Russian Pacific

[The Kiat]

Thanks. Keep me posted when you finished reading.

I'll review it in my own thread. First, the nit pick: The one who became Catherine started out as a German princess of some sort (don't know the exact state, Prussia I think). Given what has happened to Russia and its diminished influence in Europe, the whole Romanov Dynasty is going to end up different. I won't make a fuss over it. I never could write something to satisfy purists, simply because given the change, there is no way to know just who the Tsar or Tsarina would end up being, so just go with what makes for better story telling.

Other than that, you do a good job telling the story, and I've always thought that was the most important thing in any alternate history; keep the reader reading.

 

[MarshalBraginsky]

I'll review it in my own thread. First, the nit pick: The one who became Catherine started out as a German princess of some sort (don't know the exact state, Prussia I think). Given what has happened to Russia and its diminished influence in Europe, the whole Romanov Dynasty is going to end up different. I won't make a fuss over it. I never could write something to satisfy purists, simply because given the change, there is no way to know just who the Tsar or Tsarina would end up being, so just go with what makes for better story telling.

Other than that, you do a good job telling the story, and I've always thought that was the most important thing in any alternate history; keep the reader reading.

I'm guessing that I would have to get a Peter the Great-like figure who looks eastwards to replace OTL Peter the Great.

 

[The Kiat]

3) Crimea in the Pacific

When war broke out between Russia and an Anglo-French alliance in 1854, the war quickly spread from the Crimea. Once word spread around the world, the Royal Navy went into quick action in the Hawaiian Islands. Royal Marines and French soldiers landed on Kauai, defeating the Russian garrison with ease. The Kauaians welcomed the invaders as liberators, and were quick to cooperate against their oppressors. The Royal Navy seized control of Wake and Midway, without any struggle, as both islands were uninhabited at the time. With one quick swoop, the Russians were removed from the deep Pacific.

The British in Canada were not as quick as the Navy when it came to moving against Alaska. Important ports on the mainland and the Aleutian Islands came under British control, or were bottled up in sieges throughout 1855. Novoarkhangelsk held out the longest against the British, finally falling only weeks before a peace was concluded in Paris. Alaska and Kauai were moderately valuable prizes, but what the British really desired was on the other side of the Pacific.

In Summer of 1855, a joint Anglo-French force landed on Hokkaido, several kilometers north from Hakedate. The Russian garrison at this important Far East base were far more significant than those in Alaska and scattered across smaller islands. The first assault on the city, launched from the land, was repelled by the Russians with heavy losses to the attackers. The Russian fleet in Hokkaido set to sea to battle the Royal Navy, with even less success. Nearly a third of the Russian ships were either destroyed or captured.

Russian naval bases in Japan itself were immediately attacked by the Japanese. Sensing weakness, the Japanese were quick to attack. Too quick, for their attempts to expel the gaijin were almost as bloody as their war against Russia at the start of the decade. As much as the Shogun did not wish to admit it, Japan required outside assistance, and found it in the form of Great Britain. The two nations had much in common, starting with being islands. An alliance was signed between the two, and with British aid, the Japanese managed to expel the Russians from treaty ports. As much as Japan would have liked, they could not dislodge the Russians from the northern island.

When peace was concluded in Paris in 1856, the Russians were in a bad way in the Pacific. Britain traded conquests in the Pacific for more concessions in Europe. Russia did not lose any of its colonies, but they did lose their monopoly status in Japan, along with all bases and privileges. Hokkaido was retained, much to the Japanese displeasure. Britain filled the void Russia left in Japan. The British extended their protection to Japan and sent in waves of advisors, in exchange for their own monopoly on trade as well as naval bases in the islands. The next fifty years saw the Japanese racing ahead, attempting to catch up with the British technically. The aftermath of the Crimean War saw a mass migration of peoples in the Russian Pacific. Chiefly, for collaborating with the British, a majority of Kauai’s native population were deported to Alaska and Hokkaido, replaced by laborers from the far corners of the Russian Empire

 

[MarshalBraginsky]

So what we're getting at is a Tsarist version of the Stalinist deportations of Hawaiians in Russia's Hawaiian islands. Assuming that Russia lost the Crimean War, I'm surprised that Britain chose not to keep the Pacific conquests. Also, Canada at that time would just consist of West and East Canada. The most likely place the British would attack Alaska is from British Columbia.

