French Trafalgar, British Waterloo (1831-1858)

The Prussian Expansion War (1831-1832)
Although the Prussian effort to crush Poland quickly was a resounding success, as the nation surrendered after a month, their attempts to destroy win against the  French, via Operation Westschlag, by invading through Austria-Hungary was considered a failure, as Italian reinforcements held back the Prussian armies.

Despite attempts by the Royal Navy to blocakde France, the British attempts to fight France at sea was meet with no greater success than Prussia on land. The only major battle at sea was the Battle of the English Channel, but was inconclusive, with both sides claiming victory, but not changing the tactical or strategic situation in any way.

A counterattack planned by Marshal Michel Ney in the winter finally pushed the Prussian forces out of Austria-Hungary, plus an attck by Russia through Norhtern Sweden (a Prussian ally) and eventually entered Prussian territory in both East and West, forcing Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm III to abdicate the Hohenzollern Throne on 7 January. Britain sued for peace two weeks later, with the French navy having virtually destroyed Britsh trade and taken the Suez Canal.

In the Treaty of Vienna, Prussia was forced to surrender the small North Sea Coast that she owned, around the city of Kiel, to the Confederation of the Rhine. Also, the area north of Krakow of the Confed. of the Rhine was ceded to Austria-Hungary. Poland was re-established, with additional land from Prussia. Russia gained Koenigsberg, as well a part of Northern Sweden. Great Britain was to concede Jamacia, Malta and Cyprus to France in return for the Suez Canal, and paid an indemity of two million francs.

Return to Peace, and the Great Panic (1832-1839)
With the French and the allies and "associates" of the Empire victorious, and Prussia humbled, a new Golden Age of French Imperialism dawned. When the oppressed people of Greece rose up against the Ottoman Empire in 1832, Napoleon II sent arms and a fleet to aid the rebels, which were victorious, and proclaimed a government that readily became an "associate" of the French Empire. Within the next few years, new colonies were settled in Africa, such as the Congo River Entrance (1833), further expansion from Mauritania (1834-35), and the beginning of the Colony of Angola/Namibia (1837-38). Railroads, first tested in Britain, were embraced by Napoleon II as a cheap and efficient way to link the Empire. A massive Railroad building program, under George Stephenson (who left the UK after his plans for a railroad linked England were balked at), was begun in 1835, and by 1845, Paris was linked with Lyons, Marseilles, Strasbourg, Brussels, Essen, Turin, Rome and, in one of the greatest engineering projects of this era, Zurich. The birth of the new Prince of Normandy, Joseph Philip in 1836 brought relief to the French Empire that the House of Bonaparte will continue to rule the nation. But, the "Boom Times" ended in France in 1839, however, when the supply of capital was severely curtailed when many businesses went bankrupt, including one of the major shipping companies in the Empire, and the Great Panic of 1839 began. Although the economy didn't completely collapse, after Napoleon II ordered the banks to begin lending again, the faith in the Franc and the French Economy were severely shaken, and would take several years to restore. The death of Michel Ney in 1840, the hero of the First Great European War and the Prussian Expansion War, threw the already struggling nation into mourning, further compounding problems.

In Britain, the general mood of the islands could be something close to shock and humiliation. Prime Minister Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, the Prime Minister since 1827, was kicked out of office, and King William IV placed Sir Robert Peel, leader of the Tory party in charge. Peel quickly moved, and pushed the First Navy Modernization Act through Parliament in 1832, followed by the Army Expansion Act and the Second Navy Modernization Act in 1833. By 1835, the Royal Navy, having launched the first steam warship, the HMS Atlantic, a small "steam frigate," which immediately outdated sailing ships, though neither England or France realized it at the time, as the Atlantic's engine exploded in 1837, sinking the ship. King William IV passed away in 1937, and was succeeded by her daughter, Victoria. The Great Panic of 1839 did not severely affect the UK, as London was still one of the largest trading city in the world.

The defeat of the Prussian armies forced Kaiser Frederich William to abdicate the throne, and travel to exile in the Ottoman Empire. He was replaced by his son, Frederich William IV, the Prussian state underwent a massive reforming period. As he was not a military man, the army was not the focus of the state. Instead, work on infrastructure and the economy took the majority of his time. However, with the Great Panic of 1839, the Prussian Economy soon expanded to fill in the gap lefty by the contraction of the French Imperial economy.

