Eisen, Blut und Fernhandel -German Unification in the 1860s

ZhugeLiang

Wolf1965 said:
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=&quot]From the book "A 'great opportunity' and the beginning of the End", Chiang Mai Press 2003[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]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=&quot]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=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]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=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]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=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Another power factor was Yuan Shikai, a general with substantial forces under his control, but loyal only to himself.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The ingredients for a Civil War of massive proportions were ready.[/FONT]
Click to expand...

Ah, yes, there's somebody who can stop Cixi.

Please, beer, if you're reading this, please don't make this a massive China-screw by keeping the Boxers and Cixi. Please, please.

I'm hoping Zhang Zhidong will defeat Yuan and remain on the side of Guangxu.

Further, I'm not sure that Yuan Shikai would even be in power. Yuan came to power by being China's representative to Korea and being the head of the only Chinese modern force that survived the First Sino-Japanese War (by going to Beijing while the others lost). Without that issue, Yuan shouldn't be there.

Please, please, get China to reform (successfully). Please, please.
 
Wolf1965

Wolf1965

Donor
ZhugeLiang said:
Ah, yes, there's somebody who can stop Cixi.

Please, beer, if you're reading this, please don't make this a massive China-screw by keeping the Boxers and Cixi. Please, please.

I'm hoping Zhang Zhidong will defeat Yuan and remain on the side of Guangxu.

Further, I'm not sure that Yuan Shikai would even be in power. Yuan came to power by being China's representative to Korea and being the head of the only Chinese modern force that survived the First Sino-Japanese War (by going to Beijing while the others lost). Without that issue, Yuan shouldn't be there.

Please, please, get China to reform (successfully). Please, please.
Click to expand...

Beer`s plan for China is a lot more complicated and due to the meddling of foreign forces it will not develop as it would like. Yet I can safely say it will follow a far better path than OTL.

I discuss China a lot with him as I used to live there for a year and still work for a chinese company.
 
Wolf1965

Wolf1965

Donor
Story Post

Message from Beer, enjoy:

[FONT=&quot]The Imperial Chancellery, Berlin 1897[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Among the maps in the chancellery, one, a world map, had flag signs on it. Not only did this map show the embassies and consulates of Germany, but friends and enemies as well. For Leo von Caprivi´s taste, in his fifth year as German Chancellor, the number of blue-marked nations was too low. Germany's central position in Europe was a boon and a curse.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For security reasons Germany needed military allies makinf defence easier. For decades with just short interruptions, the situation had been clear. The Three-Emperors-League shielded most of Germany´s southern and all of the eastern borders. The Netherlands were neutral, but being brothers in arms during the Romanic-Germanic War and generally having good relations, made that part of the western border nearly equally safe. Together with some other treaties, the military situation was better than acceptable.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Then came the time of the, Caprivi himself called them, Wildcard-Emperors. Both his own Kaiser Friedrich III and Tsar Alexander III did their utmost to upset the old alliance system with their strange ideas on which nations would be good allies. In some instances they might be correct, but in most wishful-thinking ruled, in Caprivi´s opinion.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Fortunately, first steps dealing with the problem had been taken already after the Balkan War, even if back then nobody could have known what would come.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Germany had polished up her relations with Stockholm. Sweden was wary of Russia and a good, important trade partner of Germany. A treaty of Defence in case one of the partners was attacked "by specific nations" was about to be concluded, earning the fruits of years of diplomacy. Sweden had few enemies and nobody in Berlin overestimated the potential might of the Swedish Army. The Swedes were good, but mostly meant as a roadblock and irritant in the North.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Like Sweden, Spain's military options were limited by several reasons, but the treaty Berlin and Madrid closed last year was helpful in keeping France "more honest". There would not be automatic actions in a crisis event, but Paris would not be able to completely dismiss it´s southern border. Having a friendly, related monarch in Spain had helped here quite a bit, if more as an enabler for negotiations than as a decider.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]German Chancellor von Caprivi looked at one of the maps with some distaste. The Balkans had turned into a headache time and time again. Germany was known as the one major power who stayed away from that region as much as possible, but the immeasurable behaviour of Russia forced Berlin and him to think about this region too.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For literally the first time Leo von Caprivi was glad that one result of the Balkan War was that Bulgaria came into the Sphere of Germany, the Peace Conference unwilling to let that nation come under the influence of one of the major players there.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For years Germany helped Bulgaria a bit on development and used it as a "watchtower" to keep an eye on the Balkan designs of Russia, Austria and the Ottomans, not more. But the situation in East and West made other options a thing to pull.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Luckily, with Count von Holstein on a tour through East Asia, the "Grey Eminence" of the Foreign Ministry and big fan of a Pro-British course, was out of the way. Well, in that specific case, the Count might even approve of the idea, would he knew about it, since the direction was against Russia.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Chancellor wanted Bulgaria as a secret staging area against Russia in the case of a coming conflict, even if he hoped that scenario would never come. So Chancellor Caprivi prepared for the Voyage to Sofia, to negotiate a treaty.[/FONT]
 
