NationStates Jolt Archive

This is the Thread for the Great War, only open to participants of the New Age of Imperialism RP. You can sign up here (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=481452).

The War started early 1914 with Italy, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire invading and overran Serbia which triggered a Russian reaction. After a Russian counterattack in the Carpathians Japan and China invaded Siberia. Germany then mobilized and declared war upon Russia, which in turn triggered France to declare war upon all "Central Powers". Japan and China then invaded the French possessions in the Asian-Pacific Area and the Great War began...

With huge and bloody battles all over the world, the situation was a stalemate. Indochina and the French pacific Territories after some heavy resistance. Russia however was first to crumble under the continious pressure from the West, South and East. The country was divided between the victors, with Byellorussia and European Russia remaining independant, but soon a communist revolution broke out which caused even more damage to the country.

Great Birtain and the United States remained neutral, with Great Britain leaning slightly to the Central Powers, and the US completly neutral. This may change however...

It is now January 1st, 1917 and the war in the west continues. Both France, Germany and Italy have dug in and build trenches along their common frontline. Several major attacks were launched and failed.

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2161/alsacelorrainemap9jm.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The Frontline in Alsace-Lorraine

Red=Common Pre-war border, Green=Frontline.

Entente

Russia (surrendered)
France (still fighting)
Serbia (surrendered)

Central Powers

Germany (still fighting)
Italy (still fighting)
Austria-Hungary (not fighting, perhaps sending troops?)
Ottoman Empire (not fighting, perhaps sending troops?)
China (not fighting, cease fire talks with France)
Japan (not fighting, cease fire talks with France)

Special Rules

Every RL day is two weeks IC. I decide each when each new "turn" starts by posting:

"1st. of January-14th of January 1917"

For extra gaming fun I'll also decide what kind of weather it is, for example:

"Weather: wintery, snow, frost"

I'll try to use RL weather forcasts of 1917, but it's difficult to find any.

This turn, January 1st till January 14th.

Weather:
Europe/Northern Asia: Harsh Winter Conditions.
Medditeranian Theatre: Rainy thus muddy.
Africa: Clear Sunny weather

TO; Paris, France
FROM; Foreign Ministery, Tokyo, Japan

We are willing to discuss a ceasefire. Maybe a conferance can be held together with China?

Since the threat of war is decreased in our region, the folowing armies will be demobilized:

9th Army
10th Army

The following armies may be demobilized in the near future:

7th Army
8th Army

Half of the demobilized men will join the RRP, the rest will be reserves, to be called up if necessary. The soldiers will be helped with finding new jobs, more than enough jobs are available due to possible building orders of ships etc. from our allies in the west.

To Tokyo, Beijing
From Paris
France will allow a conference and is willing to discuss wuch peace terms it has and that the Japanese and Chinese Empires are willing to offer. Some talks have already occured with China and hopefully that line can continue.

(Lets just say it started)
France believes that the continuation of hostilities with the Empires of China and Japan serves no purpose, despite our anger at the events that occured. France proposes a peace with the two nations that will return relations to normal that France had a desire for in the first place. In exchange for France's recognition of and official cessation of the occupied Indochinese provinces and islands, China will pay an indemnity of 400 million dollars as well as Japan an indemnity of 200 million(I am guessing what would be fair for the teritory) as a sale to France.

In addition, all French citizens captured by the Chinese and Japanese government and any who wish to come to France will be allowed to leave with French naval forces.

China will receive the territory it wishes for without any more debate or war and will receive peace and trade treaties with France to develop Indochina. Japan will also receive a peace and potential trade treaties in addition to seized lands. France will recognize Asian hegemony over that sphere of the world

OOC: Austria-Hungary has 30 divisions (450,000 soldiers) in Italy, with the possibility of more being sent

IC:

Austria-Hungary has created martial-law in Serbia and Montenegro, and has begun putting down rebellions ruthlesslessy. Thousands of Serbs have fled to Bulgaria instead of face AH rule.

In Ukraine, the Austro-Hungarian military began training 5 Ukrainian divisions, with the possibility of training more

The Austro-Hungarian army (3rd, 7th, and 5th armies) in Italy (Army Group Italy) has dug in with Italian troops. The entire navy is sailing with the Italian navy

(Lets just say it started)
France believes that the continuation of hostilities with the Empires of China and Japan serves no purpose, despite our anger at the events that occured. France proposes a peace with the two nations that will return relations to normal that France had a desire for in the first place. In exchange for France's recognition of and official cessation of the occupied Indochinese provinces and islands, China will pay an indemnity of 400 million dollars as well as Japan an indemnity of 200 million(I am guessing what would be fair for the teritory) as a sale to France.

In addition, all French citizens captured by the Chinese and Japanese government and any who wish to come to France will be allowed to leave with French naval forces.

China will receive the territory it wishes for without any more debate or war and will receive peace and trade treaties with France to develop Indochina. Japan will also receive a peace and potential trade treaties in addition to seized lands. France will recognize Asian hegemony over that sphere of the world

The Japanese leader of the delagation rose and spoke:

Japan will of course cooperate with repatriation of French Citizens from the former Colonial Possessions. We will give them a small amount of money to compensate their losses of property. Japan offers to bring the French citizens from Indochina and the French Pacific Territory as far as French Africa.

He took a sip of water, looked to the Chinese delegate and his face hardened.

As for your ridicicoulous demand for indemnities, we, both CHina and Japan refuse to pay any sum of money. Normally it is the conqueror, not the one who lost that is payed indemnities. You are lucky enough that we don't demand them.

We gave you enough oppertunity to remain neutral in this war (ooc. see the declaration of war for example), which was at first a small war concerning only Russia and Serbia. France was attacked directly and in our plans wasn't an enemy. If you had remained neutral, the war would be over long ago, and everyone would be happy and live in peace.

ooc. the amounts of money you demand is way to high. The much bigger and resource richer teritory Alaska was bought for 7.2 million by the US from Russia.

And forgive my harsh tone, it's just Japanese :P

Japan will lease a large part of the captured Russian Pacific Fleet to China untill new vesels have finished construction. Japanese Crews will teach Chinese recruits how to handle these powerful weapons of war. For that purpose 8500 sailors and officers are send to Shanghai, which will be the base (for now) of the Chinese Fleet.

The fleet consists of:

3 Dreadnought Battleships
5 Battlecruisers
2 Light Cruisers
15 Destroyers
30 Torpedoboats

The first fully Chinese manned vessel will be ready at the end of 1917.

ooc: But that purchase was in 1867 - and it was believed by all sides to be a folly then anyways as there was no value in Alaska. Indochina is worth much more. Maybe a little less money?

IC: France will only require 30 million in reparations split by both nations over several years and that will be the end of that issue. We are happy for the repatriation of our people and giving them ride to French Madagascar is greatly thanked. Despite any disagreements, France still desires peace, though we had no choice but to declare war on Germany. We never declared war on Japan or China, it was just implied by the treaties, which of course gave you right to war with us which we still did not desire.

The French navy which has slowly been shifted to the Mediteranean is being activated to deal with the increased threat of the Italian and Austrian navies. The call-up has been sounded in Toulon and Marseille and across the southern coast, many soldiers also gathering along the Italian border near there.

The Chinese ambassador, a determined man by the name of Song Jiaoren, listened carefully to the Japanese and French representatives and then formulated a reponse.

"China does not seek any French possessions elsewhere in the world such as Africa, Europe, South America, or the Caribbean with the exception of Asian lands and territories.

Think of it this way, Indochina is rightfully Chinese as it was Asian long before France as a nation existed, and before Charlemange's time. Besides, it will make it considerably easier on France, as it will no longer have to administer, defend, or concern itself with a colony pratically half-way around the world that was never ethnically French in the first place.

You can allocate more resources towards defending your European and African lands without sending men to their deaths in Asia as China and Japan could defeat any substantial French force through sheer proximity, easier logistics, and a larger pool to draw men from.

Trimming Indochina from France would essentially make for a leaner and stronger France in the long run."

The French government realizes that its territories have been seized, no matter who they rightfully belonged to. All France wishes for is a treaty of peace that will recognize formal relations as well as give the lands officially to China and Japan and give France some millions as an indemnity

Well, our position is clear. We are of course willing to discuss peace, which would be better for all of us. But we refuse to pay indemnities to France. As said before, we are the victors.

Japan has been very mild up to now, but that can change...

This turn, January 14th till January 28th.

Weather:
Europe/Northern Asia: Harsh Winter Conditions, slightly improving over the second week to clear skies, but tempatures well below zero.
Medditeranian Theatre: Clear but cold.
Africa: Clear Sunny weather

The 2nd Fleet, save a few destroyers, submarines and MTB's heads for the port of Saigon, expecting to reach it in five days.

The United Kingdom will lease factories and shipyards to the nations of the 'Central Powers' if the war continues, so long as the munitions produced are not used to threaten the interests of the British Empire.

IC:
The Ottoman Third Fleet is on the move southward. Arival is estimated in thre days.

The First fleet has been sent to Libya and is on standby waiting to asist the Italian and Austrian forces.

OOC1: No, I am not trying to rip off Warta's post...I just needed my navy to move.

OOC2:
My third fleet is made up of ships produced during the war. The first and second fleets were ships already in the Ottoman Navy and those purchased from Austria and Germany. I plan to make a list as soon as I can.

OOC: note, I'm making up the radio group. In fact, I'm not even sure if a radio, or its equivalent has been invented, so if not, regard this as a big newspaper

Good evening, welcome to The Evening News. Fighting continued in the provinces of Alsace Loraine today as French and German forces beagn to settle down into trench warfare. Italy was relatively quiet, with no major attacks on either side.


OOC: more to come later

IC: The French government urges the British to come to the assistance of their allies in France - we have long had an alliance which Britain has so far failed to follow. Britain can receive a wealth of advantages from the war with her navy, notably enemy holding around the world

*********************

The French ambassador relents. France is in no position to negotiate any further than this. We believe we have been greatly wronged. We were willing to sell you the lands, but you refused. Despite this, France is willing to sign a white peace. All dispositions at the moment will be respected and our three nations will be at peace.

*********************

More elements of the French Grand fleet are being moved to Tunis in an attempt to counterbalance the combined navies of the enemy

Speech to the House of Commons by David Lloyd-George, transcript sent via Telegram to the French Government

The war in Europe goes badly for France. She is beset by vicious enemies, intent on nothing more than petty territorial gains. The better part of the youth of France is at risk, on the front lines, battling not only to regain territories ripped from her borders by the Germans in 1870, but also for the very existence of the nation.

If Germany does not cease agression, we will have no choice but to invoke the treaty of London, and declare war, for the good of Belgium and France. As of now, our offer to lease British factories to the Central Powers is suspended indefinately. The Navy has been given mobilisation orders, and will set sail within the week, regardless of the German response.

Ultimatum to Germany

His Majesty's government has recently noted with distaste your offensive war against France. Britain has no love of bloodshed, or Germany, and will not let Germany ravage France, with whom Great Britain has treaties. You will cease offensive action against France, and provide guarantees of future Belgian sovereignty, or Great Britain will wage a war on land and sea against Germany.

David Lloyd-George

IC:
Telegram to the British Empire:
We implore you to cease your threats towards Germany. The French were the agressors in this war and are reaping what they sewed. The Porte sees no reason why the young men of Britain must suffer because their government decided to flip-flop and support an unfair war targeting the Central Powers.

Speech to the House of Commons by David Lloyd-George, transcript sent via Telegram to the French Government

The war in Europe goes badly for France. She is beset by vicious enemies, intent on nothing more than petty territorial gains. The better part of the youth of France is at risk, on the front lines, battling not only to regain territories ripped from her borders by the Germans in 1870, but also for the very existence of the nation.

If Germany does not cease agression, we will have no choice but to invoke the treaty of London, and declare war, for the good of Belgium and France. As of now, our offer to lease British factories to the Central Powers is suspended indefinately. The Navy has been given mobilisation orders, and will set sail within the week, regardless of the German response.

Ultimatum to Germany

His Majesty's government has recently noted with distaste your offensive war against France. Britain has no love of bloodshed, or Germany, and will not let Germany ravage France, with whom Great Britain has treaties. You will cease offensive action against France, and provide guarantees of future Belgian sovereignty, or Great Britain will wage a war on land and sea against Germany.

David Lloyd-George


OOC: Belgium wasn't invaded, instead France attacked Germany and drove them back, which is why the front line is in German territory

[I'm using the treaty of London as an excuse. The treaty of London gave Britain leeway to do a LOT under the guise of protecting Belgium, whereas there were no such treaties with France. And because of the nature of the agreement, I'll be able to move troops right into Belgium >: )]

The people of French are angered by the lies spread by the central powers. It was the offensive actions of Austria and Germany in attacking Serbia and Russia that forced France into the war to protect her friends

France was not harmed by these attacks, we did not seek to attack you, we were punishing the warmongering Serbs.

OOC: I'm guessing Belgium doesn't want to get involved in this war, and would object. Talk to the NPC mod

To; British Prime Minister/House of Parliament
From; Foreign Ministery, Tokyo

As you oldest and most loyal ally strongly suggest that you remain out of this war. It will cost you only blood, material and money. This war was started because France chose to intervene in a conflict which was not hers. Now she stands alone and on the brink of defeat. Why join a nearly sure defeat after 3years of war?

We sincerly hope that you have the wisdom to make the right decision.

Prime Minister Yonohyoe

ooc. Actually, Belgium threatened in August 1914 that they'd shoot on any foreign soldier who crossed their borders. They tried (and because of a treaty, I'll look up the name later, were obliged to) remain neutral in a conflict.

[It wouldn't be hard for Britain to forcefully land troops in Belgium. A long naval bormbardment followed up by troop carriers would do the trick...]

To:Prime Minister Yonohyoe of Japan
From: Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Minister

It is in the interests of the British Empire to help maintain the status quo. Germany presents a great threat to British interests, and has been recognised as such since the French defeat of 1870. Britain Cannot let Germany walk across the continent unopposed, agressively taking lands they have no right to. Britain may have to intervene most heavily in order to maintain a damaged balance of power. In light of your close relationship with Germany, incentives may be offered in return for Japanese non agression in the Eastern Empire.

Sir Edward Grey

[It wouldn't be hard for Britain to forcefully land troops in Belgium. A long naval bormbardment followed up by troop carriers would do the trick...]

ooc. That would take a big reason (the possible German invasion in Belgium) away, even more, it would give Germany the right to launch their own invasion of Belgium.

Turn: First half of February

Weather:
Northern Europe/Asia: Clear Weather, very, very very cold
Western Europe: Still cold and clear weather, rain and storms expected in the second week.
Medditeranian Theatre: Clear, tempatures up to 10 degrees celsius. Much cooler in the Mountains, especially at night.
Africa: Clear Sunny weather, tempatures around the 20 degrees.

To:Prime Minister Yonohyoe of Japan
From: Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Minister

It is in the interests of the British Empire to help maintain the status quo. Germany presents a great threat to British interests, and has been recognised as such since the French defeat of 1870. Britain Cannot let Germany walk across the continent unopposed, agressively taking lands they have no right to. Britain may have to intervene most heavily in order to maintain a damaged balance of power. In light of your close relationship with Germany, incentives may be offered in return for Japanese non agression in the Eastern Empire.

Sir Edward Grey

To; Foreign Minister Edward Grey
From; Foreign Ministery, Tokyo

We ensure the honorable Lord Grey that in this case Germany was not the attacking party, therefor she didn't threaten the stability of Europe. She even chose to cancel her Naval Program in 1910 to try to lessen the tense feeling in Europe (ooc. in the previous RP). It is France who attacked Germany, in the style of Napolean Bonaparte, but without his succes.

But we remain allies, and we would seriously regret it if our glorious nations fight a war against each other. We will try to avoid it at all cost. What do you offer for our neutrality?

To:Prime Minister Yonohyoe of Japan
From: Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Minister

In return for guarantees of Japanese neutrality, I have been authorised to offer the discounted construction of ships for the Imperial Japanese Navy and possibly the instruction of the British Army on a specialty that Britain has long led the world in: bayonet combat.

I sincerely hope that this will suffice, but if not, please suggest terms yourself. Britain does not want to sacrifice what has been a long and profitable relationship between our two Empires.

Sir Edward Grey

To:Prime Minister Yonohyoe of Japan
From: Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Minister

In return for guarantees of Japanese neutrality, I have been authorised to offer the discounted construction of ships for the Imperial Japanese Navy and possibly the instruction of the British Army on a specialty that Britain has long led the world in: bayonet combat.

I sincerely hope that this will suffice, but if not, please suggest terms yourself. Britain does not want to sacrifice what has been a long and profitable relationship between our two Empires.

Sir Edward Grey

To; Sir Edward Grey
From; Prime Minister Yonohyoe

We think your offer is a bit meagre, as we have more than enough ship building capability in the Japanese Empire and we're also well trained in Banyonet combat, which our recent war experiences has showed us is useless.

We would be delighted if you accept our terms:

1. Respect the Neutrality of Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg and other European countries.
2. Give Burma independence under supervision of China
3. Give Malacca and Borneo independence under supervision of Japan.
4. If Germany violates the neutrality of Belgium, Luxemburg or Holland, we join the French and the British in their war.

We have however also another proposal:

If Britain remains neutral, or joins the Central Power, it can "supervise" the former French possessions in West and Central Africa and the Island of Madagascar.

Of course, this is just a suggestion...

Austro-Hungarian troops have begun building a massive defensive position stretching from Switzerland to the Netherlands. The position will begin at the ZGerman border not including any territory in Alsace-Lorraine (The pre-Franco Prussian war border). 15 divisions (225,000 soldiers) are helping to build this position. In the Meditteranean, the AH subs began to sink French shipping still in the area

To: Prime Minister Yonohyoe of Japan
From: Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Minister

We cannot accept your counter-offer, but will make another offer of our own. We will produce 3 Dreadnought class battleships free of charge, and offer you insights into mathematical advances in ballistics, allowing for increased artillery accuracy with less need for ranging fire. Giving up territories to Japanese 'supervision' is out of the question under any circumstance. This is a most generous offer, given the incredible costs involved in the production of battleships.

Sir Edward Grey

The British Grand Fleet has left Scapa Flow, and elements will be patrolling the waters outside of Denmark's coastal territory. The remainder will stay together, offering protection to French shipping. If any British ship is damaged whilst offering protection to French shipping, a state of war will exist between Britain and the agressor.

[For details on the Grand Fleet go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Grand_Fleet ]


Great Britain has established terms that are prerequesite for a guarantee of non-belligerence from the British Empire in the matter of thewar in Europe.

1) Serbia and Montenegro will have self-determination and freedom from Austro-Hungarian rule.

2) The territories of Alsace-Lorraine will be returned to France.

3) Germany and her allies will provide guarantees that British colonial interests will not be harmed in any way.

4) A demilitarised zone will be set up between France and Germany.

All of these terms except #3 are negotiable to an extant.

