Skallagrim
Banned
Regardless of all other matters, "why not go for broke" is a very valid question. The plan, as outlined in the OP, is just completely bonkers. It's clear that Palmerston just jotted down a British wish-list fantasy here, and when regarded as just that it makes far more sense-- but surely he must have understood that when shooting a bear, you have to make damn sure that you kill it? If you wound it, then it'll just get really angry. Maybe it'll have to lick its wouds and recover, but after that... you're not getting out of the woods in one piece, buddy! With a plan this outlandish, why indeed not go for broke? This could help both in getting others on board (by offering them more spoils) and reduce the chances of Russia ever becoming a revanchist threat.
-- You need to get Estonia, Ingria, St. Pertersburg (and probably Arkhangelsk) added to the Swedish land-grab, thus essentially cutting Russia off from any meaningful sea access.
-- You need to expand the Prussian and the Austrian land-grabs to create a bigger buffer zone.
-- The plan for independent Poland makes no sense. It will only ensure that Prussia and Austria balk at your plan. Propose instead to divide Congress Poland along the old partition lines (but with the old Russian share of the Polish partitions being likewise divided between Prussia and Austria). This would make Prussia and Austria more willing, and the extra Austrian gains would make the cession of Austrian lands in Italy more realistic.
-- Finally, instead of an independent Poland, carve out an independent Ukraine, to be placed under joint protection (and control) of the allied powers. This would make the Ukrainian ports openly available to Western interests. Moreover, it would also cut the fertile agriculural areas that supply those ports off from Russia, ensuring that Britain and France can get their claws on Ukrainian grain under free trade terms.
The end result would look a bit like this (with my apologies for the extra-crude map I jotted up in a minute):
To be clear: it's still totally unrealistic and insane, but if you're going to propose insane wa-plans anyway, you might as well go all-out and aim to acually cripple the enemy beyond any realistic recovery.
-- You need to get Estonia, Ingria, St. Pertersburg (and probably Arkhangelsk) added to the Swedish land-grab, thus essentially cutting Russia off from any meaningful sea access.
-- You need to expand the Prussian and the Austrian land-grabs to create a bigger buffer zone.
-- The plan for independent Poland makes no sense. It will only ensure that Prussia and Austria balk at your plan. Propose instead to divide Congress Poland along the old partition lines (but with the old Russian share of the Polish partitions being likewise divided between Prussia and Austria). This would make Prussia and Austria more willing, and the extra Austrian gains would make the cession of Austrian lands in Italy more realistic.
-- Finally, instead of an independent Poland, carve out an independent Ukraine, to be placed under joint protection (and control) of the allied powers. This would make the Ukrainian ports openly available to Western interests. Moreover, it would also cut the fertile agriculural areas that supply those ports off from Russia, ensuring that Britain and France can get their claws on Ukrainian grain under free trade terms.
The end result would look a bit like this (with my apologies for the extra-crude map I jotted up in a minute):
To be clear: it's still totally unrealistic and insane, but if you're going to propose insane wa-plans anyway, you might as well go all-out and aim to acually cripple the enemy beyond any realistic recovery.