Part 6: The Great War
The Western Front
Generally referred to by German scholars as the Western Front, the French Theatre of war saw a lot of heavy fighting during the Great War and was by far the most crucial theatre for victory. Following the successes of the initial German offensive in Alsace and Lorraine, the German offensive slowed. By January 1866, a series of unsuccessful counter-attacks lead by the French near Metz and Moselle slowed the advance to a halt. These attacks, however, were pushed back, with the French suffering harsh casualties. The winter month saw little fighting, most of which was concentrated on the southern end of the front. However, by springtime, the Germans were planning a powerful offensive around the Metz and Thionville sectors of the front.
Devised by Helmuth von Moltke, the goal of the offensive was to capture Verdun and cross the Meuse, hopefully breaking through French lines and opening up the front. On May 27th, the North German Army launched their offensive, meeting with resounding success, shattering French lines and enabling them to begin their advance on Verdun. In one of the most decisive battles of the war, the Prussian 8th Army Corps met with French forces at Batilly, only 26 miles from Verdun. The Battle of Batilly was the German Army's first major encounter with urban warfare. The German Army had no prior training in urban warfare and the French defenders hid on rooftops, shot through loopholes, and stationed cannons in the middle of the city's streets. Rooftops were lined with a two foot tall wall that acted as a parapet for the defending soldiers making each home a fort unto itself. On June 2nd 1866, the German 8th Corps, which included some of its best soldiers, marched down the city's streets. The French hid behind walls and on rooftops, ambushing the advancing German troops, who were cut down by the defenders. They tried to march straight down the street until the intense fire drove them to hide in adjacent buildings. General von Goeben tried to move artillery into the city but this tactic did not fare any better.
North German forces attempting to take a building at the Battle of Batilly
Finally, two days later, the Germans tried once again to capture Batilly. This time, von Goeben was forced to listen to his advisors, some of whom had fought in French cities before such as the Battle of Maizières-les-Metz and the Battle of Thionville in 1865. They therefore understood that the army needed fight house to house and root out the defenders in close combat. The Germans used pick axes to chip holes in the walls of the homes, or they sometimes used ladders to climb to the top of a rooftop and assault the French defenders in hand to hand combat. The typical assault on a home would include one man who would run to the door of the house and chip the door away with a pick axe while under covering fire. Once the door showed signs of weakening, 3-4 other soldiers would run to the door and barge in with the revolvers blazing. Finally, von Goeben seized the city on June 14th, enabling his forces to continue their drive towards Verdun. There they met the Rhine Army in a bloody battle that lasted for four days from which the Germans emerged victorious. Following the battle, the city was put under siege, and would hold out until the end of the war.
Meanwhile, the French fleet in Brest broke the British blockade of the French Coast in an attempt to join with the French Mediterranean Fleet in order to pose a more serious threat to the British Royal Navy. The Royal Navy along with a large part of the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine (based out of Portsmouth), sent out to try and catch up with the French fleet, trying to cut it off in the Bay of Biscay. While many historians agree the French Fleet was out of reach at that point, a lucky encounter with a Spanish task force just off the French coast delayed the fleet by an additional week, as the battle had damaged several ships, such as the La Gloire and the Rubis. This enabled the Anglo-German fleet to catch up to the French fleet and engage it in the Bay of Biscay. Led by Pierre-Gustave Roze, the French Atlantic fleet numbered 27 ships, among them were the restored ironclads La Gloire and Rubis along with the Man-of-Wars Couronne, L’Océan and the Lave. The combined Anglo-German fleet counted a little more than 38 ships and were led by Admiral Sir George Biddlecombe and Prince Adalbert of Prussia. The North German Fleet (composed mostly of Prussian ships) sported a total 7 ships, among them were Adalbert’s pride and joy; the ironclad SMS Beowulf along with its sister ship, the ironclad SMSPreußen as well as the Man-of-Wars SMS Barbarossa and SMS König. Alongside them were the ships of the Royal Navy, lead by Admiral Sir George Biddlecombe, strong with 31 ships. Among them were the ironclads HMS Warrior, HMS Iron Duke and HMS Duke of Wellington along with the Man-of-Wars HMS Vanguard, and HMS Bellophoron. The Battle started around noon on June 30th 1866 and lasted for five hours. The ironclads dominated the battle, and sunk many ships. The French quickly found themselves at a disadvantage, their numbers simply being too few to prevent their enemies from ganging up on individual ships, picking them off one by one. Seeing things going badly, Admiral Pierre-Gustave Roze found the courage to order the captain of the ironclad La Gloire to attempt to ram the unarmoured Man-of-War SMS König rather than one of the armoured ships engaged with the Couronne, two of which were much nearer him. However, the SMS König managed to dodge the La Gloire. Taking heart from his admiral, the captain of the Rubis decided to hurl his ship at the SMS König as well, maintaining a heavy fire with her rifled guns as he did so. At the last moment, the captain of the König, turned the tables on her and turned into the ship, in effect conducting a counter ram.
