The Co-Prosperity Sphere
- Thread starter CountofDooku
- Start date
The way I behave I doubt it, simply had to be more cool and nicer she's the best I've ever had (truely she planned even our holidays accordingly so that we were in a place were my physical disability would get better and even if I dislike it she always splits each bill fairly as she know we both are not made of money and besides valentines day and her birthday she doesn't want me to lose to much money as I need it for medications and such).
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We decided to stay frinds for now (her suggestion I was unsure if we should continue to stay in contact overall), but will continue to go out together like we used to and we will see from where it leads from there or if we remain friends.
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We decided to stay frinds for now (her suggestion I was unsure if we should continue to stay in contact overall), but will continue to go out together like we used to and we will see from where it leads from there or if we remain friends.
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Chapter 747: The Allied famines
Chapter 747: The Allied famines
The Belgian League of Nations Mandate of Ruanda-Urundi had been given to Belgium, as the German Empire had been seen as to uncivilized and barbaric to have colonies anymore after the First Great War. However during the Second Great War, the Belgium colonial administration and Belgian government in Exile (as Belgium in Europe was split between the Dutch United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the French Empire) proved that they were not much better for the locals. Troughtout the war years the Ruzagayura famine plagued the region. Though initially caused by a drought, the famine's effects were made worse by the Belgian war effort as authorities tried to send agricultural produce to the Congo to support the Allies in other parts of West Africa, East Africa and the Middle East. The famine killed between a fifth and a third of the colony's population and displaced many thousands more. It led to numerous deaths and a huge population migration out of the territory and into the neighboring Belgian Congo and surrounding areas, causing a refugee crisis there and in the British Tanganyika Territory atop of local native uprisings and Axis Central Powers guerrillas already operating in these areas. The famine is considered to have begun in October 1943 and ended in December 1944. The principal cause of the famine was several prolonged periods of drought in the region in early 1943. However, the problem was exacerbated by attempts of the colonial authorities to send agricultural produce to other regions as part of the Allied war effort in the Second Great War. The colonial administration, together with Christian missionaries, began to transport food to a supply point in Usumbura. This would later cause anti-Western, anti-Christian tendencies so that some locals rather looked towards Mohammedanism or Coprospism. The Rwandan king, Mutara III Rudahigwa, sent aid to the affected region. By the time the famine ended in December 1944, between 36,000 and 50,000 people (between one-fifth and one-third of the total regional population) had died of hunger in the territory. Several hundred thousand people emigrated away from Ruanda-Urundi, most to the Belgian Congo but also to British Tanganyika and British Uganda. The migration also served to create further political instability in the areas affected by the mass influx of Rwandans.
This spillover of the refugee crisis and local instability and uprising into the Kongo, Uganda and the Tanganyika Territory administrated by the British as a League of Nations Mandate was in the last also used by the Japanese Empire during and after the Second Great War to promote anti-Western, anti-Colonial and anti-Imperial Coprospist Propaganda in East Africa, just as they did in Asia and the Pacific. The Copropsist Co-Prosperity Sphere had learned to do so under Subhas Chandra Bose who had massively spoken out against the Bengal famine of 1943 (Bengali: pônchasher mônnôntôr) in the Eastern British Raj/ Azad Hind region, a devastating famine in the Bengal province of British India during the Second great War. An estimated 2.1–3 million, out of a population of 60.3 million, died of starvation, malaria, or other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions and lack of health care. Millions were impoverished as the crisis overwhelmed large segments of the economy and catastrophically disrupted the social fabric. Eventually, families disintegrated; men sold their small farms and left home to look for work or to join the army, and women and children became homeless migrants, often traveling to Calcutta or another large city in search of organized relief. Historians have frequently characterized the famine as "man-made", asserting that wartime colonial policies created and then exacerbated the crisis. As a result Netaji (Hindustani: “Respected Leader”) Subhas Chandra Bose spoke out even more frequently against British Colonial Rule and amassed many supporters that later the year helped him establish the newly formed the Provisional Government of Assam-Bengal/ Azad Hind in the Eastern Part of the former British Raj.
The Belgian League of Nations Mandate of Ruanda-Urundi had been given to Belgium, as the German Empire had been seen as to uncivilized and barbaric to have colonies anymore after the First Great War. However during the Second Great War, the Belgium colonial administration and Belgian government in Exile (as Belgium in Europe was split between the Dutch United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the French Empire) proved that they were not much better for the locals. Troughtout the war years the Ruzagayura famine plagued the region. Though initially caused by a drought, the famine's effects were made worse by the Belgian war effort as authorities tried to send agricultural produce to the Congo to support the Allies in other parts of West Africa, East Africa and the Middle East. The famine killed between a fifth and a third of the colony's population and displaced many thousands more. It led to numerous deaths and a huge population migration out of the territory and into the neighboring Belgian Congo and surrounding areas, causing a refugee crisis there and in the British Tanganyika Territory atop of local native uprisings and Axis Central Powers guerrillas already operating in these areas. The famine is considered to have begun in October 1943 and ended in December 1944. The principal cause of the famine was several prolonged periods of drought in the region in early 1943. However, the problem was exacerbated by attempts of the colonial authorities to send agricultural produce to other regions as part of the Allied war effort in the Second Great War. The colonial administration, together with Christian missionaries, began to transport food to a supply point in Usumbura. This would later cause anti-Western, anti-Christian tendencies so that some locals rather looked towards Mohammedanism or Coprospism. The Rwandan king, Mutara III Rudahigwa, sent aid to the affected region. By the time the famine ended in December 1944, between 36,000 and 50,000 people (between one-fifth and one-third of the total regional population) had died of hunger in the territory. Several hundred thousand people emigrated away from Ruanda-Urundi, most to the Belgian Congo but also to British Tanganyika and British Uganda. The migration also served to create further political instability in the areas affected by the mass influx of Rwandans.
This spillover of the refugee crisis and local instability and uprising into the Kongo, Uganda and the Tanganyika Territory administrated by the British as a League of Nations Mandate was in the last also used by the Japanese Empire during and after the Second Great War to promote anti-Western, anti-Colonial and anti-Imperial Coprospist Propaganda in East Africa, just as they did in Asia and the Pacific. The Copropsist Co-Prosperity Sphere had learned to do so under Subhas Chandra Bose who had massively spoken out against the Bengal famine of 1943 (Bengali: pônchasher mônnôntôr) in the Eastern British Raj/ Azad Hind region, a devastating famine in the Bengal province of British India during the Second great War. An estimated 2.1–3 million, out of a population of 60.3 million, died of starvation, malaria, or other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions and lack of health care. Millions were impoverished as the crisis overwhelmed large segments of the economy and catastrophically disrupted the social fabric. Eventually, families disintegrated; men sold their small farms and left home to look for work or to join the army, and women and children became homeless migrants, often traveling to Calcutta or another large city in search of organized relief. Historians have frequently characterized the famine as "man-made", asserting that wartime colonial policies created and then exacerbated the crisis. As a result Netaji (Hindustani: “Respected Leader”) Subhas Chandra Bose spoke out even more frequently against British Colonial Rule and amassed many supporters that later the year helped him establish the newly formed the Provisional Government of Assam-Bengal/ Azad Hind in the Eastern Part of the former British Raj.
