Great chapter as always, the Grand Alliance is once again divided by politics and personal grudges that prevent it from better using it's advantages and resources, contrast that with France who has laid out a very clear attack plan that is meant to exploit their advantages whenever they can, they might not have the Duc de Luxembourg here(for now) but they still have enough soldiers and officers to cause some serious damage, although Savoy I feel will truly be the coin toss that will either really help France or the Alliance. Either way, it will be fascinating to watch it go down and of course waiting for French victory.
It is the consensus within the French government that Luxembourg was truly the best. In assignments, the French primarily relied on the seniority of marechals which is why in 1689, Humieres (promoted in 1668) was given Flanders (always considered the most important theater), Duras (promoted in 1675) and Lorges (promoted in 1676) were put in charge of Germany (the second theater), and Noailes (not a Marechal) was given the least important theater, Spain. Also, in 1690, Catinat (not a Marechal) was dispatched to handle the Vaudois (not even a theater). So for Luxembourg to be given priority over Humieres in 1690 in OTL was very much a vote of confidence from Louis XIV and Louvois. Also, in 1672 during the Dutch War, Bellfonds, Crequy, and Humieres all refused to serve under Turenne (a more senior Marechal) because Marechals never served under Marechals. All of them were imprisoned for their defiance of Louis XIV but it goes to show that the French army had certain traditions. Namely, Marechals had precedence over all orders, had precedence within their own ranks, and were not expected to subordinate themselves to one another. Although Bellfonds, Crequy, and Humieres all ultimately agreed to serve under Turenne, it's notable that you didn't have Marechals serving under each other at the start of the Nine Years War. It seemed like the Marechals accepted that when necessary they might serve under each other, but that should not be the standard practice. Even in Germany, Duras and Lorges did serve under one or the other, they served under the Grand Dauphin. Also Duras and Lorges are brothers, which is why they were grouped together. This is all mainly to point out how Luxembourg being given command over another, more senior Marechal, Humieres, was extraordinary and evidence that the French considered him leagues above any other Marechal.
The question that the French haven't deployed Luxembourg is because of his disagreeable connection to the affaire des poisons. The French currently are banking on the fact that they believe so superior to their enemies that they don't even need to use Luxembourg. However, the moment that Humieres loses or someone else loses, Luxembourg is going to get called up. So Luxembourg entering the war is both a good and bad thing for the French. If Luxembourg enters it means that France hasn't had the best year, but it also means that France is in no way holding back anymore.
Ahia, bad times are ahead for the alliance if they fail to coordinate well and give themselves well-defined priorities, because while it is true that Spain's entry into the fight allows for the opening of 3 further fronts against the French, it must also be said that the the only strength of numbers is on the side of Paris ( also combined with a clear military leadership compared to the chaos of conflicting interests of the allies ) I maintain that the imperial army should focus on the young Eugene in an attempt to liberate Mainz ( which is an Electorate, therefore freeing him would be a great boost to morale ), just as I understand Leopold's fear for the eastern front ( after all, the siege of Vienna and the Hungarian revolt of 1672 are still fresh in his memory, as is the French - Ottoman alliance ) so I can understand that he wants to ward off a possible army of Constantinople as far away as possible from its possessions, but at the same time Max Emmanuel's strategy is by far the best, because in this way the new territories begin to be consolidated calmly, and subsequently they can be exploited as a new source of resources ( both for the fight against the Turks in the west ) furthermore Leopold must be convinced to review the imperial laws ( both to strengthen Austria but also to create new allies, what is Maximilian of Hanover doing at the moment ?, in Otl he fights for the Habsburg army in this period ) frankly the creation of a new Electorate would be even more useful than OTL for Vienna ( since it means having a new power at the table that can balance the aspirations of Brandenburg, Bavaria and Saxony, perhaps to make everything more bearable, Leopold can allow an exemption that allows the main princes of the Reich ( therefore only the Electors ) to standardize the administration and customs in their territories only if they are contiguous to each other ( which would also be of great benefit to Vienna ) as is it is the search for a small territorial enlargement : perhaps in Swabia ( to unify a little the Habsburg territories scattered in the area ) or in Italy ( considering how fragmented the Emilian region is, between Este, Farnese, Gonzaga, the duchy of Monferrato ( which could be divided between Spain and Savoy as Otl ? ) and finally the Cybo - Malaspina and minor imperial fiefdoms, annexation