NationStates Jolt Archive

The Balkan Wars
OOC: This is the RP thread for the Balkan Wars, which are in turn part of the Age of Imperialism Campaign (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=433496&page=1&pp=15); you have to be part of that campaign to play in this one. The OOC thread is here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=9324237#post9324237).

This post will review the RL history leading up to the Balkan Wars. Feel free to do your own research, as I make no claim to the completeness or accuracy of what is found here (hey, if it's on the Internet, it must be true, right?). This info is only to provide you some basis for what the conflict is all about.

History
The Balkan wars were the direct consequence of the gradual collapse of Turkish power following its defeat at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. For the next 225 years, the Ottoman Empire (called "the Sublime Porte" in diplomatic circles) would suffer internal decay and external erosion, as its subject provinces tore themselves loose from its grasp one by one, often with generous foreign help.

In the closing years of the 19th Century, as the situation became increasing desperate, a group of Turkish expatriates living in Paris - the so-called "Young Turks" - organised themselves against the Turkish government in an effort to reverse at a single stroke the Porte's decay, in hopes that they could modernise the nation and prevent its destruction by the European Powers:

"The revolution was in essence the overthrow of the Sultan's autocratic power by the upper class Turks, and the substitution therefor of parliamentary government under their control. The earlier attempt to secure constitutional government, connected with the name of Midhat Pasha and resulting in the constitution of December 23, 1876, was a failure, due to the lack at that time of any feeling for its necessity among the ruling caste. Thirty years of increasingly centralized government, the universal espionage which made all life miserable, the assassination or exile of all who opposed the régime in the slightest detail, the loss of territory and of prestige, the consciousness that the economic penetration of the foreign powers could end only in the dissolution of the Empire, forced the Turks of all classes to consider the constitution their only salvation. The leaders in Paris studied in detail successful revolutions of the past, arranged their differences as between radical and conservative, invited in the other nationalistic revolutionary parties, especially the Armenians, but retained control in their own hands (The Turkish Revolution of 1908-9 (http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos126.htm))."

But, as with any revolution, the seizure of power led to a series of struggles among the revolutionaries, leaving the Porte vulnerable to its enemies. Thus, the very decay the Young Turks had meant to reverse was allowed to swiftly arrive at its logical conclusion - the loss of all of Turkey's European possessions.

The revolution occurred on July 6th, 1908. Bulgaria responded to the lack of an effective government in Constantinople by declaring its independence on October 5th, 1908; on the following day, October 6th, the Dual Monarchy annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, a Turkish territory it had administered under the terms of the Treaty of Berlin (1878); six days after that, on October 12th, the Cretan Assembly proclaimed its union with Greece. The Porte protested all of these moves, as did Russia, Serbia, and (in the case of Crete) most of the other European Powers.

Surprisingly, war was avoided by diplomacy and cold, hard cash. The Dual Monarchy reached a deal over Bosnia-Herzegovina on February 26th, 1909, one in which Turkey received some £2,200,000, though not (officially anyway) in compensation for the lost territory. Bulgaria also bought its freedom, for the sum of 82,000,000 francs, on April 9th, 1909. Crete, on the other hand, remained separated from Greece through the military intervention of the Powers, though it did so under its own government, and in an environment of constant back-and-forth between the inhabitants and the powers, involving such things as disputes over oaths of allegiance, the raising and lowering of the Greek flag, etc. No blood was shed during this prolonged political crisis.

The Young Turks recognised that the Porte was in a state of crisis and resolved to correct the situation. Unfortunately, their efforts proved rash and backfired utterly (from whence the epithet "young Turk" found its way into the English language). As hundreds of thousands of skilled, educated Christians fled European Turkish lands (especially Macedonia), lawless Albanian malcontents moved in, producing an ever-escalating cycle of violence within the territory.

It was not only in the Balkans that the policies of the Young Turks backfired on them. From 1902 onward, Italy and France quietly moved forward on a secret protocol assigning to the former the Turkish province of Tripolitania while the latter was granted a free hand in Morocco. From that moment on, both powers gradually moved to secure their respective prizes.

"From about the time of this agreement and doubtless largely in consequence of it, Italy began to push steadily the process of pacific penetration in Tripoli. The only steamships running regularly to Tripoli were Italian; the Banco di Roma maintained an agency in Tripoli and exerted a great influence. A considerable school system, subsidized by the Italian Government, was established. Railroads were projected. Tripoli was enabled to enjoy the advantages of the Italian parcel post system. As a result of these Italian activities 'except for its political status, Tripoli was in 1908 practically Italian province' (The Tripoli Question, 1902-1911 (http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos141.htm))."

With the rise to power of the Young Turks, however, new officials were sent out with orders to halt Italy's takeover of the province. This led to a series of incidents culminating in an Italian ultimatum on September 27th, 1911, followed by Italian invasion on the following day.

The outbreak of war between Italy and Turkey heightened concern within Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria that a solution to the growing problems in Macedonia be reached. This concern led to the negotiation of a series of bilateral treaties that effective produced what history has come to call the Balkan League.

In the spring of 1912, a revolt in Albania mushroomed into a crisis of secession as Turkish troops sent to put down the rebellion joined it instead. Thus bolstered, the rebels demanded the establishment of an independent Albanian nation; yet even as they did this, violence between Christian and Moslem escalated to the point where several massacres occurred, forcing Bulgaria to demand action on the part of the League. Finally catching rumours of the League's existence, Turkey responded by massing forces near Adrianople for "military exercises", a move that was opposed by the Powers. From here, the descent into war was almost inevitable.

For further comment and analysis, see the OOC thread.

To the Sublime Porte,

We are concerned about the rising tide of tensions between you
and the Kingdom of Italy over the activities of the latter in
Tripolitania. As you are no doubt aware, the administrators sent
there by the previous Sultan did little if anything to assert the
Porte's sovereignty over the territory; thus, after 10 years of
activity, Italy has reduced Tripolitania to its colony in all but
name.

While your desire to assert your rightful authority over
Tripolitania is understandable, it may provoke the Italians to
action, especially given the extent of their investment in the
territory.

We believe that it would be in the bests interests of the Porte
to arrive at a modus vivendi with Italy vis-á-vis the future
of Tripolitania. Perhaps Italy could be extended generous
economic concessions as well as military basing rights in exchange
for its recognition of the authority of the Porte. If the Porte
exercised civil and criminal authority while deferring to Italian
wishes with respect to matters of trade, investment, and business,
both sides' desires could be readily achieved. After all, Italy
is in a far better position to develop the area than the Porte,
given the strength of its economy and its close proximity. The
arrangement would work out to the benefit of the inhabitants of
the territory while leaving them under Moslem authority.

If the Porte would like for us to initiate an opening with the
Kingdom of Italy on this matter, we would be glad to do so. In
the meantime, we urge restraint in dealing with the Kingdom of
Italy in order to avoid further inflaming the situation.

Signed,

The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

Telegram from the sublime Porte to the Dual Monarchy

We agree to some extend with your proposal. We see that Tripolitania is
effectively isolated, the west is French and Egypt to the east is almost an
English protectorate. We also see that recent gouvernors were corrupt and
didn't do anything good for the region. Maybe a new rule can improve and
develop the area.

We would appreciate it if you'd intermediate between Italy and us. If you can
contact Italy and they would agree to talk with us we will be most grateful.

ooc. I intend to talk about Tripolitania, but walk away from the table because Italy's demands are to harsh. After that I will declare war.

ooc. I intend to talk about Tripolitania, but walk away from the table because Italy's demands are to harsh. After that I will declare war.And I'll urge you to come to an accomodation. :)

BTW, the OOC thread is here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=9324237#post9324237).

Hey guys. I'm balkan, yeah, my mom's a Bosnian muslim and my dad's a Serbian orthodox christian and I was born in Sarajevo.
Your explainations are very good from a political and militeristic standpoint, but if you need to include a cultural aspect.
The balkans have always been divided up, for the most part, Croatia was part of Rome, then part of the Most Serene Republic of Venice; Serbia was also once part of Rome, but when christianity was brought there, they had an endless struggle to become the Empire of Montenegro against the Eastern Roman empire, and later against the turks. Bosnia held its own for a long time, until huns constatly invaded, they were reluctant to join the Ottomans, for they had little defence on their own.
Plus, after the united offensive against the Germans and the Astro-Hungarians in WWI and WWII they were the most united, mainly because of their leader Joseph Broz Tito, but when he died, the socialist government collapsed in on itself, when regional delegates where elected, as luck has it, 2 of the regional delegates were rasist against muslims and catholics and the other 2 where the opposite, and the presidents had trouble keeping the peace. Then Slobodan Milosevic :mad: came along and tried a Hitler-stlye wipe out of all the chrsitians and muslims, from then it snowballed into a total, all-out FFA brawl between Croatia (catholics) and Serbia/Montenegro (Orthodox), the fight was later brought to Bosina (Muslims) and they were forced to defend themselves.

P.S. My dad was a sniper for the Bosinan militia during the war :sniper:

May I join this war please??? You can't cancel out a native.

Ohh, I was talking about the Balkan Crisis of the 90's, my bad.

The Romanian prime-minister stares bored through the window and says to his secretary:
"Hah, I was invited to a secret meeting in Athens and now I see the Greek royal family is on a cruise on the Egean, the Bulgarian tsar has a toothache and must stay indoors and the Serbs are delayed by the bad weather. When will the negotiations begin?"
"Patience, sir, answers his faithfull servant. I'm sure the royal highnesses will come soon."

Edit: The message above was the same with this one. I made a mistake and posted it twice. That's why I deleted it. Sorry.

May I join this war please??? You can't cancel out a native.OOC: As I said, I would welcome you as the Porte (Ottoman Turkey).

The irony is that in spite of my national name (which I'm sure you recognise), I'm trying to keep the k.u.k. (Austria-Hungary) alive and transform it into a liberal, free-market regime. I have virtually no territorial ambitions and am striving to keep the peace of Europe. I have been praying for an Ottoman player who is willing to work with me to secure the peace, stability, and well being of the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

(In RL, BTW, I'm an Anglo-French convert to Greek Orthodoxy [I married a Greek girl from Chicago whose grandparents all came from the Peloponnese]. She's not anti-Turkish like most Greeks, and I'm something of a Turcophile...)

So - given that I admitted slanted my history (but only slightly) from a k.u.k. perspective, did I basically get it right? :)

(Somewhere down the line I'll explain why my national name is what it is, but first things first... And from here on, let's chat in the OOC thread.)

In RL, BTW, I'm an Anglo-French convert to Greek Orthodoxy
Welcome to the club! :)

OOC: As I said, I would welcome you as the Porte (Ottoman Turkey).

The irony is that in spite of my national name (which I'm sure you recognise), I'm trying to keep the k.u.k. (Austria-Hungary) alive and transform it into a liberal, free-market regime. I have virtually no territorial ambitions and am striving to keep the peace of Europe. I have been praying for an Ottoman player who is willing to work with me to secure the peace, stability, and well being of the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

(In RL, BTW, I'm an Anglo-French convert to Greek Orthodoxy [I married a Greek girl from Chicago whose grandparents all came from the Peloponnese]. She's not anti-Turkish like most Greeks, and I'm something of a Turcophile...)

So - given that I admitted slanted my history (but only slightly) from a k.u.k. perspective, did I basically get it right? :)

(Somewhere down the line I'll explain why my national name is what it is, but first things first... And from here on, let's chat in the OOC thread.)

Excellent, I will be the Ottoman Empire, I'm muslim after all. Well, the peace deal is allright, but I must stay true to what the main Ottoman ideals were, to expand to make a large global Muslim society, therefore, I will try to convert people to Islam, and have a few inquisitions.
Also, I will attempt to make good relations with the Orthodox peoples of serbia once I aquire that land, there will be no massacres or genocides because of religion.
Last, I will make a strong militeristic foothold down in the Balkans recruiting as many people as I can into my army, only then can I take back the Muslim nations of North Africa from the oppresive french and english (but I'm not sure that is going to happen in this campaign)
P.S. I plan to extensivly research Ottoman army tactics, weapons, ideals and overall pace of the army.

Excellent, I will be the Ottoman Empire, I'm muslim after all. Well, the peace deal is allright, but I must stay true to what the main Ottoman ideals were, to expand to make a large global Muslim society, therefore, I will try to convert people to Islam, and have a few inquisitions.
Also, I will attempt to make good relations with the Orthodox peoples of serbia once I aquire that land, there will be no massacres or genocides because of religion.
Last, I will make a strong militeristic foothold down in the Balkans recruiting as many people as I can into my army, only then can I take back the Muslim nations of North Africa from the oppresive french and english (but I'm not sure that is going to happen in this campaign)
P.S. I plan to extensivly research Ottoman army tactics, weapons, ideals and overall pace of the army.
With these policies, I believe you'll start a war in no time. :mp5:

Welcome to the club! :)BTW, I have no problem arguing history, but we should do that in the OOC threads.

Excellent, I will be the Ottoman Empire, I'm muslim after all. Well, the peace deal is allright, but I must stay true to what the main Ottoman ideals were, to expand to make a large global Muslim society, therefore, I will try to convert people to Islam, and have a few inquisitions.
Also, I will attempt to make good relations with the Orthodox peoples of serbia once I aquire that land, there will be no massacres or genocides because of religion.
Last, I will make a strong militeristic foothold down in the Balkans recruiting as many people as I can into my army, only then can I take back the Muslim nations of North Africa from the oppresive french and english (but I'm not sure that is going to happen in this campaign)OOC: OK, from here on out, let's all discuss general strategy in the OOC thread and engage in diplomacy and combat here in the RP thread. It's OK to post a meeting with your advisors under the heading SIC ("Secret In-Character"), and then everyone has to pretend they didn't hear what you've said. Or, you can publish documents (like my "Top Secret" white paper), in which you speak of your general plans. This is usually something you do when you are thinking of changing your nation's direction and want to establish that the new direction is actually IC rather than just a weird fantasy (like an American President turning the U.S. into a dictatorship without domestic opposition or Russia converting to Islam - that sort of thing).

So look at my OOC comments on your strategy to see what I think of it.

With these policies, I believe you'll start a war in no time. :mp5:

Well, thats what the Sultan wanted, right? Plus im just trying to act the part of the old ottoman empire before my Rebellion, once the Young Turks have succeeded in their plans, it will be a nationalist empire will a strong economy powered by the government (yeah, there is some room for privet enterprise, which will consist of very small buisnesses and universities, but mostly marxist-socialist idea of economy).

Well, thats what the Sultan wanted, right? Plus im just trying to act the part of the old ottoman empire before my Rebellion, once the Young Turks have succeeded in their plans, it will be a nationalist empire will a strong economy powered by the government (yeah, there is some room for privet enterprise, which will consist of very small buisnesses and universities, but mostly marxist-socialist idea of economy).
Then do it! It's been a week since you joined and you didn't post anything meaningfull.

We need to get this going.

The Ottoman player has posted a fact-book; the Italian player has not taken any kind of action at all.

I think that - unless the Ottoman player wants to provoke a crisis with Italy, we should just assume that nothing is happening with Tripolitania. The Ottoman (a/k/a the Andromedan) can either Say nothing, in which case we should assume the Young Turks' policy of obstructing further Italian occupation of the province has gone into effect, and Rome simply hasn't reacted yet. The possibility of future action remains.


Back off and say that his administrations in Tripolitania will not interfere with Italian economic, social, and political encroachment into Tripolitania, in which case the crisis is put off, but Italy is noted to have increasing influence here with time.


Take some other action that doesn't require an Italian response, which also leaves the crisis unresolved but on the back burner.


Do something provocative (like try to throw the Italians out of the province), in which case we need to get hold of the Italian player.I think the Andromedan owes us a post (it can be just a few sentences) saying what he is or is not doing in Tripolitania so that we can move forward, either in the knowledge that an Italo-Turkish was has started, is imminent, or has been deferred.

That brings us to Albania, Macedonia, and Thrace.

The situation has become more dire in the last year or two (I'm assuming that it is now late 1911 or early 1912). The Porte has implemented (prior to the start of the game) two policies that, while well-meaning, have aggravated tensions between Christians and Moslems in these areas:
Extended the requirement for military service to Christian subjects of the Porte (and this means all Christian subjects of the Porte, including Armenians, so there's growing unrest there as well).


Begun resettling Albanians into Macedonia and Thrace.Here's why these policies were well-intended, and here is why they're backfiring:

Military Service

In the Porte (like the world of Heinlein's Starship Troopers, military service is a prerequisite to public service. Christians were formerly barred from military service for a host of reasons (although there have always been a few who served as auxiliaries, usually foreigners), which essentially kept them out of government. In theory, extending the military service requirement to them was a way to help them get into government.

Unfortunately, unscrupulous local officials have used this as an excuse to seize Christian men and hold them for ransom. Unless they or their families are willing (or able) to come up with the standard £40 fee to buy their way out of service, they are then consigned to military units that do little more than provide cheap, forced labour to those same local officials and their friends. While noble in intent, the policy has provided an excuse for corrupt officeholders to terrorise the Christian populace of the Porte.

Migration

Christian communities living within the Porte have traditionally remained isolated from their Moslem compatriots. The Young Turks began moving Moslem Albanians into Christian areas in hopes of breaking down these walls of isolation (think of it as a form of "desegregation"). Unfortunately the mechanism used to do this was through the extension of financial inducements to Albanian Moslems, and the inducements offered were in any event too small to attract any but the very lowest social classes.

Thus, poor and unemployed Albanians are the only ones who have moved into Christian areas. These people, having nothing, quickly fall under the influence of the local officials mentioned above, who have recruited them to further terrorise the local Christian populace. This has led some Christians to flee the Porte, which has resulted in the seizure of any property they have left behind; this property has then often been used to buy the allegiance of more poor migrants in a vicious cycle.

Worse, as migration has become less about bridging the gap between Christian and Moslem and more about pilfering Christian property for the benefit of lower-class Moslem thugs, the quality of the Albanian recruits for migration has fallen further, such that now the new participants in the program are already predisposed to thuggery and have happy thoughts of plunder on their minds. That has just upped tensions in the area still further.

As of late 1911 and early 1912, the situation is spiralling out of control. If nothing is done, it will progress from thuggery to ethnic violence, and from there to open massacre within the next 12 months (by late 1912 and early 1913). If such massacres begin, they will present the emerging Balkan League (of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and [tentatively] Roumania with causus belli).

This is a problem that requires the immediate attention of the Porte (the Andromedan). If nothing is done by the weekend, it will result in war.

Narodna Odbrana, which are the sources for your information? If they are online, I'd love to read them. I like history, that's all.

Narodna Odbrana, which are the sources for your information? If they are online, I'd love to read them. I like history, that's all.I'll send you some tonight. For now, I'll just say that everything I have, I found through Google!

<PAMPA>

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bosnia.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/index.htm
http://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/

... more to come!

<PAMPA(=Posting As My Puppet Again)>

Peace has been restored in the Sublime Porte, the further cultural movements by the Young Turks has been implamented as a massive nationalistic movement powered by the love of Islam. Further more, the brother of Enver Pasa, Cemal Pasa was elected consul of the Sublime Porte.

In other news, Italies proposal of the withdrawl from Tripoli was accepted, the Porte expects compensation in gold from Italy.

As head of the parliment war depertment and experienced veteran, I, Enver Pasa, believe the need for further modernization of the armed forces. Therefore, I request the purchase of 500 thousand of your new 7.92 mm Mauser Gewehr 98 please.

Your faithful client,
Enver Pasa

IC: Italy has begun to move its forces into Tripolitania. In payment Italy has sent a new battleship to the Sublime Porte with the promise of 4 more in the near future as they are produced. A representative of the King has also been dispatched with the "aeroplane" designs you asked for [OOC:That is what you asked for, wasn't it?]

IC: Italy has begun to move its forces into Tripolitania. In payment Italy has sent a new battleship to the Sublime Porte with the promise of 4 more in the near future as they are produced. A representative of the King has also been dispatched with the "aeroplane" designs you asked for [OOC:That is what you asked for, wasn't it?] IC: The Dual Monarchy applauds the willingness of the Kingdom of Italy and the Porte to resolve their differences peacefully.

SIC: "Those damned Italian fools! Do they have any idea how their presence in North Africa will further inflame Arab nationalists? They should have agreed to leave the Porte in place as a figurehead and rule Tripolitania behind the scenes, as we proposed. Now there will be Hell to pay."

OOC: Who's in charge of Turkey, the Andromedan or Paxilia? Also, please check the OOC thread...

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bosnia.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/index.htm
http://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/

... more to come!

<PAMPA(=Posting As My Puppet Again)>
Thank you! :)

To the Sublime Porte

We continue to be concerned about the rising level of sectarian violence
within the Porte's European territories. Unless the Porte moves swiftly
to reverse this trend, the various Balkan states - Greece, Serbia, and
Bulgaria - may be forced to take up arms against you in order to protect
their kin living under your control.

We advise that the Porte move immediately to reduce the tensions that
divide its Christian and Moslem subjects; but we also advise considering
territorial concessions to some of the nations that may be prompted to
take action in order to mollify them.

Crete represents a perfect bargaining chip to use in this fashion. While
the Porte ostensibly still controls Crete, in fact the island is currently
a self-governing Republic under the rule of Prince George of Greece. If
the Porte were to agree to transfer control of Crete to Greece and give
its blessing to a union between the island and the mainland, perhaps the
Kingdom of Greece would be more inclined to give the Porte time to address
its internal problems before presenting an ultimatum regarding the fate of
Orthodox Greeks living under the authority of the Porte.

Giving away a territory you no longer control costs you nothing. It might,
however, be enough to forestall the creation of a hostile alliance by your
neighbours

We strongly recommend you consider making this concession.

Signed,
The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

Peace has been restored in the Sublime Porte, the further cultural movements by the Young Turks has been implamented as a massive nationalistic movement powered by the love of Islam. Further more, the brother of Enver Pasa, Cemal Pasa was elected consul of the Sublime Porte.OOC: And with a wave of their magick wand, the Porte declares that the Christian populace of the Balkans who fear further persecution suddenly no longer care if they will be persecuted or not, while Albanians who have been clamouring for more Albanian autonomy by the merger of their various vilayets (provinces) into a single Albania vilayet have decided that Albanian nationalism is silly and that they'd just as soon be Turks - and therefore have dropped all demands for more local control.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!

You've just forged ahead with the exact same policies that started the First Balkan War. Therfore - the First Balkan War will start - tonight.

Sorry.

Top Secret

To the Sublime Porte,

Events in the Balkans have spiralled out of control to the point where it is unlikely that you can maintain possession of your European territories. We recommend that you think past their loss to the world that will exist once they are gone. With creativity, the Porte may still be able to dominate the region.

But it will take courage. This is what we believe you must do:

Albania

Albanian independence is inevitable, but should not be feared. A strong Moslem Albania would be a natural ally of the Porte, and a valuable one at that. The Dual Monarchy will guarantee the survival of this Albanian state until it is strong enough to stand on its own and you are once more strong enough to support it.

This Albania should be comprised of the four Albanian-dominated vilayets (http://www.frosina.org/uploads/images/map2.gif)
of Shkodër, Kosova, Janinë, and Manastir. This would make the new nation equal to any of the other Balkan states in might.

It would also place the new Albania in the position or requiring the support of your Government, since it would encompass lands claimed by other
Balkan states. You would be an obvious ally for them, and this fact would allow you to steer the foreign policy of this new nation.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria should be appeased by giving it Western Thrace and the eastern half of Macedonia; this would eliminate the last territorial claims of Bulgaria against the lands of the Porte, allowing the relationship between the two of you to return to its natural historical state of alliance. Coupled with your Albanian alliance, this would leave the Porte in a very safe position.

Greece

Greece, too, should be appeased. Support for the unification of Crete with the mainland, combined with the cession of Thessaly, Salonika, and the Dodecanese, would go a long way toward easing Greek hostility toward the Porte.

Armenia

Although not a Balkan province, many of the same issues plague the Porte in Armenia that bother it in the Balkans. If left unanswered, these problems will attract Russian interest. Therefore, the Porte should begin to move toward granting the Armenian people autonomy, with the eventual goal being the creation of a buffer state between the Porte and the Russian Empire.

Secret Protocols

For our part, we will do the following to assist the Porte in the aftermath of any such settlement: Military Aid - We will provide assistance in
modernising the army and navy of the Porte.


Guarantees of Albania's Existence - We will take whatever steps may be necessary to preserve the existence and independence of Albania.


No Outside Parties - Other than the Porte and the Dual Monarchy, the new Albanian state will agree to refuse entry to military forces of any other Power, unless both of us agree to it, and only for as long as we agree to it.


Moderation of Greek Behaviour - The Dual Monarchy will work to steer Greece toward a policy of detente with the Porte, and will not support Greece in the event that it makes aggressive war on the Porte.


Primacy of Turkish Interests - The Dual Monarchy will take a secondary role in the affairs of Albania and Bulgaria, leaving the Porte to take the role of their primary ally.


Non-Closure of the Bosporus - The Porte will not close the Bosporus to shipping without the consent of the Dual Monarchy.


Berlin-to-Baghdad Railway - The Dual Monarchy will work to secure investment capital for the construction of a railroad, to travel from Kiel on the Baltic coast to Basra on the Persian Gulf, by way of Berlin, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, Istanbul, Ankara, Mosul, and Baghdad. The Porte will make it possible for investors in this enterprise to make a fair return on their investment.


Closure of Palestine to Immigration - The Porte will deny Jewish immigrants the right to settle in Palestine as part of the so-called "Zionist" movement.Let us know as soon as possible if these ideas are acceptable. There is no room for delay.

Signed, The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

OOC: If carried out, this would create an Ottoman-controlled Albanian puppet and give the Porte tremendous influence in Bulgaria (it would become the Porte's minor ally). Greece, in turn, would become the minor ally of the Dual Kingdom.

NOTE: Scratch that last part now that Greece is a player. I'll have to negotiate an alliance with him... ;)

Sofia, Bulgarie

Tsar Ferdinand I sat alone in his old study, a gentle fire casting its energy in the brick fireplace in front of him and large wooden bookshelves standing like great monoliths of knowladge and time all around the darkened room.

In the young ruler's hands lay letters of correspondance, telegrams and various wire taps from the Porte. As Ferdiand slowly read through the documents, his mind became more and more excited by the dark black ink printed upon the creased yellow pages.

With the Albanians on the verge of open rebellion, it seemed as if the Balkans were going to explode into open warfare with the Porte, allowing Ferdinand to put his plans into motion.

Ever since Bulgarian Independence in 1908. Ferdinand had been looking south to expand. For too long, the savage Turks had held on to the lands of Thrace, rightful lands of the Bulgarian People and had defiled them with their barbaric customs and religions. Now, with the Balkans about to explode into open war, an oppurtunity emerged. Fighting alone, the Buglarians would surely be crushed by the Porte's superior military forces. However, with the with the Serbians, Albanians and Greeks, the Porte would not be able to concentrate its forces along every line and thus, would make the Territories of Thrace and beyond, to the walls of Constantinople vulnerable to a Bulgarian onslaught.

Already, Ferdinands plans for attack were being but into motion. Currently 30,000 Bulgarian Soldiers, along with German and Austrian made Artillery Pieces were being secretly deployed to the south at Stara Zagoria, along with 15,000 reserves. In the event of War, the Bulgarians would be ready to charge south towards Adrianople and then turn east towards the great city of Constantinople. If the Bulgarians were succesful, as Ferdiand hoped, the Turks would be forced to give up all of Thrace, along with the Territories around Constantinople. And with that victory, Bulgaria would truly be a power to be reckoned with.

As that thought passed through his mind, Ferdinand let out a silent laugh. It seemed as if oppurtunity was knocking on his door and Ferdinand was more than ready to open it.

I would expect it; the Europeans sent observers to the siege of Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese war!

<PAMPA>

ooc. Ok, here it goes.

Coded Telegram to embassies in all Balkan countries, to pass on to the governments

Japan is worried about the rising tensions in the Balkan area. If war breaks
out, Japan would like to send observers to the battlefields in the possible
comming war. We would appreciate it if all parties recognize the neutrality of
the observers. Any questions may be directed to us via the embassy in your
country.

Gen. Fukuoka, Supreme Regent of the Japanese Empire

FYI, the Porte ceded Tripolitania and Cyrenacia to Italy to avoid a war, so in our history the Italo-Turkish war never happened.

It's late 1911, early 1912, BTW...

My mistake. I'll edit accordingly.

Crews laboured to load the coaster SMS Istria with its new cargo - 500 6.5mm x 54 Mannlicher-Schönauer carbines and 50,000 rounds of ammunition. This would be the first of ten such shipments...Pellg i Drinit, Adriatic SeaSMS U 5 (http://hera.mni.fh-giessen.de/~hg6339/data/ah/submarines/pSS_U5-fromMonarch.jpg) lay at periscope depth off the Albania coast. Her commander rotated the periscope through a full circle, but saw nothing that presented any concern.

"Surface," he ordered.

A few minutes later the Holland-class submarine (http://hera.mni.fh-giessen.de/~hg6339/data/ah/submarines/1908_css_holland-type.htm) lay on the surface. Ascending the hatch to the conning tower, an ensign used a shuttered lamp to signal the coaster SMS Istria, lying some distance west by northwest, further out in the bay.

The freighter replied to the signal, and soon began its approach, moving in toward the marshy mouth of the River Drin. As she passed, the submarine began to move along behind her, taking a watching position a few hundred yards further out to sea.

To the north, the heights behind the coastal town of Shëngjin lay dark against the night sky, but to the west were marshy flatlands, rising only slowly toward Lezhë, known as Lissus in Roman times, the only significant city in the region.

This was the land of the Mirdites, largest of the tribes of the Malissori, or "highlanders" of Northern Albania. They were also the last Albanian tribe that was entirely Catholic. Although nominally under Ottoman rule, like many of the Malissori, they paid no tribute. They were a proud people, proud of their independence and their heritage. The great Albanian hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skanderbeg) - who had so terrorised and frustrated the Turks as the leader of the League of Lezhë (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Lezhë) in the mid-15th Century - had been among their number.

Skanderbeg had fallen ill and died of malaria in 1468, but his name had lived on for centuries as the symbol of Albanian independence. Now his spirit would ride again.

From the coaster came a small boat. Its oars glittered in the starlight as it made its way toward the mouth of the river. At its bow, Hauptmann Karl Rákóczy held a lantern, showing only the faintest glimmer of light. A sailor sat beside him, his carbine at ready.

It was not needed.

From the shore, a light appeared, waving back and forth. Rákóczy pointed, and the sailors swung the boat toward the reeds. A minute later, they bumped ashore.

Four lean, muscular men came toward them, armed but with weapons shouldered. "I am Jin Moisiu," said the leader.

Jin, Rákóczy thought. In Albanian, that was John, a Christian name.

"Karl Rákóczy," said the Hungarian captain.

The Mirdite nodded approvingly, "A Hungarian - good! You Hungarians helped us before, in Skanderbeg's day."

"And we come to help you now," said Rákóczy.

Very quickly the two men went over the plan. The Mirdites had brought many men and many boats, hidden in the marshes at the mouth of the Drin. As much of the Istria's cargo would be offloaded tonight as possible; if cargo remained, the coaster would put back out to sea and return on the morrow, weather permitting. As soon as the cargo was fully unloaded, it would return to Trieste and another coaster would follow.

5,000 Mannlicher-Schönauer carbines and half a million rounds of ammunition would be unloaded over these shores, to be used by the Mirdites - and those among the Malissori who would join them.

And if that was not enough, more would follow. Albania would be free.

Der Ballplatz, Vienna

To: The Sublime Porte
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

We are concerned that you do not appreciate the gravity of the situation
in your European territories. Immediate action must be taken to avert a
general conflagration:
1. The four Albanian vilayets must be merged into a single
autonomous vilayet under effective Albanian control. If this
is not done, the loyalty of the Albanian populace there can not be
guaranteed and - with their revolt - the entirety of your European
territories will be lost.

2. Crete must be ceded to Greece without delay. Greece could still
be placated by territorial concessions, even at this late hour, but
the window of opportunity for such action is fast closing. If hos-
tilities erupt, Greece will be forced to join the war against you
with disastrous consequences.
We beseech you not to delay, but to end this crisis immediately by follo-
wing the steps we have urged in our earlier note. There is no time left
for any further delay.
To: The Kingdom of Greece and the Kingdom of Bulgaria
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

We have urged the Porte to resolve the growing crisis in the Balkans by
ceding the vilayet of Salonika and the islands of Crete and the Dodecanese
to Greece and the vilayet of Adrianople (except for the immediate area
around Constantinople) to Bulgaria. If the Porte does not do this and the
outrages in its European territories continue, we will support an effort on
your part to sieze these lands by force. We would however, prefer a nego-
tiated settlement if at all possible.

With regards to the disposition of the vilayets of Manastir and
Janinë, we will endorse any final territorial division that leaves ethnic
Albanians, Greeks, and Bulgarians under governments of their own nationality.
We are aware of the fact that ethnicity in these regions is difficult to
establish, however, and that these nationalities are significantly inter-
mingled; we are also aware of the fact that, for many people in this region,
religious affiliation may matters more than ethnicity. Thus, we would be
inclined to draw any border between Greece and any new Albanian nation in
such a way as to incorporate a large percentage of the ethnic Albanians of
Epirus who are adherents to the Greek Orthodox faith. Likewise, be aware
that we would look with similar favor on the claims of Bulgaria to commu-
nities that follow the Bulgarian exarchate in preference to any purely
ethnic division of lands in Macedonia or Thrace.

But again, we urge restraint and beg each of you to seek to resolve this
matter without force if at all possible.

i just want to apologize right now for not being on. My network has not worked for me at all until today and I can continue with this

ic: King Petar sat with King Nikola I (Njegos) while waiting for the Greek, Bulgarian, and Romanian dignitaries.

"They must not be pleased with our absence." Petar said to Nikola.

Nikola replied while shifting comfortably in his chair, " I am sure they will understand it was due to technical difficulties. Besides, a crisis is emerging and we have an opportunity to the centuries long revenge against the Turks. We all want lands that the Turks held, we all want to free our Orthodox bretheren, and we all want to put an end to the meddling of the Austro-Hungarians. We can finally continue with this meeting without any more interuptions, especially concerning the escalating tensions. War is on the horizon brother."

Petar began to toy with a pen in his left hand while watching the pen as it twirled around. "That is true, it is not all unknown how much you want to retake all of the Turk's European lands. You might end up being the cause for a war in the Balkans. I am not a fan of war, but I do not see the Turks or the Austro-Hungarians allowing us Southern Slavs to unite peacefully. Franz Joseph took Bosnia and Hercegovina probably to make up for losing northern Italy. We are not austrians nor hungarians or czechs or anything of the sort, there was no real reason to annex it. We can't even rely on the teachings of Thomas Masaryk to bring about a peaceful and gradual solution anymore. Not a week goes by where some radical from the Narodna Oderana or other group requesting or flat out demanding military aid, even flat out war which we are not yet quite ready for. "

Nikola pulled a small flask of rakija and took a small sip. "Nonsense! Now is the prime time to take back what is ours from the Turks! If the Italians were actually able to beat them at Tripoli and Cyrenaica we can take back all that was ours! The only thing that concerns me is those treacherous Bulgarians."

Petar sighed, "Nor am I pleased with the Austrian authorities in B-H seizing local newpapers, expelling student leaders, placing schools under direct military rule, opressing the Serb-Croat political party in Croatia Slavonia and so forth. Why must they always bring themselves into the Balkans? All we want is our freedom. The Austro-Hungarians have their so-called Drang noch Osten, the Turks want everything, and we're in the middle of the two. We only have each other to turn to. With luck the Romanians are still interested. Together we can present a front strong enough to keep any intruders at bay. We will have to eventually make our secret alliance not so secret. I would prefer after Romania joins should they. The Turks will not be pelased about this"

ooc: now to catch up on the missed reading....

It's good to see you back! Your initial invitation to the Romanians was posted in the main thread and this is where I have replied (and accepted) to your proposal. If you want, you can RP it again. I give you full controll over my prime-minister (call him Bogmih). He will accept your proposal. Bulgaria and Greece are now player controlled, so maybe they should also give you control over their envoys to this meeting, telling you what their answers will be. This way, we'll be able to finish the treaty in one post.

ooc: Well, I've read through the entire thread and I must say that I cannot find the post you guys are talking about. Perhaps if someone would be kind enough to point this old, blind greek fool in the right direction then Greece might allow said control of said envoy for said RP.

*A simple white envelope sealed with the mark of Greece, arrives at the front desk of the Austrio-Hungarian rulers.*

To: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
From: The Kingdom of Greece

The people of Greece appreciate your efforts to try and persuade the young turks to see reason, both the diplomatic support as well as the warships anchored of the coast of my homeland Crete. However, Greece unfortunately does not share the optimism you appear to have in the words of the Porte. We have been asking the young turks to hand over the lands that rightfully belong to Greece for years now, yet they still refuse despite having little or no control of the ethnic Greeks living in these lands.

While we do this, this waiting and talking, good, honest, orthodox christians continue to suffer under the oppressive hand of the ottoman. We cannot allow the blatent disregard for the rights of ethnic Greeks beyond our present borders to continue for much longer. Something needs to be done soon and done quickly, whether that something is the sublime Porte backing down or the greek peoples surging forwards. Neverless we will restrain ourselves for a bit longer as you wish, but I must warn you these restraints that we use are old and tired, they very much wear thin.

