Geneva
Illustrated News
1860 Autumn Edition
Ed: H. Treleaven Eldred-Grigg, Esq.
The Lion of Albion
And the Wolf of Brandenberg:
HANOVER WAR:
Like many of those who concern themselves with the business of commenting on and, God aid us, predicting the political business of the states of Europe, the Prussian declaration of war on the German Kingdom of Hanover has reminded us that be we ever so cunning, chance and determination can make humble men of us all, to paraphrase the Bard.
It is not perhaps seen as such within Prussia. After all, within the salons and academies of Berlin, the attack led by Friedrich The Great on Silesia, which forever set Prussia’s boot firmly on the rung of the Great Powers, is still celebrated as a worthy goal, despite being enacted with scarcely any pretext. However, whatever the moral virtue of Friedrich’s policy, his impetuous attack came at a time when the Great Powers were already engaged in war of their own and thus struggled, and as it evented, failed, to cease or reverse his actions.
Can the same be said for Hanover? One Great Power has already committed itself to defend the Konigreich, while another has abandoned its alliance with Prussia on the basis of it, and the remaining two have long chaffed at the bit for a chance to strike at the powers that be in Berlin. Whether they will chose to do so remains to be seen but the opportunity, so often the crucial factor in games of diplomacy, exists.
And so, Prussia. The call for war came from the offices of the War Ministry, where former Prime Minister Franz Ferdinand continues to wield the dominant influence within the institutions of the Prussian state. Despite the existence of no cassus belli, Franz Ferdinand very strongly pressed the case for war (Pru Lib WM –12 Prestige). With little political capital with which to oppose him, it was expected that both Von Humboldt and Von Kierstendorf would at least make a nominal opposition, but they declined to do so, with both the Chancellery and the Foreign Ministry supporting war (Prus Con FM –1 Prestige; Prus Nat PM –1 Prestige). All three men are now seen in the eyes of Europe as warmongers without cause (Prus Lib WM –5 Prestige; Prus Nat PM –5 Prestige; Prus Con FM –5 Prestige). The entire Prussian Ministry now falls into disrespute, although most of the court’s anger falls on Von Humboldt and Von Kierstendorf, for lacking the courage to make even a symbolic stand.
And so it was done. Franz Ferdinand also drew up a General Mobilisation order, which met with similarly unequivocal support (Prus Lib WM –1 Prestige; Prus Con FM –1 Prestige; Prus Nat PM –1 Prestige) even as the Prussian ambassador in Hanover handed his declaration of war to the King and then hastened to the Westphalian border. A day later, Hanoverian Premier Von Hodenberg stated that he was inclined to surrender, but instead asked the Great Powers to come to Hanover’s aid and ordered a Partial Mobilisation.
The reaction of the Great Poweers was swift. Austria, despite her treaty obligations, declined to join Prussia in war, thus breaking their alliance with Berlin, something that reflected poorly on both German Great Powers (Aus Con PM –4 Prestige; Prus Con FM –2 Prestige). The Dutch similarly declined to join Prussia in its war, with Kaspar Willem stating he had signed a treaty with Prussia to defend the rights of debt holders and rational commerce, not to annex Hanover (Net Nat PM –4 Prestige; Prus Con FM –2 Prestige). France and Russia made angry noises, but contented themselves with suppressing revolts within their own territories. Bavaria, presumably motivated by fear, withdrew its offer of an alliance with Hannover, one strongly supported by the UK (Bri Con PM –5 Prestige; Han Lib PM –5 Prestige).
The nation to make the most aggressive action, however, was Britain. Ever since George Ludwig of Guelph took the throne, British politicians have acted with disgust at the concept of going to war to defend the ‘despised electorate’, seen as a millstone around Albion’s neck. Benjamin Judah and his Foreign Secretary George MacIntyre are the exceptions to this. Judah has intervened in Hannoverian politics to prevent a change to the status quo in Germany, something that has not always made Hanoverians happy, but which has at least shown a belief that Hanover is important to London. After consultations with his War and Foreign Secretaries, Judah announced the deployment of a massive British force, consisting of not less than 75,000 men, to Hanover. These troops, under the command of General Cray, will constitute the largest British force deployed to the continent since Waterloo. It is clearly Judah’s hope that they will be as decisive.
As preparations for the disembarkment ran on in Britain, and Prussian troops mobilised in Westphalia and Magdeberg, Hodenberg took what might prove to be his last civil policy – the arrest for espionage and treason of the Prussian party in the Hanoverian Court. Led by Baron Espen Von Zolverin, these men have long enjoyed the favour of the aging Hanoverian King, but deprived of the protection of the Prussian ambassador, they proved easy pickings for Hodenberg’s policemen, who escorted some twenty-two such men to a small military prison in a fort near Hamburg, where they will be held awaiting trial – although some believe that Hodenberg may rescue them if negotiations with Prussia become a necessity (Han Lib PM –1 Prestige; Prussian concessions in Hanover removed; Han Lib PM +3 Prestige; Prus Nat PM –10 Prestige).
A commemorative portrait of General Sir Douglas Ronald Cray, commander-in-chief of the German Expeditionary Office.
The brief interlude afforded by Prussian and British preparations quickly over, the first chill of winter bit into the North Sea ports as the British fleet departed Chatham Dock with the German Expeditionary Force aboard, while the first Prussian troops crossed the border into Hanover.
Franz Ferdinand’s main strategy soon became clear. The vast bulk of the Prussian attack came in the form of a 64,000 strong force of men detached from the Rhine command near Koln and placed under the command of freshly promoted General Lothar Albrecht Von Gloder, a distant cousin of the War Minister. Smaller Corps of 20,000 men moved into the Principalities of Hesse-Cassel, long dependent on Hanover, and Oldenberg, although the force striking at Hesse had to march all the way from Posen, where it had recently crushed the Polish uprising, and thus was later in reaching the theatre, even with the aid of the swift Polish railroads.
As expected the most brutal fighting took place around the flat river plains which surround the Royal capital of Hanover. The Hanoverian forces in the area numbered a modest 15,000 strong, commanded by the wily old artillery General Luthor Von Beckett, a former member of the King’s German Legion, veteran of Waterloo and personal friend of the Hanoverian King. Beckett’s chief assets were the two strong fortresses located at Hardenbecht and Kottorn, on either side of the Hanoverian capital. Arrayed against him were Von Gloder’s forces, reinforced by smaller detachments probing from Magdeberg. Beckett, after consulting with the Prime Minister, the King, and the British military attaché, Colonel House, who on his own initiative rode from the capital to join the troops in the field, realised that his chief goal should be to hold fast in the hope that the British would arrive and even the odds against him.
Within two weeks, Beckett had been forced to abandon Hardenbecht, whose magazines were set alight, and even the capital in the interests of attempting to lure the Prussians onto hard ground. Burning bridges across the low flowing Gosse river, he urged the King and Cabinet to evacuate Hannover for Bremen – but while Hodenberg did so, heading north to greet British troops, the elderly King refused to leave his palace, and was greeted with great cordiality by Prussian troops as they entered the city, where Von Gloder is said to have bowed to kiss his hand.
Meanwhile Beckett, marshalling his forces in Kottor, must have ground his teeth in anger at the sight of the Prussians taking the Kingdom’s capital and only hoped that English flags would aid him in recovering it. Two days later, Prussian artillery took up position in a loop of the Gosse south of Kottorn and began to pound it with artillery fire. The flamboyant Von Gloder is said to have spent much time amid the guns, twirling his moustaches with glee as the excellent batteries coughed fire onto the Hanoverian fort. The slopes of Kottorn had been designed to repel such fire, and the Hanoverian guns, recently proven in China, gave a good accounting of themselves, but even time was not on Hanover’s side. After two weeks bombardment, the southern walls of the fort had been turned to rubble and an assault by the 2nd Silesian Grenadier division over-ran the defenders, forcing them to flight and then, as Beckett saw the tide was turning, surrender. The gloomy old General gave his colours to Von Gloder on a chill morning on the 15th of August and went to Hanover, there to join his King in comfortable and honoured captivity. (Prus Lib WM +3 Prestige; Han Lib PM –3 Prestige)
The ruins of Fort Mulhaupten, outside Hesse-Cassel, under guard by troops of the 6th Cologne Lancers. The fort was breached by a two-day Prussian artillery bombardment.
