New Balancing

[Jim Smitty]

The Spanish-American War of 1873-1875 Part One

As the Virginius Crisis was unfolding there was only one figure on either side of the Atlantic that was working calmly for a peaceful end to the crisis that the capture of the Virginius and executions of a number of the crew of that ship had caused. This was American Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. Across the Atlantic through in Madrid it was a much different story and it would lead to the war in the first place.

These two figured that led to the Spanish American War of 1873-75 were Spanish Regent Francisco Serrano and American Minister to Spain Daniel Sickles. Serrano had only taken over as the Regent of Spain in the aftermath of his coup of April 1873 with former King Amadeo I abdicating and returning to Italy. At the time Serrano was fighting the Third Carlist War along with rebels in Cuba. Spain was in no position for a long war with the United States.

Serrano however was a proud man and Sickles for lack of better words was a bull in a china shop. It further made matters worse that Serrano and Sickles did not have a good relationship prior to the start of the Virginius Crisis. The two men repeatly clashed as the crisis unfolded. Sickles showing, he had learned nothing from Gettysburg moved the United States into an untenable position. Not only did he move the United States into an unsustainable position, he did the same for Spain with his meetings with Serrano. Serrano didn’t help matters and help create unsustainable positions by December of 1873. Things came to a head when on December 18 1873 Serrano formally declared war on the United States of America.

For both the United States and Spain neither nation was ready for war. The vast armies and navies the United States had raised not even a decade prior to fight the Civil War had either slipped into nothingness or were slipping into nothingness. The United States would take a lot of time to mobilize itself to even be ready to fight this war as it had a frontier army and a navy that was more designed for coastal defense and punitive expeditions than taking control of the seas from a hostile power. Spain itself was in the middle of its own civil war along with a rebellion in one of it’s prized colonies; that of Cuba.

Serrano understood both of these facts. He believed that he could win a quick war against the United States and forced them to the peace table to accept Spanish terms. This would lead to the greatest disgrace to American Arms since the Battle of Bladensburg in the War of 1812. At Havana the Spanish rallied the ironclads Numancia, TetuanI, and Vitoria to lead a small squadron of warships along with a single infantry regiment supported by artillery. This forced sailed from Havana on January 29 1874 for their target, New Orleans.

New Orleans was selected as it was major port at the Delta of Mississippi River. A port the United States would have to use for any invasion against Spanish Cuba. On February 1 the Battle of the Gulf happens. The United States Navy had a small squadron patrolling the Gulf of Mexico to defend the Gulf Coast from possible raids as the army was mobilized for war against Spain. This squadron was commanded by Rear Admiral William E. Le Roy and was made up of five sloops of war and two gunboats. It was a massacre as the three Spanish Ironclads easily defeated the seven ships commanded by Le Roy. Four of the ships were sunk with two being forced to strike their colors and only the USS Hartford escaping. She would later latter founder from damage taken in this battle.

With the way now cleared the Spanish kept on their way to New Orleans. They reached the city four days later. There had only ever been two forts defending New Orleans. These were Forts Pike and Macomb. Yet Macomb had been abandoned in 1871 by the Army following a fire at the fort. Fort Pike had been built in the aftermath of the War of 1812 and had been passed by advances in technology. On February 5th Fort Pike was forced to surrender as the Spanish were destroying the fort outside the range of the guns within the fort. For Pike was latter abandon by the army after the war having never fired a shot in anger.

Following the surrender of Fort Pike the Spanish landed their infantry regiment where they were met by three time their number in local militia. These militia units were largely made up by members of the White League which at the time of the war had been the unofficial paramilitary wing of the Democratic Party in the open going debate of Reconstruction. Some of the militiamen were veterans of the Civil War but the vast majority of the militia on the 6th were made up of men too young to had fought in the civil war. The Spanish had brought professional soldiers who destroyed the militia forces along with the limited Federal Troops which had escaped from Fort Pike before it surrendered.

Having swept the militia away the Spanish started to loot the city along with destroying the docks. This when on till the 8th when the 25th Infantry Regiment (Colored) reached the city. They had been one of the regiments tapped to lead the war into Cuba and had been sent to New Orleans as the rally point for the planned invasion of Cuba. Only instead of New Orleans being a rally point it was a city under Spanish control and being destroyed by the Spanish.

The 25th Infantry then led an assault to retake the city. Even through on paper the numbers were close to even, the Spanish were spread out across the city as they were going about looting and destroying the city. This allowed them to bring all their forces against pockets of Spanish resistance as they fought to retake New Orleans from the Spanish. The Spanish commander known he couldn’t hold out forever gave the order to bring all of his forces back together by noon on the 8th as he started to make the withdraw of his forces still within the city.

By noon on the 9th all New Orleans was back under American control. Yet for the first time since the War of 1812 the United States had been invaded with a major city being captured by a European power. The Battle of New Orleans (1874) was a watershed moment for the United States. The effects of this Battle of New Orleans and who retook the town and who lost it would be felt for decades if not centuries after the battle.

