Chapter Four: Upheavals and New Masters
To summarize the recent years of Russian conquest of Asia and parts of North America, they began their expedition way back in the 1600s. The conquest of Manchuria was completed by the year 1701 (with sporadic rebellions in Manchu lands), and Russia was on its way to becoming a Pacific power with the much more important port of Okhotsk a crucial place for commerce and trade. The Zunghars, Oirats, Mongols, Koreans and Manchus have entered a relationship with their new Russian masters, which proved to be rocky at best until some scholars from the conquered peoples began to educate the Russians on better relations with the Asiatic tribesmen. At the same time, the old Qing port of Haishenwei was turned into a second Russian port, but the Russians couldn't come up with the name yet.
To make up for the lack of gains in the Great Northern War, Russia began to exploit its Siberian holdings a lot more aggressively. Siberia became an attractive place for both opportunistic settlers and exiled criminals to live in, with its huge amount of resurces (for the new settlers), and its extreme location from the nearest settlement (for the convicts).
For the next fifty to sixty years, Russia wisely stayed out of three European wars, mainly the Wars of Spanish, Austrian and Polish Successions. Its isolation proved to be a boon to its existence, but only for a while. The Russian population began to increase, despite the hardships sustained by serfdom's policies that were maintained by the Tsars, but one Tsar would eventually have doubts about the nature of serfdom itself when he saw with envy the welfare of the peasants in other parts of Europe.
The life of the infant Ivan VI was turbulent at best, having been imprisoned for most of his life. While in prison he met a Cossack named Andrei Ustinov, convicted of treason against the Tsar when he declared for the current Tsarina's 'death' (that of Elizabeth of Russia). Despite Elizabeth's popularity among the Russian regiments, the Cossacks and peasants placed their faith in Ivan VI to become Tsar. Ustinov's friendship with Ivan VI would eventually pay off in one of the bloodiest rebellions in Russian history. (Andrei Ustinov is this TL's version of Yemelyan Pugachev)
Elizabeth's rule proved to be a blessing in disguise as she was able to keep off foreigners from achieving top positions in the Russian government. Her main priority was to continue Peter the Great's reforms by expanding his shipbuilding hobby to the rest of the Russian Pacific, mainly in the Amur basin and in Korea. A shipyard was founded in the port of Pusan, which was repeatedly subjected to Japanese raiding parties. (Eventually the Japanese pirate groups would be defeated when Japan itself would be forcibly opened) However, Elizabeth had been unaware of the Cossack prisoners' friendship with the imprisoned Ivan VI, even though she gave orders to her trusted guards to have him killed in case there was a rebellion or there were demands for his release.
Within the years of 1750-1800, Russia was to be subjected to a series of difficult trials, all of them which would have spelled the collapse of the gigantic behemoth if even one trial has ended in failure. During the 1750s, the Swedish-Prussian Dual Kingdom was still a unified kingdom, but underneath there were tensions between the Swedes and the Prussians under Frederick the Great. However, Sweden-Prussia was forced to align itself with Great Britain and several German states against the alliance of France, Russia and Austria. Spain hesitantly joined the French camp, if only to avoid having its colonies fall into any hostile power.
The events that would lead into the Four Year War of 1756-1760 were caused by hostile alliances between the two armed camps. Sweden-Prussia and Great Britain were the two primary allies as the Dual Kingdoms of Poland and Hungary swore to stay out of any conflict. The Ottoman Empire joined the Swedish-Prussian led camp, forcing the French, HRE, Spaniards and Russians to reaffirm their alliances. And so on 1756, the Swedish-Prussian Kingdom had launched an invasion of Russia and laid siege on St. Petersburg once again, just as they did in the Great Northern War. Unlike the earlier siege, St. Petersburg was already completed, making life difficult for the Swedish-Prussians. Austria was eager to regain the Silesian province taken by the dual Teuton-Scandinavian behemoth, and France jumped into the conflict by invading the Danish western coast. Great Britain entered the war by attacking the French city of Toulon, which ended in disaster.
Second Siege of St. Petersburg:
St Petersburg the completed city was like a fortress on an isolated island surrounded by the Baltic Sea. The walled city proved to be much more difficult to capture, so the Swedes and Prussians decided to capture the supplies heading towards St. Petersburg. As month went on, the Russian defenders began to starve inside the city walls, placing much more pressure on the army to find a way to break through the siege or to surrender the city. The Holy Roman Empire saw the opportunity to invade the Duchy of Prussia and regain its lost territories that were taken by Prussia during the 30YW. The Swedes and Prussians were forced to divert their forces towards the invading Habsburg troops, relinquishing their siege on St. Petersburg and relieving the Russian defenders. Reinforcements from around the Habsburg realm forced the Swedish-Prussian forces on the defensive while the Russian Army replenished itself from the recent siege.
War in Eastern Europe: Russian Offensive in Europe:
The Russian Army prepared themselves for their first offensive of the war once after fresh troops arrived at the front lines. First and foremost, they had to conquer the troublesome Ukrainian kingdom in order to set up a bridgehead for the next stage of their offensive in Europe. So in April 14, 1757, the Russians entered Ukraine and were greeted by cautious Ukrainians and joyful Belarusians. Most of the Ukrainians and Belarusians living in an independent Ukraine resented their leaders' relationship with the Papacy, seeing it as a slap in the face for the forced conversions of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine into Catholicism. The Orthodox Belarusians and Ukrainians vented their anger towards their Uniate countrymen as they viewed the Uniate Church as nothing more than Greek Catholics.
General Dmitri Suvorov (OTL Counterpart: Alexander Suvorov) led the Russian Army in its first battle of the war in the Siege of Riga, hoping to cut off the Swedish-Prussian Kingdom from its main supply port. However, General Suvorov would eventually have his first defeat in the fiercely contested Battle of Vilnius, forcing him to lift up the siege. For the most part, the Russians would be handed defeat after defeat as the Swedish-Prussians soon invaded the rest of the Russian Empire, briefly occupying Ukraine and Belarus. They also avenged their earlier defeat from the Great Northern War by winning the 1757 Battle of Poltava, pushing the Russians out of central Ukraine. They also entered the heart of the old Muscovite state and were within range of Moscow. It seems that the Russians were faced with a difficult situation. The invaders have entered their Motherland and were about to have another Times of Troubles. Coupled with anti-Teutonic sentiment dating from the Teuton Invasion of Pskov, the Russian people began to help aid the war effort, hoping for a substantial reward in return. The Russians won their first battle at the 1757 Battle of Smolensk, but the victory came at a high price as many soldiers on both sides were killed.
War in Western Europe: Spanish Entry Into the War:
Spain entered the war on the anti-Prussian side when Spanish soldiers crossed the Rhine River in defense of the Habsburg realm against the Prussian juggernaut. The Spanish forces helped their French colleagues in defending Frankfurt from Swedish and Prussian forces, which invaded the same city in order to prevent the French from penetrating deeper into the border with Prussia. A Swedish relief force ambushed the French and Spanish armies at the Rhine River while attempting to march in the aid of their Habsburg ally. However, the Spanish and French forces regained their momentum and began to attack the Prussian forces inside the Habsburg realm while Prussia's Swedish partners continued to pour their troops deeper into Russia. At this moment, the Swedes agreed to attack east with the Prussians. In return, Frederick the Great's forces will focus their efforts in the Western Front.
The Spanish Army under Field Marshal Miguel Allende y Molina met Frederick's forces in the battle for the control of the crucial city of Magdeburg, from which they can enter deeper into Prussian territory and possibly reach the Baltic Sea. The initial phase of the Battle of Magdeburg began when Spanish artillery pieces bombarded the fortress along the Elbe River. Swedish forces not committed to the Russian Front aided the Prussians in defending the strategic city, while the Prussian defenders responded by sending an infantry division to distract the Spanish cannons. Habsburg army forces arrived to help with the siege by cutting off supply routes from Magdeburg, forcing the defending Prussians in a similar manner to the besieged Russians in St. Petersburg. Spanish cavalry divisions were held in reserve as the infantry corps advanced into the fortress, taking in high casualties. Prussian artillery pieces took out a few Spanish cannons, but the battle was worsened by the heavy rains that poured down into the city. Prussian Jaeger units were deployed to slow down the Spanish infantry while the Prussian artillery started to pound into the advancing Spanish cavalry.
By the second day, both sides were exhausted from the battle and neither side had a breakthrough. The Prussian Army began to suffer from hunger and disease as their supplies dwindled. Likewise, the Spanish and Habsburg forces were unable to gain momentum as their forces were exhausted from constant marches and attacks. The siege was lifted only because neither side had any desire to fight with their depleted forces. The Siege of Magdeburg was inconclusive, although Allende's troops were inflicted with more casualties.