Of the battles at Hesse-Cassel and Oldenberg, the subordinate Princely states that have gladly followed Hodenberg’s lead, less still can be said. Brigadier Krutz in Oldenberg and Von Tech in Hesse-Cassel commanded only 7,000 infantry each, scarcely a division, and had neglible artillery and cavalry beyond what the Royal fortresses in these provinces granted them. The Prussian Corps attacking them were not much stronger, but their advantage in cavalry proved decisive. Both Generals were able to withdraw the remnants of their forces to Bremen, and Krutz at least managed to destroy the fortress in Oldenberg before the Prussians could occupy it. But by the end of August all of the Kingdom of Hanover save Bremen and Hamburg lay in Prussian hands. (Prus Lib WM +4 Prestige; Han Lib PM –4 Prestige)
The British Expeditionary force saw fit to change that. With only 11,000 Hanoverian troops, almost half of them survivors from Oldenberg and Hesse-Cassel, available, it was only natural that General Cray accepted Hodenberg’s offer to command the Kingdom’s remaining forces. As the Prime Minister set up an administration in Bremen, General Cray and his deputy, General McLeigh of the Royal Highland Corps, began to discuss their strategy.
Their orders, freshly signed by Forsythe and sent to Bremen by special courier, were clear. While McLeigh was to secure the North Sea ports, Cray was to proceed south to defend Hanover. Although Hanover had already been over-run, Cray was ready to interpret this defensive mission loosely. After a few days of marshalling his force, Cray formed his men into battle order and began to advance south.
Von Gloder’s cavalry rapidly brought news to him that a British force was advancing down the Bremen-Hanover railroad. If he entertained any doubts about the legality of the situation, given the fact that no state of war existed between Britain and Prussia, he cast them aside. Leaving only a small garrison in Hanover and another in Kottorn, he led his army north to face Cray.
The British forces had scouting superiority, but the Prussians enjoyed strong defensive positions, more artillery, and the still stalwart fortress of Kottorn. Neither side conceded much in terms of discipline, which both Von Gloder and Cray mentioning the bravery and technique of their opposing troops. After two days of desultory maneuvering, Cray chose a weak point in the broad Prussian line – a town called Teneporn. A group of his Highlanders had forced a bridge and formed a salient with the aid of several mounted dragoons, and despite heavy casualties, Cray felt there was the possibility of a breakthrough.
Unfortunately for the sons of Albion what Cray had interpreted as a weakening of the Prussian line was a pause as Von Gloder brought up to the front his much beloved guns. Just as Cray’s forces began to cross the bridge near Teneporn a maelstrom of fire engulfed the town, shaking the cobbles from the streets and destroying the ancient Dominican monastery there. The Highlanders fought their way forward, but disciplined fire from Pomeranian and Westphalian infantry stilled them. Realising his mistake, Cray withdrew the salient, his cavalry preventing the Prussians from pressing their advantage and allowing the Scots to withdraw in good order.
There followed several weeks of desultory engagements as the climate grew colder and colder. By September, the rivers had frozen over sufficient to carry footmen, and by early October horse and cannon could cross them. Encouraged by his greater freedom of maneuver Cray shifted his forces east, towards the Prussian border, in an attempt to circle around the dug in Prussian garrisons near the city of Hanover.
A portrait of General Von Gloder surveying the artillery batteries south of the Fortress of Kottorn.
It was a bold move and one that made good use of Cray’s cavalry. Initial successes were had as Cray drove back several Prussian garrisons near the captured fortress of Hansebreckt, and in a huge cavalry skirmish which almost deserves to be termed a battle in and of its own, 2,000 of the King’s Own Household Cavalry met and defeated 2,000 Prussian Dragoons and Grenzers on a frozen field near the small hamlet of Ostofer. Emboldened by the capture of Prussian colours, Cray, efficiently organising his forage trains, drove deep toward Hanover.
Whether Von Gloder deliberately allowed Cray to over-extend himself or made the best of a bad situation is unclear. But, like the Hanoverians before him, Von Gloder evacuated the Royal capital in order to concentrate his forces in the field. Cray, seeing an opportunity to break the back of the Prussian Corps, took it. The British forces formed up on the misty morning of November 23rd on a nameless field south of the small Hanoverian suburb of Eckenns. There, arrayed before them, was the Prussian Field Army, some 35,000 strong. At the sound of a bugle, the British advanced.
Von Gloder’s artillery thundered, tearing gaps in the redcoat line, but the British efficiently closed them with admirable discipline, their own guns answering in kind. The great Prussian cannons roared voluminously, some splitting and others surrounded by a permanent mist of melted frost as their barrels glowed cherry red. But before long the lead elements of the British force were beyond the reach of the cannons as they closed with the cream of the Prussian army.
British war artist Sir Anthony Limely gives his impression of the Battle of Ostofer, in which British Household Cavalry repulsed Prussian Grenzers.
Ah, what glory, as two of the finest warrior races of Grandmother Europa met on that starry and frozen field! And what sadness that it was Albion who was the loser! For once again, Von Gloder had his day. Cray surveyed his troops from a small hill to the rear and, seeing the Prussians threatening to turn his flank with their well disciplined musket fire, sounded the retreat. Over frozen ground, the Army of the Queen began to withdraw on the long road north to Bremen, leaving the Prussians bloodied but in possession of the battlefield. (Bri Lib WM –3 Prestige; Prus Lib WM +3 Prestige)
After a season’s campaigning, British forces finding winter barracks in Bremen found themselves short some 23,000 troops. The Prussians for their part left 25,000 on the field, the Hanoverians having lost 27,000 troops. Prussian forces now control all of the Kingdom of Hanover except for the Royal Duchy of Bremen-Hamburg – but beyond the horizon from which their battleships sight on the misty Saxon coast, the British forces do not march. British supply ships continue a steady train between Chatham and Bremen, although there are rumours that Franz Ferdinand has sent a Prussian battleship into the North Sea – ostensibly to protect Prussian shipping.
Needless to say, this engagement has led to a feeling of hostility between Prussia and Britain, who now each have a cassus belli upon one another. It should surprise none that de facto war leads with such ease to de jure war.
Rejection of the London
Congress:
Following the general confusion and derision which earlier this year surrounded attempts by France, Prussia and Russia to enact their obligations toward Poland as mandated by the Congress of Great Powers, the national paralysis which continues to inflict the Warsaw government struck yet again, leaving many of the world’s leaders increasingly angry at a Poland which does not even concern itself with accepting the gifts placed before her.
In France, Prime Minister Turenne, Foreign Minister Joffre and War Minister Du Lorraine were in agreement that the Mutual Defense treaty signed on Poland’s independence should be terminated (Fra Con PM –1 Prestige; Fra Lib FM –1 Prestige; Fra Nat WM –1 Prestige). This doubtless offended many in Poland, but is a fact they must respect – by the autumn of 1861, France will no longer stand with Poland. The concept that France would lose the influence she has enjoyed in Poland was less welcome, with Monsieur Du Lorraine in particular exerting a strong argument that it should not be abandoned (Fra Nat WM –2 Prestige). But both Joffre and Turenne agreed that maintaining France’s influence in a distant state was not worthy of the risk (Fra Con PM –1 Prestige; Fra Lib FM –1 Prestige). And thus, the concessions were abandoned. (Fra Con PM –1 Prestige; Fra Nat WM –1 Prestige).
In Prussia, Foreign Minister Von Humboldt once again proposed that Prussia extend a guarantee of its independence to Poland. All parties accepted this proposal (Prus Nat PM –1 Prestige; Fra Con FM –1 Prestige; Fra Lib WM –1 Prestige). But the Poles once again remained enigmatically silent, and the Reichstag, seeing that Poland would not reciprocate, voted it down, to the continual embarrassment of the Prussian ministry (Pru Con FM –2 Prestige).
In Russia, after a remarkable speech by Russian Foreign Minister Prince Bolkonski, the Russian Foreign Ministry did not attempt to change its agreement with Poland. It seems a gap has appeared in the Russian Cabinet between the Liberals, under Bolkonski, and the Conservatives, under Menshikov and Orlov. Bolkonski has essentially refused co-operation with the government’s foreign policy aims, not least the adherence to the London Congress, unless a Liberal budget is enacted. This goal is brave but risky, as he faces a war with the Great Powers over the issue. Menshikov, doubtless furious, attempted to have Czar Alexander remove Bolkonski from the Foreign Ministry, but was acidly informed by the Czar that Bolkonski serves at his pleasure alone and will remain until he, the Czar, wishes him to depart. It is now clear that the Czar disapproves of Menshikov’s policies despite their royalist bent – he wishes for agreement with Prussia rather than the alliance with the illegitimate royalty of Napoleonic France. Although Bolkonski was able to prevent the altering of the treaty, he could not stop Orlov from ordering the withdrawal of 35,000 Russian troops from the Polish Republic.
