NationStates Jolt Archive

September 18th, 1899:

It was a beautiful, sunny day in the German capital of Konigstadt. An expectant crowd of thousands had gathered to witness their Kaiser speak. Germany had, in just under thirty since unification become the most powerful nation in Europe and among the most powerful countries in the world. The population, through annexation and birth had increased from forty millions to just over seventy millions in this time.

Before 1880, Germany possessed no colonies and an insignificant navy. As the twentieth century dawned, the German fleet was second only to Britain's and Germany had acquired the Congo, a portion of West Africa, Mozambique, the Philippines and valuable territory in the Pacific. The Fatherland had been enlarged greatly with the peaceful annexation of Osterlich.

The German economy was the largest on the Continent and was surpassing Britain in critical areas such as steel, chemicals and especially the fledgling electrical industry. The recent creation of a practical horseless carriage by Daimler seemed to beckon a new age, where perhaps the horse would be rarer on the streets than the yoked ox was today. The German government had shared some of its burgeoning wealth with its citizens, German citizens had an old age pension, accident insurance and public health insurance.

It was a magnificent age to be a German.

The Kaiser got up on the platform and began to speak in an assured tenor. He spoke of Germany's immense might and of her many virtues. He praised God and also the working men and women who had made the Fatherland's rise to power possible. He led the crowd in a vast hymn of thanksgiving.

It was a beautiful day in a city known for its gloom.

Then a moment of reverant silence was broken by a shrill shout from the crowd.

'Death to tyrants! ANARCHY!'

The man who had uttered these words then threw a bomb on the stage. The instant that he did so, a maddened crowd and a sizeable contigent of troops were upon him, beating him with whatever they could pick up. He had been pummeled almost to death before he even hit the ground.

But it was too late. The bomb had landed right by the Kaiser's legs and the German Emperor was dying on the stage, his legs blown apart by the blast. His wife, the Kaiserina was also grievously wounded as were one of the Kaiser's bodyguards.

And yet, blasphemously, the sun continued to shine.

Somewhere underneath the Weimarin Prison in Konigstadt, a solitary man sat, tied to a chair. He had been beaten almost to death by the crowd and the interrogators were being only marginally kinder in their treatment. To almost all Germans, this battered, bruised man represented the enemy of civilization. The faint creak of the iron door signalled that his rare moment of privacy was over.

A distinguished-looking gentleman in a marshal's uniform entered the room. His boots made a faint clicking sound on the hard concrete floor. In his hands were official documents. They must have figured out who he was ... what else did they know about him?

'Feodr Sladisvic, a citizen of Tellacar.' Manstein read the beginning of the document. 'A known anarchist, linked to the Red Terror anarchist-syndicalist group and also to the Dogs of War, a militant anarchist group who has caused trouble in several countries.'

Sladisvic met his eyes with a determined stare. 'I won't tell you anything.'

Manstein shrugged. "What makes you think I need your confession. Your nationality is more than enough for me.'

Sladisvic's eyes opened slightly wider ... 'Anarchists have no nation!'

Manstein looked completely unaffected either way. 'True, but this isn't ideological, friend. I don't believe in being a slave to ideas. I'm too old for that. Power is more than sufficient for me. I suggest you make your peace with God in the next few minutes.'

Manstein nodded to the guard and left, ready to consolidate his power in Potsdam.

The German general staff convened later that night to begin instituting the plans for the invasion of Tellacar. Essentially, the plan was to knock out the nerve centres of the country in a rapid push down the main railway of the country. Within days, they could overrun Sarajevo and Belgrade, the two major cities of Tellacar. The national army posed relatively little threat and the navy, once relatively formidable, had become badly outdated in comparison to the new German armoured cruisers and battleships.

Manstein's main concern was about partisan activity after the military conquest which he expected might be fairly extensive. However, he had come up with a plan which he hoped would reduce the threat to German troops. That was simply to divide Tellacar along ethnic lines, reducing the cohesiveness of the state and pitting the native South Slavs against the socialist immigrants.

However, it still might be a dangerous place to be garrisoned. However, that might ultimately work in Germany's favor. Tellacar would be an excellent place to produce a core of combat-hardened troops for the greater war that was almost inevitably ahead. He had estimated that 100,000 troops would be more than sufficient to keep order and planned for those troops to be rotated on a regular basis, every six months or so.

If a general war started in 1905 or so, as Manstein thought was entirely possible, the majority of the German army would have experienced a baptism of fire, an advantage for the crushing first strike that he planned against the powers arrayed against them. The fine castles that dotted portions of the land would make excellent practice for artillery crews. A partisan war would encourage intitiative and strategic thinking in even the lowest order of German troops.

At the same time, Tellacar's resources could be used to augment the position of Germany, already dominant in Europe.

OOC> People in the 1880 (although it's now 1895) RP can and are encouraged to post their reactions to this event.