France on the other hand, didn't do much anything on the continent, other than to aid the Spaniards in defending the Habsburgs, but they managed to hold on to their North American colonies with Britain's defeat in the Battle of Plymouth. (The Battle of Plymouth was the only battle in the 4YW where the theater of war took place in the North American continent.)
1759-1760: Switching Sides and Conclusion:
The Prussians and Swedes regained momentum the following year when they resumed their offensive into Russia from their bases in Ukraine, aided by Ukrainian Cossacks. At the Battle of Belgorod, the Swedish-Prussians inflicted a shattering defeat at the Russian Army, which continued to retreat deeper into Russia. By applying the lessons learned from Peter the Great's campaign in the Great Northern War, Russia slowly kept their army intact while retreated further. The Prussians reached Moscow while the Swedes reached St. Petersburg once again. The Prussian Army began to besiege Moscow at the same time the Swedes besieged St. Petersburg for the second time in the war. Both of these battles have resulted in the decisive Swedish-Prussian victory over the Russian behemoth, but the Russians have already abandoned the two cities and relocated to Kazan and Tsaritsyn by the time the invaders began to launch their siege. However, tragedy struck at the Swedish-Prussian Kingdom when their king, Adolf Frederick died. His successor, Gustavus Markus of Sweden, became the new king and immediately began to withdraw all of his forces occupying Russian land. His reasons for withdrawing his armies were twofold: the threat coming from Poland-Hungary was heating up, and the financial costs of the war effort became more difficult to sustain. Despite his hold on the Baltic states, no trade was fortcoming, and their mistake of arousing the Russian bear meant that sooner or later, they would eventually bear the brunt of the Russian Army's offensives. Most recently, Elizabeth had also died and Duke Peter (Peter III) was killed while leading a cavalry charge in Poltava a few years earlier. Both the Russian and Swedish-Prussian Empires temporarily withdrew from the 4YW in order to solve their internal problems. The Russians were faced with another succession crisis, mainly by debating between Ivan VI and Catherine the Great. To aggravate the situation a lot worse, a group of soldiers had been killed by Cossack prisoners when they revolted against the poor conditions in their incarceration. A prison break occured in Ust-Dvinsk with the freed Cossacks helped by sympathetic soldiers and Don Cossacks still roaming around Russia, and Ivan VI was taken into hiding until the day Catherine the Great would make a fatal mistake.
Spain on the other hand, saw with frustration the increasing British offensives in its colonies, mainly in New Spain, Cuba and the Philippines. Manila was sacked by the British Army on July 7, 1760, but not captured. In retaliation, the Spanish Navy bombarded the British colonies in North America and even captured Acadia, but held it for a short time before the British Navy routed the Spaniards out of Acadia. The change in the two armed camps weren't finalized yet, but rumors began to circulate of a possible rebellion in Russia. Ukraine and Belarus came under Russian rule when Catherine the Great's armies recaptured the two states.
Both sides ceased hostilites in the Treaty of Novgorod, but neither side gained anything from their blood, sweat and tears. Moreover, the war would eventually continue, but under a different kind of war. The terms of the Treaty of Novgorod were:
* Ukraine and Belarus were to come under Russian rule. This spelled the end of the brief Ukrainian independence Khmelnytsky fought so hard to preserve.
* Sweden-Prussia was to return to their pre-war frontiers.
* Britain was to pay an indemnity to Spain around 2,300,000 pound sterling for the damages they caused in Manila. However, the reparations were never paid as another war broke out.
Ustinov's Rebellion:
Andrei Ustinov began to clamour around the Cossacks as they made the increasingly senile Ivan VI their leader. This move was risky, but could have huge benefits. Moreover, Ustinov's Cossacks traveled to the Mongol city of Karakorum where they made a secret deal with the Khan there, in this case Khan Gansuh Borte. The secret deal involves having Ivan VI marry Gansuh Borte's daughter Bolormaa, and in return Gansuh Borte would provide a couple of Mongol, Zunghar and Oirat princes into Russian service. Once Ustinov gained the support of the Mongols, they traveled to Korea to ask for support among the Korean population. There, Ustinov and Ivan VI pledged that they would improve the lives of their Asiatic subjects and alleviate the lives of the peasants working all across the Russian Empire. Ustinov was careful not to antagonize the Koreans, whose lives were almost horrible under the previous regimes. With Ivan VI actually building his relations with the peoples of Asia, he felt ready to challenge Catherine the Great for the Russian throne. He still bore a grudge towards her and as well as Elizabeth for his incarceration, and Ustinov was compelled to raise an insurrection against the autocratic tsarina.
When the Four Year War ended, Catherine the Great was faced with a growing peasant rebellion at the nobility's lack of compassion and a complete disdain for the laboring peasants. She began to enact a series of serious reforms that propelled Russia back into the world stage and warded off attempts to isolate it from Europe, lest Russia would experience the scars of invasion again. Although her reforms began to take shape, it would eventually be continued by her successor after the Ustinov Rebellion. Educational reforms meant that Russia would have enough supply of scholars that would work for the government, economical reforms would also alleviate the recent fiscal problems faced the Russian Empire in the aftermath of the 4YW. Finally, Catherine encouraged foreign investors to start projects on the underdeveloped areas, mainly in Siberia where furs could be found and new trading posts can be established. Karakorum saw an increase in population as peasants from European Russia were eager to start their lives over in the booming eastern city within the Empire. Despite her successful reforms, the plight of the peasants didn't matter to Catherine. It only needed a spark and a major peasant rebellion would break out, and it did. In 1766, Catherine the Great enacted an ukase, declaring that entire villages would be given to nobles who supported her. Already, peasant anger was still high by the time the Ustinov Rebellion broke out.
First Phase:
Ustinov and Ivan VI began to march towards the city of Tsaristyn on August 14, 1766. The city on the Volga River was crucially important as Tsaristyn was the key hub of traffic coming through the Volga. When Ustinov's forces occupied it, the local population welcomed the young upstart as local nobles who supported Catherine the Great were lynched. From Tsaristyn, Ustinov began to launch the siege of Kazan. The first day of the siege was dominated by cannon fire as the loyalist army began to fight back. Inside Kazan, soldiers who heard of the manifesto that Ustinov read out eagerly defected to Ustinov's forces and opened the city gates. Loyalist forces pulled out of the city, sending a message to Catherine about what happened. She scoffed off the rebellion, seeing it as nothing more than a sideshow. Ustinov wisely kept Ivan VI out of the spotlight until the right moment would arrive. A few days later, government forces besieged Kazan with their available artillery pieces. However, the main peasant conscripts who served in the army mutinied and killed their officers as soon as Ustinov's cavalry forces began to charge towards them. Moreover, the rebellious Cossacks captured all of the available artillery pieces and carried them off into Kazan. Now the stage was set for the march towards Moscow, with a larger army moving towards St. Petersburg. Ustinov wanted his forces to capture Catherine alive so he could give her a trial and have her executed.
Second Phase:
By the year 1767, Ivan VI had begun to learn about his friend's actions and opted to join in the fighting. Ustinov didn't want Ivan VI to join in yet as he could be killed by government forces and the rebellion would be crushed. Moreover, his new Mongol wife Bolormaa gave birth to a healthy baby boy, the future Tsarevich Sartak, named after the same Sartak who befriended and became Alexander Nevsky's blood brother. Within those years, government forces won minor battles against Ustinov's forces, but the latter won a few crucial battles, mainly in the defense of Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan, where Ustinov's Kalmyk and Tatar detachments fought Catherine's Russian forces to a draw. When the government forces were about to recapture the city of Kazan from the rebels, the Siberian peoples began to revolt, just as they promised Ustinov. A Korean uprising in Seoul and Pusan had paralyzed the Russian Pacific Fleet there as the conscripted Korean sailors mutinied against their Russian officers and the Russian sailors joined in. A Mongol force under Gansuh Borte was marching towards Kazan in support of Ustinov and Ivan VI. Once the second siege of Kazan was thwarted by the rebels, Ustinov's Cossacks were joined by Gansuh Borte's 20,000 cavalry, 5,000 Zunghar cavalry, several Bashkir and Tatar detachments and a token amount of mercenaries in their march towards Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Third Phase:
The March towards Moscow and St. Petersburg began a few months after the government siege of Kazan was routed in October of 1767. Peasants who were fed up with the miserable existence they led joined in the rebellion as they were eager to fight their own government for the right to live freely. Ivan VI was leading the charge with Ustinov advising him. Ustinov took the leadership helm, as Ivan VI didn't have any military experience. By the time Catherine the Great had began to take seriously the rebellion, it was too late to appease the angry peasantry. Ustinov entered Moscow as the Holy Synod had cautiously welcomed them. From there, Ustinov read the same manifestos that the peoples of Kazan and Tsaritsyn heard. From there, Ustinov hoped for Catherine's forces to attack Moscow long enough for the rest of his Cossack forces to enter St. Petersburg and capture Catherine the Great.
