Remember the Indiana!

February 15th, 1898

Havana Harbor, Cuba

9:40 PM, Local Time

A fire is detected in the coal bunkers of the battleship USS Maine.

Damage control parties quickly put it out.

Minimal damage is caused.

February 16th, 1898

Havana Harbor, Cuba

10:29 AM, Local Time

The Spanish unprotected cruisers Infanta Isabel and Isabel II sail into Havana harbor.

The USS Maine is ordered to leave.

The Maine is unable to comply due to the damage from the coal fire.

The Infanta Isabel tows the damaged Maine to port in Miami

The crew is thankful, and gives a gift to the captain of the Spanish ship.

The Infanta Isabel returns to Havana.

Miami, Florida

7:24 PM, EST

The Maine arrives in Miami.

She is refit and the damage from the coal fire is repaired over a period of several months.

February 28th, 1898

Key West, Florida

10:12 AM, Local Time

The USS Indiana is detached from the North Atlantic squadron and is ordered to sail to Saint Helena to pick up a document for president McKinley

The Indiana sails into the North Atlantic, bound for Saint Helena.

March 1st, 1898

295 miles west of Saint Helena

5:19 AM, Local Time


The Indiana is on her way to Washington, carrying a sensitive package for President McKinley.

The Indiana is approached by a warship flying German colors and is ordered to heave to.

The Indiana ignores this order.

The German warship again orders her to heave to.

The Indiana continues her course.

The German warship fires a warning shot over the Indiana's bow.

The Indiana continues on.

The German warship fires a salvo of torpedoes.

One strikes amidships, the other strikes the stern, near the engine room.

The Indiana begins to list

The captain gives the order to abandon ship.

A CPO torches the letter on orders of the captain.

The crew is pulled off of the lifeboats and imprisoned in Kiel. Their rescue wouldn't come for two years.

The captain managed to get a wireless message out to the British merchantman Dogger Bank.

The message reads: USS Indiana fired upon by German warship, torpedoes launched. Listing badly. Abandoning ship.

The Dogger Bank relays the message to London, where it is relayed to Washington.

March 1st, 1898

7:20 PM, EST

Washington, D.C.

President McKinley receives an ultimatum from the German government, saying that the sailors would be released if the U.S. gave up its hold on Hawaii and the Aleutians.

It also read that this would happen again if he didn't.

McKinley retires to his room to think it over; this is going to be a long night.
 
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It's an interesting start indeed and perhaps I missed some about the Pod...but why a german warship attacked another ship in Peacetime?
What was carried out in the Nevada that would be worth to open fire against the American ship?
 

Md139115

Banned
Thank you, thank you, now then...

We don't really need African colonies, but we will happily take Saipan, the Marianas, and the Carolines off your hands. We'll also take a hundred million dollars in gold (you'll get part of it back by selling rump German New Guinea to the British and Tsingtao to Japan) and something else...

Oh...

What to take?

I know, how about boxing up Krupp factories and shipping them over here?!
 
It's an interesting start indeed and perhaps I missed some about the Pod...but why a german warship attacked another ship in Peacetime?
What was carried out in the Nevada that would be worth to open fire against the American ship?

The German Empire at this time was trying to find ways for it to become relevant, and the Indiana was the key to this goal. They wanted to capture the Indiana and hold its crew. They would return it if the United States gives up Hawaii and the Aleutians. The Indiana did not heave to, however, so the Germans sunk her. This will start a war in which the Germans try to take Hawaii and the Aleutians.
 
The German Empire at this time was trying to find ways for it to become relevant, and the Indiana was the key to this goal. They wanted to capture the Indiana and hold its crew. They would return it if the United States gives up Hawaii and the Aleutians. The Indiana did not heave to, however, so the Germans sunk her. This will start a war in which the Germans try to take Hawaii and the Aleutians.

I like the premise of a German-American colonial war, but would Germany really care enough about Hawaii and the Aleutians to launch an unprovoked attack on an American warship in international waters just to take them?
 
A couple of things I need to mention/ask:
1- What was "the sensitive package?"
2- I'm not sure but I think that most of the German ships that could fight the Indiana didn't have the range at sea to catch her, unless they recoaled at sea. I could be wrong though.
3- Why would the Germans send only only ship?
4- I really don't think the All-Highest (the Kaiser) would approve this plan with this objective. He had no love for the US but I just don't see him going for this. A fight over Samoa? Sure. A fight to take over parts of the Spanish Empire after the US buys/conquers/annexes some territory. Of course. Some others fool thing in the Caribbean. Easily. Not Hawaii or the Aleutians.
5- Attempting to kidnap American sailors would garner the German no international support. Except, maybe, Austria since Frank Joseph HATED the US.
"Murdering" US sailors would loose even that support.
6- Both would cause the Kaiser to loose support in the Reichstag.
7- All that aside, I can easily see a US-Getman conflict (War Plan Black vs. Operation Plan III) turning into WWI quite quickly.
 
