Nice one! I miss Beer. Oddly disturbing that I nurse a gin & tonic reading this update, though.
Eisen, Blut und Fernhandel -German Unification in the 1860s
- Thread starter Beer
- Start date
I can see your point Tyr, but still think of her as British as she grew up there. At the time of Britains greatest streangth and all.
So I think see may have thought of herself as British as well.
So I think see may have thought of herself as British as well.
Wolf1965
Donor
Story Post
One update for the new week.
[FONT="]Paris, France 1895[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Maurice Rouvier and Jules Ferry were "steady" rivals for the highest post in France, both having lead several governments in the last decades. If there was one thing they agreed on, it was the opinion that in the Second Republic governments were too instable many times. While there were other things they agreed on, the rather fast government changes France had, was a problem to be solved.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So in 1895, after another government broke down roughly halfway through their term, Rouvier and Ferry bit their tongues and built the new government together. France had enough outside and inside problems. Tensions about the colonies began to rise again despite the Colonial Conference 3 years earlier, the Catholic Church wanted to expand her power once again. While the French engagement brought Russia closer to Paris step by step, it was a really expensive undertaking. There were demonstrations for more social laws and the imbalance of a ever faster growing Paris metropolitan area with the depopulation of rural regions.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The developing Italians had to be kept subservient, whereas Belgium knew that only British and now especially French stopped their enemies from taking over. Besides, one day France would annex Belgium, no matter what Britain thought. Now was not the time for this, but it was just a question of time. Likewise the situation in the East. A majority of France had accepted that with the plebiscite Alsace, Montbelliard and parts of Lorraine were lost, but the patriotic still wanted to get that corner of France back again. Unruly colonies were a task for the French administration too and that were simply the really obvious tasks.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Due to this, Rouvier and Ferry formed a coalition government, since both politicians had won prestige in the years before again.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When the Rouvier-Ferry government finally toppled in 1903, the two had brought France on a new track. France was now so strong as it had not been in the last 40 years.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]London, Great Britain 1895[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Across the Channel from France, the British Empire was not contemplating how to get more, Downing Street was contemplating how to defend Britain's position as Great Power Number One.[/FONT]
One update for the new week.
[FONT="]Paris, France 1895[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Maurice Rouvier and Jules Ferry were "steady" rivals for the highest post in France, both having lead several governments in the last decades. If there was one thing they agreed on, it was the opinion that in the Second Republic governments were too instable many times. While there were other things they agreed on, the rather fast government changes France had, was a problem to be solved.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So in 1895, after another government broke down roughly halfway through their term, Rouvier and Ferry bit their tongues and built the new government together. France had enough outside and inside problems. Tensions about the colonies began to rise again despite the Colonial Conference 3 years earlier, the Catholic Church wanted to expand her power once again. While the French engagement brought Russia closer to Paris step by step, it was a really expensive undertaking. There were demonstrations for more social laws and the imbalance of a ever faster growing Paris metropolitan area with the depopulation of rural regions.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The developing Italians had to be kept subservient, whereas Belgium knew that only British and now especially French stopped their enemies from taking over. Besides, one day France would annex Belgium, no matter what Britain thought. Now was not the time for this, but it was just a question of time. Likewise the situation in the East. A majority of France had accepted that with the plebiscite Alsace, Montbelliard and parts of Lorraine were lost, but the patriotic still wanted to get that corner of France back again. Unruly colonies were a task for the French administration too and that were simply the really obvious tasks.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Due to this, Rouvier and Ferry formed a coalition government, since both politicians had won prestige in the years before again.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When the Rouvier-Ferry government finally toppled in 1903, the two had brought France on a new track. France was now so strong as it had not been in the last 40 years.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]London, Great Britain 1895[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Across the Channel from France, the British Empire was not contemplating how to get more, Downing Street was contemplating how to defend Britain's position as Great Power Number One.[/FONT]
Wolf1965
Donor
Story Post
Beer was so nice to send another part.
