Rex Italiae: The Failure of the Risorgimento

I've been reading around on this site for a long time now and considered doing various timelines myself, but I've only just gotten around to getting on with it :eek: So here's hoping you guys enjoy! :D

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The Expedition of a Thousand

For many years the Italians had struggled, against both foreign threats and those within their own claimed borders, to establish a unified Italian state. By 1860 what had previously been the dream of a few hopeful patriots seemed poised to become a reality. All of the rich and plentiful north lay under the dominion of Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia-Piedmont, who was slowing becoming himself the father of the nation which he seemed destined to rule in its entirety. Indeed the only remaining obstacles to the achievement of this dream were the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two-Sicilies, two ancient and noble realms which had since decayed and stood ripe for the taking. It was to this objective that led the famed general Garibaldi to sail to Sicily with one thousand men, to stand against the entire Neapolitan army and to finally achieve the unification of Italy.

Upon landing Garibaldi met with great success, defeating a Bourbon army almost twice the size of his forces in the Battle of Calatafimi, which gave him room to breathe as well as inspiring a general revolt that allowed him to lay siege to the city of Palermo, defended by some 16,000 Neapolitans. However, they were poorly led by both their corrupt officers and the weak Ferdinando Lanza. Had a stay cannon shot from the ships which were bombarding the city not killed Garibaldi, the flimsy defences would most likely have fallen to his expert hand. As it was, he was killed on the 29th May during a Bourbon attack which was repelled. Despite the failure of the first attack, when news reached Lanza of his enemy’s death and further bolstered by the arrival of Neapolitan reinforcements, he ordered another attack on the Garibaldian lines, which was held back in many places by the redshirts who fought all the harder for the loss of their beloved leader, but which broke through the demoralized rebels, many of whom were without arms or powder. Although the fight for the city was a brutal one, in the end the Neapolitans regained control, forcing out the surviving rebels and redshirts, who retreated to Alcamo, where much of the populace mobilized to withstand a siege. On the 13th June the Neapolitans laid siege to the well-prepared rebel positions, which repulsed the initial efforts of the Bourbons to force an entrance into the town, leading Lanza to reduce them with artillery bombardment over several days, followed by a final attack which broke through and defeated the last major force of the expedition. Although guerrilla activities in the area continued to be carried out by survivors of the expedition and subsequent revolts, all was quiet in the major cities where the people had been cowed into submission, with many of the monarchy’s opponents removed all together, either perishing in the expedition, entering into captivity or exile, or suffering execution for treason. For the time being, at least, the Kingdom of the Two-Sicilies was to survive.

The Immediate Aftermath of the Expedition of a Thousand

In the Kingdom of the Two-Sicilies, the effects of the expedition were immediate and far reaching, for the King was shocked by how close the second city of his realm had come to falling into the hands of mere bandits. In the wake of the failed revolts hundred were executed across western Sicily for their treason, which served to drive many republicans and opponents of the King into exile or hiding, crippling the opposition, not only in Sicily, but the entire Kingdom. The secret societies which had been formed all over Italy were now ruthlessly suppressed by Francis II, who created a new section of government officials for the detection and capture of all those who sought to oppose or in any way damage the Crown. These two events led to a significant decrease in anti-Bourbon activities within the Kingdom. On top of this, the independence-minded Sicilians, in the west at least, were subdued by the bloody fate of the rebellion, which left much of Palermo in ruins, an event carved into the collective memory of an entire generation there. Furthermore, the King resolved that a serious reorganisation of his army was needed and he began heavily investing in more modern arms and equipment, whilst on the grand political stage, it was decided that Naples must end its isolationism and find allies if it is to survive in the modern world. As such, overtures were swiftly made to almost all the nations of Europe, most especially the Papal States, Austrians and French.

In the Papal States, the effects of the expedition mirrored those in the Kingdom of the Two-Sicilies, to an extent, for the Pope also created a division specifically to deal with internal opposition to his temporal authority, which many intellectuals who had supported the expedition, either directly or simply morally, fled abroad to more friendly nations. The Pope made overtures to the French and Austrians, but both refused to an alliance with the Pontiff, leaving him to create a new alliance between the throne of St Peter and the Bourbons to the south. The Pope also ordered the strengthening of the Papal army, with the raising of various new military units and the expansion of those that already existed, with a general call to arms being issued to Catholics across the world. The Holy Father was set upon establishing the Papal Army as a force to be reckoned with.

In the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, the effects were less obvious but perhaps more profound. Victor Emmanuel II had hoped that Garibaldi would be successful and deliver Sicily to him, but now the King shied away from the idea of incorporating the south into his planned Kingdom of Italy, and although Cavour attempted to stir up republican unrest in the south, he failed and the two southern states were, for the time being at least, let well alone. Meanwhile, Venice became the focus of Sardinian attention, becoming their greatest desire.

In the end, both southern Italian states drew closer together, with a variety of treaties being drawn up between them, resulting in an alliance and blossoming trade, allowing industry to expand and also leading shortly to the construction of a railway between the two capitals. Both agreed to exchange advancements and innovations in every field, especially the military, as both sought to expand their forces to protect themselves from external threats. Rome and Naples were thus drawn together, but the rift between north and south was deepened, as Pius and Francis blamed the Sardinians for the expedition and feared their increasing power. Banditry, an eternal problem in Italy, most especially the south, began to decrease at this time, as the Papal and Bourbon governments sought to crush all opposition to their rule and do away with the rebels who occasionally took up arms in an attempt to unite Italy. The rebels, however, were few and disorganised without the unifying force of Garibaldi, and no serious threats arose, troops quickly putting down the rebellions and gaining experience, as well as being employed to hunt down the bandits plaguing the south.

Peacetime in Italy

For a time, Italy was at peace. The revolutionaries, so dangerous before, were reduced to a mere annoyance, whilst the Sardinians were unwilling to march south and unable to march east against the powerful Austrians. Because of this, Italy prospered, especially in the south, where trade rapidly expanded between the Naples and Rome. Industry grew quickly, especially in the Kingdom of the Two-Sicilies, which was by far the richest of all the Italian States. With its immense wealth, the Kingdom was able to bolster its army, obtain the latest arms and equipment and increase the number of artillery pieces it had, as well as construct new ships for the navy, including a small number of ironclads, and lay miles of new railway lines. The King, as time wore on, became more obsessed with the state of his military, desperately fearing the loss of his throne, either to revolutionaries in the same vein as Garibaldi or to the Sardinians. Bordering on paranoia, this fear led Francis to refuse all attempts to reform the government and to reject all offers of an alliance from Victor Emmanuel.

The Sardinians, meanwhile, sought to bring themselves closer to France, in an attempt to prepare themselves for a war with Austria. Some vague suggestions at carving up the Papal States between Naples and Turin were made, but were immediately rejected by Francis who was a devout Catholic and who had come to dislike the Sardinian King for the threat he posed. Whilst these diplomatic manoeuvres were made, The Sardinians attempted to provoke war with Austria as they had done in 1859, by deploying troops along the border. However, the Austrians refused to declare war, remembering the previous outcome for them, meaning that the Sardinians were unable to get their war, too weak to defeat Austria alone and only assured of French support if the Austrians started the war.

The Mexican Civil War

During these years, Mexico was consumed by civil war, as the republicans battled against the government of Emperor Maximillian. The events leading to the civil war began after the Mexican President suspended the payment of interest on his county’s foreign debts. This led to the French, Austrian and British fleets seizing various parts of the coast in late 1861 and early 1862, in an attempt to force the Mexicans to continue the payments. However, Napoleon III had grander plans and landed an entire army under General Lorencez on the 5th March 1862, as control of Mexico would give France access to all of Latin America. In April, when the Austrians and British realised the intentions of the French, they withdrew their forces.

The French intervention progressed rather haphazardly, with the first major action, the Battle of Puebla on 5th May, ending in defeat for the French, forcing them to retreat. However, with the arrival of French reinforcements, the Mexicans were halted and the way to Puebla forced open. On 30th April 1863, the famous action of Captain Danjou occurred when 3,000 Mexicans attacked his small patrol, forcing them to take cover in a nearby inn. After an inspiring attempt to hold out, the remaining legionaries sallied out in a bayonet charge, leaving only three survivors. Although strategically insignificant, it proved a morale booster for the French in Mexico and because an important part of the Foreign Legion’s history. This was followed by the French defeat of the Mexican relief attempt and their capture of Puebla on the 17th May, scaring the President into fleeing the capital with the country’s finances, allowing the French to enter Mexico City on 7th June. On 10th July, the founding of the Mexican Empire was announced and the crown offered to Archduke Maximillian, whose ancestors had once been the Viceroys of Mexico. It was during this first phase of the French intervention in Mexico that the Pope had resolved to intervene in Mexico in support of the conservative Catholic elements of the country. To this end, Louis de Becdelièvre, who had been sacked following disagreements with Papal commander Lamoricière, was again commissioned to raise a unit for intervention in Mexico, to which end he founded the Papal Zouaves in 1863, which was comprised of some 600 men of various nationalities by 1864, when it embarked for the New World. Although the Pope promised to send more troops as soon as was possible, distractions such as the January Uprising and the Austro-Prussian War prevented him from making good on this. Naples did not send any troops to support the Emperor, despite the Pope’s encouragement, as the King was consumed with concern for his country’s own ability to defend itself, although some financial aid was given.

In 1864 the French advances got off to a good start, with the capture of Guadalajara in January and Zacatecas in February, but they then failed in their attempts to take Mazatlán in March. However, French successes continued with the capture of Acapulco on 3rd June and Durango on 3rd July and the defeat of various other republican forces. Maximillian had accepted the crown on 10th April, with the signing of the Treaty of Miramar, and landed in Mexico in late May, followed shortly by the arrival of the Papal Zouaves the next month, who arrived on the 14th June. The year ended with the capture of Mazatlán in November.

Although the French successes at first continued in 1865, with the fall of Oaxaca to them on 9th February and Guaymas on 19th March, things took a rather worrying turn when a 300-strong detachment of Belgians was surrounded in Tacámbaro, attacked by ten times their number. Their commander, Major Tydgat, attempted to hold out, but they were on the verge of surrender when a force of some 100 Papal Zouaves attacked the republicans. Both the Belgians and the republicans thought that it was a much larger force, resulting in the retreat of the republicans into better position for fending off a relief effort and their temporary cessation of attacks on the Belgians, who were themselves inspired to resist by the presence of what they thought to be a large relief force. In the confusion the Zouaves were able to reach the Belgians and bolster their defences. For the next day, the Mexicans failed to attack the Imperial forces as they searched for a larger Imperial army in the area, convinced that the Zouaves must have been only a vanguard of a relief force. However, on the 13th they renewed their attacks, which were barely held off. On the following day a major battle took place as a French relief arrived, having marched desperately to reached the beleaguered Belgian and Papal troops, which ended in a narrow Imperial victory as the republicans were compelled to retire. In October of this year, the Emperor issued the Black Decree, sentencing any captured Mexicans to death. In 1865, the USA also began to have significant impact upon the conflict, when 50,000 troops were moved to their border with Mexico and pressure put on the French to withdraw.

In 1866 the French disagreement with the USA escalated when Napoleon III refused to withdraw, influenced by correspondence from the Pope which praised his intervention and the presence of the Pontiff’s own soldiers in Mexico. Having been warned that the Zouaves would not abandon the Mexican Emperor in the event of a French withdrawal, Napoleon decided that he was unable to leave the Zouaves and Mexican Emperor after all that had been achieved. Although Lincoln was unwilling to directly intervene against the French so soon after the bloody American Civil War, the US Navy was employed in a blockade of Mexico, stopping any further French forces from landing, although occasionally a French convoy would force entry into the country, with the two nations often coming to the brink of all-out war over the crisis.

Meanwhile, the French and Imperial forces continued to expand their grip over the country in 1866, taking Oaxaca in February, Chihuahua in April and Monterry and Minatitlan in July, forcing the republican forces further from the Mexican heartland and slowly establishing the Emperor’s control over the country. Although they suffered some reverses, most seriously in the aftermath of the Battle of Miahuatlán in October. In a series of skilful engagements, the republican commander, Diaz, held off the Imperial forces, while his cavalry flanked them, inflicting a terrible defeat on the Imperial and French forces. Having captured more supplies and better arms, Diaz was able to advance on Oaxaca, laying siege to the city until he was forced to retire later the same month, after clashing with the French relief force during the Battle of La Carbonera. In the battle, Diaz was once again on the defensive, although his ranks were swollen by an influx of recruits after his last success. One Imperial and two French columns advanced against him, and although he held back two, badly mauling one French column, the remaining French column was able to break through his lines and force a republican retreat. The same year, Emperor Maximillian made the Belgian Volunteers a permanent unit of the Imperial Mexican Army, much to the delight of his wife, Carlota, who was the daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians until his death in 1865, as were the Hungarian Volunteers.

In early 1867, Imperial forces conquered north-eastern Mexico, allowing American Volunteers to begin to flow into the Empire. These volunteers were almost entirely Irish and the majority were veterans of the American Civil War. By march there were so many of them that the Emperor decided to create an entirely Irish unit, the Saint Patrick’s Battalion, named after its predecessor that had existed in the Mexican-American War. The same year, Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria consented to his second son, then only two years old, becoming heir to the Mexican throne. Although some Mexicans had hoped for one of the descendants of the earlier Emperors to become heirs and eventually Emperors themselves, the Imperial couple even adopting some of the grandsons of the last Mexican Emperor, there was no real dissatisfaction of the choice. By the end of the year, the succession was secured and the republican forces all but defeated.

