The Ligurian War (1727 - 1728)

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The Ligurian War

Combatants

Republic of Genoa

Kingdom of Lombardy
-The Kingdom of France

Summer, 1727

The King of Lombardy, though sitting plump on his throne in Milan, knows that there is still more land to conquer. He had been promised a vast division of Italy by his French backers—Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, Rome itself had all been dangled in front of him—and yet he ended the Lateran War with a metal hat and some extra fields. He yearns for more. The coasts must be under his domination, the Duomo of Florence, the Lateran Palace, the Venetian lagoons: all are rightfully his, by virtue of his sheer force of will.

Thus, in the Summer of 1727, he decides that the best course of action is to start picking off his weaker neighbors, one by one. The Austrians are distracted with a war against the Turk, after all, and the Spanish have been dragged in as well. France is resurgent and bellicose, and urges the Savoyard onward. Wouldn’t Genoa, the French envoy whispers in his ear, be such a nice pearl in your crown? Mantua, the lizard-tongued Gauls hint, would make such a romantic second home for his Queen. Tuscany, the obsequious hunchbacks of Notre Dame mewl, is so lovely this time of year.

Eventually, egged on by both his own advisors and those from foreign courts—though, admittedly, he needed only the lightest of pushes—the King decides to act. For his Kingdom to be truly worthy of the title, he needs a proper port. Nice is trapped between France and Genoa, and those mammon-worshipping traders have no true friends. Their backsliding and hedging has earned them only the barest of safety guarantees from their neighbors, and their coffers are drained from years at war. In July he has his Ministers manufacture an incident. A Lombard trader is brought out before the court, telling tales of woe at his treatment in Genoa. He was made to pay dreaded taxes, he says. His goods were inspected by a customs officer, he decries. The Genoese forced him to take off his hat while in church, he screeches. A litany of insults too great for any self-respecting son of Lombardy to take!

Moved to tears by the plight of his subject, the Lombard King issues a declaration: Genoa will either submit to his suzerainty, and become a subject of his kingdom with municipal self-governance, or it will be annihilated. The Genoese carefully weigh the Lombard demands before stripping and expelling the envoy. The Lombards swing their war machine into motion and the merchants of Genoa begin sounding the alarm and seeking out mercenaries for hire. On the diplomatic front, however, the Genoese find little luck: without Austrian or Spanish guarantees, their neighbors will do little to stand against the Lombards for fear of French intervention. On the mercenary front, the old Genoese ties do come in handy, but the fact remains that the Lombards alone could stand to wipe them out—let alone the French, should they choose to intervene.

Forces in Theater, end of Summer

Genoa

Navy

Genoa Squadron (Genoa)
-2 BB2s
-10 FF1s
-5 PatRons

Army

Fixed Positions
-1 Fortresses (Genoa)
-1 Garrisons (Corsica)

Genoese Army (Genoa)
-1 Mercenary Infantry Brigade
-1 Light Infantry Brigade
-1 Mercenary Light Infantry Brigade
-1 Mercenary Cavalry Regiment

Lombardy

Navy

Nice Squadron (Nice)
-5 FF1s
-5 PatRons

Army

Fixed Installations
-3 Fortresses (Milan, Turin, Nice)
-5 Garrison Brigades (2 Milan, 2 Turin, 1 Nice)

Royal Army (Milan)
-6 Infantry Brigades
-3 Cavalry Brigades

[Galveston Bay]

Meanwhile, King Philippe VIII remains vengeful over the results of the Lanteran War and also sees an opportunity to pick up territory too.   Citing the mutual defense treaty with Lombardy, France declares war on Genoa and goes from partial mobilization to full mobilization.

A blockade is declared on Genoa and troops are ordered to support the King of Lombardy under the command of Marshal Eugene.

Genoa is urged to accept the Lombard terms or face military defeat.

