The Course of Human Events (Event Thread)

[Barry Goldwater]

Timelines of historical events, as well as the outcome of events affected by the Dynamic Foreign System, will be posted here annually.

[Barry Goldwater]

Russo-Turkish War - Summer/Autumn Campaign and the Battle of Rymnik


Russian forces crush the Ottoman counterattack at Rymnik, 22 September 1789

The Russo-Turkish War that began two years prior, and has neatly folded into the Austro-Turkish War which began a year ago, continues with - as before - the Austro-Russians enjoying a marked advantage over the generally poorly-led and disorganized Turkish forces. Firstly, early on in the year, a major uprising of Greeks in Epirus erupted, the fruit of years of discreet Russian manipulation and efforts to arm the insurgents; catching Ali Pasha (the Albanian Ottoman governor of Yannina) completely off-guard, these 'Souliot' rebels wreaked havoc across the hills and mountains of their native land, plundering, burning mosques and Muslim villages in general to the ground, and rousing recruits from the Greeks and Christian Albanians of the region. Ali Pasha finished putting together a suppression force of some 3,000 men (most Muslim Albanians like himself) in the early days of summer, but they were decimated and he himself barely escaped capture in a major Souliote ambush in the Epirote mountains. Worsening matters still, Ali Pasha's local rivals, such as Mustafa Pasha of Delvinë, seized the moment to harass him as well. By year's end it will become obvious that far from having any chance to restore order in Albania and Epirus, the real question that will be asked of the Turks is 'how much of Albania and Epirus can you lose to the Greeks?'

Secondly, having recovered from the humiliating self-inflicted defeat of Karansebes on the same day exactly one year before, the Austrians bounced back to inflict a major defeat on the Ottomans at Focsani, driving them out of Moldavia and western Wallachia. In so doing they have recovered Karansebes itself, and their dignity with it. This was followed by a decisive victory for the white-coated Habsburg and green-coated Romanov forces working in tandem at the River Rymnik in eastern Wallachia, where the allies defeated an Ottoman army four times their size. Alexander Suvorov, having assumed commander over the entire allied army, embraced a risky and aggressive strategy: he divided his force into two columns before the larger Turkish army, discreetly crossed the river at a number of unguarded fords and bridges near midnight, and stormed the Ottoman encampment before dawn. The battle, as it were, could more accurately be described as a massacre, as the Turks were swiftly put to flight: a few thousand horsemen were able to properly attire themselves for battle and organize into a semi-coherent formation, but their haphazard counterattack was easily repelled when the much more professional Russian and Austrian troops formed squares with artillery cover, and the bedlam degenerated into a complete Ottoman rout soon after. By sunset that day, fully half of the Turkish army of 100,000 had been killed or captured, including Grand Vizier Cenaze Hasan Pasha (taken in his tent) and his second-in-command Kemenkesh Mustafa Pasha (killed directing the desperate cavalry counterattack at dawn).

Battle of Rymnik wikibox

The disaster at Rymnik guaranteed the disintegration of the Ottoman frontline. By the year's end, the Austrians will have completely overrun Wallachia and Serbia, taking Belgrade and Smederevo in rapid succession with the support of local Serbian insurgents and a division organized entirely of Serbian exiles. The state of his economy and troubles in France might distract Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II from 'finishing the job', so to speak, but by Christmas 1789 it will certainly appear as though there is precious little Sultan Selim III can do to stop the Christian alliance from waltzing over Bulgaria and Greece proper next - said Sultan, an avid military reformer, is hurriedly trying to assemble new armies in Anatolia, but it will take him a significant amount of time to fully replace his shattered European forces while also contending with major Serb and Greek insurgencies, time he may not have at this rate.

[Pericles of Athens]

A Revolution Born and a Revolution Stalled

Lafayette kisses the Queen's hand, before someone in the crowd below makes an attempt on her life.

Following the failure of the Estates General to reach an accord the Third Estate instituted a new rule of law in France, establishing the National Assembly. King Louis XVI added fuel to the fire by attempting to dissolve the body, using the closure of their venue for "renovations" as a cover. This led to the members of the Assembly moving their body to a tennis court outside the royal palace. On that court an oath was sworn, that the body would remain together until they could deliver a constitution to the people of France. Soon they were joined by representatives of the clergy, and even a number of nobles.