In North America, all eyes were focused on events south of the border, completely missing the potential dangers in Europe.

Secret Telegram
To: Manstein? OOC german leader
From:Premier Francesco Crispi
We the Italian peoples send our grief and are men to help you in this troubled time. As the assassin was Tellarcarin(??) I presume that an invasion of Tellacar will soon be under way, if this presumption is correct then we will send 5 battalions of line Infantry and the famed 4th Italian Light Regiment.

OOC> Sorry if I didn't specify this, Kaiser Wilhelm II is the head of state. Manstein is just the power behind the throne. We've never established it, but I think the proper plural for a citizen of Tellacar is Tellacarian.

To: Premier Fransesco Crispi
From: Kaiser Wilhelm II*

We accept this aid and may be able to grant Italy a portion of Dalmatia (the coastal parts of Tellacar) in return for such a service. The invasion shall begin shortly.

Sincerely,
Kaiser Wilhelm II

*= It's actually Manstein writing the letter, Wilhelm is currently at least, a puppet figure.

The attention of Denmark turned south now. The government watched nervously to see the results. They crossed their fingers that stability would be maintained. Anarchy or Civil War to their south could be disastrous.

OOC> Anarchy? Nope. Mention the word in anything other than a derogatory context, though, and in jail you go!

The General Staff had already made their decision. Tellacar was, bluntly, to be invaded. All Manstein needed was the Kaiser's 'permission', which should not be difficult. The young man had no desire to be German emperor at all and would have gladly given the crown to Manstein if it were at all possible. But he did not want the official honor. He wanted to be the power behind the scenes.

He was less accountable that way.

William Schultz wrung his hands nervously. This was his last year in office, and he didn't want to bugger it up, but this.... this was a lose-lose situation.
-On the one hand, the assasination of the Kaiser was a brutal and ghastly affair, and it would seem kind to the nation to support the nation in a time of need.
-On the other hand, considering how their military had been building up for some time now, they could exploit this to no end, threatening the independance of several key trading partners.
-But Germany has a fierce looking army and navy.
-But Britain'll probably help us.
-What about Colombia?

Schultz decided to put it off, and put out an official statement of nuetrality.

OOC> Smart move. :) I'm waiting for Tellacar to come on before I start with the next phase, the invasion of Tellacar.

OOC: I haven't gotten the time to read all of the threads yet. Where is Tellacar?

IC: As soon as it became clear that things were not going to fall apart in Germany, King Thorvald sent a messenger by train to the new Kaiser. The message read roughly as follows:
"As King of Denmark, I wish to offer my sympathies, as well as those of my people. We wish to express our outrage at this flagrant act of war and the cowardly fashion in which it was acted out. We hope that this crisis may be brought to a swift and decisive conclusion."

The message was accompanied by an offer of opening trade between their nations. Denmark could hold her own, but she needed friends where she could get them. One of the top world powers seemed to be a decent place to start.

OOC> Geographically, Tellacar is most of Serbia, all of Croatia and all of Bosnia. Germany, just so you know is the IRL German Empire (much bigger than modern Germany) with Austria (slightly larger than IRL) and the Czech Republic added to it. Also, Germany has colonies in the Congo, Togo/Benin, Papua New Guinea and surrounding Pacific Islands, the Philippines and Tsingtao in China.

ooc The US Military Attache is going to want to accompany the Norrdreich Army as a military observer (common practice back then). The US will also declares its neutrality and order all military vessels from Nordreich and Tellacar to leaves its ports (rules of war dictitate that)

OOC> The American military attache will be admitted as an observer for the course of combat operations, which is the easiest and most pleasant part. Tellacar has stated her intention to use guerilla warfare (as the conventional war will only last days ... the Germans have the most powerful army on Earth). And that could get ugly.

IC Post:
German Invasion Forces:
7th, 12th, 13th, 22nd Infantry Divisions: 80,000 men
5th and 8th Cavalry: 20,000 men

Mission: Secure the country of Tellacar.

German Naval Attack Force:
Battleships:
H.M.S. Kaiser Friedrich
H.M.S. Bismarck
H.M.S. Deutschland
H.M.S. Friedrich der Grosse
H.M.S. Preussen
10 Armoured Cruisers
23 Protected Cruisers

Landing Force:
3rd, 5th, 11th Infantry Divisions: 60,000 men

Mission: Secure the ports of Tellacar. More bluntly, to flatten everything within gun range.

Italian Naval Forces:
3 Ruggiero di Lauria Class (Displacement: 9886 tons. Speed: 16knots. Complement: 507. Armament: four 17in guns in pairs, two 6 inch guns, four 4.7 inch guns, two 14 inch torpedo tubes.)

2 Re Umberto Class (Displacement: 9886 tons. Speed: 16knots. Complement: 507. Armament: four 17in guns in pairs, two 6 inch guns, four 4.7 inch guns, two 14 inch torpedo tubes.)

13 Ironclads

Delfino