 

[Jim Smitty]

Before the Battle of New Orleans the nation had been divided on the war with Spain and it wasn’t a popular war. The United States was still going through reconstruction of trying to make the nation whole in the aftermath of the Civil War. In the south there was a battle between Redeemers who wanted to undue the Radical Republicans advances and break their coalition of Freedmen, Carpetbaggers, and Scalawags. In short, the Redeemers wanted to remake the South as close to the antebellum south just without legal slavery as they could. Whereas the Radical Republicans for the most part wanted to industrializatied the south and make it like the north. The Redeemers didn’t want anything to do with this war with Spain as adding Cuba to the nation wouldn’t do anything for them unlike it would had before the Civil War.

In the north the war wasn’t that populator either. War exhaustion was a real thing in the north as many wanted to get on with their lives. The rich wanted to make more money which the war upended as American merchant ships were subject to Spanish raiders. The lower class just wanted to make enough money so they could go west and homestead it for the most part. They didn’t want to go off and fight another war. Not with the chance of making a better life in the west being within reach for many.

The Battle of New Orleans through changed this. As news of Spanish actions in New Orleans spread it enraged most Americans. To have an American city invaded and sacked was too much for most Americans to accept lying down. Past allegiance to the Confederacy or being tired of war in the north no longer matter. Men both veterans of the Civil War and those who were too young to fight in that war when to recruiting stations in groves. The common rallying cry was Remember New Orleans in both the north and south.

In Cuba following New Orleans work was done on a follow up raid was started. Possible targets included Savannah, Georgia, Mobile, Alabama, or Charleston, South Carolina. Yet as news filleted out of the United States via Canada the Spanish learned they made a grave mistake by attacking New Orleans. Instead of being scared of the Spanish most Americans were well passed the point of being angry and in to the stage of being pissed off and wanting blood by the bucket.

On March 19 1874 the Spanish withdrew their best naval and army units from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Spain was still fighting its own civil war and Serrano wanted to make sure his side won even if he would have to go into exile for taking the blame for what was about to happen. He saw from the reports coming out of Canada he would not be able to win a quick war against the United States and elected to perform this withdraw and removed the best units that were loyal to him and his side from the Caribbean.

Even with this withdraw it still took time for the United States to mount an offensive. Yet instead of the Caribbean the first offensive to be launch was to the Central Pacific. This small force sailed from San Francisco on April 12th. Spain had a mess of Central Pacific Islands that were under their control but were lightly defended. Some of them such as Guam would be a good stopping point for trade with China and be a boom for the United States to control. Yet this really was an effort by the Navy to make up for their total failure in the Gulf of Mexico three months prior. Even through the Central Pacific invasion force was the first to be launch it would be the last one to be heard from given the distances of the Pacific.

The first invasion force for Cuba left Mobile on June 4th. It was a force of 45,000 men and was under the command of Major General Philip Sheridan. Its target was Havana. A second invasion force left Savannah three days later. This force was of 50,000 men under the command of Major General Winfield S. Hancock. Hancock’s target was Santiago on the other side of the island of Cuba from Sheridan. The idea was to perform a press the Spanish on both sides of the islands then meet in the middle of the island.

Sheridan’s force landed near Mariel on June 11th. Mariel was selected as it had a good enough port that would allow the unloading of artillery and Gatling Guns for support of the infantry in the campaign to take Havana. There were only a small number of Spanish soldiers defending Mariel who gave a ceremonial defense of the city before withdrawing to inform those still in Havana of the fact the Americans had arrived. Yet those in Havana decided not to attack instead they decided to hold up in Havana and force the Americans to take the city from them.

Hancock’s force landed near Santiago on June 17th. Unlike Sheridan he didn’t have a easily taken port to unload artillery and Gatling Guns. He further had to deal with the remains of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron which had been based at Santiago. Yet to help in this the USN had five old civil war monitors and other iron clads to blockade the harbor and give fire support to Hancock’s force. Like the Spanish facing Sheridan force through the Spanish didn’t attack the Americans as they landed. Instead they elected to say on the defensive and force the Americans to take their positions.

This set the stage for the two major battles of the war fought in Cuba. The Battle of Havana and San Juan Hill in late June and early July 1874.

 

[Jim Smitty]

Sheridan after spending a week at Mariel unloading equipment and organizing his army started his march to take Havana. Sheridan’s Army reached the first of the Spanish defensive lines that were defending Havana on the 20th of June which marked the start of the Battle for Havana. Sheridan’s army of 45,000 men was facing a Spanish Army of just under 20,000. Even through the on going rebellion in Cuba was mostly focused in the Eastern Part of the island the Spanish maintain a sizable garrison in the capital of their most important Caribbean colony.