The victory of the Italian armies in the Second Great European War impressed Napoleon II greatly, and when the people of Italy petitioned the French Emperor for full independence, it was immediately granted on July 17, 1833. Italy was granted rule under the returned House of Savoy, who, although exiled since 1798 when their territories were annexed by France, were allowed to return. Carlo Alberto Amedeo di Savoia, at the age of 35, was crowned Charles Albert of Italy. The Great Panic of 1839 did affect the economy somewhat, but mostly in the northern, mostly industrialized area.

Austria-Hungary was slower rebounding from the conflict, because the vast majority of the fighting took place here. However, the industries established in Bohemia and Moravia soon began to produce again, and the economic recovery soon began moving full speed ahead after the ascension of Ferdinand I in 1835 after the death of Francis I, but was brought to a crashing halt in the Great Panic of 1839.

Russia and the Ottoman Empire continued to face each other over the Black Sea, as Ottoman modernization efforts increased, through with more support from France than Prussia and Britain, as Napoleon II was nervous of expanding Russian power. In 1832, in a long overdue move, finally disbanded the Janissaries, which allowed Mahmud II to reform the military along the lines of the European model, with brigades, regiments, corps and Divisions. The Sultan appointed his successor, Abdul Mejid, the first Grand Marshal of the Ottoman Empire, starting a new tradition. Also, the promised moves to grant the other nationalities of the Ottoman Empire greater freedom and a say in Government was pushed through in 1836, in the First Great Firman, and the first Parliament of Nationalities was established, composed of three members of every region, of which only two can be Turkish at most.

The Russian Peasant's Revolt (1839)
Russia, having won a little land at almost no cost in the Prussian Expansion War, began to believe that Russian armies would be victorious whenever they engaged an enemy, even Imperial France, the superpower of the west. However, one enemy that Russia never expected to fight was herself.

Causes of the Revolt
Although the serfs had been free for over twenty years, in reality, their lot had not improved. The nobles still owned the land, and forced the farmers who lived on it to pay almost as much as they would have if they remained serfs. Those who would not take it anymore left for the cities, as with the new factories came demand for more workers. However, with the flood of former farmers, the factories began to pay less and less, while at the same time food prices sky rocketed due to the lower production.

When Czar Nicholas I (who was as liberal as his brother in this timeline) learned of this situation, he tried to push through land reform in 1834, hoping to be able to quell a possible peasant uprising, which, not only could lay waste to the noblemen's land (which the majority could not see), but could cause immense damage in the cities as well. However, the noblemen successfully blocked the efforts, believing that the aim was to weaken their power (which the czar had privately claimed would be an "...unfortunate, but welcome, side effect").

The "Beginning of the End"
The powder keg that set it off was during a peaceful protest organized in St. Petersburg, near the royal White Palace. Due to the Great Panic, many factories had to cut hours and pay, some layoff hundreds of workers at a time, reducing many families to begging in the streets. Over 25,000 poor workers and farmers were marching in favor of land reform on March 17, 1839, one army regiment, commanded by a noblemen (whose name has been lost), ordered the soldiers under his command to fire upon the protesters. The White Palace Massacre, as it was known, resulted in the death of 76, and wounding 287. The protesters panicked, with most running away, but some furious marchers began to resist, one cobblestone actually killing the nobleman commander.

The result of the Massacre was a full scale resurrection in the country side. Many of the nobles who opposed the Land Reform of 1834 were brutally killed, while their wifes and daughters were viciously violated, and the sons were killed. The noblemen who survived fled the country, most fleeing to Prussia, Britain or Austria-Hungary. The farmers and peasants began to form bands to loot and pillage the country side. Traveling through the land was seen as impossible without armed guards, as unsuspecting travelers, either peasant or noble, were either robbed or outright killed. Factories in the cities were burnt out, as were some of the houses of the rich owners and nobles, and by about April 29, the army had firmly, but without enormous bloodshed, put down the resurrection's in the cities, although anarchy gripped the country side still. It was only until September that the last raider bands in the country side were put down.

Aftermath
In all of this, Czar Nicholas I began to figure out how to deal with these "...bandits and rebels and poor peasants." It was decided that mercy, as well as a firm hand were to be used. The majority of the peasants were granted amnesty, while the rest were either fined or imprisoned. Their were only three of all the millions of peasants who were executed, the leaders of the notorious Ukrainian Liberation Army, who massacred the entire town of Vilshnay, because they did not agree to come under their "protection."