Wolf1965

Wolf1965

Donor
Story Post

Best Regards from Beer Folks



Beijing, near the Foreign Ministry, Spring 1898

The capital city of China was abuzz with discussions. The Emperor had announced a reform program to be initiated, but within days of the announcement it became clear that China's problems ran far deeper than thought. The various Mandarins and other officials stalemated each other. The reformers and the reactionaries were locked into a fight about the reforms promised.
Likewise the attacks on Chinese Christians and foreigners had multiplied and spread to most provinces. The Boxer, rumoured to be in League with the reactionary forces around the dowager Empress, where only the most known anti-foreigner faction. In the past month there had been more than 100 deaths of foreigners and Chinese because of this strife alone. And that was the official number. Well-informed circles whispered that the true number was a lot higher, especially in more interior provinces, where the population was extremely conservative and opposed to "Longnoses" for far away.

It had actually spread to Beijing too. Only 2 days earlier there was an attack on a British merchant, who he barely survived and was still in hospital. While the population did not hear it, the Emperor for the first time truly recognised how shaky the grip of the Quing dynasty had become. The shock ran deep in him. Since Guangxu had lived so long in the shadow of Cixi and was still unsure of his reach, the Emperor hesitated.
This hesitation was seen as a gift by Cixi and her faction to use. And they prepared a major attack.

In this climate of openly felt gloom, a German delegation was nearing the Chinese foreign ministry. With Count von Holstein, the "Grey Eminence" of the German foreign ministry, who was on his voyage through several East Asian nations and was in Beijing for 4 further days, a very high ranking member of a European government was present in the foreigners quarter of the Chinese capital.
Due to this, the Germans had been asked by several envoys to talk with the Chinese about the security measures in Beijing and the foreigners quarter in special. Every day brought more tension, more attacks, something that should not be, was going on. In addition, the Germans were friends of all "slant-eyes", were they not? Since they favoured the "Yellows" over their fellow Whites, they were perfect envoys in this situation.

While the Count could only shake his head about that simplicist false preconception, Friedrich von Holstein accepted instantly, especially since he knew the British envoy personally and the situation was dangerous for all. If he could help, he would do so. Count von Holstein, the German envoy to China Clemens von Ketteler and their entourage, 12 persons in all, had passed the Ha-Ta-Men Gate when the surprise armed attack on them began.
It was clearly a deliberate attack. Von Holstein and von Ketteler had been specifically targeted, both were hit at least six times, while all other wounded had just one wound. The two German diplomats died on location before any medical help arrived.

Their death did not only galvanise Berlin, but Beijing as well. Finally Guangxu reacted, but it became clear in the evening, how well-made the preparations of the reactionaries and the Boxer were. Most troops around the capital had been deftly composed of Cixi-loyalists in the last few months. When night fell over Beijing, the Emperor loyal units were besieged at a frontline straight through the Imperial City and a handful of units which were sent to guard the foreigners, were besieged with them in the Legation quarter. During the night, 8 loyal soldiers made it to the Beitang, where several thousand Chinese Christians and foreigners were holding out. Most of the rest of the city was in the hands of the Boxer.

Before the reactionaries captured the telegraph offices, there had been hectic traffic all day, which would fuel the fires even more.
Urged by his advisors, Emperor Guangxu called to St. Petersburg for help as per their treaty. The other major powers were now preparing Expedition Corps to China. A handful of those even preparing clandestine help for both Chinese sides, to later jump in with the winning "team".
Yuan Shikai did exactly the same with his forces.

The situation was confusing, with orders arriving from both the officials of the Emperor and the dowager Empress. Soon the fighting began between Chinese regions pro and contra the Boxer, like Liangguang against Shandong. The Chaos was perfect, but one silver lining was on the horizon. Emperor Guangxu finally showing something like a backbone convinced first Zhang Zhidong and later Li Hongzhang to stay loyal to Beijing, but for the moment China was sinking into Chaos.

And that would not be over in a few days. However the Russians would decide to intervene, ripples in the pond were coming from it.
The German government was feeling especially betrayed. While the Germans did not give much on the monikers like "Friends of the Asians" others labelled on them, since the situation in Asia was far different than most Europeans thought, Germany had a better reputation there than most. And despite being very closely aligned with Japan, Germany was among the least active Powers to push China around and still did some development help to make China a better market for German and Japanese products.
So being specifically targeted by Chinese was something that did not go down well and not reasonless at that.
The situation in East Asia was already full of tension because of Korea and now with China, Russia, Japan and Germany four of those involved there became entangled in the power games of the Chinese leaders. The recipe of a disaster was mixed "at the bar".
 

