A German-American Colonial War

Is this a good POD?


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001
  • September 6th, 1901

    Temple of Music, Buffalo, New York

    1606 Hours

    Leon Czolgolz scratched his wrist as he approached McKinley. He put on a blank expression and walked up to the president. The president turned and extended his hand to Czolgolz, offering it to him. Czolgolz raised his right hand and pulled the trigger of the pistol under the handkerchief.

    The gun clicked.

    The president heard this, and before Czolgolz could cock the revolver again, he yelled.

    "Detain this man!"

    At this, Czolgolz was mobbed by the president's bodyguards. The pistol was wrestled away from his hands, and he was led away from the building.

    Disaster averted.
     
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    002
  • June 9th, 1904

    Berlin, Germany

    1020 Hours


    Wilhelm II and two of his advisors pored over a map. General Schlieffen was on the Kaiser's left, and Admiral Tirpitz was on his right.

    "Mein Kaiser," Tirpitz said, "this plan is mad! The Americans would never cede the old Spanish posessions!"

    "I know that, Alfred," the Kaiser said, using Tirpitz’s given name, "that is part of my plan."

    After some deliberation, the men decided to send an ultimatum to Washington: Relinquish the Philippines, or have them taken.

    It arrived the week after.
     
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    003
  • June 16th, 1904

    The White House, Washington, D.C.

    0134 Hours

    The aide timidly approached the president's bedchamber, the telegram in hand. He knocked on the door, and got a slurred response.

    "Whasit at this hour?"

    "Sir, there's a telegram for you."

    McKinley grunted, and the frightened aide slid the telegram under the door before shuffling off. McKinley flipped on a lamp and walked to the door. He bent down and picked up the telegram.

    He nearly fainted when he read the contents.

    It was an ultimatum sent by the German government, demanding that the United States relinquish its hold on the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Subic Bay and Manila in the Philippines to Germany. If these demands were not met, the Germans would use force to take them.

    McKinley got on the phone with the Secretary of War immediately.
     
    004
  • June 16th, 1904

    The War Department, Washington, D.C.

    0202 Hours

    Within half an hour of the president receiving the German ultimatum, he had alerted the Department of War and the Department of State of the dire situation. The navy's Caribbean squadron was put on high alert, and the Asiatic squadron was dispatched to Manila. McKinley called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss courses of action.

    It was decided to refuse the ultimatum, an obvious course of action.

    McKinley addresses the nation at noon.
     
    005
  • June 16th, 1904

    Berlin, Germany

    1402 Hours

    A terrified young man from the Reichstag approached General Schlieffen's aide with the telegram from Washington. The aide looked down at the jittery man before him, and signalled that he should put the telegram in General Schlieffen's mailbox.

    An Hour later, Schlieffen returned to his office after a meeting. He checked his mailbox, and opened the telegram. He clicked his tongue as he read it. He found the Kaiser in his office, and notified him of the American response to the ultimatum. The Kaiser merely smiled.

    "Alfred, you know this was what I intended?"

    "Yes, mein Kaiser, you told Admiral Tirpitz and I this a week ago."

    "Yes, Alfred, I did."

    Later that day, the German Far East squadron was dispatched to the Philippines, and the Baltic squadron was sent south. It would refuel at the Canaries, then continue on to the Caribbean. Thirty Divisions were moved onto ships in the Baltic ports, and German marines prepared for an assault on Subic bay.

    Germany was ready for war.
     
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    006
  • June 18th, 1904

    Subic Bay, The Philippines

    0330 Hours

    The USS San Francisco was on station outside of Subic Bay. She was a veteran of the Spanish-American war with a somewhat unremarkable service. She was also the only navy ship in the area, as the rest of the Asiatic Squadron was in Manila. The watchman on duty yawned as he scanned the horizon. He thought he spotted something, but he wrote it off as his imagination. He went back to scanning the horizon. A few minutes later, he spotted a wake in the water.

    "TORPEDO!"

    It was too late, the torpedo struck amidships, putting a large hole in her hull. Her engines were already hot, so she was able to be beached before she sunk. Twenty-nine men were dead, and the rear gun turret was flooded. The firing arc of the forward turret was not sufficient enough to track the interlopers, so it was decided to destroy the forward guns and abandon ship. This was done, and the crew fled into the night.

    The SMS Kaiserin Augusta sailed into port at the head of the German East Asia Squadron. Her torpedo tube was in the process of being reloaded. Her crew was alert as they still believed that there were American ships in the area. Admiral Alfred Breusing smiled from the bridge of the Kaiserin as the fleet silently sailed into the bay.

    *note* I know Alfred Breusing was not appointed as commander of the East Asia squadron until 1905 IOTL, but as I could not find anyone who was the commander at this time, I'm including his early appointment to the position as part of the POD. Please don't hurt me.

    *edit* Changed Olympia to San Francisco to fix error.

    *edit* Changed date for realism
     
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    007
  • June 18th, 1904

    Berlin, Germany

    0605 Hours

    The order is given to the fleet for fifteen of the thirty invasion divisions to be returned to Germany. The other fifteen proceed as planned.

    *edit* Changed date for realism
     
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    008
  • June 18th, 1904

    Subic Bay, The Philippines

    0719 Hours

    The German marine infantry regiments are disembarked and sent to clear out any resistance in the surrounding area.

    The SMS Hertha strikes a mine outside of port and sinks with 18 men.

    *edit* Changed date for realism
     
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    009
  • June 18th, 1904

    The White House, Washington, D.C.

