The elephant, the lynx, the two wolves, the dragon, the eagle, the griffon vulture and the bull.

What country should I do next?


  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .
Nations buisness
  • The world, 1890. The world has been basically split between basically all european powers. But a huge divergence happens around this time.
    Spain had basically lost all of its power. Its glorious empire was now reduced to Cuba and Puerto Rico in the caraibbeans, and the Philippines and some islands in the pacific. It's colonies in Africa were small and not very profitable. In particular, the non-african colonies where in huge unrest. However, it was the decision of Alfonso XII, and the approval of the Cortes Generales, that would make the spanish situation much more bareable.
    05/07/1890: Spanish, German and Americans representatives met at Madrid. In this meeting, Spain sell all of its not african colonies to Germany and America. America would buy Spanish possesions in the caraibbeans, while Germany would buy Spain pacific empire. Protest from both England and France would not be listened, as these nations didn't want to risk a war. Under Alfonso XII, with the monies gained from the selling of this territories and the ones avoided to suppress rebellions, Spain could finally get back on it's feet, and become an industrial country just like many others. No more would it be an incompetent, weak and poor agricultural nation. A spanish saying was then born:"If the cubans and the Philippinos don't like us, let's see if they like the Americans and the Germans better".
    10/07/1890: In Milan, Austria-Hungary cedes several regions to Italy.
    Map after what would become the famous "Meeting of Milan":
    Immagine per sito 9.png

    Area circled in black are the regions ceded to italy.

    People danced and singed in the streets with happiness for an entire day. Italy was finally united! Because of this, 10/03 is celebrated as a national holiday in Italy. The reasons of this weird Austrian generosity, however, was not because of idealism or something, but it had in fact economical and political reasoning behind it:
    1)Austria-Hungary was having several economical problems. Austria didn't cede these land to Italy. It sold them.
    2)Too many ethniticies: If there was a possibility to gain money by eliminating a region with hight unrest, so be it. After all Trent was just a bunch of mountains. Well, they lost Fiume and Trieste, but hey! At least they still own Dalmatia!
    3)Germany was pursuing Austria to gain Italy friendship in order to eliminate the possibility of Italy of joining France against them. I mean, it's not like Italy would ever backstab its allies, right?

    Italy was finnaly united. Well, almost. Italy really didn't like Austria, but there was a certain someone that they hated too. Who sent an army to prevent Rome unification with Italy? Who backstabbed the italian people, by giving the hated Austria Venice? Who backstabbed the italian people with the treaty of Villafranca, abandoning them just when complete victory was near, but still decided to take rightful italian land? Who stole so much of magnificent arto from Italy? Who stole Tunisia and Algeria from Italy? The answer?
    Fuck france.png
    Fuck France 2.png
     
    Last edited:
    The anger of the elephant and the generousity of the eagle
  • The anger of the elephant

    While in Europe several countries were celebrating, in Asia there was a certain someone who just couldn't take a break.
    While Great Britain was focused on enslaving India, France was focusing on Indochina, which caused tension between the third republic and the Kingdom of Siam. Out of all the places in the world, Siam was one of the few places that wasn't colonized. That being said, they have been losing territories since 1860, and the situation wasn't getting better. Chulalongkorn had modernized the country, and managed to make sure that Siam would't become a colony. However many of the concession given to the french weren't well seen by the siameses: altought he was called by many Phra Piya Maharat (พระปิยมหาราช, the Great Beloved King), by some "radicals", he was called P̄hū̂ ch̀wyh̄elụ̄x plxm(ผู้ช่วยเหลือปลอม, the fake saviour). These were manly members of the army and the aristocracy, with many of the latter having iterest in the areas ceded to France. This people didn't want the king to be eliminated. Quite the countrary. He maybe have been a fake saviour, but at least the situation wasn't like their neighbour, India. Instead, they just preffered having the king being more aggressive in regarding their french neightbour. No plot was planned, but the aristocracy started to persuade Chulalongkorn to face the french menance, rather than just concede territories. Problem is, despite Chulalongkorn plan od modernization, Siam was STILL too much backward compare to France and, despite their rivality, Britain wasn't really interested to support Siam in a full-out war against the third republic. It seemed like nobody wanted to help little Siam in a war. No one. Or is it?