ZhugeLiang

At least this Boxer Rebellion leads to a more powerful Guangxu. With any luck, the powers won't just 'take it out' on China, and will see that the Emperor wasn't at fault for this.
 

Deimos

Banned
While the Germans might not like the moniker of "Friends of the Asians", the fact that they did not live up to this (probably usually demeamingly used) image, will make them lose some prestige among the other European nations and will fuel the domestic opponents of the soft-glove strategy the colonial policy had until now.
 
Wolf1965

Wolf1965

Donor
Story Post

Beer was so nice to send the next update, enjoy.

[FONT=&quot]From the 2010 TV-documentation "The China Buffet is opened - The Yihequan Rebellion and the results"[/FONT]

It is not without irony, that the two rulers responsible for the conflict China now had to fight in were victims of the calcified system too. Neither the Dowager Empress nor the Emperor saw much of the life beyond the palace walls. Both needing the help of advisors from "outside". The Chinese system had become dysfunctional over time, overtaken by the change of the ages. If Cixi and Guangxu would have decided the same had they had a better overview of life in China? Hardly, but that did not count any longer, China was walking into an unneeded war.

London was actually quite happy with the developments in China, the siege of the Legation quarter and the attack on a British merchant. It gave Downing Street a reason to act. To act for the advantage of Britain, naturally.
A bigger Hong Kong zone would be nice, more influence in China too and the Admiralty was pushing more and more for a change of policy in the Pacific. For a long time Britain could and did bask in the British superiority on the high seas.
Now just before the turn of the century it dawned on the officers in charge of the Pacific that the British lead there was in jeopardy. Hong Kong turned out to be quite isolated after the Great Colonial Conference. Most Islands north of the British colony were in the hands of Japan, Germany, Russia and the US. On a direct line between Hong Kong and the Nicaragua Channel there was not a single Royal Navy anchorage to be found in the northern Pacific.

The next British possessions south of Hong Kong were in Singapur and Malaysia, but the nearby Philippines belonged to Japan now and the Germans had a naval base there. In the southern Pacific, the Royal Navy had better conditions, with Australia, New Zealand and a number of Island chains belonging to the Crown, but the northern part of Earth's biggest Ocean was slipping, maybe already slipped out of control of Britain.
The solution was clear: Either an expensive upgrading of Hong Kong and the Malay region with new installations and Navy squadrons or getting an ally who could help better the strategic situation with at least it's harbours. Preferably both, but the costs would probably prohibit it.
So what to do? Downing Street found a typical British way. A two-pronged approach. A win of the reactionary forces with their pronounced anti-foreigner stance had to be stopped. So Britain would, for a price, help the Emperor in Beijing. A certain amount of clandestine help would go to the Dowager Empress to weaken China as a whole and as an ally for Russia.
At the same time, British envoys would seed more discontent with Beijing in the powerful Mandarins of the South. In addition, London would help them somewhat in their modernisation and an alliance with these provinces specifically.
Once won over, Britain could break off the South of China from the rest when opportune.

Other powers had their own plans. America mainly wanted to punish those who had risen up and hurt or killed US citizens. Therefore, Washington would help Emperor Guangxu, but give him a long and loud piece of their minds too. Another aim was to gain a treaty port in China, something along the lines of Hong Kong, which the President would claim from Beijing after victory over the "barbarians".

Russia's aims were clear. Help the Emperor as per treaty and gain something for the help. Manchuria sounded quite right as a reward and this region acquired would make the situation in Korea easier for Russia. In exchange for Manchuria, St. Petersburg would give some lip service modernisation help and keep the Emperor fast on his throne. Later on Russia could this for even more influence in China itself.

Japan saw a balancing act come her way. The trouble in China was nicely focusing Russia's eyes elsewhere, giving Tokyo the chance to do something in Korea about the proxy war there. Ergo some secret help to the Dowager Empress would be good for keeping Russia's back turned long enough.
But on the other side, China descending into full Chaos or becoming a marionette of Russia or another western power would hurt Zollverein business interests. So naturally Emperor Guangxu had to win in not a too long timeframe. Because of this, Japan's official Expedition Corps would help lifting the siege of the Legation Quarter and the Palace, standing on the side of the Emperor. Getting more land acquisitions was unfortunately chanceless, the Russians would surely block any Japanese feelers into that area. But after talking with Germany, it seemed there was a chance for an other kind of compensation.

Like the other major nations, France had more interests than just saving and avenging her citizens. For Paris, a nice compensation for all the trouble the Yihequan made, would be a "border correction" in favour of French Indochina. Not all that much, but a sweet rounding out of that border to China. For that, the Chinese winner in the conflict was not important, the coalition of the Eight nations would pressure the Emperor or the Dowager Empress into acceptance, depending on their designs. As a result, the French sent a face-saving force, which would probably fight for the Emperor´s side, but a larger Expedition Corps was sent to Africa. With all eyes and especially the British ones turned to China, now was a chance to correct some colonial borders there.

