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1866 – Soukup-Valenta: Strength at the Straits
The first year of this war had been successful, but by no means an unqualified one. Indeed, Minister Spiros found himself under fire from some quarters for the supposedly unnecessarily high casualty figures; in the words of the Chief of the General Staff, who certainly was not one to mince words, “The problem is most certainly the losses we are taking against a technologically and numerically inferior foe.” In the barrage, the Minister did make certain concessions, leaving the comfort of Vienna for the new forward command base at Skopje in occupied Macedonia and granting further freedoms to Generals to pursue retreating enemy forces. He also removed the only remaining army within Federal territory, the Rebulican National Guard, such that it could lead a newly mandated push for Istanbul and the Straits in what was termed as an effort to “to pick up the pace”. In combination, these changes proved supremely effective at consolidating territorial gains in Europe; over the next four months, victory was achieved in all 6 major engagements, both within Federal borders, as the First Army proved in eradicating a Turkish incursion into Bosnia, and without, as the much depleted 2nd and 3rd Armies held off an Ottoman force some 3 times their size in the year’s opening days at Shumen, though admittedly with considerably higher losses, and the Republican National Guard, assisted ably by both the Army of Germany and the Naval Guard, stormed to victory in a string of battles at Varna, Stara Zaroga and Erdine. This last battle in particular has been seen since as a vindication for the changes the Chief of the General Staff argued so vociferously in favour of – by sunset on 4th April, all eleven thousand Ottoman troops in the city had been killed or had surrendered in the culmination of nigh on two months of constant hounding by Federal forces. Yet, the Minister never truly abandoned his master plan, in a sense creating a Plan A (mark 2) rather than any sort of Plan B; for Sprios, his policy of ‘slow and steady’ had always been the right one; whether he could continue to say “I do not believe that it is because of my strategy” for much longer would only become clear with time.
1. Ottoman forces surrender outside the city of Erdine, 4th April 1866
Surely the key area for Sprios was in this regard the war at sea. That the Mediterranean was being held “against any expectations“, to quote Georgescu once more, cannot be interpreted as any sort of contemporary vote of confidence in the Admiralty or their ships; yet the blockade of Gibraltar is regarded by many historians as the most vital activity of the war, at least in its early stages when the Turks could still put up a good fight, simply because it prevented the British from really participating in any meaningful way. It is therefore with great surprise that news of repeated victory by the chronically underestimated Federal Navy was received in Vienna as the Royal Navy was repulsed over and over from the Straits of Gibraltar. By the end of August, seven ships bearing the prefix HMS were sitting at the bottom of the sea between Cape Trafalgar and Cape Spartel as the result of three engagements. The Federal Navy maintained its record of no ships sunk whatsoever. On the other side of the Med, meanwhile, a curious war was bringing unexpected rewards for an otherwise engaged Admiralty. The Kingdom of the Two Scillies, the only real independent power remaining in the Italian Peninsular, had declared war upon Egypt the previous year for the transfer of areas of Syria to the Ottoman Empire. The strange thing about the war was that the Ottomans upheld their Egyptian alliance against their own material gain, presumably keen not to lose their only regional ally. By mid-1866, this had translated into a Sicilian control of the Straits, which meant that Federal forces need not be diverted from one Strait to the other to prevent a attack on Europe from Anatolia. Despite the naval supremacy in the Mediterranean, not one attack was made by Federal forces outside of Europe or Egypt in the year to August; the only notable nation to do so in the Danubian Alliance was Tuscany, who had by this point occupied both Cyprus and tiny Bermuda.
2. Known since ancient times as the Pillars of Hercules, in reference to the demi-God’s tenth labour to retrieve the Cattle of Geryon of the far West, the twin pillars were quickly incorporated into new Naval Shield which replaced the ensign on all official documents. The motto of the Navy was changed to that borne upon the columns, Non plus ultra (“Nothing further beyond” in English), in reference to the inability of the enemy to pass the nation’s mighty ships. Above is a modern conjectural depiction of the lost western section of the Tabula Peutingeriana, showing a representation of the Pillars of Hercules and a depiction of the crest adopted in 1866 by the Federal Navy.
