L’Aigle Triomphant: A Napoleonic Victory TL

[KingSweden24]

To be fair though, being able to beat the Americans in the 1810s isn't exactly a very high bar to clear.

That it is not

 

[Aluma]

Britons were ecstatic

Britain, meanwhile, eagerly helped finance the massive new armies

. That there was mistrust between Berlin and Vienna, however, was an understatement; the latter in particular was leery of Prussian coziness with St. Petersburg and was constantly on watch for a betrayal. Neither wanted the other to succeed so much so that they would wind up getting the shorter end of the stick in the end,

Poor Britain
Putting all your eggs in a basket and having Prussia & Austria hold it isnt the brightest idea in hindsight isnt it?

Austria and Prussia both sought simply to, realistically, limit direct French influence over Germany and eliminate the threat on their immediate borders posed by the armies of Saxony, Bavaria, Italy and Warsaw; in the event of unexpectedly robust victories, their aims included retaking lands stripped from them at Pressburg and Tilsit and creating a new German order they could together dominate.

This is fascinating to me
Like imagine a bipolar Germany! It'd be so fun

 

[KingSweden24]

Poor Britain
Putting all your eggs in a basket and having Prussia & Austria hold it isnt the brightest idea in hindsight isnt it?

This is fascinating to me
Like imagine a bipolar Germany! It'd be so fun

That was sort of the status quo ante; Austria of course had pole position within the HRE but Prussia enjoyed a fair amount of prestige and influence within the Protestant parts of Germany

 

[Aluma]

That was sort of the status quo ante; Austria of course had pole position within the HRE but Prussia enjoyed a fair amount of prestige and influence within the Protestant parts of Germany

Yup
But that status quo dragging to the industrial age would be so cool, like either they would have to fight it out with even more advanced weapons or eventually put aside their rivalry due to economic & cultural ties

 

[alexmilman]

Inside the Fifth Coalition​

Britons were ecstatic that, at last - and after nearly five years of trying to scrounge up a new anti-Napoleonic Coalition on the continent in the wake of the Peace of Stockholm - armies were being raised to contest French hegemony once again. Their enthusiasm should, in hindsight, have been tempered; for once, the objectives of one of the Coalitions was relatively limited. Austria and Prussia both sought simply to, realistically, limit direct French influence over Germany and eliminate the threat on their immediate borders posed by the armies of Saxony, Bavaria, Italy and Warsaw; in the event of unexpectedly robust victories, their aims included retaking lands stripped from them at Pressburg and Tilsit and creating a new German order they could together dominate. That there was mistrust between Berlin and Vienna, however, was an understatement; the latter in particular was leery of Prussian coziness with St. Petersburg and was constantly on watch for a betrayal. Neither wanted the other to succeed so much so that they would wind up getting the shorter end of the stick in the end, triggering a disastrous lack of coordination and strategizing between the two of them. Prussia's only genuine diplomatic success in the entire war was convincing the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the larger of the Mecklenburg states, to withdraw from the Rheinbund and join the Fifth Coalition; Austria, for its part, mobilized its reformed armies but divided them into three camps for three separate offensives, leaving each one undermanned and eventually securing its own defeat.

Britain, meanwhile, eagerly helped finance the massive new armies raised and then set about debating where it could best involve itself. A regiment was dispatched to Fiume to march alongside the Austrian incursion into Italy; this was more symbolic than anything. Linking up with Prussians and Mecklenburgers would prove difficult, with the Baltic League closing the Kattegat to British ships since 1809. Eventually, Cabinet elected for a two-pronged invasion with the weight of available British soldiers (which, after four years of being bled supporting the pretender Ferdinand in the Spanish Americas, was less than what was likely needed). 40,000 men were to link up with the smaller armies of Savoyard Sardinia and Bourbon Sicily and land in Calabria, creating a second front in Italy near British-controlled shipping lanes; another 45,000 were to go ashore in Walcheren in Holland, aiming to open up yet another front in the conflict, this one close to Napoleon's heartland, and cause trouble in the Low Countries, particularly in the vicinity of Anvers. With 85,000 men committed to the Fifth Coalition, it was the largest expeditionary force raised by Britain yet - and meant drawing the forces in Spanish America down to the bone, even as the guerilla campaigns there between Fernandine supporters and the juntistas who vigorously opposed his imposition over the rightful Charles IV had escalated to the point that even the capital at Mexico was threatened.

