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The actions of the Emperor are utterly outrageous, first to declare neutrality and then to muster an army on our border, it is utterly without grace or virtue which is needed by the station to which he has been born.
We hereby demand that within the next seven days, that the army across the border is disbanded and returned home, away from our Kingdom and no longer a threat. We furthermore demand that the Emperor accept the demands of the Neapolitan population and relinquish his claim to the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily to our cousin, Philip of house Bourbon, son of King Philip V of Spain.
Should these demands not be met within the coming 7 days (before the update) then a state of war will exist between the Kingdom of France and the Archduchy of Austria.
Reminder that you have less than 6 hours to get in orders. I've received none since the last reminder. Deadline is at January 3rd, midnight GMT.
1734
Western Europe
King Louis XV decreed that a new Grand Opera would be constructed in Versailles, using the finest wood and stone available. It would be a magnificent and imposing addition to the palace complex, with a magnificent cost to match. Work is expected to last 4 years.
[Moderate decrease to treasury, mild increase to Royal expenses for 4 turns, +2 Prestige/turn for 4 turns]
Louis XV also decided that the persecution of Huguenots had begun to wear out its welcome. The General Law against Heresy from 1724 had never been popular, primarily passed by one Archbishop of Rouen, Louis III de La Vergne de Tressan, during the regency of Louis XV. It had only been enforced by the most zealous of magistrates, so its revocation, while welcome, had minimal effects. The king’s hope that the Huguenots would begin to contribute to the industries of France was sadly a hollow hope. The vast majority of Huguenots that remained in France were simple peasants, those with skills or substantial property had long since fled or been killed. It was one less law to enforce though, and Huguenots were slightly more integrated into the state.
[Tiny administration cost decrease, tiny taxation cost increase]
As a prelude to actual invasion, the French diplomatic corps surged through the minor states of the Holy Roman Empire, seeking to bribe, cajole, and coerce whatever trade benefits they could get. The French wanted more easy markets for their “industrial” goods, and were prepared to give ample gifts and lower tariffs for less important goods to get it. Despite rapidly escalating tensions between France and the Emperor, events would transpire to convince many minor princes to agree to the French demands. Lowered tariffs soon allowed an influx of French glass and other industrial goods, which were being expanded in France proper do to earlier actions to open the fields to competition.
[Moderate decrease to French treasury, mild increase to French trade, French tariff rate decrease by 1.7% of prior total]
After middling success last year with fort construction, and amid escalating conflict between the British and Spanish, the French invested in improving the infrastructure of French Louisiana. While this was well intended, the climate quickly got in the way of this. Roads were made slowly, and were often little more than dirt paths. Canals flooded and collapsed almost as soon as they were made, and disease ran rampant through workers. While trade slightly improved from the roads constructed, the costs in colonists lost offset it, and the cost in material greatly eclipsed it.
[Mild decrease to French treasury]
Saint-Dominque was once again expanded in area and slave population. While the work was once again costly, the results were growing at a much greater pace. The French colony was becoming an increasingly important producer of coffee and sugar.
[Mild cost to French treasury, mild increase to colonial income]
In Great Britain the unpopular tax increases of last year were repealed. There was much rejoicing.
[Tax rate decrease by .125% of prior total, Economic growth increase by 2.5%]
King George II began to issue letters of marque targeting Spanish merchants, who had been so kind as to break their convoy system the year prior. The results were devastating, and in an act of forsight the British began to adopt a convoy system for their merchantmen to prevent retaliatory strikes from being as effective.
[Minor increase to British treasury, Major decrease to Spanish trade]
Much like Jethro Tull’s book on agriculture, John Kay’s recent invention of the fly shuttle had attracted the attention of some members of Parliament. They pushed to subsidize the invention and facilitate its adoption. The immediate protests of the weaver’s guilds were ignored, as Parliament pushed through the subsides, with a narrow majority. However the rapid adjustments of taxation rates, prior pressure to adopt new agricultural techniques, and the support of the flying shuttle against the wishes of the weaver’s guilds, all combined to increase worries about the amount of control Parliament was exercising over the economy. Many whispered comparisons to the hated absolutism, which was not helped by King George II’s actions in his native Hannover. The issue of weavers potentially facing unemployment was also likely to cause trouble in time.
