolution in Russia was a major problem and needed to address quickly. He called for a Convention in Vienna of European monarch to have a united response to the Russian revolution. Many of Russian monarchs fled Russia for Prussia or Austria. Metternich planned for aa Continental invasion of Russia and even reached out to the Ottoman Empire for help. The goals were to reach St Petersburg and Ukraine. Once in the capital set up a monarchist puppet to rule Russia. The Convention of Vienna took place on February 4, 1826. The kings of France, United Kingdom, Ottoman Empire, German Confederation, Prussia, Italian States and their ministers were invited to the meeting. The Russian counter-revolutionary envoy led by 27 year old Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich. And they all agreed to form a force to deal with the Russian revolutionaries. The plan was for operations to begin after the Russian winter. The Alliance called the Continental Army. Operations would begin in April after Easter. It called for a force of 750,000 men. Prussia and Austria would provide the bulk of the men. Charles X was eager for this adventure but his advisers were warning him that he had a war in the Caribbean with the Haitian Nut that was hard to crack. Charles feared the Russian revolution because it had the potential of spreading across Europe. France already sent 45,000 men initially and was sending 65,000 more men. 91,500 men were already leaving France and now France committed a force of 97,500 men for a war with Russia. The military was being overstretched.

Convention of Vienna

Concert of Europe.

Revolutionary Response: News of the convention of Vienna reached St. Petersburg and all of Europe declared war against Russia. With revolts in Poland and the periphery of the ottoman Empire, it was time for to prepare for the European invasion. The revolutionaries called for a levee en mass of every able-bodied male 18-28. The Republican Army which it was now called grew large. Pre-Revolution Russia had a standing army of 750,000. But the levee en masse raised it to 1.4 million men. Fortifications were being built. Pestel suggested to the council that instead of crushing the Polish they would support it. And ultimately use the free Polish republic stoke Polish uprising in the Prussian and Austrian Empire. That would plunge those empires into chaos. “It is better to have a free loyal ally then a contempt subject who can become an enemy.” This plan was met with disbelief with the Council. Trebotsky who was the dictator agreed with is surprising. However, this would his downfall. Many saw him as a coward who couldn’t come up with an original thought and just reacted to fear. So the Russian Republic reached out with the Polish revolutionaries. The Revolutionary Congress of Poland met with the revolutionary council in Krakow and reached an agreement. Poland would be a free state and would be an ally to Russia. In return, Russia would aid the new Polish Republic to retake lost territory from both Prussia and Austria. The lines were drawn and this new war in Europe would turn another bloody page in the continent. Both sides were getting ready for the eventual confrontation in the spring of 1826.

Pestel meetings with Polish rebels in Krakow.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

January 1826-July 1826

War of Extermination

General Nicholas Oudinot

Étienne Tardif de Pommeroux de Bordesoulle

General Faustin Soulouque

Fresh Meat: The arrival of 65,000 French troops was a much-needed boost for Perrin. The strategy for the fresh French troops was to split them in two. 30,000 would land in the Spanish East to defeat the Spanish/French black mullatoo coalition and stop cross-border attacks. Also then to make a march into the west to join Oudinots and Perrin to encircle Marchand Dessalines and conquer it. Crash the northern resistance and end the war. Perrin believed that since the East was lightly populated that it would be easier to conquer. Also, it would spread their forces and prevent weapons and aid cross both sides. The remaining 35,000 men would land in Northern Haiti. Perrin believed by attacking the North from the south and north it would encircle the Haitian soldiers and ultimately defeat them. There was of course flaws with the plan. in the east Soulouque was in command of a force of 25,000 Haitian soldiers and under him was Spanish Haitian Pedro Santana a young officer that Soulouque grew to like and became a close friend who was in charge of the Spanish local auxiliary force of 10,000. Soulouque grew the force from 4,000 to 15,000 and commanded them to cross to the west and launch guerilla attacks with black Haitians. Soulouque forced himself to learn and read Spanish, and French. He trained his men to speak Spanish as a way to gain trust with the locals. He also was a strict drill general. He also did not allow his men to loot civilians. Soulouque did this because he knew it was a matter of time before the French would come. Gaining support for the locals was important to defeat the French. Although the population was small he planned to wage guerillas on the mountains. He set up secret weapons caches all over the island. War was coming and it was a matter of time.


In the North, the area was heavily fortified. Forts dotted the North. And the biggest fort in the Western hemisphere Citadelle Laferriere. It housed 15000 men plus and had 537 guns. The commander of the fort General Riche was planning a bloody bogged down battle. The Citadelle was built to last a year-long siege. And it will be proven to be a bloody wall that prevented French success in the north.

Nicolas Oudinot was the leader of the expedition and led the force of 35,000 men in northern Haiti. Ettiene Bordesoulle led the force in Spanish east. In March 1826 they landed. General Bordesoulle landed in in Monte Cristo in the north. Oudinot planned an operation to take Port de Paix. Bordesoulle plans to take most of the Spanish north then move to the east and take the capital of Marchand. Bourdesoulle heard that the east was lightly populated and mistakenly believed that the garrison was small. He said, “After two battle the enemy would fold and the whole east would be ours.” He was mistaken.

On March 17th, 1826 General Bouresoulle captured Monte Cristo and moved south with the goal to capture all the major towns near the border to cut off both sides of the island from each other. Dajabon was taken 10 days later and on March 30th the first clash between french and Soloques forces happened at the battle of Sabaneta. The Haitian forces were defeated but a strong resistance and fled into the mountains. There is where Solouqes war plans came into Fruition. General Boursoulle thought that the collapsing resistance in the north meant the Haitian fighters were losing but he was wrong. Spanish and French Haitians used attrition warfare to bogged down the French. Bourdsoulle learned was that the mountains were being used to as a way to ambush and attack French rear dispatches. General Boursoulle took over the cities of Mao and Santiago in Mid April. Solouque had other plans. Bourdsoulle left a sizeable garrison force of 6,000 men to occupy Santiago, Mao, and Monte Cristo while 19,000 of his men would cross to the East and aid Oudinot's men. Oudinot landed on Cap Haitian at the same time as Bourdosulle landed on Monte Cristo. The city fell on March 11, and Oudinot's goal was to pacify the north before any assault to Marchand. Boursolulle forces would make a buffer zone so there wouldn't be any cross-border attacks. Bordsouelle main goal was to bring the entire eastern island under control for the French.


The only person who hated the plan was Mormount. He felt he was ignored by Perrin. He was at a stalemate in the south. Accau's forces were harassing his men with daily ambushes and would retreat into the mountains. Mormount frustrated would capture and kill black civilians young and old. Mormoint kept the offensive going. On January 11th he decided to march south to take Jacmel,s seal the border. Then leave an auxiliary force to hold it then move to. With the rest, he went to marched to Grand Anse to take Jeremie and finally Les Cayes. There was an intense fighting in the areas around Les Palmes. The area is heavily mountainous and filled with jungles. For the French, it was hard to try in the terrain and this offensive into Jacmel accelerated the yellow fever epidemic for the French. Haitian guerrilla fighter continued to resist French soldiers. As the story of the south Haitian soldiers abandoned the cities and towns in the south to wage the attrition war in the rural areas. Accau's son who was the fiery 25-year-old Jean-Jacques Accau was in charge of the Jacmel along with Jean-Louis Pierrot. He hated the white French and vowed to not rest until he kills the last Frenchmen. The Jacmel campaign went well for Mormont and in Late February 1826, he had all of it under his control. Now control meant all the cities and towns under his control. He then left a force of 5000 behind to hold the area so he can move onto Les Cayes. He had 13,750 men. He left 5000 men in Ouest province and 5000 left sud-est. He wants determined to wrap up the war in the South. However, Accau, Pierrot, and Herard had other plans for Mormont.

General Ouidont was an avowed racist. He saw blacks as inferior and lower than dogs. He wrote "It would be better to kill ever black we see. For me this ugly race deserves extermination. They are cowards and should return to the fields." Guerrier's relentless murders of all whites were having their effect. The French soldiers were retaliating, and Perrin and his generals were shooting their prisoners, hundreds of blacks at a time-6oo at one shooting. Ouidont was very vicious in his tactics. He at one time had 80 black prisoners burned alive. He felt this was to break the rebel resolve. However, it only emboldened them.

Guerrier's plan was the same. Delay and harass the advance, devastate the country and deprive the new French reinforcements of supplies, while retiring slowly to the mountains. With aid coming from Gran Colombia and Great Britain he had a solid supply of arms coming to his army from southern Haiti. The French blockade was a blockade in name only. There was no way that 14 ships could block the entire island. There were gaps that Gran Colombia and the UK took advantage of. The ships would send the weapons in places like Ile la Vache, Les Cayes , Les Anglais, Port Salut, Jeremie, Tiburon, Coteaux.

Citadelle Laferriere

Northern Gauntlet: General Ouidnot upon landing in the north divided his force of 35,000 men. He sent 5000 men to Nord Est and another 5000 to take Nord-Ouest. Nicholas Oudinot was not a great general, however, Charles X of France sent him to Haiti to finish the war and to use his energy to raising morale for the men in the expedition. Oudinot was going to use his main force of 25,000 men to march to the North and help Perrin encircle Marchand. Cap Haitian for the second time in a generation was burned to the ground. Haitian resistance fled to the mountains, jungles and countrysides, and forts. The largest of these forts was the Citadelle Laferriere. General Riche was the commander of the fort. The fort was built to hold 5,000 men. However, it swelled to 14,000 men as fighters fled to the fort. Guerrier gave one order to Riche. Do not give up the fort. Ouidont first engaged the fort in February 23rd in 1826. What ensued was a bloody battle. What made it very difficult for the French forces was that there was only one road to the Fortress. And whenever French reconnaissance or forces attempt to march it they get ambushed. General Riche undertook the defense of the fort. He was a military genius and historians call Haiti's most abled general. The opening salvo of cannon fire from the forts killed 200 Frenchmen and 2 generals. Riche walked around inspecting his men saying "Take courage. Don't forget what are we fighting for. We will scatter their bones among these mountains and rocks.Their bodies will be swept to the ocean as we chase them down as the dogs they are! They will learn to never come back again. Let them come, let them try to take this fort! It will be a war of extermination!" The battles of the Citadelle Laferriere were costly for the French. The first week of fighting had French losses at 1,890. The intense artillery bombardment hurt French forces. The steep slopes made French soldiers easy targets to sniping Haitian soldier on the fort. Ouidont did not give taking the fort. It stood in the way of Milot and if simply walk by to join Perrin the defenders will be in his rear and could cut off his supply lines. The fort would be a meat grinder for the invading forces and an iconic symbol of Haitian resistance to the invasion.


This tactic was first created by Christophe as a way to bog down french forces in the North and use attrition to chase them out. Guerrier rode to the Citadelle on 7 different occasions to see the preparations. Riche and Guerrier were the student of Henri Christophe and used his tactics in the war effort. Which was to raid French outposts, make surprise attacks, lay ambushes, give the French no peace, while avoiding major engagements. With the coming of the rains, the French, worn out, would fall victims in thousands to the fever, and the blacks would descend and drive them into the sea.

For Oudinot the Fort represented as a major obstacle. The fort has enough supplies to last for 2 years and its rear was supplied with arms,f food, and manpower. The northern gauntlet was halted. Oudinot wrote to his wife “The black race have shown ingenuity that has surprised me. This massive fort they built is unbreakable. No matter how many cannons we fire its doesn't fall. We need more artillery not manpower!” The Citadelle Leterrier succeeded in its goal which was hold of French forces to march. Plus the men sent to the Nor Est and Ouest were a small force to capture and hold the territory. For Perrin, the reinforcement was a welcomed news however he soon realized that when he hear Oudinot was bogged down in the North the stalemate was returning. The more territory they took the more stretched the French forces were. Mormont's forces were taking territory in the south so Perrin felt it was time to try make a move into Marchand Dessalines. He didn't have time and he wanted to end the war before the spring and summer began. Besides with news of the Concert of Europe ready to invade Russia in the spring and summer meant reinforcements was not a guarantee. For Perrin, the capital had to be taken by April or May. Perrin at his headquarters in Archaie was making plans for war with his officers. Perrin had 21,700 men left over from the original expedition. So he made plans to march north to final take Marchand Dessalines. Perrin thought if the capital fell it would hurt rebel morale. So February 1826 in conjunction with the landing French forces marched to La Chapelle.Perrin wrote in his memoir “The plan was to take Chapelle, St Marc, Verretes, Grand Saline, Petite Riviere to isolate the capital.” And indeed this what occurred. For 3 weeks Perrin took the areas mentioned with ease and little resistance. The big issue was, of course, supply lines as they were exposed to Haitian guerillas. By the first week of March Perrin was near the capital Marchand Dessalines. He gladly wrote back in France “My King we are near the capital. It appears we have finally gained the momentum We have the black insurgents on their backs and are ready to storm the capital.” Guerrier, on the other hand, had other plans. Guerrier followed the Christophe with strict precision. The burning of the cities and towns along with the crops deprived the French of resources. He was waiting for the spring and summer rainy season to wreck them again with the fever. He knew that the guerillas were inflicting harm but with Perrin near the capital, the fateful days was coming. Guerrier had about 37,000 men under his control. He had the six forts that encircle Marchand repaired and heavily supplies with weapons from Gran Colombia. The five forts were: Fort Innocent, Fort Culbu te, Fort Decide, Fort Madame, Fort Doko, Fort Fin Du Monde. The town of Marchand was surrounded by hills and mountains. And the forts had one thing in common. One single path. Dessalines built these forts with his experience from the battle of Crete a Pierrot. The idea was to have about 5000 men in each fort to hold b ack french forces, launch bogged them down and prevent them from advancing either north south east or west. Guerrier knew if he can hold on until the rainy season when the yellow fever was at its worst he could finally launch a counterattack that his men wanted. The government needed a victory and now with these French Forces were losing about 45% of the total men they had. However, the French were given no quarter easily. Destroying cities and towns, burning crops and putting dead bodies of French soldiers in roads and wells hurt the French morale more than anything. These were European soldiers who knew how to fight an enemy face to face. Now they have been on the island for a year and even though they took territory it was useless. Forts destroyed in pitch combat and useless, cities and towns burned down and crops are taken away. And to add to that was the terrible heat, yellow fever. Perrin cursed the island many times in his memoirs.

