Fenians, Brits, Mexicans, Canucks and Frenchies....OH, MY! An alternate American Civil War

[Alt History Buff]

August 1891

Edmonton, State of Saskatchewan

Having finally resolved their internal dispute regarding the Capital, the Saskatchewan Territory would become the 58th State in the Union. In only about a decade, the region went from fewer than 5000 non-native residents to over 170,000.

Many Americans suspected that this would be the last American state to join the Union as few of the remaining North American territories - Lower California, Vancouver, the Yukon, etc - were likely to ever reach the necessary population requirements.

Guyana

As for overseas possessions, it was even more questionable that Samoa or the assorted glut of lands along the Guyana Shield or seized from Venezuela would reach self-government. Guyana was remove and impassible, as was most of the Venezuelan territories. Only the lowland region seized from Venezuela north of the Orinoco River seemed a good candidate for populating. But here, there was a light population of Mestizos and Indians. To settle the region, the old Caudillo plantations were divided up among the local peasants and a settlement program of Americans. Plots were offered first to soldiers and then to other Americans.

The local Indians, mostly south of the River in the highlands of the old Amazonas and Bolivar states, would negotiate their own reservations under terms never offered by Venezuela. Similarly, huge swathes of land in Amazonas and Bolivar were explored by American expeditions and would eventually be segregated into vast National Parks.

By 1891, over 20,000 Americans, Guyanans and various non-Spanish-speaking settlers would arrive along the northern shores of the Orinoco. Here, most of the regional American soldiers would similarly be barracked (and lay claim to homesteads) in this area. Plots would be allocated to those soldiers but, as they remained on duty, most leased out the land to neighbors to graze cattle. The income barely covered taxes but, like most men of the 19th century, merely owning land was considered a mark of achievement even if it turned out to be useless.

Marriages, naturally, would become common between local mestizo women and the American soldiers and disproportionately male settlers.


Bombay

Having seen the Indian national movement stall, Bal Gandaghar Tilak would invite a series of high level Indian nationalists to his home in Bombay to organize a nation-wide boycott of British goods, wide-reaching strikes, etc which was not to halt until full "Home Rule" was granted to India.

 

[Alt History Buff]

September, 1891

London

Secretary of Indian Affairs Lord Randolph Churchill was something of a mercurial personality. He had spent years agitating against Gladstone on behalf of the Conservatives and his speeches often garnered public support.

On a personal level, the Secretary was witty, sarcastic, offensive, vindictive and a host of other terms of less than endearment. While publicly popular (usually), he irritated his colleagues to the point where Lord Salisbury was happy to give Churchill Indian Affairs of only to reduce his influence on wider British Ministry policies.

It has been Churchill's recommendation that Lansdowne had been appointed Viceroy of India (If Salisbury thought Churchill would accept, he would have happily sent Churchill to the other side of the world himself) and Churchill fully supported Lansdowne bringing political change to a halt. Funds initially intended to for infrastructure improvements were moved instead to the Indian Army.

Churchill also full supported the idea of arresting as many Indian political agitators as possible.

Springfield, Illinois

Ex-President Abraham Lincoln had returned to America after a two year world tour in 1890 but was soon finding his hometown to be somewhat.....dull. Now into his 70's, Lincoln had seen the world to an extent the lad born into a log cabin in 1809 could scarcely comprehend. He'd been feted by King, Chieftains, Viceroys, Prime MInisters, Emperors and Presidents during the extended voyage from Africa, Morocco, Egypt, the Holy Lands, India, Southeast Asia, China, Australia and Hawaii with his old friend, Frederick Douglass.

Though exhausted by the travel...he was also exhilarated. Being home to say hello to old friends was one thing......but spending his days acting as a consultant on petty local lawsuits and overseeing the status of the railroad and banking stock he had accumulated by sitting on various Boards (this was how he afforded his long voyage) did not seem a fine way to go out into the night.

Throughout his house were the gifts and mementos accumulated in his travels:

Under glass was a silk banner from the Mandarin himself. Another shelf held a small pot dug up from a archeological expedition in the Holy Lands, believed to be formed around the age of Christ. An ancient sarcophagus of wood presented by the Khedive (complete with mummy).......a tribal wooden mask from West Africa.....a spear granted by a East African Chief....a letter written by President Washington himself to the King of Morocco's ancestor thanking him for recognizing the United States....a brass elephant given by the King of Siam.....the list simply went on and on.

Lincoln had enough knickknacks for a museum....indeed, he intended to donate the generous gifts to the Chicago Museum upon his death along with a large list of items acquired over a lifetime.

But, 73 and fading, Lincoln knew his time for travelling was probably running short. In the end, he could choose to die quietly in Springfield....or on the open road.

In the months following his return, Lincoln had received a note from the Russian Ambassador stating that the Czar himself had been dismayed that Lincoln and Douglass did not take the opportunity to visit Russia. In truth, the idea hadn't crossed Lincoln's mind.

Thus, the President would write to Douglass (who had returned to Washington) and arrange a meeting with the Russian Ambassador to see if the offer still stood.

Lincoln also regretted not having the chance to visit Rome and Athens during his long voyage. Maybe he could stop there as well.

Lincoln's grandson Abraham (better known as Jack) would be applying to college next year...but perhaps Jack's father Robert may be enticed to allowing his son to take his own "Grand Tour" with his "Grand Father" prior to entering law school. Robert, unlike Abraham, was rather cold and distant at times, resenting his father's shadow but willing to get rich by accepting positions because of his father's name.

Jack, on the other hand, held far more of his grandfather's charm. While Abraham would not overrule his son's decision, he did write a pointed message stating he would very much enjoy Jack's company "in what would probably be the last adventure of his life".

 

[Alt History Buff]

October, 1891

Washington

The Bolivian Ambassador, having been alerted to the new alliance between Brazil and Chile, would realize just how isolated his country was and duly requested an audience with the President. Bolivia was somewhat backwards, still very much stuck in the 18th century (or 17th, let's be honest), in development.

When Chile demanded annexation of the Litoral department a decade earlier, only the United States Navy had prevented this. Bolivia (and Peru) largely proved ineffective in putting up any resistance themselves.

London

In the meantime, the Argentine, which had started to gravitate towards Great Britain years before as their sponsor, would dispatch an urgent plea to the Queen. The Brazilian-Chilean-French (and Italian) alliance would plainly alter the balance of power in South America.

The Queen would approve Lord Salisbury to dispatch his Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Sir Stafford Northcote, to America to discuss the deteriorating situation in Africa and South America....and Europe.

If America wanted to play world power....now was the time to back it up. Either they had to commit to protecting the Co-Protectorate....feign give up her pretense of international importance.

Esquimalt, Vancouver Island

Lieutenant Leland Stanford (Jr.) would be assigned to the new flagship of the Pacific Squadron, the USS Yakima, the latest of the Nevada-Class Heavy Cruisers. It was a prestigious posting and Stanford hoped his wealthy father, Senator Leland Stanford of California, had not arranged it on his behalf.

As the only child, one born only to his parents after 18 childless years of marriage, when his mother was 39 years old, the Lieutenant was naturally the apple of his parents' eye. Neither desired young Leland to attend the Naval Academy....or at least not make a naval career.

But the young man desired to branch out on his own. Maybe some day he'd take over his father's businesses or even go into politics but, for now, the Lieutenant was happy to sail upon the finest ship on the seas.

The American Pacific fleet was based out of San Diego and Esquimalt.

Japan

For nearly two decades, the Empire of Japan had not only undergone perhaps the most rapid modernization in world history but had also become a colonial power in itself. However, the acquisition of the Philippines and the larger of the East Indies would not bring the prosperity Japan desired. High administration and military costs would largely exceed the benefits.

Japanese Ministers would debate if colonialism was even worth the effort. Some high-ranking official opined that Japan would be better off evacuating the conquests....but those were in the minority.

The prevailing view was that Japan should redouble their efforts at acquiring colonies but there was a debate as to how. Some recommended seizing mineral rich regions like Sakhalin and Siberia or even Borneo and Australia. There were lightly populated but wealthy in natural resources. It was not believed that the Russians or British would be able to put up much of a defense against the rapidly expanding Japanese Imperial Navy, not when Japan had the great advantage in regional superiority.

Others viewed raw materials but PART of the role of Empire. They pointed out the wealth Britain had drained from the huge manpower of India. For the first time in history, the Japanese could actually conceive of extending their influence in China directly. Previously, the worst Japan could ever realistically do was harass China, not threaten it. But modern technology would make this at least feasible, if not probable, as China was also pouring her apparently enormous resources into modernization.

The debates waged back and forth. Eventually, the majority deemed China too great a meal to swallow and only the most ambitious naval officers believed that Japan could successfully launch a war of aggression towards Australia while Britain maintained such a powerful stronghold in India.

Eventually, the consensus was that the easiest path to acquisition of resources would be Russia, whose Pacific outposts were separated from European Russia by 10,000 miles by sea or 6000 by land (most of which did not possess a railroad).

There had been an attempt to lower tensions with Russia over the Sakhalin (also known as Kita-Ezo in Japan) and the Kuril Islands (also known as the Chishima or Kiruru islands in Japan) situation in the 1870's but that had fallen through. The large island was still mostly unpopulated by Russians. The prison colony which provided nearly 2/3's the population of Sakhalin had been shut down in 1880 and most of the population promptly departed. Japan held nominal claim to the southern portion of Sakhalin but similarly didn't do much to colonize either.