Due to their good faith, if their lack of success, France and Prussia do not incur sanctions due to their failure to enact their obligations to Poland. But Poland’s stubborn silence and Russia’s internal divisions earn them the ire of the Great Powers.
Trouble in the Rear:
PRUSSIA:
Even as Prussia’s soldiers fought well on the fields of Hanover and Hesse-Cassel, her administrators and policemen in the home provinces found themselves gripped with a rapidly worsening situation as the flames of revolt, stamped down in France and Russia, and even recently in Posen, once more erupted.
Although the rebellious crowds that trod the streets of Posen since the tumultuous year of 1859 were put down by brute force, many of the administrators, judges and schoolteachers appointed by the Polish committees at the time remain in office. Although professing keen loyalty to the Prussian crown and to the Liberal system promoted by then-Chancellor Franz Ferdinand, these men have diverted much expenditure towards local projects, leading to anger in Berlin, which finds both the principal and the fact of this autonomy difficult.
This situation was judged unacceptable by Chancellor Von Kierstendorf the moment he entered office. This should not be surprising – as War Minister, he was an enthusiastic proponent of the violent suppression of Polish-Catholic nationalism in Posen, and as commander-in-chief his behaviour will not, it seems, differ, that is when he is able to extract himself from beneath the wing of his ally-cum-mentor-cum-power-behind-the-throne, Franz Ferdinand.
In this case, he was. Reaching out for support from the Conservatives, Von Kierstendorf ordered the arrest of some three dozen judges, educators, bureaucrats and other state officials in and around Posen. In one celebrated case, Chief Judge Volkus Jzazenski was taken from his courtroom by armed Prussian troops while delivering a sentence. These individuals were, it was proclaimed, to be tried under a military court, for their crimes had been committed during the period of martial law earlier in the year.
Jzazenski and many of the others were popular figures, and their trial caused an outcry. When the editor of local daily Polska issued a call for people to protest against the trials, he in turn was arrested, as were several priests and lawyers who had done similar. This second wave of arrests proved too much. As Jzazenski was removed from a local police station to the nearby military camp of Kowyno, an angry mob gathered. Shots were fired, and Jzazenski was killed – according to the Prussian army, the victim of a rifle-wielding Pole. According to the local Catholic elite, he was murdered by the Prussians rather than be allowed to go free.
This spark, combined with the withdrawal of much of the Posen garrison to the Hanover front and news of unrest along the Catholic Rhein, lit the ashes which had smoldered since the creation of the Polish Republic. Peasants ambushed police and military units on isolated patrols; rioters occupied and, in two cases, burnt down government buildings; railways were delayed and men to be conscripted for the call to war in Hanover refused to make themselves available, instead fleeing into the rugged, wintry countryside.
Koln Cathedral, where the Archbishop preached two sermons greatly weakening Prussia’s hold on the Lower Rhein provinces.
Meanwhile, on the westernmost side of the Prussian domains, along the Rheinish lands taken from Napoleon, a similar, if more genteel, unrest occurred. It began with a sermon by Monsignor Werner Holz-Gottheck, the Archbishop of Koln, which condemned the secularist, warmongering and Prussian-particularist tendencies of the Franz Ferdinand government and its lame duck successor. It is worth noting that the last Archbishop but one of Koln enjoyed a status, not only as a Prince of the Church, but as sovereign ruler of his own Electorate within the Holy Roman Empire.
The speech struck a chord, particularly among a bourgeoisie anxious about war and feeling unable to practice their religion under the steely Protestant gaze of the Prussian administrators. Within weeks, mass absentisms from work of low level city and provincial officials became epidemic, almost all of them Catholic – ‘the Cobalt flu’ as one sceptical police official in the Ruhr termed it, a reference to the Cobalt flag of the Papal states. Several workers organisations, including the largely Catholic farm labourers union, also refused to go to work in large numbers. Angry at this, the royally-appointed Mayor of Koln sought answers from the Archbishop – and was rewarded with a second speech. In this, Holz-Gottheck called the war in Hanover a ‘defiance of moralty and sanity’, and called for the ‘Catholic powers’, doubtless a reference to France, to hold Prussia to account for the ‘laws of diplomacy and the laws of the land’.
The uprising on the Lower Rhein is not as violent as that in Posen – indeed, except for a few scuffles with strikers, there has been no violence at all – but it is perhaps more alarming, for the Lower Rhein is both strategically and economically crucial to Prussia, and an area which both France and Bavaria have long cast their ambitions toward. How will Prussia respond to these twin expressions of disloyalty in the midst of war? Will Franz Ferdinand order his troops to battle, and thus incite more hatred from his Liberal supporters? Or will negotiations for concessions begin, potentially weakening Prussia further, and wounding the cause of Chancellor Kierstendorf still further? Only one fact holds certain – these are not simply Prussia’s questions, but Europe’s questions.
The Memory of Poltava:
SWEDEN:
Anti-Prussian feeling in Sweden was already high following the Prussian ambassador’s brusk refusal to sign a accord guaranteeing Sweden’s independence, which caused much embarrassment to the Prime Minister, who had supported it.
This feeling only grew as news of Prussia’s attack on Hanover ran wild through Sweden’s courts and salons. There is great admiration for Hanover among the dominant Liberal thinkers of Sweden, who see the transformation of that Kingdom into a more enlightened Liberal polity as something their own state can aspire to. Of course, the same holds true for Prussia, and many doubtless weep that two Liberal states should do battle – but it is clear who is the cause of this confrontation.
The Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, just before the Prime Minister was received by His Majesty and informed of the repercussions of events in Germany.
At an audience in August, the Swedish King made clear his interest in events of Germany and his desire for Sweden’s voice to be felt. “We should not” the King opined, “fall prey to Baltic slumbers”. The Prime Minister, Mr. Stierneld, could but agree. His government now has two new goals; one modest, to sign an MDT or Alliance with a Minor German state (Libs and PM +3 Prestige) and to annex Pomerania, a historical territory of the Swedish crown (Nats and PM +5 Prestige).
An Empty Throne:
GREECE:
King Otto of Greece never did a great deal to endear himself to endear himself to his subjects. Although most Greeks share the view that a monarch owes little to his people except his presence, Otto, or Othon as he is known to his Greek subjects, did little enough even of that.
Since the Franco-British treaty which bore him to the throne of Athens, Otto has shown a disinterest in his adopted state that verges on the boorish. He has refused to adopt the Orthodox rite, or to learn Greek, frequently spends time abroad in France and Bavaria, and interferes with the workings of the Grecian Parliament. In all, he and his German speaking courtiers give the impression that they view Greece as an unpleasant country cousin’s home they are forced to tolerate for the sake of politeness.
Of course, an energetic Premier and vigorous administration require little from a King except compliance, but it seems Othon was unwilling to deliver even this. According to the King’s bette noire, famed Greek Premier Nicolas Laskaratos, the King attempted to intervene in Greek foreign policy and append Greece to the Austro-Prussian alliance. It does not take long, however, for sceptics to doubt this. Not only is Othon a Bavarian, not an Austrian or Prussia, and thus unlikely to attempt to push Greece into an alliance his own home state has not joined, it is difficult to imagine exactly what form of assistance Greece could render to Austria against her foes, let alone Prussia.
Officers of the Greek Royal Household Guard stand idle watch outside the Parthenon as demonstrators threaten to remove the King’s valuables, left during his flight.
That being said it is clear that the King has been deposed and, with even the most extreme legitimists stunned at Laskaratos’ support and the King’s cowardice, he has been forced to flee the country. At present, King Otto has gone to the formerly British island of Corfu and asked the local British naval commander, one Admiral Clinton, for his protection. With offers of hospitality from Bavaria, the Papal States and even the Turks, Othon is doubtless considering his options, but there seems little domestic support for a restoration, as Laskaratos has put a popular Patriarch on the throne as Regent.
Reaction in the remainder of Europe was muted, with the strongest objection coming, most naturally, from Minister-President Schwitalla of Bayern, where Othon’s brother rules. Although rapidly distracted by events in Hanover, Schwitalla issued several very strong diatribes against Laskaratos, although many were quick to point out that, without a navy, Bavaria is in essence helpless to back them up.