The impact tore off the König’s stem and bowsprit, leaving her figurehead embedded in La Gloire. The French used the opportunity to rake theKönig with fire, putting her mainmast and funnel into the sea. The smoke was so great that as they backed off for another ram they lost sight of each other and ended the duel. Around the same time, the HMS Iron Duke threw itself, first at the L’Océan and then at the Lave, scoring only glaring blows. However, these blows caused a lot of damage, especially to the L’Océan, which was dismasted and set afire. By the end of the afternoon, the fleets had disengaged, with the French Atlantic fleet in total disarray. In the engagement, the French lost a total of 16 ships, the Germans lost 3 and the British lost 9 ships. Meanwhile, a combined force of Spanish and British ships destroyed most of the French Mediterranean Fleet in a decisive battle near the Gibraltar straight. These two battle sealed France’s fate a sea, isolating it from its colonial empire and depriving it of vital resources. Meanwhile, on the mainland, the Germans were pushing on across all fronts. On August 17th 1866, the German 2nd Army met with the remnants of the Rhine Army on the outskirts of Paris. The Army was led by the French King Louis Philippe II. The battle lasted for a few days and was one of the bloodiest of the war. While the Germans had the high ground, from which they could shell French positions for a devastating frontal assault, von Goeben saw the opportunity for encirclement, hitting hard the French army’s flanks, forcing them to give in. Using artillery to pin the French troops in place, von Goeben was able to encircle the French. After two days of failed breakout attempts and the death of King Louis-Philippe II’s star general Auguste Frossard, the King was forced to surrender his troops. With the crushing destruction of the Rhine Army, the German 2nd Army was free to lay siege to Paris. Meanwhile, the capture of the King brought the simmering discontentment and disillusion towards the Monarchy to spring forward. In a bloodless revolution, Adolphe Thiers, a prominent French politician and French Prime Minister from 1836 to 1840, declared the end of the Kingdom of France and the creation of the Third Republic. While most of the military vehemently opposed the removal of the Monarchy and the instauration of a Republic, the more pressing threat of the war with the North German Federation, Spain and Italy forced them to accept this new turn of events. Nevertheless, the provisional government of France openly declared its will to carry on the struggle. The siege of Paris began in early September 1866 and the Germans made many attempts to seize the city. Battered and weak, the French were nevertheless, able to hold on to the city for almost 6 weeks, forcing the North German army into bloody urban combat in Paris’s treacherous streets. Having learned much at the Battle of Batilly, von Goeben attempted to take the city with the same tactics that worked so well at Batilly. While the tactics met with success, the Paris city streets were more treacherous than any other city the North German army had ever fought it. With casualties mounting, von Goeben was forced to withdraw his troops from the city. After an additional two months of siege, the starved and battered city of Paris was forced to surrender on January 12th 1867.