But this only dealt with the the results. Next, the Czar and his ministers met with leaders of the peasants to hear their cases, as well as to help in deciding the future of the nation. In all, 527 men and women went to the "Peasant's Commune," and told their stories of suffering, hardship and starvation. Several times, the minister and even the Czar himself were moved to tears, and action was taken immediately.

The first Russian People's Congress was held in Moscow, convened by Prime Minister Mikhail Speransky, began the process of establishing the Empire of the Russians. A constitutional monarchy, albeit with strong powers in the hand of the czar, was established. The Duma was first established, with 350 members composed of the peasants, nobles and the small middle class. Some of the first acts of this Duma involved land, monetary, army and administrative reform, with the majority of the reforms lifting enormous burdens from the poor, who soon thrived.

American Prosperity and Restlessness (1839-1846)
With the expansion of American industry after the short war in Europe, the United States began to emerge as a regional power. The alliance with France was cemented in the Treaty of Nantes, were the US became one of the largest trading partners of the French Empire and the her allies with resources and finished goods, at lower prices than the British or the Prussian's, in return for military training, as the US was still reeling from the defeat of the First America's War. Democratic President John C. Calhoun was narrowly edged out by  William Henry Harrison in the election of 1836, a  National Republican, and was re-elected in 1840.

The Crash of 1839 was not as severe in America, where the growing home market filled in the gap of European trade, but still caused some damage, with many layed off and factories shut down in 1840. One of those unemployed men, James Finley, shocked the nation by shooting President Harrison on June 3, 1841, only a few months into his second term. His Vice President, Daniel Webster, immediately took the oath of office, (as he was in the crowd), and was now the ninth President of the United States, and the first Vice President to assume the office of President. He immediately began the process of implementing the policies that he and the late William Harrison were campaigning on: the supremacy of Congress over the Presidency, and a program of economic modernization and expansion.

However, Congress was soon dominated by the supporters of Manifest Destiny, the so-called Manifests. The dreams of stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific and to the Arctic was to irrasistable for these men, and, with the alliance of France to counter any British threat, they felt confident that they can reach out and grab these various lands, with little to no consequences.

The first of these "American Conquest's" as writer Samuel Clemens had put it later (he was born in 1835), was Spanish Florida, bought from  Spain in 1834, although the local natives had to be violently suppresed in the  Everglades Resurrection, from 1835 to 1842.

The next step was the creation of States of the Remainder Louisiana Territory and other territories created since. The first were Indiana and  Michigan (also composed of OTL's Winsconsin)in 1837,  Mississippi (composed of OTL Mississippi and the Western half of Alabama; the Eastern half joining Georgia ) in 1840, Louisiana in 1840 as well, and  Arkansas (North of Louisina, which also includes part of Eastern Oklahoma) in 1841, and  Missouri in 1843, bringing the Total number of US states to 26.

The third step, however was one of the most contoversial, in the declaration of war on the Mexican Empire.

The Mexican Empire, having made large strides since its inception in 1832, however, was currently in the throes of an American-supported Texan Revolt. Lead by Prime Minister/General Sana Anna, the Mexican Army besieged the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, which was held by Texian patriots, who were protesting against Sana Anna's dictatorial policies. Lead by James Bowie and William B. Travis, the defenders of the Alamo, numbering no more than 200, managed to hold off the Mexican Army of 1,500 for over two weeks, until a determined assault scaled the walls of the mission, and massacred every man inside.

President Webster, pushed on by Congress, issued an ultimatum to Mexico, demanding them to allow Texan Independence, and to withdraw from said land. Sana Anna didn't even reply, not believing the American's daft enough to declare war on his battle hardened army over some "misguided, so called patriots." He was wrong. On April 16, 1846, Emperor Agustín de Iturbide of Mexico was told that a  state of war existed between the US and his Empire.

The War of the Southwest
Although the Meaxan army managed to hold back the American's for a few weeks after war was declared, they were driven back by forces lead by General Zacahary Taylor. A long retreat followed, during which time Sam Houston aligned his force of freedom fighters with the American's, and, in discussions with General Taylor, agrred to become part of the Union after the war.