[TLS]

Fall, 1727

The entrance of the perfidious Franks into the war takes a tough situation for Genoa and makes it worse. France has dedicated substantial assets to ensuring that the campaign against the merchant republic goes as quickly as possible, and those forces begin moving as soon as the declaration of war is issued—almost as if France had a direct hand in planning, provoking, and directing the war launched by the Lombards.

Eugene de Savoy, Constable of France, is dedicated with the task of leading the French army to assist in the conquest of Liguria. Marching overland from Valence, the Franco-Lombard army coalesces in Turin at the end of October and marches on to Genoa. The combined army massively outnumbers the defenders, but the Genoese still refuse to capitulate and steadfastly hold to their defensive positions. The overwhelming force encamped outside the city is a ripe breeding ground for disease (siege roll 1 in December, Light Infantry Brigade shattered) but the force continues to maintain its vice on the city—aided by events at sea.

Not only has France dedicated a large army to the endeavor, but a substantial fleet as well. Under the command of Admiral René Duguay-Trouin, the Mediterranean and Main fleets have assembled at Toulon to blockade the Genoese and establish naval dominance.

Battle of the Ligurian Sea, October 28

Genoa
-2 BB2
-10 FF1
-5 PatRons

France
-20 BB2
-20 FF1
-2 PatRon

The French fleet is overwhelmingly dominant, something the Genoese are hardly oblivious to. Their strategy is, in fact, to escape from the blockade and make it to friendlier waters, lest their ships fall into the hands of the Lombards or Frenchmen. The French are more than happy to give battle, seeing as the Genoese have to try and fight through their lines. Genoa’s finest sailors thus plunge straight through the heart of the French fleet, guns blazing left and right in a desperate gamble to make it to open ocean. The French focus their fire on the lead ships of the convoy, tearing the Genoese admiralty apart, but the plucky Ligurians also manage to inflict substantial hits on the French fleet (Turn 1: Genoa rolls 9x, 3 Crits, sinking 3 BB2s, Damaging 1 BB2 2x, 2 BB2s 1x. France rolls 21 hits, 4 crits, but 3 are wasted on ships already sunk. 2 BB2s sunk, 1 FF1 sunk, 1 FF1 3x damaged, 2 FF1s 1x damaged). The Genoese continue to make their frantic bet towards the sea, but the French frigates are able to envelope them as they break towards the open ocean, finally subduing their quarry (Turn 2: Genoa rolls 3x, 1 crit. 2 French FF1s 1x damaged, 1 French FF1 sunk. France rolls 19 hits, 3 crits. 4 Genoese FF1s are sunk, 2 FF1s captured, 3 PatRons sunk). A paltry remnant of the Genoese fleet does manage to escape and take shelter in Tuscan waters, but the damaged vessels are forced to strike their colors and be interned.

Casualties of the Battle of the Ligurian Sea

Genoa
-2 BB2 sunk
-7 FF1 sunk
-2 FF1s 4x damaged, captured [1 point, 1 year to repair]
-1 FF1 interned by Tuscany
-3 PatRons sunk
-2 PatRons interned by Tuscany

France
-3 BB2s sunk
-1 BB2 2x damaged [.5 points, 1 turn to repair]
-2 BB2s 1x damaged [.25 points, 1 turn to repair]
-1 FF1 sunk
-2 FF1s 1x damaged [.2 points, 1 turn to repair]

With their navy at the bottom of the sea and their capital besieged on all sides, the Genoese have a very sad Christmas indeed. Desperate petitions are sent to the Emperor in Bavaria, the Hapsburgs in Vienna, the Pope in Rome, and the King in Spain, but few outsiders expect these calls to be heeded. Genoa’s shifty nature in the Lateran War is remembered, and both Austria, Spain, and the Empire are already embroiled in a desperate struggle against the Ottoman Sultan. The other Italian states furtively begin negotiations with each other, but they’re aware that without outside backing any war against the Lombards and their French backers could end catastrophically. Unless an outside power gives them arms and men, they’re doomed to only look on in horror.

