World War 1845

1851

The Prince of Conde agrees, after months of hesitation, to take the throne of Bohemia. He is escorted from his home in the Kingdom of Baden by an honour guard sent by King Leopold of Baden, plus elements of the Imperial Guard detailed by the German Emperor himself after the signing of the Treaty of Innsbruck

Entering Prague, the 78 year old Bourbon addresses a joint session of the Bohemian diet, the commons and lords alike, and then is escorted to his palace

A full coronation ceremony is set for March

- - -

British and American negotiators meet at The Hague in the Batavian Republic to begin drawing up a final treaty of peace for the recent conflict in the Americas

As Spring approaches they are joined by representatives from Spain, and also from Fredonia and from Mexico, the latter two parties attracting much more attention in the European press than their numbers alone would merit

- - -

Austria and Hungary agree peace, co-operation and accord in a treaty signed in great secrecy at Pressburg. It is met with stunned silence across Europe when its terms are made public, and then pandemonium breaks loose

In Moscow, Tsar Nikolai fumes with rage, and Nesselrode's tenure on the Foreign Ministry job first wavers, and then as the true ramifications become apparent, falls.

In a joint move, Austria and Hungary attack Transylvania, the former through the stunned and shattered ruin of its one-time Serbian protectorate, the self-proclaimed royal court in Belgrade being taken completely by surprise

As too are Moldavia and Wallachia whose armies fall back, and are then routed in twin defeats. Bucharest falls to Austrian forces, and the Duke of Teschen does not spare the sword. Many of the boyar elite of Wallachia die that day. In Moldavia, the army has fallen back upon Jassy, but a Russian force has come to its aid, interspersing itself between the Hungarians and the shattered Moldavians

Emperor Josef Franz journeys to Buda-Pesh and meets with the republican rulers of Hungary. They agree a common strategy, and an accord which would see Transylvania assumed within the Hungarian state, but the Banat, Belgrade and Oltenia (W Wallachia) annexed by Austria

Pipedreams of an Austro-Hungarian re-unification, however, are dashed in the two-week imperial visit

- - -

Said's Egypt has been busy in the field of diplomacy, agreeing alliances with Tunis, with Janina and peace with Trebizond as Egypt seeks to spread its imperial wings and fly, but remain closer to Earth than did Icarus

Tunisian forces invade Tripoli from the West, and though almost immediately stopped and near-routed, serve to keep a portion of the small British garrison tied up whilst the Egyptian army advances slowly, but surely, along the Cyrenaican coast

Egyptian aid to Janina is in many forms - ships which help to secure her communications, monies which help to pay the army and keep it loyal, and small elite bodies of troops, moved from S Anatolia which enable Janina to see off Montenegro on the one hand, and advance into Southern Serbia on the other. Outflanking Russia from the North, and entering Nish almost unopposed as the Karageorgevic regime collapses in chaos, Janinan forces assault Salonika from behind

Having failed both to woo the governor of Baghdad and to cross the Bosphorus, Said considers it folly to take on Trebizond midway between the two. Instead he orders an alliance with the Pontine state, and then orders the bulk of the army to march into Mesopotamia

He lacks the strength to take Constantinople for the moment, but if he is ever to gather that strength he will need not to have a potential enemy in his rear from Baghdad

- - -

Imperial German forces take Paderborn, Munster and Oldenburg, isolating Hannover as the Northern Alliance disintegrates before it

Karl of Bavaria, brother to King Maximilian, leads another Imperial army to victory at Hamburg, having been freed by the Treaty of Innsbruck from the task of guarding the South

Denmark is the first to formally fold, agreeing a truce with Emperor Wilhelm, and control of Holstein in return for the cession of the island of Heligoland

Sweden lasts but little longer, making no concessions of territory and holding onto Swedish Pomerania, but agreeing to withdraw all co-operation from Northern Alliance forces

Faced with the loss of most of his allies, King Georg V of Hannover launches a last desperate attempt to break the encirclement of his kingdom, but in a climactic battle is defeated

Emperor Wilhelm I enters Hannover in triumph, and in an act of magnanimity confirms Georg V in his royal form, accepting his accession to the German Empire on the same basis as the kingdoms of Baden, Wurttemburg, Wurzburg, Bavaria and Saxony. Hesse-Kassel is also named a kingdom, whilst the majority of other rulers who retain autonomy are created Grand Dukes by his imperial writ

The Frankfurt Diet confirms all of this with scarcely a mutter, for all that it is still made up principally of revolutionaries,. radicals and populists. There is no drug quit like success

- - -

The Treaty of The Hague finally ends the Anglo-American war, ceding British rights in Oregon South of Puget Sound, and relinquishing all claims over the Sioux, Shawnee or Delaware. A border commission will work to establish where the "new" border between British Canada and American Lousiana now is

Building on this closure, Prime Minister Disraeli is able to begin work to bring the remaining revolutionary committees back into the British body politic. A series of social reform acts are passed, aimed more at promoting, establishing and encouraging new organs than in outlawing, or banning established practices for he has to balance the brniging on side of the revolutionaries with the government's major support base amongst the mercantile and industrial aristocracy, the number of earls, marquises and dukes coming from these latter ranks much increased over the last couple of years as the government sought to ensure control of the House of Lords from the more reactionary of the ancient landed aristocracy

Thus education, sanitation, health boards, and housing committees are established but few practices banned. Children will still work in the mills and the mines, but have better houses to go back to, greater access to healthcare, free schools at night and at day, as the need fitted, and streets with better sewage controls and flowing water. Even this would take time, but the work was begun and the first millions allocated

- - -

Finally laying the Polish Uprising to rest, Prussia regarded the new Germany and gave in. King Friedrich-Wilhelm IV agreed a treaty of friendship and peace with Emperor Wilhelm, but scorned any talk of closer integration. Austria had been booted out of the new Germany, and he would take Prussia the same way. Let the rest of them get by without them !

Frankfurt breathed a sigh of relief, and got back down to business. . .