In Vienna, meanwhile, the Government’s focus remained firmly on reducing the debt burden, managing to pay off around a third of that remaining in these first 8 months of 1866. Their efforts risked being undermined as the Romanian legislature voted on yet another nationalist bill, this time to direct all income from taxation on property and land through the state administration, thereby threatening the income of the government in its largest state. Denounced as unpatriotic at a time of war, and with President Valenta himself weighing in on what many saw as a firmly state-based issue, it failed at the first reading; yet it proved for many of the Romanians’ ability to cause trouble and further encouraged anti-Romanian thinking on a very local level across the nation. In the capital, peaceful protests were taking hold of the city as the Working Hours Directive further reduced the maximum legal working day to 12 hours in line with existing Federal legislation. These protests were not, as one might assume, from the conservative right for whom this law was an affront to the free market economy for which many longed, though in the Hofburg there was no end of debate on this issue. Instead, the vast bulk of the protestors were calling for the introduction of unemployment subsidies, irate that working hours were being reduced over reforms that they argued would help the millions affected by the recession and the sluggish recovery. In total, it is estimated that some 1.5 million men took to the streets nationwide over the worst weekend of the protests, or just over 10% of the adult male population.
Vienna was also the host of a great display of military might on behalf of the Austrian state government. On 10th May, the entirety of the Austrian Militia marched through the city’s streets. The event, aimed at galvanising support for the war, was hijacked by the President who organised an official reception for the ambassadors of the Great Powers of Europe on the same day. The scale of the reserves at the nation’s disposal at a time of war was greatly prestigious, so perhaps formed part of the logic behind the reception; however, the President’s true motive seems to have been to float the idea of a second Congress of Vienna to resolve the situation in Europe to the other powers. The response was mooted at best; the Prussians, for example, gave only lukewarm support stating they would not partake in any Conference unless the British did also. [1]The Russian ambassador proved to be the only foreigner to give support for the idea, perhaps sensing an opportunity to limit the Federation’s influence from extending further south. Either way, as May passed into June, any chance of the Foreign Minister’s much fêted ‘Balkan Congress’ actually materialising seemed to lie in tatters.
3. The Great Parade of Vienna, 10th May 1866
The Army, though, had other plans. Victories at Burgas, Varna and, most of all, the second battle of Shumen ensured an end to Ottoman military plans in Europe. The completion of the Siege of Istanbul at the end of August meant that, for the second time in just over a decade, Federal troops, this time lead by the Republican National Guard, stormed the Topkapi Palace, only to find it once again abandoned. There were even allied armies crossing the Bosporus towards an ever retreating Sultan. In Egypt, Federal troops had spent the year further occupying largely unopposed. The only place where minor setbacks were experienced was Tunisia, where just 3,000 Turks were making good on the Government’s refusal to protect the colonies. All in all, without British support in the Mediterranean, the Ottoman Empire faced collapse and finally acquiesced to demands for an International Conference, though only if it was held in neutral territory; the Prussians, keen to see their ally extracted from this humiliation offered to host and the British were forced to include themselves for fear of the Federation’s wishes in the region coming true. The stage was set and, as the war raged on in the South, politicians from across the continent headed for the Congress of Berlin.
[1] Her Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador had, unsurprisingly, declined the offer to attend the parade.
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((18 minutes apparently...))