Austria and Italy had ideas more along the US one. Both nations were fully occupied with their current possessions and that included finances. Having colonies was most times an expensive endeavour and the coffers of Vienna and Rome were not filled well. During the early phase of the Industrialisation it had been in Austria's interest and was a case of perceived prestige to stay out of the Zollverein. Now it still was a thing of prestige, but the Zollverein as a trade zone became more and more important each year.
Vienna tried to make up an own version, the Alpine Toll Zone, with their puppets, Liechtenstein and interestingly Switzerland, but the success was moderate. The Balkan nations under Austrian influence and Liechtenstein were too small to bring much to the table and while Switzerland helped the Toll Zone quite well, the Swiss simply lacked in volume of Trade. The Alpine Toll Zone run well enough that it's members were satisfied, but as said, the results were moderate.
So new expensive "adventures" were out for Vienna for the time being, which had enough to do with the Austrian possessions, positioned in 3 world regions. Vienna's scenario for China was gaining a treaty port a la Macau or Hong Kong for business, not more.
Italy's industrialisation was still in the works and Rome's colonial possessions already surpassed the Austrian ones in size, so the Italians were even more hard-pressed for money. There were talks with France about a possible trade agreement, but that was still an ongoing process. So Rome's aims were quite similar to those of their old rivals in Vienna. Helping the official government of China and getting a treaty port out of it, but additionally there would be some help by Rome to the Yihequan to keep the fight going on long enough that Italy could securely claim said port.

The German expedition corps was a large one. Not only Sea Battalions (Marines), but regular Army ones were on the ships leaving Wilhelmshaven towards the Nicaragua Channel at high speed. The sudden deliberate attack on German officials, when Germany was one of the more positively inclined nations to China, had been a mistake of the Boxer.
It would prove to be a costly one, nearly as costly as getting the Russians into the fight. Not only did they enrage a nation who would normally try to cool things down, since Germany's interests in China were largely business, no, the Boxer damaged German prestige as well.

The Germans were blasé about monikers like "Friends of the Asians" or far more often "Slanty-Huggers" by fellow western nations, which other nations mostly used to denigrate Germany and only seldom in a positive way, knowing the difficult situation in Asia better than most other Europeans.
Still, the images and reputation carried with the monikers could be useful at times and the Yihequan with the unprovoked gunning down of German officials damaged the image of Germany as the mediator between East and West.
Prestige was in jeopardy, Berlin had to react. "Being forced by idiots into a totally unnecessary, expensive punishment expedition", as von Brockdorff-Rantzau, who replaced the late von Holstein in the foreign ministry, called it.

The Boxer around the Dowager Empress had no idea that their assassination of the two German diplomats brought a heavier hammer on them than if they had let the two mediate in the dispute of Cixi and Guangxu.
Von Holstein had championed a strongly pro-British foreign policy of Berlin, hoping for an unlikely British-German alliance and as such China was very low on his list of nations to be bothered with. Von Brockdorff on the other hand, was all for balancing out the various Great Powers. Due to this, it was clear that neither Britain nor Russia could gain much more influence on China at the expense of the other major nations, but it was already obvious that London and St. Petersburg would use the chance they had before their noses.
Since that could not really be stopped without a major war, the other Powers, among them Germany herself had to insure that the power gains of Russia and Britain were as small as possible.
Therefore Germany's expedition corps were three task forces. One would go to Korea and together with the Japanese they would eject the Russian-Chinese-supported Joseon rebels from the peninsular, while Russia was focused on more important things.
The second group would work together with the other Expedition corps in stabilising the official government in Beijing.
The third group however would advance to Mongolia and help the Mongols regain their independence from China. Mongolia was not the all important part of Beijing´s Empire, so losing it would not destroy China, but it would hurt. Driving home the lesson that it was unwise to enrage the guys normally liking you.
In addition, an independent Mongolia was a nice buffer between a large part of the Russian-Chinese border. Von Brockdorff was rather sure that after the Boxer rebellion was put down, an independent Mongolia would be accepted by Britain, followed by most other Great Powers, since it would weaken the Russian power projection into China.
​
 

matzeskatze

Interesting take on the internal workings of the European Powers.

And an interesting take on the China situation. Nice touch to try and drive a wedge (Mongolia) between China and Russia. As both would likely try to take advantage / reclaim it. But how would the other Big Players react to that?

With the exeption of Russia Imo they could be OK with it, if they get some say in Mongolias politics.

As for the Japanese? Opportunistic is the creed of the day... ;). But if they can get Korea into their sphere, with all the Zollverein niceties, it may create a loyal junior member in time. At least if handeld correctly...
 