Battle of Marchand Dessalines March 1826

First Battle of Marchand Dessalines: The first assault against Marchand began in March 1826. Perrin planned for multiple assaults on the various forts that surround the city. So he divided up his forces in 6 different detachments. He figured that multiple assaults would be enough to stretch their forces and prevent one force to reinforce the other. Each force was 3000 men. This proved to be a fatal mistake. Perrisn started the assault against the biggest fort, Fort Fin Du Mond. Guerrier was personally leading the defense. And just as Dessalines did 20 years prior forced the french to march up the single route and when exposed come under an intense volley of fire. In each of the forts, the French lost 300-400 men. In one day of fighting the french lost 2000 men either dead or wounded. Perrin and his men retreated. He then planed to merge his men at once to attack one fort. So he spent the rest of the week reorganizing hism men to attack one fort to break the resistance. Guerier was making plans as well. He knew that Perrin would want to attack Fort Decide since it was closest to the town. Guerrier moved some of his forces to Fort Descide. So his force of 19,700 went to attack the on March 18th. The same occurred as the last week. The French were forced to march up in the single road. As they reach the outskirts a hail of canon and gunfire was fired upon the french men. 420 fell in the first assault. Perrin ordered instense artillery bombardment to break the fort. Perrin aide de camp Theirry Risquance told Perrin “If we destroy the fort it will be of no value.” Perrin said curtly “If we tear down this fort we have the town and the men at the fortifications will not arrive to save it. Stop being a coward!” Perrin was under pressure he needed to take the capital before the rainy season which means yellow fever. The next assault was the same as the last and 350 more were lost. Perrin wrote to King Charles “We are on the outskirts of the city and close to victory, however, we do not have enough artillery. Every day we lose 40-50 men to either the black insurgents or to the malady. The reinforcement you sent has helped secured Port de Paix, St Mole Nicholas, Fort Libertie and Cap Haitian. However, the Haitian fighters burned these towns into the ground. They burn corpses and poisoned the wells. We are forced to ration foods. Gnereal Bourdoelle in the Spanish east has passed an edict to take over Spanish farms and lands forcefully. That is a terrible mistake and has erased any thoughts of defecting to our cause. The good news is Mormont is on the march in the south despite his men hit hard from the malady. And Ouidont is bombarding reletellesy the citadelle. We are close to victory albeit we have a few difficulties.” Perrin was truly nervouse as the multiple assaults on fort descide was not working. He then launched a third assult after a week long bombardment and preparation. He personally led the charge in March 29th. His aide de camp described the bloody mele. “The General rode on the horse in the front to encourage his men for finals to push on the damaged forces. As they reach near the entrance of the fort a massive volley of fire and cannon hit them. It was a massacre. Our cavalry was in disarray. The infantry mowed down. On that day 638 men fell including our own general.” Perrin was shot in the shoulder and gravely wounded and the horse under him was killed. Perrin in a daze ordered the full retreat. In his despair, his plan to capture the capital was pushed back after a whole month of assault. Perrin was obsesed with Marchand. He wrote to Ouidont to hurry up his assualt and bombardment of the Citadelle. Perrin was down to 18500 men. Far from the 45,000, he had originally had. Perrin retired to Gran Saline to be near the coast. Guerrier proved bravery in the multiple assaults in Fort Descide. He was with them every day in the assault. The weeklong preparations Perrin took before each assault Guerrier used it to replenish his men. The Citadelle is famouly known for its many stories and famous sct of bravery but Guerrier's commandship of Fort Descide was just as brave. Guerrier told any of his men if they are tired many said: “No we will not sleep until the last Frenchman is dead.” Guerrier personaly led the defense with bravery and skill like a madman. He was a well-drilled soldier of the first Haitian revolution and knew what slavery was. These young soldiers were the first generation not borned into slavery. He told them a stirring speech “You are here because your mothers and fathers fought and died for liberty. I fought the vile french 20 years ago and they are filled with lies and deciet. They will not enslave you because you know freedom. They will kill all of us. Massacre our women, fathers, brothers, children. So we have no choice to fight. Its either freedom of death. It is that simple. Nothing in between. Here we have blacks dark as me and mulattoes white as Rivere. We may have different skin but we share the same african blood that the white frenchman despises. So we are brother in arms. To arms! To arms! Let them come. We will slaughter to the last. Break their back! Strip the flesh of their bones! We will send them to hell and worst! If we die we will turn Hayti into the desert and graveyard for them! To arms children of the revolution!” For Guerrier, this war was personal and to secure Haitis long term security he needed to defeat France once more but this time brutally so no European power would come back. He wanted the total extermination of the French expedtion. Gurrier wrote a letter to all his generals that “This war is a war of extermination of all European forces. We will not let not one of them alive. The European only understands brutal warfare and respects brutal war. We must put fear in their hearts that any power is it Spain, Great Britain, the United States of America, France or Brazil that any war to reimpose slavery will be met with the rage of the negro race which will push them to sea!” This rhetoric meant no negoiations, no peace treaties, no cessation of hostilities, no back channels for peace. Victory or death was they only option. It truly was a war of extermination.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

General Yellow Fever.

Pedro Santana

General Count Bordessoule


By the time Spring came in 1826 in the Spanish East the French position seemed strong however as it was in the west Haitian guerillas both Spanish and creole was hurting French lines of communication. It was the same story. A city falls but all the provisions destroyed, ammo gone. The resistance reorganizes into the mountains. And to make matters worse General Bordesoulle ordered that Spanish farms and plantations were to be seized by the French authorities. He did this because his men were desperate for resources to feed his army. However, by doing this, it enraged the entire island especially the Cibao region. Soulouque was the commander, however, he used local forces and brave men like Santanna. The entire Cibao region rose up in rebellion. Bordesoulle divided his forces. He sent his second in command a General Jean Francois Richepanse to seal the border. Meanwhile, Bordesoulle went to the Cibao to deal with the guerillas. In a Fort San Pablo 7000, guerilla forces encircle 400 french men near the city of Santiago. Bordesoulle arrived in time to defeat the guerillas. He reached the location on April 13th. The first was saved but Bourdouselle was perplexed. He had just captured the area and 7000 fighters surrounded the garrison on this fort. He wrote, “I must pacify the Cibao region before I move onto to Soulouque .” Soulouque gave command of the Cibao front to his close friend a young Pedro Santanna. Santanna was a wealthy ranch farmer. Pedro was a true guerilla in the sense of the word. He rarely engaged french forces. He ambushed french soldiers and disappeared into the mountains. He was loved by the people of Cibao. He had 7000 men under his control with 1500 Haitian soldiers. He proved to be a tough fighter. Soluque gave home one order “Harass them until yellow fever forces them to the cities.” General Richepanse wasn't having an easy time himself. He had 10,000 men but Soulouque men were giving him hell. His men were being hit with yellow fever and the border areas were heavily mountainous. His men were not experts in Mountain warfare. Soulouque sent General Auguste Brouard who spoke Spanish as fluent as french and had a Spanish wife to organize the resistance in the border area. Richepanse men made little progress. They took the village after villa and town after town but it was the same. Their lines were exposed and were hit by daily guerilla attacks. Richepanse reached the town of Banica in April 11th, 1826. His goal was to reach the city of Jimani. The “March to the Border,” is a tragedy told French military historians. Richepanse never saw the end of the campaign. The men were forced to march in an inhospitable terrain of the jungle,mountains, rivers and deal with daily guerilla attacks. From April 1826-June 1826 Richepanse lost over half of his men to yellow fever, guerilla attacks. Richepanse himself was hit hard by yellow fever. At early June 1826, Richepanse reached the town of Jimani but it was a phyric victory. The town was empty and destroyed.He wrote that his position was precarious while General Bordesoulle was focused in Cibao. Richepanse felt he was exposed. Malpasse was across the border and wasnt under French control. Soon in by mid June Haytian both Spanish and french guerillas started an offensive to retake the areas Richepanse took. They took the same path as him. French garrisons were overwelemend and wiped out. In the battle of Banica 6000 guerillas encirceled the 700 French soldiers. In a week long battle under the command of General Auguste Brouard the insurgents fought against the doomed french soldeirs. The battle lasted from Junes 27-July 4th. On July 4th the garrison was wiped out. No prisoers were taken. This suprise defeat was small however to the Haytians it was the sign of things to come. Richepanse was bed ridden in Jimani. Dajabon was cut from Jimani. The was a dilmenia for the French Forces. Richepanse rode to retake Banica in July 10th although he was still sick from yellow fever. He reached Banica in July 15th. However the town was abandodned. It was a cat and mouse game. Richepanse finally died of yellow fever 4 days later. His men were stuck in Banica. The next general next in line Henri Lumeire. He descided to stay at Banica and wait for reinforcements. Half of the firce was gine and now another 1000 were gone to the disease. He wrote to Bordesoulle “Our situation is grave we cannot march any further. We lost so much men daily to malady and the guerillas. We take territory but the insurgents retreat and attack us somewhere else. Moral is deteriorating.” The yellow memance was becoming too much for the French forces. Bordesoulle halted his operations in the cibao region because the yellow fever epidemic plus guerilla attacks was taking a heavy toll of his men. He made his head quarters in Santiago. He ordered General Lumiere to retreat to Dajabon. All the gains for the border were reveresed in just 5 months.

General Richenpanse at the battle of Jimani.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Auguste Marmount


“They gave us a bitter victory and we gave them a sweet defeat.”

Mormount at this time was making gains in Gran Anse. He took Mirogoane with little resistance in May 1826. However, it was the middle of the summer and the attrition was hitting him hard. Accau and the mulatto Herrard were continuing the strategy of mobilizing the population and using guerilla tactics. However, they smelled blood. Mormount settled in a small town call Pestel in July 16th 1826. At this time his force was 15,489. He lost 2,500 men to the crippling combination of yellow fever and guerilla attacks. He decided to rest his men and consolidate his gains for the year and restart operation Late in the year. However, Accau and Herard planned for a massive battle. So in Jeremie Accau and Herard assembled a large force. They assembled a force of 23,560 men which was half their force. And marched to Pestel to chase out Mormonts weak army. Then on July 28th, the Battle of Fond Gondhai started. Mormount used his experience from wars in Europe to fend off the horde. The battle lasted the whole day. Four times Accau charged at Frenc positions. Mormounts aide de camp described the battle “They played drums the night before to bring fear in our hearts. Then Accau charged into our position screaming like Lucifer's horde ready to overtake God himself. Hand to hand combat was brutal. The black and mulatto soldiers fought with rage and intensity. Our superior tactics did not phase them. And didn't care how many men they lost. They fought from dusk till dawn.” The bloody battle of Fond Gondhai was indeed a bloody mess. Haitian forces lost 5,400 men. 1,500 dead,4900 wounded. French losses were 2900. However now Mormounts forces were 13,000. It was a Pyrrhic victory. For Monmouth knew he was in the midst of the raining season which does not end until October and it was late July. He lost nearly 3000 men in one battle. He wrote “We won the battle however the losses we incurred are irreplaceable. Every day I lose 50 men to the fever. Now with this victory, it has crippled us from taking Jeremie. I need more men. Send more men not open other fronts. I do not know how much longer I can hold this position. The blacks suffered heavy casualties however they can replace these losses in 3 months! They have weakened us and secured their long term control of the south. They gave us a bitter victory and we gave them a sweet victory.” Accau and Herard suffered heavy casualties and nearly came to blows over anger of the lost battle but that soon was cooled when word spread that Mormount retreated from Pestel. He retreated all the Mirogoane. This told them that the battle did more damage to the French position in the south. Accau sent a letter to his nephew with Pierrot to start operations to harras French detachments in the Sud Ouest. Total victory was near.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

À quelle fin monsieur ?!”

August 1826-December 1826

Battle of Chansolme
By August 1826 the war was a stalemate and the gains French forces made early in the years were disappearing. In the south Mormount gave up plans to take over Jeremie and the rest of the South. After the battle of Fond Gonhai in which French forces won he retreated his men all the way to Mirogoane. Mormount wrote to Perrin that he needed reinforcements to deal with the south. Perrin in the other hand failed to take Marchand Dessalines after a month-long campaign. He retreated to Gran Saline to rest his men. And Ouidinot was trapped in knocked out dragged out fight in the Citadelle lafferieur. East Haiti was a tough nut to crack. The raining season was at its fever pitch and that meant more yellow fever deaths. Per records that French losses daily to yellow fever was 50-60 men a day. Moreso than losses on the battlefield. The French took over more territory however they couldn't get a decisive military victory over the Haitian insurgents. The biggest issue was that Haitian losses we replaceable because of the levee en masse. Whereas French forces would have to 3 months for new reinforcements. Guerrier's strategy was working and was a major hinderance for the French forces to attain major victory. It didn't matter how many cities or towns fell. Sooner than later ambushes and yellow fever will decimate them long term. With the war in Russia heating up reinforcements would be hard to come by. The rest of 1826 was rather uneventful. Accau and Herard were preparing for another large force to finally defeat Mormount. Guerrier was busy rebuilding the damage from the battle of Marchand Dessalines. In the East Boursosoulle garrisoned Santiago. However in the north the ongoing siege of the Citadelle was going on. Riche was also making plans for the North. He was mobilizing a force throughout the north to deal a blow to French forces in their rear. The Nor Est needed to be free he said. “The negro race in the North are angry and restless to wanting to kill French soldiers.” he wrote to Guerrier. Pierrot was in charge of the Nor ouest front. And he followed Guerrier's orders of ambush and retreat. He commanded a force of 4,000 men and was mobilizing men in the countryside for war. Since Oudinot landed he retreated his forces into the mountains and jungles. During this time, they launched ambushes on French detachments but not as heavy as compared to the rest of the island. And this created a sense of security in the mind of French forces. Perrin wrote in his memoir “We believed Nord Ouest was a success for the fact that there peace and little violence in that area. We thought our strategy of attacking multiple overwhelmed them.” This was far from the truth. Pierrot spread lies to the French detachment that there was disagreement and grumbling going on Haitian solider. He even spread a rumor with the agreement with Guerrier that he was fighting a low level against Guerrier to overthrow him and come to peace terms with France. Ouidinot and Pierrot wrote letters to each other for an agreement. Meanwhile for the beginning of 1826hee was training and drilling and recruiting his men for a large offensive in the Nord Ouest. By September 1826 his manpower went from 4,000 to 11,000 men. Pierrot wrote to Guerrier “The army is a fierce one with angry men wanting to fight the white french. We will come down the mountains like an avalanche of fire and blood that will overtake the French.” And an avalanche it was. Peirrot plan was to draw the French into battle in a position that would benefit his forces. That battle was the battle of Chansolme. It was an intense battle. 15,000 Haitian troops against a small French force of 3000. This force was led by a Colonel Piere Moreau. The French only advantage was artillery however Riche planned to encircled the force. After hours of intense fighting the French force was encircled. Colonel Moureau was killed. The French fighters put a tough fight however it was not enough. The French fighters surrendered. 1000 were killed with 1,300 were wounded. 700 men were left. Riche imprisoned to negotiate the freedom of capture Haitian fighters and civilians. He sent them to a camp called Camp de Jouer. It was there they would be die of disease and starvation by being ignored by Haitian soldiers. The conditions of the prison camp was abysmal and it was in the mountains in an old Spanish fort. Survivor of the camp Jospeh Rabel wrote in his famous biography “A quelle fin monseir?” “It was an old spanish fort in ruin. Small. They put us all in the main lobby of the fort. The fort had no roof. SO we sufferend through rain, Experditionaryheat, and animals. They refused to feed us for days. Many died where they stand. Many relieved themselves where they stand. The black soldiers told us that we were to suffer the same way blacks slaves suffered in slave ships from Africa. They would randomly take one of us and beat near death and put salt in our open wounds. Those who died were thrown into a deep mountain ravine. I remember speaking to a young soldier dying of thirst about that we will be rescued. He said that the war was a waste. I lied to him it wasn’t that we were fighting for honor. And he said “To what end?” weakly and died. It haunts me a young boy 19 died in this hellhole and a war for no reason. It was this point I knew this war was a waste.” Camp de Jouer had 1000 French soldiers. From the war's end only 89 survived. The lost Chansolme shocked French military experts. The war was from over. Perrin bitterly said, “This war is a hell that never ends!” Charles X was facing tough decisions to make. He still doubled down. There was to be no withdrawal.