The government siege of Moscow began with the defenders firing their cannons into the government forces' ranks. Loyalist cannons opened fire soon after, inflicting casualties on Ustinov's forces. In the midst of the battle, Bolormaa and her son Sartak fled from Moscow and traveled to Kazan where they can hide after the rebellion is over. Ustinov ordered Ivan VI to join in the army marching on St. Petersburg while he himself would lead the defense of the ancient capital. The two forces met at the Battle of the Moscow River, as both sides began to take heavy casualties. For a while, Ustinov's forces were winning the battle, but government reinforcements soon broke through the vulnerable rear flank of the rebel forces and entered the city. Ustinov himself fled the ancient capital with a few of his followers as the government declared that Ustinov's Rebellion was crushed, but their victory was short lived.
In St. Petersburg, Ivan VI marched into the new capital with his army in triumph as Catherine and her supporters were surprised at the sudden appearance of the imprisoned tsar. Just as an assassin was prepared to shoot at Ivan, a Cossack stabbed the assassin with his sword and captured the Tsarina. Ivan VI received a letter from Ustinov, congratulating on his march to the new capital, but Catherine has to be executed right away after the trial.
Final Phase:
The trial of Catherine began on January 23, 1768 in the same fortress where Peter the Great had interrogated his wayward son Alexis. Several peasants were invited to watch Catherine defend herself in this 'sham travesty', as she called the trial. Peasants jeered at her every speech while the Cossacks who were supposed to keep up the order didn't do anything to help defend her. The trial took a few days to progress as the newly appointed judges who supported Ivan VI wanted to display their new behavior in the new regime. After being tried and found guilty of ordering the assassination of Ivan VI if he didn't escape, Catherine was executed by a firing squad made up of Ustinov's Cossacks. Ivan VI then proclaimed himself the Tsar of Russia and began to continue with her reforms, only he kept his promise of the emancipation of the serfs and did indeed issued an ukase, ordering their release from serfdom. The nobles were outraged at their sudden loss of their property and swore vengeance towards the new Tsar, but Ivan VI would have none of it. He retaliated by stripping nobles of their priviledges and rights and had them exiled to Alaska, from which they would start a new life. The new Tsar also reformed the military and the economy and improved on the country's defenses. In addition, he invited the Zunghar, Mongol, Manchu and other Asiatic princes to study in St. Petersburg's schools, so they can disseminate their newly acquired knowledge back into their populace in their homelands.
Russian Domestic Front:
Ivan VI's reforms were a continuation of Catherine the Great's reforms, only his version took a rather peculiar method. First and foremost, Ivan VI made sure that there should be more schools constructed in every village. Second, the Russian economy can only grow back into pre-4YW levels by encouraging trade between Sweden-Prussia and Great Britain, with trade deals signed between those nations. A similar trade deal was made between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, with the new port of Azov served as the hub of the Black Sea trade. Moreover, Sweden-Prussia was eager to sell some of its territories in order to alleviate its own fiscal problems, which persisted even after the 4YW had ended. Unfortunately, Russia wasn't still prosperous enough to purchase more of its Swedish territories, and its Prussian partner wasn't willing to allow the Russian bear to intrude into its territory.
Unfortunately, Ivan VI's enthustiastic reforms were negated by his rather paranoid nature as he perceived some of his trusted advisors as his 'enemies', but it was only through Andrei Ustinov that Ivan's sanity was weathered. No one knows what would happen if Ivan VI had gone through his psychotic episodes without his Cossack friend. Despite that, Bolormaa's love had preserved Ivan's personality and prevented him from going down the same dark episode his ancestor of the same name (Ivan the Terrible) had gone through. His reforms on the military, especially the Russian Navy, had a profound effect on the merchant fleet as more shipyards were constructed throughout the Pacific coast. Okhotsk, Pusan/Novoprimorye and Ustinovsk(OTL Vladivostok) were declared as the new Pacific hub of trade and commerce. Moreover, a Russian trade delegation under Mikhail Vasiliev arrived in Tokugawa Japan and negotiated a trade deal with the Shogunate. However, the plan fell through because of Japan's isolationist policies.
In Britain's North American colonies, tensions began to brew with the colonists and the British crown over taxes. A rebellion could have been in the works, but Great Britain under George III decided to send one of his representatives to the colonies and to persuade (maybe bribe) one of the revolutionaries with nobility status. Benjamin Franklin hesitated to accept the bribe, but Thomas Jefferson had serious doubts about the deal. The deal fell apart as George Washington had began to view Ben Franklin with suspicion in the aftermath of the bribe offered by the British representative. In the end, the revolutionary movement for independence was compromised as New England swore not to get involved. A rump state existed in the center part of the Eastern Starboard, ruled by George Washington's United States government.
Back in Europe however, the example set by Russia's Ivan VI in alleviating the poverty suffered by the peasantry was viewed with caution by other nations as France and Spain were uneasy with the recent Russian reforms. The latter was also hostile towards a Russian expansion into the South Pacific, where the Spanish East Indies is located. The upheavals in Europe, dubbed as the 1790 Revolution, would forever change European history and even have a side effect on its colonies overseas.
1790 Revolution:
The catalyst for the 1790 Revolution was mainly the peasantry's demands for change. All over Europe, the general populace were eager to emulate the reforms taking place in Russia under Ivan VI, though they wanted to take it a bit farther and abolish the monarchy itself once and for all. Unfortunately, the reactionary monarchies across Europe responded by putting down these rebellions, often with great bloodshed. It would take ten years until a dynamic figure would shake the foundations of Europe to its core. Here are the nations which are experiencing rebellions:
- Spain: Peasant poverty in Spain along with the increasing financial burden placed on the Spanish monarchy from the colonies didn't alleviate the peasant's lives. In fact, Spanish neglect of certain colonies resulted in a series of corruption incidents, most notably in the Spanish East Indies. Back in Spain itself, King Philip VIII ordered his troops to fire on rioting peasants in Madrid and Barcelona. The suppression only added fuel to the fire.
- France: A similar scenario occured in France, only radical politicians sought to overthrow the monarchy itself and establish a republic. The French Army however, would find itself fighting amongst themselves as the majority of the soldiers were peasants themselves while a few soldiers supported the monarchy. Anarchy threatened to break out in the cities unless there was a political figure powerful enough to rally the disenchanted populace.
- Holy Roman Empire: The Habsburg realm was eager to suppress any revolt occured in any German principalities, and sectarian violence broke out in the cities of Vienna, Prague and Munich as Catholics and Protestants were once again at each other's throats.
- Italian states: Pope Pius VI had initally condemned the disobedience of the European populace and supported the monarchy, before he was forced to change his support, mainly because the monarchs of Europe had resorted to draconian methods of brutal suppression.
- Ottoman Empire: The Ottomans were faced with a possibility of a Christian revolt in the Balkans. After ten years of revolutions in Europe, there would be a first major uprising. The First Serbian Uprising of 1803 would result in a short lived war of independence, but another revolt in Greece would hasten the end of Ottoman control of the Christian Balkans.
The major focus of the Revolution itself would surprisingly be in the Ottoman Empire as Sultan Suleiman II was overthrown by rebellious Janissaries. Those same Janissaries would argue amongst themselves as to who should take the reins of power. The rest of the European powers viewed the cup with alarm as they might be next to fall under the same deadly influence that have wracked the Ottoman Empire. Problems escalated a bit further when Spain and the Habsburg kingdom threated the Ottomans with war if they didn't put the Sultan back on the throne, despite the two Christian kingdoms' disdain for the Muslim Sultanate, but a radical shift in the Ottoman Empire would have resulted in the revolution spreading throughout Europe.
Spain declared war on the Ottomans in 1792, followed by the HRE. Spanish troops landed in the Ottoman city of Salonika ion June 13, 1792 and captured the city as the Habsburgs entered Ottoman territory and besieged Sarajevo and Mostar a day later. One month lanter, Polish-Hungarian troops besieged Belgrade as the Polish cavalry would display their prowess once again, but the Ottomans were familiar with the Polish tactics, having seen them in the Battle of Varna. In the siege of Istanbul, a young officer by the name of Mustafa Murat Islahatci had began to contribute to the city's defenses by placing artillery along the coasts, in order to deter any hostile navy fleet from landing troops into the city. Mustafa's rise to military prominence began precisely with the defense of Istanbul and would eventually grow with the ranks of the Ottoman Jannisaries before coming to power himself.