After the announcment that war had broke out between the United States and Mexico, citizens of the area known as OTL California, many American settlers originally in search of gold and latter settled, decided the time was right to free themselves from the dictorial rule of General Sana Anna. On June 17, they announced the creation of the Pacific Republic, and proclaimed Yerba Buena their capital. After the Mexican Garrisons were overthrown, the rest of the area stretching from the tip of Baja California to the British held territory of Oregan proclaimed their support to the government in Yerba Buena, renamed San Fransisco after the war.

Although Emperor Agustín ordered Sana Anna to agree to an armistance proprosal after the loss of California and Texas, and with American forces pushing over the Rio Grande. However, Anna disobeyed the orders, and returned to Mexico City and overthrew the emperor, and proclaimed himself acting president of a Provisional Republic of Mexico. Agustín managed to escape and reached American lines, and it is agreed to restore the Mexican Empire, force Anna to sign the peace treaty, then exile him to the Carribean Confederation. With an American Army, Texan liberators and Loyalist Mexican forces besiging the capital, and with the so called "republic" proclaiming its support to the Emperor, Anna was finnaly forced to concide defeat. He was exiled to Haiti in 1847, and commited suicide in 1849, bitter over his treatment by his nation.

Aftermath of the War
Although the American armies soundly defeated Mexico to win Texas, and helped free the Pacific Republic, the war was seen as a war of aggression, basically "...the New World's Prussia..." as Samuel Clemens later wrote. And with it came the expansion of slavery into Texas, Florida and the southern fraction of the Louisiana Remainder, which the majority of people in the Northern, more industrialized states opposed, but the southern states promoted, wanting to expand it westwards.

The defeat of the Mexican armies in battle, without the enormous casualties expected (overall, of the 124,000 strong US Army, only 2% died in battle and 5% were wounded, but 15% died of disease) convinced the majority of the Manifests that the army created with French help after the humiliation of the First America's War was now strong enough to be able to stand up to the one enemy of America; the United Kingdom.

In Europe, when news of the invasion of Mexico was first announced, Emperor Napoleon II was shocked, especially because he had not been forewarned. The UK was even more disturbed by the news, and this almost assured that their holdings in North America would be next, against an army that have proved themselves (although against a minor nation with a weaker army, which no body seemed to realize). Almost immediately, Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel decided to send four regiments to Canada to hold positions to secure the Northern Colonies, while new overtures to the Natives in the Region was meet with open arms, and the Indian Confederacy was formed, composed of representatives from almost every tribe in the western region, centered in the colony of Fort Garry, now home to a majority white population.

Asian Expansion and Modernization (1838-1841)
The Japanese, having been one of the first Asian people to meet an European embassy in centuries, finally began a minor program of modernization in 1838. Although it was considered a first step to being able to rival the European's, the Shogunate tried their best to slow, delay or even halt the modernization attempts, as it was (rightly) believed, that the plan would erode their power, and, possibly, destroy it. The accession of Emperor Kōmei in 1846 made the Shogunate, realizing that Kōmei was going to aggressively pursue the modernization of Japan, and, if need be, destroy the shoguns, they tried to mount a coup to secretly do away with the emperor. However, the Chrysanthemum Plot was doomed, by the simple fact that the ordinary soldiers, trained since childhood to obey the emperor, refused to execute the Shogun's order's to arrest Kōmei, and instead arrested the plotters, who were simply executed, and, in the ultimate humility, had their bodies dumped in Tokyo Bay. The Modernization of Japan was now unopposed, and soon, with help from such people as Krupp, soon Japan was about to embark on an imperialistic crusade.

The Ambassador's War (1841)
Even though the Chinese Empire had received reports of the Prussian Expansion War and the Mexican-American War, they still refused to believe that the western powers were superior to them. However, when the Chinese refused to conduct anymore trade with the Europeans (mostly due to depleting resources of silver and the Great Panic of 1839), The French and British decided that it was time to prove the Chinese wrong.

They were given an excuse on November 7, 1840, when the British Consul in Shanghai was robbed, and knocked unconscious. The British demanded that China apologize, but the envoy was rebuffed, and was told to "...mind your own business." When the French Ambassador tried to intervene on November 15, he was promptly arrested by the Palace guard for trespassing. It was the final straw. The two European enemies decided to work together, and teach China a lesson. War was declared on December 3, 1840.

