British Tierra del Fuego

corditeman · Sep 21, 2010

Your new character...

...Interesting... Someone who leaves Fuego, when most stay there. I think he may be the successor to Montt, but let's see, shall we?

corditeman · Sep 24, 2010

Had a few thoughts for the 1920s...

...Look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_of_Newfoundland and think a bit.

BTW, Mahatma Gandhi made as many enemies as friends...

corditeman · Sep 25, 2010

Chile, Mama Igneos and Cardinal Samore :

Writing this one gradually...

The action of Juliet Allardyce in taking a Gandhi starvation approach to resolving the Chilean crisis, was to cause uproar in Fuego. Many in power wondered if she had lost her mind, but Governor Rex Hunt pointed out to the Colonial Assembly that it was an intervention which avoided armed conflict. Then there was a polarisation of attitudes; those who knew Juliet Allardyce from her military background were not surprised at her risking herself in a good cause. Others thought it was a ruthless exploitation of her position in the ethnic groups, but few opposed it; the cynics said that if she died, it would clear the way for somebody else.
Amongst the ethnic groupings in South America, the action of 'Mama Igneos' was enough to trigger appalled support and a lot of pressure on governments throughout that continent. Brazil was, ironically enough, the first nation after Peru to support 'Mama Igneos', with Presidente Numero sending her goodwill messages and attending one of the special Catholic Masses that were held for Chile on Papal instruction. Bolivia and Argentina were quick to follow, then Uruguay and Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela and the Guyanas.
"Chile is profoundly grateful to Mama Igneos for her love and concern." General Berenstein made a reply to the media a few hours later. "I ask the Azocarists to lay down their arms and to respect a Papal proposal that Cardinal Samore convene a General Election for all Chile. General Sepulveda and myself agree that this is a sensible idea and will result in a representative Congress. Presidente Montt is appalled by the way Mama Igneos has been driven to this extremity and is submitting his resignation, although he may stand as a Presidential candidate for a united Chile. I ask that all Chileos honour the Papal Proposals and stand ready to follow Cardinal Samore's words."
The opposition to Berenstein was Azocarist and therefore immediately under pressure and attack from ethnic groupings and the devout Roman Catholics throughout Chile. Chile Austral was irritated to lose its now-popular Presidente Montt, but wholly supportive of Samore, who discovered - to his shock - that Mama Igneos had made him into an heroic figure. Montt's 'New Chile' party opened offices in Santiago, in buildings previously attacked by Azocarist mobs, to discover Aymara and Mapute pure and half-bloods signing up for party membership. Berenstein found he could keep his forces discreetly out of direct sight, for the Cardinal's and Mama Igneos's supporters now ruled the streets, refusing calls from agitators to attack the Army, the Bolivians or the Catholic Church. The media - prone to misnaming - were to call it the 'Pacifist Revolution', but also kept a watching brief at the Lima hospital where Mama Igneos had held her fast, watched by doctors who could confirm that she was not eating anything but that she did have sips of water. Well aware that they had another Gandhi on their hands, the Peruvians had been willing to take her by ambulance to the airport, but Juliet had refused to leave Peru, although she did ask to be taken to Macchu Picchu before she died. The Peruvian Air Force flew her with great ceremony to Ancon airstrip, where a helicopter took her the last few kilometres to the mountain-top Inca City, the doctors afraid that the combination of her fast and altitude sickness (soroche) would kill her off. The high Fuegan metabolism was a problem; her body burned calories rapidly, so it was calculated that she might die in half the time of the average human being.
"Twenty days to live!" The headlines screamed, when the media learned of Mama Igneos's vulnerability. However, that did not stop them from publishing iconic pictures of the Fuegan PM in her Inca-style robes at the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, raising her arms in a crescent of greeting at dawn. Manco Capac and his wife had been dressed similarly, but later swore that they felt as if Mama Igneos was full of the sunlight when the dawnlight reached her. Be that as it may, that visit had marked Juliet Allardyce as even more of a popular icon and unofficially adopted by the Peruvians as one of them. It was suggested that she stay in Peru once her duties in Fuego were ended, but she laughingly reminded her well-wishers that her family were Fuegan and that the soroche was hard on her heart and lungs. It caused a scare when she collapsed from lack of food on the fifth day, hastily being moved down from the mountains and back to Cuzco, where she was given oxygen treatment and recovered enough to visit Sacsayhuaman and many other Inca sites. But the doctors had to stretcher her by air down to Lima, where a candle-lit vigil took place outside the hospital; there were similar vigils in All Saints, Ushuaia, in churches in many parts of Chile and Argentina, even in Bolivia.
"If Mama Igneos dies and we fail her, her blood is on our hands." Berenstein called the already-bickering Deputies to order, as he awaited the arrival of Cardinal Samore. The General had already realised, with a sinking heart, that although Juliet Allardyce had shocked Chile to silence, it needed somebody to speak the right words for peace to be achieved. Even in Fuego there were people who felt 'Mama Igneos' had gone too far, but the Papal Nuncio recalled the unhappy Lieutenant of Land Guards who had seen too much too young and knew he must find strength enough to use the chance she had given him, before they both died.
"We are here today to halt a war and start a peace." The Cardinal addressed the Deputies in the Congress. "Let us stand and consider both the dead and the need for reconciliation. For two minutes. If we fail, it is not just a woman who dies - it is the future of Chile and its children. And we have perhaps less than ten days before the nation enters mourning." He could not help his grim voice; barely an hour before, Mama Igneos had collapsed again and the doctors in Lima were starting to worry that twenty days was an over-assessment of her body's ability to survive.
Amongst the Deputies and Senators gathered before him was a rather unusual politician, the engineer Angel Masciotra Thomas, whose background was in itself rather unusual. He was the son of a Italo-Chilean and a Fuegan-Irish, born in Fuego in 1956 and who lived there until he became an Engineer at the age of 24. Then he moved to Chile where he met Allende and became a friend of him. Thomas was more of a Fuegan-style communalist, used to the idea of publicly-run utilities and services, with the encouragement of Mondragon-style co-operative ventures. On the death of Allende, the Socialist Chile party was ravaged by Schawnk, but the Fuegan background of Thomas kept him safe from Schawnk and the DINA. As time went by, Thomas became increasingly looked to as the new face of Chilean Socialism and was only stopped from reaching Berenstein by the actions of Alcozar. Thomas saw the Papal Nuncio as a valuable opportunity to change the future, and wanted to promote pragmatic modernization and cooperation with capitalism, blended with greater opportunities for groups of individuals to form effectiver co-operatives. The Inca and pre-Inca cultures had fostered village cultures that worked together to survive, even if the imperial aspirations of the Titicaca and Cuzco cultures had eventually enforced a more feudal system. Thomas knew of Montt's aspiration for 'Chile Austral' as a marine hydropower and wind-turbine economy, copying the successful features of Fuego, so he wanted something not dissimilar for industry, to free the land for the people.
The Socialist Chile and Nueva Chile Parties were large enough with the Aymara Federatione and the Mapute Council, to control a lot of votes and a lot of political influence, so Angel or Angelo Thomas was already influential when the Azocarists made the mistake of choosing a Ferrettist-style path to power. Mama Igneos was the voice they needed to stop the fighting and let diplomats start talking, even more so in the smoke-filled backrooms and council chambers that were the true corridors of power. Angelo Thomas cheerfully set to work to assemble an electable coalition of his allies, dwarfing the efforts of the Communists, far-right and centre-right parties, so he already had an influential group of 'bought' Deputies and Senators ready to support and vote for Samore. It was to some degree dirty and unscrupulous, but an Election would reveal the solid democratic truth behind the growth of the Union of Chile Party. The collapse of Mama Igneos - their Gandhi - had forced the pace; three newspapers and two TV channels signed up with the Union of Chile, which unashamedly made a break with the past of Atacama in its race to reach the future.
Forty-eight hours of hard work by the Union of Chile saw them putting up a range of proposals to the Caucus assembled by the Cardinal; it could not be called a government, being largely of individuals who were either candidates for election or whose elections had been voided by Schawnk. However, it did agree a number of key points that became known as the Eight Santiago Agreements :-
Resolved : An Election of Senators and Deputies be held within one month and an Election of a President within two months.
Resolved : That the Republic of Chile shall exist between 26th Parallel of southern latitude and the Strecho Magallanes as a Federation of States.Resolved
Resolved : That Andean Araucania and the Argentine Mapute Reservation be together the Mapute Homeland, with the Heads of State of Chile and Argentina as guarantors and Principe Felipe Orelie-Antoine or his heirs as Head of the Mapute People.
Resolved : No Chilean Head of State may serve more than four years before having to spend four years awaiting re-election.
Resolved : No individual or party may recruit or arm a private army or carabiniero. The Federal Armed Forces of Chile are the only authorised military services. Any organisation so proscribed to hand in its weapons and munitions and disband within one month of this Resolution or be regarded as acting in treason.
Resolved : The Chile Austral Development Plan for marine hydropower and wind energy sites, to proceed as previously arranged.
Resolved : Freedom of worship is to be guaranteed under the law. No religious organisation is permitted to persecute another for its beliefs. No organisation is permitted to torture or sacrifice any animal or human being as part of its rituals.
Resolved : The laws will apply to all in Chile, without limit or privilege.
The Agreements were duly sanctioned by the Junta and Cardinal Samore as being law, meeting with highly favourable reactions in other parts of the Americas. President Reagan sent his respects to the Caucus and congratulated them on their 'common sense', Presidente De Silva of Bolivia called it 'the actions of statesmen' and Presidente Numero of Brazil considered it 'very promising'. Presidente Garramuno of Argentina, that honorable man, proposed that Cardinal Samore and 'Mama Igneos' share the next Nobel Peace Prize, whilst hoping that 'Mama Igneos' would end her fast now that so much good had been achieved. The Akkla Adana, her eldest daughter, had been flown to Lima and was at her mother's beside; the fiery Adana considered the Agreements and finally agreed, the doctors rushing in with glucose drip-feeds and rehydration salts, before intubating the comatose Mama Igneos and sending a liquid food into her stomach. Although the results were favorable, the doctors were afraid that the fast might have damaged the heart of Juliet Allardyce permanently. A slim woman anyway, she had almost no fat reserves left and her tissue had begun to be cannibalised by her starving body. It was touch and go for almost two days, a time in which prayer-vigils were held in many places and the Pope held a Mass in the Vatican for the soul and wellbeing of 'This most valiant pagan who supports Christianity'.
But not all the world supported the Santiago Agreements; lobby groups for business cartels and political opponents of the new regime were quick to voice everything from doubt to outright hatred. Muslim clerics in Iran saw it as yet another Western attack on their own right to persecute infidels and pagans, whilst Communist groups throughout the Americas regarded the communalist philosophies of Angel Thomas as dangerous revisionism. Both groups of extremists denounced Mama Igneos as a threat and tried to stir up hatred; the Indios of South America ignored the extremists, who only found an audience amongst the Azocarists and the Shining Path terrorists, both groups outlawed in Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina. Belaunde of Peru was sufficiently worried to mobilise his best troops to defend the Hospital where 'Mama Igneos' lay slowly recovering. Mossad, the CIA, the FBI, Britain's MI5 and even the French SDECE, relayed reports of disturbing activity amongst the terror groups to Fuego's Special Intelligence Service. The objective was not so much to reverse events as to get some kind of revenge; it was rumoured that professional hitmen (assassins) had already been hired, but the facts were hard to get at.
'Mama Igneos' was at last able to be seen after two weeks of careful feeding and exercising, a much more gaunt figure in a wheelchair surrounded by Maori and Yaghan securitymen. But her eyes sparkled with life and she was able to speak to her well-wishers from a podium outside the hospital, thanking them for their prayers and concern for her.
"To those who think that killing me would solve their problems, I say this. Behind me are millions of people who believe in freedom and equality, as I do, so the death of one makes the rest only more determined. When I die, the Federation of Native Americans shall elect another 'Mama Igneos', to continue this useful position. The fire is in the blood, in Fuego - may it always remain so!"
Peru had been glad to host 'Mama Igneos' but it was also glad to pass the burden of her care and protection to others, although Belaunde and Manco Capac - now an effective political partnership - had garnered immense prestige. Capac had moderated some of his more extreme attitudes in the face of early native enthusiasm for Juliet's carefully-worked socialist policies, keeping in regular contact with Angel Thomas, Prince Felipe and the Maori Assembly. Native South America had become an important political force throughout the continent, forcing political re-assessments by Reagan's administration in Washington and further afield in Europe, Russia and China.