In 1891, there were an estimated 15,000 Russians, 4000 natives and perhaps 2000 Japanese on the island. However, the extensive exploration by both Japanese and Russian explorers would provide ample evidence of sizable coal and other natural resource deposits.

What was more, the seizure of Sakhalin would also give Japan a significant advantage should the Emperor command future invasions of Russian Siberia or the Joseon Empire (or maybe even China). In late 1891, the Japanese Ambassador had been ordered to present a "request" to the Czar that was just short of an ultimatum to resolve the long-standing territorial dispute left open from the 1870's. It was phrased just provocatively enough to ensure that the Czar's court would reject it without hesitation.

That would be all the diplomatic cover Japan required to act.

The Admiralty was quite confident that the Russian Pacific Squadron, which was usually aged ships and below the readiness and capability of the Russian Black Sea and Baltic Fleets, could be easily defeated provided that they Imperial Navy was not split between multiple objectives. The strategy would be to rapidly sink the Russian fleet, seize Vladivostok prior to reinforcements reaching the Pacific and force the better part of the Russian fleet to fight without benefit of a supply line.

By the early spring of 1891, the Japanese Imperial Navy would be ready....and the Russians would not.

 

[Alt History Buff]

November, 1891

Honduras

President Barrios, seeing repeated unrest in Honduras' more populated neighbors of El Salvador and Nicaragua, would managed to gain enough support from his cadre of elites and soldiers to apply for admission as a Mexican state.

This would cause a great deal of internal debate. Perhaps more ominously, the government of El Salvador would look in in dismay as, should Honduras be admitted to Mexico, El Salvador would be surrounded. Though Mexico had not shown any aggression in the past towards her Central American neighbors, he though still greatly concerned El Salvador's ruling elite.

December, 1891

Nicaragua

After several decades of military dictatorship by elites from Granada, their competing party in Leon would launch another rebellion against the authority.

January, 1892

Washington

Sir Stafford Northcote would arrive in Washington in 1892. His intent was to gain America agreement that Africa would be defended against foreign incursion (namely French and/or Italian).

Great Britain had compromised a great deal with their former Colony in the Co-Protectorate. Most of the heavy lifting of creating the Co-Protectorate had been British and yet America possessed the same trading and harboring rights.

If America wanted to continue this pretense of global power, she must give up this "neutral" policy once and for all. Great powers are not "neutral".

Realizing that to refuse was to effectively cede Africa to the British (a humiliation no American could bear), President Sherman would agree to a limited alliance regarding Africa only. He knew that Great Britain was also sounding out the German Confederation as an ally but America had no intention of getting involved in European affairs.

Perhaps more important to America than Africa was the Franco-Italian alliance with Brazil and Chile. Having finally reached a level of power where the Monroe Doctrine could be enforced by American might, the nation was not inclined to see another European power gain influence in the Americas.

February

Japan

For months, the Japanese Imperial Navy would gather their forces ship by ship. Dozens of warships purchased abroad or constructed domestically would run perform maintenance, run gunnery drills and assemble supplies.

An invasion force of 5000 men were prepared to sail for Sakhalin. However, this was simply a distraction. The intent was to force the Russian fleet from their harbor at Vladivostok. Once that fleet was destroyed, the invasion of the port would be relatively simple.

At the end of February, the ships would sail.

Bombay

Tiring of the strikes, the Viceroy of India would order the arrest of hundreds of political agitators, including Bal Tilak, as well as ordering the closure of the Congress Party and other political reform organizations.

 

[Alt History Buff]

March 1892

Gran Chaco Region, South America

Having tired of the endless threats from Brazil, the leadership of the Argentine determined to act quickly and seize the mouth of the Uruguay River and marched forces into the region of the Gran Chaco also claimed by Paraguay (and maybe some claimed by Bolivia). As one required control over the rivers to even access the region (unless one wanted to cross huge distances of mountain and rainforest and prairie on foot).

Within weeks, the Brazilian Navy blockaded the mouth of the Uruguay and the standoff officially began.

Litoral Province, Bolivia

Years before, the Chileans were stymied in seizing the coastal region of Bolivia and parts of southern Peru by the American Navy.

With tension apparently building in Africa and the Rio Plata, it seemed unlikely that America would be overly interested in interfering in South America once again, at least not this region.

Once, this area had been a hotbed of interest due to the nitrate boom along the Chincha Islands of Peru (where the guano deposits had run out) and the Bolivian Litoral and Peruvian Tarapaca Region. But now, the explosion of nitrate production worldwide made the Bolivian and Peruvian exports less vital...at least to the great powers.

Given the mess the political world appeared to be in these days, it seemed unlikely that American intervention was coming.

Northern Sakhalin

The Japanese Army disembarked upon half a dozen different "ports" (i.e. seaside villages) expecting resistance. However, the Russian military forces had been so depleted following the closure of the gulags that only a few hundred wretched punishment post soldiers remained under arms. There was no real combat and Sakhalin fell immediately.

To ensure that the Russian commander in Vladivostok grasped the point, the Japanese would seize a number of fishing boats and transports but letting enough escape to pass on the word of Japanese aggression (a declaration of war would be getting handed to the Czar's ministers on March 15th in Moscow. Naturally, it would be months before the word would reach Vladivostok via official Russian channels.

By that point, the Russian sailors and soldiers would be well aware of the matter.

Sea of Japan

The Russian Navy, having spent three days attempting to do last-minute repairs and provisioning as best they could, sailed out into the Sea of Japan, apparently unaware that they were sailing into a trap.

The Russian Pacific fleet was underfunded and generally possessed obsolete ships. The best sailors in the Russian Navy preferred posting to the Black Sea or Baltic. Siberia was a bit less desired and often considered a punishment detail. Worse, the generally improved relations with China, the lack of relations with the Joseon Kingdom and Japan's focus elsewhere for the past decade had left the Russians with an attitude of complacency.

The Imperial Japanese Fleet, on the other hand, bore the absolute best of the Japanese sailors and technology. Indeed, virtually ALL of the top vessels in the Navy were present in the Sea of Japan when the Russian Admiral sailed heedlessly forward.

The outcome was predictable when twelve Japanese ships commenced fire upon the nine Russian vessels.

Calcutta

Riots erupted throughout India as the outraged natives demanded the release of the thousands of political prisoners seized over the past months by the Raj.

Paris

By the miracle of telegraph across the world, it only took a few weeks for Napoleon IV to learn of the latest mass revolt in India.

If there was ever a time to act, it was now.

But where?

The Emperor supposed that he could attempt to seize a few ports in Africa....but to what effect?

The Royal Navy had still maintained a large advantage at sea, even if it was scattered across the globe. The United States Navy would almost certainly come into play if the Latin Alliance sought to bring the war to Africa.

However, America would not be inclined to interfere in a European conflict directly. And the loss of Luxembourg, Alsace and Lorraine still stung French pride. What was more, the German Confederation population growth was enormous, at least relative to the French. In 1800, the French well outnumber the then-divided Germans. By 1891, that advantage had reversed as the French population increase fell well behind her neighbors in Britain, Germany and Italy. It that demographic continued....then France would be permanently weak compared to the Confederation and reliant on allies to even hope to hold their own.

Italy still had territorial claims against Austria as well.

Over the course of the past year, the various squabbling Germans had fallen upon one another again as the Prussians evicted huge numbers of Jews and Poles from her territories (much to the disgust of the rest of the Confederation). The Confederation annual war maneuvers had even been cancelled for two years straight.

If there was a time to move, it was now.

Napoleon IV would dispatch an urgent missive to Rome. It was now or never.

 

[Alt History Buff]

April, 1892

New York Republican Convention

Though there was plenty of outcries from both Republican and Democrat alike, President John Sherman would announce he would run for a "2nd Term of Office", retorting back that this was NOT in violation of previous tradition of Presidents limiting themselves to 2 terms of office as the first two years in the Presidential Mansion had been as "Acting President", not one which had been elected. He rather enjoyed throwing that back in the faces of rivals who had derided him for assuming powers beyond his ken while "Acting President".

1888 had been his first term as "President" and Sherman was not inclined to let that stymy his plans. In the face of all the vitriol, Sherman was generally pleased with the state of the country. The economy was strong enough and Sherman had managed to thread the political needle of tariffs and money supply to satisfy all well enough. He was sure that the Midwest and Plains would support him again in 1892.

Whoever the Democrats ran would likely find their path to the Presidential Mansion difficult from an electoral vote point of view. As long as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio voted Republican (and the internal Party peace of the past few years indicated this to be the case), the Presidential election would strongly favor Sherman.

Never a "foreign policy" man, Sherman looked askance at the petty rows throughout the world and doubted that border conflicts in the middle of South America or Italian ambitions along the Somali Coast or the recent demands by Japan for the Kuril Islands or any host of petty disputes would significantly affect world peace.

If some corner of the world DID go to war......then it was unlikely enough that America would be dragged in. After all, Sherman's home had two oceans protecting it. America could stand to remain aloof to petty problems of the rest of the world.

May, 1892

Alsace

Having summarily demanded the return of Alsace, Lorraine and Luxembourg.....and receiving no response from the Confederation than sharply written letters of protest.....the Emperor ordered his forces into Alsace and Lorraine.....and to cross the Rhine with barely a breath taken in declaring war.