In March of 1841, a French fleet under the commanded of Admiral Louis Phillipe anchored outside of Fuzhou, while another arrived at Taipei on the island of Formosa, while a British Fleet, commanded by Rear-Admiral Harold Frenway appeared near the cities of Hong Kong and Zhanjing. The display of arms did not move the Emperor, who remained defiant. So, early on the morning of April 4, Royal Marines and French Imperial Troupes de marine landed ashore the cities, while the fleets nearby began a punishing naval bombardment. One shot from the HMS Valiant crashed into a small cafe in Hong Kong, knocking over the lit stove, and soon began to spread through the docks, and into the center of the island, forcing both locals and the Royal Marines to flee the spreading flames. Elsewhere, the defenders were quickly over run, and, by sundown, the Union Jack fluttered over Zhanjing, while the Tricolore was raised over Taipei and Fuzhou.

In Nanjing, the Emperor was stunned, but the Chinese Army was sent to deal with these new threats. The Battle of Guangzhou was perhaps the greatest turning point in the modernization of Asia, for a massive, 130,000 strong Chinese army was held back by only 32,000 British soldiers, under the command of Lord FitzRoy Somerset. It was perhaps one of the greatest glories of the British Army, and the ultimate humiliation of the Chinese Empire. But no surrender was forthcoming, until a joint Anglo-French amphibious landing east of Beijing, and the subsequent battle, which resulted in a triumphal march of the Europeans through the Forbidden City, forced the Chinese to surrender.

On June 6, 1841, an armistice was agreed to, and the Treaty of Hanoi was signed on August 15, 1841, whereas Formosa became part of the the French Empire, and the UK received Hong Kong and Zhanjing. China, finally realizing that the Europeans, although still "barbarians", were technologically advanced "barbarians," opened up their markets to European goods, and accepted the services of several military officers to train the Chinese armies in modern tactics and weapons, although progress was slow due to the Chinese feeling of superiority, only slightly diminished since their defeat in the Ambassadors War.

The Years of Tension (1841-1846)
Despite the best efforts to try to smooth over ancient rivalries, the nations of Europe still greatly distrusted each other. France and Britain were prime examples of this. Although the two worked together during the Ambassador's War, almost immediately after, the two began to retrench and snipe at each other over some little grievance or another. The two continued to try to find new allies and cement older ones. France and her imperial associates joined together in the Marseilles Pact in 1843. The United States joined the alliance in 1846 with the increasing resurgence of British Imperialism in Canada, hoping a French Alliance will give them the strength to stand up against a threat of the British.

Britain and Prussia, realizing the threat that the Marseilles Pact posed, re-created the North Sea Pact that had existed before the Prussian Expansion War, and had quitely been done away with, into the United Coalition in 1846, with the original members being Britain, Prussia and the Ottoman Empire, having finally, successfully completed the majority of the modernization of the Empire that was laid out over twenty years before. Later, Spain would enter the alliance, and began to strengthen her borders with France.

France, in the mean time, initiated the Third Imperial Plan in 1847. While similar to the previous versions, the new plan had an increased focus on the expansion of mines, factories, armories, fortresses and barracks. This was later nicknamed the "Le Plan du général" (The General's Plan) due to the increased military spending and expansion.

African Colonialism
Although France had a huge lead by 1845, Great Britain, Spain and Portugal were trying their best to build on overseas empire to rival the French. Great Britain, from bases in Kenya, moved north-west into the Horn of Africa and established the Colony of the Horn in 1848, while the Colony of Yemen was founded the next year. Portugal expanded its colony in Mozambique, and Spain established a colony north of Mauritania, which they called Desierto Occidental, Spanish for "Western Desert." Another Spanish colony, called Tierra del Bantu was established between Nigeria and the Congo River Entrance, of outposts formerly belonging to Portugal. The British established a colony between Mauritania and the Volta River Colony, which was called Sierra Leone, and was originally intended as a place where former slaves of the British Empire (they were freed in 1819, after intense pressure of Abolitionist's in England).