A famous French painting depicting the Siege of Paris
The Spanish Front
Following the Spanish Declaration of War, the French Southern Army, lead by General Pierre Louis de Failly, launched a series of attacks in Catalonia, with the ultimate goal being to capture Barcelona. While the first attacks were successful, the invasion ultimately bogged down in the Pyrenees. In late 1865, the Spanish launched a series of massive counter-attacks against French positions. They were however unable to push the French out of their fortified positions and suffered heavy losses. At the battles of Olot and Ripoll, the French were able to turn their crushing victories against the Spanish offensive into a full-blown counter-offensive, encircling Barcelona and pushing the frontlines to within 50 miles of Tarragona. Over the winter, the frontlines settled and the fighting bogged down into a bloody stalemate. For every inch of ground gained, the other side would retake it in a series of never ending counter-attacks, with the hilly and rough terrain hindering offensive operations. In the Northernmost sector, various offensives in the rough terrain near the Franco-Spanish border grounded offensive efforts to halt. Meanwhile, in Morocco, Spanish forces led by Ramón Blanco y Erenas, Spanish Brigadier a leader of the Spanish forces in Morocco and Algeria attempted to make do with his measly forces and attempted to establish a defensive line with the city of Oujda as its central pivot point. French forces quickly overwhelmed his troops however, and the young General was forced to fight a long and costly retreat towards the Moroccan Coast. On September 17th 1865, Spanish forces in Barcelona surrender to the French, after nearly 5 weeks of siege, freeing up three French divisions. Two weeks later, the French army launched massive offensive against Spanish positions all across fronts, pushing the frontlines as far back as Zaragoza. By March 1866, Spanish troops in Morocco were demoralized and battered. Following two subsequent defeats at the Battles of Fès and Mèknes destroyed what little morale the Spanish had left. Faced with another lengthy retreat through the desert towards Rabat and an increasingly lost cause, General Ramón Blanco y Erenas officially surrendered on June 12th 1866. After the Spanish defeat in North Africa and the increasing gains by the French in the East, the Northern sector of the front collapsed. Now in a full rout, the Spanish army was incapable of providing more than token resistance to French forces. On July 2nd 1866, with Madrid under direct threat, the Spanish government sued for peace, signing the Treaty of Barcelona a week later. In it, the Spanish government agreed to abandon its colonial ambitions in Algeria and hand over the Setif concession to France. It was also required to disband a third of its military and limit its colonial presence in Morocco to a token force.
The Italian Front
Following the outbreak of hostilities between the new Kingdom of Italy and the Papal States and their French and Austrian allies, the King of Italy ordered the mobilisation of all men fit to bear arms to fight for Italy and their homeland. People from all walks of life flocked to answer the call and vast armies were formed. However, most of Italy’s professional and well trained troops were currently fighting the Papal States in Central Italy and therefore, the forces available in the North to stop the French offensive were vast, but woefully equipped and under often inexperienced or simply incompetent leadership. After a quick string of defeats, Italian forces were forced to retreat towards Torino, which fell on August 16th 1865. To help turn Italian fortunes around in the North, Vittorio Emmanuel II named Enrico Cialdini, one of Garibaldi’s finest generals, to command the Northern army. Still on the retreat, the Northern Army was nevertheless capable of stopping the French advance at Genova on November 30th 1865, halting the French advance. A deciding factor in Italy’s ability to fight off the French army was the inaction of the Austrian Army, which was unable to launch any offensive attacks because of massive revolts in Lombardy and Venice. With the armed uprisings in Lombardy and Venice keeping the Austrians busy, Cialdini was able to throw all the troops at his disposition at the French. Meanwhile, the campaign against the Papal States was going well. After crushing victories at San Marino, Ardea and Canino in 1865, Italian forces lead by the King and Garibaldi were able to press their advantage during the early months of 1866. With the Italian forces closing in, the Pope tried, in a last ditch effort to salvage his military position, tried to split the Italian 4th and 6th armies by capturing the city of Monterotondo, thereby splitting Italian forces. This gamble failed however, as Papal forces were too weak to defeat Garibaldi’s well trained force. As a result, what was left of the Papal army was destroyed and Italian troops walked on Rome. Wanting to spare Rome from war, the Pope surrendered his troops and placed himself at “the mercy of god”. Meanwhile, up North, the French kept pushing hard against Cialdini’s forces. However, with reinforcements from the south and with his troops now more experienced in combat, Cialdini launched a massive counter-offensive in the summer of 1866, pushing back French forces. After several decisive battles, the Italians were able to regain most of their captured territories. By October 1866, they laid siege to Marseille, which fell on October 31st.
The Southern Front
After the sudden declaration of war by Austria in September 1865, the North German Federation was forced to mobilise its troops in order fend off the Austrian invasion. While General Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel tried his best to fend off the Austrian attacks as best he could, he was forced to concede land after his defeats at Leipzig and Kattowitz. In early 1866 however, the North German Federation was able to gather enough troops to launch a counter-offensive against the Austrians in Silesia. At the Second Battle of Kattowitz, General Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel’s troops met with a force of just under 100 000 troops. While the North German 7st Army was more of a match in numbers for the Austrians, their army was a much better trained force of professional soldiers. However, von Manteuffel’s frontal attack was merely a diversion for the 9th Army’s main attack along the Austrian flank. While this was a gamble many of his advisors tried to convince him not to take, Manteuffel knew that the war with Austria needed to be short so the forces. However, heavy rain slowed the 9th Army’s advance, delaying them for several days. As the Austrians rushed in more reinforcements, the North German forces found themselves outgunned and outnumbered. However, no matter what the Austrians threw at them, the 7th Army’s forces continued to hold their ground, desperately trying to press on with their attack.