Tyrol, Austria

Though Italy had longed for expansion into Africa, the fact remained that the Royal Navy made this problematic. Even if the Roya Navy was eliminated as a threat, that would not mean that Italy could simply sail into Egypt or Morocco or Ethiopia and assume a profitable colonial relationship. This would take years...or even decades....to accomplish.

But the border conflicts in the Tyrol with Austria would prove much more vexing for some portions of the nationalistic Italian population. The Tyrol was a mountainous region of mixed Italian and German stock. The southernmost area had fallen to Italy long ago but there remained some 150,000 Italian-speaking peoples under German rule who longed for Unification with Italy.

Typically, this would not be a just cause for conflict. However, the French Emperor's decision to forcibly regain her Rhine properties from Germany would lead the King of Italy to make a decision: does he opportunistically join in or abandon his ally.....and therefore any likely chance of Italian expansion in Africa (without French support, Italy wouldn't even consider challenging Britain at sea).

This was the sort of decision which most of the world's powers were facing. Later historians would ask the simply question "Why did this shockingly widespread and destructive war occur?"

The answers would not be simple or necessarily rational.

Some of the more esoteric reasons were:

1. Unrest by rapid technological change which upset long-established social mores.
2. The need for raw materials to feed the new industrialization....and fear that other colonial nations (i.e. Britain) may use their control over raw materials or the seas to destroy economies with the sweep of a pen.
3. Age-old rivalries spurred to further heights by the expansion of the written word in print and among the ever more literate and therefore politically charged populations.
4. Public schooling also leading to an increase in nationalism.

More concrete reasons included:

1. The proliferation of alliances, often formed as much for lack of a common conflict than necessarily common interests, which brought nations to arms over conflicts which often in no way whatsoever applied to them (did France, Britain or America REALLY care about the Gran Chaco?).
2. The desire to proactively damage an enemy in order to weaken them before they could strike at YOU with the same intent (i.e. French and Italian support for Irish and Indian separatists).

All of these reasons were partly right and all of them partly wrong. It was more a matter of degree in the eyes of academics for the following centuries.

What could not be denied is that war soon spread throughout the world over what really amounted to petty border disputes and conflicts over remote and low value colonies.

 

[Alt History Buff]

May, 1892

Chicago

The Democratic National Convention was, once again, an ideological battle between the "hard money" under former New York Governor Grover Cleveland and "free silver" factions under New York Senator David Hill. The two had been rivals since Cleveland beat out Hill for the Governor's office and Hill was relegated to Lieutenant Governor.

Cleveland would win the convention but at the loss of support among the Western and Southern Democrats.

Washington

Alabama would, once again, seek readmission to the Union. President Sherman would hardly roll out the welcome mat but nevertheless agreed to allow the State to prove it could obey national suffrage law.

Moscow

Over the past four months, Abraham Lincoln, his grandson Jack and Frederick Douglass would greatly enjoy their visit to Europe. Having stopped in Italy in February, the trio would explore the great art collections of that ancient nation, from Florence to Rome. Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln had, in his wealth and prosperity, become a benefactor of the Chicago Museum and instructed his father to purchase some "ancient art" if he came by some for sale. As Lincoln knew next to nothing about "ancient art", he would end up spending $5000 worth of Robert's money on what turned out to be forgeries.....BAD forgeries.

The truth would be revealed in their next stop in Athens where an Anglo-Greek art dealer would barely contain his laughter at Lincoln's gullibility. However, the art dealer would invite the party to his home where his wife and daughter would prepare a traditional Greek meal much to the enjoyment for all. The ex-President and Douglass would find the man's dissertation on the European art market fascinating and requested that the man aid them in finding REAL European treasures.

Young Jack, on the other hand, would find the man's daughter Anna infinitely more fascinating. Able to speak five languages and possessing an encyclopedic memory for art, the two young people would steal away whenever possible as the party explored Athens. The two months spent in Athens could not have been more pleasant and Lincoln was able to buy some legitimate artifacts from Austrian paintings to Greek busts to Egyptian relics.

The situation got a bit more complicated when Jack and Anna announced their plan to wed. In truth, the art dealer was not disinclined. Given that Robert Todd Lincoln was well on is way to becoming a millionaire, the match seemed quite profitable. However, the father would insist that the young couple remain in Greece for at least the time being.

Ex-President Abraham Lincoln would caution his grandson to wait a few years for marriage but refused to forbid the matter. Knowing the probable reaction of Robert when he got home, Lincoln looked on at the wedding and wondered if perhaps he may die on the voyage back to America.

As it was, by April Lincoln and Douglass, now without Jack, stopped in Constantinople for two weeks, admiring the Hagia Sofia, before sailing across the Black Sea to Russia and, with the aid of a translator, boarded a train for Moscow. The Czar had invited the pair to his Grand Kremlin Palace, built about fifty years prior. It was opulence almost to the point of vulgarity. However, Czar Nicholas II was quite hospitable and, via his translator, Lincoln expressed his gratitude for the moral support provided by Russia in the American Civil War.

The Czar would offer a "Faberge Egg" to each Lincoln and Douglass (it was not divulged that these were two Eggs that Faberge had produced for the Czar's family and found them rejected) as pricy momentos of their visit.

Unfortunately, the visitation would end on a sour note as the news of the shocking Russian defeat in the Sea of Japan. While the Czar had, many weeks before, learned of the Japanese declaration of war, the political classes of Moscow were not exactly alarmed with the prospect of fighting an Asian nation.

Embarrassed, the Czar would bid the Americans adieu and commanded a young nobleman to escort the gentlemen to St. Petersburg in June prior to returning to Athens to reunite with young Jack.

Norfolk

Years before, the Norwegian Arms and Naval Engineer Thorston Nordenfelt had arrived in America having lost his position in Great Britain. Nordenfelt and his English wife would arrive bearing several patents related to cannon and repeating machine guns but, by the 1890's, was more interested in Naval Technology. In particular, he desired someone to pay for the construction of his submersible. By happenstance, the Americans had been experimenting for years on submersibles and, perhaps even more importantly, had long been the employer of the English torpedo designer Robert Whitehead.

Between the pair of them, the American naval yard in Norfolk would construction a pair of steam powered submersibles armed with two of Whiteheads' most modern torpedoes.

"American Venezuela"

As one would expect in bureaucracy, the American government would only slowly determine what to name the lands seized from Venezuela. Eventually, the larger portions of "Bolivar" and "Amazonas" would be allocated directly to Guyana as they possessed little population (mostly Indian) and was so remote and inaccessible that even exploring was proving arduous, much less planning to exploit resources.

But the lands taken north of the Orinoco - the southern portions of Monagas, Anzoategui and Guarico states - were a different matter. Still lightly populated and mostly serving agricultural purposes, it was at least arable and America actively sought to colonize....or at least distribute land about in an effort to gain local support among the Mestizos. The American surveyors allocating plots of land to settlers would often find pools of viscous oil bubbling beneath the surface. Eventually, several oilmen would arrive and excitedly come to the conclusion that the land not only held oil...but particularly dense or "heavy" oil. Within weeks, half a dozen concerns based in Texas or other states arrived in the region to prospect themselves.

It was only in 1892 that the southern 2/3's of these three states were formally reorganized into a single entity. Naturally, arguing in Washington would waste more time than actually DOING something.

Eventually, the locals were asked what they wanted to call the new territory comprised of land north of the Orinoco.

They opted to call it.........Orinoco Territory.

 

[Alt History Buff]

 

[Alt History Buff]

June 1892

Athens

Having returned to Athens from Moscow, Abraham Lincoln and his friend Frederick Douglass would be delighted to discover young Jack Lincoln and his wife were expecting their first child. Jack had been in intensive study of Greek (he had studied ANCIENT Greek, which was only a starter for the real language) and art history for months. Apparently, he and his wife had found time to create Abraham's first great-grandchild as well.

Jack had been accepted into the International University of Athens and stated he intended to remain under the warm sun of Greece and enter his father-in-law's business in a couple of years. Abraham could already hear his son Robert's outrage when he returned home.

"How could you let my SON marry some.....some.....Greek girl?!"

The former President was not looking forward to that. Thus, when the Porte invited the pair to visit the Ottoman's new capital of Ankara. Having no desire to go home, the itinerant American travelers would happily accept. Like most of the crowned heads of the nations they'd visited in the past four years, the Porte would be welcoming and enjoyed showing off the rapid modernization of his nation in the past 20 years. Like Egypt, the Ottoman was a Muslim nation seeking to prove it could be as modern as any European country.

As a special honor, the Porte would grant both men a diamond chelengk, an honor usually only offered to soldiers but both Lincoln and Douglass had participated in the Civil War and thus the Porte deemed this leadership equal to fighting men.

The Litoral - Bolivia

Almost without resistance, the Chilean Navy swept into the undefended coastal towns of the Bolivian Litoral. These towns had not recovered from the eviction of the Chilean settlers years before despite the nitrates of this region being Bolivia's sole export product.

Within weeks, the Chileans would also seize several of the southern Peruvian towns of the Tarapaca Province.

Years before, Chile had been stymied by the provident arrival of an American flotilla. By 1892, Chile had purchased half a dozen ironclad ships, include two that were considered modern.