[Mild decrease to British treasury, small economic increase]
As if to spite his opponents in Parliament, King George II took the agricultural techniques of Jethro Tull to Hannover, and commanded that they be followed through on a large scale. Unfortunately the difficulty of acquiring translators and agricultural experts to oversee the exportation of theoretical English technique to German fields was not an easy one. Even worse was the animosity the Hannoverian peasants felt at what they perceived as English impositions on fields they knew well. Many would claim to use the new techniques, while using the same as ever. All in all the effort was a costly failure.
[Mild decrease to Hannoverian treasury]
In a peaceful move in the Americas, the Pennsylvania colony sent a trade expedition to the Mingo people of the Ohio River Valley. Oddly, the so-called trade expedition sought not to establish trade relations, but instead negotiate an alliance and build a fort, assuming they were given permission. The Mingo were cautious of this, but knew the British had good relations with the other Iroquois people. They said they would agree to a defensive alliance and allow the fort in exchange for substantial gifts. While the negotiators had not been instructed to offer gifts, they assumed their king would be willing to part with some coin to secure his fort and alliance. Fort Necessity was under construction by the end of the year on the Ohio River by the end of the year. It is expected to be completed next year.
[Small decrease to treasury, defensive alliance with Mingos, fort built on modern Pittsburgh]
A fleet of nearly a dozen ships was dispatched from Boston to reinforce the fleet of Commodore Vernon off St. Augustine, which feared a Spanish counter attack. No such attack materialized, and the demoralized Spanish garrison surrendered on the onset of hurricane season.
[St. Augustine is occupied by the British. Fate of prisoners to be decided]
King John V of Portugal saw his worsening finances, and finally decided to do something about them. He thus ordered expeditions sent deep into Brazil to search for “valuable treasures and mineral wealth”. Though explorers for myths such as El Dorado had long since given up, the king’s phrasing sparked a new frenzy to find gold and treasure in the jungles of South America. State funding was given freely, with the king confident that he’s see a massive return on his investment. Shockingly nearly none of the explorers that ventured out were able to find their way back. Reports that several inexplicably wealth Portuguses speakers suddenly appeared in the fringes of Spanish South America were obviously completely unrelated.
[Mild decrease to the Portuguese treasury]
King John V was also appalled to find out how much money the state was spending… on people other than himself. He then ordered a clamp down on corruption by his courtiers and the remainder of the Royal Family. The courtiers he put in charge of this task were very effective on cutting down on the corruption… of others.
[Different people are now benefiting from corruption]
Central Europe
In Sweden, the Svenska Ostindiska Companiet (SOIC) was authorized to hire Swedes and foreigners freely to staff their vessels, which was immediately followed by a vigorous campaign both at home and abroad. Danish, Dutch, and British sailors were the most sought recruits, hoping to lure them to a nation further from war and conflict. While these efforts were mildly successful, none of the nations were particularly threatened by war as of yet, and so no significant exodus occurred. Of much greater success was the effort to recruit members of the disbanded Ostend Company, who were all too eager to flee from the sinking ship that Austria seemed to be turning into. As a whole, these recruitments saw a major increase in shipping for the SOIC, with more and more voyages east occurring each month. Ever larger amounts of wealth were entering the port of Gotenburg.
[Minor decrease to Swedish treasury, major increase to Swedish trade]
King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia ordered investment in developing farmlands throughout the kingdom. Unfortunately no one was sure exactly what he meant, in part because the farmlands of Italy were already well developed, and no one was aware of any methods of further improvement. That’s not to say the money set aside for the investment wasn’t spent of course.
