Capítulo 143: Colonel Kim and France's Victory
Paris, the Second French Republic
July 5th, 1808
Colonel Justin Kim checked his gear and filled out a checklist to ensure that all his equipment was with him. He had been in France for two years now, carrying out dozens of missions in support of the Second French Republic. His time in France had been rewarding and while his unit had suffered hundreds of casualties (out of the 200 men of the 707th Special Forces Battalion, over half of them were either dead or injured to various degrees), the 707th had wreaked havoc on the Coalition forces. The colonel was able to confidently declare that he and his men were some of the biggest reasons why the French military managed to sweep the Coalition forces in the beginning stages of the Second Coalition War.
He and the remaining able-bodied members of the 707th group were inside Hotel de Ville. The war was over, with rousing success for the French. France had managed to seize the Catalonian regions in Spain, the Duchy of Savoy, and almost the entirety of the Rhineland within two years. This was in part due to the Girondins during the interwar period, as they prioritized strengthening France's military in case that the nation was dragged into a war, once again. When the war began in 1806, France took three months to mobilize and prepare for its offensives, but when they started to move forward, they were unstoppable. Many were veterans from the First Coalition War and now, they were supported by masses of artillery and seasoned officers. Their advance only came to a halt after the sheer numbers of the Coalition forced the French military to a grinding halt.
As a stalemate set in, the French government sent out peace feelers to bring the Second Coalition War to an end. Great Britain presided over the peace negotiations as the "leader' of the Coalition and managed to secure "favorable" terms for the Second Coalition. France agreed to withdraw its forces from the areas that it occupied (parts of the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and Italy). In return, the Coalition agreed to allow a neutral "Kingdom of Rhineland" to form under the former Duke of Julich's illegitimate child Karl August. The Kingdom of Rhineland would occupy the entirety of the left bank of the Rhine (including the Ruhr Valley on the other side of the Rhine) and maintain no connections to the Holy Roman Empire, Austria, or France. Additionally, the new kingdom would be a constitutional monarchy, with the French having a strong input on what the nation's constitution would look like. The Kingdom of Navarre was also released as an independent entity, with the same terms as the Kingdom of Rhineland (neutral and under a constitutional monarchy). The French also made minor land gains (Gerona from Spain and Savoy from Sardinia).
Many members of the Second Coalition were unsatisfied with the terms, especially Austria, Spain, and the Papal States. However, there wasn't anything the Coalition could do about it. The Coalition forces were exhausted and the French forces were not. The only reason why France agreed to such terms was that Danton did not want to continue the war for longer than it was necessary.
However, not all was well for the Coalition. Great Britain managed to sweep France and Holland from the seas during the war, but their Navy suffered a fair amount of damage during the war. Spain was in a state of instability, as King Charles IV was forced to abdicate due to his failures during the Second Coalition War. His son, Ferdinand VII, seized the throne and made it explicitly clear that he was not going to allow any liberal reform to happen under his reign. This sparked off an insurrection movement across Spain (but concentrated near the Catalonian areas), as many Spaniards were deeply unsatisfied with the absolutist nature of the Spanish government. It didn't help that the French conveniently left behind some weapons in Catalonia for the people to use against the new king. Austria was teetering on the edge of financial ruins and the loss of several members of the Holy Roman Empire to the "Kingdom of Rhineland" was not helping matters as well.
The only nation that truly came out on top was the Second French Republic. It now had a buffer state between itself and the Holy Roman Empire, a new ally in the Holland Republic, and its sovereignty as a republic was recognized.
"How are you doing, Colonel?"
Colonel Kim turned around to see Minister of Defense Charlotte Corday approaching him with a smile. He had worked with the woman regularly during his stay in France, mainly due to her critical position as the overseer of the French war effort and her keen military insights. Despite the amount of power behind her position, Minister Corday was only forty years old and looked even younger.
"As fine as I could be. Just pondering over the future of Europe."
Corday nodded understandingly, "I am not surprised, considering that your nation just purchased Iceland and Greenland from the Danish. Do you know what your nation will do with them?"
Denmark was hit hard from the Second Coalition War. While they were strictly "neutral," they constantly traded with the Second French Republic and the Holland Republic, which drew the ire of the Second Coalition. As such, the British crushed their navy and demanded that they halt their trade with France. In the aftermath, Norway was broken away from Denmark and the small Scandinavian nation was forced into submission. With no navy to protect their outer holdings in Iceland and Greenland, the United States government offered a generous sum for the purchase of said territories. The Danish government happily accepted in order to obtain money to rebuild their ruined navy and to thrust a nose towards the British, who were horrified that the Americans were expanding towards Europe.
"I'm not entirely sure. President Hamilton seemed very vague about his plans for the two islands. But if I had to guess, they'll probably be merged to become a single republic under the protection of the United States."
"Well, regardless of what his plans are for Iceland and Greenland, it has the British government in a panic," Corday mused.
"Do you mind if I ask a question?"
"By all means."
"Why did France agree to such a lenient peace treaty? I mean, the Treaty of Geneva could have gone very differently if your government pushed the Coalition diplomats harder. Surely, you could have asked for more in Spain and Italy..."
The Minister of Defense tapped her chin, "President Danton was insistent that we do not antagonize the Coalition more than necessary. Additionally, he mentioned something about how a united Prussia is the biggest threat to the future of France and desired to break the Prussian influence in the Rhineland even if it meant sacrificing our other gains."
Colonel Kim looked stunned. Was Danton a member of the Society? "Who gave him that advice?"
"President Lafayette. I believe it was in a letter addressed to him shortly after Danton took office."
"I see..."
"Well, if that is everything, I must ask for you and your men to remain in France a bit longer."
"For what reason?"
"The president is insistent on rewarding your unit for your valiant actions during the war, and I am inclined to agree based on your unit's performance and your heroics. You will all be rewarded legion d'honneur for your service. Though, we have to wait for the other generals to return from their fronts. Murat is still in the Rhineland, Massena is still near Marseilles, Desaix is on the Savoy border, and so on."
The son of the first American president smiled, "It would be an honor."
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