a small territory for Austria would not be so absurd ) finally I think that the Emperor should strengthen the capabilities of the imperial church ( which relies so much on Vienna for its defense and support and is much more loyal to the Habsburgs than paragonated to the secular princes of Germany, a reform agreed with Rome would be needed, with the aim of consolidating the 80 ecclesiastical territories scattered into larger entities capable of resisting external pressure from non-imperial entities ( perhaps instead of the usual secularization here we see a proposal for mediatization between ecclesiastical states, with the 3 electoral states ( provided if Cologne is not punished ) making the loudest noise, followed by Munster, Augsburg, Salzburg and Wurzburg ( which are seen slightly enlarged ) and perhaps the formation of a similar state in Swabia ( perhaps a super imperial Abbey or an enlarged St. Gallen ? ) because this strengthens both the capabilities of the church but also indirectly the Habsburg government over the Reich ), perhaps the Netherlands and Spain can be convinced of the need for this reform once the war is over ( including via bribes, particularly to the Spanish Netherlands who can make small profits from it ), certainly mine are just hypotheses and proposals, nothing more, but considering how badly the war is going for the allies, I think that any idea that streamlines the Empire 's decision-making or governmental process would be welcomed with open arms by the majority of the coalition ( except the minor German princes ) because it would increase the chances of competing on an ""equal"" basis against Louis army ( even if it's a little, it's still a lot on a theoretical level ), if we consider that in Otl, Joseph I was literally thinking of buying the territories of the minor princes of the HRE along the Rhine, so as to increase the Austrian and imperial presence in the area, with the aim of making it more difficult for the French to make friends or penetrate with the armies on site ( I don't see why a plan with similar ideas but starting from totally different bases cannot be seriously considered, given that we are still talking about expanding Habsburg influence in the Reich, only instead of being explicit as Joseph Otl wanted to do, here it is done through compromises and back channels )
The Hanoverians are fighting under Max Emmanuel:
"At the same time, Princes Friedrich August and Maximilian Wilhelm of Hanover cleared the Albanians from the hill to relieve pressure on the forward column. Finally, Nestorovic and Veterani reached the end of the valley and came upon a clear plain devoid of enemies just as Nestorovic had promised."
That's from the Nis update
With war breaking out in Italy, whether with Savoy on the allied side or France's side, the Emperor is going to have to send an army there, which also gives him an opportunity to establish a new order there that favors him. Overall, with the worse start to the war, the allies are going to have to fight harder if they want to have a role in the post-war settlement. Otherwise, it will be dictated to them by France. Fighting harder is probably going to give rise to more dramatic ideas such as mediatization. It should also be noted that Joseph is on the front, right now just in an observational capability, but he'll see first hand the damage that France has wreaked on the region.
Great update. The issue of command is indeed a big problem for Austria. I'm kind of rooting for Louis of Baden if only because that seems like the best way to get his cousin, Eugene, on the scene. Almost like a two for one. Louis isn't perfect but perhaps selecting him would put Eugene in line to succeed him?
I would say that Eugene would definitely rise faster with Ludwig in charge. Ludwig relies on family and Eugene is family, so you can expect Eugene to get chances if Ludwig is given command.
It seems that Netherlands is going to be the main front of this war, I think that if an allied miracle is going to happen it will be there. The best strategy IMO would be to put just enough effort on the Rhine, in Italy and Spain to defend or at least not be routed, and instead put every effort in the Netherlands, because if the french army attacking the Netherlands is defeated and the road to Paris is more or less open the French will abandon the offensive on every other front to reinforce there.
I like this take, would really like to see Eugene in command of an army through Northeastern France btw...
The Italian front hinges on Savoy's choice. If Savoy joins the allies, then Piedmont becomes the battlefield. Although the allies are still on the defensive, they are defending Piedmont. If instead, Savoy joins France, then Milan is the battlefield, which means that the allies are already fighting on prize ground. In Germany, the French probably don't go for a daring offensive because they too want to focus on the Low Countries. Spain is interesting because the French have an opportunity to get involved, but it would be at the expense of elsewhere.
If memory serves right, the spanish armies increased from a 32k-ish men to 50-52k by the end of the war. A not insignificant part of this expansion was by hiring German mercenaries. So if it goes similarly to OTL, there would be competition between the Maritimes Powers, Spain and the Emperor on tapping the german manpower pool.
