~ Chapter 20: The Rise of the Small Corporal ~
Despite the defeat of the Union of Atlantic States, it had done enough for the Franco-Spanish alliance, distracting the British fleet from launching further operations in the Mediterranean in 1798, with the French fleet commanded by François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, departing Toulon on May 15 1798 without any opposition [1], as Nelson was still preparing a fleet in the Caribbean to deal with the new North American combatant. The fleet reached Malta after some complications, and then Alexandria on June 30 1798. Napoleon insisted that the harbour of Alexandria was too shallow for the big warships, so d’Aigalliers moved to Aboukir Bay expecting a British force to arrive, but as it did not the French expanded the harbour of Alexandria through the summer. The French conquest of Egypt was fast, with Napoleon marching his army through the desert to a location close to the Pyramids, obtaining a decisive victory there and capturing Cairo. The French force of 40,000 men then dispersed across Egypt, with Napoleon himself exploring the possibility of building a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea, before deciding to march north and conquer the Near East.
The British fleet finally appeared under Admiral Thomas Hardy in November after avoiding a Spanish fleet near Algeciras, however d’Aigalliers at the time was in Corfu, so Hardy ordered the Royal Navy to blockade French forts. By that time the French had consolidated their rule over Egypt after crushing a revolt in Cairo. D’Aigalliers ignored the presence of Harvey when he came back to Egypt and despite his fleet not being fully ready for combat he managed to repel the much smaller fraction of the Royal Navy blockading Alexandria on December 2. Napoleon was alarmed by this and told the admiral not to leave the port [2] and avoid new battles at all cost, trying to protect the fleet behind artillery pieces placed on the coast. Harvey then proceeded to attack nevertheless and defeated d’Aigalliers at the Second Battle of Alexandria 10 days later, with both forces taking heavy casualties, but effectively leaving Napoleon disconnected from France for the two months Harvey’s fleet was around Egypt before retreating.
During the next months and years, Napoleon would leave Egypt and head northwest, advancing through the Levantine coast and laying siege to Acre, capturing the city in April 1799. Napoleon opted to not push further north having taken heavy casualties, with the peak of French advance being at Tyre, retreating to Egypt from there. By that point the War of the Second Coalition had already started, with Austria, Naples, Portugal and Russia declaring war on the French Republic. Napoleon was alarmed by this and quickly departed Egypt for France leaving Desaix in charge [3], where the Republic had turned into what was essentially a military dictatorship, as the Directory relied on the army to enforce their decrees as the ruling faction did not have a majority in the legislature, and employing them to finance the war by pillaging conquered territories. Napoleon arrived in France in June of 1799 to a hero’s welcome and a cold meeting by the Directory, which considered accusing him of desertion for abandoning Egypt, but didn’t as it would cause their government to collapse. Napoleon drew an alliance with men such as Sièyes, Talleyrand and his brother Lucien, and toppled the Directory by launching a coup d’état of the 14th of Vendémiaire (October 5).
The Coup of the Fourteenth of Vendémiaire
When Napoleon landed in France, the Republic was in a delicate position, with its armies recently defeated at Stockach and Magnano, with the Russians under Suvorov liberating Milan. By October, Suvorov had pushed to the Alps, virtually expelling the French from Italy after the battles of Trebbia and Novi, then marching north to Switzerland, where Masséna had recently reverted French odds of victory at the Second Battle of Zurich. The French needed victories now, especially as a new economic crisis was brewing after the plentiful harvest of 1798, with 1799 being a worse year if mostly by the highly deflated French Mandats, leading to poverty, lower wages, a drop in investment and unemployment.
The new government of France organised itself as a Consulate, initially led by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, Second Consul Emmanuel Joseph Sièyes and Third Consul Roger Ducos, albeit the latter two would be replaced in November by Cambacérès and Lebrun respectively. Political stability was returned to France under the Constitution of the Year VIII, which was ratified by referendum in February of 1800, passing with the support of the 99.9% of the voters [4]. In Egypt, Desaix was blockaded by the Royal Navy under Nelson in 1800 while the Ottomans and Egyptians were building a large army as Cairo had risen up against the French again. Desaix launched an attack before the Ottomans had organised and defeated them at Al Qanatir, entering Cairo and punishing the city’s second attempt at an uprising. The rest of the year in Egypt would consist on Desaix repelling Ottoman advances with ever increasing scarcity of ammunition and gunpowder, eventually reaching an agreement with Nelson at the Convention of Alexandria, allowing the French forces an honourable surrender and a secure return to France, leaving behind all their equipment, including a stone with some carvings on it [5].