[FONT="]Hanseong, Korea 1895[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Paul Schmitz´ advise to the Crown Prince was tested sooner than both thought, even when it came as no real surprise.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Queen Min was staring at the reports and drafts loyal servants brought to her husband and herself. The Kim and Park government, now 11 years in office, were accepting treaties and directives from Tokyo with "simple nods".[/FONT]
[FONT="]To counterbalance this situation, the royal court had made deep connections with St. Petersburg. Her husband was sure that Russia were true friends of Korea, but Min was sure of the opposite. The Great Powers were only seldom doing things because of kindness. For her it was clear that Russia wanted Korea for itself.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Her beloved husband, the King, was blinded by the mainly sycophantic court. Queen Min had few illusions, she made contact with Russia just to cancel out the Japanese influence, not to wet the appetite of Russia.[/FONT]
[FONT="]What pained her the most was the general situation in Korea. Park and Kim were popular among the masses, because they put Korea back on a way of growth and development. Korea was still poor, but life had become feelable better for most Koreans in the last years. They did not see that Park and Kim were selling out to the Japanese for helping them.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]One had to give credit to the Japanese, they were doing what the Germans did with the Bentheim Islands, instead of just waltzing in. On former Hawaii the Germans helped the government, kept their promises and embedded themselves there step by step. The economy was healthy due to Zollverein membership, but since the Bentheim Islands were small, German and Japanese firms had taken over nearly everything.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The true power on the Islands were the Imperial envoy, his bureaucracy and the stationed Army and Naval units. German structures and ideas were now openly pushed through, the Bentheim Islands a real colony.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Today in 1895, Queen Liliuokalani's cabinet was still governing locally, which was the result of mainly Chief advisor Kamekomo´s and to a smaller part the Queen's work. Since the native Bentheimians played by the German rules, Berlin kept them on a long leach.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Dogilsaram (Germans) showed a varied way how they treated their colonies. In the case of strong resistance, the Germans reacted like all coloniser nations of the time, with brachial force and rigid control.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In places with varied tribes like Togoland, the Germans worked together with those close to their points of view and pushed their agendas through by ruling themselves, with their special friends retaining some self-control.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In cases like the Bentheim Islands or Samoa, where the governments played by the German rules, with troublemakers isolated, the Germans allowed the Natives to still govern themselves in part. (This happened in OTL Samoa as well. Governor Solf secured the Islands with a light touch. To this day, the relations Germany-Samoa are very friendly)[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Now for Korea the conduct of the Japanese was relevant. And in many ways, despite the differences, the Japanese were the Asian variant of the Germans or the Germans the European variant of the Japanese. If Tokyo kept their current course concerning Hanseong, this would be the worst case for Korean independence. As much as she loved her husband and saw that he was a talented ruler, King Gojong had a terrible hand for choosing advisors. Part of the problems were the governments after Gojong´s ascension to the throne. The Prince regent had started a modernisation in the 1860s which was modest, but successful. After her husband began to rule, the sycophantic court derailed that modernisation. This mismanagement combined with the government of the radical and Japan-friendly reformers Kim and Park after the Tonkin-Gapsin-War, who led Korea back onto a developing course, was a big trump for the Japanese. A fate like the Bentheim Islands could be that of Korea as well, should Kim and Park stay in power.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]While there were many Koreans loyal to the crown, the contrast between the years of self-aggrandisement before 1884 and the return to a real development under the current government led to a loss of favour for the Joseon dynasty.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Her husband, the King, knew that the loyalty of the Koreans was not as fixed as before the Tonkin-Gapsin-War too. The last decades of the Joseon reign was full of uprisings against the less than optimal government. Korea had been poor, really poor, their life expectancy more than a decade less than in comparable nations.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The 1895 Korea was still poor, but it was better off than in more than a century gone-by. This development was logically linked to the Kim and Park government and many people changed their loyalty to them.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Queen Min´s anti-Japan stance was no secret and many historians see the irony that the "Korean Fall" saved her life. The Japanese Secret service was planning to assassinate the Korean Queen, but this plan was never initialised, because the Joseon Uprising began first.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]With Russian support his advisors successfully urged King Gojong to start a putsch before the government became too popular. And so on 14th September 1895 the Joseon dynasty and their loyalists started the Korean Fall. Their rallying cry was: Take back Korea from foreign influences and the Japanese lackeys in Hanseong. [/FONT]
Beer was so nice to send another part.