The French military was at its wit end. It was over stretched and there were cracks and the cost of waging two wars was growing. Charles X was unable to send reinforcements to Haiti as the war in Russia was heating up. Perrin was now forced to depend on what was left the Expeditionary force to deliver a victory.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Sorry for the long Delay. I have been researching and writing a lot. Things are going to get interesting, to say the least. I present an another update.

Battle of Dufort

General Auguste Marmont

Faustin Solouque


1827:


January-July

"We were sent here not to win but die a cruel death. Madness this war is. Madness.”


Early 1827 was, as usual, a stalemate in the war with both sides of the island. The reinforcement of 45,000 men was a replacement force. General Perrin was making plans to make another attempt to take the inland fortress of Marchand Dessalines. The 40,000 men were led by a lesser known General Rosseau. His job was to reinforce the force fighting the investment of the Citadelle which has gone for months with no French gains. Taking the Citadelle would free up a significant amount French troops to march South to Marchand Dessalines. The hope was that taking the capital would be a major blow to the resistance that all fighters would be demoralized. Perrin was obsessed to encircle and storm the city. Then he would go to the south and reinforce Monmouth. The force under General Rosseau pacified the Nord and marched west to aid Oudinot’s men who were wreaked by both yellow fever and heavy casualties with attempts to take the Citadelle. So, for the beginning of 1827 Rosseau’s men marched east from Mole St Nicholas to pacify the entire north under French control. Mormount was holed up in Miroagoane. He turned the town into a fortress to hold off the massive black army surrounding them. However, there were French detachments in the areas surrounding Mirogoane area. Accau and General Herard came up with a strategy to isolate Mormount. Fighters in Grand Anse and Les Cayes were united into one force of 35,000. In Sud Est, there were 15,000 men on the march. The plan was to march to Jacmel then march north to Dufort and Leogane to split the French forces in two in the south. On February 18th, the two massive armies merged. The combined force of 50,000 men marched north. This was the largest army assembled in the war. On March 8th, 1827 the battle Dufort started. The French garrison in Dufort numbered 650 faced down a Haitian force of 11,000. The battle was a massacre. The Haitian army encircled the town and moved to fight the French army there. The French fighters fought bravely but were all killed. Then the march was to Leogane. The garrison of Leogane held a strong position since they had heavy artillery. The battles of Leogane in March 15th-March 18th were stalemates. The massive Haitian army had no answer to the French artillery barrages. The goal was to hold off until the 18,000 reinforcements from Mirogoane and Port Au Prince merge to Leogane. It took two more weeks of heavy fighting until the reinforcements came. The Haitian army held unto the mountains surrounding the town. The battle of Leogane in April 5th was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. 20,000 Frenchmen facing down 50,000 Haitian was the largest battle of the war. The battle lasted for the whole day from the 5th to the 6th. Mormount was killed in battle by a grapeshot to the chest. French forces held the line in the Leogane for the most of the day with a heavy artillery barrage. However, they were running low on supplies. When Mormont was killed the French, forces retreated to the beach head. They used boats to cross to Gonave Island. The Southern front was destroyed. French Losses was 2170 dead and 4,830. 7000 men lost in the battle out 20000 lost in battle. The trek to Gonave Island was a desperate trek to with men dying on the way with boats overflown. With the French defeated in the South, it was easier for Great Britain and Gran Colombia to supply Haiti with weapons. Ile la Vache was the main smuggling area for the weapons but now it will be easier to send more weapons. With the South Liberated, Accau and Herard planned to march north to attack Perrin’s rear. Upon hearing Mormount’s death and the retreat of French forces to Gonave Island Perrin went into a fury. He demanded the retreating forces in Gonave to be deployed to his positions as soon as possible. The French fighters didn’t want to fight and a mutiny almost ensued. However, the men were convinced to go reinforce Perrin’s forces at Gran Saline. There were only 11,556 men left over to reinforce Perrins 35,000 men. Perrin was now in a major conundrum his rear was exposed and French reinforcements were not coming. His staff told him that a large Haitian force was marching its way to destroy the remain French forces. Perrin needed a major victory and needed one fast. He made the final decision to make another assault for Marchand Dessalines. He figured once the city fell the govt will collapse. Then he will meet up with Oudinot and Rousseau to seize the north. Then they will merge to march south to defeat the large Haitian southern army in a major battle. Perrin was obsessed with taking the city. Guerrier heard news of the collapse and said “The taste of victory is near. The French are desperate we must continue our strategy to deliver the final blow that will shake the world.” The North was still a quagmire for French forces trying to break down the Citadelle which a nightmare to take. Ouidinot wrote to Perrin that he was going to withdraw to rest him men and figure out a strategy to take the fort. Perrin reluctantly agreed with it. He was frustrated at how the Citadelle withstood so much bombardment and power. The battle had lasted for about 11 months with no end in sight. The fortress was built to withstand multiple assaults and French losses were heavy. Oudinot secretly wrote to his wife that “Half of his fighting force was gone. They either died of yellow fever, in combat too wounded or ill to fight on. That meant from the 25,000 he initially had, he only had 13000 men left to fight. The battle for the fort proved too much for Ouidinot. He called back for men from Nord Est and Nord Ouest. Each sent 2000 men. This token force highlighted French forces being stretched thin. The reserve forces Ouidinot left in both Nor Est and Ouest were small but flexible. With their numbers small it made it hard for them to control the restive North areas. Ouidinot retreated his men to Limbe to rest and recuperate. In the Citadelle the pause helped replenish supplies that were running low. General Riche commander of the Citadelle saw the withdrawal of French forces as a victory. Many of his men wanted to give chase but he smartly said “That is what they want. They do well in open battle and destroy us. It is better to keep doing what we have done. Besides they will return.” Riche then left command of the fort to a young capable officer Fabre Geffrard. Riche went to the Nord Est to raise forces. Rousseau was in a wild goose chase trying to track down Pierrot. In the end, he marched to merge with Perrin to blunt the threat from the south. The war in the west became a stalemate and waiting game. However in the east is where major events to affect the war occurred.


“Unity or death!”



In the Spanish East there was no progress made for the French forces on Bourdosoulle. The campaign had become one disaster after another. In January of 1827, Bourdosoulle withdrew his forces from the border areas to the city of Santiago. He left a sizeable force in Dajabon to watch the border area. He ordered for the remaining forces to concentrate in the provinces of La Vega, Santiago, and Puerto Plata as these were the only provinces they had under control. His strategy as written to Perrin was “…to abandon the less useful areas. Santiago is a major city and under our control. We will build fortifications to hold on until reinforcements from France can relieve. My army has been decimated by diseases and the ambushes and fighting. We will use our strength which our artillery to destroy any enemy forces that attempt to retake the cities we took over.” Solouque used this time to gather forces across the whole island to prepare for the final stages. He called for a mobilization of all forces to prepare for the upcoming campaigns. The levee en masse swelled the forces on the east. Prior to the war, there were 15,000 Haitian soldiers with 5000 militia. Now the total forces went from 20,000 men to 70,000. Solouque had 35,000 men under his control and was readying for a bloody fight. In March 25th, 1827 a force of 6000 Spanish and French Haitian forces encircled the town of Dajabon which had 500 French soldiers inside. The battle lasted 3 days. The French defenders fought hard inflicting heavy casualties to the attackers however they ran out of ammunition and were defeated. The pitch battles in the city was described by Haitian military veteran and author Joseph Piere Alexis “The hand to hand fight was brutal. Both sides fought with rage and hatred of the other. Fist was thrown, knives, bayonet were plunged into necks and chests. Mele and bloodshed and both sides fought to the end. Dead French soldiers were decapitated as the fury of a white invader who wishes to enslave them burned in every soldier's heart including mine!” The entire French garrison in Dajabon was killed. 500 men wiped out. News of the defeat sent chills down the side of French officers. One wrote in his diary “Everyday I dread whether this will be my last time on Earth. I fear I will never see my fiancé again and die from the hands of brute or die from the yellow plague in slow painful death in this hot island.” Perrin took the news of Dajabon with indifference. He told the officers “The time is imperative now to end this war once and for all.” Although in his famous autobiography written 5 years after the war he wrote that “After the massacre of Dajabon I couldn’t sleep for days. I lost weight and looked gaunt and didn’t shave. My staff was worried that I had yellow fever but it was just dread that we will not make it out of this island alive.”

In April 19th saw the riot of Monte Cristi occurred as the cities were becoming more hostile with food and other supplies being taken by French troops. Monte Cristo had a force of 2,600 men under the command of a racist authoritarian commander names Samuel Bapitiste. The riots was met with bloodshed as he ordered his men to open fire on the rioters. 89 were killed with 200 wounded. The next day a larger riot ensued. On the outskirts Haitian forces fought a small French detachment in Villa Vasquez on April 21st. The French forces retreated to Monte Cristi as the first line of defense was crushed. By the end of the week Haitian forces reached Monte Cristi. The Haitian forces was under the command of Andre Laidan the firebrand general. He had 10,000 men under his control facing a French force of 2,900. The riot went on for days and allowed Haitian forces to reach Monte Cristi faster than the garrison expected. This allowed Haitian forces to encircle and launched attacks at various points of the town. The battle of Santana lasted 2 days. After 2 days of intense fighting and resistance, the French forces finally lost after being low in supplies. The surviving force was 800 men. They were arrested. Soluque at this same started his campaign to take Santiago. One obstacle was a fort that French forces fortified which was San Felipe Fortaleza. The Fort housed 4000 French soldiers with heavy guns too. The battle started on May 18th. The next ten days were some of the bloodiest chapters of the war. With 35,000 men facing 4,000 Frenchmen it was nearly a fiasco. Every charge the Haitian soldiers was repelled with devastating artillery bombardment. Soulouque personally led a charge nearly got killed as a grapeshot whizzed past his head. On the 9th day he went to the camp his men were. They looked tired with low morale. Losses were very heavy. Soulouque started a famous stirring speech which historians call the “Speech of Union.” He spoke interchangeably between Kreyol and Spanish. Many Unionist have pointed to the speech as the cornerstone of the new nation. It went as followed “Sons of Quisqeya stand together and stand with me. Your fathers before you fought the white Frenchman 20 years ago with vigor and strength! They gave you freedom to never face slavery. Mulatto and black were united to face white tyranny which wanted to exterminate us all. I used to fall victim of racial strife with the mulattoes but as this war shown the white race does not care if you are a black negro or a yellow or red mullatto. They want us all dead. We are in this land by destiny to shock the world to defeat one of Europe’s strongest armies. We must unite the crush the same enemy who come to our land to enslave not only us but our children and our family. We will strike with out warning and without mercy with all our power. Spanish or French we are one people. This army has shown us that through a trial of fire we can be friends. Many of you here who speak Spanish learn Kreyol many of you here who speak Kreyol learned Spanish. Now is the time to unite and send the enemy to the sea! We will The enemy sees us as mongrels and monster fit to be only be exterminated. We must fight for our lives because our own existence is at stake. Let us show the world we fear none!” Solouqe realized a full frontal assault was suicide so instead, he waited for artillery guns from other forts to reach him. He was waiting to bomb the the French into submission. His other goal was to have the French run out of munitions. Forts from neighboring Forts arrived 3 days later. During the three day pause the French commander of the Fort ordered his men to be on alert. He figured that the Haitian withdrawal was a signal that they admitted lost. Three days later artillery barrage of the fort ensued. It was an intense barrage. The French forces within the Fort were heavily weakened by the bombardment. The intense artillery barrage lasted for 3 more days. French losses in those three days were 400 killed and 100 wounded. In the end on June 5th, Solouque launched a multipronged assault with artillery support. For the whole day there was heavy fighting. French forces lost the fort after losing ammo trying to stop wave after wave of Haitian partisans. The entire garrison was massacred under the orders of Solouque. He said, “This is a war of extermination we must send a message to the world that any invasion will not be tolerated !” These event in the summer of 1827 is named by historians as Soluque’s summer offensive. Souloue paln was to liberate Puerto Plata and the provinces around Santiago. It was a plan to give the French no escape. Solouque was welcomed as a hero to every village,town or city he was in. He leanred to speak Spanish and taught his men to respect the citizens and the culture. He even took a Spanish mulatress mistress from Sosua. In June 23rd he faced another bloody battle. The city of Puerta Plate was encircled and there was a sizeable force of 2000 men. The officer in charge was against surrender. He said “They will slaughter us if we surrender. I would rather fight dying than go down like a lamb.” The battle of Puerta Plata lasted 2 days. The garrison was also massacred. Solouque was waging a war in the spirit of Dessalines. He was determined to defeat the European invaders with nay means necessary. Many Haitian officers were uncomfortable with killing men who surrendered. He would sharply bark “These white men would hang you if it was the other way around. They see us not human. Black and mulatto. Let them live in fear of what is to come.” By August 1827 the prvince of Santiago was the only province left in the Spanish side controlled by the French. Perrin was dismayed by the news coming from the East. Time was running out. If the East fell. It would Free up more Haitian soldiers to attack the west. Perrin wrote in his autobiography “It was at this time I made a descion. Either stay defensive or make a move to stop the enemy momentum and hopefully sue for peace.” Suing for peace as he knew the war was lost. However Charles X did not want to hear any of it. He wanted a victory. His racism blinded him and would not acdept that French forces lost to a ragtag guerilla force of blacks and mulattos. It is this same arrogance that would lead to the fall of Charles X the following year.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Russian Revolutionary War 1826-1827

Battle of Erzurum

Battle of Lvov

Battle of Niemans River

Sea Battle at Crimea

Battle of Varna









Spark: The December of 1825 brought about the Decembersit revolt which was started by Russian officers. It overthrew the Russian monarchy and established a Republic with no written constitution. Europe’s response was of course. The Concert of Europe sprung into action to mobilize a massive invading army to aid counter revolutionary forces in Russia and the Tsar back into power. What began was a time of turmoil that would shape world history.


