Paris ne vaut pas une messe! - A Huguenot IN AAR

[etycaj]

Great update as usual.

[Hellvink]

Great update as usual.

QFT, really a great read so far.

[Enewald]

Btw, when shall Rex Francorum aim for the Imperial Throne?
Imperator Europaem?
It should soon be again the time to ride towards Rome, and grab what belongs to the strongest one. Unless the crown is hidden in Holstein.

Everyone, vote in the ACA!

[Sematary]

Another good update. It is as always a good read on its own and it opens many questions to be answered in the future.

[gabor]

the whole encounter at the door of the castle sounds sort of Shakespearean, Mcbeth definitely, the scene just after king Duncan's murder; and like Shakespear you move on from comic to tragic

so,
'What three things does drink especially provoke?'

[Milites]

@ RGB: Irenicus got it! Yes it was one of the Easter Eggs, but no the phrase was not too important to the Huguenots at that time (where most of the Franche-Comté was in their hands anyways).

@ Irenicus Congratulations on spotting the hint And wouldn't one of the most glorious things for Nicolas be to rule (albeit indirectly) the seat of the Huguenot Reformation? I'd like to think that he's playing with such thoughts before going off to sleep around 19 pm after a nice glass of hot milk.

@ Minarchist: Thank you very much sir. Always good to see new faces.

@ asd21593: Tone down my fanciness? How dare you? That is like asking a Huguenot to stop beating up the Spaniards he see on his way
And about Sébastien, well not quite the Napoleon, but someone close.

@ etycaj and Hellvink: Merci seigneurs!

@ Enewald: Who knows where Karl keeps his treasures? But I can tell you right now that Huguenots will come within the vicinity of the eternal city again before closure.

@ Sematary: I trust this wasn't too horrible a cliff hanger ? ^^

@ gabor: Bazing! And you even got the play correct. MacBeth act one scene V and act two scene III. And I'm not even going to try to remember the porter's explanation (or find it on the net ;p).


That leaves one (or two) eggs left. I can give you a hint *looks secretively* it has something to do with the castle in OTL and a main character.

[Milites]

Chapter XLVIII - The Huttwil League

***
Secularisation of the Art of War
***



The Free County was thrown completely into disarray when its main castle fell to French deceit a mere couple of days after war had been declared. This manoeuvre was largely successful thanks to the actions of a certain Sébastien le Prestre, seigneur Vauban [1] (later better known as the marquis de Vauban, marshal of France). The force of Simon de Vigny then engaged the standing army of the County near the border to Lorraine and forced it to surrender. Given the nature of the captured enemy forces (the County’s army mainly consisted of German and Swiss mercenaries) the majority of these prisoners were forcefully enrolled into the ranks of de Vigny’s units. Sporadic resistance continued throughout the spring of 1651, but Franche-Comté had in reality ceased to exist as a sovereign state when marshal Turenne expelled the Free County’s Parliament and placed one of his subordinates as military governor of Besançon. Nicolas could duly note that his officers had carried out his plans with great precision and that the way to Geneva now lay open for his troops.

In one single encounter, Simon de Vigny eradicates the only professional troops in the employ o the Free County of Burgundy.

Charles I was quick to follow his allies into the conflict, although the war against the Swiss Confederation angered many of the sternly reformed Scotsmen. But risking the loyalty of his Scottish subjects was a risk Charles was ready to take. For Charles had utilized the French ambitions in Germany to further his own goal on the British Isles by making a deal with Nicolas. In turn for English support for fighting the war against the Swiss (and it was perceived that it would also include a coming conflict with the Habsburgs) Nicolas promised his Anglo-Scottish colleague that France in turn would back any attempt on ousting the Parliamentarians in Ireland undertaken by the absolutist government in London. With Charles’ support, both the Flemish and the Dutch Republic followed suit and declared war upon the Swiss Confederation. Although it would be French and Walloon troops that actually did the fighting Nicolas had managed to bring his allies into an aggressive war against one of the most peaceful and respected Protestant countries in Europe. One could, with due right, claim that this was thanks to the diplomatic profession of Nicolas and his foreign ministry, but without the change in how religion was utilized on the geo-political front such a conflict would have been unthinkable. Prior to the Bourbon succession of 1589, the Calvinist and Protestant states were closely aligned in a never ending conflict against the Catholic powers. Here, religion served as a cause for either war or peace and marked the height of a time in history where nationality took the backseat against religious creed – a time where Calvinists could fight in both France and in Germany while still believing to be fighting the same war. On the contrary, the later part of France’s Great Century was marked by a direct opposite view on religion in relation to the state. Following the rise of absolutism in both France and England-Scotland one could see the Calvinist French fighting alongside Catholic Walloons against Calvinist Swiss and Catholic Burgundians. After the Free County of Burgundy had fallen to Nicolas’ armed forces the French forces continued their march towards the city of Geneva.