[FONT="]Hanseong, Korea 1895[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Paul Schmitz´ advise to the Crown Prince was tested sooner than both thought, even when it came as no real surprise.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Queen Min was staring at the reports and drafts loyal servants brought to her husband and herself. The Kim and Park government, now 11 years in office, were accepting treaties and directives from Tokyo with "simple nods".[/FONT]
[FONT="]To counterbalance this situation, the royal court had made deep connections with St. Petersburg. Her husband was sure that Russia were true friends of Korea, but Min was sure of the opposite. The Great Powers were only seldom doing things because of kindness. For her it was clear that Russia wanted Korea for itself.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Her beloved husband, the King, was blinded by the mainly sycophantic court. Queen Min had few illusions, she made contact with Russia just to cancel out the Japanese influence, not to wet the appetite of Russia.[/FONT]
[FONT="]What pained her the most was the general situation in Korea. Park and Kim were popular among the masses, because they put Korea back on a way of growth and development. Korea was still poor, but life had become feelable better for most Koreans in the last years. They did not see that Park and Kim were selling out to the Japanese for helping them.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]One had to give credit to the Japanese, they were doing what the Germans did with the Bentheim Islands, instead of just waltzing in. On former Hawaii the Germans helped the government, kept their promises and embedded themselves there step by step. The economy was healthy due to Zollverein membership, but since the Bentheim Islands were small, German and Japanese firms had taken over nearly everything.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The true power on the Islands were the Imperial envoy, his bureaucracy and the stationed Army and Naval units. German structures and ideas were now openly pushed through, the Bentheim Islands a real colony.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Today in 1895, Queen Liliuokalani's cabinet was still governing locally, which was the result of mainly Chief advisor Kamekomo´s and to a smaller part the Queen's work. Since the native Bentheimians played by the German rules, Berlin kept them on a long leach.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Dogilsaram (Germans) showed a varied way how they treated their colonies. In the case of strong resistance, the Germans reacted like all coloniser nations of the time, with brachial force and rigid control.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In places with varied tribes like Togoland, the Germans worked together with those close to their points of view and pushed their agendas through by ruling themselves, with their special friends retaining some self-control.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In cases like the Bentheim Islands or Samoa, where the governments played by the German rules, with troublemakers isolated, the Germans allowed the Natives to still govern themselves in part. (This happened in OTL Samoa as well. Governor Solf secured the Islands with a light touch. To this day, the relations Germany-Samoa are very friendly)[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Now for Korea the conduct of the Japanese was relevant. And in many ways, despite the differences, the Japanese were the Asian variant of the Germans or the Germans the European variant of the Japanese. If Tokyo kept their current course concerning Hanseong, this would be the worst case for Korean independence. As much as she loved her husband and saw that he was a talented ruler, King Gojong had a terrible hand for choosing advisors. Part of the problems were the governments after Gojong´s ascension to the throne. The Prince regent had started a modernisation in the 1860s which was modest, but successful. After her husband began to rule, the sycophantic court derailed that modernisation. This mismanagement combined with the government of the radical and Japan-friendly reformers Kim and Park after the Tonkin-Gapsin-War, who led Korea back onto a developing course, was a big trump for the Japanese. A fate like the Bentheim Islands could be that of Korea as well, should Kim and Park stay in power.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]While there were many Koreans loyal to the crown, the contrast between the years of self-aggrandisement before 1884 and the return to a real development under the current government led to a loss of favour for the Joseon dynasty.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Her husband, the King, knew that the loyalty of the Koreans was not as fixed as before the Tonkin-Gapsin-War too. The last decades of the Joseon reign was full of uprisings against the less than optimal government. Korea had been poor, really poor, their life expectancy more than a decade less than in comparable nations.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The 1895 Korea was still poor, but it was better off than in more than a century gone-by. This development was logically linked to the Kim and Park government and many people changed their loyalty to them.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Queen Min´s anti-Japan stance was no secret and many historians see the irony that the "Korean Fall" saved her life. The Japanese Secret service was planning to assassinate the Korean Queen, but this plan was never initialised, because the Joseon Uprising began first.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]With Russian support his advisors successfully urged King Gojong to start a putsch before the government became too popular. And so on 14th September 1895 the Joseon dynasty and their loyalists started the Korean Fall. Their rallying cry was: Take back Korea from foreign influences and the Japanese lackeys in Hanseong. [/FONT]
Wolf1965
Donor
Story Post
Mail from Coventry dear Readers and kind regards from the mailman.