Chapter 748: Mengjiang State Buuto/ Buudo
Chapter 748: Mengjiang State Buuto/ Buudo
Inside of Mengjiang/ Mongolia Buddhism had been a influence since the 13th century, when Vajrayana, Buddhism came from Tibet with the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) emperors' conversion to Tibetan Buddhism. It's influence increases after the Dalai Lama becomes the Tibetan King as well as advisers for Mongolian leaders and under Tibetan influence new laws are created to limit hunting, as well as sacrifices of women and children, while new churches, temples and schools were build. From then on Buddhism shaped the mongol culture and society, even other nearby nomadic tribes, like the Kalmyk's and Buryats started to become Buddhists. Buddhism in Mongolia derived much of its characteristics from Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug and Kagyu lineages, but is distinct and presents its own unique characteristics. Buddhist artist and king Zanabazar (1635 to 1723) was a mongol Lama who studied in Tibet. His art and work would influence Mongol art for two centuries to come. He was also a poet, philosopher, linguist, scholar and builder of churches and temples and a man of the state. The Mongols returned to shamanic traditions after the collapse of the Mongol Empire, but Buddhism reemerged in the 16th and 17th centuries. Mongolian shamanism (Mongolian: Бөө мөргөл — Böö mörgöl in old Mongol, Buu, Buuto or Buudo in Mengjiang), more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion, or occasionally Tengerism, refers to the animistic and shamanic ethnic religion that has been practiced in Mongolia and its surrounding areas (including Buryatia and Inner Mongolia) at least since the age of recorded history. In the earliest known stages it was intricately tied to all other aspects of social life and to the tribal organization of Mongolian society. Along the way, it has become influenced by and mingled with Buddhism. During the socialist years of the twentieth century it was heavily repressed and the control of Marxism-Leninism in the Mongolian People's Republic had not only ended feudalism until 1942 but destroyed over 500 Buddhist temples and churches in roughly ten years.
Therefore the Mengjiang Khanate in Outer Mongolia declared Mengjiang/ Mongolian Buddhism and Yellow shamanism the officially State Religion of Mengjiang under the name of Buu, Buuto or Buudo, were Yellow Buddhist Shamanism and Black Mongol Shamanism were fused together as a new religious ideal and ideology. Yellow shamanism as a term was used to designate the particular version of Mongolian shamanism which adopts the expressive style of Buddhism. "Yellow" indicates Buddhism in Mongolia, since most Buddhists there belong to what is called the Gelug or "Yellow sect" of Tibetan Buddhism, whose members wear yellow hats during services. Mongolian Black Shamanism is centered on the worship of the tngri (gods) and the highest Tenger (Heaven, God of Heaven, God) or Qormusta Tengri. In the Mongolian folk religion, Genghis Khan is considered one of the embodiments, if not the main embodiment, of the Tenger. Because of this the Mausoleum of Gengis Khan later build by Khan Demchugdongrub was seen as one of their most holiest temples/ shrines as well as a important traditional center of worship. Under his radical re-buddhistization all destroyed temples were rebuild, or build completely new from the ground inside the Mengjiang Khanate and captured atheist socialists and communists, who had helped with their destruction, the government or the military of the Mongolian People's Republic were often shot on the spot without much of a trial. Thanks to some help by the Japanese, the Mengjiang Khanate became a Co-Prosperity Sphere Member State that was once again proud of their Buddhist heritage and intent to spread their traditions and culture across all of former Mongolian lands once again, deep into Central Asia and Siberia. Inside this new combined Black Shamanic Mongol and Yellow Buddhist Shamanic fused religion of Buu, Buuto or Buudo, Khan Demchugdongrub also known as Prince De or Teh, himself was seen as the reincarnation of the Lama/ Khan, who's previous incarnation reign had ended in 1924 before. That was also one of the reasons, why his reconquest of Outer Mongolia (the Mongolian People's Republic) leads to the reopening and rebuilding of nearly all Mongol Buddhist temples, shrines, sides and holy places that the Communist had previously destroyed or nearly destroyed before, leading to another bloom of Buddhism/ Shamanism under Buu, Buuto or Buudo in the Mengjiang Khanate.
Inside of Mengjiang/ Mongolia Buddhism had been a influence since the 13th century, when Vajrayana, Buddhism came from Tibet with the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) emperors' conversion to Tibetan Buddhism. It's influence increases after the Dalai Lama becomes the Tibetan King as well as advisers for Mongolian leaders and under Tibetan influence new laws are created to limit hunting, as well as sacrifices of women and children, while new churches, temples and schools were build. From then on Buddhism shaped the mongol culture and society, even other nearby nomadic tribes, like the Kalmyk's and Buryats started to become Buddhists. Buddhism in Mongolia derived much of its characteristics from Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug and Kagyu lineages, but is distinct and presents its own unique characteristics. Buddhist artist and king Zanabazar (1635 to 1723) was a mongol Lama who studied in Tibet. His art and work would influence Mongol art for two centuries to come. He was also a poet, philosopher, linguist, scholar and builder of churches and temples and a man of the state. The Mongols returned to shamanic traditions after the collapse of the Mongol Empire, but Buddhism reemerged in the 16th and 17th centuries. Mongolian shamanism (Mongolian: Бөө мөргөл — Böö mörgöl in old Mongol, Buu, Buuto or Buudo in Mengjiang), more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion, or occasionally Tengerism, refers to the animistic and shamanic ethnic religion that has been practiced in Mongolia and its surrounding areas (including Buryatia and Inner Mongolia) at least since the age of recorded history. In the earliest known stages it was intricately tied to all other aspects of social life and to the tribal organization of Mongolian society. Along the way, it has become influenced by and mingled with Buddhism. During the socialist years of the twentieth century it was heavily repressed and the control of Marxism-Leninism in the Mongolian People's Republic had not only ended feudalism until 1942 but destroyed over 500 Buddhist temples and churches in roughly ten years.
Therefore the Mengjiang Khanate in Outer Mongolia declared Mengjiang/ Mongolian Buddhism and Yellow shamanism the officially State Religion of Mengjiang under the name of Buu, Buuto or Buudo, were Yellow Buddhist Shamanism and Black Mongol Shamanism were fused together as a new religious ideal and ideology. Yellow shamanism as a term was used to designate the particular version of Mongolian shamanism which adopts the expressive style of Buddhism. "Yellow" indicates Buddhism in Mongolia, since most Buddhists there belong to what is called the Gelug or "Yellow sect" of Tibetan Buddhism, whose members wear yellow hats during services. Mongolian Black Shamanism is centered on the worship of the tngri (gods) and the highest Tenger (Heaven, God of Heaven, God) or Qormusta Tengri. In the Mongolian folk religion, Genghis Khan is considered one of the embodiments, if not the main embodiment, of the Tenger. Because of this the Mausoleum of Gengis Khan later build by Khan Demchugdongrub was seen as one of their most holiest temples/ shrines as well as a important traditional center of worship. Under his radical re-buddhistization all destroyed temples were rebuild, or build completely new from the ground inside the Mengjiang Khanate and captured atheist socialists and communists, who had helped with their destruction, the government or the military of the Mongolian People's Republic were often shot on the spot without much of a trial. Thanks to some help by the Japanese, the Mengjiang Khanate became a Co-Prosperity Sphere Member State that was once again proud of their Buddhist heritage and intent to spread their traditions and culture across all of former Mongolian lands once again, deep into Central Asia and Siberia. Inside this new combined Black Shamanic Mongol and Yellow Buddhist Shamanic fused religion of Buu, Buuto or Buudo, Khan Demchugdongrub also known as Prince De or Teh, himself was seen as the reincarnation of the Lama/ Khan, who's previous incarnation reign had ended in 1924 before. That was also one of the reasons, why his reconquest of Outer Mongolia (the Mongolian People's Republic) leads to the reopening and rebuilding of nearly all Mongol Buddhist temples, shrines, sides and holy places that the Communist had previously destroyed or nearly destroyed before, leading to another bloom of Buddhism/ Shamanism under Buu, Buuto or Buudo in the Mengjiang Khanate.
Now my ex-girlfriend wants to talk and get back together .... women. 🤔😳😱😲🙄
Always found it easier to write in forums like these then under peopel who truely know me personally.
Always found it easier to write in forums like these then under peopel who truely know me personally.
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Now my ex-girlfriend wants to talk and get back together .... women. 🤔😳😱😲🙄
Always found it harder to write in forums like these then under peopel who truely know me personally.
I hope things go well for you.
Or, at least, as good as they can possibly be.
Thank you very much, I hope so too, but have no idea what that might mean or lead to.
I actually have no idea how to react to her ideas to "talk" about it, sure I have made mistakes, but she trew me out afterwards and I'm unsure if a relationship can be build upon such foundations?! Thing is even more complicated as thanks to my physical disability I truely suck at having and reading emotiong like most other people can normally so I'm more ro less constantly guessing and majorly irritated and surprised if you guys and girls then tell me I write good or realistic stories/ characters anyway...
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But other then my daily RL madness, what do you all think about the latest chapters?