Greece grows impatient.


Regards,

The Hon. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos,
with the consent of his majesty, King George I of Greece

ooc: Well, I've read through the entire thread and I must say that I cannot find the post you guys are talking about. Perhaps if someone would be kind enough to point this old, blind greek fool in the right direction then Greece might allow said control of said envoy for said RP.It's in the other thread, round post #318 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=433959&page=22&pp=15) or so...

It's in the other thread, round post #318 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=433959&page=22&pp=15) or so...

ooc: Ta.

...oh and Greece fully supports the enterance of Romania into the alliance, as long as it does indeed contribute. Thy envoy is yours to RP.

Der Ballplatz, Vienna
To: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
From: The Kingdom of Greece

The people of Greece appreciate your efforts to try and persuade the
young turks to see reason, both the diplomatic support as well as the
warships anchored of the coast of my homeland Crete. However, Greece
unfortunately does not share the optimism you appear to have in the
words of the Porte. We have been asking the young turks to hand over
the lands that rightfully belong to Greece for years now, yet they
still refuse despite having little or no control of the ethnic Greeks
living in these lands.

While we do this, this waiting and talking, good, honest, orthodox
christians continue to suffer under the oppressive hand of the ottoman.
We cannot allow the blatent disregard for the rights of ethnic Greeks
beyond our present borders to continue for much longer. Something needs
to be done soon and done quickly, whether that something is the sublime
Porte backing down or the greek peoples surging forwards. Neverless we
will restrain ourselves for a bit longer as you wish, but I must warn
you these restraints that we use are old and tired, they very much wear
thin.

Greece grows impatient.


Regards,

The Hon. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos,
with the consent of his majesty, King George I of Greece
To: The Kingdom of Greece and the Kingdom of Bulgaria
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

We completely agree with your assessment of the situation, and do not
expect you to continue to await a peaceful resolution of the situation
for much longer.

Going forward, then, we urge you and Bulgaria to agree in advance to
a division of the territories to be liberated from the Porte, so as to
avoid any possible clash among the Christian states of the region over
a division of these lands.

The Dual Monarchy supports the following division of territory:
• Crete, Rhodes and the Dodecanese, and the vilayet of
Salonika to Greece.

• The vilayet of Adrianople (excepting Constantinople and
its immediate environs) to Bulgaria.

• The vilayets of Shkodër, Kosava, Janinë, and Manastir to the
new Albanian nation, with the cession of lands in Janinë and
Manastir that are inhabited primarily by Orthodox Christians to
either Greece or Bulgaria, depending on whether the dominant
ecclesiastical government in the area emanates from the Exarchate
of Bulgaria or the Exarchate of Constantinople.
In addition, the Dual Monarchy believes that the peace of the region
would be served by a full military and diplomatic alliance of Greece
with Bulgaria, as well as guarantees by both nations of each others
borders as well as the borders of the new Albanian nation.

Finally, in a separate protocol, the Dual Monarchy wishes to sign a
full military and diplomatic alliance with both the Kingdom of Greece
and the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and we also stand prepared to guarantee
the borders of the new Albanian nation once it is organised.

If you are willing, please respond quickly. Time is running out.
IC: See the main RP thread for our note to Russia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9428900&postcount=526); we are essentially informing them of the situation prior to taking action (or, actually, endorsing action on your part).

ooc: Trying to avert the next war eh? ;)

To: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
From: The Kingdom of Greece

On behalf of Orthodox christians everywhere, Greece thanks you for this
sanction to end this on going suffering. We also would like to add that we
would be very open to any talks of military alliances with Bulgaria, Austria-
Hungary, and any new Albanian state as has been suggested.

Greece also accepts the proposed divisions of territory should this indeed
come to armed conflict as seems likely.

Regards,

The Hon. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos,
with the consent of his majesty, King George I of Greece

ooc: Sorry for the short delay, it takes time to look up places on dial up... plus it doesn't help when the forum eats your first post. :p

Sorry for the short delay, it takes time to look up places on dial up... plus it doesn't help when the forum eats your first post. :pYou end up losing a little territory in Epirus (maybe, and then again, maybe not - I've found a historical record of the various partitioning schemes, and you might actually gain in Epirus, depending on how the lines fall). You lose a little ground in Thrace and maybe some in Macedonia, but you pick up the Dodecanese, which Italy swiped in its war with the Porte (and - since that war didn't happen here - is now still in Turkish hands; and now you know what those 2,000 men and two capital ships off Crete are for!).

The main benefit is that you end up with Bulgaria as less of an enemy (although I'm not sure I can do anything to eliminate enmity between you two).

Bulgaria ends up with a tad more territory in Macedonia and Thrace, and doesn't lose territory around the mouth of the Danube to Roumania if war is averted (of course, Roumania may well attack anyway...).

Albania ends up a lot bigger, but with less cause for enmity toward its neighbours than was historically the case.

The Macedonian Slavs get screwed, but they were going to get that anyway. At least they end up in Bulgaria (a Slavic nation) rather than Greece (a Hellenic nation).

I'll get the maps out tonight and start drawing lines, but it's hard because the names of these places have changed since 1912...

<PAMPA(=Posting as my puppet again!)>

I see you're trying to exclude Serbia from the deal. I don't like the idea of a strong Bulgarian Kingdom, but I believe the deal is secret, so the Romanian governement won't do anything (until the deal becomes public).

I see you're trying to exclude Serbia from the deal.Who, me? <whistles, hands in pockets>

<PAMPA>

Sofia, Bulgaria

As Ferdinand flicked through the KUK message, he became rather annoyed, but at the same time excited. Yes, the Crown of St. Steven has obliged their support against the Porte, however they still foolishly think that the barbaric slime that occupies Constantinople will listen to their pleas for peace.

Cursed Turkish dogs! We cannot tolerate their exsistance in Europe The young Tsar cursed to himself.

Although the territories Bulgaria craved could be won through Diplomacy, the influence of the Porte would still be strong in the Balkans and this could not be tolerated. If the Porte was still strong, then the Balkans would have no chance to prosper. The walls of Constantinople needed to be breeched once again and the Sublime Porte forced completely out of Europe. Only then would Ferdinand be happy.

Taking up pen and paper, Ferdiand managed to scratch up a response to Vienna. Although it was short, it satisfied the Tsar's purposes:



To: Vienna, KUK
From: Sofia, Bulgaria

Dear Sir(s):

The Bulgarian Government and People dearly thank you for your support in our quest against the Porte and we do heartily agree that this crisis must be solved through proper diplomacy.

However, due to the lack Turkish correspondance between our governments and their failure to peacefully respond to the ever worsening rebellion in Albania, I doubt they will answer our pleas of peace.

Thus, in the event of aggressive Turkish military actions within the Balkans region, the nation of Bulgaria sees no choice but to unleash her armies upon them to uphold our soviergnty against this wicked Tyranny.

Once again, we thank you for your support.

Singed,

Tsar Ferdiand I
Lord of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria



Shortly after the message was sent, a messenger arrived to the King's study, a small yellow telegram in hand. The messenger himself was no older than 15 or 16, with small shoulders and lanky arms. As Ferdinand gently grabbed the telegram from the boy's small, feeble hands, the Tsar, a known bi-sexual, felt himself become more aroused.

But the moment did not last for long and as Ferdiand returned to his seat, he gingerly opened the telegram and began to read:



Bulgarian 1st Army ready to march. Stop.

Reserves being prepared to the North and East. Stop.

Orders? Stop.



Ferdinand crumpled the small paper in his hand and gazed out the window in glee. So far, his fellow nieghbors were still not aware of Bulgarian troop movements and now, with nearly 30,000 young men ready to sweep into the Porte, it looked as if no one would be able to stop him.

Removing a small slip of paper from one a wooden desk nearby, he wrote his response:



Hold until Declaration is made. Stop.

The Romanian minister of foreign affairs entered the modest chamber whose only piece of furniture was a big desk, behind which sat the prime-minister.

"Please, come in. How is your daughter? I hope she's better."

"Yes, sir, thank God. The doctors say it's just a bad case of flu, not pneumonia. I was worried sick after she was caught in the open by that downpour."

"That's good news!", said the prime-minister wormly. "But what was so urgent that you wanted to see me before our regular meeting?"

"Actually, it's not so urgent. At least I hope it's not", added the foreign minister. "The reason I wanted to see you now is that I wanted to keep the secret about what I'm going to tell you."

"Tell me, then."

"Sir, in the past days, we have received two worrying reports from our ambasadors in Viena and Sofia. You can read them yourself"

The minister handed his boss two pieces of paper. The prime-minister read out-loud:

"From our ambasador in Bulgaria to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the last week, an unusual ammount of diplomatic messages have been exchanged between the Bulgarian governement and their counterparts in Greece and Austria-Hungary. It has been impossible to determine the content of these messages, but, given the tense situation in the Balkans, I considered appropriate to let you know about these latest develpoements."

"The message from our ambasador to Viena is almost identical to this one", intervened the foreign minister. He points to an increase in the ammount of messages between the Austrians, the Bulgarians and the Greeks."

"Does he know what are all these messages about?", inquired the prime-minister.

"No, sir. But we telegraphed our ambasador in Greece and he confirmed the news from the other two ambasadors. It looks like these three states are cooking something, but leaving Serbia on the outside."

"This is serious news. I thought our Balkan Alliance was a sure thing, but now it looks like the Serbs and us are left on the outside. And I bet the whole thing was planned by those d****d Austrians! They will either try to attack Serbia and divide the spoils between them or they'll just prevent them from aquiring new teritories in Macedonia and Albania in the eventuality of a war with the Sublime Porte."

"I believe the latter, sir. The Russians wouldn't like it if their closest allies in the Balkans were to be annexed."

"Of course, you're right. I got carried away", admitted the prime-minister.

"The question is, sir, what do we do about it?"

The prime-minister didn't hesitate a moment. With a firm voice, he said:

"Your ambasadors will have to hint that we wouldn't like it if Serbia were to be left out on a deal regarding the division of spoils in the Balkans. At the moment, Romania is the strongest Balkan state. We can't let any country gain too much or the balance of power will shift. I'll also have to talk to the minister of war, to see how fast can our army get mobilised, if need be."

"Is that all, sir?"

"Yes. You have done well, my friend. Not many would have bothered with such minor information. I thank you."

The foreign minister looked pleased :

"I have only done my duty."

"You have done it well and this is no small thing. Good by, my friend."

"Good by, sir." The minister headed toward the exit. Behind him, the prime-minister was already considering the many implications of the news.

Schloß Schönbrunn (http://www.kaisergruft.at/kaisergruft/images/schoenbrunn3.jpg), Vienna
The meeting at the Schönbrunn had taken on a grave tone.

"The situation continues to go from bad to worse," stated Count Berchtold bluntly. "The Porte continues to do nothing."

"Don't they understand the gravity of the situation?" asked Baron Conrad.

"I believe," offered the Foreign Minister, "That they are in such political disarray as to be unable to act."

"Then they will be crushed," said the Army Chief of Staff bluntly. "They can not face this many enemies at once."

"No, they can not," agreed Berchtold.

"So what do we do?" asked Franz Josef I.

"We let the chips fall where they may, and sort things out after the fighting is over," said the Count.

"Unacceptable!" snapped Conrad von Hötzendorf. "If the Serbs and Montenegrins take Scutari, the our security will be severely compromised."

"We can always land a force on near Lezha and provide assistance to the Albanians directly, yes?" asked the Emperor and King.

"Certainly," said Conrad. "But that will at best only stop the Montenegrins from taking Scutari itself. The Serbs will still overrun Kosovo, if only because neither the Turks nor the Albanians are capable of stopping them."

"If that happens," said Berchtold, "The resulting Albanian state will be too small to stand on its own. We would then be forced to prop it up ourselves, at a constant cost to our Treasury. That is why I want the Porte to grant Albanian control of all four vilayets..."

"That is not going to happen," said the Chief of Staff dismissively, "And even it did, what would stop the Serbs and Montenegrins from invading the new Albanian state and just taking what they want?"

"Politically," said the Foreign Minister, "There is a world of difference between attacking Turkey to liberate its subjects from their suffering and attacking Albania in order to satisfy territorial desires. That is why I had hoped to establish an Albanian claim to Kosovo by peaceful means."

"Still," said Conrad von Hötzendorf with a shake of his head, "That is now moot. It will come to war, and there is no way to keep the Serbs from seizing Kosovo."

"Are you sure?" asked Franz Josef, who had been listening to the exchange. "Are there no other possibilities?"

The Chief of Staff paused, thinking. "There may be another," he said at last.

Die Ringstraße, Vienna
It was well past midnight as the officers and civilian engineers toiled, argued, made calculations, jotted down notes. Railroad schedules were juggled, rolling stock inventories assessed, calculations made; men, equipment, ammunition, clothing, tentage, food, fodder, coal, and hundreds of other sundries had to be counted, measured, and converted into metric tonnes, cubic metres or square metres, or whatever other measure might be needed to assess their portability. But by morning, as the officers and civil servants went home to catch quick naps before what would be a hard day's work, the plans were completed, typed into countless copies, bound into booklets, and sent out by courier.

And one copy, in the hands of Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, was bound for his Imperial and Royal Highness, Franz Josef I, at the Schönbrunn.
Schloß Schönbrunn, Vienna
Franz Josef I had just arisen and was having breakfast when his Army Chief of Staff arrived.

"It is finished," reported Conrad, placing the papers before the Emperor and King. They spent the next several minutes going over the details before Franz Josef was satisfied.

"Did you get any sleep last night," he asked as he signed the documents.

"A couple of hours," admitted the Baron.

"Go home to your wife and get some rest. You shouldn't be needed until this evening," Franz Josef observed. "I hope Count Berchtold got slept well last night, for tonight will be his night to burn the midnight oil."
Vienna, Austria
The afternoon papers quickly picked up the story (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9438353&postcount=538): the k.u.k Army would conduct a partial mobilisation of its forces, calling up about 50% of its personnel for manoeuvres in Bosnia and Hercegovina, to last two weeks. But even before the news was out, mobilisation notices were going out, trains being requisition, depots prepared. By late March of 1912, over a million soldiers would be in the field on manoeuvres in the Empire's southern territories.
OOC: Mobilisation will take thirteen days; manoeuvres will begin on March 17th, 1912.

Secret telegram to the Serbian governement

My dear friends, my confidence in the creation of a succesful Balkan League has been seriously shaken. The reports coming from my ambasadors in Bulgaria, Greece and Austria-Hungary show an increase in the number of messages being exchanged by these three countries, which may indicate the creation of an alliance - or at least a temporary pact. This hypothesis is further supported by the recent news regarding the Austrian "military maneuvres" which will take place in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

I want to let you know the Romanians will not desert their friends in time of need. We have already made all the necessary preparations to insure that, in case of a general mobilization, we can summon 500 000 soldiers in one week and the rest of 300 000 in another week.

Hoping that everything will be fine, I tell you good by.

Bogmih, prime-minister of Romania

Secret order to the Romanian minister of war

OOC: This one will have to wait. Again I have to go. :mad: It will concern the Aromanian/Vlach minority in European Turkey.

Secret order to the Romanian minister of war

The numerous Aromanian/Vlach minority in Macedonia and Albania is an asset which hasn't been exploited so far. Considering the present tense situation in the Balkans, it's high time this situation were corrected. Please send unofficially several officers - preferably Aromanians or descendents of Aromanain immigrants to Romania - to European Turkey. They will pose in filantropists wishing to build Aromanian schools, which should justify the large sums of money they'll have. Part of the money will be used to begin the construction of several schools, but the main bulk should be used to buy weapons for the Aromanian resistance.

At the moment, the Aromanians do not form a unified organization, partly because they are so scattered. These officers are to create such an organization and to train the Aromanians in the use of the weapons they'll aquire. Considering that many of the Aromanians are shepherds, they should form an ideal guerilla force, that will be able to move freely through the mountainous terrain of the Balkans. Their use as a conventional army should be considered only in the eventuality of an open war with the Porte.

OOC: The numbers of the Vlach minority in the southern Balkans are impossible to estimate very acurately. I'll use the estimate made by the 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica, which puts them at around 500 000, or about one tenth of the population of European Turkey and an even higher proportion for the areas they effectively inhabit - Albania and Macedonia (the region, not the present day state). This should give me a force of about 50 000 soldiers in times of war and 10 000 guerilla fighters in times of "peace".

I have to add that the numbers given for Transilvania (1 250 000 Romanians) are too low, so maybe the numbers given for the Aromanians are also too low. I'll consider them an accurate estimate, however. I don't want to seem too "greedy". The site is here (http://37.1911encyclopedia.org/V/VL/VLACHS.htm) .

OOC: Comments in the OOC thread.

-Great Britain tag-

Der Ballplatz
The diplomatic corps kept busy.

They faced questions from all quarters. No, this was not a prelude to the invasion of Serbia or Montenegro - the Dual Monarchy continues to respect the sovereignty and independence of these two countries. No, it wasn't even a show of force. Just a set of exercises, to test the nation's ability to defend itself in a pinch.

Nobody believed the diplomats, of course. The foreign press - and even some of the domestic journals - speculated wildly about the "real" purpose of the deployment. The good news was that they were totally wrong.
Bosnia-Hercegovina
The three field armies assembled along the southern border. 2nd Army took up positions facing Roumania and Northeastern Serbia, while 5th Army, on the other flank, concentrated along the coast, facing Montenegro. Between the two, facing Northwestern Serbia and the Serb capital of Beograd was 6th Army.

The troops were deployed well back of the frontier, a minimum of 10km everywhere. The border itself was covered by the standing army, as it would be in the event of an actual war. During the mobilisation, cavalry and light infantry patrolled the borders, simulating the heightened state of alert they would have to maintain were hostilities imminent.OOC: A full listing of mobilised units, in the form of an Order of Battle, is pending.

6th Army XV Corps (1st and 48th Infantry Divisions)
XVI Corps (18th Infantry Division; 1st, 2nd, and 13th Mountain Brigades)
Reserves (47th Infantry Divison; 40th Hungarian Landwehr Division; 3rd Mountain Brigade; 109th Reserve Infantry Brigade)
5th Army VIII Corps (9th and 23rd Infantry Divisions)
XIII Corps (36th Infantry Division; 42nd Hungarian Landweher Division; 13th Infantry Brigade)
Reserves (11th Infantry Brigade; 104th Reserve Infantry Brigade)
2nd Army XII Corps (16th and 35th Infantry Divisions; 38th Hungarian Landwehr Division)
III Corps (6th and 28th Infantry Divisions; 22nd Austrian Landwehr Division)
XII Corps (17th and 34th Infantry Divisions)
IV Corps (31st and 32rd Infantry Divisions)
Reserves (11th Infantry Division; 43rd Austrian Landwehr Divisions; 20th Hungarian Landwehr Division; 1st and 8th Cavalry Divisions; 5th Hungarian Cavalry Division; 35th, 40th, 102nd, 103rd, and 105th Reserve Brigades)
Army Group "Kummer" (7th Cavalry Division; 95th and 106th Reserve Infantry Divisions; 1st Mountain Artillery Brigade)

OOC: There are actually quite a few smaller units not shown in this OOB (battalions, companies, and the lot); these are attached to the various armies, army groups, or corps and will be detailed as needed [eg, pioneer and engineer companies, reserve artillery batteries, etc.]). Also, so-called "march brigades" (and similar units) are not shown, as the usual purpose of these would be as replacements for units that needed them.

17th of March, 1912

The partial mobilization of the Romanian army begins. The 14 infantry divisions and 2 heavy artilery batallions will be training in the Carpathian Mountains, as this is the most difficult terrain available. The artilery batallions will conduct firing practice in the Carpathians' passes. The exercise will commence on the 27th of March.

OOB

1st Army

1st Corps (1st and 2nd Inf. Division)
2nd Corps (11th and 3rd Inf. Division)
3rd Corps (4th and 12th Inf. Division)
4th Corps (5th and 6th Inf Division)
1st heavy artilery brigade

2nd Army

5th Corps (13th and 7th Inf. Division)
6th Corps (8th and 14th Inf. Division)
7th Corps (10th and 15th Inf. Division)
2nd heavy artilery brigade

The 1st Army will be deployed in the Southern Carpathians and the 2nd in the Eastern Carpathians.

March 17th, 2005The military exercises began precisely as scheduled. Under the keen gaze of numerous foreign observers, the k.u.k. Army was put through its paces.

At headquarters in Budapest, an elaborate war-game was undertaken, based on the premise that the Dual Monarchy was under attack from the south. The enemy or enemies were not named, but on the map flags of red and blue were employed to denote their forces. According to one staff officer, these colours were chosen "because they contrast so well with our own" (black and yellow).

In the field, the troops practised route marches, attacks, withdrawals, blocking and delayed actions, night operations and patrolling. Live fire exercises were undertaken, both with rifle, machine gun, and artillery fire. As in any such operation - even in peacetime - there were a small number of accidents, some fatal (although overall fatalities were less than a dozen).

The whole affair, however, was enough to do a number of important things. One was to "shake the dust" out of the system. The quartermasters in particular got a hard workout, and every mistake was noted and used as a demonstration of what happens when care and proper procedure are not followed. As for the troops, the manoeuvres were especially good for the reserves, who - having been away from the colours for a while - regained a measure of their fitness and discipline. While the army as a whole was not worked too hard, it was worked hard enough to give it a good edge.

I don't want to fight with the Balkan League, how can i prevent this? Serbia, lets make a peace before this worthless bloodshed begins. :DMarch 25th, 1912Istanbul, TurkeyIn a great hurry, Markgraf Johann von Pallavicini, the Dual Monarchy's ambassador to the Sublime Porte, fired off the telegram to Vienna. There was no time for encryption, so a simple code was used.
The Church of St. John burnt to the ground last night. The old watchman
apparently woke up and kicked his lantern over in confusion and fear.

Reconstruction plans should begin immediatelyDer BallplatzGraf Leopold Berchtold read the telegram and sighed. He had so hoped that peace could be preserved through timely territorial concessions by the Porte. But now...

He ordered a cable sent to Franz Conrad in Budapest. It was simple and straightforward.
Initiate Fall Grün. Final confirmation will be given this evening before
8:00 PM.Budapest, HungaryGraf Franz Conrad looked at the telegram.

So ... it begins.

Within the hour, the better part of 2nd Army was on the move, some of it by rail.Trieste, KustenlandLate in the afternoon, the cruise liner SMS Lodovica of the Unione Austriaca (Austro-Americana) Line, taken into military service for the duration of the exercises, took to sea in the company of the protected cruiser SMS Zenta and destroyer SMS Streiter, along with three smaller merchant vessels. Aboard the Lodovica was 2.Battaillon Bosnisch-Hercegovinisches Infanterieregiment Nr.2 - 1,000 light infantry trained for mountain warfare

Once sunset came, more ships departed. First, the destroyer SMS Wildfang slipped out to sea, followed by thirteen small coasters, one departing every fifteen minutes. Finally, after the last one had left, two torpedo boats, Tb61T and Tb62T, slipped out into the Adriatic together and took positions to either side of the long line of merchant vessels.

Aboard this convoy of coasters were 3.Battaillon Infanterieregiment Graf Jellaèic Nr.79 and Feldjägerbataillon Nr.7 - a total of just over 2,000 men, half of them mountain troops.Goražde, Bosnia-HercegovinaAfter dark, 5.Grenz Jäger-Kompanie began scouting out possible border crossings into the sanjak of Novi-Bazar. This was an area that was well know to the k.u.k. army, having been under their occupation just three years earlier.

Operation Fall Grün

How orginal... :p

Sofia, Bulgaria

As Ferdiand watched the Armies of St. Stephen and Rumania partially mobilize themselves and the Albanians ready to rebel, he could hardly contain his excitement.

Finally, the time has come for the demise of those Moslem bastards!, he thought triumphantly.

Already, the 2nd Bulgarian Army, now reaching 40,000 strong laid in wait in southern Bulgaria, fully prepared to drive into Turkish territories, with the 1st and 3rd Armies being prepared themselves. In a matter of days, full mobilization would be completed and the battle would begin.

Taking up a piece of paper, Ferdinand began to scratch down his orders to 2nd Army Command:



The time has come. Initiate Operation: Downfall by sunrise tommorow. Stop.

May victory be with you. Stop.



Message was immedeatley sent. It would not be long until war, once again, engulfed the Balkans.

OCC:

I have yet to find an accurate Bulgarian Order of Battle, despite my constant search through Wikipedia and Google. However, I will eventually post one.

Prime Minister Asquith paced before the table of the Cabinet Meeting in Whitehall. Increasingly worrysome signs were emerging from the Balkans, armed forces being mobilized, political wrangling, claim and counter claim. No doubt the target of certain enthusiastic Balkan "powers" would be the demise of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, and possibly even beyond.

The British had been working at propping up that Empire since the period of splendid isolation had ended nearly a decade before and now it appeared as if that would account for nothing.

The only token of good news that could be taken from the developments that as yet Russia had remained silent. The British Government hoped that this signalled that St Petersburg wished to remain out of the conflict and were leaving the Balkan League high and dry to face any Austrian repercussions to thier own act of Imperialism, which would probably come as an increase in the Austrian Empire. Making them more internally unstable, or so the thinking at the Foreign Office went.

If that were to occur then there would be two unstable Empires in the region, possibly three if the cracks in the Balkan Alliance were carefully exploited by another power in whoose intrests it would be to see them all destroy each other. Russia had ambitions in that area, and while the Serbs were Slavs the Russians may not care as much about them as controlling the Dardenelles for themselves, thereby securing their warm water ports and trading.

Althogether this was not a happy position for the British Empire, but nor was it particularly worrying. The only action that had been taken thus far was to instruct those ships of the Mediteranean Fleet that had left Malta to head for a routine cruise around the Eastern end of the sea, just to show the powers that Britain was still paying attention to developments in this part of the world.

The only action that had been taken thus far was to instruct those ships of the Mediteranean Fleet that had left Malta to head for Palastine for a routine visit. The sight of the Royal Navy should keep that British Possession safe should the Turkish Empire suddenly collapse.
What British posession are you talking about? Palestine was still in the Ottoman Empire in 1912.

What British posession are you talking about? Palestine was still in the Ottoman Empire in 1912.

OOC: However we are in 1914? Arnt we?

OOC: However we are in 1914? Arnt we?

For the Balkans War RP, we are pretending that it is still the year of 1912. However, it is spring of 1914 in the RP (very confusing, but that's only the only way how this is gonna work).

Also, the British did not claim Palestine until after WWI, when the Ottoman Empire was torn apart.

For the Balkans War RP, we are pretending that it is still the year of 1912. However, it is spring of 1914 in the RP (very confusing, but that's only the only way how this is gonna work).

Also, the British did not claim Palestine until after WWI, when the Ottoman Empire was torn apart.

OOC: Doh, damn my holiday getting me out of synch with everything!!

From the Wiki list it said that Britain held Palestine the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from 1914 onwards. I will double check then alter my post accordingly, thanks for telling me.

OOC: However we are in 1914? Arnt we?
In the Balkan Wars thread, it's just 1912. Anyway, Palestine was only occupied by Britain in 1917, IIRC, during WWI. It officially passed under the British mandate around 1920, when OE's arabian possesions were divided between Britain and France.

In the Balkan Wars thread, it's just 1912. Anyway, Palestine was only occupied by Britain in 1917, IIRC, during WWI. It officially passed under the British mandate around 1920, when OE's arabian possesions were divided between Britain and France.

OOC: Well in that case my factbook entry is incorrect then. As two of you have raised the point it leads me to conclude that my information is incorrect. I shall alter that post accordingly, and change my factbook tomorrow after I have done further research into it.

Althogether this was not a happy position for the British Empire, but nor was it particularly worrying. The only action that had been taken thus far was to instruct those ships of the Mediteranean Fleet that had left Malta to head for Palastine for a routine visit. The sight of the Royal Navy should keep that British Possession safe should the Turkish Empire suddenly collapse.OOC: Oh, you just missed me!!!

Oh, and BTW - this crisis is happening in 1912 (we're a little slow down here).

March 26th, 1912Iraklion, CreteIs was the evening after the departure of the British squadron from Malta that the k.u.k reinforcements arrived: the protected cruiser SMS Zenta, the destroyer SMS Streiter, the cruise liner SMS Lodovica (now a troopship) and three smaller merchant vessels. Joining the three vessels anchored of Crete after dark, the combined group of nine vessels now turned east, making way toward Rhodes, off the coast of Anatolia.Port Said, EgyptThe cruiser SMS Kaiserin Elizabeth was just getting back to Europe from a cruise of the Orient; in addition to her normal complement, she was carrying the fromer Tianjin garrison and a small number of Chinese military attachés. She had put into Port Said prior to leaving the Suez Canal for coal and news when the telegram arrived from Trieste:
SMS Kaiserin Elizabeth:

You are to proceed with all due speed to a point 50 nautical miles west
of the island of Rhodes, there to meet Rear Admiral Haus aboard flagship
SMS Radetzky, and place yourself under his command.

March 27th, 1912 - MidnightLezhë, IskhkodërPrenk Bibë Doda Pashë, Kapedan of the Mirditë tribe, largest of the Malësi ("mountaineer") tribes (or Malissori, as they were called outside Albania) looked down on the sleeping town of Lezhë. He had almost 200 men; there would not be nearly as many Turks in the town below. In fact, there would be only two places where his men would have to go to make the town theirs: the town hall and the police station.

His men cast their faces upon him, awaiting his signal.

He raised his hand and dropped it.

In small groups, the Mirditës swarmed down the hill, staying to gullies and behind brush, moving silently. Most had rifles at hand, but many had long, cruel knives; these would be used to silently dispatch the few soldiers patrolling the streets. If possible, no firearms would be used until the assault on the police station and - if need be - the town hall.

It took just 20 minutes for the small bands of men to clear the streets and side allies of Turks. Most never saw their enemies; they were overtaken from behind and left with throats laid open wide.

Even at the police station, the guards outside were taken silently. Several men the climbed a back window and quietly jimmied it open, while two other groups closed on the two entrances, taking flanking positions so as to catch the soldiers as they hurried out.

But that never happened. After a few minutes the back door to the station opened and a Mirditë tribesman appeared at the top of the steps. As quietly as they could, one swarm of men after another mounted the steps and vanished inside.

Then, from within, came screams and a fusillade of gunshots. More tribesmen rushed the back door, pouring into the compound. There were desperate cries, a few more minutes of shooting, some screams, and then ... silence.

The town hall fell with even less difficulty; only one guard saw anything in time to cry out, and he was stabbed to death before he could level his weapon. The other guards who had not yet been overtaken rushed to the sound, and were grabbed and slaughtered as they unknowingly ran past their attackers in the dark.

By quarter to one it was over. In Lezhë, anyway.

But in the rest of Albania, it was just beginning.

In the courtyard outside town hall, a group of townsmen hauled down the flag of the Porte and ran another up in its place: dark red, with a double headed eagle in black (http://fotw.fivestarflags.com/images/a/al-1900.gif).

The revolution had begun.

March 27th, 1912Ishkodra Vilayet, AlbaniaBy morning, the revolt had spread throughout Mirditë lands and into the territory of the other Malësi - the Gruda, the Hoti, the Kastrati, the Kilmeni, the Pulati, the Shalla, the Shoshi, the Skreli, and many others. At the epicentre - in Ishkodra itself - Turkish officials awoke to reports that most of the outlying country was lost. For now, though, behind the fortress walls of Ishkodër itself, the Turks were safe.

But it would not be long before the rebellion spread, eastward into Kosova and south into Yanya and Monastir. As these other areas went up in rebellion, the forces of the Porte would find movement in the back country and in small numbers dangerous.

It was nothing they had not dealt with before, of course. But what they had yet to realise is that this time, there was one overwhelming difference.Istanbul, TurkeyMarkgraf Johann von Pallavicini was shown in to see Ahmet Cemal Pasha.

"Please be seated," offered the Osmanli politician.

"I think, said the ambassador, that I should stand." I his hand, he held a piece of paper which he presented to his Turkish counterpart.

"What is this?" asked Cemal Pasha.

"An ultimatum," replied Pallavicini.Ultimatum

Under the terms of the Treaty of Berlin, signed in 1878, the Sublime Porte is obligated to undertake reforms in its European territories. For 34 years the nations of Europe have awaited these reforms; for 34 years, the Porte has promised to undertake them, but never actually done so.

Four years ago, with the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid, we hoped that action would at last be taken. Instead, the last four years have been worse than the previous 30. Hundreds of villages have been burnt to the ground, thousands of innocents killed, countless women outraged, and hundreds of thousands have fled the European vilayets altogether, with their property subsequently confiscated by corrupt local officials for their own enrichment.

Consequently, we can only conclude that the Sublime Porte will never honour its commitment to the other signatories to the Treaty of Berlin. We therefore must consider the Treaty to have been abrogated.

In light of this, the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen must regrettably take immediate action to rectify this situation. We therefore give the Sublime Porte 24 hours to do the following: Renounce all claim to the Island of Crete and permit its annexation by the Kingdom of Greece.


Surrender the Dodecanese Islands to the forces of the Dual Monarchy, who will hold them in trust for the Kingdom of Greece until Greek forces can arrive to take possession of them.


Commence immediate negotiations with the Kingdom of Greece over the surrender of the vilayet of Selanek (Salonika) to Greek control:


Said negotiations will occur in Vienna, under the auspices of the Dual Monarchy.


The starting position in these negotiations will be that Greece is entitled to at least half of the vilayet, including the port and city of Salonika and the monastery at Mount Athos.


The negotiations must be completed within one year of the present date.


Bulgaria may be represented at these negotiations if they wish.


If no settlement can be reached within a year, all sides shall present their claims and supporting evidence to the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, and King of Hungary as arbitrator, and he shall make the final and binding decision for all involved parties.


Combine the vilayets of Ishkodra, Kosova, Monastir, and Yanya into a single new vilayet called "Albania".


Open the borders of Albania to k.u.k. military forces, who will enter and assume the role of defender of territory against all enemies, both foreign and domestic:


This k.u.k. protectorate will last a minimum of five years, unless a decision is made by the Dual Monarchy to abandon it prematurely.


At the mutual agreement of the Dual Monarchy and local Albanian officials, this protectorate may be extended for another five years.


No further extension of the protectorate is permitted.


Place all of the Porte's military forces in Albania under a single Osmanli commander, and place this commander under a k.u.k general officer to be named by the k.u.k. Chief of Staff:


The duration of this arrangement is to be no more than one year.


The military forces of the Porte that are placed under k.u.k. command will answer solely to the k.u.k. general officer charged with their oversight.


These forces may be inspected by officers of the k.u.k. Army for the purpose of determining its condition. These officers are empowered to make suggestions regarding the betterment of these forces, and the Porte is obliged to honour these suggestions to the best of its ability.


Upon completion of the deployment of a k.u.k. Army to Albanian soil and its successful preparation of the ground of Albania for defence, one half of all forces of the Porte placed under k.u.k. command shall be discharged from their duty and sent back to the Porte.


The determination of when this goal is reached will be at the sole discretion of the k.u.k. general officer placed in command of these forces.


The forces to be released will be selected by this same k.u.k. general officer.


The remaining forces of the Porte left in Albania under k.u.k. command will remain until Albania has an effective army of its own, or for one year, whichever is shorter.


The determination of when this goal is reached will be at the sole discretion of the k.u.k. general officer placed in command of these forces.


The forces left behind by the Porte under k.u.k. command will be used solely for the defence of Albania from foreign invaders or domestic unrest.


Under the auspices of the Dual Monarchy, a provisional government will be organised for Albania.


This government will be made up of ethnic Albanians.


The Sublime Porte will formally recognise this government upon its establishment.


Other nations with territorial claims to Albanian soil are welcome to file such claims, to be negotiated with the new Albanian government.


All negotiations will be conducted in Vienna under the auspices of the Dual Monarchy.


All negotiations will be settled within one year of being filed.


If no settlement can be reached within a year, all sides shall present their claims and supporting evidence to the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, and King of Hungary as arbitrator, and he shall make the final and binding decision for all involved parties.


The Sublime Porte will pledge itself to the defence of Albania for a duration of no less than 25 years.These demands are not negotiable.

If the Sublime Porte does not accept all the terms of this ultimatum in full these terms will be imposed upon the Sublime Porte, willing or not."This is an outrage!" spluttered Cemal Pasha.

"It is what it is," said Ambassador Pallavicini. "Take it or leave it. Just be aware that you are really not in any position to say 'no'."

Greece: I have pulled out of Crete, the Dodecanese, and Selanik, sothey are yours now, i also have left all of greece alone and made only a defensive post around adriannople, i hope there can be peace between us.Vienna, AustriaCount Berchtold smiled for the first time that day.

"It seems that the Porte has offered Greece concessions. It's not exactly what we asked for, but that may change in the next few hours," he told Franz Josef I. "Whether it's enough - at this late hour - to persuade Greece to stay their hand is questionable, but to be honest there is little left for Greece to obtain by force."

"What of Albania?" asked the ageing monarch.

"We have no clear answer yet, but I am hopeful. The Porte can not defend the four Albanian vilayets once Selanek has been surrendered, and right now the Government in Istanbul is acting like they don't even want to negotiate over it. In fact, intelligence suggests they're pulling back their forces into Edirne and beyond," the Foreign Minister said.