    Germany position was extremely precarious at the moment: France still hasn't forget the Franco-Prussian war, and the sentiment of "revanche" was still strong. The emperor Wilhelm II knew that a war against France would mean having a 2 front war against Russia, to which France was getting closer to. At the same time, however, they couldn't count on Britain, because of Germany recent act of buying the Spanish east indies. Altho this meant that now Germany has a relatively strong position in the pacific, this also lead to competition between the UK for the control of Asia, leading also to a naval race between the two nations. He knew that he couldn't count on America, which bouth the spanish possessions in the carraibeans, because of their isolationalism. Wilhelm II created the "Triple alliance" between them, Austria-Hungary and Italy, but many were doubtful of the alliance. Not that he didn't trust his allies, but he didn't trust their capabilities. Italy still depended heavly on Britain for resources such as steel and coal, not only because of the lack of such resources in Italy and its colonies, but also because it was more of an agricultural nation, in contrast to Germany. The kaiser started several action to fuel the italian peninsula with these resources, and also sent many advisor to accellerante Italy industrialization. Another problem with Italy, however, is that it was still divided. Not as much as Austria-Hungary(we'll talk about them later), but still, there were cases where a Roman couldn't understand a Venetian, despite both being part of the same country. Unlike Germany, Italy still lacked a sense of complete national unity. But if you thought that Italy was having problem having the different people in its kingdom to coexist, at least they felt italian a bit. They weren't always rioting for independence, unlike a certain someone:
    775px-Austria_Hungary_ethnic.svg.png

    upload_2018-3-26_11-32-17.png


    Austria. Oh god Austria.
    In all of what once was one ,if not the, strongest empire in Europe there isn't a single regions without some kind of unrest. They barely managed to keep Hungary by giving them representation in the parlament, but all the other nationalities were pushing for independence. At least they managed to keep down the italians with the "Meeting of Milan" in 10/07/1890 AND they gained enought to upgrade their economy and their military, but when basically every regions in your empire is screaming for independence, there are going to be many problems anyway.
    Feeling like no other nation in Europe seemed willing to join an alliance with Germany, the Kaiser started to increase the intersts for allies outside the continent. Siam probably wasn't in the shape of fighting off France by himself, but if they manage to distract the third republic from Europe by attacking Indochina, hell mabye even India in the insane possibility of a British intervention against them, Germany would still have a chance.
    1890 was the beginning of a serie of buisy years for the Kaiser. The decision of sending advisor into the country would lead to a quicker industrialization of the country. It would be remember by many, even with the creation of a biographic novel in 1935, called "Der König und ich"(The king and I), written by Austro-Hungarian writer Stefan Zweig. Thanks to Germany strong position and defensive position toward Siam, the latter last concession would be the one of Laos toward France, and it wasn't really peaceful. The elephant has been mocked too much, and showed what he can do when angry. The Paknam incident would be remembered as one of the bloodiest incidents ever knew in the history of Thailand, so much that almost triggered a war. But that is another story.
    This also started a period satirically called by many germans "Das Rennen für Verbündete"(The race for allies). During the years 1890-1914, the Kaiser would search for any opportunity to gain an alliance, which would be satirizite by many, but in the long run would allow the survival of the german people. They have gained the italian trust; they have helped the modernization of Siam; and who knows, maybe someone else is willing to join. You see, Siam isn't the only Asian country who remained independent against western imperialism.
     

    Attachments

    • upload_2018-3-26_11-26-22.png
      upload_2018-3-26_11-26-22.png
      146.5 KB · Views: 622
    Last edited:
    The Franco-Siamese war
  • The Franco-Siamese war: the awakening of the elephant

    The conflict started when Auguste Pavie was sent in Bangkok, to convince the king to cede Laos to France. The third french republic has always noticed Siam weakness, and believed that the king would accept the offer. Little they knew, Siam has been supported by Germany for around 3 years, and it was now a relatively modern nation, at least in the military. Because the king feared for the Laos region to fall under french rule, he encouraged a military corp, many made by Laos conscript. Most of them knew the territory well, to the opposite of many french generals and soldiers. But we'll talk about them later.
    As a result the king, which was also was assumed that Germany would intervene in case the war would have become too much disastrous, rejected Auguste proposal, and prepared the troops for the defence of the country.
    In April 1893, 3 French colonial columns started to march alongside the Mekong river. What confused the french generals is the fact that there wasn't much opposition to the march. Aside for a few ambushes, the french were advancing without too much opposition. That was until they reached the island of Khoung.
    The difficult terrain was giving problems to the french, and the advance was going slowly. They have advanced from Cambodia and deached the 4000 islands regions, where they felt into one of what would be remembered as one of Siam greatest victory in the years 1800. At 07:38 a.m, a storm of steel felt against the fench garrinson, causing panic in the army. For around half an hour the Siamese bombed the enemies with several pieces of artillery, who were given to them by the German empire. After that, an army composed by infantry and elephant charged at the french army, not giving enought time to react. The elephants where armed with machine guns on the back, and some even had some degree of armour, enought to resist french bullets. Strangely enought, the elephant were sent first, in order to generate panik and confusion in the french army, causing heavy losses. The infantry arrived only to deal with little pockets of resistence. However they would not really be needed, as their opponent was retreating. The result of the battle were mixed: despite the elephant armour, some of them died in the battle. However, many more french died in the battle. Elephants weren't something new in the Siamese army, but these ones were equipped with modern equipment(for the time), even holding artillery on their back, but most of the time they holded machine guns. Both of these were given to them by Germany, but Siam was also starting to build its own equipment. On August 1893, a new corp was born, alongside a new Siamese military tecnique, which would help in the future against many opponents: the Khṇa cĥāng(คณะช้าง, Elephant corps in english), with the legendary Kh̀ā chı̂ c̀āy cāk phāyu cĥāng(ค่าใช้จ่ายจากพายุช้าง, or elephant storm charge, because of the noise that the elephant and the artillery would cause when charging resembled the sound of a thunder).
    upload_2018-3-28_10-18-41.png