[Minor treasury decrease to Sardinia]
The king’s efforts to order a survey of Sardinia went better. The surveyors sent were able to find some deposits of copper, with mines in production by the end of the year. This would provide a boon to the Sardinian economy.
[Minor treasury decrease to Sardinia, minor increase to Sardinian economy]
Bavarian General von Törring decided that it wasn’t enough to streamline the army, but it also needed to be trained and drilled to instill professionalism and discipline. With much of Europe in flames, and conflicts spreading like wildfire, this quickly seemed a prudent measure. The relatively small and well supplied Bavarian army was able to improve substantially over the year.
[Minor Bavarian treasury decrease, +.1 Professionalism]
Prince-Elector Charles Albert is rumored to be secretly meeting with his kinsmen from the House of Wittelsbach including Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine, and his own brother, Clemens August, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. The nature of these meetings isn’t widely known, but the Prince-Elector appears to consider himself successful.
[Secret effects]
Fearing Russian armies marching through Poland, King Frederick William I of Prussia ordered increased defenses and forts be constructed on the border with Poland, as all Prussian soldiers withdrew from the territory. If any Russian attacks came, they would be stiffly met.
[Mild treasury decrease for Prussia, improved border defenses]
King Frederick William also felt the losses in Poland had been much too high, and so sought replacement, ordering over 20,000 soldiers to be raised, and a further 11,000 mercenaries be hired from the rest of Germany, specifically aiming for northern Germans, especially Hannoverians. While these efforts were successful, the Prussian economy was weakened and finances extremely strained. Maintaining so many men for a nation of Prussia’s size was going to have harmful effects if held for too long.
[Many more men raised in Prussia, mild decrease to Prussian treasury, minor decrease to Prussian economy]
Eastern Europe
In the Ottoman Empire, over 10,000 more soldiers are raised for the Sultan’s war against Persia. These forces are raised quickly without time to fully train as they were needed quickly to relieve the siege of Baghdad.
[+poor quality soldiers for Mesopotamian armies]
The Sultan also decreed taxes be raised to support the war effort. There was grumbling from many corners, but the clear need for it, and relatively small increase limited opposition to nothing more than mutters and curses.
[Tax rate increased by 6.8% of previous total]
It seems that there is a slight misunderstanding with the new trade mechanism I passed last turn, aedan.
The Fires of War Spread
Marshal of France, Claude Louis Hector de Villars
Marshal of France, Claude Louis Hector de Villars
The War of Polish Succession would greatly expand in scope this year; indeed so much so that the name would seem a misnomer with the end of the war in Poland. The French army under de Saxe would evacuate by sea, while the Prussian army under Leopold withdrew to Brandenburg to regroup. Dismayed at his allies abandoning his cause, Stanislaw withdrew with the French army, knowing his couple hundred cavalry had no chance alone. Danzig sent word to Augustus III and the Russian army soon afterward, recognizing him as king. Stanislaw’s support rapidly dissipated, with his flight and the prior Russian crackdowns on his supporters, convincing many to switch sides or flee to France and Prussia. Augustus was so pleased by this course of events, he spent the year quite languidly, apparently little concerned by the Russians continuing to impose “friendly” administrators throughout Poland.
[-3 million to France to transport through the Sound Toll]
But as the war came to an end in Poland, it expanded to other regions. Augustus had refrained from involving the Electorate of Saxony in the war, maintaining that it was neutral in the matter of Polish succession. The build-up of the Saxon army made few believe this, and the Prussians decided that they pre-empt any plans the Saxons might have. King Frederick William I himself led an army of nearly 30,000 soldiers to invade Saxony. He planned to defeat the Saxon army and then march to occupy the capital of Dresden, however this plan quickly ran into problems. The Saxon army was over 20,000 men strong, larger than anticipated, and fortified in Leipzig, while Dresden was defended by a small garrison. While his generals and advisors urged him to assault the lightly defended Dresden, the king feared that doing so would leave his rear open to attack by the Saxon army. He decided that instead he would place Leipzig under siege, and destroy the Saxon army, while the reserve Prussian army that would enter the Electorate later in the year could take Dresden.
