Clash of Titans: Germany, Britain, and the Coming of the Great Wars

[CSL_GG]

Gathering Detente​

Queen Victoria's Funeral​

It was to be the second time in three years Kronprinz Wilhelm had journeyed to Great Britain in his official capacity as a representative of Germany to the august Court of St. James. The previous visit as everyone could attest to had been much happier, the occassion being the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The Kronprinz, though at times thought a blowhard, had at that time been been feted as the most respectable foreigner attending the celebrations – much to the consternation of many French, Russians, and Austrian guests. Several papers including the Daily Mail had toasted to his good health and he in turn had done the same towards the Queen. Sadly it seemed as though such blessings had run out mere weeks after the start of the new century. Victoria, the monarch who had ruled for more than half a century was gone. At her deathbed she was attended by not only her son, the future Edward VII, but also the Kronprinz Wilhelm who it was said had always treated her as if she were his mother. Such affection as their was between them was also seen between him and the new King, though with marked terms of dislike at times. Edward in particular could not stand the haughtiness of his nephew and disliked his constant attempts as dressing up as a military officer. Regardless Edward, and the British public at large was pleased by the public goodwill shown by the Kronprinz and were even more enamoured with his father, Kaiser Friedrich III who while not attending the deathbed or the funeral was well admired for his heartfelt statements of sorrow for the loss of such a well esteemed monarch and motherfigure. Other world leaders were also keen to show goodwill and proper respects for the Queen, including American President William McKinley who ordered all flags to be flown at half-mast following news of Victoria's death. Similiar tributes came in from across the civilized world – the French President arrived to attend the funeral, as well as Grand Duke Michael from Russia, as well as more minor functionaries from Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, and Japan.

For all the sorrow surrounding the death of Victoria the precense of the Kronprinz and his friendly relations with the new King belied a by now rapidly changing relationship between Great Britain and Germany, which could not be adequately described as a gradual detente over matters as diverse as international trade policy, naval arms building, and colonial aspirations. Despite the most public role held by the Kronprinz it was quite well known, at least in diplomatic circles, that this would have been unlikely under the direction of Wilhelm who was rightly considered to be to mercurial to steer any one course for too long and far too prone to boasting. Instead many, such as Salisbury and Arthur Balfour conceeded in private and in their eventual memoirs that the raproachment had been a thing long coming over several decades starting during the final Disraeli ministry when Bismarck had first sounded out Great Britain about an alliance – an offer not then taken up, but subsequently put forward by Bismarck several times over the next two decades until his dismissal and replacement by Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingfürst. The dismissal of Bismarck had done little to change the attitude of the German government though, for as luck would have it one of the only matters in which Bismarck and Kaiser Friedrich III had seen eye-to-eye upon was the notion of a gradual diplomatic alliance with Great Britain – though for differing reasons. Bismarck, as he had so longingly looked for, had seen Britain as a potential bulwark against Russia and its volatile political nature. At first he had perhaps rightly assumed that Britain would stand much to gain from any such alliance as it quite naturally would help to secure them from any potential conflict with Russia in Central Asia. In one of his rare missteps though Bismarck had been unable to grasp the elementary fact that throughout the last half of the nineteenth century Britain and its politicians had been quite unwilling to dabble in continental politics no matter how advantageous it might seem. German attempts at corraling them into diplomatic agreements had at times seemed fruitful but Bismarck had never himself quite learned that British politicians were at heart only playing off the sides to maintain a general peace so as they might remain isolated themselves, or if this were not the case then to gain some colonial advantage – such as the case was in Berlin following the Urabi Revolt in 1880.

If Bismarck was only interested in power politics though, Friedrich was more interested in aligning Germany with Britain due an inherent idealism and familial ties with Britain's ruling family. As noted many times previously Friedrich had himself married the first daughter of Queen Victoria and through that vector had over time become not only highly enamoured with English society but also its political system and poltiical tone. While Bismarck was at heart an authoritarian, who was to use elements of democracy and social safety nets to achieve his political ends, Friedrich had always wished to model the German political system on that of Great Britain – though keen to preserve a distinctly German flavor. To that end Friedrich had allowed his desire to align with Great Britain to in many ways take over his foreign policy in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Most obvious among these decisions was the movement to not renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia, the key cornerstone of Bismarckian continental politics – and which had also ushered in the downfall of Bismarck himself – and while this move was also brought upon by the fierce disgust Friedrich often felt for Russia, it was also a delibrite move to ingratiate Germany with Great Britain. To some degree this was successful, many of the leading newspapers in England proclaiming their pleasure that Germany had taken another step away from absolutism and towards a ”firm constitutional footing”, it also alarmed many within the Conservative government who far from wanting to thank the Kaiser for weakening Russia international were now outright frightened that Russia, without an ally would turn to the only other continental pariah – Austro-Hungary – which was what promptly occured.