Wolf1965

Wolf1965

Donor
Story Post

A Nicolaus present from Beer folks:

[FONT=&quot]White House, Washington 1898[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]US President McKinley was studying some reports and was pleased. The States had finally laid the "Lost Decade" to rest. Some problems of that time were still a topic, but the major Unpleasantness was over.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Immigrants were streaming into the Land of the Free in pre-Civil War numbers again. Together with the back up numbers of US child births, it was expected that the United States would grow by nearly 3 million people in 1898, what was really needed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The US was a massive country and to develop it, more people were necessary. The Civil War and the following years of political self-mutilation had helped Brazil, to a certain extend Argentina and especially Mexico, the rivals of the US when it came to supremacy in the Americas. Many emigrants between 1861-1875 had not taken their "natural" destination, the US, but to the rivals. Mexico under Diaz had made serious steps on the way towards a functioning state, according to McKinley´s advisors, not the least with the help of the new immigrants. The distance between in power between Washington, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires became smaller.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]No longer. While the 1880s already showed the States growing hale again, like with the building of the Nicaragua Channel, the Nineties proofed that their was only one nation to become Hegemon of the Americas. Only one to play among the Great Powers. Washington was the only capital to enforce the Monroe doctrine to keep other ambitious powers out of the Americas. True, some nations in time between 1863, when the worst bloodletting in the Civil War began and roughly 1880 used the opportunities given by American weakness. Austria, Britain, France, Germany and Spain planted either new or further flags on American soil in that one and half decades.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Well, this kind of "sale" was now over again. An expanded Monroe doctrine was in force and enforced by his nation. When the expansion had been debated, certain hardliners pushed for throwing out the Europeans from their new gains. While William McKinley could relate, that was a folly request. It was not only a military and political question, but a legal one too.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Most of the European gains predated the sharper, expanded Monroe doctrine and while no one spoke about it, the doctrine itself was just a claim to power, not international law.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Topping it off was the fact, that Germany bought her piece of South America, Austria and France won their parts of North America in war, all legally more sound than an unilateral claim. Additionally, the relations to Berlin, Madrid and Paris were really well at the time the new doctrine was made.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The best way and the one old Abe in his last year of life brought through was to swallow the pill, keep the good relations and accept the Europeans gains. And the final result proofed Lincoln right again.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Since the Europeans had no desire for new rivals for their possessions in the Americas, the nations with gains made were all for a mutual acceptance of the expanded Monroe doctrine. They kept their possessions, acknowledged in the new Monroe doctrine and in reciprocity accepted the doctrine despite the rather shaky legal basis of it. Both sides won in the end.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Now, close to the turn of the century, the United States grew in people, in industry, in prestige again and it was his, William McKinley´s, task to lead America among the Great Powers. His first step, back then "just" the US delegation leader to the Great Colonial Conference, had been the acquiring of the US´ first colonies outside the Americas, Palmyra and the Line Atoll, the exchange of Liberia with the Bahamas, knowing that the British would not hinder the US corporations there. London was as much for profit as Washington. Together with Cuba and Alaska, both gained at earlier dates, the United States had quite a nice starting package of colonies. But as said, that was just for the start. It would not be long until the US had more possessions in the Pacific, Asia and Africa. That was destiny, the other colonial powers simply had to make room and the McKinley government would lead the US at the table of the mightiest powers. China with it's rebellion to put down would be the start of the US colonial Empire in Asia. One had to think big, not small like his predecessor in office. [/FONT]
 

ZhugeLiang

Just a notice, when you say divided China...

Can we have an East-West divide instead of North-South? North-South is so...mainstream...

Or maybe North and Southeast vs. Southwest Divide (like OTL Yunnan)
 

Deimos

Banned
Hm, the Europeans have pretty much accepted the maximum US demands. I wonder if they got a similar deal out of the wording of the expanded Monroe Doctrine.
Maybe the US accepts a similar non-interference regarding Africa (except for Liberia) or Europe (but the latter is so unthinkable that it would never find a way on a serious treaty :rolleyes:).
 
Wolf1965

Wolf1965

Donor
Story Post

Another free Beer for you all:

[FONT=&quot]Chapter 5 1860-1905[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When the German Expedition Corps sailed to quell the Boxer rebellion, for the only time with Admiral Tirpitz commanding at sea, the German Navy had come a long way. From some coastal defence ships of several principalities to a combined Marine operating worldwide. And that way was not at the end.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ironically, to this day the German Fleet is still something of a "third wheel" compared to Army and Air force. Nobody questions the importance and the achievements of the Navy, they got and get their fair share of praise, not for nothing the German naval forces were an important part of what led Germany to victory in the Big War, but when you question people about the German forces, the first image is of the war machines and soldiers in field-grey and German planes coming out of the sun.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]"The last Corsair Fleet on Earth", a moniker attached to the Kaiserliche Marine since the times of Prince Heinrich and Admiral Tirpitz and popping up now and then, had humble beginnings. The last united German fleet had been in Hohenstaufen times and during 1860s, each German principality with a coast had it's own limited Navy. The ships were mostly littoral guards, only the Prussian Navy, small as it was, tried to develop into a bigger force, a result of the complicated naval matters of the German Confederation.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Then one day the Eulenburg Expedition returned and suddenly sea lanes to Japan had to be kept safe and open. By a hodgepodge of Navies with good, but mainly coastal vessels and few oceangoing military ships, no military base outside Germany and few fixed coaling points along the routes.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Hectic and sometimes panicked reactions set in the various naval departments between Oldenburg and Berlin.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A stopgap measure was the construction of a squadron of Windjammer-based sailing warships, soon nicknamed the "Holzaugen"(lit. wooden eyes). This nickname funnily found it´s way into official documents with the [FONT=&quot]Holzaugen-class[/FONT] of ships. Even today, the German Navy is strangely quiet how that came to be. One of these old warships still exists as a museum piece in Wilhelmshaven, the IMS [FONT=&quot]Spikeroog.(IMS = Ihrer Majestäts Schiff/ Her Majesty´s ship At the time of the ATL writing, Germany's head of state is a Kaiserin)[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]By that time it was already clear that engine-powered naval vessels would be the future. But the German engineers had additional problems to overcome. The current lack of bases, no matter if bases could be acquired in the future (as it came to be), meant ship designs with massive range. And not only that. The Baltic and North Sea coasts of Germany can be a very trappy region of the Seas. Due to this and since the 1890s the Kiel Channel, there was a limit to the maximum draft of a German ship.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As if this was not enough, there was the question of how to and how much armour to be built into the ships and much more. For designers only used to smaller military ships this was very hard, especially in a time of unprecedented maritime development. Between 1860-late 1880s the development of Navy ships was a Chaos of different ideas and variants pure, even traditional sea powers like Britain or France experimented "in the dark" at times.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Romanic-Germanic War in the North Sea has to be counted separately, since neither sides most modern designs played a large role, they were simply either small in number or too valuable to be risked. Additionally, at that front the war was mainly a close blockade with some breakthrough fights and several skirmishes. While ships like [FONT=&quot]La Gloire[/FONT] and [FONT=&quot]Solferino[/FONT] or [FONT=&quot]Arminius[/FONT] and [FONT=&quot]Friedrich Barbarossa[/FONT] fired their weapons in anger, the impact of these then modern vessels was curtailed in the cat and mouse play the North Sea front came to be. The skirmishes at Spikeroog and the Weser mouth were the only ones in the whole war to be called anything like a sea battle.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]So back to the general developments of the German Navy since 1860. Like for the new civilian designs, the Zollvereinsdampfer being the typical example, the engineers took inspiration from the [FONT=&quot]Great Eastern.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]That ships extreme range and metal construction was the focus of the German development teams, less the considered overcomplicated engine and drive arrangement. Since Germany did not need the same maximum range, the new designs could be made significantly smaller than Brunel´s ship, but they were still large and broad compared to other nations warships. For nearly a century, until shipbuilding had advanced even more, the ship size of German warships compared to others in the same class became a distinctive feature. For instance, the British "Majestic"-class pre-dreadnought in the 1890s, which became a very influential design in her time, had a maximum displacement of roundabout 15,000 tons. The contemporary German "Wittelsbach"-class had a standard displacement of 22,000 tons![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Right from the start in the 1860s, these large, screw-driven designs set the tasks for the German naval R&D. A search for better, more economic engines and better and lighter armour. The designs of the 1860s and the early 1870s had many compromises concerning engine power, fuel consumption and armour due to technical and material limitations.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ships like the 1870 "Schaumburg"-class were seen as "very large, very seaworthy, but not very tough in a fight" as one British expert described the German warships of that time. This verdict stuck, even when technical progress made the ships better and better.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]That was one of the main reasons no other major sea power followed the German design philosophy for decades, until in the late 1890s Japan, the US and surprisingly Spain began to take inspiration for their own designs.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]From the mid-1870s better engines, new armour types and the beginning of the extreme compartmentalisation of the ships interior made sure that German warships were tough fighting units now. [/FONT]
 
Wolf1965

Wolf1965

Donor
Story Post

A Christmas Gift from Beer:

