Don't You Know That Cotton's King!: Redux TL

herricks

Allied Offensives

The war in Europe wouldn't come to a break as soon as it had in America. General Cialdini crossed the Po on June 12, advancing to Udine on June 17 without encountering the Austrian army. In the meantime, Garibaldi's volunteers had advanced from Brescia in the direction of Trento in the Invasion of Trentino, winning the Battle of Bezzecca on June 28. In the Adriatic the Austrian Navy had attempted to halt the Italian Navy's assault aimed at Trieste. The Italians however were reinforced by Royal Navy vessels that had moved into the Adriatic and on June 25 virtually destroyed the Austrian Navy at the Battle of Lissa. Through July the two navies bombarded and then captured the coastal cities of Split and Rijeka from Austria. On July 18 however Italy's offensives were halted after the defeat at the Battle of Isonzo by a Russian army that had been sent to reinforce their allies in the region.

On July 5 France and Britain assaulted the Austro-Russian army at Strasbourg now with superior numbers and forced them to withdraw out of France. A week later the allies made the decision to take the war into the German States and crossed the border into Baden. The first battle to occur in German territory came on July 15 when the two sides clashed at the Battle of Freiburg ending in the withdrawal of the Austrians. North of Freiburg at the Baden capital of Karlsruhe Russian and Baden forces defeated the French army sent to capture the city on July 17. On July 24 however Baden itself would surrender to the allies.

The Anglo-French Army would cross into Wüttemburg on August 7 and marched to capture the capital of Stuttgart. Three days later General MacMahon took the Army of the Rhine and invaded Hesse. MacMahon was the first to reach his objective and assaulted the Hessian army at the Battle of Darmstadt. After two days of fighting Hesse's Grand Duke Louis III surrendered to the French. In Wüttemburg however the allies would suffer a disastrous defeat on August 13 at the Battle of Stuttgart where General Krasnov commanding his force of Russian, Austrian, and German forces defeated General Codrington's army capturing over 30,000 French and British prisoners in the process.

The defeat at Stuttgart would mark the end of major military operations in central Europe for the year with allied forces withdrawing back into Baden and the Aschaffenburg region of Bavaria. The Battle of Stuttgart had further ramifications in the war than just stopping the allied offensive. On November 20 several more German states, the largest being the Kingdom of Hanover and the Kingdom of Saxony, entered the war against France and Britain. While this benefited the Austro-Russian cause the largest and most powerful German state outside Austria itself, the Kingdom of Prussia, remained out of the war. Prussia's Chancellor Otto von Bismark opted to keep his country out of the war until he could decide which side would benefit Prussia more.
 

Richter von Manthofen

Overall I think the number of Soldiers should be in favor of Austria/Russia over France/Britain/Savoy. Probably the Russians are not yet here in full strength.

And from the Po to Udinein 5 days is quite a feat the Italian army must be quite exhausted... Rijeka and Split - bombard OK but holding them might prove difficult in the long run. Split probably but Rieka is too near the imoportant Centers to be left alone on Austrias side...

Other than that I think the war runs plausible in Europe (Except maybe the surrender of Baden - even if all of Baden is occupied the Army (parts) fighting with Russia should contine (if their Prince (?) is with them.
 

herricks

Richter von Manthofen said:
And from the Po to Udinein 5 days is quite a feat the Italian army must be quite exhausted... Rijeka and Split - bombard OK but holding them might prove difficult in the long run. Split probably but Rieka is too near the imoportant Centers to be left alone on Austrias side...

Other than that I think the war runs plausible in Europe (Except maybe the surrender of Baden - even if all of Baden is occupied the Army (parts) fighting with Russia should contine (if their Prince (?) is with them.
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The timeframe was from the austro Prussian war.

They could retake them at a later date couldn't they?

I was just thinking of Hanover during the austro Prussian war
 

herricks

Assault

Though initial support for the war was fairly high in Britain, public opinion was rapidly changing. The British Isles were also suffering from food shortages due to grain exports from the Union now suspended. While the Confederacy was exporting what grains, mostly rice, it could, it wasn't enough to make up for Britain's losses.