OOC: another news report

Welcome to World News. A diplomatic group of Austro-Hungarian princes and archdukes met today with a group of Low-Country officials, from Luxemborg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The meeting was to reinforce the Austro-Hungarian announcement that they would not invade the countries. In order to solidify this, the diplomatic group announced the sale of 300 305mm guns to both Belgium and the Netherlands to strengthen their shore defenses, and assist them in strengthening their defenses along both the French and German borders. In Belgium, rebels continued to fight against Belgian troops in the Congo

A statement issued by the French government in Paris today:
The terrible lies of the Austrians and Japanese is more than the French can bear. It is the Austrians and Germans that started the war, and France was the loyal ally that was forced into the war - no other lies can hide the truth. The Austrians shoudl look long at what they have done to destroy the independence and murder the many peoples of eastern Europe before they accuse the French of anything.

France assures Belgium and Holland that it remains their friends as it always has - bastions of democracy surrounded by imperialistic monarchies with no respect for life or territory. The Central Powers are sure to attack you as well, sooner or later due to their greedy outlooks, remember this.

***********************

Turmoil has erupted in French North Africa, but troops are being sent to contain the uprising. Another contingent of French troops has been sent to Africa guarded heavily by the French Navy.

***********************

SIC to Britain:
It is time to end the oppression and endangerment of the British and French holdings by the enemy. We must make sure the world is safe for democracy and the western European way of life. France urges Britain to use its navy to help the French sweep the enemy from the seas.

OOC: And where is Elite/Germany anyways?

OOC: I'm not sure. I'd be willing to play as Germany for a little while while we wait

OOC: I'm back. I didn't think so much would happen it two days.

IC: Britain, term two is unacceptable to Germany and I am sure term one will be likewise to Austria-Hungary. Germany did not declare war one France, and we are willing to accept a white peace with them, but no territory that has been a part of Germany since its inception will be surrendered.

OOC: EBH, send your military orders to Sharina so we can start this RP.
IC:

Austria-Hungary finds the first term unacceptable. Serbia has a history of warmongering, and it must not be allowed to do so again, lest they threaten the stability of Europe again

Secret Message to France

The Grand Fleet is launched, and will join up with half of the naval reserve fleets to sweep away the Kaiser's marine forces. Increased recruitment for the Army is in place, but not publicised. 500,000 men are ready to be sent to your aid, all that is needed is permission to land them at Calais.

OOC: haha, Serbia, that was me

IC: Britain has the French approval to land troops in Calais to send to help the Western Front. French guides will be sent to lead the British troops if/when they arrive.

SIC: The French fleet is mainly in the Mediteranean facing the lesser power's navies, so if Britain wishes to combine fleets they will have to send them there or request the French fleet be sent to the Channel

IC:
Telegram to Italy
From:Ismail Enver
I request your permission to place 150,000 troops in Italian Eritrea to allow your troops there to return and protect the Italian homeland. Unlike Italy we have a surpluss of soldiers at the moment and little use for them. We can better afford to protect your colony.

250,000 under the command of General Hasad troops are being sent to Libya to protect against both French attacks and uprisings.
3,350,000
100,000 In Italian Eritrea
500,000 Keeping the peace in the newly created Turkish states.
1,550,000 soldiers defending the homeland
150,000 soldiers in Libya
500,000 troops in the Mesopotamian region of the empire.
500,000 troops in the Balkans
50,000 troops centered in Greece

SIC to France:

The British Mediterranean Fleet can be sent to reinforce the French naval presence there. That would allow the launching of a naval offensive action to sweep the Central Powers out of the Mediterranean Sea.

Gibraltar is fully open to French ships wishing to dock and resupply.

To: The Ottoman Empire

Italy appreciates the Ottoman's goodwill. Although some Italian troops will remain in the horn for security (what nation would send out all their troops and let another army come in?), this will allow us more peace of mind for our few African possessions. We assure you that your garrison force may be a little excessive, as Italy has rarely exceeded 100,000 and you'll find that the natives aren't unruly people.

OOC: Voxio, aren't you still in the war? If so, shouldn't you be preparing to take the Suez Canal from Britain?

OOC: Voxio, aren't you still in the war? If so, shouldn't you be preparing to take the Suez Canal from Britain?
They haven't formally declared war. Besides, the Suez wont likely be my first attack.

[Thank you for reminding me about the existence of the Suez Canal! :D]

Your welcome. My first reaction when you said that was "damn it." But since you needed to be reminded of such an important property of a country you live in... I am actually even more sure of victory now. :D

I have orders from everyone, I believe.

I'll "game out" the stuff over the next two days and then post the results by tomorrow or Sunday night (or Monday, as Sunday's Mother's Day).

I can't wait (no sarcasm)

what game are you using?

Japan has no idea what France is talking about. (ooc. the Diplomatic message were kinda SIC. unless the British blabbed nothing would become public) We assume the French made a mistake and we won't pay anymore attention to this matter.

OOC: Eh, I always do that, my bad.

France does know that the other countries claim it started the war and desnies this anyways

ooc. It's ok :p

Message to all involved nations in this war including Great Britain

Japan is worried about a further escalation and extended duration of this war because of new nations joining a side. We propose a conference to be held in Tokyo or a neutral location to discuss a possible solution for this bloody conflict. For the duration of the conference a cease fire should be signed.

We hope all belligrant powers use their wisdom to see that peace would benefit us all.

Emperor Yoshihito, Lord of Japan, Korea, Formosa, Outer Manchuria, Sakhalin, Supreme Ruler of the Pacific etc. etc.

To: Prime Minister Yonohyoe of Japan
From: Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Minister

We cannot accept your counter-offer, but will make another offer of our own. We will produce 3 Dreadnought class battleships free of charge, and offer you insights into mathematical advances in ballistics, allowing for increased artillery accuracy with less need for ranging fire. Giving up territories to Japanese 'supervision' is out of the question under any circumstance. This is a most generous offer, given the incredible costs involved in the production of battleships.

Sir Edward Grey

To; Sire Edward Grey, Foreign Minister
From; Ministery of Foreign Affairs
We think this offer is very tempting, especialy the construction of Dreadnoughts for free. If you would also include the free (or greatly reduced cost) construction of 3 Battlecruisers, we would be very greatfull.

But perhaps such a deal is not necessary, as we propose a conference (ooc. see above) to sign a peace treaty between the belligrent powers.

Prime Minister Yonnohyoe

To Japan
From: Austria-Hungary

We wil attend this peace conference, however, we believe that the French and British will place unmeetable demands on us

To Japan
From: Austria-Hungary

We wil attend this peace conference, however, we believe that the French and British will place unmeetable demands on us

To; Austria-Hungary
From; Japan

We thank you for your decision. We will see what they'll offer, though France will have to pay interritory in the East and sums of money to the Wetsern Allies.

To; Austria-Hungary
From; Japan

We thank you for your decision. We will see what they'll offer, though France will have to pay interritory in the East and sums of money to the Wetsern Allies.

OOC: exactly why they won't agree to it

OOC: exactly why they won't agree to it

ooc. Well, they haven't got a choice. France is swept away in Asia, and under serious pressure in the west, though GB can give some relieve.

Germany is training 1 million men that will be ready to join the army in three months time.

The Austro-Hungarian delegate arrives to the conference with the folowing terms:

1. Austria-Hungary to keep Serbia and its position as protector of Ukraine
2. Upholding the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (I'm assuming it's the same treaty in this timeline): freedom for Ukraine, Finland, Baltic States, Poland, Siberia, Far East, and Caucausus (I think this was given to the Ottomans)
3. Return to prewar borders in Italy and Germany (meaning Alsace-Lorraine stays with germany)

The British Terms for Peace in Europe:

1)All borders in Europe and Russia return to prewar positions.

That is all.

ooc. I think its a good idea to post all our Terms and then we''ll see what we can make of it.

Japanese Terms for Peace

1. All borders, save some special situations (see following terms) remain as they were on January 1st. 1917. This means that Russia remains divided according to the peace of Brest-Litovsk (the peace treaty between the Central powers and Russia), Indochina remains French and the French Territories in the Pacific remain Japanese.

2. The situation in Aslace-Lorraine needs special care and attention. We think of three solutions:
2a. Alsace-Lorraine remains German.
2b. Alsace-Lorraine gains independence.
2c. Alsace-Lorraine becomes French.

If we decide to give Alsace-Lorraine independence, the new state should include the territories who have remained French (ooc. so all of the Modern Dat department of Aslace-Lorraine becomes independant.

3. Italy should acquire the Savoy (which, after all, was Italian. Why shouldn't they get it back?), Corsica (dito) and/or Tunisia.

4. Great Britain should neither pay, nor surrender any territories.

5. France should pay a small sum of money for every killed Austrian-Hungarian Soldier on the Western Front.

6. All signatories, and if possible, all nations in the world should prevent another devastating war to begin. Therefor an international organization must be created to prevent future wars from happening.

Prime Minister Yonnohyoe

Emperor Hirohito

OOC:

Important questions needs to be answered.

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10951642&postcount=134

China's terms is as follows...

1. China keeps Siberia.

2. Japan keeps Siberian lands from the Korean border up to the southern riverbanks of the River Amur.

3. Japan acquires all Russian Pacific islands (Sakhalin, Kuriles, etc.)

4. China keeps Indochina (including Siam).

5. China does not seek any additional territories beyond these listed.

6. France and China do not pay each other any reparations or fiscal material. Indochina is sufficient into itself as France-to-China reparations to China, and China is willing to sell Indochinese goods to France (oil, rubber, foodstuffs, etc.) and that could be construed as China-to-France reparations. It evens out in the long run.

OOC: Uh, I don't think anyone will like France's terms, but here you go.

1. Alsace Lorraine returns to France
2. French Indochina goes to China
3. French Islands go to Japan
4. Japan and China each pay $15 million
5. African colonies remain the same
6. Russia loses Siberia and Poland, keeps Ukraine, Belarus, Baltic States
7.Austria-Hungary grants autonomy to Serbia

Germany's terms are simple:

1. All terms decided by previous treaties (Russia and the Balkan nations) remain intact.
2. France gives back the territory of Germany's it is occupying.

OOC: Uh, I don't think anyone will like France's terms, but here you go.

1. Alsace Lorraine returns to France
2. French Indochina goes to China
3. French Islands go to Japan
4. Japan and China each pay $15 million
5. African colonies remain the same
6. Russia loses Siberia and Poland, keeps Ukraine, Belarus, Baltic States
7.Austria-Hungary grants autonomy to Serbia

China secretly contacts France regarding term #4.

"What if China were to sell Indochinese goods (rubber, oil, food, etc.) at a discount over the next several years in a way that the discounts itself will amount to $10 - $15 million?"

The Turkish Terms for Peace in Europe:

1. The Ottoman Empire loses none of the Territory it held on January 1st 1917.
2. That French Somaliland be turned over to the Ottoman Empire.
is actively in the war by this point. If they are not involved in the attacks Sharina is working on then ignore this.]
4. That the Turkish states be under Ottoman Occupation until they are capable of partitioning themselves, creating a government and maintaining a military force of their own.
5. All German territory occupied by France return to Germany.
6. Italy should acquire the Savoy and Corsica [I never managed to get this when I was Italy, so I want to live my goal through Koryan.]

(While I understand European/Asian Nations dont really give a shit about what my organization wants... I might as well give an attempt.)

The Official Demands of the Afrikan Revolutionary Core

1. The territories known as the Belgian Congo be granted full independence, under the leadership of the Afrikan Revolutionary Congress, and all Belgian forces are to be withdrawn by May of 1918.
*Any nation supporting this term shall be granted exclusive trading rights in certain markets in the newly formed Congo.

2. All German territory occupied by France return to Germany.

3. All terms decided by previous treaties (Russia and the Balkan nations) remain intact.

4. China keeps Siberia.

5. Japan keeps Siberian lands from the Korean border up to the southern riverbanks of the River Amur.

6. Japan acquires all Russian Pacific islands (Sakhalin, Kuriles, etc.)

7. China keeps Indochina (including Siam).

8. Italy should acquire the Savoy and Corsica

OOC: Uh, I don't think anyone will like France's terms, but here you go.

1. Alsace Lorraine returns to France
2. French Indochina goes to China
3. French Islands go to Japan
4. Japan and China each pay $15 million
5. African colonies remain the same
6. Russia loses Siberia and Poland, keeps Ukraine, Belarus, Baltic States
7.Austria-Hungary grants autonomy to Serbia

ooc. actually, this is a lot better than I expected :)

Japan SIC. To France

#4 is reasonable, we are willing to pay a price in name of peace.

Public Statement

We want to solve the Alsace-Lorraine matter by either giving it independence or let it remain under German control.

(While I understand European/Asian Nations dont really give a shit about what my organization wants... I might as well give an attempt.)

The Official Demands of the Afrikan Revolutionary Core

1. The territories known as the Belgian Congo be granted full independence, under the leadership of the Afrikan Revolutionary Congress, and all Belgian forces are to be withdrawn by May of 1918.
*Any nation supporting this term shall be granted exclusive trading rights in certain markets in the newly formed Congo.

2. All German territory occupied by France return to Germany.

3. All terms decided by previous treaties (Russia and the Balkan nations) remain intact.

4. China keeps Siberia.

5. Japan keeps Siberian lands from the Korean border up to the southern riverbanks of the River Amur.

6. Japan acquires all Russian Pacific islands (Sakhalin, Kuriles, etc.)

7. China keeps Indochina (including Siam).

8. Italy should acquire the Savoy and Corsica

SIC. to Afrikan Revolutionairy Core

We are willing to support your first claim, but it will be a though matter, as Belgium has nothing to do with this war.

OOC: Uh, I don't think anyone will like France's terms, but here you go.

1. Alsace Lorraine returns to France
2. French Indochina goes to China
3. French Islands go to Japan
4. Japan and China each pay $15 million
5. African colonies remain the same
6. Russia loses Siberia and Poland, keeps Ukraine, Belarus, Baltic States
7.Austria-Hungary grants autonomy to Serbia

Austria-Hungary finds term 7 unacceptable, Serbia was conquered by the Austro-Hungarian forces and must not be allowed to continue its warmongering position

Occupied Territories: Ukrainian armament factories began turning out weapons for the Austro-Hungarian troops, and surplus grain was turned over. In Serbia, resistance began to slow down as troops cracked down with ferocity, nearly 10,000 rebels were killed and 25,000 were imprisoned/ Ukrainain and Austro-Hungarian shipyards beagn constructing 7 Dreadnoughts, 5 Battlecruisers, 15 Armored Cruisers, 15 Protected Cruisers, 40 Destroyers, and 75 Submarines

Italy's demands are short and simple:
-The Island of Corsica
-The Region of Savoy

The second demand may be reduced to Nice and the coastline to Italy in exchange for colonial possessions (in other words, would you prefer to lose a chunk of the French homeland or a city and some coastline from the French homeland plus some over-seas territories).

no

But we can have peace if Italy surrenders Turin and Sardina!

no

But we can have peace if Italy surrenders Turin and Sardina!

Uh, Turin is 96% Italian and Sardinia is the kingdom that was almost solely responsible for uniting Italy. That's like Germany asking for France to give up Paris and Orleans. Meanwhile, I ask for regions that should have been part of Italy in the first place, but France stole and annexed them.

OOC: Uh, are you even thinking before shouting out demands?

Japan thinks the French Representative made a joke ;)

Uh, Turin is 96% Italian and Sardinia is the kingdom that was almost solely responsible for uniting Italy. That's like Germany asking for France to give up Paris and Orleans. Meanwhile, I ask for regions that should have been part of Italy in the first place, but France stole and annexed them.

OOC: Uh, are you even thinking before shouting out demands?

OOC: I believe Nice and Savoy are both Italian, one was left out, I'm not sure which

OOC: i still have not selected a side yet, but that doesn't mean i cant get ready...also alot of what i want here is from none RPed nations(Russia and the US), so i wonder if the NPC mod will work with it, or if someone else will...i am aslo assumeing the weapons that where invented from 1914 to 1917 are in existance.

IC:

though Spain has not yet selected a side they will however prepare for war, as such we are willing to pay for the following.

From the U.S.A. we ask for
100,000 Springfield '03 Rifles
10,000 Colt M1911 Pistols
10,000 Colt-Browning M1895 Machine Guns

From Russia we ask for
5,000 Federov Avtomat Assault Rifles

From Britain we ask for
10,000 Vickers machine guns
1,000 Bristol F.2 Fighters
100 Mark IV tanks
1,000 2.75 inch Mountain Gun

thats a lot of stuff

OOC: I am not sure tanks exist yet in this timeline. Since Britain only recently entered the war, and they were the ones that historically invented tanks, they will probably be delayed about two years. So, I would wait another year unless everyone thinks we should have them now.

thats a lot of stuff

OOC: yes, but considering what i know Spain has, and what i cant find out, i am going to need it no matter what side i pick...


about the tanks, i'll just wait to see what others think

ooc. Tanks were in a very early stage. As for the Russian Weapons, Russia is currently occupied/annexed by the Central Powers. I think you should ask Germany for more info on the gun.

ladadee, ladadee - hmmm

OOC: i'll leave the Tanks out of the order then...all this spending is going to cost me some major money, i better end up on the side of the winners...


SIC:

To: Germany
From: Spain

Spain would like to ask if we may obtain 5,000 Russian Federov Avtomat Assault Rifles, as well as many Mauser '98s, MG08 machine guns, Fokker E. IV Fighters, and Albatros C.III Bombers, we do not wish anyone but Germany to know of this transaction between us

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

SIC:

To: France
From: Spain

Spain would like to obtain several 75mm cannons from France, we do not wish anyone but France to know of this transaction between us, we are also interested in obtaining the soon to be developed SPAD S.XIII fighter(not sure if i should know of its soon to be existance yet, but i don't see why not)

Battle of Marsilles

French Navy: 10 dreadnoughts, 25 pre-dreadnoughts, 35 cruisers, 70 destroyers, 50 various other ships

Italian Navy: 6 Dreadnoughts, 14 Pre-Dreadnoughts, 14 Armored Cruisers, 30 Destroyers, 58 Torpedo Boats, 21 Submarines, 32 Support and Auxiliary ships

The Italian Navy steams at full power westwards towards the French coastline in the Mediterrean Sea with hopes of launching a major surprise attack against the French Navy amassing near Marsilles. The Austro-Hungarian Navy also steams westwards as well, in hopes of reinforcing the Italian naval offensive against the French Navy.

Italy attempts an encirclement maneuver in hopes of allowing its ships to have superior firing positions. However, the French has been training for several years for a possible naval battle with the Central Powers.

The naval battle was intense, with the Italians determined to destroy the French, and the French fighting for survival. Italy manages to fire off the first shots of the Battle of Marsilles. The initial shots were from the dreadnoughts with their superior guns and range as opposed to the smaller guns of the cruisers and destroyers. Several shots landed on the outermost French naval vessels, seriously damaging 4 destroyers, which were subsequently sunk by the Italian submarines later in the battle. The Italian Navy continues to close in onto the French Navy, which was both prepared and un-prepared for such a battle. The French had training on their side, but weren’t fully deployed as their Navy was in the process of being deployed for action for a naval campaign in March to April, whereas the battle is occurring in Feburary.

The French dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts opens fire on the advancing Italian Navy, and the training starts to pay off. French gunnery and accuracy gains the French several kills on the Italian dreadnoughts and cruisers, but the Italians were far from done. The battle continues for several hours.