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Quick question, for the planned spin-off of TTL, the Anglosphere would you prefer TL's were America/ Britain win the Second Great War/ WW2 or start undoing the new order afterwards?
I'd prefer the Anglo-American Alliance winning, cause i'd like to see them somehow triumph over the forces of National and Fascist Monarchism and see how different the post-war environment and historiography will be since the worst excesses of Nazism has been butterflied and the Allies gotta be a lot more unpopular.
Then I will make it so in one of the two Anglosphere TL's planned (most likely the American one). ;D
Hopefully things will go smoother this time around.Now my ex-girlfriend wants to talk and get back together .... women. 🤔😳😱😲🙄
Always found it easier to write in forums like these then under peopel who truely know me personally.
I’d prefer the Anglosphere undoing the new order post-war.
Whilst I wouldn't mind either option, this one sounds more interesting.
Chapter 749: Costa Rica Chaos
Chapter 749: Costa Rica Chaos
The Central American Nation of Costa Rica had been challenged as it's Liberal model was challenged by the left-wing and left-leaning groups in the country. The politics of fascism and fascist royalism were not all that was attractive in the pre-war years, as the Germans also enjoyed growing economic penetration using strict binational trade agreements to ensure that the economic relationship with various Latin American nations would be equal. Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic all had trade agreements with Nazi Germany. Brazil's trade with Germany, for example, doubled between 1933, when Hitler came to power, and 1938 when Germany became a Empire again. With the start of the war in Europe however, Axis Central Power ships could no longer cross the Atlantic for commerce, and so trade between Latin America and Germany, Austria-Hungary Italy and later Spain ceased. Losing trading partners hurt some of the Latin American states, and in most cases the United States was the only country that was able to replace the lost Axis Central Power trade, growing it's own economic, diplomatic and military influence in the region. At the same time the left-wing groups that started to flourish in the early 20th century, including groups of Christian socialists, social-democrats, anarchists, socialists and communists. This helped in the victory of Christian socialist candidate Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia in the 1940 Costa Rican general election. Calderón's alliance with the Communist Party of Costa Rica lead by Manuel Mora and the Catholic Church lead by archbishop Víctor Manuel Sanabria Martínez allowed the Social Reform, which at the same time would cause the outbreak of the later Costa Rica Civil War. The left-wing reformist President Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia was an ally of Franklin Roosevelt and hostile to Nazism and National Monarchism. In 1940, it was reported that Calderón and Roosevelt had agreed to the construction of an American base on Cocos Island, Costa Rica's territory in the Pacific; however, the United States ultimately decided on a base in the Galápagos instead. Costa Rica joined the Allies on in 1941, declaring war on Japan and the Co-Prosperity Sphere the week after they attacked the Philippines and America had declared war upon them, and on the Axis Central Powers shortly afterwards.
While Costa Rica's small army of 500 men could not contribute directly to the fighting in any meaningful way or form in the Second Global War as a conflict, Calderón's administration introduced wartime measures against people from Axis Central Power Nations in the country, including property seizure and internment. Targets included Germans, Italians, and Spaniards, the last of whom were viewed as franquistas sympathetic to fascism and fascist royalism, alongside Japanese and other Corpospist (meaning Asian) traders and people. The left-leaning governments decision to act against the Axis Central Powers and the Co-Prosperity Sphere in favor of the United States and the Allies would have dire consequences for the Costa Rican Government and economy after the Second Great War. It would lead to the National Liberation Army and the Ulatista Forces of the National Union Party under command of José Figueres Ferrer to fight against President Theodoro Picardo in armed uprising in the wake of a disputed presidential election of 1948, were the National Unionist Otilio Ulate Blanco had gained the most votes against the Democrats under Fernando Castro Cervantes and the Social-Democrats under José Figueres Ferrer, but then the elections were deemed fraudulent and annulled by the Costa Rican Congress. The Costa Rica Civil War resulted in rouhgtly 2,000 dead in the 44 days it lasted and ended with the National Union installing Blanco as the President of the Free State of Costa Rica once again, ending nearly 100 years of the Costa Rican Republic (beginning in 1848) and being one of the bloodiest events and uprisings in twentieth-century Costa Rican history. The victorious junta drafted a constitution guaranteeing free elections to a new congress, but ending the power it previously had, as they claimed the left-leaning socialists had used it to oppress the will of the people. With the new constitution and a reformed loyal national unionist military, Otilio Ulate Blanco abolished the former presidency, declared himself Caudillo of Costa Rica and established a new state along more National Monarchist/ Fascist Royalis/ Aristrocrat Syndicalist lines that promised universal suffrage and gave equal rights to women and Afro-Costa Ricans for the first time, secured by a strong military of the people, led by national hero Figueres as supreme commander durign much of the rule of Caudillo Blanco until his death.
The Central American Nation of Costa Rica had been challenged as it's Liberal model was challenged by the left-wing and left-leaning groups in the country. The politics of fascism and fascist royalism were not all that was attractive in the pre-war years, as the Germans also enjoyed growing economic penetration using strict binational trade agreements to ensure that the economic relationship with various Latin American nations would be equal. Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic all had trade agreements with Nazi Germany. Brazil's trade with Germany, for example, doubled between 1933, when Hitler came to power, and 1938 when Germany became a Empire again. With the start of the war in Europe however, Axis Central Power ships could no longer cross the Atlantic for commerce, and so trade between Latin America and Germany, Austria-Hungary Italy and later Spain ceased. Losing trading partners hurt some of the Latin American states, and in most cases the United States was the only country that was able to replace the lost Axis Central Power trade, growing it's own economic, diplomatic and military influence in the region. At the same time the left-wing groups that started to flourish in the early 20th century, including groups of Christian socialists, social-democrats, anarchists, socialists and communists. This helped in the victory of Christian socialist candidate Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia in the 1940 Costa Rican general election. Calderón's alliance with the Communist Party of Costa Rica lead by Manuel Mora and the Catholic Church lead by archbishop Víctor Manuel Sanabria Martínez allowed the Social Reform, which at the same time would cause the outbreak of the later Costa Rica Civil War. The left-wing reformist President Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia was an ally of Franklin Roosevelt and hostile to Nazism and National Monarchism. In 1940, it was reported that Calderón and Roosevelt had agreed to the construction of an American base on Cocos Island, Costa Rica's territory in the Pacific; however, the United States ultimately decided on a base in the Galápagos instead. Costa Rica joined the Allies on in 1941, declaring war on Japan and the Co-Prosperity Sphere the week after they attacked the Philippines and America had declared war upon them, and on the Axis Central Powers shortly afterwards.
While Costa Rica's small army of 500 men could not contribute directly to the fighting in any meaningful way or form in the Second Global War as a conflict, Calderón's administration introduced wartime measures against people from Axis Central Power Nations in the country, including property seizure and internment. Targets included Germans, Italians, and Spaniards, the last of whom were viewed as franquistas sympathetic to fascism and fascist royalism, alongside Japanese and other Corpospist (meaning Asian) traders and people. The left-leaning governments decision to act against the Axis Central Powers and the Co-Prosperity Sphere in favor of the United States and the Allies would have dire consequences for the Costa Rican Government and economy after the Second Great War. It would lead to the National Liberation Army and the Ulatista Forces of the National Union Party under command of José Figueres Ferrer to fight against President Theodoro Picardo in armed uprising in the wake of a disputed presidential election of 1948, were the National Unionist Otilio Ulate Blanco had gained the most votes against the Democrats under Fernando Castro Cervantes and the Social-Democrats under José Figueres Ferrer, but then the elections were deemed fraudulent and annulled by the Costa Rican Congress. The Costa Rica Civil War resulted in rouhgtly 2,000 dead in the 44 days it lasted and ended with the National Union installing Blanco as the President of the Free State of Costa Rica once again, ending nearly 100 years of the Costa Rican Republic (beginning in 1848) and being one of the bloodiest events and uprisings in twentieth-century Costa Rican history. The victorious junta drafted a constitution guaranteeing free elections to a new congress, but ending the power it previously had, as they claimed the left-leaning socialists had used it to oppress the will of the people. With the new constitution and a reformed loyal national unionist military, Otilio Ulate Blanco abolished the former presidency, declared himself Caudillo of Costa Rica and established a new state along more National Monarchist/ Fascist Royalis/ Aristrocrat Syndicalist lines that promised universal suffrage and gave equal rights to women and Afro-Costa Ricans for the first time, secured by a strong military of the people, led by national hero Figueres as supreme commander durign much of the rule of Caudillo Blanco until his death.