[FONT="]From the TV-Documentation "The Joseon Uprising", 2nd Japanese Television, 2005[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]For the Japanese government in Tokyo the messages about the Uprising of the Joseon loyalists came as a surprise. Not the uprising itself, that the old guard would try something sometime was acknowledged by Tokyo, but at that point in time. Korea had been rather quiet for several years, with more and more people throwing their lot in with the Japan-sponsored Kim and Park government.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Joseon dynasty had been plainly inept for most of the century, even longer. Their star had been sinking fast, so the strength with which the uprising hit Korea was definitely far more than it was expected.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]After Tonkin-Gapsin Japan had pulled back most of her troops for political reasons, so only a few, small units protecting Japanese and western, mainly German and Russian, installations were there, fully absorbed by doing exactly that.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When the first Teikoku Kaigun ships reached Incheon, the reports they got were a bedlam. With their surprise attack, the Joseon loyalists had taken wide swaths of land, in Hanseong the government and the rebels fought for supremacy over the capital.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Two weeks later the Japanese forces forced the rebels out of Hanseong during a vicious city fight. After a month, the frontlines coagulated at the 38th parallel. The southern part of Korea was held by troops loyal to the Korean government and the Japanese Expedition Corps. The northern part was held by the Joseon faction. Korea was never an easy battlefield combined with the current weather it stopped all engagements for 7 weeks.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]During this time both sides made preparations for the "campaign season" afterwards. Unknown to the rest of the world, a new escalation stage was reached. While a lot of the Joseons early success was due to surprise and the limited, but helpful Russian supplies, St. Petersburg was pleased. Roping in northern Korea would be a perfect starting point to take the rest of the peninsular from the Japanese.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Tsar Alexander III felt free. He was a Francophile man, unlike his Germanophile father and the French investments into Russia, the rising economic rivalry with Germany over the years in addition to the western-leaning course of Kaiser Friedrich´s III government, led the Tsar to not continuing the Tree Emperors League in 1892. While Bismarck and Caprivi brokered a so-called Reassurance Treaty as a crafty stopgap measure, the Tsar felt strong and free enough to end that treaty in 1894, just two years later. Korea would be his... [/FONT]
Mail from Coventry dear Readers and kind regards from the mailman.
[FONT="]From the TV-Documentation "The Joseon Uprising", 2nd Japanese Television, 2005[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]For the Japanese government in Tokyo the messages about the Uprising of the Joseon loyalists came as a surprise. Not the uprising itself, that the old guard would try something sometime was acknowledged by Tokyo, but at that point in time. Korea had been rather quiet for several years, with more and more people throwing their lot in with the Japan-sponsored Kim and Park government.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Joseon dynasty had been plainly inept for most of the century, even longer. Their star had been sinking fast, so the strength with which the uprising hit Korea was definitely far more than it was expected.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]After Tonkin-Gapsin Japan had pulled back most of her troops for political reasons, so only a few, small units protecting Japanese and western, mainly German and Russian, installations were there, fully absorbed by doing exactly that.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When the first Teikoku Kaigun ships reached Incheon, the reports they got were a bedlam. With their surprise attack, the Joseon loyalists had taken wide swaths of land, in Hanseong the government and the rebels fought for supremacy over the capital.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Two weeks later the Japanese forces forced the rebels out of Hanseong during a vicious city fight. After a month, the frontlines coagulated at the 38th parallel. The southern part of Korea was held by troops loyal to the Korean government and the Japanese Expedition Corps. The northern part was held by the Joseon faction. Korea was never an easy battlefield combined with the current weather it stopped all engagements for 7 weeks.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]During this time both sides made preparations for the "campaign season" afterwards. Unknown to the rest of the world, a new escalation stage was reached. While a lot of the Joseons early success was due to surprise and the limited, but helpful Russian supplies, St. Petersburg was pleased. Roping in northern Korea would be a perfect starting point to take the rest of the peninsular from the Japanese.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Tsar Alexander III felt free. He was a Francophile man, unlike his Germanophile father and the French investments into Russia, the rising economic rivalry with Germany over the years in addition to the western-leaning course of Kaiser Friedrich´s III government, led the Tsar to not continuing the Tree Emperors League in 1892. While Bismarck and Caprivi brokered a so-called Reassurance Treaty as a crafty stopgap measure, the Tsar felt strong and free enough to end that treaty in 1894, just two years later. Korea would be his... [/FONT]
It seems that the partition of Korea will happen half a century earlier than in OTL.