The siege of Leipzig began in late April 1734, but little progress was made through the year. The Saxons had fortified the city well, and seemed to have a larger artillery corps than the Prussians had brought, limiting the chances of the siege being won by bombardment. By the end of the year little progress had been made by either side, but supplies for the besieged Saxons would not last forever, and help did not appear to be forth coming.
[-1000 infantry Saxony, -1500 infantry Prussia]
The Prussian Army under Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, which had retreated from Poland was joined by the new recruits and mercenaries Prussia had raised. Leopold would leave most of the Prussian army behind to defend the border with Poland, while taking the 11,000 mercenaries and roughly 8,000 Prussian soldiers to invade Saxony in early July. With the siege of Leipzig under way he found little opposition to his march on Dresden. After a short bombardment and assault, the city surrendered. The Prussian hopes of seizing the Saxon treasury were cut short by the realization that Saxony was deeply in debt. Attempts to hold on to Poland dating back to the Great Northern War and Augustus II’s patronage of the arts had taken their toll on Saxony’s finances.
[-500 Prussian infantry]
The east was thus much more subdued and quiet than last year, but the war was no longer limited to there. The Austrian forces gathered on the banks of the Rhine in lower Baden were considered a threat by the French. After their demands for an Austrian withdrawal were ignored, partially due to Emperor Charles VI being indisposed by illness, the French decided to strike first. In mid-April, roughly 55,000 soldiers under the 80 year old veteran Marshal Claude Louis Hector de Villars crossed the Rhine south of the 40,000 man strong Austrian army under Friedrich Heinrich von Seckendorff. De Villars marched on the town of Emmendingen, then turned north to strike the rear of the Austrian army. Von Seckendorff may have had a smaller army, with inferior troop quality, but he was a skilled general, and easily saw through the French plan. Leaving a small portion of his command across the Rhine from Strasbourg to conceal his movement, he took the bulk of his army east, hoping to catch the French unaware. He failed in this, but de Villars was convinced his army would crush the Austrian rabble in a straight battle, so he feigned ignorance to lure von Seckendorff into an attack by leaving his army spread out as if foraging. Near the town of Offenburg on the 16th of May von Seckendorff made his move, striking through outlying parts of the French army in an attempt to split it and prevent the full weight of the French army from being gathered. The Austrians made swift gains, killing hundreds of Frenchmen and making good progress. However they soon found themselves under attack by all sides, as the superior French cavalry corralled the Austrians in, while the French infantry swiftly regrouped and counter attacked. Under pressure from all sides, the poorly trained Austrian forces were facing the threat of annihilation. The French army was still gathering its outlying forces, but it would only be a matter of time before the Austrians were crushed.
But then disaster fell upon the French army. De Villars was dead. In the chaos of the French maneuvers, no one was sure how or when he had died, but word was swiftly spreading of his death. With French forces divided the chain of command had become unclear. As word trickled down of the Marshal’s death, upper French officers began to jockey for control of the army, and pressure upon the Austrians eased up in the confusion. Von Seckendorff saw this and knew he would not get another chance as good. He personally rode to the front of his forces and attempted to rally them to launch an attack to break through the French cavalry and secure a withdrawal from the field. Despite their lack of professionalism, the Austrian troops were inspired by his efforts, and surged north to attack the French cavalry. Despite their superior quality, the French were unable to withstand the assault alone and were driven back. The Austrian army had their exit, and quickly began to stream through it, fending off ineffectual counter-attacks by the French cavalry.