    Siamese "Elephant corps" in the island of Khong

    When retreating, the siamese had little to no mercy on the french opponent. While retreating to Cambodia, the french were tormented by the S̄eụ̄xdāw k̄hxng lāw(เสือดาวของลาว, Leopards of Laos), Laos conscript who knew the territory and caused several ambushes against the demoralized and injured soldiers. Never giving the french a rest, they would attack out of nowhere, only to disappear in the shadows seconds later.
    Upon hearing what would be remember by France as "Le massacre de l'île de Khong", a huge anti-siamese sentiment was born, and the governament approved to send the navy alongside the Chao Phraya River. The sloop "Inconstant" and the gunboat "Comète" where sent after an ultimatum was sent to begin peace negotiation. If Siam would refuse, France would mobilize in a state of full war, and the peace condition would be harsher. However the king wasn't so sure of acepting peace so easily. And so, he ordered the army to give a suprise to the french.
    July 1893: on the Chao Phraya River delta, the french gunboat and aviso are completely taken by suprise by heavy artillery fire by the Siamese army, and are both sunk. The survivors would be captured or killed by the siamese; the survivors, incuding Edgar Humann, were kept as hostages by the king. However, such violent ways would no be used to prevent France full mobilization.
    July 30 1893: Just before the french republic start a full invasion of Siam, an ultimatum was send by Germany and Italy. If France would start a full mobilization against Siam, Germany and Italy would join the war on Siam side. Fearing a two front war(three if we consider Indochina), and knowing that Russia wouldn't support them yet, the french gave up the idea of an invasion. Peace talks begin in Bangkok on August 10 1893:
    -Siam cedes some small border territory to France
    -France cedes some land in Cambodia
    -France pays war reparation
    Map after the war:
    upload_2018-3-28_10-41-40.png

    This war would be remember as a disaster for France prestige, but would in turn would bring prestige to the king. After this war, no other territorial concession were given to any other nation in the world. Siam become a completely independent nation, and allied itself with Germany and Italy, transforming the triple alliance in the quadruple alliance. The years looks brighter for the kingdom of Siam, now that everybody knows the power of the elephant.
     

    Attachments

    • upload_2018-3-28_10-37-16.png
      upload_2018-3-28_10-37-16.png
      49.6 KB · Views: 605
    Last edited:
    The Cuban revolution: the tocororo last stand
  • The Cuban revolution: the tocororo last stand