Petete123123 · Sep 25, 2010

She is crazy

I mean, I went to Cristo Redentor, a 4.000mt place and felt like if there wasn't air there. Its horrible

But I think there is many people who don't like her work. I'm seeing something like Kennedy or even bigger

corditeman · Sep 26, 2010

You have to be English to understand...

...Macchu Picchu is regarded as a place of exotic wonder in Britain. And Juliet has to have some weaknesses, or she wouldn't be human. She's being driven by her double identity as PM and Mama Igneos - she risks herself to end a conflict. It opens the door to Samore's (real life) skill as a diplomat. But how long will the Chileos take to achieve a peace - and will it last? For all his 'fasts to death', Gandhi didn't achieve peace in the Indian sub-continent - only polarisation, and continued assassination attempts.

I think that the risks to her are not soroche and starvation - as you've guessed, she might be assassinated. There aren't many Ferrettistas left, but revanchist Azocaristas are around - and let's not forget the Shining Path lot. They've tried to kill Manco Capac and now there's a far bigger icon to go for - a bit like assassinating the Pope for merely existing. But it'll anger the native Indios so much that killing Juliet will destroy Shining Path for good

.

Juliet's been remarkably successful, so far - but will hubris destroy her?

corditeman · Sep 26, 2010

Angel Masciotra Thomas...

...Is now on post 348. I hope it pleases you.

corditeman · Sep 29, 2010

On holiday for a few days...

...In the rain!

So I won't be posting here or elsewhere for a bit.

The next section will be about Patagonia - Chile's on course for success. And I must develop the next PM for Fuego and consider why they didn't get away from being a colony until 2010...

corditeman · Oct 3, 2010

The Patagonian Solution...

Five days of wet weather in southern Cumbria. I come home, they had downpours in Dalbeattie - but now it's dry!!!

Anyway, here goes...

Sidelined by the progress of events in Chile and Peru, the worthy citizens of Rio Gallegos and Commodoro Rivadavia watched Juliet Allardyce with appalled fascination. "Eccentric to the point of being loco" was the remark Argentinos felt they had to make; it went a long way to curing the more extreme of the fad of wanting to be Fuegan. The majority of the Patagonians had only wanted to be free of corruption and with a genuine chance for equality before the law, but they were more willing to release the Fuegans from the unwanted continuation of occupation. Presidente Garramuno had been benevolent and influential enough to allow the government to try the experiment of British-style law enforcement and an independent judiciary, but he was relieved that any moves towards an independent Patagonia were dying the death.
The One-Year Occupation is remarkably successful for a number of reasons - the Argentine government can concentrate its efforts on re-organisation and a decrease in the Armed Forces to a volunteer force size, without garrison concerns in Patagonia. Fuegan Land Guard instructors in the meantime have recruited the new 'Guardia Civile' from amongst former conscripts eager to be trained in Fuegan miltary techniques. The professional 'Ejercito Argentino' were being trained separately, for they had many old habits that the Fuegan Guards officers had to break and replace, inculcating the reasons why a light missile-armed sharpshooting Commando had shattered a conventional tank army. Two angry Coronels from northern regiments walked out in disgust, claiming that the Fuegans were lying to them, only to be ordered back by Garramuno himself; he had pointed out to them that the Fuegan understanding of their tactics needed to be analysed, or it would continue to be-devil the EA. The truth was that the tanks had been vulnerable to missile attack and had been unable to react fast enough to the fluidity of Fuegan methods. One of the Coronels later went on to examine British 'Chobham armour', which offered a hope for battle tanks to survive missile attack, the other becoming a keen convert to air-to-ground interdiction of the Fuegan Commando units.
Whilst the EA was learning how to fight like Fuegans, the Fuegan Guard was studying its potential future foes and looking into weapons that would let it retain the advantages of surprise, mobility and power at the point. They were already looking into penetrators and shaped-charge warheads that followed a vertical path rather than an almost-horizontal traditional trajectory, with the objective of terminal-stage rocket-boosted vertical 'hard slam' into engine compartments and tank hatches. Deployment would be on helicopters and vehicles, but the Guard was also looking into squads of cheap small one-man autogyro 'Dragoon' units. That would, of course, take a decade to develop, but the Wulaia factories meant to be ready for the need.
Having Patagonian naval bases to hand was a new experience for the Fuegan Marine, whose motley collection of somewhat-elderly re-conditioned hulls was a surprise to the ARA, whose ships were for the most part more modern, except for the Marine's submarines. Visitors to the Marine's ships at Open Days were often astonished that such a collection of hulls was still front-line equipment, but the skill of the Ushuaia Dockyard in corrosion-protection and re-working of old hulls had been respected for decades. Nevertheless, the Fuegan Marine's somewhat-creaky appearance was another nail in the coffin of Patagonian respect, until it was considered that the best ships were not on display. To the hilarity of the Argentine media, the most ancient ship of the Fuegan Marine carried the Governor north on a visit to Commodoro Rivadavia; 'FMS Virago' was virtually a museum ship, but she was still the Governor's yacht and a training ship, her hull and masts in remarkably good order.
"Why is Fuego still a British Colony? You have your own Premier and your own Armed Forces - even if both are rather unusual." A journalist challenged Morales.
"Because of an earthquake and two wars." Commissioner Morales reminded him. "Also, two World Wars and the Great Depression. We survive." The Commissioner then looked the reporter over thoughtfully. "And we want to go home... We will honour the year here, but then we go home."
Within Fuego itself there was increasing pressure to make the Argentines rescind the Training Year, for some were afraid that their most recent foe was learning far too much about Fuegan war-fighting; there were others who saw a democratic Patagonia as an eventual threat to Fuegan independence and were afraid of a UN attempt at another Partition. Russia was already sounding-off about the 'irrelevance' of that semi-independent Colony and Gibraltar, to the delight of Spain and the embarrassment of the Chileo and Argentino governments. Garramuno sent word to the Argentine's Ambassador to make it abundantly clear that Russia's idea had no support in Argentina and was regarded as irrelevant. Chile, Bolivia and Peru, were to make similar statements, whilst Brazil wanted to know what right the USSR had to interfere in a purely South American matter. Brazil would be happy to see Fuego as an independent sovereign state, but no doubt the Fuegans and the United Kingdom would decide the matter in their own good time. That made the UK Ambassador thank the South American states for their kind support and assure the UN that the Fuegans were at liberty to decide their own future.
"Britain is content to appoint a Governor to Fuego for as long as he - or she - is required. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force have been most interested by the performance of Fuegan military equipment and personnel. Her Majesty's Government have also noted the remarkable success of the Fuegan Land Guards and Fuegan diplomacy, which may be of value elsewhere."
The United States of America similarly said that it would welcome the declaration of Fuegan independence and noted that the Baltic States had been occupied by Stalin at the end of the Second World War "...And are still occupied..." Which brought the UN back to another session of NATO/Warsaw Pact argument, Fuego being restored to a footnote in world affairs.
Patagonia's 'Occupation' became slighter and slighter over the following months, rather to the relief of Garramuno and Allardyce, who were to meet six months later in Commodoro Rivadavia to quietly sign agreements that left three bases near the Strecho Magallanes in Fuegan hands for three years and allowed all but some instructors, RFMC and administrators to return home. The bases would dwindle into forward observation sites - an Argentino guarantee to Fuego that it would never again face a build-up of forces to invade Fuego. There was also joint agreement on co-basing of Chileo-Argentine scientific bases under Fuegan guarantee in the British Antarctic Dependency, a secret pact that later became known as the South Atlantic Accords; the Argentinos, Chileos and Brasileiros, had been jointly angered by Russian and US attempts at domination, so had come to their own decisions as to the future of Shackleton Polar Base and the network of bases spread across Antarctica. As Angel Thomas put it, there was little point in duplicating neighbouring bases, when together they could extend an existing network of bases across the Weddell Sea and the Palmer Archipelago to the Pole. Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay, were to quietly join the pact, only landlocked Paraguay being left out. It started to look as if the South Atlantic Accords were going to be the basis for a most unexpected alliance.
Cantref Mawr remained an insoluble problem; the Welsh refused to return to an Argentina not run on the principles introduced in Patagonia and equally firmly refused to rescind its agreement that made Fuego its Protecting Power. So 'Asphalt' remained as a reproof, as did a squadron of FAF Harrier aircraft and two old Fairey Gannets at FRAF Porth Mawr. Brazil and Uruguay sensibly proposed a twenty-year mandate, with a plebiscite at the end of it to decide whether the population wished to re-join Argentina. But it meant that the Union Flag, the Fuegan Flag and the Welsh Dragon, flew on three flagmasts, and that Rex Hunt and his successors had to function as the Commissioners of Cantref Mawr. Presidente Garramuno declared that it was now up to his countrymen to prove themselves worthy of the Montevideo Agreement, by ruling themselves with such honesty and fairness that Cantref Mawr would be eager to re-join them. He also referred to Patagonia, by saying that he had asked for Cantref Mawr to send observers to every 25th May celebration and to remit at least one year of individual taxation to Argentina, if they wished to show approval. A decision by the entire Cantref Mawr population to remit their taxes to Argentina, could be taken as a plebiscite ahead of the twenty-year mandate's official end.
"Democracy and equality under the law, will mean no more Juntas!" The Presidente thumped the podium in his enthusiasm. "Let Argentina be prosperous and free!"
"And thank Heaven for that!" Juliet Allardyce reached for a glass of the new Fuegan Brandy. "Ah...that's better...Maybe, now we can get on with recovery and then we can consider Independence!"
"We'll see." Her husband shrewdly took the decanter away. "Yes, it's lovely stuff... But, my love, you won't last for ever - who's next to rule Fuego?"
"We've a choice." The Colonial Assembly had voted to become the Fuegan Assembly, to the dismay of diehards. "There's Michael Garramuno down in Ushuaia, Winston Smith in Mimosa and Hendryk Mester in Harbourtown. The Native Party want the Maori Henry Blue, who's not a bad choice, but a bit too militant for the Navarino voters. It's ironic - Winston Smith is actually a Green Liberal, despite having seen what we both saw in '63. Mester won't please the Welsh, but he'll go down in Navarino and New Limerick. We'll just have to put it to the people, won't we?" And her impish grin made Michael Braun raise his glass to her.