Intense exchanges of firepower continues, sinking both French and Italian naval vessels of all sizes. The French had a substantially larger dreadnought fleet than Italy, but Italy had plenty of submarines which the French seemed not to possess. The French dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts manage to sink 4 Italian dreadnoughts and 10 pre-dreadnoughts while losing 3 French dreadnoughts and 6 pre-dreadnoughts. The Italian cruisers and destroyers pounded on the French ones, and the losses were similar in scope, as 10 Italian armored cruisers and 19 destroyers sank to the bottom of the Mediterrean Sea, while the French lost 12 cruisers as they were less armored than their Italian counterparts and the French also lost 11 destroyers as the French outnumbered the Italians by nearly two to one in destroyers. The French lost several of its supply and miscellanous ships as well.

Italy plays its ace, the Italian submarines. The submarines attack the French fleet with results. The submarines manage to sink one dreadnought, three pre-dreadnoughts, five cruisers, and ten more destroyers. However, the French manage to fire on the Italian submarines whenever they surface for air and such, and Italy loses 9 submarines. The French also manage to sink several Italian torpedo boats and auxiliary vessels. The Italian Navy, having been gutted, begins to flee eastwards with the French in pursuit, as the French were confident that they could annilihate the Italian Navy once and for all, hopefully clearing the Mediterrean of Italian presence. France did not realize that the Austrian Navy was sailing towards it, though. Soon, the Austrian Navy meets up with the French Navy just north of Corsica.

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

Battle of Corsica

French Navy: 6 dreadnoughts, 17 pre-dreadnoughts, 18 cruisers, 49 destroyers, 40 various other ships

Austrian Navy: 11 Dreadnoughts, 14 pre-dreadnoughts, 28 Cruisers, 4 Battlecruisers, 70 Destroyers, 35 Submarines

The two fleets clashed near Corsica, but the Austrians were at a slight disadvantage, as the French were already ready to fire and were at full battle readiness, having mauled the Italian Navy. The Austrians, however, had numbers on their side as they had nearly twice the number of dreadnoughts and cruisers as the French, as well as a substantial force of 35 submarines. The Austrians also had more destroyers than France as well.

The French sighted the Austrian fleet first, as the sun was shining behind the French navy when the Battle of Corsica began mid-afternoon. The French fired first, but soon found they were facing a crisis. They were running somewhat low on ammunition after the battle with the Italians and the mad rush to attempt to destroy the last remnants of the enemy navy. The initial exchange of fire favored the French, as the sun threw off the Austrian firing crews with its glare.

The French manage to sink three Austrian dreadnoughts, five pre-dreadnoughts, eight cruisers, and fourteen destroyers. The French lost one pre-dreadnought, two cruisers, and five destroyers. Clouds begin drifting in, covering the sun’s descent. With the element of the sun gone, the Austrian Navy could see the French ships more clearly and begin to exact their revenge against the French Navy.

The second round of battle started to tilt ever so slightly into the favor of the Austrians. The Austrians manage to sink three French dreadnoughts in a delicious exchange of revenge, as well as sinking six pre-dreadnoughts. Five French cruisers joined the wreckage in the bottom of the sea, as well as ten more destroyers. The remaining French vessels were savaged, with a few rear vessels escaping the brunt of the damage. The Austrians lost another two dreadnoughts, five pre-dreadnoughts, six cruisers, and another twelve destroyers. The Austrian submarines had less effect against the French as the French were alert and on the look-out for submarines following the battle with the Italians, sinking eight Austrian submarines before running out of depth charges and torpedoes.

Heavily beaten, running on fumes, and nearly depleted of ammunition, the remaining French Navy retreats back to Marsilles, while the Austrian Navy steams towards Italy for resupply in preparation for a possible attack against Corsica itself. The Austrians realized that if they chased the French to Marsilles, the French coastal guns would do a number on the Austrian Navy, and the Austrians were not too confident about their fuel as they already had sailed from Austrian staging areas. The Italian Navy also undergoes repairs and resupply.

All three major navies will not be available to see action for at least two more months.

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

Final numbers (those that survived):

French Navy: 3 dreadnoughts, 10 pre-dreadnoughts, 11 cruisers, 34 destroyers, 27 auxiliary ships.

Italian Navy: 2 dreadnoughts, 4 pre-dreadnoughts, 4 armored cruisers, 11 destroyers, 26 torpedo boats, 12 submarines, 25 auxiliary ships.

Austrian Navy: 6 dreadnoughts, 4 pre-dreadnoughts, 14 cruisers, 44 destroyers, 27 submarines, 38 auxiliary ships.


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

All three nations navies begin looking into better scouting abilities so that they will be able to see other navies coming earlier and increase battle readiness in the process.

The military planners begin looking at sea-based aircraft as a potential reconissance tool. (pre-cursor to aircraft carriers).

Battle of Marsilles

French Navy: 10 dreadnoughts, 25 pre-dreadnoughts, 35 cruisers, 70 destroyers, 50 various other ships

Italian Navy: 6 Dreadnoughts, 14 Pre-Dreadnoughts, 14 Armored Cruisers, 30 Destroyers, 58 Torpedo Boats, 21 Submarines, 32 Support and Auxiliary ships

The Italian Navy steams at full power westwards towards the French coastline in the Mediterrean Sea with hopes of launching a major surprise attack against the French Navy amassing near Marsilles. The Austro-Hungarian Navy also steams westwards as well, in hopes of reinforcing the Italian naval offensive against the French Navy.

Italy attempts an encirclement maneuver in hopes of allowing its ships to have superior firing positions. However, the French has been training for several years for a possible naval battle with the Central Powers.

The naval battle was intense, with the Italians determined to destroy the French, and the French fighting for survival. Italy manages to fire off the first shots of the Battle of Marsilles. The initial shots were from the dreadnoughts with their superior guns and range as opposed to the smaller guns of the cruisers and destroyers. Several shots landed on the outermost French naval vessels, seriously damaging 4 destroyers, which were subsequently sunk by the Italian submarines later in the battle. The Italian Navy continues to close in onto the French Navy, which was both prepared and un-prepared for such a battle. The French had training on their side, but weren’t fully deployed as their Navy was in the process of being deployed for action for a naval campaign in March to April, whereas the battle is occurring in Feburary.

The French dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts opens fire on the advancing Italian Navy, and the training starts to pay off. French gunnery and accuracy gains the French several kills on the Italian dreadnoughts and cruisers, but the Italians were far from done. The battle continues for several hours.

Intense exchanges of firepower continues, sinking both French and Italian naval vessels of all sizes. The French had a substantially larger dreadnought fleet than Italy, but Italy had plenty of submarines which the French seemed not to possess. The French dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts manage to sink 4 Italian dreadnoughts and 10 pre-dreadnoughts while losing 3 French dreadnoughts and 6 pre-dreadnoughts. The Italian cruisers and destroyers pounded on the French ones, and the losses were similar in scope, as 10 Italian armored cruisers and 19 destroyers sank to the bottom of the Mediterrean Sea, while the French lost 12 cruisers as they were less armored than their Italian counterparts and the French also lost 11 destroyers as the French outnumbered the Italians by nearly two to one in destroyers. The French lost several of its supply and miscellanous ships as well.

Italy plays its ace, the Italian submarines. The submarines attack the French fleet with results. The submarines manage to sink one dreadnought, three pre-dreadnoughts, five cruisers, and ten more destroyers. However, the French manage to fire on the Italian submarines whenever they surface for air and such, and Italy loses 9 submarines. The French also manage to sink several Italian torpedo boats and auxiliary vessels. The Italian Navy, having been gutted, begins to flee eastwards with the French in pursuit, as the French were confident that they could annilihate the Italian Navy once and for all, hopefully clearing the Mediterrean of Italian presence. France did not realize that the Austrian Navy was sailing towards it, though. Soon, the Austrian Navy meets up with the French Navy just north of Corsica.

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

Battle of Corsica

French Navy: 6 dreadnoughts, 17 pre-dreadnoughts, 18 cruisers, 49 destroyers, 40 various other ships

Austrian Navy: 11 Dreadnoughts, 14 pre-dreadnoughts, 28 Cruisers, 4 Battlecruisers, 70 Destroyers, 35 Submarines

The two fleets clashed near Corsica, but the Austrians were at a slight disadvantage, as the French were already ready to fire and were at full battle readiness, having mauled the Italian Navy. The Austrians, however, had numbers on their side as they had nearly twice the number of dreadnoughts and cruisers as the French, as well as a substantial force of 35 submarines. The Austrians also had more destroyers than France as well.

The French sighted the Austrian fleet first, as the sun was shining behind the French navy when the Battle of Corsica began mid-afternoon. The French fired first, but soon found they were facing a crisis. They were running somewhat low on ammunition after the battle with the Italians and the mad rush to attempt to destroy the last remnants of the enemy navy. The initial exchange of fire favored the French, as the sun threw off the Austrian firing crews with its glare.

The French manage to sink three Austrian dreadnoughts, five pre-dreadnoughts, eight cruisers, and fourteen destroyers. The French lost one pre-dreadnought, two cruisers, and five destroyers. Clouds begin drifting in, covering the sun’s descent. With the element of the sun gone, the Austrian Navy could see the French ships more clearly and begin to exact their revenge against the French Navy.

The second round of battle started to tilt ever so slightly into the favor of the Austrians. The Austrians manage to sink three French dreadnoughts in a delicious exchange of revenge, as well as sinking six pre-dreadnoughts. Five French cruisers joined the wreckage in the bottom of the sea, as well as ten more destroyers. The remaining French vessels were savaged, with a few rear vessels escaping the brunt of the damage. The Austrians lost another two dreadnoughts, five pre-dreadnoughts, six cruisers, and another twelve destroyers. The Austrian submarines had less effect against the French as the French were alert and on the look-out for submarines following the battle with the Italians, sinking eight Austrian submarines before running out of depth charges and torpedoes.

Heavily beaten, running on fumes, and nearly depleted of ammunition, the remaining French Navy retreats back to Marsilles, while the Austrian Navy steams towards Italy for resupply in preparation for a possible attack against Corsica itself. The Austrians realized that if they chased the French to Marsilles, the French coastal guns would do a number on the Austrian Navy, and the Austrians were not too confident about their fuel as they already had sailed from Austrian staging areas. The Italian Navy also undergoes repairs and resupply.

All three major navies will not be available to see action for at least two more months.

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

Final numbers (those that survived):

French Navy: 3 dreadnoughts, 10 pre-dreadnoughts, 11 cruisers, 34 destroyers, 27 auxiliary ships.

Italian Navy: 2 dreadnoughts, 4 pre-dreadnoughts, 4 armored cruisers, 11 destroyers, 26 torpedo boats, 12 submarines, 25 auxiliary ships.

Austrian Navy: 6 dreadnoughts, 4 pre-dreadnoughts, 14 cruisers, 44 destroyers, 27 submarines, 38 auxiliary ships.


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

All three nations navies begin looking into better scouting abilities so that they will be able to see other navies coming earlier and increase battle readiness in the process.

The military planners begin looking at sea-based aircraft as a potential reconissance tool. (pre-cursor to aircraft carriers).


OOC: very nice, very nice. I've asked this a couple of times, and I guess it wasn't seen, but what game for the battles are you using? Also, what became of my battlecruisers?

IC:

Austro-Hungarian naval commanders view the battle as a success and began calling for the production of 15 scout cruisers

After that battle, which seriously hampered the Italy's plans, more funding has been diverted to the Italian Navy after the severe cuts made after the Italo-Austrian Naval Agreement. Seeing the success of the German-engineered submarines, a large portion of the construction will be focused on them.
Construction Plans
-2 Super Dreadnoughts
-6 Heavy Cruisers (Sort of Prioritized due to shorter production time)
-15 Destroyers
-19 Submarines (Prioritized)
-Numerous Auxilary Ships

The Italian Navy, during the inter-battle period, will begin laying minefields around Corsica and the French southern coast. The minelayers will go in grounds of one to three to avoid major losses and detection.

OOC: The plans are just a general overview. Due to obvious manpower restrictions, not all of this can be done quickly.

Actually, I'm using a combination of games and historical simulations.

I'm using "Operational Art of War" as a basis for scenario gaming, as well as using some historical events and information based off RL naval battles (like the German High Seas fleet versus the British Royal Navy). The sun and clouds part comes from historical information which did make quite a difference in naval battles in RL.

By the way, the Battlecruisers survive- they are included in the cruiser numbers that survived the battle.

OOC: sounds good
IC:
Ukrainain and Austro-Hungarian shipyards beagn constructing 7 Dreadnoughts, 5 Battlecruisers, 15 Armored Cruisers, 15 Protected Cruisers, 40 Destroyers, and 75 Submarines, as well as the 15 scout cruisers

As of now Spain has canceled their order of weapons from all nations save the orders of

U.S.A.
10,000 Colt M1911 Pistols
10,000 Colt-Browning M1895 Machine Guns

Britain
500 Bristol F.2 Fighters (reduced from 1,000)

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

In Spain factories where converted to make newly designed cannons and ammunition. At the same time new designs ships, aircraft, and guns where under development for near future production

OOC: all SIC orders still exist, however the number in the orders are undefined

Disgusted by the results of the battle and determined to not allow a repeat, the French high command has decided to also change some aspects of its navy and position of ships. The French fleet is to undergo massive enlargement with the creation of 18 dreadnoughts, 20 cruisers with heavier armor, and more destroyers and submarines.

The French Channel and Biscay Fleets are being shifted to the Mediteranean, leaving the North Sea to German ships. These fleets which consist of 13 more dreadnoughts, 15 cruisers, and 30 destroyers along with the bulk of the submarine fleet in the Atlantic (50 subs). This will allow the French fleet to emerge dominant in the Mediterranean once the rest of its Mediteranean fleet is refitted for battle in a few months.

And the French Army in north Africa prepares to move in its invasion of Libya

***************

To Madrid: France is interested in such a deal, provided the price is right

To Madrid: France is interested in such a deal, provided the price is right

To: France
From: Spain

what is your price?

you know, I don't know money at this time very well - but I'll guess several thousand dollars per artillery gun (?), and hopefully peace

OOC: i'll say we are willing to pay the few thousand...

IC: Spain can not guarantee peace with France, but we are for the moment your friends and for the moment will remain neutral, we may just as well join your side as any other, this would be a considerable chance toward gaining us on your side.

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

training of 500,000 reserve troops has began

IC:
After hearing of the battle’s outcome the Sultan has set the Ottoman shipyards to produce Dreadnaughts [5] and Submarines [20] with the highest priority on Submarines.

The Ottoman fleet stationed at Libya has been ordered to move in to support the Austrian forces in defending the Italian homeland and assaulting the French Navy. The other fleet positions have been unchanged.

OOC: Sharina can you TG me my list of ships I sent you? I accedentially deleted it and I need it for my factbook.

Germany sends its fleet out to blockade French shipping and bombard French coastal towns.

SIC:

From: Germany
To: Spain

We will gladly sell you whatever weapons you require.

Several French generals and admirals begin questioning the French government in its decision to divert its whole remaining Navy to the Mediterrean Sea, abandoning French coastal areas to the mercy of the Germans.

The French government is faced with a decision.

1. Recall some (or all) ships already sailing for the Mediterrean back to the English Channel to defend French coastlines from the German Navy.

2. Send every naval vessel to the Mediterrean, leaving a lot of French coastline un-defended with the exception of coastal batteries.

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

OOC:

Just posting a critical decision choice here. I will do so for any player nation that is faced with decisions that may alter the war- this is in no way god-modding as I'm not making the decisions for the player(s). I'm just offering opporunities and chances to at least salvage earlier bad decisions and such, or point out possible decisions that allows the player(s) to press their advantages even further in tactical / strategic manuevering.

Germany sends its fleet out to blockade French shipping and bombard French coastal towns.

SIC:

From: Germany
To: Spain

We will gladly sell you whatever weapons you require.

SIC:

To Germany
From: Spain

we have decided on an order of

5,000 Russian Federov Avtomat Assault Rifles,
10,000 Mauser '98s,
2,000 MG08 machine guns
100 Fokker E. IV Fighters
50 Albatros C.III Bombers

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

new designs Dreadnaughts, Battlecruisers, Armored Cruisers, Light Cruisers, Destroyers, and Submarines have almost been compleated and Spain has plans to order 2 Dreadnaughts, 3 Battlecruisers, 2 Armored Cruisers, 6 Light Cruisers, 10 Destroyers, and 20 Submarines once the designes are compleat.

designes for a new standard issue Rifle have been compleated, the new M1917 Lorca will begin production soon

aircraft designes will be held off until French, British, or German aircraft arrive for better studdy so as to make new Spanish aircraft better

All French shipping is sent to the Med. Especially vulnerable coastal areas are being evacuated.

(I cannot fight the German navy alone, coastal areas can be defended by the defenses there and land forces if needed)

Japan was very interested in the outcome of the battle. The IJN theory, use seaplanes and carrier based planes for scouting purposes together with light cruisers and submarines. We congratulate our allies on their victory, which has caused a lot of lives, but it was worth it.

SIC.

Japan offers to construct new vessels for the Italian and Austrian-Hungarian Navies. The costs maty be payed after the war.

(Trying this again?)

SIC:

To: Spain
From: Germany

The equipment you have requested shall arrive shortly after payment.

Japan was very interested in the outcome of the battle. The IJN theory, use seaplanes and carrier based planes for scouting purposes together with light cruisers and submarines. We congratulate our allies on their victory, which has caused a lot of lives, but it was worth it.

SIC.

Japan offers to construct new vessels for the Italian and Austrian-Hungarian Navies. The costs maty be payed after the war.

Austria-Hungary would like to purchase 2 Dreadnoughts, 4 Pre-dreadnoughts, 10 Armored Cruisers, 15 Scout Cruisers, 20 Destroyers, and 30 submarines (subs and Dreadnoughts have priority)

OOC: Sukaida, we are doing this again, and it seems to be working well now that it's all on a computer run by a nuetral person

SIC:

To: Spain
From: Germany

The equipment you have requested shall arrive shortly after payment.

SIC:

From: SPain
To: Germany

we thank you for this, payment shall arrive soon

(WHat do you mean that its on a computer run by a neutral person? As in a neutral is making the total decisions or something?)

A French panel of scientists and minds is being convened in Paris this month to figure new ways of dealing with the trench warfare and the war in general.

Austria-Hungary would like to purchase 2 Dreadnoughts, 4 Pre-dreadnoughts, 10 Armored Cruisers, 15 Scout Cruisers, 20 Destroyers, and 30 submarines (subs and Dreadnoughts have priority)

SIC.

To; Austria-Hungary
From; Japan

We will deliver the ships as soon as possible. The ships that we were building for our own needs will be transferred to you (this will speed the delivery since construction already started several months ago). This means that:
-2 Dreadnought
-4 Battle Cruisers (count them as Pre-Dreadnoughts. They were designed to take everything except a Dreadnought)
-20 destroyers
-5 Light/Scout Cruisers
-15 Submarines
will be ready at the end of the year. We suggest that the remaining submarine will be build in Austria-Hungary itself to speed the total construction.

ooc. Yes, Sukiada we staretd again. If you wanna join, join us. If you don't, don't post.

To Japan: That will be acceptable. May our relations continue to prosper.

OOC: Sukaida, we send our orders to Sharina, who games it out on a computer game, which makes things much easier and fairier

French ships are now moving through the straits of Gibralter and will stop any shipping they see coming through by the enemy. A small French squadron at Rabat is to watch for ships allied to France's enemies and alert the larger fleets in southern France to not allow the enemy shipping reach Italy or beyond.