Within the Ottoman Empire, the short lived Ottoman Republic collapsed in the aftermath of yet another Janissary coup. Mustafa Murat Islahatci declared himself the sultan and began to undertake a serious attempt at reforming the empire, primarily to prevent it from declining. First and foremost, he abolished the Jannisaries in 1804, which had degnerated to a corrupt army group and created the first modern Ottoman Army with the
Nizam-i-Cedid. All males from 18-45 would serve in this new Ottoman Army, and modern weapons would be manufactured. Mustafa also made peace with the Russian Empire and met Ivan VI at Tsaritsyn, where they signed a new trade deal and a series of military reforms intending to improve their respective militaries. Mustafa also enacted more reforms at home, lowering the taxes imposed on Christians and Jews who attend their service in order to gain their support. Finally, Mustafa collected a series of laws and civil codes from all over the Ottoman Empire and created the Islahatci Code, where the ideas of liberty would be enshrined, though it can also be reduced to a rubber stamp at any time.
In Spain however, there was another man who would have a similar life to Islahatci. Miguel Alvar y Allende had also risen to prominence in the Spanish offensive in Istanbul. Little did he knew, Istanbul would be the very same place where Alvar and Islahatci would battle with their armies before proceeding towards Russia. Unlike Islahatci, Alvar was a loyal servant of the Spanish king and didn't have any ambitions at all, other than to simply be a competent military officer.
Alvar-Islahatci Wars (OTL Counterpart: Napoleonic Wars):
Mustafa Islahatci had declared himself Sultan in 1804 and prepared an expedition to march into Persia. Spain with Alvar on the other hand, prepared another expedition from which they would join with the French Navy and invade Great Britain. The naval Battle of Liverpool resulted in a British victory, as displayed by their naval prowess. Alvar would never challenge the British again, but King Philip VII rewarded Alvar with a Marshal status. Spain turned its attention to building a new Latin Bloc with Spain itself as the leader, France, Italy, Portugal and Poland-Hungary.
Latin Bloc vs Ottoman Empire:
The Latin bloc launched its first campaign against the Ottoman Empire by besieging Istanbul back in February 1792. Elsewhere, the Latin Bloc had already taken the city of Salonika and attempted to recreate the Latin Patriarchate, only to have the Ottomans drive them away a few months later. Islahatci's forces relieved the Istanbul garrison through the use of the Ottoman Navy and also defeated an invading Polish-Hungarian Army in Belgrade in 1795. Up in Central Europe in the same year, Sweden-Prussia invaded the Holy Roman Empire and abolished the said empire, replacing it with the two German confederations: the Northern Confederation under the Hohenzollerns based in Koenigsberg and Stockholm and the Southern Confederation under the Habsburgs based in Vienna.
Islahatci earned the command of the Ottoman Army in 1799 poised to take Salonika from the Spaniards. His army advanced into the port city while the Ottoman Navy engaged the Spanish warships just off the Greek coast. The Ottoman advance guard caught up with the Spanish Army division in the morning at 0900 hrs. The walled port city was well defended, the Spanish defenders were prepared and the Polish-Hungarian army groups are there to help their Spanish colleagues. Latin guns pounded the beaches where the Ottomans landed their troops while the Spanish defenders took potshots at the advancing Janissary forces. Inside Salonika, Alvar watched his army put up a strong resistance against the arriving Ottoman artillery while Islahatci ordered the Ottoman Mamelukes to advance into the outskirts of the city where they can raid the supply routes that fed the port city. The Greeks who were caught up in the crossfire waited until both sides were exhausted, so they could take on both hostile armies while fighting for their long awaited independence. At 1500 hrs, the Ottomans spotted a weak link in the city's defenses and Islahatci ordered the rest of the Janissaries and Mamelukes to advance into the weak spot, but were met with fierce cannon fire from the city's north side. Alvar on the other hand, got in touch with the Spanish admiral leading the naval portion of the expedition, Admiral Simeon Alcazar and gave him the order to destroy the entire Ottoman fleet. Islahatci responded by ordering the cannons to fire at the warships instead. The tactic failed as the Spanish warships were out of the range of Ottoman cannons. However, Alvar's garrison began to suffer from hunger while the Mamelukes continue to capture the supplies heading towards the city. Soon after, merchants refused to travel to the port city lest they'd take the risk of losing their goods to the Ottoman Army. Once the Spanish garrison began to weaken, the Ottoman Army advanced with Islahatci giving orders for the Ottoman Sipahis to lead the charge. Spanish cavalry tried to counterattack, but the Janissaries retaliated by firing back at the weakened cavalry. After a few hours of close combat, Alvar ordered the remnants of the Spanish army to break out of the port city and to join the Spanish Navy in retreating from the city. In the aftermath of the siege, the Ottomans were greeted with utter silence, though Salonika's Muslim population greeted them as heroes, having suffered as Spanish forces introduced the Inquisition in the predominantly non-Catholic city for seven years.
Alvar's Spanish armies routed Islahatci's Ottoman armies in Alexandria, Jerusalem and in Damascus before advancing deeper into Ottoman Anatolia on June 30, 1804. For five years, the Spanish army would enter a guerrilla war with the mainly Muslim guerrillas in their jihad to expel the Spanish infidels. Mustafa Murat Islahatci once commented that Spain was once a great Islamic emirate before the Reconquista, but it had turned away from the faith. Perhaps the Spaniards should be reintegrated into the Dar-al-Islam if he conquered the lynchpin of the Latin Bloc.
The Spaniards on the other hand, made a fatal mistake when they captured the fortresses in northern Italy. The mistake coincided with the Ottoman victory in the Ottoman province of Azerbaijan, resulting in a drop of morale in the Spanish army. The Poles and Hungarians urged the Spaniards to drop their campaign in Anatolia so they could invade Russia and capture Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Spaniards only withdrew after sustaining huge casualties while battling local Anatolian militia and a token Persian army group which threatened to invade the Ottoman Empire in order to eject the Spanish army. The Northern Confederation amassed their armies at the Polish border in response to the Spanish defeat in Anatolia. The Ottomans ejected the last Spanish forces on September 18, 1808.
Battle Order:
- Ottoman Empire: 200,000 men (100,000 regular infantry, 2,000 Sipashi cavalry formation, 8,000 Mamelukes, 90,000 Janissaries), 200 cannons.
- Latin Bloc: 400,000 men (Spanish)
Latin Bloc vs Russian Empire:
The Latin bloc forces amassed their troops inside the Polish border with the Russian Empire. Poland-Hungary and Spain knew that if Russia were to join the war against them, their chances of victory would be impossible. Moreover, the Poles had a score to settle with the Russians, dating from the 1612 Polish-Muscovite Wars and the Hungarians were eager to expand into Orthodox territories.
On June 22, 1810, the Latin Bloc marched into the Russian Empire. Memories of the Polish invasion had aroused the Russian people into resistance against the mainly heretical Catholic invaders as the Russian Army retreated from the battlefield. Ivan VI had recently died of old age and Bolormaa had died a few days after her husband did. Tsar Sartak was crowned the Tsar and ordered the Russian Army to burn everything down after they retreated, in order to deny the invaders any comfort. Smolensk fell to the Latin Bloc on June 30, 1810, with the Russians fighting a delaying battle to prevent the Latin Bloc from reaching St. Petersburg and Novgorod. Sartak I issued an
ukase, starting guerrilla warfare in occupied areas of Russia.
By September 21, 1810, Moscow was captured by the Latin Bloc. Unlike in 1612, the city was deserted, meaning that there was no populace to greet them with joy or hostility. It was clear that the rest of the Russian Army was camped in Kazan and Tsaritsyn, so the French Army would pursue the Russians towards Tsaritsyn while the Poles would chase the Russians towards Kazan. Alvar stayed in the Moscow Kremlin, having found virtually no suitable place to serve as the headquarters. When he realized that there would be no surrender on the part of the Russians, Alvar began to order the Latin Grand Army to pull out of Russia and towards the Polish border. Once again, the Russian guerrillas harrased and depleted the fighting force of the Latin bloc as they retreated while the Russian Army was preparing itself to launch a campaign of its own. In the Pacific, the Russian Pacific Fleet waited as new warships were being built, new soldiers and sailors to train, and new cannons to manufacture.
Cossack units operating behind enemy lines often took part in ambushes against retreating continued to retreat from Russia. The Russian Army retook Moscow on December 6, 1810 with high casualties on both sides, although the Latin bloc's manpower was shortly decreasing. A few weeks later, the Russians retook Kiev, Minsk, Polotsk, Smolensk and other occupied cities taken by the predominantly Spanish army. The first major, bloody battle between the Latin Bloc and the Russian Army took place in the Third Battle of Poltava on March 3, 1811.