Franz Josef scowled. "It is still not enough. We need to know if we can enter Albania unmolested, or if we'll have to shoot our way in."

The Count nodded his head. "I'm going to try to get you that answer within the hour."

March 27th, 1912Pellg I Drint, Adriatic SeaIt was almost midnight. Less than a day had passed since the Mirditë had overrun Lizhë, and most of the coast near the mouth of the River Drin had been overrun by the mountain tribesmen. Even though Ishkodër itself was less than 20 miles away, this was not safe territory for the Osmanli forces.

Offshore, a long dark shape nosed its way into the bay, followed by a smaller one. The larger vessel was the destroyer SMS Wildfang; the smaller ship a coaster.

The warship pulled up close off Shëngjin, a large town that was flanked on its northwest side by a long fine, hard packed beach. Looming above this beach was a long ridge.

A crewman on the Wildfang signalled with a lantern. From the top of the ridge came another signal.

Within thirty minutes, the Mirditë tribesmen had swept down into Shëngjin and overrun the town. The Turkish police had abandoned it earlier that day, when it became apparent that it could not be held, so it was not long before a group of men with lanterns were signalled in k.u.k. vessel to indicate that the port had been secured.

By this time the coaster had moved in close to the town and was now offloading men into longboats. These boats were soon bobbing in the waves, making their way to and from the wharf. Before long a large body of men had assembled in the streets of Shëngjin, the first of many.

Once these men were offloaded, the coaster turned and steamed back out to sea, turning northward near the limits of the horizon. In its place, another vessel and then another made their way to Shëngjin harbour, discharging their men over the side.

Feldjägerbataillon Nr.7, a Slovene mountain battalion of about 1,000 men, assembled in the streets of Shëngjin and - accompanied by a smattering of Mirdite guides, made their way into the darkness to assembly on the heights above the coastal town. Their objective - the capture of the ridge behind the town and establishment of a defencive perimeter - was easily achieved by dawn.

Once Shëngjin was secure, the remaining coasters among the fifteen dispatched from Trieste two days earlier could pull in quayside and use their on-board hoists to begin hauling the landing force's heavier equipment down onto the docks. Along with this equipment came more men, 3.Battaillon Infanterieregiment Graf Jellaèic Nr.79, a Croatian line battalion, as well as headquarters units.

That wasn't all; the k.u.k. forces also landed headquarters personnel and equipment - including a printing press - and a great deal of ammunition. In addition, 50 Maxim guns were unloaded, assembled, and united with their ammo. Several Mirditë men participated in this effort, learning how to assemble, disassemble, limber, unlimber, clean and maintain the heavy weapons. These guns - identical to those used by the army of the Porte, and therefore capable of using Turkish ammunition - were theirs to keep and use.

By then it was almost noon on the 28th of March.

To: The Kingdom of Italy
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

It would seem that we have need for you assistance after all: we would
like to employ four of your pilots and their flying machines for a non-combat
mission. If you are willing, please have them ready at Taranto, where they
will be picked up by ship and taken to Lezha in Albania.

If you could accomodate us in this matter, we would be most grateful.

:::Ankara:::
approx. 8:34

Enver: "brother, we cannot stand here and watch our comrades die in Albania, there is room for regiments to stay in Gallpoli, we must move NOW. Also make sure that Albania is ratified"

Cemal: "If that is what it comes to, then fine, (*signs paper to ratify Albania*), but, we are losing land, quickly. If this keeps up I am sure they will reach Istanbul in no time"

Enver: "I have that covered. We are asking the Hungarians to help us, and they have accepted, just sign this (*hands over the forms*) and they will aid our 3 ortas of Infantry and Cavalry in the attacking division"

Cemal: (*signs paper*)" Very good then, have all of the units of the Albanian front stay and defend the Albanian lands along with the trides there, and make sure ALL of the artillery is in place, this line of defense is the only hope, for if the the Serbs and Bulgarian reach reach Istanbul, we're as good as dead"

Khastoi, Bulgaria

As soon as the message had been sent from the King hours ago, Vasil Kutinchev had been on the move; an army of 123,000 uniform soldiers behind him. So far, they moved only a mere 40 Kilometers but the pace was now picking up. By morning, hopefully his 'New Model Army', a term stolen from the infamous Oliver Cromwell, would be over the border and in Turkish lands by dawn.

In all truth, Kutinchev had waited for this moment since he was a little boy. After all, his family had taught him a doctrine of hatred and distrust towards 'Moslem dogs' throught his life and now he was bound to put that same doctrine into action, slaying any Turk, whether civillian or soldier, in his or his Army's line of sight. Sure, it seemed guresome and would make him look bad, but in the end, it would leave plenty of fertile lands open for Bulgarian settlement.

Looking ahead, while mounted on his stead, the old General could see his scouts were returning, after a long evening of scouting ahead. It had been reported that the Porte had caught on to Bulgaria's surprise attack and were preparing forces in the defense of their lands, but he dismissed the claims as false.

Bah, those Turkish bastards are far to stupid to have predicted our attack. They will be cut down like piecemeal., Vasil thought to himself with pride.

After a few moments, the Scouts returned, their mounts breathing heavily in fatigue. Pushing himself forward, Vasil went to divulge in their findings:

"Corporal, what news do you bring me?"

A young man, no more than maybe 20 turned to answer the question:

"Sir, we have failed to find any elements of the Porte's Army. However, we do believe that a possible defense could be rallied at Adrinople to meet our advance."

"Excellent. I new these fools wouldn't fight and if they do, then we will certainly crush them. Good work Corporal, you may retire to your assigned positions."

"Thank you, sir."

At that moment, the young scout rode off. Leaving General Kutinchev to bask in his self-confidence alone.


Burgas, Bulgaria

With the 2nd Army now barreling towards the Ottomans to the west, General Nikola Ivanov was even more eager to get his own forces going. After all, the 1st Army was expected to march by now and he was going to make damn sure that they would be in positions to advance on Andrinople by dawn.

Placing his small spectacles over his light blue eyes, he once again gazed over the dark wooden table before. Upon it laid a simple canvas map depicting the southern Balkans, with dozens of wooden blocks covering it. Obviously, the red wooden blocks, now mostly non-exsistance, except for areas within or near Albania, stood for Ottoman positions, while the Blue blocks represented Bulgarian positions.

Already the blocks were being moved to show the eventual advance of Bulgarian troops through Ottoman Territories. It was projected that in the next two days, the 2nd Army would reach Andrinople and if un-challenged, continue east along the main highway, to allow more efficent movement. Meanwhile, the 1st Army would quickly advance along the coast of the Black Sea towards Constantinople. In the event that Andrinople was defended, 2 Regiments of Infantry and a Battery of Heavy Artillery would be ordered to advance South-West towards the city to provide aid. If everything worked as planned, the Bulgarians would be able to advance to Constantinople by the end of April.

Farther to the west, the 3rd Army, still in the process of Mobilization, would rush into Macedonia and capture Skojpe, along with the majority of eastern and northern Macedonia, before the Turks on Albania could defend it. Farther to the north, reserves from the recently created 4th and 5th Armies, along with a Corps of Macedonian Voulenteers, numbering next to 16,000, would provide rienforcements as the fighting settled in.

However, Nikola knew that it wouldn't go as planned. Sure, the Porte would be startled by Bulgaria's surprise attack and maybe give 60 or 70 kilometers, but it wouldn't be long until rienforcements would be deployed and the advanced slowed to a crawl or possibly even stopped. But as long as the Bulgarians remained in Turkish territory, they had an advantage over the Porte and could possibly wrest Thrace from their grasp in the event of a Treaty.

By now, the Army was ready to move, it's Infantry that numbered more than 70,000, arranged neatly in rank and file along with width of the road. To the north, a large column of Horse-drawn Artillery waited paitently to move. Although the 2nd Army had certainly recieved more men, the 1st Army had an obvious advantage in the numbers of guns it deployed, nearly twice that of it's counterparts in the west. It was this advantage, that made Alexandâr take pride in his command. With the amount of guns he had, surely no position would be able to stand up to his merciless pounding.

Now with the moon high in the sky, 3 Bulgarian Armies made there way towards the Porte. By morning, they would be ready to unleash their fury.

8 p.m. the 27th of March 1912

In light of the recent events taking place in the Balkans, the Romanian governement has decided to fully mobilise the remaining units of the Romanian army. The soldiers will be deployed as follows:

divisions attached to the 1st Army (16th and 17th Inf. Divisions)

divisions attached to the 2nd Army (18th Inf. Division)

Army Group South (9th, 19th and 20th Inf. Divisions, 1st and 2nd Calarasi brigades)

3rd Army

8th Corps (21st and 22nd Inf. Divisions)

9th Corps (23rd Inf. Army and 3rd, 4th and 5th Calarasi brigades)

10th Corps (1st and 2nd Cavalry divisions)

... approx. 8:34 ... Cemal: (*signs paper*)" Very good then, have all of the units of the Albanian front stay and defend the Albanian lands along with the trides there..."March 28th, 1912Vienna, Austria"Send word to Conrad," cried Count Berchtold. "The Turks are letting us in, and will follow any orders that we give them!"

Mein Gott, he thought. We might actually pull this off!Goražde, Bosnia-HercegovinaIn spite of the Porte's decision, it still took 45 more minutes - until almost 10 AM - to persuade the border guards to let Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6 finally cross the border. Eventually, though, the proper telegram arrived from Novi Bazar (via Prizrin) and the border guards relented.

The cavalry commenced down the road at a trot, followed shortly thereafter by 3.Gebirgsbrigade. As the troops filed by, a train whistle sounded just to the north and, five minutes later, an armoured train rolled over the border, carrying a mixture of elite jägers and military railroad engineers. The train would be in Novi Bazar shortly by 1 PM where - after dropping off some personnel to take possession of the rail-yards there, it would continue on to Prizrin, where it would arrive well before nightfall.Rhodes, the DodecaneseBy dawn, the k.u.k. flotilla had arrived off Rhodes, much to the startlement of the local garrison.

As soon as confirmation of the Porte's decision to permit the entry of k.u.k. forces onto their soil arrived, a delegation was sent ashore to negotiate the surrender of Rhodes to the Dual Monarchy. It took several hours to convince the local officials that they could hand the islands over to the Kriegsmarine - the k.u.k. forces, after all, weren't Greeks, and that was who they were supposed to be surrendering to.

But Rear Admiral Haus with a great deal of effort, was finally able to persuade the officials of the Porte to capitulate - aided, no doubt, by the considerable weight of naval firepower that he had offshore. Thus, by nightfall, the transfer had been made, and 2.Battaillon Bosnisch-Hercegovinisches Infanterieregiment Nr.2 was putting ashore from the liner SMS Ludovico in longboats.

The Dodecanese Islands were now in the hands of the Dual Monarchy.

Bulgaria, check the OOC thread for an OOB. ;)

Telegram to the Kaiserlich und Könich empire:
''We have noted the recent activity and mobilization in the Balkans, and we know that this could evolve into even more grueful business. We therefore wish to offer you two Waffen-Schutzstaffel units, Wiking and Das Reich, to serve alongside your own.''

OOC: Each W-SS unit consist of 64 soldiers that can fight eithr from horseback or as infantry. They're recruited amongst the Prussian nobility and are, needless to say, well versed in the art of combat.

The Serbian and Montenegren monarchs sat alongside the Romanian, Greek, and Bulgarian dignitaries.

"We thank you all for your patience and we once again apologize for our absences. You see before you Romanian Prime Minister Ionel Bratianu. What we all have in common is that we have been treated as dogs by the larger powers for several centuries. The Hungarians and Turks in particular have been near mortal threats to our very existence. It is why four of us have in secret formed an alliance. Together, standing united, we are strong enough against the Turks but not necessarily against the KUK. The Romanians face the circumstances that brought us together, and we wish for them to join with us in our struggle for our gauranteed freedom." King Petar shifted slightly in his chair while shifting from one man to the other, he knew how enticing the prospect would be. Romania has a quality army with a population much larger than any other Balkan nation. They would make a very welcome addition.

The Greeks were unthused by the idea. The opportunity to regain lost lands and gain a powerful ally was too much to give up. The Bulgarians knew such an event would mean they would be bound to the League since any action for the sole benefit of Bulgaria would not go over too well. They also knew they'd be surrounded. They had no objections.

"So be it. We welcome Romania to the Balkan League."


-------------------------


"Ahh Petar and Ionel! May I interest you in some rakija?" King Nikola poured a slight amount into 3 glasses and offered them to the others. "What brings you two here?"

Ionel took down the rakija and coughed lighty. He looked at the glass turning it in his hands. "That is some strong stuff. I must say what brings me here is no the most pleasant news."

"No it is not." Petar took his drink and finished it, looking at his glass appeciatingly. "There are many events unfolding out of our control."

"Indeed brother Petar. That is why I have taken actions of my own as well." Nikola took a seat. Let's see just how willing the Romanians are in this League.

"Hmm...well first I must say to you that the k.u.k has been sending telegrams both to Bulgaria and Greece in an attempt to gain possible allies by allowing them to take back land what rightfully belonged to them in the first place and some that does not. They also want to set up an independant Albania strong enough to hold its own against any one of you four individually...in theory. There has been a greatly increased number of telegrams sent from Bulgaria and Greece to the k.u.k and vice versa as well. I highly recommend you rearrifrm our alliance with them. Especially Bulgaria, for they might feel inclined to take more than they should."

"Istanbul?" Petar sounded quite worried and excited at the same time. This would give the perfect pretext to smash those treacherous Bulgarian dogs if they had the balls to take it without even consulting the League.

"I don't know...if they want to take back what the Turks took centuries ago I don't see why they wouldn't also go for the jewel." Ionel had made his way to a seat and gratefully sat on it. He looked back at both Petar and Nikola.

"Historically if anything the Greeks have the strongest claim to it. Hell, not even Serbia could legitimately claim Istanbul. Dusan was killed before he could march upon it in his attempt at a Serbo-Greek empire." Petar chose to remain standing, in deep thought. "If the Bulgarians were to say do so...then nothing stops us from marching upon Istanbul as well. Sure we would never make it before the Bulgarians do unless the Turks were to somehow stall them long enough for the calvary, ie us, to arrive."

"Slight problem with that there excellency. The Bulgarians have already begun advancing into Turkish territory. How do I know? Well it's hard to hide a full size army marching on the open lands. You don't even need a spy...a simple telegram from an observer is that is needed." Ionel continued to switch looking from one monarch to the other. I wonder if Montenegro is truly fully controlled by Serbia. King Nikola seems like a very head strong monarch.

"Well now that you mention allies advancing without warning...I have ordered my forces to engage Turkish dogs in Macedonia. War was imminent. Why not take some sort of inititive? I recommend while we're at it we take back Kosovo. You've always wanted that Petar...hell every Serb always has. Think of it, you would be praised by every Yugoslav, you would gain much face in the world community. Tiny Serbia vs the Goliath that is the Porte. We'd have a very legitimate reason anyways. It's no secret the Turks stopped respecting anything non-Moslem in their domains since the 16th century. Hell, even before that they merely tolerated us and still took our daughters into harems and every fifth male child (ooc:is that the right number?) to be a janisary. No world power except maybe the k.u.k wouldn't support us." Nikola spat on the ground. "Heartless heretics. May they burn in hell for twisting the word of God and taking our bretheren. At any rate, we're steamrolling the Turkish forces. The Turks no longer have the cajones they once did. I suggest you join me, what with being my allies and all you know. I might not be able to maintain the advantage...the Turks do have numerical superiority after all."

"Damn you Nikola!" Petar was enraged. The bastard is right though. Now is the time, especially if the Bulgarians are striking anyways. May as well collect the possible spoils. "Very well. I will immeadiately telegram Prince Alexander to begin a to bring immeadiate strikes against the Turks. Further telegrams will be sent to the Greeks and Bulgarians. Prince Alexander will capture Skopje. Serbo-Greek forces will attempt to link up at Florina. We will then go for Kosovo itself. It is time it go back into our hands. Brother Nikola, we should unite on the Sandjak front at Novi Pazar. We will not go into Albania to secure Tirana, Allesio, or Durazzo as originally planned. It has been deemed too high risk in bringing the k.u.k to war against us, especially with only 25 000 onscripts on the k.u.k border. Also if we do not anger the k.u.k too much they might even tolerate us completely running over every Euro-Turkish holding. " Petar scribbed down some notes on his desk, placed them into a capsule and sent it via puematic tube to the telegram fofice for immeadiate transmission. "We will have to reaffirm our alliance. See if we can convince the Greeks to take whatever the k.u.k promised them and on top of that...well what do you think about alloting them Istanbul?"

Ionel spoke up. "That city might have once been the jewel of Christianity but it has turned into a Moslem city centuries ago. True, the Enumenical Patriarch of Constantinople resides there along with a minority Orthodox people. It is still a small minority. However the Turks pulled off a total conversion of the city. I don't see why a transition back to Christianity cannot be done. What would the world powers think of it? More importantly, what of Bulgaria?"

Nikola turned towards Ionel. "What of the Bulgarians? They hold no rights to Istanbul, they should understand as part of the alliance that they cannot receive all the spoils. Besides, we will worry about that when it happens. We have a request to make Mr. Bratianu. You have mobilized the better part of your army and intend to complete mobilization soon enough. Although we do not expect to lose, we request that you provide 3 full size divisions to assist us against the Turks. We will allow full military access through Montenegro and Petar will do the same for Serbia. At the very least it will allow us to spare more soldiers for our continued offensive."

Go ahead Romania....


------------------------------

Communique to Greece,

All out war in the Balkans is happening now. As we speak the Bulgarians are marching straight for Constantinople with minor Turkish resistance. We hope the Turks can check them at Adrianople just long enough for our own units to make it through Macedonia and to Istanbul. As part of the League, we are all committed. The time is ripe for taking our long lost lands. We will need to link up our forces and then run right into Constantinople. When splitting up the spoils, Ionel Bratianu, myself and Nikola will support your rightful claim to Constantinople. Everyone will benefit, especially you by taking back the jewel of Christianity, save for the dogs that the Turks are.

Prime Minister Bratianu of Romania
King Petar of the Kingdom of Serbia
King Nikola of the Kingdom of Montenegro


------------------------------

Communique to Bulgaria,

As part of the League we are committed towards assisting your forces in stirking against the Turks. Serbo-Greek forces will link up with your units at Istanbul and the spoils will be split then after forcing our way through Macedonia. No longer will our destinies be dictated by the heretic Turks!



Prime Minister Bratianu of Romania
King Petar of the Kingdom of Serbia
King Nikola of the Kingdom of Montenegro

The prime-minister sipped from the glass in front of him. With a sigh, he put the glass down and said:

"I support Serbia's claims. Romania and Serbia have a common border, but it would be practically impossible to transport an army over it (it's the Danube). My troops can only move through Bulgaria. For this reason, I need to know what they have to say about that. If we are at that, I also want to know what the K.u.K. and Greece have to say. Until these states answer, particularly the K.u.K., I advise you not to attack Turkish teritories. We may need their help if the Austrians refuse our demands."

OOC: In the real world, such an answer would come in a matter of days, so please don't conquer all the Balkans before answering. Also, I would apreciate it if you didn't answer and then immediately conquer the Balkans. :p Give me time to have a reaction, please.

In RL, Ionel Bratianu was indeed prime-minister at the time of the first Balkan War. However, in my Romania, Bogmih is prime-minister - yeah, I know, it's a funny name, but nobody dared telling him that after he became prime-minister. :D

Slavic Byzantium, I'll send you a telegram now.

Edit: I think conquering Istanbul/Constantinople would be a bit... difficult.

Telegram to the Kaiserlich und Könich empire:
''We have noted the recent activity and mobilization in the Balkans, and we know that this could evolve into even more grueful business. We therefore wish to offer you two Waffen-Schutzstaffel units, Wiking and Das Reich, to serve alongside your own.''

OOC: Each W-SS unit consist of 64 soldiers that can fight eithr from horseback or as infantry. They're recruited amongst the Prussian nobility and are, needless to say, well versed in the art of combat.OOC: This will be a good opportunity to see the new formation up close.

IC: "We thank you for sending these units and will deploy them immediately."

Sent by train to Armeegruppe "Kummel" in the Transylvanian Alps.

OOC: Sorry to be so brief, but I'm really busy right now...

Well Bulgaria's already on the offensive and Montenegro on its own did declare war on the Turks and go for exactly what I said Petar would order Alexander and such to do save for the Albania thing. Serbia really did run force a path to the Adriatic which is what caused the k.u.k to historically threaten war against Serbia if they did not fall back and I'm avoiding that.

I suppose it could be difficult but hey why not make the attempt once we receive word from the Bulgarians and Greeks.

I'm waiting for Bulgaria...

OCC: I'm not really sure how to consider the Porte's comments on his supposed defense of Andrinople, as I have failed to see a post within the RP section, depicting it's construction.

So, until this matter is clarified, I will not continue my assault.




Communique to Bulgaria,

As part of the League we are committed towards assisting your forces in stirking against the Turks. Serbo-Greek forces will link up with your units at Istanbul and the spoils will be split then after forcing our way through Macedonia. No longer will our destinies be dictated by the heretic Turks!



Prime Minister Bratianu of Romania
King Petar of the Kingdom of Serbia
King Nikola of the Kingdom of Montenegro




King Ferdiand glanced at the telegram with glee.

Now that I have the full support of the League, we will smash the Porte!

Taking up pen and paper, he hurriedly wrote a response:



To: Bucharest, Rumania; Belgrado, Serbia; Podgorica, Montenegro
From: Sofia, Bulgaria

Fellow Compatriots in Arms:

The Kingdom of Bulgaria and it's peoples are very greatful for your contribution to our noble cause and we shall eagerly await your force's arrival from the west upon their victories against the vile Turks within the area.

Now let us all embark on our path to rightful glory against our hated foes!

Signed,

King Ferdinand I
Lord of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria

Now I'm not sure if going along historically if we'd be godmodding. Montengro, Serbia, and GReece scored a series of critical victories that caused the Turks to make full retreats from Macedonia, and Kosovo. If the Turks are rallying at Adrianople can it be safely assumed that they allow us to take what was taken historically?

To: The Kingdom of Italy
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

It would seem that we have need for you assistance after all: we would
like to employ four of your pilots and their flying machines for a non-combat
mission. If you are willing, please have them ready at Taranto, where they
will be picked up by ship and taken to Lezha in Albania.

If you could accomodate us in this matter, we would be most grateful.
To the Duel Monarchy
From The Kingdom of Italy

We would be more than happy to provide you with four pilots and the flying machines. They will be given orders to wait for your ship.[Thought you didn't specify its name : p]

To the Sublime Porte
From the Kingdom of Italy

We regret to inform you that, while we have agreed to provide you with 5 battleships, after delivering a single battleship we have decided that we dislike the terms on which we agreed. While we will not return your colony, we will not be providing your ships.

If you want your territory back you will fight for it.

[Note: This is not a declaration of war.]

I am moving a small fleet of battleships to guard the coast of Tripolitania. As well as 1.5 million troops sent to hold Italian Tripolitania’s borders in the event of a Turkish attempt at reclaiming the land.

To: The Sublime Porte
From: The British Government

It is with great sadness that the British Government notes that the Turkish Empire is besieged by the Balkan Powers who appear to be intent on its destruction. As you know we have had good relations in the past few years including during the Crimean War and so we are willing to offer you a deal to help save most of your territory.

If you agree, elements of the British Mediteranean Fleet will steam along the Dardenelles and weigh anchor in the straights around Constantinople. These forces will then create a blocking force which will not allow any of the Balkan League to cross the straight and be in a position to take Constantinople. Meanwhile British Envoys will attempt to ensure that the Balkan League stop their advance as soon as is possible allowing as much Turkish territory as possible to remain in Turkish hands. The collapse of the Turkish Empire per se is not in our interests.

In return for our assistance we ask that the Sublime Port hand over the province of Basra immeadiately to the British Empire, and the province of Baghdad by the end of this year.

These terms are open to negotiation.

-The British Foreign Office.

If you agree, elements of the British Mediteranean Fleet will steam along the Dardenelles and weigh anchor in the straights around Constantinople. These forces will then create a blocking force which will not allow any of the Balkan League to cross the straight and be in a position to take Constantinople.
Ahem... Constantinople is on the European side of the Bosphorus straits.

Now I'm not sure if going along historically if we'd be godmodding. Montengro, Serbia, and GReece scored a series of critical victories that caused the Turks to make full retreats from Macedonia, and Kosovo. If the Turks are rallying at Adrianople can it be safely assumed that they allow us to take what was taken historically?No, it can not be safely assumed, for reasons which you will soon see.

My apologies for being too busy to post. I will try to get something up today.

Edirne (Adrianople) was a fortress zone for years before the war. I would assume that it is already prepared for defence, although the ground around it would not be.

Slavic Byzantium, you should start by RP'ing your mobilisation. Everyone else has mobilised, but right now you have not. Until you mobilise and deploy your armies to your borders, you're not going anywhere.

For the record, it is the afternoon of March 28th, 1912.

I am moving a small fleet of battleships to guard the coast of Tripolitania. As well as 1.5 million troops sent to hold Italian Tripolitania’s borders in the event of a Turkish attempt at reclaiming the land.That's way more that Italy could normally support in that province.

To be honest, you need not send any at all. Any attempt by the Porte to retake Tripolitania or Cyrenacia would trigger our alliance, and our combined fleets would swiftly reduce any Turkish fleet to underwater wreckage, even without Greek assistance.

ooc: My appologies also for not being able to post recently.

*Eleftherios Venizelos couldn't believe it. Again he read the telegram from the Sublime Porte and then again went back over the intelligence reports from a number of Greek sources... he still couldn't believe it.*

The Turks have just given us Crete, the Dodecanese, and Salonika.

"...Thessolina, I need you to take down the following dictations."

-----------------------

To: The Sublime Porte
From: The Kingdom of Greece

Greece accepts your rightful surrender of the areas of Crete, the Dodecanese, and Salonika to us. Expect our forces to arrive to takeover responsiblities from you in these areas soon, provided the k.u.k has not arrived before hand.

Signed,
Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece


To: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
From: The Kingdom of Greece

I don't know what you said or did, but the Sublime Porte just handed over Crete, the Dodecanese, and Salonika to us.

Greece is forever in your debt.

Kindest Regards,
Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece


To: The Kingdoms of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro
From: The Kingdom of Greece

The Turks already have effectively surrendered to the us. Even as I write this message Greek soldiers from the Epirus Army as well as other parts of Greece are on the move in readiness to secure the area of Salonika as well as takeover from k.u.k forces already on Crete and in the Dodecanese.

As far as Constantinople is concerned, well... we shall see. Greece thanks you all for your support never the less.

Regards,
Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece

-----------------------
Greek Mobilisation:
(ooc: Note - I think I saw somewhere that in addition to the main army formations there was still random detachments around Athens, hence where I have written 'Athens Infantry'... in any case I have decided to consider them as conscripts/volunteers for now until I find more info.)

Destined for Crete
Cretian fleet
- 2 Destroyers
KERAVNOS class
(Keravnos, Nea Genea)
- 3 Gunboats
KISSA CLASS GUN BOATS
(Kissa, Aidon, Kichli)

Cretian Garrison
2,000 Athens Infantry


Destined for Dodecanese
1st fleet
- 2 battleships
(Kilkis, Lemnos)
- 1 Cruiser
(Georgis Averof)
- 8 Destroyers
NICKI class
(Aspis, Doxa, Niki, Velos)
THYELLA class
(Lonchi, Nafkratousa, Spendoni, Thyella)

Dodecanese Defence Group
6,000 Athens Infantry


Destined for Salonika
Thessaly Army
- Central Group ( I, II, IV and VI Divisions )
I Division
2nd Infantry Regiment
4th Infantry Regiment
5th Infantry Regiment
I Squadron / 1st Field Artillery Regiment
II Squadron / 1st Field Artillery Regiment
Sappers Company
Optical Telegraph Company
Cavalry Half-Squadron

II Division
1st Infantry Regiment
3rd Infantry Regiment
7th Infantry Regiment
I Squadron / 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
II Squadron / 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
Sappers Company
Optical Telegraph Company
Cavalry Half-Squadron

IV Division
8th Infantry Regiment
9th Infantry Regiment
11th Infantry Regiment
I Squadron / 4th Field Artillery Regiment
II Squadron / 4th Field Artillery Regiment
I Mountain Artillery Squadron
Sappers Company
Telegraphists Platoon
Cavalry Half-Squadron

VI Division
1st Evzones Regiment
17th Infantry Regiment
18th Infantry Regiment
III Squadron / 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
Sappers Company
Telegraphists Platoon
Cavalry Half-Squadron


- Left Group ( V Division, Gennadi Evzones Detachment, II/24 Battalion )
V Division
16th Infantry Regiment
22nd Infantry Regiment
23rd Infantry Regiment
III Squadron / 1st Field Artillery Regiment
Mountain Artillery Squadron
Sappers Company
Telegraphists Platoon
Cavalry Half-Squadron

Gennadi Evzones Detachment
1st Evzones Battalion
4th Evzones Battalion

Two Infantry Battalions
A2-company of the 24th Infantry Regiment of the Thessaly Army L.O.C. Service
6/2 Battery
Greek Redshirt Corps ( part of the Garibaldi Corps )
Garibaldi Corps Units
Scouts Corps


- Right Group ( III and VII Divisions, Konstantinopoulos Evzones Detachment, 1st Cavalry Regiment )
III Division
6th Infantry Regiment
10th Infantry Regiment
12th Infantry Regiment
I Squadron / 3rd Field Artilley Regiment
II Squadron / 3rd Field Artilley Regiment
III Mountain Artillery Squadron
Sappers Company
Telegraphists Platoon
Cavalry Half-Squadron

VII Division
19th Infantry Regiment
20th Infantry Regiment
21st Infantry Regiment
Machine-gun Squadron
III Squadron / 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
Sappers Company

Konstantopoulos Evzones Detachment
2nd Evzones Battalion
6th Evzones Battalion

Cavalry Brigade
1st Cavalry Regiment
3rd Cavalry Regiment

March 28th, 1912Der Ballplatz, ViennaTo: The Kingdom of Greece
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

On behalf of Greece, a division of the k.u.k. Kriegsmarine under Rear
Admiral Anton Haus has occupied Rhodes and the Dodecanese. We will hold
these territories for you until you arrive to take possession of them.

Since the Sublime Porte has yielded to every single demand of the Kingdom
of Greece, surrendering the Dodecanese and the former vilayet of Salo-
nika and renouncing all claim to Crete, we urge you to stay your hand and
refrain from any further offencive action against the Porte. In particular,
we do not support a Greek claim against either the vilayet of Edirne
(Adrianople) or the city of Constantinople at this time.

Given the rapid pace of events, an immediate answer to this note is
requested.Nova Varoš (http://www.novavaros.com/modules/My_eGallery/gallery/Art/paraglajder4.jpg), Sanjak of NovibazarNOVIBAZAR, Novi-BAzA1m, or N0v1PAzAR (ancient Rassia, Rascia, or Rashka, Turkish Yenipazar, i.e. New Market ), a sanjak of European Turkey, in the vilayet of Kossovo. Pop. (1905) about 170,000. Novibazar is a mountainous region, watered by the Lim, which flows north into Bosnia, and by several small tributaries of the Servian Ibar. About threefourths of the inhabitants are Christian Serbs, and the remainder are chiefly Moslem Albanians, with a few gipsies, Turkish officials and about 3000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers. The local trade is mainly agricultural. The sanjak is of great strategic importance, for it is the N .W. part of the Turkish empire, on the direct route between Bosnia and Salonica, and forms a wedge of Turkish territory between Servia and Montenegro. The union of these powers, combined with the annexation of Novibazar, would have impeded the extension of Austrian influence towards Salonica. But by the treaty of Berlin (1878) Austria-Hungary was empowered to garrison the towns of Byelopolye, Priyepolye, Plevlye and other strategic points within the sanjak, although the entire civil administration remained in Turkish hands. This decision was enforced in 1879. The chief approaches from Servia and Montenegro have also been strongly fortified by the Turks.

Novibazar, the capital of the sanjak, is a town of about I 2,0cc inhabitants, on the site of the ancient Servian city of Rassia. Near it there are Roman baths, and the old church of St Peter and St. Paul, the metropolitan church of the bishopric of Rassia, in which Stephen Nemanya, king of Servia, passed from the Roman to the Greek Church in 1143.Map of Serbia and Montenegro, Comprehensive Atlas and Geography of the World, Blackie & Sons (Edinburgh, 1882), Scale: 1:3,200,000 (or one inch = about 50 miles) (http://feefhs.org/maps/BALK/ba-serb.html)

The vanguard of Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6 arrived at the outskirts of Nova Varoš by nightfall. By tomorrow noon they would reach the town of Sjenica and - with an extra effort - be in Novibazar shortly after dark on the 29th.

Of course, Novibazar was not the regiment's ultimate objective. It would press on to Mitrovitza on the Kosovar frontier, arriving there by noon on the 30th. Once there it would secure the railhead until all but one of the remaining regiments of 5.Honvéd Landwehr Kavallerietruppendivision caught up with it the following day; at that point, on April 2nd, the bulk of the division would continue on to Prishtina, the capitol of the vilayet of Kosova. From there, with Turkish guides, they would travel east toward the Serbian frontier and begin providing the vilayet with a cavalry screen.

Because the division would need to operate well in advance of the rest of the k.u.k. army for a number of days, additional machine guns had been provided; these were limbered to cavalry horses for maximum mobility. The Hungarian cavalry officers were concerned about the prodigious amounts of ammunition that would be required to sustain action with these beasts, but for short, sharp blocking or delaying actions, the additional firepower would come in handy. The cavalry screen, after all, did not need to stop a possible Serb attack dead in its tracks. It needed only slow such an attack down to permit k.u.k infantry columns the time they needed to catch up.OOC: After digging hard, I discovered that I had committed a grievous error in my earlier posts. Accounts of the run-up to the Great War always speak of an effort by "Austria-Hungary" to build a railroad in the Sanjak of Novibazar. The preponderance of such cites would lead the casual observer to believe that this was a major effort that had been underway for a number of years.

Of course, the truth is entirely different. The "railroad project" existed only in the mind of Count Aehrenthal, and only for a few months in 1908. Whether it was a pipe dream or a bargaining chip is irrelevant; no actual effort to build such a railroad ever existed.

Thus, my desire to the use of rail transport to move elements of the k.u.k. military to Kosova has been rendered impossible; I have thus gone back and (as some of you have already noted) greyed out the offending text in my earlier post (the one in which I describe the crossing of my troops into the Sanjak on the morning of March 28th, 1912. We'll just have to beat feet into Kosova. Fortunately, there's an old road leading from Priboj (on the Bosnian frontier) to Mitrovitza (on the Kosovar frontier) that should support my onrushing columns quite nicely.

Much, more more is coming...

March 29th, 1912

To: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
From: The Kingdom of Greece

Greece is satisfied for now and will not press the issue so to speak with the Porte. Greek Forces are on their way to the Dodecanese and should arrive to relieve the k.u.k. Kriegsmarine within two to three weeks.

Once again Greece thanks you for your continued help and support. Perhaps one day the k.u.k might even wish to join me on one of my famous mediterranean cruises or maybe I could make a visit so that I can express just how thankful I am in person.

Kindest Regards,
Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece

March 28th, 1912Vienna, Austria"The mobilisation of the balance of the Romanian army presents us with a problem. Whatever its fighting quality, its size is close to that of what we have already mobilised," said Count Berchtold.

"Are you saying that we haven't got enough troops in the field to stand up to the Montenegrins, Serbs, and Romanians combined?" asked Franz Josef I.

"No, I’m saying that parity is dangerous. The Slavic powers might be tempted to try their luck with us if their numbers are sufficiently close to ours. What is needed is for us to have a strong enough advantage that they will have no choice but to stand down," replied the Foreign Minister.

"What do you recommend?" asked the Emperor or Austria and King of Hungary.

"Mobilise 4th Army as well," said Berchtold without hesitation. "That will tip the scales irrevocably in our favour."

Franz Josef pondered his request for a minute. Then he replied, "You have my approval."

Ahem... Constantinople is on the European side of the Bosphorus straits.


OOC: Dammit *Kicks the stupid blow up globe out of the window*

ARGH!!!! My master plan foiled, and I thought I was being sooooo clever.

To: The Sublime Porte
From: The British Government

It is with great sadness that the British Government notes that the Turkish Empire is besieged by the Balkan Powers who appear to be intent on its destruction. As you know we have had good relations in the past few years including during the Crimean War and so we are willing to offer you a deal to help save most of your territory.

If you agree, elements of the British Mediteranean Fleet will steam along the Dardenelles and weigh anchor in the straights around Constantinople. These forces will then create a blocking force which will not allow any of the Balkan League to be in a position to take Constantinople without having British guns engage them. We shall insure that they are aware of what a conflict with the biggest Empire in the world would mean for them. Meanwhile British Envoys will attempt to ensure that the Balkan League stop their advance as soon as is possible allowing as much Turkish territory as possible to remain in Turkish hands. The collapse of the Turkish Empire per se is not in our interests.

In return for our assistance we ask that the Sublime Port hand over the province of Basra immeadiately to the British Empire, and the province of Baghdad by the end of this year.

These terms are open to negotiation.

-The British Foreign Office.

