Hoche Ensconced in Ireland in early 1797

Okay, while home for Easter, I came across The Napoleon Options. I've raised it before, but what with another French revolutionary state invading Britain in LTTW I thought this might be fun to bring up.


the details are fairly itneresting; Hoche lands with 12k men in Southern Ireland, and by the end of January British rule has been reduced to a few islands in a sea of Green, such as Dublin, Belfast, and Limerick.

And the author chooses that moment to decide "Yay, peace!" The Tories fall with the shock of Ireland and the spithead and Nore mutinies bringing down the government, while the Directory manages to suppress Napoleon's plans for a coup.

Yea, that seems pretty unlikely. Far more interesting, IMO, is what would actually happen.

Unlike in 1798, Britain's garrisons in Ireland were surprisingly small; the threat of invasino in 1797 was what persuaded Britain to reinforce the island.

Moreover, with 12,000 French troops (and probably reinforced at some point), it seems likely that the British would have a more difficult time retaking the island.

I suspect they could; but what happens in the meantime? Does Napoleon still invade Egypt? How long would it take the British to deal with their own Vendee?
 
Who supports Hoche? Depending on which side goes for him, we could see a very different Catholic Emancipation.
 
Who supports Hoche? Depending on which side goes for him, we could see a very different Catholic Emancipation.

The Society of United Irishmen would be the main supporters and form the "core" of the Hibernian Republic. Wolf Tone travelled with Hoche.

The OTL Irish Rebellion had a fair number of Protestant supporters, even if Catholics were among the majority of the rebels.

Estimates of Irish rebels in the field in the OTL 1798 rebellion, BTW, put their forces at around 50k. This was despite the fact that it was pretty clearly doomed, with no real equipment or training.

If you add a core of French forces who manage to seize much of the island before Britain reacts....
 
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