The Nation, The Law, The King

This is a new TL that I am starting up; the main focus is the Kingdom of France through the 18th and 19th centuries. There will also be updates about other countries throughout the world, though the main focus is the rise and survival of a royalist France. By the way, the name of this TL comes from the motto of the Kingdom of the French (a constitutional Bourbon regime in France that lasted one year before it became a republic). The motto is "La Nation, La Loi, Le Roi", which becomes The Nation, The Law, The King.

The Six Years' War: 1756-1762

Prussia in the Six Years' War


In 1756, the Six Years' War began. Many historians referred to the Six Years' War as the first world war, for there was fighting throughout the entire world. In Europe, the rising nation of Prussia and the growing empire of Great Britain formed an alliance in the face of French and Austrian aggression against Prussia. In response to this, on the 29th of August, 1756, Frederick II, King of Prussia, invaded the German state of Saxony. The goal of the brave king was to take Saxony and use the Saxons to contribute to the war effort against Austria. After splitting his army to guard against Austrian and Russian invasions, King Frederick took his army with him to Saxony and decisively defeated the surprised Austrians and Saxons. By November, Saxony was occupied by Prussian troops, and Frederick quickly began making plans for the war against Austria, Russia and France. Surprised- and pleased- by the quick, successful Prussian attacks, Great Britain soon began shipping supplies and money to the Prussians. With British aid, King Frederick saw a very bright future ahead of him.

In 1757, the Prussian army won a bloody victory against the Austrians at the Battle of Prague. Soon after, however, Frederick was defeated by Austrian forces at the Battle of Kolin. This marked his first military defeat, and he was determined not to have another. The situation in Prussia quickly changed. The Russians invaded Memel later in the summer of 1757, and after taking the fortress, advanced further into Prussian territory. The Austrians were also pushing up, and a French army was quickly approaching from the west. The Austrians and French had attempted to reach an agreement that would give France the Austrian Netherlands if they would help the Austrians reclaim Silesia. However, with the situation looking grim for Prussia and bright for Austria, the Austrians rejected the offer, knowing they could take back Silesia themselves.

A victory against the French at the Battle of Rossbach was a good morale booster to the Prussian troops. Gaining momentum, King Frederick moved to confront the Austrians at the Battle of Leuthen. The night before the opening stages of the battle, King Frederick took a walk on his horse out in the dark, thinking about the future that lay ahead of him. Ambitious dreams and goals filled his head, and he smiled. Suddenly, King Frederick's horse stumbled onto a large rock and lost its balance. Frederick attempted to grab onto the reins of his horse, but his hand missed and he fell of his horse, with his head hitting the same rock that caused his horse to stumble and fall. In the morning, when King Frederick had not returned yet, Prussian scouts searched the area and found their king's lifeless body.

The Prussians were now in a state of panic. The army that was once under Frederick II was now confused, worried, demoralized, and overall, unprepared for a battle against the Austrians. The Battle of Leuthen commenced the morning after Frederick's death, and the Austrians scored a decisive victory. Without their great and prestigious leader, the Prussians were in a very precarious situation. The new king, Frederick II's nephew, now Frederick III, was only a thirteen year old boy. Prince Henry of Prussia saw the state of things and began advising the Prussians to begin peace talks. Following several more defeats inflicted by the French, Austrians and Russians, as well as the deaths, captures, and defeats of nearly all of the best Prussian generals, the Kingdom of Prussia sued for peace. On 1758, the 29th of October, a peace treaty was signed by Prussia, France, Austria and Russia. The Treaty of Dresden- which did not include the British- called for the reduction of the Prussian military and for Prussia to give war indemnities to France, Austria and Russia. The Prussians lost their control over Saxony, which was restored as an independent German state. The Austrians took Silesia from the Prussians, and a tiny bit more land further north was taken by Austria as well. Not wanting to lose anymore land, Prussia offered larger war indemnities to France and Russia. The two nations accepted, though this drained the already weakened Prussian treasury. By now, Prussia had lost their greatest king and their greatest generals. The Prussian economy was in ruins, and to add on, they lost Silesia and had a limit on the size of their army. Prussia was reduced to a second-rate power in Germany.

Alarmed at the sudden defeat of Prussia, the British grew wary as France shifted its attention and resources from Prussia to Britain.
 
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France versus Britain


Before the defeat of Prussia, most of fighting that was fought between the French and the British were small colonial skirmishes. However, after the defeat of Prussia, France was able to turn itself towards the British, with all of it's soldiers and sailors available for combat. King Louis XV of France became emboldened by the relatively quick victory over Prussia. Hoping to inflict a similar defeat on the British, two large French fleets began to form off the coast of western France.