On January 5,1864 British, French, and Confederate officials met in Richmond to discuss ways to end the war quickly. Britain and the Confederacy agreed that the best way to force Washington to the negotiating table was to consolidate their spring offensive plans in an effort to overpower the Union's resources. The French Army was being severely strained due to war in both Mexico and Europe, however at President Davis's pleading France would agree to send forces out of Mexico to assault Union positions.

British and Confederate forces used the winter break to prepare their forces for the spring offensives. Both the Union and Confederate armies had withdrawn from Louisville during late December. The city had been nearly completely destroyed during the battle that had achieved nothing for either side. The first months of 1864 saw the Army of Northern Virginia, Army of Tennessee, and the Anglo-Canadian Army were gathering as many troops as possible for the coming assault. On March 5,1864 the offensive began.

General Lee had gathered the Army of Northern Virginia, numbering 80,000 troops now, around Culpeper in preparation for the offensive and began moving quickly north to invade the Union. A week later Lee crossed the Potomac and invaded Maryland. General Meade and the Army of the Potomac had wintered in Arlington and quickly began to pursue Lee. For a week the two would play cat and mouse with each other engaging in smaller skirmishes however, no major battles would occur until until March 22 when Lee turned his army around and attacked Meade outside Westminster. The Battle of Westminster would last for nine hours and cause over 20,000 casualties. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive Union forces were the first to withdraw making it a Confederate victory in military terms. Following Westminster the Army of Northern Virginia turned south and began to pursue General Meade. Ten days after the Battle of Westminster the two clashed again at the Battle of Hampton. For three and a half days this battle raged. The mansion that the battle was named for and where Union forces had gathered themselves for the fight was leveled by Confederate artillery. On April 4 the Battle of Hampton came to an end. That morning Union forces had launched an assault on Confederate forces under General Jackson in an attempt to finally drive the Confederates back. The attack would fail however and cause the Union almost 8000 casualties in this one attack. The Battle of Hampton had ended in defeat for the Army of the Potomac and Meade withdrew into Baltimore. 20,000 of the 55,000 casualties sustained during the battle had been Confederate however and now Lee had to halt his offensive.

The Army of Tennessee had been strengthened to a nearly 60,000 and General Johnston went on the offensive from Frankfort. General Johnston would move into northern Kentucky. The Army of the Ohio had been mostly in southern Indiana and few Union troops had remained in northern Kentucky. That didn't mean it wasn't totally undefended and the Battle of Owenton was fought on March 9 between the two sides cavalry that ended with General Forrest claiming victory. For the next five days Johnston moved through northern Kentucky towards the Ohio fighting only small skirmishes. On March 14 Johnston crossed into Ohio beginning his own invasion of the north. Immediately after crossing Johnston turned his army west to assault his objective, Cincinnati. General Thomas however had been in a forced march with the Army of the Ohio since learning of Johnston's move north and as the Confederates crossed into Ohio so did Thomas. On March 17 the Battle of Cincinnati began with Confederate forces assaulting the city. Soon, much of the Battle of Cincinnati looked like took a page from the Battle of Louisville with the battle becoming a bloody street to street fight. For seven days the armies fought each other across Cincinnati destroying much of the city and killing thousands. Finally on March 24 Confederate forces under General Cleburne managed a breakthrough in the north and began moving across the city in an attempt to encircle the Army of the Ohio. Fearing this could become a reality General Thomas would order his forces to withdraw. By nightfall the Battle of Cincinnati had ended with General Johnston taking control over what remained of the city.