Edirne (Adrianople) was a fortress zone for years before the war. I would assume that it is already prepared for defence, although the ground around it would not be.

OCC: Darn, this won't be fun. But nonetheless, my valiant Bulgarians shall rightfully previal and sieze these fortifacations!

Also, I need to know how many soldiers the Porte currently garrisons at the fortress. I'm sure it is above a 'Skeleton Crew' status because of the steadily building tensions and the fact that it is a major city, but exact numbers would be nice. So until I am provided with those numbers I will assume 30,000 Turkish Soldiers have been fortified in the garrisons.

ICC:

20 Kilometers from Adrianople, Ottoman Empire

It had been two days since the Bulgarians had arrived in Turkish lands and already 2nd Army General Vasil Kutinchev was brimming with excitment. In his first engagements with Turkish units outside of Adrianople, his armies had smashed them, overrunning their positions in a matter of minutes with only several hundread casualties. Now, in front of him stood the prime objective of the Bulgarian Army, the city of Adrianople.

One of the largest cities in eastern Europe, Adrianople has served as the seat of multiple Archbishops and was even the seat of the Ottoman Empire until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Over the course of it's long history, dating back to the era of Rome, it had endured nearly 15 battles, several of them pivotal to the progress of European history itself. Now, two armies again clashed near it's large expanses, the outcome of the battle to yet again decide the course of the area's turbulent history.

For the past 48 hours, since the 2nd Army had taken positions to the north and west of the fort, a constant bombardment from Bulgarian guns had ensued. Shells from 45mm, 75mm and 150mm guns slammed into walls of the ancient fortresses scattered around the city itself. With the view of the city now one shrouded in smoke and the reports of scouts near the frontlines optimistic, General Kutinchev now knew it was the time to strike.

During the previous night, as the bombardment echoed to a climax, as both Turkish and Bulgarian guns pounded away, 3 waves of 30,000 men each had been assembled into rank and file order. When the signal, in the form of a red flare, was given, these 90,000 brave souls would charge headlong into the Turkish positions and hopefully previal.

With this victory, I will be known as the greatest general in Bulgarian history!, the old General thought to himself, forgetting the fact that Bulgaria had never really been much of a nation until a mere 40 years ago.

Saddling his horse, Kutinchev rode up to a small hill where several of his officers were assembled. Each of them had gathered that early morning to view their Army's attack on the positions and the mood was rather upbeat. At once, Kutinchev removed a pair of binoculars from the leather pouch strapped to his side and viewed the scene before him.

The city of Adrinople, just like it was the previous day, was shrouded in the clouds of smoke and flame. Across the ground between the army's lines, laid hundreads of large craters from Artillery on both sides. To Kutinchev, it look as if the fortifacations were surely destroyed in the wake of his awesome bombardment, but he took another look just to make sure.

"Bah! These Turks are going to be slaughtered, don't you think, Colonel Pesev?"

A Middle-Aged Calvaryman appeared from behind, a grin stretched across his unshaven face.

"I certainly hope so, sir. We have been bombaring them for the past two days and if I know the mind of a typical Turkish conscript, he'll be half way to Constantinople before we even attack."

At that, the General let forth a great laugh, a laugh that startled several of the officers behind him.

"Very true indeed, Colonel. Now, when shall the attack begin?"

"Well, sir. I do believe it should start any minute no--"

At last a piecring red light emerged from above the smoke filled horizion, illuminating the area around. Seconds later, the piercing sounds of whistles were heard, along with the cheers of soldiers below, as the first wave of 30,000 soldiers flung itself towards the enemy positions dead ahead. To the west, another wave closed in from behind. The last remaining wave, remained at their positions, eargerly waiting to force open any breakthrough their comrades made ahead of them.

In truth, as he looked once again through his binoculars, Kutinchev could not possibly think that any defender could survive this massive assault. But no matter, the Bulgarians would hopefully previal...

OCC: Your move Turkey.

That's way more that Italy could normally support in that province.

To be honest, you need not send any at all. Any attempt by the Porte to retake Tripolitania or Cyrenacia would trigger our alliance, and our combined fleets would swiftly reduce any Turkish fleet to underwater wreckage, even without Greek assistance.
Yea, I wasn't exactly thinking when i made that post. I was in a big hurry to get to sleep.

To: The Sublime Porte
From: The British Government

It is with great sadness that the British Government notes that the Turkish Empire is besieged by the Balkan Powers who appear to be intent on its destruction. As you know we have had good relations in the past few years including during the Crimean War and so we are willing to offer you a deal to help save most of your territory.

If you agree, elements of the British Mediteranean Fleet will steam along the Dardenelles and weigh anchor in the straights around Constantinople. These forces will then create a blocking force which will not allow any of the Balkan League to be in a position to take Constantinople without having British guns engage them. We shall insure that they are aware of what a conflict with the biggest Empire in the world would mean for them. Meanwhile British Envoys will attempt to ensure that the Balkan League stop their advance as soon as is possible allowing as much Turkish territory as possible to remain in Turkish hands. The collapse of the Turkish Empire per se is not in our interests.

In return for our assistance we ask that the Sublime Port hand over the province of Basra immeadiately to the British Empire, and the province of Baghdad by the end of this year.

These terms are open to negotiation.

-The British Foreign Office.

ooc: You are aware that in order to get to the Dardanelles you are going to have to cross the Aegian at some point which, thanks to the immiment takeover of the Dodecanese, Greece now controls. Considering your support of Turkey, I'm not really keen on letting her majesties warships enter Greek Sovereign waters.

March 29th, 1912The Sanjak of Novibazar, Vilayet of KosovaToward afternoon the sky turned grey, and by 2 PM a cold, rainy sleet had begun to fall across the Sandjak. While 3.Gebirgsbrigade, having veered of the Old Bosnia Road to head south, had made the town of Pljevlje by nightfall on the 28th, the ascent into the Ljubišnja was more problematic, especially as the weather worsened. The brigade had split up, with the 2.Bataillon Infanterieregiment Freiherr von Fejérváry Nr.46 and the 5.Grenz Jäger-Kompanie heading south toward Durdevica while the balance of the force, under Generalmajor Heinrich Pongrácz de Szent-Miklós et Óvár, headed southeast more or less on a beeline toward the Biogradsko Gora and the Montenegrin town of Kolašin.

Finally, frustrated by the worsening weather and its effect on the roads - which were never that good to begin with - both forces halted, the western column near Kosanica, the eastern one a few miles past Ljutići. They would simply have to hope that the rain broke on the morrow, although the roads would still be unbearably wet.

To the east, the same problem met Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6 as it hurried along the Old Bosnia Road to Sjenica. As it skirted Mt. Zlatar to the south and followed the Uvac river, the weather grew progressively worse, with flurries eventually replacing the sleet. Still, the regiment pressed on, arriving at Sjenica well after dark and hours behind schedule.

Behind it, the story was much the same; the remainder of the 5.Honvéd Landwehr Kavallerietruppendivision got no further than Nova Varoš, with the exception of Pécser Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.8, which had crossed the border the previous evening and made camp just a few miles east of the divisional vanguard. Behind the Hungarian cavalry, a number of mountain and line infantry regiments were bivouacked along the road, just over the Sanjak frontier.

Bad weather had been expected, but the storm was still a setback. Fortunately, it did not last; by midnight it was over. But the weather across the Sanjak was decidedly colder in the wake of its passing.

March 29th, 1912Declaration of the Dual Monarchy on the Subject of Albania (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9477811&postcount=594)OOC: Do read this, please.

March 30th, 1912Taranto, ItalyThe freighter SMS Dalmatia had no sooner arrived at quayside than Linienschiffsleutnant Hugo Ockermüller, k.u.k. Kriegsmarine, bounded down the gangplank to meet the k.u.k. military attaché who had accompanied the four Italian fliers from Rome.

He was blunt. "Signori, I know nothing about aeroplanes - but am completely willing to learn anything you think I should know. So let's begin with their handling. Would you care to assist me in supervising their stowage aboard ship?"

And with that, the k.u.k. Air Services had their start.Pellg I Drinnt, Adriatic SeaTo the west of the town of Shëngjin, the Croatian soldiers of the 3.Battaillon Infanterieregiment Graf Jellaèic Nr.79 had marked off a section of beach. Lumber had been secured and a number of structures were being constructed - similar to large pavilions, but with fences added as windbreaks. The area already had a name - Die Flügplatz (Aerodrome) - but as of yet, it had no flying machines.

Those were yet on the way and probably wouldn't arrive for a few more days yet.

In town, a printing press had been set up in the basement of the town hall, and a set of Latin characters suitable for use in printing handbills in Albanian had been secured, although not without effort. Now the k.u.k. officers and their Albanian allies were busily trying to find the rigth wording for their message.

March 29th, 1912Declaration of the Dual Monarchy on the Subject of Albania (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9477811&postcount=594)OOC: Do read this, please.
Der Führer, the nobles and all of the Grand German Empire congratulate the Habsburgan Empire for its excellent effort in maintaing peace and liberty in the region of Albania. We also wish to warn any nations that have interest in Albanian soil that any aggression towards them will be considered an attack on the Grand Empire itself.
If the Dual Monarchy or the Albanian government wishes we can send troops to preserve peace and stability in the region.

Enver: brother, they have taken Adrianople, and the serbs are currently held up in Albania, this is perfect, we have the entire Bulgarian attaack force in our sites, we can either besiege the city now and risk our last defense, or wait for the Romanians to march straight to Sophia.

Cemal: Very good, we will wait, but make sure that if they march out of Adrianople, have a full cavalry assault on them, for they will not take our prised city of Istanbul that easily, also make sure the Italien recon report from their aero machines is on time.

Italian flyer: Hello, these are my reports consul

Cemal: thank you, I didn't expect it so soon.

Italian flyer: they have many forces still inside the fort, numbering around 80,000

Enver: We will strike now, while they are encamped, all our new artillery is ready

Cemal: very well then, we shall. Pilot, can you inspect the battlefield as the battle progresses?

Italian flyer: Yes, that is my duty, I serve you as I would serve my own general.

Adrianople
1:00 am
week after the seige

450 long range artillery peices and 35,000 elite riflemen march from Istanbul, to the forests overlooking the walled city of adrianople. They have come to take back a centerpeice of their beloved country, armed with nothing but a short scimitar, the new mauser 98 rifles and their gut. The soilders dig up in the forest as the artillery is placed.

15,000 soilders are left in the hill to the west of the city, as artillery begins, the Bulgarians are quite ready for an attack, but not so soon or so swift. Not attempting to storm the site in fear they stay over night hoping that in daylight they will gain reinforcments.


8:30 the next day
With the Bulgarians staying inside and wading it out 5000 of their own soilders perish, now they fear nobody, the Bulgarians are not as technicallly advanced but they make it up in numbers. 18,000 of the Bulgarians storm the forests only to be cut down by scimitar. In one day, the Bulgarian army faces a death toll of over 23,000 soilders, and its not even over. The reinforcements come and launch a full scale attack on the artillery, 5 miles away, the artillery and defensive forces are overwhelmed, though a great loss for the Ottomans the one they are about to face is even greater, 15,000 various veteran ottoman troops enter the city killing off all of the Bulgarian resistance, they are met with county militia and increase their numbers by 4000, quickly the army of turks and various militia hide in the cities buildings and walls awaiting the Bulgarian army.

Unluckly for the turks 47 of the Bulgarian occupation forced for Adrianople escape and warn the army that just destroyed a portion of the trukish artillery. They are warned, but right now cannot do anything, they are surrounded, turks in Adrianople, more in Istanbul and Gallpoli, Austro Hungarian armies somewhere in Macedonia and another ottoman cavalry regiment hiding in the same very forests, they can do nothing, hiding is pointless, for the Italian flyers will spot them no matter what. All they can do is camp or try to take back the city in which they know they face a technologically superior force, the Bulgarians have not yet faced the power of the Ottoman machine guns used by the elite soilders, there, even great numbers do not matter.

Even more bad news is the Romanian army is massing an assault on Bulgaria and they don't have enough troops to defend against a force of that size.

OOC: Regarding the defeat of the Bulgarian army.

I think it's plausible. In RL, the Turks had to fight against Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria. Now their only opponents seem to be the Bulgarians. Honestly, I doubt Bulgaria alone could hope to defeat the Ottoman Empire. I'll post more when I'll have the time.

My comments in OOC.

Enver: brother, they have taken Adrianople, and the serbs are currently held up in Albania, this is perfect, we have the entire Bulgarian attaack force in our sites, we can either besiege the city now and risk our last defense, or wait for the Romanians to march straight to Sophia.

Cemal: Very good, we will wait, but make sure that if they march out of Adrianople, have a full cavalry assault on them, for they will not take our prised city of Istanbul that easily, also make sure the Italien recon report from their aero machines is on time.

Italian flyer: Hello, these are my reports consul

Cemal: thank you, I didn't expect it so soon.

Italian flyer: they have many forces still inside the fort, numbering around 80,000

Enver: We will strike now, while they are encamped, all our new artillery is ready

Cemal: very well then, we shall. Pilot, can you inspect the battlefield as the battle progresses?

Italian flyer: Yes, that is my duty, I serve you as I would serve my own general.
OOC: Uh, I hate to tell you this, but I felt it was pretty obvious when i said Italy would no longer be paying you for the land you gave us. While I did want to ally with you I have decided against it due to your inactivity.

Not to mention the fact that Austria-Hungary is clearly working against you and Italy favors the alliance with Austria-Hungary far more than their newer alliance with the ottoman Empire.

While the Italians have not attacked or declared war on you, we have decided that we are no longer your allies.

IC:Alessandro: Yes, that is my duty; I serve you as I would serve my own general.

As the pilot prepared to take to the air he couldn’t help his feelings of guilt. He had not wished to backstab these men, but his allegiance was to Mother Italy, not to these backwards Muslims and their failing empire.

Crown Prince Alexander stood before the generals of the combined Serbian armies. The total army currently available for maneuvers against the Turks totalled approximately 200 000 soldiers. 30 000 conscripts of the third call up remained along the Dual Monarchy's border and a further 150 000 en route to link up with Montenegren forces in Macedonia. They only happened to be there, as they were undergoing training in Serbia itself relatively close to Austria-Hungary. Anotehr 20 000 were on various duties and training new recruits. (btw I see no reason to accept hearing of k.u.k forces being in Macedonia, the Turks do not have a military alliance with the Dual Monarchy as far as I have read nor does the k.u.k have any reason to be there...nor do they have a way to get there with Macedonia being landlokced by the Turks, Montenegrens, Serbs, and Greeks.)

Alexander was in deep thought for a moment before addressing the generals. God damn those Magyars and Austrians. We will have to find another way to gain access to the Adriatic. That can come later. Luckily we are in good regards with (The surprising victories of the Serbian army in 1914 forced even the Austro-Hungarian press to admit a defeat. "The Budapest Hirlap" wrote: "In Serbia, a mortal battle is being waged by a five million strong nation. It is being waged by a well-equipped, daring and, above all, brave army which does not number 400,000 but rather five million people, because everyone is fighting there, from old people to children"(97). I am using this to estimate Serbian military size) <http://www.bglink.com/bgpersonal/batakovic/piedmont.html#THE%20ALBANIANS:%20THE%20NEW%20VIENNESE%20CLIENTS>
Essad-pasha Toptani.

"As you are aware, we currently have available 200 000 soldiers to overrun Turkish positions in Kosovo, which as we speak are currently running over the Turks like a hot knife through butter. The Greeks have not yet made advances towards Florina. King Petar is currently attempting to get the Greeks to assist us. If not, we were given more than enough soldiers to break through to Greek territory. Our goal is Skopje gentlemen. For that we will allocate 100 000 soldiers(including all the calvary units) to plough a path towards it. They will be allocated 2 dozen artillery batteries of 76 mm and 105 mm calibres. We only need infantry support and pieces that can be easily moved, nothing the size required for a siege on a fortress. The other 100 000 will secure all of Kosovo. In Macedonia we have 150 000 soldiers all along the front, of those, 50 000 are driving a wedge straight through to Novi Pazar. The Turks are in full route gentlemen, I expect a maximum of one week before we link up at the Sandjak front. Afterwards we will assist the Bulgarians in their assault on Adrianople. They are taking a heavy pounding under a Turkish counterattack. King Petar is also sending a telegram to the Bulgarians informing them that they should hole up and not seek any further offensives until Serbo-Greek and Montengren forces make it to Adrianople. At the same time we expect Romania's Army Group South to relieve the bellegured Bulgarian forces. In another week we will be able to detach 100 000 soldiers after having fully secured Kosovo. By midApril the Turks will face a full half million soldiers. All are equipped with bolt action rifles thankfully. I have also ordered our machine gun battalions to follow suit with our Macedonian sector forces which will greatly assist in retaking Adrianople but only after we have secured all of Macedonia The Bulgarians have also reproted capturing dozens of Turkish artillery batteries. Alongside our own we can reduce that fortress to nothing more than rubble if need be. It has taken us over 500 years gentlemen, but revenge will be ours! No longer will we fear for the safety of our daughters and unlucky sons forced into the ranks of the janissaries! We will be safe from tyranny! To battle!"

-----------------------------

Communique to Greece

Greetings honourable ally. As you are aware, we are in full battle with the Turks. Serbo-Montenegren forces are linking up in Macedonia, and our main army groups are fighting through Kosovo towards Skopje. We request that you join us in attacking the rear of the Turks at Florina where I hope we can unite. Afterwards we can assist the Bulgarian forces which are taking a heavy pounding under a Turkish counteroffensive at Adrianople. The time is at hand to fully reclaim our lost lands! Long live the Balkan League!


King Petar
Kingdom of Serbia

Petar placed the message in the capsule and sent it through the peumatic tube. I hope the alliance can survive the treachery of the k.u.k Maybe the Bulgarians will see how sincere we are in assisting them and maybe the Greeks will see only through the rest of us little ones can they also get their lost lands.

While I did want to ally with you I have decided against it due to your inactivity.OOC: Yeah, I'd wondered about that.

Likewise, on the inactivity. It does no good to rely on an ally who only shows up well after he's needed. If The Andromedan wants people's support, he's going to have to be a little more present.

I'm waiting a bit for Serbia to post.

OOC: Serbia and Montenegro, check the OOC thread.

HMS Indomitable, West of Cyrus

Arrayed in a column behind the Battlecruiser came the armoured cruisers, with a pair of destroyers bringing up the rear. In front and to the flanks of the columns were further destroyers and the light cruisers that had accompanied them from Malta. The support elements had docked in Cyrus where they were resupplying from the ample stores there.

Meanwhile no word had come from London as to the Turkish position, and so the ships continued westwards into a growing storm. Their communications would be disrupted at best by this, and when they passed south of Crete they would be on a heading for Malta. The British Empire had just stopped propping up the Turkish Empire.

My response to the Turkish RP is in the OCC thread.

There is no need for a northern nation to spill its blood on our stained lands, save your troops for when your country needs you, not when alien faction war with eachother for no reason. Do not waste your troops in our struggle.

Cemal Pasha, Consul of the Sublime Porte

My response to the Turkish RP is in the OCC thread.
Dude, your assult on Adrianople was Bull****, do you honestly think that your troops could have stormed a 30-foot high wall (unsupported by anything that could besige a city)while being fired at by machine gunners and light mortars?

I think not buddy

Gasping, the two tourists finally reached the crest of the mountain. Now they could finally relax for a while and enjoy the view of the beautifull valley which had awaited them on the other side.

"What is this?", shouted one of them.

The two tourists stared bewildered at the sight. The whole scenic valley was now bisected by an ugly trench. Soldiers and civilians worked along its entire length, making it even deeper and wider. Behind it, the line of men assembled with digging tools in their hands seemed to suggest the valley was going to suffer further desecrations.

"This is an outrage! Who could have ordered such an abo..."

Before he could continue, a line of soldiers emerged from below, marching in their direction. The man in front started shouting:

"Hey, you there! You're not allowed to stay here any more. You two must leave immediately."

Within a few seconds, the soldiers were on top of the ridge. They grabbed the resisting tourists and escorted them on the other side of the mountain, where they could no longer see the strange view.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but you are not allowed to be here."

"It's taken us 6 hours to get here! You can't just turn us back!"

The soldier remained inflexible:

"I'm afraid that's exactly what I'm going to do."

The more aggresive of the tourists started to say something, then checked himself. They were outnumbered by the soldiers 4 to 1 and had no weapons, while their opponents had them in plentifull supply.

"Very well, we'll go. But at least tell us what's going on."

The soldiers didn't utter a word. The tourist's face, already red from the effort of climbing the mountain, did the impossible and turned redder still. Suddenly, he turned and started walking with large steps away from the soldiers.

"Come on", he growled to his companion. "I see there's nobody worth talking to around here."

As the tourists started the long walk down the mountain, they heard a soldier talking behind them:

"Hey guys, next time we take the lunch break, let's take it on the summit, even if it's so windy up here. All right?"

OOC: Logics question: how many of you have wondered - before reading these lines - what the hell are two tourists doing in the mountains in late March, when the weather is at its worst? :p

OOC: Logics question: how many of you have wondered - before reading these lines - what the hell are two tourists doing in the mountains in late March, when the weather is at its worst? :p

Meh, freezing to death probably.

Meh, freezing to death probably.
Nice to see you here. Maybe you'd be interested in RPing Albania? Things are a bit too quiet in the main thread.

I'm ok with that. And did I already post a reply saying I'll send observers?

I'm ok with that. And did I already post a reply saying I'll send observers?
Yes, you did. I didn't answer that because i'm not - yet - involved in the war. I guess the other states forgot about that (things have been a bit... confused lately).

Okay, thanks. I'm looking up stuff now. Can someone give me a brief summary of what happened eactly? I just skimmed the RP's, not reading them properly.

I posted this on the OOC thread:

O.K. I'm also involved, but I haven't said anything false so far (I hope so, at least) and I have a fair grasp of the situation in the Balkans (again, I hope so).

That's what I believe that has happened until now (not necessarily in chronological order, although I'll try):

I presume we are all on the 29th of March.

K.U.K.
Half of k.u.k.'s armies have mobilized by the 17th of March; the rest began mobilizing on the 27th or 28th (I have a poor memory ). Units of the 2nd army are entering Novi Pazar, assisted by smaller units detached from the armies that were on Serbia's borders.

Romania
I began mobilizing 14 divisions on the 17th; they were ready 10 days later. After that, I decided to mobilize all my armies. They will be ready for action on the 4th of April, in the morning. I have already posted that Army Group South was on the move, but after that NO posted something happening on the 28th. Since that army can only move after the 4th of April, I'll delete the post if everybody agrees.

Bulgaria
Bulgaria did not declare when have they began mobilizing, but apparently they were ready on the 28th to attack the Turks. All their armies are somewhere in the south. They are currently attacking Adrianople.

Greece
Greece has mobilized their army at some point in the past and they are ready to go and occupy the lands ceded to them by Turkey.
EDIT: They will mobilise and be ready on the 3rd-4th of April.

Serbia (and Montenegro)
They haven't announced their mobilisation, but it looks like they are ready to go/have gone already over the border. I say they haven't, at least not by the 29th of March.

Turkey
NO has posted their resources, but The Andromedan doesn't say how many divisions are located around Edirne or in Albania. Since he gave away the Egean Islans, he will only be able to reinforce his troops by land, unless Greece says otherwise. His army (whose strength will be determined later) is currently defending Adrianople. They have good chances to resist for a long time. The units in Salonika have been pulled back to defend Adrianople (one more reason the city shouldn't fall very fast). His armies in Albania are cooperating with the Austrian forces which have already entered Novi Pazar.

Since The Andromedan said he's not very experienced, I suggest he calls a general mobilization. Part of the troops should remain in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) and Palestine, as a defence against Britain. The rest should be sent by land or by sea (if Greece agrees) to defend Adrianople. If they are sent by land, IIRC, there was a railway between Baghdad and Constantinople, maybe also one linking Mecca to Constantinople.

At the moment, war has only been declared between Bulgria and Turkey. Serbia wanted to enter Turkish teritory, but I think they changed their minds.

NO wants to create a Greater Albania (good news for you! :) ).

I'm ok with that. And did I already post a reply saying I'll send observers?Everyone was invited to observe my exercises, so you have people at OKH (Budapest) and probably some in Bosnia and Transylvania. You've noted the sudden shift in forces and have picked up on the fact that this is not a game any more. If you wish, you may join my HQ at Goražde. Give me a name of an observer (or two), and I'll get you to Pristina.

Okay, thanks. I'm looking up stuff now. Can someone give me a brief summary of what happened eactly? I just skimmed the RP's, not reading them properly.You may start RP'ing the Albanians rebels in Ishkodra (mountain tribesmen, 5,000-10,000 strong); I have given them machine guns and am training them in their use. I also have the (RL) names of their leaders. But I'll be dropping leaflets shortly proclaiming national independnce and calling Albania to arms, so you might want to hold a minute.

Dude, your assult on Adrianople was Bull****, do you honestly think that your troops could have stormed a 30-foot high wall (unsupported by anything that could besige a city)while being fired at by machine gunners and light mortars?

I think not buddy


sigh...


As a matter of fact, I was expecting for my first attack to be repulsed by the Turks within the city and my soldiers thrown back.


Again, I must reinforce the fact that I did not plan for my forces to win in the first five minutes. I intended for you to RP your response to my attack and simply have my Infantry run back to my positions with their 'tails between thier legs'. However, you simply posted after my attack that the city had fallen and you were preparing a counter-attack, so I just went along with it.

March 30th, 1912Sjenica, Sanjak of NovibazarMorning found the road from Sjenica to Novi Pazar covered in ice. The men of Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6 were forced to dismount and lead their horses forward on foot, in order to keep their mounts from slipping. This slowed them tremendously; they could make no more than a dozen kilometres and ended up well short of their objective for the day.

Behind them, Pécser Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.8 did little better, reaching Sjenica in similar fashion and then turning south toward Bijelo Polje. But the ice made travel much past Sjenica impossible, and the regiment fell far short of Bare, its objective for that day.Durdevica (http://www.catch-the-day.com/Europa/Montenegro/Montenegro-Webgalerie/images/MONTE-0078.jpg), Montenegrin-Sanjak Frontier2.Bataillon Infanterieregiment Freiherr von Fejérváry Nr.46 and the 5.Grenz Jäger-Kompanie reached the rim of the Tara Kligura (http://www.durmitorcg.com/gallery/images/DSC06057_resize.jpg) just before noon. After unlimbering their machine guns and establishing defencive positions on the heights above the river far below, they were able at last to take in the spectacular scenery.

The gorge of the Tara River - greatest in all of Europe and second greatest in the world, lay beneath them. The gorge itself fell thousands of feet to the river below, and the men could see places up and down the canyon where the water foamed white as it rushed over rapids. The walls of the gorge were steep, impassible in many places, and yet improbably covered with ancient forest growth; some of the pines rose to almost two hundred feet.

Durdevica was only of only two or three places where Montenegrin forces might cross the Tara along the 50 miles or where it served as their frontier with the Sanjak. On either side of the gorge rose mountains of considerable height, with tops routinely over 7,000 feet - and many of these were craggy Alps rather than the rolling mountains found in many other places on the continent.

5.Grenz Jäger-Kompanie pushed on along the north rim of the gorge, heading for Bistrica and the Djavolje Lazi ("Devil's Lanes"), where the raging Tara improbably grew so narrow that a person could actually leap across it. There, the company would take up positions to guard this intermediate crossing, although it could only be used by isolated raiding parties, as the terrain made passage by baggage trains impractical. Because of the difficult terrain along the right rim of the canyon, it would not arrive in position to guard the crossing at Bistrica until afternoon of April 1st.

Further east, the rest of the 3.Gebirgsbrigade had a harder go of it; the road was in worse condition and the mountains were higher. But they put all their effort into the march and arrived at Pavino Polje, near the crest of the eastern end the Ljubišnja (http://www.summitpost.org/images/97159.JPG), just after nightfall.OOC: If I haven't already made it abundantly clear, the Tara River Canyon (http://www.durmitorcg.com/gallery/images/KANJON_resize_exposure_resize.jpg) is a huge military obstacle (http://www.durmitorcg.com/gallery/images/IMG_0839_resize.jpg) that pretty much prevents large troop movements between Northern Montenegro and the Sanjak (it's kind of like Arizona's Grand Canyon [whitewater included (http://www.eco-tours.cg.yu/high/TARA-SAMA.jpg)], but with lots of trees (http://www.eco-tours.cg.yu/high/rapids2.jpg)). About the only place you can enter the Sanjak from Montenegro is in the south, near Kolašin (http://www.vj.yu/img/ilustracije/Publikacije/Vojska/ob506/v506-01.jpg) and the Biogradsko Gora (http://www.montenegro.yu/ekologija/biograd.jpg), one of Europe's last great virgin forests.

March 31st, 1912Die RingstraßeMoritz Freiherr Auffenberg von Komarów, Minister of War, kept the announcement as terse as possible:

"Due to the outbreak of war in the Balkans, our forces will remain mobilised indefinitely. It is our hope that the current conflict can be kept from spreading, and important differences among the various nations in the regions resolved through diplomacy."The Sanjak of NovibazarThe cold snap of the previous two days passed as quickly as it had come, to be replaced by warm weather - almost unseasonably so. But with the warmer weather came rain, and this time not just an afternoon's worth or drizzle, sleet, or flurries. No, this rain began before dawn and pelted the Sanjak through the entire day. Roads that had been treacherously icy soon thawed, only to then become rivers of mud.

For the cavalry the transition from ice to mud was a definite improvement, except that any limbered guns they had fell behind as their teams fought to keep them from sinking in the mire. But that was an improvement over the risk of breaking their horses legs on the slick ice of the previous day. In contrast, it was a serious impediment to the infantry, who found their mobility even more hampered than it had been on the previous day. Worse, the wetness of the roads was now such that even a week of sunshine wouldn't dry the roads out enough to make up for the last few days.

And in April, the odds of a week of sunshine were very, very slim.

The rains and the snow-melt also caused the Sanjak's many rivers - the Tara, the Lem, the Cehotina, the Uvac, and the Iber - to swell almost to the point of bursting their banks, making passage over the their fords both difficult and dangerous. But these were the perils of mountain campaigning in the early spring.

In the south, Pécser Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.8 reached Bijelo Polje by sunset, although the regiment's Maxim guns were left far behind, making it no further than Bare on the slopes of the Pešter plateau. Similar progress was made in the east, where Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6 reached Pobdre after nightfall, just a few miles short of Novi Pazar; that regiments Maxim guns spent the night at Duga Poljana.

In the Ljubišnja, 3.Gebirgsbrigade didn't make it much past Vranštica; but this at least put it in view of its objective of Mojkovac and - more importantly - gave it a commanding view of the approaches to Bijelo Polje. 12.Gebirgsartilleriebrigade, on the other hand, being made up of pack-guns rather than limbered weapons, managed, reached Pavino Polje, less than ten kilometres behind the mountain infantry they were to support.

But most importantly of all, the bulk of 5.Honvéd Landwehr Kavallerietruppendivision reached Senjica - although, like all the other cavalry, this could only be achieved by outstripping its caissons and Maxim guns. With the rest of the infantry still mired along the road back near Nova Baroš, the advance of the Hungarian cavalry units was all the more important, given that they would need to provide a screen for the infantry columns and supply waggons while they caught up.

April 1st, 1912Der Ballplatz"It looks very much as though Serbia simply doesn't believe that we mean it when we tell them that they're not going to be permitted to simply walk into Albania and take what they want," observed Count Berchtold. "We need to get their attention."

"Do you have something in mind?" asked Emperor and King Franz Josef I.

"I think we need to have 5th and 6th Armies rub their noses in it," said the Foreign Minister bluntly. "They should begin very visible preparations for war along the Danube frontier and the Adriatic coast."

"You will of course send a letter to accompany this message," said Franz Josef, "So that the intent is not misunderstood."

"Oh, absolutely," said the Count with a smile. "Absolutely."

To: The Kingdom of Serbia and The Kingdom on Montenegro
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

We wish to make our position absolutely clear.

Any attempt by the forces of Serbia or Montenegro to seize territory
belonging to the vilayets of Ishkodra, Kosova, Monastir, or Yanya
will be seen as an act of aggression against the Albanian people,
regardless of how well supported either Serbia or Montenegro may feel
their claims to such land may be.

Any act of aggression against the Albanian people will be met by the full
force of the Dual Monarchy, and on every front where such force may be
applied.

It is in the best interests of both Serbia and Montenegro to stand down
and demobilise their armies. Only then can we negotiate legal and proper
borders between your two states and Albania.

If you wish to send troops to aid your sister Kingdom of Bulgaria against
the Sublime Porte, we have no objection to this. But those troops may
not pass through Albanian territory en route to Adrianople and the
battle raging there.The Sanjak of NovibazarThe downpour of the previous day did in fact abate by the following morning, and the sun came out across the region to produce a dazzlingly bright day. Yet this didn't do much to get rid of the mud produced over the last two days; it just ensured that, for the moment, that mud would not grow any worse.

In the east, at the deepest point of penetration into the Sanjak by the Hungarian cavalry, Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6 rode into Novi Pazar itself by mid-morning. It did not linger long; after a short break, during which the regimental commander send a telegram back to Goražde informing higher headquarters of his arrival in the Sanjak's administrative capitol, the Hungarians pushed on. Shortly after nightfall, they arrived on the banks of the Ibar River just below Barnjska, less than half a day's ride from the railhead at Mitrovica. Unfortunately, this haste meant leaving their Maxim guns far behind; the gun crews, still fighting the mud along the Old Bosnia Road, spent the night at Novi Pazar.

They were not the only cavalry formation bent on advance, even if it meant leaving their guns behind them; 5.Honvéd Landwehr Kavallerietruppendivision pushed all the way to Pobdrde, where the vanguard had camped the night before. This put them a day behind their brethren along the Ibar, although their guns were, like those of Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6, now a day back in Sjenica.

Things looked better along the Montenegrin frontier. Pécser Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.8's Maxim guns reached Bijelo Polje by nightfall, and the regiments forward scouts encountered the advance units of 3.Gebirgsbrigade in front of Mojkovac. 12.Gebirgsartilleriebrigade reached the forward lines of the mountaineers by sunset, and began setting up their pieces with an eye toward commanding the valley below. A few miles back, at Povino Polje, Kaiserlich Königlich 105.Land-sturminfanteriebrigade moved up to support 3.Gebirgsbrigade should an assault on Mojkovac and the pass above it be needed.

Further west, 5.Grenz Jäger-Kompanie, having been delayed by the previous day's heavy rains, reached a position just over half a dozen kilometres west of Bistrica. By noon on the 2nd, the last crossing over the Tara would be covered.

Near Priboj, 42.Honvéd Landwehrinfanterietruppendivision, reinforced by Königlich Ungarisch 104.Landsturminfanteriebrigade, dug in across the lower slopes of the Zlatibor, to guard the k.u.k. left against a possible Serb attack aimed at cutting the Old Bosnia Road - for by now any observer on the Zlatibor, with the lifting of the cloud cover, would clearly be able to see a long line of campfires stretching from Goražde on his right to Nova Baroš on his left and beyond. From the number of fires, this was not just a passing cavalry division or a few brigades. What lay below the Zlatibor was at least a full army corps.Yes, I'm pushing this. I figure that Slavic Byzantium can step in and offer his movements (if any) whenever he gets around to it.

Oh, and if the borders in question aren't clear, let me make them clear: everything once held by the Turks other than the territory in front of their capital is off limits to the Serbs and Montenegrins. Everything.

Open letter to Belgrade and Vienna

Wishing to preserve the peace and good relations among the Christian nations of the Balkans, the Romanian governement forwards the following agreement to his neighbours and friends Serbia and K.u.K.:

The Serbian Kingdom promises not to attack the European possesions of the Ottoman Empire, with the possible exception of the vilayet of Adrianople. Any teritorial claims for regions to be included in the future Abanian state will be settled by peacefull negotiations arbitrated by the Dual Monarchy. In exchange, the Dual Monarchy must promise not to attack or, in any other way, harm the Serbian state, for a period of at least 5 years after the signing of this agreement.

Two copies of the agreement will be sent, one to Belgrade and one to Vienna. If each side will find the agreement apropriate, I'll invite the foreign ministers of Serbia and of the Dual Monarchy to Bucharest, for signing the treaty. Hoping that reason will triumph, I send my regards to the Austrian Empearor and to the Serbian king.

Signed, Bogmih, prime-minister of Romania, the 30th of March, 1912

King Nikola spoke, "Which is why I've orderd the full mobilization of my forces. "

Petar replied, "Damn it Nikola! Very well, I will do the same as soon as possible." Petar wroe a telegram to be sent to Alexander ordering mobilization of all forces.

Crown Prince Alexander wrote up teh mobilization orders with his general staff:

Divisions will be named by numbers and later changed to names when/if I have time.

Number of divisions: 4

General breakdown of each division and men in each main unit:

15 Mountain Infantry battalions each consisting of 600 men (ideal full strength number)

1 Artillery battalion consisting of 10 field guns and 20 maxim guns. Each field gun is crewed by 6 men while each Maxim 08 gun is crewed by 5 men. Total numbers 160 men.

1 Mounted rifle battalion of 500 men (ideal full strength number)

Total manpower(per division): 9 660

Total army manpower: 38 640 (sounds reasonable...if it's too much I'll make 3 and 4 division have 1-2 less battalions each.)