Desperate for support, the French cavalry sent numerous couriers asking for support against the Austrian army, but internal struggles gripped the French Army. Individual infantry and artillery regiments launched sporadic attacks, but the Austrian rear-guard held them at bay as their artillery was withdrawn. As dusk approached the French army ceased its ineffectual attacks and withdrew to focus on the matter of leadership. The Battle of Offenburg was a tactical and strategic victory for the French, but the conduct of the latter half of the battle had allowed the Austrian army to escape with much of its strength intact. The French army on the Rhine ended up under the command of Claude François Bidal, marquis d'Asfeld after a dispute with Adrien Maurice de Noailles over the matter of leadership. The Austrian army regrouped at the fortress of Philippsburg.
[-6,000 Austrian infantry, -2,000 Austrian cavalry, -3,000 French infantry, -5,000 French cavalry]
D’Asfeld gathered his army and marched on the fortress of Kehl, across the Rhine from Strasbourg, beginning his siege on the 12th of June. He hoped to secure the Rhine crossing before the Austrian army could regroup and continue the fight. The siege was conducted well, and the fortress seemed set to fall by the end of the month, but the Austrian army wasn’t done yet. After Offenburg the Austrians had a numerical superiority in cavalry, which they used to their advantage to raid and harry the French siege lines. This did little more than annoy the French in terms of material, but the occasional raid or threat of one caused the French artillery to be moved and used less often, as well as tightening French coverage, allowing supplies to be slipped in to the garrison. All of this was minor however, and the fortress’ position was untenable in the long term. On August 14, Baron Johann August von Phull surrendered the fortress of Kehl to d’Asfeld.
[-1,000 French infantry, -500 French cavalry, -1,000 Austrian cavalry]
Unexpected summer rains slowed d’Asfeld’s attempts to advances further in the Rhineland. It wasn’t until the end of July that the French army began a northward march, aiming to defeat the Austrian army for good and then invest Philippsburg. Von Seckendorff was left in an unenviable position of facing a superior army with no support, no orders, and a key strategic point under immediate threat. His army was less rabble and more professional by now, but not enough to stand up to a full French field army. His efforts to secure reinforcements from minor princes achieved nothing, as French and Bavarian diplomacy combined with Austrian inconsistency had apparently convinced them to avoid taking sides in the rapidly expanding war. Left with few options, von Seckendorff decided to meet the French in the field, hoping to put up enough of a fight that the French would fear reinforcements coming and withdraw.
Near the town of Karlsruhe the armies formed up for battle, with no complex planning or mind games that both sides regretted at Offenburg. The quality disparity was not as great as at Offenburg, and the Austrians held an advantage in cavalry still, but the size and skill of the French infantry and artillery remained significant obstacles to overcome. D’Asfeld hoped to decide the battle by an infantry assault before the Austrian cavalry could outflank or destroy his own cavalry, but he kept a reserve force of infantry to protect his artillery corps, placed on a nearby hill with an excellent view of the battlefield. For their part the Austrians in the north hoped for the opposite, for their infantry to hold long enough for a cavalry breakthrough, with their own artillery placed closer to the front to increase their effectiveness.
The battle commenced at shortly after noon on August 16, both sides knowing that if the French won here, Philippsburg was sure to fall before year’s end. The Austrian cavalry began with a quick charge, hoping to overwhelm the French cavalry by numbers and then knock their guns out of commission early. Despite a spirited counter charge by the French cavalry, they were driven back by one o’clock, and the Austrians pressed onward. Meanwhile the infantry lines had met, and casualties on both sides quickly mounted thanks to effective fire from small arms and artillery. The French were getting the best of it though, and it seemed only a matter of time before the Austrian army broke. The Austrian cavalry had run into their own problems, as the French infantry kept in reserve held off their initial charge for the artillery. The battle would hinge on the actions on this hill which would soon be stained red.
