Kingdom of France

The Kingdom of France (Royaume de France) is a European nation situated in the region of Gaul in Western Europe north of the Iberian peninsula and west of Germania. It also controls a vast empire spanning from Algeria to Central Africa to India to Indochina, with at least one outpost on every single continent in the world. According to the 1935 royal census, Metropolitan France has a population of 40,921,728. The nation prides itself on its vast empire, and plays a significant role in production of tea.

History
By 1776, France had militarily recovered from the tragedy of the 7-Years War that had ended just 13 years before. Its dockyards existed in a state of fervent activity while British shipyards remained stagnant and rotted as the English Empire became too comfortable on the world stage, unable to grasp that France could soon challenge their naval dominance. During the Great Colonial Rebellion, France co-operated the company Hortalez et Cie, which provided arms and other valuable equipment to the British colonial revolutionaries. Culturally, France continued to flourish as the cultural center of the world at large, contrary to the "barbaric Anglos."

Great Colonial Rebellion
France during the Great Colonial Rebellion was on the fence about supporting the American revolutionaries. Though never actually sending aid directly, the King of France approved a plan to create a "private" company called Rodrigue Hortalez et Cie. This firm sold military goods to the continentals through most of the war due to its disguise as a civilian company. Benjamin Franklin nearly won over the king to ally with the United States in 1778, but news soon reached him of the Continental Surrender, destroying any possibility of cementing an alliance with King Louis XVI. Franklin did however, convince the king to host the American Government-in-Exile in Nouvelle Amerique.

King Louis' War
By 1812, the French had become confident that their great fleet was capable of overtaking that of the Royal Navy. After decades of rapid naval development compared to the stagnant British fleet, any man could tell that France was clearly getting its act together since the failures in the 7-Years War. On July 2, 1812, the Kingdom of France declared war on the United Kingdom, with the main goal being conquest of British possessions in the Caribbean. France shocked the world by defeating the mighty Royal Navy at the Battle of Marseille Bay, achieving naval dominance in the Mediterranean by 1813. Similar battles were fought in Jamaica and Brest, which led to complete wipeouts to the British fleets involved. On July 2, 1814, 10,000 French marines carried out a successful assault on the Channel Islands, securing them for the remainder of the war. For once, Francia ruled the waves.

The British carried out unsuccessful attacks on French outposts in India, resulting in French reinforcement and counter-attacks. The French East India Company, being much more humane to the natives, convinced several Indian princes to switch sides. The British East India company really only managed to hold Burma as Franco-Native armies steamrolled the land and remaining British resistance. Reinforcements to India from Britain were slow to come due to French naval supremacy making any troop transport risky.

Britain was forced to come to a humiliating peace in 1815 in the Treaty of Ghent, which notably gave the French most of India, the Channel Islands, and Jamaica. Britain was also forced to pay reparations for French assets damaged during the war.

The Belgium Crisis
With the Belgian Revolution coming around 1833, the Great Powers of Europe felt it necessary to choose a side in this new modern crisis. Britain immediately announced support for Belgian independence. This was followed by French and Spanish announcements of refusing to recognize Belgian sovereignty. The Kingdom of Prussia countered the French announcement, claiming its support for Belgian independence. Russia chose to side with France and Spain in the crisis, forcing Prussia to withdrawal their support for Belgium in a humiliating display. On January 4th, 1834, the Kingdom of France declared war on the United Kingdom, still feeling confident from their victory a decade before.

Ironically, France fell down the same path of stagnation that the Royal Navy had fallen down following the 7-Years War. Between King Louis' War and the Belgian War, the British navy expanded rapidly in a state of revanchist, nationalist fervor. A series of Naval Reforms initiated by Queen Victoria allowed the Royal Navy to reclaim its proud position on the seas. France came to this realization after the Battle of the Channel on February 7, 1834, where the Royal Navy annihilated a massive French fleet attempting to land in Dover, largely in part due to the Great French Hurricane, which scattered most of the French ships. Spain later joined on May 5, 1834, with the stated goal of the "Reconquista of Gibraltar." Gibraltar fell on July 4, 1834, following the Battle of Gibraltar, where the Spanish successfully destroyed a British supply fleet headed to relieve the city. Spain quickly dropped out of the war for Gibraltar following this victory. France and Britain made peace much later in the Treaty of London, signed December 7, 1834. This treaty was fairly light on France, merely forcing them to recognize the independence of Belgium in exchange for no territorial loss. Despite the light terms, this war crippled the French fleet in such a manner from which it would never recover.