corditeman · Oct 4, 2010

That's it for the '82 war and its aftermath...

...The events in Sweden are alongside and follow on. Juliet Allardyce has been damned lucky not to be assassinated (so far), but we'll see.

I've two other sections needing to be done - the 1800s Maori Settlement and the 1914 Battle of the Beagle Channel. Which would you like to see first?

corditeman · Oct 5, 2010

The Battle of Beagle Channel, 1914 : Prelude :

... No replies, so I'll start this going. Assume that Von Spee's squadron is still intact, that Coronel's taking place and that Fuego has received a telegraph by way of Punto Arenas that Von Spee is loose...

What happens next?

Governor Allardyce is having a very trying time; Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock was furious at the boiler failure in the battleship 'Canopus' and was prepared to blame it all on the poor-quality coal in Fuego. The truth is that 'Canopus' is an old ship in need of a major refit and the Admiralty thought that FM Dockyard Ushuaia could do it as part of its war duties. Cradock has decided that he will coal in Chile rather than wait for coal to be shipped in from there and leaves 'Canopus' - reduced from 18 to 12 knots - in Ushuaia for repairs and to act as guardship. That leaves Cradock with two armoured cruisers (Good Hope and Monmouth), a light cruiser (Glasgow) and the converted liner Otranto as an auxiliary cruiser. With Graf Spee's squadron last seen in Polynesia (bombarding Papeete in Tahiti), Cradock intends this in-force scouting mission to collect despatches and coal to show South America that the Royal Navy is guarding the nitrate trade. If Von Spee's squadron is sending one or more units to raid the nitrate and coal ships, the cruisers under Cradock's command should give the Hun a nasty surprise. Allardyce's suggestion that the despatches are coded by Fuegan agents then sent by telegraph is laughed at, as is the Fuegan Marine; the Fuegans are becoming really annoyed about Cradock's arrogance, but do their best to help Canopus.
Cradock heads north when he learns from monitoring radio traffic that 'SMS Leipzig' may be near Coronel - in fact, 'Leipzig' is being used as a common call-sign and the 'Gottingen' is in Coronel collecting coal, despatches and supplies. The result is that when 'Glasgow' arrives to call and collect despatches, 'Gottingen' sends a radio message to 'Leipzig' and the German East Asia Squadron heads south to hit 'Glasgow'. The result is an unintentional naval fleet engagement that uses up half of the Germans' shells and puts Cradock on the bottom with 'Good Hope' and 'Monmouth'. Captain John Luce of the 'Glasgow' and Captain Davidson RNR of 'Otranto' are forced to flee south. 'Canopus' remains stranded at Ushuaia, with her Captain, Heathcoat S. Grant, the senior British Naval Officer of the remnants of the West Coast Squadron. Captain Henry Morgan, RNR, the Commodore of the Fuegan Marine, is not under Grant's command but comes under the Colonial assembly and Governor Allardyce. The situation is extremely grave as it may be a month before significant reinforcements can arrive in Ushuaia; 'Canopus' needs to be repaired and 'Glasgow' and 'Otranto' may be needed to help form the nucleus of a squadron with the three light cruisers at Buenos Aires. After much heart-searching - and after conferring with the Fuegan Marine - Heathcoat Grant recommends to the Admiralty that the two cruisers be sent to Port Cameron and remains with 'Canopus' at Ushuaia to await developments.
Allardyce and Morgan have already activated the Harbour Defence Service (minefields and torpedoes) of the Fuegan Marine and watchmen from Desolacion to Staten Island are keeping a sharp lookout. They also contact their agents in the Chilean ports and that includes two colliers - the 'Penguin' and 'Sealion' - both coaling in Lota. Captain Ivor Brown of the 'Penguin' is amazed at the orders he is given, but as a Lieutenant FM Reservist agrees to brief his crew; most are Maoris, so can pass as lascar seamen fairly easily. Maoris being Maoris, the crew are delighted to share the 'fun', but Captain Brown is less sanguine; he does not believe that the Kaiserliches Marine are to be trusted. Nevertheless, he takes his ship southwards, making much unnecessary smoke, slowly patrolling those areas outside the Islands of Chile where Von Spee may have hidden his squadron. 'Sealion', still coaling, departs a few days later, but by then the 'Penguin' is approaching the Archipelago Campana, a desolate and uncolonised group of islands that conceals many excellent natural anchorages. Human live bait, the anxious Captain Brown watches for trouble. He and Captain Jones of 'Sealion' will plod back and forth between Ushuaia and Lota for ever, if necessary, to feed their families and safeguard their country.
Admiral Maximilian, Graf von Spee, is an equally unhappy man; his squadron has enough coal to sail all the way back to Germany, but the odds are against them ever reaching a German port. German East Africa is an equally-dubious possibility. Internment is a possibility, but with Germany's only blue-water naval force, he has to do something substantial. Almost angrily, he tosses a chart onto the desk of his quarters and starts to think; his intelligence is that there are three light cruisers guarding Buenos Aires and the British meat and grain ships, two others have escaped the bonfire of Coronel and there is 'Canopus'. The Royal Navy are bound to send battleships south, but just supposing... He frowns at the chart, looking at the channels into the Beagle Channel and the approaches to Ushuaia. Unlike the Chilean Admirals, he has no need to worry about the Strecho Magallanes, his navigational equipment is excellent and the channel south of Picton Island would lead him into the heart of Britain's Antarctic colony. What he needs is intelligence about the 'Canopus' - if she is unable to move, she is a sitting duck for torpedoes and destroying her would make loss of his command acceptable. 'Glasgow' and 'Otranto' are less serious; without 'Canopus', they can be killed. Then he can cause mayhem amongst the three Buenos Aires-based cruisers, if need be heading to a comfortable internment in Brazil. But first he must destroy 'Canopus' and FM Dockyard 'HMS Maitland'. Then a flag officer knocks and enters the cabin. 'Leipzig' has just intercepted a Fuegan collier and is bringing her in. The Admiral will have to change anchorage from Isla Prat to somewhere else, but the weak radio signal has given him what he needs - intelligence.
"Ach, Herr Kapitan Brown, we are civilised men, yes?" The Admiral pours the weary Brown in his shabby uniform a large schnapps, then one for himself. "Prosit!"
"You're the enemy of my King and the Empire." Brown ignores the schnapps, but looks the aristocratic German in the eyes. "You're thousands of miles from home and you don't have a hope in Hell of getting back to Germany. Surrender, Admiral!"
"I think not. You are a brave man, Kapitan." Von Spee gestures him to be seated. "You and your men will not be harmed. You are prisoners of war. I think there are rules we should keep to. 'Glasgow' and 'Otranto' ran - well, they were outgunned - so where is the cruiser 'Canopus', Herr Kapitan?" Dead silence. "I see. I know she had boiler trouble and was in Ushuaia. Like you, we have agents."
"I captain a collier between Lota and Ushuaia - that's my life. You think I know more of a battleship than something I pass by?" Ivor Brown relaxed slightly. "I hear she has big guns and thick armour."
Von Spee looks him over and sees the defiance of the man. "You Fuegans - you defeated the Chileans, eleven years ago? How did you do it?"
"Something with torpedoes and powerful shells. We're Fuegans. Me, I was mate of the collier 'Diamond', so I never saw much."
Von Spee found the other officers - mate and engineer - just as taciturn, but one of his officers got rather more out of the 'frightened lascars'. The Maoris were tricked or bamboozled into admitting that 'Canopus' was being worked on day and night, that big metal tuibes were being taken out of her, one fireman saying that the boiler-tubes were lying on the wharf. She was tied up alongside - she was manoeuvered by tugs - she was at anchor - no, she had gone out after Cradock's force and limped back - she had suffered a boiler explosion - no, a shell had hit her - guns taken off her - yes, they would blow the Germans out of the water. It was all very revealing. But Fuego colony did have 'Virago', 'Sapphire', 'Ardent' and the torpedo boats.
"Put them ashore with a week's rations and fishing tackle." Von Spee ordered, at the end. "Kapitan Brown we keep as a hostage. He is old but clever."
'Penguin' put to sea again, this time with a German crew and a force of Seebataillon aboard her to carry out a dangerous operation - she was going to be chased into the Beagle Channel by 'Leipzig', to report back by a radio rigged aboard her what ships were in the Beagle Channel, and where. If she failed to show an identifying flag or flash a message, that could be construed as the heat of the moment. The old ship would be 'hit' and 'set on fire', then forced to beach near either Harbourtown, the Wulaia Arsenal or the Dockyard, the 'escaping crew' actually being a cover to get the Seebataillon troopers ashore to where they could seize either the facilities or the defensive positions. Seizing Harbourtown Narrows would with any luck mean that any guns or land-launched torpedo emplacements could be rapidly over-run. German agents had heard rumours of mines whilst sailing the Beagle Channel in a yacht, but before the war they had not seen the typical horned 'eggs' below the water, not even at low tide. If 'Canopus' was indeed stuck in Ushuaia harbour, or moored outside, her guns had a maximum range of 9,000 metres, so Spee could attack Wulaia and even try long shots at 'Canopus' from behind the islands in the Beagle Channel. It was a simple and brilliant idea, typical of the boldness of Admiral von Spee; success would mean that Wulaia and Ushuaia would be at Spee's mercy, maybe even forcing the 'Canopus' and the Colony to surrender. His cruisers would be ample to hold the Beagle Channel against attack until a Royal Navy battleship squadron arrived.

