Ahhh the Swiss! I am wondering what sort of autonomy you will give the former landlocked democracy.:unsure:
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He gave up the southern part of South Tyrol because the mayority of the pops are Italians... An agreement with the Brits
he gave easily what he could take back at any moment... Germania is not ready to fight off the world
XXII - Nic O Nas, Bez Nas? (Nothing About Us, Without Us?)
1877-1883
Germania won a great diplomatic victory in 1877 as Finland was finally given independence by Russia. The state which had nearly caused a war sure to destroy all countries involved had finally, peacefully, achieved independence. Russia was greatly embarrassed by the entire affair and the loss of Finland caused them to lose much prestige.
The various independence movements south in Galicia-Lodomeria had themselves retained some sympathy with the German people for as long as they had existed. The country had always been an artificial construction (it was known as the "Frankenstein Country" in Britain), but stability had been constant up until the past few years. However, with the extreme jump in indiscriminate attacks to put their message across, the freedom fighters had managed to both scare and enrage Germans. The issue would come to a dramatic and terrible climax in November of 1877.
The Kaiser himself was visiting a Hungarian school as part of a state visit to the country, accompanied by Alexander I of the Netherlands. Unbeknown to them, a Ruthenian terrorist gang was waiting for the moment their carriage would pull up and be left unattended - so that they could slip a bomb underneath their seat. It would go off, if everything went well, soon after the carriage left the town.
This photograph of a British carriage shows a similar design to the German one - the bomb would have to be well concealed.
But everything did not go well. The Kaiser was delayed by a few hours, meaning that the terrorists would have to adjust the timing device on the bomb accordingly. The driver, in his haste, would then park the carriage in front of the school, rather than behind, where it was concealed. This meant the Ruthenians had but a few minutes for them to plant the bomb where they would not be caught. And, soon after the deed was done, their worst nightmare began to happen - children began leaving the school in their droves. The Kaiser did not exit the school, but the bomb would go off at any minute.
The terrorists were not prepared to retrieve their handiwork, for fear of being caught. Instead, they sat and prayed. A flash of smoke and flames caused them to turn and flee, not looking back at the carnage they had now inflicted upon innocent children.
Newspapers the following day across Europe would report on the massacre: 13 children killed, 8 injured. The two members of royalty themselves were mentally but not psychically scarred. A concluding line in "Neue Preußische Zeitung" would sum up the thoughts of millions: Galicia must be torn up, partitioned and never spoken of again, lest this terrible event be repeated. The Kaiser cut his visit to Hungary short to attend a debate in the Reichstag over what Germania would do next. Passed with a resounding majority of 95%, the movement demanded an immediate meeting to begin the partition. The timing was opportunistic - a carve-up of the nation had been planned for some time, but now with the freedom fighters firmly in a negative light, the Germans could knock the new countries around quite a bit and not be criticised.
The meeting itself was hurried, mainly because the plans had been prepared in secret for some time. But, with international pressure on Germania to bow to the demands of the freedom fighters, however they were portrayed in the media, the Polish and Galician governments would crucially have no say in how the country would be partitioned.
The partition. Key:
Pink - areas of majority Polish ethnicity
Yellow - Ruthenian
Green - Bukovinian
Red - German
The north of the country was handed over to Poland. Although it contained a geographically large amount of Ruthenians, they were mostly settled in rural areas. The majority Polish city of Lwów (Lemberg or Lviv) was included in the transfer. In the centre of the country, a new state of Ruthenia was created. This became a puppet of Germania but was granted more freedoms than Bukovina, the third state which contained relatively large amounts of Germans.
The partition was generally considered a success, but in the years following the influx of poorer Poles would destabilise Poland to the point where a large Belarussian independence movement, funded by France, would appear in the north of the country. This would cause a small but serious crisis in 1879, leading to the German presence in Poland being seriously questioned. Ultimately, however, the French would back down.
Over the seas in Britain, a new invention had emerged that had the potential to drastically alter world militaries. Called the Maxim Gun, it was invented by Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, and was the first recoil-operated machine gun. Similar, American-designed Gatling Guns had been used by the German army for some time, but this new weapon was much more efficient and useful. It would be used across the world for some time, to devastating effect in Africa particularly.
Illustration of the Maxim Gun in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.
With machine guns in more frequent use, the competition over Africa intensified. Africa had been generally neglected by the Great Powers, but the ambitions of France and Portugal brought the issue to the forefront of international diplomacy. By 1877 Sir Henry Morton Stanley had charted the Congo River Basin, revealing the last terra incognita from European maps.
