IC Thread
"Never attack Russia"
Napoleon Bonaparte learned this lesson the hard way. Like many others before him, the French Emperor led his Grande Armée to disastrous defeat in the merciless cold of the Russian Winter. More than eighty percent of the French forces died from Russian resistance, cold, malnutrition, starvation and sickness. The disastrous defeat in the Russian campaign weakened the French Empire significantly, and by April 1814 Napoleon abdicated the Imperial throne in the wake of the Sixth Coalition's advance on Paris, and went into exile to Elba.
However, the victory of the Coalition forces was not to last.
On 19 March 1815 began one of the most remarkable comebacks in history as Napoleon Bonaparte, scourge of Europe, entered the city of Paris to the cheering of massive crowds of Parisians, restoring his French Empire and ousting the unpopular Bourbon king. Despite the peaceful defections of most of the French army to the imperial cause the obstacles facing the returning emperor where momentous. Allyless, but for a toothless attempt by Joachim Murat to drive the Austrians out of Italy from his Neapolitan base, the emperor now faced the greatest coalition ever raised against him. A million men raised by the United Kingdom, Prussia, Austria, Russia and a multitude of other European states faced a French army of hardly a fourth that size.
Realizing the tenuous state of his empire Napoleon acted quickly and with great skill to secure his rule. He immediately began mobilizing his armies determined to go on the offensive and strike against his enemies before they could unite their forces against him. At the same time however the Emperor realized the need for diplomacy and compromise on the international scene, sending diplomats to treat with his father-in-law Francis II of Austria.
By June, mobilization completed, Napoleon created the Armée du Nord of which he took personal command and lead it north to deal with the most immediate threat to his reign, the Anglo-Allied army commanded by Wellington based at Brussels and the Prussian army under Blücher based at Namur. Appointing marshal Berthier as his chief of staff and marshals Davout and Suchet as commanders of its left and right wings respectively.
Crossing the frontier at Charleroi with 130,000 men Napoleon managed to "humbug" Wellington and moved quickly to destroy the Prussians whom he regarded as the greater threat. Sending Davout with the left flank to Quatre Bras to seize its strategic crossroad and drive a wedge between Wellington's hastily assembling forces and Blücher's corps. Lightly held by Dutch troops the forces at Quatre Bras where soundly defeated by Davout in the early morning of 16 June before Wellington's main force arrived.
On the same day a slightly numerically inferior French force under Napoleon engaged Blücher's army at Ligny. Despite heavy casualties the French won the day and dealt a serious blow to the Prussian force of Blücher who was forced to retreat with marshal Suchet and the French right wing in pursuit.
As news of Blücher's defeat at Ligny reached Wellington he quickly disengaged from Davout at Quatre Bras, but despite the coalition defeats at Ligny-Quatre Bras both Wellington and Blücher was determined to continue fighting and they made a parallel retreat with Wellington marching towards Waterloo and Blücher marching towards Wavre, hoping to be able to unite their armies and defeat the French.
On 17 June Napoleon was ill. During that day Suchet pursued the Prussians, standing ready to prevent Blücher from linking up with Wellington while Davout drove the Anglo-Allies back towards Waterloo.
Despite the precarious situation facing him Wellington chose to give battle at Waterloo, pinning all his hopes on Blücher's arrival.
On 18 June the Battle of Waterloo began. One of the bloodiest in the history of the Napoleonic War it ended in a crushing French victory. The British, led by the Duke of Wellington, had made a daring scheme to withstand the French attacks, awaiting the arrival of the Prussian forces under Prince von Blücher, having only recently regrouped from defeat at the hands of the French Army at Ligny two days before. Napoleon would have to move swiftly, to crush the British army before the Prussians would attack his flank. The French attacked relentlessly and mercilessly, Napoleon's grenadiers and Imperial Guard fighting with ferocious courage. Eventually, French determination and sheer survival instinct won the day, as the British lines cracked. Though Wellington and his second rate Anglo-Allied troops fought with exemplary bravery and courage their strategy was entirely dependent on the arrival of Blücher's Prussian. An arrival that never occurred.
The French right wing under Suchet skillfully managed to prevent Blücher from assembling his beleaguered troops and reach Waterloo fighting a battle between Wavre and Waterloo where the numerically inferior Suchet slowly retreated from Blücher without allowing the former to rush to Wellington's aid.
After defeating Wellington at Waterloo Napoleon, though exhausted from the bloody battle, turned his army towards Blücher. As he received news of Wellington's defeat Suchet at once attacked Blücher as the later sought to disengage and escape the French. Near the end of 18 June Napoleon and Davout arrived and attacked Blücher's army encircling and crushing it in its totality.
On the morning of 19 June Napoleon was victorious. Despite irreplaceable looses the emperor had crushed two of the greatest coalition commanders and nearly annihilated the entire Prussian army. However the prospect of facing the vast Austrian and Russian armies that now posed the greatest threat to his reign was daunting even the emperor. It was then the emperor orchestrated the greatest diplomatic victory of his career.
Convincing the skillful but treacherous diplomat Talleyrand to assist him the emperor entered into secret bilateral negotiations with the Austrians even as he prepared to lead his armies east into Germany. Daunted by Napoleon's victory at Waterloo, and increasingly concerned about the rising influence of Russia and Prussia Francis II and his minister Metternich proved willing to reach an agreement with Napoleon, and as the emperor promised Austria the north of Italy, never again to expand France's borders beyond the Rhine and a number of other concessions Austria was convinced to declare neutrality.