France had better luck in Europe in 1800, with Moreau smashing the Austro-Russian army at Hohenlinden, and Napoleon himself crossing the Saint Bernard pass in order to lift the Austrian siege of Genoa, and after losing to the Austrians at Marengo [6] thanks to the actions of Johann Frimont’s troops that destroyed the consular infantry, managed to outflank the Austrian commander Von Melas and defeated the Austrians at Castelletto on June 17 1800, scoring a pyrrhic victory, but a victory nonetheless. Napoleon returned to France with the Austrian army retreating to the Mincio, leaving Guillaume Brune in charge of the Army of Italy.
The Battle of Castelletto
The Austrians would abandon the coalition after Castelletto, not having much interest in continuing a conflict that would grant them nothing. By the Treaty of Lunéville, the French annexation of the west bank of the Rhine was universally recognised [7]. The borders of Campo Formio were reinforced, with the independence of the Subalpine, Ligurian, Helvetic, and Cisalpine Republics recognised by both sides, albeit France would annex the Subalpine Republic in 1802. The only major territorial change in Italy was in Tuscany in the subsequent Treaty of Aranjuez, where Ferdinand III, the Habsburg Grand Duke of Tuscany, was removed from the throne and given the title of Elector of Salzburg [8]. Ferdinand of Parma gave his duchy to France after his death in 1802, with the French also gaining the State of the Presidi. The Principality of Piombino and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany were merged into the Kingdom of Etruria and it was awarded to Louis, son of the Duke of Parma, who had ties to the Spanish royal family. In exchange, Spain gave Louisiana back to France. Russia left the war shortly after, leaving only Britain fighting against the Franco-Spanish alliance, which now included Denmark after Admiral Hyde Parker bombed Copenhaguen in 1801.
Feeling that victory was in his hand, Napoleon decided to send a fleet to attempt to recapture India in March of 1801 commanded by Étienne Bruix. The fleet departed Toulon after having travelled there for safety [9], and encountered the allied fleet of the Spanish commander Federico Gravina at Algeciras, setting sail for India in July after some reparations were made and other naval engagements had attracted the attention of the Royal Navy elsewhere. The major obstacle was passing through the British-occupied Cape Colony, but Bruix was lucky to avoid the British fleet, however the fleet was running low on supplies when they reached Isle de France in October. The island was controlled by Dupleix’s royalists, and the Republican fleet shelled the harbour, landed troops and pillaged anything of value before resuming to India.
Bruix’s luck would run out when he finally reached the southern tip of India near Tranquebar, encountering an Anglo-Royalist fleet off port. The Republican fleet had nine ships of the line plus three Spanish ships, while the British had eight and the Royalists had only two that had switched sides early on in the war. Initially the Hispano-Republican fleet had the advantage, but Suffren, leading the fleet, decided to attack after discussing it with Sir Charles Adam, as Suffren knew the exact weaknesses of the French fleet. Bruix decided to push believing his numerical superiority would do the trick, ignoring Gravina’s advice to not divide the fleet too much and expose the fleet’s flank. Tranquebar was a disaster for the Republican Navy, losing three ships of the line and their attempted reconquest of India completely foiled. For the Spanish it was also a harsh defeat, and Gravina would develop a hate for French admirals after this campaign. For the Royalists, Tranquebar solidified their control over India, and served as propaganda back in the mainland, where conspirators were plotting to restore Louis XVIII to the throne. The war would wind down from there, and Great Britain finally agreed to a temporary peace at Amiens.
(Republican) French and British vessels fighting at Tranquebar
[1] - IOTL the fleet set sail on May 19, and Nelson had arrived in Toulon days before, but on May 17 a strong gale dispersed the Royal Navy, giving d’Aigalliers a chance to set sail.
[2] - Correctly assuming that the Royal Navy would have a detachment further east.
[3] - Kléber is more active in French politics and as of now is leading the Rhine Front. Remember that Hoche was made prisoner in Ireland.
[4] - OTL figures. Or at least that’s what the released results say.
[5] - And thus the Rosetta Stone has been lost ITTL.
[6] - Napoleon lost the battle in the morning and afternoon, but a French counterattack assisted by Desaix’s reinforcements tipped the battle later. ITTL a different French commander does not arrive in time and Napoleon retreats.
[7] - No Cisrhenian Republic ITTL either, being another of Hoche’s creations.
[8] - Replacing the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg from 1803 onwards.
[9] - The Royal Navy struggles to keep a Mediterranean presence without the Spanish fleet bottled up in Cádiz and fighting a larger French fleet.