Germania felt compelled to act, lest they be left behind in the race, but this scared the foreign powers. A large German Empire in Africa would be a worst nightmare, a behemoth of a country, and one that could not be stopped. Bismarck especially was aware of this, and with Portuguese King Louis I, was able to cool the situation and convince the Great Powers to join together in a conference. This included Germania, France, Portugal, Italy, Britain, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, the Ottoman Empire, the CSA and the USA. Both American powers did not participate.
The Conference
The conference, spanning from November 1879 to February 1880, was a success and a source of prestige for Germania. Many boundaries were decided upon, one of which was the Kenyan-Tanganyikan border between Germania and Britain, which had been contested heavily beforehand. However, in many other parts of Africa, borders were only decided to an imprecise and general degree, meaning that it was a case of whichever power could set up influence in that area fastest. Germania was restricted mostly to the south-east of the continent.
The rise of "gunboat diplomacy," where a Great Power would simply direct a portion of their navy towards the "uncivilised" nation they wanted to take over, meant that many wars involving African states were over quickly. In many cases, soldiers did not even need to land on the coast. One of the first examples of this was the German takeover of Madagascar. Influence on the island had increased massively in the past few years, and missionaries especially had succeeded in altering the culture of the nation. Economically, Madagascar was becoming dependent on Germania.
With German soldiers now being used on the island, the government of Germania felt that this was the time for them to fully take over. Announcing their intent to Queen Ranavalona II, they claimed they would allow her to stay as a puppet ruler if she agreed. Ranavalona bluntly turned down the offer, to which the Germans replied by maneuvering their fleet into the waters outside Toamasina. Troops near the royal palace also, in a maneuver clearly designed to intimidate, moved themselves around the building. Ranavalona had no choice but to agree to the demands, and on February the 24th, 1880, Madagascar (now called Madagaskar) became one the first German protectorates in Africa.
Following a second war with Zanzibar, which was conducted along with the British and saw the taking of the last independent coastal strip belonging to Tanganyika (then owned by Zanzibar), conflict in Africa thankfully cooled down for Germania for the rest of the year. Although a period of many problems across Europe, people in Germania were beginning to, once again, truly feel proud of their nation, and that was felt by a marked drop in militancy, despite a rise in socialism. The building of the Germaniawerft (Germania Wharf) in Kiel was a symbol of German advances in industry that led to this.
Germaniawerft, about the turn of the century.
As German missionaries and soldiers gradually moved across the continent, moving into Nyasaland and Burundi by force, Germania also took over Bali in Indonesia. Indonesia had been witnessing a European "scramble" as well, for the collapse of Dutch rule in the region had left a void to be filled by Germania, Britain, Spain and interestingly Japan.
Russia had taken little interest in the Berlin Conference, but following a war with Turkey in which they acquired yet more territory in the Caucasus, the European powers felt that something had to be done between the two powers. The Ottomans were starting to topple and the Balkans needed to be prevented from descending into chaos. It was Italy that finally made the move, hosting the "Congress of Rome" to decide on the future of the region. Germania was particularly interested in the meeting - the old idea of "Mitteleuropa" had not faded from their minds. But with German, Turkish and Russian ideas clashing, the Congress would have to meet a difficult compromise...
1877-1883
Germania won a great diplomatic victory in 1877 as Finland was finally given independence by Russia. The state which had nearly caused a war sure to destroy all countries involved had finally, peacefully, achieved independence. Russia was greatly embarrassed by the entire affair and the loss of Finland caused them to lose much prestige.
The various independence movements south in Galicia-Lodomeria had themselves retained some sympathy with the German people for as long as they had existed. The country had always been an artificial construction (it was known as the "Frankenstein Country" in Britain), but stability had been constant up until the past few years. However, with the extreme jump in indiscriminate attacks to put their message across, the freedom fighters had managed to both scare and enrage Germans. The issue would come to a dramatic and terrible climax in November of 1877.
The Kaiser himself was visiting a Hungarian school as part of a state visit to the country, accompanied by Alexander I of the Netherlands. Unbeknown to them, a Ruthenian terrorist gang was waiting for the moment their carriage would pull up and be left unattended - so that they could slip a bomb underneath their seat. It would go off, if everything went well, soon after the carriage left the town.