The question now remains – who will sit upon the Grecian throne? The ruler of any state which signs an agreement with Laskaratos to place one of its royals in Greece will achieve a coveted place in the history books of both their native state and the oldest state (All powers gain a new goal: Gain the Greek throne, Cons and FM +5 Prestige). But it must be noted that, while a member of a minor royal family would doubtless be compliant in Athens, any sovereign who represented one of the great noble families of Europe – be they the Saxe-Coburgs of Britain, the Hohenzhollerns of Prussia, the Romanovs of Russia, the Hapsburgs of Austria or the Bonapartes of France – would gain such a decisive say in Grecian affairs that it would have the effect of creating political concessions in Greece, with all the accompanying ramifications.
The Freedom of the Faithful:
OTHMAN EMPIRE:
In gladder circumstances for the Turk it would be likely that the game of thrones currently being played in Greece, long the rival supreme of the Porte, would attract great interest and possibly be seen as an opportunity to advance Othman power in the Aegean. But following his bloody and destabilising reforms of the previous years, Talal Rukh Pasha has much more pressing concerns on his mind – principally the very survival of his own Empire.
The autumn began with a coup for Rukh Pasha, as he journeyed to the port of Smyrna to meet with none other than the esteemed Captain Robert McIntyre, Foreign Secretary of Great Britain. McIntyre was decorated with the Order of the Janissaries and made an honorary Pasha of the Othman Court, before signing with Talal Rukh the Treaty of Smyrna, which is likely to define Othman foreign policy and British Levantine policy for the near future.
In the Treaty of Smyrna, the Othman Empire cedes to Britain in perpetuity a thin strip of territory along the Sinai peninsula, which McIntyre announces would be used for the creation of a great Canal linking the Mediterannean and the Red Sea and thus enhancing British commerce. Various miscellaneous commercial concessions were also given to the UK, although sceptics note that they mean little given the fact that Talal Rukh has laid the Othman economy open to the outside world, so most British merchants have terms as preferential as they could wish for.
In exchange, the British treasury assumes some ¦15 million of Othman debt to London banks, financiers and cartels. They also agree to train the Othman army and navy, and signed a treaty of Mutual Defense, pledging to fight another Crimean War, if necessary, to defend the Othmans against aggression.
This treaty is in effect five separate treaties; a Mutual Defense Treaty, two Military Training treaties, a Trade Concession Treaty and a Renunciation of Aims Treaty. All five treaties were unanimously supported by all British parties (Bri Con PM –5 Prestige; Bri Lib WM –5 Prestige; Bri Nat FM –5 Prestige) as well as by Rukh Pasha (Oth Lib PM –5 Prestige). The result was somewhat mixed. McIntyre was able to promote a vigorous foreign policy which left Britain largely unentangled (Bri Nat FM +18 Prestige). Talal Rukh is in a more complex position. Having the protection of the UK and having debt forgiven is of great benefit to the Othman people, but confessing for the need for foreigners to train the Turkish army and navy, let alone conceding sovereignty over financial markets and territory, is greatly damaging (Oth Lib PM –5 Prestige).
Even as McIntyre departed Smyrna, Talal Rukh turned to the familiar policies which have seen him termed the Butcher of Stanboul. Having greatly eroded the independence of the Egyptian government earlier in the year, many believed he would stop, having already paid a massive price for Egypt’s revenues. But it seems Talal Rukh believes firmly in the principle of centralisation, centralisation, and more centralisation. Barely had the fires of Cairo and Iskandariyah dulled when a fresh round of arrests provoked further confrontation. (Oth Lib PM –1 Prestige).
Turkish troops en route from the port of Iskandariyah to Cairo. These men are of the 33rd Rum Infantry, a battalion known for their loyalty due to their proprietor-Colonel’s business ties to the Grand Vizier.
Sensing that there would be no compromise with the magnates of Stanboul, Cairo’s Imams, Judges, Officers and Bureaucrats used all of their potent political and financial power to send a horde of angry Egyptians into the streets chanting for the death of the Grand Vizier. The moment such violence broke out, Rukh’s local satraps responded with massive force. (Oth Lib PM –1 Prestige). General Raman Bey, a Turk, was appointed emergency Military Governor of Egypt, and began mass round ups of suspects. Several local European representatives and merchants fled to Iskandariyah or to ships in the Mediterannean, and General Aston-Chernsley, the British commander guarding Suez, occupied himself with redeploying his troops along the narrow strip of land ceded to the Empire.
The brutality of the Othman troops was entirely unsurpassed, but it was also unsuccessful (Oth Lib PM –5 Prestige). After nearly three months of fighting, however, the Othman forces had failed to establish control of the area outside the main Nile cities, and even within them there are large areas where Turkish troops and the ever dwindling numbers of loyalists dare not tread. It seems possible that, in attempting to tighten his grip on Egypt, Talal Rukh may in fact shattered the Jewel of the Nile.
A somewhat rosy view of the Greeks of Crete rising up to drive out their Turkish overlords. This fanciful piece is the work of one K. Yathanaos, a Greek frieze panter based in Athens and patronised by the local Patriarch.
But it was not only on the Nile that dire news came. In Kriti, the Hellenic island still controlled by the Sultans that guards the entrance to the Aegean, Greek nationalists hearing news of the elevation of the Patriarch of Athens to the Greek throne began boisterous celebrations of Greek cultural pride that very quickly turned to attacks on the island’s few mosques. When the local police forces reacted, Greek villagers and shepherds took to the hills to wage a violent war of resistance against central authority that quickly engulfed the whole island. By September, the Othman Governor had fled, once again turning over authority to a military figure, in this case admiral Homud. Although Turkish naval infantry captured several rebel leaders, the wild interior of Kriti remains impenetrable to Turkish troops, and Talal Rukh is doubtless concerned greatly for other Grecian areas of the Empire, not least Salonika, the Othman Empire’s second city and commercial hub.
But even as violence flared again in Cairo and anew in Kriti, the long-standing ulcer that has dogged so many Sultans finally came to what may be its bloody resolution as thirty-seven Emirs gathered in the coastal town of Bahrain and formally declared the independence of their territories from the Sultan. These Emirs, whose territories jointly cover almost the entire inhabited Persian Gulf coast, had already enjoyed a great degree of independence from Stanboul’s Viziers and Janisarries, but it seems that they are now prepared to go their own way. The United Emirs elected Shahar Wazif-Rasoud as their spokesman and Emir-President, and the first action of this man was to call on the British Empire for protection. The local British resident, Sir Basil Slideby, demurred, awaiting instructions from London, but it is considered likely that the Treaty of Smyrna precludes this.
And so the Othman Empire ends the year with a spirit of dynamism it once lacked but with problems that may prove insurmountable. It seems that the Grand Vizier is learning why the Empire has remained unchanged at such length – changing it comes at a very high cost.
Rome Abandoned:
THE PAPAL STATES:
In a surprise announcement that reversed more than three years of French support for the Papal States, French Foreign Minister Raymond Joffre today announced that his government would no longer continue to guarantee the physical frontiers of the Papal States. This declaration met with support from both the War Ministry and the Prime Minister’s office (Fra Con PM –1 Prestige; Fra Lib FM –1 Prestige; Fra Nat WM –1 Prestige).
Although the warning appended to this declaration means France’s protection does not lapse until autumn of 1861, it is a clear signal that Imperial France’s priorities have changed. What, it must be asked, will become of the Papacy now? Will she be able to turn to her other traditional protector, Austria, or have too many bridges been burnt? Will she be strong enough to stand alone against the increasingly hostility of other Italian states? Keen observers of peninsular affairs, which never fail to provide entertaining twists to the Italian tale, will doubtless have their own opinions but nothing remains certain except for the mercurial nature of Italians of all political persuasions.
The Empire of Blood:
FRANCE:
Even as Joffre declared that France would no longer support the Papacy, his Cabinet colleagues finalised orders to put an end to the Lyons ulcer which has plagued the Second Empire since 1859, recently spreading to Marseilles. The orders were drawn up at a Cabinet meeting in Paris in early July. Turenne, the Premier, supported the violent suppression of ‘disobedience’ in both cities most strongly (Fra Con PM –2 Prestige). He was joined in this by his War Minister, the Chevalier Du Lorraine (Fra Nat WM –2 Prestige). Neophyte Foreign Minister and leader of the Liberal faction in Cabinet appealed to the Emperor and Premier for clemency (Fra Lib FM –2 Prestige). But Louis Napoleon stated clearly that “we gave these rebels an open hand under Menebreau and they spat into it. Now it is time to show them that Liberty has a fist”.