Fighting for control of Havana lasted for eight days before the Spanish flag at La Cabaña was brought down and the Stars and Strips when up. During that eight days Sheridan Army learned harsh lessons about urban combat. During the battle Sheridan suffered just over 5,000 casualties taking the city. The Spanish suffered just under 4,000 casualties with their force being in prisoner of war camps in Georgia after the end of the battle.

Just as Sheridan was taking control of Havana and started to prep for the Overland Campaign Hancock started his task of taking Santiago. His force was facing 28,000 Spanish soldiers and sailors. The Spanish Navy being old wooden ships decided to deman their ships for the most part and use them as floating artillery to defend Santiago. Unlike at Havana where the Spanish forced Sheridan into the city to take it the Spanish took to defensible positions outside of Santiago.

These positions were San Juan and Kettle Hills. The Battle fought between June 30th and August 1st would be named after the former hill the battle to take both were bloody. The entrenchments on the hill tops were well concealed and made use of plunging fire which made it hard for the Americans to return fire and hit their targets. After a fail charge to take either hill Hancock when to a different tactic to take the hills. Using trenches in a preview of what would happen on the Western Front of World War One in the first part of that war Hancock has his army dig and fight up the hill instead of just fight up the hill.

It was a slow process. Yet it did not have the mass casualties that the charge of June 30th had. It wasn’t till July 23rd that Kettle Hill fell to the Americans. This was after a night assault after the trench lines on Kettle Hill had reached within 10 yards of the Spanish positions on the hill. Fighting for San Juan lasted for another week before it also fell. Hancock suffered just under 10,000 casualties in taking both hills whereas the Spanish suffered 6,000 casualties. The Spanish did withdraw into Santiago following their defeats on San Juan and Kettle Hills but those hills gave the Americans a direct view of the city and port of Santiago. With Hancock controlling the high ground the Spanish surrender to him five days after the fall of San Juan Hill after scuttling their naval ships there.

With Hancock regroup in Santiago, Sheridan who had been reinforced was marching overland in Cuba to link up with Hancock. Once Hancock had regrouped, he did the same. The two armies met at Camaguey on September 11th 1874. With this meeting Cuba was under effective American control. Yet with New Orleans still being on the mind of many Americans just taking Cuba wouldn’t be enough. The last remaining outpost of the Spanish in the Caribbean would had to be taken.

The Puerto Rican Campaign started in October of 1874 when the USN moved to blockade San Juan. Ground forces were landed on the 15th of October under the command of General Sheridan. Hancock had been left in Cuba as the acting governor of the island. Some viewed this as a political move as Hancock was a Democratic with President Grant being a Republican to keep Hancock from getting further glory on the battlefield. This still wouldn’t stop Hancock from going on to becoming president in 1881.

On Puerto Rico through the Spanish weren’t in a good position to fight back against the army being led by Sheridan. There were only a total of 8,000 Spanish troops in all of Puerto Rico with 5,000 being in San Juan. With the 35,000 thousand Sheridan had they couldn’t hold out for long. Indeed the Spanish surrender three days after Sheridan’s Army landed in Puerto Rico on October 18th. Soon after this victory word had reached the west coast of the United States that campaign by the USN to take the Spanish Central Pacific Islands was victorious.

In early November German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck offered to broker a peace agreement between Madrid and Washington. There was some fears but unfounded ones this war would spread to Africa and possibly Europe. President Grant was ready to come to terms with the Spanish and agreed to Bismarck broker peace talks on the 11th of November. The Spanish under Serrano didn’t agree to peace talks till the 20th of November.

Peace talks started in Berlin on December 12th and lasted till January 15th of 1875. It was on that day that the Treaty of Berlin was signed. Under the terms of this treaty the United States formally annexed Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. In the Pacific the US formally annexed the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands. There were other parts of the treaty that dealt with economic issues along with paying the family members of the crew of the Virginius reparations.

This short war would however have lasting connections both in the United States and around the world that fully wouldn’t be felt till World War II.

 

[Jim Smitty]

Treaty of the Danish West Indies of 1879

Since the end of the slavery in 1848 the Danish West Indies had been a drain on the Danish Treasury. With every passing year it was becoming clear to Copenhagen that the economy of the Danish West Indies wouldn’t improve. In the peace talks to end Second Schleswig War, they were offered up to the victorious Prussians and Austrians as a possible answer to allow them to Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg. The problem that the Prussians and Austrians didn’t want them. By the mid-1860s Copenhagen came to the decision to try and sell their colony in the Caribbean for money to improve their economy at home.

For the Danish however there were a problem, a lack of buyers. The British weren’t interested in buying them as their own Caribbean islands weren’t profitable and they didn’t want more unprofitable colonies than they already had. The French under Napoleon III did have some interest in buying the colony from the Danish. They however decided again buying them as Napoleon wanted to improve his relations with the Americans in the aftermath of his adventure in Mexico during their civil war. None of the other European powers were in a position to buy the colony from the Danish for a host of reasons.