- - -

Spanish and Mexican envoys to The Hague come to blows and both parties storm out

Without any instructions one way or another, the Fredonian party also do not put their signature to any paperwork. President Johnson is making a long play, and refuses to be hampered by well-meaning but dangerous accords

In Washington, President Zachary Taylor finds himself under pressure both from the press and from Congress to bring a final solution to "the Spanish Question"

He orders Generals Fremont and Davis to advance into New Mexico, and press on towards California, in the belief that threatening Spain's remaining possessions will make them more willing to accept what they have already lost

Fremont takes charge of the expedition from Santa Fe, across the desert and mountains, whilst Jefferson Davis advances from Monterrey to Chihuahua, and then West towards the Gulf of California

In Madrid, King Carlos V declares the "truce" brokered by the Duke of Salerno to be broken, and orders the army of Granada to land at Mazatlan and march North. Reluctantly, the Viceroy in Bogata complies

The feared resumption of fighting with Venezuela does not occur, but events to the North force the two sides in the Mexican civil war to come to an agreement. Both Santa Anna and Ampudia stand aside for Bustamente to assume the mantle of president, then with armies under their personal control they strike out, one under Ampudia into rebellious Yucatan, the other under Santa Anna towards Mazatlan, the prize that had evaded him a few years before. With Spain weaker now than ever, he is determined that it will not evade him this time

- - -

Russian armies pour into Moldavia to shore up its faltering resistance, and drive back Hungarian advances deep into Transylvania

An Austrian counter-attack catches the Russians in the flank and forces their withdrawal to the Moldavian border

Another Russian army engages with the Janinans around Nish but cannot force them out of the city

At the same time, Russian forces in Salonika come under sustained and repeated attack by Janinan and Egyptian units

In Athens, the rebels finally seize control of the government, execute everyone associated with the old regime, and form a new one, with one of their number elevated to the princedom

Few believe that he can remain there for long...


Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
38

The war between Buenos Aires and Montevideo has been going on for so long that few people can envision it ever ending. The Spanish vice-royalty has suffered setbacks, bloody noses, and the trauma of near successes turn bad at the last moment, but the republic in Montevideo has remained standing, if never quite very firmly.

For a long time it had France as a friend and an ally, but since the end of the 1840s French support has dwindled and diminished, reflecting the chaotic situation within the French Republic.

Now, with the rebels finally worn down, Buenos Aires launches its largest army yet, supported this time unopposed by a fleet containing the few ships that Spain can spare for S American duties

Montevideo falls...and Buenos Aires comes face to face with a Portuguese army pushing its claim to the 'Banda Orientale' as the much-disputed land had previously been called

Both sides face off, with arms at the ready

- - -

Santa Anna's initial assault on Mazatlan fails to carry the defences, but any inclination he might have to dig in and lay siege to the port is blown away by the sight of a Spanish fleet on the horizon. With the imminent arrival of uncounted reinforcements to hand, he orders the attack remounted, redoubled, and personally heads into danger

Sensing the urgency, his commanders urge, cajole, threaten and lead by example. The defences are breached, the fight carried into the heart of Mazatlan even as the first Spanish transports begin to unload

By nightfall, the city is a whirling mass of swords, gunshots, and grappling, desperate humanity

- - -

The young Duke of Orleans, 41 year old Ferdinand, approaches President Thiers and his enemy and friend Opposition leader Guizot. He has impeccable republican credentials going back three generations to the father of his father. He alone can stand for a new era of the Revolution, and bring peace to the cities of France. He can do this because he is different - he can bring hope, which is what no other poltician can offer

The articles of the constitution are poured over, emergency clauses torn apart, contingencies examined, constitutional instruments, succession acts, and enabling legislation all brought into a single cohesive document.

Thiers and Guizot resign as leaders of their parties, and Ferdinand, in a bizarre electoral farce, is elected head of both. By constitutional sleight of hand, Thiers "temporary disability" (a different set of rules exist for permanent resignation and for permanent disability) allows Ferdinand to fill the role of Interim President

He has this announced to the nation, omitting the word 'Interim' and stressing instead the power which he now, temporarily, wields

- - -

In London, Prime Minister Disraeli can only admire the shenanigans in Paris

He has performed his own miracles, brought the revolutionary committees together under a Social Democratic umbrella, and reached an agreement with Whigs, Tories, Reformists and Radicals alike that because of the unprecedented economic downturn all registered political parties will be granted a one-off payment with which to contest the next election. Registering the Social Democrats is but a small thing, and then they are potentially on a par with everyone else

New elections are scheduled for the following Spring

- - -

Santa Anna is driven from Mazatlan, but the port is wrecked, the bulk of the Spanish transports forced to discharge their human cargo in Baja California and even though Mazatlan remains in Spanish hands, Santa Anna is able both to proclaim it as a victory, and to pursue the advancing Spaniards North up the Gulf of California

For now, President Bustamente remains true to the tripartite agreement and sends Santa Anna's army all the stores and ammunition it is entitled to

- - -

Lisbon had remained happy whilst Montevideo flourished, or even while it floundered, as long as it continued to exist as a bulwark between Spanish colonies and its own various Brazilian colonies

But with Montevideo falling to forces from Buenos Aires, Portugal could not stand by and suffer the indignity of seeing a province to which it has a historic claim simply swept up by the Spanish, and more important could not simply sit still and watch as Spanish forces advanced unopposed to its Southern border

- - -

King Louis of Bohemia (don't know the Czech form) seeks to find a middle path between European dischords to allow his young kingdom to survive. He signs treaties of recognition, first with Prussia, then with Germany and Russia. By late 1851 both Austria and Hungary, engaged in a desperate struggle with Russia, also agree to recognise the kingdom, and Bohemia enters a new age

- - -

Russia has turned its full force on the central European alliance, allocating only token reinforcements to the siege of Nish and the defence of Salonika. What navy there is has gathered in the Bosphorus, but Egypt, overstretched by Said's adventures, makes no further moves towards the European shore

