Having reached a stalemate at sea, with Roman forces roughly balancing those of the combined British and Dutch navies, Roman land forces, attacking on two fronts from the coast of the Adriatic and what was Serbia in the second of the new crusades, invade the Ottoman Empire, determined to destroy it. In heavy fighting, by 1815 they manage to reach Constantinople and take over all of the European Ottoman Empire before stopping to regroup and consolidate their new territory. Many towns and cities, their Islamic architecture considered blasphemous by the Roman invaders, are burnt to the ground and hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Greek Orthodox Christians are given the choice of converting to Roman Catholicism or dying. Many Greeks convert but many of the Muslims do not and die by the sword.
Roman forces begin to build defensive fortifications along the English Channel and along the border with the Netherlands and Germany. Both Britain and Holland also begin to build defensive fortifications facing those of the Holy Roman Empire.
While Spain is distracted in South America, the USA takes control of the Spanish provinces of East and West Florida and parts of the Viceroyalty of New Spain west of the Mississippi River.
Sweden allies itself with Britain and Prussia.
The Ottoman Empire allies itself with Russia.
Roman forces cross the Bosphorous into the Asian part of the Ottoman Empire, and in response Russia declares war on the Holy Roman Empire, striking down from the North and gradually advancing.
Later in the year a combined British, Dutch and Prussian force strikes down from the north and north-west.
Unable to cope with a two-front war Roman forces are slowly pushed back on all sides despite reinforcements being called in from Spain. By late 1822 the attacking armies, despite their being harassed by local people who remain loyal to the Pope, have reached the Mediterranean in the west and are nearly to the borders of Italy itself in the east. Despite massive casualties on both sides the attackers continue to push on.
By early 1823 the situation is desperate for the Roman armies. Innocent XIV himself travels to the front to inspire his troops. Once there he foregoes his normal careful selection procedure for members of the Host of Heaven, and imbues thousands of troops with the power of God. The huge host, followed by the normal army for mopping-up operations, smashes through the encircling armies in four thrusts.
One thrust to the north-west destroys the British and Dutch armies and retakes France. By late 1824 Holland is devastated and surrenders. The Dutch Royal Family flee to Britain, along with the remnants of the Dutch army. All along the British coasts facing the continent defences are massively upgraded. A huge program of naval building begins. Britain takes over what were the Dutch colonies in the far east.
Two eastward thrusts devastate the Russian army and the Ottoman Empire. The thrust into Russia extends the Holy Roman Empire east to Afghanistan by early 1825 and by 1826 the thrust into the Ottoman Empire has placed all the land as far as Persia under Papal control.
The last thrust heads north. It passes peacefully through those German states allied with the Papacy then crushes Prussia in a series of battles which by 1827 have extended the Empire to the Baltic and as far east as Danzig.
With the taking of Denmark, Sweden takes control of Norway.
By 1830 all resistance in the newly occupied areas has been crushed with the aid of the Inquisition. As before thousands of Jews and Protestants die at their hands. The Host of Heaven is slowly called back to Rome, where the majority of its members are relieved of their powers. However, it is now discovered that several hundred of the Host are missing, lured from Papal service by cold hard cash and now serving with the British and Russian armies.
The Portuguese government in exile allies itself with the USA.
British and Russian scientists study the members of the Host of Heaven who have defected to their side in an attempt to duplicate their powers in others, or find ways to neutralising the powers of the Host. Unfortunately, by 1850 it is obvious that the origin of the powers is far beyond the comprehension of the science of the day and the studies are reluctantly shelved.
Britain, Russia and the Holy Roman Empire all lick their wounds and rebuild their shattered armies and countries.
British and Russian armaments companies put huge efforts into developing new weapons which will be of use against the Roman forces and especially the Host of Heaven. When news of this reaches Innocent XIV he orders his own armaments production facilities to likewise develop new weapons for use against the heretics. Unfortunately, the weapons developments of both sides are greatly hampered by the efforts of both sides to spy on and sabotage the efforts of the other.
