John Fredrick Parker
Donor
With no PoDs prior to October of 1899, how can the Boer Republics have survived annexation by the British Empire for at least another decade?
The Boers would make nice with Germany , buying industrial goods and weapons from them and having visits from the High Seas Fleet.
The extra trade with the Boers would help the German economy, more tax revenue means more money for military expenditures.
Once the great war starts, the British Empire would have more troops stationed in to South Africa, leaving fewer troops for Europe.
The first world war could end early.
The Boers would make nice with Germany , buying industrial goods and weapons from them and having visits from the High Seas Fleet.
The extra trade with the Boers would help the German economy, more tax revenue means more money for military expenditures.
Once the great war starts, the British Empire would have more troops stationed in to South Africa, leaving fewer troops for Europe.
The first world war could end early.
My mistakeNot sure the Boers have access to a port for the HSF to visit...
Edit: beat me to it
The Boer Republics are land locked, the HSF was not really designed for cruising anyway. The Boers would be unlikely to jeopardise much for the Kaiser who is German bloke of little concern to them in this scenario. Further but any garrisons are likely to be drawn from the Indian Army so the Germans are not going to see a big shortage of British troops in Europe or even much of a small one.
Well, strictly speaking the Indian Army has been promised that they won't be deployed outside of India/Asia, so insisiting that they garrison South Africa is going to require some negotiations if you don't want to generate animosity/backlash.
Erm
Times of Malta article on the deployment of Indian troops there in 1878 and Contemporary Spectator article on the same
There is also Indian Army involvement in the Abyssinian Expedition in 1868
There were religious issues about Hindus crossing oceans but there were ceremonies that could remove the effects and it was a promise not to compel them to do so. However, they could, and did, volunteer to go and the Indian army was active in Suakin in Sudan in the 1880s. There were no such religious problems with Muslim soldiers. They key logistical issue was having separate food supplies and the British and Indian armies were well used to dealing with this matter (hence the later use of corned mutton in lieu of corned beef for example).Well, strictly speaking the Indian Army has been promised that they won't be deployed outside of India/Asia,
Another thought - does everyone agree with this as a good PoD?Wait for the British to come at them. If they manage to pull off even a few early victories the shock of those is going to be magnified over OTL as the British are not fighting to protect their own territory from attack.
How would the Boer Republics holding out affect shorter term developments in Southern Africa, like the Bambatha Rebellion?
Another thought - does everyone agree with this as a good PoD?
The Boers would make nice with Germany , buying industrial goods and weapons from them and having visits from the High Seas Fleet.
The extra trade with the Boers would help the German economy, more tax revenue means more money for military expenditures.
Once the great war starts, the British Empire would have more troops stationed in to South Africa, leaving fewer troops for Europe.
The first world war could end early.
Hm... interesting. I'll admit I wasen't aware of these, though I was always under the impression that the "agreement" that the Indian army would be kept at home was more of an informal promise. I suppose my interpretation of what I've read in the past has been wrong. Thanks for correcting me!
Stopping the Germans out side Paris in 1914 was a pretty close thing. Even the smallest butterflies could effect that.Given the small size of the Boer republics, any revenue generated by Boer-German trade is unlikely to make a difference in German military budget. The British Empire may also decided to increase its military expenditure as a counter-measure.
The Brits did arm the locals too.
Stopping the Germans out side Paris in 1914 was a pretty close thing. Even the smallest butterflies could effect that.
Limitations on German army size had far more to do with a shortage of pre-war politically acceptable low level officers than lack of funds.
Stopping the Germans out side Paris in 1914 was a pretty close thing. Even the smallest butterflies could effect that.
Above all, the balance of power on the extreme right wing had changed to Germany's disadvantage, with twenty German divisions facing thirty French and British. The French had a significant advantage by being able to use their railways, allowing them a more rapid deployment of troops and, crucially, of supplies to the front, while the Germans faced severe transport and supply problems.
Additionally, the German armies, like those of the other major powers, suffered from problems of communication in the dawning "radio age." Command and control remained with telegraph, telephone and dispatch riders. Nor did crypto systems exist that allowed wireless to be used effectively and securely. The OHL possessed but one ratio set with which to communicate with army headqurters...
Finally, enormous marching distances had lead to a serious reduction of the German Army's fighting ability...
With no PoDs prior to October of 1899, how can the Boer Republics have survived annexation by the British Empire for at least another decade?
Oh, now this raises an interesting thought -- could the desire for unity in the face of the Boers lead the British controlled parts of South Africa (the Cape Colony, Natal, etc) to provide further civil rights to their non-white populations?Though one limiting factor may be fear of the Boers coming in should the British leave, that said I do not think it was the aim of Bambatha kaMancinza to remove the British so much as establish a bargaining position to remove the poll tax.
Supposing the Boers had stayed on the defensive? AIR OTL, once they took the offensive, they were able to do very well on the battlefield for months, until the British Empire was able to send reinforcements; and I would think sending said reinforcements would prove politically difficult for the empire if they're not officially doing it to protect their existing colonies.A Major war in Europe or other reason for Britain to be distracted as there is no way that Britain loses to the Boer Republic once it gets its shit in order and learns...relearns how to fight in that region.
Supposing the Boers had stayed on the defensive? AIR OTL, once they took the offensive, they were able to do very well on the battlefield for months, until the British Empire was able to send reinforcements; and I would think sending said reinforcements would prove politically difficult for the empire if they're not officially doing it to protect their existing colonies.