The Third Battle of Poltava was anything unlike the first two engagements in the same city where Peter the Great and Charles of Sweden fought to a draw. Unlike the Swedes who didn't underestimate the Russian Army's fighting capability, the Latin Bloc had severely been outnumbered in terms of infantry and artillery. Only in cavalry did they have an advantage, but the Russian Cossacks along with Belarusian and Ukrainian Cossacks proved to be a tough opponent for the Spanish cavalry. Polish cavalry lost their fear factor as the Russian infantry held their positions while Russian cannons bombarded the retreating Latin forces. Alvar ordered the Spanish infantry to advance while Spanish artillery pieces fired at the incoming Russian cavalry. The new Russian commander of the war, Marshal Nikolai Topodov, held the remaining infantry divisions in reserve while the advancing light infantry bore the brunt of the Latin attack, taking in casualties. Alvar noticed that his army was being surrounded by both sides and stubbornly ordered his armies to hold on to the line. It didn't work. The Russian cavalry simply hacked the isolated units into pieces while Russian guns continued to bombard the Latin positions. Topodov then led a cavalry charge and routed the Spanish army from Poltava.
Grand Coalition's First Offensive:
With the Ottoman victory in the Anatolian War, the Russians and Ottomans soon joined up on the sanjak in Ottoman Serbia. Sweden-Prussia joined in the coalition, although there were rumors that the Prussians planned to secede from Sweden. Great Britain also joined the coalition, although they were unable to contribute their army in the fighting as they were needed elsewhere. (mainly fighting the French in North America) The Grand Coalition began to engage the Latin Bloc in the Hungarian ruled city of Zagreb on June 7, 1811. The Latin Bloc won the Battle of Zagreb, but their victory was negated by the Ottoman seizure of Dalmatia. Soon after, the Ottomans captured the rest of the Kingdom of Hungary and left Poland as a weak, buffer state once again. The Northern Confederation also declared war on its Southern counterpart and launched the Siege of Pressburg, with catastrophic results. The Latin Bloc was struggling to defend themselves from the onslaught of the Russo-Ottoman invasion force and Budapest fell to the Ottomans on August 6, 1811. The British Navy blockaded the Latin Bloc's city ports, hemming in the Spanish and French fleets.
The Second Siege of Vienna began on the rainy October 10, 1811 when the Southern Confederation retreated from Silesia after they failed to retake it from the Northern Confederation. The Russians and Ottomans camped out on Vienna's outskirts, waiting for their commanders' orders to start attacking. At 0400 hrs on October 10, the Ottomans and Russians launched an artillery barrage towards the city walls. Mustafa Murat Islahatci ordered his regular army troops to enter the city before Alvar arrived with reinforcements. Unlike the earlier Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683 where time was in favor of the Austrians (the Ottomans ran out of time in launching an attack before Jan Sobieski arrived), Islahatci carefully advanced his artillery formations as they moved closer towards Vienna. Topodov ordered his infantry and artillery division to surround Vienna from the north and to encircle it with another set of barrages. After twelve hours of fighting, neither side was able to capture the high grounds from which they can direct the attack. The next day in the morning of October 11, the Latin bloc deployed their cavalry in an attempt to route the exhausted Russo-Ottoman forces, but Topodov and Islahatci responded by leading the cavalry charges with Cossacks, Sipahis, Mamelukes, Kalmyks and other Asiatic cavalry formation leading the way. It proved to be the largest cavalry charge of the Alvar-Islahatci Wars, but not as large as the Austro-Polish charge from the 1683 wars. The Russo-Ottomans dented the Latin cavalry charge, but Russian artillery pounded the remaining unbroken Spanish and Habsburg infantry groups into submission. Topodov then began to direct the remaining Cossacks into the isolated Habsburg infantry division and hacked them down, but they also suffered serious casualties as Spanish artillery continued to destroy some Cossack formations. After Vienna fell to the Russo-Ottoman armies, the crescent flag was hoisted on top of Vienna's citadel, symbolizing the Ottomans' redemption for their failures to take the city twice.
In the aftermath of the fall of Vienna, King Philip VII sacked Alvar for his failure to hold on to Vienna and had him posted in the Spanish East Indies, where curiously enough, he would eventually failed in the defense of Manila, resulting in his arrest. As for Islahatci the Sultan, he pulled out of the war as the Janissaries began to revolt at their sudden loss of priviledge. The Janissaries continued to rebel against Islahatci for a few months, similar to Ustinov's Rebellion, but the Janissaries would eventually emerge triumphant.
The final battle in the European continent would eventually be decided in the Battle of Ghent (OTL Counterpart: Battle of Waterloo, but two parts).
Battle of Ghent, November 27, 1811:
The initial attack began on 0300 hrs when six British infantry divisions advanced into the outskirts of Ghent. Spanish and French guns bombarded the British position while the Russian Army groups waited until their British colleagues had arrived at their destination. The Swedish division was spotted at 1300 hrs, forcing the Latin Bloc to scramble for three infantry divisions to delay the Swedes long enough to deal enough damage to the Russians. A Russian advance group was destroyed by the Latin artillery barrage. Alvarez commits the infantry group to engage the British infantry division holding the strong point outside Ghent. A Spanish infantry division marches towards the Russians' left flank while an army group from the East is fast arriving. The British send their other infantry division to hold on to the hill overlooking Ghent. Just as the second hill is about to fall into the hands of the Spanish army division, Russian infantry marched into the same hill and held it, but one of the generals leading the charge was killed.
A British cavalry division charged into the Spanish and French cavalry lancers, but the assault was repulsed. The Russiand tried to do the same thing, and they too, were repulsed. The Russian and British infantry divisions tried to hold on to the first hill, but they don't have enough cavalry divisions to mount a counterattack. Topodov ordered the Russian divisions to wait until the Latin cavalry would come again. By the time the Spanish army had continued its assault on the Russian position, news of the Swedish position had reached Alvarez, who committed his last reserves into the battle. Alvarez had also committed the last cavalry division into the fray as he believed the British were retreating. Suddenly, the Latin Bloc is only a few miles away from Ghent. The British and Russians waited until Alvarez's last infantry divison came within reach of Britsh musket fire. British General Dashwood ordered his own cavalry division to charge into the Spanish elite guard, forcing them to retreat. The Russian cavalry soon followed as the Latin Bloc armies were routed. The costs of the battle were high for both sides. The British and Russians, with 82,000 and 300,000 men, lost around 40% and 45% respectively. The Latin Bloc lost around 70% of their infantry (Spain lost around 40%, France lost around 20% and the Habsburgs, 10%)
Russian Invasion of Spanish East Indies and the Collapse of Spanish Colonial Power:
Miguel Alvar began to reform the Spanish defenses in the Spanish East Indies while the Spanish colonial authorities there were busy putting down sporadic rebellions in the Mindanao region. On December 25, 1811, the Spanish colonial authorities received a warning from Madrid of a possible Russian offensive in the Pacific, but didn't know which colony would they capture. The Russians and British had recently won the Battle of Ghent and the Russian fleet set sail from Novoprimorye on January 31, 1812.
There was no peace treaty drafted yet as the Alvar-Islahatci War had turned in a new direction, with conflicts now taking place in the colonies overseas. France, the nation that has to lose the most out of this conflict, withdrew from the Latin Bloc and began to marshal its forces for the right moment. It appeared that an alliance with the rest of the Latin Bloc nations would have a devastating effect on French prestige. Therefore, France under the Bourbon King Henry IV planned to turn against his former Latin allies when they're weakened.
Spain on the other hand, could only make do with the Spanish garrison in the Spanish East Indies since the bulk of its army had to be maintained in the other colonies, and in the homeland where a possible Russian or Ottoman invasion might happen. The Spanish army's new recruits were not completely well trained yet, and there were few men who could make good cavalry soldiers due to the losses of experienced cavalry officers.
Great Britain had serious doubts about its long standing alliance with the Russian and Swedish-Prussian behemoths as it viewed them as a nuisance in the way of possible British prominence. With New England safely secured and a rump United States on its southern border, the rest of the North American continent was ripe for picking. The only problem though, is that France was no longer allied with Spain, and therefore it's impossible for the British to seize New France from a 'neutral' nation. Yet British leaders understood the necessity of France's stance on the world stage if they were to surpass their French adversaries.
The conflict in the colonies proved to be the continuation of the Four Year Wars, but it lasted longer than four years. Six years to be exact as certain colonies changed hands a couple of times.