The French government is asking Britain to close the Suez canal to shipping that is expressly in opposition to France and Britain's aims

To: Britain
From: Austria-Hungary

We urge you not to close the suez canal, it will be seen as a hostile act and detrimental to British-Austro-Hungarian relations

[NOTE: I am TGB :)
NOTE 2: PROPAGANDA COUP! Thank you Austria-hungary!]

Open Statement Directed at Austria-Hungary

Your cowardly attempt at threatening Britain's interests does not do you credit. Britain has the right to carry out whatever action is necessary within the King's lands. Austria-Hungary's message was blatantly an attempt to threaten Britain into allowing belliegerent states into the Suez Canal, an attempt that will not work. However, the defenses of the Suez Canal are being strengthened, and due to this very hostile action by the Central powers, their ships will no longer be welcome in the Suez Canal. If no offensive action is taken by the Central Powers in the meantime, this action could well be revised, but as it is the hostility shown by this ally of Germany cannot be allowed to go unchecked.

[PS: That fleet that you're building wouldn't be ready in a year if you only laid it down a couple of months ago, WE.]

Article taken from 'The Times'

Britain Produces First 'repeating rifle'!

Sources within the Ministry of Defence have told The Times that Britain has developed a new weapon based on the trusty Lee-Enfield rifle currently in use by British and Empire forces across the world.
The new rifle is a unique design, as it allows a soldier a far greater rate of fire than is possible with the current bolt action design, and carries slightly more ammunition in each magazine. The new design uses the recoil of each shot to push back the bolt, ejecting the spent casing, which causese the next cartridge to move into position, ready for the next shot. The Ministry of Defence has stated that the design is slightly more complex than the SMLE rifle, and takes more time to manufacture, but has stated that the new rifle should have replaced the current service weapon in most units by 1920. Already some lucky units sent to France have been given this new weapon, but the question remains: will they have to use it?

[NOTE: I am TGB :)
NOTE 2: PROPAGANDA COUP! Thank you Austria-hungary!]

Open Statement Directed at Austria-Hungary

Your cowardly attempt at threatening Britain's interests does not do you credit. Britain has the right to carry out whatever action is necessary within the King's lands. Austria-Hungary's message was blatantly an attempt to threaten Britain into allowing belliegerent states into the Suez Canal, an attempt that will not work. However, the defenses of the Suez Canal are being strengthened, and due to this very hostile action by the Central powers, their ships will no longer be welcome in the Suez Canal. If no offensive action is taken by the Central Powers in the meantime, this action could well be revised, but as it is the hostility shown by this ally of Germany cannot be allowed to go unchecked.

To: Britain
From: Italy

Italy politely asks that a single nation's telegraph not effect an entire alliance of nations. Although our colonies are under Ottoman administration right now, it would still comfort the king and Italian companies invested in those areas if they knew that they could sail down there whenever they wanted instead of going all the way around Africa or taking a long hike through desert and mountains. Italy and Britain have never fought before and the nation of Britain itself is a byproduct of the Roman Empire. We see no reason that a simple exchange of words between you and our ally should change this.

[NOTE: I am TGB :)
NOTE 2: PROPAGANDA COUP! Thank you Austria-hungary!]

Open Statement Directed at Austria-Hungary

Your cowardly attempt at threatening Britain's interests does not do you credit. Britain has the right to carry out whatever action is necessary within the King's lands. Austria-Hungary's message was blatantly an attempt to threaten Britain into allowing belliegerent states into the Suez Canal, an attempt that will not work. However, the defenses of the Suez Canal are being strengthened, and due to this very hostile action by the Central powers, their ships will no longer be welcome in the Suez Canal. If no offensive action is taken by the Central Powers in the meantime, this action could well be revised, but as it is the hostility shown by this ally of Germany cannot be allowed to go unchecked.

[PS: That fleet that you're building wouldn't be ready in a year if you only laid it down a couple of months ago, WE.]

Article taken from 'The Times'

Britain Produces First 'repeating rifle'!

Sources within the Ministry of Defence have told The Times that Britain has developed a new weapon based on the trusty Lee-Enfield rifle currently in use by British and Empire forces across the world.
The new rifle is a unique design, as it allows a soldier a far greater rate of fire than is possible with the current bolt action design, and carries slightly more ammunition in each magazine. The new design uses the recoil of each shot to push back the bolt, ejecting the spent casing, which causese the next cartridge to move into position, ready for the next shot. The Ministry of Defence has stated that the design is slightly more complex than the SMLE rifle, and takes more time to manufacture, but has stated that the new rifle should have replaced the current service weapon in most units by 1920. Already some lucky units sent to France have been given this new weapon, but the question remains: will they have to use it?

To: Britain
From: Austria-Hungary.

You misunderstand us, we were pointing out that the closing of the suez canal is generally not seen as a good thing to another nation, the same way a blockade is seen as an act of war. We were reminding you of that fact that that the closing of the canal will not go over well with the people of Austria-Hungary. We urge you to reconsider.

African Theater of Operations

Troop Strength:

French Africa Front: 800,000 men. (attacks with 700,000 and 100,000 in reserve)
Italy Africa Front: 75,000 men
Turk Africa Front: 150,000 men

The French manage to assemble an offensive army comprised of 700,000 men in French-held Tunisia. The French also manage to stockpile adequate supplies in Tunisia before the naval battles savaged the French Mediterrean Navy. The French begin moving into Libya in an enveloping pattern. The small Italian army of 75,000 men are reinforced with 150,000 Turkish troops sent by the Ottoman Empire as reinforcements. The odds look dire, with the French outnumbering the defenders by three to one.

The Italians go into defensive mode, trying to delay the French whenever possible, and their tactics become more bold as the news of the naval battles reach Tunisia and Libya. The Italians had dug into several places and established rudimentary fortifications in the desert, no easy task. The French go on the attack, and in the first two weeks of fighting, their numbers easily assured victory at three to one odds. The Italians fight valiantly, but were ultimately pushed back to the city of Zuwarah. The Ottomans move in from Tripoli and Mistarah to reinforce the faltering Italian lines. The Italins fight tenaciously, turning Zuwarah into the first truly modern urban warfare battle. The French numbers begin to take significant casualties, but the French had men to spare.

By the end of the second week of the invasion, the French had lost roughly 30,000 men to the Italians 30,000. The battle continues, with France managing to clear out Zuwarah and beginning their advance onto Tripoli. Unlike Zuhawah, the city of Tripoli was much more heavily fortified which made for a more difficult battle. The French and the combined Italian and Ottoman armies clashed throughout the Tripoli area and casualties begin to mount on each side. Once again, the French grinded their way through the Tripoli at substantially higher losses.

Once Tripoli was taken, the Italians and the Ottomans begin to fall back to Mistarah. The French lost another 100,000 men in the siege of Tripoli, whereas the Italians lost another 20,000 men and the Ottomans lost nearly 50,000 men. The French strategy became clear, cut off the whole of the Libyan interior from the Mediterrean by seizing the Libyan coastline, thereby starving any enemy troops of food and supplies.

As the French troops reach Mistarah in hopes of wiping out the entire Central Powers army in Africa, the effects of the naval disasters became apparent. The Turkish Navy began attacking French shipping in and out of Tunisia and the now captured city of Tripoli. Most of the French fleet was either undertaking repairs at Mariselles, sailing to Mariselles, or in the process of re-organization and integration off the coast of Mariselles. The Turks manage to sink or capture substantial French shipping, which had a ripple effect. The loss of supplies force the French to move back their shipping to the Straits of Gilabratar and establish two routes of supply. One from French ports in the Atlantic down along the Iberian Peninsula to Morocco and Algiers. Another line extended from Mariselles to Algiers, hugging the Iberian Peninsula.

This blow to French supply lines and subsequent re-location of the supply lines has an impact on the French army in Libya. The Army’s advance slows down substantially as supply now has to travel longer routes through unforgiving desert, and the Army is forced to ration food and ammunition until the first batches of fresh supplies arrive from Algiers. The French begin to dig in around Tripoli and holds position halfway between Tripoli and Mistarah. This brief reprieve allows the Italians and Ottomans to reinforce Mistarah as well as several fall-back positions further east in Libya.

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

Total troop strength after these battles:

French: 570,000 troops
Italians: 25,000 troops
Ottomans: 100,000 troops

OOC: I'm not sure if you can release this or not, but what was the total French troop strength in Africa (not just the soldiers involved in the attack)?

IC:
Alarmed by the sudden French attack Mehmed ordered an additional 150,000 troops to be transfered to Libya to reinforce the Ottoman and Italian forces there.

OOC:
Troop numbers will be put up later when I have the time to post them.

IC:
Alarmed by the sudden French attack Mehmed ordered an additional 150,000 troops to be transfered to Libya to reinforce the Ottoman and Italian forces there.

OOC:
Troop numbers will be put up later when I have the time to post them.

you might want to simply send them secrety to Sharina

OOC: I'm not sure if you can release this or not, but what was the total French troop strength in Africa (not just the soldiers involved in the attack)?

Its right there in my war post.

The French have 800,000 troops in Africa, of which 700,000 attacked. The French have the other remaining 100,000 troops defending Algeria and French African holdings.

After the battles in Libya, the troop strengths of all the forces involved are...

Total troop strength after these battles (battles at Tripoli and Zuwarah):

French: 570,000 troops
Italians: 25,000 troops
Ottomans: 100,000 troops

As you can see, the French still have quite a large number of troops but are now suffering from supply problems as a result of the naval battles at Marsielles and Corsica, leaving the Ottoman Navy to raid French shipping to Tunisia.

The extra Ottoman reinforcements won't arrive and be ready for deployment for two to three more months as it takes quite a bit of time to transfer all these troops from the Middle East to Libya, and using naval transports or railroad (the British may have problems with Ottoman shipping across Egypt though).

Its right there in my war post.

The French have 800,000 troops in Africa, of which 700,000 attacked. The French have the other remaining 100,000 troops defending Algeria and French African holdings.

After the battles in Libya, the troop strengths of all the forces involved are...

Total troop strength after these battles (battles at Tripoli and Zuwarah):

French: 570,000 troops
Italians: 25,000 troops
Ottomans: 100,000 troops

As you can see, the French still have quite a large number of troops but are now suffering from supply problems as a result of the naval battles at Marsielles and Corsica, leaving the Ottoman Navy to raid French shipping to Tunisia.

The extra Ottoman reinforcements won't arrive and be ready for deployment for two to three more months as it takes quite a bit of time to transfer all these troops from the Middle East to Libya, and using naval transports or railroad (the British may have problems with Ottoman shipping across Egypt though).

ah, I seemed to have missed the attacking thing, all I saw was 800,000 troops and I assumed they were all attacking. I'm assuming the 570,00 is the remaining attacking force?

Open Message Directed at Austria-Hungary

It is not the right of Austria-Hungary to decide the policy of Great Britain and the Empire. Closing the Canal to Austro-Hungarian shipping is nothing like a blockade, as the Suez Canal is a British posession.

The decision has been made that only Austria-Hungary will be barred from entry to the Canal. The brash posturing of one state should not affect their allies.


British Declaration of Intent

Great Britain does not want war. Britain will not enter the European war if the forces of the Central Powers do not reach Paris. If one German jackboot touches the strets of Paris, britain will unleash a storm of steel the ferocity of which will never be rivalled. If permission is granted by the French government, a British force of one million men will move to positions outside of Paris, and will dig defensive positions there, and remain in those positions until the threat to France is gone. Britain will gladly remove all tariffs on trading French goods, and will make up the loss by introducing harsh tariffs on trade with Germany and her allies.

Should France fall, Britain will provide a safe haven for the French government, and as many soldiers as can be saved. We hope that this will never be necessary, but the offer is open, and will remain so until hostilities cease.

Should France wish it, fully one quarter of the production of the new Lee-Enfield Repeating Rifle will be sent to French troops.

Emperor Franz Ferdinand rubbed his reddened eyes. It had been another long night, and he couldn't wish to go back home to his wife. He resolved to read one more note before leaving. The one on top of his desk was from the Foreign Ministry. Apparently the British had closed the suez canal to Austro-Hungarian shipping. Franza Ferdinand snorted and began to write.

Orders to all merchant Marine shipping heading through the Suez Canal:

Effective immediately you are to change flags to shipping of another countries, or if possible move cargo to other nations' ships (OOC: now it's technically not Austro-Hungarian any more because it's flying a different nation's flag on the ship)

OOC: also, the SMLE as far as I can see is still a bolt-action rifle, just an improved model. Plus it was found difficult to manufacture

[It's not the SMLE. That's bolt action. This is my own special magic brand. It really uses pixies to move the cartridges.]

ah, I seemed to have missed the attacking thing, all I saw was 800,000 troops and I assumed they were all attacking. I'm assuming the 570,00 is the remaining attacking force?

That is correct.

[It's not the SMLE. That's bolt action. This is my own special magic brand. It really uses pixies to move the cartridges.]

That doesn't make any sense, and I'm assuming your joking, but guns like these didn't come out until the early '30's I believe. Sharina, I'd like your input on this

[The submachinegun was a child of the 1910's, and this is something of a development on that... Kind of. A natural advance. I think of it like this: as a noncombatant, with the prospect of joining a war which is based mainlyon superiority of manpower, as a state with not much in the way of manpower in comparison to those who may be your enemies, what would you focus on? Equipment. In the age of machineguns, it would be easy to se that rate of fire is where it's at. You'd want every soldier to be able to pump out as much lead as possible. On the off-chance this is allowed, it wouldn't pose much of a threat during the war anyway. But if there's too much of an outcry, I'll cut it out. :(]

I think there were versions of submachine guns in WW1, but they were cumersome and not used very often

That doesn't make any sense, and I'm assuming your joking, but guns like these didn't come out until the early '30's I believe. Sharina, I'd like your input on this

Machine guns did exist during WW-1 in RL and we're in the year 1918 in this timeline. Information can be found here.

http://www.wwiaviation.com/allies_guns.shtml

Machine guns did exist during WW-1 in RL and we're in the year 1918 in this timeline. Information can be found here.

http://www.wwiaviation.com/allies_guns.shtml

I think TGB is talking about submachine guns, not machine guns

[I'm not even talking about a submachinegun... I'm talking about a semi-automatic rifle.]

[I'm not even talking about a submachinegun... I'm talking about a semi-automatic rifle.]

There was a semi-auto rifle built in France during WW 1 in RL.

http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/2100/2122.htm

[Well, I think that should settle that.]

[Well, I think that should settle that.]

I suppose it does. Sharina, is there info on how often it was used?

[It doesn't really matter how that was used, mine is intended to be the new service rifle. Unless you just have an interest in antique firearms...]

[It doesn't really matter how that was used, mine is intended to be the new service rifle. Unless you just have an interest in antique firearms...]

not really, but a lot of these rifles were cumbersome and not used a lot

[Looks about the same size as a normal bolt-action rifle to me, a bit bigger maybe. The only outward difference appears to be the magazine. ]

[Looks about the same size as a normal bolt-action rifle to me, a bit bigger maybe. The only outward difference appears to be the magazine. ]

(not in this rp)

but as i know it. the first effective semi-auto rifles came out around 1930. America had been working on making a good one sense 1925 and it took five years to come up with the M1 Garand

(not in this rp)

but as i know it. the first effective semi-auto rifles came out around 1930. America had been working on making a good one sense 1925 and it took five years to come up with the M1 Garand

OOC:

I'm curious... who is Great Four Corners? Is he involved in this RP (under a different name) or is he just someone who is interested in reading the RP?

Just wondering as I'm trying to keep track of who's who in this RP.

OOC: Sharina, don't forget that there are ten German U-boats in the Med. They should be able to help the Ottomans intercept French shipping.

To Britain
From The Ottoman State
We thank you for your wise change in stance towards the Central power's use of the Suez Canal. With a portion of our fleet in the Red Sea we feared this conflict could lead to a war with the British Empire...a war we would hope to never have.

Spain has recently begun construction on new warships, and at this time Spain asks any and all nations with experianced troops to either send some troops to Spain or have Spanish reserve troops come to there nation for training reasons. we expect each nation willing to commit to this to send an offer stateing how much it will cost per solder to train, this will help us determin who we wish to train our reserve forces

ooc. No idea who the great four corners is. Maybe someone made a mistake with his/her puppet or something.

And the average building time per Dreadnought class battleship was something like 15-16 months. And since Japan has been on warproduction for four years, they should be able to speed up the production to 12 months. And not the entire build will be ready by that time, remember that ICly I may exaggerate somewhat ;)

Open Message to Great Britain

In the eyes of the Japanese Empire, Great Britain is almost certainly a partner of France in their destruction of Europe. You speak of remaining neutral and out of this war, but meanwhile you station one million troops in France, send large shipments of arms to France, cancel all tariffs on French products and at the same time raise enormously high tariffs on the goods of the Central Powers, inlcuding our products.

Japan demands that Great Britain cancels her unfair tariffs on Japanese goods and tak a true neutral position, otherwise The Empire of Japan cancel the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

SIC.
To; Spain
From; Ministery of Defense, Tokyo

We will send 250 experienced NCO's, soldiers and officers to train your army. We will do this for free, see this as a gift of one nation to its friend.

Perhaps we can also speak about further trade treaties and perhaps an alliance.

German-engineered Italian submarines will begin minor intereference with French shipping. They will be mostly stationed at Sicily so they can reach North Africa to attack and then retreat to safety quickly.

To: Germany

The Italian Navy would like to know if Germany has developed more advanced submarine designs. We are still using plans you sold us in 1914 and, do to years of warfare, realize that they may be soon going obsolete. The Italian Navy is hoping to maintain all possible technological superiority in the Mediterranean.

European Campaigns:

French Main Front: 4.2 million men
German Main Front: 3.2 million men
German-Belgian Front: 800,000 men
Austrian Main Front: 300,000 men (reinforcing Germany).

French Italy Front: 950,000 men.
Italian Italy Front: 400,000 men.
Austrian Italy Front: 600,000 men (reinforcing Italy).

The brutal war continues, as the French, Germans, Austrians, and Italians dig in for the long haul. Trenches, fortifications, barbed wire, and other defensive structures are built along the main lines during the harsh winter of 1917-1918. All seemed quiet on the battlefield besides the occasional skirmish and isolated battles along the front lines. All that was about to change, not in the main battle line, but a point far south of it in the famed Alps mountain range.

The French and Italians square off between their own fortifications and troops. The Italians attacked first with their elite alpine troops, roughly 50,000 strong. The Italians knew that charging the French fortifications would be suicide, no matter how well trained the Italians were. Italy adopts a different strategy, though. It begins heavy artillery bombardment of French positions and fortifications, while Italian troops take up defensive positions within their own fortresses. The Italians scored several good hits on the French fortifications before the French could return fire with their new artillery guns. The Italians manage to take out two French fortresses and seriously damage two more in their initial unexpected artillery attack. The French gave as well as they took, inflicting serious damage on three Italian fortresses and moderate damage to two more. The thin strip of land where the fortresses were devastated lies open for infantry assault between both sides

The French and Italians suffered light casualties as most of them were inflicted by artillery shells instead of infantry combat. The French lost approximately 3,000 men as their fortresses either collapsed or became wrecks, and the Italians lost approximately 2,000 men as a similar scenario plays out along the Italian lines. This opens up the way for serious infantry assault in the future, as the fortresses coverage was reduced somewhat. The Italians have the advantage in fortifications as none of theirs were completely destroyed or damaged beyond repair, but the French have an advantage, namely an overwhelming number of troops, nearly a million strong along the French-Italian border.