Opposing Forces: The Concert assembled a massive invading force. Every member was to commit troops. Prussia and the Austrian Empire provided much of the force. Both gave 250,000 men (500,000) The Russian counter revolutionary White Legion (75,000), French Imperial forces (150,000), German Confederation (60,000) and Italian states (50,000), Ottoman forces(40,000) The combined 875,000 force was assembled with the goal of overthrowing the revolutionary government and establishing the Russian monarchy. Britain didn’t get involved in the war but was watching the war very closely. The British figured that this massive coalition would be strong enough to defeat the Russian revolutionary government. The Russian counter revolutionary forces were led by Micheal Pavolich son of Nicholas 1. The general of the French forces was Louis Antoine son of Charles X. Prussian forces were led by Prince Augustus. Austrian forces were led by Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria Este. The Russian Republican Army before the war was 350,000 men but the revolutionary government called for a levee en masse of able bodied men to join the military. The Russian military swelled to 2 million men. The military was in bad shape since the officer class was divided. Some defected to the royalist White Legion. The Polish army was only 140,000 strong led by the brave Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki.

Opening Strategies: The Concert of Europe’s main strategy was to bring down the revolutionary government and install Micheal Pavolich as Czar. To get that the military planners agreed invading Russia would be a massive undertaking. So the plan was to engage Russia on multiple fronts. This is why the Ottoman Empire was brought to join the coalition. Britain was given an invitation. However the British wanted to only engage in the naval aspect of the war.

The Concert of Europe declared war against Russia and agreed to aid Russian counter revolutionary forces led by the Micheal Pavolich the son of Tsar Paul 1. The monarchist army was called the White Eagle Legion. The army was to be mobilized by April. The planning of the war was to attack Polish Russia, a token Ottoman force of 40,000 along with Austrian force of 175,000 would attack Bessarabia. The strategy was to overwhelm Russian revolutionary forces in multiple fronts. The Prussian strategy was to open two fronts in the Baltic and Polish territories. Austria Hungary would push into Ukraine to spread their lines. The goal is to retake St. Petersburg and Moscow by the end of the year.


Russian military strategy was to push mobilize the population for war. A people’s war was the strategy to defeat the invading forces. A levee en masse was announced and swelled Russian army numbers from 300,000 to 2.4 million men under arms. The idea was to engage the invading forces and lure them deep into Russian territory. Cossacks would use guerilla tactics to attack enemy supply lines and camps. Russian military planners figured if they can bog down the Coalition forces by winter it will mean success. Once winter comes around there would 800,000 freshly trained Russian men to launch a counterattack. Russian revolutionary leaders like Pestel believed that to make sure another invasion never happened again that the counterattack should go far beyond Russia. That mean Austria and Prussia Poland and the Balkans. In the Caucus front, Pestel had an idea in place already. He wanted Russia to ally with the Qajar Persian Dynasty. The idea was that since the Ottomans would be overstretched a Russo-Persian force would be enough to deliver a devastating blow to the Ottomans and take them out the war or better collapse the Empire. However to bring the Persians to the Russian side sacrifices were to be made. That meant territory had to be sacrificed. Also aiding Polish rebels would give Russia another ally to help in this war effort. The Coalition may try to open as many fronts as possible but Russia had time on its side. Coalition military planners wanted to end the war before winter. Many great Russian generals fought on the side of the royalist for example General Voronstov, Von Diebitsch. However many generals were sympathetic to the revolutionary cause such as Ivan Paskevich who disgusted that royalist would ally with foreigners to invade mother Russia as puppets and not listen to the people. General Yermolov also pro revolutionary. He was exiled by Paul I a decade ago in the 1790s. That left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The war is remembered to have started in Russia but spread to the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Caucasus region. It led to end of one Empire. Led to three nations to overthrow their monarchs and establish a Republic. And led to the rise of two empires.

To Be Continued..........................

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Russian Revolutionary War 1826-1827
Part 1:
False Hope and Beginnings

Prince Augustus of Prussia Supreme Commander of Coalition forces

Czar Micheal Pavlovich commander of royalist forces

Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême commander of French forces

Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov commander of Russian forces in the Western front

Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich commander of Russian forces in the Caucasus and Anatolia.

Valerian Madatov commander of Russian forces in Caucasus and Anatolia

Georgi Emmanuel commander of Russian forces in Ukraine

Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki commander in chief of Polish forces and partisans.

Fall of Warsaw: Russia had a small garrison force in Poland of 40,000 to aid the 100,000 strong Polish army. This army were no match for Europe's elite. In every battle, they were brutally beaten. The battle of Lodz was devastating and opened the road to Warsaw. After the Polish army dissolved into a guerilla militia whose aim was to attack Coalition logistics into Russia. Prussia’s occupation of Poland was brutal and led to resentment and resistance. Jan Skrzynecki fought bravely against the coalition forces but his men were ill prepared for the European assault. He then ordered what was left of polish forces to fight a guerilla war against the "cursed barbaric occupiers of Polish land." The battle of Warsaw basically saw the end of the Polish army as an effective fighting force...for now.

Battle of Warsaw



Battle of Nemens River. The two armies first clashed at the Niemens river. The first battle of the war was an inconclusive draw. General Yermolov was given command of the western front. The Russian force of 90,000 met the combined force of French/Prussian/Royalist out the banks of the Niemens river near the city of Kovno. The battle was inconclusive for the simple fact that there was mass confusion in the coaliton camp. Coalition losses were 5000 dead and 11,000 wounded. Russian losses were 4000 and 6000 wounded. French forces were lost after repelling an intense ambush. Prussian forces led by Prince Augustus in confusion retreated thinking the French forces were defeated. On April 23 the second battle of Nemans was started and this time Coalition forces were victorious. Yermolov withdrew to Vilnius. To prepare defenses for a tough fight.

Battle of Niemans River.

Battle of Vilnius: On May 4th Yermolov stocked the city with artillery. The battle of Vilnius was almost a Russian victory. Russian artillery bombarded the Coalition forces. Coalition forces attempted to storm the city at least 4 times each time being repelled. However, Coalition numerical superiority aided the day. Prussian and Royalist troops encircled the city. Then stormed it. Russian forces surrounded fought their way out of the city. Much of the city was devastated by the bloody fighting. Yermolov motivated his men to fight their way out. So the Russian forces attacked the Royalist and broke their lines to create an opening where they could retreat., Coalition losses were 7000 dead and 15000 wounded. Meanwhile, Russian losses were 10,000 dead and 18,000 wounded. Yermolov moved his headquarters to Smolensk. Austrian forces made moves in the province of Belarus. Prussian war planners changed strategy. Prussian officers along with French officers figured that it would be easier to take the Baltic provinces. They wanted to seize the Baltic provinces then move to the hinterland to St Petersburg then Moscow. The idea was to push as many lines as possible to capture Moscow. They believed this would spread Russian forces. The idea of starting a massive front line to overstretch Russian forces and force them to collapse. Plan sounded good on paper but to apply it proved very difficult.

Battle of Vilinius

Invasion of Bessarabia: Ottoman and Austrian forces marched into Bessarabia in May 1826. The province fell relatively easy. Took 3 weeks for the entire province to fall. The Russian force there was a token force. After that, the next move was into Ukraine. Austrian commander Karl Joseph reportedly arrogantly said: "If the Russians fight like this the war will be over by summer's end. Ukraine is all flat land for the most part." However, Ukraine was home to the radical Pestels faction in the Decemberist revolt. It was of anti Coalition. They despised the royalist coalition and was eager to fight. invasion of Ukraine would be bloody and difficult because of its size and that there was 200,000 Russian soldiers plus a massive reserve base ready for war. Russian-Serbian General Georgi Emmanuel was given command of Ukraine. He had ambitious goals for not only defending Ukraine. He wrote in his journal at the time "After Ukraine, I will move to liberate the Balkans. Christians under the control of barbaric Muslims. What a blasphemy!"


Persia enters the War. Pestel believed to defeat the coalition Russia needed some help. And he wanted to knock out the weakest member of the coalition which was the declining Ottoman Empire. To do so he called upon its arch nemesis Qajar Persia. Pestel sent diplomats to offer a proposal to the Persian. Russia was willing to renegotiate the Treaty of Gulitstan. Plus aid Persian military reform and moderation in exchange for opening a front against the Ottomans. Russia would aid the invasion with 100,000 men. The negations started in summer 1826 and finished in the fall. Many Russian hardliners were enraged with this offer. However, Pestel promises them that the war will not end pushing the invaders out. Russia would move into the Balkans to aid their Slavic brothers and finally take over the Dardanelles. Now, this was a far fetched idea since now. Russia is in total retreat. Ivan Paskevich met with Abbas Mirza to discuss terms. This started the close Russo-Persian alliance which dominated the region even unto this day.

Ivan Paskevich and Abbas Mirza meeting to renegotiate the treaty of Gulistan in Baku.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Russian Revolutionary War 1826-1827
Part Two
Mud, Blood, Iron, and Fire.

Spring/Summer of 1826: The rest of the spring saw coalition forces advancing into Russian territory. However Russian Cossack and army forces employed guerrilla tactics. This tactic proved effective because for a front this wide and a coalition army this vast they depended on massive amounts of supplies. Also, towns and villages were burned to prevent the coalition to forage on the land. Coalition forces learned this from Napoleon and instead used a massive system of supply wagons. This however slowed down their forces. It also gave guerrilla forces targets to attack. Daily ambushes were taking its toll on the supply lines. The deeper they got into Russia the more stretched those lines were and more vulnerable to partisan’s forces. Disagreement also plagued the coalition. Prussia was focused on trying to retake the Baltic provinces. For them, these provinces were more pro-royalist than other areas. The nobility in those areas was horrified of the revolutionaries. Many of them provided manpower to the Absolutist side. Plus it would be easier to take St Petersburg. Then march to Russia attacking all sides. Austrian forces wanted to simply march to Moscow. Set up the new government they march to St Petersburg. This, in turn, made the invasion a slow one. However, Russia forces gave up land to draw coalition forces in. By June 1826 Coalition forces were on the outskirts of Smolensk. Yermolonks fortified the town. Coalition forces encircled the city and bombarded the town. The two armies fought from 8 am to 1030 pm. Coalition forces were mauled by Russian guns and artillery every time they tried to storm the city. It took 8 attempts before a breakthrough. The 140,000 coalition forces engaged the 100,000 Russian forces in what was the early urban warfare battles. Russian forces inflicted heavy losses to the coalition. French losses were heavy especially. King Charles X son Louis Antoine was gravely wounded in the battle after getting shot 4 times in the abdomen after his cavalry were mowed down by a Russian ambush. In the end, Yermolov again had his men fight through the encirclement.

Battle of Smolensk


In Ukraine, Austrian forces along with German forces After Bessarabia fell easily Austrian/Ottoman and German forces made a move into the Ukrainian province. The heartland of the Decemberist revolution. Ukraine was a massive land with a large population. The commander of the Ukraine front was Ivan Argamakov veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812. His strategy was simple retreat his forces to the Dnieper River. Create a formidable defensive fortification to bog down the forces. That meant abandoning Odessa, Kyiv, Lvov. Argamakov figured that Ukrainian serf partisans along with Ukrainian Cossacks would wage a brutal partisan campaign. Coalition forces took western Ukraine with ease. All the cities mentioned fell with little resistance. However, guerrilla attacks were increasing. Ambushes were targeting coalition supply lines slowing down the offensive. Giving Argamakov more time. What he built near the Dnieper River was a deep trench stretching miles. Built fortifications and gun placements. The Dneiper was already a harsh river crossing it. Crossing it while getting mauled by artillery guns would make the situation worse. The first engagement was the battle of Cherkasy on July 10th 1826. Coalition forces were brutally beaten after heavy bombardment. Coalition commander then drew up a plan for an assault into Crimea to get behind the defensive line and crush the Russian forces there. However, the land they captured from Russia in western Ukraine was vast. And guerilla attacks by the people’s militia and Ukraine Cossack was hurting the war effort. Coalition forces were stretched thin. Occupying not only Western Ukraine but Belarus. Attrition was starting to take its toll. So the plan was to defeat the Russian black sea fleet. Then land Troops into Crimea which was a fortress that houses over 175,000 Russian soldiers. Coalition forces decided 60,000 would be enough to take the Peninsula and they were mistaken.

Battle of Cherkasy

Battle of Crimea-Austria/Ottoman ships were set sailed to engage Russian forces. The Austrian and Ottoman navies were some of the weakest navies however they figured if combined they could defeat one of Russia premier fleets. The battle of Crimea started and Austrian and Ottoman naval were soundly crushed. It was a devastating naval lost. Austria lost half its naval capacity in the battle. This meant plans to take Crimea was not going to happen. Austria begged Great Britain to join the war. The British were not interested in getting involved in another continental mess. The naval victory was a boon for Russia and raised patriotic morale to bigger heights. Coalition forces stayed on their side if the Dnieper River. The Ukraine front was now a stalemate. At least for now.