The first year of this war had been successful, but by no means an unqualified one. Indeed, Minister Spiros found himself under fire from some quarters for the supposedly unnecessarily high casualty figures; in the words of the Chief of the General Staff, who certainly was not one to mince words, “The problem is most certainly the losses we are taking against a technologically and numerically inferior foe.” In the barrage, the Minister did make certain concessions, leaving the comfort of Vienna for the new forward command base at Skopje in occupied Macedonia and granting further freedoms to Generals to pursue retreating enemy forces. He also removed the only remaining army within Federal territory, the Rebulican National Guard, such that it could lead a newly mandated push for Istanbul and the Straits in what was termed as an effort to “to pick up the pace”. In combination, these changes proved supremely effective at consolidating territorial gains in Europe; over the next four months, victory was achieved in all 6 major engagements, both within Federal borders, as the First Army proved in eradicating a Turkish incursion into Bosnia, and without, as the much depleted 2nd and 3rd Armies held off an Ottoman force some 3 times their size in the year’s opening days at Shumen, though admittedly with considerably higher losses, and the Republican National Guard, assisted ably by both the Army of Germany and the Naval Guard, stormed to victory in a string of battles at Varna, Stara Zaroga and Erdine. This last battle in particular has been seen since as a vindication for the changes the Chief of the General Staff argued so vociferously in favour of – by sunset on 4th April, all eleven thousand Ottoman troops in the city had been killed or had surrendered in the culmination of nigh on two months of constant hounding by Federal forces. Yet, the Minister never truly abandoned his master plan, in a sense creating a Plan A (mark 2) rather than any sort of Plan B; for Sprios, his policy of ‘slow and steady’ had always been the right one; whether he could continue to say “I do not believe that it is because of my strategy” for much longer would only become clear with time.
1. Ottoman forces surrender outside the city of Erdine, 4th April 1866
Surely the key area for Sprios was in this regard the war at sea. That the Mediterranean was being held “against any expectations“, to quote Georgescu once more, cannot be interpreted as any sort of contemporary vote of confidence in the Admiralty or their ships; yet the blockade of Gibraltar is regarded by many historians as the most vital activity of the war, at least in its early stages when the Turks could still put up a good fight, simply because it prevented the British from really participating in any meaningful way. It is therefore with great surprise that news of repeated victory by the chronically underestimated Federal Navy was received in Vienna as the Royal Navy was repulsed over and over from the Straits of Gibraltar. By the end of August, seven ships bearing the prefix HMS were sitting at the bottom of the sea between Cape Trafalgar and Cape Spartel as the result of three engagements. The Federal Navy maintained its record of no ships sunk whatsoever. On the other side of the Med, meanwhile, a curious war was bringing unexpected rewards for an otherwise engaged Admiralty. The Kingdom of the Two Scillies, the only real independent power remaining in the Italian Peninsular, had declared war upon Egypt the previous year for the transfer of areas of Syria to the Ottoman Empire. The strange thing about the war was that the Ottomans upheld their Egyptian alliance against their own material gain, presumably keen not to lose their only regional ally. By mid-1866, this had translated into a Sicilian control of the Straits, which meant that Federal forces need not be diverted from one Strait to the other to prevent a attack on Europe from Anatolia. Despite the naval supremacy in the Mediterranean, not one attack was made by Federal forces outside of Europe or Egypt in the year to August; the only notable nation to do so in the Danubian Alliance was Tuscany, who had by this point occupied both Cyprus and tiny Bermuda.
2. Known since ancient times as the Pillars of Hercules, in reference to the demi-God’s tenth labour to retrieve the Cattle of Geryon of the far West, the twin pillars were quickly incorporated into new Naval Shield which replaced the ensign on all official documents. The motto of the Navy was changed to that borne upon the columns, Non plus ultra (“Nothing further beyond” in English), in reference to the inability of the enemy to pass the nation’s mighty ships. Above is a modern conjectural depiction of the lost western section of the Tabula Peutingeriana, showing a representation of the Pillars of Hercules and a depiction of the crest adopted in 1866 by the Federal Navy.