4 division is to be mobilized on the sector along the Dual Monarchy border. 1 and 2 division is to be mobilized near Kalacinn to make use of railraods/major roads into the Sandjak. 3 division is to be mobilized along the SE sector near Podgoritza.

5 battalions in each division will be used as reserve units to be deployed where deemed necessary, to be changed to 3 depending on field requirments for battle front.

Estimated time for full mobilization along the sectors: March 20


Serbian mobilization: Estimated time to fully mobilize: 2 weeks

1st army led by Crown Prince Alexander. Assuming initial field strength of
27 000 men per infantry division and 4 800 men in the independant calvary divison, total manpower for 1st army is estimated at 140 000.

5 divisions:
* Dunavska Divizija I Poziva

* Drinska Divizija I Poziva

* Moravska Divizija I Poziva

* Sumadijska Divizija I Poziva

* Timoska Divizija I Poziva
Not included is 20 reserve regiments (Puki III Poziva) each consisting of 1500 soldiers. Their use is to strengthen weak areas or to bolster attacks to break through an enemy weak point and as replacement troops for casulties.
Total reserve component manpower: 30 000

To be mobilized at Pirot for transit through Bulgaria to Adrianople, once fully mobilized they will move through Bulgaria to assist in the siege for the purposes of opening a new front against the Turks.

To be supplied via rail depot at Lasina to major Bulgarian rail depots at which dedicated supply regiments will bring forth supplies by wagon and horse. Vranya will be the main city where supplies will be sent to Lasina to be sent to 1st Army.



2nd Army will consist of 3 regular reserve divisions (Divizija II Poziva) and be led by General Stepa Stepanovic. Assuming 22 000 soldiers per division, total ideal field strength is to be 66 000 soldiers.
# Dunavska Divizija II Poziva

# Drinska Divizija II Poziva

# Moravska Divizija II Poziva

The divisions will be mobilized at towns on major roads leading to the Sandjak front. Supplies are to come from depots in Ushitze and Karanova.

Reserve component will consist of 7 third line regiments totalling 10500 men.



3rd Army will be led by General Bozidar Jankovic. Total field strength is estimated at 70 000 men.

*Timoska Divizija II Poziva(with modern equipment)

*Bulgarian 7th Rila division

Reserve component received from 7th Rila therefore no Serbian reserve regiments required.

Supplied and mobilized at Vranya.


Ibar Army will be led by General Mikhail Zivkovic and consist mainly of one divison plus 10 Posenja Odbrana regiments (each consisting of 1500 soldiers) and 30 000 Home Defence soldiers(conscripts from latest call up, ongoing training and home guard duties)


* Sumadijska Divizija II Poziva
*10 Posenja Odbrana regmients

To be mobilized all along the Serbo-Habsburg borders, mainly along rivers and mountains and valleys. Due to smaller size and large sector supply routes are not an issue. Total fighting manpower(est.): 67000

Note: All remaining units are individual detachments, extra reserve regiments with various duties such as supply or are partisans. Remaining units: nonspecified individual detachments with an estimated total size of 19000 soldiers, 10 Posednja Odbrana regiments, and 6 Puki II Poziva units. Total spare/supply/partisan manpower: 43500 men.

"What are we going to do now?!?!? The Dual Monarchy is flat out telling us if we step in one inch we get DoW'd!" Petar was getting almost hysterical.

"Calm down Petar, the French and especially Russians will never stand for it. War was inevitable given the Habsburg's interventionalist policies. They want to keep us weak and divided. Just about the only thing we can do is wait patiently, take down the Turks and find other means of getting Kosovo and Macedonia. I will take care of things, don't you worry."

--------------------------
Communique to Russian Tsar

As you are well aware, the Dual Monarchy since 1878 has been attempting to subvert fellow Slavs, that being the Serbs and Croats. This time they are resorting to using war as a means of keeping us weak. The Dual Monarchy is using Albania as a means of keeping Serbs divided and landlocked from the Adriatic. we do not have the diplomatic means to cause the Dual Monarchy to back off from such a declaration and we are in desperate need of our Russian brothers (in conjunction with the French) to provide the diplomatic pressure necessary(and military show of force if at all plausible) to allow us to unite together and better the cause of all Slavs.

Fellow Slavic brother,
King Nikola of Montenegreo

-------------------------------
Communique to French President

As you are well aware, the Dual Monarchy since 1878 has been attempting to subvert fellow Slavs, that being the Serbs and Croats. This time they are resorting to using war as a means of keeping us weak. The Dual Monarchy is using Albania as a means of keeping Serbs divided and landlocked from the Adriatic. we do not have the diplomatic means to cause the Dual Monarchy to back off from such a declaration and we are in desperate need of your assitance (in conjunction with the Russians) to provide the diplomatic pressure (and show of military force if at all plausible) necessary to allow us to exist as a people.

King Nikola of Montenegro
------------------------------

Communique to Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece (Included is Dual Monarchy's letter and stance)

1st Army consisting of 170 000 soldiers is mobilized and ready for deployment on the Adrianople front. They are currently en route via rail car and road in Serbia towards the Bulgarian border.

The Montenegren army stands ready but is fully landlocked by the Dual Monarchy.

The Dual Monarchy wishes to keep us weak, dividied, and ripe for takeover. Once we eliminate the Turkish dogs we need to work on the dilemma of the Urge to the East.

King Nikola of Montenegro

--------------------------------

Standing orders to all armies minus 1st.

Do not engage as originally planned at the Sandjak or Kosovo fronts. Small calrvary scouting teams may cross the border for scouting purposes only and are to avoid at any costs any confrontation with Habsburg forces. Any devience of this order will result in immeadiate court martial and a visit to the Gallows of any involved people. Wait for new orders of engagement vs Turks and Habsburg forces.

Reroute 5 Posednja Odbrana regiments and 4 reserve regiments to Ibar army for purposes of defence against Habsburg forces to replace latest call up of conscripts in Home Defence until those men are deemed ready for battle.

Remaining units on standby for deployment to any theatre not including individual detachments:- 5 PO regiments
- 2 reserve regiments

OOC: If you're counting on the French president (me :) ) to help you, I'm afraid you're wrong. It's March 1912 in the Balkans. I only take over France in October. At the moment, nobody's controlling Russia. Considering the vacuum of power, I don't think you're going to get any help.

P.S. Check your nation. You have a TG.

March 30th, 1912Der BallplatzOpen letter to Belgrade and Vienna..."This is an excellent development," said Foreign Minister Berchtold. "Whether Roumania intends it or not, this puts pressure on them to stand down." His secretary nodded.

"Take a dictation," Berchtold said.To: The Kingdoms of Roumania, Serbia, and Montenegro
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

We accept the terms suggested by the Romanian Prime Minister and urge
both Serbia and Montenegro to do the same. We note that these terms are
entirely consistent with the method for resolving territorial disputes
between Albania and its neighbours put forward in our note of March 29th,
1912.

We look forward to receiving a positive reply to this note from our neigh-
bours to the south.

April 2nd, 1912The Sanjak of NovibazarMorning broke to a drizzle. The k.u.k commanders in the region hoped that this rain would break, but it did not; instead, it worsened into first sleet and then, by noon, flurries. By 1 PM the snow was falling quite steadily, although without the wind that might turn an ordinary snowstorm into a blizzard.

A few units advanced a bit before the snow came, but by the early afternoon it was obvious that further efforts were going to be pointless. Thus, commanders moved their units off the road, rolled caissons and waggons into areas where the snow was first packed down hard to prevent them from sinking, and ordered their men to pitch camp, start fires, and stay warm. These were big, wet flakes as the temperature hovered just around freezing, so men were assigned to keep the waggons and caissons clear and free to move.

There still was some forward movement, though: 5.Honvéd Landwehr Kavallerietruppen-division reached Novi Pazar before the snow reached the point where no further movement was possible, and near Metrovica, where the weather was warmer, snow never came. Instead, there was a day-long rain that left everything saturated; fortunately, Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6 reached town shortly after noon and was able to take shelter, as well as secure the rail yards and the approached to the frontier town.

A few hearty men from 3.Gebirgsbrigade, used to mountain snows from their homes in Austria and the Tirol, scouted west as far as Mojkovac and the approaches to the pass that led up to Kolašin. They were able to ascertain that the recent weather had left most of the heights around the Biogradsko Gora and beyond snowbound. This didn't eliminate the possibility of small Montenegrin patrols coming down from their mountain fastnesses, but it did mean that there was little chance of a major sally.Pellg I Drinnt, Adriatic SeaThe SMS Dalmatia put into Shëngjin in the early afternoon, in a pouring rain. Fortunately, the seas while choppy, were not too rough for the freighter to draw in close enough to offload its cargo. But there could be no thought of taking to the air on such a soggy day, so the crated aeroplanes were moved to the pavilions that had been prepared for them and uncrated.

A small crew of sailors and artillerists, being deemed mechanically-minded men, had been sent in advance aboard another coaster to the "Flugplatz" to assist the Italian airmen. That evening, the Italians went over the basics of assembling, fuelling, and maintaining their machines. There was a great deal of interest; this new field of aviation fascinated everyone.

Meanwhile, a kilometre away in the town hall of Shëngjin, a small group of k.u.k. officers and Mirditë tribesmen struggled over a document - printed in Albanian - that they would run through their printing presses that same night. This was what they finally came up with (but not without a great deal of argument):

People of Albania!
Your day has arrived!
By order of the Sultan of the Turks, the people of Albania are to be given their independence! Today, a new nation - Albania - is born!

But if this new nation is to prosper, it will need volunteers. There must be an
army to protect Albania's borders once the Turks are gone, a police force to
keep its people safe, and a government to guide it to greatness! To this end,
we - the Albanian National Council - ask that these things be done: Village leaders raise a militia to protect their people from invaders and brigands.


All attacks on Turks cease, as the Turks have agreed to leave as
soon as Albania can support herself.


All Albanians should assist and cooperate with the Hungarians and their comrades, who have been allowed into Albania by the Turks to help in
the process of creating a nation.


Each village send representatives to Prizren to discuss the creation of a new government.With courage and hard work, we can make Albania
a great nation that will serve the needs of the great Albanian people!

"The 'Albanian National Council'!?! Bah!" said one man. "What is that? There is no such thing."

"No, not now," said one of the officers. "But there will be."

April 3rd, 1912The Sanjak of NovibasarThe snow gave way to rain as temperature rose up into the teens (OOC: The fifties); while the snowfall did at least mitigate the mud of the 1st, this state of affairs didn't last. By nightfall the roads were close to becoming hopeless soft, especially with the volume of traffic they were carrying. Of course, in the hills to the east of the Drina River, between Priboj and Nova Baroš, the temperatures had remained above freezing, and so this part of the Old Bosnia Road was almost impossible.

At Novi Pazar, Pápaer Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.7 was left behind to watch the valley of the Raška River against an advance on the capitol of the Sanjak while Budapester Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.1 slogged down the road toward Mitrovica. By nightfall the regiment reached Barnjska on the Ibar, where Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6 had encamped two nights earlier.

In front of Bijelo Polje, Kaiserlich Königlich 105.Landsturminfanteriebrigade took up the positions above Mojkovac that 3.Gebirgsbrigade had established a few days earlier; in the meantime the mountain troops moved forward in strength to begin aggressively patrolling the upper (and more passable) reaches of the Tara Gorge. From their vantage point, they could see that the pass in front of Kolašin was still largely snowbound; no Montenegrin advance would occur for another few days, at the earliest. To the west, 5.Grenz Jäger-Kompanie, now well behind schedule, pressed to within two miles of the crossing at Bistrica; barring another major snowfall, the last crossing over the Tara would be secure by noon on the 4th.

April 4th, 1912Bijelo Polje, Sanjak of NovibazarAlthough the rain had broken the previous evening, the roads and countryside were still incredibly muddy, especially as the chill of March began to give way to cool of April.

Kaiserlich Königlich 35.Landsturminfanteriebrigade arrived at Bijelo Polje shortly before noon, relieving Pécser Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.8; by early afternoon, the Hungarian cavalry was back on the round toward Sjenica, where it would turn east and move to rejoin the remainder of 5.Honvéd Landwehr Kavallerietruppendivision in Kosova.

To the west, 5.Grenz Jäger-Kompanie arrived at the heights above Bistrica and secured positions along the north face of Tara Gorge, sealing off the last eastward exit from Montenegrin soil.

At Mitrovica, Budapester Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.1 joined Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6. Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6, Feldmarschall Ernst von Froreich taking command of the unit. Patrols from Zalaegerszeger Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.6 began ranging north and east toward the Serbian frontier, to warn of the approach of any Serbian army should one cross the border.

In Novi Pazar, Kaiserlich Königlich 40.Landsturminfanteriebrigade staggered into town well after dark, along with some of 5.Honvéd Landwehr Kavallerietruppendivision's much delayed artillery and limbered Maxim guns. Word went out to Pápaer Landwehrhusarenregiment Nr.7 to prepare to withdraw its cavalry screen on the morrow and proceed as fast as possible toward Mitrovica.

To the west, along the course of the River Uvac, elements of Königlich Ungarisch 103.Landsturminfanteriebrigade, having moved north off the Old Bosnia Road, began to prepare their positions against a possible Serb attack toward Nova Baroš. Behind them, 11.Gebirgsbrigade and Königlich Ungarisch 102.Landsturminfanteriebrigade, backed up by 14.Gebirgsartilleriebrigade, moved to assume positions further east, in front of Sjenica; on their right, they would link up with the Austrian reservists who had just arrived in Novi Pazar.Goražde, Bosnia and HercegovinaGeneralmajor Joseph Pomiankowski was impatient. The weather had delayed his departure for two days, and now he was being asked to take a pair of Japanese observers with him; fortunately, OKH had managed to secure him a third automobile.

In the lead vehicle, three men armed with rifles remained half standing - one in the front seat and two in back; another such guard stood in the front seat of the next two vehicles as they swung out onto the road and slowly made their way toward Novi Pazar.

It was a difficult journey. The soldiers of III. and XII.Korps had to move off the road to make way for the vehicles, and the roads were extremely sloppy to boot. Under normal conditions, this should have been a four-hour drive, but by nightfall they had only reached Sjenica after nearly twelve hours, with several unexpected stops.

The Japanese observers, however, seemed to be enjoying themselves. At least someone is, thought Pomiankowski. While snow was hardly unknown in Japan, the amount and the ensuing runoff here were rivalled only by what was normally found on Hokkaido, and the Japanese military didn't usually conduct exercises there. They had seen action in cold weather, of course - in Manchuria against the Russians - but Manchuria was considerably drier than the Sanjak.Pellg I Drinnt, Adriatic SeaThe rain having broken and some of the cloud cover having blown away, the Italian aviators proudly took the the skies over Albania shortly before noon. Each was given a map, several packets of leaflets, a pistol and a rifle (in case they had to land) and - most importantly of all - a letter in Albania from Prenk Didë Doda Pashë proclaiming them to be "friends of the Albanian people" and - far more importantly - under the personal protection of the Kapedan. This was to ensure that, in extremis, they would be likely to get assistance from any Malësi tribesmen they encountered, or at least be less likely to be molested.

A small crowd of soldiers, villagers, and armed mountaineers watched as each aeroplane ran down the beach and took to the air. There were gasps of astonishment and loud applause; many of these people had never seen a flying machine before.

Many young children went home that night and proclaimed to their parents that, when they were older, they would be aviators, too - just like the brave Italians.

Each aeroplane headed for a different part of the country, seeking out villages and dropping leaflets over them. As they flew low over these villages, usually buzzing them once or twice first to bring the people out into the streets and then waving at them, they would drop the leaflets (the mission they were hired for) and then drop wrapped candy for the children (their own idea, and an immensely popular one). After that, it would be on to the next village.

By evening all four aviators had returned. If the weather was good, they would fly again tomorrow; in a week, the machines would be flown inland to another aerodrome, one that would be prepared for them by the k.u.k. military and their Albanian allies.

April 5th, 1912 The Sanjak of NovibazarAlthough temperatures dropped overnight, freezing some of the mud, this did not last. They were back up into the teens again (OOC: The fifties in, Fahrenheit) and with the rise in temperature came more rain.

Still, in spite of the mud, the k.u.k. military continued to advance. In the south, 3.Bataillon Kaiserlich Königlich 22.Landsturminfanterieregiment marched to Poda while Reserveschwadron Dragonerregiment No.9 rode ahead and secured the town of Berane beneath Komovi (http://www.summitpost.org/images/150117.jpg) and Hajla (http://www.summitpost.org/images/163233.jpg) near the edge of the Prokletije massif. To the east, elements of the 5.Honvéd Landwehr Kavallerietruppendivision continued to trickle into Mitrovica, with the promise of even more on the morrow.

Along the Uvac, the last front-line k.u.k. units finally arrived in their positions and began to entrench. Mountain troops and a few reserves squadrons of cavalry patrolled right up to the Serbian frontier, to detect any incursions into the Sanjak, should they occur.Along the Old Bosnia RoadEven though they alone spoke Japanese, the two observers it the last vehicle of Generalmajor Joseph Pomiankowski's small caravan spoke in low tones.

"These troops are slow! They're covering only ten or fifteen miles a day, and sometimes just five miles! Disgraceful!" murmured one, shaking his head.

"Be thankful that these are the people who are helping the Chinese," replied the other. "If their laziness has infected the Chinese Army, our swift victory is certain."Novi PazarIt was afternoon - and raining again - before Pomiankowski finally arrived at the Sanjak's administrative capitol.

He wasted no time going straight to the office of the sanjakbey. There, he presented himself as the appointed k.u.k. officer to whom the commander of the Porte's 2nd Macedonian Army, Ali Risa Pasha, was to report during the transition to Albanian independence.

"I want you," he told the sanjakbey through an interpreter, "To tell the General to remain within his defencive lines at Ovche Polje until relieved."

He waited to make sure that the telegram was sent, and then left to secure a room for the evening. Tomorrow he would try to reach Pristina, assuming the weather would let him.Pellg I Drinnt, Adriatic Sea The grey skies and looming rainclouds prevented the Italian fliers from dropping more leaflets that day, so instead they spent the afternoon over coffee staying warm and planning the redeployment of their small detachment inland.

After some discussion, they decided to relocate to Prizren, which was less than 175km away; the flight would take just under three hours. In preparation for this move, a team of Croatian and Slovene soldiers would be sent ahead - under guard by Mirditë tribesmen - to establish another Flugplatz. Their current aerodrome on the Pellg I Drinnt at Shëngjin would be kept in place, and a third would be set up for future use on the coast near Vlorë.

Baghdad, 7:00 a.m. April 27th

Ok, Ok everyone move out!!! Come on lets go people. This is for your country!!!

Roughly 80,000 troops from the 4th army stationed in Baghdad, marches to Karakuk to board the Ottoman train straight to Istanbul, from Istanbul these battle hardened troops will serve in the defense of Edirne, and the Defensive wall surrounding it.

Ankara 5:30 p.m. April 27

By my decree as consul of the Sublime Porte, I order the full mobilizaion of the Turkish Armed forces, consciption, of all able-bodied men is necessary in the defense of our homeland, this is not an option, this is an order, for god and your country.

Ankara 5:30 p.m. April 27

By my decree as consul of the Sublime Porte, I order the full mobilizaion of the Turkish Armed forces, consciption, of all able-bodied men is necessary in the defense of our homeland, this is not an option, this is an order, for god and your country. OOC: Your capitol is still Istanbul.

British Colonial Headquarters, India

A young British Officer enters the room of the Governor General wearing his standard jungle battle dress, so common to the men and officers of the British Army in these parts.

"Sir, some of our informants in the trade routes between Karachi and Basra have informed us that the Turkish Army in Baghdad is rumoured to be heading north back to Turkey."

This young Captain had gotten straight to the point, and that made the Governor listen intentley before straightening up further in his chair.

"Send that off to Whitehall immediately. Ask them for guidance on how to proceed....Oh and tell Colonel Whitby to put his men onto alert."

"Yes Sir"

OOC: Im still here, just nothing much demanding my attention has come up lately!

By my decree as consul of the Sublime Porte, I order the full mobilizaion of the Turkish Armed forces, consciption, of all able-bodied men is necessary in the defense of our homeland, this is not an option, this is an order, for god and your country. [/FONT]
Consul? :confused:

April 6th, 1912Der Ballplatz, ViennaTo: The Kingdoms of Roumania, Serbia, and Montenegro
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

For the sake of peace between our nations, we propose a general demobili-
sation of forces along our shared borders to peacetime levels. This
offer is extended to each of your kingdoms; if you accept, we will begin
force demobilisation along any frontier between our countries withing 24
hours.

The foregoing does not apply to any forces located south of 44º02' North
latitude (essentially, anything south of Kragujevac in Serbia), as least
until both of the following events are behind us:


All Serbian forces have returned home from Turkish soil and been
demobilised, and




A new Albanian government has been formed, and that government
has had an opportunity to train an Albanian army.In lieu of these events, we will instead make the following offer: The Dual Monarchy will maintain on active duty a military force
of no greater than two-thirds the size of all active duty forces
in the aforementioned zone (i.e., south of the parallel of
Kragujevac). If Serbian and Montenegrin forces in this area are
demobilised, we will demobilise a corresponding number of men,
as needed to achieve the desired 3:2 ratio.Currently, Serbian and Montenegrin forces south of Kragujevac are
estimated at about 320,000 men; on that basis, we will cap our forces
in the area at around 210,000 men. If Serbia and Montenegro were to
demobilise 60,000 of these men, we would send home 40,000 of ours;
demobilising 90,000 of these men would lead us to sending 60,000 of our
men home; and so forth.

Under no circumstance, however, will we reduce forces in Albania below
50,000 men until a new Albanian army has taken the field.

We look forward to a swift positive reply to this proposal.

April 7th, 1912

To: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
From: The Kingdom of Romania

Unfortunately, the tense situation in the Balkans and the state of war
existing between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire make a demobilisation
unwise and unsafe. However, we want to assure the Dual Monarchy of our
peacefull intentions; our troops are under orders not to initiate any
offensive actions beyond the Carpathians.

April 7th, 1912Der BallplatzApril 7th, 1912

To: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
From: The Kingdom of Roumania

Unfortunately, the tense situation in the Balkans and the state of war
existing between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire make a demobilisation
unwise and unsafe. However, we want to assure the Dual Monarchy of our
peacefull intentions; our troops are under orders not to initiate any
offensive actions beyond the Carpathians."Did they simply not understand, or are they being duplicitous?" asked Foreign Minister Berchtold.To: The Kingdom of Roumania
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

Surely Roumania could demobilise that portion of its army standing along
our shared frontier in exchange for a similar demobilisation on our side?
This would allow and corps of observation along the Danube frontier with
Bulgaria to remain prepared for any contingency while reducing regional
tensions.

We see no legitimate reason why Roumania would wish to keep forces ready
for war along its northern frontier in response to a war to its south.

April 8th, 1912

To: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
From: The Kingdom of Roumania

Depending on the evolution of the war in the Balkans, our troops may or may
not enter the war. In such an eventuality, we don't want to depend on your
country's good will. Your threats aimed against Serbia and Montenegro have
made it clear that you will react with force whenever the situation may take
a turn you don't like. At the moment, we don't plan any military actions, and
certainly don't plan and will not plan anything against you. However, we don't
want our foreign policy to be influenced from the outside. If your proposal
were to be accompanied by a non-aggresion treaty for a limited period - 3
years, for example - we would reconsider our position.

OOC: It's getting late. I'll answer the - probable - response in the morning - late at night, for you. This time difference is really annoying. :( It's a .uk site. Who would have thought I'll be RP-ing only with Americans?

April 8th, 1912Der BallplatzTo: The Kingdom of Roumania
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

We accept your proposal for a non-aggression pact, to be renewed
every three years beginning in 1915, on the condition that you agree
to demobilisation along our common frontier as soon as the treaty is
signed. We hereby immediately grant our Ambassador to the Kingdom
of Roumania plenipotentiary authority to negotiate such a treaty.OOC: If you're serious, the new treaty should be signed and announced by April 16th, 1912, with the draw-down to begin the following day.

SIC: Not that I trust them, thought Count Berchtold. They know damned well that our "threats" against Serbia and Montenegro were intended to prevent those nations from attacking Albania and the Sanjak in spite of the fact that our armies were entering those very territories!

These Serbs had the ability to believe the most incredible things, he reflected as he sipped his coffee and nibbled on a croissant. They apparently had to be told that attacking k.u.k. forces in Albania and the Sanjak would be an act of war, and that the Dual Monarchy would not just sit by and allow them to molest the advancing k.u.k. columns without carrying the war to their rich northern frontiers.

How am I supposed to keep the peace with fanatics like this next door? he thought. Their press speaks of our policy as one of "strangling" the Serb people, as though nations that can't acquire new land are doomed to die of asphyxiation! That Serbia could simply accept her current borders and live within them was incomprehensible. This was the madness that was nationalism, in its full virulence.

The next step was obvious. He had the intelligence reports in front of him. They would incite anarchists to throw bombs at police stations, shoot public officials, wage what this dead Russian fellow Trotsky had called "terrorism" against the Dual Monarchy.

But how to fight this new kind of war?

The Emperor and King had commanded his cabinet to keep abreast of the writings of these Socialists; they had all read excerpts from Marx, Lenin, Martov, Krupskaya, the Webbs, Trotsky - all of them. There was a great deal of debate over Trotsky's writings, since they actually went beyond mere ideological masturbation into the realm of the practical art of staging revolutions. That non-Socialists could use Trotsky's tactics was obvious.

The counter to them, that was not.

Back to the immediate issue at hand, thought the Foreign Minister. He knew that Roumania was planning aggressive action. What he had to do was to force them to tip their hands so that he could move to isolate them diplomatically. If they signed a non-aggression pact, then that would tell him that the Dual Monarchy was not the immediate target, as Bucharest would not want to break such a deal while the ink was scarcely dry.

Of course, he would then have to find out precisely who the target was...

SIC: Interesting. King Nikola ws thinking to himself. This offer the Romanians have presents an interesting turn of events. It disarms the Habsburg against us, however, it guarantees we do not get any more land. I will have to find a way to convince the Turks that Habsburg forces are completely unecessary in their lands, not that it will ever happen. It is tempting, although ensures no unification amongst the Yugoslavs.

Nikola picked up a small cup of Turkish coffee and took a sip. I simply cannot comprehend why the Dual Monarchy deems it so necessary to ensure we do not unite. Why is it also they accuse us of nationalism because we will not stop uniting all our peoples under one government? I suppose we could survive as we stand and prosper relatively well, but what of our bretheren in Bosnia and Hercegovia, and Croatia-Slavonia being opressed by the Habsburg? They can deny it all they want but the Serb-Croat party in the Zgreb parliament keeps us completely up to date on every measure the Dual Monarchy installs to eliminate Slavism in those territories that once belonged to us. There are dozens of reports from all over those territories informing us of measures and treatment against us. Perhaps we will have to be patient and wait a while before we can reunite with all our people. We waited 500 years to gain independance from the Turks, whats another few years to fufill that for all of us?

"Take a diction and prepare it for telegram to Romania, Alexander." Nikola spoke to one of his secretaries. "Yes excellency."

"We are putting serious consideration into your proposal. For the moment we do not throw it away and will seriously consider it...we are certainly open to negotiations for peace. Even if it means the continued oppresion of our bretheren for another few years."

OOC: If you're serious, the new treaty should be signed and announced by April 16th, 1912, with the draw-down to begin the following day.
OOC: I am serious.

April 9th, 1912

The Romanian Foreign Minister handed the ambassador a piece of paper.

"Your excelency, this is the draft version of the treaty we hope to be signed by our two countries. Please read it and see if it is to your liking."

The Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in
the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St.
Stephen, animated by a desire to preserve the peace between our two
nations, declare that, for the next three years after the signing of this
document, they will not declare war on one another under any circumstance.
Furthermore, the Kingdom of Romania and the Dual Monarchy will not join a
war in which one of our nations is already fighting on the other side or, if it
will do so, they will only fight against the other members of the coalition until
the expiration of this treaty, when a formal declaration of war will be issued.
The teritory along our common border will be partially demilitarized on a depth
of 50 Kilometers on both sides, where a maximum of 5 divisions will be allowed
at any one time. To insure that the provisions of the treaty are respected,
each country will be allowed to send observers in the above-mentioned
teritory. The treaty is to be renewed every three years under its present
form. In case the two parties agree to change the provisions of the treaty,
the new elements will only be adopted after the conclusion of the three-year
period for which the treaty was signed.

Bucharest, Roumania"We accept the draft as offered," replied the Ambassador. "I will wire this to Vienna for ratification."

OOC: It will be signed on the following day.Vienna, Austria
April 10th, 1912

Demobilisation Announced
Improvements Planned for Albanian Infrastructure

The War Ministry announced that the demobilisation of Imperial and Royal forces will begin tomorrow. In just over a week there should be under 80,000 men along the Roumanian frontier, 125,000 men along the Serbian and Montenegrin frontiers, and 175,000 men in Albania.

Further reductions are expected in the weeks to come.

In other developments, contracts are being issued to a number for firms for infrastructure improvments in Albania. The harbours at Shengjin, Durres, and Vlore are to be deepened and breakwaters extended, and no less than five railroad lines, totalling over 1300km, are to be constructed (one from Durres to Uskub with a spur to Monastir, one from Durres to Shkoder with a spur to Shengjon, one from Shkoder to Pristina on the Vardar River, and two from Goradzhe in Hercegovina to Mitrovica, one by way of Berane and one by way of Novi Pazar).

Furthermore, Belgian engineers are being contracted to build fortifications in the Sanjak at Novi Pazar, Priboj, and Bijelo Polje, along with individual border forts in several other places as well. These forts will resemble those constructed by Belgium at Liege and Namur along the River Meuse.

Overall, the work is expected to take five years, which is the minimum duration of the Dual Monarchy's expected occupation of Albania under the protectorate agreement.OOC: Survey work will begin in June, with limited construction this fall. Most of the work will occur in 1913 and 1914, but some will continue into 1915 and beyond

May 1st, 1912Prizren, KosovaTo the cheering of the crowd, Ismail Qemal Bey raised the Albanian national flag from the balcony, while the other leaders of the newly-formed Albanian National Council looked on and applauded.

Proclaiming independence, of course, is easy. Organising a new government that works is the hard part. Here, in Prizren, the town where the League of Prizren (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Prizren) had first put forward the idea of an Albanian nation 34 years earlier, that hard work would now begin.Skopje, KosovaTo Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece,

As we speak, the Albanian National Council, comprised of delegates from
across the country, is putting together a Provisional Government. It is my
fervent hope that this government will be in place by July.

As soon as this new government is in place, its first order of business will
be to name a team of negotiators to discuss the matter of Albania's borders
with its neighbours. These negotiations will take place in Vienna, with the
Dual Monarchy as mediator.

It is my hope that Greece be ready for these negotiations and that they
proceed to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible, in order to set
a positive example for other neighbouring nations. In the meantime, I have
ordered k.u.k. officers, assisted by ethnographers and historians, to tour
the southern lands in dispute and provide me their recommendations for a
territorial division between your tow countries. Believe me when I say that
I will attempt to persuade the new Albanian government to enter these talks
in the spirit of conciliation. It is my opinion that this government will
follow my advice, and that we can get the necessary work done by year's
end.

Generalmajor Joseph Pomiankowski
K.u.K. Militärbevollmächtigter in Albanien

April 11, 1912

Somewhere in the Carpathians

As the dawn broke, the first units of the Romanian army started trickling down the passes, towards the plains. Soon, the trickle turned into a river of men, that flowed continuously for almost a week. Only 5 divisions were left behind, to form the new Army of the Carpathians, but rumours said that even these were to be removed in a few months, leaving only the regular border guards behind.

May 1st, 1912
OOC: Well, if it's May 1st, then Lachenburg and The Andromedan should tell us how is the battle for Adrianople going.

See the OOC thread.

To our Comrades in Germany, we request minor military aid in the defense of our capital Istanbul, as well as our current HQ of the war, Adrianople. If you could send a few divisions to our defensive wall and inside Adrianople, it would be greatly appreciated.

Consul of the Sublime Porte,
Cemal Pasha

ooc:- This took some thinking. Ignore all previous posts regarding Greek ship positioning...


Designated Fleets
(Note - "Home waters" is what I use to describe the Greek archipelago and southern coast of the pennisula).

Ionian Naval Squadron - Presently located in the Ionian Sea
2 Gunboats with one cannon (Aktion, Amvrakia)
4 Gunboats (Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma)
4 Steamships (Alfeios, Evrotas, Pineios, Aheloos)

East Aegean Fleet - Assembling in home waters, preparing to sail to Rhode Island
2 Armoured Battleships (Basileos Georios, Basilissa Olga)
8 Destroyers (Aspis, Doxa, Niki, Velos, Lonchi, Nafkratousa, Spendoni, Thyella)
5 Torpedo boats (Kalithea, Pherinika, Persephone, Terpsichore, Terpsithea)

North Aegean Fleet - Assembling in home waters, preparing to sail to the Salonika
2 battleships (Kilkis, Lemnos)
1 Armoured Cruiser (Georgis Averof)
6 Destroyers (Keravnos, Nea Genea, Aetos, Ierax, Leon, Panther)
3 Gunboats (Kissa, Aidon, Kichli)
5 Torpedo boats (V11, V13, V14, V15, V16)
1 Submarine (Delfin)

South Aegean Fleet - Assembling in home waters, perparing to sail to Crete
1 Cruiser (Nauarchos Miaoulis)
1 Destroyer (Smyrni)
3 Torpedo boats (Delas, Sappho, Ionia)

Homefleet - Presently in home waters
3 Coast Defence Ships (Hydra, Psara, Spetsai)
1 Protected Cruiser (Helle) - Under construction
2 Steamships (Plixavra, Syros)
1 Sloop (Hellas Northfleet)

ooc: yes I know this should be in OOC but felt it had to be here. You should know TA Germany cannot do that as a state of war would then exist between Bulgaria and Germany. This means between the entire Balkan League. This also means Germany's ally Dual Monarchy. This means world war 1 in 1912. Don't count on it.

ic:
Communique to Prime Minister Bratianu

We are willing to accept the proposed treaty and will enter into negotiations when they may occur. We will request Kosovo, failing that, a land link with Montenegro and Serbia, and Macedonia along with what other Serb-majority lands we may receive. We will attempt to bring peace to the Balkans after the hostilities with Turkey come to an end.

King Nikola of Montenegro
Representing the Kingdom of Serbia

-------------

"Peter, you do not look so good. How have you been?" Nikola looked at Peter disdainly. Peter looked like he had no slept in days and had gained 10 years in age.

"I am horrible! We cannot do anything anymore with the meddling Dual Monarchy! Russia and France have not said anything in reply and I doubt they will! We are alone brother! What can we do?!" Peter fell into a chair and looked very drained.

"Do you need a doctor?"

"No...I will manage."

"There is another solution. Accept peace with the status quo minus any spoils from the Turks."

"You cannot be serious! We will never unite together!"

"Not by war, but there are strong cries for self-determination in Bosnia and Herecegovina, and Croatia-Slavonia. They have simply been ignored by the Habsburg government. If they were to receive added support, it can become a widespread movement even more popular than it already is that will involve their independance and will to unite with us in a Yugoslav government. It will take longer yes, and there are no guarantees, but it is peaceful, involves the acceptance of the people, and there is a bigger chance than by going to war. We don't want the destruction of the dual Monarchy. We want our brothers to be free and nothing more."

"That is true." What you want maybe, but I want the end of all our enemies, and the Dual Monarchy is surely one of them. God damn them! Why can't they just be more concerned over their internal problems!"Ahh!"

"Peter! What's wrong? I will get a doctor!" Nikola scrambled to call one of her secretaries to get a doctor.

"It's my chest, it hurts..."

"It's the stress Peter...you need to get away from all this. When was the last time you could sit and relax?

"No! My people need me!"

"They need you alive, not dead due to a stress-invoked heart attack!"

The Doctor came in and looked over Peter. "You are not well at all. You need time to yourself."

"No! Get away! I will stay right where I am! I do not need to back down from anything! I will not do it! Damn the Austro-Hungarians!"

"Peter please settle down before you get hurt."

"I do not need to settle down! You need to settle down and back away from me!" Peter shot up and attempted to walk towards Nikola, enraged. Peter fell before he made a 3rd step and fell unconscience from the fall.

"Get a stretcher!" The doctor yelled as some people near the room scrambled for one, in 30 secodns they returned and began to take him to the nearest hospital.

"Poor Peter. Alexander!" Nikola snapped out his name.

"Yes excellency!"

"Let the media know that King Peter has taken a leave due to extreme stress and that I am tmeporarily taking his place."

"But excellency, King Peter made no mention of-"

"Not another word! Do as I say!"Nikola bellowed to Alexander.

"Y-yes Excellency, my humblest apologies."

"Just go Alexander."

An interesting turn, I can use this to prevent Peter from stupidly going to a war we might not win.

King Nikola sat before the Serb and Montenegren general staff.

"I have assumed temproary command until King Peter recovers from his illness. It is quite clear that war with the Dual Monarchy must be avoided, and especially now. I have ordered the demobilizations of 3 and 4 division of Montenegro, Ibar Army of Serbia to stand down, and 2nd Army to be rerouted to Adrianople. Within 4 weeks I expect them to unite with 1st Army currently recouperating from the march through Bulgaria and preparing for the siege. This will be done immeadiately such that we can do it as a show of faith to the Dual Monarchy. I know many of you feel that war is necessary, but there are other means. Therefore we will enter into negotiations with the Dual Monarchy."