The buildup of British and Canadian forces in southern Ontario had captured the attention of Union officials. General Schofield moved the Army of the North to Buffalo in anticipation of an Anglo-Canadian assault back into New York. In Detroit the new Army of the Lakes was gathering and Major General Nathaniel P. Banks was given command. On March 5 General Burgoyne began his second invasion of the Union, straight across Lake Erie. To invade Burgoyne had commandeered hundreds of boats to take his nearly 55,000 troops across the lake. Canadian gunboats would pave the way assaulting Union gunboats. This Battle of Lake Erie was largely inconclusive with both sides taking roughly the same amount of casualties however Burgoyne make it across into Ohio. Units from both Banks' and Schofield's armies had been patrolling the shoreline however there weren't enough troops to do it in force. To keep both armies from converging on Burgoyne 15,000 Canadian's attacked General Banks at Detroit on March 6. For three days the two sides would fight at the Battle of Detroit and the Battle of Windsor, both of which were Union victories. By the time Banks could move to attack Burgoyne he had already rallied his army and had captured and then burned Cleveland. On March 20 General Schofield would finally confront Burgoyne at Erie, Pennsylvania. The Battle of Erie would last over twenty four hours before Schofield was forced to retreat.
 

sarahz

Darth_Kiryan said:
Huh!



Oh! Whoops.:eek::eek: My bad.:p

Considering that your last post said "Germany/Germans" half a dozen times, i guess it got lost in translation. Still, i do find that rather strange that Prussia is not attempting to fight France in any way whilst it is distracted - it is the ideal time - hell it is the perfect time actually.

The only reason i can see this being otherwise is if you have a Prussia-France alliance. Prussia/NGC takes down Austria now as it is weakened and establishes an earlier control over Germany.
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yes precisely in otl prussia fought austria first before the franco-prussian war and would seem to be able to gain from either option.
 

herricks

Southwest

Prince Jérôme Napoléon formally accepted the crown of Mexico on January 1 in signing the Treaty of Paris and landed at Veracruz on February 20. He was enthroned as Jérôme, Emperor of Mexico on February 27. The creation of the Second Mexican Empire was mostly condemned by France's enemies as a rebellious illegitimate government of Mexico much like the Confederate government in Richmond. From Frances allies however all would recognize the legitimacy of the Mexican monarchy by April. On April 5 Jérôme would in a largely ceremonial move declare war on the US.

On March 28 and 31 1864, men from the French man-of-war Cordelière tried to take Mazatlán, but were initially repelled by Mexicans commanded by Colonel Gaspar Sánchez Ochoa. The French under Bazaine occupied Guadalajara on January 6 1864, and troops under Douay occupied Zacatecas on February 6. Further decisive French victories continued with the fall of Acapulco on June 3, occupation of Durango on July 3, and the defeat of republicans in the states of Sinaloa and Jalisco in November.

On April 5 France would finally honor their agreement with Richmond when 2200 French troops landed at San Diego. Four days later the force along with the navy assaulted Los Angeles, defeating the militia force guarding the town and bringing in under their control. France would remain in southern California for over a month before a sizable Union force drove them out. However then both Los Angeles and San Diego were subject to intense bombardments by the French. Also in April a 1200 strong French lead Imperial Mexican army crossed into the New Mexico Territory and assaulted Tuscon before crossing back into Sonora. The action against Tuscon would give the Confederates faith in conducting another invasion of the territory to reinforce their claims to the southern portion as the Arizona Territory. Brevet Major General Henry E. McCulloch would lead 4100 Confederate troops into New Mexico on May 18 for the next three months McCulloch would wage an inconclusive war in this forgotten theater against the Union.

New Fights and New Offensives

On January 16,1864 a new war emerged in Europe as nearly 70,000 Prussian soldiers invaded Denmark. Three days earlier Bismarck had issued an ultimatum to Denmark demanding that the November Constitution should be abolished within 48 hours. This was politically impossible, particularly given the short deadline, and the demand was consequently rejected by the Danish government. The Danish Army, consisting of only 38,000 troops, were outnumbered by the Prussians almost 2-1. The invasion sparked controversy on both sides of the larger war however, not enough to bring aid to Denmark. Vienna would broker a ceasefire in April however they soon broke down, as they could not agree on a clear fixing of the boundaries; partitioning the duchy of Schleswig was seen as possible. War continued. Prussians from beside Dybbøl bombarded Sønderborg. Fighting continued until July 18 when a second ceasefire was brokered by London. On July 27 the Second Schleswig War ended and Prussia gained control of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg.