[FONT=&quot]From the 2006 book series "Jane´s History of Naval Powers - Book 4: Germany"[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Chapter 5 1860-1905[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Before we return to the various German fighting ships, let us take a look at the other side of naval matters: The tactics and planning.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In the case of Germany´s Kaiserliche Marine, there are three clear-cut phases from 1860 until today. The first phase from 1860 to the Romanic-Germanic War, the second phase from after the War to 1884 and the third phase from 1885 to today.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The first phase could be condensed under the words of Consolidation and "A Plan? We really have a plan?!"[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Germany had lacked a combined Navy since the late Middle Ages. So naturally turning the various coastal Defence Navies of the German principalities into one whole was the main task of the first years. Other things came second, like naval planning. Prince Adalbert, the first Commander in Chief of the Kaiserliche Marine simply copied what worked from the more established Navies like the British Royal Navy or the French Marine Royale. For his own valuable ideas was not enough time, too many naval matters were in flux.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There was no overarching plan. The tactics and planning of the coastal defence generally were sound, that had been the task of the "founder" navies already, it just needed to be updated for the larger new Marine. On the high seas, as said, the Kaiserliche Marine mimicked the other traditional Navies. The only own developments there stemmed from the ship designs and tasks needed for the East Asia voyages. But that situation was not a surprise. The early Kasierliche Marine was short on many things, from men to oceangoing ships, time was needed to grow.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]One enduring tradition from that time is the sometimes inclusion of Army and later Air force personal into the Marine, in a small number of roles. The dramatic shortage of trained men for the massively grown duties of the Navy in the early days led to this emergency measure. Even after the shortages passed later on, the practise stuck in smaller scale.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Over the years, this did produce some serious duds, but overall it was successful enough to keep going. Two examples where the inclusion of Heer officers helped greatly was the green lighting of the "Brandenburg"-class in the 1880s and from younger times there is Colonel General Tenshi Takimoto, who is renowned for his work on coordination of the various Armed Forces branches.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In the Romanic-Germanic War the young Kaiserliche Marine showed it´s worth. As a fleet in being coupled with the difficult terrain of the German Bight they stopped the French Navy from doing much damage beside capturing German Trade ships. At times they could break through the blockading forces to let blockade runners in and out.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]But the war also showed the shortcomings of a young navy against an established one. The KM lacked the power to go into full battle against the French Navy. Their hit and run tactics during the war functioned, but it was clear to anybody that a true offensive action, like steaming to the French blockade line and slugging it out, was not in the cards. Several skirmishes during the war also showed the different level of training. With the exception of a few experienced crews, most men of the Marine had to be considered green.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This became especially clear with the so-called failed "Trap of St. Peter-Ording", which failed mainly due to the lacking experience of most German crews. There was still much to do for the Marine Command.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The second phase, one of transition, are the roughly one and a half decades after the Romanic-Germanic War. With Germany's place among the Great Powers established, places for naval stations becoming available in satisfying numbers, the Kaiserlich Marine could finally do some growing and training in relative quiet.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For the first time, Prince Adalbert and Admiral Jachmann had the time to bring in own ideas and mix it with the experiences made. Prince Adalbert of Prussia, often nicknamed the Prinzadmiral (Admiral Prince), was a renowned Navy expert despite coming from a nation with until then few naval tradition of it's own. His 1848 "Denkschrift über die Bildung einer deutschen Flotte" (Memorandum on the Construction of a German Fleet), is still highly regarded for the insights on naval strategy. In this memorandum, Prince Adalbert distinguished between three fleet models.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- A naval force intended solely for defensive actions in relation to coastal defence[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- An offensive Navy intended for national defence, and for the most necessary protection of commerce[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- An independent naval power[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Prince favoured the middle solution, because it would not provoke the great sea powers (such as Britain) and burden Germany's finances less, but provide the German navy with significant value as an ally and still would cover the needed naval power. Interestingly, Prince Adalbert´s solution still stands today. Despite the Tirpitz-Plan making significant changes in many areas, the baseline what tasks for Germany would use her Navy never changed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Actually, many naval experts are of the opinion that the Tirpitz-Plan and it's evolutions are nothing but Prince Adalbert´s model written large and developed to the end.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Another decision made by the Prince and Jachmann still stands today as well. Tradition-building is an important part of a military force. Since Germany had few naval traditions back then, anything useful came into consideration. Havelberg, a scenic town in the Havelland region of Germany, was in the late seventeenth century an important shipyard location for the Electors of Brandenburg-Prussia, until in the 18th century Prussia concentrated on expanding it's land forces.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Due to this history, again a naval base was established at Havelberg in 1870. It was clear from the start that this was mainly a PR action. 200 years were a long time and while the old ships could reach Havelberg with a light load, in the 19th century only boats and small, light ships could travel so far upstream. Many people found some humour in that decision, some, mainly from traditional sea powers, shook their head.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Still, to this day Havelberg has a naval base, even if it is more a water police station than a true Navy base. The town retains the distinction of being the most interior positioned Navy base worldwide. You have to travel the Elbe and Havel Rivers more than 300 kilometer upstream to reach it.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Merry Christmas folks.
[/FONT]
 
Wolf1965

Wolf1965

Donor
Story Post

Happy New Year from Beer and me Folks.