corditeman · Oct 6, 2010

The Battle of Beagle Channel, 1914 : Fugue and Onset ;

This stage describes the battle and its initial course. Both sides face surprises.

The 'Penguin' had been expected to be late, or never to arrive at all, so the watchers on the Fuegan island coast had not expected her to be on time. There was some relief when she was sighted off the Pasteur Peninsula of Hoste, but also concern; 'Penguin' normally went in with a pilot through the Cook Bay entrance between Hoste and Gordon Islands, or the narrow and dangerous Murray Channel between Hoste and Navarino. Instead, she plodded onwards towards the Picton Passage, merchant Red Ensign with Fuegan fire symbol at her stern, apparently unconcerned, but with her course revealing the truth; the artistically stained, salt-marked and pencil-marked charts prepared for Captain Brown by the Academy cadets, had been designed to lead Von Spee astray. Even before she reached Picton, the Land Guard reservists manning the defences had gone to action stations, whilst the Fuegan Marine was raising steam in its vessels. 'Canopus', steam raised in its working boilers, headed across to hide beside one of the islands, lying ready to ambush and to provide fire-support to either Wulaia or Ushuaia. The Penguin' steamed steadily onwards past Bull Landing and Picton Island, entering the Beagle Channel and turning to port to head down the Beagle Channel towards Harbourtown Narrows.
The approach to the Beagle Channel apparently clear, the 'Leipzig' headed inshore from where she had been loitering in the murk of a Cape Horn rainstorm, being sighted from Navarino and Picton as she headed at full speed in the wake of the ridiculous little collier, now miles ahead as she plodded on towards her target. In Navarino, a troubled Fuegan Marine Reserve lieutenant picked up his binoculars and studied the cruiser, well aware of what she was and the dangers ahead.
"Do we blast that Hun to heaven?" A Fuegan Marine torpedoman stood ready beside a mine-trigger, as his commanding Lieutenant phoned the control room at Ushuaia. "No - to let them into the trap, the Guv'nor says." The Lieutenant frowned. "More here than meets the eye, Peter... 'Penguin' isn't flying the right recognition signal..." He rang the control room again. "Aye, aye, sir... More of them on their way, you say? Aye, sir, all mines green on the board. Ready."
A gun fired abruptly from Bull Landing, opposite Picton, an ancient Dahlgren firing its first shot in anger for many years. The APDS shell hit the forward hull of the 'Leipzig' with a resounding 'clang' and actually pierced the Krupp armour belt, even at a range of two miles. But it did little damage, although it made the cruiser discharge a salvo from its side quickfirers at Bull Landing, demolishing buildings along the waterfront. The Dahlgren had a companion on Picton heights that sent an APDS round high into the air, to fall like a lethal dart amidships, the cruiser actually shaking, but she carried on at a slightly reduced speed. Below decks in the engine-room, the APDS penetrator had scored a lucky hit on a boiler, the rupture causing a nasty explosion that killed a dozen stokers. The main turrets turned to blast the heights and silence the impudent Dahlgren, which appeared to have literally shot its bolt.
From Picton to Harbourtown is about twenty-five miles, ten of which had been covered by the collier, now steaming at full speed in the calmer waters of the Beagle Channel. 'Leipzig' had not expected so unusual a reception, which she was radioing back to Von Spee, but carried on in the centre of the Channel, out of range of either shore. 'Penguin' meanwhile headed for the Narrows, but she had two hours in which to get there; the 'Lepzig' was catching up and would be in range just before reaching the Narrows. In Port Navarino, a torpedo-boat was just setting off down Beagle Channel, her two eighteen-inch torpedoes ready for action. The hull of the FTB-2 resembled a ski more than a cutter, with rear keels either side of a flat bottom that ended in a pointed and overhung bow section. Her engines and large propellors hurled the little boat forewards at about twenty five knots, sliding over the sea rather than cutting through it. One of Morgan's more successful experiments, the torpedo-boat even had two Maxim guns to keep a foe's heads down on the approach and the escape. Her only problem was that range was less than a hundred miles at full speed - Morgan had fitted whale-oil tanks and pressure-burners, in an effort to maximise range and power, but at the risk of increased vulnerability to fire for her six-man crew. 'Ardent' had more range and more speed, but she was an expensive and vulnerable target.
'Leipzig' was almost within firing-range of 'Penguin' and Harbourtown, when she saw the white bow-wave of the approaching torpedo-boat and opened fire on her. The tiny craft was difficult to see or hit, zig-zagging in surrounded by shell-splashes, closing to under a thousand yards before she released her torpedoes and turned away, her Maxims silent to avoid the gun-flashes giving her away. 'Lepzig' dodged one torpedo fairly easily, but the second was a lucky one and hit the port bows. Not a big charge, but it was enough to start the plates and tear a hole to open the fore-peak to the sea. But FTB-2 did not enjoy her victory; she was hit by two 104-mm shells and was torn apart in an instant, fragments of her timber hull blazing as they floated on the sea. With her died all her crew, Fuegan Marine Academy cadets captained by an Instructor-Lieutenant, Eustace Horn. The 'Leipzig' nevertheless carried on, damage-control parties bracing bulkheads and watertight doors, her pumps clamouring as the cruiser headed for the Harbourtown Narrows. 'Penguin' was also within the cruiser's range, so shels fell around her, the gunners aiming to miss. A fire started aft - old paint, oil and rubbish, smoke venting from the deck, and the old collier staggered onwards; she beached abruptly, driven onto the narrow beach under the low cliffs, almost under the emplacements of the Narrows defences. It could not have been better for von Spee if he had tried for it, the Seebattalione hurriedly disembarking into the boats, the sailors making as much noise and confusion as possible.
In the Ushuaia control room, messengers moved small tagged blocks around a map table with the Beagle Channel area clearly marked. Abruptly, they added more blocks east of Navarino; von Spee was bringing his main force into the area and going to run the gauntlet of Picton's ancient battery. Allardyce, Morgan and Grant, had managed to draw the Admiral in, but it remained to be seen whether they would draw him into the minefields. Their strategy was simple; to trap Von Spee's squadron between Harbourtown and Picton by using the minefields and then batter it into submission with the guns of 'HMS Canopus', the judicious detonation of mines and the use of torpedoes. Shore-based artillery was also available, in the form of mortars of various sizes and some old naval guns captured in 1903; the German ships - if they could be enticed into the Beagle Channel - would find themselves trapped in a killing ground.
Aboard his flagship, 'SMS Scharnhorst', the Admiral had already decided not to attempt the attack unless 'Leipzig' could break through the Harbourtown Narrows, but the landings there had already caused the Colonials a lot of trouble. To the amazement of 'Leipzig''s officers, they witnessed 19th-century gunpowder cannon being used to fire grapeshot and canister rounds into the 'Penguin' and the advancing Seebattalione riflemen. Outdated and under-equipped as they were, the Fuegans had a lot of nerve and knew how to use their few weapons. Muskets, old rifles, a few old Maxim guns and trench-mortars, were here also in use; the binoculars and telescopes witnessed a more even fight than they had expected, but 'Leipzig' had 104-mm rifled breechloaders and these far out-ranged the defenders' weapons at Harbourtown Narrows. Forced back from their positions, the Land Guards fought a vicious rear-guard action, whittling away the German ranks. Poor old 'Penguin' was already on fire and abandoned, a blazing hulk on the reef-strewn beach; she would never sail again but had an ironic moment of glory. 'Leipzig' moved on, passing over a minefield that had been switched across to a control position on Navarino Island, the main control on Harbourtown Fort being on the verge of abandonment. But 'Leipzig' could now look along the Beagle Channel towards Ushuaia and the naval base at 'HMS Maitland'; the grey hull of 'Canopus' was visible moored off Ushuaia, currently stationary, with a tiny handful of ships near her. It seemed that the Fuegan Marine were desparate, for the 'Virago' and 'Sapphire' were beside the more modern 'Ardent' and some tinier vessels. The Kapitan ordered the radio message sent to Von Spee that 'Leipzig' had sighted 'Canopus' at anchor without more support than the Fuegan Marine, then hastened towards Ushuaia and made ready to try to catch 'Canopus' off guard. The 'Leipzig''s main guns had a range of about 7,000 metres, far less than those of 'Canopus', whilst her torpedoes were less than a half of that range. As against that, even damaged the 'Leipzig' would be almost twice as fast as 'Canopus', so the odds of a close approach were actually good.
Admiral Graf von Spee read the message and glared at it; he had half-hoped that 'Lepizig' would have reported the 'Glasgow' and 'Otranto' in the Beagle Channel, but instead it seemed that he faced a poorly-equipped group of Colonials and a crippled battleship; he had about 40% loadout on shells, so even if he sank 'Canopus', the destruction of Fuego Colony's militarily-useful assets would strip his squadron of ammunition. The Seebattallione was having a tough fight, so to land demolition parties at the Dockyard and Arsenal would be difficult. British and German guns used different sizes of ammunition, so there was no certainty that he could capture filled shells and propellant for his guns - and judging by the weapons seen so far, the naval weapons seemed to be twenty years and more out of date. But a worrying thought kept coming to his mind; how had the poorly-armed Fuegans managed to defeat a second-level power like the Chilean Navy?