Wolf1965
Donor
Story Post
Best regards from Beer
[FONT="]From the TV-Documentation "The Joseon Uprising", 2nd Japanese Television, 2005[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]In early 1896 it became clear that the Joseons had outside support. Several of their positions at the 38th parallel were plainly too well entrenched to be the work of "simple" rebels. Even accounting for well-made preparations, some things did not add up otherwise.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Since the Dakyou Era, our forces have been among the most modern ones. And a century ago, the Teikoku Rikugun was the state of the art army in all of East Asia. We learned only later on, how far ahead of our neighbours we were then. Our ancestors did not have the information we have today, so some actions make sense when seen under the circumstances.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Young General Nogi was the one, who brought light into the fog of war. Using a mild weather phase, his units advanced and captured Sangnyang on 20th January 1896. The fortified thorp held a surprise, or better, four surprises. Part of the artillery there which had sealed the region against government and Japanese troops were 4 Russian M1877 cannons.[/FONT]
[FONT="]They were not the most modern guns available, but far better than what was the norm in East Asia. And something which was not really affordable to the rebels.[/FONT]
[FONT="]It was not difficult to see that the Russians themselves were intervening, since they had the best relations with the Joseon dynasty among the sovereign nations. And it became worse. The Russian railway into East Asia was fresh and neither dense nor prepared for a major offensive, at least for now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Either the Russians had built up a stockpile the Joseon rebels could use or they made a deal with China, maybe even an alliance. That was definitely bad news.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The possible reactions led to the first real major political crisis with Germany. Some military and political leaders urged for a massive offensive in Korea, even declaring war on Russia, should that be needed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Other influential Japanese in the upper echelon of power advised caution, as did the Germans, but the backhanded support by Russia was seen as an insult by many.[/FONT]
Best regards from Beer
[FONT="]From the TV-Documentation "The Joseon Uprising", 2nd Japanese Television, 2005[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]In early 1896 it became clear that the Joseons had outside support. Several of their positions at the 38th parallel were plainly too well entrenched to be the work of "simple" rebels. Even accounting for well-made preparations, some things did not add up otherwise.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Since the Dakyou Era, our forces have been among the most modern ones. And a century ago, the Teikoku Rikugun was the state of the art army in all of East Asia. We learned only later on, how far ahead of our neighbours we were then. Our ancestors did not have the information we have today, so some actions make sense when seen under the circumstances.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Young General Nogi was the one, who brought light into the fog of war. Using a mild weather phase, his units advanced and captured Sangnyang on 20th January 1896. The fortified thorp held a surprise, or better, four surprises. Part of the artillery there which had sealed the region against government and Japanese troops were 4 Russian M1877 cannons.[/FONT]
[FONT="]They were not the most modern guns available, but far better than what was the norm in East Asia. And something which was not really affordable to the rebels.[/FONT]
[FONT="]It was not difficult to see that the Russians themselves were intervening, since they had the best relations with the Joseon dynasty among the sovereign nations. And it became worse. The Russian railway into East Asia was fresh and neither dense nor prepared for a major offensive, at least for now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Either the Russians had built up a stockpile the Joseon rebels could use or they made a deal with China, maybe even an alliance. That was definitely bad news.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The possible reactions led to the first real major political crisis with Germany. Some military and political leaders urged for a massive offensive in Korea, even declaring war on Russia, should that be needed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Other influential Japanese in the upper echelon of power advised caution, as did the Germans, but the backhanded support by Russia was seen as an insult by many.[/FONT]
Wolf1965
Donor
Have done so and he says thanks and he will take you up on your offer when needed. He`ll gladly take your insprirations.
