Edge of Europe - A Belgian Interactive AAR

[jeeshadow]

A message sent to the Belgian Parliament from the Foreign Ministry

As you know, we are to attend a Conference in Vienna to decide the fate of Albania. This is our first such participation in international politics of this scale. As such, I have been taking this matter very seriously, and have been having meetings with the Ambassadors of the other Great Powers. As we already know, Russia has backed the Albanian move for independence. According to the Ambassadors no country besides Russia has committed to a side, but several of them do seem to have some preferences to sides. The Ambassadors from Great Brittan and the North German Confederation seem to have a preference towards the Ottoman Empire. The French ambassador has stated that the Albanian movement is just, and noble. This has lead me to believe that they support the Russians and Albanians. The Austrian Ambassador has stated that he does not know which side the Kaiser is planning to support, but he belives they shall wait to see how the conference goes before picking a side. This is my knowledge at this time.

-Minister Aimeus Aerts

 

[yourworstnightm]

A message sent to the Belgian Parliament from the Foreign Ministry

As you know, we are to attend a Conference in Vienna to decide the fate of Albania. This is our first such participation in international politics of this scale. As such, I have been taking this matter very seriously, and have been having meetings with the Ambassadors of the other Great Powers. As we already know, Russia has backed the Albanian move for independence. According to the Ambassadors no country besides Russia has committed to a side, but several of them do seem to have some preferences to sides. The Ambassadors from Great Brittan and the North German Confederation seem to have a preference towards the Ottoman Empire. The French ambassador has stated that the Albanian movement is just, and noble. This has lead me to believe that they support the Russians and Albanians. The Austrian Ambassador has stated that he does not know which side the Kaiser is planning to support, but he belives they shall wait to see how the conference goes before picking a side. This is my knowledge at this time.

-Minister Aimeus Aerts

The only thing we can't afford is war against either side. Do you think there will be a diplomatic solution, or do you fear the gears of war are already in motion?

 

[jeeshadow]

The only thing we can't afford is war against either side. Do you think there will be a diplomatic solution, or do you fear the gears of war are already in motion?

I believe that if we do not support a side in this issue, the international community will laugh at us, and we will lose much respect. I do believe a diplomatic solution can be found if enough nations support a single side. War may come though, and we are in an uncomfortable position.

 

[ThunderHawk3]

((GK, you should probably either make a decision or put the matter to a vote.))

 

[Fingon888]

I, Armando Diaz, will command the First Division.

Lieutenant-General Arthur van der Goltz will command the Second Division.

Lieutenant-General Marcus van Laere will command the Third Division.

Lieutenant-General Jacques Dieric will command the Fourth Division.

- Field Marshall Armando Diaz

 

[Dadarian]

Lieutenant-General Arthur van der Goltz will command the Second Division.

- Field Marshall Armando Diaz

Vanderhoof mumbles at the announcement

"Kin of traitors inherit it in the blood, dirty Jerry will sell us out at the first opportunity"

 

[Fingon888]

Gentlemen, on behalf of the entire military I submit these proposals to the government. Our navy must be built and the guidelines for a draft be enshrined into law.

Military Proposal for the Advancement and Armament of the Navy of Belgium

I. The Royal Navy of Belgium will be given a command structure, made by one of the Belgian general staff.

II. The Royal Navy of Belgium shall be given their own seat on the Belgian General Staff, occupied by the current admiral.

III. The Royal Navy of Belgium shall be expanded by five new transports, four new frigates, and a two new men of war [One shall be captained by the appointed admiral, and shall be the flagship of Belgium, named Great Prosper]

Draft of the General Male Populous

I. All males over the and of the age of 18 shall be counted and that number and their personal information needed to be contacted shall be put into the military's HQ in brussels, copies of these files shall be kept around the country in areas unknown to the general public.