Battle of Crimea
Moscow taken- With Smolenks fallen the road to Moscow was open. Austrian/French/Royalist and Prussian marched intently to Moscow. However, they came upon a massive Russian force of 125,000 men. On July 27th is where one of the bloodiest battles of the war took place. The Battle of Mozhaysk. The battle lasted from morning till night. Russian General Yermolov led Russian forces. The battle was a bloody battle at it was at first in the open. Russian guns mauled coalition cavalry in multiple charges. Cossack forces wreaked havoc to coalition lines. At first Russian forces held on. Until Coalition cannons which were deadlier responded in kind. The battle was bloody because Russian forces did not retreat unless Yermolov commanded them to. Coalition forces then were able to use their cannons to devastate the Russian flanks. By nightfall, after a final charge, Russian forces retreated. Coalition forces were too exhausted to give chase, they marched into the empty town of Mozhaysk and found no supplies. Then on August 1st Moscow was taken. The city was in chaos. The prisons were opened and rioting and looting were all over the street. The coalition immediately set up the Counter-revolutionary govt in Moscow. Micheal Pasvolich was crowned king. The coalition along with counter-revolutionary soldiers cracked down heavily on crime. Looters were shot. Curfews were set. The problem was there was no food and few people in the city. Supply lines were at a breaking point. And the biggest problem was that even though the Absolutist coalition took Moscow they still haven’t decisively defeated the Russian revolutionary forces. The war was far from over.

In August there was a lull in fighting as Concert forces didn’t want to advance further to make the supply situation worse. Time was of the essence. The word and motto officers were saying “End the War before October.” The reason was that Russia in October was as bitterly cold as London in December or Paris in January. The lull in fighting gave Russian revolutionary forces time to prepare and further mobilize manpower. Since Moscow was taken the next move was St Petersburg. With much of Baltic Russia under Coalition control. The next idea was to fortify St. Petersburg. However unexpected news from Finland


Swedish Unification War of 1826 - King Charles John of Sweden was watching the events of Russia with interest. He was invited to the Concert of Europe to join the war effort he refused. He didn’t want to give in to demands by these foreign kings and sacrifice men to save their rear ends. He had other plans. He wanted to bring Finland under Swedish rule to undo a historical wrong. He had Sweden and Norway under his control. Russian Finland was what he truly wanted. Uniting the three states was a dream many in the elite had. Many of his advisors told him to join the Concert with the chance of taking Russian Finland. However, he felt the time wasn’t right. Besides the Concert would demand him to send troops to Eastern Russia to help the Prussian and Austrian Empires. He then chose the time for the invasion of Finland on his own terms. August 4th, 1826 King Charles Berdonotte of Sweden with a force of 60,000 men crossed the border into Finland. They swept through Finland with ease. Finnish citizens rose up in rebellion in the south while Swedish troops were moving quickly through the north. Cities in the south fell to the rebels with ease as Russian soldiers far away from home simply retreated. Some Russian soldiers joined the rebellion as they felt they were abandoned by their government to guard a faraway province with a hostile populace. The Finnish elites were loyal to the Czar but didn’t start a rebellion against the revolutionary government. The Finnish citizenry didn’t see the difference between the Czar or the Revolutionary government. Russian rule would be the same no matter what type of government is in Moscow. The Russian garrison was small as no one expected movement in Finland. The Russian garrison was about 34,000 men. There were only 6 battles that took place in the war and all 6 ended with Swedish victory. King Charles John showed his military genius with the war. By August 26th, 1826 Helinski was besieged. The Russian garrison was now down to 10,000 men. The garrison was wracked with desertion, defection, death and wounded. St Petersburg was not in the condition to send men to Finland as they were worried about opening another front. Sergey Muravyov Apostol told the revolutionary congress that “We will focus on Finland when the war is over. Let King Charles have his little victory. He will face out wrath when everything is done.” Helinski was stormed on August 23rd and the Russian garrison surrendered after an hour of fighting. Scandinavia was now united under one king. Finnish militias hailed King Charles as their King. And now a unified Scandinavian country was a reality. King Charles, however, didn’t rest on his laurels. He started preparing for the eventual war with Russia. The loss of Finland wasn’t a big loss and wasn’t and a pressing issue for Russia. The Decemberist knew that Sweden was acting on its own accord and wasn’t on the side of the Concert of Europe. The Coalition was begging Sweden to open another front. With Finland under their control, they could march south to the Psov region to aid with taking St. Petersburg. King Charles flat out refused. He didn’t want to send his men to Russia to die of a “defeated cause,” as he wrote back. And he was right. Instead, he began the process of building fortifications all over Finland and incorporating Finnish militias into the Swedish imperial army.

The road to St Petersburg filled with Death- In August 27th Coalition forces were ready to march north to St Petersburg. Prussia/German/French forces numbering 190,000 started the march to the Psov region. Little did they know that in the area around St.Petersburg there were 245,000 Russian soldiers. These were the first recruits of the levee en masse., The first engagement was the battle of Psov. The battle was an intense clash. It was remembered as a battle that had heavy royalist losses. After a day of intense battle, it was a surprised Russian victory. Coalitions forces retreated after Russian Cossack cavalry attacked their rear in a classic hammer and anvil maneuver. After this coalition forces went to rest and rearm. They then attempted again on September 8th. This time they made a move to Ostrov. And this is where the battle of Ostrov started. The battle was another intense contest. Russian manpower proved to be a deciding factor as coalition forces incurred heavy losses again. About 21,000 losses. The fight to protect St Petersburg was proving hard for the coalition. Simply for the fact that supplies were slow to come. Guerilla forces were increasing their ambushes on coalition wagon. This slowed down supplies reaching their destination. Shortages in food were starting to happen. So the Coalition forces waited until September 29th to try again. However this time October was almost here. The fall rains also created another hurdle for the vast and vulnerable Coalition supply lines. Roads were filled with heavy mud. Mud was like glue that made wagons stuck. This, in turn, made them an easy target for Russian Cossack guerillas. The next battle was the bloodiest one so far. The battle of Velikaya River. The battle started on September 29th and lasted 2 days. The first day was a short clash. Heavy cold rain downpours affected use of gunpowder. Low morale was spreading across the coalition camp. Low supplies, sickness and a foe that was difficult to defeat hurt morale. The next day there was light rain but the air was cold. 75,000 coalition forces facing down 150,000 Russians. Prussian/Austrian and French forces used intense artillery bombardment to soften up Russian lines. Russian lines did suffer a bit but counter batter attacks from the Russia did some damage to the coalitions. Russian guns were on the slope of the area. Soon Russian forces did the first charge. Prussian well-drilled soldiers cut down the Russian forces. At this same time, Russian calvary attacked Coalition left flank which was under the control of the depleted royalist forces. The left flank was broken. This allowed Russian forces try another and fatal charge. Coalition forces faced the prospect of being encircled. They attempted to push back the charges. In the end, losses were piling up for the Coalition forces. They retreated and Russia gave pace. The coalition army was in total disarray. They retreated all the way to Riga.

Battle of Velikaya River.



Stalemate: After the end of Velikaya the war was a stalemate. Neither side could defeat the other. As the fall came the coalition was stuck. The ground was muddy from heavy fall rains. For the next few months, both sides were trying to figure out their next plans. Coalition forces asked for reinforcements. The biggest problem was that with the muddy roads was making the precarious supply crisis even worse. This helped Russian guerillas be bolder in their attacks on these lines. A Prussian general wrote “Our supply situation is near collapse. If things do not turn around in months we could face the prospect of the army starving to death in the Russian winter.” The pressure was on the Concert to figure out what to do. They did not plan for the war to last into the winter. Russia was biding time. The Revolutionary council saw things were going according to plan. The Revolutionary committee in St Petersburg was emboldened by victories in the Psov region and in the Crimean Peninsula. For the Absolutist, it was imperative that they take St.Petersburg. Klemens von Metternich was adamant that St.Petersburg must be taken. He wrote “As long the revolutionaries hold St.Ptersburg they will have support. Holding Moscow will do nothing as long as the revolutionaries are militarily defeated. There is no time for compromise or peace. They must be defeated. Haven't we learned anything from France in the 1790s?” However, this whole notion of no compromise was easy to say but hard to do. Russia was a massive country and the question was how far could the Concert of Europe go to defeat the Decemberist?

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Russian Revolutionary War
Part 3
The Sickman finally dies
Caucasus and Middle East Front

Abbas Mirza

Sultan Mahmud II

Muhammad Ali of Egypt

Ibrahim Pasha

Ivan Peskevich

The Start of the Ottoman Empire's ending- At this time the Ottoman Empire was the sick man in Europe. They were fighting a never-ending war in Greece to put down the rebellion there. With the help Eyalet of Egypt under the command of the ever bold Muhammad Ali they were making some gains. However, things about deteriorated fast for the Ottomans. Negotiations ended and Russia and Persia came to a compromise. The treaty of Gulistan was renegotiated. The treaty of Baku was signed. Persia would get back Azerbaijan. Russia would maintain Georgia and Armenia. Also, Russia would aid in modernizing their military as well. Plus Russia would aid Persia in future wars of conquest against the Ottomans. The Shah of Persia was the incompetent Fatah Ali Shah Qajar. However, his young reformer son Abbas Mirza who was the Crown Prince and heir to the throne was the opposite. Russian Historian Veltsin said “Fatah was incompetent and a poor leader for Persia. He represented everything wrong with the Qajar dynasty. However, his son was the complete opposite. He was a military man, reformer, hard worker and a simple man. He did the negotiation with Pestel in Tbilisi. Pestel and other Russian admired him.” Moscow wanted to use the Sunni/Shia divide in the Muslim world to defeat the Ottomans and take them out the war. Moscow also figured Persia would be a future asset for Russia. They could be used to expand Russian influence in the region and get a warm water port near British India. Pestel was a forward thinker. On January 12th, 1827 former adversaries Ivan Paskevich and Abbas Mirza were now united to fight the Ottoman Empire. In the fall Paskevich was given the duty to train the Persian Army. And it was in terrible shape. “The men had no rifle discipline. The commanders were only interested in drinking teas and playing chess rather looking at maps. When it came to war they tried to use chess tactics on a battlefield. Calvary was lacking. They had numerical numbers but they were not an army just an armed mob.” The invasion was planned by Paskevich. So he planned for an invasion of western Armenia. Russia saw this as an opportunity to take all of western Armenia from the Ottomans. The Persian force was 60,0000 while the Russian forces were 100,000. The combined 160,000 force moved to Western Armenia in January of 1827. This caught the Ottomans off-guard. The first battle was the battle of Van of which a force of 30,000 Ottoman soldiers faced down the vast invasion force and was crushed. The decisive battle of Erzurum was the bloodiest battle of the campaign. 60,000 Ottoman Turks against the 160,000 man force. The battle was bloody however the Persian/Russo force prevailed. Ottoman presence in Western Armenia was near collapse. Armenian militias rose up and welcomed Russian and Persian forces as liberators. The Ottoman empire was in great shock at how quickly and this alliance moved through Western Armenia with ease. The Ottomans withdrew from the Ukraine front in order to stop the bleeding. The feared that Russia and Persia were moving to take all of Anatolia and divide up. However Russian and Persian forces stopped their offensive once the city of Erzican was taken in a bloody siege in January 30th 1827. However, the Ottoman's woes were about to worsen in the Balkans.

Battleo of Erzurum


The Balkan Spring- The Balkans has always been a restive area under Ottoman control. One of the biggest sparks for rebellion was the Auspicious Incident. Under the leadership of Mahmud II, he defeated the rebellion. However remaining Janissary rebels fled to the Balkans. These Janissary reminders met with Christian Balkan leaders to come up with a plan. The start of the revolt was in Serbia. In started on a cold January day. January 28th, 1827 was the start of the third Serbian uprising or Serbian war of Independence. The revolt started with mass rioting. Cause of the rioting is unclear. Although reports from the ground stated a rumor was spreading of Ottoman soldiers in Belgrade raping Serbian young girls. The report was that the Ottoman soldiers were not punished, instead were given promotion. Now nobody knew where this rumor started. There is only a report of Ottoman soldiers who sexually assaulted a Serbian woman in Nich, however, he was discharged. Whether the story was true or not didn’t concerned the Serbs. Another rumor was that Ottoman forces were going around drafting Serbian young men to go fight their Russian, Armenian and Greek brothers. Rioting broke out in Belgrade and Sarajevo. Ottoman forces reacting badly due to low morale, being disillusioned, unmotivated to crackdown on the mobs. This ended in failure. Ottoman troops were chased out these cities and the surrounding areas. In one of surrounding towns, Ottoman troops massacred, raped and pillage Serbian people. This further enraged Serbian citizen and soon the entire region was in rebellion. Serbian militias took over abandoned Ottoman forts and armories. The fires of insurrection soon spread to other provinces. Bulgaria, Bosnia, Wallachia, Macedonia etc. The Balkan spring spread fast and was another event that caught the Ottoman Empire and Concert of Europe by surprise. For the Ottomans, this was a forest fire of that was getting out of control. The Ottomans were now facing a myriad of crisis and it seemed things couldn’t get much worse for them or the concert. But it did.

Third Serbian Revolution



Great Middle East war- Many scholars debate whether to separate the Great Middle East War with the Russian Revolutionary war. In any case, the Great Middle East war saw the end of the Ottoman Empire. At this time Cairo, Ishrarn, and Moscow were in communication with each other. Envoys of the three nations discussed in secret how to destroy their old enemy the Ottoman Empire. It was agreed how the land would be divided. Russia gets western Armenia. Persia gets Iraq and Kuwait. Egypt gets the Levant. As Russia was rampaging in Anatolia Persia strikes first. February 12th, 1827 Abbas Mirza with a massive force of 170,000 men marched to their first targets which were Kirkuk and Irbil. The Ottoman forces there were smashed to pieces. The road to Mosul was open. The siege of Mosul lasted 2 weeks in March 7th-24th. Mosul fell on the 24th. Abbas then set his sights on Baghdad. Meanwhile, Shiites in Basra, Karbala, Najaf, Samarra were rising in rebellion. The Ottoman forces in Iraq was near collapse. Murad II could do little as his forces were stretched thin in the Balkans and Anatolia. Baghdad fell on April 10th, 1827 with little resistance. Abbas Mirza quickly swept through the Shia heartland with little resistance. The battle of Tikrit was a battle in which the entire Ottoman forces of Iraq was annihilated. By May all of Iraq was under Persian Control. He moved further south to take Kuwait. The Shia sacred shines were now under Shia rule. Abbas Mirza empowered the majority Shia Arabs while treated the Sunnis with respect. However, the Shia Arabs were given preferential treatment and privileges. However, Abbas Mirza still wasn't satisfied and looked south into the Persian Gulf. Abbas Mirza wanted to unite the Shia world but also wanted the Persian Gulf to be the swimming pool of the Qajar Empire.