Russian armies have entered Western Hungary, as well as advanced again from Moldavia into Southern Transylvania, but Austria, standing staunchly beside her one-time enemy, one-time compatriot, fights back strongly

Emperor Josef Franz has stabilised the empire, brought the financial situation back under control, raised loans where he can, and replenished the army. Whilst one wing holds Slavonia, Belgrade, the Banat and Oltenia, the other fights with gusto in Transylvania

Meanwhile, forgotten by all, Bosnia-Hercegovina has become a battleground for mercenaries, militia and auxilaries as local warlords fight for prominence, and Montenegro, rebuffed in N Janina, gets deeper involved in the morass of Hercegovinan politics

- - -

Also forgotten, the Septinsular Republic finally adopts a resolution of independence that it has had on the table for many months but waited until things seemed opportune to agree upon

Now, with what Russian warships there were left in the Mediterranean all either at Salonika, or entered the Sea of Marmara, it feels free of its fetters

The Ottoman Empire is no more because the Osmanli dynasty is no more. Vague rumours of as Giray succession mean nothing when there is nothing to succeed to, whilst Egyptian ambitions, although obviously serious, seem unable to get any real presence within Europe proper

- - -

Within Tripoli, Tunisian forces have been repulsed, but Egyptian forces have advanced along the coast to within artillery range of the capital

Egyptian forces have also closed a ring around Baghdad, and begun to pound the last 'Ottoman' stronghold into submission


Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Great stuff, GW! Great stuff.

1) Revolution, Revolution every where and yet the war goes on? I suppose the fronts are fairly far away so that makes sense. France and Britain both incenced by flame and internecine conflict.

2) The USA doesn't seem to gain very much in the Treaty of the Hague, or am I mis-understanding just how far the border will have moved?

3) Can Freedonia really expect to carve out an independent existence without US aid? I suppose they can, but it seems to me to only mean that it will force the US to grapple with the question of forcibly annexing them. Nevertheless, I get the sense that the Freedonians are essentially surrounded by the US, if the Americans are campaigning in California, Texas and have secured control over "Northwestern Louisiana".

4) Poor Houston. But perhaps he will be back, leading the now disgruntled New South? Or will there be a US Civil War of some sort? How is slavery doing, by the way?

5) So the Qing have manged to wake up and expell the British. Have they done so simply because of British distraction elsewhere or have they been strengthening? Speaking of which, how is British India faring with all the convulsions going on around them? Or for that matter Australia?

Looking forward to more.
 
1852

News reaches the USA, via a tortuous route to and then from Santa Fe, that General Fremont and his army has perished in the mountains

In contrast, General Davis celebrates the New Year by laying siege to San Diego

Spanish forces advancing North along both shores of the Gulf of California suffer from starvation, guerilla raids, and desertion, finally effecting a unification at the mouth of the Colorado River with but a third of their original number

In addition, Mexican general Santa Anna has been constantly harrying the rear of the Eastern force, until finally falling back as the Spanish advance outpaced his own supply convoys

This unified Spanish force staggers Northwards and comes upon General Jefferson Davis' well-rested and well-fed force before San Diego. In barely two hours, the would-be relief expedition is routed, devastated and destroyed as a fighting force

With the defenders of the city recoiling in shock, Davis orders his troops to turn around and storm the defences. Although suffering horrendous losses he is master of San Diego by nightfall

- - -

The British general election takes place after months of campaigning

With the political scene fractured, six distinct groups are contesting for seats, albeit one only within Ireland

Of the remaining five, the Tories, Whigs, Reformists, Radicals, and Social Democrats fight a fierce and bad-tempered election, with cries of treason, selling-out, cowardice and shame on all sides

The Radicals and Social Democrats each take a thirty percent share of the seats, with the Reformists a narrow third over the two traditional rumps. The Irish nationalist allocation of seats equals that of the Reformists

Queen Charlotte I confers with outgoing Prime Minister Disraeli on what to do - with Radicals and Social Democrats equal, who to ask to form a government. He counters by asking her what would happen if one or other party was NOT asked. The implication is clear and the Queen summons the Social Democrat leader to Buckingham Palace and asks him if he will be able to form a government

He asks for two weeks to try...

- - -

Similarly, election fever is gripping the United States of America. It seems a long time since the election of Zachary Taylor and what exactly has his administration achieved ? A treaty with the British which, many say, merely confirmed the USA in what it already had. A renewed war against Spain which, regardless of success, was surely bankrupting the country. And Fredonia declaring itself dedicated to a Western Empire. Where was Manifest Destiny in all of this ?

The Whigs themselves seemed reluctant to renominate Taylor, but could not seem to decide on whom to choose instead

The Democrat-Republicans seemed increasingly intent on Jefferson Davis. 43 years old, and the new hero of the South, his exploits at San Diego had made the headlines across the nation.

The remains of Sam Houston's avowed "Third Way" proclaim themselves to be the American Party, and nominate war hero Stephen Watts Kearny

- - -

The war in central Europe reaches new heights as Tsar Nikolai I throws Russia's entire strength against Hungary, and breaks through her defences. Buda-Pesh offers only a brief resistance, before the government flees in hot air balloons to Pecs where Austrian dragoons beat off a pursuit by Russian cavalry

Austrian Empire Josef Franz arranges a tri-partite meeting at Salzburg between himself, Emperor Wilhelm of Germany and King Louis of Bohemia. With Russia threatening Pressburg, and Austrian armies massing before Vienna to turn back any attack on the capital, the situation is urgent

King Louis agrees that Russia, with the Dobruja, Constantinople, and Salonika must be rebuffed in central Europe, or else the nightmare of Russian growth in the eighteenth century could be repeated again in the nineteenth. Nations must stand firm and block her, or at least direct her energies in another direction

For his own reasons Emperor Wilhelm favours an alliance - the ability to keep his armies intact will surely act to increase the cohesiveness of his vision for the emperor.