II. In times of dire need, these men shall be picked randomly, and selected to defend their country against all threats. A draft of this size must go through the prime minister, the king, and all senior officers of the military

- Field Marshall Armando Diaz

 

[Davout]

I fully endorse the actions of Marechal Diaz. My father had great faith in the genius of Marechal Diaz and the Marechal now commands an army stronger and better prepared than the force we possessed in 1848.

I also volunteer my services to the Navy as I see Belgium's future lies in expansion overseas to avoid exacerbating the tensions in fighting over even the smallest part of Europe as evidenced by the latest Albania crisis. Once this crisis is hopefully behind us, we can focus on ways and means to project the modern Belgium onto the wider world stage.

Edmund Burke

 

[Tapscott]

Blauvelt sighs and mutters under his breath

Why do the politicians favour the de Goltz family so? First they pardon a convicted traitor, now they take a untested foreigner and put him in charge of a key part of our military, entirely ignoring native-born candidates who have much more skill and experience. This reeks of political appointment. I suppose it all depends on who you vote for.

 

[Thoctar]

I fully support the efforts of Minister Vanderhoof and sincerely hope the government will continue to support his actions. My company is ready and willing to provide support for an expansion of the nation.

 

[Scrapknight]

While I believe that the good Marechal's draft mechanism could use a bit of refinement, as suggested by some of the war powers acts from the War of 1848, I believe he is absolutely right with regards to the enhancement of the navy. As Monsieur Wolff has said, BEAC has previously been stymied in its efforts due to a lack of our ability to project power by sea, and this will greatly boost our capabilities to defend ourselves.

 

[theAhawk]

Gentlemen, on behalf of the entire military I submit these proposals to the government. Our navy must be built and the guidelines for a draft be enshrined into law.

Military Proposal for the Advancement and Armament of the Navy of Belgium

I. The Royal Navy of Belgium will be given a command structure, made by one of the Belgian general staff.

II. The Royal Navy of Belgium shall be given their own seat on the Belgian General Staff, occupied by the current admiral.

III. The Royal Navy of Belgium shall be expanded by five new transports, four new frigates, and a two new men of war [One shall be captained by the appointed admiral, and shall be the flagship of Belgium, named Great Prosper]

Draft of the General Male Populous

I. All males over the and of the age of 18 shall be counted and that number and their personal information needed to be contacted shall be put into the military's HQ in brussels, copies of these files shall be kept around the country in areas unknown to the general public.

II. In times of dire need, these men shall be picked randomly, and selected to defend their country against all threats. A draft of this size must go through the prime minister, the king, and all senior officers of the military

- Field Marshall Armando Diaz

A Statement from the Ministry of War​

It is gratifying indeed that the Chief of the General Staff would think it his place to decide the policy and budget of our armed forces in the place of the Ministry assigned to that task. Considering it is the ministry's current policy that, to quote from a previous statement, "the Ministry of War finds that there is a strong financial argument preventing military expansion" to the extent that the Ministry "fully accepts that military expansion of any great size is not possible at this time", we find his lack of respect for the constitution unsettling. While we will of course examine the Field Marshall's arguments and look at what action can be taken in these uncertain times, we would hope that the bill currently placed before the legislature would be retracted before any further action is needed to prevent this situation from bubbling out of control, and I shall be contacting the Prime Minister at his earliest convenience to discuss the matter further.

Signed,
Captain Luc Poisson
Minister of War

 

[Gen. Marshall]

What is this supposed to mean? Is the Chief of General Staff pushing legislature on his own behalf?!

- Josef P. de Ruyter, CUP member

 

[yourworstnightm]

Is the Chief of General Staff running wild? What is this? A madhouse? Oh yes, I forgot, it is.

 

[theAhawk]

What is this supposed to mean? Is the Chief of General Staff pushing legislature on his own behalf?!

- Josef P. de Ruyter, CUP member

Well, neither the Ministry nor myself personally have been even notified that such legislation was to be presented.

 

[Ticket Cookie]

What is this supposed to mean? Is the Chief of General Staff pushing legislature on his own behalf?!