The next section in the Battle of the Beagle Channel deals with its climax. Remember that Beagle Channel is quite long and wide - coming to grips takes time and the minefields don't cover the entire Channel, rather the choke-points and deeper shipping-channels.

Petete123123 · Oct 6, 2010

Some images to animate it

Graf Spee, German Admiral:

SMS Scharnhorst:

SMS Emdem:

SMS Leipzig:

"Penguin"

Ivor Brown, Fuegan Captain:

HMS Canopus in Ushuaia:

"Virago"

"Ardent"

"Sapphire"

Bonus track, Ushuaia vs Useless Bay 23-11 played in Useless Bay the same day of this event

Petete123123 · Oct 6, 2010

Initial Course of the Battle of the Beagle Channel:

Fucking paint

I will redone it better later

corditeman · Oct 6, 2010

Thanks, Pete...

...But 'Virago' and 'Sapphire' are mid-19th century warships with masts, sails and auxiliary steam engines.

HMS Virago was a 1669 ton, Royal Navy 6 gun 1st class paddle sloop launched on 25 July 1842 from Chatham Dockyard.[1]
She was sent to the Mediterranean Station arriving in November 1843 serving until 1847. Upon returning to England, she was placed into reserve. In 1851 she was sent to the Pacific Station. Under the command of Commander Willam Stewart, she participated with the assistance of two Chilean ships: Indefatigable and Meteoro in the recapture of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan, which had been subject to a mutiny.[2].
She took part in the siege of Petropavlovsk during the Crimean War in August–September 1854. She also undertook survey work along the Canadian Pacific coast. She returned to England in 1855 and was part of the Channel Squadron and then West Indies Station. She was then sent to the Australia Station arriving in May 1867. She undertook survey work of the Great Barrier Reef, the Queensland coast, Norfolk Island and the coast of New Zealand. While in New Zealand she helped repair HMS Clio, which had run aground in the Bligh Sound.
Returning to England on 28 June 1871 and upon arrival was laid up at Sheerness. She was scrapped at Chatham Dockyard.

'HMS Sapphire' screw corvette (top picture is sister HMS Amethyst, given the bum's rush by Huascar). Built 1873-4. 14 64-pounder rifled cannon, designed also with spar torpedo. 1970 tons.

'HMS Sapphire' deck view :

'HMS Ardent', launched 1894, torpedo boat destroyer,
Class and type:Ardent-class destroyerDisplacement:265 long tons (269 t)Length:200 ft (61 m)Propulsion:Triple expansion steam engines
Coal-fired water-tube boilersSpeed:27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)Complement:53Armament:• 1 × 12-pounder gun
• 5 × 6-pounder guns
• 2 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ardent_(1894)

Hope you like them - they genuinely existed.

The torpedo boat in Beagle Channel that confronts 'Leipzig' is the FTB-2, sister of the FTB-1 and FTB-3 used off Punto Arenas. My invention/Morgan's. Similar to those PT boats of WW2.

Ivor Brown would never have had tropical whites - but he will have seen service off Punto Arenas in 1903. Maybe it's his cadet photo from Ushuaia Academy, taken aboard 'Virago'?

HMS Canopus... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Canopus_(1897) run aground off Port Stanley as guardship. If von Spee had only ignored her, Sturdee's squadron would have been caught in Port Stanley coaling. A demmed close-run thing, sir!

Keep reading and I'll keep writing - love the rugger match!

corditeman · Oct 8, 2010

The Battle of the Beagle Channel : Climax :

What Happens when the Germans enter the Beagle Channel...