By 1868, the republicans had been forced into guerrilla warfare, having all but lost the Civil War. Although the fighting continued, by 1870 their resistance had come to an end, with the Catholic Mexican population becoming used to the rule of their European Emperor, who introduced many new advancements to Mexico, beginning the process of modernising the country. The war also had the effect of providing a large number of veteran troops to various governments in France, most especially the Papal States, which gained the hardened Papal Zouaves. Louis de Becdelièvre had been killed in the war, dying during the Battle of La Carbone in 1866, but his men became the elite of the Papal Army, the 500-strong unit which returned to Rome in early 1869 being increased to 1,500 men by the end of the year. Over the course of the war, they had suffered some 240 men killed and many more wounded. When the Papal Zouaves departed Mexico, they were accompanied by some 200 men of the Saint Patrick’s Battalion of Mexico, who joined the Pope’s own Saint Patrick’s Regiment.

The Mexican Civil War was an important moment in American history, it was the first time the Monroe Doctrine had been outright opposed by a European power, whilst also establishing a French protectorate on the North American continent. It also virtually cut Mexico’s trade with the USA, leading her to seek even closer ties with France and the rest of Europe.

The January Uprising

Beginning in 1863, the January Uprising was a widespread rebellion against Russian control of a large part of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Breaking out in Poland in January, uprisings followed in February in Lithuania, the Baltic, Belarus and the Ukraine. A provisional government was formed and an appeal made to the rest of Europe, resulting in an influx of support, the Pope even ordering prayers to be said for the success of the Catholic Poles against the Orthodox Russians. The war escalated when Prussia gave the Russians use of its railways in defeating the uprising, uniting all the nations of the old Commonwealth together. At first the uprising was limited mostly to the nobility and war was first waged over the support of the peasants. Although the provisional government began to offer them the land they worked on, many were bought off by the Russians, who impartially redistributed land in Poland to the peasants.

Throughout the Uprising, the rebels were often outnumbered ten to one and they constantly struggled with being poorly armed. Despite determinedly opposing the Russians, the Poles were slowly defeated and with the capture of much of their leadership in 1864, their resistance began to collapse. Despite the presence of many able and enthusiastic French and Papal commanders among the Polish forces (the Papal officers being present outside the authority of the Pope, having been allowed to temporarily leave the Papal army to support their fellow Catholics and gain experience), it was a doomed venture as political infighting undermined them and they crumbled under the might of the Russian army, tens of thousands being deported to Siberia in the aftermath.

During the course of the Uprising a variety of regular and irregular units were formed to fight the Russians, but the Zouaves of Death stand out in particular. Created by the Frenchman François Rochebrune in 1863, it acquitted itself admirably over the course of the conflict, often throwing itself into the thick of the fighting and repeatedly taking high casualties as their oath forbade them from retreat or surrender. At the end of the war, a portion of the survivors went on, at the invitation of the Pontiff, to become the core of a new Polish battalion of Zouaves, bolstered by other Poles who were fleeing the aftermath of the Uprising. With the establishment of this new battalion of Zouaves, the Papal Zouaves were turned into a regiment in early 1865, with plans for the creation of another battalion to bring them up to full strength.
 
Very interesting. I don't know nearly enough about this era to say if its plausible or not, but it definitely has my attention.
 

Razgriz 2K9

Banned
A Sicily-wank? At this late juncture? Well, color me surprised...

It is plausible that Garibaldi dying would have inevitably caused the failure of the revolution and Francis to hunker down and destroy all rebels. I'm assuming that this will also lead to the end of the Sicilian Constitution of 1860, which was created in an attempt to placate the rebels.

What I do find implausible is Sardinia looking for closer support for France again. The Sardinians distrusted Nappy because they were promised both Lombardy & Venetia, in exchange for Nice and Savoy, and well they only got Lombardy out of the deal. What would make it worse for Sardinia is that they were as you've mentioned, currently engaging Mexico and are in support of putting a Hapsburg on the throne in an attempt at restoring Franco-Austrian relations for a projected war with Prussia (which apparently never came if the Mexican War is to be believed.) I don't think Sardinia will be courting France for a while.

As for Industrial might, I do not know how strong the Sicilian industry can be, but I doubt it would've grown at that fast a rate to actually outpace Sardinia-Piedmont, which was the most industrious of the now three Italian states, especially now more so because they have Milan, which was probably the most industrious on the Italian Peninsula.
 
I'm surprised at how few comments there are on this thread. What a wonderfully unique PoD, and what interesting butterflies we've already got. I do hope this continues.

As for southern Italian industrialization, no, le due Sicilie won't ever become the Ruhr, won't ever even rival the north in heavy industry, but the goal for them will be to develop the secondary and tertiary industries that will allow them to earn hard currency from trade to afford the things they can't produce.
 
I'm surprised at how few comments there are on this thread. What a wonderfully unique PoD, and what interesting butterflies we've already got. I do hope this continues.

As for southern Italian industrialization, no, le due Sicilie won't ever become the Ruhr, won't ever even rival the north in heavy industry, but the goal for them will be to develop the secondary and tertiary industries that will allow them to earn hard currency from trade to afford the things they can't produce.

The problem is that the Bourboun Kingdom was many things but an entity possessing enough money to industrialize (expecially after a revolt of this kind) or having a proper administration was not among them...at least at this time and the Papal states were even in a worse shape regarding commerce and industrialization expecially due to the fact that the most prosperous part aka Romagna and Marche were almost on open revolt and frankly the popular support for the papal goverment was almost zero.
Basically the Piedmontese army can simply walk in the region and take it (who's what happened in OTL) leaving a rump Papal state with Lazio and part of Umbria (Cavour original plan).

South Italy will not have the resource, the will and the mean to make reform of this kind, expecially under the current regime.
 
The problem is that the Bourboun Kingdom was many things but an entity possessing enough money to industrialize (expecially after a revolt of this kind) or having a proper administration was not among them...at least at this time and the Papal states were even in a worse shape regarding commerce and industrialization expecially due to the fact that the most prosperous part aka Romagna and Marche were almost on open revolt and frankly the popular support for the papal goverment was almost zero.
Basically the Piedmontese army can simply walk in the region and take it (who's what happened in OTL) leaving a rump Papal state with Lazio and part of Umbria (Cavour original plan).

South Italy will not have the resource, the will and the mean to make reform of this kind, expecially under the current regime.

As usually I do agree with you: there is not a chance of Two Sicilies successfully reforming so late in the 19th century. IMHO the last opportunity came (and quickly went away) when Ferdinand II took the crown in 1830. He started his reign in a nice way, attempting to reform administration and to create an industrial base, but the wind of change did not last more than a few years: his conservativism alienated immediately the liberal bourgeoisie, he never managed to deal successfully with the autonomist feelings in Sicily and got frightened by the conspiracy masterminded by his brother, the duke of Calabria. In the end his natural sloth prevailed and he rarely left his palace in Caserta. It is doubtful that he might have done better even (the granting of a constitution in 1830s would have been likely to provoke an Austrian intervention, and to deal with the very significant issues of Sicilian unrest and absentee landowners would have required a much better and focussed man) but he might have tried.

The POD is somehow interesting though, even if I agree that a Sabaud rapprochement with France is unlikely given the sudden turnaround of Nappy who from late 1859 turned around his Italian strategy by seeking an alliance with Austria.

There are a few unanswered questions, though:
  • IMHO Romagna and Marche will not stay in the Papal States: the insurrection is too fierce and the Papal troops will never manage to repress it. Given that the alternative to an annexation to Sardinia would be the establishment of a republic I believe that Cavour will manage to weasel his way through.
  • A kingdom of Italy will have to be created anyway: the annexations (Lombardy, Emilia, Romagna, Tuscany, Marche (maybe) are too massive to be dealt with by remaining the kingdom of Sardinia. It's interesting that the new kingdom would practically match (with the exception of Veneto) the old Longobard and Carolingian kingdoms of Italy: so a kingdom of Italy will be proclaimed, even if the pennsula is not completely unified.
  • Almost certainly the capital will be moved from Turin which is too periferic: Milan or Bologna would probably be chosen (Florence which was chosen IOTL is again too periferic)
  • I wonder what would happen with Savoy and Nice: they were promised to Nappy but he welched on his commitments. IOTL they were given anyway to France, but ITTL it might go differently.
  • Most interesting point to explore is what will happen with the development of the new kingdom of Italy. In many ways it is much more cohesive and homogeneous than OTL KoI was after the annexation of the south, so it would avoid the 10 years of civil unrest and insurrections which plagued Southern Italy IOTL and would possibly be more successful both in integrating the new provinces and in industrializing. Another possible plus is that the insurrectionalist policy promoted by the Left (and Garibaldi first among them) would be discredited: Garibaldi would still be a hero, but a dead one and government dinamics would be completely different since there would not be the unholy alliance between the most conservative Piedmontese aristocracy and the great southern landholders which dominated the 1860s: if Italy is lucky there could be a working alliance in Parliament between the liberal-conservatives and the moderate left, marginalizing the extremes (takes some luck, because Victor Emmanuel is still king and will live almost another 20 years: his political outlook was anything but progressive). OTOH ITTL it's even more clear than it was IOTL that the unification process has not been completed and this might lead to a more militaristic approach (hopefully more successful than IOTL but don't hold your breath).
 
I'm glad people are actually reading my TL :D Thanks for the feed back!

In answer to some of the points made, the Papal States ITTL has a rather tenuous grip on the Marche, but Romagna was lost in 1859, as in OTL. They have more control because of the larger Papal army, indirect support from Naples and the failure of the revolution in Sicily, the death of Garibaldi signalling to some revolutionaries that it's over.

At the times, the Two-Sicilies was by far the richest nation in Italy and so I figured the King's paranoia would make him start to spend on industry and the military rather earnestly :eek: Naples has less of a problem with rebels and bandits in ITTL because it's becoming more and more oppressive, so they can't operate as well, but of course that can't last... ;)

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The Situation of Europe prior to the Austro-Prussian War of 1866

In the Kingdom of the Two-Sicilies the military, by virtue of the reforms and encouragement of Francis II, was in a far better position than that which it had found itself in 1860. He had further increased conscription, so that by 1866 the size of the army had reached 155,000, consisting of 80,000 professional solders, 30,000 conscripts and 45,000 reservists. Of note was the large Swiss contingent which had been reconstituted in the reforms, drawn largely from the Swiss diaspora in the Kingdom. For the most part they were armed with the Austrian Lorenz rifle, although some elite units did possess more modern breech-loaders. Artillery was mostly muzzle-loading smoothbore and the navy mostly comprised of wooden ships, although three ironclads were maintained. Economically, the Kingdom was the richest in Italy, but still suffered from a largely pre-industrial economy and was heavily reliant on agriculture rather than industry. Nevertheless, industry was rapidly increasing and although still behind that of the Sardinians, was in a far better state than a decade prior, with new factories being opened across the country, but mostly in the region around the capital. The economy in general was in a marvellous state, with flowing trade, making the Kingdom the richest in Italy, although the King spend most of this on industrial and military developments. The government remained in the hands of the King, the plans for a constitution being abandoned after the defeat of the expedition of a thousand. In the aftermath, little had changed due to the reactionary policies implemented by Francis, with the Church and nobility still dominating the lower and middle classes. One side effect of this was that although some changes had been made in the leadership of the army, for the most part the officers were still corrupt or incompetent.

The Papal States was one of the most conservative states of Europe and its situation in 1866 reflected this, with industry, although growing, still insignificant when compared to other European states. The Pope still remained absolute ruler of his lands, with the very little changing in the government, even the Roman Ghetto continuing to exist. His military reflected the little faith he placed in his Italian subjects, being largely made up of foreigners who were united in their Catholic faith. There were Irish and Franco-Belgian Regiments, as well as a Zouave Regiment, the Swiss Guard and several native units, numbering some 23,000 altogether. Their equipment was mostly very modern, due to the support of wealthy Catholic patrons and the fact that many soldiers, especially the officers, purchased their own. Artillery was mostly smoothbore, while the navy had only one ironclad and a motley assortment of other wooden ships. Despite being known as a liberal patron of the arts in the early years of his reign, Pius IX had become a militaristic reactionary through the revolutionary threat to his power, a change reflected in his realm.

The largest of the Italian States was Sardinia-Piedmont, which was the most modern, with a booming industrial sector that outstripped the rest of Italy put together. Largely armed with muzzle loading rifles, elite units had more modern breech-loaders, whilst artillery was still mostly muzzle loading smoothbore. Their army number some 200,000 men and their navy had about 11 ironclads and a large number of wooden ships. The most liberal of the Italian states, it was a constitutional monarchy with a Prime Minister that supposedly ruled the Kingdom, although true power still lay with the King.

At this time Prussia, with its proud traditions, was perhaps the most militaristic nation in Europe. With a standing army of some 350,000 men, the entire male population liable for conscription, training enforced even in peacetime and the most modern breech loading rifles, they had a distinct advantage over their enemies. After Sardinia’s failure to provoke Austria into another war and thus gain the support of France, overtures had been made to Prussia and a treaty concluded whereby they became allies and the Prussians would not seek a separate peace until the Italians had conquered Venice. As well as this alliance with the Sardinians, the Prussians had also had numerous allied among the northern German states. The localised system of army organisation also gave Prussia an advantage by allowing for quick mobilization of its army. Prussia’s economy was also quickly expanding, with an ever larger part of the population becoming engaged in industry.