This left the United States and they were interested in buying the Danish colony as they viewed it as a way to help give the Freemen a way to make their own way forward in the aftermath of the civil war. The talks quickly became serious and led to a treaty being drawn up in 1867. For a sum of 7.5 million US Dollars the colony would become an American territory. The treaty through ratified by the Danish, but failed to get through the US Senate. The treaty failed there for a number of reasons, notably that President Andrew Johnson was in a major political feud with Congress that would lead to his impeachment and worries about how often the islands were hit by hurricanes. Because of this the treaty lapsed without ever coming to a vote.

Following the treaty lapsing on the floor of the US Senate in 1867 the Danish were really just stuck with their Caribbean colony. With their lack of buyers they gave up trying to actively sell their colony. Then the Spanish American War happened a short time later. Following their victory in the war the United States started to look to secure their new positions within the Caribbean and the Danish West Indies were a short stone throw from their new territory in Puerto Rico. Yet President Grant and his cabinet through briefly shown an interest in buying their colony the Danish were once again let down shortly after talks started when the US withdrew their team. The US had far more pressing matters in 1876-77 in Cuba and the election that happened in 1876.

This time through the US didn’t stay gone long. As the dust settled in Cuba and President Benjamin Bristow deal with the redeemers interest by the United States to buy the Danish Colony return. In 1879 the US once again inquired if the Danish were interest in selling their Caribbean Colony. The talks started soon after this inquiry. Using the 1867 treaty as the basics for their talks things moved very quickly. Within three months an agreement had been reached which was largely a copy of the 1867 Treaty, just the US paying a further half a million dollars than they would had in 1867 for a total of 8 million dollars.

With new treaty in hand things when to getting it through the ratification process. For the Danish this wasn’t a challenge. On the other hand this proved to be a challenge for Bristow Administration to get this treaty out of the Senate. The question of how prone the islands were to hurricanes was one of the main sticking points once again. Further some were pointing out the US had brought Russian Alaska which was far larger than the Danish West Indies for 800,000 dollars less in 1867 which was a stumbling block. Bristow unlike Johnson didn’t have a standing feud with Congress and was well liked by many in the Northern States and South Carolina. When the treaty finally came to a vote on the Senate floor after over three months of debate on the subject it passed by a single vote.

Under the terms of the treaty the United States would take possession of the Danish West Indies six months following ratification. This happened on March 18 1880. In the harbor of Charlotte Amalie on that day was one of the side effects of the Spanish-American War, the USS Maine ACR-1, the first armored cruiser of the United States Navy. In the aftermath of the war with Spain the United States wanted to make what happened at New Orleans would never happen again. As such they started to invest money into upgrading their coast defensives and along with their navy. The Maine was a newly commissioned ship that was on its way to the west coast and it had been decided on the cruise to stop here to formally take over the islands.

Between the US buying the Danish West Indies, them defeating the Spain, and increasing their navy had some in Europe, notably London starting to view the US in a different light.

 

[Jim Smitty]

The Island War of 1894-95

The origins of the Island War don’t lie in Venezuela as they would appear on the surface of things. True the shooting did start in Venezuela but to understand the origins of the Island War one has to understand the era both the United States and Germany were in at the tail end of 19th century. It was the age of New Imperialism and empire building. Both the United States of America and the German Empire were late arrivals to this game. The United States didn’t enter the game till its victory over the Spanish in the First Spanish American War of 1873-75. Germany wasn’t even united as a single nation till the tail end of the Franco-Prussian War. Germany was further held back in its effort to build a colonial empire by the renowned Chancellor Otto von Bismarck who viewed colonies as a resource sink.

Both nations were late to the game and by this point in time the map was being filled in with color as the remaining areas that could be colonize were being gobble up quickly by other nations. This limited chances for growth without having a clash of arms with a peer power. Germany was focused on building up its colonial empire in both Africa and the Pacific. For the US they focused solely on the Pacific. The was an outgrowth of the idea of manifest destiny. The United States had pushed all away to the Pacific Coast of North America and with the victory over Spain gave the US a foothold in the Pacific and they were looking to expand it.

Its worth noting that the way both Germany and the United States viewed their efforts. The Germans had the more standard European view on colonial empires. They were for the economic well being and growth of the motherland, or in Germany’s case the Fatherland. This was a civilizing mission it but the colonies were to give economic benefit to the Fatherland first. Even if it rarely did. As to the United States a nation built from 13 former colonies, they had a different view on the subject. They viewed the ideas of colonies as land that in time would become part of their nation as a state, or at the very least an organized territory.

As more of the map filled in the areas left were increasing marginal in their worth. For a host of reasons through these increasing marginal lands which before had been left along were now being fought for by the different great powers. Each had different reasons for wanting these increasing marginal lands but they were fought for. One such of these territories was that the heart of the Island War. This being the Samoan Islands in the Southwest Pacific.