 

[The Kiat]

So what we're getting at is a Tsarist version of the Stalinist deportations of Hawaiians in Russia's Hawaiian islands. Assuming that Russia lost the Crimean War, I'm surprised that Britain chose not to keep the Pacific conquests. Also, Canada at that time would just consist of West and East Canada. The most likely place the British would attack Alaska is from British Columbia.

Concerning Alaska, I was thinking more amphibious assaults, but I don't think the British had any significant ports in B.C. in the 1850s. Fort Victoria maybe, but I think that's too small. Anyway, Britain traded a few islands for access to Japanese trade. I suppose if they conquered Petrograd then maybe Britain could extend Canada all the way to the Kolyma River.

 

[MarshalBraginsky]

Concerning Alaska, I was thinking more amphibious assaults, but I don't think the British had any significant ports in B.C. in the 1850s. Fort Victoria maybe, but I think that's too small. Anyway, Britain traded a few islands for access to Japanese trade. I suppose if they conquered Petrograd then maybe Britain could extend Canada all the way to the Kolyma River.

Turning into a Canada-wank with an access to the Pacific. I also believe if the British tried to conquer Petrograd while steering off the Swedish coasts, then they would have a Swedish great power who'd like to pay the British back for sailing too close to their waters.

 

[Thucydides]

I like this. I assumed at first that the British wouldn't put in the effort of taking Russian Pacific holdings (especially if they're tied down in the Crimea like ITOL) but since they did I too find it odd that they didn't get them in the peace. And IMO it sounds like the Russians are going to be aching to give Japan a good kick in the nuts (if you excuse the expression) before this whole alliance with Great Britain pans out.

I'm looking forward to seeing this progress.

 

[The Kiat]

Well, the Crimean War was about far more than the Pacific. True, the British could hold the islands easily, but were willing to give them back for concessions elsewhere-- such as in keeping the Balance of Power in Europe.

 

[MarshalBraginsky]

Well, the Crimean War was about far more than the Pacific. True, the British could hold the islands easily, but were willing to give them back for concessions elsewhere-- such as in keeping the Balance of Power in Europe.

I am still wondering about the fate of the Philippines and modern day Indonesia. Would they be turned into a protectorate or partitioned?

 

[The Kiat]

I am still wondering about the fate of the Philippines and modern day Indonesia. Would they be turned into a protectorate or partitioned?

One belongs to Spain, the other to the Netherlands. The Russians don't get to expand that far.

 

[MarshalBraginsky]

One belongs to Spain, the other to the Netherlands. The Russians don't get to expand that far.

So you're also butterflying away the Spanish-American War then.

 

[Julius Vogel]

You should also consider the impact on British Australia in any British-Russian war in the 1850s. IOTL, at least in the 1870s onwards there were at least two Russian scares that forced the colonial governments of the Australian colonies and NZ to build elaborate coastal defence forts.

NZ was by the mid 1850s a self governing colony, but was lightly populated by Europeans and most Maori in the North Island were still living under their own auspices, despite a treaty with the Crown. The Land Wars started the next decade and the heavy settlement phase was really just starting.

The threat was apparently non existent, but these things happen! In your timeline the threat is real and this is going to have massive implications on the various settler colonies, defence, dependence on Britain etc

A local Auckland newspaper put out a couple of hoax articles about the Russian warship, the Kaskowiski, which created a massive panic, which eventually led to the expensive construction of the forts. Below is a (cleaned up) extract from one of the articles, perhaps after the fact

THE RUSSIAN IRONCLAD KASKOWISKI'.