In Vienna, meanwhile, the Government’s focus remained firmly on reducing the debt burden, managing to pay off around a third of that remaining in these first 8 months of 1866. Their efforts risked being undermined as the Romanian legislature voted on yet another nationalist bill, this time to direct all income from taxation on property and land through the state administration, thereby threatening the income of the government in its largest state. Denounced as unpatriotic at a time of war, and with President Valenta himself weighing in on what many saw as a firmly state-based issue, it failed at the first reading; yet it proved for many of the Romanians’ ability to cause trouble and further encouraged anti-Romanian thinking on a very local level across the nation. In the capital, peaceful protests were taking hold of the city as the Working Hours Directive further reduced the maximum legal working day to 12 hours in line with existing Federal legislation. These protests were not, as one might assume, from the conservative right for whom this law was an affront to the free market economy for which many longed, though in the Hofburg there was no end of debate on this issue. Instead, the vast bulk of the protestors were calling for the introduction of unemployment subsidies, irate that working hours were being reduced over reforms that they argued would help the millions affected by the recession and the sluggish recovery. In total, it is estimated that some 1.5 million men took to the streets nationwide over the worst weekend of the protests, or just over 10% of the adult male population.
Vienna was also the host of a great display of military might on behalf of the Austrian state government. On 10th May, the entirety of the Austrian Militia marched through the city’s streets. The event, aimed at galvanising support for the war, was hijacked by the President who organised an official reception for the ambassadors of the Great Powers of Europe on the same day. The scale of the reserves at the nation’s disposal at a time of war was greatly prestigious, so perhaps formed part of the logic behind the reception; however, the President’s true motive seems to have been to float the idea of a second Congress of Vienna to resolve the situation in Europe to the other powers. The response was mooted at best; the Prussians, for example, gave only lukewarm support stating they would not partake in any Conference unless the British did also. [1]The Russian ambassador proved to be the only foreigner to give support for the idea, perhaps sensing an opportunity to limit the Federation’s influence from extending further south. Either way, as May passed into June, any chance of the Foreign Minister’s much fêted ‘Balkan Congress’ actually materialising seemed to lie in tatters.
3. The Great Parade of Vienna, 10th May 1866
The Army, though, had other plans. Victories at Burgas, Varna and, most of all, the second battle of Shumen ensured an end to Ottoman military plans in Europe. The completion of the Siege of Istanbul at the end of August meant that, for the second time in just over a decade, Federal troops, this time lead by the Republican National Guard, stormed the Topkapi Palace, only to find it once again abandoned. There were even allied armies crossing the Bosporus towards an ever retreating Sultan. In Egypt, Federal troops had spent the year further occupying largely unopposed. The only place where minor setbacks were experienced was Tunisia, where just 3,000 Turks were making good on the Government’s refusal to protect the colonies. All in all, without British support in the Mediterranean, the Ottoman Empire faced collapse and finally acquiesced to demands for an International Conference, though only if it was held in neutral territory; the Prussians, keen to see their ally extracted from this humiliation offered to host and the British were forced to include themselves for fear of the Federation’s wishes in the region coming true. The stage was set and, as the war raged on in the South, politicians from across the continent headed for the Congress of Berlin.
[1] Her Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador had, unsurprisingly, declined the offer to attend the parade.
---
((18 minutes apparently...))
((Brilliant. I only asked in case it meant tomorrow. I'll be in Greece for the next two weeks, and with only limited opportunities for internetting thanks to no WiFi in the villa, which isn't ideal considering that we need to hold a congress...
Incidentally, that was my first mention in an update (even if it was as 'the Foreign Minister.')))
Incidentally, that was my first mention in an update (even if it was as 'the Foreign Minister.')))
((Quite probably the first...
That is not ideal; I can't really foresee being able to conduct it without you, unless you are willing to just chip in when you can and we go with that you were taken ill.. I am loath to carry on without you, but then a two week hiatus after me being away for a week does seem a bit excessive...))
((I am assured that all of the (five) restaurants in the island have free Internet, so if people can stand my being slightly rude I imagine I can swing something. I think the general consensus is that we go out for lunch each day for the very reason of needing Internet (first world problems, eh? Having to eat out just to connect to WiFi!) Then there's dinner as well...