Both the United States of America and the German Empire lay claims to these islands. Further an old hand in the empire game, the British Empire also claimed these islands. For most of the 1880s things held an uneasy truce between all three powers. This was with the understanding that going to war over these islands were simply foolish. The 1889 typhoon however did change the equation. In 1889 all three nations had their navies in Apia Harbor to monitor things.

The natives on the islands were fighting over who their king would be. Both the Germans and Americans it when without saying supported different sizes. To keep things from getting out of control they had naval units at Apia to stop from the other side from directly entering the Samoan Civil War. Yet as signs of the typhoon came neither the German or American commanders refused to leave the harbor like their British counter parts did. Apia was not a harbor where one could ride out a storm. Yet it was pride that was causing both the American and German commanders from withdrawing their ships from Apia Harbor before the typhoon. Because of this both squadrons were wrecked.

In the aftermath of the 1889 typhoon the United States Navy sent another small squadron to Apia to maintain the uneasy truce between Washington and Berlin on these islands. Ever since the end of the Spanish American War the been engage in a slow but steady build up of its naval force. One of the hard lessons of that war for the United States was it needed a navy that was modern to defend itself as no one wanted a repeat of New Orleans on their hands. The fact that Germany could not do this for a few months enraged newly crown Kaiser Wilhelm II who had very different views of a colonial empire than still then Chancellor Bismarck. Yet this wasn’t the spark that let to the war between the two powers.

This did have effects as both nations started to put more money into their naval forces in the after of the 1889 typhoon yet many thought that would be it. Indeed it was. Then the Venezuelan Crisis of 1894 started. Venezuela had trouble with its fiscal policy had had borrowed heavily from Germany and 1894 those loans were due. At the same time they had a growing dispute with the British over Esequiba. Gold had been found in the region and the British wanted to control those gold fields. At this time those in London they saw a way to kill two birds with one stone.

For those in London they had been since the early 1880s had tried to force the United States to choose a side in the international world. The United States had been refusing to do so as they were holding to George Washington’s idea of the dangers of foreign alliances. This was the time of Pax Britannica and London wanted to know where everyone stood so incase they stepped out of line they could be forced back in line. Prior to 1875 and 1879 the United States had not been a player in international affairs which had been acceptable to London. Yet following those event London viewed the US as an international affair and it had to do what all other great powers did, pick a side so London could play them when needed.

With the US refusing they decided to use the Venezuelan Crisis to teach the United States that they had to play ball or there would be consequences. They decided to use the Germans for this instead of acting themselves. With the Venezuelans being in default to German banks the British whispered in Germany’s ear they could go into Venezuela to collect the money due them with their support so long as they supported their border between Venezuela and British Guiana. For Wilhelm the Second he was all to ready for a military adventure and he sent a fleet with an expeditionary force to collect the money due to German banks and force the British terms on Venezuela on the border. Rumors quickly started to spread that he was seeking more than that through.

The German expeditionary force landed in Venezuela on August 17 1894 in Venezuela. President McKinley had no want for a war with Germany. Yet the press was running wild that the Germans were going to force the Venezuelans to surrender the island of Margarita Island. This was clearly, if true, Germany breaking the Monroe Doctrine. This was unacceptable to McKinley and the American people. On August 31, President McKinley via his ambassador in Berlin handed the Germans a note that was all but an ultimatum. In this note McKinley asked for the Germans to withdraw their forces and not to demand any territory from the Venezuelans. Germany’s answer however was nothing short of telling McKinley to piss off.

With Germany’s answer war had moved from a question of if but to when.

 

[Jim Smitty]

United States 1894

President: William McKinley
Population: 64,712,193 (1890 Census)
Status: Great Power
Alliance: Unaligned


Army

Active Duty Personal: 38,500 Men


Weapons (Note, Reservist Weapons or Weapons being phased out of service Aren’t Shown)

M1891 Rifle

Weight: 8 lbs 7 oz
Barrel Length: 30 inch
Cartridge: 30-40 Rimmed
Action: Bolt Action
Rate of Fire: 20 to 30 RPM (Depending on Soldier Training)
Muzzle Velocity: 2,000 f/s
Effective Range: 3,000 f
Feed System: 5 round rotary system


M1890 Revolver

Weight: 2 lbs 3 oz
Barrel Length: 6 inch
Cartridge: .41 Long Colt
Action: Double Action
Muzzle Velocity: 870 f/s
Feed System: 6 round cylinder, single shot


M1893 Browning Machine Gun

Weight: 35.9 lbs
Barrel Length: 28 Inch
Cartridge: 30-40 Rimmed
Action: Gas-Operated
Rate of Fire: 450 RPM
Feed System: 250 round belts


M1874 Mountain Gun

Type: Mountain Gun
Weight: 336 lbs
Caliber: 1.65 Inch
Effective Firing Range: 3,500 yards
Maximum Firing Range: 4,000 yards
Muzzle Velocity: 1,300 f/s