Many Papal assassins move through Britain and Russia, excommunicating defectors from the Host of Heaven.
Although British and Roman ships still fire on each other, convoys of shipping can easily cross the Atlantic, especially when ships on both sides carry members of the Host of Heaven. The Papacy begins to send large numbers of settlers to colonise its territory in the Americas. Britain also begins to develop its Canadian, Australian and Indian colonies more fully, as well as the Far East colonies it 'inherited' from the Dutch. The British government takes over control of India from the British East India Company.
To protect shipping going around Cape Horn the Cape settlement is also expanded, with aid from the surviving Dutch forces.
Papal agents move through Russia, Britain and its colonies, the USA and the Far East in attempts to stir up trouble against and between the heretical powers. They also encourage the formation of small pro-Papal minorities, urging joining or compromise with the Papacy rather then conquest at its hands.
Alliances are developed between Britain, Russia and the Portuguese government in exile against the Papacy.
Stirred up by Papal agents and the peoples own dislike for the British, the Irish people rise up repeatedly throughout this period. Each time the uprising is repressed more brutally, with greater loss of life and greater hatred on both sides.
The first hot-air balloon is flown in Britain. The design is soon adopted for use in observation by both Britain and the Papacy, although its almost complete vulnerability to flying members of the Host of Heaven limits its use considerably.
In 1836 the first clashes occur between American and Papal settlers in North America. As more and more settlers move into the new territories these clashes become more frequent and bloody. By 1845 both sides have army patrols to protect their settlers and clashes between them are frequent, although never serious enough to provoke all-out war.
Acting out of fear, Sweden allies itself with the Papacy, cutting off its ties to Britain.
With the assimilation of its new territories complete, in 1838 Roman forces move into north Africa, assimilating the territory and again offering the native population the chance to convert or die. In many cases the native tribes fight rather than submit, though in general this leads only to their extermination. Only in one place, inland from Zanzibar, do the Roman forces meet any serious opposition - a coalition of tribes led by an old man with extraordinary powers who force the Roman armies to leave them alone in their own enclave. However, by 1852 Roman forces elsewhere in Africa have taken control of the continent and only end their inexorable southward march when they are repelled by soldiers and defectors from the Host of Heaven at the Cape Settlement in 1865.
After pressure is applied by the Papacy, Catholicism becomes Sweden's official religion. Protests from the populace are ignored and when violence erupts the Swedish government puts the protests down by force. The Pope sends troops to aid the Swedish government and re-establish control. However, once the protests are put down the Roman troops do not leave, and despite Swedish protests permanently establish themselves in the country.
British forces take control of Iceland and Greenland.
Protestant refugees from Scandinavia begin to trickle into Britain, smuggling themselves out by sea.
The USA sends envoys to Russia to enquire about purchasing the Russian holding of Alaska. However, the Russians show no intention of giving up their American possessions.
The first repeating revolver is developed in the USA.
Innocent XIV declares in a Papal Bull that heretics are soulless creatures outside the protection of the Church. As such the Church can do anything to them without suffering Gods censure.
After this Bull the number of heretics converted by the Inquisition increases sharply.
Shortly afterwards the Papacy begins to use heretics as slave labour in projects across the world.
News filters in that the Papacy is infiltrating Chinese society, attempting to stir up the country against the British and Russians. In early 1853 British and Russian forces move into various parts of China, taking Peking and the Emperor within weeks. Chinese resistance crumbles before the invaders superior weapons and in 1863 the last resistance is quelled.
Indian troops mutiny against their British commanders. Stirred up by Papal agents, the mutiny rapidly spreads across the Indian sub-continent, killing many Indians and Britons in the process.
To 're-establish control', Roman forces move into north-western India from Afghanistan.