--------------
Telegram to General Stepa Stepanovic(2nd army)

Reroute to 1st army. Expected time: 4 weeks.

General Staff

-----------
Telegram to General Bozidar Jankovic (3rd army)

Cover the area of 2nd army as well as your own. As long as the state of war exists against Turkey, so must 3rd army to protect against any possible Turkish incursions.

General Staff
----------------

Telegram to General Mikhail Zivkovic (Ibar army)

Stand down all forces. Demobilise at earliest time possible.

General Staff

-------------

Telegram to Home Defence Forces

Stand down all aggressive scouting along Habsburg border. Assume non-hostile Dual Monarchy.

General Staff

April 8th, 1912Transylvanian Alps, Kingdom of HungaryAs the k.u.k. forces began packing up and withdrawing from the Romanian frontier, the two German Waffen-SS divisions, Wiking and Das Reich, got their orders: they were to depart at once for Kosova, where they would be involved in helping organise the military of the new Albanian state.

It wasn't a glamorous mission, and many of the men who had joined these new units grumbled. The wiser ones, though, knew that it would get them in contact with Turkish and Albanian officials - valuable future connections.

Not to mention that, if war did come to the Dual Monarchy, it would certainly be in Kosova.April 11th, 1912Rhodes, the DodecaneseThe liner SMS Lodovica, its funnels freshly painted white with prominent alternating red crosses and crescents, raised anchor and slowly made its way out to sea.

Aboard, a large contigent of doctors and nurses, all of whom had taken ship in Trieste weeks before because they knew they might be needed near Constantinople, set about the grim task of preparing the ocean liner to be a haven for the sick and wounded.

To All Belligerents in the Current Balkan War

The SMS Lodovica, a hospital ship sailing under the flags of the
International Red Cross and International Red Crescent, will be dropping
anchor in the Sea of Marmara to provide succor for those at risk in this
war, both combatant and non-combatant alike, without regard for
nationality.

All parties to this conflict are urged to respect this mission of mercy,
and to assist the staff of the Lodovica in any way possible.Later that day, 2.Battaillon Bosnisch-Hercegovinisches Infanterieregiment Nr.2 began to embark aboard the three smaller merchant vessels that had accomanied the flotilla to Rhodes.

By the morrow, they would be gone - but unlike the other vessels that had accompanied them to Rhodes, including the battleship SMS Radetzky, the protected cruiser SMS Zenta, and cruiser SMS Kaiserin Elizabeth, all of which headed west toward the Adriatic, these three vessels, accompanied only by the destroyer SMS Streiter, turned east toward the coast of Syria.

Top Secret
To: The Sublime Porte
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the
Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

Per your request, we are sending advisers, war materiel, and munitions to
you by way of Syria and Palestine. Granted, this is a roundabout path, but
it is one that your adversaries can not blockade.

With your permission, we would like to begin training some of the reserves
and territorial forces, as well as Arab auxiliaries, in modern tactics and
providing them the weaponry they need to hold your frontiers against attack
by a European power such as Britain or France. Our intention is to begin in
Palestine and then extend this training to local forces in Mesopotamia.

Out of sensitivity to the faith of your subjects in this region, we will
dispatch units with a significant Muslim component, begining with light
infantry from Bosnia and Hercegovina.April 23rd, 1912Haifa, Palestine2.Battaillon Bosnisch-Hercegovinisches Infanterieregiment Nr.2 had debarked, as had most of their equipment, when three more vessels arrived from Trieste. In addition to a sizeable quantity of weapons and ammunition, as well as a small coterie of officers, these vessels offloaded eight automobiles, to be used by these officers for transportation across the vast wastes of the region.

The vehicles were given a thorough check before three of them set out on the following morning, with armed guards and guides, to make the long journey to Istanbul.

But another convoy, this time of two vehicles, also set out that morning, bound not for Istanbul, but for Jerusalem.

OOC: Here is my ultimatum to Bulgaria. If Lachenburg doesn't answer in 24 hours, I'll just presume it was refused and I'll attack.

May 15th, 1912

From: The Kingdom of Romania
To: The Kingdom of Bulgaria

The Romanian goverment, concerned about the preservation of the balance
of forces in the Balkans, demands that Bulgaria stop its attack against the
Ottoman Empire and evacuate the vilayet of Adrianople. The troops
withdrawn will be demobilised as soon as possible. A strip of teritorry in
North-Eastern Bulgaria, encompassing the cities of Varna and Ruse and the
railroad linking them, is to be ceded immediately to Romania. To insure that
Bulgaria respects these terms, 4 Romanian divisions will be allowed to enter
the rest of the Bulgarian lands to supervise the process of demobilisation.

OOC: Basically, what I demand are the Varna and Ruse provinces as they appear on this (http://abvg.net/Maps/Bulgaria.jpg) map. The railroad between Varna and Ruse existed in 1912. I've seen it on older maps, too.

The Romanian army is deployed as follows:

1st Army (6 infantry divisions and 1 heavy artilery brigade, divided evenly into 3 corps; 4 of its divisions have remained in the Carpathians) - West of the river Olt (look on the mapfor it).

2nd Army (6 infantry divisions and 1 heavy artilery brigade, divided evenly into 3 corps; 1 division has remained in the Carpathians) - East of the river Olt.

3rd Army (3 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions and 3 cavalry brigades) and Army Group South (3 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry brigades) - South of the Danube.

To our Comrades in Germany, we request minor military aid in the defense of our capital Istanbul, as well as our current HQ of the war, Adrianople. If you could send a few divisions to our defensive wall and inside Adrianople, it would be greatly appreciated.

Consul of the Sublime Porte,
Cemal Pasha

Der Führer fully supports the Kaiserliche und Königliche actions in the Balkans to maintain peace and liberty. Since you are at war with several of the nations in the Balkan, as well as being the former owner of these lands, it would not be in our interest to aid you in this war.

Open Ultimatum to Kingdom of Bulgaria
Re: Kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia
Dated Seal: May 16, 1912

The Montenegren and Serbian governments, showing great disdain for the lack of peace and stability in the Balkan region, requests to the Bulgarian government that it cease its assault against the Turkish vilayet of Adrianople and immeadiately sue for peace. We cannot and will not prevent the Kingdom of Romania from carrying through with its ultimatum and thus Serbian 1st army, after resting for three days will ensure your forces and that of the Turks disengage all hostilites against one another effective immeadiately. The Serbian 2nd army, en route from Serbia to Adrianople has stopped at Sofia to rest from its long march and stock supplies. Serbian 2nd Army have been ordered to remain at Sofia to ensure that the Bulgarian government adheres to said ultimatum along with our own.

It is well known that as a result of the Exarchate of 1870, which let Bulgaria handle Church and educational affairs in Macedonia, Bulgarian agitators have been skillfully eradicating the traces of a Serbian feeling among the Macedonian Slavs - they are systematically destroying old Serbian books and manuscripts, even scratching frescoes with the images of Serbian saints in the numerous monasteries built at the time of Stefan Dusan and his successors in the 14th century. The traditional pilgrimage of Macedonian Slavs to Serbian monasteries in Kosovo completely died out by the 1890's as a result. We insist that the Bulgarian government disband the Exarchate entirely and hand over all Church and educational affairs in Macedonia to the Kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia. This is to happen immeadiately under direct Montenegren supervision.

It is also well known that the IMRO(Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization) has received the vast majority of its financing by Sofia. In contrast to peaceful methods of self-determination and reforms, the IMRO has consistently resorted to violent methods of achieving said goals of Macedonian autonomy, with the most memorable example being the disasterous Ilinden uprising of 1903. The Bulgarian government is to terminate all finances provided to the IMRO immeadiately, to denounce its actions, and act in cooperation with Serbian, Montenegren, and Turkish authorities in bringing their existence to an end.

The Bulgarian government has 12 hours to comply with said requests or Serbian 1st and 2nd Armies in conjunction with Romania's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd armies, and Turkish forces will ensure all requests for peace occur immeadiately. In order to ensure the Bulgarian government has all the time it needs, an aide to General Stepa Stepanovic will serve as a messenger for the Bulgarian government and will inform General Stepanovic, Crown Prince Alexander via telegram, and King Nikola in Belgrade via telegram of your government's answer. If none is provided within the time alloted, it will be assumed that the Bulgarian government has declined and appropriate measures will be taken to ensure Bulgarian compliance.


King Nikola I of Montenegro and representing Kingdom of Serbia.
Prime Minister Lazar Tomanovic of Montenegro.
-----------------

Telegram to Sublime Porte,

For the interests of peace, Serbian 1st army will not assault any Turkish forces. 1st Army will also act to ensure all Bulgarian forces cease hostilities against Ottoman forces. Serbian 2nd Army has also taken positions in Sofia itself to ensure Bulgarian compliance. As another show of good faith, Serbian 3rd Army, currently along the entire Serbo-Turkish border is being reduced to half mobilised strength.

As such, the Kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia propose a ceasefire between the respective forces of the Balkan League and the Ottoman Empire until a proper treaty can be produced.

Delegates from the following nations are requested to attend the Balkan Peace Conference at Sofia, commencing at a proposed date of May 30:

- Kingdom of Serbia(King Nikola I)
- Kingdom of Montenegro (King Nikola I)
- Kingdom of Romania
- Kingdom of Greece
- Kingdom of Bulgaria
- Ottoman Empire

The Kingdom of Serbia requests in exchange for the muzzling of Bulgaria and a peace treaty between the Balkan League and Ottoman Empire, that negotations go underway for the ceding of Macedonia to Serbia, and the peaceful extradiction of all Habsburg forces currently in Turkish territory. I also have many daughters eligible for marriage to help solidify any treaty that is agreed upon (ooc: Nikola was known as the father-in-law of Europe for a reason ;) ).

For Peace, for stability.


King Nikola I of Montenegro and representing Kingdom of Serbia.
Prime Minister Lazar Tomanovic of Montenegro.

Posting as France

From: La 3eme republique Francaise
To: Le Royaume Serbe

The french governement understands your desires, but feels that a more direct involvment would be difficult at the time.

OOC: A few observations for SB

- The Montenegrin forces can't move out of Montenegro unless NO lets them; Montenegro's only neighbours are Austria and Albania.

- What do you mean when you say Macedonia? Look on the map (http://foreignaffairs.tripod.com/armillotta/vilajetet.html) NO has posted. You have a common border only with the vilayet of Kosovo, which is occupied by NO. Between Kosovo and Turkey we have the vilayet of Salonek, which by now is probably occupied by Greece. If you want Turkish support, you'll have to support Turkey to recover Salonek from Greece - which is a doable undertaking. In a war between Turkey and serbia, on one side, and Greece on the other, Greece should lose. In such an eventuality, you can count on Romania's support (Greece will try to assimilate my Aromanians; it's normal I won't like it).

- France can't help you very much. What exactly do you want? Thanks to Defuniak, France is isolated for the moment, while the Dual Monarchy is allied to all the major states in the world.

OOC: since Lachenburg hasn't answered...

Posting as Romania

May 16th, 1912

From: The Kingdom of Romania
To: The Kingdom of Bulgaria

Today at 12:00, the Romanian troops (the 3rd Army and Army Group South)
will cross the border into the north-eastern teritories demanded in
yesterday's ultimatum. Any resistance to their advance will be considered an
act of war.

OOC: This should give Lachenburg another chance to react; I'll give him another 24 hours.

It is well known that as a result of the Exarchate of 1870, which let Bulgaria handle Church and educational affairs in Macedonia, Bulgarian agitators have been skillfully eradicating the traces of a Serbian feeling among the Macedonian Slavs - they are systematically destroying old Serbian books and manuscripts, even scratching frescoes with the images of Serbian saints in the numerous monasteries built at the time of Stefan Dusan and his successors in the 14th century. The traditional pilgrimage of Macedonian Slavs to Serbian monasteries in Kosovo completely died out by the 1890's as a result. We insist that the Bulgarian government disband the Exarchate entirely and hand over all Church and educational affairs in Macedonia to the Kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia. This is to happen immeadiately under direct Montenegren supervision.OOC: Check the OOC thread. Looks like you’ve forced my hand (again) by refusing to ask permission before passing gas… :p

The Rhodope Mountains (http://www.abvg.net/galleries/gallery24/images/img-0003.jpg), BulgariaAlfred Rappaport’s horse picked its way along the mountain path. Ahead of him rode their Macedonian guide and a Slovenian soldier; behind were two more mountaineers, one Slovenian and one Austrian.

The guide raised his hand and the party slowed. Ahead, three men, all armed with rifles, stepped into the path. Rappaport didn’t have to look back to know that a similar group had stepped out behind him – and that others were tracking them from the rocks overhead.

The guide exchanged words with the men. After a minute he turned and said, “They will take us to see Todor Alexandrov, but we must travel disarmed and blindfolded.”

Rappaport agreed, and quickly the komitadjis moved forward to take their weapons and cover their heads with hoods. After what seemed like a very long time, during which the scrambled up at least one embankment and crossed a stream, they came to a place where there were men and horses.

The hoods came off and Rappaport and his men were led to a fire. The men wore peasant garb and thick, black beards.

“Who is the leader?” asked one in German.

“I am,” replied the career diplomat. “I would like to speak to Todor Alexandrov in private.”

“Perhaps you are an assassin,” the man said.

“As many komitadjis as are needed may remain with us while we speak. I want my men to stay here with you,” replied Rappaport.

The man nodded and led the Austrian to well-guarded tent. Inside was a man with a waxed moustache and deep-set eyes ( http://www.macedoniainfo.com/TodorAlexandrov.jpg ) – Todor Alexandrov, the leader of Внатрешна Македонска Револуционерна Организација – the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, or VMRO.

Rappaport sat, and Alexandrov offered him tea.

“Why does the Austrian Emperor wish to speak with me?” he said, wasting no time.

“The Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary wants to establish an autonomous Macedonian state out of territories in Western Rumelia are not ethnically Albanian. This would include the territory around Skopje and Bitola. Such a state could either be independent, affiliated with Bulgaria, or affiliated with Albania – that would be your choice. But whatever you chose, we would stand behind you and guarantee your independence against anyone who wanted to take it away from you,” replied the career diplomat.

“Why?” asked Alexandrov.

“Because powerful forces want to subjugate your people and draft them into service against us,” Rappaport replied. “By supporting your people, we hope to build a friendship that will prevent this.”

“When you say that you will stand behind us, what do you mean,” the Macedonian rebel asked. “What sort of support are you offering?”

“Whatever you need,” the diplomat said. “From money to machine guns. Cross over the border into Macedonia and join our forces near Skopje,” he said, “And whatever assistance we can offer is yours.”

OOC: Boy, that has to be the shortest "First Balkan War" or record. Now we're going for the "Second Balkan War"!

Boy, that has to be the shortest "First Balkan War" or record.
It's only your fault! :p

OOC: Oh, yeah. Like you weren't going to backstab Bulgaria anyway...

OOC: Of course I'd have backstabed them, but not so fast. So it's your fault the First balkan War was so short. :p

Skopje, MacedoniaTo: The Kingdom of Greece
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

We would like to begin sending Turkish forces now deployed in Albanian
home. For this, we need your permission to send them by rail through
Salonika.

If you object to this, we can send the men ahead without their weapons
and send the weapons by sea.

Please respond swiftly, as we would like the demobilisation to occur as
quickly as possible.From among the ranks of the Porte's 2nd Army, k.u.k. liaison officers began to select those individuals who were not of Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Arab, Armenian, Kurdish, or Circassian descent. In addition, and man who professed a desire to emigrate from the Osmanli Empire was also exempted.

Men of Greek descent were immediately discharged handed papers, and sent by train to Thessaloniki. Albanian and Macedonian men were urged to join the new Albanian and Macedonian defence forces; if they refused, they were discharged from the service on the spot. Bulgarians were sent to isolated bases and reorganised into new commands under their own officers, as were Kurds, Arabs, Circassians, and Armenians; these units were given k.u.k. advisers and ordered to begin immediate advanced weapons training.

During the month of May, about half of all Turkish forces in Albania and Macedonia were sent to temporary holding camps - without their weapons, pending transport back home. The weapons were warehoused for sea transport, since it was expected that Greece would not consent to their overland carriage.

OCC: I do apologize for my absence, as I have been recently involved in quite a bit of school related activities, plus I have had several issues with my Internet Service. However, despite these rather time consuming obstacles, I shall preservere and continue to RP.

Anyways, back to Bulgaria.

ICC:

Sofia, Bulgaria

"Those, Romanian Bastards! They've backstabbed us!" King Ferdinand cried in anger as he paced his quarters feverishly.

Assembled around him was a gathering of Bulgarian officers, each one standing rigid at a position of attention. They had been rather anxious by the King's spontaneous actions and now with the deadline to the ultimatium closing in fast, it seemed as if the King was going to explode.

Finally after a moment of huffing and puffing around the room, Ferdiand regained his cool and began to speak softly, his hand trembling fiercly as it rested on his wooden nightstand.

"What forces do we currently have ready to face the Romanians?"

An old officer, neatly dressed in his rather ornate attire stepped forward.

"My liege, currently the 3rd, 4th and 5th Army, along with several reserve divisions are currently stationed in South-Western Bulgaria and could be prepared to move within 12 hours after the order is recieved. However, it would be days, possibly weeks before these units could confront the Romanians and by then, Varna and Ruse would have been overran."

"What of are forces currently stationed within Varna?"

"Currently, we only have about 3 reserve divisions stationed in North-East Bulgaria, and most of them are operating at maybe 20-40% strength, as the majority of their forces have been dispatched to Adrianople to replace the casualties taken on that front. With intellegence reports confirming at least 50,000 or more Romanian regulars mobilized and ready to move, it will only be a matter of hours before our forces in the area have been routed or even destroyed."

At that, the King whimpered in distress. For the past several weeks, everything had been going according to plan. Now the assault on the Porte had ground to a halt and Bulgaria was on the brink of invasion by the same nations that it had allied with to defeat it's enemy. It seemed like there was no way out.

But Ferdiand knew he had to fight. He knew that the Romanians, along with everyone else that challenged the Bulgarians would be thrown back and Bulgaria would claim the day. To him, Bulgaria was invincible, the rock of the Balkans and so long as Ferdinand was at it's helm, the Bulgarian people would weather this storm and fight to the bitter end.

Collecting himself once again, the King raised his head high, grinning in delight; the same way he had grinned prior to the invasion of the Porte.

"My generals, now is the time to act. I want a truce to be made with the Ottomans and the 1st and 2nd Armies pulled from their positions in Adrianople and deployed to the north and west to protect Sofia and the lands around her, in case the Serbians decide to join in. Meanwhile the 3rd, 4th and 5th Armies are to be deployed at once to Ruse and Varna and throw back the Romanians. Once a breakthrough is made, I want the 3rd and 4th Armies to start moving towards Bucharest, while the 5th Secures Constanta. This, gentleman, will be our finest hour. With yor support and my leadership, we will previal and Bulgaria will be great!"

At that several of the officers scoffed in disbelief, amazed that this man thought that they could actually win. At once, a young Major pushed his way the front of the group to voice his concern:

"Your Excellency, although I admire your words, we simply cannot win. The Romanians have more men, more equipment and the backing of the Balkan League. Plus, whose to say the Porte will even agree to a cease-fire, especially when they see Bulgaria ripe for the taking. We must go to the negoitating table, sir. We must--"

Before the Major could finish his statement, King Ferdiand pulled his shiny black P-08 Luger pistol from it's leather holster on the nightstand, snapped off the safety and squeezed off three rounds. Before the Major even hit the ground, he was dead, with two bullet wounds to the forehead and one to the neck. At once silence desended throughout the chamber and every officer in the room at once huddled closer to the door, fearful of what the King maydo next.

"Anyone else think we should go to the negotiating table?" Ferdinand casually voiced, his finger still moving back and forth around the trigger.

After a moment of no-response, he spoke again, this time with a cold, un-forgiving tone.

"Now then. You are to follow my orders at once. Contact the Porte, along with every military unit currently mobilized within Bulgaria. Furthermore, I do believe it is time to call up more men to defend the fatherland. I want every man age 18-35 with a rifle in their hands and a uniform on their backs by the end of this month, any questions?"

A chorus of 'no sir!' filled the room.

"Excellent. You are now dismissed."

Each man filed out of the room as quickly as possible. Once outside and a safe distance away from the palace, grumbles turned into feverish arguements over what to do next. It was obvious that the King had lost his mind, but simply not obeying orders could not stop him. An call for help, a plea had to be sent out to those nearby. Yes, it would most likely mean the end for Bulgaria as a regional power, but it was better than total destruction.

By the end of the day, every mobilized unit was ordered to begin preparations to move out. Any units that were not mobilized were at once called to active duty. Telegrams were immdeteatly sent to the 1st and 2nd Armies, along to the Sublime Porte, bearing the following messages:



TO: Constantinople, The Sublime Porte
FROM: Sofia, Bulgaria

Great Sultan:

It is time we realized that this foolish war must come to an end. Already, far to many lives have been spent, homes destroyed and people displaced. Thus, we now wish to terminate all hostilities with the Porte and return to the Status Quo by 12:00 AM.

As a token of good faith, our Armies currently stationed within your lands have been ordered to withdraw and we hope you will allow us to do so peacefully, so that this process may be quick and painless. We hope you will order your armies to do the same.

We seriously hope you consider this request for peace.

Signed,

King Ferdinand I
Lord of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria





TO: 1st and 2nd Army HQ
FROM: Sofia, Bulgaria

All forces currently active within the Ottoman Theatre of Operations are to be withdrawn immdeately. Invasion of homeland immenent.

Signed,

King Ferdinand I
Lord of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria



Meanwhile, several officers, disgruntled by Ferdinand's far-fetched ideas composed a seceret plea for help and sent it to nearby nations through more discreet channels, so as to avoid the King's authorities.



TO: Wien, KUK; Belgrado, Serbia; Bucharest, Romania; Athens, Greece
FROM: Sofia, Bulgaria

Current leaders of nation and state:

We write to you in search of aid from your respective forces, whether political or military-based. As of late, our Blessed King, Ferdinand I, has lost his mind and continues to babble on about a great Bulgarian victory. As we all know this is an impossible goal and will only lead Bulgaria to ruin.

Thus, as citizens and military officers alike, concerned with the direction our dear nation is heading towards, we appeal to each of you to aid us in stopping this mess from happening. Although our standing within Bulgarian Political and Military circles is small and insignificant, we are sure that with your support, we can overcome these challenges and make a newer, better government that will support a peaceful Balkan Peninsula.

We sincerly hope you consider this request.

Signed,

Col. Vicktor Kurchanev
United Bulgarian People's Socialist Workers Party

Sofia, Bulgaria

TO: Wien, KUK; Belgrado, Serbia; Bucharest, Romania; Athens, Greece
FROM: Sofia, Bulgaria

Current leaders of nation and state:

We write to you in search of aid from your respective forces, whether
political or military-based. As of late, our Blessed King, Ferdinand I,
has lost his mind and continues to babble on about a great Bulgarian
victory. As we all know this is an impossible goal and will only lead
Bulgaria to ruin.

Thus, as citizens and military officers alike, concerned with the direction
our dear nation is heading towards, we appeal to each of you to aid us
in stopping this mess from happening. Although our standing within
Bulgarian Political and Military circles is small and insignificant, we are
sure that with your support, we can overcome these challenges and
make a newer, better government that will support a peaceful Balkan
Peninsula.

We sincerly hope you consider this request.

Signed,

Col. Vicktor Kurchanev
United Bulgarian People's Socialist Workers PartyTo: The Kingdom of Bulgaria
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

We recieved this message through back channels. We thought it best
to warn you of the presence of traitors within your government and
military.

May God be with you in your struggle for freedom and independence.

OOC: Lachenburg, why are you moving your armies from the south-west to the nort-east and those from south-west to noth-east?

intellegence reports confirming at least 50,000 or more Romanian regulars mobilized and ready to move
I'm moving 8 divisions and 5 brigades. This is about 200 000 troops.

It's 122 Km from Mangalia in Romania to Varna => 5 days of travel. It's 142 Km from Silistra (I know, it's in Bulgaria, but it's right on the border) to Ruse => 6 days. In one week, the Romanian army should have moved completely into the demanded teritory. A substantial proportion of my army is cavalry, so the teritory was occupied even faster.

My army will remain deployed on the Ruse-Sumen-Varna line, with the railroad between Ruse and Varna right behind it. This way, I'll have absolutely no supply problems and I'll be able to shift forces rapidly where they are needed. Since i also have air reconnaisance, I expect to have no problems achieving local superiority wherever the Bulgarians will feel like attacking.

May 23rd, 1912

The hectic activity of the past week was finally over. No more marching all day long, no more sleeping in the open. The soldiers would finally have a bit of rest, now that the desired positions have been reached. Behind them, on the railroad, the first treats began to arrive: a candybar and a glass of wine for each soldier, every day! Morale was high as the soldiers began the long wait for the Bulgarian army.

_________________________________________________

From: -
To: Col. Vicktor Kurchanev

At the moment, we cannot help you. We will only be able to do so after the
end of this conlict. Thus, we believe it would be in your best interest to help
us win through sabotage or the slow execution of orders.

In other developments, contracts are being issued to a number for firms for infrastructure improvments in Albania. ...snip... and no less than five railroad lines, totalling over 1300km, are to be constructed (one from Durres to Uskub with a spur to Monastir, one from Durres to Shkoder with a spur to Shengjon, one from Shkoder to Pristina on the Vardar River, and two from Goradzhe in Hercegovina to Mitrovica, one by way of Berane and one by way of Novi Pazar).
IC:The Italian company Faro-Fiaccola would like to bid on all current Albanian railroad construction contracts. This company also intends to run the railines after they are finished and after control of Albania is transfered to the new Albanian government.

Crown Prince Alexander sat with his staff, "The Bulgarians are compleely ignoring the fact they are leaving 170 000 men free to assault their rear. This is...odd to say the least. They have made no reply. Therefore we must proceed. Although I do not know what to do. Technically, our objectives have been completed. The Bulgarians are not attacking the Turks. I do not know whether I should order a redeployment to Sofia, link up with Romanian forces, or follow the Bulgarians to the Romanian forces and intervene if fighting erupts. All I know is our supplies will not last forever considering the changed relations with Bulgaria.

"Excellency, I recommend we follow the Bulgarian 1st and 2nd armies. It will do us no good to stay here, we are nowhere near Serbia, it would be best."

"Very well Colonel. Anyone else agree?" The staff noded their approval of the plan. "Prepare to redeploy to Varna and Ruse. We are about one day behind. It should take approximately one more day to prepare for the march.
A large portion of the Bulgarian armies are still here. We will march alongside them and be ready in case they decide to attack us. Their advance units will be 2 days ahead of our own, but it will not matter for we will still know exactly where they are."

----------------------
Inside Sofia, Serbian 2nd Army HQ.

"The time has passed General, we have received a telegram from 1st Army. They have stated objectives have been met due to retreating Bulgarian forcesand are moving alongside Bulgarian forces to Varna and Ruse in case hostilities break out."

"Thank you Major. I want you to contact this Colonel Vicktor Kurchanev. Inform him due to the current events in Bulgaria we cannot support them initally but will consider it. Make sure it cannot be traced back to us." General Stepanovic looked towards Command General staff. The Chief of Supreme Command General staff, Radomir Putnik, looked back at him.

"General, due to the Bulgarians lack of a reply, it is time to force their hand. All of 2nd Army has been ready for the past 30 hours to wage war in any conditions. I would like to personally visit King Ferdinand. I would like the palace immeadiately secured for my arrival. There is one division in various parts of Sofia within one kilometre of the palace. The other 2 divisions are along the outskirts of Sofia. I would like 2nd Army as my honour guard. Immeadiately march upon the palace from all sides."(ooc: i can find no maps of Bulgaria with street names nor can I find the name of the street that the palace would be located at so i don't know any specifics here)

"Thank you Major.

Your orders are a bit... confuse.

"Excellency, I recommend we follow the Bulgarian 1st and 2nd armies. It will do us no good to stay here, we are nowhere near Serbia, it would be best."

"Very well Colonel. Anyone else agree?" The staff noded their approval of the plan. "Prepare to redeploy to Varna and Ruse.

Are you following the 1st and 2nd Bulgarian armies or are you going to Varna and Ruse? You can't do both things at once. This is what Lachenburg posted:

I want a truce to be made with the Ottomans and the 1st and 2nd Armies pulled from their positions in Adrianople and deployed to the north and west to protect Sofia and the lands around her.

As you can see, the first and second armies will not attack Varna or Ruse.

EDIT: To make things clear: Varna and Ruse are in nort-eastern Bulgaria. The 1st and 2nd Bulgarian armies will be deployed in the nort-west of the country.

The Italian company Faro-Fiaccola would like to bid on all current Albanian railroad construction contracts. This company also intends to run the railines after they are finished and after control of Albania is transfered to the new Albanian government.OOC: There will be some bidders from the Dual Monarchy, too, so I'll be fair (meaning I'll generate random results the way I do weather on campaign) to determine who gets what contract. But Italy does have a bidding advantage in the region.

This should bring in plenty of good lira, though, even if you don't get all five contracts (assuming that's the number - it could be four, or it could be seven...).

Bid results by day's end!

My apologies, my eyes start to read the wrong things at 3am. The orders will be to link up with Romania.

To clarify just in case, 2nd Army in Sofia is not to fire a shot doing what it's gonna do. Just basically have all major streets to the palace, and the palace itself lined with Serb soldiers.

OOC: It's all right. I don't even try to post at that hour. I know I won't like the results. :p

This post is from the main thread (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9568493&postcount=653).

I'm moving 8 divisions and 5 brigades. This is about 200 000 troops.

I know, but the Bulgarians truly have no idea of this and are simply estimating.

ooc: i can find no maps of Bulgaria with street names nor can I find the name of the street that the palace would be located at so i don't know any specifics here)

Download Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/) and type in "Sofia, Bulgaria" and it will give you a real time satelitte image with street names and various locations.

Lachenburg, why are you moving your armies from the south-west to the nort-east and those from south-west to noth-east?

Let me clarify Ferdinand's orders:

- Currently he has given the order for the Bulgarian 3rd, 4th and 5th Armies, along with several reserve units (Division-sized) to deploy from there positions near Sofia towards Varna and Ruse in an effort to smash the Romanian offensive.

- Meanwhile, if the Turks accept a cease-fire, the 1st and 2nd Armies are to be rushed from Edirne to Sofia to remove the Serbs, in the event they decide to declare war.

However, being that the state of Bulgarian Roads are terrible, along with the fact that Bulgarian logistics were poor, do not expect to see these forces reach their positions for weeks. Also, if the Serbs actually do depose Ferdiand and bolster the UBPSWP, these forces will most likely be ordered to disbanded immedeately and the majority of them will (as most officers do not agree with Ferdinand's plans). However, do not expect everyone to go peacefully.

Sofia, Bulgaria

Vasili Drkevsty had seen his fare share of terrible things, mostly from the Turkish era when Bulgaria was only a meager state in the Porte's crumbling empire. Of course, those things had been mostly minor; the occasional Christan group being suppressed or citizen being executed, but nothing like he saw now.

For the past three nights, Government officals had begun posting these messages on the walls and lamp posts across Sofia:



AN OFFICAL DECREE BY HIS MAJESTY, TSAR FERDINAND I:

All Males between the Ages of 18-35 are to be expected to now do there part in the on going war against Bulgaria's barbaric enemies and join the Armed Services at once!

All those under this category not present within a recruiting station by the end of the week will be prosecuted as a traitor of the state and rightfully put to death for their cowardly actions.

Let us now go to victory!

- Ministry of Military Affiars



Although Vasili was far too old to be eligable for service, this new notice appalled him. Why did these young men, these young workers of the proletariat, have to be forced to take up arms for a cause they didn't believe in? Just so some capitalist fat-cat could make a profit?

The whole thing seemed wrong to him, like a nightmarish account only found within children's tales. For all of his life, Vasili had been loyal to the Crown and served his Kingdom well, taking up two shifts in the local steel mill to support him and his small family. Yes, the pay wasn't much and the conditions poor, but he had always had the feeling that his working was pushing his country towards prosperity, a better tommorow.

Now it seemed as if all of that hard work, all of that loyalty, was useless. The only place his effort would go was into the profits of some rich man above him. Not to the people who needed it most. It angered Vasili so much. He just wanted to scream and tear his hair out, but he knew that would be irrational and tried to hold his cool. After awhile, as the anger within him reached a boiling point, he felt himself losing his grip. He had to do something to help, something to make himself feel better.

Finally, he lost his cool. Using his own calloused hand, Vasili grabbed the notice attached to the lamp post before and tore it from it's position onto the damp street below. Then, as it sat there, he spit upon it with glee.

However, Vasili had failed to notice a small group of soldiers not far off from where he was. When one of the officers in the group noticed Vasili's act, he immedeately rmoved his pistol from the leather holster attached to his belt and went to confront the old man.

"You there" he said with contempt "How dare you assault the property of His Majesty! I should have you hanged!"

Vasili, still filled with rage, turned to respond:

"And you should be shot for supporting that bastard!"

At that the officer hissed and promptly slapped Vasili square in the face. At once, Vasili returned the action with a right hook to the Officer's chest. By now, the other soldiers behind started to take notice of the ensuing fight and rushed in to help their fellow man, clubs and rifles in hand.

After that, the fight turned into simply a beating, as Vasili was beaten to the ground, both arms broken, his jaw shattered and eye swelled shut. As a laid there, writhing in pain, it seemed as if it was the end of his life. That in a few moments, he would be beaten to death and that would be the end of it.

What a terrible way to die, Vasili thought to himself.

But, before the soldiers could land there finishing blows, several gunshots rang out from across the street and before Vasili could figure out what was going on, the bodies of this assaulters fell to the ground, lifeless and spattered in blood.

Moments later, a young man clad in simple pesant's garb, holding a rifle went over to examine the scene and look for any survivors. Upon seeing Vasili, he let loose a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright, comrade?" he asked, crouching down to view Vassili's wounds.

"I've been worse" the old man replied. "Who are you?"

"I'm with the Revolution, comrade. We have come to liberate you from the greedy capitalists who plauge our lands."

"Thank God."

Across Sofia, and other major cities, disgruntled soldiers and revolutionaries started riots and engaged a wave of violence and looting, enticing pesants and workers with their calls of 'freedom' and 'liberty from oppression'. By late that evening, all communication and rail-lines had been either sabatoged or captured by revolutionaries, and local government buildings ransacked.

Within the ranks of the Army, soldiers fought soldier as many were split over which side to take and many others simply deserted their positions and began the trek for home.

It was obvious that Bulgaria was falling apart, it's government powerless, and military in the process of collapsing. However, the future for this small nation is still to be decided in the cauldron of Revolution.

I'm going on vacation until 9/12/2005. Check the OOC thread for information on my actions/orders while I'm gone.

Consul of the Sublime Porte
Cemal Pasha

We greatly admire your request of peace, we vow to not strike Bulgaria, or Greece, or Serbia, or Montenagro. And we will attend the meeting at Sofia, glady.

It is about time for my nation to consider its southern vilyets as well as Baghdad and Kajit, and defend the Porte from another front.

Forever fighting, forever living... the Porte.

Let me clarify Ferdinand's orders:

- Currently he has given the order for the Bulgarian 3rd, 4th and 5th Armies, along with several reserve units (Division-sized) to deploy from there positions near Sofia towards Varna and Ruse in an effort to smash the Romanian offensive.

- Meanwhile, if the Turks accept a cease-fire, the 1st and 2nd Armies are to be rushed from Edirne to Sofia to remove the Serbs, in the event they decide to declare war.
Yes, I understood that, what I wanted to say was that the 3rd, 4th and 5th armies (in south-western Bulgaria) were closer to Sofia than the 1st and 2nd, which were in Adrianople. By moving those three armies you're leaving Sofia undefended until the 1st and 2nd armies arrive. In your place, I would have left the 3rd 4th and 5th armies to defend Sofia and the western border, since they were there anyway, moving the 1st and 2nd armies against the romanian invaders.

On the 25th of May, the first units of the 1st and 2nd Romanian Armies began crossing the Danube. The preparations had begun on the 16th, with the construction, on both sides of the river Olt, of two 10 Km long roads linking the nearest railroads to the banks of the Danube. On the 23rd and 24th, mines were laid upstream and downstream of the crossings. Each mine barrage was in its turn defended by an artillery battery.

On the morning of the 25th, the first batallions crossed the Danube in small boats and ferries, easily overraning the sparse militia forces stationed on the river's banks. At the same time began the construction of two pontoon bridges, that were completed at 19:00 hours that evening. More forces began pouring across, expanding the two bridgeheads and by the 27th there were four divisions on Bulgarian territory. That day witnessed the first important succes, when the city of Nikopol was occupied by units of the 1st and 2nd Armies attacking simultanepusly from the east and from the west. By the 1st of June, all the soldiers of the two armies had crossed the Danube.