M1885 Field Gun

Type: Field Gun
Weight: 2,130 lbs
Caliber: 3.2 Inch L/26
Breech: Interrupted Screw
Effective Firing Range: 5,500 yards
Maximum Firing Range: 6,500 yards
Muzzle Velocity: 1,700 f/s


Marine Corp

Active Duty Personal: 5,500 Men


Weapons (Note, Reservist Weapons or Weapons being phased out of service Aren’t Shown)

M1893 Navy

Weight: 8.32 lbs
Barrel Length: 28 inches
Cartridge: 6mm Navy, Semi-Rimmed
Action: Straight Pull Bolt
Muzzle Velocity: 2,660 f/s
Effective Range: 600 Yards
Feed System: 5 round en bloc clip


M1889 Navy

Weight: 2.4 lbs
Barrel Length: 6 inches
Cartridge: .38 Long Colt
Action: Double Action
Muzzle Velocity: 770 f/s
Feed System: 6 round cylinder, single shot


M1893 Browning Machine Gun

Weight: 35.1 lbs
Barrel Length: 28 Inch
Cartridge: 6mm Navy, Semi-Rimmed
Action: Gas-Operated
Rate of Fire: 500 RPM
Feed System: 200 round belts


Navy

Commissioned/Pre-Commission Work Ups Or Being Built/Order

Battleships: 1/1/2
Coastal Defense Ships/Monitors: 16/4/4
Armored Cruisers: 5/1/2
Protected Cruisers: 10/3/2
Unprotected Cruisers: 8/2/2
Torpedo Boat Destroyers: 1/1/0


Battleships

Iowa Class First Class Battleships (High Freeboard)

Displacement: 12,576 tons
Propulsion: Vertical Triple Expansion Engines, 2 Screws
Fuel: Coal
Speed: 18 knots
Armament: 4 x 12/35s in Twin Turrets, 8 x 8/35s in Twin Turrets(Wing Turrets), 6 x 4/40s in Casemates, 24 x 6 pdr guns in deck mounts, 4 x 1 pdr guns in deck mounts
Armor: Harvey Armor, Belt: up to 14 inches, Barbettes: up to 12 inches, Main Turrets: up to 16 inches, Secondary Turrets: up to 7 inches, Conning Tower: up to 12 inches, Deck: up to 2.5 inches

USS Iowa, BB-5
Mississippi, BB-6, Fitting Out, Nearing Pre-Commission Work Up phase


New York Class First Class Battleships

Displacement: 14,345 tons
Propulsion: Vertical Triple Expansion Engines, 2 Screws
Fuel: Coal
Speed: 18 knots
Armament: 4 x 13/35s in Twin Turrets, 8 x 8/35s in Twin Turrets(Wing Turrets), 6 x 4/40s in Casemates, 24 x 6 pdr guns in deck mounts, 4 x 1 pdr guns in deck mounts
Armor: Harvey Armor, Belt: up to 16 inches, Barbettes: up to 13 inches, Main Turrets: up to 18 inches, Secondary Turrets: up to 8 inches, Conning Tower: up to 12 inches, Deck: up to 3 inches

New York, BB-11, Ordered
Minnesota, BB-12, Ordered


Coastal Defense Ships/Monitors

General Note: During the Spanish American War the USN tried to get a lot of old unfinished monitors back in service only to find the hulls were simply too far gone. They all got scrapped post war with those funds going into the new navy as it became known.

Kalamazoo Class Monitors

Displacement: 4,309 tons
Propulsion: Compound Engines, 1 Shaft
Fuel: Coal
Speed: 12 knots
Armament: 2 x XX Inch Dahlgren Guns in a Twin Turret
Armor: Iron Plate, Belt: up to 6 inches, Turret: up to 16 inches, Pilot House: up to 14 inches

USS Kalamazoo, BM-1
USS Passaconaway, BM-2
USS Quinsigamond, BM-3
USS Shackamaxon, BM-4


Puritan Class Monitors

Displacement: 3,957 tons
Propulsion: Compound Engines, 1 Shaft
Fuel: Coal
Speed: 12.5 knots
Armament: 2 x Breech Loading 12 Inch Guns in Twin Turrets
Armor: Steel Plate, Belt: up to 7 inches, Turret: up to 18 inches, Pilot House: up to 16 inches

USS Puritan, BM-5
USS Amphitrite, BM-6
USS Monadnock, BM-7
USS Miantonomoh, BM-8


Terror Class Monitors

Displacement: 4,908 tons
Propulsion: Compound, 1 Shaft
Fuel: Coal
Armament: 4 x 10/30s in Twins, 4 x 6 pdr guns in deck mounts, 4 x 3 pdr guns in deck mounts
Armor: Compound Armor, Belt: up to 8 Inches, Deck: up to 2 inches, Turrets: up to 12 inches, Conning Tower: up to 10 inches