Chapter 750: Bhutan Battles
Chapter 750: Bhutan Battles
In the Kingdom of Bhutan, a British protectorate that otherwise remained independent, the reign of Jigme Wangchuck as a king however was threatened by the invading Japanese and Co-Prosperity Sphere Forces coming from the Tibetan Empire and so despite his policy of neutrality, upon the outbreak of the war the king sent the government of India a gift of 100,000 rupees as a gesture of friendship and was depending on his previously limited relations to the British Raj/ British India to now protect him against this invading Coprospist forces. Educated in English, Hindi and Buddhist literature, as the eldest son of King Ugyen Wangchuck, the first who had ruled the whole country, he had ruled as the Druk Gyalpo, or King of Buthan from 21 August 1926 onward, five days before his fathers death. Now he was in deserate need f British Forces defending his rule and his kingdom from the Japanese-Tibetan invaders, who had captured nearly one fourth to one third of his country by now in the west towards Sikkim and in the east. Only quick British reinforcements coming from the railways at Madahirat, Ambapi and Bagrakote, as well as along the Manav River could save them as the Bhutanese forces were poorly equipped, trained and low in overall numbers to face this invasion alone. The ancient Royal Bhutan Capital of Punakha was therefore under direct threat from the nearby Co-Prosperity Sphere forces controlled valleys, but at the same time protected by direct attacks thanks to the surrounding mountains. As a result of this the Tibetan Empire, aided by the Japanese Empire started raids with twenty to fourth fighters and ten to twenty bombers on Buthan, Nepalese and north Indian cities starting in 1942 until they had finally occupied the country later in 1943. This raids were contested by the Royal Indian Air Force, but the nearby the Assam-Benghal frontier and the needed transport plane aerial Burma-Street to the Chinese United Front severely limited the overall numbers of allied fighters used against this in comparison minor raids, only changing when their psychological effects on northern India became far more then their limited proportions lead to believe at first and by then the Japanese had already taken Bengal and operated their bombings on north-central India from there.
The Bhutan Kingdom only survived the initial attacks of 1942 because of the reinforcements by the British from India and in this mountainous, hardly passable terrain, the Allied superiority in tanks and artillery proved vital to defend passes and fortified positions, even without air superiority and support during most of this skirmishes and battles. While the Imperial Japanese and Tibetan Forces had superior numbers at first and even were well trained Mountaineers, they often lacked the same numbers of automatic machine-guns and heavy weapons that their Allied (mainly British and Indian) counterparts had in this mountain and hill skirmishes, fights and battles that even a much smaller initial Allied force was quit good at repelling Tibetan and Japanese assaults on Bhutanese, Sikkim and Nepalese territory. This proved vital, as it bought enough time for major allied reinforcements to arrive in the contested regions and fortify their position to a extent, that the Tibetan and Japanese invaders had no chance in attacking the Himalaya flank of the British in Raj/ India. Their defense hardened to something similar to trench warfare in the First Great War with well fortified positions and even continuously artillery and airstrikes on these mountainous position often proved unable to break them. However more then often these attacks accidentally succeeded too by causing landslides and avalanches that buried whole positions with all their forces underneath them. Some of those poor souls and their equipment would be lost for over sixty, eighty, hundred or hundred-twenty years later before they would finally be found and recovered to finally bury them with military honors. Some of them, the Tibetans and Japanese were buried inside of Tibet or Japan according to their relative wishes, while most of the British Indian/ British Raj forces were buried in the respective Indian states and home regions they originally came for. In many regions it was a celebration to have these heroes and fallen finally returned home and some of their remnant equipment was installed in local history museum afterwards.
In the Kingdom of Bhutan, a British protectorate that otherwise remained independent, the reign of Jigme Wangchuck as a king however was threatened by the invading Japanese and Co-Prosperity Sphere Forces coming from the Tibetan Empire and so despite his policy of neutrality, upon the outbreak of the war the king sent the government of India a gift of 100,000 rupees as a gesture of friendship and was depending on his previously limited relations to the British Raj/ British India to now protect him against this invading Coprospist forces. Educated in English, Hindi and Buddhist literature, as the eldest son of King Ugyen Wangchuck, the first who had ruled the whole country, he had ruled as the Druk Gyalpo, or King of Buthan from 21 August 1926 onward, five days before his fathers death. Now he was in deserate need f British Forces defending his rule and his kingdom from the Japanese-Tibetan invaders, who had captured nearly one fourth to one third of his country by now in the west towards Sikkim and in the east. Only quick British reinforcements coming from the railways at Madahirat, Ambapi and Bagrakote, as well as along the Manav River could save them as the Bhutanese forces were poorly equipped, trained and low in overall numbers to face this invasion alone. The ancient Royal Bhutan Capital of Punakha was therefore under direct threat from the nearby Co-Prosperity Sphere forces controlled valleys, but at the same time protected by direct attacks thanks to the surrounding mountains. As a result of this the Tibetan Empire, aided by the Japanese Empire started raids with twenty to fourth fighters and ten to twenty bombers on Buthan, Nepalese and north Indian cities starting in 1942 until they had finally occupied the country later in 1943. This raids were contested by the Royal Indian Air Force, but the nearby the Assam-Benghal frontier and the needed transport plane aerial Burma-Street to the Chinese United Front severely limited the overall numbers of allied fighters used against this in comparison minor raids, only changing when their psychological effects on northern India became far more then their limited proportions lead to believe at first and by then the Japanese had already taken Bengal and operated their bombings on north-central India from there.
The Bhutan Kingdom only survived the initial attacks of 1942 because of the reinforcements by the British from India and in this mountainous, hardly passable terrain, the Allied superiority in tanks and artillery proved vital to defend passes and fortified positions, even without air superiority and support during most of this skirmishes and battles. While the Imperial Japanese and Tibetan Forces had superior numbers at first and even were well trained Mountaineers, they often lacked the same numbers of automatic machine-guns and heavy weapons that their Allied (mainly British and Indian) counterparts had in this mountain and hill skirmishes, fights and battles that even a much smaller initial Allied force was quit good at repelling Tibetan and Japanese assaults on Bhutanese, Sikkim and Nepalese territory. This proved vital, as it bought enough time for major allied reinforcements to arrive in the contested regions and fortify their position to a extent, that the Tibetan and Japanese invaders had no chance in attacking the Himalaya flank of the British in Raj/ India. Their defense hardened to something similar to trench warfare in the First Great War with well fortified positions and even continuously artillery and airstrikes on these mountainous position often proved unable to break them. However more then often these attacks accidentally succeeded too by causing landslides and avalanches that buried whole positions with all their forces underneath them. Some of those poor souls and their equipment would be lost for over sixty, eighty, hundred or hundred-twenty years later before they would finally be found and recovered to finally bury them with military honors. Some of them, the Tibetans and Japanese were buried inside of Tibet or Japan according to their relative wishes, while most of the British Indian/ British Raj forces were buried in the respective Indian states and home regions they originally came for. In many regions it was a celebration to have these heroes and fallen finally returned home and some of their remnant equipment was installed in local history museum afterwards.