The Austrian Empire, a venerable Catholic state which had long dominated central Europe, had been in decay for years. Suffering through the Hungarian Revolution in 1848 and the Austro-Sardinian War in 1859, the state was virtually bankrupt. The army, although 320,000 strong, was armed with the Lorenz rifle. Mobilization would be slow because of the separation of military units from their recruitment areas, to reduce the risk of revolt. Although Austria had a powerful industrial sector, general economic difficulties limited the advantages it would otherwise have brought. Although Austria had allies in much of southern Germany and was on friendly terms with the Pope and Naples, she had alienated Russia in the Crimean War and France was unwilling to become embroiled in a continental war whilst attempting to prop up Maximillian in Mexico, fearful that the Americans might take advantage of such a distraction. Lacking any of the Great Powers as allies, the Empire instead relied upon the numerous smaller European states which were scattered about the place. Austria’s navy was also rather lacking, having only seven ironclads and a number of wooden ships.

The Austro-Prussian War

An inevitable conflict given Prussia’s growing dominance in Germany, traditionally the domain of Austria and the Habsburgs, as compared to Austria’s general decline, the war began with an Austrian declaration of war against the Prussians. Soon Germany was divided into two camps, the largely Catholic south joining the Austrians, whilst the more Protestant north and the Italian state of Sardinia sided with the Prussians.

The first major battle of the war occurred on the Italian front on 24th June, pitting the Austrians against the numerically superior Sardinians in the Battle of Custoza. The main Sardinian army, the Army of the Mincio, numbering some 130,000, collided with the Austrians, who were attempting to get behind them and cut their supply lines. Throughout the day the battle swung to and fro, with the Austrian cavalry suffering greatly early on, the Austrians eventually gaining the upper hand in the confusion, forcing the Sardinians to retire. However, the badly mauled Austrian cavalry was unable to exploit their success and the Sardinian army was allowed to escape largely intact. During the battle the Sardinians suffered some 7,500 casualties, including the King’s son Amadeo, who was wounded, compared to the 6,000 the Austrians sustained. Following the engagement, the King of Naples resolved to enter into the war and so weaken his perpetual enemies, the Sardinians, seeking to exploit the Austrian success in Italy. To this end he petitioned the Pope for passage across his lands, but Pius IX refused, fearful of war with his northern neighbours. In the end, Francis was forced to ship his men north, resulting in the later Battle of Premantura, a naval action which opened the Adriatic to Neapolitan transports.

At first, the war seemed to go well for Austria, as after their success in the Italian theatre, on the 27th June, she and her allies inflicted two defeats upon the Prussian forces. The Battle of Trautenau began with the Austrian vanguard retreating to allow for the rest of the army to arrive, but under Austrian bombardment the Prussians then began to fall back, fending off Austrian attacks which failed with heavy losses. Despite winning the battle, the Austrians sustained close to 5,000 casualties, compared to 1,400 Prussians, and were forced to retreat to avoid encirclement. The Battle of Langensalza, occurring on the same day, took place in Hanover, fought between the Prussians and the Hanoverians, who were attempting to reach their Bavarian allies. During the battle the outnumbered and outgunned Prussians attacked the marching Hanoverian forces and were badly mauled, their troops routing. Although the Hanoverians had won, the Prussians losing 1,700 to 1,400 Hanoverians, they were forced to surrender soon afterwards after being surrounded by Prussian forces. An example of the Prussians quickly occupying the German states, it shows how the Austrians were denied the support of their allies before it could build up and unite.

The early stages of the Austro-Prussian War were all in this vein, with Austria and her allies finding success in battle, but at great cost and failing to succeed at the grand strategic level. Prussian discipline and weaponry was showing its superiority and the war soon began to turn in their favour. One of the first major battles the Prussians won was the Battle of Gitschin, occurring on 29th June. Prussian forces attacked from the north and the west simultaneously, forcing back the Austrian and Saxon forces in a bloody encounter which ran into the night, hard-fought street battles continuing in the darkness. The Austrians and Saxons lost some 5,300 men, compared to the Prussian losses of 1,600. From then on the Austrians were fighting a losing war.

On the 2nd July, the Battle of Premantura was fought, off the coast of Istria, pitting the combined Neapolitan and Austrian fleets against the Sardinians. The Austrians had seven ironclads and eleven wooden ships, the Sardinians had eleven ironclads and fourteen wooden ships, and the Neapolitans had three ironclads and six wooden ships. Beginning with the Austrians steaming toward the Italians, it was characterised by the Austrian use of ramming. However, before they could close, the Austrians lost two ironclads (one sunk, one crippled) and one wooden ship, increasing the numerical superiority of the Italians. Sinking a number of Sardinian ships in the initial stages of the fight, the Austrians began to suffer under the superior numbers of their enemy, when the Neapolitan fleet arrived. Losing his nerve, Admiral Persano, commander of the Sardinian Fleet, ordered a withdrawal, leaving some of his wooden ships to delay his enemies. Although he escaped, the Sardinian navy was crippled and the Austrians and Neapolitans gained completely control of the Adriatic, allowing Bourbon troops to be shipped north in ever greater numbers. The Austrians had two ironclads and four wooden ships sunk, the Sardinians had two ironclads sunk, one captured, three wooden ships sunk and two captured, while the Neapolitans had no ships captured or sunk. A particularly bloody naval engagement, it left a number of ships on both sides badly damaged and in need of repairs. One of the captured wooden ships was given to the Neapolitans, whilst the Austrians kept the other two prizes.

The Austrian celebrations of their victory at Premantura were short lived as the next day the Prussians inflicted another defeat on them. The Austrians began the Battle of Königgrätz on 3rd July with superior numbers and in a better position than the Prussians, their artillery keeping the Prussians pinned down. However, 100,000 Prussians under Crown Prince Frederick arrived and hit the Austrian right flank, followed shortly by the disintegration of the Austrian lines. Despite the sacrifice of the Austrian cavalry to allow the escape of the army, the Austrians had suffered greatly and been dealt a decisive blow. The Austrians had lost some 31,000 men, compared to only 9,000 Prussians. This Prussian victory spelled the end of the war, forcing Austria to end the war on Prussia’s terms.

Despite their terrible losses to the Prussians, the Austrians fared well in their war against Sardinia. Although they had been forced to withdraw some of their forces to fight in the north, the Bourbon troops had more than made up for the losses, some 50,000 supporting Austrian forces in Italy at their peak. During the war the Sardinian army had been backed up by irregular troops, as it often was in its conflicts in Italy, the Hunters of the Alps being reformed by Garibaldi’s son, Menotti Garibaldi, reaching some 12,000 men. In the Battle of Bezzecca on 21st July, they were pitted against the Austrian and Neapolitan troops, numbering 12,000 and 2,000 respectively. Despite Neapolitan demands of a general offensive, the Austrians had made few advances into Sardinia and now they found themselves on the defensive as the Sardinians attempted to regain their lost lands. Although the Sardinians got off to a good start by capturing a hill and attempting to place their artillery upon it, a Neapolitan counterattack dislodged them before they could do so and after several more attack were repulsed, the Sardinians began to retreat under Austrian bombardment, artillery having been brought up during the battle. Although the Austrians and Neapolitans lost some 1,200 men between them, the Sardinians lost almost 3,500. The Sardinian failure convinced the Prussians to seek a separate peace and their allies were abandoned shortly after, forcing the Italians to also seek peace, having failed to gain Venice.

Despite Neapolitan calls for a continuation of the war, the Austrians accepted the Sardinian request for peace and the war came to an end. Although the Austrians were forced out of Germany and lost much of their power, thanks to the support of Naples and the Sardinian failures, they were able to cling on to Venetia, despite French pressure to cede it to Sardinia.

The Effects of the Austro-Prussian War

Austria had lost much of its former glory during the war with Prussia, which exposed its many weaknesses and allowed Prussia to become the dominant power in Germany. Although she had managed to cling on to Venetia, reform was needed to save the Empire from collapse. To this end, a duel monarchy was created, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The new Empire was still ruled by the old Habsburg dynasty, but with separate Parliaments in Vienna and Buda. The Empire was now effectively reduced to a second-rate power, but total collapse was held off.

Meanwhile, Prussia emerged as the dominant power in central Europe, having forced the other German states to heel and creating the North German Confederation at the end of the war. The Prussian armies had shown themselves to be highly professional and a powerful force capable of standing against the Great Powers. However, growing Prussian power set the stage for a conflict with France, who began to fear their neighbours across the Rheine.

In Sardinia, the war had a disastrous effect on the country. The army had been soundly defeated, with much honour lost, and there were no gains to show for the war. Unrest broke out across much of the country at the conclusion of the Treaty of Vienna which ended the war but only required the Austrians and Neapolitans to pay some small reparations. The Prime Minister, Urbano Rattazzi was forced to resign and the King, for a time, considered abdication. Ultimately Victor Emmanuel remained on the throne and the capital was moved from Turin to Milan. Sardinia now once again began to look south to gain power and prestige, calls being made once again for a march on Rome.

The Papal States, which had remained neutral in the war, suffered at its conclusion. Revolutionaries accused the Pope of being compliant towards the foreign invaders and unrest increased to the levels of 1860. Naples also suffered this fate, with assassinations of government officials by the revolutionaries becoming more and more regular in the wake of their support of the Austrians. Despite this, and the reparations they had to pay, the Kingdom mostly benefitted from the war as trade with Austria began to blossom and the two countries concluded a formal and more permanent alliance.
 
Sorry but...nope, honestly the fact that the Kingdom of Italy is without the South at the time is a plus, as much part of the lucklustre performance of the italian army was due to the fact that was spent by years of anti-brigand operations in the former Two Sicilies and the difficulty to integrate the various army, so here things for the italians will be a little more smooth.

Regarding Naples perfomance in term of economy and military...and i tell you as Italian, only with the help of very powerfull ASB this will happen.
The Two Sicilies was rich but more on like the CSA, the great part of the wealth was on the hand of a small group who prefer to spent in prestige than to proper invest and has a profound almost genetical dislike for modernism and the King was the first among them, the rest of the country was basically on par of Abyssinia in with some bright spot on Palermo and Naples...and even if for some reason Ferdinand decide to reform, 6 years are too little for a proper reform of the economy and the military of that kind, expecially after the Garibaldi enterprise and the need to rebuilt.
 
I also believe that the Tl has entered the land of major ASBs.

The idea that just 6 years after having scraped by when Garibaldi launched his invasion of Sicily (and they were just 1,000 volunteers, mind) Francesco II has managed to turn around the economy of the Two Sicilies, has reformed the army and the navy and is now in the position to carry out a power-projection exercise like the one you describe is ludicrous.
Besides the technical difficulties involved, the newly minted king would see it as a huge political risk since the loyalty of the army and the navy is less than assured (remember the experience of 1848: when Ferdinand II decided to recall the contingents he had sent to fight the Austrians a good chunk of the soldiers, including the commanding officer, and most of the navy refused to go back).

The legend of the richness of the Two Sicilies prior to the "raping of the Piedmontese" is just that: a legend of neo-borbonism. Two Sicilies was a poor country, governed (but governing may be too much to say) by a bunch of reactionary aristocrats who lorded over a mass of unlettered peasants.
As Luke Dalton say there were a couple of brighter spots (Palermo and Naples) but it was far from enough: Gladstone in 1851 defined the Borbonic regime as "the negation of God erected to a form of government", and from 1851 to 1860 things got worse, not better. The vaunted "gold reserves of the Two Sicilies" were there for a reason: Ferdinand did not spend a cent in infrastructures and hoarded all the fiscal surplus. If this money will be applied to infrastructure and industrialization it will not last a year (not to mention that it would require an educated workforce and this was not there).
Fun fact: the first Italian railway was built by Ferdinand II in 1838 (IIRC): the Naples to Caserta (the king wanted to travel in state), all of 30 km. In 1860 it still was the one and only railway in the Two Sicilies. Another fun fact: the brigandage that festered in the Two Sicilies for all of the 1860s was not a revolt against the northern invaders as it was depicted by the Austrian and Borbonic propaganda: brigandage had been endemic in the south of Italy for a long time and certainly there was not a lack of brigands there. Third fun fact: IOTL the ex-king of Two Sicilies was in Rome, in incognito, holed up in the Austrian embassy. The idea was that Ferdinand would have crossed the border after the start of the war and would have raised the countryside to his banner. It never happened: Ferdinand did not move other than to slink back to Austria, still incognito.

Going back to Marche: the "papal army" would have no chance of taking back the land on their own and while Nappy was willing to guarantee the inviolability of Rome it would have been politically impossible for him to send troops to repress a popular insurrection. Marche was important to the new KoI because Ancona is the only good port on the Adriatic coast from where to operate a naval fleet.
Which leads to the next question: if Ancona is not in Italian hands how could the Italian fleet be in the Adriatic? and if it was, how could the (very theoretical) Neapolitan task force run the gauntlet?

There are a number of other issues, but I believe I'll rest my case.
 