The French Revolution
Following the Belgian War, the French political situation rapidly deteriorated. France had become extremely nationalistic due to their victory over the British 20 years prior, and the complete destruction of their fleet along with a national humiliation led to an angry, revanchist populace. The people blamed this failure on the king. This was compounded by an economic crisis caused by recuperating the costs of losing a massive French fleet, severely decreasing French quality of life. The people of France had been familiar with the ideas of liberty presented by the great Enlightenment-era philosophers whom had also inspired the American Rebels over half a century ago, and the absolutist monarchy of Louis XVI was merely tolerated due to the great standard of living and national pride. The French liberals seized this opportunity to rebel against the king, starting the French Revolution. On June 9, 1840, French peasant rebels rose up in Paris, and stormed the Bastille political prison in East Paris, releasing political dissidents to the crown. The French National Assembly declared itself to be in permanent session, essentially establishing a parliament. Louis XVII addressed the mob in Paris, announcing his support for their cause, and agreeing to cooperate with the revolutionaries on July 7, 1840. On January 7, 1841, the national assembly voted to end the privileges and feudal rights of the nobility. By August the assembly had continued to pass other liberal reforms such as freedom of speech and religion, shocking the absolutist monarchies in the rest of Europe.

On February 13, 1842, the national assembly ratified the Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen, which was heavily inspired by the philosophical writings of the American Revolutionaries, guaranteeing the rights of the people in several amendments. Several other liberal reforms were passed, but the economic situation failed to improve. On May 6, 1845, the Royal Family was captured while attempting to flee the country. The aging 91 year-old French king was declared unfit for trial by the national assembly, and was placed on house arrest in the Palace of Versailles with the rest of his family. He died days later on May 14, 1845. Upon his death, Louis XVII claimed the throne, but he was executed by revolutionaries on June 9, 1845, the five year anniversary of the revolution. What followed was the War of the First Coalition.

War of the First Coalition
On August 2, 1845, a coalition organized by the British declared war upon the French Republic consisting of Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, Sardinia, the Netherlands, and Naples. Amazingly, the French managed to triumph in this war. Notably, France invaded Belgium in 1846 to invade the Netherlands in one of the most daring campaigns of the entire war. The Netherlands and Belgium sued for peace on February 2, 1847. The Netherlands was turned into a French client state as the Batavian Republic, while Belgium was annexed into France proper. France defeated an Austro-Sardinian army in Turin on April 9, and Austria and the Holy Roman Empire dropped out on May 5 in a white peace. Britain and Spain dropped out in the Peace of Amiens on December 3, 1847. The French Republic had been preserved.

War of the Second Coalition
The peace of the First Coalition was unstable, to be sure. It was marked by several diplomatic incidents between France and the other European powers, particularly in Malta. On October 2, 1847, Naples formed an alliance with Austria. This alliance soon expanded to Russia, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Britain, and Spain. A border clash in Turin between French troops and Sardinian troops on December 1 was the breaking point, and peace in Europe had dissolved once more. The French won a decisive battle against a large Austrian force near Alessandria, Piedmont on April 22 of 1848 in the Battle of Marengo. During this battle, one man, Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, distinguished himself in battle as a great commander, who had grown to become loved by his men. French forces pursued the Austrians, resulting in half their army getting killed or captured, and Napoleon Bonaparte returning home as a hero. Following this battle, France entered negotiations with Austria and Russia, with them agreeing to evacuate north-western Italy.

The British attempted a landing at Marseilles, but they were driven from the shore by a major Polish garrison fighting for France. After defeat in Catalonia, Spain was driven from the war as well on June 8, 1848. The British seized Louisiana from France, though, and settled for it in the Peace of Amiens on August 7, 1848. This was the longest time of peace of the French Revolutionary era, with hostilities not breaking out again until 1850. Back at home Louis-Napoleon cemented his power in a coup, and was proclaimed Napoleon I, emperor of the French on December 22 of 1848.