'Scharnhorst', 'Gneisenau', 'Dresden' and 'Nurnberg' rather obviously outgunned and outnumbered their opponents, but were still attacked by the determined (and well-protected) little batteries on Picton and in Bulltown. It took twenty shells to silence them. The East Asia Squadron headed into the Beagle Channel past Snipe Islet, the three transports following the other vessels in; von Spee had decided that it was better to keep them all together, for the remaining Seebattallione and the fortification supplies might still be useful.
"All in, Guv'nor." Morgan's grin was positively piratical. "Cap'n Grant'll be steaming to the Narrows. Do we nail 'Leipzig' with 'Ardent'? The boys want revenge for FTB-2."
"We lock them in. Then we signal von Spee to surrender. You can deploy the guns and the torpedo-teams to close the Narrows, the Passage and the Beagle north of Picton. 'Leipzig' - yes, 'Ardent'."
Commander Will Blackwood of the 'Ardent' had been waiting for the message the Dockyard sent him, nodding with a grim satisfaction as he shouted orders and the little destroyer leapt forwards at her full 27 knots, the gunners at her 12-pounder 3-inch gun making ready to fire. Their little pop-gun had a maximum range of almost 10,000 metres, although the effective range was somewhat less, so it could hit 'Leipzig' at long range. The nastiest feature was its Semi-APDS reduced diameter finned High Explosive (HE) shell, able to punch through several inches of steel armour then explode inside the target. There were more common HE shells aboard, which the gunners expected to use against 'Leipzig'. The destroyer's most potent weapon was her torpedo-tubes, the torpedoes in them a pair of 35-knot WAT-3 variations of the Royal Navy Mark VII torpedo. 'Ardent' would have to close to 2,000 yards to loose the torpedoes and fully expected damage before it could do so. "Make to 'Canopus' - I am attacking 'Leipzig'. Covering fire will be useful." He watched as a signaller worked the Aldis and got an acknowledgement from the labouring 'Canopus'. "'Good hunting. Will assist. HSG.'"
The 'Leipzig' opened fire about twenty minutes later, her shells falling before the 'Ardent', which began zig-zagging erratically to confuse the German gunners, but loosing her own standard 12-pounder HE shells at the 'Leipzig'. The 'Ardent' had only the one gun able to engage 'Leipzig', but the Semi-APDS rounds had a higher velocity and greater accuracy at a lower angle and a fairly long range. Once the HE shells had begun to strike the German light cruiser, 'Ardent' could switch to a lower angle shot with the Fuegan invention, using the quick-fire capability of the 12-pounder. Four of her penetrating shells hit the conning tower of the cruiser and exploded inside, others missed, others hit two of the casements of the 104-mm guns. But 'Leipzig' put a shell through the 12-pounder and shards of steel were to cut a forearm and a lower leg from Will Blackwood. 'Ardent' turned and her torpedoes were discharged, to streak under the rippling waves towards 'Leipzig', too near and too fast for her to react; 150 kilos of high explosive in each warhead ripped into the cruiser just below her bridge and into the engine-room, flooding two of her compartments and bringing the cruiser to a halt. She listed, mortally wounded, as 'Ardent', steered from her rear steering position, turned and began to circle her sinking foe. A few minutes later, the ripping sound of heavy shells tore the air above 'Ardent' as 'Canopus' finally got within range and put four shells into the helpless 'Leipzig', one shell tearing into her forward magazine and others into the engine-room; the light cruiser exploded, then sank, ripped apart by damage beyond her ability to withstand. 'Canopus' carried on towards the Narrows, leaving the damaged 'Ardent', her sides torn by splinters and her boats in fragments, to rescue the nine survivors of the 'Leipzig''s 286 officers and men. 'Ardent' was to lose Blackwood and ten other Fuegan Marine crew, almost a quarter of her 53 crew.
"'From : William Lamond Allardyce, HM Governor Fuego Colony. To : Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee. Sir, your Squadron is now inside Beagle Channel and held there by minefields. With shore artillery and our Fuegan Marine, we can turn your entire command to scrap metal. FMS Ardent has already sunk SMS Leipzig and HMS Canopus is closing the Narrows at Harbourtown. FTB-2 was only one of a squadron of torpedo boats. For the safety of your command, you are invited to surrender to our Fuego Marine, the navy of the Colonial Assembly, rather than to the Royal Navy. Acknowledge and reply.'"
The message had been spark-morsed by the powerful Fuegan Marine radio station near Long Lake, one of the most powerful radio stations in the southern hemisphere. It was strong enough to reach Spee's Radiotechniker in all the ships of the Squadron, but the power level had been kept deliberately low. Psychologically it was very bad news for every ship's captain, to realise that the Fuegan Marine were so confident that they had announced their superiority. For Von Spee, it put him on the spot; he had been neatly trapped and had a nasty feeling that the apparent weakness of the Fuegans concealed a dangerous strength. Even if he was only faced by mines and a squadron of torpedo-boats, his entire Squadron would be crippled or sunk, and his sons Otto, 24, and Heinrich, 21, would be killed. He thought fast and made out his reply.
"'From : Maximilian von Spee. To : WL Allardyce. Sir, you are bluffing. HMS Canopus is one ship and your weapons are out of date. I require the surrender of Fuego Colony or I shall turn the guns of my Squadron on the towns either side of Beagle Channel. We can destroy one town for every ship you manage to sink. Ends.'"
"How near is 'Scharnhorst' to one of our larger mines?" Allardyce was studying the charts.
"It isn't. But this transport is approaching MX-32." Morgan indicated one of the German colliers. "Then she'll be in deep water and I'm not sure if we can smash her." He saw Allardyce briefly consider it, then nod once. "Yes, sir... Goodbye, 'Baden'." He turned to a telegrapher. "MX-32. Now."
Murray and his successors had long ago realised that the deeper the mine, the more explosive needed, so they had come up with a rather horrifying solution to deep water. The mine-casing was in two parts - a sinker of concrete and a buoyant mine casing that could be freed by the firing of explosive bolts. As it rose, the mine activated a hydrostatic fuze that detonated the mine at between fifty and a hundred feet down. The explosion of the mine was a throaty roar as two tons of cordite and aluminium powder detonated and half an acre of foam-white sea soared into the sky. Poor 'Baden' was only at the edge, but the shock-wave and the collapse-zone of the explosion bubble was enough to break her keel and almost capsize her; the collier settled rapidly, her crew dying as much from the shock-wave as from the cold sea. She sank in about 200 feet of water (65 metres) and with her went the confidence of most of the squadron. The Admiral realised that 'Baden' must be on the inner edge of a minefield laid in the Picton Passage, but he had too few ships to try and clear a path by sacrificial sinkings. The knuckles of his hands were white as he gripped the rail of the bridge; Allardyce had not been bluffing and had trapped him very neatly.
"'From : Allardyce. To : Von Spee. Admiral, the collier Baden was destroyed by a controlled mine. We have many of them, as well as conventional torpedoes. I ask you to reconsider for the lives of your crew. By all means scuttle your ships, but please save the lives of your men. You have three hours to surrender personally to me under a flag of truce. After that time, we will reluctantly sink you all. Acknowledge and reply.'"
"What in God's Name is a 'controlled mine'?" The Admiral demanded of his staff officers. "Some kind of Brennan Torpedo?" He referred to the unusual wire-winched torpedo the Royal Navy used as a steerable defence weapon. "That was several tons of high-explosive!"
"Herr Vizeadmiral, it is a mine exploded by an order from the shore." One of his officers explained. "But the charts show deep water here. I wonder if it is steered to its target." He was not alone in his dismay; if it was a steerable mine - in effect, a torpedo - then the British would only need a comparatively small number of mines to cover the whole Beagle Channel. "Mein Herr, what are your orders?"
"We proceed towards Harbourtown and see if we can sink the 'Canopus.'" The Admiral told him. "If we can sink the British battleship, we can surrender with honour. If we cannot, the Fatherland and the Kaiser will know we have done our best."
'HMS Canopus' had reached the Narrows before von Spee's squadron, her secondary armament enough to break the unfortunate Seebattallione marines in their efforts to seize the fortifications, the Land Guards forcing the Germans to surrender even as the Squadron approached. But the FTBs were also sortieing from Harbourtown, Port Victoria and Moat, and there was activity along the Navarino coast. The Fuegans had too small an industrial base to build anything big, but they did have intricate and small mechanisms and modest-sized weapons. The Admiral had woken a hornet's nest and his staff were increasingly uneasy; a biplane aircraft had appeared from the direction of Port Victoria and was circling the squadron at a cautious 5,000 feet, out of easy range. There was a long wire trailing from beneath it, which the binoculars and telescopes identified as some kind of radio antenna.
"They can see anything we do." Von Spee lowered his binoculars and very nearly glared at the tiny menace. "Torpedo boats, mines, a battleship, an aircraft - Du lieber Gott!" The 'Scharnhorst' shook as if struck by a huge hammer as mine BS-3 went off almost underneath her, one of the older, seabed mines, but its violent shock was enough to start seams, shear rivets and throw machinery from its mountings. There was the shriek of steam escaping from emergency vents and the screams of stokers flayed raw by escaping steam in the engine-room; in a moment, the ship was dead in the water, her engine-room crew trying desperately to valve off escaping steam and let the ship limp along. 'Gneisenau' passed her, firing her forward turret and wing 21-cm guns at the distant 'Canopus', which responded with her 12-inch forward turret, putting a shell through the engine-room of the 'Gneisenau' and shattering a wing-turret. That was almost the end, although the 'Nurnberg' tried to launch a torpedo-attack and was badly damaged by another mine that broke her keel, forcing her to ground on Navarino island. 'Dresden', remarkably, did get within range of the 'Canopus' and fired two torpedoes at her, scoring a hit that did some underwater damage, but failed to sink the battleship. 'Canopus' put four 6-inch shells through the mid-section of 'Dresden' and left her listing, dead in the water, using Aldis lamps to demand that the Germans stop instantly and surrender.
"My poor sailors...We have tried...Send 'Only to the Fuegan Marine'." Von Spee made up his mind. "The Boers said the Fuegans were good to their prisoners., Can we move, Kapitan?"
"At walking pace." The Kapitan knew 'Scharnhorst' was crippled. "Another mine will break the ship's back. If we scuttle, the men will die."
Captain Heathstone Grant of the 'Canopus' was amused at the Germans' response, but sent back a reply. "'Governor Allardyce notified. Remain afloat. Move or scuttle and the mines will destroy all German ships. Tugs will help you beach."
Old 'Virago' took almost three hours to reach the German ships, rather less than the tugs, which fussily pushed and towed the German ships into shallow water where they could be beached. The 'Santa Isabela' collier and the liner 'Seydlitz' were escorted to anchor by the FTBs, which carried both depth-charges and torpedoes - threat enough to make each auxiliary's crew stand clear of their guns. Vice-Admiral von Spee descended a gangway to the little varnished wooden 'Virago', to be surprised by the calm, bareheaded civilian Governor and by Captain Henry Morgan. But Maximilian von Spee identified himself and formally handed over his sword in token of surrender. The 'Virago' had a crew of cadets who were very correct, very disciplined, but whose hatred was a fire in their eyes; they had lost good friends aboard both 'Ardent' and 'FTB-2', but seemed amazed at having to provide a prize party to take control of the damaged cruiser.
"Tell your men to work to save the ships and to beach them." Morgan told the Vice-Admiral. "They're too damaged to repair. Another ten minutes and twenty mines would have torn them to scrap and body parts." But he took no joy in the victory, for the German ships held almost as many men injured or dead as those in good health. "Now we have to get you all interned - being Colonials, we can't hold you as prisoners of war."
"I do not understand!" Graf Spee had learnt that his two sons were alive, although one had been wounded in the shoulder. "This is war!"
"Back in the Boer War, the Colonial Assembly refused to hold prisoners, but it did intern a few." Allardyce had to explain that embarrassment. "Se we'll set up internment-camps for your men to live in. The Royal Fuegan Constabulary and the Land Guard will administer them, but as Governor I will be in charge. As the senior Kaisersliche Marine officer, you will be responsible for the good conduct of your men. I think that's fair, don't you?"
But Graf Spee was lost for words; these Fuegans were absolutely mad, fighting like demons but then putting his men under the loosest of military restrictions. His officers and men were to be similarly at a loss in the hours and days ahead, for the Fuegans - and the Royal Navy men on the 'Canopus' - were inclined to regard the distance between Fuego and Germany as the best deterrent to trouble or to escape.