On March 19 the larger European War started up again. 350,000 Austro-Russian forces went on the offensive, using forces from their new allies, in the southern German states in an effort to force the war back into France. Both France and Britain had increased their presence as well. The French Army in Germany now numbered close to 300,000 and Britain's expeditionary force was increased to 100,000. The allied forces moved to halt this new offensive and over the next month the Black Forest Campaign or Battles of the Black Forest occurred. Over a dozen engagements occurred during the campaign ranging from little larger than a skirmish to the massive Battle of Offenburg that saw over 280,000 troops participate in this inconclusive battle. The Battle of Offenburg would also mark the end of the Black Forest Campaign which had achieved largely nothing.

Along the Italian theater Austrian forces would recapture Rijeka from Italy on March 14 however, even after three attempts the Royal Navy still held Split by May. On April 2 a mostly Austrian Army of 120,000 went on the offensive against the Italians. Italy, unlike its British and French allies, weren't as quick to stop the Austrians. Austrian forces would deliver a decisive defeat on the Italian Po Army on April 15 at the Battle of Verona forcing the Italians out of most of Venitia. It would only be on April 27 when the Austrians were halted after the Mincio Army delivered them a defeat at the Battle of Padova.
 

herricks

Straining

Following the Battle of Hampton General Lee had had to halt his advance on Baltimore. On April 13 the offensive to capture Baltimore was put on hold indefinitely and he slowly withdrew the Army of Northern Virginia to Germantown where his army's supply lines could be more easily guarded. With the Confederates withdrawing away from Baltimore General Meade moved the Army of the Potomac to the defenses around Washington. For ten days all was quiet in Maryland as the two sides rested and refit. New actions however began on April 25 when Major General Philip Sheridan left Washington with 11,000 cavalry towards Confederate lines to test their strength. The Confederate cavalry of 9,500 under Lieutenant General Jeb Stuart was also on move. On April 27 the two cavalry forces met at the Battle of Gaithersburg in the largest cavalry battle of the war to date. For 11 hours the two sides pounded on one another with everything from artillery to sabre's. Finally Stuart's cavalry would prevail and force Sheridan to withdraw with over 7000 casualties being caused during the battle.

The Battle of Gaithersburg kept the Union from launching an assault on Lee for an additional week. On May 5 the Army of Northern Virginia moved north with Meade leading the Army of the Potomac in pursuit the next day. Three days after leaving Germantown Lee crossed into Pennsylvania making it the first time a major Confederate force had entered the state. Lee was marching rapidly towards the state's capital of Harrisburg but Meade was slowly catching up. Minor engagements occurred as Lee moved north. As General Lee neared Harrisburg General Meade finally caught up with the Confederates on May 14 near the community of Camp Hill. The Battle of Camp Hill pitted 70,000 Confederates against 82,000 Union soldiers. For two days the battle raged as Meade did his best to force Lee to withdraw. In mid afternoon on May 16 General Stuart took his cavalry on a maneuver around the Unions flank. Sheridan's cavalry moved to stop the Confederates which resulted in a second large cavalry engagement which ended in Stuart's withdrawal. While the cavalry attack failed to breakthrough the Union lines and destroy the Army of the Potomac it wouldn't save the army from defeat. As night fell the Battle of Camp Hill came to an end and the Army of the Potomac withdrew and thereby all but surrendering Harrisburg to the Confederacy.

Following the Battle of Erie Burgoyne's army moved back into western New York. Burgoyne moved his forces quickly to assault and retake Buffalo. On April 1 Canadian forces assaulted Buffalo across the Niagara River. The 15,000 Canadians were vastly outnumbered by the Army of the North in Buffalo however, this was only a diversion as Burgoyne moved into position around the city. Two days later the Siege of Buffalo began. Although nearly 15,000 Union troops managed to evade the advancing Anglo-Canadians the majority of the Union Army of the North had been encircled within the city. For almost two months the Siege of Buffalo went on. While several counterattacks would occur that would at times nearly break the siege Buffalo would fall to Anglo-Canadian troops on May 29 along with nearly 20,000 Union troops.