Even if you guys think this TL is getting a bit ASB oh well :D I'm having fun writing it and hopefully some people on here will enjoy it too :p

The Empire of Mexico

Since the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the USA had been keeping a close eye on Mexico. After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Jackson came to the presidency and things began to grow more heated as he ordered the navy to blockade Mexico and prevent the landing of French reinforcements for the beleaguered Emperor, while he pushed for direct military intervention against the Empire. As pressure mounted on Napoleon III to declare totally for one side or another, he eventually sided with Maximilian in late 1866, at the urging of the Pope and other European monarchs who supported the Catholic Emperor against the secular republicans. After this announcement the republican movement began to lose morale as their losses continued to mount. From December 1866 to April 1867, the disagreement between France and the USA was at its peak, as heavily armed French convoys forced their way through the blockade, ensuring the continued flow of the Empire’s lifeblood, although this resulted in a number of serious incident which nearly led to all-out war, the most infamous of which was the Austerlitz Incident, which occurred at the end of this period, in 1867. When a US naval squadron consisting of two ships of the line, one cruiser and two frigates ordered a French convoy, escorted by one ship of the line and two frigates, to halt. When the French refused to comply warning shots were exchanged and when the jingoistic young captain of one of the American frigates felt that one of the French shots had landed too close, he ordered fire directly returned. Although this led to a brief exchange of fire in which the French ships attempted to cover the fleeing transport ships, the action was soon broken off as the Americans commander was not eager to cause a war. At the end of the incident, one French transport was holed below the waterline and although she continued to limp towards Mexico for some time, eventually she went down, her crew and passengers (mostly French reinforcements) were picked up by other French ships, most of them and much of the cargo being transferred beforehand, after it was realised how badly damaged she was. The incident, although minimal in cost of life, caused a public outcry in France, turning attention back towards Mexico and renewing support for the war, as the people were outraged by the American attack. This directly resulted in the posting of a large portion of the French navy to the theatre, forcing the USA to back off or risk war. Unable to stop the influx of French reinforcements or supplies, the USA increased its gunrunning operations to the Mexican rebels and offered them sanctuary, but Jackson was unable to get enough support for intervention, so soon after the end of the bloody civil war, and he was prevented from direct action. By 1868, all regular republican forces had been defeated, but numerous guerrilla bands remained, especially in the north, where the government only maintained a tenuous grip on the territory. In August of the same year, Mexican President Juárez fled across the border into the USA, along with Mariano Escobedo, where he continued to run a government in exile with the backing of President Jackson. Manuel González continued to fight the Imperial regime from within Mexico, refusing to cross the border, eventually resulting in his death in battle in February 1869. Porfirio Díaz continued to fight in the south until his defeat in September 1867, forcing him underground, leaving him on the run, organising the various guerrilla groups in the area. But as the noose began to tighten, the situation grew more desperate for Díaz, who accepted the amnesty offered to rebels in November 1868.

The fledgling Empire of Mexico faced numerous problems as the civil war that had torn the country apart slowly drew to a close. Bandits ravaged the countryside, causing considerable hardship for the rural populace, although as the war died down, the Resguardo (rural policemen) began to grow in number, reaching a peak of some 20,000 in 1868. Gunfights between the bandits and government forces were common throughout much of the period, the problem only beginning to subside after the 1868 amnesty offered to rebels freed up government resources to face the bandits. The rebels also caused a significant drain on resources, tying up many Imperial forces. The liberal Maximilian decided upon a general amnesty, offered after the destruction of the regular republican forces and the beginning of a guerrilla war. Although some diehard supporters of the republic continued to fight, the rebels lost much of their support and bands of guerrillas were slowly captured, killed or driven over the border. While the rebels in this period found themselves well supplied, the needs of their increasingly small forces provided in excess by the USA, the government did struggle for a time, as the blockade caused the nation’s economy to suffer. Lack of trade with the USA initially hurt the Mexican economy, but trade with Europe began to pick up, manufacture began to grow and soon the situation was improving.

Maximilian also set about introducing democracy in his empire, starting with the Constitution of the Empire of Mexico, which was proclaimed from Mexico City in mid-1868, resulting in the creation of a constitutional monarchy, the liberal Emperor guiding the new parliament through the first elections and the appointment of a moderate Prime Minister at the end of the year. The vote was extended beyond the upper classes, land reforms were upheld and religious freedom was allowed in the new country, with many conservative being deeply unhappy with this, eventually resulting in the 1869 attempted coup d’état, wherein some conservative officers attempted to seize power led by Leonardo Márquez but failed when the majority of the troops refused to oppose the Emperor who had won much of the population over with his reforms. In the aftermath of the attempted coup, Márquez was executed and a number of conservative officers were exiled, helping to further establish the liberal regime of Maximilian. The royal family also did much to personally raise support from the people of Mexico through their numerous initiatives such as the building of alms-houses. Santa-Anna was invited back to Mexico in 1870, with the promise that he would not attempt to interfere in government, although he did make statements in support on the moderate party which was the largest of the four main parties in the new parliament, the others being the liberals, the conservatives and the federalists who wanted increased autonomy for the provinces. During this time the New Virginia Colony plan began to take off as more confederates began to leaves the USA for the increasingly stable Empire of Mexico, their numbers eventually reaching the tens of thousands, providing the Emperor with yet another support base. French troops also began to reduce in number after 1867, as their support became less required. Despite the high costs of the intervention for France, it had provided them with an ally in the New World and had helped to bring them closer to the Catholic powers of Europe, most importantly the Austrians, encouraging the two countries to grow closer together. The crowning event of the new Mexican Empire was the coronation of the new royals which occurred in August 1869. Although not an overly lavish affair, it was still impressive and drew much nobility and royalty from Europe, as well as large crowds from among the people, who were delighted, especially by the public feast given at the expense of the Emperor.

The Kingdom of Italy

After his failures in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the Sardinian King was becoming increasingly worried about the security of his throne. Discontent was at an all-time high and the Kingdom seemed ready to tear itself apart at the seams. Radicals began to call for the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic, whilst moderates pushed for limitations of Victor Emmanuel’s powers and conservatives clamoured for military action against the unrest that was sweeping the country. With the resignation of the Prime Minister, the King became increasingly desperate to distract the people and announced the movement of the capital from Turin to Milan. Although this won him some support in Milan and provided him with immediate security, it led to riots throughout Turin, bordering on all out revolt, which was only put down with the intervention of the army. When the dust cleared, Turin was badly damaged, many government buildings having been ransacked or burnt down, large portions of road and pavement had been ripped up to provide missiles for the rioters and materials for building barricades and many rioters and policemen had been killed or injured.

In 1867 Victor Emmanuel proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy, seeking to unify the people of his Kingdom and stabilize his position. Soon pressure began to grow for the invasion of the Papal States but the King rejected them and unrest continued throughout his lands, until in May 1868 a revolution broke out, with many of the cities revolting against the monarchy, joined by some military units. After some initial clashes there was an uneasy few days of attempted negotiations before fighting resumed. At the order of the King loyal units of the military began to engage the rebels, who were outnumbered in most areas and lack military equipment. On the 4th June the Republic of Italy was declared, with Giuseppe Mazzini as the Provisional President of the Republic and Giacomo Medici as commander of the armed forces. The following day, loyalists laid siege to the rebel held city of Turin, bombarding the city with artillery. Florence and Bologna had also fallen to the rebels and both sides began to organise their forces. The first major action of the revolt was the Battle of Montefiridolfi on 10th June, a relatively small action involving about 2,000 rebels and 3,500 loyalists. Throughout the morning, the rebels repulsed numerous loyalist attacks with heavy losses on both sides, as the rebels attempted to defend the village and the approach to Florence from the loyalists who were advancing from Siena. Eventually the rebels began to run low on ammunition and their line broke, forcing them to retreat, turning into a rout when loyalist cavalry arrived and ran down the defeated rebels, capturing or killing many of them. About 900 rebels were killed or captured and more wounded, while 110 loyalists were killed with another 430 wounded. With the road to Florence opened, the loyalists soon stood on the edge of the city. Next came the Battle of Pontassieve on 15th June, as loyalists moved ever closer to Florence, attempting to complete their encirclement of the city. After a close-run battle the rebels were once again forced back despite the arrival of reinforcements from within the city. 600 rebels were killed or wounded, with 450 loyalists killed or wounded. On the 22nd came the first assault on the city of Turin, with a total of 34,000 loyalists attacking around 28,000 rebels. Heavy artillery bombardment had softened up the rebel positions beforehand and forced the rebels to fall back to the western bank of the river Po. The loyalist attacks failed in the east failed when the rebels blew the bridges with during the attack, while other attacks were unable to make much headway into the city, where every house was a fortress and every street was barricaded. On the 25th was the Battle of Castello D’argile, wherein loyalists once again defeated the rebels and laid open the road to Bologna. Closing in around Bologna and Florence and pushing further into Turin, it was evident that the rebels were losing the war, but to their credit they continued to fight for their republic, even after their two southern cities also came under siege, both at the end of June. After this there were no more pitched battles, but three terrible sieges which seemed to drag on for Victor Emmanuel, who after a month was becoming increasingly impatient and ordered the complete destruction of the cities if they refused one last call surrender. Bologna was the first to fall, with the looting of the city lasting two days after defence collapsed, followed by Turin which was levelled in the battle, and finally Florence, which surrender when provisions and morale began to run low. By the end of 1868 the rebellion had been crushed although many guerrilla bands remained. In the aftermath, the economy of the new Kingdom of Italy was left in tatters, while the King was forced to resign in favour of his son, Umberto, and in government the conservatives began to dominate as autocracy began to take hold.
 
I've been reading around on this site for a long time now and considered doing various timelines myself, but I've only just gotten around to getting on with it :eek: So here's hoping you guys enjoy! :D

Very well done, though as nearly always I question some of the narrative.
... the Kingdom of the Two-Sicilies, which was by far the richest of all the Italian States.

I don't think so. Savoy and Lombardy are the breadbasket of Italy, and became its industrial heartland.
Although Lincoln was unwilling to directly intervene against the French so soon after the bloody American Civil War, the US Navy was employed in a blockade of Mexico, stopping any further French forces from landing, although occasionally a French convoy would force entry into the country, with the two nations often coming to the brink of all-out war over the crisis...

I think you underestimate U.S. truculence in this context. If the U.S. declares a blockade, they will enforce it, and either the French fight or back down. I don't see how the French can "force entry into the country" without fighting - unless the blockade is a paper gesture. If they fight - the U.S. and France are at war.

These volunteers were almost entirely Irish and the majority were veterans of the American Civil War. By march there were so many of them that the Emperor decided to create an entirely Irish unit, the Saint Patrick’s Battalion, named after its predecessor that had existed in the Mexican-American War.

Massive violation of the Neutrality Act, and extremely alarming and offensive to papiphobic Americans - which is most of them.

These people will already be in a colossal lather over the presence of the Papal Zouaves.

Then there's the "Black Decree". To be blunt, there is no way the U.S. is going to allow the establishment by foreign arms of a brutal, repressive, ultra-Catholic Euro-puppet monarchy in Mexico.

In 1865, the U.S. has a massive army available for intervention. Most of the troops just want to go home, but a fair number prefer army life. 50,000 Union veterans, supported by Mexican guerrillas, would crush the French expeditionary force in weeks. A lot of ex-Confederates might be recruited too - they preferring three hots and a cot in the army to their ravaged home areas, and being anti-Catholic (the South being the hotbed of such sentiments).

their European Emperor, who introduced many new advancements to Mexico, beginning the process of modernising the country.

The Emperor came in as the leader of the conservatives in Mexico. He can't turn around and become a Liberal.

The January Uprising
... the Pope even ordering prayers to be said for the success of the Catholic Poles against the Orthodox Russians.

Ka-boom! Russia is already suspicious of the Catholic Church; this is practically open warfare. It means really hard times for the Uniate Church in Ukraine, and for any other Catholics anywhere in the Empire.

I could see Russia requiring all Catholics in the Empire, and certainly any priests or bishops, to swear an oath of allegiance to the Tsar, and disclaim any political allegiance to the Pope.

It's also going to set off bombs all over Europe - among any and all Catholics who dislike reactionary Papal supremacy, among rulers who object to Papal meddling in secular politics, and among Protestant rulers of Catholic subjects who suspect the Pope might be supporting rebellions against them next. Prussia and Britain, for instance.

IOW, this is far too risky a move for any Pope who isn't extremely reckless.
 
Rich Rostum, you might be right about the Italian economy, I don't know a tremendous amount about it :eek: I think I was right about the Americans, having them determined enough to have incidents where they fired on the French, but were unwilling to cause an all-out war. I confess I've never heard of the neutrality act :D if you mean the one from the 18th century, that means that the men of the real St Patrick's Battalion broke it - if it happened before it can happen again :p As to Maximilian, he was a well known Liberal, he lost support because of it IOTL but ITTL he is able to overcome the opposition :) The Pope's reaction to the January Uprising is exactly the same as it was IOTL :p Anyways, thanks for the feedback!

