Le Maréchal est Mort!, Alternate Franco-Prussian War

Who Should Enter Alternate Franco-Prussian War?

  • Austria

    Votes: 49 64.5%
  • Italy

    Votes: 25 32.9%
  • Denmark

    Votes: 38 50.0%
  • Great Britian

    Votes: 17 22.4%
  • Russia

    Votes: 15 19.7%

  • Total voters
    76
Intro
  • Le Maréchal est Mort!, Alternate Franco-Prussian War

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    Hello,

    This thread will present an alternate history of the Franco-Prussian War based around the death of French Marshal Francois Bazaine, commander of the Army of the Rhine, at the Battle of Borny on August 14th, 1870. At Borny, in our timeline, Bazaine suffered a light shoulder wound.

    Marshal Bazaine’ performance during the war left much to be desired. He failed to withdraw to Chalons as ordered, allowing himself to be entrapped in Metz, and missed two key opportunities to deal the Prussians a bloody nose at Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte. He failed to adequately inform the army as to his plans and kept his own chief of staff General L. Jarras in the dark. While having priorly demonstrated skill as a corps commander, Bazaine seems to have been unprepared for the much greater responsibility of commanding the entire Army of the Rhine.

    In the event of Bazaine’s death Marshals Francois Canrobert and Edmond Leboeuf were with the army and could have potentially succeeded him.

    Happy to hear your thoughts or recommendations you may have.:)
     
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    Part 1
  • Part I: Le Maréchal est Mort!

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    On the morning of August 14th, 1870 French Army of the Rhine was moving into the fortress town of Metz. The army was licking its wounds after having been thrown back from the frontier by the invading Prussians. Two days prior French Emperor Napoleon III had turned over command of the army to Marshal Bazaine and in the coming days would depart from Metz. Bazaine was an experienced leader of men having served his Majesty faithfully in the Crimea, Italy, and Mexico. He was the youngest of the active French Marshals and a popular figure with the rank and file soldiery. Many with the army and back in Paris had high hopes for him.

    The day would be a bloody one, Bazaine was soon informed that the sounds of battle could be heard to the east of Metz in the vicinity of Borny. Fierce fighting was ongoing as several French divisions of the General Claude Decaen’s III Corps clashed with elements of the Prussian First Army. News soon arrived that General Decaen had been severely wounded and no longer able to command. Bazaine on hearing the news quickly headed for the front accompanied by his chief of staff General Louis Jarras.

    The Marshal arrived at the climax of the engagement and immediately entered the fray. For hours Bazaine could be seen riding back and forth steadying his men and beating back numerous enemy assaults. Despite the pleading of his staff, the Marshal paid little heed to the enemy fire. Just as the battle was winding down an enemy shell landed near Bazaine hitting him and his horse with shrapnel. Jarras ran over to his Marshals side only to exclaim: Le Maréchal est Mort!
     
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    Part 2
  • Part II: Our father is dead, but we must avenge him…

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    Marshal Francois de Canrobert

    In the aftermath of the Marshal Bazaine's death, General Jarras rode through Metz to the headquarters of Marshal Francois de Canrobert, commander of the VI Corps, on the western outskirts of the town. Jarras informed Canrobert of the situation and asked him to assume command of the army. The Marshal was uneasy to accept such a responsibility deeming it above his capacity. He instead recommended Jarras send word to Marshal Edmond Leboeuf and offer the command to him. As the former Minister of Defense and Jarras’ predecessor as Chief of Staff, Leboeuf was the most senior officer present. Leboeuf had accompanied the Army of the Rhine but at the moment held no official position. However, as Jarras reminded the Marshal, Leboeuf had been recently discredited by the defeats at the frontier and could not assume the position. With this Canrobert bowed to fate and accepted the command. Word of the change was sent to the Emperor who promptly approved of the move.

    Canrobert would spend much of August 15th, reorganizing of the army which had now swelled to over one hundred and fifty thousand men. The III Corps, having been brutalized the day before, was withdrawn from the front line and deployed in reserve to the northwest of Metz. The IV Corps of General Ladmirault moved to take its place deploying in Metz and securing the eastern suburbs of the city. To the west of Metz, Canrobert assembled the bulk of his army and his best units. These forces included the VI Corps, the II Corps and the Elite Imperial Guard under General Bourbaki.

    These men would have the important task of guarding the western and northwestern routes out of the city. The Army of the Rhine was still under orders from the Emperor to withdraw from Metz via Verdun to Chalons and then to link up with the newly formed Army of Chalons under Marshal MacMahon. Canrobert would need a few more days with which to concentrate his army and resupply before any departure could be conducted. The Prussians were well aware of this and would soon attempt to outflank the city hoping to trap the army within.

