A winter in Smolensk, a sixth coalition TL
- Thread starter Parmenion
- Start date
So what's the Nappy's endgame? He sure as hell can't beat Coalition in '14, and deep in his gut he knows it.
Then what's the point? IMO, if I were on his place in this TL, I would have realized that nothing beyond Rhine borders can be salvaged, and agreed to Austrian terms and with France's eastern borders secured, cease the bloodshed for good and try to make a deal with Britain to stop the blockade.
Of course that's me with hindsight, and without his ego.
Then what's the point? IMO, if I were on his place in this TL, I would have realized that nothing beyond Rhine borders can be salvaged, and agreed to Austrian terms and with France's eastern borders secured, cease the bloodshed for good and try to make a deal with Britain to stop the blockade.
Of course that's me with hindsight, and without his ego.
I always felt Napoleon had the same problem OTL, it was not so much about ebating and settlign for a true nagotiation peace were all could agree upon, but having one up on the other great powers and rulers, to enforce his will upon them, wich was why he never truely could stop as long as he did not hold Europe in his hands and dominated much of the world before the British, Russians or other rivals.
There are in general two reasons here. One is ego, yes. Conquerors like him are never the types to back down, even when they really, really shouldn't. To be fair, for some it works out (Alexander the Great), and for others it doesn't (Charles XII of Sweden).
The other is that of French internal politics. So long as there's a war going on, Nappy can rely on the rally 'round the flag effect and justify his actions as wartime measures. At the same time much of his legitimacy rests on military success. A military defeat could heavily damage his reign, if not outright topple him. And once weakened, well, the allies might just decide to take advantage and pounce.
Self-interest compells him to fight to the last, because he thinks that otherwise he'll lose his crown.
I also suppose, that when Napoleon inevitably loses, France will be worse off as a result of War of 6th Coalition, and won't just go back to 1789 borders of Kingdom. There were variety of plans to punish France, including giving string of border regions in Flanders, Lotaringia and Alsace to Austria and Prussia. Maybe, if war actually lasts into 1815 or even 1816, this plan might go into action.
I mean, compared to the Peace of Amiens, France is already losing extensive territories.
Piedmont, Belgium, and Rhineland are far from a piece of cake.
I doubt that Napoleon showing a better performance results in additional losses for France.
Besides it didn't go back to the 1789 borders IOTL, for example enclaves like the Comtat Venaissin were retained.
IS France going to last much longer than OTL? In spite of his earlier performance he is still fighting the grand Battle Of The Nations on OTL's schedule with similar forces.