A More Personal Union

[Thinker1200]

Originally Posted by Razgriz 2K9

Oh who didn't see this coming...

I predict at wars end, the Holy Roman Empire will be no more, Germany will be divided between pro Danish, pro-Polish, pro-Austrian and pro-Spanish portions now....

...how unfortunate.

By wars end Spain will be forever crippled and the Austrian Hapsburgs will have been destroyed.

@ Thespitron: Heres a question. How has Phillips System affected the meita levy of Peru? Has it been increased to such staggering number that the Peruvian Natives have a real cause to rise up? Or was that only in the Caribbean/Mexico?
Im wondering if the remains of the Incan state in the south have even the smallest chance of recovering their stolen glories.

Also, how completely fucked is the Spanish Main? Is mexico going to have a Revolution 200 years early or what?

[Thespitron 6000]

Summer 1595: The Poles under Jan Siemienowicz besiege Vienna, a move that catches the Austrians totally off-guard. The young Wilhelm von Burgau, great-grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand, is the only Hapsburg in the way, and puts up a valiant defense with his small army, but is forced to retreat into the city by the professional, disciplined Poles.

In England, panic reigns as the Spanish march across Dorset for London. Thousands of English, having heard stories of the brutal occupation of southern France, flee northward, while the redoubtable Philip Sidney, aided by the young and warlike Martin Beaumont, attempts to defend, marching south to confront the Spanish with five thousand men. Vastly outnumbered, they use their superior knowledge of the terrain to harass and slow the enemy, while in London Francis Walsingham works feverishly to fortify the city.

By mid June, the Spanish have pushed through Sidney’s forces, who circles westward, hoping to link up with forces being raised in the north by the Earl of Shrewsbury. Meanwhile, Recalde lays siege to London. Crossing the Thames on makeshift barges, the Spanish surround the city on all sides, and set fire to and collapse London Bridge into the river, to cut off relief from the sea. From behind barricades and berms, the defenders harry the besiegers, but it quickly becomes apparent that they are trapped.

Her courtiers urge her to flee while she has the chance, but sixty-one-year-old Elizabeth refuses. “This is my city. Not all the cannon in all the world, nor all of Spain’s ships, nor all of Satan’s minions, shall drive me from it. I shall stand with it, and should this Prince of England be stormed by its enemies, should its streets run red with blood, then there too shall be my blood, for I shall take up sword and shield and fight as a man doth. For I may be a woman, but God knows I have the heart of a man in this breast, the heart of a man, and a man of England at that! We shall not run; we shall fight on!”

The Spanish begin incessantly hammering the city with cannonfire, bludgeoning it into submission.

At Bordeaux, Cromwell provokes a fight with Alva, who, forced to give battle, is thoroughly shellacked after a number of his mercenaries simply cease fighting, angry over poor conditions and lack of pay. Driven away from the city, Alva has no choice but to lick his wounds while Bordeaux’s Spanish occupiers surrender to the victorious English and French, who have succeeded in starving them out.

The Dutch and Navarrese play a tag-team match against the Spanish in the Channel, hacking away at Ferdinand’s armada. Dozens of Spanish ships are sunk by the smaller, more maneuverable Alliance ships, burning low into the water.

Viktor, hearing word that the Poles have entered the fight, resumes his siege of Prague while sending messengers to Augusta, now at Vienna, hoping to entice her into an alliance. Ferdinand of Bavaria, meanwhile, circles southeast, putting himself between Vienna and Prague, hoping to prevent the Poles and Danes from linking up.

Near Lyon, Turenne thoroughly thrashes Osuna, whose men fight well, but whose morale breaks when their commanding officer is killed by a wild cannonball. With the loss of their general, his army falls back in panicked retreat, pursued by Turenne’s French musketeers, who slaughter them mercilessly.

La Noue tricks John of Austria by seeming to break east; in fact, he circles north around Milan while John blunders right into a host of Compact militia. John’s men are superior, but the battle against the Italians takes time, and during those precious hours La Noue slips over the border into Switzerland, leaving Italy behind him forever.

