Mediterranean War

The Italian Royal Navy defeats the Navy of Gran Colombia off the coast of Sardinia

### Location

Spain, North Africa, Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine, Murmansk, Colombia

### Result

Triple Alliance victory* Treaty of Paris
	+ Coalition of Three dissolved
	+ Russia forced to pay reparations
* Treaty of Amsterdam

### Territorial Changes

* Russia contained to Caucasus
* Italy occupies Crimea until 1883
* Gran Colombia cedes East Hispaniola and Puerto Rico to Italy

## Belligerents

### Aggressor(s)

Coalition of Three* Gran Colombia
* Russia
* **Supported By**:
	+ Mexico

### Defender(s)

Triple Alliance* Italy
* United Kingdom
* Germany

## Commanders and Leaders

### Aggressors

* Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
* Alexander II
* Pyotr Aleksandrovich Valuyev

### Defenders

* Vittorio Emanuele II
* Queen Victoria
* Earl of Derby
* Wilhelm I

## Meta

### Campaign

Game 17

The **Mediterranean War** was a military conflict fought from 1863 to 1867 in which the Coalition of Three; made up of Gran Colombia, Russia, and (nominally) Mexico; lost to the Triple Alliance; a preexisting coalition made up of Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The war was initiated by the Coalition of Three in hopes of dissolving the Triple Alliance and seizeing the holy city of Constantinople for Russia.

In 1863, shortly after establishing the Coalition of Three with Russia and Mexico (the latter of which had already been allied to Gran Colombia as a member of the Panama Pact), Gran Colombia invaded Italian Spain and occupied Andalusia. Though the Colombian Expeditionary Force intended to capture Rome, it was turned back by the Italian Royal Navy off the coast of Sardinia, a failure that would be repeated the following year. In 1864 Russia launched an assault on Italian Thrace, but failed to capture Constantinople. Though Mexico was a member of the Coalition of Three, its ongoing nonaggression pact with Germany as well as well as its preoccupation with its entanglement in a war with the United States and the Confederate States prevented it from going to war with the Triple Alliance.

Despite early Colombian succesess, the Italian capture of Crimea and liberation of Andalusia in 1865 marked a turning point in the war. Russian attempts to recapture Crimea and prevent the Italians from pushing further into Ukraine forced the Russians to cancel their intended invasion of Germany, which despite declaring war on the Coalition did not participate in any combat. Russian failure to liberate Crimea from the Italians contributed to the creation of the Duma and transformation of Russia into a constitutional monarchy in 1865, though ultimately this did not improve the performance of the Imperial Russian Army.

After twice failing to invade Sardinia, in 1865 Gran Colombia invaded Italian North Africa and occupied the city of Constantine, though they were driven out by the Italians the following year. In 1866 the Italian Royal Army occupied the Russian territories of Taurida and Zaporozhia in Ukraine, leading to the costly and unsuccesful Russian Siege of Simferopol that same year. The Colombians faced similar defeats that year at the hands of the Italians in Spain, though the Navy of Gran Colombia managed to defeat the British Royal Navy in a battle that shocked Europe. Late to mobilize, the British were only partially involved in the war, launching an unsuccessful invasion of Murmansk in 1866.

In 1867, the Italian Royal Army and Navy launched a final offensive that brought the war to a swift end on both fronts. After losing Murmansk to the Italians, Russia capitulated and signed the Treaty of Paris; which forced it to abandon any territorial expansion south of Georgia and Chechnya-Dagestan, pay war reperations to Italy, and allow Italy to occupy Crimea until the reparations were fully paid (which did not happen until 1883.) That same year, the Italian Royal Army landed in Cartagena, Colombia, and moved at lightning speed toward Bogota, which it occupied, forcing Gran Colombia to surrender. The Treaty of Amsterdam ended the war, and forced Gran Colombia to cede East Hispaniola and Puerto Rico to Italy.