corditeman · Oct 10, 2010

The Battle of the Beagle Channel : Aftermath :

The Battle had been won, but its effects were to rumble on for years, influencing events long afterwards...

When Captain Heathcoat Grant reported that the Fuegan colonials had trapped and forced a surrender out of the German Vice-Admiral, there was shocked disbelief in the Admiralty and a degree of rather ironic anger from Admiral Sturdee; whilst 'Canopus' had hammered 'Dresden', the real victors were the Fuegan Marine and its mines and torpedoes. It took Winston Churchill to remind the squabbling Admirals that the Fuegans had most economically removed a major threat to Britain's Merchant Navy - and apparently come up with some important new weapons. "We can always use the Fleet in other areas." Churchill reminded them. "After all, there's the Turks to consider." But there was some bad feeling that the neglected Colonials had stolen the Royal Navy's thunder, although Churchill's influence was ample to prevent Heathcoat Grant from having his career penalised. In fact, Grant made Rear-Admiral rather earlier in his career than he expected and got a gong out of the affair, so he was not dis-satisfied; he had also made friends in Fuego that he would keep to the end of his life.
The Colonial Office, by contrast, was delighted that their 'Awkward Allardyce' had 'made good' and astonished that the 'Fuegan Marine' had more than defended itself; a full report was demanded from the over-worked Governor and he was being considered for the Birthday Honours list, if not the New Year Honours. The report laid stress on the Colony's own efforts in designing, producing and deploying the mines and torpedoes, but the modest Allardyce praised Morgan and his men, leaving out much of his own crucial role in the tactics and diplomacy, to the great irritation of the Colonial Assembly. They sent their own report to the Colonial Office, warning that Allardyce had not mentioned his own valuable role as commander of the Colonial forces and then detailing what he had done. In conclusion, they demanded that Allardyce both stay in post and that some suitable honour be given to him.
Rather to Allardyce's shock, he was actually called before the Colonial Assembly, where Captain Morgan - at the direction of the Assembly's Speaker, Ivor Hughes - made his report on the Battle. "Mr. Allardyce, it is clear that we owe you thanks for this success." There was general approval, so the Speaker continued. "You are hereby appointed as Commandant of the Fuegan Marine, this honour and duty only to cease on death or unfitness for command. Naturally, this makes you a naturalised citizen of Fuego Colony, and so our first native Governor." That startled Allardyce, but he took it in good part as Captain Morgan also wanted it. Mrs. Allardyce wondered what the point of it was, with her husband being the Governor, but he explained that it was as close as the Colony could go to giving him a medal, so it pleased her. More importantly, it made her husband into a social lion; the press took pictures of the battered German Squadron - mostly on the beach with battle-damage - and it was all very impressive. She also had to entertain Captain Heathcoat Grant, the Admiral and his senior officers, to tea and to visit the wounded of both sides in the Naval Hospital, so that was as good as anything a Governor-General's Lady might do.
With a supportive and pugnacious Colonial Assembly behind him and the achievement of the Battle of the Beagle Channel, Allardyce found that he could have been transferred to somewhere like Newfoundland or the Bahamas, but the Navy and the Colonial Office decided to leave him where he was for at least the next five years. Britain needed colonial support in the fight against Germany and her allies, so instead - and to his shock - Allardyce was awarded the dignity of Knight of the Victorian Order, rather than the Knight of Michael and St. George awarded to many diplomats. King George V had the KVO in his gift, making it as the reward for the Squadron's destruction. But Allardyce - to the dismay of Constance, his wife - suggested that it be awarded to the Colony as it had been their lives and sacrifices that had made it possible. King George was astonished at the humility of Allardyce, but he found a solution that cemented the loyalty of Fuego to the Crown.
"By order of the King and Emperor in Council, the Colony of Fuego is to be recognised as the Royal Colony of Fuego in reward for their services to the Crown. The Colonial forces are to be the Royal Fuegan Guards and the Royal Fuegan Marine. At some time it is proposed that a Royal Visit be made to Fuego. Sir William Lamond Allardyce and his Lady Constance have duties during this war, but His Majesty would thereafter hope to meet them at Buckingham Palace. Captain Heathcote Grant, Royal Navy, is to be awarded the DSO as is Captain Henry Morgan of the Royal Fuegan Marine." Allardyce later remarked that it was worth being a KVO to have seen the shock on 'Pirate' Morgan's face when he read the 'Gazette' notice. There were also awards to the dead crew of the 'FTB-2' - including a VC - and the men who had been wounded or had died on the 'Ardent' and in the shore batteries; they had held back from using their most powerful weapons and so had lured in the Squadron to its doom.
The reaction in Germany had been a mixture of shock and rage; the pictures of Spee's mauled ships made it clear that no vessels but the auxiliary cruiser and the remaining collier had escaped damage, whilst the listing 'Canopus' and the battered 'Ardent' had not got off lightly and there had been damage to Picton Island, Bull Town and Harbourtown. Vice-Admiral Spee came in for immediate criticism, even after Allardyce had noted that the assault on the Harbourtown Narrows fort had very nearly succeeded; he did not elaborate to the press, pleading 'operational matters', but the Kaiserliche Marine officers would have preferred it if Spee and his men had been killed with their ships. The Kaiser was restrained by his admirals from cashiering the Vice-Admiral and from removing his name from the Almanach de Gotha, but in fact he was furious; what helped was that Spee's plan would have torn the military heart out of the Colony and might have destroyed 'Canopus', which grossly outmatched the German Squadron. Then, a fortnight later, a letter containing a report was handed by the Argentine Ambassador to Germany to the Foreign Minister; the astute Spee had handed it to the Consul in Ushuaia and sent it to Germany.
Spee had taken full responsibility for the failure and the defeat, offering to return his medals and submit his resignation, but also reported that the 'controlled mines' were of a new and very powerful type and might cause trouble to the Kaiserliche Marine elsewhere. His assault force he had spoken to and they had nearly captured four massive howitzer-scale mortars at the Narrows, devices able to sink a ship with plunging fire. A mine control-room had been over-run, with a display of at least a hundred mines in that area alone. It was the most sophisticated mine system the Admiral had ever encountered and made all others look very primitive. As the mines had been laid over some forty years, according to unguarded remarks by the Fuegans, they had been developed into an extensive network. Judging from the ship-damage, key areas of the Beagle Channel concealed enough explosive to annihilate a fleet. Spee warned that if the Colonials could do that in the Beagle Channel, there was a risk that the Royal Navy might do the same in the English Channel between Dover and Calais. The APDS rounds that had damaged several of his ships he considered less serious, but wondered if they might be dangerous to casement-mounted shore artillery, so he described some of them.
"...the Colony cannot afford large artillery pieces. If these penetrators were fired from battleship guns, they might have high velocity and break through most armour plating..." That one line was to save Spee's rank, honours and medals, for the Admirals had enough sense to be horrified by it.
"The Squadron was written off at the start of the war." Admiral Tirpitz pointed out to the Kaiser. "Spee had no chance to get home through the British naval blockade. He has done damage and has revealed some British naval secrets. I advise, Your Imperial Majesty, that he be allowed to retain all his dignities. His men and their families respect him. Who knows? He may even discover more." The sage Admiral sighed. "Maybe we could arrange for a prisoner exchange?"
"Nein. He went to Fuego. He can stay there. We have other Admirals." The Kaiser was still fuming at the defeat.
The unhappy sailors and Seebataillon marines of Von Spee's Squadron were a considerable problem to securely house and feed, confinement to a tented camp behind barbed wire being the first solution. Then the Admiral and his officers asked to see 'Der Kommandant', to discuss better quarters for their men and found Allardyce discussing that very problem with his advisers from both the Guards and the Marine. It was as involved as designing a small town - sanitation, water supply, roads, housing, stores, guard barracks - so the Governor and Commodore told Spee that the Germans would be needed to help design and build it. "...For the weather in Fuego is as cold as a Poland Winter." The Admiral was delighted that his men would have employment and asked if it could be a town, not a camp.
"Good idea - we'll need to encourage settlers." The Governor was delighted. "Tell every man that a tot of Fuegan Brandy will be issued to all hands every Friday night." Hilarity from the Fuegans and grins from the Germans. "I think," The Admiral answered. "Fuegan Brandy might be too strong - lager, perhaps?"
