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Here is my first pathetic attempt at a TL! :D

Basically it begins right after the Franco-Dutch War in 1678. I expect there to be many mistakes, ASBs, and flaws so please point them out, but don't be too mean... :p

Here goes >.<



Louis XIV in 1692... Louis the Conqueror? :D


The Reunions

On August 10, 1678, France and the Dutch Republic signed a peace as part of the Treaty of Nijmegen, ending the Franco-Dutch War. France was ceded Franche-Comté, Hainaut, and parts of Flanders. Having gained prestige for these territorial acquisitions, Louis XIV (the Sun King) decided to shift his focus from conquest to consolidation of power, and religious uniformity in France. His plan was to form a series of forts along France’s eastern borders as protection against her numerous enemies in Germany. To do this, he decided on a campaign of “Reunion”, which involved asserting his power over lands left to France in the Peace of Westphalia and the recent Nijmegen treaty. His first target was Lorraine, which French troops had occupied since 1670. He approached the Parlement of Metz (Parlemtents were regional legislative bodies that had jurisdiction in certain areas) in September of 1679 with a formal request to confirm France’s claim over Lorraine (Metz was the Parlement directly bordering Lorraine and so had authority on the matter). The Parlement of Metz did confirm this in their session the following day. In October Louis sent a formal demand to Duke Charles V (at that time in exile in Vienna) to abdicate his title. Charles, who had been forming close ties with the Habsburgs, reluctantly agreed and Louis XIV claimed the title of Duke of Lorraine. Similar take-overs were done in Alsace, and Franche-Comté, Toul, Verdun, and Luxembourg (though French forces later withdrew from Luxembourg). In the spring of 1681 French forces captured Strasbourg. All of this enraged the rulers of the Netherlands and of the Holy Roman Empire, but neither could take military action: Stadtholder William of the Dutch Republic was unable to gain support from the burghers, and HRE Leopold I had little imperial authority, and what military capabilities he had were preoccupied with the Ottoman threat in Hungary.

These territories were formally annexed into the Kingdom of France by an edict enacted on January 1st 1682. This caused Spain to move forces into Luxembourg, as they saw France’s expansionism as a threat, and greatly angered (once more) the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire. In February, Louis organized embassies to be sent to Poland and the Ottoman Empire, to try to solidify some kind of support against the HRE (Louis saw Leopold as his arch-rival). In exchange for a French promise of protection against any Imperial move against Poland, King Sobieski agreed to stay neutral in any further German-Ottoman wars (while Louis had hope to secure Poland’s assistance against the HRE, he was still satisfied). When the following year, The Ottomans invaded Austria, Louis was ecstatic. He immediately took advantage of this (seemingly forgetting his earlier vow to stay away from conquest) and invaded the Duchy of Luxembourg with 8,000 troops. The French troops under the command of Guillaume Raymond de Saint-Jerome-Gascogne drove the Spanish out of the Duchy and besieged it. Still recovering from the earlier French occupation, the city fell on June 28.



War With Spain


The Spanish were forced to declare war on France the following month, and they were assisted by their allies in Genoa. Louis was enraged and sent an army of 16,000 to conquer Genoa. On the northern front, meanwhile, the Spanish, supported by the Dutch and by the HRE, massed a mixed force of 20,000 troops at the town of Charleroi. The French quickly raised another 5,000 troops from Champagne and neighbouring regions and advanced on the city, which had been fortified with haste (primarily wooden stakes and ditches). The Battle of Charleroi, on September 1 1683 was the first major engagement of this war. The 13,000 troops under General Saint-Jerome-Gascogne were initially unsuccessful in their assault of Charleroi. In October, French troops lay siege to Genoa. While their fleet was defeated by the city-state the town was unable to survive and fell on October 31. France’s extreme reaction against Genoa shocked other Italian states, and the Spanish duchy of Milan began trying to form a coalition.

The city of Charleroi held out admirably against the French, and in one attempted assault the French lost over 500 men. Through a series of bribes and promises, the Dutch finally declared war on France and sent a force to relieve the siege.

Louis XIV put pressure on his foreign and war ministers to capture Charleroi before winter set in. On November 15 he proclaimed an edict asking for 100,000 troops from his various dependant duchies (Anjou, Bourbonnais, etc.) and raised an army of 40,000 peasants in the South in preparation for the continuation of hostilities in the spring.

Louis’ aspirations on the northern front were crushed when a 15,000-strong Dutch force successfully raised the siege of Charleroi. The battered French force retreated to Luxembourg. At this point, a ceasefire was agreed until winter.

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I have a few questions as to how to continue. Firstly, I'm not entirely sure if all the diplomatic exchanges above are realistic to the time (for instance, Charles V being forced to abdicate). I'm also not sure how badly Spain would have to be beaten for them to cede parts of the Netherlands (and maybe Milan :D).

On a stylistic note, I do feel like the way I'm writing is a bit dry and I'd like to incorporate some humor/drama into it. Any suggestions?
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