Austria, led by Archduke Charles, was fully mobilized by March 22 and began its march along the Danube towards a waiting Bavarian army near Salzburg shortly thereafter; another army crossed into Prussia via Ostrau to link up with a force there to attack the 60,000-man strong army of the Duchy of Warsaw through Lower Silesia. Saxon forces and Prussian armies clashed indecisively at Weimar on April 2; Austrians marched into Venetia on April 3 shoulder to shoulder with the British infantry regiment they had been promised. In Vienna, Emperor Francis waited eagerly for word of Wellington's landing in Calabria and Sir John Pitt's attack into Walcheren; time was of the essence, for the greatest field commander of the age was marching through Germany now to counter, and there was no knowing what traps, tricks or surprises he had up his sleeve this fifth time around...

Wow! What a strategy! The funniest part is that it looks absolutely realistic including the Brits and Austrians trying to be all over the place! 😂

BTW, shouldn’t the Austrians and Prussians be at least a little bit cautious about their posteriors (aka, Eastern borders)?

Anyway, the update is great as usual.

 

[KingSweden24]

Wow! What a strategy! The funniest part is that it looks absolutely realistic including the Brits and Austrians trying to be all over the place! 😂

BTW, shouldn’t the Austrians and Prussians be at least a little bit cautious about their posteriors (aka, Eastern borders)?

Anyway, the update is great as usual.

The attack against Warsaw is their posterior coverage; they know Poniatowski is there and will attack. Russia’s neutrality is a wild card, yes, but not the firm certainty of France’s Polish allies lurking to their east.

That said, there’s huge holes in the strategy indeed

 

[Kurd Gossemer]

It seems the 5th coalition is heading towards a even bigger defeat then ever, lovely.

 

[Deleted member 143920]

Inside the Fifth Coalition​

Britons were ecstatic that, at last - and after nearly five years of trying to scrounge up a new anti-Napoleonic Coalition on the continent in the wake of the Peace of Stockholm - armies were being raised to contest French hegemony once again. Their enthusiasm should, in hindsight, have been tempered; for once, the objectives of one of the Coalitions was relatively limited. Austria and Prussia both sought simply to, realistically, limit direct French influence over Germany and eliminate the threat on their immediate borders posed by the armies of Saxony, Bavaria, Italy and Warsaw; in the event of unexpectedly robust victories, their aims included retaking lands stripped from them at Pressburg and Tilsit and creating a new German order they could together dominate. That there was mistrust between Berlin and Vienna, however, was an understatement; the latter in particular was leery of Prussian coziness with St. Petersburg and was constantly on watch for a betrayal. Neither wanted the other to succeed so much so that they would wind up getting the shorter end of the stick in the end, triggering a disastrous lack of coordination and strategizing between the two of them. Prussia's only genuine diplomatic success in the entire war was convincing the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the larger of the Mecklenburg states, to withdraw from the Rheinbund and join the Fifth Coalition; Austria, for its part, mobilized its reformed armies but divided them into three camps for three separate offensives, leaving each one undermanned and eventually securing its own defeat.

Britain, meanwhile, eagerly helped finance the massive new armies raised and then set about debating where it could best involve itself. A regiment was dispatched to Fiume to march alongside the Austrian incursion into Italy; this was more symbolic than anything. Linking up with Prussians and Mecklenburgers would prove difficult, with the Baltic League closing the Kattegat to British ships since 1809. Eventually, Cabinet elected for a two-pronged invasion with the weight of available British soldiers (which, after four years of being bled supporting the pretender Ferdinand in the Spanish Americas, was less than what was likely needed). 40,000 men were to link up with the smaller armies of Savoyard Sardinia and Bourbon Sicily and land in Calabria, creating a second front in Italy near British-controlled shipping lanes; another 45,000 were to go ashore in Walcheren in Holland, aiming to open up yet another front in the conflict, this one close to Napoleon's heartland, and cause trouble in the Low Countries, particularly in the vicinity of Anvers. With 85,000 men committed to the Fifth Coalition, it was the largest expeditionary force raised by Britain yet - and meant drawing the forces in Spanish America down to the bone, even as the guerilla campaigns there between Fernandine supporters and the juntistas who vigorously opposed his imposition over the rightful Charles IV had escalated to the point that even the capital at Mexico was threatened.