French Italy Front: 947,000 men. (several fortresses destroyed or wrecked)
Italian Italy Front: 380,000 men. (several fortresses wrecked)
Austrian Italy Front: 600,000 men (reinforcing Italy).

===========================================================

In Africa, the Ottomans launch a massive attack on French East Africa holdings with nearly 150,000 troops. The Ottomans ecountered little French resistance as the majority of French forces were involved in the battles in Libya or garrisoning supply routes in Algeria and Tunisia. The Ottoman Army suffered approximately 1,000 casaulties as small French garrisons in French East Africa fought valiantly before being smothered.

With French East Africa overrun, the Ottomans are poised to flank the French main offensive force in northern Libya, but the maneuver will be difficult at best, given the harsh Sahara Desert terrain laying between French East Africa and northern Libya.

=================================================

Thus, the first major battles of 1918 conclude. The Central Powers have dominance of the Mediterrean east of Corsica for the time being, while the Italians are up to something in the Alps against France. In Africa, France lost its French East Africa colonies, but appears to have gained Libya but that offensive is in a precarious position with longer supply lines owing to the Central Powers denying France its Mediterrean supply shipping. France seems to be holding its own in Europe, though.

The big question remains. Will France somehow emerge victorious? Will it gain more allies? Or will France crumble before the might of the Central Powers?

OOC: very nice post. What exactly is French East Africa, is it French Equatorial Africa, or something completely different?
IC:

Austria-Hungary will send a further 25 divisions (375,000 soldiers) to the Italian Front, and has begun training a further 20 Ukrainian divisions, with full wartime production in Ukraine has begun to further help the Austro-Hungarians

IC:
With the Ottoman Victory in French East Africa the troops have been split with 50,000 returning to Italian Eritrea another 50,000 occupying the French territory of Somaliland and the last 50,000 returning to the Ottoman Homeland to ultimately be relocated.

The Ottoman Empire has also begun training 100,000 troops from the Turkish states. These troops will serve under the ottoman Empire durring this war, but will become the guardians of the new Turkish states. The number is expected to grow in time.

OOC:
Haneastic I would assume French West Africa would be Tunisia and Algiers.
If you mean French East Africa, that is French Somaliland. I just tend to refere to the Horn as East Africa because it's easier to type and more in line with other colonial names.

whoops I meant East Africa

Britain makes no claims of neutrality, and makes the views of the people of Britain well known to the Central Powers. Britain will not allow Germany to run roughshod across France, and offered those troops to ensure the safety of Paris. This measure simply ensures that should britain (God forbid) become a true belligerent power in this conflict, France will have speedy aid. The tariffs imposed on the trade of the Central Powers is a legitimate move to influence decision-making in the Central Powers. Britain is a significant trade partner to most of Europe, and will use this importance fully.

OOC: How can the Ottomans threaten my flank in Libya? By occupying East Africa they have done nothing like that because British possessions are in between our lands.

And can anyone just tell me when the time is up and my fleet is ready to move again?

IC: With the succes (somewhat limited) in the desert, the French army there is to rest for several weeks before attempting any new moves. About 40,000 of the reserve troops are being moved into Libya while the rest are to protect the major cities of West Africa.

French contingency plans are being created to move significant numbers from the Western front to the Belgian border or the Italian border as quickly as possible if needed.

The French government thanks the British for their reassurance of faith and wil be happy to accept weapons Britain will give with a promise of future payments.

Finally(gasp), the French defenses in the Alps are being looked over again, and the high command has decided to create a defense more in depth with several lines along the mountain ranges to fall back upon if needed. New forts are being installed to replace the destroyed ones.

The results of the Alpine confrontation impress the Italian generals. This was a perfect chance to test the Alpini Artillery, which performed wonderfully. 15,000 additional troops are transferred from the Austrian border and northeast Italy and stationed in the Alps. Workers from northern Italy are gathered to help repair the Italian fortifications, although four years of building fortifications means that Italy probably has plenty remaining. All roads into France are put under military control to ensure undisturbed ammunition and supply routes to the forts.

In Switzerland, the Italian representitives begin arranging for Swiss soldiers to take land routes to Rome to hopefully protect them from French attacks on their way to their ships. The Italian King personally assures Switzerland that Italy will defend it should even a single French soldier step foot in their nation.

IC:
In order to relieve tensions the ottoman Sulatn released this statement.

"No Ottoman Soldier shall set foot in the French capital city uninfited." He continued "We have no interest in the complete destruction of France, only to place them in a possition where they may never abuse their power again."

Japan joins the Ottoman statement, as we wouldn't want to see such a great nation completley destroyed. However we give Great Britain one last chance to cancel their unfair tariffs on Japanese goods.

ooc. Before people forget them...

In Tokyo, Osaka and Nagasaki the Communist Party held demonstrations with as common theme: Long Live the Proletarian Revolution! Stop the War! Peace and Power for the People! (ooc. weirdo commies ;)) The Demonstartions were peacefull, but a large policeforce was nearby in case of riots. Since a few months the Communist Party seems to be more active, some nationalist groups blame the Bolsheviks in Russia for encouraging and financing the party.

ooc. Just like in RL, warweariness affects the population. There should be a rise in radical groups like the Communists or the Fascists...

OOC: Voxio, I don't know what advances in sub tech happened between 1914 and 1917, does anyone else? You might want to purchase my new Dreadnaught diesel-electric engine when it is ready in about a year though.

Britain must view the statements of the Ottoman Empire and Japan with skepticism, and must point out the irrelevance of the Japanese and Ottoman policies when they have no presence in Europe. As long as your states are involved in an unfair war with the colonies of the sovereign Republic of France, you must expect to suffer economically.

Britain must view the statements of the Ottoman Empire and Japan with skepticism, and must point out the irrelevance of the Japanese and Ottoman policies when they have no presence in Europe. As long as your states are involved in an unfair war with the colonies of the sovereign Republic of France, you must expect to suffer economically.

We once again tell you, France declared war on us, we didn't attack them first. Should we leave their colonies unharmed, at the risk that they harrras Japanese and Chinese Shipping, or even attack the Empire itself? Even a young child can see the reason of our actions. We were willing to sign a ceasefire with France, in order to end this war we even proposed a conference. You simply offend us by calling us the agressor.

Since Great Britain refuses to listen to reasonable arguments, Japan hereby cancels the Anglo-Japanese Alliance with the greatest regret. If Great Britain regains some senseability, we can always negotiate about a new alliance.

The Japanese Government advises to continue trade with the Dominions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, but the rest of the British Empire should be avoided if possible. No special trade tariffs are raised on British goods.

The news of a possible war with Great britain, who had been the Empires greatest and oldest ally only a few months ago, has shocked the population. The strong beleive in total victory remains however. The Socialist and Communist opposition have announced that they will organize massive rallies in protest with this war.

SIC.

The 2rd. Fleet, 12th Corps and the I IJMC Corps in Indochina are on High Alert and end their Jungle Training in Indochina to return to their barracks.

Commanders of the IJA, IJN and the IJMC are instructed what to do in case of war with Great Britain, which seems to be likely in the eyes of the Imperial Headquarters. The II Corps, which has recently finished training, has also been alerted. The 3nd. Fleet moves to Palau.

The indigenous forces of the colonies are currently at a high state of readiness, and the fleet in the Far East has been ordered to return to Hong Kong and await reinforcement by six squadrons from the Grand Fleet.

ooc. Hongkong? Are you sure? You'll be completely surrounded by hostile territory in case of war :confused:

[I don't intend to get into a war, and Hong Kong is a strongpoint. Good military presence there already.]

[I don't intend to get into a war, and Hong Kong is a strongpoint. Good military presence there already.]

ooc. Thats true, if you can get a couple of Royal Engineers to work overhours you can shut Hong Kong from the outside world. But I think its hard to keep out of a war if you support one side so openly. I mean, extra trade tarrifs and 1 Million men, its no nothing...

[Encrypted Message]

TO: London, The United Kingdom
FROM: Pretoria, South Africa

To the Right Honorable Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane:

The Union of South Africa, noting of the inevitability of war with the Central Powers, is in desperate need to bolster the current stock of its armories. Thus, the Union, under the specific orders of Prime Minister Botha himself, would be interested in purchasing the following ordinance:

- 35,000 M1907 Lee-Enfield .303 calibre Bolt-Action Rifles
- 1,500 M1913 Lewis Automatic .303 calibre Machine Rifles
- 500 M1912 Vickers .303 calibre Heavy Machine Guns
- 100 Mk. 2 18-inch Breech-loading Field Artillery Pieces

Currently, the South African Ministry of Defense is willing to pay a total amount of £3,100,000 for the requested ordinance. In the event the United Kingdom is unable to complete such an order, the Union would also be willing to pay the same amount to purchase the manufacturing rights for the ordinance in question.

We eagerly await your reply.

Signed,

Jan Smuts
Minister of Defense
The Union of South Africa

Encoded Message

Most Secret
TO: Pretoria, South Africa
FROM: London, Greast Britain

For the attention of Minister for Defence Jan Smuts.

Your order for such a quantity of of weapons is possible, but will take a significant amount of the manufacturing capability currently devoted to the replacement of the SMLE rifle as the service rifle of British forces. Your offer of the sum of £3,100,000 is most accceptable, and documents confirming the granting of production rights are enclosed with this letter.

Signed,
Richard Burdon Haldane,
Secretary of State for War

[I don't intend to get into a war, and Hong Kong is a strongpoint. Good military presence there already.]

usually trying to stay out of a war involves not antagonizing one side

The French government issued a public address today which tells the truth. France is not the aggressor here, it is Japan and her allies who are. France declared war on Germany and Austria to protect her allies who were attacked - this had nothing to do with Japan or China or the Ottoman Empire. It is the greedy hands and desire to rob France of what is her;s that led these nations to attack and steal what is France's, no other reason, and any other is a lie.

SIC.
To; Spain
From; Ministery of Defense, Tokyo

We will send 250 experienced NCO's, soldiers and officers to train your army. We will do this for free, see this as a gift of one nation to its friend.

Perhaps we can also speak about further trade treaties and perhaps an alliance.

SIC:

To: Japan
From: Spain

we thank you for what you offer. already we have trained 100,000 reserves ourselfs to "sufficant levels" for combat, however the remaining 400,000 may gain more form your soldiers.

we would enjoy the possibility of trade and or an alliance with Japan

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

the Spanish Navy has been put on alert in the event of possible future actions

The French government issued a public address today which tells the truth. France is not the aggressor here, it is Japan and her allies who are. France declared war on Germany and Austria to protect her allies who were attacked - this had nothing to do with Japan or China or the Ottoman Empire. It is the greedy hands and desire to rob France of what is her;s that led these nations to attack and steal what is France's, no other reason, and any other is a lie.

What is rightfully yours? You calim Alsace-Lorriane to be "rightfully yours", yet it was you who stole it from the Holy Roman Emperor and forced your nation upon it. Your war was not to help your allies but instead to resteal what you lost.

OOC:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace#History
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Lorraine

both areas were part of the middle kingdom of Charlemagne's and first annexed by Germany (HRE)

The French government issued a public address today which tells the truth. France is not the aggressor here, it is Japan and her allies who are. France declared war on Germany and Austria to protect her allies who were attacked - this had nothing to do with Japan or China or the Ottoman Empire. It is the greedy hands and desire to rob France of what is her;s that led these nations to attack and steal what is France's, no other reason, and any other is a lie.
IC:
Your ally attacked Austria who was simply coming to my aid against nations who unfairly attacked the Sublime Porte. Their declaration of war was based solely on the idea that race makes nation, and idea with no place in our modern world.

Your had no place in declaring war against my allies and your brought my declaration of war upon yourself. There was no intent to steal what is yours and I wish this war had never begun, however, thanks to your actions it is impossible to go back. We have offered an end to this war and you turned us down, now our only option is to put France into a position where their warmongering will be brought to an end.


Telegram to Spain
From the Sublime Ottoman State

We would be willing to accept Spanish recruits to be trained by our officers. We are not the best military, however, we can offer better training in desert warfare than any other modern nation. We have very few troops training at the moment and can easily accommodate a large number of Spanish troops. We only ask that you provide food, as the Ottomans cannot currently support appetite of foreign soldiers.

To: Spain
From: Germany

Germany will offer you free training for 50,000 men, and training at the price it costs us for as many more men as you would like.

OOC: I couldn't help but realize, that Germany , A-H, and the Ottomans have been fighting the Russians for three years while the French have been engaged in trench warfare with the Germans. Shouldn't this mean that the French are better at trench warfare and the Central Powers are best on open ground?

Also, Sharina, Germany now should have 1 million more men available for the western front.

A-H fought in the trenches most of the war with Russia, and you should have about equal experience with the French on Trench Warfare

To: Spain
From: Germany

Germany will offer you free training for 50,000 men, and training at the price it costs us for as many more men as you would like.

OOC: I couldn't help but realize, that Germany , A-H, and the Ottomans have been fighting the Russians for three years while the French have been engaged in trench warfare with the Germans. Shouldn't this mean that the French are better at trench warfare and the Central Powers are best on open ground?

Also, Sharina, Germany now should have 1 million more men available for the western front.
Well, the ottomans specialize in mountain and Desert warfare currently. We used a bit of trech warfare when it was necessary against the russians, and we used it against the Balkan paowers while building defenses, but there was little actual fighting durring the Balkan war and most of it was just the ottomans Overwhelming the Greeks.

To: Germany
From: Spain

we will pay for the training of 350,000 more troops by Germany, shall we send them to you, or shall your training officers come here? we prefer the latter.
--------------------------

To: the Sublime Ottoman State
From: Spain

we shall be sending 50,000 to the Ottoman's for desert and if possible mountain combat, we send only 50,000 to save money on shipping food to the Ottomans and because of other offers

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

SIC:

To: Japan
From: Spain

we may be sending your trainer soldiers to different nations to aid in the training of our men whereever they go

To: Spain
From: Germany

Germany would also prefer the latter. The officers are currently en route.

From Paris
To Madrid:

The French government cannot stand your actions any longer and are issuing a mild warning. Sending troops to enemies of France such as Germany and the Ottoman Empire is tantamount to war with France and will not be allowed. If Spain will not withdraw her military support from the Central Powers, then this will mean war with France. France does not approve of the close ties with Germany, but will do nothing for now on this issue.

The French Navy will not allow the Spanish to send troops in this way and will patrol to stop Spanish troops. We stress that we have no wish for war with Spain and have tried to be good friends, but this is too much.

************************

The French military around Marseilles is going into prepatory maneuvers

************************

The French government calls on the United States to aid it in its fight against oppression and the evil of the enemy that has no respect for human life and democracy. They will destroy the liberal way of life and must be stopped.

OOC: The Russian front is too long to facilitate major trench warfare - this means that Austria and Germany fought a mobile war, not a trench warfare -though the Germans were fighting on the western front thusly.

From Paris
To Madrid:

The French government cannot stand your actions any longer and are issuing a mild warning. Sending troops to enemies of France such as Germany and the Ottoman Empire is tantamount to war with France and will not be allowed. If Spain will not withdraw her military support from the Central Powers, then this will mean war with France. France does not approve of the close ties with Germany, but will do nothing for now on this issue.

The French Navy will not allow the Spanish to send troops in this way and will patrol to stop Spanish troops. We stress that we have no wish for war with Spain and have tried to be good friends, but this is too much.

************************

The French military around Marseilles is going into prepatory maneuvers

************************

The French government calls on the United States to aid it in its fight against oppression and the evil of the enemy that has no respect for human life and democracy. They will destroy the liberal way of life and must be stopped.

OOC: The Russian front is too long to facilitate major trench warfare - this means that Austria and Germany fought a mobile war, not a trench warfare -though the Germans were fighting on the western front thusly.


OOC: your navy as far as I know is in Marseilles, licking its wounds, so I doubt your thread is anything more than symbolic. Also, Austria-Hungary fought a war behind defensive positions in Galicia because I wasn't going to run in and attack Russia. I had defensive positions building since 1911 in some places, and the war made me dig in further. Germany, China, and Japan were the ones that did the primary attacking, until 1917, when we all started moving forward
IC:

The Austro-Hungarian Army Group Italy is being reinforced to 85 divisions (1,275,000 soldiers)

From Paris
To Madrid:

The French government cannot stand your actions any longer and are issuing a mild warning. Sending troops to enemies of France such as Germany and the Ottoman Empire is tantamount to war with France and will not be allowed. If Spain will not withdraw her military support from the Central Powers, then this will mean war with France. France does not approve of the close ties with Germany, but will do nothing for now on this issue.

The French Navy will not allow the Spanish to send troops in this way and will patrol to stop Spanish troops. We stress that we have no wish for war with Spain and have tried to be good friends, but this is too much.

To: France
From: Spain

we are simply sending troops to be trained and reciveing trainers for our troops. we made an offer to all nations and you had just as much chance to make an offer as they did. you however did not make an offer and both Germany and the Ottomans did. we have no wish for war.

OOC: AHHH I see I see, well that certaintly does make for an interesting scenerio. AN interesting way of handling it as well.

OOC: AHHH I see I see, well that certaintly does make for an interesting scenerio. AN interesting way of handling it as well.

OOC: Um , I don't want to sound rude or anything, but I suggest you sign up if you wish to comment in the RP.
IC:

Austria-Hungary has finished training with 10 divisions, and has detached 10 divisions from the Ukraine for duty elswere, while 20 more Ukrainian divisions are being trained. In Serbia, resistance died down enough for High Command to release 5 more divisions

The French government issued a public address today which tells the truth. France is not the aggressor here, it is Japan and her allies who are. France declared war on Germany and Austria to protect her allies who were attacked - this had nothing to do with Japan or China or the Ottoman Empire. It is the greedy hands and desire to rob France of what is her;s that led these nations to attack and steal what is France's, no other reason, and any other is a lie.

The Italian people are disgusted at such lies. First of all, Italy had already announced it's neutrality and signed a non-aggression pact with France years earlier. Yet the first thing France did when war broke out was send a large force to the Italian border and begin building fortresses. Italy ordered for France to honor the pact and withdraw yet they did not. Second of all, the lands Italy is trying to "steal from France" are lands France actually stole from Italy before we could complete our unification. The people there are Italian and we opposed to France conquering them in the first place. All France has to do is give back the stolen lands and both our nations will be at peace again.

Italy does not have any right to those lands, they have been French for some time, as are the people. Italy sold the lands to France in return for what Italy wanted and cannot get them back.

And if the Italians expect that France will not build defenses against an ally of its enemy, they are very foolish. Note that France has still never made any moves against the Italians, only the Italians who have demanded France withdraw from its own soil and attacked French troops.

[QUOTE=Titicus]Italy does not have any right to those lands, they have been French for some time, as are the people. Italy sold the lands to France in return for what Italy wanted and cannot get them back.
QUOTE]

and yet you demand Alsace-Lorraine, which you lost in 1871, 46 years ago. How does is this different?