In America, leading the French forces was General Montcalm. On the opposing side was General Wolfe of Great Britain. Both were excellent generals and leaders. In fact in July of 1758, General Montcalm won an amazing French victory at the Battle of Carillon, defeating 18,000 troops under Generals Abercrombie and Howe with his vastly inferior force of 3,600 men. A year after that, Montcalm had retreated to Quebec City. Expecting an attack from the British, Montcalm had his troops stay in the city. Near Quebec City, General Wolfe stopped his army from advancing in order to amass more supplies and cannons for the battle. Wolfe was promised a delivery of military supplies and an extra 500 men by Charles Saunders, a British admiral. On September 28, Saunders took his ships and sailed down the river towards Wolfe's position. However, seven French fire ships were sent to delay the British and weaken Wolfe's army. The fire ships approached under the cover of a fog on the cold night of September 28. The fire ships quickly set themselves on fire in a surprise attack that burned six of Saunders's ships. The panicking British stopped in their tracks to try and quell the flames. Confused and desperate, British sailors began firing upon the French fire ships, which only caused flaming debris to fly around the scene of the battle. By the time the French ships sank, more than half of Saunders's relief force was either sunk or too damaged to be serviceable. Saunders had to turn around to repair his damaged and demoralized fleet. Without the promised troops and supplies, General Wolfe finally pressed for the attack on October 3rd, 1759. His weakened and hungry army was delayed by a cold storm of rain and hail- a product of a disturbance in the atmosphere in late September. The cold weather resulted in an earlier winter, and Wolfe's bold yet reckless attempt to climb up and confront the French on a plateau resulted in the death of several dozen soldiers. When the cold, weary and hungry British soldiers finally got up, they were confronted by the French troops. The resulting battle was a mess; after a short battle, the British soldiers had enough and began to retreat. The British retreat was chaotic, and General Wolfe himself was killed in the retreat after receiving three gunshot wounds. The French hurriedly huddled back into Quebec City to stay away from the rain and hail.

Battle of Quebec City, 1759

French Losses: 74 killed, 594 wounded.
British Losses: 292 killed, 717 wounded.
Outcome: Decisive French victory, total rout of the British army.


After about a month, on November 17, 1759, the French were ready for action. Under Hubert de Brienne, the Comte de Conflans, a large force of 29 ships of the line and 8 frigates began to move, but the fleet soon headed back into harbor due to unfavorable winds. Conflans, knowing that the British were nearby, waited a few more days before finally setting out on November 26, when the winds had died down. Not long after sailing, Conflans was confronted by a British fleet of 24 ships of the line and 5 frigates under Sir Edward Hawke. With the weather being relatively calm and peaceful, the two fleets began to fight in the afternoon. The battle would come to be known as the Battle of Quiberon Bay. Hawke knew he had a disadvantage in numbers, so he decided to try and sink the French flagship. Hoping to kill Conflans and lower the French morale, Hawke had two ships leave the line of battle and sail out to confront the Soleil Royale, Conflans's ship. This turned out to be a grave mistake, as the rest of the British fleet was now under heavier fire and pressure from the French line. In addition, Hawke's plan failed, with the Soleil Royale managing to stay afloat as the rear of the British line began to crumble from the heavy French fire. Seeing the situation as hopeless, Hawke ordered the retreat of his ships, who were heavily fired at as they withdrew from the battle. By nightfall, the British ships had escaped from doom.

Battle of Quiberon Bay, 1759

French Losses: One ship-of-the-line, 368 wounded, 93 killed.
British Losses: Four ships-of-the-line, one frigate, 732 wounded, 249 killed.
Outcome: Decisive French victory


The victory at Quiberon Bay allowed the French to begin shipping supplies and men over to the two colonial theaters of war, America and India. Montcalm's force in Quebec City was soon given supplies and more men, and he set out to fight again in the spring of 1760.
 
The great successes at Quebec and Quiberon Bay allowed the French to consolidate their foothold in North America. With the French Army now finally ready to fight against the British, King Louis XV ordered the mainland troops to station themselves near Brest. The British soon saw this as a threat of invasion, and troops from the colonies began to pull back to the British Isles to defend from an attack. This gave France even more of an advantage in the New World. On September 17, 1760, the French sent a large force of soldiers over to North America. The plan was to have them link up with Montcalm, and the force numbered over 10,000 regular troops. Many generals, officials and admirals in Great Britain wanted to send a fleet to intercept and destroy the transport fleet, but they were rejected by both Parliament and the King, wishing to keep all of the men on the Isles so that an invasion would be repelled.

By the 9th of October, the French army was successfully transported over into the New World, linking up with Montcalm and his forces in Quebec. Now with over 13,000 troops, Montcalm took his men and moved over to the British base at Halifax. A bloody battle ensued between the British defenders, numbering 7,500 men, and Montcalm's own forces. After three days of besieging and bloody fighting, the French managed to break through and storm the city, securing a French victory.

Siege of Halifax
French Losses: 1,153 killed, 1494 wounded.
British Losses: 2,048 killed, 2,640 wounded.
Outcome: French victory, occupation of Halifax.

Three consecutive and decisive French victories made the British morale plummet to new lows. Quebec City, Quiberon Bay, and Halifax had given the French a great boost in morale. Following these British defeats, on June 19, France's ally, Spain, entered the war. Immediately, the Spanish began preparing troops in Spanish Florida to attack the Thirteen Colonies, as well as troops to attack the British islands in the Caribbean. Plans were also made to have a Franco-Spanish force besiege Gibraltar from both land and sea. Britain was now in a very sticky situation. With several invasions imminent and the nation demoralized from three major defeats, the British began to sue for peace.