    In addition to his deployments, Canrobert looked to the moral of the army. The death of Marshal Bazaine was met with a mix of intense grief and anger. Many lamented of how he was a modern-day Marshal Turenne who had fallen before his time. In his orders for the day, Canrobert ended with the message “Our father is dead, but we must avenge him.”

    EDIT: Change of Leboeuf to Canrobert.
     
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    Part 3
  • Part III: Battle of Mars-la-Tour

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    The battle of Mars-la-Tour opened in the morning hours of August the 16th with a barrage of Prussian artillery shells falling up the cavalry of General Forton’s division near Vionville. These guns belonged to the Prussian III Corps of General Constantin von Alvensleben. Alvensleben had ordered his army to advance believing that he was facing a mere rearguard of the fleeing French. In reality, Alvensleben and his corps had stumbled upon the bulk of the French army. This presented the French with a golden opportunity to deal the outnumbered Prussians a significant blow.

    Alvensleben ordered his men forward upon the villages of Rezonville and Vionville supported by artillery deployed on a ridge of high ground southwest of Flavigny. In the recent series of engagements, the Prussian Krupp guns had proven themselves far superior to the artillery of their French enemies. As the Prussian infantry advanced they came into contact with elements of the French II Corps of General Charles Frossard. Frossard was determined to hold his ground and had taken up a strong position with his left wing anchored on the nearby Juree stream. The Prussians made good progress against the French capturing Vionville. Marshal Canrobert meanwhile had spent that morning seeing off Napoleon III who finally departed the army escorted by his elite Chasseurs d’Afrique. Canrobert on hearing news of the action proceeded to the front. The VI, III and IV Corps along with the Imperial Guard Corps was ordered to shore up Frossard’s right flank and concentrate near St. Marcel.

    The fighting was hard fought with the Prussian artillery dealing the French heavy blows. In the infantry battles, however, it was the French Chassepot that proved superior to the Prussian Dreyse. By midday it became clear Alvensleben was rapidly running out of reserves. It was at this point that Canrobert ordered a general advance upon Vionville and Tronville. North of Vionville Prussians cavalry squadrons did their best to keep the French at bay through a series of near suicidal charges. The Prussian infantry as well taking up a good position in the woods to the north of Tronville made the French pay for every inch. This stout defense ultimately proved to be futile as the French through weight of numbers cracked open the Prussian position capturing both Vionville and Tronville. The French cavalry was then unleashed to exploiting the breakthrough.

    With their lines collapsing the Prussians began a chaotic retreat eastward. Canrobert hoped to destroy the Prussian Corps by surrounding it and pushing driving it into the Juree. Total victory, however, would prove elusive as the elements of the Prussian X Corps arrived on the field. These fresh units helped cover the withdrawal of Alvensleben’s shattered corps. Though he had not annihilated his enemy, Canrobert had much to be satisfied with, he had driven the Prussians away from the Verdun road and could not begin his withdrawal from Metz.


    Note: Bazaine, in OTL battle, was overly concerned about a nonexistent attack on his left wing and keep far too many units, including the Guard, in the Rezonville-Gravelotte area. He additionally did not forcefully push his nearly successful breakthrough at Tronville. In this alternate scenario, Canrobert will be less concerned about his left flank and concentrate on his right-center forcefully pushing the attack and smashing through. Overall, I wasn’t sure how detailed to make this post. Curious if anyone cares wants to read about individual unit actions vs a broad narrative?
     
    Part 4
  • Part IV: Sword of Damocles

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    General Gregoire de Nordeck


    On August 17th, in the aftermath of his triumph at Mars-la-Tour, Canrobert ordered his army to begin its withdrawal west to Verdun and then on to Chalons. Before his departure, Canrobert met with General Gregoire de Nordeck the garrison commander of Fortress Metz. It was decided that Nordeck would be left with some thirty thousand men to defend the city and hamper the Prussian pursuit.

    Some 100 miles away along the Marne River rested the one hundred and twenty thousand man Army of Chalons under the command of Marshal MacMahon. MacMahon was France’s most talented commander if anyone could recover the situation it would be him. The army began preparations for the link up with Canrobert’s weary soldiers, once unified they would then have some three hundred thousand men at their disposal.

    At the same time, MacMahon met with General Louis Trochu, newly appointed governor of Paris, on how best to proceed. Despite the adequate river line before them, MacMahon favored a withdrawal to Paris. Paris had an incredibly strong defensive system and the army could bring itself into the safety of these fortifications. MacMahon believed that the city with the addition of his massive army could hold indefinitely. Trochu, however, pointed out the need to keep Paris’s southern routes and rail lines open in order to supply and feed the populace. In his opinion, it was essential to prevent the city from being enveloped.

