Dominion of Southern America - Updated July 1, 2018

Pardon me for asking this, but what exactly is your distinction between Republican and Democrat? The only possible difference I could suggest is using "Democrat" to mean "Constitutional Monarchist" but your own use of the term "Republican" seems to have eliminated that possibility.

I think Glen is implying that they are both republicans, as the Koorsgardists don't seem to have crowned anyone emperor of Mexico (might have missed it) so they technically aren't monarchist.
 

Glen

Moderator
Glen

Congratulations on the Turtledove. Well earned. Been away a few days so just catching up now.

Thank you and welcome back!

On the Brazilian invasion you could simply have it attempted and fail totally. Something like Korgaardistism could well see some 'brilliant leader' decide that its a valid operation and the determination and commitment to the cause of the devout Korgaarists will see them through mere material short-falls. After all its happened often enough in recent history.

That's true. I didn't want the Brazilians to look completely incompetent, however.

The Mexican free companies are an interesting twist and could well be very important in the outcome of the following peace. If as seems likely the good guys come out on top, at least in the Americas, then they could form the core of a new free Mexican government. Think this is better than the alternatives of the victors having to occupy parts of it or a vengeful/nervous DSA deciding to remove a few border areas from Mexico and the lasting tension that could cause.

Steve

Thank you - yes, they open a number of better possibilities depending on the outcome of the war.
 

Glen

Moderator
A Map of the Mexican Invasion of the DSA.

Mexico Invades the DSA.png
 
What's the quality of the infrastructure network in New Mexico. I presume Albion and Texas as reasonably developed Provinces have okay (by 19th century standards) infrastructure but New Mexico pre air conditioning is going to be a sparsely populated area between things.
 
I'm kind of surprised that Mexico isn't pushing more forces into Texas. After all if they take Texas, then it is far more likely that the DSA will sue for peace than if it just loses parts of Albion and New Mexico.
 
I'm kind of surprised that Mexico isn't pushing more forces into Texas. After all if they take Texas, then it is far more likely that the DSA will sue for peace than if it just loses parts of Albion and New Mexico.

I think it's highly unlikely that all those forces are the same size. If I remember my ACW correctly the Army of the Potomac was rather bigger than the Army of the Southwest.
 

Glen

Moderator
The Royal Naval Massacre does not refer to the several high profile failures of the British Royal Navy at the beginning of the Global War. It can be argued that 1889 was the largest failure for the Royal Navy in history. Needless to say, many high ranking admirals were removed from the leadership of the Admiralty for this series of failures, and it is this radical sacking to which the term Royal Naval Massacre refers.

The Royal Naval Massacre cleared the way for two innovative, visionary admirals to rejuvenate the wartime Navy. Admiral Milo James 'MJ' Barnett and Admiral John Bryan were the men tapped for the task. Admiral Barnett was seen as a 'bright young thing' on the rise in the Admiralty, though his meteoric elevation to leadership was considered by some perhaps unseemly. The selection, on the personal recommendation of Prime Minister Lovecraft, of John Bryan as Barnettl's partner was even more controversial. Just before the war, Bryan had considered retiring from the Royal Navy as his outspoken views on the future of naval warfare had seen him relegated to dark horse status, but when many of his warnings proved all too real by developments in the Global War, it became obvious that he was the right man to devise a counterstrike, at least by those outside the old Admiralty. Together, Barnett and Bryan instituted three major programs that would see the Royal Navy strike back with vengeance in the latter half of the war.

The first was the crash refitting of the Royal Navy for use of smokeless gunpowder. Ships were recalled to the closest port for refitting, even to colonial ports. For those who could not be taken off station or were too far for practical turn-around, the 'refit fleet' of ship tenders and refitters set sail to convert the ships. While this was an impossible task to finish fully, the numbers that were successfully converted was considered little short of a miracle.

borodino_constr.jpg

The second major innovation was the development of fast, compact (some would say cramped), attack boats to counter the threat of the Shark Boats. These Shark Hunter boats (shortened to Shark Hunters) were only a bit bigger than the Shark Boats that had been deployed so devastatingly in the Western Hemisphere (and were beginning to appear in other navies by 1890). The Shark Hunters were built with the latest fast fire guns, fleetest of engine designs, and were essentially seaworthy killing platforms. With them, the main fleet would be screened from the Shark Boats and able to pick them off at leisure. While the first prototypes and production Shark Hunters came out of English shipyards, the Rossall/Bryan Admiralty took the extraordinary step of charging shipyards throughout the Dominion of Southern America to construct the Shark Hunters, the first time since the Slaver Uprising that Royal Navy vessels would be build in the South. Some specialized equipment was purchased and rush shipped from the USA by rail and ship to bring Dominion works up to Royal Navy standards. The swarm of Shark Hunters required less crew than many vessels of the Royal Navy, but the British were still needing to recruit more for this surge of building, especially given the losses to experienced crew. Many Southrons joined the Royal Navy to crew the Dominion-built boats - this predominance of Southerner crew would lead the one of the longest lasting legacies of the Global War, the nick-name of "Shark Eaters" which began with the Southrons of the Royal Navy, but would later become a term used with affection (if one knew what was good for them) for all Southrons, especially abroad.

