1752-1753 – The Hispanian Civil War (Part I)
As those loyal to the Emperor fled the capital and the events of the Hispanian Civil War went into motion, the Greeks went at each other’s throats. Pausanias Mandromenos raised arms against the Basileus. With Hispania embroiled in its own civil war, no aid would be sent for now. The Basileus seemed in deep trouble, greatly outnumbered with rebels roaming all across Byzantium.
As for Hispania itself, figures for both side moved into action to secure as much of the Empire for their own faction. The Imperials rallied behind the Emperor, while the Phoenixes sided with Alexandre César de Montségur. With Montségur having secured the capital for now, the surrounding Crown lands fell in line. However, this was all of Aragon he would secure. The Sonetas remained quiet, providing implicit support for the Emperor, while the Etxetos locked themselves away in Navarra as usual. The Saint-Pierres in Roussillon rallied behind the Emperor, although their TATC counterpart had disappeared for now.
In Castile, the support of the Trastámaras and Leon provided a solid base for Imperial support, but that did not stop Field Marshal Fausto Villanova from contesting that. He rushed to claim the Exercit Madrid, which would make control of the land less important with the army in Phoenix hands. Leon proved his equal in this manner and managed to keep most of the army out of his hands, although half of the Exercit Madrid returned to Aragon with Villanova.
Galicia proved a contentious issue. Juan Yagüe de Blanco, the Count of Galicia and a general serving Montségur, secured his own home for the Phoenixes, but he found efforts to secure Portugal thwarted by the Galicians. Renowned philosopher Cibrán Rodrigo Paulo Afonso Arceo created a militia within Galicia after the declaration by Montségur of a dictatorship. Hounded by his own people, Blanco was unable to make further pushes into Portugal, stopping short of Lisboa.
Italy was quite divided. Central Italy and Naples remained firmly in Imperial control, as the Crown Prince secured the region as the main base for the Imperial cause. The announcement by the Pope in support of the Emperor and the support of the Duke of Sardinia surely helped. Despite this, Sicily was staunchly Phoenix, loyal to Montségur to the end. The Phoenixes also managed to make a move on Northern Italy before the Imperials could react. Villanova used his connections in Provence to secure the allegiance of the Exercit Provence, which ensured the surrounding area remained under Phoenix control despite the local lords attempting to remain neutral. Sending Blanco to Firenze managed to get the Exercit Firenze on the Phoenix’s side, securing what remained of Northern Italy for their cause. Both sides managed to secure some trade fleets, with the Flota Genoa docking in Northern Italy and being captured for the Phoenixes and the Flota Venice being called to the Emperor’s cause.
Athens and the Greek lands remained faithful to the Emperor, for the Empress Dowager was from Athens. Despite Montségur’s attempt to instill loyal men in the upper ranks of the army, the majority of the soldiers were Greeks and had strong ties to the region. Hatred of the Greeks on the Phoenix side greatly impact their decision to side with the Imperials, especially due to the fact that lines of communication from Valencia were practically non-existent at this point.
Africa ended up being almost an entirely Trans-Atlantic Trading Company matter. The bulk of the company heads backed the Phoenixes, but not all of them. The TATC leadership moved quickly to secure the continent. The Exercit Africa was one of the first to be bought, so they did not side with the Emperor. The surrounding area of Tunis, Algeria, and Libya fell in line as well. All of East Africa sided with the Phoenixes, and the capture of the Flota Aden gave them a small fleet to use. However, those still loyal to the Crown gathered together as the Free Merchants League. Before the TATC heads could act, the FML had managed to bring West and South Africa under their control. They then struck for Morocco, where they fought a bitter battle against the TATC for control. The Straits of Gibraltar and the west coast of Morocco went Imperial, and the FML made gains eastward, although they got stuck at Fez. Egypt was another matter. The arrival of Gilbert de Saint-Pierre and him taking up leadership of the Exercit Jerusalem rallied the region to him and the Imperial cause. All of Egypt, including the Suez Canal, remained loyal to the Emperor. When the Flota Alexandria docked in port in the region, it was commandeered for the Imperial cause.
All of this vying for power and for a better position occurred over a period of a few months. During this time, the world still moved on. ((All the events of this coup that happened in this iAAR leading up to this update are to be considered as having happened over the period of this update. It explains the gap I needed to get everything in position and get morale up to normal for the Phoenixes.))