Kaiser Friedrich and his wife, both Anglophiles​

Nevertheless while Friedrich did manage to make continental politics all the more volatile, first by shunning Russia and then by needlessly antagonizing France in the wake of the Fashoda Crisis in pursuit of stronger ties with Britain, the British were beginning to come around politically to the idea of becoming more active in European politics. Salisbury, who had earlier proclaimed an era of ”splendid isolation” was now allowing more open talks of integrating Britain into the European community, perhaps as a way to help avoid the kind of open continental conflicts by which were now seemingly appearing to threaten on the horizon. Russia as can be stated curtly was never even considered – indeed the only thing linking British policy throughout the last half of the nineteenth century had been a common dislike of Russia. France by now was also seen as inappropriate – indeed recent problems over Fashoda and the lingering distrust of the French brought on by incidents such as the Penelope crisis had once again hardened relations between the two countries. To that end Britain saw only three potential continental allies – Italy, Austria, and Germany. On the whole noone supported movement towards the Italians, who were seen as politically shallow and liable to abandon any agreements in pursuit of the Trentino, the remaining Austrian parts of Venetia, and Trieste. Political movements to align with Austria took center stage for several weeks in the summer of 1900, perhaps as a precurssor to revive the Congress system but in the end this came to naught. Though much personal goodwill had been engendered earlier in the year due to the heartfelt and much appreciated note by Franz Joseph following the death of the Queen, the increasingly Austrian alignment with St. Petersburg put a dent not only in the diplomatic framework in London, but also in Vienna where pro-Russian circles quickly crushed the political aspirations of those looking to realign towards Britain.

In the end then this left only Germany. To many this made perfect sense – for unlike the other two major powers on the continent Germany had gone out of its way to stay on good relations with Great Britain, the conduct of Bismarck on numerous occasions dating back to the Disraeli ministry amd the more recent examples of the Kronprinz and Kaiser Friedrich could attest to that. Moreover to the Tory led government of Salisbury and Balfour the Germans had moved away from their earlier self-aggrandizing movements of the early Bismarckian era towards a more constructive, lucid form of diplomacy that was well appreciated – especially by Salisbury himself. Many moreover could not remember a time when Germany wasn't seen as the honest broker in European politics and if, as Balfour suggested the King's government wished to involve itself more in continental politics instead of retaining splendid isolation it was going to be better to do so with an avowed friend. It was such that when the Daily Mail put forward an editorial on the end of splendid isolation and a potential alliance with Germany, they described them as, ”the one true friend on the continent by which all Englishmen can feel safe in trusting.”

 

[Karelian]

Imperial Anglo-German cooperation, mmm. Subscribed.

 

[Rensslaer]

Ooh! Very good, CSL.... A re-do???

As you know, I was one of those most looking forward to a continuation of this in HOI 2, but HOI 3 is much better altogether!

Rensslaer

p.s. My only request would be a more readable font style. Either larger or non-italicized. I find this somewhat hard to read.

 

[CSL_GG]

Ooh! Very good, CSL.... A re-do???

Not a re-do a direct continuation. As per several direct allusions to things I wrote god knows how long ago.

 

[Myth]

This looks quite interesting, I'm subscribed!

 

[yourworstnightm]

He is back!!!!! Again... this time you don't quit!!

 

[El Pip]

A continuation! Excellent.

 

[dublish]

Whoa, deja vu.

 

[Lord E]

This sure looks very nice. The Hoi2 version was nice to follow, so I am looking forward to see how this will play out in HoI3. Shall be interesting to read more

 

[CSL_GG]

The World in 1900​

It would be proper at this point in my history to stop and speak in more general tones about the conduct and overall tenor of world politics at the start of the new century. The death of Queen Victoria and the end of what has in time has become known as the ”Victorian Era” offers moreover, the perfect place on which to start such a general overview.