Domination of India and the "Prince's Migration"
Although the major powers had a few enclaves of the Indian subcontinent since the 1700's, in 1838, Great Britain made the enormous step of trying to unite the entire continent under the Union Jack. when France realized this, they also attempted to do the same. In both cases, local alliances, trade deals and, sometimes, out right military force and annexation were used to dominate India. France was mostly dominant around Mumbai and Calcutta, as well as mostly Islamic Karachi. Great Britain was more successful, controlling virtually the rest of the sub-continent by the Treaty of Delhi, with the vast majority of the Indian princes who signed the document vassals and servants of London in all but name. Many of them were encouraged by the Colonial Office to immigrate to British colonies in Africa. This would not only collapse the leadership of any nationalist movements (which were starting to emerge in Europe at this time, and Britain, rightfully, believed it would spread to India), but also help settle the major colonies in Africa. Soon, the population of colonies such as Kenya and South Africa doubled with the rapid influx of Indian princes speaking English and in European dress.

Russia, China and the Ottoman Empire looked at the Indian Conquest nervously, realizing that if either of the Western Powers got a sufficient foothold over India, that could result in a springboard into the Middle East or Asia. As Britain was the victor in the "conflict", the other powers in the area considered the British the greater threat, and began to arm themselves, which France, quietly bitter over failure of conquering India, exploited to their full potential, sending envoys and selling arms to these nations.

South American Crisis (1849)
The situation in South America, while not as dangerous as in Europe, was no less tense. The three major powers, Brazil,  Argentina and the Central American Republic were trying to do their best to out maneuver the others and dominate the continent. The three worked to expand their armies with newer weapons, conscription and European military officers. Spies were rumored to running in the major cities of South America, trying to find secrets that would give their nation an edge over the others.

But, it was in the Capital of Peru, Lima, were the tensions came to a head. The shooting of an Argentine businessman (who, it was later revealed, was on the payroll of the Central American Republic and Argentina at the same time) on March 6, 1846, sparked an uproar in both Medellin and Buenos Aries. Brazil was quick to announce it wasn't them, but the investigation by Peru found that the Empire was behind the attack. Argentina broke off relations with Brazil on April 6, with the RCA doing so the next day. But when a bomb went off in the Rio de Janeiro Naval Facility on May 6, Brazil responded with a military mobilization two days later, with Argentina calling her reserves on May 12 and the Central American Republic sent her navy to sea on May 16. War was right around the corner.

The Rio de la Plata War (1846-1849)
The Rio de la Plata War (or War of the River Plate) was originally fought between Argentina and Brazil over the rights to the river. The two armies fought viscously back and forth over the frontier for over two years, until the Central American Republic allied with Argentina and invaded from the north, and broke the Brazilian Blockade of Argentina in the Summer of 1848. Brazil was able to hold the two nations back, and ultimately drive both out of the Empire, and all three agreed to an armistice on August 17, 1849, three years after the war began. However, the Treaty of Lima did not satisfy any of the three nations involved, and tensions remained high.

The war left enormous scars in the region, and nearly wiped out an entire generation. The economic burden of the war devastated the economies of the continent, and would be years in trying to repair the damage. But the nationalism that the war sparked and blossomed was not easily extinguished, and the people of the various countries were bitter over the fact that none of them won the war. The Generals and Admirals who held positions of respect and power found themselves unceremoniously dumped out of their posts

The American Predicament (1844-1858)
The United States, under the leadership of President Gerrit Smith of the recently formed Liberty Party, begins to adopt a more pro-British, anti-slavery policies, such as restricitng the slave holding states to south of the Plantation Line, created in 1845. No slave states were to be allowed above this line unless Congress first approved. This left neither side happy, as the Territory of Nebraska was completely left out, while the border states of Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware were added to the South, which angered the Abolitionists. President Smith left the White House a bitter man, mostly becuase no one would work on a compromise to restrict slavery that everyone would accept.

The next President, Zachery Taylor, a War of Texan Liberation veteran, was considered a supporter of the Manifests, and many Southern men believed that he would push for the expansion of slavery. However, he died a few months into office, and was succeed by his Vice-President, Millard Fillmore. He was unable, however, to organize a new compromise, and was replaced by James Buchanan in the 1856 election. By this time, all of the parties and factions in congress were tearing at each other's throats, and the incident where a Northern Senator opposed to Slavery being beaten by a younger Southern Representative in 1857 did nothing to help matters.