Inter-alliance communication and coordination now becomes key. Both alliances are hampered by the vast distances the war is fought across, but now the seemingly insignificant contributions of the Navarrese and the Dutch come into play. While their part in the land-based fighting has been negligible, at sea they have spent the past six years learning, experimenting, and ultimately mastering the art of naval combat. With the English they now control the northern coasts of Europe, and with this naval preeminence comes the ability to transmit messages much more quickly and reliably than either the Portuguese or the Spanish. This means that the Alliance now has the advantage in coordinating attacks between Viktor’s Danes, Marischal and Montmorency’s Franco-Scots, Cromwell and d’Orleans’ Anglo-French, La Noue’s French, and, hopefully, Augusta’s Poles. Furthermore, the Alliance navies are preparing for a major push--to take away the Mediterranean from the League.

[Timmy811]

Originally Posted by Thespitron 6000

Furthermore, the Alliance navies are preparing for a major push--to take away the Mediterranean from the League.

Don't they have more important things closer to home to take care off? The Armada does not seem to have been completely defeated yet.

Also could you address my earlier questions?

[Thespitron 6000]

Originally Posted by Timmy811

Also could you address my earlier questions?

All shall be revealed in time.

[Thinker1200]

Originally Posted by Thespitron 6000

All shall be revealed in time.

Well then can you answer this?

Will this TL end after the war? Or do you plan to keep it going?

[Thespitron 6000]

Originally Posted by Thinker1200

Well then can you answer this?

Will this TL end after the war? Or do you plan to keep it going?

Oh, I plan to keep it going.

[Thinker1200]

Originally Posted by Thespitron 6000

Oh, I plan to keep it going.

*Gets the popcorn*

Well then lets keep the madness going shall we?

[Yorel]

Originally Posted by Thinker1200

*Gets the popcorn*

*Gets the popcorn too*

Can't wait to see how this will end

[Thespitron 6000]

Originally Posted by Yorel

*Gets the popcorn too*

Can't wait to see how this will end

And then they all died, because I'm a bastard like that.

[Thinker1200]

Originally Posted by Thespitron 6000

And then they all died, because I'm a bastard like that.

Umm.....how is that a bad thing again?

[Timmy811]

How is the situation in Russia between the Russians and Turks going? Is there a possibility either or both could get involved? Perhaps fighting flares up between the Turks and the Hapsburgs and the Russians enter the war on the side of the Hapsburgs.

[Xgentis]

The league is falling appart I can't understand why Bavaria is willing to fight so hard rather then asking a separate peace they have nothing to gain by suporting the empire quite the opossite.

[Razgriz 2K9]

Even with a seperate peace, it means once the HRE goes down, Bavaria will be a leading state in the new German States.

[Xgentis]

Originally Posted by Razgriz 2K9

Even with a seperate peace, it means once the HRE goes down, Bavaria will be a leading state in the new German States.

If they are smart enought to leave the sinking ship before it is too late.

[Timmy811]

Originally Posted by Xgentis

The league is falling appart I can't understand why Bavaria is willing to fight so hard rather then asking a separate peace they have nothing to gain by suporting the empire quite the opossite.

Veinna and London are both on the verge of falling. They kind of cancel each other out.

[J. de Vos]

Originally Posted by Timmy811

Veinna and London are both on the verge of falling. They kind of cancel each other out.

Yet the Spanish are cut off, I think that island nation will be a deathtrap.

[Timmy811]

Originally Posted by J. de Vos

Yet the Spanish are cut off, I think that island nation will be a deathtrap.

They could raze London to the ground. Since it housed a tenth of the population (400k out of 4 million[not counting Wales]) and the vast majority of its industry that would destroy England's ability to wage war. Given the sheer evil the Spanish have reveled in during this timeline I wouldn't put it past them.

[The Duke of Waltham]

Originally Posted by Timmy811

They could raze London to the ground. Since it housed a tenth of the population (400k out of 4 million[not counting Wales]) and the vast majority of its industry that would destroy England's ability to wage war. Given the sheer evil the Spanish have reveled in during this timeline I wouldn't put it past them.

Hm, the Great Fire of London seventy years early? I wonder what kind of St Paul's Cathedral we'll see without Wren around...

[Xgentis]

I have the feeling Bohemia will become a real independent kingdom.

[TaylorS]

OMG, this TL is EPIC!!!