King Francis the Great

The following is a revision of an earlier TL I wrote several months ago, which can be found here.

Enjoy.

Prologue, Enter the Players
In late 1520, tensions between the Valois and the Habsburgs are mounting. The personal rivalry between King François I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, fueled by the defeat of King François in the Imperial election a year earlier, and by increasing Habsburg intervention in Italy, has essentially but the two realms on a sure path to conflict.

However, both powers, along with their nominal allies, England, Venice and the Papacy, are bound by the treaty of London, which promises peace in Europe, and obliges all the signatories to ally against the first party that breaks the agreement. Further, King Henry VIII of England has personally promised to carry out this clause to the full extent of his ability, already anticipating a French repudiation.

King François does not wish to openly attack Emperor Charles V, for fear of the resulting alliance against him. Thus, the king, wishing to make the first move against his rival, plans to attack by proxy.

At the time, Henri d’Albret, as Henri II, is king of a greatly reduced Navarrese state, the larger region of Upper Navarre having been annexed by the Spanish eight years earlier, and now being in the possession of the Emperor. Since his army’s defeat in 1512, King Henri II—who is in possession of vast estates in France in addition to his micro-kingdom—has been waiting for the opportunity to regain his realm’s southern territories. The French, seeing their opportunity, promise to arm and equip the Navarrese king’s forces, lending him the Seigneur de l’Esperre, brother of the French king’s mistress, to serve as military commander in the king’s name.

Further, King François, anticipating an Imperial backlash from the Low Countries, gathers a large force near the border with Flanders on the Meuse River, under the command of the Duc de Bouillon’s son, Robert de la Marck.

The Italian War, 1520-1523
In December of 1520, the stage is set and L’Esperre invades Upper Navarre with the French armed Navarrese. As Emperor Charles V is currently engaged in Germany, preparing for the convening of the Imperial Diet at Worms, he is caught unprepared, allowing L’Esperre and his men to easily seize Pamplona. La Marck only meets with mixed success in Flanders, the Imperial forces there managing to repel the French attack under the skillful command of Count Hendrik III of Nassau.

Meanwhile, Emperor Charles V speedily concludes the session of the Reichstag, ensuring that the historic Edict of Worms is issued against Martin Luther. In return, Pope Leo X, already in desperate need of Imperial assistance against the growing threat of Protestantism in Europe, is forced to abandon the French and ally with the Emperor, who also manages to gain Medici support by promising their restoration to the Duchy of Parma. He also promises to drive the French out of the Duchy of Milan on behalf of the Sforza family.

The Count of Nassau invades French-held Artois in June, soon after, taking both Ardres and Mouzon, and besieging the city of Tournai. Despite this, in the southern theatre, L’Esperre manages to hold Pamplona against the Spanish onslaught after a narrow victory at the battle of Esquiroz, though his position is badly outnumbered and worsening.

Realizing the deterioration of his situation, King François I takes personal command of his troops in Artois. He is accompanied by his trusted generals the Duc de Montmorency and the Chevalier de Bayard, who together aid him in gathering his forces and ensuring a strong French resistance to the Imperial position. This is mostly accomplished by French forces, though badly outnumbered, managing to relieve the siege of Mézières and buy King François time to amass a sufficient army to engage the Emperor in the Low Countries.

On October 22, with the main force of the Imperial army in sight at Valenciennes, King François’s military advisors, namely his cousin the Duc de Bourbon, urge him to move immediately and attack. The king however is reluctant to take such a risk and almost decides against this action (due also to his great dislike for his cousin); however, it is the speedy intervention of the Duc de Montmorency which persuades him to follow Bourbon’s advice. Emperor Charles, realizing that King François must be stalling, prepares to retreat. However, at the final hour, he is attacked before he can do so by the full force of the French army. What follows is a long and bloody battle, in which the French are able to route the inexperienced Emperor Charles, forcing him to retreat into Flanders. With Imperial forces crippled by heavy casualties, King François enjoys his first great victory in the war. This triumph, however, does not come without setback. Henri d’Albret is defeated in Navarre when Pamplona finally falls to Imperial forces several days later, forcing French forces in Spain to retreat to the Pyrenees in lieu of any further losses.