This photograph of a British carriage shows a similar design to the German one - the bomb would have to be well concealed.
But everything did not go well. The Kaiser was delayed by a few hours, meaning that the terrorists would have to adjust the timing device on the bomb accordingly. The driver, in his haste, would then park the carriage in front of the school, rather than behind, where it was concealed. This meant the Ruthenians had but a few minutes for them to plant the bomb where they would not be caught. And, soon after the deed was done, their worst nightmare began to happen - children began leaving the school in their droves. The Kaiser did not exit the school, but the bomb would go off at any minute.
The terrorists were not prepared to retrieve their handiwork, for fear of being caught. Instead, they sat and prayed. A flash of smoke and flames caused them to turn and flee, not looking back at the carnage they had now inflicted upon innocent children.
Newspapers the following day across Europe would report on the massacre: 13 children killed, 8 injured. The two members of royalty themselves were mentally but not psychically scarred. A concluding line in "Neue Preußische Zeitung" would sum up the thoughts of millions: Galicia must be torn up, partitioned and never spoken of again, lest this terrible event be repeated. The Kaiser cut his visit to Hungary short to attend a debate in the Reichstag over what Germania would do next. Passed with a resounding majority of 95%, the movement demanded an immediate meeting to begin the partition. The timing was opportunistic - a carve-up of the nation had been planned for some time, but now with the freedom fighters firmly in a negative light, the Germans could knock the new countries around quite a bit and not be criticised.
The meeting itself was hurried, mainly because the plans had been prepared in secret for some time. But, with international pressure on Germania to bow to the demands of the freedom fighters, however they were portrayed in the media, the Polish and Galician governments would crucially have no say in how the country would be partitioned.
The partition. Key:
Pink - areas of majority Polish ethnicity
Yellow - Ruthenian
Green - Bukovinian
Red - German
The north of the country was handed over to Poland. Although it contained a geographically large amount of Ruthenians, they were mostly settled in rural areas. The majority Polish city of Lwów (Lemberg or Lviv) was included in the transfer. In the centre of the country, a new state of Ruthenia was created. This became a puppet of Germania but was granted more freedoms than Bukovina, the third state which contained relatively large amounts of Germans.
The partition was generally considered a success, but in the years following the influx of poorer Poles would destabilise Poland to the point where a large Belarussian independence movement, funded by France, would appear in the north of the country. This would cause a small but serious crisis in 1879, leading to the German presence in Poland being seriously questioned. Ultimately, however, the French would back down.
Over the seas in Britain, a new invention had emerged that had the potential to drastically alter world militaries. Called the Maxim Gun, it was invented by Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, and was the first recoil-operated machine gun. Similar, American-designed Gatling Guns had been used by the German army for some time, but this new weapon was much more efficient and useful. It would be used across the world for some time, to devastating effect in Africa particularly.
Illustration of the Maxim Gun in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.
With machine guns in more frequent use, the competition over Africa intensified. Africa had been generally neglected by the Great Powers, but the ambitions of France and Portugal brought the issue to the forefront of international diplomacy. By 1877 Sir Henry Morton Stanley had charted the Congo River Basin, revealing the last terra incognita from European maps.
Germania felt compelled to act, lest they be left behind in the race, but this scared the foreign powers. A large German Empire in Africa would be a worst nightmare, a behemoth of a country, and one that could not be stopped. Bismarck especially was aware of this, and with Portuguese King Louis I, was able to cool the situation and convince the Great Powers to join together in a conference. This included Germania, France, Portugal, Italy, Britain, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, the Ottoman Empire, the CSA and the USA. Both American powers did not participate.
The Conference
The conference, spanning from November 1879 to February 1880, was a success and a source of prestige for Germania. Many boundaries were decided upon, one of which was the Kenyan-Tanganyikan border between Germania and Britain, which had been contested heavily beforehand. However, in many other parts of Africa, borders were only decided to an imprecise and general degree, meaning that it was a case of whichever power could set up influence in that area fastest. Germania was restricted mostly to the south-east of the continent.
The rise of "gunboat diplomacy," where a Great Power would simply direct a portion of their navy towards the "uncivilised" nation they wanted to take over, meant that many wars involving African states were over quickly. In many cases, soldiers did not even need to land on the coast. One of the first examples of this was the German takeover of Madagascar. Influence on the island had increased massively in the past few years, and missionaries especially had succeeded in altering the culture of the nation. Economically, Madagascar was becoming dependent on Germania.