Wolf1965
Donor
Story Post
Best Regards from Beer:
[FONT="]From the book "Korea and the Great Powers", Simon & Schuster 2000[/FONT]
[FONT="]In 1896 the veil was lifted by St. Petersburg with a visit of the Russian Pacific Fleet in Joseon-held Wonsan. While officially there were still no Russian actions, the visit made it clear that Russia saw Korea as their purview.[/FONT]
[FONT="]How that purview would end, with a Joseon puppet state or full annexion into Russia was anyone's guess. Russian and Japanese expansion was now meeting each other head on. A Japanese fleet visit to Incheon had been made only days earlier and was followed two weeks after these visits with the arrival of a detachment of the German Ostasienflotte (East Asian Fleet) in Fusan.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The place and time was chosen carefully. With visiting the important harbour city in the southernmost part of Korea after the other participants, far from the frontline, it was made clear that Germany did not consider herself part of the crisis, but that Berlin stood at the side of Tokyo.[/FONT]
[FONT="]But beside the posturing, with the other Great Powers looking on interested, no major breakthrough happened at the frontlines in 1896. Neither St. Petersburg nor Tokyo wanted a full-blown war over Korea now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Russia had other interests in Asia too and since these interests were pointed at the Chinese among others, the alliance between the two nations was one of convenience and strained from the start. But without Chinese support or at least non-interference when Russians moved over Chinese territory in Manchuria, the Korean adventure was not doable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In addition, the Tsar was loath to ruin the relations with Berlin totally over Korea. Taking the peninsular from the cocky Upstarts in Japan was a nice little play in the Great Game, but alienating Germany beyond what had already happened was not a good prospect.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Germany did not feature much in the plans of Tsar Alexander III, but it was a very important Power and admittedly one of the few who had been friendly to Russia during the Crimean War and after. The Tsar´s government had already snubbed Berlin several times in the last few years and it was just the influence of the out-balancing Bismarckianer, why Germany had not reacted more to this. But according to the reports from the ambassador to Berlin, even the Bismarck faction was getting fed up with Russia playing the wild card among the Great Powers.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So the Tsar decided to wait for a time when Germany was focused on other things to take Korea with a fast attack. Then the Joseon dynasty would be set back up on the throne of whole Korea and when the waves were calm again, Russia would integrate the peninsular into Russia proper. Case solved, Germany would not[/FONT]
[FONT="]In Japan especially the ultra-nationalists itched to take back northern Korea by force, but despite this itching Tokyo stayed it´s hand. Up to now, the way Japan had expanded her influence had reaped very good results. Taking on a quarrelling, turned away China was one thing, taking on Russia, one of the top Five powers in the world, was another.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Unlike other occasions, the Germans were not willing to do much under the current circumstances. This led to strained relations for a time, but the Doitsu explained that due to the alliance system as it was, a small conflict like Korea could swell up to a really massive conflict. Something neither Germany nor Japan needed about right now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In unknowing reciprocity, Germany and Japan decided on a similar course as Russia. Wait for a good opportunity, until then both nations would support the Kim and Park government in the South. This help could be used to pave the way for a Japanese take over later on.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Since both major powers in this proxy conflict decided to wait for "the opportunity", the frontline changed only in several steps. The south could push back the royalist North to a line Sangnyang-Tongchon in the east, while the North pushed deep into the center with their farthest extend near Wonju. Still, no side had the power to use this gains for a real advantage. Without Russia and Japan really committing to this conflict the situation became one of attrition.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ironically, neither the Russian nor the Japanese capital knew that "the opportunity" would arise sooner than both guessed. Equally neither guessed that a real war between the two nations had just been pushed back a few years.[/FONT]
Best Regards from Beer:
[FONT="]From the book "Korea and the Great Powers", Simon & Schuster 2000[/FONT]
[FONT="]In 1896 the veil was lifted by St. Petersburg with a visit of the Russian Pacific Fleet in Joseon-held Wonsan. While officially there were still no Russian actions, the visit made it clear that Russia saw Korea as their purview.[/FONT]
[FONT="]How that purview would end, with a Joseon puppet state or full annexion into Russia was anyone's guess. Russian and Japanese expansion was now meeting each other head on. A Japanese fleet visit to Incheon had been made only days earlier and was followed two weeks after these visits with the arrival of a detachment of the German Ostasienflotte (East Asian Fleet) in Fusan.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The place and time was chosen carefully. With visiting the important harbour city in the southernmost part of Korea after the other participants, far from the frontline, it was made clear that Germany did not consider herself part of the crisis, but that Berlin stood at the side of Tokyo.[/FONT]
[FONT="]But beside the posturing, with the other Great Powers looking on interested, no major breakthrough happened at the frontlines in 1896. Neither St. Petersburg nor Tokyo wanted a full-blown war over Korea now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Russia had other interests in Asia too and since these interests were pointed at the Chinese among others, the alliance between the two nations was one of convenience and strained from the start. But without Chinese support or at least non-interference when Russians moved over Chinese territory in Manchuria, the Korean adventure was not doable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In addition, the Tsar was loath to ruin the relations with Berlin totally over Korea. Taking the peninsular from the cocky Upstarts in Japan was a nice little play in the Great Game, but alienating Germany beyond what had already happened was not a good prospect.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Germany did not feature much in the plans of Tsar Alexander III, but it was a very important Power and admittedly one of the few who had been friendly to Russia during the Crimean War and after. The Tsar´s government had already snubbed Berlin several times in the last few years and it was just the influence of the out-balancing Bismarckianer, why Germany had not reacted more to this. But according to the reports from the ambassador to Berlin, even the Bismarck faction was getting fed up with Russia playing the wild card among the Great Powers.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So the Tsar decided to wait for a time when Germany was focused on other things to take Korea with a fast attack. Then the Joseon dynasty would be set back up on the throne of whole Korea and when the waves were calm again, Russia would integrate the peninsular into Russia proper. Case solved, Germany would not[/FONT]
[FONT="]In Japan especially the ultra-nationalists itched to take back northern Korea by force, but despite this itching Tokyo stayed it´s hand. Up to now, the way Japan had expanded her influence had reaped very good results. Taking on a quarrelling, turned away China was one thing, taking on Russia, one of the top Five powers in the world, was another.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Unlike other occasions, the Germans were not willing to do much under the current circumstances. This led to strained relations for a time, but the Doitsu explained that due to the alliance system as it was, a small conflict like Korea could swell up to a really massive conflict. Something neither Germany nor Japan needed about right now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In unknowing reciprocity, Germany and Japan decided on a similar course as Russia. Wait for a good opportunity, until then both nations would support the Kim and Park government in the South. This help could be used to pave the way for a Japanese take over later on.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Since both major powers in this proxy conflict decided to wait for "the opportunity", the frontline changed only in several steps. The south could push back the royalist North to a line Sangnyang-Tongchon in the east, while the North pushed deep into the center with their farthest extend near Wonju. Still, no side had the power to use this gains for a real advantage. Without Russia and Japan really committing to this conflict the situation became one of attrition.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ironically, neither the Russian nor the Japanese capital knew that "the opportunity" would arise sooner than both guessed. Equally neither guessed that a real war between the two nations had just been pushed back a few years.[/FONT]
Wolf1965
Donor
Story Post
Both Beer and me are rather busy with RL presently so we were both hard pressed to get our updates finished.