On dawn of July 14th – Bastille Day – the protestors in both cities had planned mass celebrations of the French Revolution’s most acclaimed achievement. As tables were laid out, speeches prepared, and expressions of fraternal greetings from the two French insurgent centres as well as worker’s benevolent societies in Belgium, Paris and London, thousands of troops began to assemble on the city limits, turning away those who sought to enter or leave these two great French urban centres.
At ten bells, troops entered Lyons, seizing the hospital and the Cathedral Sacree Couer on the north side of the city. Realising they were under attack, the worker’s militias raced to the barricades they had assembled and prepared to resist. After several hours of bloody fighting, however, the ability and morale of the silk workers to hold their own against the disciplined fire of the French troops withered. Most insurgent contented themselves with stabbing soldiers who strayed into dark alleys, leaving broken glass for horses to founder on, or slipping away into the countryside, some with vague plans to make for Switzerland or Sardinia.
French horse drawn artillery rest outside the Carrefours Department Store in Central Lyons while several local notables negotiate with their officers for the surrender of a group of workers who had threatened to burn the store’s debt records. The workers eventually slipped away when the artillery began to shell the store.
In Marseilles the workers voted not to fight, but to meet the soldiers with a delegation to ask them not to fire on loyal citizens of France. The officers promptly arrested the delegation, breaking the back of the Marseilles commune. Some troops were fired on as they occupied a park near the docks, but there were no casualties.
Although the bloodshed in Lyons was brief and in Marseilles almost non-existent, it is estimated that several hundred perished in the crushing of these risings. This blood will aggrieve Liberals, but satisfy Conservatives (Fra Con PM +4 Prestige; Fra Lib FM –10 Prestige). It seems clear that the Emperor continues to stand for the order, as promised ten years ago when the Empire was founded, and his Ministers are prepared to carry out his orders in this regard.
The City of Martyrs:
RUSSIA:
Even as their allies in France moved to end the revolts in Lyons and Marseilles, the Ministers of the Czar of all the Russias sought to do the same to the serfs and workers who had laid siege from within to Moscow, the religious capital of Imperial Russia. Even moreso than his French counterpart, Prince Bolkonski fought strongly for keeping the military away from Moscow, pointing out that only concessions to the peasantry would prevent further uprisings (Rus Lib FM –1 Prestige). Menshikov and Orlov remained firm, however, that disobedience, particularly in attacking Imperial institutions such as the Moscow Bank, should be met with the firm hand of authority (Rus Con PM –1 Prestige; Rus Nat WM –1 Prestige). Orlov is reported to have written a letter to the Moscow municipal leaders pleading them to stand down for fear of aiding the hated Prussians, but it is suspected that many in Moscow admire the liberal reforms of the Prussian state, if not its foreign policy.
Over the weeks of July and early August, as the Russian winter began to approach, Cossack troops and muzhik infantry, reinforced by several brigades of Siberian infantry of the barbarian Yatuk and Evynk tribes who speak no Russian, surrounded the city, first inspecting and then turning aside all food shipments. When a bread riot broke out in the small market town of Domodomeyvo, Cossacks ruthlessly cut down rioting serfs, pursuing them into the countryside for several days. Within Moskva herself, the municipal leaders debated their course. Some were in favour of threatening to burn the Kremlin if Menshikov did not arrive to discuss concessions. Others argued that they should form a civil police force. Others still prepared to fight the troops street by street. The metropolitan of Moskva issued a personal plea to the Czar to sack his greedy Ministers and come to Moskva to ‘see for his holy self what his people, poor Christians, suffer through’.
But neither the Czar nor Menshikov came – only their officers. (Rus Con PM +2 Prestige; Rus Lib FM –5 Prestige). The attack came on the 22nd of August, as snow began to fall on the city. Cossacks and Yakut infantry advanced up the main Smolensk road, past the Belorussia railway station, and towards Central Moskva. Word of the Cossacks coming caused panic as rumours of rape and pillage – not entirely untrue, if French and Austrian journalists are to be believed – led women to disguise their daughters as boys and merchants to fling their valuables into the freezing river in the hope of recovering them later.
Mosvka’s municipal guards fire on Cossacks from an improvised barricade near the Kremlin Gate.
At first the occupation seemed to be going without many hitches. Several prominent leaders of the unrest, including Moskva University Professor Vassily V’Novgorov and recalcitrant preacher Vadim Kartsyev were hung for treason by military courts martial. But on the first day of September, after a week of martial law, a massive crowd gathered near the intersections of Drina and Kyeva streets, having heard rumours that several Cossacks had kidnapped nuns from a nearby monastery. The crowd milled in the street for hours before attacking the Cossack barracks, slaying some 35 troops including a Colonel, and seizing many weapons.
Days of running battles followed as the Holy City of Mosvka, once called the Third Rome, now began to resemble Soddom or Gommorah more. The government’s troops, poorly disciplined and paranoid that every alley hid an ambusher and every darkened park a knife-wielding criminal, lashed out at all around them, burning the houses of several men only believed to have been criminals. General Mendrikov’s requisitions of supplies from city merchants soon came to resemble organised pillaging.
After two weeks of fighting another unruly group of armed men and women armed with salvaged and stolen rifles flung themselves at a group of infantry clearing houses on the south side of Moskva’s Prince Nevsky Park. The soldiers fled in terror, having expected easy pickings from deserted houses. Unable to stop the rout of his men, Mendrikov was forced to order a withdrawal from the city’s centre.
As winter came Mendrikov’s men withdrew still further to winter camp near Yaroslavl. It seems that the Moskva insurgents have resisted the violence of the Russian army, whose morale has been badly damaged by this incident.
Judgement at Thistle Mountain:
TAIPING WAR:
As the third year of the Anglo-Chinese struggle against the rebel forces of the Taiping Emperor Houng Xei continued, few believed that there would be any easy victories to be had. Although the Taiping have lost many of their more recent conquests, notably Guangdhong and Sheixiang, they remain well entrenched in Hunan and Shanghai, and the Great Heavenly Army being prepared by Sun-Tzu Zhiang promises to be a formidable force even if deprived of French weapons which, according to some reports, have been diverted to Hanover instead.
The Anglo-Chinese offensive continued as before, with General Raleigh of the Indian Army advancing on Hunan province, where the Taiping South Banner General Li Ming commanded some 20,000 troops, the largest Taiping force still in the field. Raleigh knew that Li Ming was a cunning warrior with a particular talent for utilising the irregular cavalry which have served so well on both sides of the Taiping conflict. However, the low, narrow hill valleys of Hunan provided an ideal conduit for an attacker to move fast, but with concealment and the ability to redeploy defensively very rapidly. Raleigh used this to his advantage, and after consultation with his native guides, he chose to advance up the fertile but dry valley of the Xienbengjzhe river.
Using the strategy that had brought him victory at Pearl River and Hunan-Che, Li Ming decided to turn the defense into the attack. Sending out a strong cavalry outrider force to locate Raleigh’s Sepoy troops, Li Ming’s field army spent several days in directionless but destructive marching until scouts reported back the direction of Raleigh’s response.
After overwhelming with his artillery two lightly defended outposts of ancient heritage but extremely poor defense, Raleigh came upon Li Ming’s army entrenched in force along a low ridge line straddling the valley. As the first artillery shots began to whistle down, Raleigh’s Sikh Lancers reported that they were under vicious attack by Taiping outriders, led by General Li Ming himself. Although disdainful of the Taiping’s barbarism, Raleigh was forced to acknowledge their bravery, particularly as his men hurried to form squares in order to resist the Taiping dragoons swooping down on them.
Sikh Cavalry countercharge Taiping raiders on the broad fields of the Xienbengjzhe valley during the confrontation between Raleigh’s Indian Corps and Li Ming’s ravagers.
A dogged soldier, Raleigh ordered his men to advance, resisting the temptation to deploy his cannons under the guns of the Taiping. Instead, his artillery swung west towards a series of low, forested outcroppings where they were not only protected from the Taiping guns, but had a superior field of fire. Meanwhile, the ill-disciplined Taiping soldiers poured ragged volleys of fire into the British troops, who instead provided an objective lesson in gunplay as they aimed, fired, reloaded and repeated in a deployment of the soldier’s art which it must have been a joy to see, even as its target.
The battle raged through the rice fields and forests for hours, with heavy casualties on both sides. The Sikh Lancers took terrible casualties as their fine Arabian stallions foundered in irrigation ditches and thick brambles. Even the infantry fell to the guns of the Taiping. Raleigh himself only narrowly avoided death at the hands of a Taiping lancer, who fired a pistol into the side of the General’s face, causing him to collapse into the arms of his Sepoy attendant. The loyal command staff attempted to hasten Raleigh from the field, but the General was stern, urging them to push on with him at their leader, even masked in blood as he was.