    After the succesful "Spanish deal" of 1890, the americans started a policy of "Americanization" of the region. One of the first action was the disestablishment of the church and the redistribuition of the land. The land redistribution program was stipulated in at least three laws: the Cuban Organic Act, the Public Lands Act and the Friar Lands Act. However most of the land was handed over american colonialist. Despite USA decision of equal treatment of the cuban population, several programs were made to virtually transform a manly agrarian location into a more industrialized one, and in general the government tended to favour americans, to a point that Cuba still didn't have parliamental representation. Its nichel rich deposits could be used for the creation of bigger and stronger buildings in the US, alongside the possibility of trading. The mining sector also produced other minerals such as cement, feldspar, gypsum, iron ore, lime, asphalt, bentonite, zeolite, marble and steel, but were manly used by american owners. Gold, copper and zinc deposits were recently found in the central province of Villa Clara, but the government still gave the control of the area to American investors.
    There was a strong american effort to replace the local spanish language, by instituting english as the main language in school. Local cuban journals would be banned while being replaced by american ones. Only an handful of them still used spanish.
    These actions caused tensions with the locals and the colonist, with the latter being saw as a second spanish tyran, only more liberal, and who didn't know spanish. Many however wanted freedom, not only from Spain, but from any other nation in the world. Cuban revolutionaries become popular with the locals, and waited for the first opportunity for a revolt.
    On February 01, 1891, that opportunity arrived: a small american police dispacment, at Ciego de Ávila, shot several rioting workers, who were asking for better treatment, alongside parliament representation. 30 of the 100 workers were injured by the local police, while 10 died. This caused the anger of the people, who started a massive rebellion in "Orient", the eastern section of Cuba. The uprisings in the central part of the island, such as Ibarra, Jagüey Grande, and Aguada, suffered from poor coordination and failed; the leaders were captured, some of them deported and some executed. Around that time, American forces in Cuba numbered about 80,000, of which 20,000 were regular troops and 60,000 were American and Cuban volunteer militia. However, that number would not last for long. Despite the failure in the centre of the island, the rebellion, with the command of Major General Antonio Maceo, they managed to take control of the majority of the region, thanks to the low ammount of soldier present in the area: the americans didn't have the time to positionate a strong military presence, being first more preoccupied in investing in the industry of the region.
    By April 01-11, the Americans holded the west of the island.
    However, the success of the revolutionaries would not last too long: unlike Spain, America is extremely close to Cuba, with Miami being only 367 km away. This meant that American reinforcement arrived quickly to help the local forces. The reinforcement under the command of William R. Shafter and Joseph Wheeler arrived at Havana on April 14. The americans quickly managed to regain ground, but met some difficulty in Camagüey, because the locals preferred guerrilla-like fights rather than full out engagements, even using cavalry charges with machetes. Most of their equipment came from raids against Americans. In American-controlled territory, guerrilla was even more extreme, and this caused problems for the american advance.
    In order to reduce guerrilla warfare, several concentration camps were build in Cayo Hicacal, Cayo Iguana, Cayo Pajonal and on the Islas de Mangles. There rebel leaders, their families, prisoners of war or even just people who were suspected collaborating with the Cuban rebellion would suffer hunger, poor health conditions and horrible working hours. Nearly all of the people sent there would perish. Some of the survivors would live on to tell the tale.
    upload_2018-4-1_20-31-44.png

    Picture of a starving child, victim of malnutrition, on a concentration camp on the Islas de Mangles, April 27 1891.
    Alongside concentrations camps, periodic executions, mass exile of residents and destruction of farms and crops were on the order of the day in American controlled zones. Thanks to this metods, nearly 10% of the local population died. By June 03 1891, the rebel army only helded the present day Holguín province, Granma province and Guantanamo province. The provisional capital of Cuba was on the latter, and Bartolomé de Jesús Masó Márquez was the president. Despite the Cuban bravery and the heavy guerrilla performed by them, the Americans easily win the battle of Bayamo, conquering the city and easily creating a safe road to Guantanamo.
    upload_2018-4-1_22-40-33.png

    The First Marine Battalion (United States), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Huntington, reached the western side of Bayamo, June 15 1891. The next day, an American flag was hoisted in a nearby hill.

    The battle of Guantanamo would be one of the bloodiest in the conflict: the people would face the americans with everything they had: they charged with guns, swords, machetes, knives and even their fists. The battle lasted for around 10 days, but ultimately would end in an american victory. Bartolomé de Jesús Masó Márquez was executed shortly after, and many members of the revolution would be exiled in several other locations.
    1024px-Christy_-_The_Capture_of_El_Caney.jpg

    The 7th Regular Infantry, charging through the fields at the north of Guantanamo, are cutting their way through the wire fence, July 01 1891. Major Corliss, who is prominent in the foreground of the picture, was at this time pierced through the shoulder by a Cuban rifle bullet.

    Despite the american victory, conflicts and guerrilla warfare would keep going for around 2 months. Cuba would turn out to be one of the hardest colony to keep, because of the strong feeling of independence. It was obiouvs that a complete Americanization of the region would not be possible. Some of the rebel demands would be accepted, such as having parliamental representation and having the possibility of having an official spanish journal. Spanish would also become the second prominent language, with the first one being english. Another state would be created: the American East Indies(AEI). It was obiouvs that the old spanish colonies would not give a rest to its new overlords. Especially because America will not be the only one facing problems with their new colony:
    upload_2018-4-1_22-56-50.png
    upload_2018-4-1_23-2-9.png

     

    Attachments

    • upload_2018-4-1_23-0-49.png
      upload_2018-4-1_23-0-49.png
      361.1 KB · Views: 585
    • upload_2018-4-1_23-1-33.png
      upload_2018-4-1_23-1-33.png
      123.5 KB · Views: 514
    • upload_2018-4-1_23-1-44.png
      upload_2018-4-1_23-1-44.png
      107.1 KB · Views: 593
    • upload_2018-4-1_23-1-54.png
      upload_2018-4-1_23-1-54.png
      85.7 KB · Views: 586
    Last edited:
    The Philippines war: the showdown of the two eagles
  • The Philippines war: the showdown of the two eagles

