Three Crowns, one Union - a ScandinaviAAR

[Andcus]

Hello all.
After being a long time reader of this magnificent place, i have decided to do my part and getting into an AAR. And what could possibly be a better start, than with a Scandinavian AAR.

Now. I have followed several AAR's that have been about unifying the North.
Some of them have been about creating a Kalmar Union or Scandinavian Kingdom, and some have been about a single country, wanting to dominate its nordic brother nations (im looking at you sweden! ).

This will be quite different.
I have been a long time fan of alternate history, and often think "what if this went down differently" when dragging myself through history class.

So this will be an introduction to how a United Scandinavia was created, and then a "true" AAR where i play through the game as the country.

The entire experience is home modded. I used the editor (risky business) and made some events, to get the correct game experience.

So sit back, and enjoy.

[Andcus]

Chapter I
Slaget på Reden (Battle of Copenhagen)

2nd of April
1801.

The War of the Second Coalition is reaching its end.
Britain is still blockading France, using its mighty navy. However, there are some nations who are hurting the British war effort.
The Second League of Armed Neutrality.

Denmark-Norway, Sweden, Russia and Prussia are going against the British policy of searching neutral ships for French Contrabands.
The British Government decides to end this alliance and dispatches a fleet led by Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson.
They were to force Denmark-Norway out of the league before the ice in the Baltic sea melted, and the Russian Navy could join the Swedish and Dano-Norwegian and thereby forming a large fleet consisting of 123 ships of the line.

Most of the Danish Navy had been moored for the winter, and where not able to engage the British task force, therefore the Danish Ships were mostly made up of floating batteries and also notably the fort Trekroner (who had 68 heavy cannons). The British fleet consisted of 20 ships of the line and several smaller ships.

The two fleets engaged each other in an epic duel for the future of the Baltic Nations.
As the battle dragged on, Sir Hyde Parker signaled for Nelson to retreat.
The aggressive young Vice-Admiral ignored the order, by holding his telescope in front of his blind eye. The battle raged on.

Dano-Norwegian Superiority was starting to show.
The British expert gunners were not taking as hard a toll as the Dano-Norwegian sailors (who were made up of civilian volunteers). But the Dano-Norwegian batteries provided a more stable platform, giving them better precision. Several of Nelsons ships were out of the fight, either retreating, or drifting aimlessly around in the shallow waters. Nelson knew he had to end the fight quickly.
The Dano-Norwegian Reserve unit was being prepared, and outnumbered the British reserve commanded by Hyde Parker. Nelson tried to trick his adversaries into giving up.

Artist's rendition of the Battle of Copenhagen

He sent a letter to the Dano-Norwegian Regent, Crown Prince Frederik.
The note read:

“To the Brothers of Englishmen, the Danes
'Lord Nelson has directions to spare Denmark when she is no longer resisting, but if firing is continued on the part of Denmark, Lord Nelson will be obliged to set on fire the floating batteries he has taken, without having the power of saving the brave Danes who have defended them.”

The Prince was outraged. He had not been informed that the British had captured some of the Dano-Norwegian Batteries. He was about to accept the truce, when one of his advisors asked him, if he shouldn’t get an evaluation from the leader of the Dano-Norwegian Fleet, Commander Olfert Fischer.

The Prince received word from the commander, that Nelson hadnt taken any ships capture and that giving up the fight now wouldn’t be a good idea, since the British were pressed.

The British Officer returned to Nelson with the news of the Regent’s refusal to his offer. Nelson ordered a second attempt meanwhile the battle resumed.

3 British Ships of the Line, drifted into the range of Trekroner fort, where they were quickly immobilised. Both Fleet reserves entered the battle, and the casulties rose each passing minute. As both fleets where locked in a stalemate, they were too concerned with their main enemy to see the approaching fleet on the horizon.
It was a young Danish sailor who spotted them first. Fischer raised his telescope and saw the Yellow-Blue colours of the Swedish Navy. The wind had turned, and the Swedish fleet anchored at Karlskrona had been able to sail for Copenhagen.

With the arrival of the Swedish Fleet, Hyde Parker once again ordered Nelson to retreat. This time, the Vice-Admiral obeyed, and he withdrew his forces.
Hyde Parker sent a letter to the Crown Prince, stating that he was seeking a truce, that would ensure that the remaining British ships could sail back to England.