Abbas Mirza marching with his men to Mosul

Muhammad Strikes- Muhhamd Ali saw that the Ottomans were hemorrhaging territory he saw it as an opportunity to attack. He sent his son Ibrahim Ali to take the Bilad al-Sham. Ibrahim quickly took Palestine with little resistance. Th Egyptian forces numbered 80,000 but rose to 100,000 as defections from the Ottoman army switched sides. The only battle in Palestine was the battle of the Acre which had a powerful fortification. It was a bloody battle and took 17 days for the town to fall. In Syria, there were multiple engagements. The battle of Daraa Ibrahim won handily. He moved quickly in Southern Syria and set his sights in Damascus. The battle of Douma near the Outskirts of Damascus ensued on March 20th which the Ottman forces were handily crushed, He marched up north and took Homs at the Battle of the Orontes River. Homs fell on March 29th. Hama fell on April 5th. Aleppo April 15th. Ibrahim set his sights to southern Turkey. His forces engaged Ottoman forces near the battle of the Nezib River. He gave the Ottomans a devastating loss. He took over the provinces near Syria. Muhammad Ali then gave him orders to stop advancing. The loss of Southern territory would be a buffer for Ali. Mahmud II died of a massive heart attack after hearing the loss of Nezib River on May 10th 1827. His untimely death led to chaos in the remnant Ottoman rump state. The Ottoman Empire officially collapsed. This sent shockwaves all over Europe. Now Persia and Egypt were the major powers of the Middle East and were allies of Russia. Great Britain was greatly disturbed by this event. The fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of the Qajar and Alid Dynasty would forever change the Middle East and the world.

Ibrahim Pashia commanding his forces at Nezib River.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Ice,Fire and Steel
Russian Revolutionary War
Part 4
The Great Russian Counteroffensive of 1827




Russian Winter Offensive of 1827-While the Balkans were burning and the West Armenia offensive was taking off, the Russian winter offensive started on January 26th, 1827. Russian commanders were planning for a long time for this offensive and had the manpower to finally push back the invading force. The manpower in this offensive was numbered 800,000. It started on the Ukraine front. The idea was to attack the massive line near the Dneiper River. The battles of Odessa, Cherkasy, Chernobyl were all devastating Russian victories. The alliance was now on the run in Ukraine. In the Baltics, Russian forces launched an offensive to retake Moscow. Now Moscow at this time was under alliance control. The city was in chaos. Daily food riots were a problem. The harsh tactics of Alliance and Russian royalist alienated the populace. The government was weak and unable to exercise control beyond the walls of the city. Partisans attacks on Alliance wagons made food supplies into the city non-existent. So, Concert forces would loot in the city. Which further alienated the populace. The battle of Moscow was a bloody battle. Coalition command wanted to withdraw from Moscow to better positions. However Russian royalist led by Czar Micheal refused. Czar Micheal famously said, “How do I look like to my own people that their ruler fled again instead of standing to fight?” This division led to great tension. Coalition forces knew morale was low for their men. They wouldn’t last in a siege. However, if they withdrew and left the royalist on their own it would create a fissure in the Concert of Europe. So begrudgingly they stayed in Moscow. This decision would be a fatal one.


Battle of Moscow February 6-February 13th 1827- After inflicting heavy losses to Coalition forces in the Psov region attention was to Moscow. General Yermovich was given command to a large force of 345,000 to retake Moscow. Coalition forces had a force of 164,000 men. They were depleted from disease, hunger, ambushes, and the Russian cold. Morale was near a breaking point. Plus, the populace was hostile. Harsh crackdowns on alleged revolutionaries, looters, and citizens protesting created a tense environment in the city. Food supplies were critically low. General Yermovich plan was to encircle the city then assault through various points in the city. Czar Micheal wanted instead to fight the battle on the open. He figured the revolutionary forces were inferior. Many of Coalition high command agreed. A siege would be a disaster. Especially with a hostile populace. So the plan was to meet the forces east of the city near the town of Shatura. The area was heavily forested wilderness even in the middle of winter. The battle was from February 6-7th 1827. The fight lasted much of the day and into the night. Heavy cold rains didn’t help in the situation. The battle was a bloody mess. The Russian forces numerical size was proven to be a liability as confusion occurred. The battle became a stalemate. It ended inconclusively. Coalition losses were 12,000 while Russian losses were 17,000. The losses of the battle were heavier on the Coalition. They then retreated to a small town of Ramensky. The battle of Ramensky occurred on February 10th. The battle started in the evening with light snow. As the night went on the snow turned a blizzard. The battle was a disaster for the Coalition. Loses for them were 24,000. 10,000 dead with 14,000 wounded. The final battle in Moscow was the bloody battle of Domodedovo. Czar Micheal himself led the Coalition forces. He said before the battle to a Prussian general “We cannot afford to lose this battle. We must win. If not this was a waste and the war is over.” The battle of Domodedovo was a typical bloody intense affair. Coalition forces put a strong defense. Repulsing 6 Russian charges. The battle lasted 3 days. The battle rivaled the battle of Borodino in losses. 85,000 casualties in total. 40,000 on the Coalition side. And 45,000 on the Russian side. Czar Micheal was mortally wounded in the battle. He would die 5 days later. With the Czar wounded the army depleted from 3 consecutive bloody battles. It was high time to retreat. Moscow was abandoned. Coalition forces were now preparing to enter Belarus and prepare defenses there to blunt the massive Russian offensive. However, the Coalition army in the middle army group lost half its manpower. The Russian royalist army was just a ragtag militia force of 10,000. General Yermovich entered Moscow on February 15th as a liberator. Moscow was now back under Russian revolutionary control. However, work wasn’t done.

Battle of Domodevo

Bashing through the Baltics- With Moscow retaken Coalition forces had to rethink their strategy now. And the idea that was the creation of a Russian royalist government that comprised of the Baltics, Belarus, Poland and Parts of Ukraine. This, of course, was the resurrection of the Polish-Lithuania commonwealth. Minsk would be the capital. The idea was to create a powerful buffer between the monarchies and Russia. The downside of that plan was that Polish guerillas were being supplied by Russia in occupied Poland. Under the command of General Mikail Arseniev Russian forces marched through the Baltics in late February 1827 with little resistance. Prussian Commander Prince Augustus who was the supreme commander of the Coalition forces ordered a withdraw of forces from the Baltics. The reason was that supply lines were at a breaking point. Plus in Poland, there was a mass uprising that was spreading fast. They needed all the manpower available to put down the revolt. There were only three battles in the Baltics. Battle of Kaunaus which was a short battle. Battle of Tartu which was the most intense one in the region resulted in a total Russian victory. And the siege of Vilnius which lasted for a week. By March 3rd all the Baltics were under Russian control.


Polish Uprising- When Coalition forces took Poland back in 1826 there were Polish guerillas that kept the fight alive. However, in 1827 a mass revolt occurred. It started after Prussian officials ordered that the Polish language was banned. Russian royalist forces went on with the plan to Russify the populace. This backfired badly. The cities of Krakow, Warsaw, and Lublin rose up in rebellion. Coalition forts and armories were seized. The crisis was reaching critical mass. Polish rebels chased out Coalition forces in the major cities. It was at this point Prince Augustus ordered Half the Baltic garrison(60,000) to withdraw and be headed to Poland to put down the revolt. When these new reinforcements came the polish rebels received a series of defeats at the battles of Now. Then on the west Warsaw was retaken. It looked like the revolt was about to be crushed. However massive Russian forces of 180,000 led by General Arseniev marched in occupied Poland on March 8th. This was a massive shot in the arm for the polish rebels as the revolt was near total collapse. The battle of Chelm was a memorable battle as it was combined Polish/Russian army of 80,000 defeating a coalition force of 45,000 in a bloody contest. The battle of Chelm also was the battle that destroyed the Coalition as an effective fighting force. The army was in total retreat. Nothing seemed to go their way. Prince Augustus bitterly wrote “This whole damned affair has been a disaster. We never prepared for a war this massive. Poor planning led to this.” The greatest fear was creeping into the minds of the Prussian and Austrian empires. The Russian Revolutionary forces were slowly reaching the borders. What were they planning next? By March 15th Warsaw was retaken in the battle of the Vistula River. Four days later Krakow was retaken. All of Poland was liberated. However Polish forces along with Russia were not done yet. Pestel promised Polish revolutionaries that Russia will aid in the liberation of all of Poland.

Battle of Chelm

Western Ukraine- The Ukraine front was under the command of Georigi Emmanuel. His force was 250,000 men along with 100,000 cossacks were defeating coalition forces all over Western Ukraine. The battles of Odessa, Lutsk, Lviv, Zhytomyr were all Russian victories. Ukraine was soon abandoned by Austrian forces. The Ottoman Turks left them by themselves. By mid-March, all of Ukraine was liberated in a brief time. Belarus was left isolated and surrounded. The royalist government in Minsk saw this and begged the concert to not abandon them. By this time so much life was lost and treasure. Russia had retaken most of their territory. Many were calling for peace with Russia. However, many monarchists were not happy about this. A revolutionary Russia with a massive army was a major threat. Metternich called for a conference in Berlin on how to limit Russia in the spring. As Russia was closing unto the borders of the Austrian and Prussian empires there was a massive mobilization on both nations. They were preparing for the eventual invasion by Russia. However, Pestel and the council had bigger things to deal with. Many hardline Russian officers were enraged when Pestel gave up Azerbaijan to Qajar Iran. He stemmed their anger by taking all of Armenia from the Ottomans. Now the next step was the festering wound of the Ottomans which was the Balkans. The entire region was in revolt. Primed for Russian intervention. The man to lead the assault was Georgi Emmanuel a Russian of Serbian descent. Russia was excited to expand the empire at the expense of their ancient enemy. They already gutted them in Anatolia. General Georgi Emmanuel orders were to cross into Molodiva to aid the Moldovan rebels. Moldova was nearly under the rebels hands so this was the easy task. After that Wallachia would be next. Russia wanted to expand much into the Balkan as they could. The beginning of the Balkan offensive began on March 27th 1827. This offensive would change the shape of European history forever.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

The Russian Revolutionary War
Part 5
The End of the Old Order and Rise of a New One

Balkan Offensive March-August 1827

By March 1827 the Balkans was in fire. Revolts and armed insurrection was everywhere. The Ottoman army was stretched thin. Fighting in Anatolia, fighting in Greece and also token support to the Concert of Europe led to this. Europe was struggling to defeat Russia. Persia and Russia were now allies which meant the Ottoman Empire is on its heels. Georgi Emmanuel crossed into Moldova with ease as most of Moldova was under rebel control. The next step was Wallachia which was a bloody stalemate. The situation in each province in the Balkans were different. In Serbia, Bosnia, Moldova the rebels were winning. In Wallachia,Greece,Thrace it was a stalemate as the Ottoman army in those areas were regrouping. Russia entering the mix changed things for the rebels. In Wallachia a series of victories in April led to Rebel victory. A British ambassador wrote that “Russia is moving into the Balkans like a hot knife in butter. With the Balkans under their control it will have severe implications for the security of the Continent.” The decisive battle of Bucharest which the Russo/Romanian force of 150,000 encircled and completely destroyed a 70,000 Ottoman army rocked the half of power in Instanbul. It was a colossal victory for the Russians. The Ottomans were in retreat on all fronts. The new leader of what was left of the Ottoman empire the Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy Koca Husrev Mehmed Pasha. He was desperate for a victory to halt the Russia juggernaut to secure his own power. He ordered the withdrawment of troops from Serbia,Greece,Bosnia,Albania. Essentially giving up control of those areas and sending them to Thrace also known as Bulgaria. With these troops entering Bulgaria they were pushing back rebel gains all over the country. The Bulgarians were able to survive total defeat by inflicting a series of inconclusive draws to the Ottomans in May 1827. The total Ottoman Force in Bulgaria was now 197,000 men. A massive force. Both sides knew that a major victory in Bulgaria would decide the fate of the Balkans. The Ottomans were throwing everything they got in Bulgaria. The strategy was to blunt Russian with consecutive bloody noses. Force them to give up in taking the Balkans. And hopefully a foreign power would aid them. Russia knew the Ottomans were putting all their eggs in one basket and if they lose once it would be over for the Ottomans in the Balkans. Koca pleaded with Austria and Britain to aid him against the Russians. Britain was alarmed with what was going in Europe. However Prime Minister George Canning despised the Concert of Europe. He called it “the Concert of musty royals who wear the same underwear for weeks!” And he despised the Ottoman Empire even more. For Canning he saw a Russian republic better than a Russian empire. He wrote “There is an opportunity for Great Britain that we may find an ally with Russia.” British aid to the Ottoman was not coming. And the Austrians were fighting both a Polish uprising and a Russian invasion at home. The Ottomans were alone to face the wrath of the Russian bear.


Bloody Varna-Great The Battle of Varna(June 3rd-6th ) was the largest and bloodiest land battle in all the Ottoman-Russian Wars and one the largest in European history. Bloody Varna as it was called was since so many casualties took place. 197,000 Ottoman remnant soldiers facing 260,000 Russian soldiers was a bloody contest. In the three days of fighting 90,000 men were lost. The Ottomans nearly won the battle after repulsing Russian counterattacks in the first and second days. However intense Russian artillery slaughtered the Ottoman cavalry. The Ottomans were encircled and loses were heavy. The battle of Varna broke the back of the Ottoman Empire. The Balkans were lost and now under Russian influence or control. After Varna Russia swept through the rest of the Balkans with ease. By the Fall of 1827, the entire Balkans were under Russian control. Russian troops also aided Greek rebels to destroy the Ottoman garrison in Hellas. The death and destruction of Varna haunted highlighted the brutality and ferocity of the fighting. Georgi Emmanuel wrote "There were so many bodies on the ground that the smell death could be smelt throughout the entire region. It took us a whole week to bury the dead. Everything was dead. The trees, grass, even the birds were nowhere to be found" Varna would be the inspiration of folk songs, novels, and later movies.