A few days after the breakout of the civil war, Yemen finished its war with Hejaz. The holy city of Mecca was now theirs. Meanwhile, Ming was absolutely getting trounced by Delhi, a situation only made worse when Manchu declared war.
The Basileus found an unexpected ally in his fight against Pausanias Mandromenos. The Archduke of Austria personally led troops right into Slavonia and attacked the rebel army in the province. No one was sure of his intentions, although it was well known that the Austrians hated Pausanias as the one who had caused Hungary to lose land. The official reasoning was that Austria could not tolerate rebels on its or Hungary’s borders, but this seemed flimsy at best. Something else was at work here. ((Lol, not sure why Austria decided to attack Byzantium’s rebels, but it fits the story.
))
As for the Basileus, he managed to recruit a general to his cause, one Philemon Kaukadenos, who led the Greek army against the rebels in Anatolia first, where they were lower in numbers. He managed to push them from Ankara, but did not secure a definite victory. It was also revealed at this time what Basileus Demetrios’s strategy was: hiring mercenaries and lots of them. Thousands of men were handed ducats from the treasury to fight against the pretender and secure Byzantium for the Palaiologoi family.
As the mercenaries gathered in Greece, General Kaukadenos attacked another rebel force near Trebizond. Yet again, he managed to push them from the region without eliminating them entirely. Rebels were spreading across the Empire and Byzantium was in trouble.
While the Greek Civil War raged on, the Hispanian Civil War finally ramped up. Both sides were set and ready to go at each other. Both the colonies and Byzantium refused to get involved. The Greeks were far too busy fighting each other to even consider getting involved at this point, while the colonies stated that they were only obligated to fight against external enemies and refused to pick a side. However, the Phoenixes had one more surprise up their sleeve. Austria officially announced its support for the Phoenix cause and prepared their army in Italy to march on Naples. This greatly improved the numbers for the Phoenix cause. The Imperials were in trouble, for they were greatly outnumbered, although they maintained naval supremacy for now.
Circumstances soon changed as the conditions of Austria’s involvement were revealed. All lands from Parma to Romagna were to be ceded to Austria immediately, with more promised at the conclusion of the war. Some of Byzantium’s land was even promised at a later date, although the specifics were not revealed. This immediately spurred two separate groups into action. The people of the land being ceded to Austria were not happy at being traded off to a foreign power. Hispanian rule had proven beneficial, if not as good as self-rule. Either way, no one there wanted to be part of Austria. The population immediately announced its support for the Imperials, despite the presence of the Exercit Firenze and an Austrian army so close by. They would not allow themselves to be bartered away so easily. If the Austrians wanted the land, they’d have to conquer it themselves.
The second group of importance to react was the French court. While the Emperor of France remained pro-Imperial, the court leaned towards the Phoenixes. This created a deadlock that prevented France from backing either side. However, this changed with the announcement of the agreement between the Phoenixes and Austria. Many Frenchmen were appalled that Austria would so greedily take land in Italy from its own ally. If they would do that to Hispania, what would stop them from stabbing France in the back under similar circumstances? The French had also started to view themselves as the arbitrators of Europe. During several key peace settlements, they had remained fairly neutral and pushed for a peace that benefitted all involved. More importantly, they had played a role in ensuring a balance between Hispania and Austria in Northern Italy, something the Austrians intended to disrupt. Sentiment at French court started to swing in favour of the Imperials, and Emperor Charles VIII made full use of this. Finally gaining the support he needed, he announced that France formally backed the Imperials. France would defend the Emperor, and in the process fight its own ally Austria. The sides were now a bit more even, at least on land.
((I will be posting mini-updates in private for each side, mostly with spam info. This will be the time to start posting orders, especially for the army and navy. Each faction can also request the recruitment of regiments or ships, and any changes to trade or finances should be suggested. Might be good for each side to raise stability and war taxes.
I’d like to have orders in by
Sunday at 12PM PST.
I also wish to note that I have raised maintenance on all forts, excluding those in Asia which are not involved. I have also disbanded all armies and navies in Asia for now, but consider them as still existing. I just found it caused unfair financial strain on the Imperials for having to maintain a massive army and navy they couldn’t even make full use of.
This is probably a good time to mention that the first of my classes are starting up next week, so I might be busier than usual and be online less often.))