Franche-Comté is annexed!

***
The Hutwill League
***



Switzerland in 1651 was a federated republic of 13 semi-independent autonomous cantons. These small communes varied in size, but all had their due representatives in the united government, the Tagsatzung. This confederation was, however, neither very centralized nor united when it came to religion and politics. Much like France during the ascension of Henri IV, the Swiss Cantons were divided between Catholics and Protestants who fought each other both at home in their own Religious Civil Wars and abroad in the French Wars of Religion. If that wasn’t enough the growing rise of the urban magistrate class prompted a notable influx of support for absolutism. The urban commoners began to form oligarchies consisting of the wealthiest burghers, who strongly favoured an empowered centralization, while the rural populace remained fiercely democratic. When one takes the fractured state of the Swiss confederation into account, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Cantons were unable to offer any form of determined resistance towards Marshal Turenne and his large armies. Only four of the thirteen cantons (Bern, Schwyz, Freiburg and Luzern) were able to supply forces for a united army. The assembled army convened outside the city of Bern, where the magistrates and the elected officials quarrelled over whom to appoint as lieutenant-general of the Confederation’s army.

Map showing the four cantons that supplied soldiers for the Army of the Confederation and the city of Geneva

With immense support from the rural populace the four cantons formed the armed alliance of the Huttwil League to fight back the French invasion while the remaining parts of the Confederation sent their support in the form of monetary aid or supplies. The absolutist and Calvinist cities reacted sharply to this turn of events in favour of the rural wing of country and began to seek for a possible separate peace with France through the use of German diplomats. It seemed that even if Switzerland was to survive the war with France as an independent country it would have to face a resurgent wave of internal unrest. Turenne was not only a very skilled soldier, but he also portrayed a cunning wit for winning support for his campaign in the Alps when he declared to the citizens of Neuchâtel that:

Peoples of Switzerland, the French army comes to break your chains; the French people is the friend of all peoples; approach it with confidence; your property, your religion, and your customs will be respected.


We are waging war as generous enemies, and we wish only to crush the tyrants who enslave you.


- Marshal Turenne, 1651

This effectively meant that an unprovoked war of aggression was transformed into a noble form of agape where the Huguenots of France intervened in the chaotic and dangerously populist crisis in Switzerland for the good of their Calvinist brethren. However, this brotherly love didn’t prevent the massive armies of France from routing the forces of the Hutwill League in a bloody encounter not too far away from Geneva. Whether or not this propaganda trick of Turenne managed to convince the Protestant princes of the Empire is still debated, but both Nicolas and Rohan were quick to follow up on the declaration with their own bombastic rhetoric regarding the plight of the Swiss Calvinists and anti-democrats. This would give the impression that it was not all too unimportant to contemporary times.

The troops of the Confederation are routed by a massive French force.

With the anti French league broken in all but name, the invading armies split and began to besiege the most important cities and castles of the nearby cantons. Bern came under heavy bombardment after a coup undertaken by the city’s absolutist merchants failed. The many peasants fled to their mountain hideouts from where they conducted a very efficient, but ultimately doomed war against the French invaders. Geneva had withstood a surprise attack by the count of Savoy in 1602, but when Turenne began a systematic blockade of the canton’s trade and supply routes, the oligarchs of the city almost immediately started to waver. Under the leadership of a certain Otto Brugger, the wealthy burghers asked for terms after which the city was surrendered to the marshal. Brugger later became head of the pro-French and pro-absolutist wing of the Swiss cantons and funded a special contingent of Swiss mercenaries that fought with Crussol, Vauban and Turenne in Germany. Geneva had fallen to the French and Freiburg fell a few weeks later that year (1651). Bern held strong though, but its demoralized defenders had no possible way of repelling 25,000 Huguenot crack troops and the city’s ramparts were taken after a bloodless assault in mid 1651. With the fall of Bern, the remainder of the 7,000 troops of the Huttwil League capitulated.