Tsar Nikolai I in Moscow is astounded to hear of the Salzburg Alliance, and his forces shocked by contact with well-trained and well-equipped Bohemians on the one hand, and veteran experienced Germans on the other

By early Summer, Russian forces have been forced out of Hungary and in disordered retreat into Russia

Austrian armies resume the offensive in Transylvania, break through Russian and Moldavian resistance and take Jassy

- - -

Egyptian forces take Baghdad, and proclaim Said's rule over Mesopotamia

The isolated British garrison in the rapidly shrinking Tripoli pocket is reinforced by a Volunteer regiment from the Two Sicilies, raised and paid for by a British ex-patriot

In London, the Social Democrats agree a government in coalition with the Reformists and Whigs, the latter two also giving them enough votes in the Lords to pass legislation as long as the Irish do not oppose them

Disraeli, given the portfolio of Foreign Secretary begs the SDP to do something to rescue Tripoli. Although war is anathema to them, the SDP leadership cannot but be moved by the Mediterranean British ex-patriot community's selfless gesture, and on a less altruistic note are glad of an opportunity to be rid of what they see as a reactionary-controlled fleet from British waters

The entire British line fleet, including two dozen screw-and-sail line ships sets out for Tripoli, Marines on board, supplies following as they can be mustered

- - -

Tensions between Spain and Portugal over Montevideo/Banda Orientale finally break out into open conflict

It is not long before a Portuguese army is invading Spain itself

- - -

Tsar Nikolai I is assassinated in Moscow by an explosive device hidden in a grocers' cart as his carriage is going past

Guard units secure the capital, as Tsesarevitch Aleksandr is confirmed as Tsar Aleksandr II

German-Austrian forces punch a hole in the shocked Russian frontline, and advance on Lvov

Janinan forces seek to take advantage and launch an all-out attack on Salonika, but they are simply too weak and are destroyed, though uncertainty prevents a headlong Russian pursuit which might have annihilated the remainder

- - -

British naval and Marine forces arrive in bulk at Tripoli and soon push Egyptian forces back towards Cyrenaica

A second Marine column drives Egyptian and Berber units out of Fezzan

Said proposes a Global Congress to bring final agreement to all recent border changes

In London, to Disraeli's disgust, the Social Democratic executive vote to accept this offer, and in so doing tacitly agree not to invade Cyrenaica. Logically the British ought not to have had the strength to win THAT province back, but Disraeli was certain that momentum would have carried them. As it is, it remains in the Egyptian sphere of interest

- - -

By late Summer, Spain, defeated on its own borders by Portugal, and Russia, driven back after the fall of Lvov, are backing Said's proposal of a Global Conference

Renominated with extreme reluctance from his own party, President Taylor of the USA also sees merit in backing this call

Austria, Hungary, Germany and Bohemia agree soon enough, followed quickly by Sweden, Denmark, the Two Sicilies, the Cisalpine Republic and Ragusa (who many are amazed to discover has been independent these last few years)

By October, Janina, Montenegro, the Septinsular Republic, Portugal and Mexico have come round or been bought round

Fredonia and France remain resolutely silent, whilst Prussia continues to voice her disapproval


Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
The US presidential election of November 1852 splits the peace negotiations in two

With little enthusiasm for the renominated Zachary Taylor, the real contest is between Jefferson Davis and Stephen Kearny. Davis is portrayed, unfairly, as the candidate of the South...the South whose industrial cities recently rose in rebellion, whilst Kearny is a genuine hero, and the Third Way now seen as being free of Houston's dogma and a way for disillusioned voters from both main parties to make their mark

Few of those who fall into the latter category expect their vote to be more than a protest, but enough protests equates to a result, and when Kearny takes West Florida people begin to wonder. A week later he is confirmed in North Carolina and in New York, thanks mainly to having General William Worth on the ticket as Vice Presidential candidate

Conventional wisdom be damned, as Kearny-Worth, a New Jersey/New York partnership wins the presidency, thanks to a perhaps illusory belief that neither man really represented politics at all

- - -

The imminent change in the presidency brings about a period of hiatus, but it is Winter, and few operations can be conducted in the snow and ice and frost

By the time that Kearny takes office in March, little change has occurred on the world scene

He appoints Franklin Pierce as Secretary of State and Robert E Lee as Secretary of War, aiming to build up American potential to impact as hard as possible upon the imminent peace negotiations

- - -

Once again the Batavian Republic has offered itself as host

Few, if any, other nations could claim complete neutrality in recent conflicts, but the Batavian Republic was one

This time, the representatives gathered in Amsterdam, city of canals, and the recalcitrants finally began to arrive

A Global Conference Said had called for, and eventually China and Vietnam agreed to send someone. It took Britain's India Fleet, a half dozen screw-and-sail line ships to convince the Chinese, a mere two screw frigates bombarding Hue to convince Vietnam. The message was clear - attend or be dealt with in due course. Neither Peking nor Hanoi could doubt technology anymore, and neither empire could be sure that their own irrepressible destiny would carry them through any future conflict with the Europeans - after all, it hadn't the time before last


Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Spring 1853

The Global Congress of Amsterdam finally gets under way

Months of discussion, baiting, hatred and madness follow

But by July a treaty has finally been agreed

The Treaty of Amsterdam

Spain relinquishes
- Tejas including Santa Fe
- the ex N Mexican provinces
- Baja California and San Diego
- N Louisiana
to the United States of America

Spain relinquishes
- the Great Salt Lake
to Fredonia
- the North-Central Great Plains
to the Great Plains Confederacy

Everyone recognises
- Spain's control of California N of San Diego
- Spain's control of New Mexico

Everyone recognises the independence of the Republics of
- Cuba
- Venezuela
- Chile

Similarly the borders of Mexico are recognised as including
- Vera Cruz and Tuxpan in the East
- Mazatlan in the West
- Yucatan in the South

The USA is recognised in holding Oregon up to Puget Sound, treaties with the Nez Perce and Shoshone, and dominion East until it impacts upon US Louisiana

Pursuant to the Treaty of The Hague, Britain only concedes to the USA Oregon S of Puget Sound and control over the Sioux; other matters await a boundary commission