Though General Banks had defeated every attempt by the Canadians to capture Detroit, the threat of Canada opening up a new theater into Michigan forced most of the Army of the Lakes to remain in Detroit. Those that were transferred were sent to the Army of the Ohio which was now in Columbus.

While capturing Cincinnati had been a significant victory for the Confederacy over the Union the war was continuing. After the battle the Army of Tennessee needed reinforcements and supplies which were coming as quick as the Confederacy could get them. On April 8 General Johnston moved 51,000 troops of the Army of Tennessee out of Cincinnati and began moving deeper int Ohio. Johnston's plans for the new offensive was to capture the city of Dayton and if needed to move on Columbus. The Army of the Ohio had also been rebuilding itself after the fight however battling the British in Canada meant that the reinforcements were much less numbered so when this new offensive began only 60,000 troops were part of the army. General Thomas's army still outnumbered the Confederates and with Johnston's army moving north the Army of the Ohio moved out to confront them. Four days later the two corps from armies confronted one another near the town of Xenia. The Battle of Xenia was the first major engagement of the campaign that fought for four hours before the Americans were forced to withdraw. The main battle however would be on April 16 outside of the target city in the Battle of Dayton. For the next two days the armies fought one another for control of Dayton. 22,000 casualties would occur during the battle but in the end the Confederates prevailed and captured the city.

Union support for the war was steadily dropping like a brick. Union forces were on the defensive almost everywhere. The only ray of light for the war came from General Sherman and the Army of New England. Sherman had crossed out of New Brunswick into Nova Scotia in February with his sights set on Halifax. The first engagement in Nova Scotia had occurred on February 21 in the Battle of Pictou where General Paget's receding army was defeated once more. Two weeks later the British were forced back again at the Battle of St. Mary's. Following the defeat here Paget withdrew his force to Halifax where under the protection of the Royal Navy Sherman couldn't go. This move however would in turn cede control of the rest of Nova Scotia to the Union.
 

herricks

Not Henry G. said:
Excellent update again. I can tell the war will be ending soon.

Battle of Camp Hill, I see what you did there :p
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I had actually forgotten about that til I was looking at a map to see where I wanted the battle to be fought and noticed the town then was life hey that'll work
 

herricks

Back and Forth

While the Italians had managed to stop the Austro-Russian advance, Britain and France worried that their ally might fall. If that were to happen then hundreds of thousands of Austrian and Russian troops would be freed up to help with the war in the German states. To strengthen their ally 70,000 French soldiers were sent to Italy along with 25,000 British troops that had been placed in Gibraltar and Malta.

French forces went straight into action in northern Italy when they along with the Po Army went back on the offensive on May 23. The Franco-Italian army moved quickly against Verona and retaking it on May 31 after the two day long Second Battle of Verona. The aim of the new offensive was to take Trento but on June 17 they were were stopped at the Battle of Rovereto. While Trento remained out of the Allies grasp the offensive forced enough Austro-Russian forces to be diverted that the Mincio Army, along with vessels from the Italian Navy, launched an assault on Venice. On July 2 the city and its 30,000 defenders fell into Italian hands.

As for the British, both them along with the Italians prepared for an assault to open up a new front against Austria that would force them to divert troops and possibly bring them to negotiating table. On June 15 the British Expeditionary Force and 50,000 Italians landed and captured Pula on the Istria Peninsula. This start the Peninsula Campaign in Europe. The Anglo-Italian Army moved quickly before a significant Austrian force could be moved into the area. On June 19 Fazana fell followed by Labin and Rabac on June 22, Rovinj on June 23, Vrsar on June 24, and Poreĉ on June 25 before Austrian forces moved into the region in force. On July 1 the first major engagement of the Peninsula Campaign occurred at the Battle of Pazin where 100,000 Austrian forces under Baron Ludwig von Gablenz engaged the Anglo-Italian Army of 69,000 under General James Hope Grant. For nineteen hours the two forces hammered one another for control of Pazin and, in turn, the Istria Peninsula however after taking 21,000 casualties von Gablenz withdrew his army. Being victorious in the Battle of Pazin the Anglo-Italian Army moved on their goal the port city of Trieste. On July 25 General Grant's army, along with a Royal and Italian Navy fleet, captured the city after an intense week long battle.