Italy sold those lands fairly - Germany seized Alsace-Lorraine through force of arms

Italy sold those lands fairly - Germany seized Alsace-Lorraine through force of arms

Italy was betrayed by France in WW1, France backed out and took the territories, leaving Italy out to dry

IC: The Italians sold the city of Nice, however, they were betrayed prior to that when France annexed Savoy from the King durring the Unification. The only difference between the situation of Savoy and Alsace-Lorraine is that Germany managed to regain Alsace-Lorraine while Italy is still in the process of regaining them...which I have no doubt they will do.

Not true - the Italian congress ratified giving Savoy to France, and it was part of Cavour's bigger plan to get French support for acquiring Rome, Lombardy, and Venetia - France never betrayed Italy - they were allies in WWI

Not true - the Italian congress ratified giving Savoy to France, and it was part of Cavour's bigger plan to get French support for acquiring Rome, Lombardy, and Venetia - France never betrayed Italy - they were allies in WWI

France originally backed Italy against Austria, but left during the war, leaving Italy without its land, and only having gained Venetia. In fact, Italy only gained Rome after French troops were evacuated during the Franco-Prussian War

OOC: Well depends. WHose available and are the players still kids with no idea how politics actually works?

OOC: politics are fickle, and most things are open

OOC: FIckle yes, copmpletely without an ration or form or function so that people can get away with whatever they want, no.

And whose open? It seems this place is rather stacked. Only person not fighting for the Central Powers is France. Ergo no one really worth playing left.

Wait, no I know. I'll play all occupied RUssian territories. As rebels. THat way I don't have to do any huge overlapping battles and I can simply absorb your soldiers like butter as you try to hold onto territories. So I'll take all occupied lands.

Occupied Lands: That's my choice.

The Alliance system pre-1914 in RL wasn't exactly rational either. You should probably post your request in the main thred, and wait for a request, You'll need troop numbers, and TG your warplans to Sharina

Rebels don't have solid troop numbers. And where is it? Need link.

look on the front page of this post. You will probably need to hash out numbers with someone, as the RP has been greatly changed since you left

Ok, by the way, how did the 18th century thing turn out? Is it still running? Or did it die again? Just curious.

ANd numbers? Well first I need a list of the areas occupied. THen I can make populations and rebel leaders.

OOC: recoup to take over Newscaster, and since the US hasn't done anything, I'm including the US
IC:

...Meanwhile, in Washingon, President Debs guaranteed that the United States will not get invloved in the war, declaring, "There is no reason to spill one drop of American blood over a European conflict". Debs' speech was met with approval from the Socialists in Congress, and Socialist groups all across the country staged rallies and marches to keep America out of the War. Ex-President Wilson, at his home said, "Debs is a fool to turn our backs on our allies in Europe". However, the pro-Allies in Congress do not have nearly enough power to change Debs' decision

Ok, by the way, how did the 18th century thing turn out? Is it still running? Or did it die again? Just curious.

ANd numbers? Well first I need a list of the areas occupied. THen I can make populations and rebel leaders.

As far as I know, Siberia was annexed, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states are all individual nations.

As for 18th century, it died so I just started invading everyone and taking over Asia as a joke

OOC: I thought it would die. Personally they were even worse than here in knowing how to RP correctly and history. I mean personally a dozen empires getting together to take out a little country. Racism works both ways and it should have ended as a purely CHinese/Japanese issue.

ALright so Siberia, Indochina I know got annexed, and Liberia, Greece got invaded I see. Then lets see. What else, what else.

By the way I still can't find the link. Is it the new IMperialism link?

yea, you already posted your requests

The game was odd anyway

I would like to point out that Austria keeps recruiting Ukrainian troops, but does not own Ukraine - it is independent(puppet-stateish) and so he can't do that

Weren;t you the one I played as Carthage with?

OOC: FIckle yes, copmpletely without an ration or form or function so that people can get away with whatever they want, no.

And whose open? It seems this place is rather stacked. Only person not fighting for the Central Powers is France. Ergo no one really worth playing left.
Actually, Britain is extreamely close to war, but GB seems to be dragging his feet about attacking us, so that's his fault. China and japan seem to have a cease fire, so you're actually quite wrong. It's also the fault of France for attacking us when it was well known that Russia was going to lose [Though i actually comend the French player for sticking to a real life situation].

Wait, no I know. I'll play all occupied RUssian territories. As rebels. THat way I don't have to do any huge overlapping battles and I can simply absorb your soldiers like butter as you try to hold onto territories. So I'll take all occupied lands.
I myself wouldn't let you play because you have made it obvious you don't like the RP and are just playing to frustrate players.

I would like to point out that Austria keeps recruiting Ukrainian troops, but does not own Ukraine - it is independent(puppet-stateish) and so he can't do that

I'm training Ukrainian troops to serve their nation, and their puppet ruler does whatever I say he does, I really don't see how this can't be done, and I'm not going to attack you with Ukrainian troops (as much as I want to)

I do as well.

Also, I'm not one for strict historical accuracy, and I don't think if you're in this RP you are either. Perhaps we can deviate off the path more than usually. Besides, Sukaida, you just joined the E20 game, were China and Japan are allies, despite the fact that Japan gassed several million Chinese in WW3 (note:a different Japan player)

And actually if you want no conflict once the world is won by the Central powers, guess what happens to this RP? It dies. No conflict and it dies, so if you want to prevent me from playing. Ok. Personally I wanted to keep it alive.
I wouldn't mind somebody playing a part to fight us if that's what they wanted to do, but you have made it clear in previous posts that you do not like this RP. You have also shown yourself to be whiny and incaopable of accepting your fault in any of this. Not to mention that you dropped out right as things got messy with an excuse few people believed.

ANd as for me being wrong? Culturally CHina and Japan have never gotten along for thousands of years. So what I was saying is that them invading Russia together would NEVER EVER happen. EVER!!! Unless you changed not just the 20th century, but all the way to the 9th or 8th century. Which is going too far.
Okay, even I agreed with the China working with Japan thing...I even told you that over a TG. However, that doesn't change my points.

I'm going to go play airsoft, I'll reply to any responces when I return.

Would you like me to give you the link to my graduation ceremony where my name is on it to prove I was graduating from college? The major reason of having to get my grades up is 100% true and if you want me to prove it I will.

Cause if few people believed it, that I have proof for. As for being whiny and not at fault? Well yes I can be whiny. I apologized for it. I'm sorry. That's the best way I know how to leave. And as for Russia going to war, yes that's 100% my fault. I was just complaining cause I don't like to lose.

guys...can we just stop arguing? It really is starting to get on my nerves a little (both sides), plus were clogging the IC thread.

yeah, just let it go

MMMM yes.

Italy does not have any right to those lands, they have been French for some time, as are the people. Italy sold the lands to France in return for what Italy wanted and cannot get them back.

Perhaps the French leader should do a little census on the area. He'll find that a large portion of the population is Italian and most of these "french" in the area actually have italian blood as well. This so called "purchase" was actually a treaty that Italy and France would unite to force Austria out of northern Italy and in exchange, the Italian territory on France's side of the Alps would become French and Italy would not aid Italian patriots there. Had France fulfilled it's side of the deal, the lands Italy nearly went to war with Austria over just years ago would have already had been Italy's over fifty years ago. Instead, France backed out of the deal like cowards and let Sardina face Austria alone. To sum that up, France didn't hold up its part of the deal so why should Italy?

And if the Italians expect that France will not build defenses against an ally of its enemy, they are very foolish. Note that France has still never made any moves against the Italians, only the Italians who have demanded France withdraw from its own soil and attacked French troops.

Actually Italy and France signed a "secret" pact saying that neither would make aggressive moves against each other. Italy's focus was on the Balkans then and Italian diplomats had only been sent to France to ensure that France would uphold it's side of the pact which France said it would. Less than a year later, here comes an entire French Army to sit on the undefended Italian border. Italy demanded France uphold the treaty and withdraw the troops. France refused meaning that they had broke the pact and Italy was forced to do what it must to protect it's people. Italy had no plans to wage war with France but now that war has erupted, we must do what we can to fix what France has cheated from us.

OOC: Try the wikipedia article on Italia Irredenta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italia_irredenta).

The British Empire fully backs France in the matter of the current dispute with Italy.

Martial law was declared today in the circumference of the Normandie region of northern France. Unrest has been growing in these provinced due to the move of French shipping and naval support from the Channel area to a more southerly location in the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean. The French government has expressed to the people that these moves were made as a precaution against the German fleet and that they can be more useful in the southern regions, but this has done little.

The loss of jobs and resultant insecurity of these citizens has made for a potentially explosive situation. The French government has done what it can to guarantee that the region is safe by stationing more troops, but this may need to be upgraded. The talk in cities like Caen and Cherbourg has turned ugly, but many analysts believe this may just be weariness at the war and the toll it has taken on the remaining people with so many sent to war.

Rations are being increased and the people given thanks for their sacrifices, but for now the government can do little but encourage and watch.

***************************

As the summer nears, the newest batches of Colonial troops from Equitorial Africa as well as from Northwest Africa are in their later stages of training. If all goes well, another contingent of these troops can be released to fight in the war soon.

IC:
The Turkish troops have been trained and are being sent to libya. An additional 3 divisions are being called up to be trained.

OOC: These troops are not Ottoman military, but instead are troops trained by the Ottomans to protect the Turkish states when their government is ready to stand on its own. They are made up of willing citizens who wish to be prepared to defend these nations.

Austria-Hungary continues to crack down on Serbian resistance. A splinter group, calling themselves "The Black Hand" has been kiled or arrested in a shootout against Austro-Hungarian in Sarajevo. Officials believe the group was trying to get to Vienna to kil the Emperor. Meanwhile, a flood of Serbs continue to pour into Bulgaria as the fighting in Serbia continues

OOC: Any idea of when the next war post is due to be posted, Sharina? I don't mean to sound impaitent but I think alot of us here are itching to get this war over with (although the British Empire might add some fuel to the flames).

OOC: Any idea of when the next war post is due to be posted, Sharina? I don't mean to sound impaitent but I think alot of us here are itching to get this war over with (although the British Empire might add some fuel to the flames).

I think it should be any day now.
Also, i know this probably shouln't go here, but after AOI dies (it may once the war is over), is anyone interested in doing a WW2 RP? I was thinking if there was enough interest here, to start a sign up thread, and if Sharina would be so kind, to do the battles again. Just a thought

I have been thinking of doing a WWII rp myself. I think it should start after the fall of France though, as it is unfair to Germany if it has to do the battle of France with France aware of the plan. After all, that is the only plan that would work. And I wouldn't mind Sharina doing the battles, but it takes too long.

OOC: Alright guys, this is getting way too off topic. If you want to create your own little RP, this is not the place to converse about it. So if you would please remove your posts and move the discussion to another thread, that would be greatly appreciated.

ooc. As Lachenburg said. And people, please be reminded that ooc. posts belong in the ooc. thread.

Linky (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=10914463#post10914463)

SIC.

The 3rd. Fleet moves to Hainan Dao and starts regular patrols between Hainan Dao and Taiwan. The 1st. Fleet wil be stationed in Taipei in support of the 3rd. Fleet. Minelayers will lay mines in Formosa Strait and Hainan Strait. All International Shipping is warned of this move and is advised to either move around Taiwan on the way North or wait for IJN Destroyers to escort groups of shipping twice a day. They will be led through corridors in the Minefields.

ooc. mind you, the next part is a few days in the future when the move to Hainan Dao is finished.

Aboard the Battle Cruiser Kagoshima

The IJN Kagoshima was leading a group of Four Other Destroyers and Two Light Cruisers. They were about 400 Km from they're base at Hainan Dao, Hong Kong was 60 Km to the North. Admiral Shyushi was the commander of this convoy, and he was somewhat confused. The last few weeks were confusing, mind you. First the move from Taipei to Palau, then the move to Hainan Dao and the order to patrol this part of the South Chinese Sea. This had probably to do with the threat the British formed. Like every IJN Officer he knew the Imperial Navy was stronger than the British Far East Fleet, but still...The British Fleet had some sort of invincible aura, ever since the sinking of the Armada, and certainly since Trafalgar. That Aura had the same effect as if the British Fleet had twice the number of ships they had. Bloody Hell, it would be quite a fight!

HMS Dreadnought, Moored in Hong Kong

Captain Bacon stood looking out to sea. Behind him lay Hong Kong, currently in a high state of alert. Ever since the government had sent the squadrons from the Grand Fleet (of which Dreadnought was a part) the links to mainland China that Hong Kong had maintained were cut. Supplies were coming in on heavily protected convoys from India, convoys under strict orders to fire on any ship of the Imperial Japanese or Chinese navies who attempted to stop them.

The harbour was littered with the great ships of the Eastern and Grand fleets, floating strongpoints in their own rights. The crews had been through constant drilling and preparation for possible engagements ever since Britain stated peaceful hostility tot he allies of Germany. The fleet in the East had never been stronger.

They'd be fools to attack us now.

IC:
Today demonstrations were held in southern Israel by Communist revolutionaries. Begining peacefuly things turned ugly after a shot was fired in the crowed. The turkish troops origionally inteded for Libya are being redirected to Israel to put down the riots.

The "Black Hand" shootout would have definetly killed the group. It lost a majority of it's leaders in the scuffle, and arrests were put everywhere. THe problem that the Austria-Hungarian government found was that by killing large amounts of civilians in rebellion, they simply replaced the "Black Hand" membership with new members. The subjugation of the Slavic peoples was becoming a major concern for Slavs inside the empire as well as out. The brutal subjugation meant that now people who did not normally want freedom were seeing the government as brutal, and the "Black Hand" only two of it's original leaders left due to sickness that had kept them from the fight, found a swam or new recruits taking the place of the fallen. And these were not the dying, the sickly members of the past. They were store owners, businessmen, people of actual ability and note. Not just some young punks looking for independence. Maybe the rebellion did have hope. Now though it wouldn't be Serbians, but Austria-Hungarian Slavs who took up the cause, and plans were already being drawn. (Of course IC the government thinks the Black hand is dead.)
------
"UH sir.... We have a problem here." The young man stated to his boss. THe man looked tired as if he'd been through alot in the past couple of weeks. "What is it? I have to fill these reports for the Chinese government. By the way did the shipment get in?"

The young man gulped. "It's about that sir."

"Don't tell me it got bogged down in the mud. I have half of my stock to send to the CHinese government for the inventory of all Indochinese weapons and ammo. Half my stock is in that warehouse and I need it brought here now. Tell them to hurry it up."

The messenger gulped. "I can't tell them sir. THey've disappeared." The man looked up in terror. "The whole shipment, every truck is just... on the road. No bodies, no one. Not even the escort troops we got sent by the CHinese. No one or any arms or equipment. It's just gone."

The boss put his head in his hands. WHat the hell was he supposed to tell the authroities?
---
Muhammed Futma Adid sat on a blanket near the oasis, the young men looking at him with faces full of excitement. Strange how they would be here in Turkish uniforms, without arresting him. THey'd been drafted, served, and then kicked out for belief in Middle Eastern Independence. Their names were probably on a list. With the riots in Isreal, maybe it was time. Time to show the world the fallen Ottomans. He slowly nodded his head. Getting up as he looked outside.

In itself it seemed rather odd. The word being spread around towns by a dozen different messengers. It reached the city of Baghdad and started to go into print. In it, it stated "The Fall of Ottoman truth." as it's title.

"Today has come the knowledge that the Ottoman Empire has courted the Christian Europeans, and has been betraying all of Islam. The Turkish government which originally protected all Muslims has started to become corrupted by the Western governments. They no longer represent god, nor does Allah wish for them to continue to subjugate those who serve the will of God. Do you wish your children to learn the ways of the states, only to forget their obligation to the Lord? We ask that all good Muslims boycott the empire. THat all good Muslims refuse them help. That all good Muslims work to free the true representatives of Islam from their chains of the evil state. May all be blessed, especiallly those Turks who realize the evils of their government and help their brethern to be free. We ask all Trukish soldiers who love God to throw their arms down and to embrace their fellow brothers of Islam. In Allah's Glory we shall be succesful."
------
A Siberian farmer stood at the end of his feild, watching a Chinese government get situated. He wondered if the taxes would be better than they were then during RUssian control. A slav, he didn't really care as long as they didn't try to marry his daughter or take his land. Getting riled up over stupid things like that could get a man killed. He returned to his work, making his living from the soil.

Naval Battle Phase (1918):

The French fleet has reformed, and has resupplied and repaired most of the damage from the battles at the beginning of the year. The large French Fleet sets sail for the coasts of North Africa with the goal of disrupting or destroying any enemy naval activity, in an attempt to restore supply lines to the French offensive in Libya.

The Spanish fleet begins suspicious movements towards the Straits and the French Mediterrean coastline. The combined Austrian-Italian navy begins steaming from Italy after their resupply and repairs are completed. The Combined Fleet heads straight for Algeria, in an attempt to completely sever all supply routes between European France and French Africa. The Austrians dispatch submarine raiders to attack the Straits and any French shipping in the Mediterrean. The submarine raiders are supplemented by several destroyer squadrons.

Both fleets engage each other south of Corsica as the two fleets crossed each others paths. Both fleets were much more alert, having learned their lessons from earlier in the year. The fleets had deployed their light ships far wide and between at their perimeter, to act as a screening and scout force, and once both fleets spotted each other, their scout ships relayed the alert to the heavier ships. The fleets opened fire on each other with a vengeance, hoping to avenge their losses from their previous engagement.

The fighting lasted for hours as both fleets were more alert and responsive to battle conditions than ever. Damage control parties rushed throughout the various ships and contained fires, munitions, and battle damage at least triple as effective than in the battle earlier in the year. Despite this, both fleets took a severe beating because the French knew that this was their last chance to hold onto Africa, and the Austrians knew that this was their chance to defeat France not only on the seas but in Africa as well. Both sides gave it their best effort, and it showed.

The French, again, had substantially higher numbers of dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts than the Combined Fleet of the Austrians and Italians. The firepower of these ships allowed France to pull through the initial stages of the battle, but something unexpected occured. The Spanish fleet attacked the rear of the French fleet, catching the French off guard in a pincher action rarely seen in naval warfare. The confusion allowed the Austrians to capitalize, as the French wheeled substantial numbers of their ships around to combat the Spanish fleet to the west.

The Spanish fleet had a mission which was to undertake hit and run tactics aganist the French fleet, but they saw the opporunity to do some considerable damage while the French were attacking the Austrians. The Spanish began scoring hits on the light ships of the French fleet, mauling them before the French had a chance to react. The French had to divert several of its dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts to combat the Spanish fleet, reducing the amount of firepower concentrated on the Austrian fleet. The battle continues to rage for several more hours, well into dusk.

The next day, the French fleet seemed to emerge victorious, but at the loss of a considerable number of its vessels, while the Austrian Navy was badly devastated. The Spanish took substantial losses of their own. The Austrians retreated back to Italy for another round of repairs and resupply, while the French decided to send its damaged ships back to Marsielles, while sending the lightly damaged and non-damaged ships to Africa in an attempt to stop the raiding being conducted by the Ottoman Navy.