- - -

Britain recognises the loss of all territorial concessions within China

China recognises that the Open ports must remain so

France recognises its loss of Hue and all Vietnamese territory bar Cochin China and Saigon

Vietnam recognises that his country's poets are open to foreign trade

- - -

Russia's claim on the Alaskan coast is recognised until just N of the Queen Charlotte Islands

The Queen Charlotte Islands are recognised as possessions of Great Britain

- - -

Hawaii is recognised as a unitary and independent kingdom and any trading bases or forts there as being under Hawaiian sovereignty

- - -

The Ottoman Empire is accepted by all as extinct

The territorial changes and agreements from its disappearance are many

- the independence of the Republic of Ragusa
- the independence of the Septinsular Republic
- the independence of the principality of Montenegro
- the independence of the kingdom of Janina
- the independence of the principality of Greece
- the independence of the republic of Trebizond

Furthermore
- the unity of Algiers and Constantine as an independent sultanate, barring only some W ports, granted to Spain in full sovereignty
- the independence as a sultanate of Tunis

The Empire of Egypt is recognised as having full imperial title, and reversion to the Caliphate and comprising the territories of
- Egypt
- Sudan
- Cyrenaica
- Hejaz
- Palestine and Trans-Jordan
- Syria and the Lebanon
- Western and central and SE Anatolia
- Baghdad and Mesopotamia
- the islands of Cyprus, Crete, Rhodes and associated

The Russian Empire is recognised as having in full sovereignty
- the Caucasus, namely Georgia, N Azerbaijan, all of Armenia including Yerevan and Erzerum,
- NE Anatolia as already specified
- all of the Dobruja provinces
- all of Bulgaria
- all of Thrace including Constantinople
- Salonika

The Austrian Empire is recognised as having in full sovereignty
- the Banat
- Belgrade and N Serbia
- Oltenia

The Hungarian Republic is recognised as having in full sovereignty
- Transylvania

The Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia remain under Russian protection but
- lack all of the Dobrujan provinces
- Wallachia lacks Oltenia

Janina includes its historic extent
- plus also Nish and S Macedonia

- - -

Vienna recognises the independence and legitimacy of
- the Republic of Hungary
- the Kingdom of Bohemia
- the German Empire

The Austrian Empire is confirmed in possession of
- Salzburg
- Venetia
- Dalmatia

The German Empire is defined as that part of Germany
- N of Austria
- E of France and the Batavian Republic
- not including Holstein
- including Heligoland
- not including Swedish Pomerania
- West of Prussia
- including all recognised states within this boundary
- having Hannover, Wurzburg, Baden, Wurttemburg, Saxony, Bavaria and Hesse-Kassel as constituent kingdoms within it
- having the Imperial Diet at Frankfurt

What did I forget ???!!!???


Best Regards
Grey Wolf


- - -

Galicia to do - - - EDIT IN
 
How does Spain control New Mexico? If the USA has Tejas through Baja California, then they're asserting a right to control barren desert country which they can no longer access? I'm surprised they keep Northern California, but if they can keep something, it looks to be that. The borers in North America must be quite frightening to behold.
 
GW

How the hell did the US suddenly become such a massive military state? For the 1st part of the TL its fighting both a more powerful Spain and the full attention of Britain virtually on its own, with the limited support of Mexico. Not sure of the POD but it seems almost up to British levels of industialzation which seems very odd. Especially the talk of the southern industrialised cities. Despite that its matching navies:eek: with Britain and managing to send very large armies to virtually all points of the compass with spectular success, despite the huge logistical handicaps that it faces? I know there's a hell of a lot of changes in the TL from ours from the various points you mention, like the British presence in Tripoli and China and what becomes the Great Plains Federation as well as the continued Spanish presence in much of the Americas. [Going to be interesting when the US seizes control of their former allies;)].

Can you give some background to what formed such a radically different world?

Steve
 
Excellent, and with some unforseen ( by me at least ) developments.

However, I fear I must question the plausibility of such lengthy civil wars in industrialised and railroad-crossed ( and with united armed forces ) countries, especially in France. In OTL, all the revolutions/insurrections/civil wars in France during the XIXth century ( major ones : 1830, 1848, 1851, 1871 ) were finished with a few days to a few weeks at most of actual fighting ( and, unless I'm mistaken, government function was disrupted for a few month at most ). Here, it seems to take much longer. I understand you wanted to take France and Uk out of the picture of the wars ( German 'civil' war is much more plausible, IMHO ) and have them accept their loss of colonial lands and influance, but I still have difficulties believing this at that point of development of these countries.

Another, minor point. I find it strange the french ship parliaments in the Caribeans stay in Cuba rather than sail back to France. I could see this only if their cause had been crushed at home, but, unless I'm mistaken, this is not the case by that point.
 
Addenda

Galicia
- Polish rising here has been put down by a combination of Prussian and Russian troops
- Krakow/ W Galicia goes to Poland
- Bukovina/E Galicia goes to Russia

Slovakia
- part of Hungary

- - -

Nicomacheus, thank you for your comments - unfortunately I only saw they were there about 20 seconds before the library server went off for the day, and I got no further than reading half of the first one before I was cut off

It said something like "Revolution everywhere but still the war continues ?"