    With this in mind, the two commanders contemplated a pullback to Orleans and the Loire River. At the same time, a strong garrison would be left in Paris to hold the city. The Prussians would then find it difficult to operate against the city with this “Sword of Damocles” hanging over them. Further, it was supposed that supply lines with the city could be kept open. At Orleans, they could also gather around them the thousands of new soldiers being mobilized. Having agreed upon a plan of action, MacMahon submitted it to the emperor who promptly approved it but only as a last resort.

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    Loire River
     
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    Part 5
  • Part V: The Empress

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    Empress Eugenie


    As Napoleon III saw to the union of the French armies, Empress Eugenie continued to rule as regent in Paris. Eugenie was a highly capable figure who Napoleon had come to rely upon more and more in recent years as his health declined. From the onset of the war, Eugenie had pushed the emperor into a more militant stance encouraging him to lead the army in person despite his various illnesses.

    In her role as regent, Eugenie held daily meetings of the privy council. She also entreated with foreign diplomats such as Austria’s Richard von Metternich and Italy’s Costantino Nigra. Getting these two powers to apply pressure to Prussia would be essential to bringing about peace. Italy, in particular, had taken up a favorable position since Napoleon’s withdrawal of his garrison from Rome in early August.

    The situation in Paris was less than stable during the emperor’s absence. The French people and press, though elated by the victory at Mars-la-Tour, were furiously demanding that every inch of French soil be defended. To solidify her hold on power the Empress had taken the step of removing Prime Minister Emile Ollivier and replacing him with General Montauban de Palikao, who was also entrusted with the War Ministry, on August 9th.

    Palikao brought the capital into a state of military readiness and set to work organizing some one hundred thousand Garde Mobile. He additionally held discussions with Naval Minister Charles de Genouilly. The two discussed using the superior French navy to blockade the German coast and perhaps even mount an amphibious landing.
     
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    Part 6
  • Part VI: The Emperor Returns

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    On August 20th Napoleon III reentered Paris and thus brought about an end to the Regency. Napoleon thanked Count Palikao for his efforts in mobilizing the Garde Mobile over the past weeks and dismissed him from service. Emile Ollivier was restored to the office of Prime Minister. Empress Eugenie was less than enthusiastic about the Emperor’s return as it ended her defacto rule over the country. Eugenie had also made clear in her letters to the Emperor that she thought his place was at the front leading the army. However, with the evacuation of the bulk of French to Chalons, along with the Emperor’s worsening health, made his presence unnecessary.

    The Emperor was effectively ceding the military situation to the opinions of his cousin Prince Jerome Napoleon, Marshal MacMahon, and Governor Trochu. The Prince and Marshal would lead the army at the front while Trochu prepared the city for a siege should this event arise. Trochu began to lay plans for the devastation of railways, bridges, etc. Bringing in the livestock from the countryside for food stuffs, cutting down the trees in Bois de Boulogne for fuel and employing urban laborers to improve the city's defenses. The previous Loire plan was now shelved as the situation looked more optimistic.

    Thankfully for the French, the Prussian armies had also halted their westward march. The Prussian armies of Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke were operating at the end of long supply lines and we're more focused on keeping themselves feed then marching on Paris. Additionally, Moltke felt that Metz and the other border fortress cities should be reduced before the advance was pressed. If the army were to push on Paris now it would not be able to bring its full force to bare and as standard military practice dictates an attacker should have numerical superiority to the defender.



    Note: Decided to stick with Ollivier to keep things smooth and as galileo-034 elaborated upon was removed by less than legal means.
     
    Part 7
  • Part VII: Foreign Powers

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    Emperor Napoleon III and Queen Victoria

    The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War left Great Britain and Queen Victoria in a difficult position. For the past two decades, the queen had fostered an alliance with France. English and French troops had fought side by side in the Crimean War. Victoria had developed a close friendship with the French Emperor and Empress. However, Prussia was Britain’s historic ally since the time of Frederick the Great and Victoria’s eldest daughter was married to the Prussian Crown Prince Frederick. It was not in England’s interest that these two powers fight a bloody war and the queen had hoped it would come to a swift end.

    Tsar Alexander II of Russia was in similar straits to Victoria. Alexander’s mother had been a Prussian Princess, Prussian King Wilhelm was his uncle and he had grown up reading German literature. However, despite his Germanophile nature, Alexander feared the rise of a powerful German state on his western frontier that could one day threaten Russia. This made improving relations with France a natural step, but he had a personal dislike for the nation. Alexander blamed France for the Crimean War and subsequent death of his father Tsar Nicholas. Emperor Napoleon had attempted to smooth things out in 1856, dispatching his half brother Charles de Morny to the Russian court. Morny was able to form a close bond with Alexander, the Russian monarch even attended his wedding to a Russian princess. The untimely death of Morny in 1865 however left a void in two nations relationship. Alexander had traveled to France in 1867 to meet the Emperor in person only to be nearly assassinated by a Polish nationalist. Alexander had always suspected Napoleon of having pro polish leanings and this only hurt the relationship. When the war broke out, Alexander personally sympathized with Prussia but he concluded that it was to Russia’s advantage if neither side gained a clear victory.