Germany​

That Germany was widely considered the leading continental power at the start of the twentieth century should come as no surprise to anyone versed in history. It could be seen as an oddity though, for the nation had not existed a new fourty years previously. That Germany existed at all was the result of the brilliant political machinations of Otto von Bismarck. At the start of his political career the region was still divided up into dozens of kingdoms, duchies, free cities, and principalities – furthermore Prussia was still seen by most as playing a distinctly second-fiddle to Austria, at that point still viewed as the premier German-speaking power. At the time few in power in London, Paris, or St. Petersburg would have assumed that the small kingdom, with its distinct lack of civility and disregard for the arts, would humble Austria first politically during the war against Denmark in 1864 and then militarily in 1866 during the Austro-Prussian War. In the wake of these developments and the signing of the Treaty of Prague, Prussia became the preeminent power in Germany – directly annexing Bohemia and Moravia from Austria and effectively annexing several German states with the establishment of the North German Confederation. Over the following several years Bismarck worked hard to continue this increase of Prussian power, coercing in turn the southern German states into the Prussian orbit despite political resistance in Bavaria and overt foreign influence from both Vienna and Paris.

Prussia might have eventually gathered together all the pieces of German at peace in due time but this was not to be, for in 1870 the Franco-Prussian War started. Ostensibily over the issue of succession in Spain, a more astute reading of the political machinations behind the war can see a distinct clash of personalities between Bismarck on one side, and the forceful flambouyant Emperor Napoleon III, who had earlier attempted to mediate the Treaty of Prague and come away fearing the growth of Prussian power in the wake of wide territorial annexations. Much like Austro-Prussian War, the war once started ended quickly after a series of pitched battles throughout eastern and central France ended in French humiliation and the toppling of the Second Empire. Napoleon was sent off into exile and Prussia was in time able to capture Paris, agreeing on a set of conditions at the Treaty of Frankfurt which were, in comparison to Prussian gains against Austria, distinctly generous. Prussia, now Germany with the crowning of Kaiser Wilhelm I at Versailles, was to gain only a portion of the French navy, an indemnity, and a swath of colonial concessions of which most were returned in due time to the French government.

Bismarck's period of ”blood and iron” was by now over, but in the wake of the successful unification of Germany under Prussian dominance, Bismarck turned his eye to preserving the new status quo that he had largely created. To this end over the next two decades from he created a system of alliances dedicated to ensuring the primacy of Germany on the continent, and by extension weakening what could be seen as the nations only real enemy – Austria. The first example of this movement came in 1875 when Bismarck was able to start the Zweikaiserbund with Russia, a defensive alliance against Austria. Three years later this was increased in scope to include Italy. Care was also taken to keep in the good graces of both France and Great Britain, both of which had by now come to view the German Chancellor as a fair dealer and steady rock in support of peace. Further treaties were also conducted in 1881 against Russia in secret with both Italy and France, and unsuccessful talks were also held with the British minitries of Disraeli and Salisbury. It was only after 1888 that this course of Bismarckian politics was shown to have cracks, for with the death of Kaiser Wilhelm I and the ascention of his liberal minded son, Friedrich, Bismarck lost his political support and was shortly thereafter removed from office.

In the mere decade following his ascension Friedrich was to drastically change the tone of German foreign policy – most visibly with the cancellation of the Reinsurance Treaty (in effect the renamed Zweikaiserbund of old) and an overt courting of British political opinion. Relations on the whole remained warm with Italy, France, and Britain – partly due to the continuing notion that Germany remained a largely disinterested mediator of international problems (an idea first fostered at the 1877 Congress of Berlin). By the start of the new century problems have however begun to be noticed due to this change in international politics. While Germany has managed to grow closer with Great Britain, its claim to be a fair mediator have come under question not only by Austria and Russia, but now also France whose political establishment stings from the German role in the Fashoda Crisis. More worrying to many is the end of Austrian isolation in 1893, when most unexpectedly Russia was to extend its hand in friendship. Nevertheless as all can see it German stands astride all of Europe – less dominant than a decade previously, but still the titan of Europe.