First Phase (February 4, 1812):
The Russian Army landed on the coast of Cavite province, south of the capital Manila. The Russian expeditionary force consisted of mostly the Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky, Izmailovsky and Egersky Regiments, which numbered around 100,000 per regiment, an assorted Asiatic regiment consisted of Zunghars, Oirats, Mongols, Manchus, Koreans and Ainu recruited by Russian explorers long before the Alvar-Islahatci War broke out, the Don, Kuban, Ussuri, and Volga Cossacks and Tatar regiments. The Russians besieged Fort Cavite with their warships providing the bombardment from the sea. Moreover, another Russian force had landed north of Manila and captured key fortresses there, from which they can use those forts as bases for the siege of Manila. On the Spanish side were remnants of the Spanish garrison and conscripted Filipino auxilliary forces fighting hard to defend the islands. The defenders managed to repel a Russian attack on Malolos, but news of the worsening situation in Cavite had forced the depleted defenders to pull out of Malolos, resulting in its capture by the Russian Army. Back in Cavite, the Russian cannons made quick work of the Spanish fortifications and stormed the citadel, where they were met with fierce resistance. The two sides fought each other close up for two days, but the Russian reinforcements kept on pouring into the fort.
Second Phase (February 6, 1812):
With Cavite and Malolos safely in Russian control, Nikolai Topodov was ordered by Tsar Sartak I to meet up with rebels under Diego Apayao in the province of Nueva Ecija. The Russians promised to aid the rebels in their war against Spain, but in return they would have to pledge their loyalty to the Tsarist throne. Apayao had doubts about changing allegiances to a different king, but he had no choice in the matter. Nationalism hasn't taken root in Europe yet, and there were no liberal ideas to flourish. To sweeten the deal, Topodov promised the Filipino rebels that they would be treated as subjects of the Russian Empire. The presence of the Asiatic soldiers in Russian service had influenced Apayao's decision to pledge his loyalty to the Tsar. Moreover, he and his followers were to be converted into the Orthodox faith only after the war was over.
Another Russian army group in Cavite under General Roman Kravchyuk was ordered to descend into the islands of Samar and Leyte, from which they can enter the island of Mindanao. Unlike Topodov who brought Asiatic soldiers with him to secure the support of the rebels in Luzon island, Kravchyuk brought along soldiers from the Muslim regions of the Russian Empire, mainly Tatars and Bashkirs. His journey into Mindanao was a very interesting experience as the Mindanao peoples were fiercely resisting the Spanish attempts to colonize them. Kravchyuk proposed to Mindanao's Sultan Kudarat VI an alliance through the marriage between the crown prince Ibrahim and a Tatar princess in order to cement Russian rule in the area. Moreover, the Russians have experience dealing with Muslim subjects in the Empire.
In Manila, the Spanish army under Alvar hunkered down for the inevitable siege against the Russian forces traveling around the islands. On the afternoon of February 6, Topodov's troops began to besiege the walled city. Russian cannons began to pound away at the walled fortress as infantry divisions advanced into the gates. A Spanish infantry division under Diego Morales y Vargas engaged the advancing Russian infantry division while Russian Cossacks stormed the walls and attempted to climb into the top. Spanish artillery bombarded the besieging Russian army, which took mild casualties from the bombardment. Apayao's rebels cut off supplies coming to Manila and diverted it to the Russian occupied Fort Cavite.
In the south, the Russian fleet supported Kravchyuk's offensive in Cebu and Leyte as their Muslim Mindanao allies participated in the conflict. Kravchyuk and the Mindanao contigent descended upon the Catholic Church in Cebu, tore down Magellan's cross and burned it, symbolizing the end of Spanish rule in the Spanish East Indies. The Kuban Cossacks expelled the Spanish colonists from Cebu while the Mindanao contingent took their opportunity to take revenge on their Spanish adversary by converting some colonists into Islam. Kravchyuk continued to capture town after town in central and southern Islas Filipinas until Topodov ordered Kravchyuk to join him in the final offensive in Manila.
Third Phase (February 9-12, 1812):
Another three days had come by and both sides were beginning to show signs of exhaustion. Topodov wrote letters to Sartak I for reinforcements, but the Tsar replied back by saying that Russian reinforcements are needed for an invasion of Spain itself if the Spanish army won't surrender in the Philippines. Recently, Sartak had married the daughter of the Korean king, as dictated in the secret deal the Koreans made with Ustinov's group before his rebellion after Ivan VI would marry the Mongol Khan Gansuh Borte's daughter. Lady Min of Anyang had also given birth to Tsarevitch Ivan VII and would continue to bear children to Sartak. Sartak relented and offered to send more reinforcements from Siberia (mainly Siberian regiments and Manchu cavalry formations), which Topodov accepted.
On February 11, 1812, reinforcements arrived from Novoprimorye, strengthening Topodov's army besieging Manila. The Spanish defenders were faced with shortages of food, ammunition and weapons. Earlier on, Filipino artillerymen mutinied against their officers at the lack of decent treatment as their Spanish colleagues openly assigned them to finish dangerous tasks, knowing that they wouldn't come back alive. When Topodov saw Alvar's cavalry charge out of the fortress, presumably trying to break out of the encirclement, he himself began to lead a cavalry charge towards the Spanish cavalry formation with the Don Cossacks behind him. Alvar and Topodov met face to face and began to duel each other while Russian infantry divisions retreated to their previous position north of Manila. Suddenly, Topodov ordered his army to retreat from Manila. Alvar, thinking that Topodov has lost the battle, ordered his army to pursue Topodov's forces. The two forces then arrived at Fort Malolos as the Spanish artillery began to bombard the captured fortress. The Russians responded by securing both flanks on either side of the fortress. To prevent further carnage and deaths, Alvar offered an armistice. Topodov was in no mood to spare his army or his life for that matter, having seen him lead his armies in the invasion of Russia. The next day, Apayao's rebels ambushed the retreating Spanish Army, scoring a minor victory as Alvar's army continued to decline.
Alvar realized that he couldn't win in a conventional engagement against the Russian Army, so he ordered his forces to scatter into the jungle and to begin guerrilla warfare. Having been familiar with Russian resistance methods, Alvar hoped to apply the Russians' own guerrilla tactics against them in a desperate attempt to hold on to the Spanish East Indies. However, the presence of Apayao's rebels had dispelled any hopes for Alvar's fortunes as he was forced to surrender at the town of Vigan. Todorov accepted his surrender and laid down his ceremonial weapon at Todorov's table. News of the Spanish revolt at home forced Alvar to return to Spain, where he was arrested for failing to hold on to the islands. Alvar suspected that the charges laid against him were trumped up, as some Spanish generals didn't like him at all. Most of the Spanish generals were from the Peninsula, but Alvar was born in the Viceroy of New Spain, which in the Peninsulares' eyes, a questionable man.
End of Hostilities:
In the Treaty of Istanbul signed on March 19, 1812, Spain ceded the Spanish East Indies to Russia and it had to pay the Ottoman Empire 52,000,000 Mexican silver dollars as compensation. This was the first peace treaty of the entire conflict, but certainly not the last one as the North American conflict broke out between Britain and France. Spain, which lost its Asian colony, was only more determined to hold on to its North American colonies. Russia was satisfied at its new colony, had began to promote the newly renamed Russian East Indies, or the Grand Duchy of Beringia, for settlement. Spanish colonists fled from the islands as Russian settlers, Cossacks, and other minorities flocked to the new colony. In St. Petersburg, Sartak was optimistic about further gains from the already weakened Spanish Empire as he had his sights on the West Coast of North America that was still under Spanish rule. He also issued an ukase for the Russian Orthodox Church to start proselytizing the Catholic Filipinos to convert. To make the conversion easier, the Orthodox priests offered to educate the children and in return, Russia would begin to invest more in its new colony. The conversion process resembled the enlightened version of the Ottoman Devsirme, with Catholic children kidnapped from their parents. Only in Mindanao does this practice declared forbidden towards Muslim children. The Russians borrowed the Ottoman practice of bringing up children in a different faith in order to increase the amount of educated people needed to run the colony. Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians were chosen for the top posts, and national minorites were excluded from coveted positions, though they were allowed to run secular and religious schools. The practice of bringing up Catholic children and converting them into the Orthodox faith would continue for a long time, although Sartak was not interested in making a Russian version of the Janissaries in the Grand Duchy of Beringia, having learned about the abolition of the Janissaries by Islahatci.
War in North America:
Alaska was beginning to become profitable when furs were discovered in its territory. Sartak I and his top generals prepared a secret plan to expand the Alaskan frontier in case the war continued into North America. Russian Alaska was dangerously close to Spanish controlled New Spain and French Louisiana, and perfect for Spanish occupation in case the Russians were defeated. Moreover, the Spanish would compensate for the loss of Islas Filipinas with Russian Alaskan territory should they win. Unknown to both Russia and Spain, France was contemplating on switching sides. The French were frustrated at the lack of gains they received while fighting with the Latin Bloc. Moreover, on April 10, 1812 the Latin Bloc was formally dissolved, freeing the French and Habsburg controlled South German Confederation from the priorities dictated by Spain.