The assault on Bern

The Canton of Bern was the largest and most powerful of the 13 cantons and its capitulation meant that roughly half of the Swiss Confederation laid down their arms and surrendered to Turenne and his generals. Only Luzern and Schwyz remained defiant and continued to plead for the Tagsatzung to send further help and supplies. Eventually Zurich came under siege from an invading army from Baden under the command of Condé, who had left Barcelona to be at the front. As many of the cantons and Swiss cities began independent negotiations with the French, the supreme council of the Confederation began to seek peace with the French sovereign. If the cantons were allowed to end the war on their own, without ratification from the Tagsatzung, then the very foundation of the Swiss union would be at risk.

Situation in Switzerland, late 1651.

[1]This was the last Easter egg in the previous update. Vauban had actually served with the Frondeurs during the actual Fronde under Condé, but under Louis XIV he became a true master of defence, where he modernized, amongst others, the castle of Besançon.

[Enewald]

Hmm, like the Swizz eve had a change. But those were probably also the last words of the duke of burgundy irl.

[RGB]

Ah, there goes Switzerland. You did mention something about Swiss Chocolate, after all. Sweet victory indeed!

So will France grab Geneva or just draw the entire country into a looser association?

Naturally, grabbing Switzerland is immensely important. It gives direct routes to Italy and to Bavaria and to Austria. I bet Eleanor is very unhappy.

[gabor]

i believe Switzerland will be kept as a vassal and a buffer zone

[GeneralHannibal]

While attacking neutral nations might be good in the short term, it also makes clear that none of France's neighbors are safe. I do foresee that France will eventually be abandoned by its allies, who will gladly join an anti-French coalition. It will happen

[Milites]

The ACAs are up and running (now in a new, better and even more efficient form that protects the enviroment!!1 yay).

If you have found this Huguenot tale to have been a truly masterfully told story with pretty pictures, maps and nose-breaking monarchs (or maybe you just liked it, that's cool too) then I am happy to inform you that Paris ne vaut pas une messe! - A Huguenot IN AAR is eligible for voting in the following categories:

Favorite Narrative AAR, EU (not so much)
Favorite History-Book AAR, EU (very much, as this is the main style used in the AAR)

I am not sure whether or not Paris..., will run for another ACA, so please feel free to give your support in the The ACA voting thread.

And now, onwaards to the response time!


@ Enewald:

"Switzerland is small and neutral! We are more like Germany, ambitious and misunderstood!"

It just had to be said.


@ RGB: It's not possible in game to grab Geneva as it is the capital of Switzerland, although storywise I find it logical for the French to want it.
And the route into Italy and Germany will prove most useful later on.


@ gabor: That would be the most obvious choice yes


@ GeneralHannibal: But I like that alliance
Scratch that, the Dutch and the Flemish just peace out whenever the fighting takes more than one year and it seems that the English have no idea that their navy can be used to transport troops.

[asd21593]

O, those silly Swiss?

Thinking they can fight a war....

[Irenicus]

Scratch that, the Dutch and the Flemish just peace out whenever the fighting takes more than one year and it seems that the English have no idea that their navy can be used to transport troops.

That just means Switzerland will make a much better ally than the rest of the bunch, given that it will be on the very frontline and all. That, and a vassal-ally is far more stable in EU3: they will join you come hell or high water (or Catholic hordes on their borders), and they can't peace out either.

Come on, it would be fun: the Old Reformed Alliance collapses from internal dissent, but not before the beginning of a new, truly French-dominated bloc starting with Switzerland, a true legacy of Nicolas Henri. How 'bout it?

[volksmarschall]

Taking advantage of the Swiss are we? Even the most powerful nations need to smack around the small and weak...

and nice work in Burgundy.

[etycaj]

Any plans to 'port this into vicky and countinue it from there afterwards?

Anyways, another good update! i was quite suprised when the choice wasn't made to annex switzerland but keep it as a vassal instead.

[Milites]

@ asd21593: Yeah they have no place in the Huguenot Greater Co-prosperity Sphere as anything other than vassals and chocolate suppliers!

@ Irenicus : Intriguing idea XD I could also just go into the files and make all of them my vassals. That way the alliance will last for ever and ever.