But no battle rages for long without conclusion, and after two hours of battle Li Ming realised his lines were thinning. He had inflicted serious damage on the British cavalry, who were almost spent as a force, and perhaps this inspired him to believe he could withdraw to fight another day. But he was mistaken. The fine British infantry showed no mercy as the Taiping rabbled turn to attempt to flee. Although British and Indian muscle might be no greater than the Chinaman’s, in the crush of battle and the clash of steel on steel discipline tells, and no more during a withdrawal. After several volleys of musket fire, the Taiping troops were fleeing in terror, flinging aside their guns in their attempts to escape. General Li Ming himself was killed by his own troops as he threatened them with a sabre for their cowardice.
A few Taiping cavalry and infantry units managed to flee from the scene of the battle to the nearby Taiping territories of Anhui. But Raleigh, mauled even as his force was, was able to gain control of Hunan province within a month, expelling the Taiping administrators and military officials. In his wake followed Imperial officials who installed a Governor, levelled heavy loyalty taxes on Taiping collaborators, and promoted those who had in turn been imprisoned or fined by the Taiping. (Bri Lib WM +2 Prestige)
But the most merciless defeat for the Taiping came not at Xienbienjzhe, but at Thistle Mountain some two weeks later. This small topography in central Anhui province occupies a unique position in Taiping mythology, for it was here that Houng rallied tired and cold Taiping forces to inflict a crippling defeat on Qing Imperial forces during the early days of the war. Sensing that Taiping morale was shaking as the Empire was stripped of its conquests, Sun Tzu-Zhiang and the Divine Houng scheduled a ceremony for the 10th anniversary of the battle to dedicate a new class of God-Worshipping Warriors.
News of the defeat of General Li Ming, commanding the last significant field force of the Taiping, came just before the ceremony began. Exactly what happened is unclear, as no reputable journalists were present. It is speculated that Prime Minister Tzu-Zhiang, seeing in General Li Ming his only true rival for the Houng’s affections, expressed great happiness at the fall of the General. Emperor Houng was understandably horrified that Tzu-Zhiang could find joy in such a disaster on the part of the Demon Devil Qing. When Tzu-Zhiang dismissed the Houng’s concerns, the Divine Emperor raised a pistol and fired at his Prime Minister. Tzu-Zhiang was mortally wounded, but as he died, he drew his own pistol and fired it at the Houng.
A Taiping commemorative print showing the victory at Thistle Mountain for the 10th anniversary celebrations. Sadly, the celebrations were cut short by the death of the two leading political figures within the Taiping movement.
The Houng lingered at death’s door for weeks, issuing proclamations for his successor, promising to rise from the dead, and making his many followers Saints and Holy Martyrs. But even as he did so, the news of the Divine Houng’s death spread out through the Taiping provinces like ripples in a stagnant pool.
Within a week of the Houng’s death, his soldiers had fled into the hills, seizing to function as an effective force. His administrators similarly disappeared or proclaimed their loyalty to the Qing Emperor in the hopes of sparing their titles or, failing that, their families. The few Taiping who attempted to maintain the orthodoxy of their religion were killed by their neighbours who sought to ingratiate themselves with the ‘Returning Emperor’, or more specifically, his armies and British allies.
In Nanjing itself, the garrison attempted to loot the city, including the Imperial Palaces, before fleeing. They were attacked in turn by the merchants and marketers of the city, and within two days of the failure of the Houng to return from Thistle Mountain, Nanjing was in flames, refugees fleeing into the countryside, the Houng’s Palace, formerly the Governor’s Mansion, in flames and gutted by looters and opportunists.
The fall of the Taiping came as suddenly and violently as their rise. The question is now – what will China do now that the weight around her Imperial neck is removed? (Chi Con PM +10 Prestige; Bri Lib WM +1 Prestige).
The Open Hand of Friendship:
WALLACHIA-MOLDAVA:
Even as war comes to an end in China and unfolds in Hanover, the people of the Danube principalities of Wallachia and Moldava had their mind only on a war that exists primarily in their hopes – the war of vengeance between Austria and Wallachia and Moldava.
The fact that such a war has not occurred is largely due to the astute diplomacy of Prince Alexei Rebroff, the Chief Minister of the Danube territories. Unfortunately for Rebroff, although he was able to come to a swift agreement with Austrian Prime Minister Julius Von Kleinemann concerning that his country was satisfied.
But while it easy to satisfy another intelligent man, it is hard to satisfy a populace, especially one less than intelligent. Von Kleinemann was greeted with angry crowds who maintained a stony silence as he spoke. Two members of the Royal Palace Wardens resigned rather than form part of the Count of Fasswerden’s guard of honour.
The Austrian government has offered to pay ¦200,000 to the Wallachian government by way of compensation for the life of Duke Rebroff-Roman. Rebroff has accepted. The people of Wallachia, it seems, have not, and in their minds the cassus belli remains.
The Spectre of Little Germany:
FRANCE:
Ever since the reign of Richelieu it has been French policy to prevent the strengthening of the German states, for a Germany combined in political, economic and military might would not only have the power to humble France, it would have the means to do so. Even Bonaparte, who broke with French tradition on so many levels, saw the conquest of Germany’s territories and the creation of acquiescence there as the key to his domination of Europe. And he was correct. Moscow stretched Bonaparte, and Spain bled him, but in Leipzig, at the Battle of Nations, he was truly defeated.
Now that Prussia has launched an unprovoked attack on another German state, the question is raised in many educated minds, not least French ones – what will result from this war? Will Prussia seek territorial concessions from Hanover, or economic ones? How will other German states deal with the strengthened Prussia that is the result? Would a Prussia that partly absorbed Hanover and cowed Bavaria and Saxony be able to unite Germany?
The need to stop this chain of events is clear to all in France. As such the French imperative to avoid a unified Germany now assumes even greater significance. (French goal to prevent German unification now becomes +10 Prestige for PM and Nats).
Throwing Down the
Italian Gauntlet:
PARMA-MODENA:
Can it be that international trouble-makers truly do conspire to strike blows to the system of international stability in sublime, even divine, co-ordination, for maximum effect of imbalance? Or is it that some unknown logic, obscure to gentlemen but common to political rascals, guides them to move in unholy sychronicity? Whatever the query the answers might be known to Parman Premier Guillio Andricotti. In September, even as Prussian troops marched through Hanover and the French patronage of Rome seemed less secure, Andricotti announced in a speech to the Parman Constitutional Chamber that, for the second time in two years, he would end Parma’s political obligations to the Papacy. (Par Lib PM –2 Prestige).
The Parman Parliament Building, where Andricotti announced an end to the Duchies’ obligations to Rome and the Pope’s men.
“If we threw Priests out of schools and ministries” noted Andricotti’s deputy, Livio Boloscone, to the Press, “we certainly do not see why we should keep them in our banks”. It is true that Papal merchants, mostly in the persona of the Vatican-controlled Bank of Rome, enjoy extensive privileges in the Twin Duchies, a cause of much complaining of those who feel that Parma’s economic growth benefits others.
But the treaties were signed to prevent a Papal cassus belli. That cassus belli now re-emerges, but Parma, far from being alone, has a guarantee from Austria and an alliance with Naples, while the Pope’s treaty with France suddenly seems shaky, although it will remain in force for a year – but will the French honour a treaty set to expire, particularly as French forces may soon be tied down in Germany?
To further raise the spectre of confrontation, Andricotti and his Neapolitan counterpart Pescara signed treaties guaranteeing consultation and co-operation, to the extent that Parman ambassadors will now sit in on the Neapolitan Cabinet, and vice versa. (Par Lib PM –2 Prestige; Nap Con PM –2 Prestige). To what degree the Liberal, humanist Parmans and the Conservative, traditionalist Neapolitans will tolerate one another’s wildly differing domestic policies remains to be seen, but both leaders profited politically from the agreement. (Par Lib PM +7 Prestige; Nap Con PM +7 Prestige). Perhaps the shape of Pescara’s vaunted Confederacy of Italian Princes is beginning to emerge?
The Spectre of the Khan:
XINJIANG:
Even as the Qing forces around the Taiping front allowed the British troops to do their fighting for them, the Emperor announced that it was his divine pleasure to send Brigadier Yao Sol with 10,000 conscripts to Xinjiang, there to restore his subjects to the obedience of the Celestial Throne.