Hope everyone enjoys

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The Southern Confederation

When Victor Emmanuel had proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy in 1867, the Pope and the King of Naples both grew increasingly concerned over developments in the lands to their north. Both monarchs remembered only too well how close to destruction their realms had come under the threat the radicals could present when allowed, and as such they feared the emergence of a new Garibaldi or, worse still, a radical regime in the north. Looking on with worry as rebellion broke out in the new Kingdom the following year, they both resolved that steps must be taken to prevent the emergence of dangerous factions in the north, which could lead to the endangerment of their own lands. Plans were draw up to intervene in the conflict in the north if the rebels began to gain the upper hand, for better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. Neapolitans were ready to steam north on the Naples-Rome line to join Papal troops who had been stationed on their northern border. On the 4th of June, with the declaration of a Republic of Italy, Bourbon troops began to move north, until a 10,000 strong contingent was amassed in the Papal States, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice, whilst the King himself travelled north to visit the Pope, where plans were laid for the intervention and a strengthening of their alliance. The numerous meetings between the Pope and Francis II laid the groundwork for the Southern Confederation, which was officially created on the 12th August 1868 with the Treaty of Rome, which both guaranteed the full sovereignty of the Pope and the King and the independence of their respective nations, whilst also binding them together in several matters, such as defence (although they were to maintain separate armies) and providing for the creation of a council which would advise both monarchs. Although intervention did not occur, Naples and Rome had now joined their fates to one another. The new Southern Confederation notably left ‘Italy’ out of its name to distance itself from the new Italian Kingdom.

The Start of the Franco-Prussian War

War had been brewing in Europe for years as tension built between France and Prussia while the drive towards German unification continued. The Austro-Prussian War in 1866 had failed to curb the expansion of Bismarck’s Kingdom and it had come to dominate both the north and the south. Seemingly unstoppable, the Prussian menace earned the ire of the French, the old masters of Europe, and so they continued on the inevitable path to war. In 1870 came a close call, as the Ems Dispatch, edited by Bismarck into an inflammatory document that outraged both the German and French, almost caused Napoleon III to declare war on the Germans. However, with a small contingent in Rome and a significant naval force guarding Mexico from the Americans, Napoleon hesitated, deciding to first hear the account of his ambassador as mobilization occurred. Eventually Count Benedetti’s own version of events came through and war was, for the moment, avoided as the French mobilization was reversed. During these events the French realised that their system of mobilization was inefficient and steps to improve it were taken before war began.

Although war had been avoided in July, it was only a matter of time before it came about. Eventually the war began when a letter from Bismarck to the Prussian ambassador in Italy was made public after anti-Prussian members of the press were sent a copy of the letter by a member of the Prussian embassy. As the identity of the leak never came to light it became widely suspected that the incident was orchestrated by Bismarck to start a war with France. In the letter the Prussian ambassador was ordered to offer Italy large portions of French territory in the south in return for their service in a war against France. France declared war on Prussia on 21st November and began to mobilize her forces, while a warning was sent to Italy and overtures made to the Southern Confederation for help in the event of war with Italy. War had come again to Europe.

The Opening Stages of the France-Prussian War

With winter almost upon him and under pressure from the public and his generals, Napoleon resolved to advance as swiftly as possible into Germany. Driving across the border at Saarbrücken, the French drove a wedge between the Prussian 1st Army and the rest of their forces to the east. As the 1st Army initially resolved to hold its positions rather than retreat, it rapidly became severely in danger of encirclement and when forced to retreat, much of the Army was unable to escape out of the pocket before it was closed by French troops in a series of battles that culminated with the Battle of Nonnweiler. 29,000 Frenchmen attacked the town of Nonnweiler and were eventually able to take the town from the 8,000 Prussians who defended it throughout the day. The superior French chassepot rifle fared well on the approaches to the town, outranging the Prussian rifles and forcing them back into the town, but the superior Prussian artillery, although outnumber were able to make the French pay during their advance. In the town itself, fighting lasted into the night as the French battled determinedly to seize control of the town, eventually forcing the Prussians out, but at a high cost. The French lost 2,400 dead or wounded, while the Prussians lost 2,700 dead, wounded or captured. As the net closed around the Prussian 1st Army, the French attempted to stop the 2nd and 3rd armies from attempting to link up with them by turning their flank and forcing them to retreat, the result being the Battle of Kaiserslautern. Beginning as the French launched a series of attacks on the Prussian positions, they were forced back with heavy casualties under the bombardment of the Prussian artillery. As Prussian reinforcements arrived, they counter-attacked and drove back the demoralised French, who at first held when their cavalry staged a series of desperate charges against the Prussian infantry, but eventually broke with the arrival of Prussian cavalry. Only the sacrifice of the French cavalry saved the Army from complete destruction. The 43,000 Prussians suffered 5,000 casualties and the 32,000 French suffered 17,000 casualties, including the captured. With the loss of this battle the French were forced to abandon their encirclement of part of the 1st Army. Luckily for the French, the surrounded Prussians were unaware that they were on the verge of freedom and having lost most of their numbers and supplies when the bulk of the army retreated north, their situation had been growing harder and harder. Assuming that the French were driving into Germany all along the border as they had in the west, the surrounded Prussians surrendered. Some 21,000 Prussians were taken into captivity, leaving the 1st Army at around half strength and crippled, many of the high quality Prussian Krupp artillery pieces falling into French hands. Although the French were compelled to retreat back into defensive positions along the Saar River and in Saarbrücken by their defeat, they had badly mauled the Prussian 1st Army. This resulted in French victory in the Second Battle of Saarbrücken, when the Prussians were forced back under the withering fire of the chassepot rifle and the captured Krupp artillery pieces, the majority of which had been moved to face the Prussian counter-attack. The French suffered 5,600 casualties to the 7,200 the Prussians suffered.

The Invasion of Rome

In 1870, with the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, Emperor Napoleon III was forced to defend his realm from the ever expanding might of the Prussian menace, one side-effect of this being his recalling of the French garrison that had been in Rome for years. Although reduced in number to fulfil a largely symbolic role as an example of the French leader’s good Catholic persuasion, an image he was eager to present to the public, their importance was more than military, they were politically necessary to guard the Papal States from the states which would have gladly swallowed it whole. So when the garrison was removed in the last days of 1870, the Pope reacted by vigorously campaigning for them to stay and petitioning Napoleon III to fulfil his duty as a Catholic Monarch. However, all of this came to naught, when the garrison was removed and the Pope left to fend for himself. France needed her sons.

King Umberto, the new King of Italy, sought to expand his power, regain the radicals’ favour (lost by his father) and the Kingdom’s lost honour, in short, to solidify his position on the throne through battle. This was the reasoning for the Invasion of Rome as it came to be called, which started on 1st February 1871 when an Italian force crossed their southern border and began making its way towards the Eternal City. On the way to the seat of the Pontiff, the Italian army clashed with Papal forces in numerous skirmishes, as the Pope was awaiting the support of The King of the Two-Sicilies, the Bourbon army having only moved 1,000 men into the Papal States before the war began. As the Neapolitan troops were shuttled north into positions in and around Rome, the Papal Army made one major effort to halt the Italian advance around the city of Viterbo, retreating from its other positions in the face of superior Italian numbers. Seeking to buy time for the rest of the Papal and Neapolitan armies to organise themselves around Rome, Hermann Kanzler, Head of the Papal Army, ordered Raphael de Courten to make a stand at the city of Viterbo. With a 500 strong detachment of Papal Zouaves of Death and 1,000 men of the Saint Patrick’s Regiment, he first attempted to guard the approaches to the city, but superior Italian numbers swiftly overwhelmed his thinly spread lines and forced him to retreat back into the city. Posting the Irishmen around the walls and using the Zouaves as a quick reaction force which was swiftly moved around the defences as needed, Raphael was able to give the impression of a far larger Papal garrison, causing a halt in the Italian attacks as they waited for reinforcements. By late afternoon the Italians felt confident enough to attack again and were able to push into the city, albeit with heavy casualties, but were unable to make much headway before nightfall and the attacks were again halted, leaving one of the towers and a section of the walls in Italian hands. During the night the Papal troops counterattacked and forced the Italian force out of the tower and off the walls and the next morning a call for volunteers yielded about 200 militiamen who were added to the city’s defences, while the Italians had the help of a number of radicals and revolutionaries who had either previously fled the city or snuck out during the siege and informed on the Papal troops. For eighteen days the Papal garrison held out, running low on supplies it was eventually overwhelmed after their ammunition ran low and Italian artillery had made several breaches in the walls. Pushing through the barricades that had been erected in the breahes and across the city, a desperate battle ensued, much of which was a vicious melee, as the Papal troops bayonet charged the Italians as they advanced into the city. Small units of Papal troops were able to hold out in various makeshift fortresses, one such being the Papal Palace, which had been turned into the garrison headquarters during the siege. The next day, Raphael, suffering from a head wound that left him blind in one eye, gave his surrender to the Italian forces and the remaining Papal troops laid down their arms. The 200 militia had suffered 90 casualties, the Zouaves took 320 and the Irish sustained 670, with all survivors captured. They had resisted the besiegers for nineteen days and bought the forces around Rome ample time to prepare for the attackers, as well as badly mauling some of the Italian units.

Thanks to the sacrifice of Raphael’s troops in the Siege of Viterbo, the Southern Confederation was more than prepared for the Italians when the Battle of Rome started. Fought on the approaches to the city, it was the largest battle of the war, 110,000 Italians, 20,000 Papal troops and 65,000 Bourdon troops taking part. The action was characterised by the superior Confederation equipment giving them a distinct edge during the fighting, exacting a heavy toll on the Italians. Although some Neapolitan troops were caught in the open under heavy Italian artillery fire and took heavy casualties, creating a gap in the line, the Italian cavalry that attempted to exploit it were held off by the disciplined action of the Confederation troops who formed squares until their own cavalry arrived and forced them back. Eventually the better disciplined and better equipped Papal and Bourbon troops, who were in prepared defensive positions for significant portions of the battle, defeated the Italian army and saved the Eternal City. After the battle, the Italians fell back north, closely pursued by the Papal and Neapolitan troops, who were able to split a part of the Italian army off in a series of skirmishes and cavalry actions.

The third major battle of the war was the Battle of Orvieto, where the majority of the remains of the Italian army from the Battle of Rome attempted to reverse their situation after being reinforced. 69,000 Italians held off attacks from 11,000 Papal and 62,000 Bourbon troops, despite their right flank collapsing during the fighting. The Italian force was only saved when the Coalition failed to push the Italians lines on other parts of the field, allowing them to redeploy troops and stabilize the line, repulsing the attack. Eventually the battle ended in a draw, but the Italians continued to withdraw north, eventually crossing the border back into Italy. The last major action of the war was the Battle of Capalbio, in which 17,000 Italians, who had been separated from the main army, were driven west as they attempted to reach reinforcements to the north. In a short battle, 8,000 Papal troops and 6,500 Neapolitans overwhelmed them with a series of charges that broke the Italian lines and completely surrounded them, forcing them to surrender. After its failed drive on Rome, the Italian army was still able to fight and was far from giving up, more troops being raised and send south to guard the border and defeat the Coalition forces. Perhaps they would have been able to win the war if they had continued fighting, but the Italians were subjected to intense pressure from the Austro-Hungarians, who remembered the aid they had received from Naples during their own war with what had then been Sardinia-Piedmont. After Austria-Hungary threatened to intervene on the side of the Coalition unless the war was brought to an immediate end, Italy agreed to an armistice which led to the Treaty of Vienna on 20th October 1871, which officially brought the war to an end, status quo ante bellum. The war had the great effect of imbuing King Umberto with a deep hatred of the Austrians who stopped him.
 
I think I was right about the Americans, having them determined enough to have incidents where they fired on the French, but were unwilling to cause an all-out war.
This makes no sense. If they fire on French ships and the French ships fire back, there's a state of war. If the French don't fire back... they just get sunk or captured. The French will not accept that.



I confess I've never heard of the neutrality act :D if you mean the one from the 18th century, that means that the men of the real St Patrick's Battalion broke it - if it happened before it can happen again

In the Mexican War? Many of them were hanged as deserters. Which they were, having come to Mexico in the U.S. Army. In this case, we have Americans being recruited in America to go to Mexico. Not allowed.


As to Maximilian, he was a well known Liberal, he lost support because of it IOTL but ITTL he is able to overcome the opposition

How? By magic beans? The Mexican Liberals were against him as a foreign puppet. The Church in Mexico was reactionary conservative. If it supports him, it's because they see him as such. He wouldn't have Papal Zouaves if he was seen as anything else.

The Pope's reaction to the January Uprising is exactly the same as it was IOTL

That surprises me. Although I wonder how far this order was broadcast or heeded. The political independence of Poland would be of less importance to the Church than the continued operation of Catholic churches elsewhere in the Russian Empire.
 
Really interesting TL, considering I'm not a fan of screw Italy TLs.

Neither I think the TL is too much ASB. For example, I guess with the failure of the Thousand expedition Sardinia-Piedmont had no other choice then to retain the alliance with France; also over the outcome of the Third War of Indipendence, it could appear plausible the fact Austria resisted to gave up Veneto, considering a Sardinian-Piedmontan claim was surely more weak than an Italian one, plus Papacy and Naples backed Wien; and however the Austrians won in the Italian front.

I guess the only way to see an united Italy in this TL is the federalism way proposed by Cattaneo, besides the Southern Confederation worked in that direction. Plus, between the failure of 1866 and the suicide move of 1871, I'm surprised to see how the Savoia dynasty continue to survive... I presume anyway Cavour died as OTL in 1861, because he will never approve the move of Umberto, however the King in lieu of the effects of the Albertine Statute had the possibility to impose his will through the government and then on the Parliament; besides with the failed unification the Parliamentarism development of the powers of the chart TTL should have been more limited.

Plus I was thinking, with the death of Garibaldi, the Partito d'Azione should never been born and there should be a more compact Republican movement (because OTL Garibaldi accepted in the end the unitary solution under the monarchy despite the opposition of Mazzini, who attempted to push him to invade Rome then impose the republican formula); the Giovane Italia movement TTL despite the failure in the South should have been more strong in the North and taking opportunity of the French-Prussian stall, attempt a revolution and impose a North Italian republic...
 