Germany

Within weeks, the French Army had overrun most of the border of Germany, even reaching as far as Hanover. The disunited German states, mired in internal disputes for years, would only slowly dispatch reinforcements to the Western German Confederation.

The Italian invasion of the Austrian Tirol would be blunted more by the topography than the Austrian Army. The Italians may have also made an error by splitting its focus between the Tirol and the Kingdom of Croatia and Slovenia.

The Black Sea

After weeks of preparation and the transfer of several ships from St. Petersburg, the Russian Black Sea squadron would depart the Mediterranean via the Suez and sail to the Far East to confront the Japanese Imperial Navy. Still hoping for an alliance, Great Britain, which largely controlled the Canal, would offer refueling stops in India and Malaya to the Russians as a "courtesy".

Alabama

To the surprise of all, the summer election in Alabama would be relatively free from interference. President Sherman would begrudgingly allow the State Legislature to be seated (which promptly elected two Democrats to the Senate) and agreed to allow the Federal Congressional election to take place in November.

 

[Alt History Buff]

 

[Alt History Buff]

June, 1892

Western Nicaragua

Once again, Civil War convulsed Nicaragua as political and regional differences between Leon and Granada reared its ugly head. Forces emerging from the government capital of Managua (controlled by the Granada faction) would converge upon the northern cities like locusts.

London

The assorted German Ambassadors of the Confederation would petition the Queen and Her Ministers to provide immediate assistance. However, the treaty of "Amity" signed between the Confederation and Great Britain was hardly a binding contract and the Government could not countenance the idea of intervening directly into a European land war.

The British Army amounted to perhaps 160,000 men worldwide and most of those were in India where the colony convulsed with her own rebellion. Launching expedition to the Continent was simply impossible from both a material and political standpoint.

The German request was denied....with regrets.

Internally, the Salisbury Ministry would debate how France and Italy may be hindered without directly waging war upon the Latin Alliance.

Paris

As reports slowly came in from French agents in London, Napoleon IV was gratified to find he was right. Great Britain had no intention of waging an expensive war on the Continent, not when it was experiencing a rebellion in India. As long as the Latin Alliance did not take any provocative measures against the British or British allies (Italy had been warned to cease funding the rebels in Morocco or the Somalis), the peace would stand.

Vladivostok (picture below courtesy of Wikipedia) in 1890's.

The fortifications of Vladivostok had not been fully constructed by 1892 and the city of 29,000 Russians (and about 3500 Asians, mostly Chinese and Koreans) was expanding rapidly as the economic center of the Russian Pacific.

When the first Japanese ships arrived within sight of Vladivostok Harbor, the Russian commander, Governor-General Kuropatkin, counted the sheer number of personnel transports and realized that at least 10,000 Japanese soldiers were about to disembark. Unlike many of his contemporaries, the General would not mistake the Japanese as little yellow men who could not wage war against Europeans. If nothing else, the apparent destruction of the Pacific Fleet proved that.

With only 2400 Russian soldiers, poorly armed, paid, trained and generally on punishment detail, Kuropatkin had no intention whatsoever of facing off against the vast numbers of Japanese sure to come. Thus, he made what was, to him, the only logical decision. Even as the first Japanese landing craft began to dip oars into the water, the General ordered the city of Vladivostok burned.

Most of the Russian population in the Far East was actually located in towns and villages to the north. Taking with him every morsel of food, every animal and everything the town could carry......Kuropatkin burned the rest right down to the wharf, the churches, the boats, even the outhouses.

If the Japanese wanted to play on land, they would have to follow the Russians north into the wilderness. And here the Russian bear was supreme, especially in winter. And winter came very, very quickly in Siberia.

Let them come.

July 1892

Straight of Malacca

What the Russian General did NOT know was that, after the destruction of the Russian fleet, the Japanese Imperial Navy was already preparing for the next war. The Japanese General Staff had calculated how quickly the Russian Imperial fleet based in the Black Sea would be able to arrive in Asia. Most expected that it would take at least three months given it would likely take several weeks just for word to REACH Moscow of the defeat due to the less than efficient telegraph across Siberia. Most likely, the news of the defeat would reach Moscow via trading vessels arriving in India which would then pass it along via the telegraph through Central Asia (recently completed in 1889).

No directly witnesses were likely to reach European Russia until late summer at the earliest.

However, certain Japanese Admirals were convinced that the Russians could see reinforcements arrive from Europe (Black Sea) in as little as 10 weeks. Thus, they Imperial Japanese Navy would split the best of her forces. 10 of the most modern ships would sail to the Japanese East Indies (Sumatra) and sit in ambush. Any Russian squadron would have sailed for thousands of miles and would probably be in poor shape for immediate and sudden combat.

In reality, the Russian vessels would not even reach the Indian Ocean until late July, much less all the way to the East Indies. However, the rather aggressive young Japanese commanders would spy two warships sailing past Sumatra on the night of July 28th and fall upon the ships without mercy.

Only the dawn would prove that they had just mauled two British Royal Navy Warships en route to Australia. Both would take shelter in Singapore where news of the unprovoked assault would be widely reported around the globe.

August, 1892

Calcutta

Though the British officials in Calcutta were outraged at the Japanese attack on two Royal Navy Ships, they had their own hands full. Just when the worst of the 3rd Mutiny was underway, the news that the mighty Royal Navy had been laid low by Asiatics was enough to hearten the rebels once more.

Washington

Though he loathed the idea of sending men into danger, President John Sherman would agree to dispatch elements of the Pacific Squadron to Peru and Bolivia to "keep the peace". Years ago, the British Ambassador had smugly looked upon him and commented that America's "peacekeeping" in South America would come with a cost.

Now, that prophesy was coming true.

Brazil was plainly resentful of America's expansion from Guyana into Venezuela. Worse, the Brazilian Navy, supported by French and Italian experts, had just initiated a blockade of the Uruguay, effectively cutting off the Argentine.

Now, Chile was causing trouble on the Pacific.

Even Nicaragua appeared to be tearing itself apart.

Beyond the promise of the eventual completion of the Columbian Canal, the entire Continent of South America was looking like a sinkhole of money, resources and attention without any real payoff in sight.

 

[Alt History Buff]

September, 1892

Vladivostok

The Japanese invasion had initially seemed to go so well. The Russian Pacific Fleet had been laid low with little difficulty (only one Japanese ship had been lost compared to six Russian vessels).

However, KEEPING the territory would prove far more difficult as the Japanese would swiftly learn. Occupying the city itself was easy. But building enough barracks to winter would prove almost impossible given the lack of materials present (Japanese plans assumed there would be enough of the city left to billet the soldiers). Attempts to harvest the local timber would prove even less successful as the Russian General Kuropatkin would swiftly gather reinforcements from inland and viciously harass the invaders via forest warfare and well-honed winter tactics. By September, the ill-prepared Japanese would realize how poorly provisioned they were for the coming winter.

With 5000 Regulars and 7000 Militia volunteers, the Russians would effectively besiege the Japanese army of 10,000 men already shivering in ashes of the city at the base of the Peninsula. By the time, the harbor froze over in Winter, the Japanese commanders were already fearing that their command would not last until spring.

Singapore

The Royal Navy's Indian Squadron, while having only just learned of the Japanese mauling of two British vessels (by accident) would nevertheless prove unable to dispatch a large squadron to Singapore. Protests were issued to the Japanese Envoys (who had no idea what was going on) even as demands were issued to Britain for instruction.

But the ongoing Indian Rebellion was simply too chaotic that the bulk of the Royal Navy was compelled to remain in situ in order to support the British and Indian Armies fighting for order.

Instead, the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy would dispatch 5 vessels to Singapore. Four warships already billeted to the sprawling harbor, these five reinforcements, the two British ships damaged by the Japanese and three Russian warships which escaped from Vladivostok (the latter five ships having been at least partially repaired in the Singapore dockyard) would give a powerful enough fleet to defend the area.

Or so they thought.

The Straights of Malacca

Ten of the best and most modern ships in the Russian Navy would sail past Singapore in the night unaware that three of their brethren's ships lay at anchor only a few miles away.

Though it was far too late in the season to expect to reconquer the city of Vladivostok, the Russian Navy insisted on "teaching the Asiatics a lesson".

This would prove to be an error in judgement. Though modern naval vessels were no doubt vastly superior to only a decade earlier, a journey of nearly 10,000 miles would prove hazardous to any ship. Boilers burst, pumps failed and engines wore. By the time the Russian fleet arrived in the South China Sea, every ships were showing signs of fatigue. Sailors were exhausted.

When the Russian fleet emerged into the South China Sea, the Japanese fleet sailing off of the eastern coast of Sumatra would fall upon the Russian rear, hardly allowing the enemy to enter their "Imperial Waters".

Each bearing exactly 10 vessels, the Japanese and Russians squared off for hours, steaming back and forth attempting to "Cross the T" and testing the skills of their gunners, power of their cannon and depth of their armor.

Unlike the previous stomping the Japanese Imperial Navy had handed the Russian Pacific Squadron, this battle would be much more a matter of equals.

However, the element of surprise and better condition of the Japanese ships would prove pivotal. Four Russian ships were sunk or taken while most of the others endured damage and were forced southwards past Sumatra and the surviving Russian commander bitterly ordered the fleet to Madras. The Japanese, while also suffering heavy damage, would lose only two ships.