In the southern German states the war was moving the opposite direction. On May 20 a mostly Russian army of 275,000 went on the offensive. They quickly defeated the French Army of the Rhine at the Battle of Mannheim and advanced on the French border. On May 27 Russian forces crossed into France and won another victory at the Battle of Bitche. Over the next ten days the Russian Army advanced. This time around Metz fell after little fighting as the Army of the Rhine withdrew to more defensible positions. On June 9 the French would turn and face the Russians along the Meuse at the city of Verdun. For the next two days the Battle of Verdun raged between the two nations resulting in nearly 90,000 casualties. Russia however would gain the victory once more and force the French to withdraw yet again.

The retreat of the French in the north put the Anglo-French Army in a predicament. The Russian Army was in a position to cut off their supply lines and with Russia on the move the Austrians and their lesser German allies were building up for a new offensive of their own. On May 25 General Codrington began to withdraw into France. Two days later the Austrians began to pursue Codrington. A day after crossing the Rhine the two forces engaged one another in the Battle of Colmar in which the Austrian's defeated the allies. General Codrington began withdrawing towards the city of Nancy fighting defensive actions along the way, the largest being the Battle of St-Die on June 7. By June 20 the front was on the outskirts of Nancy which the Allies were trying desperately to hold.
 

herricks

Victories and Tragedy

While the US was having its fair share of setbacks in the war to save the Union not all news was bad. To end the war as soon as possible so they could be able to focus their efforts on winning the larger war in Europe Britain set forth a plan to render New York City useless to the Union. Their had been bombardments of the city in the past but none had caused major damage to it. So plans and preparations had been made to land ground forces on Staten Island to capture it and turn the guns in Forts Morgan and Greene on their owners.

At 0100 on June 4 18,000 British soldiers and Marines began coming ashore on Staten Island. For eight days the Battle of Staten Island raged between the two forces. Under the Royal Navy's guns much of the the island would be damaged if not destroyed. Union forces were shipped to Staten Island as often as possible in an effort to keep the island under their control. Finally, on June 12 Britain began to withdraw its forces on the island.

On June 7 elements from the Royal Navy blockading the Chesapeake along with the Confederacy's James River Squadron, all in all numbering 25 of different sizes, began sailing up the Chesapeake with plans to assault Baltimore. While the Chesapeake had been blockaded the Royal Navy had not ventured far up the bay where Union defenses were much stronger thereby allowing many Union naval vessels to have a semi-safe haven. When word of the British and Confederacy's movement Admiral David Farragut rallied the Union Naval vessels from Baltimore at his disposal to take on the threat. While less in number than Britain and the Confederacy, numbering only 18 warships, 12 were ironclads when their counterparts held only 7. Just after dawn on June 8 the Battle of the Chesapeake began. The Battle of the Chesapeake would last the entire day with spectators on both sides of the shore viewing the immense carnage. Finally the Allies mostly wooden fleet couldn't hold up and they withdrew in defeat. The battle had produced more than 700 casualties and 17 warships were either sunk or too heavily damaged to be of any use in the foreseeable future for their respective navies.