I'll see what things are like once I'm there and endeavour to inform you of the situation ASAP. If Wolfram's pneumonia comes back, so be it – as much as a shame it would be, considering how long this has been in the pipeline...))
((Thanks for the heads up. Hopefully it won't be too big of an issue. Regardless, I hope you have a nice time and that the weather is as glorious there as is has been here!))
((No worries. I'm just glad the war has finished before my trip!
It struck me earlier that this is the second holiday in a row that is pertinent to the Fed.I'm told that temperatures are consistently at least ten degrees hotter than here.))
The Danubian armies are victorious on every front!
Once again the Radical administration has proved itself strong, efficient and competent! This is just another great victory for the progress of our nation and for the most prestigious President Valenta!
Hurrah!
Pier Paolo Arpaio
- Ambassador to Sardinia-Piedmont
Once again the Radical administration has proved itself strong, efficient and competent! This is just another great victory for the progress of our nation and for the most prestigious President Valenta!
Hurrah!
Pier Paolo Arpaio
- Ambassador to Sardinia-Piedmont
The people have toiled long and hard for this victory, and they are demanding their fair share of the peace dividend. The people have spoken and they are demanding unemployment subsidies. A bill will be introduced soon that will establish unemployment subsidies for all those men who have worked for at least a year and lose their job. I would like input from all parties on the level that should be given.
Well, I am fairly certain that my fellow conservatives will agree with me on this, but I will not speak for them. Unemployment subsidies are not needed. Why should we pay for people to sit around and do nothing. If the workers want to support their family, they should get a job. It is as simple as that. Not only would we be wasting money, we would also be contributing to the creation of a lazy and dependent society. This blatantly socialist legislature is frightening and I hope that my conservative and liberal friends rally with me against such socialist legislature now and in the future. We must prevent our nation from slipping even further into the socialist model. For the good of all Danubia, we must stop the socialists from this course.
Klemens Adamcyzk, eternally frustrated with what he sees as corruption in the Silesian government, retires to more local political offices. He continues to agitate for republican ideals in Silesia, but never again gains the national spotlight in such a way again.
((Yup, new character time.
Klemens Haas
Date of Birth: 12th of October, 1839
Place of Birth: Trieste
Culture: German
Position: Naval Officer
Klemens was born to a family of merchants and took various jobs with his family in crewing and captaining their ships. He joined the navy during the coup of 1856, as the blockade of Crete (and the desertion of naval personnel loyal to the monarchist cause) created a need for new officers. Since then he has slowly risen through the ranks due to his general competence and political savvy. Klemens calls himself moderate, although some say his political leanings are more opportunistic than anything else. Like the old trade sloops he used to sail, Klemens goes whichever way the wind is blowing. ))
Should we not encourage some kind of savings fund for workers to invest in for times of unemployment - and attempt to make sure unemployment is in general short and survivable by encouraging job creation - rather than spend federal money simply paying workers whenever they are not working? If we create more and better jobs, and more and better avenues for savings, we gain investments and economic benefits as well as protecting workers.
((Yup, new character time.
Klemens Haas
Date of Birth: 12th of October, 1839
Place of Birth: Trieste
Culture: German
Position: Naval Officer
Klemens was born to a family of merchants and took various jobs with his family in crewing and captaining their ships. He joined the navy during the coup of 1856, as the blockade of Crete (and the desertion of naval personnel loyal to the monarchist cause) created a need for new officers. Since then he has slowly risen through the ranks due to his general competence and political savvy. Klemens calls himself moderate, although some say his political leanings are more opportunistic than anything else. Like the old trade sloops he used to sail, Klemens goes whichever way the wind is blowing. ))
Should we not encourage some kind of savings fund for workers to invest in for times of unemployment - and attempt to make sure unemployment is in general short and survivable by encouraging job creation - rather than spend federal money simply paying workers whenever they are not working? If we create more and better jobs, and more and better avenues for savings, we gain investments and economic benefits as well as protecting workers.