Prussian forces desperatly holding on at the Second Battle of Kattowitz
The battle was almost lost when the Austrians charged the North German artillery positions, capturing most of their cannons and depriving them of their main weapon. However, the 7th Army still held on, and on March 15th 1866, the 9th Army reached the battlefield and flanked the Austrian army to the east. Shocked and surprised, the Austrian forces were devastated by the attack on their flank, forcing them to retreat. Following that victory, von Manteuffel pressed his advantage and chased Austrian forces out of Prussia and into Bohemia, taking Prague on June 3rd. After some more intense fighting, the Germans inflicted another decisive and crushing blow to the Austrians, forcing them to sue for peace and recognise the North German Federation’s hegemony over the German States.
The Treaty of Frankfurt
Following the defeat of Austria and the capture of Paris led to the signing of the Treaty of Frankfurt in January 1867, which permanently altered the face of Europe. The North German Federation annexed the German lands of Elsass-Lothringen, something that was deeply humiliating for the French. The Great Powers of Europe also recognised the Kingdom of Italy (which annexed the Papal States in the treaty as well) as legitimate. Taking advantage of the nationalist surge in Germany following the war, Bismarck was able to convince the rulers of Baden, Würtemberg and Bavaria to join the North German Federation in forming a unified German Empire. The nations all accepted, and the King of Prussia at the time, King Wilhelm I was crowned Wilhelm I, Emperor of the Germans.
The Coronation of Wilhelm I, Emperor of the Germans, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There you go, my longest (and hopefully best !) update ever. (3 000 words
)
Hope it was worth the wait
My next update's ETA is unknown since I still have lot's of exams... oh and Dragon Age II comes out tomorrow/today (since at time of posting it will be tomorrow in 15 minutes )
The Western Front
Generally referred to by German scholars as the Western Front, the French Theatre of war saw a lot of heavy fighting during the Great War and was by far the most crucial theatre for victory. Following the successes of the initial German offensive in Alsace and Lorraine, the German offensive slowed. By January 1866, a series of unsuccessful counter-attacks lead by the French near Metz and Moselle slowed the advance to a halt. These attacks, however, were pushed back, with the French suffering harsh casualties. The winter month saw little fighting, most of which was concentrated on the southern end of the front. However, by springtime, the Germans were planning a powerful offensive around the Metz and Thionville sectors of the front.
Devised by Helmuth von Moltke, the goal of the offensive was to capture Verdun and cross the Meuse, hopefully breaking through French lines and opening up the front. On May 27th, the North German Army launched their offensive, meeting with resounding success, shattering French lines and enabling them to begin their advance on Verdun. In one of the most decisive battles of the war, the Prussian 8th Army Corps met with French forces at Batilly, only 26 miles from Verdun. The Battle of Batilly was the German Army's first major encounter with urban warfare. The German Army had no prior training in urban warfare and the French defenders hid on rooftops, shot through loopholes, and stationed cannons in the middle of the city's streets. Rooftops were lined with a two foot tall wall that acted as a parapet for the defending soldiers making each home a fort unto itself. On June 2nd 1866, the German 8th Corps, which included some of its best soldiers, marched down the city's streets. The French hid behind walls and on rooftops, ambushing the advancing German troops, who were cut down by the defenders. They tried to march straight down the street until the intense fire drove them to hide in adjacent buildings. General von Goeben tried to move artillery into the city but this tactic did not fare any better.
North German forces attempting to take a building at the Battle of Batilly
Finally, two days later, the Germans tried once again to capture Batilly. This time, von Goeben was forced to listen to his advisors, some of whom had fought in French cities before such as the Battle of Maizières-les-Metz and the Battle of Thionville in 1865. They therefore understood that the army needed fight house to house and root out the defenders in close combat. The Germans used pick axes to chip holes in the walls of the homes, or they sometimes used ladders to climb to the top of a rooftop and assault the French defenders in hand to hand combat. The typical assault on a home would include one man who would run to the door of the house and chip the door away with a pick axe while under covering fire. Once the door showed signs of weakening, 3-4 other soldiers would run to the door and barge in with the revolvers blazing. Finally, von Goeben seized the city on June 14th, enabling his forces to continue their drive towards Verdun. There they met the Rhine Army in a bloody battle that lasted for four days from which the Germans emerged victorious. Following the battle, the city was put under siege, and would hold out until the end of the war.