[FONT=&quot]Mandalgobi, Mongolia, 1898[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Oberst Max von Fabeck was not exhausted per se, but the last months had been a serious drain on him and his men. After landing with the rest of the German Expedition in the staging area of the coalition forces in the Hebei province, Fabeck´s forces marched to Xuanhua to defeat a Boxer contingent poised for the Chinese capital. Once the Boxer had capitulated, the Colonel started his main operational task. One of the few positives of the Chaos reigning in China at the time was that the Sonderheeresabteilung (Special Army detachment) Fabeck could "vanish" from the western Powers eyes without the other nations becoming suspicious about it.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]While it was true that von Fabeck and his men were sent to the city northwest of Bejing to reconquer it for the official government and keep it safe for the fight for the capital, his orders went far above it. After securing Xuanhua, the Oberst left a small but potent garrison in the city, then he and his brigade went onto the way to Mongolia.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Considering what was known about the situation there, a modern equipped brigade should have been sufficient to get Mongolia under control. And so it was. Beijing had kept Mongolia poor and mostly forgotten, nobody wanted a potential second Jenghis Khan to come up.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Due to the general situation, Max von Fabeck had gotten considerable leeway from the Generalsstab for his mission and some of the most modern equipment to test under the adverse conditions in China and Mongolia. First run K98 rifles, mountain uniforms and machine guns were among the most known "stuff" of this famous expedition.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Oberst Fabeck´s general plan was both simple and crafty. His detachment, which included a diplomatic staff, would travel from strategic point to strategic point, defeating the Chinese defenders, while the diplomats would work on the local leaders to bring them on their side.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Like all plans, changes had to be made underway.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Fabeck and his men encountered official army posts, Boxer rebels, bandits and self-proclaimed rulers. Some opponents fought harder than expected, others not at all. In some regions the inhabitants came onto the German side directly, in others silver tongues had to work overtime. With the local help, the operation got significantly easier, but Oberst Fabeck´s "Weiter Marsch" (Long March) became proverbial.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]At Mandalgobi, after months and thousands of kilometers, the last enemy formation had capitulated, outer and parts of inner Mongolia were under German control. A Mongolian militia, which would become the early core of the Mongolian armed forces, had already been formed by that time and guarded several key points of Mongolia.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Still, while Max von Fabeck and his unit would return home to a deserved heroes welcome, another, if smaller, unit from the expedition corps would take station in Mongolia. The Mongolians were simply not ready to defend their new nation alone against possible Russian or Chinese interests. Nobody in Berlin thought the German and Mongolian troops there could stop a concerted attack, not for many years, they just had to hold out for a political solution to be found.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Bogd Khan, a Buddhist monk, became the first Khan of modern times. He had enough acceptance everywhere in Mongolia and the German diplomats found him to be open to their suggestions, which pleased them very much.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mongolia´s borders were still fluid, the final form only fixed after the Great Conflagration. China was less than pleased about what Germany had done, but the Emperor had to swallow the bitter pill. The western nations among them Germany had saved his throne. Bejing and several other core territories were free of the Boxer now, but it would take until 1900 to defeat the last Boxer stronghold. The German delegation openly stated to Guangxu that they still were ready to help the Emperor´s modernisation attempt, but what had happened, needed a strong answer. Murdering German officials was nothing you got off lightly and the Chinese surely would not take it lightly, if something like that would have happened to them.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Russia was rather pleased about the developments in Mongolia. While for a time there was a buffer between them and the Chinese, it would only be a few years until Russia could take over Mongolia. Once the Germans were gone and that was part of the Mongolia treaty done in Bejing, Russia would be faster than the Chinese and take the region for the Tsar, at least in theory.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Guangzhong, China, 1898[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Germany and Russia were not the only western nations with big plans, Britain used the problems of China as well. Sir Edward Grey was made the special ambassador to the "modern China", the provinces with mandarins leaning towards a modernisation. Something that the other Great Powers did not see, because like further north, China was large and the fight between Emperor and western coalition on one side and the Dowager Empress and the Boxer on the other side was far from being easily observable.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A real modernisation was something Britain did not want, but a partial "upgrade" under British leadership, yes, that would make London happy. And this solution was something Sir Edward and his entourage were working towards.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Like Colonel von Fabeck in Mongolia, Sir Edward had quite some liberties as long as Downing Street's goal were met. And the Sir was busy. He and his men were frequent visitors to Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang, to name the two most known leaders in the southern part of China. And it did not stop there, other influential, if less known mandarins got their dose of British propaganda and "development help" as well.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Considering the less than chummy common history of the last decades, the Chinese were full of distrust, but more than just a handful of Pound Sterling did much to offset the events of that time. Britain's coffers were well-filled at that time.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Over time, Sir Edward and his men were rather successful in towing the southern provinces over to the British point of view. While the British did not want a breakup of China at that time, it should happen when it was to the greatest use of the Empire, they laid the seeds for that event down in the years between 1898 and 1904. [/FONT]
 
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