Following the dismissal of financial minister Jacques Necker the city of Paris fell into chaos, as the mob showed its true face, looting, rioting, and general chaos dominating the city. Insurgents set their eye on the Bastille a prison and armory, but more importantly a symbol of royal power. The Assembly brought forth a tricolor flag in the aftermath, and the King agreed to it, cheered on by the crowd. However chaos continued to spread, and many nobles fled to neighboring states, these emigres began to court foreign states there and fund counterrevolutionary groups in France from the relative safety of their homes in exile.

With the August decrees the National Assembly abolished serfdom, and with it they abolished many of the ancient rights and privileges of townships, the clergy, the nobility, companies, and cities. By the month's end they had brought forth the Declaration of the Rights of Man, not a constitution perse, at least not in a legal sense, but a statement of principles and values. As the Assembly concerned itself with a constitution and a rework of society, they had wholly ignored the economic state of the nation. And with the King still in Versailles the legitimacy of the Assembly itself was in question.

By October the appearance of a mob in the markets of Paris was not a new sight. But this one would prove special, thousands of women rallied together, and when local officials could not address their concerns they marched on Versailles to seek redress from the King himself. At first their demands were simple, an end to food shortages that had plagued them, but soon revolutionaries and ideologues in the crowd had them demanding that the King be relocated to Paris, or that the King's wife and his conservative advisors be put to the sword. A detachment of the National Guard, under Lafayette, followed to keep the peace, once what was happening had become clear.

Soon they reached Versailles, and it seemed the King had been wholly unprepared for this eventuality, the mob coming to him. The palace was stormed, and the mob killed a number of his guardsmen before an accord was met. Soon the King addressed the crowd and gave his consent to being moved to Paris, to the cheers of the adoring crowd. But shortly thereafter the crowd's attention turned toward the Queen, they demanded she speak to them. From the balcony Marie Antionette addressed the crowd, alongside her children and Lafayette, an old friend of the American Revolution. The Queen made an impassioned stand in front of the people, and Lafayette once again attempted to cool their passions. However, their words fell on deaf ears, as the crowd called for the queen to be tried, hung, or separated from the royal children. Some in the crowd called for her to be shot, and apparently someone in the crowd chose to oblige. A shot rang out, and the Queen fell. The crowd was taken back, and the National Guard moved to restore order. By days end the mob had dispersed, and the Queen had survived. However, the King and his family fled into the countryside, presumably seeking out their allies in the west.

Word soon spread to Paris and beyond to the world, the mob had made an attempt on the life of France's Queen. The Assembly was in shock, most staunchly denouncing the attempted regicide. Paris was in chaos, the reputation of the revolution tarnished, and the mind of King Louis was, as of yet, unknown. What will come next is unknown as well, but will surly be unsavory.

[Pericles of Athens]

The National Assembly June 17th, Upon Hearing of the Approaching Army

Late in the year of 1789 King Louis XVI, his wife, and his children, both adoptive and biological, fled into the countryside following the Women's March on Versailles, now popularly known as the Farce Regicide. They fled to their allies in the west, and over the course of late 1789 and early 1790 accumulated support, though initially enthusiastic about the revolution many in the countryside were growing skeptical of the National Assembly in Paris. While they argued about theoretical rights and constitutions, they had failed to address the main concern of the people, the lack of food. This discontent made it easier for the King to rally the support of the countryside, but what truly aided the royal cause was the attempt on the Queen's life and the rage of catholics at the reorganization of the church, mainly the fact that religious leaders in France would no longer be chosen by the Pope. The base of his support coming from the more royalist leaning counties of Anjou, Picardy, and Brittany, though soon his supporters were wresting control from those loyal to the revolution across France. Support likewise came flooding in from the emigres, those nobles that had fled early from the earliest days of the Revolution. Monarchists, Catholics, Royalist Democrats, and even more moderate elements of the National Party, were driven together by a shared distaste of the Assembly's ineptitude and a belief that they could see their point of view heard by the King. However the urban centers of the France remained rather loyal to the Revolution, including Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, and the heart of it all, Paris.