On April 3rd a conclusion was reached.
The British had to surrender all ships that could not make the trip back to friendly waters. They would also sign a contract stating that the United Kingdom, would not interfere in the League’s affairs any longer, and that ships from the League would be allowed to sail unhindered, throghout the world.

With the agreement signed. The remainder of the British Task Force, sailed home.
Meanwhile the Swedish navy, even though hadnt participated in any action, was greeted as heroes. The Scandinavians celebrated their victory over the British, and their neutrality in the European Conflict, was ensured.

[Atlantic Friend]

- Kiss me, Hardy!

[Andcus]

Chapter II:
Fall of the Continent

As it turned out, the british decision to try and force Denmark-Norway out of the Second League of Armed Neutrality, wouldnt have made any difference in the long run. Tsar Paul I of Russia had been assassinated just a week before the battle of Copenhagen and his son, Alexander I, had taken his place as Tsar.

The new russian ruler didnt care much for neutrality and allied himself with Great Britain. Prussia also withdrew from the League, leaving only Denmark-Norway and Sweden. Both Nations signed a Defensive Alliance, known as the Göteborg Agreement. They promised to help their allies in any way possible, if they were attacked without reason.

Peace only lasted a few years, before war blew out between Britain and France. British Prime Minister William Pitt, hurried around the world to gather his 3rd Coalition against Napoleon. Sweden rejected a proposal from the UK, which promised support for Sweden, if they decided to act on their claims on Norway.

This pushed Denmark-Norway and Sweden further together.
It remained like this for several years. As Europe descended into darkness, Scandinavia remained untouched. Requests from both sides, asked the Nations to join their respective cause, but they were all turned down.

At the Congress of Erfurt, Alexander I and Napoleon (now allies) agreed that Swedens dominance over Finland should be ended. As the Russian armies prepared, war again loomed over Scandinavia.

[Karelian]

With freedom to concentrate forces to their eastern border in Savolax without the need to fear Danish invasion, Sweden has much better chances to defend itself than in OTL.

It all depends on whom is in charge and what strategy is used. If Sprengtporten's plans of active defense from the border is adopted, this will be totally different war from the fiasco it was historically. Heja Sverige!

[Admiral Fyyar]

Ah, we get to keep our navy, the second biggest in the world at the time! Leve Danmark-Norge, samt vore brave svenske brødre!

(Long live Denmark-Norway, as well as our brave Swedish brothers)

[13579]

Yes! Oh yes! I love this one! This must be interesting.

[Andcus]

Chapter III:
Blizzard

As the first Russians entered Finland, the Swedish army suffered defeat after defeat. But due to wellplaced counter-attacks, the situation was stabilised after loosing some ground to the more experienced russian army.

Following the Göteborg agreement, Dano-Norwegian ships arrived at Åland, and helped to force the surrender of the Russian Garrison. Dano-Norwegian troops also arrived in Finland, to help their Swedish allies.

In the meantime, Napoleon was eying the Dano-Norwegian Fleet.
Having lost the majority of his own, a couple of years earlier at Trafalgar, he needed a stronger navy if he was to press the British.

The United Kingdom knew of Napoleons intentions and warned Denmark-Norway, that if they wouldnt be able to defend their Navy, the British would come and take it. As a French Army prepared in Germany, Frederik VI ordered his men back from Finland, and ordered his admirals to prepare the ships for battle.

Further North, the Swedes were on the loosing side of the War.
Even though they were able to defeat the russians at nearly ever encounter, they were simply too outnumbered to do any good.
The Swedish Army was still redeploying from the south and wouldnt be ready for at least another month.

As the first French troops entered Schleswig-Holstein, and the first British ships engaged Dano-Norwegian patrols on their way to Copenhagen, Denmark-Norway was in a tough situation. The Dano-Norwegian Army was still being withdrawn from Finland, so it wasnt many troops who opposed the French. The Dano-Norwegian Navy, although large, was effectively old and couldnt compare to the many Modern British ships.


These were truly dark days for Scandinavia.

Artist's Renditiion of a Dano-Norwegian patrol vessel under attack from British Forward Scout Vessels

[Karelian]

So Finland might still be conquered by Russia, the plot thickens...

[General_Hoth]

I suscribe to this! Let's hope a settlement with Napoleon can arrive soon and allow the 2 to beat back Russia!