The Prussian Counter-attack

After the initial French advance into Germany and the destruction of half the Prussian 1st Army, the French went on the defensive, as they sought to regroup their forces, which were rather disorganised. Retreating to new defensive positions along the river Saar, they prepared for the coming Prussian counter-attack, which came when the Prussians sought to drive back the French right flank by attacking the French positions around Wissembourg. The French commander, Abel Douay, divided his forces into a garrison within the town and a reserve forces on the outskirts, but the Prussians were able to begin to force their way into the town after largely surrounding it. French reinforcements were repulsed with heavy casualties by the Prussians, forcing the French to abandon the town, barely managing to escape before they were completely cut off. The 60,000 Prussians suffered around 3,800 casualties, whilst the 9,000 Frenchmen suffered about 1,400 casualties and 500 captured. With their victory in the Battle of Wissembourg, the Prussians were able to begin turning the French right, resulting in the Battle of Reichshoffen which was the first major battle of the year 1871. It was the Prussian army’s opportunity to break through the French lines and they took it, pitting 75,000 Prussians against 37,000 French, who desperately sought to hold off their attackers. Beginning with an artillery exchange, it began well for the French who were able to repulse a number of German attacks, leaving the various German units in great disarray. A French cavalry attack was somewhat successful, but then the Prussian guns began to fire and took their toll on the French, who were compelled to fall back. By now the Prussians had occupied most of the positions the French began in, but a counter-attack from the Elsasshausen heights drove their confused units back. Prussian artillery played a vital part in stopping the French from fully exploiting their success and the Germans regained the initiative when two Bavarian corps attacked the French left, only halted when the French cavalry attacked them, allowing time for the French guns to be brought up to close range, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans. As more German units began to drive at the French left, they succeeded in getting behind the French and forced them to retreat after a French counter-attack which had broken through the German centre was halted. The French were able to retreat southward in good order due to a lack of German cavalry, and despite defeat had badly mauled the Germans. The Germans suffered 17,000 casualties and the French 14,000 casualties, many of whom had been captured. Despite taking more losses than the French, the Prussians had now succeeded in turning the French right and now began to advance into France.

Although the Prussians were now able to begin to advance into France, having turned the French right, Napoleon III ordered a second attack into Germany, across the Saar, to divert Prussian forces from the French right and to hopefully win a decisive battle against the Prussians. Prussian forces on the French left were still significantly weakened after the initial French successes, both physically and in terms of morale, as the remains of the 1st Army were severely disheartened after their initial defeat. Therefore, when the French attack began, they were able to sweep aside many Prussian units, swiftly driving through Prussian positions and forcing them back, the advance culminating in the Battle of Losheim, where some 40,000 Prussians made a stand against the French, who numbered some 55,000, easily driving through the Prussian positions. The battle was marked by the French surrounding Prussian units which were then gradually overwhelmed whilst the Prussian artillery inflicted severe casualties on the French. After the French isolated the Prussian right in a series of costly cavalry charges which only succeeded with the support of the infantry, the Prussians began to retreat, only the destruction of much of the French cavalry during the battle saving them from annihilation. Although the Prussian centre and left were able to escape, the right was surrounded and forced to surrender. The French took 9,000 casualties and the Prussians 8,000, along with 10,000 captured. Although not a truly decisive victory as the Emperor had hoped for, the Prussians were forced to move troops from the rest of the line to halt the French advance, allowing the French to successfully defend in the Battle of Spicheren, when the Prussians sought to outflank the defences of Saarbrücken, their direct attack on the city having failed. Despite superior artillery, the Prussian infantry were unable to overcome the French, who had prepared trenches to defend against the attacks, which had been expected. Most of the French casualties came from the horrific artillery bombardment which they were subjected to, whilst Prussian casualties were primarily as a result of the chassepot rifle, which devastated their lines as they attempted to advance. Although the French right gave way during the battle, the French reserves counter-attacked and were able to retake their lost positions after a brutal melee. The 62,000 Prussians suffered 21,000 casualties, whilst the 33,000 French troops suffered 6,000. The success of the French trenches in holding the line resulted in Napoleon adopting the trench as a signature part of the French strategy, allowing them to make the best use of their chassepot rifles, nullifying the worst danger the Prussian artillery presented and allowing the French to account for the Prussian numerical advantage. After the French tactic was able to halt the Prussians in the Battle of Lützelstein, when 40,000 Frenchmen successfully defended their positions against 73,000 Prussians in much the same manner as in the Battle of Spicheren, saving the French right and bringing the Prussian drive to a complete halt, the Prussians also began to dig trenches. By March the war was settling down, with the two sides digging into their respective positions, as they each built up their forces and supplies, with skirmishes occurring all along the lines and regularly evolving into larger engagements which usually resulted in a draw and never grew to the size of great, decisive engagements. During this time, Napoleon began to reorganise the French army along Prussian lines, with the creation of a general staff, the introduction of universal conscription and the start of production of breech loading artillery based on the Krupp model. At the end of April an armistice was announced after the failure of a last and particularly brutal Prussian offensive, which left 49,000 Prussian casualties and 37,000 French casualties, along with 25,000 captured when part of the line was isolated and forced to surrender despite attempts at relief. Because of this particularly bloody offensive, at which Napoleon III was present, the Emperor decided to bring the war to an end so as to avoid further loss of life. The Treaty of Frankfurt was signed, giving French recognition of the German Empire, which had been created on the day of the armistice, but otherwise returning to the situation before the war.

Aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War

When the Franco-Prussian War ended in a draw, the French public were outraged. Having lost large numbers of men in the war, for no apparent gain, they were upset at the Emperor’s failure to win the war and unrest followed in some of the cities. The most dramatic of these was the Paris Uprising, where republicans seized control of much of the city after some military units defected and prepared defences, setting up a Commune to rule over their new republic. The Emperor, returning from the front, was shocked at the rebellion and failed to act decisively, only ordering the city to be surrounded and contained, not to be retaken. His failure to crush the rebels at an early stage led to similar uprisings in various cities around France, although these were, for the most part, put down by local authorities or by regular army forces which were now used to fill the role of peacekeepers. The most serious of these other uprisings was in Marseilles, where hundreds were killed in the fighting. In the month before Napoleon order the army to move against the Commune, they passed a variety of radical decrees that provided for the use of the red flag, the republican calendar and the separation of church and state. Led by Louis Auguste Blanqui after he was exchanged for the prisoners held by the Commune, one of whom was Georges Darboy, the Archbishop of Paris. With support from many of the foreigners in Paris, they set about organising the city, preparing defences and setting about passing laws that introduced democracy and social equality to the city. Fighting for the city finally began at the end of June, continuing into July, with Imperial forces pushing into the city, slowly overwhelming the Commune’s defences, despite a centralised and well prepared effort that succeeded for weeks in delaying their defeat. The battle was characterised by fierce hand to hand fighting that dragged on with neither side able to gain a significant advantage, the Imperial forces winning in the end due to their superior numbers and equipment. During this period many notable Parisian buildings were destroyed or badly damaged, one of the most famous being the Tuileries Palace, with was burnt by the Communards. When rebuilding began, many of the Communards who were captured were forced to pay towards the costs of rebuilding, as well as having to serve a prison sentence, while a small number of them were sentenced to death, including Blanqui, who was executed. Nevertheless, a large number of Communards were able to escape, most of whom fled to Belgium. The Tuileries itself, like the rest of Paris, was rebuilt at the personal insistence of the Emperor, who personally spent large sums rebuilding the city after the uprising, eventually resulting in the creation of a new Tuileries-Louvre complex. Unfortunately, Napoleon III did not live to see its completion, dying on 8th January during surgery to remove a bladder stone, the autopsy revealing he also had a terminal kidney disease. Upon his death his only son, the Prince Imperial, came to the throne as Emperor Napoleon IV, who was still 16 at the time. The Young Emperor soon became wildly popular among the young ladies of European high society, having his pick of a spouse in the years that followed, although with his handsome looks and high status, he was able to carry on numerous relationships without choosing a wife. In the initial month following his proclamation as Emperor, all of France saw celebrations, with his birthday and coronation practically coinciding, resulting in tremendous festivities in Paris. Napoleon IV soon became the darling of the French people, before growing into a beloved and generous Emperor. At first he played little role in the governing of the country, as his education continued, even receiving some military training with the Imperial Guard, but as he grew older he began to take a more active role in the running of the country.

In the new German Empire the Franco-Prussian War was viewed as a victory for the new state, having gained diplomatic recognition of its new united government, finally unifying Germany into one country. The balance of power that was created in 1815 finally came to an end, with the new Empire swiftly became one of the most powerful states in Europe, establishing itself with one of the most powerful militaries in the world and creating a strong economy that gave them a solid foundation to support their new country. Celebrations occurred across the new Reich, over both the creation of the new Empire and France’s acceptance of Germany’s new status, uniting the people in their now common citizenship. Although the old Kings remained, the people now saw themselves as German, rather than Bavarian, Prussian, Saxon or any of the smaller groups which had split up the German people. Support for Emperor Wilhelm and Chancellor Bismarck was at an all-time high and the troops received a hero’s welcome as they returned home, with parades attended by crowds overcome with excitement and happiness, in sharp contrast to the return of the French troops, forced to fight their own people. The only signs of discontent were on the eastern fringes of the Empire, where the Polish population was resentful of their forced inclusion in the new German realm and were disappointed at the lack of a French victory. Demonstrations followed, forcing the dispatch of German troops to the area and resulting in authoritative measures being taken that repressed the resident Poles. At the same time, Bismarck began an anti-Catholic campaign designed to end the Pope’s authority over the Empire’s citizens, many of whom were Catholics. Soon all Prussian bishops and Jesuits had been expelled, as well as many of the priests. By 1873 civil ceremonies were required for weddings and the measures against the Church became increasingly harsh, outraging Pius IX, who complained to the other European heads of state, further hurting German relations with France, Austria-Hungary and Naples. Eventually, anti-Catholic measures reached such a high that the Catholics began to organise themselves against the new laws and further demonstrations broke out in Poland, with violence that saw hundreds of deaths. With the growing power of the Catholic voters and organisations, and seeing that Kulturkampf was being used by Socialists to attack all religions, in 1875 Bismarck abandoned the policy, allowing the Church to begin to recover in Germany.

In the Papal States the Invasion of Rome ended with the Italians being expelled from the Pope’s realm, giving Catholics much cause for celebration. However, society in the Papal States was now becoming deeply divided, with Catholics wholeheartedly supporting Rome and republicans who supported the unification of Italy. This led to frequent unrest in the provinces, although after years of Papal rule many of them had become disheartened, going into exile in Italy, some even moving to America. The failures of the many republican uprisings further dampened the republican spirit and drawing many of them away from the Papal States. The uprising that occurred in Italy after the failure of the invasion also drew many of them away from seeking to subvert the Pope and northward to fight in the civil war which erupted. Because of this both the Pope and the King of the Two-Sicilies found their realms increasingly stable and prosperous, as trade with France and Austria-Hungary flourished. During this time the Vatican Council officially came to a close, most importantly having defined papal infallibility as a dogma of the Catholic Church, further cementing Pius’ control over Catholics but also angering others. After the end of the Franco-Prussian War, French troops returned to Rome, joining Austrian troops who had been posted there after the Italian Invasion of Rome. During the period immediately after the Franco-Prussian War and again following the death of Napoleon III who was deeply unpopular among the Austro-Hungarian leadership, relations between the two Empires dramatically improved, drawing closer against the threat of the new Germany, both France and Austria seeking vengeance for their losses. With the encouraging of the Pope, an alliance was formally created between the two powers in 1873, after Napoleon IV had ascended to the throne. In response to this, Germany and Russia drew closer, themselves forming an alliance in the same year. The only worrying incidents that befell the Southern Confederation during this time were a series of attempted assassinations of Francis II and one against the Pope, none of which succeeded.

The Kingdom of Italy, so recently formed, began to unravel with the failure of its military in yet another war. Riots erupted across the Kingdom soon after the end of hostilities and the death toll began to climb as the army was forced to intervene in a vain attempt to restore order. Things finally reached boiling point in late February 1872, when at least a hundred civilians were killed when a demonstration against the increasingly repressive Italian monarchy was fired upon. As news of the massacre spread, uprising followed across the Kingdom, with rebels in every major city and the defection of numerous military formations to their cause. The Italian Civil War had begun.