@ volksmarschall: I resent the term "taking advantage of the Swiss"


@ etycaj: I don't own Vicky, so no ^^

[Milites]

Chapter XLIX – Snares of Succession

***
On the Outskirts of War
**

The defeat of the Huttwil League marked the beginning of the end for the Swiss Confederation. The remaining cantons not under French occupation began to pressure the Tagsatzung for a quick peace that would allow them to resume their commerce with the rest of Europe – the blockade imposed on them by both the United Provinces and England-Scotland had begun to take its toll. When Zurich was on the brink of surrendering to the besieging French and Walloons the Tagsatzung began negotiations with Condé about a potential separate peace with the Reformed Alliance. This was a rather heavy setback for Karl Ludwig as it exposed his complete inability to defend the states of the Empire without Austrian support, and Eleanor wasn’t ready to go to war with France over the squabbling Swiss cantons.

The results of the negotiations between the Swiss and Condé were the Compromise of 1651, where the Cantons accepted French sovereignty in return of not giving up any land taken by the Huguenot invaders. While the Cantons retained their individual laws and customs it was clear that the urban absolutist party had gained the most from the conflict, as one of their most prominent supporters, Otto Brugger, became French vice-roy of the Confederation. After the Compromise most of the French forces began their withdrawal back into Baden and Alsace although Nicolas insisted that Huguenot garrisons were left in both Geneva and Zurich. With the Swiss out of the war this meant that Karl was left alone facing what was arguably the most powerful military alliance of the day. His pleas for help were ignored by most of the German princes who didn’t want to anger the French in any way. Soon English and Dutch navies were blockading his ports and Nicolas was lobbying heavily for the Danish king to allow his troops to use the Jutland peninsular as a launching pad for an invasion. Faced with such prospects the Holy Roman Emperor himself had to follow the Swiss in a veritable walk to Canossa in order to obtain the conditions of peace from the victorious French monarch. Nicolas, who hid his well known schadenfreude extremely well, was, however, surprisingly mild in his demands. Karl was forced to pay indemnities[1] for the delay in the cases regarding the status of Nicolas’ German possessions and at the same time acknowledge all the French conquests since the ascension of Henri IV. Condé argued that Karl was to be made a French vassal like the Swiss cantons, but this both Rohan and Nicolas objected to. It would serve no purpose other than aggravate the Danish, Swedish and North German kings and princes in return for a useless stretch of land. Yet the modest peace with the Emperor was a huge political victory for France and would set in motion far greater things.

France and its surroundings after peace had been made with Karl Ludwig

Both in Madrid and Vienna the events in the Empire did not go unnoticed, however, there were far urgent things to worry about other than another Huguenot aggression. Eleanor had given birth to her and Albrecht’s son years ago when she arrived in Vienna in 1635. The young prince had been named Leopold and upon ascension he would become Leopold of Austria, Bohemia, Württemberg and Hungary eight of that name. While his mother was busy bargaining with Russians over his potential succession Leopold began his education in the court of Vienna. Although his mother had been an Orthodox princess he was thoroughly Austrian and more importantly a staunch Catholic. He studied under the Catholic officers Johann von Werth and Franz von Mercy and showed a great admiration for the Catholic commanders Wallenstein and Tilly who had helped organize Eleanor’s succession. The Austrian-Russian Queen was, however, losing ground in her Russian domain at a rapid pace as the nobles became restless without a direct royal authority (the official Eleanor had appointed proved to be booth incompetent and weak). So in the midst of the French invasion of Switzerland she travelled back to her native land to sort out the documents regarding the renewal of the Austrian-Russian personal union. However, Eleanor never managed to commence the negotiation as she caught a deadly cold while awaiting ship in Danzig. It is unclear how she died and what exactly caused her death, but both contemporary and present commentators agree that it had to be the vicious cold and the amount of stress she had been placed under ever since she was crowned queen of Austria that finally brought her life to a close.

With her passing the Russian nobles decided that the union with Austria was to be disbanded and hence the boyars elected an obscure bastard Tsar of All the Russians. In Austria it was agreed that Leopold had shown enough maturity to be crowned king and with the support from his old teachers Leopold won over the army with promises of crusades against both the Turk and the Protestant heathens, thus firmly securing his positions as Leopold, king of Austria, eight of that name.