Meanwhile, French victories against the Empire in Artois delay the Italian campaign of Charles V’s general, Prospero Colonna. Colonna is forced to send mercenary reinforcements to the Emperor in the Low Countries, unexpectedly depleting his army’s strength. Nevertheless, the Emperor hastily orders him to press on to Milan, eager to seize the city and gain the financial support of his Italian allies in Florence and elsewhere. He plans to strike before the small French garrison there is able to gather reinforcements.

Unknown to Emperor Charles, the French garrison of Swiss mercenaries has already arrived, the Imperial defeat at Valenciennes having bought the French sufficient time to ensure funds reach Milan for payment of the Swiss corps. The French governor of Milan, Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, is thus able to muster his mercenaries and inflict a heavy defeat on the undermanned forces of Colonna on February 4, 1522, at the battle of Milan, despite the latter’s superior skills as a tactician.

This of course comes at a heavy cost to King François I, who finds himself running low on funds. He begins to confiscate the lands of his cousin, the Duc de Bourbon, the two having already fallen out with the death of the latter’s wife the previous year. The King of France claims the lands of the duke’s deceased widow in the right of his mother, the next of kin, hoping to squeeze revenue out of them in desperate need of support for the war. In rage, Bourbon abandons King François and rashly throws in his lot with Emperor Charles in that summer.

At the same time, the Emperor also finds himself in an increasingly deteriorating position. Though he has managed to secure the Pyrenees against the threat of attack, his forces in Italy are badly outnumbered, and he fears another French invasion of the Low Countries. Emperor Charles V attempts to make overtures to King Henry VIII in England (the husband of Charles’s aunt, Katherine of Aragon), promising to wed the king’s daughter, Princess Mary, in return for military aide against the French. While his wife urges him in the proposed alliance, King Henry, at the advice of his chancellor Cardinal Wolsey, bides his time, considering the implications. Meanwhile, the Emperor begins gathering his remaining forces in the Low Countries in preparation to launch another invasion into Artois, hoping for English support and reinforcements.

The death of the pro-French Doge of Venice in November, 1522, signals a tense moment in King François’s foreign policy. France has managed to keep the upper hand in the war by withstanding both Imperial and Papal offensives in Lombardy, this being due to both Lautrec’s reliance on Swiss mercenaries, and also to the military support of the powerful Republic of Venice. The election of a pro-Imperial doge could spell disaster for France’s position in Italy. However, this crisis is averted with the election of the pro-French Pietro Lando to the ducal crown. This is cemented by another Franco-Venetian victory against Imperial forces at Brescia, forcing the now badly outnumbered Colonna to pull out of Lombardy and retreat into Trent for the time being.

After much deliberation, King Henry VIII, on the advice of Cardinal Wolsey, wisely decides to remain neutral for the moment. By now, it is apparent that the Emperor’s position in the Low Countries is fast eroding, and that the French are gaining the upper hand in the war. Wolsey knows all too well that the cost of English involvement on the continent will be far too high—for not only is Emperor Charles V calling for far too many troops to strengthen his position in Flanders, he also is also running low on funds to equip them. Finally, neither the cardinal nor the king enjoys the prospect of fighting a war on two fronts; for while Scotland is still recovering from the disasters of Flodden ten years prior, with the Venetians now securely in play in Italy for the moment, there is little to stop King François from sending fresh troops to coordinate a joint Franco-Scottish invasion of Northumberland.

Spring brings some relief to the demoralized Imperial troops in Italy when Colonna is able to hold the city of Trent against Lautrec and his forces in Italy, after withstanding a month long siege in April, 1523. Nevertheless, Franco-Venetian occupation of the Imperial allied Prince-Bishopric of Trent has now brought Lautrec dangerously close to Habsburg lands in Tyrol. The Emperor, both fearing a French invasion of Austria, and also not wishing to occupy himself with the dangers it presents, immediately instructs his brother the Archduke Ferdinand, regent of Austria, to raise an army to support his garrison there and defend the Habsburg lands in Germany at all costs. The Archduke, who is already low on funds and men from supplying reinforcements to Colonna for the failed Lombard campaign, now finds himself in an almost desperate position.