Great Britain​

The death of the Queen shocked and distressed all within Great Britain and its assorted colonies. It can be said though that her reign was among the most glorious in all of British history. While Bismarck was uniting German under Prussian leadership the various governments of Great Britain were increasing the breadth and scope of imperial power throughout Africa and Asia. While at numerous times propositioned by German in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War the various governments of Disraeli, Gladstone, and Salisbury proved unwilling to do little more than engage occassionally at the various German-led congresses and treaties that became such a feature of the late-nineteenth century. Energy was instead expended in colonial ventures, which were to commonly bring new territory into the British sphere – one can point to the Urabi Revolt in Egypt, the Second Anglo-Afghan War, as well as campaigns against the Zulu and in the Sudan at the end of the century. Most recent of all was the conflict in South Africa against the Boer Republics, still an ongoing struggle as the century started.

When it came to international politics though by 1900 the Conservative government of Salisbury and Arthur Balfour has begun to come around to the idea of detente with at least one European power, or at the very least a more active role in continental politics – the last decade of the nineteenth century having shown that splendid isolation, while a fine concept was allowing potentially threatening political occurances to happen with frightening regularity. At the start of the new century Britain holds good relations with most European nations – particularly Italy, Austria, and Germany. Affairs with France are tense, but rest ultimately on matters of colonial policy. Perhaps worst of all is the relationship between His Majesty's Government and Russia which remains seen in the harshest terms in London – talk being nearly continuous at times that the Russians still smarting from the successful imposition of a British client-state in Afghanistan would wish to see its forces march towards the Indian Ocean.

Regardless of these issues politics in Britain remains overwhelmingly domestic and while the Conservatives may have begun to take a more active interest in foreign issues the public at large sees Home Rule and the development of social safety nets as a more important problem confronting the new Edwardian-era.

France​

France had early on seen with clarity the threat posed by Prussia. Napoleon III himself had attempted to mediate in favor of Austria in the wake of the Austro-Prussian War to minimize this threat but was unable to effect any change in the outcome. Only years later he and the Second Empire were washed away in the Franco-Prussian War, replaced by the Third Republic. In contrast to the treatment of Austria, France was treated with a light hand allowing the new French Republic to make a quick recovery from the war, despite the large amount of damage sustained by the capital from both the Prussian siege and the brief Paris Commune. Realizing that primacy on the continent was now out of French grasp the new leaders of France looked to external sources to regain honour and prestige for the state, finding it in a series of colonial ventures that helped to propel France into the position of the second largest colonial power. Naturally this has brought France into political conflict with Britain on numerous occassions – most notably during the Urabi Revolt, the Penelope Crisis, and the recent Fashoda Crisis. By the start of the twentieth century France retains a large colonial empire through most of West Africa, the Horn of Africa, Madagascar, and much of Vietnam.

Russia​

Germany had only one real rival on the continent that could potentially match it. Both France and Austria had fallen easily to German martial prowess, but the size and monolithic stature of Russia had always kept Bismarck cultivating only the best relations – with some notable concerns. By now Nicholas II has become Czar of Russians, yet all is not well in the shadow of the Winter Palace. Increasingly the politics of Russia have become polarized between reactionary elements. Russia remains implacably absolutist and in pursuit of it remaining so blood has been split throughout the entirety of the vast empire. The first such case of this change towards a more combative tone of domestic violence came as early as two decades previous with the assassination of Alexander II in 1881 by Narodnaya Volya. Since that time political violence has remained a constant feature of domestic Russian life and the so-called reforms of Alexander II's early reign have largely disappeared. Despite its internal problems the more astute observor could notice the vast changes occuring throughout the country with regards to its now swift movements towards fullscale industrialization.

Internationally Russia remains a colossus. Though Kaiser Friedrich has destroyed the formal old bonds many in the country look to a day when Russia and Germany can renew their friendship. Realists however seen the writing on the wall and have aligned the autocracy with a previously unlikely source – Austro-Hungary. Previous to 1883 the dual-monarchy had been seen as a roadblock to the eventual fulfillment of the long desired elimination of Ottoman power in the Balkans, however Austrian objections have largely been dropped in favor of securing a well needed continental ally. Continued Russian talk of taking Constantinople and the straits have likewise galvanized worse relations with Britain as the century dawns.

