For the Want of a King TL

Part 4: The Third War of Polish Succession or 6 Year’s War 1765-1771 Section 3:

1767 was a quieter year in the 6 Year’s War, neither the Russians nor the Grand Alliance made any significant effort break the stalemate in Poland and the main action of the year occurred in North America where 14 Colonies (the original 13 plus Florida) Rebellion and Canadian Rebellion went on in full swing. The Canadian rebels emulated the British army before them with Christmas in Louisbourg having seized Quebec and edged towards Newfoundland, where a third rebellion was breaking out. The 14 Colonies rebels remained engaged in vicious fighting with the British, even negotiations went on. By 1768 the Canadian rebels had declared the United Republics of Canada and Newfoundland (URCN or just simply Canada) and were occupying most of Canada. The 14 Colonies rebels were doing less well, having gained minimal territory but they had reinforced their position in areas already held.

1768 opened with much more fighting than 1767 had seen. The Grand Alliance finally began their attempt to whip up a Cossack rebellion. They promised an independent Cossack state and military support for their rebellion. Unsurprisingly the Cossacks rose up against Catherine and her government. Armed Cossack bands attacked Russian garrisons and began raiding towns in an around the Don area. Whilst a distraction to the Russians, it was hardly on the scale the Grand Alliance had hoped for. Thus they marched into Russia in June, with the aim to reach the core Cossack area before winter. The Grand Alliance army, now under Generalissimo Baron Ernst von Laudon, routed a Russian force outside Kiev and occupied the city, installed a Polish garrison in the city and then the army of the Grand Alliance marched on to Pereyaslav which was occupied without bloodshed. The first major battle of the, so-called, von Laudon Offensive was the Battle of Poltava, against a Russian army under Count Pyotr Saltykov. The Grand Alliance army, having captured some Russian scouts had discovered the position of the Russian army and advanced on them from behind. The Grand Alliance cavalry charged the Russian rear-guard, shattering their ranks. The Grand Alliance infantry followed up the cavalry charge and set upon the Russian centre. The Russian forces crumbled and fled the field of battle. The remnants of the Russian army retreated to Kharkov where they awaited reinforcements from Catherine.

At this point Austria sent envoys to Sweden and the Ottomans offering them Russian land in the peace treaty, if they entered the 6 Year’s War on the side of the Grand Alliance. Both nations agreed, Sweden eager to regain land lost in the Great Northern War and the Ottomans keen to consolidate their Ukrainian holdings. Thus on the 23rd August an Ottoman force marched from the Crimea to aid the Cossacks in the Don Region, this unlikely alliance brought about by negative cohesion and clever Austrian diplomacy. 6 days later a Swedish army besieged Viborg in Karelia. The Russians responded well to this three pronged attack, raising the siege of Viborg and defeating the Ottoman expeditionary force on the banks of the Doneta, however this could not disguise the growing unrest among the Russian people.

Swedish artillery at the Siege of Viborg

The Cossack rebellion fuelled by the Grand Alliance and armed with Grand Alliance guns successfully captured Sarai in October 1768 and looked likely to threaten Astrakhan. Meanwhile the Tartars, inspired by the Cossacks also rose up in September 1768 and two months later the two rebel groups agreed an alliance with the aim of creating a unified Ukrainian state for the Tartars and Cossacks. Catherine responded with great force to the Tartar rebellion sending a large army to crush the rebels. This plan succeeded and the main Tartar force was slaughtered outside Kharkov. Unfortunately for Catherine, however, this major attack allowed the Swedish to launch a second offensive to take Viborg, and take it they did in April 1769. A month later a Cossack-Ottoman army captured Astrakhan. Russia was crumbling in front of Catherine’s eyes. The nobles of the court took action, on 1st June 1769 Catherine’s son Paul was kidnapped by the nobles, who planned to place him on the throne as their puppet. Two days later a Polish-Swedish army took the city of Riga. This left Russia with no Baltic coast, Estonia and the rest of Livonia having already mean occupied. The Russian nation was in a dire way. On the 12th June Catherine was overthrown in a coup and Prince Paul declared Tsar. The nobles who had engineered the coup, realising that they could not hope to roll back the loses they had suffered agreed to the Treaty of Kiev on the 2nd July 1769, a day that would go live long in Russian memory as the worst humiliation of the empire. Under the Treaty of Kiev:

1. Russia forced grant extra autonomy to the Cossacks and Tartars, having refused to allow the creation of Cossack-Tartar state.
2. Russia forced to cede all land west of the Dneipr to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
3. Russia forced to cede small amounts of land to the Ottoman Empire.
4. Russia forced to cede Estonia, Karelia and Livonia to the Swedish Empire.
5. Pay reparations to all members of the Grand Alliance.

The Treaty of Kiev crippled Russia for several generations, but it was a blessing in disguise. During the long years of military inaction the nation of Russia would be reformed and when would re-enter the world stage it would, truly, be ready to do so.
Part 5: The Third War of Polish Succession of 6 Year’s War 1765-1771 Section 5:
After the resounding victory over Russia von Laudon and von Lacy decided the time was right to launch the North Italian Plan. Austria assembled a second army, made up of soldiers from across the North Italian Confederation and Austria, under Field-marshal von Lacy to attack Sardinia. However, the Sardinians got word of the army build up and declared war on the Grand Alliance at the start of 1770. They invaded Genoa, just as they had done in the War of Sardinian Succession, this time Genoa, the bulk of its army in Venice with the North Italian Confederation army, was defeated within the month. By this time von Lacy had received word of the Sardinian action and marched to meet the Sardinian army.