    Italian King Victor Emmanuel’s sentiments were with the French. He had fought by Emperor Napoleon’s side at the Battle of Solferino and appreciated French support in driving the Austrians from northern Italy. The main issue between the two powers was the French garrison in Rome. Napoleon’s decision to withdraw these soldiers at the beginning of the conflict with Prussia was greatly appreciated by Emmanuel. The Italian King was now seriously considering open support for France in the conflict. Though the immediate concern for Emmanuel was the safety of his daughter Princess Maria Clotilde. Clotilde, the wife of Prince Napoleon, was living in Paris and refusing to return to the safety of Italy.

    Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary was never fond of the French Emperor. The two men had battled personally in the field at Solferino. Franz Joseph also held a grudge against Napoleon for the death of his brother Maximilian. Napoleon had implicated Maximilian in his scheme to sit a European monarch on the Mexican throne. The venture ended with the French abandoning the Austrian prince to be shot by a firing squad. Austria’s weak condition after its defeat at the hands of Prussia, however, left Franz Joseph rethinking Austria’s relationship with France. A combined French-Austrian alliance might be the only thing to prevent Prussian hegemony. With the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, the Austrian Emperor hoped for a French victory and contemplated entering the conflict.

    Note: Here is a summary of foreign rulers opinions on the conflict. If I left out any important information, please leave a comment.:)
     
    Part 8
  • Part VIII: Resistance

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    Irregular Franc-tireurs

    While the French reorganized themselves along the Marne and in Paris, the Prussians pressed their sieges of the French border fortresses with intensity. They would need to be dealt to ease the Prussian logistical strain, release manpower for frontline duty and remove any threat to the Prussian rear. Places like Metz could be used as a position from which French could sally forth before returning to the safety of its fortifications. Metz commander General de Nordeck had previously recommended this exact strategy advising that the Army of the Rhine should withdraw into Metz rather than retreat to Chalons. Marshal Canrobert rejected the move pointing out the issue of supplying such a massive force for any length of time.

    Despite losing the protection of the Army of the Rhine, Nordeck could be pleased by the fact that his supply situation improved immensely. Without the drain on rations, the French estimated the fortress could hold out perhaps five more months. Also to Nordeck’s pleasure, the Prussians even with the addition of heavy artillery failed to serious damage his defenses. The garrison was now well placed to last the winter. The Prussians ran into similar issues at the other French fortress towns of Toul and Strasbourg. Additionally, irregular francs-tireurs were still roaming at will behind the frontlines harassing Prussian forces. These French efforts helped to slow down the Prussian advance denying them access to the interior railway system.



    Note: Anyone want to make an educated guess as to how long these fortresses could potentially hold out for? Metz in particular, from what I have read, looks like it could last into the spring. The other fortresses, like Strasbourg and Toul, in OTL surrendered in late September. For this ATL I figure would likely resist longer as they are not demoralized by the disaster at Sedan.
     
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    Part 9
  • Part IX: Attrition

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    By January of 1871 Metz, Strasbourg and Toul, after determined resistance, fell to Prussian arms. The Prussians now move onto to their next objectives of Sedan, Verdun, and Belfort.
    Belfort in particular with its garrison of some 17,000 soldiers under the command of charismatic Pierre Denfert-Rochereau, the Lion of Belfort, presented a significant challenge to the German advance. The French army, as well, was not merely sitting at Chalons but launching a number of raids to take pressure off of the besieged fortresses. Meanwhile, Prussian soldiers were suffering from the effects of these long sieges with disease laying low thousands of soldiers.

    The failure to secure a quick decisive victory left the Prussians in a bad position. They had not planned for a long war and the international community was turning against them. Italy and Austria were mobilizing their armies and taking up a stance of armed neutrality. This presented a significant threat to Prussia and forced them to detach manpower to defend these fronts. Britain as well wanted the conflict over as it was disrupting trade with France. Since 1860, with the signing of the Cobden-Chevalier free trade agreement, the British economy had benefited from France purchasing large sums of British manufactured goods. The war was disrupting this as French demand for goods fell. The only great power on Prussia’s side was Alexander of Russia who pledged support in case of an Austrian attack.

    To make matters worse for the Prussians the French navy was now beginning to take a significant role in the conflict. The previous summer they had made an ineffective effort to blockade the German coastline. Now having had many months to build up their resources they were ready to try again. This time the French also had the support of the Danish Royal Navy and use of its supply points. King Christian IX of Denmark saw the prolonged conflict as an opportunity to get back at the Prussians for the Danish defeat in the 1864 Schleswig War.
     
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