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Standing on the Deck of the SS Haimun a man stares across the ocean to the Chinese coast. The Russians know he’s sending wireless messages to his superiors. But a spy he’s not. He’s actually a reporter, a war correspondent for Times. He loved his job too. He’d being all over the world including the wars in India and South Africa, and at only thirty four had his whole life ahead of him. Now he faced the decision of his life.

The Russians had sent an ultimatum. He’d not being named but it was obviously aimed at him. Any neutral ships carrying radio which may give away their position would be seized. That was two days ago and the Haimun was currently heading to Japan. This was a disaster. Most people thought the Japanese would be crushed but after looking at the state of the Japanese he was not at all sure anymore.

This was the first real war between two great powers since the formation of Germany, and that hadn’t involved navel warfare. That’s when it hit him. He had to see the Captain. No way was he letting these Russian bastards keep him from the story of the decade.


Sometimes people make decisions which have unprecedented consequences. The man on the ship by the Chinese coast is Lincoln James. His claim to fame in our timeline was as the first person to report a war wirelessly during the action. His ship was boarded several times by the Japanese and the Russian ship, Bayan, had even fired at him. Despite assurances by the Foreign Secretary, Lord Lansdowne, that the Russian threat was "unjustifiable and altogether absurd", James stopped after the ultimatum. In this timeline he changes his mind. And as we will find out, one decision can change the world.

After three months running rings around the Russians the SS Haimun was finally captured, boarded and Lincoln James arrested for espionage. The Times report which followed enraged the British public and the foreign office had a diplomatic incident on their hands. But what happened on October the 21st made the James Incident seem like a walk in the park. I’m talking of the Dogger Bank Incident. Now there are some events that really do require a face-palm and the Doggar Bank Incident is one of them.

After the Japanese destroy the Russian Pacific Fleet, the Russians send out their Baltic Fleet to go all the way around the world for some revenge. As they entered the North Sea the drunken captain of the supply ship Камчатка mistook a Swedish ship for a Japanese Torpedo boat and radioed in he was under attack. Later officers took British trawlers on the Bank as more Japanese Torpedo boats and opened fire killing three and wounding six.

This, combined with the Lincoln James fiasco, caused the British press, the British people, and the British government to take a decisive anti-Russian swing. This was dangerous to the Russians due to the recent Anglo-Japanese alliance. France was also worried. They had managed to bring Britain into the continental alliance system very recently with the Entente cordiale. That looked like it could be under threat what with the French alliance with the Russians against the Germans.

The British Foreign Office demanded the release of Lionel James, compensation for the victims and the internment of those responsible. The media began to call the Russians Pirates and the Japanese were actively supported by large numbers of the establishment. There were even mobilisations of the armed forces before France convinced Russia to relent. Lincoln James was one to hold a grudge. His articles after his release have being seen as one of the key reasons for the Anti-Russian feelings, describing his treatment in the most vivid and dark language for the time.

Meanwhile in the conflict zone the Japanese were proving to be much stronger than everyone had given them credit for. They had taken Port Arthur or, as the Japanese would call it Ryojun, to the surprise of the rest of the world. They then managed to capture Mukden completing the rout of Russian Forces in Manchuria. After the Japanese victory in the sea Battle of Tsushima, the Russians basically had no navy left either and the result of this war was a forgone conclusion. The Japanese, with memories of the results of the First Sino-Japanese War ask Britain formally to aid them at the peace table knowing they would want to punish and weaken Russia.

Meanwhile events in Europe were also developing. The British press announce that the French had funded half the war for the Russians. The anti-Russian feelings soon became anti-French as well. Many asked why they were in an alliance with the Frogs and the Pirates anyway. There was a distinct increase in the number of people advocating isolation from European alliances. Lord Lansdowne was also told that the alliance with French was quote “Not the top priority at the moment.” That’s when Germany decided in her infinite wisdom that the time was ripe for Emperor William II to assert German equality with France in Morocco, triggering the Moroccan Crisis.

Russia begins to look for peace and Roosevelt believes he’s the man for the job. The British contact the Americans and explain to them what the Japanese will accept. France announces they will also be at the peace conference to help Russia. The next two months will be spent convincing the Russians and the French they really have no choice but to accept the terms at the same time events in Morocco were pushing Britain and France to breaking point.

Britain then convinces Spain that an independent Morocco would be for the benefit of everyone (accept France). Spain’s endorsement is enough to remove the French protectorate and in the next years both Germany and Britain would join France in Morocco and provide significant investment. It was also the end of the Entente cordiale and Germany couldn’t be happier. Shortly after Britain decided to play high stakes poker in America deciding to tell France and Russia that if they didn’t accept the terms of the peace Japan and Britain would leave and continue the war. France knew this would create a general war in Europe which they would loose since Germany would almost certainly bring in the Triple Alliance.

Roosevelt was furious since he hated the treaty. It gave Japan reparations which he was firmly against and he felt Britain had stolen his thunder. When France convinced Russia to accept defeat and the war was over nobody thanked him. The Japanese thanked the British and the Russians were furious and in the grip of revolution. Immediately after Britain and Japan renewed and strengthened their alliance. The French were terrified since their only ally was beaten by the Japanese and their empire looked very vulnerable.

So you can see how one man can change the world?
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