April 10th, 1912

Improvements Planned for Albanian Infrastructure

...In other developments, contracts are being issued to a number for firms for infrastructure improvments in Albania. The harbours at Shëngjin, Durrës, and Vlorë are to be deepened and breakwaters extended, and no less than five railroad lines, totalling over 1300km, are to be constructed (one from Durrës to Uskub with a spur to Monastir, one from Durrës to Shkodër with a spur to Shëngjin, one from Shkoder to Pristina on the Vardar River, and two from Goradzhe in Hercegovina to Mitrovica, one by way of Berane and one by way of Novi Pazar)...IC:The Italian company Faro-Fiaccola would like to bid on all current Albanian railroad construction contracts. This company also intends to run the railines after they are finished and after control of Albania is transfered to the new Albanian government.Vienna, Austria

The Italian firm of Faro-Fiaccola has won the contracts for the lines to be constructed from Durrës to Uskub (including the spur to Monastir), from Durrës to Shkodër (including the Shëngjin spur), and from Shkodër to Pristina.

The two routes from Goradzhe to Mitrovica, as well as the harbour improvements, with be performed by the Škoda Works of Plzeň, Bohemia.

In related news, the Škoda Works has also issued licenses to the Italian government to manufacture its Schwarzlose M07/12 machine-gun (http://www.kuk-ir97.com/mg_section_IR97.html) in Italian factories. As a stop-gap measure, 2000 units will be sold directly to the Italian army during the ramp-up to production.

It is also rumoured that Steyr is negotiating with Italy over licenses to manufacture a number of its rifles and pistols, although the extent of this contract remains to be seen.

Finally, the Italian government has ordered two dozen Austro-Daimler M04/05 armoured cars, with a dozen to be delivered this year and a dozen next year. This is the first actual sale of the Austro-Daimler vehicle since it debuted in 1904.

June 1st, 1912, somewhere between Nikopol and Pleven, Northern Bulgaria

A line of carts travelled along a dusty country road. On both sides, in front and behind rode armed men, who looked to be as weary of the people driving the carts as they were of their surroundings. Despite the lack of a uniform, the riders' military training was obvious; if somebody had been close enough to hear them talk, it would have been equally obvious to him that the riders and the cart-drivers did not speak the same language.

In front of the group rode a man that was rarelly spoken to, and then only with great respect, by the others. When a group of people became visible on the horizon, he was adressed by the rider next to him:

"Sir, we have reached our destination. These must be our Communists."

"They're not Communists, Major", answered the leader. "They're Socialists. Or so they say", he added with a sly smile. "Their tactics are quite... radical."

"And they'll be even more radical now", laughed the Major. "What I don't understand is why did you have to come personally to overview this deal?"

"When the prime-minister tells you to take care yourself of an operation, you take care yourself of that operation, even if you are the chief of the Romanian Secret Services. And I have to agree with him that this is a most delicate undertaking."

"Indeed, sir. If word of this were to spread..."

"But it won't. Only the two of us know that the crates we're transporting are full of weapons. I know I won't talk and if you do..." The man did not finish his sentence, but his steely gaze remembered the Major how easy it was for a person to dissappear in the middle of a war.

"Of course I won't talk, sir, but who can say anything about the Bulgarians?"

"They won't be able to prove anything. None of the weapons we're giving them are made in Romania and there are no documents that we're giving them anything. It will be their word against ours; and who would believe a bunch of crazy Communists anyway?"

The Major started to say something, but checked himself.

"Did you say something?" inquired his companion.

The Major had intended to say something like: "You told me not to call them Communists and now you are doing it!", but decided, wisely, it would be better for his future to change the subject:

"These weapons, wont they be missed, sir?"

"They have sunk in the Danube last night." answered his companion dryly.

During their discution, the column had reached the group waiting for them. The two riders in front dismounted and approached the Bulgarians.

"Greetings", said one of the "Bulgarians" in Romanian. "I hope you're bringing the 'goods'."

"Hey, your Romanian is perfect!" exclaimed the Major.

"Of course, sir, I'm a Romanian myself. I come from the Timok valley. There are many Romanian villages in that region."

"Fascinating", replied the Major. "I never knew - "

"Look, Major, ethnography is a fascinating topic of discussion, but let's give them the crates and get the hell out of here!"

"That's the best idea I've heard today, sir", agreed the Timokan. "Firstly, though, tell me exactly what do the crates contain."

"As agreed, revolvers, rifles, grenades, even a few machineguns. Everything you can think of except for cannons. You won't win a war with them, but for an urban uprising they are ideal."

The next minutes witnessed a frenetic activity, as everybody hurried to unload the crates from the carts. The work finished, the Communists' speaker asked:

"What do we do with the cart drivers?"

"Whatever you want", answered the secret police chief. "We asked our Bulgarian prisoners to say if they belong to the United Bulgarian People's Socialist Workers Party, making it clear it would be profitable to say 'yes'. The cart drivers are the people who have answered positively to our question."

"Then you don't know for sure if they are true revolutionaries. They might be unreliable."

"Look, they're your problem now. As I said, you can do whatever you want with them. You can interrogate them to find out if they are 'reliable' or not, if you wish."

Saying this, the Romanians' leader turned and leaved, followed by the rest of the riders. After a few minutes, they heard gunshots behind them. The leader turned towards the Major and said:

"Well, I guess they were found unreliable, after all."

OOC: Sorry, NO. I don't like the Communists, but I couldn't miss this opportunity to weaken Bulgaria. And this doesn't mean I won't crush them later (or that I will crush them).

Der Ballplatz, Vienna“The Turks are not pursuing the Bulgarians,” said Count Conrad. “That is good. It leaves Bulgaria with just two enemies.”

“Who still outnumber them badly,” mused Count Berchtold. “They must reduce the odds further.”

The Chief of Staff eyed him. “You want them to treat with the Romanians.”

“Do they have a choice?” offered the Foreign Minister. “Lose two provinces in the north, or lose everything. That is no choice.”

“I agree. You will send the note?” asked Conrad.

“Yes,” Leopold von Berchtold replied. “You, in turn, must be prepared to offer them whatever logistical support you can.”

To: The Kingdom of Bulgaria
From: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen

A traitorous group of Communist officers and civil servants has seized
control of your capitol, apparently with Serbian assistance. We recommend
that you make peace with Roumania, as bitter as such a peace may be,
and do so on whatever terms you can, so as to fall upon the traitors and
annihilate them.

In your struggle to rid Bulgaria of these wretched revolutionaries, we will
provide whatever material assistance, including arms and supplies, that
we possibly can.

Be warned that the Serbs hold Sofia. Although we have not yet confirmed
this, we believe they are behind this effort. At the very least, they have
stood back and watched without interference while this cancer takes root,
and their demands for the abolition of your Holy Orthodox Church seem
designed to make these Communists stronger.

You should therefore expect that they will fight you for Sofia.

There is also a large field army – our intelligence sources say that it is
the Serbian 1st Army, under Crown Prince Alexander – in the countryside
between you and Sofia. It appears on the move as well, although we
have no idea where it is heading. We recommend you fall upon this force,
while it is far from Serbia and its supply lines. Otherwise, it may lurk in
your rear, with the intent of striking you from behind while you attempt
to retake your capitol.

May God be with you in this Holy struggle.OOC: You may ignore the comment about the location of the 1st Serbian Army if you feel that I would have no way of knowing its location, although I will point out that I do know that it marched for Adrianople in April and should have arrived there by the end of the month. I know that 2nd Army is in Sofia, of course. Thanks to the Serb occupation of your palace compound, everyone does.

The truth is, the Bulgarian armies along the frontier know where the Serbs are – if not exactly, then approximately. I see a Gettysburg-like meeting engagement, as the Bulgarians turn and march toward wherever the Serbs are thought to be. A blind collision, armies marching to the sound of the guns, and a huge, spread-out battle, possibly around a minor town or road junction - this is a battle that Bulgaria could win.

Once 1st Army is destroyed – and defeat in the middle of uncontrolled territory would mean the near total loss of the force, probably with the death or capture of the Crown Prince - the Bulgarians could force march everything to Sofia, falling upon 2nd Army and crushing it while retaking their capitol. If they leave 1st Army intact to their rear, on the other hand, then they have no hope of taking Sofia: the Serbs will fall on them from behind, and the Bulgarian army will be shattered as if by a hammer striking an anvil.

Of course, the key question in all of this is: where is Tsar Alexander? If he’s in the field, with his army, then all is well. If not...

P.S. See Post #660 (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9573494&postcount=660) in the Main RP thread.

To: The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and
the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
From: The Kingdom of Greece

Very well. Greece will allow the turks to cross greek territory. However, they
are to not leave the trains or any stations that the trains stop at. They must
also understand that if they do not completely comply with Greek requests
whilst in Greek territory they are likely to be arrested.

Furthermore, Greece cannot allow the transport of turkish weapons in either
her lands or waters. This is because the young turks still pose a threat to
Greek sovereignty and allowing turkish weapons to return to turkish hands so
that they may kill greeks in the future is not in our best interests. As such
any ships found carrying turkish weapons bound for the porte will be
confiscated until all such weapons are removed.

Regards,
Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece


To: The Kingdom of Bulgaria
From: The Kingdom of Greece.

Greece shall come to your aid and help you rid yourselves of all the
Marxist, Serbian and Romanian agitators.

Signed,
Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece

To: King Nikola I of Montenegro and representing the Kingdom of
Serbia, Prime Minister Lazar Tomanovic of Montenegro.
From: The Kingdom of Greece.

It is my duty to inform you that Greece will not be sending a representitive to
the Balkans peace talks to be held in Sofia. This is for two reasons.

One, we have word of the young turks also receiving an invitation, which
many in the greek parallment consider an insult and two, we also hear that
the city of Sofia, where the summit is supposed to be held, is now in the
hands of marxist rebels.

As such we must respectfully decline your invitation.

Signed,
Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece

ooc: Greek actions for the last couple of months... that I should've posted earlier... expect multiple posts.

March 29th, Crete

*Today was a joyous occasion. Outside the main administation building on the isle of Crete stood a flagpole, a bare flagpole.*

*Gathered around that flagpole, an eager crowd of some three hundred locals had gathered on news on an important telegram that had arrived from Athens earlier that morning. As they all stood about, a member from the local Cretan assembly arrived holding a strange cloth, leading a small military parade of soldiers. Curiosity turned to delight, then rapturous joy as the small party drew closer and many were able to determine what the strange cloth really was...*

*The Greek national flag.*

*The Cretan official beamed openly as he approached the bare flagpole surrounded by the cheering crowd. The flag was passed over to the small military party to perform the raising ceremony and the volume of the cheering increased steady as the flag grew ever higher up that beleaguered until it waved freely at the top thanks to a steady sea breeze.*

*Crete was now officially a part of Greece.*

---------------------------------------------

March 30th, Volos...

*The normally quiet port of Volos in northern Thessaly was unusually a buzz with activity. Not only were troops and supplies pouring in from all over greece, but a number of warships from the hellenic navy were now anchored in the bay, hungrily gathering up coal from Volos the small number of barges.*

*Yet it would only get busier and more crowded both on land and at sea. The entire Thessaly army had been moblised... complete with naval support.*

*Volos had the fortune of being connected to Greece's main rail network but for the troops continuing arriving by train this would be the end of the train journey. At Volos the rail line ended, thanks to the continued occuptation of the lands to the north by the young turks.*

*As such, in order to enter international europe, troops would have to cross over the mountain paths on foot, a short journey but still a difficult one especially for an entire army. Yet the mood was high, estatic to be more precise, for without even firing one bullet the greeks had won and would be walking into the lands of Salonika as proud conquerors and respected liberators with both the greek crown prince and George himself at their head along with that wiry Cretan, Eleftherios Venizelos, the man who had made all this possible.*

*Compared to that, what was a week marching in the mountains?*

---------------------------------------------

April 4th, Ioannina...

*It had only been yesterday when the call had gone out all throughout Epirus and beyond that the Epirus army was moblising to assist in the occupation to the east, and already men had come down from the mountains to report. Some greek men seemed dissappointed when they heard news that the Thessaly army was already a foot and would be the one's to liberate Salonika but then most became placitated that when informed that the Epirus would be escorting many more supplies than usual. This meant more time to catch up with fellow soldiers, more time to flatter the ladies but more importantly, more food and thicker coats for the trip over the mountains into occupied Macedonia.*

ooc: more details later

April 12th,
Thessaly army and north aegian fleet carrying the PM, the head of the army and the head of state arrive in the Salonika. The citizens rejoice.

April 14th-20th,
Greek units take up positions in Macedonia, with the bulk of the army stationed in positions a few days east of Salonika and a number of units scattered throughout northern Macedonia - northern units consist mostly of light greek cavalry patrolling the northern frontier (about one quarter of cavalry army strength)

April 25th,
South aegian fleet arrives in Crete. The citizens rejoice.

April 28th-30th,
Epirus Army arrives in western Macedonia and the bulk of the army take up positions to protect the rear of the Thessaly army. Some units escort excess supplies into Salonika which are then distributed throughout the region to the local populace to help relieve damage done by years of turkish occupation.

April 30th-present
Supplies continue to be brought in under protection of the Epirus army. Also, engineers begin work on extending the rail line north from Volos and south from Salonika to finally connect Greece with the rest of europe. Also telegraph poles are expected to be erected along present road networks. Work on both combined is expected to take many months. Relief efforts continue however, and greek officials begin surveying the region for possible economic exploitation.

May 20th,
East aegian fleet finally arrives at Rhode island to relieve allied forces whom so graciously assisted the greek government in forcing the young turks to hand over some of what rightly belongs to Greece.

May 27th, (I think)
Greece formally joins the Grand Alliance

To: The Kingdom of Bulgaria
From: The Kingdom of Greece.

Greece shall come to your aid and help you rid yourselves of all the
Marxist, Serbian and Romanian agitators.

Signed,
Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister of Greece
Is this a declaration of war?

Is this a declaration of war?

ooc: No, it's a message to the Bulgarians... the declaration will come when my troops are on your doorstep. :p

(Of course you could always intercept the message to discover greek intentions sooner...)

ooc: No, it's a message to the Bulgarians... the declaration will come when my troops are on your doorstep. :p

(Of course you could always intercept the message to discover greek intentions sooner...)
It would be a bit difficult for you to transport an army through Bulgaria without my noticing.

It would be abit difficult for you to transport an army through Bulgaria without my notticing.

Indeed.

OOC: I hope Lachenburg doesn't mind I'm RP-ing the Bulgarian Communists, but I armed them, after all. I also presume the Tsar is in Sofia.

Todor Petrov whispered in the dark room:

"Okay, tonight we strike. Our comrades will rise in the other Bulgarian cities, but we have the honor of striking against the tsar. The Serbians don't care if anything happens to him; they'll be even happy if we manage to kill him. They have promissed not to intervene, under the excuse that they don't want to interfere with the internal matters of Bulgaria."

"Can we trust them?" asked a fellow with deep set eyes and a face that never seemed to smile.

"Probably. They know we don't care about religion and the Exarchate. They'd rather negociate with us than with Tsar Alexander." answered the Communist leader.

"And after the Serbians evacuate our country, we'll finally be able to strike against the Romanians. They think they can buy our loyalty by giving us weapons, but they're wrong! Those land thieves will be the first to fall after the Bulgarian Communist Republic is formed!"

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The palace, for the first time in days, was no longer surrounded by Serbian troops. As the tsar looked through the window with a puzzled look on his face, a shot was heard and he fell, no longer offering a target to the assasins. The first shot had been the signal and now, from all directions came into view armed men running towards the tsar's palace, all of them shouting "freedom!" and "revolution!" and, most of them, "death to the tsar!".

OOC: The tsar may be injured or may be dead. His "health" depends on Lachenburg's wishes. If he's only injured, then Relative Liberty should be the only one who can save him, with his SS troops. The SS, however, must already be in the palace, or the tsar is dead anyway. The revolutionaries wouldn't spare him.

Actually, even if the Tsar is dead, if RL wants, he can use his SS troops to recuperate his body. This way, at least his soldiers would get a little practice.

bump!!!

Very well. Greece will allow the turks to cross greek territory. However, they
are to not leave the trains or any stations that the trains stop at. They must
also understand that if they do not completely comply with Greek requests
whilst in Greek territory they are likely to be arrested.August, 1912Skopje, Macedonia“Begin sending the Turkish soldiers home,” ordered Generalmajor Joseph Pomiankowski.

With that, arrangements were made to transport over 75,000 Turkish soldiers – two full Army Corps, each of three divisions, a cavalry brigade, and an artillery brigade – by rail to Adrianople. Because of Greek prohibitions against shipment of their weapons by either rail or sea to Anatolia, the k.u.k. War Ministry began calculating whether it made sense to ship them to Syria, where they would then be sent overland to Istanbul, or whether it would simply be better to buy the arms outright for use by the new Albanian army.

April 14th-20th,
Greek units take up positions in Macedonia, with the bulk of the army stationed in positions a few days east of Salonika and a number of units scattered throughout northern Macedonia - northern units consist mostly of light greek cavalry patrolling the northern frontier (about one quarter of cavalry army strength)

April 28th-30th,
Epirus Army arrives in western Macedonia and the bulk of the army take up positions to protect the rear of the Thessaly army. Some units escort excess supplies into Salonika which are then distributed throughout the region to the local populace to help relieve damage done by years of turkish occupation.OOC: Keep in mind that what Greece calls Macedonia, what the Dual Monarchy calls Macedonia, what Bulgaria and the Macedonians call Macedonia, and what the Serbs call Macedonia are all different things... ;)

OOC: I also presume the Tsar is in Sofia.OOC: That's a huge assumption. I had assumed that he was with his army near Adrianople. I think Lachenburg needs to say.

My plans do not require that the Tsar survive, although that would certainly make my life easier.

"The events in the Balkans have gone too far, my lord." Pyotr glanced around the room, filled with the State Council.
"We have seen enough troubles for our slavic friends, and our failure to assist them is compounding all problems," added Minister Totrov.
"So, what do you suggest?" asked the Tsar, although he knew the answer.
"My lord, we must destroy the Bulgar communists are restore the monarchy to full power. Our friendship with Romania does not keep us from fulfilling more important tasks."
The Tsar stood up, and walked to the window. In the courtyard below, he could see young Alexei riding a pony, with his mother and two of his sisters watching, and talking.
In the distance, an airship prowled the skies over St. Petersburg.
I cannot allow communist expansion. We must end it now.
"And you, my fellow Russians, you do not want Communist filth prevading out land."
The room was silent, and the nobles and ministers nodded.
The Tsar turned back to Stolypin. "Inform the Stavka. Begin a General Mobilization. Place all military units and fleets on full alert."
"Yes, my lord." He hurried out of the room.

Secret Orders to be Distributed to all Russian Military HeadquartersGeneral Mobilization ordered. 1 million men to be amassed in the Kiev and Caucas Districts.
General Brosilov dispatched to Odessa, to lead command and control.
All fleets on full alert.
Black Sea submarines to begin patrols off the Turkish and Bulgarain coasts.

To Romania
To the ruler of Romania,
Your recent military expansion has shown you to be a ruler of principles, and patriot to your nation. However, rumors of involvement with Communists do surround your realm. As ruler of a nation that has had to deal with the communists, I must say that, if these rumors are true, the amount of trouble caused now could cause endless trouble down the road.
But as slavic nations, we must build a strong alliance together.
Will you accept this offer of alliance?
Signed,
Tsar Nicholas II

To France:
To the President of France,
Russia would like to purchase the muzzle-brake technology of the famous French 75. As allies, we believe we must both be strong, and share our knowledge.
Regards,
Tsar Nicholas II

To Austria-Hungary:
To Franz Josef,
Your intervention on behalf of the Albanians, and at the expense of the Serbians and people of Montenegro, is insulting to Russia. As the leading influence in the Balkans, we must now take it upon ourselves to mediate conflict in those nations.
Russia will not allow another strong, Muslim force in the Balkans. For a nation that calls itself Christian, you do other Christian nations a great disservice.
Now Russia will see to it that Albania remains small. The vilayets of Novipazar, Peja, Prishtina, Prizren, and Skopje will be folded into Serbia.
If a Russian army is required to do this depends on whether Austria ceases its activities in the Balkans, and ends its collaboration with the Ottomans, sworn enemies to all Europeans.
While I understand these words sound harsh, you must understand that Russia has not fought the Turks for so many years only to see them supplanted by another Muslim nation. Europe shall remain Christian, and ruled Christians. And the land of the Balkans is predominantly, and therefore shall be ruled by, Slavs.
If you have an offer or request to make, please do so, as I would prefer that over a war.
Best Regards,
Tsar Nicholas II

OOC: That's a huge assumption. I had assumed that he was with his army near Adrianople. I think Lachenburg needs to say.

My plans do not require that the Tsar survive, although that would certainly make my life easier.
OOC: Actually, it was more a deduction than an assumption. On May 15th, the 1st and 2nd armies were near Adrianople, but on the 16th, they were ordered to go to Sofia. I gave my weapons to the commies on June 1st, they probably needed one or two weeks to take them to Sofia, so the uprising took place between the 8th and the 15th. This means the tsar had three or four weeks to get back to Sofia, unless he was there all along. I don't know for sure if he's in Sofia or not, but Lachenburg hasn't posted anything on this thread for one week and I hoped to make him post with my assumption. Obviously, I failed. :(

To the ruler of Romania,
Your recent military expansion has shown you to be a ruler of principles, and patriot to your nation. However, rumors of involvement with Communists do surround your realm. As ruler of a nation that has had to deal with the communists, I must say that, if these rumors are true, the amount of trouble caused now could cause endless trouble down the road.
But as slavic nations, we must build a strong alliance together.
Will you accept this offer of alliance?
Signed,
Tsar Nicholas II
The Romanian governement wishes to assure the great Russian nation that all
the rumours regarding a presumed involvement with the Bulgarian communists
are just that - rumours, cowardly propagated by our enemies. We happily
accept your offer of an alliance, certain that it will help bring peace and
stability in the Balkans.

Signed
Bogmih, prime-minister of Romania

General Bosilov's 3rd Army reached the border of Romania, and proceded to make camp and fortifications.
A message was sent to the Bulgarian royalty(if any survived), and distributed to minor nobles:
Bulgar Nobles,
The communist rising in your nation must be ended, and your monarchy restored. The Russian army will do that, and leave when requested. However, for political reasons we must ask permission of the Bulgarian monarchy, or any remnants of it, for the right.
Signed,
General Brosilov

The army only needed the permission of one minor noble to operate in Bulgaria. The Tsar had made it clear.
Once the Bulgarians were in order, he was under orders to link up with the Serbs, and annex the appropriate vilayets into Serbia. The upstart Albanian nation was to be put in its place.

A second message was sent to the King of Romania:
To the King of Romania,
Tsar Nicholas II asks that you allow my army to pass through your lands to end the communist rising in Bulgaria.
Signed,
General Brosilov

To the President of France,
Russia would like to purchase the muzzle-brake technology of the famous French 75. As allies, we believe we must both be strong, and share our knowledge.
Regards,
Tsar Nicholas II
OOC: Because of the rash actions of the previous player, France and Russia are not allied in this RP. I would share that technology, however, in exchange for an alliance.

Todays geopolitical lesson: There is a 'Grand Alliance between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, Britain, Italy, China, Japan and a few other countries. Lately, however, the situation is not so clear anymore: Japan wants to attack China and Germany has shown signs that it wants to attack you (but you don't know about it).

As far as I know, France and Russia have no competing interests in any region of the world, so an alliance between thse two countries would be less likely to shatter. This being said...

Posting as France

From: La 3eme republique Francaise
To: L'empire de Russie

We are glad that your country has such good feelings towards our country.
As much as we would like to give you the muzzle-brake technology, we can't
sell such an important secret to a country which is not our ally. We would
certainly reconsider our position in case you accepted our offer for an
alliance.

Signed
Raymond Poincare, president du France

OOC: I'll post this on both threads.

Blackledge, Bulgaria and Russia don't have a common border. Romania is in the way. :p

I forgot to add that we don't know the outcome of the uprising. The uprising is only a few hours 'old'. I'm also waiting for Lachenburg to tell me what's going on: has it succeded, is the tsar dead or alive etc. Lachenburg is the player controlling Bulgaria and I'm waiting for him to post. If I knew what was the situation, I would have done something myself days ago.

lol, you're right. I misinterpreted that river in Romania as being a border.
Of course, you'll let me through Romania, right?

lol, you're right. I misinterpreted that river in Romania as being a border.
Of course, you'll let me through Romania, right?
Since we are allies, of course. But we don't know what's going on in Bulgaria. Let's say the uprising took place on the 10th of June. In this universe, the date in Bulgaria is still June 1oth. You can't invade Bulgaria because the news of the uprising are just now reaching you. I say we wait 24 hours to see if Lachenburg posts anything. If he doesn't, we continue RPing without him and choose ourselves the outcome of the revolution. In 24 hours Narodna Odbrana should also return and there will be more players, making the situation more interesting.

See Post #707 (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9624853&postcount=707) in the main thread.

OOC: Everybody check the Balkan Wars OOC thread!

OOC: It's 218 Km between Nikopol and Sofia => 8-10 days of travel; 173 Km from Varna to Burgas => 6-7 days. It doesn't matter very much, but anyway.

IC: The news about the communist revolution reached the Romanians early on the 11th of June. All day, conflicting news poured in. The tsar was shot down. But he survived! No, sorry, he's dead, the communists entered the palace and killed him on his sick bed. What about his son, Boris? Nobody knows anything. And the Serbian troops? They're evacuating Sofia; they don't want to be associated with the uprising. What about the Bulgarians? Their armies are in dissarray. Many soldiers are leaving their units and head back for their homes; some of them are joing the communists; very few still remain at their posts; and the chain of command is totally f*cked-up.

The Romanian cabinet tryed to decide what to do next until late at night. Everybody but the prime-minister were stunned by the events and nobody wanted the responsabiliy of being the one to propose a new strategy that might fail. Eventually the prime-minister's plan was addopted: the Romanian armies in northern Bulgaria will move in and 'pacify' the country, putting down the rebellion and restoring the peace and stability of the land.

OOC: I don't remember where are - for example - Narodna's armies, which makes me believe most people have forgotten where my own armies are. For them, a reminder: the 1st and 2nd are around Nikopol, Army Group South is stationed aroun Ruse, and the 3rd Army is in Varna.

IC: In the early hours of the 12th of June, the armies received their orders. The 1st Army was to move to the west, pacifying the region between the Danube and the Balkan mountains and west of Pleven; after that, they had to link up with the 2nd Army in Sofia. The 2nd had to take the shortest route (http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/ItiWGPerformPage?E_wg=210505256lS16J505255100639370635ITIWG2f10133gbr0023100h10041010041010010010072 005255039.004-1.00110001001001001001001003gbr011&pim=true&strStartAddress=&strStartCP=&strStartCity=nikopol&strStartCityCountry=1025340&strDestAddress=&strDestCP=&strDestCity=sofia&strDestCityCountry=1025340&strStep1City=pleven&strStep1CityCountry=1025340&strStep2City=&strStep2CityCountry=1025340&strStep3City=&strStep3CityCountry=1025340&dtmDeparture=12%2F09%2F2005&intItineraryType=1&intOneCountryCheck=true&unit=km&vh=CAR&conso=6&carbCost=1.00&devise=1.0%7CEUR&devise2=Other&image.x=34&image.y=11) to Sofia, crossing the Balkans through the Botevgrad pass, and install a new governement. Army Group South's task was to pacify the area between the Danube and the mountains and east of Pleven and then to relieve the units of the 1st Army west of that town. Finally, the 3rd Army had to depart for Burgas, pacifying the Black Sea litoral. The remaining territory, mainly the Maritza valley, was to be pacified later, by units of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd armies.

Here's a physical map (http://www.travel-bulgaria.com/cgibin/maps/maps.cgi?level=1&sq1=01&sq2=02&sq3=03&sq4=04&map_type=1) of Bulgaria.
Edit: I forgot to add, for those who don't know, that Bulgaria in 1912 stopped at the southern mountain range - the Rhodope mountains.

OOC: I don't remember where are - for example - Narodna's armies, which makes me believe most people have forgotten where my own armies are. For them, a reminder: the 1st and 2nd are around Nikopol, Army Group South is stationed aroun Ruse, and the 3rd Army is in Varna.OOC: Well, my deployments are easy. My troops are in Albania, where they belong. ;)

If you want more detail, they're concentrated along the northeastern frontier of the former vilayet of Kosova, with the exception of a few units scattered throughout the other three vilayets, mainly for the purpose of training the new Albanian army or helping organise the new Albanian government.

Blackledge thinks that Albania is undefended. Blackledge is in for a bit of a shock.

OOC: Another episode of Romanian imperialism.

June 25th, 1912
Sofia, Bulgaria

The Romanian armies had reached the city only four days before, but already peace and tranquility had returned to the streets of Sofia. The only reminder that a communist republic had existed for three brief weeks were the charred walls of the tsar's palace, still unoccupied since nobody knew the whereabouts of the de jure monarch, the 18 year old Boris. (http://www.bulgaria.com/history/rulers/boris3.html)

Three men sat in a large room of the finest hotel in the city, which had been requisitioned for the use of the Romanian officers. The windows were wide open, letting the warmth of the summer sun and the noise of the street to come in.

"Mr. Stambolisky (http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/stambolisky_bio.html) ", began a man dressed in a Romanian military uniform, "I'm sure you understand the 'influence' Romania has in the Bulgarian internal affairs. Right now, we could demand as much as one third of your country's teritory - and get it. However, that would only be the start of a long hatred between our two nations, something we try to avoid. Not because of our kind soul, but because we realise it would be against Romania's long term interests. I believe my proposal to you will prove mutually satisfying for both Romania and Bulgaria." He stopped and waited for the translator to communicate the man in front of him what he had said so far.

"I have to admit I would be very interested in a solution that would not involve Bulgaria's teritorial mutilation. What is your proposal, major?" replied Stambolisky.

"Your party has much in common with Romania's governing party. We will install you as interim prime-minister."

"I like that." smiled Stambolisky. "But is it just a bribe to forget where my country's interests lay or is it more?"

"It's more, believe me" said the major. "We will not change Bulgaria's borders, we'll preserve the Exarchate inside Bulgaria and we'll try to protect it outside your borders, too."

Stambolisky was left speechless for a moment. After regaining his speech, he said:

"But then, what could you possibly want? After all, you declared war on us, so you must want something."

"Your king is dead. His son is missing, he might very well be dead himself. We want you to elect as the new Bulgarian king our monarch, Carol I."

"What!?!" exclaimed the Bulgarian. "Do you demand we surrender our very independence to you? Do you -"

His tirade was interrupted by the Romanian major:

"Not al all. Calm down. The resulting state would be most simmilar to Austria-Hungary. You will preserve your independence. The only matters that will have to be decided in common will be the defense and the foreign policy. And if you refuse, we'll insure that not only us, but also the Serbs and the greeks will help themselves from your lands. What do you say? The fate of Bulgaria lies in you hands."

Stambolisky remained silent for many minutes. In the end, he murmured:

"I accept."

ooc: An agreement on the final status of the ex-Tsar of Bulgaria would be most helpful atm...

June 22nd, 1912

*It had been a hard slog of spadoric fighting and skirmishes throughout the Rhodope mountains, but finally the Greek army stood on the outskirts of the beleagured city of Sofia. Crown prince heir, Constantine I, stared down at the communist-held town as the Greek and Bulgarian troops settled into their ordered positions.*

Kutinchew: "God damn it Konstantinos. Romanian artillery has already made enough of a mess of Sofia and you want us to add our own barrage? Outrageous!"

*The angry bulgarian standing to his left was General Vasil Kutinchev, the man Constantine's greek army had found fighting off numerous communist attacks with what was left of the 1st and 2nd Bulgarian armies.*

Constantine "Do you think I want to do this? You know as well as I do that the marxists have dug in... bombardment is the only way to break them up."

Kutinchew: "And level Sofia to the ground... let my lads go in there, we'll take care of the socialist scum ourselves if we have to."

SS Commander: "You do that sir, and all you're men will die without firing a shot."

*The cool and calm SS Commander on Constantine's right was another surprise thrown up by this conflict. They had just arrived a few days ago, somehow managing to sneak by the greek and bulgarian scouts, but more surprising they had none other than the disposed Bulgarian tsar with them. Even now, greek field doctors tended to the wounded tsar as he slipped constantly in and out of consciousness due to his high-running fever. Only Constantine, Kutinchev and the SS knew whom the patient was outside of the doctors however, and they had sworn themselves to secrecy to prevent the tsar from being swamped. It wasn't much, but it raised his minimal chances of survival just that little bit.*

*Of course, that wasn't the main issue right now...*

Kutinchew: "You dare tell me what I should and shouldn't do commander?"

SS Commander: "Only because I can see you're emotions getting the better of you sir. I mean no offense of course."

Kutinchew: "My emotions!? Why you miserable German-"

Constantine "Enough! Although it doesn't excuse his insubordination, the commander is right."

Kutinchew: "To hell with both of you! I'll do this my-"

Constantine *Grabs hold of Kutinchew.* "Focus man! You do your country no favours by acting irrationally!"

Kutinchew: "Let go of me you Greek pansy."

Constantine "I will NOT let you kill yourselves and your men like this."

SS Commander: "Um, gentlemen..."

Kutinchew: "I said LET GO!"

*At that moment Kutinchev took a swing at Constantine with his free right hand. The Greek crown prince-heir, caught off guard by this sudden unexpected movement, received the heavy blow to the side of his head poorly, and stumbled to his knees as a result. He wavered for a moment, seeing stars as Kutinchev turned and began to storm off but he recovered just in time to leap forward and grab hold of the bulgarians legs, causing the general to fall face first into the mud.*

*From that point it became an all out brawl between the two highest ranking men amongst the combined forces.*

*Filled with rage and burning passion, Kutinchev immediately turned back and dived upon a still partially dazed Constantine. A small crowd of common soldiers began to gather as the general and the prince wrestled in the mud fighting eack other for dominace over the other. At certain points a soldier or officer from either the greek or bulgarian forces made moves to intervene but were held back by the german SS troops that had been called over by their commander to keep the peace. They didn't stop the fight however, the commander knew that if the two brawlers were to sort out their differences it had to be done now. Hence, the fighting continued...*

*This went on for a full five minutes, the bulgarian becoming frustrated by the sheer determination of the greek prince. Eventually, determination won out and Constantine had finally managed to pin Kutinchew.*

Constantine *Pants* "It's over. Stop this maddness at once and pull yourself together!"

Kutinchew: "Grrrr!" *struggles*

Constantine "Damn it man! Your beaten! End this maddness immediately! Cities can be rebuilt, but lives cannot!!"

PING!

Kutinchew: "Huh?"

PING! PING! PING!

Constantine: "Oh hell!"

*By now the two had rolled and stumbled out of the camp and unnoticed by either into the range of communist snipers. The range was too great for accurate shots, but that was stopping the rebels from firing and now bullets had begun falling on the stonework around the two men. Constantine didn't let up however.*

Constantine: "Well?"

ZING!

Kutinchew: "Are you bloody crazy? People are shooting at us!"

Constantine: "What do you care? A few minutes ago you were gladly going to run long towards death."

PING! ZING! PING! PING! PING!

Kutinchew: "This is pointless!"

Constantine: "Not as pointless as what you were going to do."

PING! PING!

Kutinchew: "Let me up God damnit!"

Constantine: "Not until you realise what has to be done here!"

Kutinchew:...

ZIP!

Constantine: "Think of the lives of your men, do you wish to condemn them all to death for the sake of bricks and mortar?"

Kutinchew: "...ok. You are right. I was being foolish... I would be asking the same thing if it was Athens... sorry..."

PING! PING! ZING! ZIP! BANG!

Constantine: "...and I would be acting as you are now if it indeed was Athens, appology accepted."

ZIP! BANG! BANG! ZIP!

Kutinchew: "Great. Can we get out of here now?"

Constantine: *Gets up* "By all means... yes."

BANG! BANG! ZIP! BANG! BANG! PING! ZING! ZIP! BANG!

*The two men get up and begin running back towards the camp. At first it appears they might've lingered for too long as several shots come far too close however, they are quickly met by the SS commander leading a pair of horses to high ride them out of danger.*

----------------------------------------------

A few hours later...

Kutinchew: "Let's see how those socialist pigs like this, FIRE!"

*A long booming echo erupted from the highlands above Sofia as the combined Greek and Bulgarian field artillery joined in the bombardment by opening fire on the marxist positions below. Within minutes, a second boom rang out but it was not as loud for only the quick firing Bulgarians had opened fire this time.*

*This pattern continued for hours on end.*

Romanian history, manual for the 8th grade

Important dates in the Second Balkan War

June 21, 1912 - Sofia is liberated

June 26, 1912 - Alexander Stambolisky is named prime-minister by the
Romanian Administration of Bulgaria, consisting of the generals of the 1st,
2nd and 3rd armies

July 9, 1912 - Plovdiv is captured from the communists; all of Bulgaria except
for the Rhodopes is pacified

July 14, 1912 - a hastily organized National Assembly proclaims
Prince Carol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_II_of_Romania) as King of Bulgaria

___________________________________

July 14, 1912
Sofia, Bulgaria

A large crowd was gathered outside the Parliament building. Some of them were agitators working for the Romanians, but the majority were honest citizens expressing their indignation. The MP's assembled inside could hear the people shouting "We don't want no Spanish king!", "Cripple stay home!" or "No tainted blood in Bulgaria!".

Amid this racket, prime-minister Stambolisky started his speech:

"My fellow Bulgarians, our country todays is faced with a difficult yet important choice - we must elect our new monarch. The internal and international situation, as well as pressures from outside limit the choices we can make to only two."