USS Terror, BM-9
USS Dictator, BM-10
USS Protector, BM-11
USS Shield, BM-12


Indiana Class Second Class Battleship (Coastal Defense Ship for everyone but the US, low freeboard)

Displacement: 10,817 tons
Propulsion: Vertical Triple Expansion Engines, 2 Screws
Fuel: Coal
Speed: 18 knots
Armament: 4 x 12/35s in Twin Turrets, 8 x 8/35s in Twin Turrets(Wing Turrets), 6 x 6/40s in Casemates 24 x 6 pdr guns in deck mounts, 4 x 1 pdr guns in deck mounts
Armor: Harvey Armor, Belt: up to 14 inches, Barbettes: up to 12 inches, Main Turrets: up to 16 inches, Secondary Turrets: up to 7 inches, Conning Tower: up to 12 inches, Deck: up to 2.5 inches

USS Indiana, BB-1
USS Oregon, BB-2
USS Massachusetts, BB-3
USS Georgia, BB-4


Ohio Class Second Class Battleships

Displacement: 12,456 tons
Propulsion: Vertical Triple Expansion Engines, 2 Screws
Fuel: Coal
Speed: 18 knots
Armament: 4 x 13/35s in Twin Turrets, 8 x 8/35s in Twin Turrets(Wing Turrets), 6 x 4/40s in Casemates, 24 x 6 pdr guns in deck mounts, 4 x 1 pdr guns in deck mounts
Armor: Harvey Armor, Belt: up to 16 inches, Barbettes: up to 13 inches, Main Turrets: up to 18 inches, Secondary Turrets: up to 8 inches, Conning Tower: up to 12 inches, Deck: up to 3 inches

Ohio, BB-7, Under Construction
New Jersey, BB-8, Under Construction
California, BB-9, Under Construction
Louisiana, BB-10, Under Construction


Kentucky Class Second Class Battleship

Displacement: 12,901 tons
Propulsion: Vertical Triple Expansion Engines, 2 Screws
Fuel: Coal
Speed: 18 knots
Armament: 4 x 12/40s in Twin Turrets, 4 x 8/40s in Twin Turrets(Mounted on Main Turrets), 10 x 4/40s in Casemates, 24 x 6 pdr guns in deck mounts, 4 x 1 pdr guns in deck mounts, 4 x 18 inch torpedo tubes
Armor: Harvey Armor, Belt: up to 16 inches, Barbettes: up to 14 inches, Main Turrets: up to 18 inches, Secondary Turrets: up to 6 inches, Conning Tower: up to 12 inches, Deck: up to 3 inches

Kentucky, BB-13, Ordered
Unnamed, BB-14, Ordered
Unnamed, BB-15, Ordered
Unnamed, BB-16, Ordered

 

[Jim Smitty]

Germany 1894

Monarch: Kaiser Wilhelm the Second
Chancellor: Leo von Caprivi
Population: 49,563,495 (1890 Census)
Power Status: Great Power
Alliance: Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Romania/In Secret), A Defensive Treaty Only


Army

Active Duty Personal: 1,750,000


Weapons (Note, Reserve Weapons or Weapons being phased out aren’t shown)

Gewehr 1887

Weight: 3.9 kg
Barrel Length: 740 mm
Cartridge: 8 x 57mm Rimless
Action: Bolt-Action
Rate of Fire: 20 to 30 Rounds (Depends on the Training of the Soldier)
Muzzle Velocity: 620 m/s
Feed System: Five Round Clip


M1879 Reichsrevolver

Weight: 1.1 kg
Barrel Length: 178 mm
Cartridge: 10.6 x 25m Rimmed
Action: Single Action
Muzzle Velocity: 205 m/s
Feed System: 6 round cylinder, single shot


8 cm Kanone C/72

Type: Field Gun
Weight: 750 kg
Caliber: 8cm(78.5mm) L/20
Breech: Horizontal Sliding Block
Effective Firing Range: 4.8 km
Muzzle Velocity: 400 m/s


9 cm Kanone C/73-91

Type: Field Gun
Weight: 2,515 kg (Travel), 1,210 kg (Combat)
Caliber: 9 cm(88mm) L/24
Breech: Horizontal Sliding Block
Effective Firing Range: 6.5 km
Maximum Firing Range: 7.1 km
Muzzle Velocity: 464 m/s


12 cm Kanone C/80

Type: Siege Gun
Weight: 4,675 kg (Travel), 2,455 kg (Combat)
Caliber: 12cm L/23.4
Breech: Horizontal Sliding Block
Effective Firing Range: 7 km
Maximum Firing Range: 7.9 km
Muzzle Velocity: 442 m/s


15 cm sFH 93

Type: Howitzer
Weight: 2,725 kg (Travel), 2,188 kg (Combat)
Caliber: 15cm L/11
Breech: Horizontal Sliding Block
Effective Firing Range: 5,700 m
Maximum Firing Range: 6,000 m
Muzzle Velocity: 280 m/s


Navy

Commissioned/Pre-Commission Work Ups or Being Built/Ordered

Battleships: 4/2/3
Coastal Defense Ships: 11/2/0
Armored Cruisers/Armored Frigates: 6/0/1
Protected Cruisers: 4/2/4
Unprotected Cruisers: 8/2/0
Torpedo Boat Destroyers: 0/2/2


Unlike the United States update, I’m not getting into ship specs with the German Navy. The primary reason for this is because the butterflies ITL hadn’t greatly effected German ship design yet. It has effected the size of some classes but not the designs.