Despite theses victories a lot of Union territory was still occupied by the Allies. On June 15 President Lincoln promoted General Sherman to the rank of Lieutenant General and appointed him general-in-chief of Union forces. Three days later the two met where the Army of the Potomac was encamped at Lancaster guarding the route to Philadelphia. In the small ceremony held General Sherman first gave a short acceptance speech before giving the podium over to the president. Halfway through the speech, two year veteran, Lieutenant Jonathan Baker from Massachusetts managed to push through the crowd to within 30 feet of the president and opened fire with his revolver. One round struck Sherman in his left hand minorly wounding him. Two other bullets would strike the president, one in chest and one in the abdomen. While Lieutenant Baker was quickly subdued the damage was done. Four days later the president would die of his wounds and become the first president to be assassinated. In the future most would believe that the Lieutenant was suffering from severe PTSD at the time that was unknown and Lieutenant Baker was executed the day after Lincoln's death.
 

herricks

Turning Tables

The Battle of Nancy had began on June 26 as the Austrian's moved to capture the city. British and French forces had made their defenses as fortified as possible which was forcing the Austrian's and their German allies to pay in heaps of blood. The Allies were determined to halt the advance into France and so the French and to a lesser extent British troops were poured into Nancy. For nine days the battle raged causing nearly 98,000 casualties out of the almost 500,000 troops involved in the fighting. Finally on July 5 the battle came to an end as the Austrian's began to withdraw. They weren't so much defeated during the battle as forced to withdraw do to circumstances to the north.

After the defeat at the Battle of Verdun the Army of the Rhine withdrew further north towards the Belgian border with the Russian Army in pursuit. On June 30 the French Army stopped retreating and attacked. The Battle of Sedan had 150,000 French attack nearly 160,000 mostly Russian troops. While the French assault would take the Russians by surprise the battle would last for thirteen bloody hours. The battle would turn completely against the Russians when a French offensive would cut off almost 50,000 Russian troops and forcing their surrender. With a third of their pre battle strength suddenly gone the Russian line began to falter and they would eventually retreat. Frances decisive victory in the Battle of Sedan would force the shattered Russian army into a route that wouldn't end until they reached the town of Longwy.

The Franco-Italian Army relaunched their offensive to capture Trento on July 1. This time Trento's defenses had been stripped of many of its soldiers following the successful Anglo-Italian Peninsula Campaign. On July 5 the Battle of Trento began as Italian and French forces assaulted Austrian positions. The Allies outnumbered the Austrian's by almost 2-1 in the fight and used this advantage well overrunning several companies of Austrian troops. After only six hours the Battle of Trento was at an end and the city was in Allied hands. With Trento under their control Italy's plans were now to gain total control of Venitia and join the Expeditionary Force in Istria on their drive into the heart of Austria.

As the war in Europe swung to their favor once more officials from all the warring nations sought to expand their number of allies. In Berlin Chancellor Bismark listened to proposals from both nations. Britain and France were offering to support any territorial acquisitions that they might take from Austria or Russia and to support their territorial acquisitions in Denmark which Austria wasn't approving of. While proposals from both sides had reached Bismark's ear, which side had the advantage in the war was still far from clear.

In Constantinople Britain, France, and Italy were working on their old Crimean War ally to enter the war against Russia and Austria by offering them territories in both the Balkans and Caucasus as well as a major seat at the negotiating table when the war finally came to an end. Despite being on the winning side during the Crimean War however the Ottoman Empire was in decline and they were not certain of their military abilities to fight a multi front war. The Allies however were offering to assist the Turks by any means they could and support them in the post war.

On August 8 the Ottoman Empire allowed British, French, and Italian naval vessels to pass through the straits. The next day St. Petersburg sent an ultimatum to Constantinople ordering them to close the straits to Allied fleets. This prompted the the Ottoman's to order their military mobilized and on August 12 would declare war on the Russian Empire. Three days later Austria would declare war on Turkey.
 

herricks

In at the End

In the swift pull of the trigger Vice President Hannibal Hamlin saw himself becoming the Unions 17th President. There were mixed emotions of President Lincoln's death by the American people. A few believed it to be a Confederate sponsored assassination, Hamlin and most of the government knew this not to be so. Many more, while shocked by the loss of the president, believed that the change in presidents could bring about peace.