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Chapter 751: The Cuban Convoys
Chapter 751: The Cuban Convoys
In Cuba, President Federico Laredo Brú led his country when the Second Great War broke out in Europe. In 1940, Laredo Brú denied entry to 600 Jewish refugees who arrived in Havana aboard the MS St. Louis in hope to escape a what they believed to be European War. After both the United States and Canada likewise refused to accept these refugees, they returned to Europe, where many were eventually ending up in White Ruthenia later on. Fulgencio Batists succeeded to the presidency following elections in 1940. Batista closely cooperated with the United States as it moved closer to war against the Axis Central Powers. Cuba declared war on the Axis Central Powers and the Co-Prosperity Sphere in 1941. Cuba was an important participant in the Battle of the Caribbean and its navy gained a reputation for skill and efficiency. The navy escorted hundreds of Allied ships through hostile waters, flew thousands of hours on convoy and patrol duty, and rescued over 200 victims of Axis Central Power U-Boat, merchant raider ships and battleships that attacked from the sea. Six Cuban merchant ships were sunk by U-boats, taking the lives of around eighty sailors. On 15 March 1943, a squadron of Cuban submarine chasers sank a German submarine U-167 near Cayo Blanquizal. Cuba received millions of dollars in American military aid (most quickly becoming useless after the Second Great War) through the Land-Lease program, which included air bases, aircraft, weapons, and training. The United States naval station at Guatanamo Bay also served as a base for convoys passing between the mainland United States and the Panama Canal or other points in the Caribbean. Cuba's special geographical position at the entrance of theGulf of Mexico, Havana's role as the principal trading port in the West Indies, and the country's natural resources, Cuba was an important participant in the American Theater during the Second Great War and subsequently one of the greatest beneficiaries of the United States' Land-Lease program. Cuba was one of the first Latin American countries to declare war on the Axis Central Powers in 1941, entering the conflict directly and it's military would developed a reputation as being the most efficient and cooperative of all the Caribbean nations.
Following the 1940 Cuban elections, Brú was succeeded by the "strongman and chief" of the Cuban Army, Fulgencio Batista. At first, the United States was concerned about Batista's intentions; whether he would align his country with the Axis cause, or that of the Allies. Batista, shortly after becoming president, legalized a pro-fascist royalist organization linked to Francisco Franco and the Fascist Royalist regime in Spain, but fear of any National Monarchist sympathies was dispelled for the time being, when Batista sent the British a large quantity of sugar as a gift. Later, fear of Batista's possible sympathy for Franco was also dispelled when the president suggested to the United States that it launch a joint US-Latin American invasion of Spain, in order to overthrow Franco and his regime. This plan, however, did not materialize. Batista's support for the Allied cause was confirmed in February 1941, when he ordered all Axis Central Powers consular officials to leave his country. According to Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, Cuba's military was the "most cooperative and helpful of all the Caribbean states" during the war, and that its navy was "small but efficient" in its fight against Axis Central Power forces. Upon Cuba's declaration of war on the Axis Central Powers, Batista signed an agreement with the United States that gave the latter permission to build airfields in Cuba for the protection of the Caribbean sealanes, and he also signed a mutual defense pact with Mexico for the defense against enemy submarines and ships in the Gulf of Mexico. Among the new American bases was the San Antonio Air Base near San Antonio de los Baños, and the San Julián Air Base in Pinar del Rio, both of which were built in 1942 and turned over to the Cuban military after the war. The United States also supplied Cuba with modern military aircraft, which were vital for coastal defense and anti-submarine operations, and refitted the Cuban Navy with modern weapons and other equipment. During the Second Great War, the Cuban Navy escorted hundreds of Allied ships through hostile waters, sailed nearly 400,000 miles on convoy and patrol duty, flew over 83,000 hours on convoy and patrol duty, and rescued over 200 Axis Central Power submarines and ship victims from the sea, all without losing a single warship or aircraft to enemy action. But even though the Cuban military was praised for its conduct, rumors persisted throughout the war that the Germans were operating small bases hidden in coves along Cuba's coast, which were used to resupply the U-boats. However, while there were such German plans, this fear was unjustified, and the lack of such bases in the Caribbean forced the Germans to develop supply submarines, the German Type XIV submarine nicknamed "milk cows", for logistics of operations in the region.
Cuba lost twelve merchant ships during the war, and the Cuban Navy was credited with sinking one German submarine. The first four sunken merchant ships were the Manzanillo, a steamer of 1,025 tons, the 1,685 ton Santiago de Cuba, the 1,983 ton Mambi, and the 5,441 ton Libertad. Manzanillo was sunk with the Santiago de Cuba on August 12, 1942, by U-508. The two ships were sailing in Special Convoy 12 when they were attacked off the Florida Keys. Altogether, thirty-three sailors were killed in what became the deadliest attack on the Cuban merchant marine during the war. Thirty others survived. The next engagement occurred on May 13, 1943, when U-176 sank Mambi. Mambi was with Convoy NC-18, sailing six miles off Manati, when she was hit by a single torpedo, sinking her quickly. Twenty-three men were killed, including five American United States Navy Armed Guards, who manned the ship's weapons. Eleven others survived, including the ship's master and one of the armed guards. The 2,249 ton American ship SS Nickeliner was also sunk during the same attack, after being struck by two torpedoes. The first torpedo explosion lifted the ship's bow out of the water and threw up a column of water and flames about 100 feet into the air. The second damaged the tanks of ammonia water the ship was carrying. Miraculously, the crew, which included seven armed guards, escaped into lifeboats without a single loss of life. They were rescued by a Cuban submarine chaser as Nickeliner sank, and landed at Nuevitas. Libertad was the largest Cuban merchant ship sunk in the war. On the morning of December 4, 1943, the 5,441-ton Libertad was sailing about seventy-five miles southwest of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras, with Convoy KN-280 (sailing Key West to New York), when the U-129 attacked her. Launching four torpedoes, U-129 struck Libertad twice on the port side, causing the ship to first list severely and then sink rapidly. The crew had no time to send out distress signals, and were still lowering life rafts when the sea water reached the deck of the ship. Twenty-five men were killed, and eighteen others were rescued by the United States Navy after several hours adrift at sea. The final two Cuban merchant ships were sunk in February 1944, apparently without the loss of life. Altogether, Cuba lost 10,296 tons of shipping during the war, as well as about eighty lives, including that of the American armed guards. Today there is a monument in Havana's Avenida del Puerto for the people who died in the attacks.
The only U-boat sunk by the Cuban Navy was U-176, which was the submarine that had sunk Mambi and Nickeliner. On May 15, 1943, a squadron of Cuban submarine chasers, formed by the CS-11, CS-12 and CS-13, sailed from Isabela de Sagua toward Havana escorting the Honduran ship Wanks, and the Cuban ship Camagüey, both of which were loaded with sugar. The crews of the merchant ships, as well as those of the warships were on full alert. Just before their departure, a warning had been received that a surfacing submarine had been detected off the northern coast of Matanzas. The ships sailed in forward lines 500 yd (460 m) apart. Camagüey was on the flank nearest to the coast. The escort navigated at a distance of 750–1,000 yd (690–910 m). The CS-12 was in front, followed by the CS-11 with the squadron chief on board and, finally, the CS-13 was at the rear. At 17:15, when the convoy was off of Cayo Megano, an American Kingfisher floatplane appeared in the sky coming from the northeast. The plane went into a nosedive and, flying at low altitude, circled twice, swaying, and turning on and off its engine. According to an established code, the maneuvers were used to announce the presence of a German U-boat, and to mark its exact position. The Kingfisher then dropped a smoke float. After dropping the float, the Cuban squadron chief ordered the commander of CS-13, Ensign Mario Ramirez Delgado, to explore the area pointed out by the plane. Once the order was received, the CS-13 sailed speedily toward the area, where the patrol boat's sonar received a clear and precise contact at 900 yards. The seaman operating the sonar, Norberto Collado Abreu, was glued to the equipment, without missing a sound. Then the attack started: three depth charges set to explode at 100, 150, and 250 feet, were dropped from the stern, in accordance with the calculated speed of the submarine. Four explosions were clearly detected. The fourth explosion was so strong that the stern of the Cuban ship was submerged and water came in through the hatchway of the engine room. At that time the hydrophones reported a sound similar to a liquid bubbling when it comes from a submerged container that is suddenly opened. The sounds indicated that the U-boat had been hit. To finish the U-boat off, the patrol boat launched two more depth charges, set to explode at 250 feet. A few minutes later, a dark stain was observed on the surface of the water. A spurt of a black and viscous substance smelling like gasoline came up from the deep. Although there was little doubt that the U-boat had been sunk, Delgado was ordered to take a sample of the contaminated seawater to confirm the victory. But even then it was not until after the war, when the Allies seized Germany's naval records, that proof of U-176's sinking was found. According to the seized documents, U-176 was under the command of Captain Lieutenant Reiner Dierksen, had sunk eleven enemy ships in her career, and was herself sunk with all hands lost.