800px-HMS_DARING_%281893%29.jpg

The third major decision taken by the Admiralty under Barnett and Bryan was to redesign all new ships of the line on an all large gun design. These would be referred to as the 'Big Bang Battleships' by the press of the time. The Big Bangs were felt especially by Bryan to be necessary in the age of smokeless gunpowder when the elimination (or serious decrease) of the 'fog of war' coupled with the creation of Shark Hunters eliminated the need for most secondary guns, freeing up crews, space, and tonnage for more main guns. This successful philosophy would serve as the basis for all post-Global War Battleships.

HMS_Dreadnought_1906_H61017.jpg
 
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I know I wouldn't be offended if I was called a "Shark Eater" :D

That part about the "refit fleet" I found to be particularly creative. How do you come up with some of this stuff?
 
Glen

So we effectively have destroyers [aka hunters], dreadnoughts and mobile fleet support, as well as the Southrons getting heavily involved in the hunter programme. Also a good clear out of hide-bound commanders. This could be very good for the RN in the medium term.

I think they will ultimately need to find a less clumsy name than 'Big Bang' for the dreadnoughts.

Steve
 
Glen

So we effectively have destroyers [aka hunters], dreadnoughts and mobile fleet support, as well as the Southrons getting heavily involved in the hunter programme. Also a good clear out of hide-bound commanders. This could be very good for the RN in the medium term.

I don't really know, but going by Glen's description and the photo he is using, I would say it is closer to a suped-up PT Boat. Or at least the love-child between a destroyer and a PT Boat.

I think they will ultimately need to find a less clumsy name than 'Big Bang' for the dreadnoughts.

Big Boys? The Big B's? Bigby's?
 
I don't really know, but going by Glen's description and the photo he is using, I would say it is closer to a suped-up PT Boat. Or at least the love-child between a destroyer and a PT Boat.

Possibly but then destroyers OTL was an abbreviation of torpedo boat destroyers because they were designed to stop fast torpedo boats that posed a threat to the big gun capital ships.

Big Boys? The Big B's? Bigby's?

Not sure if that doesn't sound even worse.;)

Steve
 

Glen

Moderator
Pardon me for asking this, but what exactly is your distinction between Republican and Democrat? The only possible difference I could suggest is using "Democrat" to mean "Constitutional Monarchist" but your own use of the term "Republican" seems to have eliminated that possibility.

I think Glen is implying that they are both republicans, as the Koorsgardists don't seem to have crowned anyone emperor of Mexico (might have missed it) so they technically aren't monarchist.

teg is pretty much correct on this.
 

Glen

Moderator
What's the quality of the infrastructure network in New Mexico.

Probably the sparsest in all of the Dominion. They do have the transcontinental railroads coming through, and the old wagon trails to Santa Fe, but it's God's country for sure.

I presume Albion and Texas as reasonably developed Provinces have okay (by 19th century standards) infrastructure but New Mexico pre air conditioning is going to be a sparsely populated area between things.

Your reasoning is correct.
 
While the Eastern Powers had excelled in initiative and rapid advance, the Western Powers had the edge in espionage. Thus it was that famous British Spymaster Matthew Rossall discovered the evidence of the Korsgaardian Empires' master plan for carving up Europe among them.

The Royal Naval Massacre cleared the way for two innovative, visionary admirals to rejuvenate the wartime Navy. Admiral Matthew Rossall and Admiral John Bryan were the men tapped for the task. Admiral Rossall was seen as a 'bright young thing' on the rise in the Admiralty, though his meteoric elevation to leadership was considered by some perhaps unseemly.

And so it can be seen that, just as the Roosevelt brothers won America for the Empire, the Rossall cousins won in Europe ;) Or perhaps the spymaster was so good at his job because he sailed all around the world as part of his day job :eek:

Whether that was intentional or not, Glen, and whether or not you revert one of them, I am honoured to have been given a second cameo :D I'm actually not sure which of those cameos I find the coolest.

Best. Timeline. Evar. :D
 
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