Much alarm has been caused by the account published in the Southern Cross of the visit and proceedings of a Russian man-o'-war. We admit that in these politically uncertain times the sudden appearance in our port of sin by the monster, bearing the Russian flag, would of itself sufficient to earn serious apprehension, but we can assure our readers that there is no came for alarm, as the statements published being utterly untrue. We are surprised that the Southern Cross should publish such a Muncha'iscii-liko statement", calculated to alarm everybody, without first inquiring into their truth. We must confess to having felt some uneasiness at first sight of the huge ironclad, but we have now to congratulate our readers and the country on the deliverance from the threatened danger or It should be borne in rain t that no true Briton whatsoever should be afraid of ten " casks of whisky- •• We aro authorised to note « that the sole object of the visit of the ' Kaskovrum' was to inspect the -well known Clothing Establishment of Samuel Coomiibs. No 80, QuLDn st set, the fame of which has reached the Emperor and Court of Russia


Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIX, Issue 4830, 18 February 1873

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast

 

[The Kiat]

I don't think the Russians have enough reach for Australia, but I can see where the panics will play into the scheme. I suppose British possessions and colonies would be more fortified, even after the Crimean War. Daily Southern Cross? I don't see why such a big deal is made out of that constellation. The thing looks more like a Southern Kite than a cross. Well, it does. Crosses should have that fifth point where the two means intercept.

So you're also butterflying away the Spanish-American War then.

Well, the U.S. would have a far smaller presence in the Pacific without all its dealings with the Hawaiians, so I guess so. Or at least anything to do with the Philippines or the Mariannas. Cuba's still fair game.

 

[Julius Vogel]

I don't think the Russians have enough reach for Australia, but I can see where the panics will play into the scheme. I suppose British possessions and colonies would be more fortified, even after the Crimean War. Daily Southern Cross? I don't see why such a big deal is made out of that constellation. The thing looks more like a Southern Kite than a cross. Well, it does. Crosses should have that fifth point where the two means intercept.




Well, the U.S. would have a far smaller presence in the Pacific without all its dealings with the Hawaiians, so I guess so. Or at least anything to do with the Philippines or the Mariannas. Cuba's still fair game.

Well it isn't so much that the Russian threat needs to be real, more just that a much more violent rivarly will no doubt make the Australasian and NZ colonies that much more paranoid and militerised. The Russians need never visit to accomplish that, the colonists just have to think they would

 

[The Kiat]

4) Gold Rush

While trapping along the banks of the Yukon River, trappers working for the Russian-American Company stumbled upon flakes of gold in 1862. Like the rash of gold rushes hitting the United States in the previous fifteen years, the one in Alaska drew thousands of prospectors and adventurers. Unlike those in California and other parts of the United States, the one in Alaska was blocked to all but the hardiest of men. While tolerable during the summer, the Alaskan interior dropped to lethal temperatures in winter. With little light, it was no wonder the area never attracted many inhabitants.

Despite the environment, immigrants forced their way into Russian territory. Two town were founded along the Yukon. The first, Fairbanks, was founded by American and British prospectors. With a civil war waging in the United States, not as many American flooded to Alaska as might have. The second city, further west, was named Frederick. The second city was populated mostly by German immigrants. Neither of these population centers were particularly welcomed by the Russian government. Thousands of peoples of various nationalities of Russia followed the first wave of prospectors. In many cases, they displaced those who arrived before. If a Russian, or Ukrainian, Pole, etc, where to inflict violence upon a British or German citizen, the Russian officials were likely to do little. If the opposite happened, then the officials cracked down.

This wave of immigrants pushed the Russian frontier further east, threatening fur regions, and potential gold deposits, within British North America. The British government commissioned a string of fortresses in the Yukon territories, while the Russians countered with their own forts. The Alaskan-Canadian frontier soon became as one of the most heavily defended colonial borders in the world. Unlike many of Russia’s other neighbors, Britain was in a position to cause Russia great harm if push came to shove. Not wanting to lose the colonies, the Tsar and British Government negotiated a border between their colonies in 1864, with a southern boundary of the 54'40 parallel.

 

[The Kiat]

5) Russo-Chinese War

With traffic along the Russian Pacific coast growing by the year, it was not enough to have warm water ports in Hokkaido, or bases in China. The Russian Empire required direct, overland access to the sea. In 1863, Russian forces invaded the Qing Empire. Their goal was to take from China ports in southern Manchuria as well as Korea. From here, the Tsar decreed that a railroad would cross Siberia just like the one being built to cross America.

China had once been a powerful state. During the Ming Dynasty, they were stronger and more advance than Europe. When the Manchu invaded and overthrow the Ming, China started a gradual spiral downward, while Europe was struck by an industrial Revolution. Though Russia was far from industrialized, it did sport the best modern European weapons money could buy. With gold from Alaska flowing into the coffers, Russia could afford a great many weapons. The initial invasions of China came from bases in the Pacific, as Russia landed forces near Seoul as well as Zolotoy Rog.