In the end, France would eventually turn against Spain by planning to seize some of its territories and increase its prestige overseas, making it a suitable rival for the expanding Russian Empire. The incident resulted in France's betrayal occured when the French Army under King Henry IV invaded northern Spain and seized its northern frontier on May 18, 1812. The Spanish king, Alfonso V, reacted by expelling several French diplomats staying in Madrid. The Habsburgs stayed neutral in the conflict, but Great Britain surprisingly sided with the Spaniards. The British were anxious to prevent the French from becoming as powerful as Russia in the aftermath of the Russian conquest of the ex-Spanish East Indies.
Elsewhere, the Ottoman Empire continued to face its internal revolt from the Janissaries, forcing Islahatci to use his modern Ottoman army to battle against the old Janissaries. A Janissary figure by the name of Abdullah Emet led his Janissary army into Egypt and seized Cairo. Major powers like Britain, France, Spain and both German Confederations eyed the region as a potential colony in the event that the Janissary revolt proved to be more dangerous than they feared.
French North American Campaigns in 1812:
The French generals began to plan for the seizure of Spanish territories on the Pacific, from which they can link up with the Russians and drive a wedge between Russian and Spanish America. Several forts were improved in New France, mainly in Montreal and Quebec. The French also collaborated with the Russians on their invasion plans, forcing the Spanish to collaborate with Britain on theirs.
The Battle of the Wilderness of 1812 happened on May 27, when the British had successfully trapped the French Army on an old Indian hunting ground, but the trap has been set prematurely as some Indian tribes forewarned the French about it. The result was a chaotic massacre on the French side as the British Army was also able to capture several key positions from which they can launch the siege of Montreal.
Soon after, the French-aligned Indian tribes raided the British settlements in New England, starting on May 31. The New England Raid would last for four years, until the war in North America has ended. From New England, the Indian tribes would slaughter the New England settlers residing on the border. The British Army responded by burning down Indian villages and slaughtering its inhabitants. Their tactics would only prod the Indian tribes to escalate their raids into New England territory. The neutral United States on the other hand, authorized any army group to fire on any foreign soldier trespassing across its borders.
General Dashwood's campaigns in North America was marked by British vulnerability to French blockade as New England was frantically fortified. The French under Count Montpellier (OTL version: General Michel Ney) received enough troops to defeat the British Army in North America, but most of the troops he received were of poor quality, as the battle hardened veterans were needed back in Europe to defend their acquired territory from Spain. French King Henry IV had purposely sent the poorly trained troops to Montpellier as punishment for his insubordination when he ordered his army to retreat from an advancing Russian division in Poltava back in 1811. Yet the French count placed his efforts to train his new army seriously, even forcing them to march for two straight days and constantly drilled them until they were exhausted. There were a few minor incidents in which several soldiers mutinied against Montpellier, but he responded by having the mutineers whipped and shot. He wasn't going to tolerate dissent if his army were to be in better shape. While the French Army was retraining its soldiers, the British took this opportunity to help the British East Indian Company in its current campaign against the Indian princely states. Dashwood had also received poorly trained soldiers as reinforcements, but for a different reason. British King Richard III had been worried about the Russian expansion into SE Asia and reinforced its Australian garrison, fearing a potential Russian invasion from the new Grand Duchy of Beringia. As a result, Dashwood had placed his efforts on training his new reinforcements, but without the draconian, Spartan methods his French counterpart utilized.
Spanish-Russian War in North America:
The British-French frozen conflict lasted for a year as both sides needed to train and arm their armies. Within that time period, the Spanish Army in New Spain had besieged the Russian trading post of Fort Ross on July 27, 1812. Weather conditions were horrible for any landing attempt from Spanish naval bases in New Spain. However, the conditions improved as the Spanish were able to advance with their artillery pieces. Unlike the earlier conflicts against Russia, Spain was without Alvar as he was imprisoned in Spain for insubordination. As a result, the Spanish Army couldn't find a replacement for Alvar. A Spanish cavalry division had closed off the road leading from Fort Ross, but the Russians had their warships out in the sea. Both Russian and Spanish fleets engaged each other off the coast of modern day California as their army colleagues battled for the control of Fort Ross.
A breakthrough happened when the Russian defenders spotted a weak link between two Spanish infantry squares and directed their fire towards them. Spanish and Russian cavalry formations clashed blades on the outskirts of the trading post. Since Topodov and Kravchyuk were both in Beringia, the Russians sent Major General Ruslan Muradimov (OTL Counterpart: Pyotr Bagration) to supervise the Alaskan territorial defenses. He wasn't impressed by the degradation of the fort defenses and had them improved with local and penal labor. A few frontier forts weren't finished upgrading by the time the Spanish Army entered Russian American territory.
Bad weather had slowed the Spanish army's advance into Alaskan territory, allowing Muradimov's army to set up defenses in other frontier forts while using some of the infantry divisions as guerrillas. The infantry guerrillas would harrass the Spanish army when they're at their most vulnerable position and retreated when the Spanish cavalry was called in. The Alaskan Cossacks also participated in raiding Spanish Army outposts and captured much needed supplies, while the Tatar and Kalmyk divisions raided Spanish settlements and captured several hundred settlers from which they can sell them as slaves to the Ottoman markets. The Fort Ross siege continued on for the same amount of time as the frozen conflict between the British and the French forces, though the Spanish were already demoralized by the recent French victories in Europe. However, Alfonso V would not give up on the siege and ordered the Viceroy of New Spain to recruit local volunteers for the Fort Ross siege. Luckily, a group of exiled Filipino Catholics recently expelled from Russian controlled Beringia had volunteered for the offensive, eager to pay the Russians back for their treatment of Catholics in Beringia. Reports of Catholic children kidnapped by Tatar and Russian officers and brought them up as Orthodox Christians had fuelled the Spaniards' desire for revenge on their hated Russian enemy, along with the Orthodox takeover of orphanages. 'Would we become the Russians' Janissaries?' was the question raised among exiled Filipino Catholics as they joined their former masters in the siege. The Russians soon learned of the recent development in New Spain and Sartak I ordered Topodov to recruit the Filipinos (or Beringians) baptized in Orthodoxy as well as Muslim Moros into the Russian Army for the same purpose. The result was extremely tragic when the Orthodox and Catholic peoples of Beringia met each other on the battlefield and began to slaughter each other fiercely. The Russians finally broke the siege on July 29, 1813, when Muradimov's reinforcements had routed a Spanish cavalry division. The Catholic Filipinos (at the time called mestizos) also fought the Russian aligned Muslim Moros just outside Fort Ross with gruesome atrocities on both sides.
British-French Frozen Conflict Defrosted and Resumed (July 29, 1813):
The British Army began to expand its frontier into French Arcadia, where they expelled the Acadians. The French retaliated by burning Yorktown with their warships. Both sides would eventually meet each other in their last three battles, the 1813 Siege of Ticonderoga, the 1813 Siege of Quebec, and the final battle of the North American War, the Battle of Boston.
1813 Sieges of Ticonderoga and Quebec:
The British Army established siege lines along the fort itself. A few days earlier, the French had abandoned their less important forts, allowing the British to occupy them. French guns bombarded the British siege lines as Dashwood was hard pressed with the French cavalry's advance into the British siege lines in order to send the main infantry advance into disorganization and disarray. Dashwood responded by deploying his own cavalry division, which engaged the French cavalry in a delaying action in order to pull out his infantry division into the second siege line.
Montpellier saw his army's progress and was disappointed at the lack of breakthrough on the part of his cavalry troops. He ordered the artillery to redirect their fire towards the British cavalry, but this tactic resulted in the deaths of the French cavalry as a result of friendly fire. At 1300 hrs, one of Montpellier's generals reported to him about another British infantry division arriving from New England. Moreover, the French Army's supplies began to dwindle as supply ships from France took a very long time to travel to its colony. As a result, Montpellier ordered his army to retreat and abandon Fort Ticonderoga and head back towards Montreal. The British advanced into the abandoned fort and hoised the Union Jack on top of the citadel.
The battle itself wasn't over however, as Montpellier ordered the sappers to destroy any infrastructure that aided the British war effort. Wheat fields were burned down, and livestock were slaughtered. the British army on the other hand, were able to reinforce the captured fort and receive additional reinforcements from Great Britain. Dashwood ordered the predominantly Scottish infantry regiment to advance into Montpellier's army retreating towards Montreal. Montpellier also had a mercenary regiment, primarily consisted of Austrians and Croats, in the battle. The mercenary regiment was deployed just outside Ticonderoga, fighting the advancing Scottish infantry. Dashwood joined the fray by leading a cavalry regiment into the outskirts of the fort, but the French forces were too far away to engage. He reluctantly called off the pursuit and began to improve on the captured fort's defenses.