War of the Third Coalition
During the time of peace from August of 1848 to July 1849, a formal alliance had been signed between the powers of Spain and France. Spain would serve as a co-belligerent of the French Empire for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars. On July 2nd, 1849, relations broke down between Britain and France, resulting in war between the two. Britain stood alone against France from 1849 to 1850. Austria, Russia, the Holy Roman Empire, Naples, and Sweden would soon join a third coalition with Britain, starting the war. Emperor Napoleon of France took quick action against the Austrians, pulling off a major wheeling maneuver in the Ulm campaign, resulting in the capture of an entire Austrian army in the city of Ulm in the quick Siege of Ulm on June 2, 1850. To further cement a hasty French victory, Napoleon defeated a numerically superior Russo-Austrian army in the town of Austerlitz, securing peace negotiations in France's favor. Meanwhile, the French army conquered Naples in the decisive Battle of Napoli, however the British army succeeding in occupying Sicily. The Treaty of Frankfurt was signed on August 30, 1850, The treaty forced Habsburg Austria to pay 40 million Francs in war reparations, and ceded lands in Germany and Italy to French-allied client states, allowing the French to establish the Confederation of the Rhine. Following this, Franz Joseph I abdicated the imperial throne of the Holy Roman Empire, and emerged as the Emperor of the Austrians. This essentially dissolved the Holy Roman Empire. Defeated Russian troops were allowed to return home.

Britain continued to fight the war, alongside Russia. Prussia feared growing French influence in Europe, which led to the war of the Fourth Coalition later that year.

War of the Fourth Coalition
On September 2, 1850, Prussia declared war on France, starting the War of the Fourth Coalition. Russia and Prussia began to mobilize in preparation for fresh campaigns against the French, as the Prussians began consolidating their men in Saxony. Napoleon, still having an army in Bavaria, quickly marched to meet this threat. He met a major Prussian army of 69,000 men in Apolda, defeating that army and launch a counter-attack in pursuit. Another army of France met a Prussian army of 52,000 in Liebstedt, defeating them as well. Both battles took place on October 2. The main Prussian army was being chased through the countryside by a smaller French army, leaving Berlin up for the taking. On October 12, 1850, a French army triumphantly marched into Berlin without a fight, surprisingly being met with cheers. A Prussian army of 19,000 was unable to cross the Oder river, but heroically managed an escape during the dark of night on November 1. Prussian resistance was essentially gone except in small pockets, and Napoleon prepared to take on his next hurdle: the Russians.

Napoleon's army was not intent on camping for winter, and instead, marched onward into East Prussia. There his army confronted the main Russian force in the village of Stopki on February 5, 1851. French reinforcements led by General Louis Philippe managed to save the day, driving the Russians from the battlefield. Another battle took place near Konigsberg on February 11, in which the French surrounded and captured the last major Russian army in the region. Russia called for a truce 3 days later. In the Treaty of Tilsit, Prussia was forced to give up nearly half of its territory, liberating the Duchy of Warsaw as a French client state. Several other territories were also lost.

War of the Fifth Coalition
On October 31, 1852, Russia declared war on France, challenging their hold over Europe. Napoleon I responded by launching his most ambitious campaign yet: a drive straight into Moscow with his Grande Armee. During his Russian Campaign from June 23 to December 7 of 1853, Napoleon made great advances across Russia, but he was never able to get an actual confrontation with the main Russian army like he had hoped. The true killer of his campaign was Russia's terrain and the climate. Due to his strategy of forced marches, French supply wagons were unable to keep up with the main army. The Grande Armee was used to foraging and using the local resources to supply itself; this worked in regions like Central Europe, with abundant agriculture and a proper structure of roads and other infrastructure. In Russia, however, the army was unable to forage in the sparsely populated Russian countryside, and when winter came, things became much worse. The Grande Armee had a lack of winter horse shoes, making supply convoys during the winter incredibly slow.

By September following a series of minor battles, Napoleon had finally reached Moscow, but to his dismay, Russia refused to surrender, and he was yet to score a decisive victory. With the state of his forces rapidly deteriorating due to severe attrition. This retreat only made the army's situation worse, and Napoleon returned to France with a battered army. This defeat shattered Napoleon's image of invincibility, and France's forced allies of Austria and Prussia switched sides, joining Britain and Russia in the war of the Fifth Coalition. Essentially all of Europe had turned its back on France. The nation had decisively been defeated by October 3 of 1854, when the Treaty of Paris was signed, officially ending the war, and beginning the Concert of Vienna.