Callao, Peru

The port town which served as the gateway to Lima would host several American ships. The American intent of dispatching a powerful squadron to intimidate the Chileans away from coastal Peru and Bolivia would prove.....a bit problematic.

Two American vessels would endure engine trouble and fail to make it to Peru. Another would get lost in a Pacific storm and promptly run aground off the Ecuadorian coast.

Only four American ships actually made it to Peru and intelligence reports that the Chilean Navy may be more than capable of defeating these. Instead, the American diplomats would be ordered to "give it another go" in hopes of convincing the Chileans to return home.

Like the Russians, the Americans learned the hardships of waging a war so far from home. The great advantages of the mechanized age could be a double-edged sword.

Rio de Janeiro

Though President Sherman had approved the dispatch of warships to the Pacific, he was not yet willing to accept that the troubles in eastern South America could not be resolved.

He ordered a diplomatic mission to Rio de Janeiro in hopes of ending this dispute over "Grand Chako" or "Grande Shako" or whatever the hell the region was called. By most accounts, these inland prairies had never been populated in four centuries by any of the nations now claiming them....so how much could they really be worth?

More important to the Americans was the fact that France, Italy, Brazil and Chile had formed an alliance. America may not give a damn about some desert or prairie that no one in Washington had ever heard of. But America DID give a great deal of a damn over the arrival of European influence in the Americas. It was bad enough that Spain and Britain still maintained large holdings in the West Indies......but much worse if military alliances with various American nations were formed.

THAT was unacceptable.

Washington

In the meantime, President Sherman would receive envoys from Great Britain. With another rebellion in India, word of the recent incident with Japan having just reached Britain and the little matter of a French and Italian invasion of Germany across the English Channel, Great Britain was hardly inclined to spend much attention on South America.

But Great Britain DID have significant diplomatic, political and economic ties to both the Argentine and Buenos Aires,

Sherman would ask Great Britain to assist the American delegation to Rio de Janeiro in hopes to putting an end to this problem. In truth, America didn't give a damn about the Gran Chaco. Given that the most powerful nations now involved in the dispute - Brazil and Chile - either didn't WANT of the land (Brazil was supporting its client in Paraguay) or had a very weak claim (Chile was using the Gran Chaco hubbub in order to justify aggression against Bolivia, Peru and, quite possibly the Argentine or Buenos Aires.

Great Britain agreed to send additional diplomats with an offer to "mediate" the Gran Chaco matter.

Germany

Though it took some time, the German Confederation had finally managed to dispatch significant forces from Prussia, Saxony and other German states to aid Western Germany, much of which was now under control of France.

The Germans were perhaps aided by the fact that France had not particularly thought out what they would do once the disputed regions of Luxembourg, Alsace and Lorraine were properly reclaimed.

What was more, the Germans were aided by the rapidly development of rifle range and accuracy, artillery capability and the machine gun. This would result in modern warfare becoming more defensive that it had been in centuries, if not longer. Only a few decades ago, the massed bayonet formation, only modestly changed from Alexander the Great's Phalanx, remained in use in the American War Between the States.

Military observers in Europe would quickly realize that the old tactics were rapidly becoming obsolete. Once could only see a thousand men cut to pieces in minutes after charging across open ground upon a few hundred well-dug in troops. French superior numbers often failed despite uncommon German disorganization. Rapidly, the French Generals figured out that entrenched positions were best flanked or reduced via massed artillery barrage.

When winter quarters were called (another tradition rapidly evaporating), the Germans received a welcome reprieve.

 

[Alt History Buff]

September, 1892

Toulon

Having spent adequate time in Europe, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass would bid adieu to Lincoln's grandson Jack who would be remaining in Greece with his young wife and learning the Antiquities Trade. The Americans would board a French transports in Athens bounded for New York. From there the two men would separate and take trains home.

However, the ship never reached America, instead stopping at Toulon, the primary French naval base in the Mediterranean.

What Lincoln and Douglass did NOT know was that relations between America and France had plummeted in the past few months.

First, over the summer (June) President Sherman had issued a sharply worded message to France effectively commanding them to halt supporting the Brazilian blockade of the Uruguay River as well as supplying the Chileans in their aggression against Bolivia and Peru. Sherman reiterated the long-held but seldom enforced dictate that the Monroe Doctrine made America "almost sovereign" in the Western Hemisphere. While his language was atypically blunt, the American dismay at the rapidly deteriorating situation in South America could not be overstated.

The President vowed immediate economic sanctions in the form of tariffs or embargo/boycott of French goods and even somewhat opaquely threatened to halt French military supply shipments to South America on the high seas (the French interpreted these words as having been official government policy, not just those of the President without backing of Congress). Sherman also clarified that any French aggression towards the Co-Protectorate or any of the Northern African Nations (Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia) would be considered an attack on the United States (Sherman would receive much dissent on this subject).

Sherman didn't even mention the war in Europe though it was commonly held that Great Britain was greatly agitating for America to somehow get involved (with NO success).

Perhaps more important to Napoleon IV than ANY of these disputes was the French (and Italian) fear that Russia would become involved in the conflict on behalf of the German Confederation. Rumors thrown around back and forth would hold that secret American and British diplomats were petitioning the Czar to "Guarantee the Borders of Germany" by force, if necessary. While certainly the Germans and even the British were seeking Russian intervention, there was in reality no American contact. However, the paranoia that gripped Paris in the wake of the war's slowdown in the fall and winter of 1892 would lead to unfounded suspicions that ex-President Lincoln and Mr. Douglass were actually American emissaries (both respected by the Czar) negotiating an alliance. The fact that the Czar himself invited the men would reinforce this train of thought and the French civilian Captain, learning of these rumors, would quietly "pull into Toulon for resupply" and immediately inform the local Admiral of the presence of the American "diplomats". The Admiral furthered the fiasco by ordering the two Americans seized for "questioning" and shipped up to Paris for further investigation.

The American Ambassador to Paris, former Congressman Henry Cabot Lodge, would learn of this outrage and express his nation's utmost displeasure as the illegal seizure of American citizens, two heroes, in fact, by the French government. In truth, the French Prime Ministers Jules Ferry was barely aware of the situation when the Americans showed up upon his doorstep and was more than a little irritated by Lodge's diatribe.

In truth, Ferry was not remotely as convinced as others in Paris that America, Russia or even Britain were likely to involve themselves in a European land war. Even the British only threatened trade sanctions (not even blockades were mentioned). America and Russia had barely expressed an opinion about the war in Germany.

But America's intemperate language to the Empire could not be ignored and Ferry informed the American Ambassador that the French vessels was within its right to discharge passengers upon French soil and the government was within her rights to interrogate any non-diplomat foreigner as much as it pleased. The Emperor and Prime Minister's popularity waning, Ferry also publicly replied that America was "not sovereign" in the Americas and France would provide any support they damned well wanted to Brazil.

When this was received in America in late September, President Sherman would order the withdrawal of the Americans delegation and formally ban any French imports. He also demanded the immediate release of ex-President Lincoln and Mr. Douglass. By this point, Prime Minister Ferry was firmly of the opinion that the two Americans were exactly what they claimed - tourists - but the Frenchman was not inclined to do anything the Americans wanted.

Thus, a series of false assumptions, miscommunications and diplomatic blunders severely worsened a situation in South America which could relatively easily been solved by diplomacy.

 

[Alt History Buff]

October, 1892

Callao, Peru and Antofagasta, Bolivia (occupied by Chile)

Only with the utmost effort did the bulk of the American Pacific fleet arrive in Callao. While the presence of the American ships probably prevented the Chileans from attacking the Peruvian capital directly, it did nothing to prevent the Chilean occupation of the nitrate and guano-rich coastal territories of Bolivia and Peru.

Decades before, these two countries had done so little to populate and exploit these vital regions that Chilean settlers did the majority of the work and made up the majority of the population (in coastal Bolivia, the HEAVY MAJORITY) of the coast. Unsurprisingly, Chile soon began to view these lands as rightfully THEIRS (much as the United States would easily annex Texas when Mexico failed to populate by the early part of the 19th century).

Only American intervention prevented the Chilean Navy from pushing the Bolivians and Peruvians out. The arid desert would halt significant invasion by land. Thus the Chileans would back down, deeply resentful.

The 1892 invasion would be virtually unchallenged by Bolivia and Peru and most coastal towns were seized by Chilean soldiers supplied by the Chilean Navy by sea (no railroad ran northwards through northern Chile to the region).

The American Pacific Squadron flotilla dispatched Peru would assume that the Chileans would back down once again when they realized the Americans were serious. The fleet, dispatched under the fifty-two years old William T. Sampson, consisted of the newly launched USS Yakima and USS Iowa, two older heavy Cruisers USS Virginia and USS Connecticut, two frigates USS Salt Lake and USS Superior and two of the new "Norfolk-Class" torpedo gunboats.

The latter arrived with only eight functional "Whitehead Torpedoes" (though more were promised). The Torpedo gunboats could only bear two of them at a time and would have to return to Callao to rearm. Bot the Salt Lake and Superior would be understaff and the Commodore would be forced to assign over a dozen officers and sailors from other vessels to bring them to combat-ready status. Among the transfers was the young Lieutenant Leland Stanford, Jr., who was dismayed to be transferred from the Yakima, which was laid up with engine trouble.