    While America was buisy facing the Cuban rebellion in the homonym island, Germany was facing rebellions in the Philippines. But first, we have to go back a little.
    The Philippines were sold to Germany in 1890. Just like America, the germans too tried to force a "Germanization" of the region. However this process was even more violent that the American one. In some ways, the German controll of the region allowed for the creation of new public schools, transportation, reform system, boutiques, offices and civic buildings. However controll of all the most prestigious jobs was handed to German administers only, often treating the local population as slaves. And sometimes, for good reasons.
    The region was rich in minerals and metals. An example was the rich abundance of Nickel, which was manly found in Surigao del Norte, Davao, Palawan, Romblon and Samar. Iron is found in Ilocos Norte, Nueva Ecija, Camarines Norte and Cotabato. Among non-metal deposits, the most abundant were cement, lime, and marble. Other non-metals include asbestos, clay, guano, asphalt, feldspar, sulfur, talc, silicon, phosphate, and marble. There were also large deposits of gold and chromium. The Philippines also helded fertile lands thanks to the volcanic soil, and its waters are rich in resources such as fishes, mollusks, crabs and even pearls, which were embroidered in Europe. When these resources were discovered by the germans, some of the advisors and colonists that decided to colonize the island gave birth to a motto: Die Philippinen waren eine Kolonie, die in Gold saß und vorgab, arm zu sein!
    (The Philippines was a colony sitting in gold, pretending to be poor!)
    However while in what would be called "Deutsche Philippinen" there were plenty of resources for the German Empire, the local population was growing unhappy because of the many laws giving advantages to the german colonist. Support for the Katipunan—a revolutionary organization which aimed to gain independence from foreign colonial rule by armed revolt—was secretely growing. They had the support of the local population, and even received weapon by the Japanese, who feared German expansionism in the region. Despite all of this, revolutionary Andrés Bonifacio felt that it was not yet the time for a rebellion, as the organization was still weak, and the support, even if growing, was still low. However, with one decision by the Deutsche Philippinen colonial government, the table turned on favour of the secret organization, and started a massif rebellion in the region.
    800px-Katipuneros.jpg

    A 1891 photograph of Filipino Katipuneros
    Beginning in 1891 the German colonial administration began land reforms and required newly created owners to perform 15 days of labor per year for public works in lieu of taxes. The local population already paid several taxes and was fed up by german oppressive rule.
    On the evening of February 4, on Luzon, a massive revolt took controll of Manila, and managed to procede to conquer the island. The German forces in the region weren't many, and so Luzon was quickly captured by the Filippinos, who created a provisorial government, called "Philippine Republic", with Emilio Aguinaldo as president. As a response of the rebellion, on March 11 1891 the SMS Kaiser was sent to bombard the costal cities in the region. But a landing was not issued because of the lack of man power for such operation. After the capture of Luzon, the revolutionaries, with small support of the Japanese, quickly managed to conquer the majority of the colony. With Germany being so far away, it was almost impossible to send reinforcement in time. However, the fact that the Filipino forces were many using primitive weapons such as bow and arrows, bolos and spears, only occasionaly using captured rifles, allowed for a slower advance in the south of the colony.
    upload_2018-4-4_11-43-42.png

    Situation of the conflict on April 01 1891

    On April 01 1891, German renforcement army leaded by Hermann Kersting, Waldemar Vollerthun and Karl Kammerich landed on Panglao and Dumaguete, quickly taking controll of Bohol and Visayas and, after heavy fighting, the German finally landed on Luzon.
    e9486d8cc248d90a73a27c4c0d6c5ee0.jpg

    German colonial troops on Dumaguete, April 01 1891

    This conflict is remembered from both side as extremely bloody. Both the germans and the Filippinos commited tremendous atrocities in the controlled regions against their enemy. The Filippino massacred around 13% of all German colonist. Some of them were buried alive. Other would have their testicles aputated and stuffed in their mouth. The Germans, in order to counter-attack the guerrilla phase of the conflict would instead practice scoarched earth tecniques even on crops, leaving many starving. Concentrations camps would also be build, and public executions were common.
    After the German landing on Luzon, the Philippine Republic suffered defeat after defeat, with the biggest one being on Naga, which left the Filippinos in a precarious position, unable to deal anymore damage to the Germans.
    800px-Filipino_casualties_on_the_first_day_of_war.jpg

    Filipino casualties after the battle of Naga, May 11 1891

    On June 23 1891 General Hermann Kersting captured Aguinaldo on Manila with the help of the Macabeben Truppen, several Filippinos who decided to fight on the German side. On July 01 1891, the Philippine Republic officialy surrenders to the German Empire, however guerrilla warfare would continue for 2 months. Aguinaldo is exilied on Sokehs Island, while several other members of the republic would be either executed or imprisoned. The conflict caused the death of 4000-6000 Germans, and the colonization of the region would be slower than the Kaised would think.
    While America and Germany, however, were dealing with the constant rebellions of their new colony, Spain just focuses on modernizing itself with the money gained from the Spanish Deal. A perfect representation of the situation for Germany, Spain and America is a political cartoon, showing a bald eagle(America) being tormented by a tocororo(Cuba), and a golden eagle(Germany) being fiercly attacked by a Philippine eagle(Philippine), while a bull(Spain) just takes a siesta, happy of not being involved with all the problems of the two eagles.
     