Austro-Hungary and Italy​

Two last powers existed in Europe at the start of the new century – Austro-Hungary and Italy. Both had become implacable enemies over the issue of Austrian involvement in the Italian peninsula and continued Austrian control of the Trentino, and smaller slices of ostensibly Italian territory around Venetia and Trieste. In this Germany had become central, having sided itself with Italy as early as 1866. Since that point Italy and Germany have retained close relations, with mutual agreements conducted between them. With the vigor of being a new nation Italy has taken up the idea of gaining its own colonies, putting an eager eye on some of the last unoccupied territory in Africa – which is to surely put it into open conflict with the Ottoman Empire and antagonize the French, who themselves have begun to look at gaining more influence in the Horn of Africa. In contrast Austria has looked inward for much of the last few decades – soon after the defeat of Austrian armies in 1867 a new political compromise between German and Magyar speakers has created the dual-monarchy and largely allowed for a stable domestic political environment. The governments under Franz Joseph have managed to use such peace to pursue a variety of goals, including the large scale reorganization of the military, the establishment of a new tax code, and more recently foreign policy successes with both Russia and France.

 

[unmerged(87160)]

Could you post some very short summary about Clash of Titans in HoI2?

Is there any important difference between real life and your AAR?

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

I followed with pleasure your HOI2 AAR, so I'll do the same with the HOI3.

 

[Karelian]

Alsace-Lorraine is still French, I assume? The political situation you have created here offers many interesting possibilities, but in the long run it is also as unstable as the OTL equivalent.

 

[VILenin]

Subscribed. You counter-factual scenarios are always fascinating CSL.

 

[Myth]

Subtle changes from OTL, but which may make all the difference in time. Very interesting!

 

[Nikolai]

Very subtle. So subtle I'm unsure I've got them all.

 

[CSL_GG]

Alsace-Lorraine is still French, I assume? The political situation you have created here offers many interesting possibilities, but in the long run it is also as unstable as the OTL equivalent.

Alsace-Lorraine is indeed French.

 

[CSL_GG]

The Boer War​

Having settled the Fashoda Crisis the continent of Africa seemed now devoid of conflict, besides the numerous and almost forgotten skirmishes between encroaching European settlers and the more reclusive or combative African tribal elements. By the start of 1899 almost the entire continent had been settled upon politically in the aftermath of German mediation between the French and British. Should one have examined that political settlement they would have then found the majority of the continent under the control of those three powers – with a smattering of isolated colonies controlled by other powers such as the Dutch, Belgians, Spanish, and Portuguese. In contrast however it was the British who controlled the most strategically important of all the colonies, Egypt and the Cape Colony which were to give Great Britain masterful access to two ever increasingly important traderoutes. In addition the British by now also controlled a number of other colonies – including modern-day Nigeria, the Sudan, Rhodesia, and East Africa. While the French had been recently repulsed from Fashoda they too had large amounts of territory throughout the continent, though this predominated mainly in the vast barren stretches of the Sahara. What few rich colonies the French had in their possessions largely were kept near the coast such as in the case of Algeria and the already vibrant port city of Dakar. And while Fashoda had certainly kept a damper on further French expansionism, many within the French colonial office still held out hopes to increase their grip on the Horn of Africa, having taken over portions of the region from the Dutch following their withdrawl in 1896. Slightly smaller, the Imperial German colonies were on the whole ably run after a series of brutal campaigns of repression throughout German East Africa and Kamerun. Smaller in scope and breadth of area, the German colonies were on the whole richer and more populated than their French counterparts – though German Southwest Africa was on the whole regarded as the least developed part of the continent. Not all of Africa was dominated by colonial powers, there were three exceptions – Liberia, Abyssinia, and the Boer Republics. Of these, the first was still a colony in all but name having modeled itself after the United States in most regards, and was insignificant enough to be ignored. Abyssinia in contrast was the last truly independent African state remaining, having resisted repeated attempts by numerous colonial actors to take the area, including a massive failed Dutch attempt in 1896 to take the state after which no serious efforts were made to bring the country under foreign domination.