Wilhelm II was a lot of things but dumb
wasn't one of them. Could he have ITTL
really thought he could gain so much just from one warship?

Having said that, eagerly await subsequent
installments so I can be shown to be utterly
wrong!
 
A couple of things I need to mention/ask:
1- What was "the sensitive package?"
2- I'm not sure but I think that most of the German ships that could fight the Indiana didn't have the range at sea to catch her, unless they recoaled at sea. I could be wrong though.
3- Why would the Germans send only only ship?
4- I really don't think the All-Highest (the Kaiser) would approve this plan with this objective. He had no love for the US but I just don't see him going for this. A fight over Samoa? Sure. A fight to take over parts of the Spanish Empire after the US buys/conquers/annexes some territory. Of course. Some others fool thing in the Caribbean. Easily. Not Hawaii or the Aleutians.
5- Attempting to kidnap American sailors would garner the German no international support. Except, maybe, Austria since Frank Joseph HATED the US.
"Murdering" US sailors would loose even that support.
6- Both would cause the Kaiser to loose support in the Reichstag.
7- All that aside, I can easily see a US-Getman conflict (War Plan Black vs. Operation Plan III) turning into WWI quite quickly.

The Sensitive package was just a letter for McKinley, I wanted to think of a reason for the Indiana to be detached from the North Atlantic Fleet.

The Germans had another ship on standby over the horizon

The kaiser wasn't stupid, but from what I know, he was damn mad

Germany didn't want international support, it wanted the US to give them Hawaii and the Aleutians in exchange for the battleship and sailors

At that time the Reichstag was pretty much just for show
 
Hm. The only battleships the Germans have at this time are the Brandenburgs, and I doubt that, if one appeared alone that the Indiana would be sufficiently impressed to heave to. Who would win is not important offhand, but without overwhelming force, I can't see the Indiana complying. Warships do not heave to for other warships in time of peace. Possibly you'd be better with a cruiser like SMS Hela giving the order, and when the Indiana ignores her, Hela puts a torpedo into Indiana.
 
March 1st, 1898

8:15 PM, EST

Washington, D.C.

President McKinley calls the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of War to the Cabinet Room.

They discuss a course of action following the Indiana incident and the German ultimatum.

The decision is made to reject the ultimatum.

The decision is also made to ask Congress for a declaration of war.

9:45 PM, EST

The Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.

After a heated debate, congress votes 71-19 to declare war on the German Empire

9:53 PM, EST

Key West, Florida

The North Atlantic Squadron is scrambled, bound for Hamburg.

March 2nd, 1898

505 Miles SW of the Azores

Midnight


The USS Oregon sights smoke on the horizon.

The USS Augusta peels off to investigate

The Augusta identifies the ship as the German cruiser SMS Hela.

The USS Iowa, the newest ship in the fleet, swings her guns to port and opens fire.

The Hela is straddled by the guns.

The Iowa adjusts her fire and opens up again.

The Hela is hit in the forward battery.

She turns and runs, however the American ships do not pursue.

Kiel, German Empire

5:27 AM, Local Time

The Hela limps into port, reporting that American ships had been sighted and opened fire on her.

The Hela undergoes repairs and is in dry dock, however due to the conditions at the time, she isn't repaired until mid-1899.
 
I like the premise of a German-American colonial war, but would Germany really care enough about Hawaii and the Aleutians to launch an unprovoked attack on an American warship in international waters just to take them?

German business interests in Latin America were more important. European & US investments in Latin America were getting crossways with each other. Particularly where nations were defaulting on debt & there was the question of who would take control of the local treasury and repay their banks. This was the era when the US revived the Monroe Doctrine and started landing Marines in the Caribbean to forstal European nations from the same.

My route to a German/US war is if German investment in the Spanish Empire leads to direct German participation in the Spanish/American War. That is Germany is a Spanish ally.
 
German business interests in Latin America were more important. European & US investments in Latin America were getting crossways with each other. Particularly where nations were defaulting on debt & there was the question of who would take control of the local treasury and repay their banks. This was the era when the US revived the Monroe Doctrine and started landing Marines in the Caribbean to forstal European nations from the same.

My route to a German/US war is if German investment in the Spanish Empire leads to direct German participation in the Spanish/American War. That is Germany is a Spanish ally.
Due to the lack of a Maine explosion, there is no Spanish-American war
 
Hm. This might be interesting. My immediate thought is that neither side can really get at the other. The US does not have a lot of colonies at this time, while the Germans do. Comparatively. I would love seeing a pre-dreadnought battle. My prediction on it: Everyone loses
 
Hawaii I could fathom but why the German Empire would want the Aleutians escapes me. Also, I could see those in Britain who were raising the alarm over increasing German naval armaments doing some serious tub-thumping to help out their American cousins. If this goes forward, it won't end well for the German Empire, I wouldn't think.
 
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