    Siam industrialization: the growing in streinght of the elephant
  • Siam industrialization: the growing in streinght of the elephant

    After the Franco-Siamese war (April 01 1893-August 10 1893), Siam position had finally become firm. It was now safe from both French and British imperialism. A sparkle of nationalism was growing in the nation. The Phrrkh chāti thịy - s̄yām(พรรคชาติไทย - สยาม, or Siamese national-imperial group) was a group pf intellectual that wanted the return of ceded territory who were taken by both France and Britain, with the help of Germany and Italy, who were seen as liberators. But, deep inside, the King knew that it was thanks to the Kaiser and the king of Italy intervened against the french in order to stop a full-out invasion of the region, in exchange of an alliance and the possibility of free passages in Siameses ports. He knew that the eagle and the wolf couldn't always protect them. As a result, Chulalongkorn, who would be remember years later as P̄hū̂nả cĥāng thī̀ yìng h̄ıỵ̀(ผู้นำช้างที่ยิ่งใหญ่, or The great elephant leader), started a process of industrialization to compete with other nations. Despite their losses in the Laos regions, they also gained more land in Cambodia, and it was decided that a full-out industrialization attemp was needed for the country safety. One of the decision of the king regarding the military was the one that awarded his name. After seen the success of the elephant charges in the war, it was decided that the number of elephant that would be "Enlisted" in the army would grow, and armour would be put on all elephants. They would be the equivalent of tanks before the crude concept would be even born.
    upload_2018-4-5_9-15-20.png

    Map of Siam after the Franco Siamese war

    The traditional feudalist structure based on personal domination and dependencies, whose peripheral areas were only indirectly bound to the central power (the King) was completely gone now. It has now, instead, changed to a centrally-governed national state with established borders and modern political institutions. Industrialization started to grow, to a point that it could comete against Japan itself, one of the first asian countries to modernize.The growing in streight of the country was seen with worry by both France and Britain. The Siamese national-imperial group was also seen with worry by the two superpowers, because of their growing influence over the King. Not wanting to risk a war against Germany and Italy, they limited themselves by supporting a second Haw rebellion against Siamese rule, but in vain. Despite the presence of independence movement in the Kingdom, the fear of French and British imperialism was enought to remain calm under the King, who was seen by all as a guardian. Little did Siam knew, however, is the fact that its fear for its neighbour would allow for the creation of better relations between another asian nation and their eagle guardian.
    upload_2018-4-5_10-42-32.png
     
    The sino-japanese war: the dragon reconsideration of the eagle
  • The sino-japanese war: the dragon reconsideration of the eagle

    The German-Japanese awful relations were not something new to the world. Both had strong interest in Asia, with Japan itself being one, and Germany having massive possesions in the region thanks to the "Spanish Deal", not to count its possesions in China and in New Guinea. With such a large colonial empire right near their doorsteps, Japan was afraid of the German government, even thought the Kaiser seemed not interested in the region. As such, the Japanese tried to weakening German position in Asia by supporting rebellion in the Philippines, but without any success, as the German quickly restored order in the colony. However, while Germany wasn't well seen by the Japanese government, French, Russian and British expansionism in the area was feared too. In particular, the japanese feared for the kingdom of Siam, which was, alongside them, the only asian colony not colonized by foreign nations. Emperor Meiji believed that having Siam as an ally, a plan to counter western colonization of Asia would be limited, if not even stopped. The only thing that allow colonization itself was the weakness of the native countries themselves. However, Japan was far from weak, as the empire industrialized far before Siam, and started a serie of colonizations in Asia.
    The Japanese government, as such, decided to give support to Siam, and started trading and sending advisor in the region. Just like Germany. While at first the Emperor believed that this would cause competition with Germany, he soon reconsidered after the Kaiser himself decided to visit Japan, and to meet him personally. Kaiser Whilhem II had started the so called "Das Rennen für Verbündete"(The race for allies), and thought that if the reich gained a strong ally in the east, it would mean a second front for Russia, alongside an annoyance for France and England. It would also mean protection for the German colonies in the pacific.
    The meeting of Tokyo was arranged on December 10 1893, a few months after the Franco-Siamese war. In the conflict, both Japan and Germany had helped the Siameses, by sending weapons for free and giving other gears that could help them in the fight. As a result, the Emperor decided to temporanely forget the "Ajia no shitsumon(アジアの質問。, "Asian Question" in english). It was also decided that Germany would not intervene in case of a war against China, and Japan would not attack German possession in the area.
    On July 25 1894, the Sino-Japanese War started, and ended as victory for the Japanese, who annexed Taiwan, Penghu, and the Liaodong Peninsula, but also put Korea on their sphere of influence. Russia and France, who had strong interests in China, intervened asking Japan to release the Liaodong Peninsula. However, to the suprise of many, Germany decided to back-up Japan, alongside Italy and Austria-Hungary. The "Dual intervention" of France and Russia was one of the hotspots of the 19th century. It is said to be one of the starting point of WW1, as it was during this time that many coutries who joined the counflict would either side for the Central power of the Entente. The only reason why war was avoided was the presence of British diplomats who proposed a meeting on Leicester on June 17 1895, where Japan would fully take controll of the areas claimed on the Sino-Japanese war, but would pay a small ammount of money to Great Britain, Russia and France.
    upload_2018-4-9_12-47-29.png