Some people in Britain, however, hoped to turn around the situation by inflicting a major defeat on the French and the Spanish. However, several attempts to turn the tides in both America and India resulted in failures, with most battles being stalemates. Britain was also suffering financially, having lost it's trade partner Prussia from the earlier stages of the Six Years' War. Finally, on February 23, 1762, the British and the French reached an agreement.

The Treaty of London ended the Six Years' War, which had began in 1756. The war was now only between Britain, France and Spain, since the other countries dropped out of the war after Prussia's defeat. Spain, who did not participate in any battles yet, was unable to ask for anything from the British, and was excluded from the peace talks, fueling the Spanish resentment against Britain. France demanded the return of Acadia and Newfoundland, which it had lost earlier in the century. France also called for status quo ante bellum in India. These terms appalled the British, and at first, they viciously refused and opposed such peace terms. However, as the days and weeks dragged on, the British situation seemed to only be getting worse. Finally, on the 23rd of February, Parliament and the King reluctantly accepted the terms, giving back Acadia, after reaching a compromise with the French to allow the British to keep Newfoundland. Many people in Great Britain were enraged by the agreement, while many French people celebrated in the streets and cheered for their victory.
 
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24 Years of Peace: 1763-1787


Twenty four years of peace and prosperity followed the immediate end of the Six Years' War. The war, though a disaster for Great Britain and Prussia, pushed for the two to reform their militaries. In Prussia, the loss of Silesia led to the rapid decline of the Prussian treasury. Great Britain, still rich from it's overseas colonies, supplied Prussia with money to rearm and prepare for another war. Though France, Spain, and Austria saw this as a threat, the British and the Prussians simply said that they were "reorganizing national defensive forces".

In France, the victory led to the increase of popularity for King Louis XV, who started to think about the possibilities of a larger overseas empire. Envying the seemingly infinite treasury of the British, Louis began pushing for greater emigration to the French colonies. Louis promised fertile land in the massive colony of Louisiana, resulting in waves of peasants and farmers moving over to Louisiana. Prisoners and the "unnecessary" scum of society in France were also sent over to the New World. As more people moved over to New France, so did merchants and businessmen. The great weather conditions and fertile land led to high birth rates in New France. Soon enough, New Orleans, Montreal and Quebec City were thriving cities.

Meanwhile, over in Spain, the Spanish people did the same to their colonies, but only the colonies of Cuba and Florida. The two colonies generated tons of money for the Spanish crown, and were two strategically important places. Charles III, a very competent ruler, was aware of the slowly failing economy of Spain. Charles began a series of reforms to save his withering empire. The power of the Church was weakened, and Charles promoted science and research. One of the other reforms he wanted to place into effect was a change of what the Spanish colonies really were. Unlike the British, who made colonies for the sake of having more territory and making a true "new" England, the Spanish viewed their colonies as mere chunks of land that were able to generate money for the crown. People would go to the New World, make money and gold, and ship it back to Spain. This seemed to be a failing system, and copying the French, the Spanish people soon emigrated to Florida and Cuba, establishing more productive and populous colonies there.

Austria also began to reform and modernize their armies, knowing a war with Prussia would be imminent. On the other hand, Russia, who had fought on the side of the French and the Austrians in the Six Years' War, had become increasingly friendly with the Prussians after the war. Eventually, in 1776, Prussia and Russia signed a non-aggression pact in the face of another large-scale war. A few years later, in 1779, the two nations signed a defensive alliance. This enraged France, Spain and Austria, appalled by the sudden change in Russian behavior. In 1784, Great Britain and Russia signed a defensive alliance. Together, the nations of Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, were now allied and against the opposing alliance of France, Austria and Spain. Despite their many differences, France and Spain strengthened their relations with Austria, securing the alliance. The tension in Europe increased, though the peace still allowed each nation to gear up and grow a bit.

In the spring of 1776, King Louis XV of France became ill. His health was rapidly declining, and in a series of talks with his grandson, who would come to be known as Louis XVI, taught him many principles that would help him later in life. Finally, on the 12th of April, Louis XV peacefully passed away in his sleep. His grandson was crowned King Louis XVI of France a few days later.

After many years of peace, growth and prosperity in Europe, the Silesian Incident happened on the 16th of May in 1787. A regiment of Prussian soldiers that had been practicing a drill "accidentally" crossed into Austrian-held Silesia. The border guards shot at the Prussians, who fired back. It resulted in the death of thirteen Austrian soldiers and seven Prussians soldiers. News of the incident soon spread out across Europe. Some people thought that the Prussians were to blame for crossing into Austrian territory, but others (namely Great Britain and Russia) declared that the Austrians shouldn't have attacked the Prussians. The border incident resulted in a formal declaration of war upon Austria from Prussia on the June 7. Great Britain and Russia were quick to join in on the war, declaring war upon Austria on the 9th and the 15th, respectively. Aiding their ally, France and Spain soon entered the war as well, on the side of Austria, of course. The war would come to be known as the Fourth Silesian War.
 
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