- Josef P. de Ruyter, CUP member

((Technically, he said "on behalf of the entire military I submit these proposals to the government". Not to the Parliament.))

 

[Harpsichord]

((Just to let everyone know I'm going away till next Friday. Hopefully you won't need me too much!))

 

[Fingon888]

It was presented to the Ministry of War, not to the Parliament. I honestly have no idea how the Parliament heard of the naval bill and I am sure that someone must be leaking documents to the press. I suggest that the Ministry look into this as I shall also be looking into my own staff.

- Field Marshall Armando Diaz

 

[G.K.]

Gentlemen,

The recent crisis in Balkan was discussed over and over by the cabinet for the last few days. We finally came to a decision, and we chose to remain neutral for now. However, this may still change once our German and British allies decide.

Also, I'm glad to announce that I, together with Mr. Poisson and Mr. Diaz, have just returned from Ostend's shipyard, where the keels of our first warships were laid. The construction may take some time and cost us some money, but I believe that once you see these ships on sea, you'll all find out that it was worth the sacrifices.

I also wish to formally approve of Mr. Diaz's choice of generals. I wish those men shall serve Belgium to the best of their abilites.

 

[ThunderHawk3]

De Graaf 1853-1855: The Need For Freedom​

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With any resolution of the Albania crisis seemingly far-off, political debate in Belgium naturally turned to which side to back. Many argued that Russia was a recent enemy of Belgium and that the government should therefore support the Ottomans, the Russians' enemy. Others said that Belgium had absolutely no business in Balkans and that neither side should benefit from Brussels' patronage. A few pointed out that howevermuch at odds the Russians and the Belgians might have been, Albania deserved freedom from the foreign powers who had oppressed them for centuries, and that Belgium itself had been a long-subjugated territory with no history of sovereignty until international intervention and politicking had finally set it free. Arguments over 15th century history and before were now common to hear in the Chamber of Deputies (if they hadn't been before), and agendas rapidly shifted between ideology and realpolitik and any possibility of securing an alliance by clever strategy at the upcoming Congress of Vienna.

For all their debate, though, it was Prime Minister De Graaf who choose the course of action. He ordered Aerts, the foreign minister, to pursue a "wait-and-see" policy, first determining the alignments of all the other powers before choosing who Belgium would support. This was internally called "official neutrality." However, De Graaf was also acutely aware of the inadequacy of the Belgian armed forces, even without the King's urgings. He and Field Marshall Diaz quarreled bitterly about the Belgian navy, so much so that it became publicly obvious, particularly when the Chief of Staff began backing legislation without the obvious support of the Ministry of War. As the Constitution clearly specified that Poisson, the Minister of War, was the political leader of the military, many believed that the Field Marshall should remain apolitical. Diaz faced criticism from the chamber and papers, but retained the confidence of the crown. Eventually De Graaf and Diaz agreed on the construction of two frigates (despite Diaz's initial insistence that Belgium construct a Man O'War for a flagship). The keel of the first frigate, the Wielingen, was laid down in October 1852 and the vessel launched from the port of Bruges on April 19th, 1853 - the first warship ever constructed in Belgium. Her sister ship, the Mercator followed her in August.

1. Brigantine gunboat Duc de Brabant was previously the largest ship in the Belgian navy​

However, two warships were little reassurance when faced with the might of seven belligerent Great Powers, whose squabbling threatened to tear Europe apart. Aerts reported that by March, 1853, there were clear signs that France planned to back Russia at the Congress of Vienna, while the UK had sided with their allies, the Ottomans. In June, with the Congress just two months off, the North German Federation backed the Ottomans as well, while the Austrians (and Belgium) remained undecided. De Graaf was on the cusp of making a decision when the Russians announced that they would drop the matter of Albanian independence, and white peace was reached without incident. Ironically, while Europe sighed in relief, this did not stop the war, as France, backed by their Russian allies, declared war on the UK, backed by the Ottomans, over the colony of Madras in India three months later and Russia went to war with the Ottomans anyway.