[Andcus]

Chapter IV:
A friend in need

Frederick VI had to move quickly.
The French were already engaged in Schleswig and a Dano-Norwegian Force, led by now Vice-Admiral Olfert Fischer, had spotted the British Fleet and were getting ready to attack. He held a meeting with his advisors and some Swedish Representatives.

In Finland, the situation was getting better for the Swedes. A lot of the troops that were redeployed from the Norwegian Border, proved to be a deciding factor in turning the tide. Tsar Alexander was under heavy pressure to end the war quickly, so he ordered his Generals to be more agressive which caused heavier casulties for the Russians as they threw themselves at the Swedish defences. Finnish guerilla soldiers were also wrecking havoc on the Russian supply lines.

In Oresund, Fischer was engaging the British Fleet.
It was an unfair fight however. The Dano-Norwegians were outnumbered and outgunned. However, Fischer stated that not one ship should retreat, and everybody should fight to the death.

Fischer ordering crewmen to return to their stations and fight!

At the meeting, things werent looking too good either. The Dano-Norwegians and Swedes werent agreeing on who to side with. If they allied with Napoleon, Sweden would almost surely loose Finland to Russia in the following peace treaty. If they allied with Great Britain, Denmark would still have to face the threat from its vulnerable southern border, where the French were invading.

If the two countries couldnt reach an agreement, they would have to ally with different sides. And any dream of an allied and unified Scandinavia, would be destroyed.

[Andcus]

Karelian: Well, the russian army was large and experienced by this time, meanwhile the swedish (as good and proffesional as it was) was largely outnumbered.

General_Hoth: As mentioned in my post, Napoleon and Russia were friends by convinience at this time, and they were the ones who gave the russians the green light for the invasion of Finland.

[Karelian]

I wouldn´t say that the Swedish Army was outnumbered. In OTL the initial Russian invasion force was roughly 24 000 soldier strong while the garrison troops in Finland had 13 000 troops recruited from Finland and aprx. 8 000 soldiers from Sweden. At the end of the war the Russians had 55 000 soldiers, while the battered Swedish troops still numbered 36 000 even though they had to deploy substantial forces to western Sweden to guard their borders against the Danes. Surely Sweden would be able to bring more troops to the fight in this scenario?

But I´m nitpicking, sorry for that

[Quanto]

I am really enjoying this, I can't wait to see how you pull all of this together.
Surely the Danes and Swedes will have the foresight to understand an Alliance with Britain is far more advantages in the long run. Especially with the French defeat looming.

[Andcus]

Karelian: I understand your concern, and your nitpicking is something i enjoy. Details are the fun of (a)historical scenarios, so please, keep going.
My main idea behind the lack of troops, would be common Scandinavian paranoia. After all, they are some of the most warring nations.

Quanto: Thanks! encouragement is always great.

[Amallric]

Very interesting ahistorical situation, although I'm against the idea of unified Scandinavia(Denmark for the win ). Heheh, it really makes me wonder how this will work out(I'm totally clueless for now).

[Andcus]

Amallric: Im danish myself
You would be surprised at how many chances that there have been for a unified scandinavia, most of them in the 19th century.

[Herbert West]

Let the three brothers unite!

[Admiral Fyyar]

I look forward to seeing Scandinavian battleships in the 20th century

[Andcus]

Chapter V:
Decisions

As the meeting progressed, the war was still on.

In Finland, Swedish troops were making little progress against the russians.
Finnish guerilla soldiers had made life in Southern Finland, tough for the Russians. But the russians had gained the help of Finnish Freedom fighters to do the same against the swedish, so the 2 armies were in a stalemate.

Victorious Swedish soldiers advancing. The truth was much different, as sickness and guerilla fighters were harassing the troops

In Jutland, the French had been stopped, due to last stand by a Norwegian Regiment. The french regrouping gave the Dano-Norwegians time to form an army to defend Copenhagen.

In the Baltic, the british had defeated Fischers Fleet, costing the life of the Vice-Admiral. This was what tipped the balance at the meeting.
As of now, the British were a larger threat than the French. So the Scandinavians agreed to side with the British.

So when the British fleet arrived in Copenhagen, they werent meet with gunfire, but with cheering. British soldiers were unloaded and was meeting up with the Dano-Norwegian Army.

Scandinavia wasnt on its own now.