I guess I have three answers to this, or rather one answer that says the "war" after the outbreak of revolution is no longer really capable of being seen as a cohesive entity, but rather a series of smaller ones

-1- France has basically dropped out off the war. Her power-projection capabilities have collapsed, half the fleet is mutinous, indeed one whole section has thrown its lot in with the Cuban rebels. Her cities are in the hands of revolutionaries, but as the Republican government, Thiers cannot call on high principles to crush them, unlike the situation within Britain, or Austria, where an appeal to the ideals of monarchy can be made. He tries to find a middle way, bringing Guizot's Opposition into government, but the revolutionary committees in the cities are operating outside the traditional political sphere. The army is become unstable, and only full-scale civil war could possibly result from trying to crush these movements by force. France still has SOME power-projection abilities, hence its desire to get involved in Germany, to help forge a state there that will be friendly to French interests, and owe it a debt. Ultimately, this fails because the amount of help that France is able to give is not enough to affect the outcome - an outcome which whilst not immediately threatening to France, comes to be divorced from the mainstream of French hopes. In the end, Ferdinand, Duke of Orleans puts himself forward as the only one capable of bridging the many gaps which have opened up within France. A constitutional work-around is found to bring him to power, whilst his force of personality, and already dual heritage that he brings to the role of Acting President offer the opportunity to present to the revolutionaries a face as a unifier, for even the urban workers of Marseilles, for example, recognise that what they are after is a changed France and not an independent Marseilles

-2- Other conflicts are affected sufficiently by the revolutions that previous fronts and theatres are derailed, and new ones created with differing imperatives - the situation within Germany is an example of this. Some are suspended whilst the national government regains control, but control having been regained, the opportunity may appear to present itself to win back some of the ground lost in the previous few years - Spain is probably the best example of this. In other cases there is a wish for the conflict to end, but a lack of political room for manoevring, leading to lengthy truces/armistices which only in time turn into peace treaties when both sides are able to bring their full political weight to the matter

-3- Those powers with less of an industrial base, but a centralised government, continue to be able to fight the war. Russia, Egypt and China can be seen here as examples. Eventually other countries get things in sufficient order to oppose them where they can, and how they can (eg with Britain threatening China navally) but these countries have won great amounts of land by the time that their ambitions are able to be halted. Thus, Russia whilst halted in Hungary and failing to successfully aid its allies in the Principalities, or to crush Janina, has nevertheless acquired Constantinople, a land route to it, and a signficant hinterland in Bulgaria, thrace and Salonika.


- - -

I would say that some issues remain deliberately unresolved by the peace treaty, because they are too difficult or beyond their immediate ability to deal with. The intention is to refer these to further, more localised congresses, or to joint commissions such as that looking at the boundary between British and American possessions in N America

Probably the main issue on the map of Europe yet to be decided is that of Bosnia-Hercegovina, but war still rages there, both between local warlords, and with forces involved from Montenegro, Austria, and Janina

- - -

In N America, many would also recognise that the outcomes of the peace treaty can only be a partway solution. Few believe that the Plains Confederacy can last in the long-term, whilst Spanish California, or the independence of Fredonia, or even of Mexico, are questioned by many others.

But these matters await the future, await The Time of Eagles


Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
How does Spain control New Mexico? If the USA has Tejas through Baja California, then they're asserting a right to control barren desert country which they can no longer access? I'm surprised they keep Northern California, but if they can keep something, it looks to be that. The borers in North America must be quite frightening to behold.

If you look at the OTL borders of California as a governorship thingamajig, it actually includes what we would consider to be Western New Mexico

The Eastern part is in the USA's orbit as an extended part of Tejas (qv Santa Fe claims etc)

New Mexico in this scenario, as far as Spain's concerned, is basically Nevada/Arizona

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Great stuff, GW! Great stuff.

1) Revolution, Revolution every where and yet the war goes on? I suppose the fronts are fairly far away so that makes sense. France and Britain both incenced by flame and internecine conflict.

2) The USA doesn't seem to gain very much in the Treaty of the Hague, or am I mis-understanding just how far the border will have moved?

3) Can Freedonia really expect to carve out an independent existence without US aid? I suppose they can, but it seems to me to only mean that it will force the US to grapple with the question of forcibly annexing them. Nevertheless, I get the sense that the Freedonians are essentially surrounded by the US, if the Americans are campaigning in California, Texas and have secured control over "Northwestern Louisiana".

4) Poor Houston. But perhaps he will be back, leading the now disgruntled New South? Or will there be a US Civil War of some sort? How is slavery doing, by the way?

5) So the Qing have manged to wake up and expell the British. Have they done so simply because of British distraction elsewhere or have they been strengthening? Speaking of which, how is British India faring with all the convulsions going on around them? Or for that matter Australia?

Looking forward to more.

Thank you - I now get the chance to read the whole post :) (see above re library server yesterday)

I think I answered -1- already

Regarding -2- its also probably been answered in what I meant by New Mexico for Spain. Basically the USA has acquired Great Texas (including Santa Fe), what we would consider to be the N states of Mexico, plus Baja California and San Diego. In the North they have removed British influence on the Sioux, acquired N Louisiana (borders in flux) and received full recognition of their title to Oregon

-3- you are correct, the question of forcible annexation will come up soon enough. And they have to look West as their only route to anywhere not already under US control.

I will address -4- later as it is rather important, well the slavery part anyway :) Not sure what Houston will do - he migt yet have a role within the Cherokee

China has mainly been able to get its territory back because of British distraction. However, their much greater defeat in the Opium War caused a serious look at sorting themselves out, and as the first such defeat did not have the long and troubled after-effects that repeated such defeats had in OTL

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
I may have misunderstood the exact situation in France.

Was there a prolonged civil war, or was the country paralised by the possibility of triggering a civil war?
 
Once again the Batavian Republic has offered itself as host

Few, if any, other nations could claim complete neutrality in recent conflicts, but the Batavian Republic was one

This sort of surprised me. I expected the Batavian Republic to be a French puppet. What is the relationship between the batavian republic and France?
 
This sort of surprised me. I expected the Batavian Republic to be a French puppet. What is the relationship between the batavian republic and France?

Its in France's political and economic sphere of influence, but after 40-50 years of existence, the Batavian Republic has developed its own policies, and its own independent existence. It can make its own decisions, and generally prefers not to get involved where its interests are not concerned.

I didn't see any direct conflicts of interest, or areas for them to gain in this war, and reckoned that they would pursue a policy of neutrality

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
I may have misunderstood the exact situation in France.

Was there a prolonged civil war, or was the country paralised by the possibility of triggering a civil war?

I apologise if I have not been clear enough - I tend to write this late at night and sometimes events can run away with me in the timeline. Since I don't have the internet at home (or a working printer), I have to rely on the various individual documents to remember exactly what I wrote before...