The main invasion of northern China did not occur until the following year, when a Russian Army marched across land, with a great number of dead soldiers in its wake. The invasion was not as large as the Grande Army of Napoleon, but it was a match for what China sent against it. Russian forces never reached the Great Wall, but did seize control of all the Manchu lands to the north. A great battle near what is now Harbin, saw the destruction of a Chinese Army and the lose of Manchuria, homeland of the Manchu.

By 1867, the Qing were forced to come to terms with Russia. Along with their homeland, they also ceded Korea and Outer Mongolia to the Russian Empire. The four year war so weakened the Qing Dynasty, that it was brought down by the Revolution of 1871 and 1873. The last Manchu Emperor was deposed in 1875, and the Chinese Empire fell into another Warring States period, this time with European powers looking at it with covetous eyes.

 

[Grey Wolf]

One thing to note is that the British operations within the Pacific that you have here would require a massive effort - see their not very successful OTL operations in the Sea of Okhotsk in OTL for comparison

http://www.alternate-history-fiction.com/crimean-war-far-east.html

This is of course well within their capabilities but ONLY if they cut back on some other theatre, and obviously that cannot be the Black Sea.

The Baltic is going to have to suffer, though you aren't going to get a like-for-like redeployment to the Pacific because a lot of what ended up in the Baltic was designed for shallow draught operations not far from bases. What's most likely to happen is that the manpower will be shifted around and more of the reserve fleet activated, crewed by those who ended up in the Baltic and sent to the Far East.

I think you may well end up using some of the Indian garrison for Pacific operations, which would have quite interesting knock-on effects for India later - OTL the Mutiny was rushing down upon them

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

 

[dgharis]

I'll review it in my own thread. First, the nit pick: The one who became Catherine started out as a German princess of some sort (don't know the exact state, Prussia I think). Given what has happened to Russia and its diminished influence in Europe, the whole Romanov Dynasty is going to end up different. I won't make a fuss over it. I never could write something to satisfy purists, simply because given the change, there is no way to know just who the Tsar or Tsarina would end up being, so just go with what makes for better story telling.

Other than that, you do a good job telling the story, and I've always thought that was the most important thing in any alternate history; keep the reader reading.

Catherine was Princess Sophia Fredericka Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg prior to her marriage to Tsar Peter III. As a condition of her marriage she was baptized into the Orthodox faith, taking the name Yekaterina Alekseyevna (Catherine, daughter of Alexander) in the process.

 

[The Kiat]

Kind of what I envision as the expanse of the Russian Empire.

 

[The Kiat]

6) Population Transfers

The first major transfer of population in the Russian Pacific happened in 1856, involving the deportation of most of the native population of Kauai to Alaska and Hokkaido. The Polynesians were not the last people to be uprooted. In order to populate its newly acquired lands, Russia sent colonists to its Pacific islands. Wake and Midway only sustained colonies of a few hundred, most of which were fishers or whalers. Traditional Russian crops faired poorly upon these islands. Most of the Russians who headed to the islands chose Kauai as their first choice.

The Russian Far East was also a land where the Tsar could exile his enemies. Manchu were evicted from Manchuria and resettled in Alaska as well as Siberia. Poles and Ukrainians from the failed Revolution of 1877, were treated slightly better. Instead of Alaska, hundreds of thousands of them were spread throughout Manchuria, Outer Mongolia and Korea, with large populations in Darien and Seoul. Korean and Chinese laborers were used in the construction of the city of Vladivostok. All three mainland cities were used as bases for the Russian Navy, as well as supported sizable garrisons to defend the newly conquered lands.

Attempts to expand further south in the Pacific were checked quickly by the British. In 1881, a Russian expedition to Formosa and Luzon nearly came to blows when it encountered the British squadron based in Hong Kong. London made it clear that any attempt to expand further into China, or to take advantage of weaker European states (i.e. Spain in the Philippines or Marianas, or the Dutch in the East Indies) would result in a correction of the balance of power in the Pacific. Russia had reached its zenith in the Pacific.