Unknown to France, Spain had a second naval strike group, and it went straight for Marsielles. The naval strike group expected to catch French vessels, but seeing that there were none in Marsielles, the Spanish decided to bombard the harbors, dry docks, supply depots, and the naval support infrastructure in the city. The Spanish were eventually driven off by the coastal batteries at Marsielles, but not before inflicting considerable damage aganist the infrastructure in Marsielles.

Once the damaged French vessels arrive at Mariselles, the French discover that their navy won't be able to be repaired and resupplied effectively until the dry docks and harbors were repaired themselves. This delays the repair efforts on the French Navy until the first few months of 1919 or even later.

The French have basically retaken the Mediterrean, but at great cost. Their Atlantic coasts are largely undefended, while their sole Mediterrean port, Marsielles, is considerably damaged, reducing the ability of France to repair and resupply her ships in the Mediterrean for quite some time. In addition, France will be hard pressed to build new ships as the material will be needed to rebuild the devastated naval infrastructure in Marsielles.

On the other hand, Italy and Austrian naval yards, dry docks, resupply depots, and so forth are unscathed, as the French have yet to attack them. This means Austria and Italy can construct new naval vessels and repair their damaged ships much more quickly than France.

A naval war of attrition has finally begun in the Mediterrean.

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

Losses:

France: 5 Dreadnoughts, 7 Pre-Dreadnoughts, 10 cruisers, 55 destroyers, 23 submarines, 86 smaller ships (high losses in destroyers and smaller ships mostly from Spanish attack into the fleet's rear)

Austria / Italy: 4 Dreadnoughts, 3 Pre-Dreadnoughts, 9 cruisers, 20 destroyers, 11 submarines, 26 smaller ships (nearly 75% losses)

Spain: 1 Dreadnought, 2 Pre-Dreadnoughts, 6 cruisers, 25 destroyers (most of their first strike force)

OOC: ouch, great job there Nebarri! Also Sharina, when will the building and repairing ships show up and what do we have left?
IC:

To: Japan
From: Austria-Hungary

If possible, we would like to double or order for ships and ask as to the status of the already building ships.

Austro-Hungarian shipyards moved at a breakneck pace to rebuild and rearm the remaining ships. round the clock building and repairing, 3 shift days, etc. to hurry along the construction of the Austro-Hungarian navy

OOC: ouch, great job there Nebarri! Also Sharina, when will the building and repairing ships show up and what do we have left?

OOC:

Basically, you will be able to repair and resupply your Navy before end of 1918 while France has to rebuild its naval infrastructure in Marsielles which means France can't fully repair and resupply his Mediterrean Navy until early 1919.

So you will have a few months (one or two "turns") that you can have your Navy out and about before France can finish repairing its ships.

Essentially, half of the remaining French fleet needs repairs and resupply after the intense Second Battle of Corsica.

Captain Józsua Edvard of the Austro-Hungarian special police (secret police) stood on the street corner, observing the shop opposite of him. It was certainly a rebel post, and he was here to take it out. He nodded at the two teams of men hiding on each side of the building. The two leading men tossed grenades through the windows. After a tremendous explosion, the two teams rushed in, several minutes later dragging out two dead rebels and a third alive one. A truck pulled up and the captive was taken away for questioning.

Meanwhile, in Serbia and in the rest of the Austro-Hungarian empire, elections were held for the first time. People in Serbia could choose people to observe the Austro-Hungarian parliament, and to tell their grievances to the Emperor. Harsh security measures were reduced as a sign of goodwill to the Serbians.

The elections certaintly did put a damper on some rebels, but the pure existance of a "secret police" and the common knowledge of them didn't make Serbians that much more pleased about it. Nor did the fact that the weeding out of the old "Black Hand" was a larger boon to the new one. The three rebels were the regular angry young man, and the new ones were not the regular rebels. A regular rebel is a young hotshot, one whose face looks like he's hiding something. A young man who has a single older man as a leader. The new members were entirely different, and at first didn't even attibute themselves to a rebellion. Instead they were simple folk, some of their children had Austrian names, others had Hungarian names. Many didn't even look like their Slavic background. A few were only half Slavic, with an Austrian parent.

That made them fit in better. None of them were diseased and about to die. In fact the new leader of the newly created Vienna sect had been delivering food to the government buildings for years. Every soldier, every guard new him as a kindly old man who even sent a nephew he had under his care into the army. He still served in the army, therefore no help of disatisfied parents with dead boys. He looked perfectly normal.

Which was why in 1911 he hadn't even flinched when the servants of the Vienna Palace asked for him to start shipping their food to them. It was there that he learned to finally realize his mother's Slavic heritage. She'd been a woman with few scrooples, and had died at the last year of the former century. Inside the palaces very bottom he saw the squaler that the cooks lived in. He saw how they were treat by the upper echelon's dogs. How they were accused and how women were beaten for simply making a single mistake in the food of the emporer. It made him boil, and the more he saw it, the more he hated the government.

But to everyone else he was simple old Gernot. The man with the supplies of liquer that gave the front gate guards little presents so that he could occasionally take a look at the front lawn without having a bayonet in his stomach. He loved to stare at the splendor, and it was then that he gave his nephew his blessing to serve his country. Then he'd remember what he saw in the bowels of the palace, and cringe, but he kept it to himself.

The small area he led was not meeting anywhere. The whole scheme set up so that only one or two of the group could be found out. They didn't want any posts that could be taken. No, for what they planned as the first strike in this war would take cunning, and they had the agreement that no one knew what the right hand was doing so the cops couldn't wring it out of them. They heard constant stories of the meeting places of the old "Black Hand" that got constantly destroyed as those who knew were telling all before exocution. Gernot knew that if they got one of his captives, they wouldn't know the color of his shirt of what he looked like. Try and catch him then.
-----

"YOU HAVE BEEN UNDER PRODUCTION!!! YOu have been pathetic. Do you know what we do to you if you live in Serbia at this moment. We send the police after you. We have you shooken. You are lucky to live in Austria proper you dogs. Or I would have you fired and arrested. Here though, I have to force you to work. And work until you reach full production. ANd stop using all the supplies for a single one." He lifted a stick of dynamite. "This is too full. The chemicals all wrong. YOu must do it properly. PROPERLY!!"

THe men at the floor groaned at having to work. The majority not knowing where they'd been. Best not to ask. THey were sure that the dynamite had been properly laid. Sure that it had been up to par for the day. Damn the boss.

A few inwardly smiled as they complained. They knew damn well where that dynamite had gone. THey knew exactly it's location. In the right hands of course. THough those hands were unknown to them, and they'd made sure no one saw them. All of it in secrecy as the secret police watched everywhere. Though in the end they'd probably execute some of the police for not doing their job. THey just hoped it was a neat bang.
-------

"A old Gernot." The guard said as the old man sat in a new truck. "You normally only bring your truck over. I'm surprised. Three trucks. Well you know the routine by now." THe old man nodded as he pulled his bulk out of the cab, resting his tired feet down. He opened the back of the first truck, getting out a long crowbar. He pulled it up, revealing apples and banannas. THe guard sniffed it, checking for any poison. After so long, he didn't expect any from old Gernot.

"So why the large shipment. The staff doesn't eat this much."

Gernot had a twinkle in his eye. "Well with new elections I was sure that i could feed a party. The staff must eat something good sometime." He took the guard to another truck as they guards checked boxes. One opened, the smell of brotwurst reaching his nose. THe guard looked at it, pulling a string with his gloved hand, and then feeling the plumg meat. "My, where did you get this?"

"Germany. It's much cheaper than it used to be considering the war. Our allies sell it to me for much cheaper. Just got a huge shipment. HEY BOY!!!" He walked to the cab at the one person who wan't picking it up. "WHat?" THe young boy complained. "Give me the extra boxes."

"I don't want to." The boy complained as Gernot grabbed three large boxes from the cab. Steam rose from them. "A gift." He opened the boxes to show well cooked meat, the smell wafting up from it. He smiled as the guard almost drooled. "You always know how to treat us Old Gernot. You always have." He smiled as he took the food, offering it to his fellow guards, and allowing the trucks to move in without further bother. They normally did that.

The men leaving the trucks were large, filled with muscle as they went into the bowels of the palace to deliver the products. The English words for an upstairs and downstairs existed in all wealthy establishments. The palace having a lower levels where the staff and servants toiled away. The men carried large shipments, Gernot coming with them to see the cooks. He smiled at them, tipping his hat as they delivered the produce. Over 50 boxes, 20 of them being the brotwurst. He'd bought them on the border, burned the reciets. As he talked, distracting the ladies as the men brought box over box, he thought of the covers. At this moment he was attending his daughter's birthday. Her 13th. All his neighbors saw him there. The trucks were old clunkers he'd worked in secret, and the men all had alibis as well. The one lugging a crate was an invalid. He'd been sent to bed for a whole week to get over a milandering disease. His doctor was next to him, forced to spend the weekend away from home. The "boy" in the cab was the female nurse, also with the doctor. All the others were laborers who were putting in a double shift, their manager having them on the count. None of them knew any last names, only a few even knew Gernot's first. And there were over 30,000 Gernot's in the city alone. And such a trusted man could never do this.

The guards might be a going concern, but thankfully a pharmacist had joined, finding the poisons of the old Black Hand much too impotent. Old and milingering and only enough to make a man sick. Instead, he'd mad ea concotion. At the time it went off, the guards would be foaming at the mouth from their meal. And they'd gobble up a bribe from old Gernot anyday. Anyone who could say he was there would soon be dead. He made sure of that when he got into the cab of the truck. As they went off, the guards too busy eating to bother.

1-Hour later: By now the trucks had been dumped, and the boxes of brotwurst put into a freezer. The cooks would unbag all of them later. The cold didn't harm the long strings that held the brotwurst, nor did it harm the long cords that grew form them, that turned into wires that went further to a clock that held painted dynamite. A nice chunk that could be put into 20 different wooden boxes. It took a handful of seconds for the clock to tick, for the two hands to reach 12, and for the alarm to ring. The plan coming to one nasty fruition in the Vienna Palace. (Don't know how much dynamite you can fit in 20 boxes, but enough to make a nice chunk of a palace disappear and set fire to the rest. Sooo that's my first action since Austria did comment first.)

The Italian Navy, during the inter-battle period, will begin laying minefields around Corsica and the French southern coast. The minelayers will go in grounds of one to three to avoid major losses and detection.

OOC: Italian minelayers have been going to work off the southern French coast and Corsica since right after the first naval battle. Considering the damages minefields did in the RL war, shouldn't we be seeing some results?

IC:
The Italian Admirals were furious. The "great" U-boats had failed to duplicate their amazing performances of the previous battle, even after adding 19 more to the Italian Fleet. Seeing this, a more diverse fleet was ordered for construction this time:
-4 Super Dreadnoughts
-8 Heavy Cruisers
-10 Light Cruisers
-15 Destroyers
-20 Submarines
-Numerous Auxilary/Support Ships

OOC:

The French were more alert for subs this time around, in addition to having substantial subs numbers of their own (20+ subs).

The minefields sank several French heavies and cruisers. They also suffered more damage as the damaged ships tries to flee to Marsielles.

OOC" Lets discuss where mines did their greatest damage= in battle such as those near the jutland and in the dardanelles where the water was restricted and there was less room to maneuver - besides you can't just mine the whole coast of France. And I did have ships in those waters, you can't just lay mines with impunity

In that case: French minelayers are now mining the Italian waters around Sicily and between Genoa and Rome...

To: Japan
From: Austria-Hungary

If possible, we would like to double or order for ships and ask as to the status of the already building ships.

SIC. To; Austria-Hungary
From; Japan

The Ships are nearly finished, we advise you to send crews to transport them to Austria-Hungary. It may be a problem, as the Suez Canal is closed to Central Power Shipping, the Panama Canal is neutral, so the ships will have to take the long route around Africa or South America.

Sadly enough, we cannot accept new orders for the time being as our shipyards are strained to the bone.

SIC.

The 1st and 3rd. Fleets are ordered to Combine their Strength under Admiral Yobusho, commander of the 3rd. Fleet.

Aboard the IJN Destroyer Kawagushi-40 km from Hainan Dao-0230 hours...

The sea, as always, was silent. Captain Hoshi was staring over the sea. He loved the sea at night. Itb was so quiet, so...peacefull. He yawned and decided to take a nap. He saluted to the Supervising Lt., spoke a moment with the Master Radio Operator and went trhough a corridor to his cabin. He lay down and closed his eyes. He immediately opened them because he heared a yell, which was cut short by an enormous explosion. He awoke again on the floor, his head was covered by blood. The ship was awkward, strange...

Hoshi:"What in the devils name is going on! *bursts through corridor to the Steerhouse* What has happened?!?!?!"
Lt. Gyusho:"I've no idea, sir! You just left and then an explosion...Its's...it's...I don't know?"
Hoshi:"What's the damage?"
Lt. Gyushu:"A huge hole on portside, sir. Casualties still unknown!"
Hoshi:"Damnit, warn the fleet and HQ! Turn back to base...And try to find out what the heel it was!"
Gyushu:"Yes sir!"

Emergency Message DD Kawagushi to 3rd. Fleet/IJNHQ

Explosion on starboardside-heavy damage-causlaties unknown-cuase inknown-possible British hand in explosion...

On reports of Spanish attacks on French naval forces, the armies at Marseilles are now moving to reinforce the Spanish border where garrison troops in the Pyrenees are already at alert

Admiral/Prime Minister Yonnohyoe was slightly dozing off behind his desk when the Kawagushi Report came in. He immediately was warned and walked (well, as fast as an old men can move) out of the building to the Naval Headquarters nearby.

PM: "So...what's this fuzz about?"
Rear Admiral Tonuga: "One of our destroyers has had some kind of accident, or attack, near Hainan Dao. They've send quite alarming message some twenty minutes ago. We haven’t heard of them since..."
PM *Reads Message*:"Hmmmm...an explosion, British could have a hand in this...well that's not sure isn't it? Its quite close to the Mined Area."
Tonuga: "It could have easily been a floating mine, or a lose mine, but a Torpedo is also possible."
PM: "Well, I doubt it. The British have done everything they could to remain neutral, even though they support the French quite open. But we can use this situation."
Tonuga: "Propaganda?"
PM: "Exactly, turn the British into Devils. I can imagine how Tarasaki and his Nationalists will react! We could use our existing war plans..."
Tonuga: "War with Britain! That's...the worst possible situation we could get in. I thought you wanted this war to be over?"
PM:"I want it to be over, but the British are one inch from effectively joining the war. We just give them a little push. Warn all Army and Navy Units. They know what to do. Please inform Fukuoka and tell him to get his saké filled butt here now! *laughs* Ahhh, the pleasure of knowing what will happen. Finally a decision!"

Few Hours Later

Press Bulletin of the Japanese Government

After earlier hostile acts and movements by the British Government, and a threatening build up of the Far East Fleet, the British have gone further.

Today, at 0230 hours, the IJN Destroyer was attack in a most cowardly manner by a submersible. The ship defended itself heroically, but in vain. It managed to get away safely, but the cost of life was huge. 47 Sailors are reported dead, even more were wounded.

For most Nations, this would have been enough. But Japan, as always, tries the way of Peace first. We hereby issue the following ultimatum to Great Britain:

1. Admit the responsibility for this action and pay respect to the dead and injured Heroes of the IJN.
2. End the Militarization of Hong Kong and retreat the Far East Fleet to Singapore. The Reinforcements of the Home Fleet are of better use in British waters than in Asian waters and are to be returned to Great Britain.

If Great Britain refuses to listen to this simple terms, the Empire of Japan considers itself at war with Great Britain and the Dominions that wish to follow her into destruction.

(ooc. so, Lachenburg, you can stay Neutral ;)

SIC. To; Austria-Hungary
From; Japan

The IJN requests if the ships you ordered could be used in case of war with Britain for a short time untill the British Presence in the East is Destroyed.

He breathed hard as he slid to a stop at the base of the water. He could hear them, their dogs howling as he burst across the water of the shallow river. A dozen of them had found a way to get through a part of the perimiter that wasn't as well watched as the others. They'd then scattered. A few were picked, the healthiest and fastest men who knew how to hide. Tawaiin. They had to get out of this place. And the ferries were the best way. But going on one that was in port would be checked already. His only salvation would be to sneak on one from a stolen reed boat. Then sneak on board.

Thank god he knew Chinese, he'd been a translator in another life. That seemed so far away as he washed on shore, moving with a dozen different things under his shirt. The soldiers werer closing in, they must know they'd stolen the intelligence, and the bayonet was their reward if caught. He dove under more reeds as the dogs went by. Thank god for the smell, though the insects were eating him alive. He must make it to Siam or Burma. THen he could at least pretend to be Siberian and get to safety away from Asia. Then the information in his person could get away. He wondered if any of the others would make it out of this god forsaken land either.

(And that one is short.)

SIC. To; Austria-Hungary
From; Japan

The IJN requests if the ships you ordered could be used in case of war with Britain for a short time untill the British Presence in the East is Destroyed.


Austria-Hungary wil of course leave these ships with the Japanese if they need them

The destruction had ruined half of the Vienna Palace, and the rest was covered in soot, rubble, and water from the relief efforts. The Emperor was luckily not in the building at the time of the explosion, however one of his daughters had been there, and was pronounced dead after being discovered in the rubble. Police Forces immediately moved toward the house of Gernod, but before they arrived his house exploded, killing everyone inside.

Emperor Ferdinand flew into a fit of rage when informed of his daughters death, and ordered reprecussions. The border between occupied serbia and the rest of Austri-Hungary was locked down, and no one was allowed to leave or enter unless a soldier, and violaters were shot. 5 divisions moved into Serbia to keep the new provinces under Austro-Hungarian control.

In a startling move, the secret police was disbanded and merged into regular police forces, however many members simply dissapeared after hearing of this decision. Austro-Hungarian military units took 1,000 able-bodied young males hostage and unless the rest of the conspiraters come foward, the hostages will be executed, however, no firther actions would be taken against Serbians as long as nothing else happened, and anyone with infoprmation was urged to come forward.

OOC: I'm guessing Bosnian Serbs would be less apt to resist as tehy have been part of the empire much longerm, were gained peacefully, and have equal rights (can elect MP's instead of people to send grievances)

News Report

Meanwhile, in Russia, the reds led by Trotsky succeded in wresting Minsk from White Control after nearly 150,000 casualties had been taken. The famines, death squads, and fighting has brought the casualties to nearly 11 million so far, and it looks likely to rise much further. In Karelia, Admiral Kolchak's White Forces destroyed the last Red forces in the region and reinforced St. Petersburg, destroying another attacking Red force...

OOC: Gernot, just a typo, I know I got lots of em. And actually the population of Austria-Hungary was a cluster of almost 100 different ethnicities, alot of them Slavic. So in truth the "Black Hand" you are finding is actually not Serbian at all. It's Austrian-Hungarian. Ergo, much harder to steep out. Because they are middle class, they have Austrian or Hungarian names. And they are much, much smarter.