The Americas in the Early 1870s

During the Franco-Prussian War there had been numerous calls for the USA to invade Mexico and restore the republic, as arms shipments to the rebels continued and the American government prepared troops along the Mexican border. In the end, however, the increasing stability of the Second Mexican Empire and the continued presence of a French fleet in Mexican waters despite the Franco-Prussian War drawing away many of France’s forces, resulted in President Ulysses Grant deciding against direct intervention. However, the threat that the Mexicans and French to the south posed to the USA resulted in the Santo Domingo Purchase in 1870, to provide the US Navy with a port in the Caribbean which could be used as a base in a possible war against the French. This was followed in 1871 by the US expedition to Korea, which turned violent when US ships were fired on by Korean costal defences. The expedition demanded an apology and when it was not forthcoming they landed troops and artillery, some 100 marines and 550 sailors taking a number of Korean forts, losing only 3 killed compared to the 243 the Koreans lost. The expedition then left Korea for China when the Koreans continued to refuse to negotiate, but when the President heard of the incident, he ordered a larger punitive expedition to be launched and so US forces returned to Korea after the monsoon season, with a sizable military force that proceeded to level forts along the Korean coast and bombard Hanyang. After landing troops and establishing a base ashore, they defeated a sizable Korean Army led by Daewon-gun. In a series of skirmishes, the US troops far outclassed the Koreans and after a day of fighting, they launched a night attack and seized the main Korean camp, capturing the regent and forcing him to negotiate. Eventually, seeing that Korea was helpless against the USA’s military might, the regent signed the Treaty of Hanyang, which gave the USA Busan as a treaty port. Although many people spoke out against the expedition and its aftermath, it was justified as necessary for the modernisation and opening of Korea to the rest of the world and to seek redress for the insults that the USA felt it had received. The USA also received considerable opposition from China and Russia, both of which threatened action against the Americans. While the Russian ultimately backed out from a confrontation, the Chinese only backed down after the USA assured China that they would not expand any further into Korea.

Whilst the USA expanded abroad, establishing bases to project their influence and protect it from the imperialistic tendencies of the European powers, they were also busy consolidating their hold over the territories they already had. Conflicts between the USA and the tribes were becoming increasingly common and war became almost constant as the tribes fought to retain their independence from the encroachment of American settlers and soldiers. Once such war was the Modoc War, which began on 6th July 1872 when US forces sought to return Captain Jack, chief of the Modoc tribe, to the reservation. When fighting broke out whilst the Native Americans were being disarmed, the Battle of Lost River occurred, leaving one American killed, seven wounded and two Modoc killed, three wounded. After the battle the Modoc retreated to the south of Tule Lake, the rocky ground full of caves and ridges turning the area into a fortress for the Modoc within. Militia arrived and began to scout out the area, but were attacked by the Native Americans, who were able to kill all 23 of them. After a further series of skirmishes, the US troops attacked the stronghold on 17th January, advancing from the east and west, but were held back by the Modoc warriors until retreating at the end of the day, leaving 35 dead and 25 wounded, whilst the Modoc suffered no casualties. Negotiations now began, but no agreement could be reached, frustrating the tribe, some of whom pushed for the killing of the peace commissioners, despite Captain Jack’s hope for a peaceful solution. Eventually, the chief agreed to act so that he could keep his position and two commissioners were killed, so the army again attacked the stronghold, fighting throughout the day and cutting off the Modoc water supply during the night, although the band was able to escape. After this the Battle of Sand Butte occurred when a 67 man patrol was ambushed by the Modoc and defeated, leaving about half killed or wounded. The last action of the war was the Battle of Dry Lake, where a Modoc attack was repulsed by the army and a prominent member of the band killed, resulting in some of the tribe surrendering and Captain Jack being captured. At the conclusion of the war, Captain Jack and two of his warriors were executed, some were sent to Alcatraz whilst the rest were held as POWs. The war cost the USA $400,000, whilst the cost of buying the land the Modoc wanted was only $20,000.

Shortly after the Modoc War, the USA found itself embroiled in a far more bloody and costly conflict for which it was woefully underprepared. In 1873 the American ship Virginius, captained by Joseph Fry, who had been a commodore in the Confederate Navy, was transporting supplies and 103 Cuban soldiers to Cuba to support the rebellion there. After being spotted six miles from Cuba by the Spanish steam cruiser Tornado, the Virginius was forced to surrender after a short chase and taken to Santiago in Cuba. After the crew were found guilty of piracy, 53 were executed, including Captain Fry, leading the Americans to complain to the Spanish. The US public was increasingly concerned with European power in the Americas after the establishment of the Mexican Empire and unhappy with the lack of American action during the Franco-Prussian War which was viewed as a missed opportunity to re-establish the USA’s supremacy in the Americas and the authority of the Monroe doctrine. Because of this the press began a warmongering campaign when news of the executions began to reach the USA and the executions were only halted when the HMS Niobe reached Santiago and threatened to bombard the port if they were not stopped. Negotiations soon became heated and with the danger that Spain would soon be under a King and America would find another monarchy on her doorstep, President Grant declared war on the Spanish on 18th November 1873.

In the Mexican Empire the regime had been seriously concerned by the Franco-Prussian War, as the French were temporarily prevented from aiding Maximilian’s government to the extent it had previously. Seriously concerned by this, a state of emergency had been declared as preparations were made for an expected American invasion, forts being constructed along the expected route of the invasion and to guard major cities. During this time Maximilian enshrined the place of the Catholic Church in Mexico in various laws and institutions that guarded it and held it to be the official religion of the country, which went a long way to giving him the support of the conservatives, whilst his liberals reforms of Mexico as well as his personal efforts to help the people of Mexico, often spending his own money on public works, garnered him support from liberals and the common people of Mexico. Despite the increasing popularity of Maximilian, during the dark days of the Franco-Prussian War the republicans threatened to re-emerge against him, as guerrillas once again began to stream across the northern border, resulting in numerous firefights between the Resguardo, supported by the army, and the rebels. By the end of the Franco-Prussian War the guerrillas were making headway in the north, having defeated the Resguardo in some areas, despite their most valiant efforts. With mounting casualties, martial law was declared in the north and the military began to act in larger numbers, which, combined with the morale booster that the return of French troops gave the Imperial forces and the loss of morale it had on the rebels, ended the successes of the guerrillas and once again defeated them, driving them across the border or underground. The Imperial throne had endured once again, whilst the heir, Otto Franz, began to spend more time in Mexico after the death of his mother in 1871, giving hope as to the future, becoming nearly as popular as the deeply beloved Empress Carlota among the Mexicans. At the same time as this the New Virginia Colony began to flourish, despite the best efforts of the USA to halt the migration of ex-Confederates and others into Mexico. Since their beginning, the settlements had flourished and had grown with an influx of tens of thousands of ex-Confederates and other Europeans which served to give the Empire more skilled workers and began to Europeanize the country.
 
The Third Carlist War

When Isabella II was deposed in 1868 in the La Gloriosa Revolution, it led to a search for a new monarch for Spain. Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern, was first offered the throne by the new government, but the French strongly objected and the Prussian was passed over whilst the search continued. Eventually, in late 1871, the Neapolitan Prince Gaetan, Count of Girgenti, was given the throne, being crowned King of Spain alongside his wife Princess Theresa of Bavaria, whom he had married earlier that year. His selection as King was unpopular in Spain, as he was deemed too conservative by those who were worried by the traditionalist rule of his brother, Francis II, whilst also being unpopular among the conservatives, as he was seen as a foreign King who had taken the place of the rightful ruler, the Carlist pretender to the throne, Carlos VII. Elected as King on 15th August 1871, King Gaetan found himself in a bad position from the start, with conflict among his own government. With instability tearing Spain apart, the King’s health began to suffer as the stress of his duties began to take its toll and he sunk ever deeper into depression. He was often the target of assassination attempts, the most serious occurring on 1st February 1872, when General Marqués de los Castillejos was killed and the King severely wounded. Then, on 21st April 1872 the Carlist uprising began, completely destroying what remained of his spirit, depression overtaking him completely. His marriage was not an unhappy one, but the two were not in love and remained distant in the short time they were married, further eroding his morale. After he received word that his brother was unable to directly aid him in the coming war, King Gaetan shot himself on 1st May, the day before Carlos VII crossed the border from France into Spain. Princess Theresa swiftly left the country and returned to Bavaria, never remarrying, whilst Francis II was deeply upset by his brother’s death, blaming both himself and the Spanish government, which he saw as having abandoned Gaetan, leading him to resolve to help the Carlists, supplying them with funds, arms and equipment throughout the conflict.

The two opposing factions of the Third Carlist War were very different in their composition and as such employed widely differing strategies in the first stages of the war. The Carlist forces were primarily made up of guerrilla bands which were raised locally, allowing them to fight in an irregular style which allowed them to take advantage of the terrain and their knowledge of the land and people, but which limited their ability to threaten cities. Nevertheless, the Carlists did have some armies, but they were filled with low quality recruits and in the beginning suffered many logistical problems, which only began to be solved as more support from Francis II began to reach them. The Liberals, on the other hand, possessed a professional army and the support of the towns and cities, as well as the railways system, which allowed them to swiftly move their forces to wherever they were needed. The Liberals were also plagued by instability, as monarchists and republicans argued over what to do after the death of King Gaetan, damaging their war effort. The Liberal war effort was further hindered by the outbreak of the Cantonal Revolution, after a republic was proclaimed when it was decided not to search for another King. Spreading quickly through the south of the country, it drew government forces away from the north where they were sorely needed to combat the threat of the Carlists. If it had not been for this, the war may have been ended before it escalated.

In the opening stages of the war, the government appeared to do well, as the government was able to win the Battle of Oroquieta, which only left 70 Carlist dead and 900 captured, but scattered their forces in the Basque Country for the entire year, compelling Carlos VII to flee back to France. Despite this setback, Carlist warbands continued to operate against the government and with the arrival of Infante Alfonso, who had been released from his service in the Papal Zouaves to participate in the war, in December the Carlist armies began to organise themselves more thoroughly, with the creation of a proper military structure. Their forces regrouped and small cadres of officers filtered into the country to train and lead the Carlist armies, whilst arms and supplies from Naples began to reach them, being run across the border with France. The Carlist army grew rapidly and by February 1873 numbered some 50,000. In the North the war now swung in the Carlists’ favour, as fresh troops and supplies were gathered and their forces reorganized after their initial defeat in 1872. The Spanish government in Madrid had proclaimed a republic almost immediately after the suicide of King Gaetan, but now struggled to hold their fledgling state together as rebels sprung up in every corner of Spain. Although Francis II desired to support the Cantonal rebels in the south, as well as the support he gave the Carlists, he refrained from doing so as supporting republicans went against his nature and as it was his resources were becoming rather stretched, as he sought to control both the Third Carlist War and the Italian Civil War. In May 1873, the Carlists won a victory over a republican army, which all but wiped them out as an effective fighting force which allowed for the Carlist capture of Estella in August and was also marked by the arrival of Carlos VII in the theatre. On the eastern front, things began well for the Carlists, as they destroyed a republican force in the Battle of Alpens on the 9th July, although they were then badly mauled at the Battle of Bocairente, where despite early success in the action, a republican counterattack ends with the capture of a large portion of the Carlists. Back in the north, the Carlists also suffered the costly Battle of Mañeru, which ended in a draw, but they brought won a further success with the Battle of Montejurra, wherein they badly bloodied an attacking force of republicans, forcing them to retreat. In November of that same year, although fight continued on as normal, a new factor appeared with the USA’s declaration of war upon the Spanish. To the Spanish government, who had been preoccupied with the rebellions, this was cause for panic and so they threw themselves at President Grant’s feet in order to spare themselves a terrible and costly war. American demanded Cuba, Puerto Rico and compensation for the loss of those executed on the island, the Spanish republicans were quick to agree, but used the opportunity to express to the Americans how they too were now republicans and wished to be free, but were beset upon by the reactionary Carlists (little mention being made of the Cantonal rebels). Seeing an opportunity to win an ally, Grant ordered supplies to be given to the republic to aid in its quest to defeat the rebels, American ships steaming across the Atlantic to support their newfound brothers, a volunteer forces even being created. With the now certain American intervention in the conflict, the French began to get involved, with Empress Eugénie de Montijo who, in her capacity as Madame Mère de l'Empereur, held much of the power in the French Empire and championed the cause of traditionalism and Catholicism, and so not surprisingly she pushed for intervention in Spain before the arrival of the Americans. Although full intervention was decided against, the French concluded that they had to take action to support the Carlists in Spain and so the small supply of weapons supplied by Naples increased wildly overnight, equipping the Carlist forces with the most up to date weaponry French had to offer, paying the vast majority of their expenses, providing military experts to train and organise the Spaniards and deploying the French navy in an attempt to halt American shipments of arms.