This was a powerful squadron even without the Yakima. However, the Chileans were the beneficiaries of of the latest heavy French Loire-class battlecruisers, the Prat and Simpson, four older ironclads and four lighter corvettes.

The Americans were not concerned though as it was believed that the American heavy guns were superior to the French. However, the new Loire-Class ships bore huge cannon fresh from the foundry which matched the best the British and Americans could produce.

Commodore Sampson, having received orders from Washington "forward" (though exactly what he was supposed to do was a mystery and he was uncertain if he should seek battle or merely blockade the small coastal towns) the Commodore sailed forward, leaving the Yakima and the two torpedo boats behind (he was uncertain about the utility of the lighter Norfolk-class ships).

The Americans would sail to Antofagasta in October, expecting the Chileans to retreat. Instead, 10 Chilean vessels would challenge the five American ships, obviously waiting off the shore in ambush. Still confident from the deck of the new USS Iowa, the Americans would sail forward. When the Chileans fired the first shot, Sampson was diplomatically covered. He ordered his own ships into line and ventured forth.

The initial phases of the battle went for the Americans, one of the lighter cruisers and a corvette were shelled. The Corvette would immediately capsize after taken a massive blow while a hit at the waterline doomed the cruiser, which was forced to retreat to Antofagasta. It would settle in the harbor and the crew forced to abandon ship.

However, the Chileans soon found the range and the true power of the French guns would become apparent. The Virginia and Salt Lake were hit badly, knocking out guns and starting fires. Both were forced to fall out of line and the Chileans opportunistically fell upon them with their lighter ships while the heavier Loire-Class vessels concentrated upon the remaining ships in line: the Iowa, Connecticut and Superior.

The Iowa matched the Chileans blow for blow but all three American ships took hits in less than 20 minutes, unable to help the Virginia and Salt Lake which were similarly fighting for their lives.

Another Chilean light Cruiser was hit, immediately taking fire and again trying (and failing) to reach Antofagasta.

The Virginia and Salt Lake, having lost several of their guns (the Salt Lake was down to one), would maul another Chilean Corvette which drifted too close. But then both would take a pummeling. Eventually, the Virginia caught fire and the colors were struck. The Salt Lake, down to her last gun, would determine there was nothing more she could add and sailed north towards safety.

As the Iowa gave at good as she got, the Loire-Class ships would take several hits as the American sailors proved to have better fire control. The Americans of the Iowa, Connecticut and Superior would close in for the kill, suddenly confident.

This confidence would be brutally ended as a shot from the Prat fell providentially through an open door to a munition storage location. Unlike the Royal Navy, the Americans had failed to take several safety procedures on these new vessels and the Iowa would pay dearly for the design flaw.

The front half of the Iowa blew skyward, killing over two hundred men. The ship literally lift 10 feet off the water before settling down. While the hull had not been breached, the guns were flung nearly a quarter mile away and the front end of the ships set entirely afire with the fire control teams either dead or without water pressure on their hoses. The flames soon spread amidships until several bulkheads were closed. But by this time, it was too late. The fire would spread slowly aft until the surviving senior officer would command the ship abandoned.

The Connecticut and Superior would read the writing on the wall and retreat north after the Salt Lake.

The Iowa would not sink but would be so gutted that the Chileans could do little more than tow it back to Chile for scrap. The Virginia would sink on her own despite attempts by the Chileans to seize the hulk.

The Battle of Antofagasta would prove to be among the greatest victories in Chilean history, the small nation having laid low the great United States Navy.

 

[Alt History Buff]

October, 1892

Morocco

For the second time, the King of Morocco's forces would capture a group of 20 Frenchmen caught smuggling weapons to a rebel tribe. The Frenchmen made the attempt to shoot their way out but were surrounded and captured by Moroccan soldiers. Seven of the Frenchmen were killed and the other thirteen captured and thrown in a dungeon.

The King would demand that Great Britain (and to a lesser extent, America) abide by the Anglo-Moroccan-Co-Protectorate Treaty of mutual protection.

Egypt

Though there had never been any concrete evidence that the French had provided aid of any kind to the Indian Mutiny, the British Commander of the Eastern Mediterranean exorcised a seldom-used clause in the Suez Canal agreement to close the Canal to French shipping.

Germany

In addition to diplomatic protests and threats of economic retaliation (the British stopped just short of threatening to blockade the French and Italian coasts), Lord Salisbury made no effort to hide that British military wares were shipped to Germany in great quantities.

Paris

Naturally, the French government in Paris would be similarly outraged that the "neutral" British were shipping war material to Germany and announce that THEY would be blockading the German coast and any further British attempts to supply Germany would be viewed as an end to Britain's "neutrality" and any British ships would be viewed as combatants in the North Sea.

November,

Tokyo

Hearing of the defeat of YET ANOTHER western navy defeated by the Japanese Imperial Navy ( the Russians twice and the Royal Navy once), the Japanese Admiralty was confident to the point of foolhardiness.

Seeing the continued rebellion in India would almost certainly keep British attention for the foreseeable future, the Japanese Admirals saw Malaya (with heavy deposits of tin and already a prominent rubber producer as well) and the massive harbor of Singapore to be vulnerable.

Though three Imperial Navy ships had been lost in the battles and the Japanese invasion of Vladivostok not going according to plan, the Japanese determined to press their advantage over the winter to whichever target could be found.

This proved to be Malaya. The bulk of the Japanese Navy would be once again risked in a single battle as 12,000 more Japanese Imperial troops were escorted south to the tropics (most were elated not to have to sail to Siberia but would find the pestilential hell of Malaya similarly problematic) with the intent of seizing the port of Singapore.

Singapore would, in November, of 1892, maintain only five functional Royal Navy or Australian Royal Navy Capital ships (one of the British ships damaged earlier had not yet been repaired) and two damaged vessels of the Russian Pacific fleet still in port after the Battle of Vladivostok. Most of the British Indian Fleet and Australian fleet were positioned in India aiding with the Mutiny.

The diplomatic ramifications of the Japanese attack on two British vessels months before had yet to be really addressed due to the great distances. The initial Japanese response was one of embarrassment on the behalf of the local Japanese diplomats in London who desperately desired instructions. Most assumed an official apology and reparations would be offered and Great Britain, with her hands full elsewhere, would graciously accept Japan's apology.

The French and Italians, learning of the fiasco, would fear that this would move Russia towards a British alliance. Should Russian manpower and British naval strength join in alliance with the Germans......

The results could be disastrous.

It would be this suspicion which would slow the expected release of ex-President Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who, by November, where held under house arrest in a townhome in a fashionable district of Paris.

Washington

As expected, President Sherman would be reelected by over 6% advantage in the overall popular vote and much more in the Electoral College. Still, the Republican majority in Congress would fall to its lowest point in years.

The Republicans often relied upon "Bourbon Democrats" who aligned on political issues like tariff policy, money supply, infrastructure investment, etc, to pass legislation and would be required to do this more often in the future.

Sherman would also be castigated by Democratic opposition for "Bullying Chile" in South America. Fortunately for Sherman, the news of the defeat would not arrive until after the polls closed.

 

[Alt History Buff]

November, 1892

Beijing

The Tongzhi Emperor was somewhat of a dissolute waste but, like some other well-regarded rulers in history (Charles III of Spain, for example), the Emperor eventually learned to delegate to smarter, hard-working and more dedicated Ministers to do the real work. His Ministers had worked diligently for a generation to reduce waste, corruption and obsolete ideas. The presence of modern warships, telegraph, electricity (one of the Emperor's palaces was wired in 1891) and railroads would only be the most visible symbols of "Self-Strengthening" Movement. Just as important was the vast investment in Universities and not the kind that taught calligraphy and philosophy. Imperial colleges teaching mechanical sciences, medicine, etc were encouraged and subsidized.

The Middle Kingdom was now becoming more and more self-sufficient in iron, coal and other production, highly important in the modern age. China's economy was diversifying rapidly and moderately high tariffs not only brought in revenue but protected Chinese industry in much the same manner as American tariffs had done for the past 50 years.

However, all was not well in China. There was a belief that the Chinese Navy, though growing, had fallen behind Japan. Worse, Japan was not only routing the Russian animals to the north but seemed to be acting with utter impunity, as if the opinion of the Mandarin did not matter in the slightest.

The Chinese Shipyards, though having made much progress, still had not proven capable of constructing ships as modern as the most recent Japanese products. The best Chinese Warships remained American in construction.

With Japanese ambition apparently bottomless, how long would it be before the Japanese eyes turn towards the Joseon Kingdom, Taiwan, the Ryuku Islands and Vietnam?

For generations, the foreigners had bedeviled Asia but the Mandarin's Ministers could imagine a day when the Japanese may prove a more intractable foe.

For the moment, though, the Chinese would remain neutral while watching the war very, very closely.

December, 1892

Washington

The news of the humiliating defeat to Chile had finally reached the American telegraph which distributed the intelligence throughout the country. In six years of office, Sherman had never seen such vitriol.

Still, the public outrage was high enough (it was assumed that Chile had fired first per the initial reports but, really, who could say?) that Sherman was able to get Congress to declare war.

What he did not know was that Brazil and Chile had already signed a mutual defense pact.