Battle of Varna

Great Polish Uprising- After Poland was liberated Russia wasn’t done. Pestel wanted to send a message to European powers that there were consequences to invading Russia. He encouraged Polish agents to stir up rebellion in Prussia and Austria controlled Poland. In May 18th, 1827 riots broke out in Lwow. Polish soldiers in the Austrian Empire defected to the side of rebels and aid them to sieze control of the arsenal. Soon in Prussia riots and rebellion broke out in the Polish areas. Torun, Lwow, Poznan, Krolewlec, Elblag, Breslau all rose up In rebellion. Polish soldiers and officers defected to the militias and formed the Polish Republican army. They were able to stave off total defeat by conducting guerrilla warfare tactics and end battles in draws. Seeing all of this a Russia/Polish forces of 125,000 marched to Austria to aid the rebels on June 4th. In Prussia the same. The orders were for Russia and Polish forces reach the insurgents. Aid them and train them. Then liberate all the Polish areas. Prussia’s response was brutal. Polish towns were pillaged. Just like what was occurring in the Balkans Russian aid gave a shot in the arm to the rebels. The battle of Lvov ended in a Russian victory. Another battle that broke the back of the Austrians in Poland was the battle of Przemyl which ended in Polish/Russian victory. In the West Prussian forces engagements with Russian/Polish forces were draws. The war in the western Occupied areas of Poland was going to be a tough contest. The battle of Jan Bork was a bloody affair but the Prussians won on June 28th. Then another battle the Prussians won is an important contest in the battle of Plock which halted Russo/Polish advancement. It was obviously clear that Prussian occupied Poland was not going to fall easily. The Prussians were still committed to the war. It was also at this time anti-Polish sentiment was brewing all over Prussia. The Polish were seen as Russian agents and not trustworthy. There were calls to ban Polish citizens from joining the Prussian army. The front in Prussia was a stalemate and would remain so for the remainder of the year.

Great Polish Uprising


Growing Unrest In France- Charles X was a true believer of absolutism and the Concert of Europe. Hence why France was a loyal member of the Russian war. Also, he sent his son Louis Antoine to lead the French contingent of the Coalition as a sign of his commitment to the war against Revolutionary Russia. However, as the war dragged on and heavy French losses started to mount the war was getting unpopular. Charles X in late 1826 passed a levee en masse to have able bodies French men 18-30 to fight both Haiti and Russia. This act proved very unpopular and led to conscription riots. The other issue was the French economic state was in bad shape. The wars in Haiti and Russia was bankrupting the treasury. The French government had to take loans from Great Britain, Prussia, United States and private banks to keep the nation afloat. However, this worsens the debt burden of the nation. So on January 18th, he passed a new tax law which placed taxes on all merchant items. This was vastly unpopular and led to unrest in the nation. Daily riots and protest rocked cities across France. Seeing that unrest was spreading in major cities like Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Paris, and Nice. And that Russia was advancing in its winter offensive Charles withdrew his forces from the war in Eastern Europe on February 11th 1827. The returning soldiers were battle-hardened and grumbling soldiers.

Treaty of Prague-Throughout the rest of 1827 the war was a stalemate. Russian forces met their limit finally in the Balkans, were checked by Prussian forces and couldn’t make moves into Austria as the Austrians barely held on to their territories. All sides were exhausted and tired of war. Peace negotiations started in January of 1828. The peace talks took place in Prague. In it, the countries involved in the war went to discuss how to end the war. Russia was in a superior position in the negotiations. One of the reasons why peace talks took so long was the fact the other powers did not want to accept this. However, it didn’t matter. The treaty of Prague was signed in February 18th, 1828 which is celebrated to this day in Russia as victory day. The details of the treaty were as such:

Western Armenia was under Russian control.

Poland was a free independent state.

Bosnia,Albania,Serbia,Croatia,Bulgaria,Walachia,Moldova were “free nations.”

Russian troops were only allowed in Walachia, Bulgaria, and Moldova.

The revolutionary government in Russia was recognized.

Russia must promise not to aid Polish separatist in Prussia and Austria.

Greece Independence was recognized.

Persia and Egypt would keep their territorial gains in the Middle East

Russia to withdraw troops out of Prussia, Austria and Poland.

Russia promises not to expand their revolution to parts of Europe.


The treaty favored Russia and its allies. Russia came out of this war stronger than ever. And the war solidified the legitimacy of the revolutionary government in Moscow. However, there was work left undone. For one was the Finnish issue. Russia was determined to retake it back from Sweden. Polish fighters still wanted to liberate Prussia and Austrian controlled Poland. However Polish society was divided. There were a pro-Russian faction and the pro Concert factions. This would sow the seed of the Polish Civil war. What was left of the Ottoman Empire was a rump Turkish state. Greece was hungrily looking at Anatolia and calls for Greater Greece was rising up. In Moscow, this was the next plan of action. Getting Greece to take the Dardanelles and Bosphorus would be a boon for Russia. Russia created an alliance system called the Western Republic Alliance. Austria was very uncomfortable with Russian troops near its borders. Plus there was the Finnish issue. So, in essence, the Treaty of Prague temporarily stopped the fighting. These sticking points would lead to more devastating wars. The Prussian and Austrians were very unhappy and felt it was their duty to right this wrong. For them, a revolutionary Russia was not to be trusted and as long it existed it threaten the monarchies in Europe. However, another revolution was brewing on their western borders. The treaty of Prague only delayed the inevitable wars that were coming in Europe.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Beginning of the End


In the late summer of 1827, the war was no longer a stalemate. After a rash of victories from early this year optimism was high in the Haitian high command. Guerrier saw that his plan was finally working. In the end, attrition was wearing down French forces to near collapse. However, they still were not out. Guerrier couldn’t afford to lose the capital of Marchand Dessalines to French forces. Because if it did France would get new initiative. The war in Europe against revolutionary Europe was not working. And Russia was making gains in the east and against the Ottoman empire. Perrin made plans to assault Marchand Dessalines. The biggest problem was that Ouidnot’s forces were bogged down in trying to take down the fortress behemoth Citadelle Laferriere. Rousseau was fighting back a massive insurgency in Nord Ouest. And Nord Est the garrison there were suffering poorly from yellow fever. Perrin was also worried about his rear. Herard and Accau were advancing the South after their smashing victory over Monmouth’s men. They know were moving up North to challenge Perrin. And in the Spanish East Soulouque’s summer offensive was a success. Santiago was no surrounded and the French position in the East was all but gone. Perrin at this time was trying to figure out what would be his next move. He wrote to Paris for manpower. When word was that France withdrew from the war with Russia he had hope that meant more manpower available. However French losses in the war were heavy and unrest was spreading all over France. Perrin wrote a letter to Charles X that if he withdrew his forces that they would come and aid the security situation in France. However, by August 1827, the unrest burned out somewhat. The reinforcement was able to put down most of the unrest for now. Charles X knew France was in dire financial straits so he figured the solution was to retake all of Hispaniola. The island used to enrich France. He saw the war in Haiti as a war with great importance and a historical wrong that had to be right. Although he was giving Perrin an impossible job. With no manpower, Perrin was stuck. He wrote in his autobiography “Hell in Paradise,” that it was like “giving an engineer 20 francs to do a 2,000 franc job.” It was at this time Perrin came to the realization that even if he captured Marchand Dessalines he would still have to deal with waves of Haitian fighters. So he with General Rosseau made a plan to merge their forces. Then march south to face the massive Haitian force in the south to blunt their advancement. Then when they were defeated march North to besiege and capture Marchand Dessalines. Once captures March North to aid General Oudinot to pacify the North. Then head south again to finish off the blunted force then march east to end the war. It sounded good on paper but in practice would be very difficult. Rousseau at that time had 20,000 men from the [maugu1] 40,000. Perrin had 44,000 men. So the combined 64,000 force marched south. They met the Heard and Accau force of 70,000 men in the outskirts of the town of Verretes on October 19th, 1827. It was a bloody 3-day battle. The battle ended with a close French victory. As typical of French victories in Haiti it was a Phyrhicc on. French Losses were 2000 dead with 5000 wounded. Haitian losses were heavy as well. 3000 dead with 4000 wounded. Perrin got what he wanted which was to blunt the southern advancement which protected his rear for now. He then started drawing up plans for the assault into Marchand Dessalines. However, General Rosseau got ill from yellow fever in early November. Perrin wanted to take capital before the end of the year however it looked it was not going to happen. A major hurricane struck on November 8th which devastated central Haiti. Cities of St Marc, Archaie, Grande Saline, Gonaives were affected. The mass flooding added more misery to French forces. It was reported they lose 800 men to the hurricane. And with the heavy rain meant mosquitos which meant more yellow fever to spread. One officer bitterly wrote, “Even God has abandoned us in this wretched place.” The hurricane damage really hampered French war efforts and Haitian one for the rest of the year. Guerrier wrote to his officers that “This is the start of their ending. We are close to victory. Verrettes was the last gasp for them. We must make preparations to end this war next year. They cannot last one more year. With Europe on fire, France cannot afford to send more troops to fight us. The next year 1828 is the year of being bold and decisive.” 1827 ended the way it began a bloody stalemate. However French forces on the island were reaching a breaking point.




1828



Start of the ending- The year 1828 began with Perrin and his men recovering from the powerful hurricane that struck on November 8th of 1827. Luckily for the French, their ammunition was intact. They lost 800 men which were devastating to an army suffering from attrition. Perrin and Rosseau both agreed that taking the capital was an important event. Maybe when Charles X of France sees this major victory he will send more troops. So through the lull of fighting Perrin poured over maps of the terrain of the city. He was obsessed with victory. He wrote in his book that “I wasn’t obsessed that we would win. No I gave that up years ago. Instead, I was obsessed that a victory would give us an out in case the whole thing collapsed.”

In the east the situation was deplorable. Santiago the city was under siege. General Bourdesoulle was not going to surrender until he knew the fate of those who did. Also, he knew he would be executed if he returned to France defeated. Solouque wanted to end the French presence in the east to march west and link up with Guerrier to finish off the French. The first battle of Santiago took place on January 11th, 1828. French resistance was very stiff. The city of Santiago was the only place where French forces found loyal domestic forces. The citizens of Santiago were not to keen on being under the control of black forces and rejected the Hinche Compact. So in the city where 13,500 French soldiers with 3000 pro-French soldiers. The first day of fighting Haitian forces under the command of Solouque attacked the eastern wall of the city. They broke through however faced stiff French resistance and made no progress into the city. Haitian forces had to retreat after suffering 500 casualties. French casualties were 400. The Haitian forces were 30,000. Solouque then the next day focused on attacking all walls of the city. So Haitian forces on January 17th launched the next attack and assaulted every side of the city. This strategy at first was successful. Haitian forces stormed the walls and overwhelmed. Haitian forces controlled half the city by nightfall. However, the French night counterattack proved too devastating. By the morning all the gains Haitian forces had were wiped out and they were forced to retreat. Losses on the second day were bloody for both sides. Haitian casualties were 1,200. While French casualties were 1,300. Solouque was frustrated about this and wanted to take the city badly. In the end, he decided that he would besiege the city. Wait until artillery comes and bombard the city into submission. Haitian artillery came from surrounding cities and forts. Solouqu did not have artillery with him as it would slow down his movement. Solouque said to his officers “Fine let them have the city. We will simply besiege it and let disease, hunger, and rot finish them. “ This cruel tactic was employed by Solouque and led to the city to be besieged for the next 3 months. The situation in Santiago would deteriorate as hunger disease would ravage the city.


Next steps: After the victory of Verretes, Rousseau and Perrin merged their forced to figure out a plan to take Marchand Dessalines. Their combined force was 27,000 men. Oudinot was in Limbe planning his next move. All of the Nord Ouest was under Haitian control after the devastating battle of Chansolme led by General Pierrot. Oudinot was worried about Pierrot and decided to march and engage in the Nord Ouest. However, he didn’t know what was brewing across the border. In the Nord the Citadelle Laferriere was a major obstacle. Auguste Brouad who was with Solouqu in the Spanish east was given order by Soloque to reinforce the Haitian forces in Nord Est under Riche. Riche left command of the Citadelle in the hands of a young capable mullattoFabre Gefferad. Riche’s forces were growing in the Nord Est. By 1828 he had a force of 25,000 men. Brouard force of 15000 men met and merged with them at Ounaminth in early February 1828. The combined force of 30,000 men was now on the march to engage Oudinot who was marching west to engage Pierrot forces of 18,000. Oudinot had about 19,000 men. However, he was falling into a trap planned by Guerrier. The plan was that Brouad, Pierrot, and Riche would encircle and destroy Oudinot forces there in the North. Brouard then with 35,000 men marched to the Nord Est. They reached Ouanminthe on February 3rd, 1828. Guerrier knew that by destroying the French presence in the North it would free up thousands of fighters for the defense of Marchand Dessalines. In the South Herard and Accau were recovering from the loss of the battle of Verretes. However, they recovered and made the march North. The combined army of black and mulatto made Archaie their base. From the last battle, Accau and Herard were recruiting and training fresh soldiers for the winter offensive. And they were recovering from the defeat faster than Perrin expected. By mid-February, the Army of the South was fully recovered and with 30,000 men were marching North to Grand Saline to crush Perrin’s forces and end the war.


The battle of Ennery.
"Ennery in French military history is one of the greatest disasters. The French Teutoburg Forest. It symbolized the French expeditionary failure to control the island. Waste of manpower and waste of treasure"
British Historian Luke Livington.

Oudinot was chasing after Pierrot throughout all of March. He wanted to deal a fatal blow to the Haitians but little did he knew what was happening. On the night of March 27th 1828 Ouidont’s men were crossing over the forest near the town of Ennery. They received word that Pierrot was in the town. A night surprise attack to destroy Pierrot was an opportunity he could not pass up. As they marched into the night they came under ambush by Riche’s forces. The confusion was worsened by darkness and the sound of gunfire. Then more gunfire ensued. The French forces stumbled on a ambush. The next thing that happened was Brouard’s forces with Pierrot charged at French position on the front and rear. Then Riches forces charged on the left flank and the French found themselves encircled. The battle was a bloody contest and lasted until sunrise. After fighting the whole night French forces were exhausted. Ouidonot was killed in the ambush with a gunshot wound on the throat and chest. The northern French army was destroyed. French losses were 8000 while Haitian losses were 10,000. The remaining French soldiers simply surrendered and were imprisoned. Now this move freed up thousands of Haitian soldiers. The French presence in Haiti was near extermination. News of the battle reached Rosseau and Perrin. Shock and panic spread amongst the ranks of the remaining French army. Perrin wrote in in his biography “After Ennery it was over. There was no solution only annihilation. The French army in Santo Domingo and Nord Hayti was destroyed all we had 27,000 men but half were fit to fight. I was not going to sacrifice my men into a meaningless conflict for a coward glory seeking King.” Perrin after much deliberation with his officers decided to surrender their forces. What Perrin was doing was intriguing he was openly disobeying orders from the French throne. Perrin wrote a letter to Guerrier that French forces were to surrender and for there to be a meeting to discuss peace talks. The two generals met on April 5th 1828. The two were impressed of each other and had a lot of respect of each other. The main terms that were discussed was how the war was going to end. Guerrier had the leverage since his forces surrounded the French forces in all areas of the island. So in two days a peace was agreed upon. The Peace of Marchand of Dessalines was the unofficial treaty signed by both sides. It would be official in 1832.The agreement was:

Total withdrawal of French forces from the Island

All French guns and ammunition were to be handed over to Haitian forces.