    Map of the region after the meeting of Leicester, June 17 1895

    Shortly after the meeting, Russia invaded Manchuria to prevent further Japanese expansion in the region, but could not occupy Japanese lands after a German provocation of war. As the Japanese started to reconsider their real enemy in this situation, the Emperor started a serie of favourable laws to receive further help form the German reich, even proposing an alternate partition of Asia, where the Japanese would optain countroll over the west side, manly China and parts of Vietnam, while Germany could keep the south and expand in oceania and south east Asia. The plans would not be practiced, but would start the plans of friendship between the dragon and the eagle.
     
    The Spanish rebirth: the bull gets back on its feet, and the battle agains the Berber lion
  • The Spanish rebirth: the bull gets back on its feet, and the battle agains the Berber lion

    The Spanish Deal was seen in different ways by many countries. For example, it wasn't well seen by the British and the French, who saw not one, but two new competetors in their colonial locations, with the first one being Asia, with Germany aquiring the Spanish East Indies, and the second the carraibeans, with America buying the Spanish West Indies. However the two latters were actually gaining a lot from this colonies, who were placed in very strategic positions and owned many resources. In Spain, however, there was a clear split between the ones who agreed and the ones who believed that the Spanish Deal ended the Spanish Empire once and for all. The Spanish Deal, in a way, allowed for Spain to industrialize like many other countries. Back in the 1890's, Spain was still a largely agrarian country, with most of its population illiterate and supersticious. Under Alfonso XIII, however, many things started to actually change in spanish society, such as a rapid industrialization process. Spain is rich in materials such as coal and iron, which could allow for the creation of factories in all of the regions of the country. In particular, the king indended to renovate the naval capacity to "compete with the old british enemy". The Army too was modernize under Prussian example, with many German advisor sent to help to accelerate the process of modernization just like they did with Siam, however less would be sent as spanish industrialization was growing slowly but steadly on its own, without the help of outside forces. By many, this was seen as a blessing, as the colonial possesions in the pacific and the carraibean was causing issues, draining the economic resources of the country. However, many nationalist believed that better administration and the possibility to grant more autonomy to these regions would actually allow for the same ammount of economic grownth, alongside the fact of keeping a rich colonial empire. In reality, many still wanted the return of a strong spanish empire, but the Spanish Deal caused the fall of the last holdouts of the once mighty empire where the sun never sets. Some of them even proposed the conquest of Portugal to create the "Kingdom of Iberia". Alfonso XIII too was interested in expanding the kingdom, and the idea of a "Greater Spain", however he clearly wasn't a madman. He knew that Portugal was Great Britain ally, and as such he knew that such war would end in disaster. The Spanish military was still largely backward compared to Great Britain, and conquering Portugal itself would be a challenge itself. However, just south of Spain, there was a much easier target, with little to no international support from other countries.
    marokko_karte_gr.jpg