A Map of European Colonialism circa 1900: Great Britain (Red), France (Blue), Germany (Grey), Portugal (Green), Belgium (Orange), Spain (Yellow), Non-European Holdings (Dark Blue)​

The real remarkable states in the closing decade of the century were those Boer Republics in South Africa which included the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic. Both of these small states controlled much of the interior hinterland and had done so for well over a century since the Cape Colony was annexed by Great Britain from its former Dutch rulers. In the aftermath a mass exodus of Dutch farmers and ranchers had gone inland, establishing several of these states and engaging in some of the most prolonged racial hierarchies to be formed between colonists and the native inhabitants of the region. It was only in the last half of the nineteenth century that the British became active enough in South Africa to encroach on the Boer Republics. In doing so one rather small colonial conflict with engendered, but due to a lack of interest from London the region was not annexed – mostly due to the fact that at the time noone in the colonial office believed the region worth the effort it would require to conquer. All of this changed upon the realization that the region was rich in valuable mineral resources such as gold and diamonds, and with the encouragement of notable individuals such as Cecil Rhodes and Joseph Chamberlain – adament imperialists both – British behavior against the two Boer Republics became increasingly combative. Naturally protective of their territory and sovereignty this in turn led to hostility by the Boer's to British citizens, the most famous case of which was to be the Uitlanders – migrant workers on the Witwatersrand gold fields in the Transvaal. Given limited rights to prevent what was feared to be a British takeover of the Republic this conduct only served to fuel the imperial ambitions of several – including Rhodes who was to forment the idea of sending in a raid to enfranchise the Uitlanders (with their help) and march to Johannesburg to oust the Paul Kruger government. The idea was kicked around as early the start of 1895, but was only put into action over the New Years weekend at the end of that year when one of the organizers – Leander Starr Jameson became sick of waiting and set out to accomplish the plan without the direct support of either Rhodes or more importantly Chamberlain at the Colonial Office. Moving into the Transvaal with a thousand men he planned to be in Johannesburg quickly to rally what he believed would be a sizeable force of Uitlanders. Almost immediately the plan began to go awry. Jameson had assumed it would take some time for the Boers to organize against his raid and that the march to Johannesburg would be mostly free of interference, it was not to be. Less than twenty miles into his march his column was stopped at Krugersdorp by an element of strong, dug in Boer rifleman. Exchanging fire for most of the afternoon Jameson was forced to retreat back towards the border having lost twenty-eight men and two of his vital Maxim Guns. While a small band of Jamesons men managed to escape around this point, the larger body of his men – perhaps six hundred in all was stopped around Doornkop where another force of Boers appeared in front of him, this time amply prepared and supported by two light field pieces. With another smaller band of Boers from Krugersdorp still hounding at his back and reports of cavalry upon his flanks Jameson had no choice but to surrender early on the morning of January 2nd 1896.

Cecil Rhodes (left) was one of the minds behind the Jameson Raid and fierce proponent of British Imperialism​

Reaction from Rhodes and Chamberlain was almost universally negative. While both were initially supportive of the effort both quickly realized that their overall plan of incorporating the two Republics into the British Cape Colony would never be served by such a haphazard and ultimately dangerous raid. Chamberlain was reported as stating that ”if this succeeds it will ruin me.” Upon arriving in London and the colonial office he made it clear to Sir Hercules Robinson, Governor-General of the Cape Colony, that the sternest repudiation of the Jameson raid would need to be made and to with the utmost speed remove Rhodes from the public sphere, lest he incriminate the whole endevour. So successful was Chamberlains management of the fiasco's aftermath that he was even able to secure the release of Jameson and his men within two months of their capture and while the majority were let go, Jameson and several others were deported to Britain where they stood trial and eventually received sentences for their conduct. Politically though this was not the end of the Jameson raid. It became rapidly clear that the French saw this as a means to enhance their prestige in the region – particularly due to the fact that at the time the Bourgeois government was in secret negotiations with the Portuguese to purchase the colony of Mozambique. Then Minister of the Colonies, Pierre-Paul Guieysse, also considered this an ample opportunity to redirect valuable Boer trade away from the Cape Colony and into Mozambique – whose sale all had now assumed to be inevitable – and due to this fact was able to pursuade Prime Minister Bourgeois to send a telegram to President Kruger toasting him on his nations ability to fend off threats to its sovereignty. Quite naturally when the telegram became public it incensed British public opinion, and in particular newspaper editors who rightly assumed it was designed as a stab against what many considered a British sphere of influnce. As The Times noted: ”England will concede nothing to menaces and will not lie down under insult.” The Bourgeois government, by now fending off its own domestic problems and seeing the potential problems the telegram was now causing issued a dramatic volte-face, sending a conciliatory telegram to the British foreign office in February in which it was stated that ”never was the telegram intented as a step against England or your government...” Though no lasting repurcussions were to come from the telegram it was to add to the increasing amount of tension between the two nations, which it part was to force the Fashoda Crisis in two years time to come before a German led conference.