The exploration of the battle area with the hydro-acoustic equipment continued for a short time after the engagement, but no sound was detected. The CS-13 then joined the convoy again and continued its crossing. Upon arrival in Havana, and after personally informing the Head of the Navy, Delgado spoke on the phone with President Batista, who ordered him to keep absolute silence about what had happened. For some unknown reason, according to Delgado, the sinking of U-176 remained a secret to the Cuban public until after the end of the war. In 1946, Delgado was finally awarded the Meritorious Naval Service Order with Red Badge. Furthermore, Samuel Eliot Morison recognized his success in his work History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, where he also praised the ability and efficiency of the Cuban Navy. During the Second Great War, German espionage activity in Cuba was minor, despite the country's importance to the Allied war-effort, and was eliminated by Allied counter-intelligence before it could really begin. Shortly after the beginning of the war, the Germans began operating a clandestine communications network in South America to collect secret information and safely smuggle it out of the region to German-occupied Europe. For Cuba, the German Intelligence sent a man named Heinz Lüning to Havana with orders to establish a secret radio station and then transmit the information he collected to agents in South America, where it would then be sent directly to Germany. The plan could have worked, but Lüning was an incompetent spy who failed to master the very basics of espionage. For example, he was never able to get his radio working correctly, he did not understand how to use the secret ink he was supplied with, and he missed drop boxes. But in spite of all this, after his premature arrest in August 1942, Allied officials, including President Batista, General Manuel Benítez, J. Edgar Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller, attempted to fabricate a link between Lüning and the German submarines operating in the Caribbean, by claiming that he was in contact with them via radio, in order to provide the public with an explanation for their failures early in the U-boat campaign. Allied officials elevated Lüning's importance to that of a "master spy," but there is no evidence that he ever came across even a single piece of important intelligence during his time in Cuba. Lüning was found guilty of espionage and executed in Cuba in November 1942, becoming the only German spy put to death in Latin America during the Second Great War.
Ernest Hemingway was living at his home, Finca Vigía, in Cuba when the war began. His first contribution to the Allied war-effort without leaving the island was to organize his own counter-intelligence force to root out any Axis spies operating in Havana. Calling it his "Crook Factory," Hemingway's unit consisted of eighteen men, many of whom he had worked with five years before during the Spanish Civil War. The effort was unsuccessful, however, and Hemingway soon turned his attention to fighting the German U-boats operating in the Caribbean Sea. Just three weeks after receiving permission from Ambassador Spruille Braden to form the "Crook Factory," Hemingway asked Braden for permission to arm his fishing boat, the Pilar, for patrols against U-boats off of the Cuban coast. Surprisingly, Baden gave Hemingway permission, and so the latter proceeded with arming the Pilar and the crew with machine guns, bazookas, and hand grenades. Hemingway's plan was similar to that of the Q-ship idea: He would sail around in what appeared to be a harmless pleasure craft, inviting the Germans to surface and board, and when they did, the boarding party would be disposed of with the machine guns, and the U-boat would then be engaged with the bazookas and grenades. Hemingway's patrols against German U-boats turned out to be just as unsuccessful as the counter-intelligence operation was. As the months passed, and as no U-boat appeared, the Pilar's patrols turned into fishing trips, and the grenades were thrown into the sea as "drunken sport." After adding his sons Patrick and Gregory to the crew, Hemingway acknowledged that his U-boat hunting venture had "turned into a charade," but he never admitted it straightforwardly. Years later, the Cuban naval officer Mario Ramirez Delgado, who sank U-176, said Hemingway was "a playboy that hunted submarines off the Cuban coast as a whim."
In Cuba, President Federico Laredo Brú led his country when the Second Great War broke out in Europe. In 1940, Laredo Brú denied entry to 600 Jewish refugees who arrived in Havana aboard the MS St. Louis in hope to escape a what they believed to be European War. After both the United States and Canada likewise refused to accept these refugees, they returned to Europe, where many were eventually ending up in White Ruthenia later on. Fulgencio Batists succeeded to the presidency following elections in 1940. Batista closely cooperated with the United States as it moved closer to war against the Axis Central Powers. Cuba declared war on the Axis Central Powers and the Co-Prosperity Sphere in 1941. Cuba was an important participant in the Battle of the Caribbean and its navy gained a reputation for skill and efficiency. The navy escorted hundreds of Allied ships through hostile waters, flew thousands of hours on convoy and patrol duty, and rescued over 200 victims of Axis Central Power U-Boat, merchant raider ships and battleships that attacked from the sea. Six Cuban merchant ships were sunk by U-boats, taking the lives of around eighty sailors. On 15 March 1943, a squadron of Cuban submarine chasers sank a German submarine U-167 near Cayo Blanquizal. Cuba received millions of dollars in American military aid (most quickly becoming useless after the Second Great War) through the Land-Lease program, which included air bases, aircraft, weapons, and training. The United States naval station at Guatanamo Bay also served as a base for convoys passing between the mainland United States and the Panama Canal or other points in the Caribbean. Cuba's special geographical position at the entrance of theGulf of Mexico, Havana's role as the principal trading port in the West Indies, and the country's natural resources, Cuba was an important participant in the American Theater during the Second Great War and subsequently one of the greatest beneficiaries of the United States' Land-Lease program. Cuba was one of the first Latin American countries to declare war on the Axis Central Powers in 1941, entering the conflict directly and it's military would developed a reputation as being the most efficient and cooperative of all the Caribbean nations.
Following the 1940 Cuban elections, Brú was succeeded by the "strongman and chief" of the Cuban Army, Fulgencio Batista. At first, the United States was concerned about Batista's intentions; whether he would align his country with the Axis cause, or that of the Allies. Batista, shortly after becoming president, legalized a pro-fascist royalist organization linked to Francisco Franco and the Fascist Royalist regime in Spain, but fear of any National Monarchist sympathies was dispelled for the time being, when Batista sent the British a large quantity of sugar as a gift. Later, fear of Batista's possible sympathy for Franco was also dispelled when the president suggested to the United States that it launch a joint US-Latin American invasion of Spain, in order to overthrow Franco and his regime. This plan, however, did not materialize. Batista's support for the Allied cause was confirmed in February 1941, when he ordered all Axis Central Powers consular officials to leave his country. According to Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, Cuba's military was the "most cooperative and helpful of all the Caribbean states" during the war, and that its navy was "small but efficient" in its fight against Axis Central Power forces. Upon Cuba's declaration of war on the Axis Central Powers, Batista signed an agreement with the United States that gave the latter permission to build airfields in Cuba for the protection of the Caribbean sealanes, and he also signed a mutual defense pact with Mexico for the defense against enemy submarines and ships in the Gulf of Mexico. Among the new American bases was the San Antonio Air Base near San Antonio de los Baños, and the San Julián Air Base in Pinar del Rio, both of which were built in 1942 and turned over to the Cuban military after the war. The United States also supplied Cuba with modern military aircraft, which were vital for coastal defense and anti-submarine operations, and refitted the Cuban Navy with modern weapons and other equipment. During the Second Great War, the Cuban Navy escorted hundreds of Allied ships through hostile waters, sailed nearly 400,000 miles on convoy and patrol duty, flew over 83,000 hours on convoy and patrol duty, and rescued over 200 Axis Central Power submarines and ship victims from the sea, all without losing a single warship or aircraft to enemy action. But even though the Cuban military was praised for its conduct, rumors persisted throughout the war that the Germans were operating small bases hidden in coves along Cuba's coast, which were used to resupply the U-boats. However, while there were such German plans, this fear was unjustified, and the lack of such bases in the Caribbean forced the Germans to develop supply submarines, the German Type XIV submarine nicknamed "milk cows", for logistics of operations in the region.