Meanwhile, the French fleet in Brest broke the British blockade of the French Coast in an attempt to join with the French Mediterranean Fleet in order to pose a more serious threat to the British Royal Navy. The Royal Navy along with a large part of the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine (based out of Portsmouth), sent out to try and catch up with the French fleet, trying to cut it off in the Bay of Biscay. While many historians agree the French Fleet was out of reach at that point, a lucky encounter with a Spanish task force just off the French coast delayed the fleet by an additional week, as the battle had damaged several ships, such as the La Gloire and the Rubis. This enabled the Anglo-German fleet to catch up to the French fleet and engage it in the Bay of Biscay. Led by Pierre-Gustave Roze, the French Atlantic fleet numbered 27 ships, among them were the restored ironclads La Gloire and Rubis along with the Man-of-Wars Couronne, L’Océan and the Lave. The combined Anglo-German fleet counted a little more than 38 ships and were led by Admiral Sir George Biddlecombe and Prince Adalbert of Prussia. The North German Fleet (composed mostly of Prussian ships) sported a total 7 ships, among them were Adalbert’s pride and joy; the ironclad SMS Beowulf along with its sister ship, the ironclad SMSPreußen as well as the Man-of-Wars SMS Barbarossa and SMS König. Alongside them were the ships of the Royal Navy, lead by Admiral Sir George Biddlecombe, strong with 31 ships. Among them were the ironclads HMS Warrior, HMS Iron Duke and HMS Duke of Wellington along with the Man-of-Wars HMS Vanguard, and HMS Bellophoron. The Battle started around noon on June 30th 1866 and lasted for five hours. The ironclads dominated the battle, and sunk many ships. The French quickly found themselves at a disadvantage, their numbers simply being too few to prevent their enemies from ganging up on individual ships, picking them off one by one. Seeing things going badly, Admiral Pierre-Gustave Roze found the courage to order the captain of the ironclad La Gloire to attempt to ram the unarmoured Man-of-War SMS König rather than one of the armoured ships engaged with the Couronne, two of which were much nearer him. However, the SMS König managed to dodge the La Gloire. Taking heart from his admiral, the captain of the Rubis decided to hurl his ship at the SMS König as well, maintaining a heavy fire with her rifled guns as he did so. At the last moment, the captain of the König, turned the tables on her and turned into the ship, in effect conducting a counter ram.
The impact tore off the König’s stem and bowsprit, leaving her figurehead embedded in La Gloire. The French used the opportunity to rake theKönig with fire, putting her mainmast and funnel into the sea. The smoke was so great that as they backed off for another ram they lost sight of each other and ended the duel. Around the same time, the HMS Iron Duke threw itself, first at the L’Océan and then at the Lave, scoring only glaring blows. However, these blows caused a lot of damage, especially to the L’Océan, which was dismasted and set afire. By the end of the afternoon, the fleets had disengaged, with the French Atlantic fleet in total disarray. In the engagement, the French lost a total of 16 ships, the Germans lost 3 and the British lost 9 ships. Meanwhile, a combined force of Spanish and British ships destroyed most of the French Mediterranean Fleet in a decisive battle near the Gibraltar straight. These two battle sealed France’s fate a sea, isolating it from its colonial empire and depriving it of vital resources. Meanwhile, on the mainland, the Germans were pushing on across all fronts. On August 17th 1866, the German 2nd Army met with the remnants of the Rhine Army on the outskirts of Paris. The Army was led by the French King Louis Philippe II. The battle lasted for a few days and was one of the bloodiest of the war. While the Germans had the high ground, from which they could shell French positions for a devastating frontal assault, von Goeben saw the opportunity for encirclement, hitting hard the French army’s flanks, forcing them to give in. Using artillery to pin the French troops in place, von Goeben was able to encircle the French. After two days of failed breakout attempts and the death of King Louis-Philippe II’s star general Auguste Frossard, the King was forced to surrender his troops. With the crushing destruction of the Rhine Army, the German 2nd Army was free to lay siege to Paris. Meanwhile, the capture of the King brought the simmering discontentment and disillusion towards the Monarchy to spring forward. In a bloodless revolution, Adolphe Thiers, a prominent French politician and French Prime Minister from 1836 to 1840, declared the end of the Kingdom of France and the creation of the Third Republic. While most of the military vehemently opposed the removal of the Monarchy and the instauration of a Republic, the more pressing threat of the war with the North German Federation, Spain and Italy forced them to accept this new turn of events. Nevertheless, the provisional government of France openly declared its will to carry on the struggle. The siege of Paris began in early September 1866 and the Germans made many attempts to seize the city. Battered and weak, the French were nevertheless, able to hold on to the city for almost 6 weeks, forcing the North German army into bloody urban combat in Paris’s treacherous streets. Having learned much at the Battle of Batilly, von Goeben attempted to take the city with the same tactics that worked so well at Batilly. While the tactics met with success, the Paris city streets were more treacherous than any other city the North German army had ever fought it. With casualties mounting, von Goeben was forced to withdraw his troops from the city. After an additional two months of siege, the starved and battered city of Paris was forced to surrender on January 12th 1867.