In South Africa things were not as settled. Though Jameson and the most radical proponents of settling the Uitlander problem had been removed by the middle of 1896, the issue of the Uitlander franchise remained a problem for both Chamberlain and Paul Kruger. Chamberlain, though he had argued against the Jameson raid was never in doubt that the enfranchisement of British citizens would need to be accomplished, and by extension the two Republics would need to be incorporated into the Cape Colony. This was of course not acceptable to Kruger, who quite correctly saw the notion of enfranchising the Uitlanders to be tantamount to ceding sovereignty to the British. Other issues were to also raise problems between the two sides – such as tax issues over the heavy taxation of mining equipment (over which the majority of immigrant British workers needed) and the selection of non-British companies for monopolies over such services as explosive manufacturing and arms purchases, given to Swedish and French companies respectively.

President Paul Kruger of the Transvaal​

By 1899 outright conflict between the two sides became inevitable after Chamberlain, sensing that the opportunity was ripe demanded outright that all Uitlander residents of more than three years be enfranchised and made exempt from what were deemed ”punative taxation”. Kruger in response made his own demand that British forces be removed from the border of both the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Upon the rejection of both demands the Transvaal mobilized its Staatsartillerie and began forming commando units – reaching a total strength of thirty to fourty-thousand men armed men. In contrast to the opponents the British had faced in the past fifty years the Boers were to be the most dangerous. Though having only a small force they were well trained, with experience from the First Boer War and occassionally with theoretical backgrounds based off fighting in the American Civil War. Commando units were also well armed, the average Boer having access to modern Mauser rifles and often being mounted. The Staatsartillerie was also excellent, having just recently been equipped with modern French 75mm Mdl 1897 quickfiring artillery pieces and several Le Creusot ”Long Tom” siege guns – a point which was to further sour Anglo-French relations throughout the war. The scattered British forces along the Transvaal and Orange Free State borders were as such caught off guard during the early days of the fighting. Almost immediately British forces were surrounded at several sites – at Kimberley, Mafeking, Dundee, and Ladysmith. At several points the British attempted to counterattack, but were either repulsed totally (at Dundee) or rendered useless after a lack of exploitation (at Elandslaagte). Instead of attempting to take the various towns by storm the Boers settled in for lengthy sieges.

Such was the position when substantial British reinforcements arrived in the Cape Colony under Sir Redvers Henry Buller. Well respected Buller had been in the British Army since the late 1850s and had a Victoria Cross to his name, earned during the Anglo-Zulu War for gallantry shown in saving the lives of several men during the course of the campaign. Arriving in South Africa he brought three divisions and promptly set out to relieve the British garrisons at Ladysmith, Mafeking, and Kimberley splitting his forces in the process to do so. Though Buller had some early successes, Boer resistance stiffened throughout the summber of 1899. Finding that their tactics of quick mounted operations and fighting from entrenched cover allowed them to compete with the numerically larger British forces the Boers inflicted three significant defeats on Buller in December of that year at Magersfontein, Stormberg, and Colenso. Taking direct command from his generals as the new year began Buller attempted to advance yet again over the Tugela river – where Boers had defeated his earlier attempt at crossing. Though Buller managed to cross the river on this occassion he was immediately presented with another threat to his front, the hill of Spion Kop which left unattended promised to be a tough Boer redoubt. An attack on the hill several days later proved initially well founded, but as the surprise of the British effort wore off the Boers under Louis Botha counterattacked, supported by French-made guns. Following a day of fierce fighting the British were forced off Spion Kop and over the Tugela river. Buller made one last attempt to cross the river in early February at Vaal Krantz, but this effort was repulsed as well. Fed up with his preformance Buller was sacked shortly thereafter – replaced by Lord Roberts who brought with him a substantial number of reinforcements.