Cuba lost twelve merchant ships during the war, and the Cuban Navy was credited with sinking one German submarine. The first four sunken merchant ships were the Manzanillo, a steamer of 1,025 tons, the 1,685 ton Santiago de Cuba, the 1,983 ton Mambi, and the 5,441 ton Libertad. Manzanillo was sunk with the Santiago de Cuba on August 12, 1942, by U-508. The two ships were sailing in Special Convoy 12 when they were attacked off the Florida Keys. Altogether, thirty-three sailors were killed in what became the deadliest attack on the Cuban merchant marine during the war. Thirty others survived. The next engagement occurred on May 13, 1943, when U-176 sank Mambi. Mambi was with Convoy NC-18, sailing six miles off Manati, when she was hit by a single torpedo, sinking her quickly. Twenty-three men were killed, including five American United States Navy Armed Guards, who manned the ship's weapons. Eleven others survived, including the ship's master and one of the armed guards. The 2,249 ton American ship SS Nickeliner was also sunk during the same attack, after being struck by two torpedoes. The first torpedo explosion lifted the ship's bow out of the water and threw up a column of water and flames about 100 feet into the air. The second damaged the tanks of ammonia water the ship was carrying. Miraculously, the crew, which included seven armed guards, escaped into lifeboats without a single loss of life. They were rescued by a Cuban submarine chaser as Nickeliner sank, and landed at Nuevitas. Libertad was the largest Cuban merchant ship sunk in the war. On the morning of December 4, 1943, the 5,441-ton Libertad was sailing about seventy-five miles southwest of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras, with Convoy KN-280 (sailing Key West to New York), when the U-129 attacked her. Launching four torpedoes, U-129 struck Libertad twice on the port side, causing the ship to first list severely and then sink rapidly. The crew had no time to send out distress signals, and were still lowering life rafts when the sea water reached the deck of the ship. Twenty-five men were killed, and eighteen others were rescued by the United States Navy after several hours adrift at sea. The final two Cuban merchant ships were sunk in February 1944, apparently without the loss of life. Altogether, Cuba lost 10,296 tons of shipping during the war, as well as about eighty lives, including that of the American armed guards. Today there is a monument in Havana's Avenida del Puerto for the people who died in the attacks.
The only U-boat sunk by the Cuban Navy was U-176, which was the submarine that had sunk Mambi and Nickeliner. On May 15, 1943, a squadron of Cuban submarine chasers, formed by the CS-11, CS-12 and CS-13, sailed from Isabela de Sagua toward Havana escorting the Honduran ship Wanks, and the Cuban ship Camagüey, both of which were loaded with sugar. The crews of the merchant ships, as well as those of the warships were on full alert. Just before their departure, a warning had been received that a surfacing submarine had been detected off the northern coast of Matanzas. The ships sailed in forward lines 500 yd (460 m) apart. Camagüey was on the flank nearest to the coast. The escort navigated at a distance of 750–1,000 yd (690–910 m). The CS-12 was in front, followed by the CS-11 with the squadron chief on board and, finally, the CS-13 was at the rear. At 17:15, when the convoy was off of Cayo Megano, an American Kingfisher floatplane appeared in the sky coming from the northeast. The plane went into a nosedive and, flying at low altitude, circled twice, swaying, and turning on and off its engine. According to an established code, the maneuvers were used to announce the presence of a German U-boat, and to mark its exact position. The Kingfisher then dropped a smoke float. After dropping the float, the Cuban squadron chief ordered the commander of CS-13, Ensign Mario Ramirez Delgado, to explore the area pointed out by the plane. Once the order was received, the CS-13 sailed speedily toward the area, where the patrol boat's sonar received a clear and precise contact at 900 yards. The seaman operating the sonar, Norberto Collado Abreu, was glued to the equipment, without missing a sound. Then the attack started: three depth charges set to explode at 100, 150, and 250 feet, were dropped from the stern, in accordance with the calculated speed of the submarine. Four explosions were clearly detected. The fourth explosion was so strong that the stern of the Cuban ship was submerged and water came in through the hatchway of the engine room. At that time the hydrophones reported a sound similar to a liquid bubbling when it comes from a submerged container that is suddenly opened. The sounds indicated that the U-boat had been hit. To finish the U-boat off, the patrol boat launched two more depth charges, set to explode at 250 feet. A few minutes later, a dark stain was observed on the surface of the water. A spurt of a black and viscous substance smelling like gasoline came up from the deep. Although there was little doubt that the U-boat had been sunk, Delgado was ordered to take a sample of the contaminated seawater to confirm the victory. But even then it was not until after the war, when the Allies seized Germany's naval records, that proof of U-176's sinking was found. According to the seized documents, U-176 was under the command of Captain Lieutenant Reiner Dierksen, had sunk eleven enemy ships in her career, and was herself sunk with all hands lost.
The exploration of the battle area with the hydro-acoustic equipment continued for a short time after the engagement, but no sound was detected. The CS-13 then joined the convoy again and continued its crossing. Upon arrival in Havana, and after personally informing the Head of the Navy, Delgado spoke on the phone with President Batista, who ordered him to keep absolute silence about what had happened. For some unknown reason, according to Delgado, the sinking of U-176 remained a secret to the Cuban public until after the end of the war. In 1946, Delgado was finally awarded the Meritorious Naval Service Order with Red Badge. Furthermore, Samuel Eliot Morison recognized his success in his work History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, where he also praised the ability and efficiency of the Cuban Navy. During the Second Great War, German espionage activity in Cuba was minor, despite the country's importance to the Allied war-effort, and was eliminated by Allied counter-intelligence before it could really begin. Shortly after the beginning of the war, the Germans began operating a clandestine communications network in South America to collect secret information and safely smuggle it out of the region to German-occupied Europe. For Cuba, the German Intelligence sent a man named Heinz Lüning to Havana with orders to establish a secret radio station and then transmit the information he collected to agents in South America, where it would then be sent directly to Germany. The plan could have worked, but Lüning was an incompetent spy who failed to master the very basics of espionage. For example, he was never able to get his radio working correctly, he did not understand how to use the secret ink he was supplied with, and he missed drop boxes. But in spite of all this, after his premature arrest in August 1942, Allied officials, including President Batista, General Manuel Benítez, J. Edgar Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller, attempted to fabricate a link between Lüning and the German submarines operating in the Caribbean, by claiming that he was in contact with them via radio, in order to provide the public with an explanation for their failures early in the U-boat campaign. Allied officials elevated Lüning's importance to that of a "master spy," but there is no evidence that he ever came across even a single piece of important intelligence during his time in Cuba. Lüning was found guilty of espionage and executed in Cuba in November 1942, becoming the only German spy put to death in Latin America during the Second Great War.
Ernest Hemingway was living at his home, Finca Vigía, in Cuba when the war began. His first contribution to the Allied war-effort without leaving the island was to organize his own counter-intelligence force to root out any Axis spies operating in Havana. Calling it his "Crook Factory," Hemingway's unit consisted of eighteen men, many of whom he had worked with five years before during the Spanish Civil War. The effort was unsuccessful, however, and Hemingway soon turned his attention to fighting the German U-boats operating in the Caribbean Sea. Just three weeks after receiving permission from Ambassador Spruille Braden to form the "Crook Factory," Hemingway asked Braden for permission to arm his fishing boat, the Pilar, for patrols against U-boats off of the Cuban coast. Surprisingly, Baden gave Hemingway permission, and so the latter proceeded with arming the Pilar and the crew with machine guns, bazookas, and hand grenades. Hemingway's plan was similar to that of the Q-ship idea: He would sail around in what appeared to be a harmless pleasure craft, inviting the Germans to surface and board, and when they did, the boarding party would be disposed of with the machine guns, and the U-boat would then be engaged with the bazookas and grenades. Hemingway's patrols against German U-boats turned out to be just as unsuccessful as the counter-intelligence operation was. As the months passed, and as no U-boat appeared, the Pilar's patrols turned into fishing trips, and the grenades were thrown into the sea as "drunken sport." After adding his sons Patrick and Gregory to the crew, Hemingway acknowledged that his U-boat hunting venture had "turned into a charade," but he never admitted it straightforwardly. Years later, the Cuban naval officer Mario Ramirez Delgado, who sank U-176, said Hemingway was "a playboy that hunted submarines off the Cuban coast as a whim."