I would like to introduce my new unemployment subsidies bill:
((It's 8 hours because that's what the working week will be soon.))
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I agree with the idea of unemployment subsidies but think that only working one year in ones entire life before being eligible for subsides is too generous. I also think a time limit for each period of unemployment is appropriate as well as some other changes. I propose the following bill:
You mean to take money from those who work, in the form of taxes, and hand it to those who do not. If a man is in an unfortunate situation that makes him lose his job he can look to friends and family to hold him over until he can find another. That is fine because those people will grant him money by their own choice, but what you propose is taking money from hard working people, against their will, and giving it to those who don't work. Now I do not know how things work in the rest of the Federation, but in Albania, people choose whether or not they want to look out for their neighbors, it is not dictated by the threat of force from the government.
It seems that you simply wish to create a class of people dependent on the government, people who will be sure to vote for the men who voted to give them money for nothing. This is nothing short of a veiled attempt to buy some people's votes at the expense of others' well-being. I oppose this bill.
((As someone who just recently joined, do we really already have 8 hour work days in 1866?))
It seems that you simply wish to create a class of people dependent on the government, people who will be sure to vote for the men who voted to give them money for nothing. This is nothing short of a veiled attempt to buy some people's votes at the expense of others' well-being. I oppose this bill.
((As someone who just recently joined, do we really already have 8 hour work days in 1866?))
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Colonel,
Your concerns are why I proposed my bill which seeks to put limits on the program and make it a temporary aid to avoid starvation not a way of life.
((we do not have 8 hour work day))
Your concerns are why I proposed my bill which seeks to put limits on the program and make it a temporary aid to avoid starvation not a way of life.
((we do not have 8 hour work day))
Wouldn't it be wiser to make moRe job positions then to waste money on people with out jobs? Creating a class of people who depend on the government for sustenance is a poorly thought out and poorly designed system, it is logically and better for the average man if we as the government invest I creating more jobs.
- Letter from Dietrich von Tirpitz, General of the DEF
- Letter from Dietrich von Tirpitz, General of the DEF
I am opposed to the creation of a full unemployment subsidy. Danubian working men should not have to support the unemployed masses. It will reward laziness and cripple determination. We are still far too heavily in debt to consider such legislation on a large scale.
However, I feel an exception to this rule should be made for the returning veterans of this conflict. All too often, soldiers returning from the front find themselves without employment, and are left to fall into poverty and misery. Our soldiers deserve better than this, and I would propose the following bill to remedy the situation.
Veterans Employment Act
1. The Office of Veterans Affairs will be responsible for aiding veterans in finding gainful employment after their return from military conflicts or terms of duty.
2. The Office will provide a small monthly stipend to all unemployed veterans returning from conflicts until such time as they will have found gainful employment or for 18 months.
- Konstantinos Venizelos, Prime Minister of Crete
However, I feel an exception to this rule should be made for the returning veterans of this conflict. All too often, soldiers returning from the front find themselves without employment, and are left to fall into poverty and misery. Our soldiers deserve better than this, and I would propose the following bill to remedy the situation.
Veterans Employment Act
1. The Office of Veterans Affairs will be responsible for aiding veterans in finding gainful employment after their return from military conflicts or terms of duty.
2. The Office will provide a small monthly stipend to all unemployed veterans returning from conflicts until such time as they will have found gainful employment or for 18 months.
- Konstantinos Venizelos, Prime Minister of Crete
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(An office already exists for this as per the Veteran Care Act of 1855, its Office of Veteran’s Affairs under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. However, these new duties can always be added into the already existing office.)
The socialist blindness is unbelievable. The people are out in the street, crying out for the government to give them back the jobs that they have stolen from them, and all they have to offer is a handout, paid with their taxes ? We need to take this problem at the root : It has become simply too expensive to employ a man on the shores of the Danube, in any state of the Federation. The Federal Government has largely overstepped its responsibilities in introducing this legislation, and for all these reasons, I propose the following bill to the Congress of the Danube :
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