But the important thing was that Belgium was not involved in this war. The fighting affected international supply chains and reduced factory profitability across Belgium, though unemployment remained low. The economic downturn would remain until 1854, when the war ended and a new spate of railroad construction began across the country. Unlike the previous wild booms, this period of growth saw only slow and gradual increases in railroad coverage and by 1855, much of the country was still not being modernized, leading some papers to call it a "boom in slow motion." Capitalists blamed the sluggish expansion on a lack of funds caused by rising costs of raw materials. This sluggishness turned to downturn once again when, in January 1855, a new crisis broke out, this time in Greece.

2. Continuing advances in boiler technology allowed further railroad expansion.​

A series of Greek patriotic protests led the Greek state to demand the return of Macedonia from Ottoman rule. Austria sponsored the demand, and soon a new conference invitation arrived in Belgium. This time, De Graaf was on hand to accept the invitation himself. However, he did not have long to worry about the consequences - Austria had few friends on the continent, and after the UK, Russia, and France had all backed the Turks, Austria accepted continued Ottoman sovereignty over Macedonia in April, with scarcely a word from Belgium on the matter. However, the Congress did underscore one important point: International crises were now a fact of life in Belgian politics, and if Belgium intended to survive for long, it would have to have either a friend or a military. It had neither, and by the end of his term, De Graaf had neither secured an alliance with another great power nor built Belgium into a military force worthy of its standing. The King was disappointed.

However, not everyone in Brussels was having such a hard time of things. Wilhelm Vanderhoof, noted eccentric, industrialist, and self-proclaimed Lord Protector of Ghent, was enjoying his time as Minister without Portfolio. Indeed, he could often be heard whistling in the halls of the Palace of the Nation, stopping random passersby to tell them how much he loved his job. This was because Vanderhoof was using his time as Minister without Portfolio to promote a radical new idea: Belgium as a colonial power, which could expand into Africa and the other untouched places of the world. He was happy because he'd found much of the political and industrial community extremely amicable to the notion of a Belgian Empire, and while he had not succeeded in cultivating the necessary technological capacity for expansion into Africa, Vanderhoof had succeeded in planting the idea into the minds of many people of power in Belgium. This colonial idea, which would come to be known as the Mission to Civilize was the notion of 'compassionate' expansion for the good of heathen savages and corporate interests alike and eventually gripped the national imagination.

3. The Portuguese had pursed the so-called Mission to Civilize since the 16th century.​

However, across the rest of Europe, other ideas were entering the hearts and minds of the people. On January 11th, 1853, in Wurttemburg, a crowd of radical liberals disaffected by the slow pace of change and reform in their nation and continuing German dualism marched on Karlsruhe. These thousands represented a streak of liberalism that had come to believe that achieving liberal ideas within the confines of conventional politics, religion, and government was no longer possible. Within three years, the anarcho-liberal ideology, as it came to be called, had spread to every nation in Europe.

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Player Actions Needed:
Declare your candidacy for leadership of a major party, the Moderate Liberal Party, the National Democratic Party, or the Catholic Crown Party, or declare yourself as an agitator.

The Vlaamse Beweging (Flemish Movement) and Conservative and Unionist Party (CUP) are the current minor parties. Note that Anarcho-Liberalism is now active and parties can adopt an Anarcho-Liberal philosophy.

Recall that parties are self-regulating and both major and minor parties should establish their own rules for how they form coalitions with other parties, vote for leaders, etc. You are required to accept anyone as a member and hold a leadership election at the convention period in the electoral cycle.

Also vote on the [post=16135490]Military Proposal for the Advancement and Armament of the Navy of Belgium[/post] and the [post=16135490]Draft of the General Male Populace[/post]. (Let me know if I've missed anything.)

Sample Ballot:
[post=16135490]Military Proposal for the Advancement and Armament of the Navy of Belgium[/post]: Yes/No/Abstain
[post=16135490]Draft of the General Male Populace[/post]: Yes/No/Abstain

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