Will make it into one of the next chapters, maybe even the next one, eben if some campaigsn and battles (Middle East, Africa and such) would be cronologically before that. Not to mention the more stuff I cover now as it starst during WW2 the less of thsi stuff will I have to cover later on when there is even mroe of this and not always a war or conflict around directly as well but more politics and internal struggles for some time and many chapters. Not to mention some divisions, units and amry groupd that differ from OTL will be have to be placed in between TTL WW2 as they only fit there with their chapters ;D
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Chapter 752: The Nusantara Ideal
Chapter 752: The Nusantara Ideal
Inside the Java Karaton, the partly Republican National Mohammedan State of Java faced not only the Darul Islam guerrillas under Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosuwirjo in West Java with anti-Republican and anti-Japanese ideals, as well as the Communist Party under Musso took advantage of public disaffection by launching rebellion in Madiun in East Java, but also another even more influential faction and group. This major third group was the Nusantara Society in Java that had it's name from Old Javanese term which literally means "outer islands". The word Nusantara itself was taken from an oath by Gajah Mada in 1336, as written in the Old Javanese Pararaton and Nagarakretagama. Gajah Mada was a powerful military leader and prime minister of Majapahit credited with bringing the empire to its peak of glory. Gajah Mada delivered an oath called Sumpah Palapa, in which he vowed not to eat any food containing spices until he had conquered all of Nusantara under the glory of Majapahit. Later historians believe that the concept of Nusantara as a unified region was not invented by Gajah Mada in 1336. Earlier in 1275, the term Cakravala Mandala Dvipantara is used to describe the Southeast Asian archipelago by Kertanegara of Singhasari. Dvipantara is a Sanskrit word for the "islands in between", making it a synonym to Nusantara as both dvipa and nusa mean "island". Kertanegara envisioned the union of Southeast Asian maritime kingdoms and polities under Singhasari as a bulwark against the rise of the expansionist Mongol Yuan dynasty in mainland China. Similar how later Mohammedan Javanese envisioned the same unity lead by them against the Japanese Co-Prosperity, as well as Japanese, Chinese and Malay settlement and colonialism in this natural Javanese and Mohammedan islands. They also used the term Indonesia, that derived from Greek Indos (Ἰνδός) and the word nesos (νῆσος), meaning "Indian islands". The name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians and, his preference, Malayunesians, for the inhabitants of the "Indian Archipelago or Malayan Archipelago".
In the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia; they preferred Malay Archipelago (Dutch: Maleische Archipel); the Netherlands East Indies (Nederlandsch Oost Indië), popularly Indië; the East (de Oost); and Insulinde. After 1900, Indonesia became more common in academic circles outside the Netherlands, and native nationalist groups adopted it for political expression. Adolf Bastian, of the University of Berlin, popularized the name through his book Indonesien oder die Inseln des Malayischen Archipels, 1884–1894. The first native scholar to use the name was Ki Hajar Dewantara when in 1913 he established a press bureau in the Netherlands, Indonesisch Pers-bureau. After the Liberation from Durch and British rule, the Brunei/ Borneo Sultanate, inhabitated by Malayans used the terms Malayunesians and the Malayan Archipelago to refer to a Malayan dominated Southeastasia a region (even outside of Sumatra and Borneo where most of the ethnic Malay lived) that was instead also meaning the former Malayan Peninsula were the Siamese/ Tai had deported them from to Malaya/ Malaysia/ Borneo/ Brunei Sultanate. The Japanese opposed their claim over all of the island as well as the term and goals of Indunesia/ Indonesia/ Hindunesia/ Hindonesia as a ideal of some Hindo/ Hindi Island Archipelgo (mainly centered around Bali). The Japanese opposed all of these pan-Indonesian, pan-Malayunesian movements, including the Nusantara Society on Java and the Indonesia ideal as it opposed their own goals of colonizing the area with Japanese (especially the Islands east of Brunei/ Borneo and Java) and splitting them into various smaller ethnic and religious Co-Prosperity Sphere member states. This also meant that they attempted to split the partly republican, Mohammedan and Javanese movement (Wawasan Nusantara or Indonesian Archipelagic Vision) in Java itself, by promoting Javanese, but also Sundanese (western part of the Island, some tribes even still Buddhsit who were promoted massively by the Japanese) and also the Madurese (on the island of Madura) and even promoted their own script, art, architecture and traditions to oppose the greater Mohammedan Javanese Idea and Goals of Indonesia and Nusantra and even challenge the unity of their main majorly populated island.
Inside the Java Karaton, the partly Republican National Mohammedan State of Java faced not only the Darul Islam guerrillas under Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosuwirjo in West Java with anti-Republican and anti-Japanese ideals, as well as the Communist Party under Musso took advantage of public disaffection by launching rebellion in Madiun in East Java, but also another even more influential faction and group. This major third group was the Nusantara Society in Java that had it's name from Old Javanese term which literally means "outer islands". The word Nusantara itself was taken from an oath by Gajah Mada in 1336, as written in the Old Javanese Pararaton and Nagarakretagama. Gajah Mada was a powerful military leader and prime minister of Majapahit credited with bringing the empire to its peak of glory. Gajah Mada delivered an oath called Sumpah Palapa, in which he vowed not to eat any food containing spices until he had conquered all of Nusantara under the glory of Majapahit. Later historians believe that the concept of Nusantara as a unified region was not invented by Gajah Mada in 1336. Earlier in 1275, the term Cakravala Mandala Dvipantara is used to describe the Southeast Asian archipelago by Kertanegara of Singhasari. Dvipantara is a Sanskrit word for the "islands in between", making it a synonym to Nusantara as both dvipa and nusa mean "island". Kertanegara envisioned the union of Southeast Asian maritime kingdoms and polities under Singhasari as a bulwark against the rise of the expansionist Mongol Yuan dynasty in mainland China. Similar how later Mohammedan Javanese envisioned the same unity lead by them against the Japanese Co-Prosperity, as well as Japanese, Chinese and Malay settlement and colonialism in this natural Javanese and Mohammedan islands. They also used the term Indonesia, that derived from Greek Indos (Ἰνδός) and the word nesos (νῆσος), meaning "Indian islands". The name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians and, his preference, Malayunesians, for the inhabitants of the "Indian Archipelago or Malayan Archipelago".
In the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia; they preferred Malay Archipelago (Dutch: Maleische Archipel); the Netherlands East Indies (Nederlandsch Oost Indië), popularly Indië; the East (de Oost); and Insulinde. After 1900, Indonesia became more common in academic circles outside the Netherlands, and native nationalist groups adopted it for political expression. Adolf Bastian, of the University of Berlin, popularized the name through his book Indonesien oder die Inseln des Malayischen Archipels, 1884–1894. The first native scholar to use the name was Ki Hajar Dewantara when in 1913 he established a press bureau in the Netherlands, Indonesisch Pers-bureau. After the Liberation from Durch and British rule, the Brunei/ Borneo Sultanate, inhabitated by Malayans used the terms Malayunesians and the Malayan Archipelago to refer to a Malayan dominated Southeastasia a region (even outside of Sumatra and Borneo where most of the ethnic Malay lived) that was instead also meaning the former Malayan Peninsula were the Siamese/ Tai had deported them from to Malaya/ Malaysia/ Borneo/ Brunei Sultanate. The Japanese opposed their claim over all of the island as well as the term and goals of Indunesia/ Indonesia/ Hindunesia/ Hindonesia as a ideal of some Hindo/ Hindi Island Archipelgo (mainly centered around Bali). The Japanese opposed all of these pan-Indonesian, pan-Malayunesian movements, including the Nusantara Society on Java and the Indonesia ideal as it opposed their own goals of colonizing the area with Japanese (especially the Islands east of Brunei/ Borneo and Java) and splitting them into various smaller ethnic and religious Co-Prosperity Sphere member states. This also meant that they attempted to split the partly republican, Mohammedan and Javanese movement (Wawasan Nusantara or Indonesian Archipelagic Vision) in Java itself, by promoting Javanese, but also Sundanese (western part of the Island, some tribes even still Buddhsit who were promoted massively by the Japanese) and also the Madurese (on the island of Madura) and even promoted their own script, art, architecture and traditions to oppose the greater Mohammedan Javanese Idea and Goals of Indonesia and Nusantra and even challenge the unity of their main majorly populated island.
Coming tomorrow
Chapter 753: The Second Battle of Moscow and a White Army Victory Parade
Chapter 753: The Second Battle of Moscow and a White Army Victory Parade