The Austrian neutrality was a tremendous blow to the Seventh Coalition. Austria commanded no less then three of the armies facing Napoleon. As these where disbanded, the allied components of them left in a precarious situation as the Austrian units returned to their homeland.
Eager to capitalize on his accord with Vienna Napoleon set out to engage the last of the four great powers of the Seventh Coalition; Russia. Under Barclay de Tolly a large Russian army of 170,000 men where rapidly approaching the Rhine where the last Prussian corps west of the Rhine remained intact.
Napoleon, despite the heavy casualties incurred during the Waterloo campaign decided to go on the offensive the crush this joint army of nearly 200,000 men. Summoning Marshal Rapp's small Armée du Rhin Napoleon was able to mobilize a force almost as large as the one he had commenced the Waterloo campaign with. The prospects for the French was grim. They where outnumbered more then 3 to 2 and the enemy had reinforcements coming.
But Napoleon skillfully managed to exploit the fact that Barclay de Tolly rather then wait for reinforcements was pressing ahead determined to end the war once and for all. The Russian commander crossed the Rhine while Napoleon was marching south from Waterloo driving Rapp ahead of him. On the Moselle Rapp decided to defend the city of Metz against the vastly numerically superior Russo-Prussian forces. Manning the city's defenses Rapp fought bravely against the enemy forces on the first day, only slowly and at considerable cost to the enemy abandoning his defenses. On the second day of the battle Napoleon arrived quickly and unexpectedly with reinforcements to repel the assault on the city. French counterattacks were successful, and by nightfall the French had regained almost all of Rapp's original positions. Though still outnumbered, Napoleon attacked the following morning, turned the Russian left flank, and won an impressive tactical victory, inflicting forty thousand casualties upon the enemy compared to his own ten.
Desperate to avoid encirclement de Tolly retreated immediately towards the Rhine Napoleon in hot pursuit. The retreat proved a disaster that, at least to the Prussians in de Tolly's great army, was eerily similar to the Prussian retreat after Jena and Auerstedt with entire divisions of the enemy army being caught by the French cavalry and forced to capitulate. By the time de Tolly reached the Rhine he was ill equipped to fight a battle and as Napoleon caught up on him his forces where completely ruted by the French.
Thus by the end of July France was all but triumphant. While plenty of coalition armies remained untouched by war and reserves where available the Waterloo and Lorraine Campaigns had drained the coalition of some of its best troops while the defection of Austria had crippled any chances of a quick victory. Throughout the rest of the summer Napoleon crossed the Rhine and penetrated deeper into enemy territory. He defeated yet a Prussian and Russian army and took Berlin, forcing Prussia to make peace, leaving only the United Kingdom and Russia left among the great powers. By the end of the year 1815 the Seventh Coalition was forced to make peace with Napoleon.
On New Year's Day, 1816, the Palace of Versailles in Paris saw the signing of the long-awaited peace agreement. France regained its territories in the Low Countries, Piedmont and Catalonia, increasing its size to almost the extent of 1812. The Coalition members United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia and Russia, all severely humiliated by the defeat, were forced to pay significant war reparations to France.
However, French hegemony was not complete. The Treaty of Paris foresaw in the self-determination right of the European powers, the fixation of borders and mutual respect for the territorial integrity of Europe's empires. France relinquished its control of Rome and its surroundings, and the Papal State was re-established. The old powers would continue to exist, be it significanly weakened, in Austria, Russia and Prussia. The spirit of revolution and modernity may be spreading from victorious France, but this would spread through ideas and discussion, no longer through force of arms.
Or at least, such was the plan.
The year is 1821, and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I has passed away at the age of 51. His son, Napoleon François, was proclaimed Emperor at only ten years of age. However, this was not to last. Napoleon Bonaparte had been a firm ruler, his shortcomings and flaws often easily overlooked by the French people because of the fame, glory and prosperity he had brought to France. But an incapable child as Emperor of France simply because of his bloodline, that seemed too much like the old Bourbon dynasty that was overthrown in 1789.
Unrest and uproar in the streets led to the abdication of Napoleon II only months later, and by June 1821, the establishment of the Second Republic was a fact. The spirit of the French Revolution flared up in its full ferocity once again.
Plot
This RP is set in the post-Napoleonic world, right after the death of Napoleon and the proclamation of the Second Republic. Its emphasis will be Europe, but within reason it is allowed to make certain alterations to that rule.
The timeline is explained above, and within the frame laid out here there is a certain amount of freedom for players to establish their political system and country, as long as the player-created history adds up. The setting of this RP plays shortly after a French victory in the Napoleontic Wars, meaning that the ideas of Enlinghtenment, the ideals of the French Revolution and the politicial concepts of republicanism and Jacobinism are way more widespread than the RL time period.
Rules
I. The word of the OP is law
II. No godmodding
III. No arguments, insults or inflammatory language
IV. No OOC in the IC thread
V. No oneliners in the IC
VI. Longtime inactivity without warning in advance can result in removal from the RP
VII. Try to maintain a decent level of English grammar and spelling
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