Richmond also hoped the change in leadership would mean peace but weren't taking chances. Four days after President Lincoln's untimely death General Lee quickly moved out of Harrisburg instead of marching directly towards the Army of the Potomac at Lancaster Lee instead moved towards the city of Reading in an effort to bring the Meade out of his defenses. General Meade moved his army to pursue Lee the next morning and two days after the new offensive began Lee and Meade met on the field of battle once more in the Battle of Reading. For the next 32 hours 58,000 Confederate and 77,000 Union soldiers battled one another ferociously. Each side had made attempts during the first day of the battle with little success. In the early afternoon on the second day, July 4, however Confederate forces under General Jackson made the attack that broke the Federals and within two hours the Army of the Potomac was retreating.

The Battle of Reading was over and though his army had taken nearly 11,000 casualties General Lee pushed eastward until he reached Pottstown where he waited. While he had been victorious so far in his campaign across Pennsylvania Philadelphia held over 500,000 people, way more than the Army of Northern Virginia could control even if they managed to capture the city. It was Lee's hope however that he wouldn't have to decide whether or to attempt and take the city. On June 25 General Johnston had defeated the Army of the Ohio at the Battle of Springfield moving it ever closer to Columbus. While Union forces would defeat Burgoyne and the Anglo-Canadian army at the Second Battle of Batavia on June 29, Canadian forces who had moved into occupied Ohio in early June defeated an American force at the Battle of Akron three days afterward.

On July 14 officials sent by President Hamlin traveled to Richmond to speak with representatives from the Confederacy, Britain, and France. They wished to make a temporary ceasefire to allow attempts at bringing peace to most of the continent to be made. The next day President Davis, Lord Lyons, and Ambassador Mercier agreed to a month long ceasefire to allow peace talks to be made.

On July 18 representatives from each nation met in Annapolis, Maryland to discuss peace. Over the next two weeks the four nations tied to work out what they hoped to be a lasting peace. The Allies for the time being held the upper hand in the war and talks, Union representatives made it clear on some points that if they weren't made, mostly towards the Confederacy, war would resume. On August first the Treaty of Annapolis was signed taking the United States out of the wider war.

In the Treaty of Annapolis the terms were:

- The United States officially recognizes the independence of the Confederate States of America

- Following a referendum Kentucky was to be peacefully ceded to the Confederacy

- The Arizona Territory and the Indian Territory were to be peacefully ceded to the Confederacy

- The United States and the Confederacy signed a Free Trade Agreement between one another regarding shared rivers and coastal waters such as the Chesapeake Bay outlawing tariffs to be made on either country's shipping by the other

- A demilitarized zone was to be made out of all Confederate territory north of the Rappahannock River in Virginia for a period of 25 years with the option to extend

- The Confederacy drops all claims to West Virginia, Missouri, Maryland, and the New Mexico Territory

- The United States was to cede to Canada the portion of Maine that Britain had claimed before the Webster-Ashburton Treaty
Southern Ontario was to establish demilitarized zone covering 25 miles of the border with Buffalo ant Detroit

- The Great Lakes were to be demilitarized

- The United States recognizes the Second Mexican Empire as the legitimate government of Mexico

The war in most of North America would end along with President Hamlin's political career who would not even try for office on his own accord and George B. McClellan would win in a landslide. For the Confederacy most of the country would try to rebuild however, per the agreement with France the Army of Texas was formed on September 20 numbering 52,000 with the command given to General Jackson. For Britain most of the British Army would soon begin to be shipped to Europe to help in the war there while in Canada the Canadian Army was to keep its strength at 50,000 until the wider war came to an end. France would start moving more of its fleet back to Europe and after Confederate forces crossed the Rio Grande on October 10 began withdrawing most of the forces they had in Mexico with only Mexico City, Puebla, and Veracruz remaining under French control by 1865.
 
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EnglishCanuck

EnglishCanuck

One question and one quibble:

Were the British occupying Aroostock County when they claimed that piece of territory?

My quibble is that there is no way Canada could sustain 65,000 men under arms on her own immediately post war, sustaining even half of that would be more than a bit of a challenge depending on the casualties incurred during the war.

25-30,000 would probably be the maximum which could be provided for absent some pretty major post-war immigration.
 
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