The Austrian cavalry had been repulsed during their first charge, but they retained numerous men, and felt they could not withdraw so soon. Gathering themselves, they launched a second charge shortly after 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The defending French infantry knew they were the only defense the artillery had, and were determined to hold their ground. The meeting of two determined and desperate forces became the sight of some of the worse carnage Europe had seen for decades. After an initial exchange of fire, both sides had collapsed into a melee. For over half an hour brutal hand-to-hand combat ensued, with the dirt of the hill running slick with blood. Losing their footing, what was left of the Austrian cavalry fell back. Both sides were exhausted and low on numbers, but the Austrians seemed to have gotten the better of the fighting. The infantry clash was reaching a crisis point, leaving the Austrians no choice but to make one last charge, hoping to drive the French off the hill, and save the rest of the army.
Just past 3 o’clock the third charge of the Austrian cavalry struck home. After a short, yet savage, struggle, the Austrians emerged victorious, yet with few men remaining. They drove the French infantry and artillery operators off the hill, yet between the long fighting and chaotic regroups, they had only a handful of nails to spike the French guns. While non-spiked guns were more useful captured, the fear of a French counter attack to retake the guns was great. They could only hope that the clash of infantry turned in Austria’s favour now that the French artillery was silenced. Though it was not an immediate change, the French advance soon ran out of steam, and the Austrians with their own artillery support began to counter attack. The French reserve being redeployed to liberate their artillery did not help matters in the short term. For a time it seemed that the Austrians had a strong chance to prevail, despite the odds against them.
But such was a short-lived hope, as word reached von Seckendorff of dreadful news. A second French army of just under 30,000 men under the Duke of Berwick was only 7 miles to the west of the battlefield. In a fury, von Seckendorff ordered a slow retreat east, hoping to prevent the second French army from engaging before dusk. With lessened pressure, d’Asfeld used this opportunity to launch attacks on both the main Austrian line and the remnants of cavalry holding the French artillery still. The cavalry were soon driven back, and the Austrian infantry, which had only barely been holding their ground, were forced to retreat as the French artillery was restored. As they withdrew however, the exhausted French army slacked in their advance. Berwick’s second army arrived on the battlefield just prior to the onset of dusk, and was unable to form up his men to attack before it was too late. Von Seckendorff was allowed to withdraw what was left of the Austrian army, which he took on a frantic retreat to Mainz.
The Battle of Karlsruhe was an important French victory, which effectively gave them control of the Rhineland. Von Seckendorff was left with too few men to oppose the combined French armies. The French then advanced upon Philippsburg without resistance. It was put under siege, and fell by the beginning of October, at which point the French armies withdrew across the Rhine to winter quarters.
[-12,000 French infantry, -3,500 French cavalry, -15 French artillery, -13,000 Austrian infantry, -5,500 Austrian cavalry]
Where had the French army under the Duke of Berwick come from? It had been invading and reducing the Duchy of Lorraine. Duke Francis Stephen had briefly tried to resist, before fleeing to join his wife Maria Theresa in Vienna. In his absence the duchy had proven to be surprisingly hard to subdue, with heavy rains and rampant smuggling slowing Berwick’s army and the sieges respectively. False information that the Austrian army in the Rhineland had crossed the river to relieve Lorraine had also slowed the process. But by August the Duchy was fully French occupied and Berwick was free to enter the Rhineland.
[-1000 French infantry]
The French were not the only ones to invade the Hapsburg dominians. In Italy their Sardinian allies had gathered their army to invade Austrian Lombardy, seeking to add Milan to their domains. Charles Emanuel III personally led his army of just under 25,000 soldiers, expecting French support and little Austrian resistance. Neither of these would prove to be true. Fieldmarshal Dominik von Königsegg-Rothenfels commanded a force of just over 25,000 soldiers, with orders to defend Austrian Lombardy. While the expectation had been that he’d be severely outnumbered by a combined Franco-Spanish-Sardinian army, he instead faced a roughly equal sized Sardinian army. He had been based in Mantua, but once word reached him of the Sardinian invasion force, he marched west.