Austria, led by Archduke Charles, was fully mobilized by March 22 and began its march along the Danube towards a waiting Bavarian army near Salzburg shortly thereafter; another army crossed into Prussia via Ostrau to link up with a force there to attack the 60,000-man strong army of the Duchy of Warsaw through Lower Silesia. Saxon forces and Prussian armies clashed indecisively at Weimar on April 2; Austrians marched into Venetia on April 3 shoulder to shoulder with the British infantry regiment they had been promised. In Vienna, Emperor Francis waited eagerly for word of Wellington's landing in Calabria and Sir John Pitt's attack into Walcheren; time was of the essence, for the greatest field commander of the age was marching through Germany now to counter, and there was no knowing what traps, tricks or surprises he had up his sleeve this fifth time around...

Fantastic update! Now we await the disaster that will be the 5th coalition.

 

[alexmilman]

The attack against Warsaw is their posterior coverage; they know Poniatowski is there and will attack. Russia’s neutrality is a wild card, yes, but not the firm certainty of France’s Polish allies lurking to their east.

That said, there’s huge holes in the strategy indeed

I’d say that the strategy is a set of the holes with the tiny spaces in between. Running in all directions simultaneously with the distances between the theaters so big that the timely help is pretty much unrealistic and targeting the secondary (at best) goals while giving the main enemy a complete freedom of concentration and operations.
BTW, taking into an account that the Austrians and Brits are operating in Italy, how about providing my favorite marshal with an opportunity to do something meaningful? He liked independent operations and he is just between the Brits and Austrians. 😉

 

[KingSweden24]

I’d say that the strategy is a set of the holes with the tiny spaces in between. Running in all directions simultaneously with a distances between the theaters so big that the timely help is pretty much unrealistic and targeting the secondary (at best) goals while giving the main enemy a complete freedom of concentration and operations.
BTW, taking into an account that the Austrians and Brits are operating in Italy, how about providing my favorite marshal with an opportunity to do something meaningful? He liked independent operations and he is just between the Brits and Austrians. 😉

You mean Bernadotte, le Duc de Rome? He will absolutely have a meaningful role in the coming campaigns - I think you’ll be quite pleased with what I have in store for him.

 

[Curtain Jerker]

You mean Bernadotte, le Duc de Rome? He will absolutely have a meaningful role in the coming campaigns - I think you’ll be quite pleased with what I have in store for him.

As a big Bernadotte guy I'm looking forward to seeing him in action in central(ish) Italy.

 

[alexmilman]

Poor Britain
Putting all your eggs in a basket and having Prussia & Austria hold it isnt the brightest idea in hindsight isnt it?

Very close to the pratchettian definition of the self-inflicted wounds.

“Brilliance” of the idea should be quite obvious even without a hindsight: two isolated forces (not counting a glorious regiment marching with the Austrians), each of them too small for any major accomplishment or just for being secure from the French attack, and none of them is in a strategically important point. Walcheren was quite idiotic in OTL and is even more idiotic in this TL (below - map of 1810). Expectation to catch the French fleet at Flushing is highly optimistic (and in the case of success pretty much useless) and attack from in on the Antwerp has chance only if it remains undefended. But in the very best case scenario, the French ships are captured and Antwerp is taken, then what? The victorious Brits (40,000 minus the garrison) are marching from it to where exactly?

Bit getting to the Antwerp also is quite problematic. Judging by the photo of the Scheldt at Antwerp, few batteries located on both banks would be able to keep access to the city under control making sailing to it very “interesting”.

Landing in Calabria is, of course, quite convenient, just a short trip from Messina to Reggio Calabria (providing it is not defended). But then there is a long trip up the “Boot” through the Kingdom of Naples (which is in the French hands) and then through the rest of Italy, which is also controlled by the French, while, true to their nature, the Austrians are trying to recapture the Northern Italy instead of marching toward their allies.

This is fascinating to me
Like imagine a bipolar Germany! It'd be so fun

“Bipolar” as in “bipolar disorder”? 😢

 

[Aluma]

Very close to the pratchettian definition of the self-inflicted wounds.

Yup, pretty much
@KingSweden24 here is like "Britain stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!"

