Chapter Four:
Ambition and Expansion
The Invasion of Japan
In addition to allowing the Empire access to further trade, the opening of Japan to the outside world had given them another advantage, namely the ability to assess the nation strategically. The Japanese, while very devout in their own beliefs, were technologically unable to resist an attack by British forces. Gatling guns and ironclads would make short work of their beloved samurai and weak pre-industrial navy. Prime Minister Disraeli, now in his third term, believed that the subjugation and integration of the Japanese into the British Empire would be a crowning glory, far beyond anything they had achieved prior. On 12 May 1864, the largest naval invasion in history was launched against Japan.
The stratagem was simply, land enough men and supplies on the Japanese coast and move inward, overwhelming any opposition. Operation Olympic, named for the sheer scale of the invasion, involved the landing of British Imperial troops along the southern coasts of the Japanese Home Islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū with their primary objectives being the capture of the cities of Kyoto, residence of Japanese Emperor Kōmei, Edo, capital of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and Osaka, the nation’s economic center.
Although Imperial forces encountered little resistance along the shorelines, upon moving inland the mountainous terrain of Japan delayed northward advanced by several weeks. On 22 June 1864, Osaka fell to the Empire with Edo following later on 7 August. Kyoto would finally be captured by British forces three months after that on 7 November 1864. With the major cities of Japan under British control, all that was left to do was continue north and finish off the remaining opposition.
By early 1865, all of Japan had been placed under Imperial administration. The Japanese however were given a unique opportunity. The Empire would remain the economic and military overseer of the country but Emperor Kōmei would be given civil control of his subjects. This action was in part an effort to ease anti-British sentiment on the Home Islands and reduce any potential strain on the British Civil Service by fully integrating Japan.
Simulation of the Invasion of Japan (1864)
British Imperial Forces landing on Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū
Simulation of the Invasion of Japan (1865)
British Imperial Forces move northward to defeat the remaining opposition
The Liberation of Hanover
While the Empire was preoccupied with Japan, events on the European continent began to take a turn for the worse when war broke out between the German states, Austria, and the Italians. The Prussians would use this affair as a means to assume dominance over the various states in Northern Germany, which included the Kingdom of Hanover under the reign of Empress Victoria’s first cousin, King George V. In a rare move, Empress Victoria ordered to the armies of her Empire be dispatched to Northern Germany to secure Hanover from Prussian advances.
In early March 1866 the Channel Fleet took up positions along the German coast. With no real Prussian Navy to offer resistance, the British forces easily landed in Bremen and other coastal cities. Their objective was simply, proceed south and secure the city of Hanover. With most of the Prussian Army preoccupied with the Austrians, the British moved swiftly to their goal and were able to secure the territory of Hanover before they could mount a counterattack.
Empress Victoria sent a proclamation to King William I of Prussia declaring that Salic law was now invalid and that she now assumed the throne in Hannover. In no uncertain terms she made it clear that any action he took against Hanover would be interpreted as a threat to the greater British Empire. To ensure their other continental possession remained firmly in their hands, the Empire also assumed direct control of the Free State of Antwerp in Flanders. After the Liberation of Hanover, Empress Victoria would restyle herself as Empress of the British, Irish, and Hanoverian Dominions.
Simulation of the Liberation of Hanover (1866)
British Imperial Forces landing in Northern Germany
Simulation of Europe (1867)
The Situation Following the Austro-Prussian War and the Liberation of Hanover
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