Roberts brought with him not only more men, but a renewed sense of urgency. Within days of his arrival he was to send out several divisions to advance on the besieged towns. The most successful of these forces was a cavalry division under Major General John French, who managed to relieve Kimberley by the end of February. From that point on Roberts continued a series of assaults on the remaining Boer forces he encourtered, battering one after another into submission. One, under Piet Cronjé was only to surrender after fierce fighting over the course of several weeks and in the end only convinced to give up his arms after a week long artillery bombardment and the start of a large typhoid outbreak amongst his troops. The Boers managed to put up stiffer resistance around the Tugela, once again resisting another British attempt to cross the river but in due time Botha was forced back – flanked by further British cavalry elements which allowed Buller to force Botha into abandoning the siege of Ladysmith. Though Cronjé was forced to surrender his entire force Botha was able to extredite his forces from around Ladysmith, and through support from locals and with strong mounts was able to link up with additional Boer forces around Pretoria by late May. Though he had lost most of his guns in the retreat, Buller had no sufficiently following up on his victory – perhaps owing to the nearly 10,000 casualties he had sustained – and as such Botha was in the position to garrison the several forts which had been constructed around Pretoria. Aided by an influx of new volunteers and those men who had avoided being captured by Roberts the Boers began to entrench around their capital, bringing in food supplies, and fixing their guns in concealed locations.

Fighting was fierce throughout the Boer War, particularly at pitched battles such as Spion Kop​

By the summer of 1900 much of the direct fighting was done, with the notable exception of the garrison around Pretoria. Roberts now settled in for a prolonged siege. His initial appeal to Botha to surrender was rejected out of hand, Botha and Kruger having agreed that guerilla warfare would be introduced with the intent of destroying British supplylines and eventually forcing Roberts into retreating. Both also held out hope that supplies from the outside would also continue into the country from Portuguese controlled Mozambique, perhaps including more munitions from the French. However this prayer was soon ended as Buller cut the railroad leading into Mozambique at Witbank, Middelburg, and Kaapmuiden by August. Now with no help and the guerilla campaign being slow to gear up Botha was forced to surrender Pretoria at the start of September. His forces marching out to the waiting prisoner of war camps in South Africa still held their heads high, despite the fact that nearly one-in-two had perished during the siege and a further two-thirds of the remainder were suffering from typhoid or dysentary. Near the end they and the civilian population of the town had resorted to eating horseflesh and making porridge from whatever materials layabout.

Though Roberts proclaimed the end of the siege as a marvelous victory it was no such thing. In all the British had suffered just as much during the siege, in particular from the accuracy of fixed Boer artillery positions which were notoriously hard to knock out. Furthermore as the summer progressed all along the line Boer commandos continued to strike at isolated garrisons in the rear and at any supply convoys they could find. While the most direct fighting was now over it would be another two long hard years of scorched earth tactics, concentration camps, and untold numbers of small skirmishes before resistance was finally ended and the two Republics fully integrated into the Cape Colony.

 

[CSL_GG]

Could you post some very short summary about Clash of Titans in HoI2?

Is there any important difference between real life and your AAR?

My second entry in this thread is intended as a short summary about the previous prologue.

The primary differences are mostly with Germany....

1. Germany annexes Bohemia and Moravia from Austria during the Austro-Hungarian War. Historically there was no annexation.

2. Germany does not annex Alsace-Lorraine and relations between France and Germany remain fairly warm until after Fashoda when they begin to cool.

3. In this timeline Austro-Hungary is the power which is isolated instead of France, leading to its alliance with Russia in the mid-1890s. Much like the historical Franco-Russian alliance.

4. France and Great Britain are experiencing much more colonial tension in Africa then they did in real life.

5. Kaiser Friedrich III, historically an Anglophile, does not die of throat cancer in my timeline, which is basically the linchpin of everything I'm planning.

6. Kal-El will land in China and prevent any Yogiesque Fu Manchu scenario.

 

[Sir Humphrey]

So sweet CSL, looking cool. Three cheers most certain.