Gran Chaco

The Argentine invasion of the Gran Chaco would swiftly inspire resistance from Paraguay and Brazil. Though the Uruguay River remained under Argentine control, the allies would still manage to funnel 15,000 men into the Chaco region of western Paraguay and blunt the Argentine offensive.

Bolivia on the other hand, which was facing invasion from the interior in the Chaco and the coast (the Litoral) would continued to do what it usually did in such situations: absolutely nothing.

If the Bolivian government had any strong opinions on America declaring war on Chile, theoretically on their behalf, the Bolivians made no real effort to express them.

India

The leadership of the Indian Rebellion (or 3rd Mutiny depending on who you ask) was far more educated and possessed of institutional authority as thousands of Indians had joined the Civil Service and served in high-ranking positions.

There were also a growing number of native officers in the Indian Army, though only a few had reached ranks above Captain. Still, this would provide a much greater level of military leadership than previous Mutinies.

A greater hindrance would be the lack of overall strategic planning on the part of the Indians as the concept of "India" seldom resonated among the linguistically, ethnically and geographically diverse subcontinent. It was primarily among the college students and soldiers who would mix with a large cross-section of Indian society. Otherwise, Bengalis and Punjabis seldom thought of themselves as "one people", much less Hindus and Muslims.

For years, the British had successfully played one faction against the other in order to conquer India with its own resources. The British would turn to the Muslims, Sikhs and other religious or racial minorities for support as well as some of the native Princes who had long since learned that defying the British meant the end of their reigns.

Taking a continent-wide strategy would pay dividends as the local Indian rebellions seldom supported one another.

However, in recent years, some western political theory had arrived in India and many of the more Radical students would gravitate to this new Communist doctrine written by men named Engels and Marx. While these Christian and Jewish philosophers apparently held anti-religious feelings (something the Hindus would not countenance), there seemed to be enough flexibility to incorporate religion into the idealized society bereft of the landlords which had soaked so much from the Indian peasant.

Years before, the British attempted to suppress reading of such material but eventually gave up in the face of reforms supporting Free Press.

 

[Alt History Buff]

January, 1893

Vladivostok

For the past several months, the Japanese soldiers billeted in the torched city of Vladivostok had struggled to construct shelters prior to the closure of the Harbor by ice. Very little could be constructed though beyond crude mud and stone huts. What little wood that was available was plainly expected to be burned by Spring.

However, the ill-prepared Japanese would not get such luxury of huddling in their shelters over the winter. The Russians, having spent months gathering forces from Eastern Siberia, would do what the Japanese thought unthinkable. 18,000 Russian troops, in the heart of a blizzard, charged into the city, now cut off by sea from Japan.

The Japanese soldiers had not created defensive fortifications of note due to the shortage of materials. Taken utterly by surprise, the Japanese exited their barracks and fought back with almost fanatical courage. However, the Russian numbers, equipment (rifles, etc) which had been designed to operate in subzero temperatures and cold-weather clothing would keep them warm even as the Japanese, not accustomed to 30 degrees below zero, would wilt under pneumonia and frostbite.

The initial Russian attacks would be, with great difficulty, held off by the Japanese. However, the Russians would score a great bit of luck when several makeshift buildings bearing most of the Japanese supplies would be burned to the ground in the battle. By the end of January, the besieged Japanese would begin to starve.

Singapore

Having hastily repaired as many of their ships as possible, the Japanese Imperial Navy would sail southwards at last.

For the past several months, postponed by the great distances between Japan and Great Britain, diplomats had exchanged assorted accusations and threats. However, with Great Britain already mired in a major rebellion in India, it seemed unlikely that Malaya would be a priority.

Thus, the nine warships, twenty transports and twenty-two cargo ships would cross the proverbial Rubicon and sail into Singapore Harbor where the British garrison and squadron would be utterly shocked by the development. For all the outrage over the Japanese attack on two British ships months prior, it was widely accepted that this was a case of mistaken identity. As the Japanese had expected the Russian Black Sea Fleet to sail through the Straits at that point, the night-time attack could even be explained and the diplomats tasked to agreeing upon the phrasing of the apology and some sort of token reparation.

But the Japanese were not in the mood to kowtow to foreigners any more. More importantly, the Malayan Peninsula and the fine harbor of Singapore was ideal for cutting off western intervention in the Pacific.

While there had been several plans to construct a massive defensive fortification along the harbor, this had not actually been started by 1893. Only a handful of already obsolete artillery emplacements had been constructed.

The Royal Navy vessels had received less than an hour's warning that the Japanese Imperial Fleet had been sighted approaching the Harbor.

Only three of the four British vessels present could even get under steam before the Japanese entered Singapore. The invaders would not waste any time with maneuver. Even as merchant ships desperately raised steam or sail in hopes of escape, the warships would pummel one another in the harbor until the outnumbered British ships were steam for the open sea in hopes of escape. Only one would make it, the other two sinking within hours of flight.

The single remaining British ship in Singapore and the two Russian vessels remaining at anchor (all under heavy repair) would be scuttled by the crews in order to prevent capture while the Japanese silenced the handful of land batteries.

While the initial Japanese invasion plan went well, the followup invasion proved far less well conceived. Confusion reigned as the transports and supply ships disgorged their contents along the entire length of the Harbor without any rhyme or reason. Only the lack of British resistance (the Indian Mutiny had pulled most of the British Army and Royal Marines stationed on Singapore to the subcontinent) allowed for the Japanese to land in comparative safety. The bulk of the European population would retreat northwards into Malaya where about 1200 British soldiers, 2000 native Sepoys and about 4000 militia were raised in the coming days to resist the invasion.

 

[Alt History Buff]

February, 1893

The Chincha Islands

Having spent weeks in Callao attempting to fix her boilers, the USS Yakima under Captain Robley Evans was the new core of the American Pacific Squadron and was finally fit enough to sail. The Connecticut and Superior, while sustaining damage, had not suffered enough to go into long term drydock. The guns remained functional and the engines powerful. What was more, the American sailors were humiliated and filled with a desire for vengeance after their defeat to the Chileans at Antofagasta.

A full report of the situation had been sent to America but no response could be expected yet. Thus, Captain Evans (unofficial Fleet Captain now) would assume command and determined to protect Callao, the port of entry to Lima. The Chileans had long threatened to invade the Peruvian Capital.

Apparently confident, the Chileans prepared to do just that.

The Prat and the Simpson, the Loire-class heavy battlecruisers had both sustained damage at Antofagasta and spent some time in Valparaiso. However, the Chileans drydock facilities were less than suited for efficient repair of two ultra-modern French warships and only modest repairs had been made. Still, the Chilean Government would demand the fleet sail northwards to destroy the rest of the American fleet. As the Iowa and Yakima were the two most powerful and modern ships of the American Pacific Fleet, the destruction of the Yakima would not only open the gates to Peru but severely restrict any potential American counterattack.

The Prat and the Simpson would lead a flotilla of four ships (two lighter and older corvettes) northwards towards Callao with the intent of shifting the Americans from their port. However, the Prat was slowed by engine trouble, allowing several commercial vessels to arrive in Callao and give warning to the Americans and their dysfunctional Peruvian allies.

The Yakima and her heavier escorts, the Connecticut and Superior, would sail out to repel the invaders. However, Captain Evans was uncertain what to do with the two torpedo ships, the USS Tijuana and USS Victoria. Evans was more than willing to utilize them but the light vessels would also be an easy mark in a standup fight in broad daylight.

Fearing being left behind, the new commander of the USS Tijuana, Lieutenant Leland Stanford (his commander having been relieved for gallstone surgery in Lima), would propose a radical idea: he recommended that the Captain set a trap and utilize the light American ships in the matter than best suited their capacity.

Instead of hovering off the port of Callao, the Americans would sail to the southern port of Pisco to intercept the Chileans at sea. The Tijuana and Victoria would position themselves at an angle off the nearby Chincha Islands. When the two fleets of heavier ships engage, the torpedo vessels would strike.

Evans found the junior officer's idea intriguing. The Captain had witnessed several demonstrations of the power of the Whitehead torpedoes and bore no doubt that they could puncture a hull. But the accuracy of the torpedoes was up for debate.....and the light armor of the Norfolk-class vessels would provide no protection from a heavy shell hurled by a Loire-class.

But Evans would be willing to take the risk.

The Americans sailed south and, perhaps by providence, reached Pisco and the Chincha Islands before the Chileans. For several hours, the heavier ships would maneuver, attempting to find the range from long distances. Eventually, both parties would slowly approach, accepting that they were placing their own ships within range of enemy fire (there was always the expectation that somehow a fleet could fire on its enemy without that enemy being able to fire back).

The two forces would begin to find the range as dusk fell. The Yakima was struck a glancing blow and the Superior would suffer a number of casualties after a shell exploded only a few feet from her hull.

Both of the larger Chilean ships, though, took shells from the rapid-firing and accurate American gunners. Both began smoking but the fires would soon be suppressed and none of engines or heavy guns were out of commission.

It was under this curtain of billowing smoke that the two Norfolk-class ships raced inland under cover of approaching darkness. Neither of the larger Chilean ships even took their heavier guns from the Yakima and her escorts. Instead, the two smaller Chilean Corvettes, whose smaller guns had no hope of reaching the Yakima, would turn a sputtering fire towards the Tijuana and Victoria. Neither came particularly close, though, and the torpedo vessels would fire the first of their two torpedoes upon the Prat at a range of 180 yards.