You can probably take the situation as I described it to Nicomacheus as being more or less what I now think I meant !

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Just finished reading the Carnot Cycle all the way through - magnificent stuff, Grey! Shall be watching with interest.

One thing: what's the state of the franchise in Britain? I ask because I notice the sudden decline of the Whigs/Tories, which I assumed was to do with an equally sudden expansion of the voter pool.
 
Just finished reading the Carnot Cycle all the way through - magnificent stuff, Grey! Shall be watching with interest.

One thing: what's the state of the franchise in Britain? I ask because I notice the sudden decline of the Whigs/Tories, which I assumed was to do with an equally sudden expansion of the voter pool.

The 1832 Reform Act of OTL was passed earlier here

Its a good point, though, about later events, and probably a valid assumption that under Cobden the frnachise was further expanded

Thank you for picking that up, and for your very welcome comments :)

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
GW

How the hell did the US suddenly become such a massive military state? For the 1st part of the TL its fighting both a more powerful Spain and the full attention of Britain virtually on its own, with the limited support of Mexico. Not sure of the POD but it seems almost up to British levels of industialzation which seems very odd. Especially the talk of the southern industrialised cities. Despite that its matching navies:eek: with Britain and managing to send very large armies to virtually all points of the compass with spectular success, despite the huge logistical handicaps that it faces? I know there's a hell of a lot of changes in the TL from ours from the various points you mention, like the British presence in Tripoli and China and what becomes the Great Plains Federation as well as the continued Spanish presence in much of the Americas. [Going to be interesting when the US seizes control of their former allies;)].

Can you give some background to what formed such a radically different world?

Steve

I can't give a full answer right now *(am supposed to be typing up accounts !) but basically :-

3 Spanish-American wars,
- the first of which gained West Florida as the coast, leading to the development of Mobile and Biloxi as the US S ports as New Orleans remained in Spanish hands. The US Navy at this point consisted of heavy frigates, but the demands of the war led to an expansion programme (as per OTL 1812-15 war did). The war was then followed by a Russian-British-French-US campaign against the Barbary States, using and developing this expanded navy
- trying to remember off the top of my head, but I think the second war gained New Orleans, whilst the third war was focused on the trans-Mississippi front. Basically the US needed to focus its forces in the South, leading to the development of arsenals down there and industries to support them, and when the railroads came to railheads in the South.

I expanded this idea to include the industrialisation of areas including Virginia and Georgia as the economic powerhouses of the South, political influence equalling military influence in this period (or vice versa)

The establishment of Fredonia was a running sore with Spain, and it spread over the lands of OTL Kansas-Oklahoma, whilst Spain consolidated its hold on Tejas and used it to fight the Mexican revolt, ending up with N Mexico, as well as New Mexico, California, and a remnant position in Louisiana that was constantly being challenged by the US, especially after Russia sold out its interests to the USA in Oregon

Fredonia however served as an example to the Canadians, and the Canadian War was longer, bloodier and deeper than the OTL rebellions, and also included an influx of US fillibusterers to support the rebels. The British had to send some substantial forces to suppress the uprising, and in its aftermath began to drift towards war with the USA. The Duke of Cambridge has as much to hold down and pacify Canada as he has to face off against the Americans

More later - thanks for reading and commenting !

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Addenda to Addenda

Obviously I meant Krakow and W Galicia went to PRUSSIA (not Poland, doh!)

- - -

Notes on the US-British Conflict

Further to my promise to expand and explain a bit more to Steve, I'll give it a go here, tho please bear in mind it is 5 am as I write this, and my neighbour's friends have again managed to wake me up in the middle of the night with their banging on his door. Who knows why all his friends only come to visit between the hours of 1 and 4 am ???

- - -

With regards to the naval war, Britain hesitated a while before bringing its full force to bear on the USA. Part of this was due to having commitments in China, and the N Pacific, and a large part due to the Russophobia of a large part of the government that had grown up to surround Wellington. Perhaps also it was due in part to under-estimating the Americans.

Apart from the Great Lakes, and the action off the Columbia estuary, the US action focused largely on the war against Spain in the Caribbean, and this Britain was initially happy to leave to the Spanish to pursue. Only after a series of setbacks for her allies, did Britain dispatch the Mediterranean Fleet to the Western Atlantic

After that the US fleet didn't do so well! It was swept from the Atlantic coast, allowing British forces to raid and burn several New England cities, but the POTENTIAL of this control of the sea to go further was undermined by revolutionary events at home. I entirely agree that British control of the sea at this point might have won the war - the US had fought hard and held out valiantly, but it had lost control of a large section of its own coast

Of course, by this time also Britain was at war with France, and soon enough also with Russia. The first changed the naval balance of power in the Caribbean, the second brought new commitments for the British fleet (in the Baltic especially)

- - -

Regarding US industrialisation I would look at 3 aspects

-1- French investment, especially in the development of railroads. Republican France, with its additional territories of Belgium, the West bank of the Rhine and Piedmont, is as industrialised as Britain in this timeline, and can thus also project the economic force from this overseas on an equal basis.

The French mercantile fleet is especially strong where trade with Mexico, Venezuela and Montevideo is concerned, and in the latter economic interests are tied up closely with political-military ones. I haven't bent history too much to have direct French involvement against Buenos Aires not actually equating to open war - here, of course, Buenos Aires is a viceroyalty of Spain rather than an independent nation, but the same principle applies; the war is limited to Montevideo and the River plate rather than being fully declared. It is only when the French commander on the scene unknowingly sinks units of the Royal Spanish Navy sent out from Cadiz that this crisis escalates towards war.

Slight digression, but it adds to the picture of French global interests - in addition France retains its Indian Ocean possessions, a greater presence and rivalry with Britain within India, and has fought a war against Vietnam at the turn of the 1840s resulting in annexation of the country up to Hue (acute accent!).