Philip V managed to field 100k men in 1714 (militias included) and his army peaked at 131k in 1734. However, the Bourbons modernized the administration of the army and developed institutions using the french ones as a model. The ossified administration and organization of the army greatly inhibits a dramatic expansion of it, even if money won't be an issue. Let's say that in beginning of the 30 YW the Dutch provided Richelieu with all the money he needed to raise an army equivalent of the 1672 one. Without Le Tellier , Louvois and even Colbert building the needed administration, it would have been a futile policy.
When in 1694 the Army of Catalonia was reinforced by newly-raised provinvial tercios, they weren't very useful since they were inexperienced and untrained. The local Catalonian somatén militia were capable guerilla fighters when it came to attack the enemy's supply lines. However, there is a good chance that the Catalonian somaten will be more likely to attack the spanish supply lines in TTL.
Indeed! Of which the army actually sent to the continent were 29k British subjects plus 27k foreign troops in british pay.
Very difficult for the duration of the Nine Year War. He needs to build his reputation first. In OTL his victories against the Ottomans helped to gain his first command in the West.
Humieres was not a general of Luxemburg's caliber. Yet, up to Walcourt he did fine considering the few assets he had. His mistake was that he was drawn to that battle and the enemy had superior numbers: 35 infantry battalions against his 24, even though he had more cavalry (76 vs 60 squadrons). In TTL, the Allies won't have the 10 english battalions while the garrison needs in Spanish Netherlands and Liege will be the same as in OTL.
Humieres was hesitant compared to the energetic Luxemburg, yet he was not without cunning. In the early 1689 he managed to persuade Waldeck that he had a larger army than in reality. It also seems that the Lines of the Scheldt were his own decision, a strategy that allowed the French a greater degree of freedom of movement in the following years. Lastly, during his 1689 campaign he would be able to concentrate his force, something that Waldeck in 1690 failed to do. However, it might not had to do with Humieres and Waldeck in particular, since french intelligence was superior to what was available to Waldeck.
Duras may have been he commander of that army but Chamlay was the real commander-in-chief according to Rousset's biography of Louvois. Considering the political need to assist the Dauphin and have him victorious, I wonder whether Chamlay plays a more active role.
The divergence of goals between the Dutch and the Germans is clearly demonstrated. And the Germans have a very good reason: 1690 will be a year when they will face superior french numbers and the French can threaten Koblenz and Cologne, securing thus a solid frontline along the Rhine. i would bet that not only Friedrich, but also the Hessians, the Electors of Trier and Mainz and the Palatinate would be horrified to have objectives different than Bonn and Mainz. It is 4 Electors we are talking about. Lastly, I doubt that these Princes would look favorably on the Dutch recruiting their men to expand their own army.
The Dutch-paid soldiers definitely helped, but those foreigners are coming the same pool that the Dutch are relying on for their own army. That's why I parsed out the Spanish-paid Army of Flanders differently. These were the soldiers already tied to Flanders and Walloonia. Due to the fighting there, the Spanish did not heavily recruit among the local region as they had done in previous conflicts. Instead, they relied on Dutch support to bring in Germans. So it hiring Germans wouldn't necessarily be a competition between the Spanish and Dutch. They are fighting in the same front and the Dutch are the one's footing the bill no matter what. There could be competition between the English and Emperor with the Dutch over German mercenaries. Importantly, in OTL, the Dutch hired many Germans on behalf of the Spanish. As in, even though the Dutch paid them, they were put under Spanish command. In TTL, with the worse relations, the Dutch might keep them under their own command structure.
In Spain, getting a better war effort than OTL will come down to the energy that can be collected around the growing heir, Luis Carlos. Spain is going to have to weaponize the hope that he gives them. There going to be fighting to protect their own inheritance rather than fighting for an inheritance that some foreigner will get. Effective weaponization of Luis Carlos will be critical in keeping Spain afloat until it can truly get its act together.
Operationally, Humieres was more like a fox than a lion. He tried to trick Walcourt and chase him about rather than just trying to hound him into battle. But when it actually came to battle, Humieres was an aggressive, albeit not creative general. He was prone to attack the enemy head-on and try to bulldoze his way through battle.
Chamlay as the strategist will most likely be focused on containing the Germans this year as Humieres is given all the resources to win significant gains.
Tension between the Germans and Dutch is certainly possible and there's bound to be some leftover resentment for the Dutch not fighting to protect the Germans during the War of Reunions when the Germans had fought to defend the Dutch in the Franco-Dutch War.