By late in the year the British begin to bring the full force of their military to bear, aided by several ex-members of the Host of Heaven, and by midway through 1857 the rebels have been crushed. Full military control is instituted across the whole of India, and British forces clash with Roman forces in north-west India. Unfortunately, the Roman forces are too well entrenched to be dislodged and Britain is too occupied with re-establishing control over the rest of India and the continuing take-over of China to be able to bring the force needed to dislodge them to bear.
Anti-foreign uprisings, in some cases spurred by the Papacy, in some cases not, occur across China. In all cases they are forcibly suppressed by the British and Russian militaries, the suppressions getting more brutal as time goes by. By 1900 China is so decimated by years of resistance and reprisals that it is no longer capable of mustering any significant resistance.
Britain introduces the first steam-powered warship. The design is soon copied by the USA and the Papacy.
Roman forces crush the last native African enclave, inland from Zanzibar. The enclaves superhuman leader escapes in the confusion of the attack.
The superhuman leader of the African enclave resurfaces in Cape Province, where he offers his services to the British government.
Using heretic slave labour, and despite the best efforts of the British and Russians to disrupt the project, the Papacy constructs a canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. This gives the Roman navy a huge advantage in travel time over other navies which have to travel around the whole of Africa.
The last of the defectors from the Host of Heaven dies of old age.
Roman envoys are the first foreigners to enter the closed nation of Japan, offering an alliance to the Shogun.
Worried by the continuing Roman moves into Japan, Russia moves forces into Tokyo and takes the Shogun captive.
Russian forces move across Japan in the slow process of taking over the country. Thousands of samurai and commoners die at the hands of the Russians more advanced weapons. With the humiliation of defeat the old Shogunate and feudal system collapses and is replaced by a Russian puppet ruler.
Britain develops the first machine gun.
After long years of preparation Roman forces thrust into Russia. Years of infiltration by Papal agents take their toll when the Russian rail and telegraph networks are completely disrupted, practically halting any movement of Russian forces. Although the Russian peasants resist in some areas, in many others they passively accept the change in regime.
By mid-1904 Roman forces have taken control of Moscow, and Russian government resistance crumbles as the Tsar and his family flee eastward, setting up a new capital in Vladivostok.
Inquisition forces follow the army, rooting out heresy wherever it may be found. Millions of Russian Jews and Russians faithful to the Russian Orthodox Church die or are enslaved as they refuse to convert to Roman Catholicism.
Roman forces slowly move eastward, taking control of the land as they go.
In 1906 they reach the outskirts of Vladivostok, and after a battle which lasts for three weeks and demolishes the city entirely, the city falls. The Tsar and his family are taken prisoner and transported back to Rome.
After the fall of Russia British forces in Canada take control of Alaska.
The Tsar of Russia, in a long missive, confesses his heresy before the world and is then executed in penance for his sins. His family are enslaved.
Construction of defences begins on the Alaskan coast facing the Bering Strait and Roman-controlled Siberia.
A Russian resistance movement begins to fight against the occupying Roman forces.
The Roman Inquisition moves across the Russian countryside, rooting out resistance to Roman rule. Tens of thousands of innocents die in retaliation for resistance actions, the retaliations getting more brutal as time goes by. As the price of resistance grows, the resistance loses the support of the people, so much so that by 1920 it has almost entirely withered away.
From Afghanistan in the west and the newly-taken areas of Russia in the North, Roman forces move into India. British forces attempt to resist the invasion, and British covert operations forces, aided by the superhuman who has become known as the Old Man, attempt to slow down the Roman advance. However, while the normal Roman forces are fairly evenly matched with the British, the Host of Heaven proves too strong for them, and they slowly advance across India. British Naval forces bombard ports within the Papacy which are being used to support the invasion, but at a major battle in the Persian Gulf in 1916 both the British and Roman navies are crippled. Despite the Suez Canal being closed by this action the Papacy is able to supply its forces in India by land, but with its supply routes cut off by 1918 the British forces there can only surrender and, in the main, be enslaved.