In the Med, of course, French interests have focused on developing its N African protectorate, the Republic of Constantine, on the one hand, and on fostering relations with Egypt on the other. This is in addition to the usual diplomacy and shenanigans in places like Athens, Janina and the Septinsular Republic.

All told, this global reach of the French Republic makes it logical that they would also be investing heavily in the USA, as do factors 2 and 3 below, which also have much validity in their own right

-2- A more stable fiscal background for the USA, with the Bank of America never closed down, and its longevity coming to be taken for granted, rather than becoming the political football of OTL. This, combined with no associated Panics (the OTL period covered by this timeline saw two such economic collapses, both tied in heavily with closing the First and Second Banks of the USA), means that the national finances are on a much more even keel. This has the twin effects of encouraging foreign investment (which always likes a stable market) and allowing the federal government to build up its own power in financial affairs, to an extent also free of the issue of tarrifs. Sound banking and sensible credit markets can to a degree take over from raising punitive taxes.

It needs to be said that the removal of these issues has had the effect of neutralising some of OTL's political issues within the USA. The repeated wars against Spain have meant that the South fully accepts the need for institutions such as a standing army and a modern fleet, and in turn has benefitted from the construction of arsenals, associated industries, and railheads. I gave the bulk of industrialisation to Virginia and Georgia on the basis that these are the two political-economic powerhouses that would be controlling much of the investment Westwards. Whilst the ATL states of West Florida and Mississippi have Biloxi and Mobile developed as important ports (due to the later conquest of New Orleans), they don't see much other industry, and what there is is an offshoot from the two powerful states to the East.

New Orleans state, and the Trans-Mississippi states of Arkansas, Franklin and Missouri see a split between Southern and New England economic interests. Initially, Franklin as an outgrowth of Kentucky, is a battleground between the ideologies, and the issue of slavery does indeed raise its head. It could in fact be said that Crockett and Clay's political futures are born out of this whole controversy, but whilst the issue comes to the fore, it does not come to dominate the political question of Westward expansion

Partly this is because of the sentiment that Calhoun puts into words - that the expansion West of the USA goes hand-in-hand with the institution of slavery. It needs to be remembered that in the ATL, Harrison succeeded in getting slavery introduced to Indiana (this is based on OTL events where Congress agreed to over-ride a section of the NW Ordinance and leave it to popular sovereignty to decide the issue; in OTL the temporary measure was soon enough over-turned when Indiana acquired its own territorial legislature, but in the ATL events played out differently). Whilst abolitionism increasingly becomes an issue for New England and its political scene, it actually becomes less of an issue for the South - that is to say that as the USA grows and expands, the South come to feel less and less that slavery is under threat, and thus see abolitionism as more of an irritant than a direct and dangerous threat to their existence. This in part explains how Crawford, a Georgia Whig, is able to bring a large part of the South over to Houston's "Third Way" and win the election for him

Of course, the importance of slavery to the South has in a sense been diminished both by its becoming less of a political football in OTL, and by the industrialisation of some of the Southern cities. It is perhaps best to view industrialisation outside Virginia and Georgia as being the establishment of satellites of theirs along the railheads, and clustered around the arsenals. Much of the new states are largely non-industrialised, but have these centres within them - rather as one imagines urban politics in 1790s revolutionary France, or 1940s China even.

The sum total of this is that war has become something of an industry, financed dually by a federal government with a more stable national bank, and by an economic rivalry between New England and Virginia/Georgia

-3- The final aspect I want to mention goes hand-in-hand with the above. This is simply that success breeds success and that confidence breeds confidence. I commented in the Joubert/Carnot thread that if the USA was to lose the war then its entire economic fabric would crash around it. Basically its boom time, and so far the USA has avoided any associated bust. Part of this is because there hasn't been any over-stretch, the gains before the World War were always the next step, and then the next one, territories added onto the main body of the nation bit by bit, allowing their development bit by bit

The World War itself would not have under-mined this, but the acquisition of huge new territories in the SW, and of Oregon and the associated undefined area of N Lousiana linking it to the Old NorthWest have brought many tensions to the fore. The feeling that the election was bought by the North, against the interests of the South, revives sectional interests and in the industrial cities of the South combines with the same kind of dis-satisfaction and cries for reform that are being heard at that time within Europe. It has to be remembered that many of these cities are urban islands within their states, linked by the lifeblood of the railroads to others of their kind and thus open to the dissemination of radical ideas much more so than the surrounding countryside of their states.

The victories in the World War have brought their own tensions, which are in many cases not even yet making themselves felt. The resurrection of Houston's Third Way in the election of Kearny and Worth on an "American Party" platform is perhaps a recognition by many sections of the body politic that great difficulties lie ahead and that the sectional conflicts of the past few years are more a distraction than a real issue in themselves

The viceroyalty of New Spain has been largely wiped from the map, replaced by that of California consisting of Alta California, with associated Western New Mexico (if we can term it that way). But Greater Tejas, N Mexico, Baja California and San Diego have all been annexed by the USA. In this timeline this has given the conquerors both some VERY valuable real estate (Campeche, OTL Galveston, having served as the vice-regal capital is a large city, with a well-developed port, and much industry for example). It has also given them a huge headache, for the inhabitants of the viceroyalty have not fled enmasse - why should they, this is their home.

Thus, the USA has annexed in the SW a territory largely populated by Catholic Spaniards, or their descendants (Tejas has many who are first generation, though) whilst in the NW the USA has annexed a territory whose initial population is a mixture of Indians (Nez Perce and Shoshoni having a much greater political role than ATL), Russians and Canadians whose national loyalties proved weaker than their economic interests. Americans are now beginning to arrive in some numbers, but that serves only to increasingly complicate things

And, adding further complication, is the continued independent existence, and imperial ambitions, of Fredonia, coupled with the Cheyenne and Arapaho-led Plains Confederacy which has, most unusually and rather disconcertingly, gotten itself international recognition as a valid and established state, something that the implications of have probably not been fully appreciated yet within Washington, tho perhaps Sam Houston has an inkling of them


Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
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