While many nations had developed torpedoes and experimented with placing them on small vessels (or even larger ones), none had developed the technology or the tactics as well as the Americans. Having witnessed their coastlines bombarded during the Anglo-American War of 1861 (which coincided with the War Between the States which also saw Union ships bombarding Confederate coastlines), the development of small vessels capable of severely damaging larger counterparts was exceptionally intriguing.

The two Whitehead torpedoes would run true. The first, fired by the Victoria, would careen directly into the Prat's forward hull, only 20 years from the prow. By happenstance, both the French and Italian heavy vessels tended to have lighter arbor near the bow of the ships and the torpedo could not have chosen a better spot to land.

The torpedo fired from the Tijuana would not reach the Chilean ship, though. One of the Corvettes, frustrated by the lack of success in their cover fire would steam forward in hopes of landing a blow and take the torpedo amidships. Unlike the Prat, the slimmer corvette would not merely suffer a massive hole carved into her hull, but the ship would be nearly broken in half. So violent was the destruction that the forward half of the ship tore itself loose and capsized while the aft of the ship continued to steam forward as the props maintained their momentum.

The Prat immediately began dragging to the port side as the gaping hold near her prow severely reduced her speed.

Captain Evans of the Yakima, who had not really held GREAT hopes over the potential of the torpedo ships, would not waste time making a tactical decision to turn about and engage in battle at knifepoint. He ordered the Yakima, Connecticut and Superior in line and charged the Simpson, now the sole Chilean ship in line (the second Chilean Corvette having turned to aid its stricken colleagues). The American vessels would land several strikes upon the Simpson with only a glancing blow to the Connecticut in response. Several fires erupted, a boiler was knocked out and one of the heavy guns knocked off its bases.

Then the Americans sailed on towards the Prat which was attempting to come about at roughly 1/4 normal speed. Two more hits on the Prat would start some more secondary fires and strike the bridge, killing the command crew at the vital moment.

However, as the Americans turned about, they found that the battered Simpson had similarly returned to battle despite her scars and wounds. The bloodied vessel attempted to cover for her fellows and the Yakima took another blow. However, all three American vessels would furiously return fire, concentrating on the Simpson. Half a dozen more hits and the forward guns of the Simpson were eliminated, fires spreading throughout the fore of the ship. So terrible was the billowing cloud of smoke that the engine rooms had to be evacuated. The ship slowed to a halt.

Captain Evans signaled for the Superior and Connecticut to take the Simpson or sink it.

The Yakima would turn about towards the Prat, which was now wallowing near the coast attempting to turn about. The ship would run aground for lack of command coming from the bridge and lodge itself. However, the massive artillery weapons still were functional and the approaching Yakima was suffer the worst hit of the entire affair to one of her forward guns. Several bags of powder were struck as well, leading the Captain to believe the enormous smoke indicated a fatal wound.

Evans ordered a withdrawal as the torpedo boats came about, uncertain of their next move. The Yakima would offer no orders thus the Lieutenant Commander of the Victoria would signal the Tijuana to follow and took a direct coarse for the beached Prat.

At 600 yards, the Chilean battlecruiser began firing upon the darting American vessels, each waiting until the optimal range of 200-250 yards out for torpedo accuracy. Unfortunately, at 450 yards, a shell from the Prat land perfectly amidships the USS Victoria, blowing her apart like a child's toy stomped by a giant.

Still, Lieutenant Stanford would hold course and fire off her remaining torpedo at 300 yards and turn away before the Chileans could reload. The torpedo would run true and plunge into hull near her aft, separating her props and effectively crippling the vessel.

However, the guns continued to fire and the USS Tijuana would flee for her life, rejoining the Yakima and the rest of the fleet.

The final Chilean Corvette would take aboard a few dozen of the survivors of the other smaller Chilean vessel and steam south at best speed.

The fires aboard the Simpson would grow out of control and the senior surviving officer would strike the colors and abandon ship. The Prat, hours later, would be scuttled when it became abundantly clear that the vessel could not be saved. The crew was put off in lifeboats before the Americans even returned to finish her off.

Neither of the two Loire-Class ships sank but burned to the waterline and were later towed to Callao for scrap.

The battered American heavy ships, all three having taken wounds, would limp back to Callao in somewhat less than glorious fashion as two of the Yakima's boilers blew again.

 

[Alt History Buff]

 

[Alt History Buff]

March, 1893

Suez Canal

Having repeatedly demanded that the British and Egyptians reopen the Suez Canal in order to support their forces aiding their "allies" along the Somali coast against "Ethiopian aggression", the Italian Navy would dispatch her own blockading squadron of the Suez. Unlike the Royal Navy, which was currently spread thin across the world, the Italians and French were free to concentrate their naval forces where they pleased.

The Italians, without even consulting the French, would dispatch the bulk of their forces to the Suez, cutting off the Canal for the British as well.

Had the Italians known that the Ethiopians had routed the Italian/Somali forces on the Horn of Africa in January, they may have adjusted their actions.

As it was, the Italians would fire upon an Egyptian revenue cutter on the mistaken belief that this was a British torpedo ship. The outnumbered Royal Navy flotilla stationed near the mouth of the Suez would feel obligated to return fire and protect their ally. Within minutes, the situation devolved into a free for all in which the lighter British vessels were forced to evacuate the Canal Zone.

Hamburg

Though Great Britain had no real alliance with Germany, the Queen's Ministers would not bother to pretend neutrality and continue to ship war material (in violation of international law) to Germany.

Tired of this, Napoleon IV's Ministers would order a blockade of the city of Hamburg, on the mouth of the River Elbe. British Royal Navy and civilian Captains present were ordered to "get in the war or get the hell out".

Vladivostok

The winter of 1892/3 had been utterly miserable for the Japanese invaders. Unable to construct significant fortifications against Russian partisan incursion and mass formations, the Japanese were forced to huddle in trenches arduously carved from the frozen ground and behind barricades of rubble under the frigid Siberian sky. More Japanese died of disease and exposure than of battle wounds.....and there were MANY of battle wounds.

Of the 10,000 soldiers landed the previous fall, only 4000 remained and most of those had suffered lost digits to frostbite or their health devastated from hunger, disease and exposure. Indeed, without the high death toll, it was unlikely that the remainder would have enough food to survive to spring....though even this was on half, then quarter rations.

Only an early thaw to the ice in late March saved the Japanese. The first Japanese vessels to enter the harbor were provisions ships and the survivors of the garrison practically rioted to get aboard the ships and devour the food....often uncooked.

The Russians similarly did not waste time. Spring also heralded mud in Siberia and the Russians did not want to belay their offensive thus, as the winter slowly crawled towards spring and the snow remained on the ground, the Czar's troops attacked en masse. Over the winter, the supply line in Siberia, never efficient in any sense, would slowly accumulate powder, conscripts, etc and throw over 25,000 men at the beleaguered Japanese garrison.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Japanese would put up a furious resistance. Even the modest fortifications constructed over the winter would greatly aid in the defense. Warfare had changed with the technology, putting the advantage in the hands of the defenders (unless a massed artillery barrage proceeded an attack, something the Russians lacked the guns and powder to do).

Casualties were high but General Kuropatkin would not care and cold-heartedly sacrifice as many men as he needed to accomplish the goal. After nearly two days of constant attack, the Russians broken through various segments of the Japanese line, separating the defenders into isolated pockets. The Japanese, though, were disinclined to surrender and often died in their trenches. So outraged were the Russians that even the sick and wounded were not spared.

The final few hundred Japanese broke for the harbor in hopes of finding salvation on the handful of cargo ships still at anchor. However, only one Captain proved willing to dispatch longboats to the shore and rescue thirty-two soldiers.

By the time Kuropatkin regained control over the situation, only about 200 Japanese still lived to be taken prisoner and most of those were in severely ill-health. Only six would survive to return home after their internment in Siberia (most wouldn't even live to reach the Gulag a hundred miles north).

The Japanese invasion army of 1892 had ceased to exist. However, the war was not over as 20,000 more Japanese troops were being assembled for the second wave and would arrive in Vladivostok in April.

Washington

The Administration was still weathering the political storm over losing the USS Iowa and two other ships at Antofagasta when the news that Brazil was threatening war if America did not recall her forces from the Pacific coast of South America. Brazil's alliance with Chile remained in effect and, unless America wanted to suffer the same fate on the Atlantic, it would be best that the United States gave up this "Monroe Doctrine" nonsense.

Naturally, President Sherman could not accept these peremptory terms and rejected them. Thus, in March, Brazil declared war upon the United States. Emboldened by America's defeat to Chile, the obvious domination of the Brazilian/French/Italian fleet in the Rio Plata and the steady press of the Argentinian forces from the northern Gran Chaco would lead the Brazilian ministers to a sense of confidence that American opinions simply did not matter.

The Sherman Administration would appeal to Empress Isabel of Brazil, who had visited Washington and New York a few years prior to great acclamation, directly in hopes of halting the Brazilian Ministers' actions. However, they envoys arrived too late as the Empress had abdicated in favor of her 17 year old son, the new Emperor Pedro III of Brazil. Young and filled by his father Prince Gaston of Orleans (Count of Eu) with dreams of martial glory, the young Emperor would follow along with his government's plans.