Charles Emanuel reached the gates of Milan on March 23rd without incident, and settled in for a siege. He sent ahead scouts and outriders to secure the Adda River as a frontier against Austrian incursions. He expected no more than token Austrian forces in Italy, and expected nothing to come of this. He was rather shocked to learn that his scouts in the town of Lodi had been nearly wiped out when an Austrian army tens of thousands strong crossed the Adda there in late April. Frantically recalling his scouts, Charles Emmanuel abandoned the siege to gather his army for battle. Marching south, he hoped to defeat the Austrians quickly, then withdraw to finish Milan before it could recover from the siege so far. Von Königsegg moved with great speed, hoping to catch the Sardinian army before it could gather to face him.
Near the town of Marignano on May 2nd, both armies approached one another. They were relatively equal in size, with the Sardinians having slightly more cavalry and artillery, while the Austrians had more infantry. Charles Emmanuel was confident his forces were of superior quality and could carry the day through a straight assault, and left his cavalry solely to defend his flanks. Von Königsegg on the other hand planned to use his superior numbers to envelope the Sardinians, though the close numbers of forces would make this a tricky endeavor.
The battle commenced with the infantry lines of both armies meeting. The cavalry engaged shortly thereafter. After an hour of fighting, both armies withdrew, with the rest of the day marked by the occasional skirmish. Both armies had been worried by their opponent’s willingness to commit to the fight, since each army knew they had no reinforcement’s incoming, yet were unaware if their enemy might. Thus this mutual paranoia caused the battle to be short-lived, with both armies withdrawing to what they considered better defensive positions.
[-2,000 Sardinian infantry, -1,000 Sardinian cavalry, -2,500 Austrian infantry, -500 Austrian cavalry]
Von Königsegg set up his base of operations at Lodi, while Charles Emmanuel set up his own outside Milan, as he put the city under siege once more. Both generals were cautious of committing their full forces, and instead sent small detachments to probe the region between them and seeking the support of the local Lombards. These small forces occasionally encountered each other, causing skirmishes to break out. Two notable engagements at Opera and Tribiano ended in Austrian victories, while an engagement at Dresano ended in Sardinian victory. The local populace cared little for their struggles one way or the other, and just wished the fighting would cease.
[-1,500 Sardinian infantry, -500 Sardinian cavalry, -1,000 Austrian infantry, -250 Austrian cavalry]
Milan surrendered on October 4th, and the Sardinians withdrew their forces into the city to prepare for winter. The Austrians in turn set up a winter camp south of Lodi. Both sides hoped to receive greater reinforcements in the coming year, which they planned to use to secure control of Lombardia.
Further south, in what had also become a front in the Franco-Austrian war, the nobles of Naples and Sicily gathered nearly 20,000 men to destroy the small Austrian force that had been mustered last year. With diplomatic support from France, and no word from Austria, the situation in southern Italy seemed one sided. The loyalists certainly thought so, with most of them deserting or defecting, and the few who remained dissipating in sight of the Noble Army. With resistance defeated, the Neapolitans declared Phillip Bourbon as Phillip V of Naples and Sicily, with a regency council created until he reached majority.
[Austrian-aligned army in Naples defeated, Naples/Sicily de facto independent, open for player slot as a secondary power]
The question on everyone’s mind throughout the year was “where was Emperor Charles VI?” He was desperately needed to respond to the crises facing his holdings, as well as negotiate with an increasingly reserved Empress Anna I of Russia, but for much of the year he was indisposed by an illness, and the competing court factions prevented an effective regency from being created. Without his authority, the main Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy remained locked in place on the Polish border. His daughter Maria Theresa and her husband Francis Stephen, fresh from his flight of Lorraine, tried to rally the court and confirm her place as heir to the Hapsburg domains, but increasingly many were questioning her father’s judgement after the prior year. As the year neared its end, Emperor Charles seemed to be recovering, and he was once more moving about court, admonishing his courtiers and making grandiose speeches about gathering the strength of his dominions and driving out the treacherous snakes that had fallen upon them like scavengers. Then suddenly, on December 18th, he was found to have died in his sleep at the age of 49. Though he had been sick most of the year, his recovery and subsequent sudden death convinced many that he had been poisoned, possibly by French, Prussian, or Bavarian agents or possibly just by a dissatisfied courtier. The subsequent investigation had not gotten far by the New Year, but much greater problems loomed for Austria, as the strength of Emperor Charles’ “magnum opus”, the pragmatic sanction, was set to be enforced at the worst possible time. 1735 would be a year of decision for Europe.