A famous French painting depicting the Siege of Paris
The Spanish Front
Following the Spanish Declaration of War, the French Southern Army, lead by General Pierre Louis de Failly, launched a series of attacks in Catalonia, with the ultimate goal being to capture Barcelona. While the first attacks were successful, the invasion ultimately bogged down in the Pyrenees. In late 1865, the Spanish launched a series of massive counter-attacks against French positions. They were however unable to push the French out of their fortified positions and suffered heavy losses. At the battles of Olot and Ripoll, the French were able to turn their crushing victories against the Spanish offensive into a full-blown counter-offensive, encircling Barcelona and pushing the frontlines to within 50 miles of Tarragona. Over the winter, the frontlines settled and the fighting bogged down into a bloody stalemate. For every inch of ground gained, the other side would retake it in a series of never ending counter-attacks, with the hilly and rough terrain hindering offensive operations. In the Northernmost sector, various offensives in the rough terrain near the Franco-Spanish border grounded offensive efforts to halt. Meanwhile, in Morocco, Spanish forces led by Ramón Blanco y Erenas, Spanish Brigadier a leader of the Spanish forces in Morocco and Algeria attempted to make do with his measly forces and attempted to establish a defensive line with the city of Oujda as its central pivot point. French forces quickly overwhelmed his troops however, and the young General was forced to fight a long and costly retreat towards the Moroccan Coast. On September 17th 1865, Spanish forces in Barcelona surrender to the French, after nearly 5 weeks of siege, freeing up three French divisions. Two weeks later, the French army launched massive offensive against Spanish positions all across fronts, pushing the frontlines as far back as Zaragoza. By March 1866, Spanish troops in Morocco were demoralized and battered. Following two subsequent defeats at the Battles of Fès and Mèknes destroyed what little morale the Spanish had left. Faced with another lengthy retreat through the desert towards Rabat and an increasingly lost cause, General Ramón Blanco y Erenas officially surrendered on June 12th 1866. After the Spanish defeat in North Africa and the increasing gains by the French in the East, the Northern sector of the front collapsed. Now in a full rout, the Spanish army was incapable of providing more than token resistance to French forces. On July 2nd 1866, with Madrid under direct threat, the Spanish government sued for peace, signing the Treaty of Barcelona a week later. In it, the Spanish government agreed to abandon its colonial ambitions in Algeria and hand over the Setif concession to France. It was also required to disband a third of its military and limit its colonial presence in Morocco to a token force.