IC: Gernot sat at a wall, having sent his family somewhere else. The news wasn't good. 1,000 hostages and they'd be executed. Of course that meant something very nice. It meant that the world got to see pictures of Serbian mothers, pleading for their sons to be returned. The world got to see the brutallity of the Austrian state as no information that the Serbs had done anything to the palace or had been even capable of doing this. He prayed to god that he'd be forgiven. The poor Serbs would be brutally treat by the Austrians for their Slav brother's crimes. But it meant that the plan to have Austria look one way while the new "Black Hand" was in existance, meant that they were ripe for more actions. Now to get that whole pesky Germany/ Austria-Hungarian Alliance to be questioned. He smiled as he ran his moustache. (You said everyone inside died. That could be taken a dozen different ways. As in all the cops who raided the place.)
--
(Berlin, Germany)

"Passbook please." THe man asked the younger man as he stood in front, lugging a large suitcase. "Ari Susenot. Oh Austrian Army. Very good sir, very good. Sniper corp, honorably discharged. Health." He looked at the young man. Ari's face was haggard, his eyes deepset into his head and he looked like he'd been starved. He had a handkercheif in his left hand, as he waited for something.

"Well let me just do a routine check and we'll be on your way."

"Certaintly." He said as he started to cough, the cough sounding as if it were deep in his chest. He'd learned long ago that if you want people to stay away from you, show blood. He didn't even need to do it this time as blood came up from his lungs, covering the handkercheif. He removed it, blood coming from his mouth as he wiped it away.

The previous century had shown a large and common disease of the lungs. Even though that century had ended almost 2 decades ago, Tuberculosious was still a well known disease. Lance Corporal Susenot had been discharged for what the paymaster stated as "Extreme Advanced Tuberculosious."

THe man let the luggage go, taking a step back. Very few knew whether the disease was too contagious or not. (In 1914 books on it were still in disagreement. I have original copies.) "That's alright sir, you can go."

"But you haven't checked my bag." He stated with a true look of disappointment. THe man waved it off. "That's alright. I'm sure a good Austrian soldier will be fine. Please enjoy Berlin."

He nodded, picking up his luggage as he hefted it forward. On the outside he appeared as stoic as ever. Inside, he felt rather vindicated. The disease was slowly killing him, and yet it allowed him certain fringe benefits. He coughed again, looking at his watch. THe hotel shouldn't be too far from the station. After all it was a lovely day.

The hat check lady, the bellhop, and everyone at the hotel looked at him with a sense of dread. TB didn't get you quarentined, but it had everyone around you nervous. He gave friendly smiles, remembering an old friend who told him he looked like death with his gangly features and sunk eyes. He slowly went up the stairs, looking satisfied as he saw his room number. THe key opened it, the washbasin full of water and the window open. He looked out into the square, the perfect veiw with a wonderful line of trees in a row across the turn in the row. He could already see soldiers lining the way. What a wonderful day.

The current problems in his home country bothered him, but then again he didn't really care. He remembered right before the war he talked to a failed painter, his Bovarian regiment going out to the war. The man seemed to idolize the Germans, that snot nosed little peice of crap. How could you idolize them. He sniffed angirly at the thought. The waste of manpower, the mass death he'd seen against Russia and Serbia. All for a stupid little conquest. His friends dead, and though he could ahve blamed the Emporer, he knew he was just a patsy for the Kaiser. That self serving... He took a breathe to calm himself. His inner thoughts were his own. Yes, his own. He knew a few of the Austrian commanders chafed at Germans. But with the lack of total control, the Austrians who were not pro-german (In history there were quite a few that chafed.) were capable of plotting.

He looked outside, a woman cheerfully helping a lady up. "And in an hour or so the Kaiser will be here." Her accent purrely Bovarian, another thing to remind him of that snot nosed little painter. "So he will be?" He asked, the lady seeing his face and visibly shuddering. "Yes he will. Giving medals to our fighting men who are fighting the French. He does it quite often." (He did and would. It's his personality.)

"I see. That will be a show." He smiled at her, the look she gave him one of disgust. He shrugged it off, giving her a smile. "Well I think I shall nap before I take some photographs of it. My room has a lovely view."

"You do that sir." She said with a sense of relief he was closing the door. He looked into his suitcase, opening it and pulling out some papers. A quick light near the open window left the papers half charred. Just as he'd been instructed. He looked out the window again, pulling his shirt off so his suspenders held out. The long lines of soldiers preparing for presentation. German soldiers. And those medals meant absolutly nothing. He pulled the suitcase open further, taking the small pattering of clothes out, as he pulled the two peices of the rifle out. THey clicked together as he put them in a corner. A lovely day, such a lovely day for a review, he thought as he pulled the scope out, pushing it into place. He checked, cleaned, and prepared it. No one would bother him because of his disease, and he coughed again to make it known he didn't want to be bothered. What a lovely day.

The hour passed, the lines of soldiers thick, though on the foruth floor he had a lovely vantage. The long line of cars coming up as he looked down into the square. The guards went out into a formation eh remembered. While good for ground fire, it did nothing from a fourth floor window. He coughed again, looking at the square, waiting. The Kaiser seemed to take forever today, going from one soldier who needed a metal to another. BUt eventually he got there. Ari took a clip, sliding it into the breach and slamming it shut. He pulled his sights tight, aiming right for the back of his targets head. Such a lovely shot. One, two. Fire.

The gun went off as he worked the bolt. THe second shot aimed for the Kaiser's spine. Then another towards his side as people tried to use their bodies to protect him. THen a last shot before he was completely covered. He turned his aim towards a General trying to get the soldiers to fire at his window. Another headshot. If he'd had this good a vantage during the war, he could have killed Russian's all day. He pulled the bolt back, again, shot, again, shot. BUllets were clipping the glass, getting in his way as he worked the bolt again. Then the slamming of a body against the door. He turned, putting a new clip of ammunition into his rifle. He lifted it one last time out the window, firing it at another target. Then as he heard keys jingle, he fired at the door. A swear meant whoever had the keys was alive, but not for long. He stood up, aiming as the door slammed open.

The view of the soldier as he entered was a man, gaunt, with his rifle aimed right at him. Then the bullets from the street hit the window, one making the sound of a "thunk" as it found it's mark. The assassin's legs seemed to just collapse as he fell to the ground. The rifle hitting the ground.

Lance Corporal Ari Susenot died from a Mauser rifle bullet to the back of his head. His death was instant. He'd served the first two years of the war before his discharge due to an advanced case of Tuberculosious. His belongings in his hotel were a single change of clothing, a newspaper from the Berlin Times of about a week ago, and the remains of smokeless powder residue. The rifle itself was a Mauser, an Austrian sight for it. In his pockets were only enough money for the hotel room, and a meal. A one way train ticket stuck in his waistband. The papers were half readable. They held ranks and a simple message. At best it could be directions on how to kill the Kaiser. Who the commander's names was, would be questionable. He had no connections to the Slav Nationalist Movement, he had no connections to anything other than the Austrian Army. His family was all dead, his friends were all dead, and his time remaining before his end due to a lead slug was 2 months. All other information inconclusive.

(There we go with the second part.)

Upon hearing of the attack upon the Kaiser, all important military personel, the Imperial Family, and other important members of society were hustled away and hidden in a nondescript location far away from anyone else, defended by members of the XIV Corps (historically extremly loyal to the death). Luckily there wern't many Austrians or Hungarians that would turn traitor (they were referred to Kaisertreu)

The Emperor sent his deepest regrets to the royal family and promised to root out these traitors.

Meanwhile, with the deadline having expired, the 1,000 hostages were executed, with a warning that it would happen again if any more terroist activites were undertaken.

OOC: my post said before police arrived, as in some vigilante group bombing the house

(OOC: AHHH. Well I stick by what happened, as in they left beforehand. As for anything else, I'll wait til the guy playing Germany responds. And summary executions. Alright. Now to wait cause I don't want to clog this up too much.)

(OOC: AHHH. Well I stick by what happened, as in they left beforehand. As for anything else, I'll wait til the guy playing Germany responds. And summary executions. Alright. Now to wait cause I don't want to clog this up too much.)

it's fine, a few policemen won't change much anyway

August 14th, 1918

Off the coast of German South-West Africa

Among the sloshing waves of the clear Atlantic Ocean, 3 lone vessels steamed ahead at half speed, their long, painted smoke stacks of black and white belching forth a haze of dark smoke into the red horizon of a clear evening.

From their initial starting point in Cape Town, the vessels, commisioned as civilian merchant frigates of the South African Merchant Marine, had made their way north at a steady pace of 6 knots, careful to maintain an ordinary course of voyage while within the major shipping lanes of the South Atlantic.

Their final destintation. The bustling harbor of Walvis Bay, the Union's tiny sliver of land in the sea that was German colonial territory. Since 1884, the government of Cape Colony and later South Africa had administered the city itself, one of the largest and most strategically important in the region, leading to several standoffs between British and German authorities as the scramble for Africa heated up. However by the early 20th century, British precense was absolute and with a definate border in place, the Germans soon abandoned their aims to annex it whole.

However, despite its tiny size, that section of land was soon to play a big role in South Africa's plans for domination.

On board the vessels themsevles, marked as 'industrial equipment' in inconsicuous wooden and metal crates were hundreds of new Lee-Enfield Rifles, Winchester Repeating Rifles, Vickers Heavy Machineguns and even a few of Britain's new Lewis Light-Machineguns. Along with such a massive shipment of arms and equipment, a contingent of 500 soldiers, dressed as normal sailors (in fact, the normal crews of each vessel had been replaced by a military counterpart in Cape Town), moved to and fro along the ship's slimy steel decks, ensuring that the vessels they now controlled made it to their destination.

Among this group of soldiers, Minister of Defense Jan Smuts, dressed in a heavy blue coat, black leather boots, a pair of black pants with a light grey shirt tucked underneath along with a black sailor's cap to top it all off.

Standing atop the bridge of the S.S. Kitchiner, the lead vessel of the three strong pack, Smuts, with a pair of binoculars planted against his face, stared towards the slowly approaching shoreline, not noticing the actual captain, an old, gruff sailor by the name of Pieter Fritz, step into the room from the entrance directly behind him.

"It's a beautiful evnin' ain't it." muttered Fritz as he gazed out the grime covered windows of the ship.

"I would have prefered a little bit of overcast, maybe some fog." replied Smuts.

"Ah well, the 'ell wit it. I figure that dem Kraut bas'tads won give a damn about tree l'il boats in dis here ocean."

"I hope your right." responded Smuts, setting down his binoculars to rub his eyes. "The whole damned operation depends on absolute secrecy."

"Aye. Well I can tell ya that plot o'dirt right there ain't too important to the Krauts. The only thing I've seen der wit a uniform on it is maybe a custom agent or two but no soldiers. Hell, I'm sure you could dam well march through the streets and through a fucking parade and those Hun bastards wouldn't care a bit."

Glancing over towards the old ship capitain with a slight grin, Smuts thought to himself for a moment before speaking again.

"I sure hope you're right..."

As the evening faded into twilight the ships, under the cover of a black moon, filed into the docks at Walvis Bay. One by one, the cargo holds were pryed open by the workers on shore and the boxes, upon their removal from the holds, were quietly re-located to various facilities along the edge of the city where they would lie in wait until the order for mobilization was given.

Meanwhile, the 'sailors,' like any other migrant of the seas, filed out of their assigned ships and wandered towards the selection of bars and whorehouses nearest them. The next morning they would eventually make their way to the three hotels and several hostels of the city and set up temporary quarters until the war had begun.

After a decade and a half, the Kommando had been reborn and once again ready to enter the fray.

OOC: More details on this operation soon to come.

August 14th, 1918

Off the coast of German South-West Africa

Among the sloshing waves of the clear Atlantic Ocean, 3 lone vessels steamed ahead at half speed, their long, painted smoke stacks of black and white belching forth a haze of dark smoke into the red horizon of a clear evening.

From their initial starting point in Cape Town, the vessels, commisioned as civilian merchant frigates of the South African Merchant Marine, had made their way north at a steady pace of 6 knots, careful to maintain an ordinary course of voyage while within the major shipping lanes of the South Atlantic.

Their final destintation. The bustling harbor of Walvis Bay, the Union's tiny sliver of land in the sea that was German colonial territory. Since 1884, the government of Cape Colony and later South Africa had administered the city itself, one of the largest and most strategically important in the region, leading to several standoffs between British and German authorities as the scramble for Africa heated up. However by the early 20th century, British precense was absolute and with a definate border in place, the Germans soon abandoned their aims to annex it whole.

However, despite its tiny size, that section of land was soon to play a big role in South Africa's plans for domination.

On board the vessels themsevles, marked as 'industrial equipment' in inconsicuous wooden and metal crates were hundreds of new Lee-Enfield Rifles, Winchester Repeating Rifles, Vickers Heavy Machineguns and even a few of Britain's new Lewis Light-Machineguns. Along with such a massive shipment of arms and equipment, a contingent of 500 soldiers, dressed as normal sailors (in fact, the normal crews of each vessel had been replaced by a military counterpart in Cape Town), moved to and fro along the ship's slimy steel decks, ensuring that the vessels they now controlled made it to their destination.

Among this group of soldiers, Minister of Defense Jan Smuts, dressed in a heavy blue coat, black leather boots, a pair of black pants with a light grey shirt tucked underneath along with a black sailor's cap to top it all off.

Standing atop the bridge of the S.S. Kitchiner, the lead vessel of the three strong pack, Smuts, with a pair of binoculars planted against his face, stared towards the slowly approaching shoreline, not noticing the actual captain, an old, gruff sailor by the name of Pieter Fritz, step into the room from the entrance directly behind him.

"It's a beautiful evnin' ain't it." muttered Fritz as he gazed out the grime covered windows of the ship.

"I would have prefered a little bit of overcast, maybe some fog." replied Smuts.

"Ah well, the 'ell wit it. I figure that dem Kraut bas'tads won give a damn about tree l'il boats in dis here ocean."

"I hope your right." responded Smuts, setting down his binoculars to rub his eyes. "The whole damned operation depends on absolute secrecy."

"Aye. Well I can tell ya that plot o'dirt right there ain't too important to the Krauts. The only thing I've seen der wit a uniform on it is maybe a custom agent or two but no soldiers. Hell, I'm sure you could dam well march through the streets and through a fucking parade and those Hun bastards wouldn't care a bit."

Glancing over towards the old ship capitain with a slight grin, Smuts thought to himself for a moment before speaking again.

"I sure hope you're right..."

As the evening faded into twilight the ships, under the cover of a black moon, filed into the docks at Walvis Bay. One by one, the cargo holds were pryed open by the workers on shore and the boxes, upon their removal from the holds, were quietly re-located to various facilities along the edge of the city where they would lie in wait until the order for mobilization was given.

Meanwhile, the 'sailors,' like any other migrant of the seas, filed out of their assigned ships and wandered towards the selection of bars and whorehouses nearest them. The next morning they would eventually make their way to the three hotels and several hostels of the city and set up temporary quarters until the war had begun.

After a decade and a half, the Kommando had been reborn and once again ready to enter the fray.

OOC: More details on this operation soon to come.

OOC: what side are you on? I know Jan Smuts (or someone lik him) tried to join the Germans, but it seems as if you're going to attack Germany

OOC: what side are you on? I know Jan Smuts (or someone lik him) tried to join the Germans, but it seems as if you're going to attack Germany

OOC: As a loyal Vassal of the Grand British Empire, I believe it is obvious as to whose side I fight on.

And as for Smuts, he never took part in the Maritz Rebellion. In fact, he aided Prime Minister Botha (as he was Minister of Defense at the time) in crushing it.

okay, I can see the National party in fits right now

(So where is Germany at this moment?)

no idea

(Well I'll wait a day, and then bug you some more I guess. Or should I wait two days?)

(Well I'll wait a day, and then bug you some more I guess. Or should I wait two days?)

he's online, and I told him to come here, so hopefully it won't be too long

The Kaiser was alive. He suffered no more than a grazed shoulder. What was left of his guard hurried him off to safety. He didn't know it yet, but today was not merely a near disaster, but a real one. Paul Von Hindenberg, the general whom had received credit for the greatest German victories of the war, had been hit just above the heart. Hindenberg had been visiting Berlin with Erik Ludendorff to discuss strategy with the rest of the high command, and had somehow ended up accompanying the Kaiser. Now he was in critical condition and no one noticed for several minutes as they were all focusing on the Kaiser. Eventually someone saw him and he was rushed off to receive care. The Kaiser was informed that his most popular general was in critical condition.


OOC: That should do for now.


IC: The German Navy launches a simultaneous attack on all major French ports (obviously excluding Med. ones.)

Statement by His Britannic Majesty's Government

A short time ago, an ImperialJapanese ship was torpedoed and badly damaged by a British submersible craft whilst defending a French transport that had become badly lost whilst attempting to reach Hong Kong to claim protection from the British forces there. The crew of the Japanese ship were in the process of boarding the French transport for the purpose of shooting the crew and looting the supplies, but thanks to a quick response the French were saved by our brave sailors.

Our course is clear. The Japanese cannot hope to rival our strength on land and at sea. They can expect no respite from the onslaught of Britain's highly trained forces. The cruisers that were laid down for the purposes of gifting to the Japnese are being taken back to be used against them. The Far East Fleet in conjunction with six squadrons from the Grand Fleet and five squadron from the Mediterannean Fleet are leaving harbour to enact a blockade of the Japanese mainland. No ship will be allowed through, be it civilian or military. Japan will know the folly of an island state provoking the world's greatest maritime nation to war.

From this day, a state of war exists between the Japanese Empire and His britannic Majesty's Empire, and no resource will be spared in ensuring the swift defeat of the Japanese menace. His Majesty urges all states that have been part of the Empire to join Britannia into this great endeavour. Naturally all the resources of the Empire are to be used, be they technological, manpower or natural.

(WHoa whoa whoa. A trained sniper with a clear shot to the back of the head. THe Kaiser would have alot more than just a skimmed shoulder. THat's like saying Lee Harvey Oswald simply parted JFK's hair slightly. In the end the Kaiser would have had a direct hit somewhere. Someone would also have died.)

ooc. You first have to pass my fleet GB ;) Whats the exact Strength of your fleet in the east? You Fact Book says that the only ships in the Far East are 3 Destroyers "based in China".

Imperial Japanese Government Pressbulletin

Once again the aggresors and opponents in this war are full of lies. What would a French Transport (which, by the way, is a legitimate military goal) do thousands of miles from the nearest French Base in the middle of hostile waters. The Japananese Empire, however, will not waver and will commit its full strength to persuade the British Empire to see their error. We still seek good relations with the British Empire, but if they refuse, so be it.

The Empire of Japan Considers itself from this moment, at War with the Empire of Great Britain.

(WHoa whoa whoa. A trained sniper with a clear shot to the back of the head. THe Kaiser would have alot more than just a skimmed shoulder. THat's like saying Lee Harvey Oswald simply parted JFK's hair slightly. In the end the Kaiser would have had a direct hit somewhere. Someone would also have died.)

isn't "parted the hairs" the term for shooting someone. Also, i think Hindenburg will die.

Perhaps the kaiser takes a round in the arm, and Hindenburg dies, plus 2 soldiers?

The Ships that were ordered by the Austrian-Hungarian Navy were quickly gathered and crewed by Reserve Crews and Regular Crews who weren't activated. They than put to sea for extra training, which should last 7 days. By then they would be ready (but not quite as good as the regular navy) to do any job.

(Ok I think that would be a fair thing. As in he hit two soldiers going to cover the Kaiser and the first one hit Hindenburg. The general and the kaiser would dress similar. So I think that Han's statement is fair.)