Congress of Vienna (1854)
With France defeated, it was time for the victorious powers to reshape Europe. The Holy Roman Empire remained abolished, but the German states had been restored, with Prussia gaining large amounts of territory, most notably the Rhineland. Surprisingly, the coalition allowed the Bonaparte dynasty in France to continue, so long as Napoleon I establish a parliament and house of commons, which would hopefully prevent France from falling into another war with the rest of Europe. Austria's new borders were finalized, and France lost most of its standing in Europe. The conference established the idea of a "Balance of Power," and asserted Great Britain as the preeminent Global superpower.

The Golden Era (1857-1898)
Following France's defeat, a large economic boom occurred due to soldiers returning home from war, and in turn, moving to the cities for better jobs in industry. This period began the nation's rapid urbanization and industrialization occurring together, as the French economy improved tremendously. Colonial conquests in Algeria and Asia helped facilitate growth, as France harvested resources from these colonies to continue expansion in the industrial sector. France also reasserted its influence as Europe's main land power, as Napoleon's expansionist ideals for France helped guide the nation in that direction of imperialism. France conquered Indochina in 1888.

During this time, France politically was mostly a power struggle between the Radical Liberals, Bonapartists, and Reactionaries. Often, the Bonapartists and Reactionaries would work together against the liberals in politics, often destroying their hopes of meaningful reform. This was the case until the coronation of Napoleon II in 1873, who whole-heartedly embraced liberal reformation, portraying himself as a monarchist reformer. This liberalization of the economy prompted a revitalization of French industrial growth, and resulted in the death of Radical Liberals as a major political force, as the moderate Liberals split from the party in 1882, starting their own party, quickly becoming the main force in French politics. This period oversaw a large improvement in relations between Britain and France, as Queen Victoria, another staunch liberal, became friends with Napoleon II on a personal level, even before his ascension to Emperor of the French.

His rule also saw an expansion of the French sphere of influence, with Spain becoming a close partner with France, as well as Russia, forming a triple alliance of sorts. This time also saw a rapid improvement of French infrastructure and military reform, changing France's military focus on speedy offensive doctrine, based on what worked so well for France during the Napoleonic Wars.

Franco-Prussian War (1898-1900)
When France declared war on the North German Confederation in 1898, Prussia was confident that it was going to win. Against all odds, however, the French defeated the Germans decisively at the city of Metz, and drove into Saarbrucken by April 2 of 1899. A major German army was encircled and pinned along the Rhine near the city of Mainz, resulting in a major encirclement of German forces, and a siege in the city. A large German relief force was intercepted and destroyed by French forces in the Battle of Frankfurt. The French forces then began a major campaign in Central Germany, advancing north to the major cities along the Rhine River, and Hanover was captured on August 19, 1899, much to the pleasure of the former King of Hanover, who had financed his own personal army to fight alongside French forces for the liberation of Hanover.

Berlin was captured on July 2 of 1900 following the encirclement of the last major German force in Brandenburg. Germany officially surrendered on July 9, 1900.

Treaty of Versailles
Prussia and its constituent powers signed a treaty with France in Versailles palace on August 11, 1900. Prussia was forced to cede the left Rhine Bank to the French Empire, and south Germany came under the French sphere of influence. Prussia was forced to pay 100 million francs in war reparations, and France was allowed to keep an occupation force in Brandenburg until this was paid.

Age of Good Feelings (1901-)
French victory over the Germans prompted a new wave of massive nationalism in the country, with the entire political focus of the nation being rallied solely on expansion, imperialism, cooperation, and pride. France had asserted its position on the continent successfully, and the politics in the country reflected this optimistic attitude and vision for the future. France's plans for Europe became more lofty, and ambitions more significant. Following the Italo-French war, the country annexed the territory of Piedmont, starting a major political crisis with Great Britain over France's increased power over Europe. This political unity in France also resulted in complete arrogance and neglect of the army, which became largely seen as invincible.