Here is Beer`s last work, enjoy.
[FONT="]From the book "A 'great opportunity' and the beginning of the End", Chiang Mai Press 2003[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Close to the twentieth century China seemed to recover from the problems it had. There was some modernisation, the alliance with Russia now known gave prestige, the supporting of the Joseon Korea and Japan´s expansion was stopped for the moment by two powers far larger than the young rising Power. From the outside China was on the way to greener pastures than the difficult last decades. Even many Chinese people saw that so.[/FONT]
[FONT="]But it was a mirage, made possible with deliberate misinformation and problematic ways of communication. The imperial court was a bed of reactionism, the Emperor rather reform-minded, the most important local rulers were hopelessly divided, sometimes even full of enmity, the population at large was against the foreign influences and the modernisation was piece-meal due to the shear forces tearing China apart. Some regions were not the West neither Japan, but definitely on the way to modern times, others were still centuries backwards.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]In this climate one of the rising anti-foreigner organisations were the Yihequan, more commonly known as the "Boxer". With Emperor Guangxu slowly loosening the grip Dowager Empress Cixi had on him since roughly 1894, the reactionary Boxer came at the right time for Cixi. Together with a number of influential Mandarin and the strongest of the modernised Armies in China, her faction was strong and in a good position.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Emperor Guangxu, a sickly man, had stood most of his life in the shadow of the Dowager Empress. But his contact with reform-minded people finally let him try to go his own way. Most influential among his backers was Zhang Zhidong, who had "his" own modern army. Zhidong had long been undecided which side, the Emperor or Cixi or any at all, he should back. The final decision was a combination of the reformers Kand, Liang and Tan and Guangxu´s try for alliance with Russia. With Zhidong´s help that had happened.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Another power factor was Yuan Shikai, a general with substantial forces under his control, but loyal only to himself.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The ingredients for a Civil War of massive proportions were ready.[/FONT]
Both Beer and me are rather busy with RL presently so we were both hard pressed to get our updates finished.
Here is Beer`s last work, enjoy.
[FONT="]From the book "A 'great opportunity' and the beginning of the End", Chiang Mai Press 2003[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Close to the twentieth century China seemed to recover from the problems it had. There was some modernisation, the alliance with Russia now known gave prestige, the supporting of the Joseon Korea and Japan´s expansion was stopped for the moment by two powers far larger than the young rising Power. From the outside China was on the way to greener pastures than the difficult last decades. Even many Chinese people saw that so.[/FONT]
[FONT="]But it was a mirage, made possible with deliberate misinformation and problematic ways of communication. The imperial court was a bed of reactionism, the Emperor rather reform-minded, the most important local rulers were hopelessly divided, sometimes even full of enmity, the population at large was against the foreign influences and the modernisation was piece-meal due to the shear forces tearing China apart. Some regions were not the West neither Japan, but definitely on the way to modern times, others were still centuries backwards.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]In this climate one of the rising anti-foreigner organisations were the Yihequan, more commonly known as the "Boxer". With Emperor Guangxu slowly loosening the grip Dowager Empress Cixi had on him since roughly 1894, the reactionary Boxer came at the right time for Cixi. Together with a number of influential Mandarin and the strongest of the modernised Armies in China, her faction was strong and in a good position.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Emperor Guangxu, a sickly man, had stood most of his life in the shadow of the Dowager Empress. But his contact with reform-minded people finally let him try to go his own way. Most influential among his backers was Zhang Zhidong, who had "his" own modern army. Zhidong had long been undecided which side, the Emperor or Cixi or any at all, he should back. The final decision was a combination of the reformers Kand, Liang and Tan and Guangxu´s try for alliance with Russia. With Zhidong´s help that had happened.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]Another power factor was Yuan Shikai, a general with substantial forces under his control, but loyal only to himself.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]The ingredients for a Civil War of massive proportions were ready.[/FONT]
Wolf1965
Donor
I have started contributing to Beer`s other TL, An ISOT in Grimdark, three years ago and when he got banned took to post his work on this site so this TL would not falter.
He also still contributed to the ISOT.