“Bipolar” as in “bipolar disorder”? 😢

Precisely

 

[alexmilman]

Just found 1810 map of the Walcheren-Antwerp area. A hostile sailing upriver would be even more interesting than I initially expected: there were batteries and at least one fort on the way and the maps of the contemporary Antwerp fortifications show that taking it was not an easy task (in 1814 it surrendered only by the order form Paris). So the main OTL goal of the whole charade was probably to hit Nappy on a pocket by capturing or destroying the ships (based upon expectation that they will just wait for the Brits in Flushing) and even this proved to be an optimistic idea. In this TL their task looks more ambitious, unless it is just “do something” (*), and as such is even less realistic.

(*) As in “Die Csárdásfürstin”. Count Boni Káncsiánu: “I have to do something, I have to do something …. I have to get a drink!” 😂

 

[KingSweden24]

Into the Gap
​

The War of the Fifth Coalition would, in later years, be described as a war of "gaps." The first was of course the famed "Fulda Gap," or the lowlands in central Germany east of Frankfurt through which Napoleon hurriedly and unexpectedly quickly marched his main army to link up with the main Saxon force; the others were perceived gaps in various lines, or gaps in geography, that gave advantage to the Napoleonic alliance. The first such was a quite literal defensive gap in Mecklenburg; on April 10, 1814, an army of Dutch and Westphalian forces under the brothers Bonaparte - Louis and Jerome - punched into southern Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the only member of the Confederation to flip to the Coalition under its Duke Friedrich Franz I, in the opening salvo of the war. Friedrich Franz I had, quite brilliantly, decided to split his forces in two, marching one half of his men towards Lubeck to screen against an expected Westphalian offensive via Hamburg and the other half occupying the lands of his cousin the Duke in Strelitz, to coerce him into releasing his soldiers for the war. The split forces resulted in the left flank and rear hopelessly exposed; Jerome's army looped west like a scythe, catching the main Mecklenburger Army by surprise from behind from both the east and the south. The Battle of Pampow was one of the worst routs in all of the Napoleonic Wars and one of the rare times an army was annihilated entirely; Friedrich Franz would learn of the defeat from his cousin's estate in Strelitz and fled south into Prussia with the smaller half of his army days later. Less than a fortnight since mobilization, Mecklenburg had been effectively removed from the war.

The other gap was the narrowing of the Danube Valley north of Salzburg and west of Linz; the funnel-shaped geography left relatively little room for imagination for both defending and attacking forces. Archduke Charles rolled the dice and swung north rather than marching straight at Munich, as the Bavarian forces under Maximilian I might have expected; it probably saved him from a defeat, as Maximilian's blow against him at Passau was weaker than it could have been otherwise with days needed to reorient his army from the expected field of battle. Still, the battle of Passau was inconclusive and needlessly bloody and both armies retreated to lick their wounds and regroup, but the Bavarians had stubbornly and successfully achieved their objective - the weight of Charles' army had been unable to cross the Inn.

The Fulda Gap, however, still retained its fame. On a rapid march through the strategic passageway through the heart of Germany, Napoleon was able to reach Naumburg, mere miles from the glory fields of Jena, days earlier than even his most optimistic projections had suggested despite dreary April weather and link up there with Friedrich August. News of the bloody tactical stalemate but strategic victory at Passau reached him before long and he went word back to Ney and Massena, still marching from France, to divert south to Bavaria, while his army - with Soult and Davout as his chief lieutenants - gathered its strength and turned northwards, towards Prussia...

 

[MiniaAr]

Yes, it's happening.

I almost feel bad for the spanking Austria and Prussia are going to receive. Almost...

 

[A Random Man]

The War of the Fifth Coalition will have to be the one that finally shows Britain that Napoleon will be here to stay for quite some time. Will Britain use all of their money and resources to continuously war with France? I wonder what Britain will be like when they lose, I bet the average citizen will think all these coalitions were for nothing and should not have started in the first place. Nice chapter, keep up the good work.

 

[Amon34]

great, but at this stage I think that since Napoleon is victorious in this TL, that we can talk about a coalition war against the empire (in France), but if not I had said it, but this fifth coalition, will be a real one, in any case eager to see the continuation

 

[VanOwen]

God have mercy on Prussia for the Emperor will have none. Charles can always play the father-in-law card to avoid the harshest treaty terms.

 

[Kurd Gossemer]

I honestly see this as the nail in the coffin of coalitions, Europe threw everything they had against the French and it achieved nothing but several dead and wasted money, no one wants to fight anymore and just have to accept that Napoleon reins supreme now.