Agreement that French forces will never return

In return, French forces will have safe passage to St Martinique

Also, all French prisoners will be released as will Haitian prisoners.


In short, the war was over. Haiti was yet again victorious against a European power. However, this was far more brutal and devastating than the last one. And had far more reaching impacts on Haitian society. The Island was unified through a crucible of fire that spread on every part of the Island. Everyone had sacrificed whether they were from Jacmel, Cap Haitian or Santiago. The war shaped the idea of Haiti was one people one island if you spoke Spanish or French whether you was mulatto or black. The war was won but the biggest problem was whether the peace could remain. After the last withdrawal of French forces, Guerrier said as he watched them taking the boats “Winning the war was easy however to govern will be more difficult.” And it would be a difficult time to rebuild Haiti.

 

[Marcus Licinius Crassus]

Postwar years during the Guerrier Regime 1828-1845

Part 1

After the last French soldiers left Haiti, Guerrier now had the rule the entire island as a peacetime leader, not a wartime -president. The entire island of Hispaniola was ravaged by the war. Lots of dead and lots of infrastructure destroyed. For Guerrier, the number one problem to be fixed was the economy. He said in his writings “How will a government be able to protect its citizenry if they have no money to pay the soldiers who risk their lives?” Guerrier had many plans, but he wanted the political power and will to do so. So, on May 15, 1828, he organized a meeting with all the generals and set up a new constitution and government that rules Haiti to even to this day. Guerrier wanted the military to rule the nation and diminish the control of wealthy landowners and the mulatto class. He unified the various factions of the military to one by economic benefits and ideology. In the economic front, plenty of lands were destroyed and abandoned. Those vast swaths of land were given to officers and generals. This was to counteract the influence of wealthy landowners. The new constitution consisted of a new style of government. Guerrier served under Toussaint, Dessalines and Christophe. He saw what worked and what did not work. Guerrier or Guerrism was the belief that a strong handled by the military was to lead the nation. He also wanted to end factionalism in the military. That is to prevent future civil war. So he designed a system that later historians would call “Total militarism.”


There were three branches of government. The constitution was written to give power to the military. The president was given a 6-year term. And can run for president as many times as he wants. Term limits were banned. However, for the legislative branch, it unimercal. The Central Assembly as it was called was weakened heavily. Assemblymen had 2-year terms. Laws they passed could be vetoed and in order to overturn the veto, they had to have every provincial general governor (selected by the president) to sign the law. Guerrier believed that a strong leader was needed to lead. And that meant a general and a man who can rule with an iron fist.

According to the Constitution, the president must be a high ranking general. Elections are held every 6 years. He had the authority to select general governors who also had to be generals. These generals with the president would meet every 3 months to discuss policy. These general governors also had 6-year terms. There were checks in power of course. For example, there is an article in the constitution that gave only one justification for coup d’etat. That was that if a president lost an election and refused to transfer power to the new leader the high ranking general and council of generals would overthrow him forcefully and that he would be stand trial. The Constitution all said coups outside that are illegal and uprisings are illegal and would be faced with harsh punishment. The president had the power to declare war, raise and command the army as the command in chief. He could introduce laws to the Assembly. If the Assembly overrule the law he would have his cabinet and the general governors vote and that overrule the Assembly. If the president dies suddenly the vice president succeeds him. The Assembly was created to give a semblance of a democracy to the liberal elements of Haitian society(notably the mulatto elites). However true power went through the military.


Each province had a governor who a general that was picked by the president. Government positions were filled by military men. From the top down the military ran the country. Guerrier wanted it to be that way. He felt that the military was the glue that holds Haitian society together. And he had a mandate because the war against France proved that Haiti’s existence was still under threat. If it was not the French today it would be someone else. The rise of the Mexican empire would increase those fears and give the military leeway to take more power. This had allowed the military junta rule Haiti for the next 130 years. Guerrier then went on to reform the economy. He was advised to start the corvee system like Christophe did however that was unlikely. Especially with a populace who was told that they had to fight the French to end slavery. Instead, he came up with a plan that was given to him by a mulatto officer who would later be Haiti’s economic minister for the next 30 year Jean Luc Rise. That was to encourage the small landholder class to grow cash crops. To do so was to tell the small landholders that they will receive a percentage of profits when the government sold them. The government took 70% of the profits while the small landholder took 30%. Also, officers that own large plantations had to pay their workers 10% of their profits while paying 30% in taxes. To increase production the government allowed landowners(mostly military) to buy vast plots of empty land. This allowed for these officers to hire workers. So in a sense, this allowed the corvee system to thrive. However, Guerrier wanted to make sure workers were properly compensated and treated well. He passed the “Worker Codes.” It was a system of laws protected their rights. For example, beatings was outlawed. Workers were allowed to work five days a week. They were to be paid 10% of profits and have a small plot of land for themselves to cultivate food to consume or sell. The Haitian military officers became increasingly wealthy from Guerrier’s land reforms. The new landowning class was now the military.


Haiti did a lot of underhand trading with Great Britain and Gran Colombia. They also did indirect trading with countries in Europe and the US. How this worked was Haitian investors (led of course by Haitian military officers) owned warehouses in the various ports in Gran Colombia where goods were transferred to Colombian ships and laundered with Colombian bills lading to Europe and the United State. This allowed Haitian products to be sold as Colombian. However, the money went to Haitian investors. These investors would then pay a tax to Gran Colombia and the govt of Haiti. This lucrative system was called in Haitian slang “Bon Gou” (good taste). This allowed Haitian cash crops to be sold in the world market.

Within two years of these policies passing the Haitian treasury grew. Guerrier then had the funds to implement his plans. Guerrier was very militaristic. He viewed that Haiti’s national integrity had to be protected from foreign invasions. Guerrier ordered military service to be mandatory. Once reaching the age of 16 were conscripted to the National Militia. The National militia is similar to the National Guard. After two years of service the men were then allowed to join the Army. If they decide not to join then they were to part of the national militia until they were 50. The National militia was also a domestic police force. Providing security to areas of the island. They also were a force to put down domestic uprisings. Before the war against France the Haitian army was 55,000 in size. Guerrier doubled that with 115,000 with the National militia a reservist force being 220,00. The idea of the national militias was to create national cohesiveness between French and Spanish speaking subjects. He also reformed the army. Officers were to take Spanish and French-speaking classes. Plus, they must learn how to read and write in both those languages. Next order of business was rebuilding the Forts and the construction of new ones. Guerrier’s ordered the creation of 100 new forts on top of the 80 forts the entire island had. This was an ambitious and expensive project that he felt very strongly about. The Citadelle Lefferuer was rebuilt stronger than ever. It would take 10 years for these forts to be built. The brutality and destructive nature of the Haitian-French War shook the psyche of Haitian society. In a speech during the one year anniversary of the Battle of Ennery Guerrier laid out the cornerstone of Haitian foreign policy “For four years we fought many battles against the enemies of freedom. The world despises us because we are free. And yet even when we have defeated our enemies it does not mean we are safe. Nations keeping African enslaved look at our island as a threat to their greed and gluttony and vile lust. They look hungrily at the Pears of the Antilles as they cannot sate their gluttony. We are surrounded by enemies. Great Britain, Unites States, Spain, Brasil all own slaves and have agreed to keep us isolated. We are all we have to prevent these evil powers from entering our shores. We must never rest and never again allow our people to be enslaved. Never again will we feel the shackles of slavery, never again will we see our children be beaten and humiliated by the savages of Europe and America. If they did not learn from Vertieres then they will not learn from Ennery.” The saying “If they did not learn from Vertieres then they will not learn from Ennery,” became a national slogan that European powers or slaveholding power would try to invade Haiti again. This slogan would drilled in the minds of Haitians. This fear of a third war was always on the minds of Haitians and would put them in a constant war footing. Haitian society became hyper-militarized. The fear of enslavement and foreign invasion was burned into the national identity. This would lay the foundation of fortress Quiqeya. A policy that would dominant Haiti for the next 60 years. The Haitian people had a siege mentality that feared not only the French coming back but also feared an American, British, Brazilian, Spanish invasion of Haiti. Slaveholding nations were a threat to Haiti. And the fears would reach hyperdrive with the rise of the Mexican Empire. Haiti bought weapons from Gran Colombia and indirectly from Great Britain.

Gueierer was also successful at navigating in the murky waters of colour politics. He did this by empowering the military. Racial cohesiveness existed because of many reasons. The major one was the Haitian-French war forced the different factions to put their differences aside to fight a common foe. This created an esprit de corps. Second was the war Gueerirer seized power and gave the military absolute control of the island. He believed that a strong hand led by the military would secure the island internally. The military council was filled with black, mulatto officers who came from both sides of the island. Spanish and French-speaking officers were allowed in the military council. This displeased the mulatto elite who felt that they were the ones who gave Guerrier the key of the kingdom and now was overstepping his boundaries. This created friction between younger mulatto officer and the older generals. The younger officers were more unitarian as the war against the French shocked their psyche. Plus they fought side by side with black soldiers who showed their bravery and courage in the wars. They befriended and went through a lot with their black counterparts. So Guerrier would create a military elite class that although had no racial caste system created a class system that would in the long term create problems.

The mulatto elites were also divided on what to do. One faction called for assimilation. Which met to maintain their power and prestige they would have to their daughter marry into black officers or pooer mulattos. The other faction called for re-empowerment. These were the Boyerist, Petionist. They figured they needed to get rid of Guerrier once and for all. They were alarmed at how much power he amassed and how he basically written the constitution with the military but not with any word to the mulatto elites that gave him power in the first place. For two years after the war, the mulatto elite class that wanted Guerrier gone were plotting a coup. They picked Charles Riviere Herard to lead the coup. He did not like Guerrier for seizing so much power and felt he was being too authoritarian by ripping up Petion’s constitution. He began to start plotting a coup since he was given command of Sud Department and made governor. However, a young mulatto officer Reginald Lucien discovered the coup plans and presented the plans to Guerrier on July 3rd, 1830. Herard and his few officers that were going along with the plan were then arrested. Found guilty of sedition and treason and were killed in a firing squad on July 10. His property was seized by the government and given to loyal mulatto officers. The elite mulatto coup planners were also arrested but not executed. They had their properties seized and they themselves were exiled to Ile-la Vache were they lived in total poverty. It is not really clear that the coup would have been successful in the first place if Reginald Baptiste didn’t tell Guerrier. However, the Herard episode showed the split between the older and younger mulattos. The Herard incident shook Guerrier. It was after this event he created a secret police force called the National Security Brigade. They were led by General Accau and later his son. Their job was to keep tabs on the Boyerist ruling class and other rebel forces. The purge after the Herard incident degraded the power and prestige of the Boyerist ruling class and increased the power of the military. Many of the officers and generals that had Boyerist sympathies were executed. Their properties were seized. Their families were exiled in Ill la Gonave where they lived in total poverty. The remaining mulatto ruling class were the assimilatist. They were shaken by the brute force that Guerrier used to break the back of the pro Boyerist mulatto faction. It became clear that the days of mulatto elite power play were at an end. This power shift would end the partisan colour politics. As it took down mulatto power down a notch.



The Spanish east or Partie de L’est was Guerrier’s politics of inclusion was successful. The Hinch compact ended the oppressive laws and practices. Guerrier did not want the Spanish east feel like a colonial possession rather a part of Haitian society. After the war, Guerrier outlawed theft, abuse by Haitian soldiers towards the Spanish east. Any soldier who violated those codes would summarily be executed by firing squad and the family would be repaid by the soldiers pay. The population of the east was more mix. In 1835 the population was 230,000(100,000 whites, 40,000 blacks, 90,000 mulattoes). Compared to Haiti which was 600,000(482,000 blacks, 98,000 mulattoes, and 20,000 remaining whites). The color politics of the Spanish east was just as complicated and toxic in Haiti. The majority white populace did not welcome Haitian unification of the island. For them, they could not accept rule by French-speaking Africans. Guerrier ended the totalitarian rule and it for the most part stemmed separatist feeling. Haiti’s close alliance with Gran Colombia also stemmed those separatist feelings. However many whites yearned for union with the mother country of Spain. Many of the white landholding class fought against the French simply because they did not want to be under French rule. The post-war years Guerrier and his regime worked hard with outreach to the white majority of the east. However Guerrier played color politics himself. He promoted black and mulatto Spanish officers. He believed that this would check the dominant white majority. Guerrier knew that many of the whites would not accept the rule of Marchand Dessalines. Many of the mulatto and black officer promoted came from poor backgrounds and go enriched which bought their loyalty to the Guerrist regime. Guerrier was well loved by mulattoes and blacks. Padre Guerro as he was called. The whites majority was divided according to Haitian Spanish historian Rodrigo Correa. There was whites who were glad he lifted the harsh laws against the Spanish East. There was still a radical minority that wanted separation. When the Carlist dynasty founded the Mexican Empire it empowered the radical minority. Guerrier then started a racial blackening of the Spanish east. He did this by allowing American freed slaves, or runaways slaves refuge in the Spanish east. Haiti was slowly but surely improving economically and many American black former slaves felt Haiti would be a refuge free from discrimination. He also allowed American mulattos refuge as well. Ex-slaves from Brazil, Gran Colombia and other areas flocked to Haiti to escape from discrimination. This would change the demographics of the Easter side. From 1835-1845 the black population tripled and was 120,000. White population was 110,000 with mulattoes as 100,000. The rising black population raised alarm to the whites in the Spanish east. When the Mexican Empire was established it brought hope to them. Many former Santo Dominicans who fled to Cuba and Puerto Rico all appealed to the Mexican empire to lead an intervention. However this did not happen. The Mexican Empire led their support for Julio Perez who came from a wealthy landowning family that resided in Cuba after fleeing the Spanish East during Toussaint invasion.


Trade between Haiti Great Britain Gran Colombia and the Bon Gou system brought huge sums of money to the treasury. As the treasury grew from Guerrier economic policies he started a few public work projects. Roads were rebuilt, schools were built across the island to raise the literacy of the populace. Guerrier truly believed that he was the successor of Toussaint. “Toussaint had great ideas but taken down by Napoleon. It is my job and the job of my successors to bring his vision to life.” Since he had created close relations with Great Britain he allowed English teachers who knew French to teach in the schools. From 1828-1835 there was relative stability. However in 1835 is when Guerrier would face the major challenge to his rule in the post-war years that would determine the direction of Haitian history.