Finally, on June 17, 1858, the South Carolina Legislature passed the Severance Act, where the state therfore withdrew from the United States. In the next week, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas and the Territory of Florida also passed similar acts. Members of each "severed" state met in Charleston, and agreed to the Acts of Confederation, which stated that, as of that date, the Confederate States of America was a single nation. The Northern states, not wishing to see the union ripped apart, announced that the Southern states were in a state of rebellion against the United States on August 3, and mobilized forces to destroy the Confederacy in its infancy. The Second Americas War had begun.

The European Storm Breaking (1846-1858)
The Europe of the late 1840's was perhaps some of the most tense sense before the Prussian Expansion War, though many optimists said that the tension between the nations would end with a whimper, like the previous conflict. But the vast majority knew this would not be the case.

The major powers entered a Naval Arms race, as the feasibility of steamships were proven by the British shipping company, the Cunard Line, which pioneered the use of passenger steamships. The first successful steam powered warship was the Vulcan, the first French Imperial "steam frigate," which was faster than any sailing warship, and boasted a iron citadel where the the cannons were placed. As soon as it was launched in 1847, it made every other wooden sailing ship obsolete. The Royal Navy, plus the other European Navies and the United States soon began to build more of these ships, so that by 1850, France had 16, Great Britain had 15, Russia 10, Italy six, Prussia four, and Spain, Sweden and Ottoman Turkey each had three of this "Vulcan" class steam frigate, and even more where under construction. Railroads began linking even some of the most isolated towns of Europe, with France and Britain again taking the lead.

The French began to call up the older classes of conscripts to re-train them at new barracks and forts throughout the nation, with the service period lasting three years. The United Kingdom and Prussia held joint military maneuvering in Pomerania in 1847.

In 1848, in perhaps one of the biggest shocks to the present European Order, Austria-Hungary left the Marseilles Pact, and became more friendly with Prussia and Britain. Napoleon II was reported to have said: "Now I can't trust anyone; my greatest allies can become my biggest opponents."

However, in the process of negotiating the Treaty of Rome, Napoleon II came down with a severe case of food poisoning, and died two days later. This shocked the nations of Europe, and now many believed that war was right around the corner, for Napoleon II was considered a great leader, trying to maintain the balance of power and preventing another war. Philip Joseph, who was only 13, was crowned in Notre Dame as the new Emperor of the French Empire in 1849, though a Regent council was formed to rule until he reached the age of majority.

Solidifying the Alliances
The death of Napoleon II was at a crucial time in European History, and so many believed it must have been ordered by one of the members of United Coalition, which was strongly denied.

The conspiracy theories continued to drive the nations together into their respective alliances. The Marseilles Pact held a meeting of the top Generals in Lyons in 1850, which was repeated in 1851, 1853 and 1857. The United Coalition began an effort to modernize their forces to the best extent possible, though progress was hampered by the enormous cost involved. Many British Army units still had muskets from the First Great European War in 1856. Factories through out Europe began to turn out newer and deadlier weapons, such as carbines, the "rifled muskets" and artillery pieces. Fortifications along the borders of many nations were strengthened, especially by General Jean-Baptiste Philibert Vaillant throughout the French Empire. His major achievement was the Soult Line, named after the recently deceased Field Marshal Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult in 1852. It covered the border of France from the Swiss Confederation to the North Sea, while smaller fortifications protected the Netherlands, the Confederation of the Rhine, Italy and Switzerland.

Great Britain and France provided massive loans to the nations allied with them, mostly in order to make sure that the nations would be able to strengthen their own armies and therefore their alliance. While many pacifists argued against these loans, and the build up of the armies, the were at best ignored, but in some states, such as Ottoman Turkey and Prussia, actively suppressed. The Marseilles Pact nations used these attacks as propaganda to strengthen their own position, while Italy secretly silenced the opposition, and, to a small extent, France.

The European Balance of Power
As the various nations eyed each other for weakness and strengths, it soon became apparent that nothing could stop a full-scale European war. The Prussian Expansion War was assumed to be a model of the next war, with armies using the speed and mobility of the Napoleonic Era armies, and the firepower of modern weapons. However, the size of the armies that were being conscripted and trained by the major powers soon numbered not just thousands, or hundreds of thousands, but millions or more.