The Italian Front
Following the outbreak of hostilities between the new Kingdom of Italy and the Papal States and their French and Austrian allies, the King of Italy ordered the mobilisation of all men fit to bear arms to fight for Italy and their homeland. People from all walks of life flocked to answer the call and vast armies were formed. However, most of Italy’s professional and well trained troops were currently fighting the Papal States in Central Italy and therefore, the forces available in the North to stop the French offensive were vast, but woefully equipped and under often inexperienced or simply incompetent leadership. After a quick string of defeats, Italian forces were forced to retreat towards Torino, which fell on August 16th 1865. To help turn Italian fortunes around in the North, Vittorio Emmanuel II named Enrico Cialdini, one of Garibaldi’s finest generals, to command the Northern army. Still on the retreat, the Northern Army was nevertheless capable of stopping the French advance at Genova on November 30th 1865, halting the French advance. A deciding factor in Italy’s ability to fight off the French army was the inaction of the Austrian Army, which was unable to launch any offensive attacks because of massive revolts in Lombardy and Venice. With the armed uprisings in Lombardy and Venice keeping the Austrians busy, Cialdini was able to throw all the troops at his disposition at the French. Meanwhile, the campaign against the Papal States was going well. After crushing victories at San Marino, Ardea and Canino in 1865, Italian forces lead by the King and Garibaldi were able to press their advantage during the early months of 1866. With the Italian forces closing in, the Pope tried, in a last ditch effort to salvage his military position, tried to split the Italian 4th and 6th armies by capturing the city of Monterotondo, thereby splitting Italian forces. This gamble failed however, as Papal forces were too weak to defeat Garibaldi’s well trained force. As a result, what was left of the Papal army was destroyed and Italian troops walked on Rome. Wanting to spare Rome from war, the Pope surrendered his troops and placed himself at “the mercy of god”. Meanwhile, up North, the French kept pushing hard against Cialdini’s forces. However, with reinforcements from the south and with his troops now more experienced in combat, Cialdini launched a massive counter-offensive in the summer of 1866, pushing back French forces. After several decisive battles, the Italians were able to regain most of their captured territories. By October 1866, they laid siege to Marseille, which fell on October 31st.
The Southern Front
After the sudden declaration of war by Austria in September 1865, the North German Federation was forced to mobilise its troops in order fend off the Austrian invasion. While General Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel tried his best to fend off the Austrian attacks as best he could, he was forced to concede land after his defeats at Leipzig and Kattowitz. In early 1866 however, the North German Federation was able to gather enough troops to launch a counter-offensive against the Austrians in Silesia. At the Second Battle of Kattowitz, General Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel’s troops met with a force of just under 100 000 troops. While the North German 7st Army was more of a match in numbers for the Austrians, their army was a much better trained force of professional soldiers. However, von Manteuffel’s frontal attack was merely a diversion for the 9th Army’s main attack along the Austrian flank. While this was a gamble many of his advisors tried to convince him not to take, Manteuffel knew that the war with Austria needed to be short so the forces. However, heavy rain slowed the 9th Army’s advance, delaying them for several days. As the Austrians rushed in more reinforcements, the North German forces found themselves outgunned and outnumbered. However, no matter what the Austrians threw at them, the 7th Army’s forces continued to hold their ground, desperately trying to press on with their attack.
Prussian forces desperatly holding on at the Second Battle of Kattowitz
The battle was almost lost when the Austrians charged the North German artillery positions, capturing most of their cannons and depriving them of their main weapon. However, the 7th Army still held on, and on March 15th 1866, the 9th Army reached the battlefield and flanked the Austrian army to the east. Shocked and surprised, the Austrian forces were devastated by the attack on their flank, forcing them to retreat. Following that victory, von Manteuffel pressed his advantage and chased Austrian forces out of Prussia and into Bohemia, taking Prague on June 3rd. After some more intense fighting, the Germans inflicted another decisive and crushing blow to the Austrians, forcing them to sue for peace and recognise the North German Federation’s hegemony over the German States.
The Treaty of Frankfurt
Following the defeat of Austria and the capture of Paris led to the signing of the Treaty of Frankfurt in January 1867, which permanently altered the face of Europe. The North German Federation annexed the German lands of Elsass-Lothringen, something that was deeply humiliating for the French. The Great Powers of Europe also recognised the Kingdom of Italy (which annexed the Papal States in the treaty as well) as legitimate. Taking advantage of the nationalist surge in Germany following the war, Bismarck was able to convince the rulers of Baden, Würtemberg and Bavaria to join the North German Federation in forming a unified German Empire. The nations all accepted, and the King of Prussia at the time, King Wilhelm I was crowned Wilhelm I, Emperor of the Germans.
The Coronation of Wilhelm I, Emperor of the Germans, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
There you go, my longest (and hopefully best !) update ever. (3 000 words
)Hope it was worth the wait
My next update's ETA is unknown since I still have lot's of exams... oh and Dragon Age II comes out tomorrow/today
(since at time of posting it will be tomorrow in 15 minutes )
Last edited:
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