[Emperor Charles VI is dead, Jakalo is kicked as Austria, Maxwell is kicked as Russia]
A Private Letter from King Augustus III of Poland to King Frederick William of Prussia, Delivered by a Messenger, February 1735
Your Royal Highness,
I ask that you please withdraw your forces from Saxony, as they are not a part of this war. I also ask that you and I talk of peace terms, as I do not wish to be at war with you, it already put enough hardship on my subjects, I would rather not subject them to more war. I also must remind you of your duties to the HRE, as you are an elector of Brandenburg.
Sincerely,
Augustus III, King of Poland
The lack of active players for Austria and Russia is having a detrimental effect on the game, therefore the game will not move forward until replacements are found. Naples and the Dutch Republic are also open nations, but have less priority than the Great Powers. The dearth of IC is also troubling, and I hope to find a solution. Feel free to IC while players are sought though.
His Serene Highness, Charles Albert of Bavaria, on the Death and Succession of Charles VI
It being demonstrated, that public tranquility cannot long subsist, nor the balance of power in Europe be preserved in any other way than by the maintenance of the true order of succession. His Serene Highness Elector of Bavaria, moved by the ardent desire of securing both public peace and the balance of power, in consideration of the true succession, binds himself in the strongest possible manner to defend this order of succession. And in order that no future doubt may arise about the effect of this pledge and guarantee, His Serene Highness promises for himself, his heirs, and successors, in the most faithful and absolute manner to defend with all his power, and to maintain and preserve against any persons whomsoever, so often as it shall be necessary, this order of succession which His Imperial Majesty, Joseph I, declared in the Mutual Pact of Succession. Therefore His Serene Highness rejects the conditions of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. By having married Joseph I’s daughter, His Serene Highness is the proper successor of Charles VI to the Hapsburg domains.
A Cardinal In Doubt
The King was in a good mood, his minister was less so. Louis was overjoyed at the capture of the fortresses of Kehl and Philippsburg, taking control of the Rhineland. He felt himself as his Grandfather, the conquer of Europe, the premier power within Europe. Cardinal Fleury on the other hand was worried about the rising costs for the French state, not only financial, but also in terms of lives. So far the French had already paid heavy for their alliance, thousands dying in Poland which needed not, to help the Kings father-in-law keep a throne they had no way of ensuring. Even the Rhineland campaign had been too costly, the subjugation of Lorraine had taken too long. The armies had been prepared, the Austrian army across the border had been poorly trained and poorly equipped, yet with the death of Villars everything had turned, bickering in the French officer corps had lost them the momentum, and worse it had made the French lose soldiers in droves they otherwise had not needed to.
The death of Emperor Charles VI could not have come for a worse time for Fleury, he had opposed the current war in Poland but lost the fight, he had hoped for a quick end to the conflict. With the Emperor dead it began to seem unlikely, not only had the Prussian forces made slow progress, attacking Saxony which could potentially draw Poland and Russia further into the conflict. The Austrian court was in a mess, with Charles daughter trying to assert her claim, backed by the Duke of Lorraine, no doubt unhappy about his recent eviction. Finally there was the duke of Bavaria, now claiming the right to the Habsburg inheritance, as well as wishing to be Emperor. It seemed more and more unlikely that this war would have a swift end, certainly not if the new Archduchess of Austria proved to be competent.
Fleury wanted an end to the war, and he wanted it quickly, hoping to convince Louis to allow him to enter negotiations to prevent further war.