Of all the Marseilles Pact members, the strongest was France as by 1855, a population of over 50,000,000, and the total men that had been trained and available for duty was 3.5 million, with another 2.4 million untrained men, although not all wold have called up: mostly the older, more experienced conscripts and the professionals would have been used in war, it is assumed. Italy had 3.75 million of military age, of which 750,000 had been fully trained, and 1.25 million were in the reserves, but due to the lax conscription laws and high dropout rates, this number will be lower. But the greatest possible army was Russia, with a massive population of roughly 90,000,000 people, and a possible 12.5 million man army, although no such army would ever be mobilized in the 1850`s, due to the logistics involved, so only 2.5 million men could be placed in the field at once, but the number was expected to increase once the Great Railroad Program, proclaimed by the new Czar, Alexander II upon his coronation in 1855 after the death of his father, was completed, connecting the Empire together, with room for expansion. Other, smaller nations, such as Poland, Greece, Switzerland and Holland also had independent armies, but could not match with the other Marseilles Pact members in size, strength or efficiency, but were loyal and dedicated, and in the era of military "elan", that was assumed to be enough.

In the United Coalition, Prussia had 3.5 million men eligible in 1857, and United Kingdom had 3 million. The Prussian economy, after the defeat of the Rhineland Conflict and the Prussian Expansion War had spent enormous sums on the military, which, besides nearly bankrupting the state (saved only by British loans), managed to become the most professional of forces. Great Britain, on the other hand, was tied by years of constrained budgets, which meant that many units still had weapons that they would have fought with in the First Great European War, but increased spending in the later part of the 1840`s meant that most units would be rearmed, but at an enormous cost. Austria-Hungary faced problems with its non Germanic or Hungarian populations, leaving, out of a population of 36 million in 1846, only 900,000 men in the regular army and 1.5 million in the reserve army of "loyal soldiers;" everyone else was looked upon with suspicion, and totaled roughly another 1.9 million. Spain was the weakest of powers, with a poorly trained army of roughly 2.2 million, which also included reserves, but armed with weapons that were truly ancient by the standards of even British weapons.

However, politically, the situation was very volatile. France had the feeling of being surrounded, with Britain across the English Channel, Spain in the south and Prussia on the border with the Confederation of the Rhine. Poland, its west and south bordering two powers that were allied against it, was in a very precarious situation. Greece, independent for over thirty years, was internally divided, with the population split between the nationalist Monarchist faction, the other with the Republican faction, which, while not leading to civil war, yet, meant that they couldn't do much to support the Marseilles Pact. Ottoman Turkey desperately wanted to rebuild its empire, and saw Greece and Romania as the perfect states to expand into. Prussia wished to unite all the German states together, possibly even Flanders and Holland, while Austria-Hungary eyed the Croatian coastline that Italy held as it only possible access to the sea. Russia, if it did enter the war, would have to fight against Prussia, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire on different fronts, while also supporting Poland, as they had taken over from France as its primary supporter, reluctantly. And the situation between Britain and France in Africa, India, Asia and Oceania was also going to bring war to the many colonies that each nation held. Many assumed that with the British policy of "Indianisation" of its colonies, that it would give them the upper hand.

Outbreak of War
The spark that ignited the war was the dispute between France, Russia and Ottoman Turkey over Romania and the Holy Land of Palestine. Russia claimed to be the protector of the Russian Orthodox Christians in Romania, which was technically a buffer state between Russia and Turkey, although allied with France in the Marseilles Pact. Turkey, wishing to expand its influence into the small nation on its northern border, rejected the claims made by Czar Nicholas I, and proclaimed itself the "Protector of the Romanian People." Meanwhile, France, as per the Treaty that ended the Grecian Independence War, claimed itself the protector of the Christan Holy Sites in Palestine, but Ottoman Turkey still disputed this. But after Italian pilgrims were brutally killed in a massive Muslim lead riot in Jerusalem, France sent a naval force to Tel Aviv, and landed marines. Turkey demanded that the troops leave, and quietly sent forces to overwhelm the battalion of French Marines, which was done on March 17, 1858. After the Regent Council, still ruling France despite the fact that Philip Joseph came of age in 1853 (he was a sickly child, and was suffering the effects of haemophilia, and not expected to live much longer) heard of this, they took this as an attack on the French Empire, so declared war on March 29. Prussia, along with Great Britain, declared war on April 5, and Russia on April 17. Spain and Sweden declared war on the Marseilles Pact on April 19, and Greece, Poland, and Rommania declared hostilities against the United Coalition on April 21. Europe was plunged into the war that was known to be coming.