The Last of the Stuarts ( Year 1716 )
James III , last of the Stuarts
The war in the year 1716 began not by a titanic battle in Europe , but by a naval one on the other side of the world . At the end of 1715 , 11 ships of the line and 14 lighter ships had left St Malo under the command of former corsair Duguay-Trouin . The Dutch were aware of the plan and dispatched messengers to warn the city , but they were not taken very seriously . Various raids in the previous wars had always been repulsed , the inhabitants were sure they could fight this one too .
In spite of the Dutch warning, the French appearance in Rio's harbour on 21 April was a complete surprise. Duguay-Trouin led the squadron directly in the Bay of Rio, between the forts lining the harbour entry, and straight at ten Portuguese warships that were anchored there. The Portuguese fleet commander, admiral Gaspar da Costa, could do nothing but cut the cables in hopes of getting his ships moving. Five of the ships grounded and were destroyed by the Portuguese to prevent their capture; but five were was taken by the French . Fire from the forts, undermanned after the order to stand down, did some damage to the French fleet, inflicting 300 casualties before the ships passed out of range. After 4 days of bombardments, the French landed 3,400 men to attack the city. The governor of Rio had fortified the city after French attacks in previous wars , but very feebly commanded the defense, which buckled under the French bombardment. After a council on 23 April in which the governor ordered the city's defenders to hold the line, militia began deserting that night, after which there began a general flight from the city that included the governor. Over the next few days, the French gained control of all of the bay's strong points, but the city's gold supply eluded them . Warned that reinforcements were on their way, Duguay-Trouin threatened the governor with the destruction of the city's defences if a ransom was not paid, which the governor agreed to do. When the French left the city, it was with loot of estimated at 6 million pounds .
The fleet arrived back unmolested in France in August 1713. The expedition was a military success for the French, and a financial success for its investors. The French Navy had proven it was still capable to strike at large distances. This action would trouble Franco-Portuguese relations for many years to come .
In Europe , the collapse of Southern England became apparent to all as the new season of campaign began . Not only James III's soldiers had to fight the Protestant soldiers , they had to fight their own countrymen , who convinced themselves that the House of Hanover's rule was more just and less cruel than the Stuart's . Despite three Irish regiments , 15 000 French soldiers and various mercenaries hired by James , the military situation became catastrophic . On August , Philip VII gave the order to the French navy to burn all the dockyards of Southern England and to seize the remnants of the Stuart fleet , convinced by now that the fate of England was now decided . On October , only London remained , besieged by Marlborough's army . The superiority of the French navy prevented the Protestants forces to launch an overwhelming assault , but as dozens of mortars and cannons were brought in front of London , the warships retreated and the assault began . For five days , the soldiers remaining managed to endure the assault with a courage and a bravery that gave them the respect of their enemies . The famous " Merde ! " shouted by an highlander refusing to surrender against an entire regiment entered in the legend . But in the end , it didn't matter . The walls were breached , and even the King's stupid cavalry charge in the centre of London didn't turn the tide . On October 15 , Patrick Sarsfield , Earl of Lucan , and only remaining commander alive surrendered to the Earl of Marlborough . For the first time since 1690 , the British Isles were unified again .
Contrary to this stunning victory , the Spanish front was a disaster . 90 000 Spanish soldiers faced 40 000 French . The logic would have been for the Spanish to attack and the French to defend . It was the contrary which happened , as Camille D'Hostun made war in Catalognia . The inhabitants , already furious because of the previous war , were armed by the French and began their own insurrection against the king of Spain .At the same time , the Levant fleet under Admiral De la Galissonière seized Minorca , leaving the Spanish coast open to naval attacks . At the end of the year , Catalognia was ravaged and the Spanish armies were bogged down by dozens of revolts .
In the East , Villars and Berwick continued a slow but methodical advance . On June , the French armies had regained all the territory lost . On July , 70 000 soldiers invaded the Imperial part of the Rhineland , while 80 000 soldiers invaded Baden , forcing Joseph I to divert more troops from the Ottoman front . At the end of the campaign , the two sides had reverted to the place they were in 1708 and the members of the Grand Alliance began to groan the Emperor had involved them once again in a stupid and reckless war .
If the French had success on their main fronts , Ahmed III and the Ottomans faced a difficult situation . His troops facing the Habsburgs had retreated to Belgrade , the army he sent against Russia was pretty much devastated in July due to a combination of poor leadership , corruption and supplies difficulties , leaving the Sultan to deal with the certainty of an imminent defeat . In September , Ahmed III " the Snake " as he was nicknamed by various diplomats , proved once more his elasticity in the matters of honor and stabbed in the back his allies , signing peace with Russia and the Habsburgs . The treaty of Vienna made the frontier go back to the status quo ante bellum before the war of the Spanish Succession , save Morea . The treaty of Kiev gave everything north of the old frontier to Peter I , forcing the Ottoman Empire to abandon Crimea .
If a country was more furious than France by this betrayal , it was Sweden . Fortunately , Charles XII won in 1716 four major victories against Poland and Russia , leaving the Northern front under Swedish domination . The last battle , fought in Lithuania , proved that the Swedish army , outnumbered at each battle , was more professional , more trained and had more intelligent generals , a fact which permits to win whatever the odds . Already at the end of 1716 , Poland began diplomatic openings , and Russia was not far from it , as Peter I estimated the Russian army was not fully ready to take Ingria once more .
The end of the year proved in Europe that this war should come to an end , and quickly . If the defeat of the Ottoman Emire and Southern England had given hope to the Grand Alliance , it was clear that France was undefeated on the battlefield , that the French navy dominated the seas and that the coffers of the Grand Alliance were empty once more . Against the advise of many Kings and advisors , Joseph I decided a new counterattack for the next year . It seemed the issue of the war would be decided in Germany ....
...