The start of 1874 looked good for the republicans, who finished off the Cantonal revolution and began to receive American aid, but although both sides began to receive support from sovereign states, it was the Carlists who received by far the most. With new arms and supplies constantly arriving across the border, the Carlists were eager to push on and so laid siege to the city of Bilbao on 21st February with some 12,000 men, who faced a garrison of 1,200. The republicans sought to lift the siege, sending a relief force which engaged the Carlists on 24th February but was brutally beaten back, leaving 1,200 republican dead. After this first relief attempt the Carlists accelerated their attempts to capture the city, pounding the walls and the buildings within using the French-supplied artillery. A first assault was made on 16th March, but was repelled by the republicans, leaving hundreds of dead or wounded Carlists, while a second republican relief effort occurred on 25th March when 27,000 republicans attacked some 17,000 Carlists, who fought for four days before the republicans were finally forced to retreat, leaving the capture of Bilbao possible as the garrison was forced to surrender as they began to starve. With the failure of the relief attempts and the fall of the city, the republicans retreated and the Carlists had solidified their hold over the north within four months, as more cities and towns defected to their cause or fell to their men. In the east, however, the Carlists suffered the embarrassing Battle of Caspe, where a republican ambush captured some 200 of their men. Despite this setback, the Carlists were able to capture Cantevieja after a short siege and Olot after defeating a relief attempt led by Nouviles, who was captured with 2,000 of his men, the latter then becoming their capital in Catalonia. The republicans countered by seizing the Carlist stronghold of Gandesa, inflicting 100 casualties, but were unable to stop the Infante Alfonso from sacking Cuenca and fortifying it, beating off a republican counter-attack. The Carlist strongholds of the Basque Country and Navarre were now able to begin expanding, having forced out the final republican forces in the months following the fall of Bilbao and so send reinforcements to their brothers in the east and also began to move south toward Madrid. The situation now became desperate for the republicans, who, having declined a proposal from Ramon Cabrera in which the monarchy was restored to win over traditionalist elements and remove support for Carlos VII, had failed to deprive the Carlists of the support base and so allowed them to fortify their gains and continue to advance. The New Year thus began well for the Carlists, who captured 300 republicans in the Battle of Lácar in February 1875, but a republican offensive in the summer defeated a Carlist army and for a moment the war hangs in the balance as the government seizes Logroño, but the republicans are defeated in the Battle of Treviño and the Carlist territory in the north remains secure. The Carlists decided to march for Madrid, resulting in the Battle of Tarancón, a Carlist victory which leaves the way to Madrid open. By now, the Carlists, under the direction of French officers, equipped with French weapons and sustained by French supplies are approaching complete supremacy in the field and are able to hold back the government armies as they last out in their last moments. However, it is the siege of Madrid which decides the war, as when the city falls in the first days of 1876, the republican government collapses. The Carlist victory in the Third Carlist War resulted in the placement of Carlos VII on the Spanish throne and the end of liberal rule in Spain, the Church once again becoming a powerful force in both politics and daily life. The Madame Mère de l'Empereur and Patrice de Mac-Mahon (who had become the French Prime Minister) were relieved to have seemingly removed the Legitimist claimant from any business he might have in France. Although Spain had won the Civil War, they now faced the issue of the Spanish Empire, Cuba and Puerto Rico having been handed to the USA by the republicans. In the end it was decided to recognise the USA’s sovereignty over their new gains in return for their recognition of the sovereignty of the Spanish in their remaining colonies and guarantees of the USA’s lack of territorial ambition, at least concerning the Spanish, as well as payment for the territories. The republican movement was largely blamed for the loss of the colonies and would suffer from the accusation that they had given away the Empire for years to come. In Spain an absolutist regime was now created, with power concentrated in Carlos VII’s hands. Although there was a Parliament, its powers were severely limited and it had little real say in the running of the country. Those that the Carlists considered to be traitors, such as Cabrera, were shot for treason and reactionary policies took hold, many republicans or sympathises with the short-lived republic going into exile. The regime was strongest in the north of Spain, but in the south republican guerrillas operated with virtual impunity and a long counter-insurgency campaign began as Carlist troops sought to establish their authority across Spain, a campaign which slowly grew more and more brutal as the Carlists grew tired of the seemingly endless war and the elusive enemy, whilst the republicans became increasingly desperate and angry at the government’s retaliation which was often brutal. Infante Alfonso returned to the Papal States after the war and re-joined the Zouaves.

The Italian Civil War

After the bloody events of 27th February 1872, the Kingdom of Italy had descended into an increasingly vicious civil war between the supporters of King Umberto and the republican mob who had sprung up all over the country, seizing cities and receiving entire units of mutineers from the dissatisfied army, who blamed the King and his government for their defeats in previous wars. Royalist forces quickly lost control of the majority of the major cities as the people rose up, arming themselves with weapons from mutinous or sympathetic soldiers, foreign sympathisers and revolutionaries who had been preparing for a rematch since the failed uprisings of 1868. As the situation became increasingly desperate, the King fled to the north of the country, whilst many of his supporters fled to Sardinia, which although experiencing some not insignificant unrest had remained largely loyal to the throne. Nevertheless, for much of the early stage of the conflict the island suffered from street battles as royalist troops restored order in the cities and from guerrilla campaigns in the interior, where revolutions sought to wage an insurgency, joined later by their defeated urban comrades and by bandits who simply used the war as an excuse to pillage. The Royal Italian Army had numbered from 190,000 at the start of the war, but had been reduced by desertions and mutinies, volunteers supporting the King being insufficient to make up the losses, so that it was swiftly reduced to some 135,000 men of whom roughly 28,000 were volunteers more akin to militia than a regular army. The republican army, comprised of a core of some 70,000 mutineers, was complimented by armed uprisings across the Kingdom, adding hundreds of thousands of both experienced revolutionaries and enthusiastic militiamen to their forces Throughout the conflict, royalist forces would be plagued with desertions and mutinies, to the effect of virtually crippling their fighting ability and providing the republican cause with yet more soldiers.

Before he was able to attempt to overcome the strongly republican areas of peninsular Italy or the northwest (centred on Turin), the King had to consolidate his control over the areas of the Kingdom in which he was still dominant, leading to the vicious Battle of Verona, which set the scene from the rest of the war. Some 2,000 mutineers were entrenched in the city, along with some 17,000 recently formed republican militia. Seeking to quickly establish control over the city and set an example, the royalists began an artillery bombardment which levelled much of the city and killed thousands, which was swiftly followed by a full-scale assault which drove back the republicans and saw them defeated within two days of the commencement of the attack. Although the King, who was still en route from Florence, played no part in the destruction of the city, he was blamed by the republicans, who accused him of ordering the bombardment and the numerous massacres which followed, leading to captured royalists often being killed out of hand by republicans. After the battle, although he was horrified by its bloody course, Umberto was able to organise his forces and push west, seeking to link up with royalist armies in southern Lombardy and Liguria. Despite this, neither side launched a significant offensive until May, when republicans in Bologna sought to push north toward Ferrara, which was still until royalist control. Initially pushing deep into royalist territory, the republicans then came face to face with a royalist army under Alfonso Ferrero La Màrmora in the Battle of Altedo, which pitted some 47,000 republicans against 16,000 royalists. Although sorely outnumbered, the royalists were almost all professional soldiers armed with modern equipment and far more artillery than the republicans, with the result that in the battle the royalist artillery inflicted terrible casualties on the advancing enemy, even halting their left wing in the early stages of the action. However, the sight of so many of their countrymen being killed had a profound effect upon the royalist army, some units of which defected midway through the battle, completely shattering their ex-comrades defence and causing the completely annihilation of Ferrero’s army and his own capture, after which he was executed for supposed crimes against the Italian people. After the disastrous battle, panic seized Ferrara, with thousands of refugees streaming out of the city in a mad scramble. Despite this, the royalists were able to rally and again meet the republicans in the Battle of Ferrara, which was fought far to the south of the city and so-called only because it saved the city from imminent danger. 21,000 royalists stood against 42,000 republicans and forced them back after a long and bloody battle which left 7,000 royalist and 11,000 republican casualties. However, by this time attention had been draw away from this theatre to the north, where the royalists were pushing to the west, resulting in the decisive Battle of the Mincio, in which royalists, under the personal command of the King, attempted to force a crossing of the river at the city of Mantua, their 43,000 strong army facing some 39,000 republicans, the majority of whom were mutineers concentrated here by the republican command to defeat the largest of the royalist armies. A gruesome confrontation which was hotly contested, the battle was characterised by the close quarters fighting which dominated it and the lack of prisoners taken on both sides. By the time fighting subsided, the royalist army had been reduced to only 28,000 men, whilst their enemies were from to only 26,000. This was the turning point of the war, as the royalist forces were now crippled, too weak to push back the republican forces which now sought to push north and defeat the royalists in Lombardy, who were menacing the city of Turin. In the summer, the royalists were pushed back across Italy, winning only the Battle of Guardamiglio, saving the city of Piacenza from the attacking Milanese republicans and giving the divided royalist forces scattered around Lombardy some breathing room, allowing them to begin to move south and into Genoa, from where they evacuated mainland Italy, some going to foreign countries whilst others fled to Sardinia. The royalists in the west, now completely demoralised at the King’s failure to link up with them and the perception that they were losing the war, now made one of two choices, either join the republicans or leave the country. By 1874 the Kingdom was undoubtedly on its last knees, with the remains of the forces in the west in the process of evacuation, whilst in the east they were being steadily pushed back.

During all of these events, Italy’s neighbouring states had looked on with interest and concern at the various developments of the civil war. It was now, with republicanism nearly triumphant over the royalists, that in panic they acted. France, occupied with the threat of an American ally in Iberia remained uninvolved, but Austro-Hungary marched across the border on 3rd January, seizing the region of Lombardy after a relatively quick campaign which saw them take control of the entire region by the end of March. The Papal States also became involved, following the Austrian example of 10th of January, whereupon they occupied the old Papal Legations, which was held in the east by desperate royalists who handed over their territory to the Papal forces to avoid destruction at the hands of the republicans. The west, however, was held by the republicans and they conducted a tenacious defence of the region, fighting significant two pitched battles and numerous sieges, which lasted until mid-May. These two campaigns forced the republicans to the negotiating table, the moderate Napoleone Colajanni representing them as leader of the republican provisional government which had been created in Florence. The republicans demanded the unconditional surrender of the royalists and the arrest of the Italian King, as well as the withdrawal of both Austrian and Papal troops from Italian territory, but this was rejected out of hand by the other three parties. The Austrians, having reoccupied their lost territory, were now completely unwilling to abandon it, as was the Pope and they both refused to hand over Umberto to the republicans. In the end, it was the Italian King himself who solved the problem, having become convinced of the futility of his war and resigning himself to the loss of his Kingdom. Refusing to abandon his supporters he decided to follow the example of his supporters in the west and evacuate to Sardinia. By accepting the reality of his untenable situation on the mainland and offering a withdrawal to Sardinia, which would become independent once again as a separate Kingdom, whilst the Austrian and Papal occupations continued. Umberto also gave up his claim to the Kingdom of Italy at the request of the Pope, to demonstrate that he had no designs over the Papal States or Naples. The republicans resentfully accepted and the Treaty of Marseilles was signed on 18th June 1874, bringing the civil war to an end, creating the Republic of Milan, named after the new capital, and recreating the Kingdom of Sardinia, which promptly joined the Southern Confederation, which was consequently renamed as the Italian Confederation. Colajanni’s perceived failure at the negotiating table led to him losing his position to the more radical Giovanni Bovio, who renamed the new state the Republic of Italy, much to the anger of his neighbours. Shortly after the end of the war, on 18th June, Pius IX was nearly assassinated by an Italian republican for his part in the war, being shot three times at close range, one of the shots missing, one striking his shoulder and the other his side. The Italian was swiftly arrested and was sentenced to be executed, but this was reduced by Pius IX and he later died in prison. The Pope eventually recovered, although he came close to death. This event caused the Pope to decide on a strict policy concerning the governing of the Legations and the republican insurgency was largely defeated by the end of the year through the use of brutal tactics and ruthless hunts for the guerrillas, many of them simply deciding to cross into the republic, where they were welcomed as heroes, rather than attempt to continue an exacting and failing campaign.
 
Rich Rostrum, there are examples of incidents where two states had engagements but fell short of actual war because of the effects it would have, although I can't think of any off the top of my head :eek: and I can see Irishmen and Confederates going over to Mexico even if the US doesn't want them to, not through direct recruitment but word of mouth and such.

Thanks for the feedback guys, hope you enjoy :)
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but your bit on Mexico is simply ASB. I had previously spent time on the subject for a fellow AHer who wanted a successful Second Mexican Empire. To this day it's easily my worst AH since I became aware of just how irreparably fucked the polity was and I still bothered to write ASB AH.

The French had about 50,000 troops active during the intervention. General Bazaine wasn't able to train an effective Imperial military which could combat the Republicans effectively and autonomously. Napoleon cut his loses with Mexico because of the Americans suddenly were united again and the phantom of Prussian aggression became ever increasing concern for Nappy.

Then there is the apparent bombshell of Max's political views. While elected by reactionaries and conservatives of various stripes, he was more in line with what we'd generalise as liberalism. His policies occasionally caused dissension amongst the Imperial camp, such as maintaining the Liberal program of expropriating ecclesiastical property. Fairly famously Max offered Juarez the office of Prime Minister, something that the latter obviously rejected but goes to show a peek into Max's views.

Ignoring the hurdles of logic one has to leap to give the Second Empire a credible existence, after crushing the Republicans Max would only become increasingly politically isolated. With out a doubt he would continue to expound the occasional political formula that ran counter to the Conservative interests, which wouldn't endear them over the succeeding decades. While the Liberals are more in line with his views the majority wouldn't be won over, not after years of bloodshed and the Black Decree. Whatever positive political developments Max could offer for Mexico, it wouldn't be as effective as a Liberal controlled state simply because he couldn't hold as much support.

Then there is the Americans.... After the Civil War they did indeed station an army on the Mexican border, to give military supplies to Juarez and Co. I don't mean to be snide, but have you heard of the Monroe Doctrine? A France hell bent on imposing an ultimately unpopular regime on an American nation right by the USA while an undeclared naval war ensues wouldn't happen. Either Napoleon licks his wounds and departs, or he faces the Yankees. If the latter were to occur, it would be an opportune time for the Prussians to pick on L'Hexagone.

Please take these criticisms in good stride, I always want to see excellent AH. Just my two cents worth, though I can dig up the citations if needed.
 
Do you not think the Emperor would have won the people over by being both Catholic and liberal? I mean, isn't that what most of the Mexican populace supported? Surely if he survives long enough to win them over he'll have enough support to stop any ultra-conservative pushes for power. As to the Monroe doctrine, I have doubts as to whether Grant would be willing to throw the USA into another war with a strong nation immediately after the Civil War...
 
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