Dispatched down the long road from the Field HQ in Shanxi where he had been serving as a subordinate General of supplies to remote Xinjiang, Yao Sol paused for four weeks in the garrison outpost of Neijanur, near the Inner Mongolian border, to wait for the worst summer heat to die down, and then another four weeks complaining about inadequate artillery. “What use is our civilising mission if we must do the business of war with the weapons of savages?” asked one exquisitely composed letter from Brigadier Yao Sol to the Imperial Court. After the letter had reached the Grand Chancellor, Kong Li Nu serenly ordered Yao Sol to proceed as ordered. (Chi Con PM –1 Prestige)
The bustling bazaars of Urumqi provide spies as well as goods, and so the raider chiefs of Xinjiang knew of Yao Sol’s approach before he departed. Much debate ensued in Urumqi as they attempted to decide how they should treat with the Chinese force. Some favoured descent, some retreat, some accommodation. One even suggested that Yao Sol might convert to Islam and become a warrior lord. But eventually those who wished to fight rode forward to fight, and those who did not rode forward for fear of being seen as cowards or deprived of the spoils.
Tartar raiders strike the Imperial basecamp south of Urumqi, slaughtering the camp followers and baggage carriers.
Yao Sol had 10,000 men, comparatively well trained and organised but without more than the occasional pistol or sword among the officers. Most among them were conscripts from Yunan and Hubei provinces, with little experience of the deadly deserts of the Mien Tien’Shan, the desert at the Roof of the World which surrounds Urumqi. Arrayed against them were some 20,000 Tartar riders, some armed with spears and swords and pistols but most only with weapons as crude as the Qing troops. They had the advantage of horse – more than half were on steeds – and of superior knowledge of the terrain, although nearly half of them might have been opportunists from the Independent Tartar states of Central Asia. Despite this, the battle about to unfold on the furthest border of China belongs to a century before the 19th.
Yao Sol bemoaned the lack of artillery, fantasising about how German or English guns might have scattered the rushing Tartar hordes. But in truth the mobile riders of the Tartars would have suffered little from this. The conscripts fought with the desparation of men who knew there was no surrender, and Yao Sol refused to retreat, knowing that he would be harried by Tartar cavalry. But in the end the expeditionary force was outnumbered and outmaneuvered – it broke under the impact of a Tartar charge, the men breaking into squares to defend their friends and neighbours, and soon the desert was scattered with pockets of Imperial troops, unable to support one another, picked off one by one.
The plunder was great, as the Imperials had been lavishly supplied with food and water. Unable to unite on a decision as to whether to invade the neighbouring Chinese province, the Tartars eventually dispersed back into Urumqi’s suburbs.
Kong Li Nu gained acclaim for his resolution in using force (Chi Con PM +2 Prestige). It seems that greater military resolve will be needed to re-assert Imperial control over this rebel province. But with the Taiping threat dissipated, perhaps the Qing forces will be equal to the task.
Spanish Economies:
SPAIN:
Despite having played such a worthy part in the defeat of Napoleon, the state of Spain has been content since the Peace of 1815 to devote its energy almost entirely to either inertia, which produces little, or civil wars, which turn back the clock of progress. Disinterested in international congresses and dismissive of commitments outside the Iberian peninsula, many would be forgiven for believing that the Spanish feel that Portugal is impossibly distant and London, Paris or Berlin unknowable.
Not so Alfonso Moreno. This remarkable Galician merchant captain holds no formal position within the Spanish government beyond the position of procurer royal to Queen Isabella – such is the way of Spanish politics. But in the new, primarily Conservative Cabinet, it is those who have gained Moreno’s favour who hold office, and it can be assumed that the policies they will enact show his preferences. (Spa Con PM –1 Prestige).
Unsurprisingly these policies show Senor Moreno to be a gentlemen of decidedly conservative bent. Little government spending was assayed this year, allowing taxes to remain a very moderate 11% and tariffs to rise, but not greatly so. One new frigate and sloop were commissioned at the dockyards of Barcelona, and Moreno ordered the foundation of a merchant marine academy, to further Spain’s recently neglected destiny upon the waves. Generous business subsidies were also issued, occupying nearly one quarter of all expenditure and promoting a rash of railroad construction across Spain, and even within the Phillipines.
The Royal Maritime and Navigation Academy at Cadiz, founded by Queen Isabella at the behest of Alfonso Moreno this year.
The Phillipine islands have long been described as a ‘moribund colony’ by Spain-watchers but it seems Moreno is determined this should not remain so. Citing the Taiping War – still raging, and expected to continue to rage, at the time as a destabilising influence, he placed under the command of Admiral Trinidades a force of some half a division of extra troops and an entire squadron of vessels, including one battleship, to Manila, where the construction of a railroad linking the colonial capital with its hinterland was also begun.
In foreign policy, Moreno proposed that Spain for the first time in nearly fifty years make a commitment beyond its own borders – in this case to a non-controversial ally, the Papal States, whose spiritual and temporal Prince is well loved in Spain (Spa Con PM –1 Prestige). Unfortunately, the Mutual Defense Treaty so proposed met with utter indifference by the Cardinals who govern the Papal States. Moreno lost much prestige from the failure of this treaty to pass (Spa Con PM –3 Prestige) but most agree the spirit of the policy was well intended.
So what does the future hold for Moreno? His budget won much approval from the Spanish Conservatives who support he, his party, and the Queen (Spa Con PM +19 Prestige). While growth registered a moderately credible 2.7%, Spain’s fast-growing population made relative gains rather limited to those few with investment in the manufacturing sector, which expanded greatly. Many Conservative commentators urged Moreno to contemplate shipping subsidies, more ports and perhaps the dispatch of the Spanish navy to patrol the seas, in order to increase Spain’s relatively modest 3% share of world market’s.
Nationalism in Action:
ITALY:
If there is a more fertile bed for Italian nationalism than Sardinia, it is hard to imagine it. Sardinia is a wealthy, politically modern state with a large army and a robust commercial culture, as well as a history of political entrepreneurism. Notwithstanding this, its royal house is the eldest of Europe and has a strong rivalry with the Hapsburgs, who hold the keys to the chains that bind the Italian nation in their coat pocket. When Italian nationalists the peninsula over, be they in Milan, Parma, Venezia, Rome or Naples look to the future rulers of united Italy, they look to the Sardinian Court at Turin.
Until recently they were rather disappointed. Victor Venchino rejected nationalism in favour of a stolid conservatism which emphasized the agricultural and aristocratic nature of the Sardinian state. While economically successful, this policy foundered on Venchino’s ability to appease France, Sardinia’s large and powerful neighbour. When Venchino was removed by the French party in the Turin Court, he was replaced by an amicable pro-French nonentity, Count Gotorrio Ileigno, a noble landowner and close friend of the King. Ileigno was largely a cipher and a steady pair of hands intent on keeping things as they were and even undoing some of Venchino’s more notorious programs.
Then, an assassin’s bullet struck down Ileigno, and in a move that shocked Europe and Italy, the Count’s wife, largely credited with masterminding his network of favours, became Europe’s second female Prime Minister.
The Contessa is obviously ably advised by financiers and economists, for her budget was essentially sound. Since the state’s coffers are flush, she was able to finance a very substantial lowering of taxes, to 2.5%. This was partly compensated for by elevated tariff barriers, but Sardinia became an even better place to do business.
What taxes were taken in were spent chiefly on the usual Nationalist projects. The Catholic Church was lavishly funded, with ecclestiastical schools nurtured and priests given the funds for ambitious public works projects. National art and literature also received generous subsidies, resulting in a continuing flowering of Italian scholarship in Turin’s university and salons. The Contessa also embarked on the somewhat unpopular but profitable task of giving Sardinia a unified legal code, something Venchino had resisted largely at the behest of the many towns and estates with one-on-one relationships and exemptions with the Crown. The army and navy, of course, similarly received generous largesse. 18,000 troops join the Sardinian army this year, bringing it to some 90,000 personel, while the navy received new dockyards, coastal defenses, transports, and a battleship, the Carlo Amadeus.
Economic growth was an extremely brisk 6.2%, and this alone was enough to ensure the Contessa’s first budget is seen as successful (Sar Nat PM +18 Prestige). She will doubtless make her mark on a changing Italy, perhaps in the next few months.
A Lowland Alliance:
BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS:
The last diplomatic surprise in a season hardly devoid of them came as Great Britain extended a hand of friendship to the Lowland states of the Netherlands and Belgium. The ever energetic British Foreign Secretary Captain McIntyre rushed to Brussels and Amsterdam to sign two sets of treaties with the leaders of these two states.
