Stuart Bailey wrote:All this lawyer talk and peace conference stuff looks much too complicated for any true French Gentleman !!
Surely it must be easier and quicker to kill say 30,000 Swedes & Austrians and clear France of invaders with cold steel?
Hasn't France had several opportunities to do just that? Go back a month and a Swedish army with a few Austrian reinforcements was surrounded by multiple stronger French armies who looked like they were moving in for the kill. Waiting until the Swedes/Austrians were somewhat tired from previous battles, then hitting them with overwhelming numbers of fresh troops would seem to me to be a sound plan for France, but what happened? Could it be that the troops refused to fight to defend their own capital because they might not get paid, or possibly because they would not back an excommunicated ruler who is trying to split the church and know that when they are shot they will go to hell? Something is clearly not quite right somewhere. I don't know, but I cannot think of any strategic reason why there should not have been a decisive and crushing French victory this month if numbers alone are the determining factor on the battlefield.
Stuart Bailey wrote:The Bourbon's have already abandoned their claims to Spain, Milan, Naples & Sicily and everything other than the French fief of Flanders. While the Emperor has already offered to give Flanders to the UDP so is clearly not that bothered by Flanders. So the Franco-Imperial war would now seem to be over can France save its 1700 borders from Imperial claims to Franche-Comte and Strassburg and also the defence of the historic rights of the French Church (an issue I very much doubt the Emperor is willing to spend blood and treasure over unlike Franche-Comte).
Franche-Comte already voluntarily went over to Austria, in part as a protest against the anti-Catholic stance of team France, so that is already lost to France. I can't see the Emperor taking a huge honour hit by handing loyal Catholics over to an excommunicated Louis so he can send his troops in to 'convert' them to protestants.
I've not been following the situation on the ground close enough to know if Strassburg is still in French hands or not, but many towns across France are in Swedish or Austrian hands.
As for Flanders, as a fief of the Emperor's it cannot be assigned to anyone without his consent. It is somewhat unrealistic to state that France has abandoned its claims on Milan and Sicily when my understanding is that French troops (under Savoyard command) are occupying Milan, and French troops (under Corsair command) are occupying Sicily.
Since this links in to whatever treaties/arrangements have been done with Roderigo, it cannot be seriously argued that this is separate from the wider conflicts.
Stuart Bailey wrote:... if one side is saying the others are usurpers and rebels do not see how questions like that can be decided at a peace conference.
Up to a point, it was in G7. As part of the peace terms Spain/Austria/UDP agreed that King James was King of England, etc, replacing William the usurper.
Stuart Bailey wrote:One thing I am pretty sure over is that the Austo-Spanish Treaty in G10 is going to make loads of lawyers really happy and make the Treaty of Scotland in G7 look like a model of utmost good faith. Anyone fancy a sweep stake on the Austo-Spanish Treaty lasting for three years?
I can see how it can suit some players to pretend that by signing contradictory agreements they think they are in the clear, but they aren't.
A few months ago, I stated in the newspaper that the Treaty between Austria and Roderigo was void and could not be considered binding for reasons described there.
The same applies to any treaty Roderigo signed with France. Indeed the treaty with France is arguably more meaningless given the situation in Paris. Is King Louis really going to abandon his capital and watch France collapse (and quite possibly end up bungled into a boat in St.Malo by irate Corsairs) because he is prepared to stand by Roderigo? And if he does, where will that leave the Corsairs? Exile Frenchmen or will they become mercenaries for Roderigo? Clearly the path of least resistance is for Louis to accept the terms and set aside any agreement with Roderigo simply to retain control of France. If the rumours are true that Roderigo was planning to annex parts of southern France himself anyway, then clearly Louis has been betrayed by Roderigo and would be perfectly justified in using this as an excuse to void his treaty. The longer the decision is delayed then the greater the chance that more areas of France desert to Austria anyway, to preserve their livelihoods and religion. If crunch time isn't here, then it is very close, so some kind of decision will have to be made by King Louis and the Corsairs will just have to lump it. Perhaps we will have a French civil war to add to the Spanish civil war, religious war and war of the Spanish Succession? The corsairs may be very busy and might even be happy, if they can find a new sponsor so they get paid for their efforts?