Forces in Theater, end of Summer

Genoa

Army

Fixed Positions
-1 Fortresses (Genoa)
-1 Garrisons (Corsica)

Genoese Army (Genoa)
-1 Mercenary Infantry Brigade
-1 Light Infantry Brigade
-1 Mercenary Light Infantry Brigade
-1 Mercenary Cavalry Regiment

Lombardy

Navy

Nice Squadron (Nice)
-5 FF1s
-5 PatRons

Army

Fixed Installations
-3 Fortresses (Milan, Turin, Nice)
-5 Garrison Brigades (2 Milan, 2 Turin, 1 Nice)

Royal Army (Besieging Genoa)
-6 Infantry Brigades
-3 Cavalry Brigades

France

Navy

Mediterranean Fleet (Blockading Genoa)
-14 BB2s
-1 2x Damaged BB2
-2 1x Damaged BB2s
-17 FF1s
-2 1x damaged FF1s
-2 PatRon

Army

Southwest Army (Besieging Genoa) [GC Eugene de Savoy]
-4 Infantry Brigades
-3 Light Infantry Brigades
-2 Cavalry Brigades
-1 Engineer Brigade

[Galveston Bay]

The French Navy hands over the few prizes taken from Genoa to the Kingdom of Lombardy

[TLS]

Winter, 1728

The year begins bleak for the Genoese, and ends worse.  The loss of their fleet has left the city of Genoa completely surrounded and isolated, with no impending rescue coming from Spain, Austria, or any other Italian state.  The Doge and his closest cabal wish to continue the struggle, but the city is simply unable to maintain a meaningful resistance to the Franco-Lombard siege.  In mid-January, Lombard gold is enough to bribe a key contingent of the mercenaries manning the walls.  Rather than see the city descend into a massacre, the city leaders give up once French troops start pouring through a gate opened by subterfuge (Genoa rolls a 6 in January, the city falls).  Within weeks of the start of the year, Genoa has fallen.

The French fleet has, by now, departed from the area.  All that is left is the Genoese garrison on Corsica, which—given the collapse of the homeland—is in a state of disarray.  Essentially local interests take over command of the garrison, refusing to pay fealty to either Milan or to France, and establishes a local Duchy of Corsica.  A local notable, Luigi Giafferi, takes command of the organization of the island, and petitions the other Italian states for recognition.  Some money, light weapons, and friendly adventurers are funneled to the island by sympathetic mainland interests, as the Lombard fleet is small and the French have departed, but it hardly becomes a military power with the few weapons shipped.

Forces in Theater, end of Winter

Corsica

Army

Fixed Positions
-1 Garrisons (Corsica)

Corsican Army (Ajaccio)
-1 Light Infantry Regiment
-2 Militia Infantry Brigades

Lombardy

Navy

Nice Squadron (Nice)
-5 FF1s
-5 PatRons

Army

Fixed Installations
-3 Fortresses (Milan, Turin, Nice)
-5 Garrison Brigades (2 Milan, 2 Turin, 1 Nice)

Royal Army (Genoa)
-6 Infantry Brigades
-3 Cavalry Brigades

France

Army

Southwest Army (Genoa) [GC Eugene de Savoy]
-4 Infantry Brigades
-3 Light Infantry Brigades
-2 Cavalry Brigades
-1 Engineer Brigade

[Galveston Bay]

Winter 1728
France offers complete recognition to Corsica.   In also offers to sponsor young men of means who wish training in the French Army (either artillery or infantry branches), positions to young men of means seeking careers in the Navy, and offers a treaty of protection to ensure that Corsica is not attacked by other nations.   Corsican ships are also offered free trading rights in any French controlled port.

Meanwhile the King is in a celebratory mood. A Mardis Gras Ball is ordered this year before the long glum days of fasting beginning on Ash Wednesday.

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