In Belgium, Henri De Decker greeted McIntyre with a handshake, a state banquet, and a treaty of military co-operation. The treaty of Brussells involved British training for the Belgian army and navy, and a mutual defense pact between the two states. DeDecker supported all three clauses (Bel Lib PM –3 Prestige). Similarly, all three sectors of the Treaty received the acclaim of all sides of the Commons in London (Bri Con PM –3 Prestige; Bri Lib WM –3 Prestige; Bri Nat FM –3 Prestige). McIntyre, who constantly boasts of the power of the British army and navy and how much they are respected by minor powers, was proved quite emphatically correct in Brussells (Bri Nat FM +11 Prestige). Conversely, DeDecker, while he gladdened Belgians by his securing for them an active, rather than passive, guarantee of their independence, was felt to have insulted the Belgian armed forces by implying they needed the aid of Britain (Bel Lib PM –1 Prestige).
McIntyre then proceeded on to Amsterdam where Dutch Prime Minister Kasper Willem escorted him to an audience with the King. Willem, having broken with Prussia, was rewarded with an offer from the UK to guarantee the independence of the Netherlands quite strongly supported by McIntyre, who perhaps expected opposition (Bri Nat FM –3 Prestige). Willem, who is under notice from the Dutch Parliament to shape up his foreign policy, agreed with enthusiasm (-1 Prestige). In London, British Prime Minister Judah objected strongly on the basis that Willem was mercurial and untrustworthy (Bri Con PM –4 Prestige). George Forsythe, the Minister who may be called on to actually enforce the Guarantee, also supported it, although less casually (Bri Lib WM –1 Prestige). The treaty passed only barely, and there are rumours that Judah may tender his resignation over it. Once again, McIntyre was able to crow over the power of the British armed forces (Bri Nat WM +2 Prestige). Willem, however, was able to present a Treaty with literally no drawbacks to the Netherlands (Net Nat PM +4 Prestige). McIntyre is currently riding high in opinion in England; if Judah is to resign, this rapacious Scot is likely to be his successor, and Judah will perhaps have a chance to exercise closer control over foreign policy in the Foreign Office.
The cap on this new British alignment with the Low Countries came as Belgium offered the Netherlands a Mutual Defense Treaty (Bel Lib PM –1 Prestige). Willem, perhaps not eager to stick his neck out yet again, politely declined, causing some embarrassment to DeDecker (Bel Lib PM –3 Prestige).
Scandals and Esteem among the Statesmen of the World:
Prussian Prime Minister Von Kierstendorf mounted a spirited defense of his nation’s attack on Hanover, although few believed his claim that initial support for Hanover was a ‘bureaucratic mistake’, nor that an alliance with Bavaria was somehow a ‘Franco-British Germany’. (Prus Nat PM +2 Prestige)
Belgian Prime Minister Henri De Decker impressed nobody with his rather witless suggestion that a plebiscite would solve the dispute between Hanover and Prussia. Not only is this a dangerously Chartist-Jacobin idea, it is not the disposition of territory that is at issue (Bel Lib PM –2 Prestige)
Prussian Foreign Minister Manfred Von Humboldt similarly won no praise for quoting at length the words of the British Prime Minister. Perhaps he would take heed the advice that those wishing to hear Judah’s words will hear Judah and form their own opinions, not cleave to those of the Prussian Foreign Minister (Prus Con FM –2 Prestige)
Dutch Premier Kasper Willem was calm amid a storm of abuse and panic as he laid out the Netherlands’ diplomatic options and discussed his course (Net Nat PM +3 Prestige)
Captain Robert McIntyre, English Foreign Secretary, gave a short but pointed speech concerning Britain’s foreign policy towards Prussia and the Kleindeutsch states (Bri Nat FM +2 Prestige). He somewhat wounded his cause by insulting the change of Ministers in the Prussian government, a prospect any politician should be familiar with (Bri Nat FM –1 Prestige)
Franz Ferdinand, former Prussian Foreign Minister and Chancellor and now War Minister, mounted a spirited, if difficult to follow justification for his attack on Hanover (Pru Lib WM +2 Prestige)
Ludwig Albert Von Hodenberg, Prime Minister to the King of Hanover, impressed many with his humble speech thanking his allies and frankly laying out the course for Hanover, including his contemplation of surrender (Han Lib PM +2 Prestige)
Greek Prime Minister Nicolas Laskaratos was once again at the forefront of European affairs as he held out on the Greek succession (Gre Nat PM +2 Prestige)
Contessa Jacqueline Ileigno of Sardinia gave a speech which also placed her firmly on the European map and causing many to realise that this frail French woman has the stomach of a man and the heart of a true Italian (Sar Nat PM +3 Prestige)
Bavarian Minister President Hendrik Von Schwitalla raised eyebrows with his angry talk concerning the fall of King Othon of Greece and Bavaria (Bav Con PM +1 Prestige)
British War Secretary George Forsythe continued his habit of eloquently and rationally explaining Great Britain’s military deployments (Bri Lib WM +2 Prestige)
Prince Vladimir Bolkonski, leader of the Russian Liberals, attempted to hold his government to hostage with mixed political but excellent rhetorical results. His gamble may fall but few can argue he entered into it with the aplomb of a gentleman (Rus Lib FM +3 Prestige)
Prince Menshikov, the Russian Prime Minister, issued a denunciation of Moscow’s ‘anarchists’ which caused many to shake in their boots (Rus Con PM –1 Prestige)
Count Von Kleinemann of Austria and Prince Rebroff of Wallachia-Moldava issued a joint dissertation on the rights of states and individuals in Bucharest which was sadly unpopular with the Bucharesti crowd (Aus Con PM +2 Prestige; Wal Nat PM +1 Prestige)
Alliances, Wars,
and Rumours of War:
The Othman Empire is at war with the United Emirates.
Prussia is at war with Hanover.
Britain has an IGT with Greece
Britain has an IGT with the Netherlands
Britain has an MDT with Portugal
Britain has an IGT with China
Britain has an MTT (Naval) with Hanover
Britain has an MDT with the Othman Empire
Britain has an MTT (Naval and Army) with China
Britain has an MTT (Naval and Army) with the Othman Empire
Britain has an MTT (Naval and Army) with Belgium
Britain has an MTT (Naval and Army) with Greece
France has an MDT with Russia
France has an IGT to Belgium
France has an Alliance (expires Autumn 1861) with the Papacy
France has an MDT (expires Autumn 1861) with Poland
Russia has an MDT with Poland
Austria has an IGT with Parma-Modena
Austria has an IGT with the Papacy
Parma-Modena has an Alliance with Naples
Greece has an MDT with Wallachia-Moldava
Prussia has an IGT to Belgium
Civil disturbance in Moscow (since Spring 1860)
Civil disturbance in Lower Rhein (since Autumn 1860)
Racial revolt in Posen (since Autumn 1860)
Racial revolt in Xinjiang (since Spring 1860)
Racial revolt in Egypt (since Autumn 1860)
Racial revolt in Kriti (since Autumn 1860)
Poland has a cassus belli against Prussia (expires Spring 1861)
Britain has a cassus belli against Prussia (expires Autumn 1861)
Prussia has a cassus belli against Britain (expires Autumn 1861)
Wallachia-Moldava has a cassus belli against Austria (expires Spring 1861)
The Papal States have a cassus belli against Parma-Modena (expires Autumn 1861)
France, Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia have a cassus belli against Poland (expires Spring 1861)
Concessions and Influence:
The Papal States have concessions in France, Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Spain, Sardinia, Naples, Tuscany and Poland.
Austria has concessions in Parma-Modena, Saxony, Hanover, Bavaria, Tuscany and Umbria.
France has concessions in Sardinia, Bavaria, the Papal States and China
Britain has concessions in Hanover and China
Parma-Modena has concessions in Sardinia and Naples
The Othman Empire has concessions in Servia and Wallachia-Moldava
Spain has concessions in Naples
Russia has concessions in Poland
Prussia has concessions in Saxony
Britain has trade concessions in Greece, China and the Othman Empire
France has trade concessions in Russia and the Papal States
Prussia has a trade concession in Russia
World Economies:
The following provinces reached Mature economy status this year:
Brusselles, Limburg, Luxembourg, Antwerp, Flanders (Bel Lib PM +5 Prestige)
Brittany (Fra Con PM +3 Prestige)
Corfu (Gre Nat PM +1 Prestige)
Thessally (Oth Lib PM +1 Prestige)