    1024 Hours

    "Mr. President, we just lost Subic Bay."

    "Mr. President, we have reports of German warships..."

    "Mr. President, Manila Bay is blocked off..."

    "Mr. President, the Army is not ready for..."

    McKinley was bombarded with words as the war room was flooded with reports from the Philippines. The general consensus was that they were screwed.

    McKinley's face turned red and he began to sweat profusely.

    "Mr. President, are you okay?"

    "I have a terrific pain."

    At this, McKinley collapsed, banging his head on the table.

    President McKinley was later found to have suffered a heart attack from the stress of the war, but the cause of death was blunt trauma to his brain caused by hitting the table so hard.

    The next day, vice president Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26th President of the United States.
     
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    010
  • June 18th, 1904

    Manila Bay, The Philippines

    Various Times


    1203 Hours: The USS Monterey, on patrol outside of Manila Bay, engages the German Cruiser Kaiserin Augusta.

    1210 Hours: The Monterey is sunk by two torpedoes launched from the German Cruiser SMS Gefion.

    1215 Hours: The USS New Orleans breaks out of the bay after badly damaging the German Cruiser SMS Irene.

    1215-1246 Hours: The American fleet is slowly picked apart by the Germans, with the USS Isla de Cuba being the second and last ship to successfully disengage and escape the bay.

    1246 Hours: The remainder of the American Asiatic Squadron is sunk or scuttled.

    The USS New Orleans encounters a German patrol on their way to Formosa, and is badly damaged. She eventually makes it to Formosa. The USS Isla de Cuba makes her way to Formosa a day after the New Orleans ships.

    The German Marines encounter fierce resistance from American troops in Manila, but by the end of the day the German flag is raised over the city.

    *edit* Changed date for realism
     
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    011
  • June 19th, 1904

    Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine

    1330 Hours

    The lunch whistle blew, and the men working on the construction of the new battleship USS Georgia took out their lunch pails and exited the work area.

    A man with two lunch pails in hand approached the hull that was nearing readiness for launch. He placed one of the pails by one of the chocks keeping the ship in place and placed the second by the other. Each lunch pail contained 30 pounds of TNT. He turned on the timers and made a beeline for the entrance. Five minutes later, the bombs detonated, and the hull slipped off of the rear chocks and rolled forward and to the side. Substantial damage was caused, and the superstructure of the ship was heavily damaged. Her launch was delayed for another year.

     
    012
  • June 19th, 1904

    The White House, Washington, D.C.

    1745 Hours

    "What do you mean by 'delay in construction'?" President Roosevelt demanded, "We need these ships as soon as possible, we don't have time for delays!"

    "Uhh, sir, the construction of the Georgia was sabotaged, it was out of our control."

    The president sighed and looked straight at Secretary of the Navy William H. Moody, "well William, what can we do to get more ships off of the slips?"

    "I don't know, sir," Moody said meekly.

    "You don't know. Can't we authorize some emergency program to get as many ships into combat as possible? I mean any way!"

    "I understand, sir, but we simply do not have the resources to do such a thing."

    "Then buy ships, the British are looking to downsize their fleet."

    "Sir, it'll take too long, and we need Congressional approval."

    "Just find a way, William. Find a way."

    Moody nodded and excused himself from the room. He had a long night ahead of him.
     
    013
  • June 20th, 1904

    Manila Bay, The Philippines

    600 Hours


    The small garrison of US Army soldiers was marched out of Manila and onto the troopships that brought their German counterparts to the Philippines. The old armored cruiser Fürst Bismarck escorted the ships out of the harbor. They were being taken back to the captured prison facilities at Subic bay. They would arrive later that day. Meanwhile, newly landed German infantry advanced down the primitive roads and into the interior of Luzon.
     
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    014
  • June 20th, 1904

    Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Maine

    805 Hours

    The man entered the docks in a dinky wagon. The rear was covered in a tarp, concealing the wagon's contents. He was stopped at the gate by two guards clad in khaki uniforms. One of them walked forward and checked his identification papers, the other checked under the tarp. He found several crates of apples. He was waved along through the gate. The man pulled the wagon onto a jetty, where four torpedo boats were laid up for repairs, and walked to the back of the wagon. He opened the crates one by one and activated the timers on the explosives. He unhitched his horse and rode past the guards, who were skeptical of the man's short visit.

    Five minutes later there was a great explosion as the wagon and the four torpedo boats ceased to exist. As this was the second incident of sabotage in a naval yard in two days, a search was organized, but turned up nothing.

    The man stared down the road, determined, as he rode the horse down to Virginia.
     
    015
  • June 20th, 1904

    The White House, Washington, D.C.

    900 Hours

    A middle-aged woman from the communications office entered the war room where President Roosevelt and several men in varying suits and uniforms pored over maps and charts.

    "Telegram, Mr. President."

    "Bully! Where is it from?"

    "Portsmouth Shipyard, sir."

    Roosevelt snatched the telegram from the operator's hand and began to scan it. Since assuming office, he had ordered that all telegrams related to the war be sent directly to the White House. Roosevelt finished reading the telegram and sighed deeply. He placed it down on the large oak table and slammed his fist down. Everyone in the room nearly jumped.

    "What is it, sir?" One man asked.

    "I'll tell you what it is," Roosevelt shouted, "four warships destroyed by a saboteur in Portsmouth, presumably the same saboteur who hit the Georgia just yesterday! Why the hell does this keep happening?!"

    "Sir, what should we do?"

    Roosevelt sunk into his chair, his head in his hands.

    "I don't know, I feel that all is lost."
     
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