The French meanwhile had given up on New France and formally acknowledged the URCN. This allowed them to turn their attention to Europe once more. A French army under Louis Philippe d'Orléans marched through Germany to Bavaria, where they hoped to join a Bavarian force to invade Austria. A second French army under Marquis de Montcalm marched in to Sardinia to support their new allies. The French support met the Sardinian army in Genoa and from there the two armies, now unified, marched to meet the army of the North Italian Confederation and Austria. The two forces met near Milan. The Franco-Sardinian army scored a resounding victory and drove the North Italian forces back to Venetian territory. Less than a week later the Genoans surrendered to the Sardinians and the nation was annexed by Sardinia. 3 days after that the Bavarians declared war on Austria, under French pressure, and the Franco-Bavarian army under Marquis de Montcalm invaded Austria. Fortunately for the Austrians, the victorious Austrian soldiers that had fought in Russia arrived 3 days after the French and Bavarians laid siege to Linz. The Battle of Linz ended in a draw with the French and Bavarians freshness counter-acting the battle-hardened Austrians. Despite the battle’s actual result the Austrians claimed victory, as the Franco-Bavarians retreat back to Bavaria shortly afterwards due to the heavy casualties they had sustained. In north Italy the war was at a stalemate. The Grand Alliance had won the Battles of Vercelli, Casale and Alessandria and prevented the further advance of Sardinian forces into Lombardy. However, the Sardinians had advanced south from Genoa and defeated a North Italian Confederation army at Massa and against at Lucca. This meant that, whilst they had been forced out of Milan, they had occupied Massa and the Republic of Lucca. The war in Italy was still undecided as 1771 dawned.

Meanwhile Canada declared support for the 14 Colonies rebels and invaded New England in May 1770. They defeated the British in 3 successive battles and smashed their way down the Atlantic coast. In response the 14 Colonies rebels redoubled their efforts and met the last major British force in America outside Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The army of the 14 Colonies, under Lord Stirling fought the British force, under George Washington to a standstill and then watched as the remnants of the British army that had once ruled the 14 Colonies fled the Americas by sea. By January 1771 all of British America was in rebel hands and on the 1st February 1771 the United Republics of America (or URA) was formed by the leaders of the 14 Colonies Rebels.
 

The Battle of Perth Amboy

The Grand Alliance launched the final campaign of the 6 Year’s War in June 1771. A Grand Alliance army marched into Bavaria from Austria, whilst a Prussian army invaded from the north. The Prussians were defeated swiftly, but had played their part. They had drawn away Bavarian forces from the south, allowing the main army, under von Laudon to reach Munich. At Munich von Laudon’s army met a Franco-Bavarian army under Maximilian III, Prince-Elector of Bavaria, and Marquis de Montcalm, Prince-Elector Maximilian III having demanded to be placed in joint command of the army. The Grand Alliance army engaged the Franco-Bavarians on the shores of Lake Würm. The Franco-Bavarians were drawn up to the north-east near the town of Berg when the Grand Alliance forces arrived. The woods bordering the lake impeded the cavalry and thus infantry played a key role in the Battle of Berg. von Laudon ordered his army to round Lake Würm to allow them to attack the Franco-Bavarians from behind. He then ordered his cavalry to charge through the woodland pass Berg, drawing out the Franco-Bavarian forces from the safety of the town. Things did not go as planned. Only half of the Franco-Bavarian army, the Bavarian soldiers under Maximilian III attempted to attack the Grand Alliance cavalry. This left von Laudon in a tricky position, if he attacked the Bavarian troops he could defeat them, but would leave half of the enemy still safe in Berg. He decided to attack, ordering the Grand Alliance infantry to line up between Berg and the Bavarian troops, thus blocking any retreat and also any French counter-attack. The Grand Alliance cavalry turned and crushed the Bavarian forces against the Grand Alliance infantry, just like a hammer on an anvil. Witnessing the shattering of the Bavarian forces Marquis de Montcalm send an envoy to von Laudon as he camped outside offering to surrender providing they could return to France un-harassed, von Laudon agreed and entered Munich victorious as de Montcalm and his forces retreated from Bavaria.

Generalissimo von Laudon riding into Berg after de Montcalm’s surrender

With the 6 Year’s War now either resolved or at a stalemate on every front France and all members of the Grand Alliance agreed to negotiate a treaty in Munich. The Treaty of Munich was as follows:

1. The Austrian Netherlands are ceded to France.
2. The North Italian Confederation is disbanded.
3. Genoa and the Republic of Lucca annexed by Sardinia.
4. Lombardy and Parma ceded to Venice in exchange for Dalmatia begin ceded to Austria.
5. Canada and the URA are recognised by all parties.

 
The Treaty of Munich concluded the greatest war in the world had yet seen. The 6 Year’s War brought slaughter to almost all the nations of Europe and brought two new nations to birth.

The world at the end of the Third War of Polish Succession or 6 Year’s War