"The first possibility is the four year old Infante Don Jaime de Borbón y Battenberg, the second surviving son of Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg and King Alfonso XIII of Spain. He is descended from our late tsar Alexander through his maternal line, but he was also cursed by God with double mastoiditis (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001034.htm) and he seems to have remained deaf. His family is also plagued by death and ilness: his younger brother was stillborn, while his elder brother suffers from hemophilia."

"The other possibility is Prince Carol of Romania, also a relative of Tsar Alexander, a vigourous young man of eighteen. Whom do you elect as King of Bulgaria?"

Stambolisky left the podium and the voting began. Half an hour later, Prince Carol, who had awaited the end of the vote in a different room of the Parliament buliding, was presented to the cheering crowd as the new tsar.

OOC: Prince Carol is the first born son of the future Queen Maria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Marie_of_Romania) of Romania, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and of Alexander II of Russia. Her grandmother, Alexander II's wife, was Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Alexandrovna_of_Hesse) , aunt of Tsar Alexander of Bulgaria.

Victoria's grandkids, and recognition of the line named by the Tsar. Can you beat that, Bogie, or do I win the pot?
If we follow the Spanish line - Victoria Eugénie’s heirs, as you proposed, you have Queen Victoria's great grandchildren, the eldest of whom is four years old. The eighteen years old Prince Carol of Romania, however, is the great grandson of both Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander II of Russia. I think there's no competition between a vigourous eighteen year old descended from the royal houses of Britain and Russia, and an ailing four year old descended 'only' from the royal house of Britain.

Note: Prince Carol is not the same with King Carol; Prince Carol will eventually become Romania's Carol II.

I'll post this on both threads, because it concerns the future of Bulgaria as a 'selectable' country (and also to bring a little life to the Age of Imperialism thread).

June 23rd, 1912

*The fighting had gone on into all hours of the night and into the early hours of the next morning. Now, a pale light began to fill the rubble strun streets of Sofia as the combined forces of Greece, Romania and the remanants of the Bulgarian royalists worked to clean up the last few pockets of resistance.*

Kutinchev: "All right lads, spread out. This area is still riddled with communist tratiors."

*General Vasil Kutinchev had taken it upon himself to personally lead the greek and bulgarian infantry forces while Constantine drank coffee with his german friends. There wasn't much left after hours of bombardment and the inital infantry charge but Kutinchev wanted to make certain that not one of those socialist pigs escaped.*

*Plus, there was that other matter Constantine had brought to his attention.*

ZIP!

Greek soldier: "Sniper! 12 o'clock!"

ZIP! ZING! ZING! ZING! ZING! ZING!

Bulgarian soldier: AMBUSH!!

Kutinchev: Get down! Everyone! DOWN!

*Kutinchev and a number of men took cover behind an overturned carriage as gunfire filled the street. Earlier patrols had mentioned there was a fair number of rebels still camped out in this neighbourhood, but Kutinchev never considered there to be this much. Or this organised for that matter.*

Hmm... I wonder...

*A number of men began to fall on both sides, but the greeks and bulgarians had greater numbers and eventually began to push forward into the street. As stretcher bearers carted away the wounded on the royalist side, nearby patrols hearing the commotion began to arrive and reinforce the group under Kutinchev's direct command. After fifteen minutes of firing the socialist rebels began to pull back.*

Kutinchev: "Colonel. Grab a squad of men and give chase. Do NOT let any of them get away understood?"

Greek Colonel: "Yes sir."

------------------------

Later...

*After the firefight, Kutinchev ordered the remaining troops to return to searching the buildings one by one, street by street. However, in this area alone they found more rebels hiding out than in the areas the had searched so far combined. Kutinchev sent messengers for more troops. By morning tea over a thousand rebels had either been captured, surrended or gunned down by Kutinchev's search parties in this quarter and things had started to quiet down again.*

*So when the greek colonel returned he found Kutinchev and his troops enjoying a small break.*

Greek Colonel: "Sir." *Salutes*

Kutinchev: "At ease colonel... how'd you go."

Greek Colonel: "I think I have something you're going to want to see sir."

*Kutinchev raised an eyebrow as he got up and let himself be lead out of his small tent and into the brightly lit street beyond. The colonel led him towards a small squad of greek and bulgarian soldiers who appeared to be standing guard around a small group of prisoners looking very defeated. The colonel let his men make room for the bulgarian general as he singled out one prisoner in particular.*

*It took all of Kutinchev's will power to stop his eyes from going wide.*

Greek Colonel: "When we found this man he appeared to be giving the other rebels with him various directions. After we captured him, he claimed to be Colonel-"

Kutinchev: "Vicktor Kurchanev."

*Kutinchev let no emotion enter his voice as he said the mans name. The eyes of the man in front of him went wide as he recognised Kutinchev. As well he should of too, for he had served under the general a large number of times before taking charge of the marxist movement in bulgaria.*

*For his part, Kurchanev let no other emotion cross his face as Kutinchev stared down at him coldly, and silently. It was all Kutinchev could do to stop himself from killing the man outright, then and there, this 'man' who had been mostly responsible for the destruction that had ravaged his beloved Bulgaria.*

Kutinchev: "Colonel. Takeover from operations here. I will personnally escort these... 'men', back to the main camp. I will require half the troops here. Have them ready to go in five minutes."

Greek Colonel: "Yes general."

*Kutinchev leaned in close and whispered something into Kurchanev's as the Colonel ran off shouting out random orders.*

Kutinchev: "Mark my words, your going to rue today as the day death eluded you for the rest of your miserable stinking life you socialist scum."

June 22nd, 1912

*It had been a hard slog of spadoric fighting and skirmishes throughout the Rhodope mountains, but finally the Greek army stood on the outskirts of the beleagured city of Sofia.
Where was you army on the 10th of June, when the communist revolution started? Your army could have started for Sofia on the 11th at the earliest, so your date implies the made it in only 11 days.

Romanian artillery has already made enough of a mess of Sofia and you want us to add our own barrage?
I didn't bomb Sofia. :eek: If you remember, I didn't give the communists any artillery, they only had hand weapons. I fought them with hand weapons, too. What can you do with cannons inside a city? Did the Germans and Russians fighting in Stalingrad use cannons? I didn't want a bloodbath, anyway. Bombing Sofia would kill ten times as many civilians as communists.

The cool and calm SS Commander on Constantine's right was another surprise thrown up by this conflict. They had just arrived a few days ago, somehow managing to sneak by the greek and bulgarian scouts, but more surprising they had none other than the disposed Bulgarian tsar with them. Even now, greek field doctors tended to the wounded tsar as he slipped constantly in and out of consciousness due to his high-running fever.
VETO: Relative Liberty may choose some other mission for his Waffen SS troopers, but it appears likely that they will not make it to Sofia in time to save the Tsar or his family.
Slavic Byzantium could have saved the tsar, not the Germans. Anyway, neither SL, nor RL have posted anything about saving him. Until that happens, the tsar is dead.

SIC:

July 14, 1912
Castle Urvich

*WHACK!*

Vicktor: "uuuh..."

Kutinchev: "Hit him again corpral."

Bulgarian soldier: "Sir!"

*WHACK*

Vicktor: *cough!* *cough!* *cough!*

*This had been going on for almost a month now an still Vicktor Kurchanev had refused to talk. Not that the general minded too much for it just meant he could extract more pain from his traitorous scum.*

*With the continued resistance in the Rhodope Mountains, the Greek Army had taken upon itself to removing the this continued instablity just north of the Macedonian border. At least, that was the official position. Unofficially Constantine had remained in Bulgaria to make certain Greece interests were not forgotten and to provide protection when greek prime minister himself came to Sofia to discuss the future of Bulgaria with the Romanian puppet government.*

*Kutinchev didn't want to have anything to do with it, especially after the announcement that the Romanian king, Carol I, would be assuming the Bulgarian monarchy. To keep his mind off things however, Constantine had given him the task of extracting information out of the captured communist leader. He had accepted without hesitation.*

Kutinchev: "Do you want to say anything Vicktor before my friend here continues?"

Vicktor: *spits out a wadd of blood* "Why? Why do you do this? Why do you defy the will of the people Kutinchev? They don't won't to be run by some corrupted monarch who would sell his country for a fine coat."

Kutinchev: "Oh but haven't you heard? They just announced a new king today... to cheering crowds in fact. King Carol I... of Romania."

Vicktor: "...you lie. Romania wouldn't dare..."

Kutinchev: "Wouldn't dare? Wouldn't dare what Vicktor? Is there something you're not telling me hmm?"

Vicktor: "..."

Kutinchev: "Oh dear. Looks like his voice is broken again. Fix for me please corpral."

Bulgarian soldier: "Sir!"

*Kutinchev left the dungeon cell as the corpral began laying into Vicktor yet again. He didn't hear any of the screams or violent impacts however, no... his thoughts were far too busy pondering for that.*

Romania wouldn't dare? He hasn't mentioned Romania before... I wonder what they have to do with this?

ooc:

Where was you army on the 10th of June, when the communist revolution started? Your army could have started for Sofia on the 11th at the earliest, so your date implies the made it in only 11 days.

They were in Macedonia - still mobilised. I set it up so that both armies at roughly the same time as it is mentioned in the ooc thread.

I didn't bomb Sofia. :eek: If you remember, I didn't give the communists any artillery, they only had hand weapons. I fought them with hand weapons, too. What can you do with cannons inside a city? Did the Germans and Russians fighting in Stalingrad use cannons? I didn't want a bloodbath, anyway. Bombing Sofia would kill ten times as many civilians as communists.

Greek and Romanian troops encircle Sofia, bombard it, and storm the city, putting down the uprising.

Plus, you might not have supplied them with large guns but remember elements of the Bulgarian army defected to the socialists.

Slavic Byzantium could have saved the tsar, not the Germans. Anyway, neither SL, nor RL have posted anything about saving him.

Well we really don't know do we? Until either one of them declares anything about the tsar something has to be done, and until such a time I'm assuming the germans have... I will however, edit my post once someone does - the tsar really doesn't play a big role in my plans.

They were in Macedonia - still mobilised. I set it up so that both armies at roughly the same time as it is mentioned in the ooc thread.
Very well.

Plus, you might not have supplied them with large guns but remember elements of the Bulgarian army defected to the socialists.
Plausible, but the most they could do is set up artillery defenses outside Sofia, not inside it. We could bomb them, but they do not represent Sofia. I still think artillery inside a city wouldn't be of much help.

Well we really don't know do we? Until either one of them declares anything about the tsar something has to be done, and until such a time I'm assuming the germans have... I will however, edit my post once someone does - the tsar really doesn't play a big role in my plans.
The principle was to act under the assumption that the default will stand. The default says the tsar is dead.

The new tsar is Prince Carol, not King Carol. I have already posted his genealogy, you can see it's pretty solid.

P.S. Why haven't you posted anything in the past days?

OOC: Since Greece has joined the war against the communists, I'll try to outline the regions of Bulgaria controlled by Romania and those controlled by Greece. I'll use this (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/bulgaria.jpg) map, showing modern Bulgaria. For 1912, we must ignore the southern parts of Sofyia, Plovdiv and Khaskovo regions.

Romania controlls all the teritory north of the Balkan mountains (the Montana, Lovech, Ruse and Varna provinces), the Black Sea coast (Burgas) and the region just north of the city of Sofia. I believe the Greek armies came to Sofia through the Struma valley, so the region south of Sofia is Greek occupied.

My original plan said that the rest of the country (the central and northern two thirds of the Plovdiv and Khaskovo provinces) was to be occupied by Romanian armies converging from Sofia and Burgas. Because the Greeks are in Sofia, the Romanian troops there will stay. Only the 3rd Army from Burgas will move. Khaskovo is close to Burgas, so it will be occupied anyway. This leaves Plovdiv. If the Greeks try to occupy it, my soldiers will not be able to reach it before them. I'll leave New Dracora decide if he wants to occupy it or not.

EDIT: I'd also want to know what Greek forces are in Bulgaria - one army, two armies, how many divisions. I have already outlined the deployment of my troops, but New Dracora hasn't done so. It would be unrealistic to say the Romanians didn't know the strength or the deployment of the Greek army.

Post #301 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9627741&postcount=301) of the Balkan Wars thread was meant for this one.

OOC: And I'm enjoying this additional bit of fun between Greece and Roumania. I'll reconcile the differences when the clock runs out on Lacheburg and SB.

I've been pretty swamped of late, but appologises for my absence regardless.

Plausible, but the most they could do is set up artillery defenses outside Sofia, not inside it. We could bomb them, but they do not represent Sofia. I still think artillery inside a city wouldn't be of much help.

Ok, but I was also under the impression that communist forces were dug in around Sofia - hence artillery would target communist positions but since artillery is not very accurate, some damage would have been done.

As for greek forces I'll give some more accurate details as I come up with them but for now I can tell you that the entire Thessaly army is in Bulgaria, with some elements of the Epirus Army escorting supplies through the still unstable Rhodopes. As for positioning, about half of the army is camped south of Sofia where Constantine's HQ is based and their main priority is securing the Rhodopes. Remaining units are scattered about southern Bulgaria maintaining order, and there is also around 20,000 to 30,000 Bulgaria soldiers presently under the direction of the greeks assisting in both the Rhodopes and the rest of southern Bulgaria. A number of greek supply columns also bypass the Rhodope mountains by moving through Khaskovo in the east. These supply greek positions throughout the region.

Another thing you should know is a greek supply dump exists just south of the Bulgarian border a few days west of Adrianople. It had been Greece's intention to join the siege there but after you invaded Bulgaria and stuffed up our plans (*shakes fist* :p ) The Thessaly army basically sat there and supplies just piled up over the following weeks. This is now under the control of the Epirus Army and is the source of the supplies being sent north through the Rhodopes.... just in case you needed to know in order to blow me up or something. :rolleyes:

just in case you needed to know in order to blow me up or something.
OOC: Of course. :p

IC: Communique

All of Bulgaria wishes to thank the brave Greek soldiers for helping us to get rid of the communist scum. Now, however, the danger is over and the Greek armies have no reason to stay. We request that the Greek army retreats from Bulgaria. The withdrawl must begin one week after the publication of this decree at the latest and must end one month after its beginning. Ignoring our request would be considered an act of aggresion against Bulgaria and we reserve the right to react to such an aggresion as we see fit. The same terms are offered to the two Serbian armies still on the outskirts of Sofia. We hope reason will triumph.

Signed
Tsar Carol of Bulgaria, today the 15th of July, 1912

July 16th, 1912Die Ringstraße
General Mobilisation

By order of His Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, Franz Joseph I, By the Grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Lodomeria and Illyria; King of Jerusalem etc., Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and of the Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz and Zator, of Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa and Zara; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro, and in the Wendish Mark; Grand Voivode of the Voivodina of Serbia etc. etc.,

All reservists are hereby summoned to military service immediately.Mobilisation will be complete on August 1st, 1912.OOC: Hey, I had to use the full title, including "King of Jerusalem". I like that one in particular... ;)

OOC: And I'm enjoying this additional bit of fun between Greece and Roumania. I'll reconcile the differences when the clock runs out on Lacheburg and SB.
I'd kill Lachenburg if he returned after two weeks of not posting and say "You know, tsar Ferdinand is not dead. You must delete everything you've written until now." :headbang:

Lachenburg_______ :mp5:

OOC: Of course. :p

IC: Communique

All of Bulgaria wishes to thank the brave Greek soldiers for helping us to get rid of the communist scum. Now, however, the danger is over and the Greek armies have no reason to stay. We request that the Greek army retreats from Bulgaria. The withdrawl must begin one week after the publication of this decree at the latest and must end one month after its beginning. Ignoring our request would be considered an act of aggresion against Bulgaria and we reserve the right to react to such an aggresion as we see fit. The same terms are offered to the two Serbian armies still on the outskirts of Sofia. We hope reason will triumph.

Signed
Tsar Carol of Bulgaria, today the 15th of July, 1912

July 15th, 1912
Castle Urvich

Constantine: "What the hell? First the man openly declares himself king of Bulgaria and now it's 'thank you kind sirs and please leave while we rape the countryside for the good of Romania'. Someone get me paper and pen! I'll let that slavic weasel know what I think of his 'thanks'."

Shadowy figure: "Calm down your majesty. This was to be expected as soon as Carol announced himself as king. No... don't send any reply, instead give me the telegram - I'll have copies made and make certain it reaches each one of the members in the Grand Alliance. In the mean time, I'd suggest you order our troops to dig in your majesty. What about you General? Are you with us?"

Kutinchev: "We just got our independance from one foreign power, I'll be damned if I let another take it's place. Give me two weeks and I'll have many more patrotic men to fight than I do now. Bulgaria is with you!"

Shadowy figure: "Thank you my friend. We will make certain Bulgaria will become truely independant once again and we will succeed mark my words. Now, about this Vicktor fellow...."

OOC: That "Shadowy Figure" would be the SS Gruppenführer.

And, as my favourite Starcraft character would say, "I was thinkin' the same thing..."

Land reform announced

The Bulgarian governement is concerned about the faith of its poorest yet
most important members, the peasant class. Wishing to adress their
hardships, we announce a swiping land reform, which will give the peasants
the much needed land. Priority will have the families of those who will join the
army in the coming mobilisation; those decorated for acts of bravery will
receive more land than those who don't; the families of the people trying to
avoid the military service will receive nothing.

Signed
Alexander Stambolisky, July 16th, 1912

In these rough times and faced with many dangers, Bulgaria needs its
braves. I declare full mobilisation of the army to begin today, July 16th, and
to be completed as soon as possible.

Signed
Tsar Carol of Bulgaria

Edit: I forgot to add I expect to gather at least seven divisions. My impression was that Bulgaria had a strenght of about 15 divisions (although they had a different organisation). I controll more than five of the eight bulgarian provinces and the three not under my control were smaller in 1912 then they are on this map. (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/bulgaria.jpg) So I controll about 3/4 of Bulgaria's teritory and, presumably, population and fighting men. Due to different reasons, some people may choose not to enlist, but I believe most of them will be persuaded by my 'arguments'.

The newly recruited divisions will be merged with Army Group South, creating the Army of Bulgaria.

OOC: That "Shadowy Figure" would be the SS Gruppenführer.

And, as my favourite Starcraft character would say, "I was thinkin' the same thing..."

ooc: Ah ha! But you are incorrect mien kommandant, but my recent post should make obvious what I hinted at in an earlier post here. ;)

And now I guess you're going to say something like: "What now?"

ooc: Ah ha! But you are incorrect mien kommandant, but my recent post should make obvious what I hinted at in an earlier post here. ;)

And now I guess you're going to say something like: "What now?"
I think you want to use that communist fellow you captured. That's my guess.

I forgot to add I expect to gather at least seven divisions.OOC: I don't think you will. From each of the five areas you control, you may draw a division, but it will be understrength and morale will be poor. You may thank Lachenburg and the chaos he created for this; people can only change sides so many times before they all seem the same.

But now they won't be fighting for an abstract ideal. They'll be fighting for land, knowing that the better they fight, the more they'll get.

Here's a quick review: An independent state called Albania has been created from the four westernmost vilayets (provinces) of the Porte’s European holdings – Ishkodra, Kosova, Yanya, and Monastir. This nation, which declared its independence on May 1st, 1912, is now negotiating new borders with Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro.


Turkish and k.u.k. military forces assist a growing Albanian militia in securing the new nation while it finds its feet.


Italy and the Dual Monarchy have begun major construction projects in Albania, including the improvement of three harbours, the construction of five rail lines (of over 1300km in length), and the establishment of at least two major fortress zones.


Greece has annexed Crete, Rhodes, the Dodecanese, and the vilayet (province) of Selanek (now called Salonika).


Bulgaria attacked the Osmanli fortress city of Edirne in March, but withdrew after a few months fruitless siege when the nation was threatened by Roumania and Serbia. The Turks did not pursue.


In the face of invasion by Roumania (supported by Serbia), Tsar Ferdinand I was apparently overthrown by Communists. He and his family are believed to be dead. Upon news of his death, the Bulgarian army disintegrated.


At the time of the Communist revolt, Serbian troops were in Sofia. Serb involvement in the revolt is alleged, but unproven.


Roumania responded to news of Ferdinand’s death by marching on Sofia, as did Greece. Serbian moves remain unclear.


Roumania seeks to install its Crown Prince, Carol, as the King of Bulgaria. The Dual Monarchy opposes this, claiming that the Battenbergs of Great Britain are entitled to the throne. The Battenbergs are considering pressing a claim, but no decision has yet been made. If the British Battenbergs refuse, the claim will pass to the Crown Prince of Spain.


Roumania has demanded that Greece and Serbia withdraw from Bulgaria. Greece has refused and is digging in. To increase its forces, Roumania has “mobilised” the Bulgarian army, offering bribes of land, but it is not clear how many Bulgarians will flock to the colours of their new “King”.


Greece – a member of the Grand Alliance – has called upon its allies for aid. The Dual Monarchy has mobilised, but has a non-aggression pact with Roumania. In addition, a small German force accompanies the Greek army, such that any attack by Roumania on Greece will also be an attack on Germany.


Russia has mobilised an army near Romanian territory and asked for permission to march through Roumania into Bulgaria.


Turkey is consolidating its position.

Damn, this really looks like a Balkan mess! :confused:

Damn, this really looks like a Balkan mess! :confused:
OOC: Yes, isn't life more interesting now? :D

July 23rd, 1912

Tsar Carol met Prince Constantine in one of the few rooms of the Royal Palace that had been restored. The tension betwee the two could be felt floating in the air.

"Good day, Your Highness." began Carol.

"Good day." replied Prince Constantine, without adding the title he should have used. Tsar Carol didn't answer this provocation, but continued:

"As you know, the date we have set for the Greek and Serbian armies to begin leaving the country is overdue, which gives us a potential casus belli against both of your nations."

"Your rule is illegitimate! We don't recognize the decisions of such a governement!" intervened the Greek prince.

Carol's face turned a bit redder, but he continued to pursue his line of thought:

"A war against Greece, however, might prove more costly than we are ready to accept. You, on the other hand, have few chances to push back the Romanian armies from the regions they already occupy."

"That's what you think", replied Constantine. "We are part of the largest alliance in the world."

"True, but Austria-Hungary is the only memeber of that alliance that might realistically harm us, and Romania has a non-aggresion pact with them. The rest of the Great Powers would have to ship their armies to Greece, a very difficult task, logistically. The most they could do is to send you weapons, but even with them, your armies are still outnumbered by the combined Romanian and New Bulgarian armies. It would be best for both of us if we could reach an agreement."

"Maybe..." prince Constantine was weary to promise more than that, but Carol took this comment as an encouragement to continue.

"We are ready to recognize a 'Greek Occupation Zone' in the provinces already under your control, except for the environs of Sofia, with the possibilty of us 'forgetting' to ask for you to leave them. I'm sure you understand you won't get better terms if you support the Spanish claimants to the throne. In exchange, we want your recognition of my rule in Bulgaria, your armies to leave Sofia for the 'Greek Occupation Zone' and your promise of neutrality in the eventuality of a conflict involving Bulgaria or Romania."

"It is an interesting proposal..." muzed Prince Constantine.

"I'm not finished. We also want you to surrener al the communist prisoners to the Bulgarian state, to be tryed by the Bulgarian Supreme Court for their war crimes; in adition to that, we want you to keep quiet about the future inclusion of the 'Greek Occupation Zone' into the state of Greece, in order to prevent any 'disorders' in the parts of Bulgaria under my control. What do you say?"

But now they won't be fighting for an abstract ideal. They'll be fighting for land, knowing that the better they fight, the more they'll get.OOC: And whose land will you be giving them, pray tell?

OOC: And whose land will you be giving them, pray tell?
Stamboliiski immediately began drastic economic reforms. He abolished
the merchants' trade monopoly on grain, replacing it with a government
consortium; broke up large urban and rural landholdings and sold the surplus
to the poor; enacted an obligatory labor law to ease the postwar labor
shortage; introduced a progressive income tax; and made secondary
schooling compulsory.
Stambolisky made this land reform in RL. (http://workmall.com/wfb2001/bulgaria/bulgaria_history_stamboliiski_and_agrarian_reform.html) The differences now will be that:

- I won't sell the lands, I'll just give them;

- half of the land in Romania was controlled by a few thousand families; a land reform was already programmed there (in the main thread), but I stopped because of the Balkan Wars; many Bulgarians will be given holdings in Romania;

- finally, the Catholic Encyclopedia states that there were over 600 000 Muslims in Bulgaria; I may decide to send them all to Turkey and give their lands to the peasants.

July 23rd, 1912

Tsar Carol met Prince Constantine in one of the few rooms of the Royal Palace that had been restored. The tension betwee the two could be felt floating in the air.

"Good day, Your Highness." began Carol.

"Good day." replied Prince Constantine, without adding the title he should have used. Tsar Carol didn't answer this provocation, but continued:

"As you know, the date we have set for the Greek and Serbian armies to begin leaving the country is overdue, which gives us a potential casus belli against both of your nations."

"Your rule is illegitimate! We don't recognize the decisions of such a governement!" intervened the Greek prince.

Carol's face turned a bit redder, but he continued to pursue his line of thought:

"A war against Greece, however, might prove more costly than we are ready to accept. You, on the other hand, have few chances to push back the Romanian armies from the regions they already occupy."

"That's what you think", replied Constantine. "We are part of the largest alliance in the world."

"True, but Austria-Hungary is the only memeber of that alliance that might realistically harm us, and Romania has a non-aggresion pact with them. The rest of the Great Powers would have to ship their armies to Greece, a very difficult task, logistically. The most they could do is to send you weapons, but even with them, your armies are still outnumbered by the combined Romanian and New Bulgarian armies. It would be best for both of us if we could reach an agreement."

"Maybe..." prince Constantine was weary to promise more than that, but Carol took this comment as an encouragement to continue.

"We are ready to recognize a 'Greek Occupation Zone' in the provinces already under your control, except for the environs of Sofia, with the possibilty of us 'forgetting' to ask for you to leave them. I'm sure you understand you won't get better terms if you support the Spanish claimants to the throne. In exchange, we want your recognition of my rule in Bulgaria, your armies to leave Sofia for the 'Greek Occupation Zone' and your promise of neutrality in the eventuality of a conflict involving Bulgaria or Romania."

"It is an interesting proposal..." muzed Prince Constantine.

"I'm not finished. We also want you to surrener al the communist prisoners to the Bulgarian state, to be tryed by the Bulgarian Supreme Court for their war crimes; in adition to that, we want you to keep quiet about the future inclusion of the 'Greek Occupation Zone' into the state of Greece, in order to prevent any 'disorders' in the parts of Bulgaria under my control. What do you say?"

"I say good day to you sir, and may you enjoy your little powerplay while you still can."

*And with that, Constantine left the palace before the self-proclaimed 'Tsar of Bulgaria' could respond. There was now much to do.*

July 23rd, 1912Kriva Palanka, MacedoniaIII.Korps, led by 5.Honvéd Landwehr Kavallerietruppendivision, began to cross the Bulgarian border shortly after midnight, making for Kjustendil. Their orders were to stop if they encountered any hostile force, engaging only if attacked. Of course, messengers were sent on ahead to the Waffen-SS units, asking for scouting reports on potential enemy concentrations.

July 24th, 1912Beograd, Serbia“What is the meaning of this?!?” demanded King Nikola of the k.u.k. Ambassador to Serbia, his voice containing more than a hint of outrage.

“Exactly what it purports to be,” said the Ambassador. “An agreement between our respective countries, in which Serbia and Montenegro become Imperial protectorates.”

“After all your talk of wanting peace! And you expect us to just give up our freedom without a fight?” stormed the King.

“It is not,” said the Ambassador coolly, “An ultimatum. It is an offer, and you may reject it. If you do, it will remain on the table, in case you change your mind.”

“Oh, and you think we would just ‘accept’ such a piece of garbage?” snapped Nikola.

“Under the agreement,” continued the Ambassador, as though Nikola had said nothing, “We would deploy troops along the borders of both Serbia and Montenegro, and well as securing key internal positions, mostly astride key transportation routes. If either of us were attacked, the other would be compelled to provide assistance. You would start no war without our permission, we would refrain from using your territory as a base of operations against another country without your permission. You would become our protectorate.”

Before the King could say anything, the Ambassador continued: “A customs union would be created between our countries, so that there would be no impediments to trade between us. You would have the option – renewable every ten years – of pegging your currency to ours and letting us manage it, in exchange for unhindered access to our credit markets. We would agree to build a railroad from Beograd to Podgorica and thence from Podgorica to both Dubrovnik and Shkodër.”

“The agreement would be for a minimum of 25 years,” he finished. Nikola was beet-red. “And, yes, I believe you will accept it. Do you want to know why?”

“Enlighten me,” said the Montenegrin King, with the deepest possible sarcasm.

The k.u.k. Ambassador leaned closer. “Because, as of this moment, King Petar is sick and Crown Prince Alexander is somewhere in Bulgaria. You are,” he said, “precisely one bullet and one heart attack from having a vacant Serbian throne.”

“Which means,” he continued, looking Nikola straight in the eye, “That you are the obvious next target for Romanian annexation. If you don’t accept our deal,” said the Ambassador, “Then you will be forced to accept Roumania's.”

“Preposterous!” cried King Nikola.

“Maybe,” agreed the k.u.k. Ambassador. He then rose, and beckoned the servant for his hat, coat, and cane. “But it is the best we can offer you – and probably the only hope you have for survival. As I said, the offer remains on the table. But don’t wait too long,” he said, coat now donned, cane in hand. “If you wait until Nis is in Romanian hands, too bad – we won’t fight them for it, or anything else. Wait too long, and you may find yourselves left with just Beograd.”

“We will never accept this … this degrading document!” spat the King.

“Well, in that case,” replied the Ambassador, “I’ve been instructed to give you this.” He placed a book on the table in front of King Nikola

“What is that?” asked Nikola suspiciously.

“A textbook,” the Ambassador said. “Practical Romanian. It covers all of the essentials.”

“If you find your studies uncomfortable, the offer still stands,” he finished, and with that he donned his hat and left.

July 24th, 1912

In the past days, the large landholdings had begun being partitioned among the soldiers' families. At the same time, rumours began to circulate that the foreign powers wanted to change the current governement and that any such change would result in an abolition of the land reform. The atmosphere was tense as the soldiers stood in their barracks, talking about their situation. One of them, who could read and write, was holding a newspaper in front of him, reading out loud for all his comrades.

The foreign powers' atitude towards the two men who put the bases of
Bulgaria's land reform, Tsar Carol and prime-minister Stambolisky, is severely
insulting in the foreign newspapers. In an Austrian publication, Stambolisky is
shamelesly accused of prostituting himself, while the land grands are
described as 'bribes', instead of reparations for a long-lasting injustice. Our
young tsar is not recognized by the Austrian Empire, which claims the non-
aggresion pact does not apply to a teritory ruled by any other monarch exept
for Carol I of Romania. The situation remains tense as the first Austrian
forces have been sighted on our country's teritory early this morning, heading
towards Kjustendil. We will return with more special editions.

"What can we do?" Asked one of the soldiers. "If the Spanish child will become our tsar, we will lose everything!"

"We must not give in! We must fight for our land!" Added another.

"But can we beat the Austrians?" Wondered another. "They are a very powerfull empire. What chance have we got?"

"What if we ask to unite with Romania?" Asked the man who had read the newspaper.

"Would the Austrians then let us be?"

"Who knows? But what have we got to lose? Only our lands, and we'll lose them anyway if we don't do something."

A few moments later, a demonstration had formed in Pleven, where the barracks were located, demanding the union of Bulgaria with Romania.

-------------------------

Later that day, in Sofia

Behind closed doors, Stambolisky and the Romanian generals of the 1st and 2nd Army discussed about the Austrians' presence on Bulgarian soil.

"The situation is bad," said General Averescu. They don't recognise Bulgaria's regime and will be ready to fight you."

"Yes, I know it", complained Stambolisky, "but what do you propose? Do you see a way out?"

"The only solution I see would be for Bulgaria to ask officially to be united with Romania" said General Culcer.

"What?" exclaimed Stambolisky. "Do you think people would accept such a solution?"

"As a matter of fact, they're demanding it. We have just received reports of demonstrations among the mobilised Bulgarians. They are afraid they'll lose their lands." answered General Culcer.

General Averescu intervened:

"The peasants aren't the only ones afraid they'll lose the advantages they have. The National Assembly is composed mostly from the representants of the peasants and the working class. According to the previous constitution, they would have been unable to enter the parliament. Your very party, Mr. Stambolisky, was but a minor party because of the voting restrictions imposed by the old constitution."

"This is true," agreed Stambolisky, "but do you honestly think the assembly would vote a union with Romania?"

"Maybe not a union with Romania, but they will vote a union between Bulgaria and Romania."

OOC: More to come soon. By the way, how did Texas join the US?

July 27th, 1912

Tsar Carol of Bulgaria was not surprised when prime-minister Stambolisky presented him a written declaration.

"Sire, please read this and tell us your response."

The people of Bulgaria and Romania have decided that in union lies strength
and that, in these difficult times, we must all stand together (ooc: I know it's
cliche, but it wasn't 100 years ago). The Parliaments of Bulgaria and Romania
have both voted this morning the union between our two countries, under
the following terms:

1) The new country will be named The United Kingdom of - in alphabetical
order - Bulgaria and Romania.

2) The official languages of this state will be - again in alphabetical order -
Bulgarian and Romanian.

3) The new capitol will be the unified city of Giurgiu-Ruse, formed by uniting
the cities of Giurgiu and Ruse, situated on opposite banks of the Danube
(ooc; the model is Buda +Pest=Budapest).

4) The language of the local administration will depend on the ethnicity of
the majority population of each county. In principle, the Bulgarian language
will be used on the present Bulgarian teritory, and Romanian on the Romanian
teritory.

5) The education will be carried out in Bulgarian or Romanian, according to
the people's preference.

6) A bicameral Parliament will be set-up in Giurgiu-Ruse; the lower chamber
will receive equal numbers of representants from the Bulgarian-speaking and
Romanian-speaking counties, respectively; the number of senators will be
decided according to the population of each county.

7) Prime-minister Bogmih of Romania will resign; the interim prime-minister of
Bulgaria-Romania will be Alexander Stambolisky; mister Bogmih is to be
appointed foreign minister.

For these changes to come into effect, we respectfully ask Tsar Carol to
step down and let his great-uncle, Carol I (I know it's confusing, but what
can I do if both of them have the same name :p ) become the ruler of the
United Kingdom of Bulgaria-Romania.

"I accept." answered Prince Carol.

From: The United Kingdom of Bulgaria-Romania
To: The Kingdom of Serbia

We assure you that we don't have any expansionist desires towards your
lands. The only problem between our two nations is caused by the presence
of your armies on our soil. That problem would dissappear if you accepted to
recall your armies back to Serbia. Please don't believe the lies of the very
people who want to attract you under their domination.

Signed
Stambolisky, prime-minister of Bulgaria-Romania
OOC:
A customs union would be created between our countries, so that there would be no impediments to trade between us.
I know you have a B.A. in Economics, but that will suffocate the Serbian economy. In RL, Portugal had a - somewhat - simmilar agreement with Britain. The British didn't put taxes on the imports of Portuguese wines, while the Portughse didn't tax the manufactured products from Britain. The result was a thriving wine industry in Portugal, but not much else.

Something simmilar is happening today. We see that the Eastern European countries are not admitted immediately to the EU, and part of the reason is their economy would colapse if they were allowed to join immediately.

I know you have a B.A. in Economics, but that will suffocate the Serbian economy. In RL, Portugal had a - somewhat - simmilar agreement with Britain. The British didn't put taxes on the imports of Portuguese wines, while the Portughse didn't tax the manufactured products from Britain. The result was a thriving wine industry in Portugal, but not much else.Maybe, but the folks at the University of Vienna think that Serbia has more economic potential than just being insanely great at raising hogs.

Maybe, but the folks at the University of Vienna think that Serbia has more economic potential than just being insanely great at raising hogs.
Yes, but what will happen if manufactured goods that are cheap and of a better quality start flooding the Serbian market? I believe their industry - to the extent to which it exists - will be severly hit. IIRC, Serbia and k.u.k. even had some customs wars in the XIXth century (maybe even the XXth).

Anyway, you decide what to propose the Serbs. Maybe a study showing the effect the annexation had on Bosnia's economy would settle the matter (but, of course, I haven't heard of such a study :p ).

Anyway, you decide what to propose the Serbs. Maybe a study showing the effect the annexation had on Bosnia's economy would settle the matter (but, of course, I haven't heard of such a study :p ).OOC: Actually, I have one, and Bosnia did very well under Hapsburg rule.

The customs union is negotiable, of course; the primary purpose is to allow the bureaucracy-free shipment of goods from Beograd to the sea (otherwise, goods have to be imported and re-imported mutiple times en route to the Adriatic).

That's enough economics for the RP thread.

That's enough economics for the RP thread.
OOC: Let's move on, then..

IC: The army is ordered to dig-in in its current position. Defensive works must be started across the Maritsa valley, the northern reaches of the Sofia depression (OOC: I don't know if that's the name, but if you look on a physical map, it's obvious) and in the Balkan Mountains' passes.

Signed
Stambolisky, prime-minister of Bulgaria-Romania