But other important deaths would follow in the wake of Eleanor’s passing. Olivares passed away in the early days of 1652 and soon thereafter Sully, marshal of France and close friend of Henri IV gave up his soul. In a curious twist of fate all the capitals of both Protestant and Catholic nations became struck with grief simultaneously. Nicolas was deeply moved, Rohan even more so, the old Frondeur was now the only remaining member of the Three Marshals and after 82 years the old Huguenot could not expect to last long. Sully had been a fundamental part of the Reformation of France and his passing led to a six month long period of public mourning.
In Madrid Olivares was given an almost royal funeral and thousands followed his casket as it was moved from the Palacio Real to its final resting place. The 22 year old infanta who had battled with the Count-Duke over influence in the Spanish court was now unopposed and could be crowned as queen of Spain some months later. Despite Olivares’ huge amount of popularity following his defence of Spain during the last war with France no official order regarding public mourning was ever issued by Ana now queen of Spain and first of that name.

The two new monarchs of Catholic Christendom’s greatest nations were both very young and very inexperienced upon their ascension.

Part of the reasoning for Ana’s feuding with Olivares has to be found in her utter lack of any form of political ambition and wit. While the Count-Duke had genuinely cared for the well being of Spain and the pure faith of Catholicism Ana saw Madrid as Spain and the country as something dirty and outlandish. She did show some remarkable skill when it came to court intrigues where she would use her devilish good looks and immense resources to play courtier against courtier, but when her advisors came running with matters regarding the state and its finances she simply sent them away. In a time where Spain more than ever needed strong hand in the face of Nicolas’ aggression in the empire Ana proved to little better than a ornate symbol of Spanish royal authority. This, of course, didn’t go unnoticed in the higher echelons of the Spanish society were many officials were downright appalled over the rule of Ana. Most matters of state were handled by her new valido[2] Carlos Marquis de Vallado a far away cousin of the queen. Whether or not the two of them had intimate relations are not known, but given the nature of Ana and her other very clear signs of blatant nepotism towards favourites, it wouldn’t be impossible to imagine. Carlos tried his best to rein in the escapades of Ana while he kept the military happy with large budgets. After Ana’s ascension, Spain was rearming at an incredible pace, but she had no ways to use the new armies let alone anyone competent enough to lead them effectively.

Leopold was no more skilled in the diplomatic world than his royal relative in Madrid, but he did, however, posses a well developed understanding of how to run a military campaign despite his fairly young age. The officers had immediately taken a liking to him and his militant opinions regarding the Protestant issues in Bohemia and Württemberg and soon the Austrian army had set up their own mixture of a court martial and the inquisition in the Protestant provinces. This had a dramatic effect as more Protestants were burned at the stake for heresy in the first months of Leopold’s reign than in the last three years of Eleanor’s. Nicolas was less than impressed with the rearmament in the Catholic bloc, but the German Protestant princes were alarmed. It seemed that the Catholics were about to violate Imperial law, just as Nicolas had, by invading and subduing the Protestant states to the north of Austria. Without a strong emperor the Protestants would be mincemeat when facing the Austrian armies and then the fate of the reformists in Austria would also overcome the free Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. Thus the electors of Brandenburg and Saxony came to an agreement with the French supporting electors of the Palatinate and Trier regarding casting their vote in favour of Nicolas.

______________________________

The electors favour Nicolas for the first time!

A combination of French aggression in Switzerland and the following exposure and humiliation of Karl Ludwig combined with Austrian atrocities within the empire had led to one of the most positive situations in the history of French foreign policy. Nicolas was now certain that if Karl died within a very short timeframe, he would be elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. This was of course unacceptable to both the thrones of Madrid and Vienna. Before 1652 had come to a close Leopold and Ana had reaffirmed their offensive and defensive alliances and treaties with both Savoy and Portugal. It was clear that the flame of war was about to ignited once again and that this time there would be no compromise, no negotiation and no peace before either the Habsburgs or the Bourbons sat on the Imperial throne.

[1]75 ducats
[2]Favourite, equivalent to a prime minister

[RGB]

Aha!

So the dreaded Russian PU is no more, surely affecting War Capacity in a good way for France.

And A French Holy Roman Emperor sounds like the last line in the sand for Austria and its allies.

Things are going splendidly.

[Enewald]

Soon you shall gain hegemony over europe!