 

[Jim Smitty]

The Island War of 1894-95 Part I

The Battle of Cariaco was the first battle of the Island War and war hadn’t been officially declared yet. In the aftermath of the ultimatum given to the Germans by President McKinley things off the coast of Venezuela became very tense. Then on the night of September 11 1894 events happened that pushed things to war. There is no clear agreement on what happened on the night of the eleven. The Germans claimed that the torpedo boats that were operating with the American squadron were making a torpedo run on their squadron. The Americans claimed that the Germans open fire with out cause and they were forced to return fire.

By sun rise the battle that was fought in Cariaco Basin was largely over. Both sides had taken their licks in the battle, but it was the German squadron under the command Konteradmiral Alfred von Tirpitz that had been forced to withdraw and make for Port of Spain for repairs. Behind him Tirpitz left the armored frigate SMS König Wilhelm, the unprotected cruiser SMS Sperber. Tirptiz later left behind the SMS Oldenburg at the Port of Spain when it became clear that they couldn’t repair for enough for the journey across the Atlantic and she was interned by the British. For the United States under Rear Admiral Winfield Scott who lost his life in this battle saw the lost of USS Terror BM-9 which was Scott’s flagship and both torpedo boats that had been operating with Scott’s squadron. The USS Atlanta PCR-1 would later founder on the return to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

The US was left holding the Cariaco Basin following the battle, but things had been pushed to the point of no return with the Battle of Cariaco. Germany was the first to formally declare war on September 14th, the US would follow suit on the 16th. The main reason for the delay with the US declaration was there was an effort by some in Congress to find a peaceful end to this war. But on receiving word that the German Empire had declared war the day after they did took the wind out of their sails and destroyed the political careers of those who hadn’t supported the efforts to declare war on Germany.

Only there was one problem. Neither the United States nor Germany was really in a position to attack each other directly. This led to only a small handful of battles for the remaining part of 1894 as both sides were rushing to reinforce their positions in the Southwest Pacific. Germany didn’t believe the United States would attack their colonies in Africa as they had shown zero interest in holding any land on the Dark Continent. However the US had shown a great deal of interest in the Southwest Pacific where Germany had one colony and was working on gaining more there. They were right, later declassified documents and memoirs by senior American leaders showed the US viewed any action in Africa as an action of last resort either to regain the status quo in the SW Pacific if they lost or in an effort to force Germany to the peace table if the Germans lost in the SW Pacific and refused to come to the peace table.

The Battle of Caracas is notable for the fact it was the only land battle fought in western hemisphere. With the war on between the US and Germany, for the US leaving the German Expeditionary Force in Venezuela uncheck was unthinkable. Yet it took time to raise a force to take it on. The Battle of Caracas started on October 2nd and lasted for three days before the surrender of the German Force. During Caracas the US was supported by the Venezuelan Army. Yet it was at Caracas that the US learned first hand they were badly out classed by the Germans in terms of artillery. Not only did the German Expeditionary Force have more of it, but it also had larger artillery pieces that outranged American field guns and forced the US Navy to counter them.

The other battle that happen soon after the start of the war was the First Battle of Apia. Both Germany and America maintain small squadrons at Apia to maintain the status quo on the islands as the natives fought over who would be their king. Following the ultimatum by McKinley both sides at Apia were on a knife’s edge. Then when war of what happened in the Cariaco Gulf over a week after it happen fighting broke out between both squadrons. The only ship lost at Apia was the USS Huron, a gunboat. The Huron was having engine problems prior to this and when it lost the main sail the captain of the Huron signal the rest of the small squadron that he could fight the Germans to give them time to escape. This worked, and for this action he was later awarded the medal of honor as he brought the rest of the squadron at Apia enough time to escape.

Finally the only other battle of note was the Action of December 2 1894. This battle pitted the auxiliary cruiser SMS Schiller which had been pressed into service by the German Navy to raid on American merchant shipping. During the six weeks of operations it took seven prizes and sent four of them back to Germany and sunk two others with the final one being used as a ship to keep its prisoners. On the 2nd of December they ran into the USS New Orleans PCR-8, the lead ship of the newest class of protected cruisers in the USN. The Germans fought bravely but were outclassed by the Americans and they stuck their colors 45 minutes into the battle.

The main actions of the war through would be fought in 1895.