In May of 1790 the Royalists and Monarchiens (or Democratic Monarchists) had formed up into a unified force, the Armees Catholique et Royale, supported in large part by militias of common peasants. By June they were marching toward Paris. For its part, Paris had largely descended into chaos in these past months. Rioting, looting, and mobs dominating much of the discourse of the city. The people were angry and confused, and the leadership of the Commune was little better, the reactionaries had fled following the attempt on the Queen's life, and many moderates would follow in the months to come. The National Assembly grew anxious and radicalized in this period, the revolutionary zealot Maximilian Robespierre rising to become an increasingly vocal force in the politics of the city. However a curtain of doom was following over the city, as bad news from greater France turned worse. Though strong words and conviction the National Assembly was able to hold much of the National Guard together, even as the King's forces marched on Paris. They reinforced the army with those in the city that had the most to lose and prepared to defend their revolution at any cost.

June 19th and the King's forces had arrived outside the city, the King among them in his regalia. I wish I could say the battle was close, that they fought fiercely to defend their beliefs. All I can say is the men of the National Guard fought with no shortage of courage. The battle commenced on the 24th after negotiations to see the city surrendered had failed. By late afternoon that same day the city had fallen, and with it the National Assembly and her grand Commune. Despite early success in the morning the defenders frankly lacked the manpower and the support to hold the city, for now the tide had turned against them. Luckily the battle was rather short and less than a thousand would perish in the conflict.

What followed could have been a bloodbath, but instead the King, seemingly still possessing the soft heart of a beleaguered father, approached his subjects with the lightest touch anyone could expect under the circumstances. Those freed from the Bastille in the last year were rounded up and imprisoned once again, including the infamous sexual deviant the Maquis de Sade, alongside a number of peripheral revolutionaries that had remained in the National Assembly. The leadership of the National Guard were given quick trials and execution, including Pierre-Agustin Hulin, Stanislas-Marie Maillard, and Jean Baptiste-Humbert. Likewise, Robespierre and those closest to him in the National Party, men like Alexnadre Lameth and Adrien Duport, were imprisoned to be tried for high treason. What this means for France and its future is unknown, the National Assembly had reworked much of French society and how exactly the King and his allies, many of whom still believe in a need for reform, will go about undoing or changing that remains an open question.

[Barry Goldwater]

Russo-Turkish War - The 1790 Campaigns


Russian troops entering Kutaisi, capital of the western Georgian kingdom (and Ottoman tributary) of Imereti, completely unopposed, 1790

The year 1790 saw continued Ottoman struggles, but also - at long last - the beginning of the stabilization of their situation. The Russians and Austrians took advantage of last year's victory on the Rymnik to advance further, with the former occupying the previously Ottoman-dominated western Georgian principalities (to the celebration of the locals) and creeping southward into Dobruja, while the latter secured more of Serbia and bits of Bosnia from the Turks. At sea Lambros Katsonis, a highly successful Greek privateer in Russian service, defeated and eluded a much larger Ottoman fleet (one specifically put together to hunt him down, no less) in Cape Kefireas near the island of Andros before its Algerian reinforcements were able to come to its rescue, leaving Ottoman shipping and ports in the Aegean still vulnerable to harassment. Finally, the Souliot Greeks have forcefully expanded throughout Epirus some more, even capturing Ioannina - in the process putting the regional governor, Ali Pasha, to flight - in autumn of this year. As Sultan Selim is still busy building a new army in central Anatolia, all that was left to stop these enemies from ravaging and seizing Ottoman territory were the scattered remnants of the host shattered at Rymnik or local militias, neither of which were much of a match for these adversaries.

Battle of Cape Kefireas wikibox

However, the year ended with the Allied offensives slowing down. The Austrians ground to a halt before approaching Kosovo - not because they faced sudden and unexpectedly strong Ottoman resistance, but because they themselves seem to have run out of steam, and with the uncertainty of turmoil in France Emperor Joseph seems inclined to open negotiations with the Porte and consolidate his gains instead of pressing for more. The Souliots, for all their successes, found themselves hitting a stone wall in Muslim-heavy Albania when they tried to advance northward, as well as stronger and better-prepared local Ottoman garrisons in fortified positions when they tried to move south out of their mountains. Only the Russians seem to have both the will and the means to push deeper into Ottoman territory - the indomitable Suvorov is not exactly making a great secret of his desire to march on Constantinople, which would complete the centuries-old dream of the Tsars - but they may well be doing so alone, and will be up against Selim's freshly rebuilt and reorganized Anatolian forces if they insist on trying.