With German soldiers now being used on the island, the government of Germania felt that this was the time for them to fully take over. Announcing their intent to Queen Ranavalona II, they claimed they would allow her to stay as a puppet ruler if she agreed. Ranavalona bluntly turned down the offer, to which the Germans replied by maneuvering their fleet into the waters outside Toamasina. Troops near the royal palace also, in a maneuver clearly designed to intimidate, moved themselves around the building. Ranavalona had no choice but to agree to the demands, and on February the 24th, 1880, Madagascar (now called Madagaskar) became one the first German protectorates in Africa.
Following a second war with Zanzibar, which was conducted along with the British and saw the taking of the last independent coastal strip belonging to Tanganyika (then owned by Zanzibar), conflict in Africa thankfully cooled down for Germania for the rest of the year. Although a period of many problems across Europe, people in Germania were beginning to, once again, truly feel proud of their nation, and that was felt by a marked drop in militancy, despite a rise in socialism. The building of the Germaniawerft (Germania Wharf) in Kiel was a symbol of German advances in industry that led to this.
Germaniawerft, about the turn of the century.
As German missionaries and soldiers gradually moved across the continent, moving into Nyasaland and Burundi by force, Germania also took over Bali in Indonesia. Indonesia had been witnessing a European "scramble" as well, for the collapse of Dutch rule in the region had left a void to be filled by Germania, Britain, Spain and interestingly Japan.
Russia had taken little interest in the Berlin Conference, but following a war with Turkey in which they acquired yet more territory in the Caucasus, the European powers felt that something had to be done between the two powers. The Ottomans were starting to topple and the Balkans needed to be prevented from descending into chaos. It was Italy that finally made the move, hosting the "Congress of Rome" to decide on the future of the region. Germania was particularly interested in the meeting - the old idea of "Mitteleuropa" had not faded from their minds. But with German, Turkish and Russian ideas clashing, the Congress would have to meet a difficult compromise...
Of course! In fact, since I don't have much work today, I'll give you a tour.
The World, 1882
Unfortunately, I don't have one from 1883 - the next one is from 1884 - and I don't want to ruin any surprises!
Click to see it full size.
North America
Both the CSA and New York are very lucky to be independent. The USA has just recovered from their rebel problem (I think), so I don't know if they'll be able to resist much longer. Notice the UK has started handing out greater autonomy to Canada.
South America
I don't own that country in the middle of France and the UK - they are civilised, so annexing them will cost infamy. You can't see my sphere but it's over Columbia and Venezuela.
Middle East
The Russians are chewing up the Ottomans with ease. The Turks have, however, managed to expand into... the desert.
Middle Africa
This is my colonial empire. It's going to remain modest, I'm afraid, but colonising was never my aim. If I get into a war with Portugal or France I will certainly consider doing a Mittelafrika.
Asia
This is before I took over Bali. You can see the multitude of independent states - the European powers have been influencing them heavily but are not prepared to jump in and fully take them over. Japan owns a little chunk of Borneo. Britain's holdings in China scare me.
Also of note: fully independent Scandinavia (including Norway), although under Russian influence, whatever China is doing, Hungary nearly a Great Power, Russia has expanded into China (causing about three crises along the way), the Ottomans in Arabia.
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So many dominions! That's Heart of Darkness in action right there, I tell ya.
Another entertaining update, The B. Interesting to see trouble with the Galicians. I sure this story arc will lead to other diplomatic crises yet.
Another entertaining update, The B. Interesting to see trouble with the Galicians. I sure this story arc will lead to other diplomatic crises yet.
This is going to sound strange, but I'm not sure if you will... Owing to your location provided under your user name. Nothing more to say
So many dominions! That's Heart of Darkness in action right there, I tell ya.
Another entertaining update, The B. Interesting to see trouble with the Galicians. I sure this story arc will lead to other diplomatic crises yet.
Thanks! Although I don't think most of them are dominions yet (if you're referring to Africa), rather unconquered nations. If you mean Canada, you're right though. I think they increase even more soon!
And yes, another diplomatic crisis in the east is very likely (there have been several minor ones I haven't mentioned). Come 1890, I think the Great War will be fought over Eastern Europe.
Nice update, North America is very interesting (is that Acadia?) but im not sure what to make of the UG caving in to those 'rebels' so fast, I mean so other groups could say 'Hey we want independence too and all we gotta do is blow something up?!?! Lets do it!'. Interesting nonetheless.