His brother, however, is far too occupied in the north to be of service. Emperor Charles, now realizing he will not be able to count on his uncle in England, at least for the time being, begins preparing for a second campaign in France. He hopes to engage the bulk of the French army under King François at Artois, knowing that a victory there could spell a reversal of his fortunes, as it will ensure the king of France is too occupied repelling Imperial forces to attack the Emperor’s lands in Austria.

In the summer of 1523, Charles V rallies his remaining forces in the Low Countries and executes an invasion of Artois, accompanied by the Marquess of Pescara and the Duc de Bourbon, who serve as his lieutenant commanders. King François, assisted by the Duc de Montmorency, manages to hold the county, though both sides suffer heavy casualties at the (unsuccessful) Imperial siege of Arras. Meanwhile, in Italy, Lautrec launches an invasion of Tyrol with his Venetian allies. The invasion, however, meets with only minor success, as the Austrian forces under the joint command of Archduke Ferdinand and Colonna manage to hold the border, at least for the time being.

After several light skirmishes in Flanders, French forces finally engage the Emperor Charles his army at Lille, on August 7, 1523. For the past few months, the Emperor has been attempting to avoid direct combat, as he is now stretched dangerously thin on two fronts, having not yet fully recovered from his crushing defeats at both Valenciennes and Milan. Though initially the Imperial army gains an early upper hand in the conflict, the tides of the battle soon turn in favor the king of France, who uses his Swiss mercenaries to devastating effect on the Landsknecht, inflicting heavy casualties on the Imperial army. The Emperor is forced to order a retreat. However, at this time, Emperor Charles’s own personal guard is accompanied by troops under the command of the Duke of Bourbon. Montmorency, seeing the traitor Bourbon’s colors, orders his own men to pursue the retreating prince. While Bourbon manages to escape with the bulk of the imperial forces already in retreat, the Emperor and much of Bourbon’s own men are cut off by the French.

In the resulting confusion, most of the trapped Imperial forces are massacred by the French. While Emperor Charles nearly dies trying to escape the onslaught, he is recognized at the last moment by Montmorency and captured. The French declare victory.
 
I plan on updating this very soon, don't worry. However, I must ask: how far do you think Francis could push Charles' capitulations? I imagine they'd be somewhat similar to Francis' own, in OTL, but reversed.
I'm curious as to where to go from here, and other factors to be considered given the POD.

Thoughts..?
 
A TL involving a more successful Francis I? I'm subscribed. :D
There are too few France wanks on this board. Seriously, it's as if France always becomes the punching bag in Early Modern History ALT, whether it be by the Habsburgs or the English.
...and, being somewhat of a Francophile myself (admittedly), I feel it is my duty to remedy the situation.

Vive la France! Vive le roi!
 

Hecatee

Donor
I plan on updating this very soon, don't worry. However, I must ask: how far do you think Francis could push Charles' capitulations? I imagine they'd be somewhat similar to Francis' own, in OTL, but reversed.
I'm curious as to where to go from here, and other factors to be considered given the POD.

Thoughts..?
Hi,

I like a lot what you suggested up to now. About your question, I'd say you could try to push for the natural borders of France by having François ask for lands that would allow him to get as close to the Rhine as possible and reorganize Italy by giving France's allies pieces of their rivals without France taking any land directly or putting any guarison there : most of the fighting happened in the north and François could well perceive (as did Louis XIV later) that he's surrounded by Hasbourg powers and that by concentrating in the area where they are the less players (the Low Countries) he'd be better able to free one flank. It would also be a way to show that the Emperor's throne is what he really wants by expending in that area. Maybe you might go as far as giving Leuven and Brussels to France, or even all of what would later make Belgium ?
 
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