The final phase of the Siege of Ticonderoga actually took place on the Plains of Abraham by August 7, 1813. By then, news of the French victory in Madrid had reached the garrison of New France, which boosted their morale. With Spain's collapse, France was now able to send its battle hardened veterans against the British Army, but the journey was very long. While waiting for additional reinforcements to arrive from France, Montpellier gave out the order for the conscription of the Canadians to join the French Army defending Montreal. As usual, the French count pured his efforts into training the new recruits with the same methods he used on the poorly trained recruits that were received back in 1812.
British artillery guns bombarded the French position at the fortress of Quebec City as their infantry division advanced into the city gates. French Army irregulars began to ambush the British infantry at any given opportunity, allowing the regular French army to direct their bombardment back towards the advancing British forces. Montpellier sent a few infantry and cavalry regiments to raid and possibly retake Fort Ticonderoga, in order to distract the British from advancing deeper into Quebec. The diversion failed, as British regulars easily defeated the advance French force seeking to recapture the fort. However, Dashwood's offensive failed to dislodge the French from their main position in Quebec and ordered the artillery to redirect their fire towards the impregnated position.
Once the bulk of the British army arrived at the city itself, the militia began to open fire on them. On the Atlantic Ocean, the British and French navies engaged each other in a decisive battle. The French fleet were able to defeat the British fleet and resumed their journey into New France. The British on the other hand, were hard pressed with two tasks: defeating the French in North America and helping Spain in its war against both France and Russia. In addition, the British fiscal situation grew more burdensome as the war effort became increasingly difficult to maintain, especially with the French offensives into its former Indian colony in the subcontinent.
Back in Quebec, Dashwood continued his offensive into Quebec when he was fatally shot in the lung by an infantryman. He died by the time the medical corps arrived at the infirmary. Montpellier on the other hand, waited patiently for the reinforcements to arrive from France. He ordered his army to tie the British down in Quebec while British reinforcements would also arrive in New England, with three ships diverted to help the Spanish in New Spain against Russia. The battle would eventually be won by France when a combined Russo-French fleet devastated the British fleet anchored in the North Sea, depriving the British army of any additional reinforcements into the North American continent, other than the nominal reinforcements that have already made their way into the rest of the British North American colonies.
Battle of Boston (1813):
The neutral United States had experienced a British raid on August 13, 1813 when British regulars pursued the French army across the New England border with French North America into the US. US Army soldiers fired warning shots, but the British infantry had killed the frontier soldiers in retaliation. Angered at the sudden interference of the 'European' powers in US territory, the United States threatened to declare war on Britain if it didn't apologize for its actions. The British government dismissed those threats as nothing more than an empty threat on the part of disobedient rebels. Enraged by their comment, the US began to mobilize their military by recruiting and training soldiers while France continued to raid New Englander settlements.
The French Army had already began to advance into New England territory, taking the states of Vermont and Maine, and were well within reach of the major city of Boston. In Washigton, President Jackson Marshall had authorized the formation of state militias in case a foreign army had trespassed into US territory. Republican legislators advocated annexing New England after the war, but some Democrats were in favor of expanding into French controlled territory and even possibly into Spanish territory. Marshall calmed the two sides down and instead he compromised on the end result of the war, should the US join on France's side, and in addition, to avenge their humiliation when Britain had denied them the chance to become independent with the original Thirteen Colonies intact.
At midnight on August 13, 1813, Montpellier ordered the French cavalry to raid the British Army encampment on the outskirts of Boston. Just on the Atlantic Ocean overlooking Boston Harbor, the French warships waited for their orders to commence bombardment towards the major city. Dashwood was inside Boston, supervising the defense of the city when he received the news of a possible American entry into the war. This time, the British general responded decisively by ordering the New York garrison to move towards the US border while he would wait for the French forces to enter New England and begin their attack on Boston.
At 0430 hrs, the French Army began to besiege Boston from the north, as Dashwood had predicted. Six British infantry and two British artillery divisions were deployed to blunt the French siege. Montpellier responded by giving the order for the French fleet to begin the bombardment from the sea. Six frigates and eight corvettes began to pound away at the harbor, destroying at least two British naval ships anchored there. The bombardment would last as long as eight hours.
In the midst of the French bombardment of Boston harbor, tensions rose between the British and American governments as President Marshall became more concerned about reports of British army movements closer to the border. At the last minute, he authorized the US Army to resist the British by whatever means necessary. At 1030 hrs, the USA declared war on Great Britain and began to engage the British Army on the New England-US border. However, there were several problems facing the partially trained US Army. First and foremost, the British Army were battle hardened veterans of several wars in the North American continent and in Europe. Second, the US Army hasn't gotten involved in any wars since the failed American Revolutionary War. Third, the US navy wasn't large enough to engage the British fleet anchored in Boston. Luckily, France was heavily engaged in the siege of Boston.
After the eight hour bombardment on Boston harbor, the British and French armies clashed at Breeds Hill and Bunker Hill. There, Montpellier ordered the artillery guns to position itself on the hills overlooking the low ground where the British infantry division was beginning to take numerous casualties. Dashwood responded by ordering his Scottish regiment to charge towards the hills and capture the French positions. The presence of the Scottish infantry had scared the French artillerymen, but they kept their ground until the artillerymen were killed and the cannons captured. Just as the first hill was captured by Dashwood's Scottish infantry division, Montpellier's Austro-Croat infantry divison advanced to retake the hill. The result was a bloody carnage with both sides taking massive casualties, although the Scottish infantry met its match in the predominantly Croatian infantrymen who never retreated when the Scots charged. At 1230 hrs, the French had secured Breeds Hill and Bunker Hill as the British were routed.
One hour later, three American infantry divisions entered New England territory as they engaged the British Army occupying New York City. American General Harrison Biggs (OTL Counterpart: General Winfried Scott) began to bombard New York with the available artillery pieces the US Army has. Unfortunately, the British had encircled the US Army and decimated Biggs's infantry divisions. Yet Biggs wasn't giving up easily as he forced the remnants of his army to break through the British encirclement with his cavalry reserves. In addition, the New York militia mutinied as soon as news of American infantrymen were sighted on the border. Biggs's army was strengthened by the addition of the New York militia, along with several captured artillery pieces. The mutiny was primarily caused by the New Englanders' frustration with increased taxes and anger over several key revolutionary figures of the ARW betraying the movement. With the additional troops under his command, Biggs began to enter New York and fought a few more British infantry divisions inside the city.
1400 hrs: The French army continued with its bombardment by the time Montpellier's troops entered Boston. Dashwood's Scottish infantry promptly marched back into Boston and engaged Montpellier's infantrymen in a gruesome battle, street to street. Outside Boston Harbor, British Loyalists began to trek towards the ships that would take them either on a return trip to Great Britain or another British colony overseas. Most of the Loyalists chose to emigrate to Britain's colony in Australia.
1700 hrs: Three Boston neighborhoods fell to French control with Montpellier's troops advancing deeper into the heart of the city. Dashwood ordered the remnants of the Boston militia to engage the French army, but a few militiamen mutinied. Suddenly, a stray musket fire struck Dashwood in the chest. He fell from his horse and was picked up by one of his infantrymen and carried off into the medical tent, where he was pronounced dead at 1715 hrs. Montpellier on the other hand, continued to lead his cavalrymen into the town square when a cannonball struck his horse. Montpellier managed to get off his horse, but another cannonball struck him in the shoulder. Unlike Dashwood, Montpellier was killed instantly by a British artillery barrage. With both commanders dead, the British and French armies began to lessen their hostilities and each side began to negotiate a cease fire. The terms of the ceasefire was about to be signed by both sides when news of the other New England territories fell to the US Army. Faced with a hostile but small US army and a larger French Army, the British surrendered.
Treaty of Havana (1813):
Under the terms of the Treaty of Havana, Britain had to cede New England to the US and pay France an indemnity of 1,600,000 pound sterling. Moreover, the British fleet wasn't allowed to roam the Atlantic Ocean for a minimum of twenty years. Twenty years would be enough for France, USA and Spain to consolidate their gains. The treaty was satisfied for both sides, as Britain was now able to redirect its energies to colonizing Australia and southern Africa. The USA on the other hand, was poised to expand into the west, but the population at that time was only 15,000,000 people. To make things worse, France, Spain and Russia weren't going to allow an upstart like the US to become powerful in a long time.
So thus ends the conflict in North America, but in Europe, Islahatci was facing a Janissary Rebellion. This will be covered in the next chapter, as well as the start of Colonial Grand Duchy of Beringia. Tsar Sartak had also awarded the victorious Nikolai Topodov the role of Namestvo(Governor General) of the Grand Duchy of Beringia.