Beagle beer was not as harsh as Fuegan Brandy, so it was, indeed, preferred, but the Fuegan brewsters were intrigued to learn that the Germans did have some brewsters in their ranks and petitioned to be allowed to employ them. The 2,000 Germans held a variety of trades and backgrounds - doctors, medical orderlies, dentists, pharmacists, plumbers, carpenters, machinists, sheet metal workers, instrument-makers, musicians, tailors, bootmakers, professional seamen, fishermen, clerks, radio operators, engineers, cooks, leatherworkers and electricians. There would have been others, but the East Asia Squadron were mostly long-service seamen with navy-oriented disciplines. Fuego's 80,000 population always needed more technical trades, so the Germans were a potential source of useful workers. The snag was that the War prevented general assimilation, so instead Allardyce and Morgan hit upon the idea of the Germans using workshops in the new town to do non-military piecework on contract to the Colonial Government.
"But, this is the oddest idea for a camp of Kriegsgefangener that I ever heard of!" Spee was astonished at the proposal. "Are you not afraid that we will build weapons and attack you?"
"Admiral, this is Fuego." Allardyce leant forwards in his chair. "We can't afford useless hands. It's this, or imprisonment by the Royal Navy. Will you make your men understand this? The Kaiser has written you off as expendable. We won't. At least your men will have a profitable occupation until the war is over. Then we will be able to arrange the re-patriation of those wishing to return to Germany."
"Gruss Gott..." The Vice-Admiral stroked his moustache thoughtfully. "...I will discuss it with my men and see what their feelings are. Are these prison wages?"
"Standard Fuegan wages for a job carried out for existing companies. Paid into accounts at the Fuegan Colonial Bank." That did startle the Germans. "But it will be up to yourselves to decide any taxes or levy needed to maintain public services. In effect, you'll be running a municipality. Understood?"
"Understood. And what is the name of the - ah - camp?" Spee was already rather impressed by Allardyce.
"Anything you wish, as long as it's not foolishly controversiaL" The Governor was not too concerned. "No 'Kaiserstadt' or 'Deutschland', if you please."
In memory of their dead comrades, the German sailors chose 'New Leipzig', a name that did not cause too much upset; the Land Guard companies guarding the perimeter were content to watch as the town south-east of Rio del Fuego was gradually set up, the Germans being allowed to erect what amounted to a military town under Spee's authority. They had local stone, sand, gravel, lime cement, some timber from the Maoriland sawmills, piping from the beached ships and other furnishings. Warned of the dangers of a Fuego winter, the Germans installed Russian-style brick stoves that could be fuelled by peat and which one could sleep on. The buildings themselves were mostly barrack-blocks, each with a senior officer's quarters adjacent, a bit like a Roman Army fortress. The central square had what was the Kommandantur on one side, the hospital on the other, the church facing it, and a range of small service shops - pharmacy, dentist, savings-bank and library. Workshops for bootmakers and tailors were followed by a blacksmith's and a carpenter's, a small police station and a fire station. Because alcohol could be a calming influence, Spee obtained permission to set up a small Bierkeller where officers and men could enjoy their modest ration. He also managed - after two months' negotiation - to set up a branch of the Misses Lloyds' teashop. The Fuegan women chosen for the work were mostly elderly and rather plain, wearing a Military Prison Service badge pinned to their maids' uniforms. However, they were a humanising influence - 'Engeln', the sailors called them - for the sailors soon discovered them to be motherly and kind.
During the war, the German sailors routinely attended Divine Service in their Church Hall and held Church Parade in neatly turned out naval uniform. They also kept the streets and buildings scrupulously neat, attended training schools run in the Church Hall during weekdays and evenings, proved self-regulating and saw little reason to try to escape. Five did try, managing to reach Port Jones and crossing to Argentine Patagonia, but discovered to their dismay that hundreds of miles of rough country lay between them and Buenos Aires. Two were shot by gauchos for horse theft, two others were arrested by Argentino Police and returned to Fuego, deported for petty theft. One man - Leutnant Gerhard Stuckel - achieved fame by walking the distance to Buenos Aires by 1916, to reach the residence of the German Ambassador and ask to be repatriated. A U-boat collected him and took him to Germany, but poor Stuckel was not given much credit, as other German seamen wanted to know why more of his fellows had not escaped from Fuego. It was only when he described the hazards of his walk up through Patagonia and the Pampas that they realised what an epic adventure the poor man had experienced.
On arrival at Hamburg, Stuckel was taken to Berlin for de-briefing by no less than Admiral Tirpitz; the gruff old Secretary of State asked enough questions, but Stuckel had memorised a report Spee had shown to each would-be escaper. The 'New Leipzig' camp was effectively a German Naval settlement run by Admiral Spee. The monument in the middle of the town square to the dead of the Squadron was beside a flagmast on which the Kaiserliche Marine flag was hoisted at dawn and lowered at nightfall. "The Viceadmiral knew I was trying to return to my family and assisted me to do so." Stuckel explained. "The Fuegans guard us, but treat us more like neighbours than enemies. They are a strange people. We are employed by their companies at peacetime wages to make civil things for them. Otherwise they leave us alone. I hear it is better than being in a Royal Navy prison camp."
"That is so..." Tirpitz knew that Allardyce and his colleagues had controlled the Germans by giving them a very pleasant captivity. "...These tea-house women - are they whores?" That drew a flash of anger from Stuckel as he hotly denied it.
"Nein, your Excellency, they are kind women of great honour and respectability. We speak to them of our mothers, sisters and daughters - not of the Marine!"
"Sehr gut..." Tirpitz hid his disappointment. "...And the Battle? What do you know of it?" Stuckel told him the basics and his own minor part as a gun-captain of a secondary battery on 'Scharnhost'. Stuckel dwelt upon the bravery of the light cruiser 'Leipzig' and the horror of the collier's sudden destruction. The shock of the mine under 'Scharnhorst' had damaged the mounting of his gun, killed one of his gun-crew and wounded three others. He and the survivors had felt the shock of 'Canopus''s shell hitting the engine-room, by a freak mostly being vented upwards rather than ripping out the keel. Dead in the water, her magazines flooding and the ship developing a list, the cruiser had been pushed onto the beach by a pair of old tugs.
"The Fuegans, they thought we would not surrender." Stuckel was still amused by the amazement on the faces of the Land Guards. "They were ready to kill us in our ships. But the Governor, Kommandant Allardyce, he stopped it. We were put into churches, schools and barns for the night. Later we went into a tented camp and later still we were marched to where we built New Leipzig."
As Tirpitz reported to the Kaiser, Von Spee's report through the Consul was borne out by Stuckel's words; the Squadron had fought until no longer able to do so and had then surrendered with the honours of war. In fact, if the escaper's account was to be believed, Spee had engineered remarkable freedom for his men and had started a proto-colony in Fuego. With the Western Front still in the balance, Tirpitz wondered whether Fuego should pass to Germany as a replacement for the ill-fated base at Tsingtao, in any peace negotiations; a strong German squadron in Fuego would dominate the nitrate trade with Chile and the meat trade with Argentina, as well as the whaling industry in the Antarctic.
Fuego was not too concerned at the bar to his Iron Cross achieved by Stuckel for his epic escape, for it merely showed how efficient a Siberian isolation could be achieved by its position. For form's sake, Allardyce insisted that German POWs carry Internee Identity Cards at all times and produce them if challenged by any Fuegan. The Germans were also forbidden to cross a line from the mouth of the Afon Fawr to Long Lake and Ushuaia, under pain of a month's solitary confinement. As he told Spee, this had to be done or the Colonial Office and the Royal Navy would take over, a hazard neither man wanted to see made real

That ends the aftermath. The WW 1 experiences of Fuego are a separate matter and rather sad. The Germans' future after the end of the war can be guessed at from earlier accounts - some go home, most stay, the disaster of the Weimar Republic bringing dependents and immigrants from Germany and Austria-Hungary to New Leipzig and other German Enclave settlements. The rise of Nazi Germany turns this enclave into a violently anti-Hitler group that takes in Jews and other political refugees. Spee never returns to Germany and with some of his family settles in Fuego. German Fuegans become a powerful element of the Land Guard and distinguish themselves in WWII, 1963 and 1982. They intermarry with the Welsh and Argentino Enclaves.

corditeman · Oct 13, 2010

The Next Item :

I'm not sure whether next to cover WW I (Great War) or the Maori Settlement and War With Chile of 1903. Any preferences?

corditeman · Oct 13, 2010

The Chilean Miners

I feel that we should pause and thank Heaven for the delivery of the 33 Chilean miners rescued from the San Jose mine. It is a victory without a war and a good reason for Chile to wave its flag with pride. I am sure that others on this thread will concur.

corditeman · Oct 18, 2010

Writing the next tranche - the Maori Settlements and the Chilean War

Nope, realised I had enough for a post on Tangaroa. Hope you like him, but WTH...

Petete123123 · Oct 18, 2010

Cordi, I don't want to dissapoint you but for the next month I would be really inactive.

I will do the Grade 10 Trinity Exam, so I really need to practise.

Wish me luch