    The possiblility for a succesful Spanish-Moroccan war were actually quite high, especially since Spain had secular holding in the region. Spain captured the citadel of Melilla in 1497. In the 19th century Spain moved into the outlying territories and began investing in their economic development. Treaties with Morocco in 1859, 1860, and 1861 consolidated Spain's growing interests. However, tension between the two countries were acutally rising because of the many border incidents between the Spanish forces and the Tuareg warriors, with the latter sometimes being supported by Marocco itself. Rif raiding and piracy was widely reported in the Spanish press and produced the occasional sensational incident. In the early 1890s the Rif captured a Spanish merchant vessel and abducted its crew; a small rescue expedition headed by the Spanish cruiser Isla de Luzon concluded that the captives had been sold into slavery. Over the summer of 1893 a period of renewed agitation by the locals enabled García y Magallo to secure the funds for the expansion of fortifications surrounding the cities in the north.
    Alfonso XIII also ordered the increasing of military expedition in Spanish-controlled regions, with many actually training near the Moroccan borders. Tensions finally exploded on October 3 1898 with the Moroccan attacking the city of Melilla, which had been fortified. There 6000 Moroccan warriors faced 4000 Spanish soldiers, and managed to conquer the city with the exception of the of the citadel. However, the Moroccan suffered heavy casualities(around 900 warriors), compared to the 214 deaths from the Spanish, who retreated in the citadel. The Moroccan tried to take the citadel by storm, charging up the road ways and scaling the walls. Foreign observers described it as an act of gallant fury, but doomed to failure. The Spaniards held the ramparts with the bayonet and their gunfire swept the attackers from the walls. The Moroccan dead fell in heaps, with this assould causing 600 deaths. The siege of Melilla caused the death of a grand total of 1500 death Moroccans.
    upload_2018-4-18_9-49-55.png

    Some of the Moroccan casualities after the failed siege of Melilla, October 6 1898.

    The government dispatched the ironclad Numancia and two gunboats stationed at Málaga, put the fleet on alert, and mobilized the Army of Andalusia for service abroad. Newspapers and patriotic citizens of every stripe clamoured for vengeance at whatever cost in blood or treasure. The troops mobilizing to bolster Melilla's garrison received in many cities ceremonies and ovations from the populace as they moved to the ports.
    On October 6 1898 the ironclad Numancia bombed Moroccan cities and villages in the Mediterranean coasts. Other ships bombed the city of Kenitra, and even Casablanca itself was heavly bombed. Skirmishes were fought at forts Camellos and San Lorenzo. From Spanish Sahara, the Spanish advanced to try to connect forces in Ifni, succesfully taking controll of Tan-Tan, Tighmert and Telmzon. After the battle of Kizi, the Spanish forces finally managed to connect Ifni with Spanish Sahara after heavy resistence.
    On October 22 the gunboat Conde de Venadito steamed to the mouth of the Río de Oro, anchored there, and turned her Hotchkiss guns on the Moroccans. The ship hurled 31 shells at the Moroccan trenches and returned to Melilla's harbour without sustaining any damage. 5,000 Moroccan in turn made a heavy attack on the heights of Sidi Guariach on October 27, but failed as the position defences were to hight.
    To counter the many Moroccan offensives, Margallo rode out on October 28 at the head of a column of 2,000 men from Melilla. The Moroccans in the trenches numbered about 3,000 men; both sides fought with courage but the Moroccan warriors held the line while their main body flocked 6,000 reinforcements to the battle. With this numerical superiority the Moroccan fighters extended their line in an attempt to envelop Margallo's Spaniards. The general, thinking he saw the enemy centre weaken, led a charge against the Moroccan trenches and was thrown back with heavy losses.
    Margallo sounded a retreat. He was shot dead moments later and his detachment collapsed. The Spanish Army admitted to at least 70 men killed and 122 wounded that day; actual losses were probably much higher. Only General Ortega's rearguard actions kept the retreat from becoming a rout. Despite the Moroccan victory, the Spanish still managed to send 3 cavalry regiments and 4 battalions of infantry 3 days later, with the support of artillery and some cannons. This army, leaded by Martínez-Campos advances deeply into Moroccan territory, uniting the cities of Melilla and Ceuta. After heavy fighting, they finally conquered Kenitra, and heavily damaged the Moroccan army, who now has problems opposing the Spanish Army. This was demostrated after the fall of Rabat, as the Moroccan simply lacked the men and the equipment to counter the Spanish advance. Martínez-Campos in fact was actually very near Casablanca, but the attack on the city would not be issued.
    On April 01 1899, a coalition formed by Britain and France ordered the spanish govenment to stop the advance, and leave the borders to pre-war status. Alfonso was willing to stop the conflict, as it caused many casualities (25.000 Spanish regulars), however he did not indended to leave Morocco unpunished. Once again, Germany and Italy arrived in the scene to back up Spain, until a meeting was decided on Fez on April 25 1899.
    In the treaty, Morocco:
    -Gives land to Spain in order to unify the Spanish cities of Melilla and Ceuta
    -Cedes the cities of Kenitra, Sidi Kacem and Fez.
    -Casablanca would be occupied by Spanish forces until 1900
    -Spanish Sahara would gain land in order to unify with the Ifni province.
    -Morocco pays war reparation:20 million pesetas.
    -Morocco must pacify its county in order to avoid further incidents in the future
    upload_2018-4-18_10-34-6.png

    Map of the region after the war

    Despite the success of the war, the Spanish king had actually bigger ambition for the region: as much as he didn't want to take full controll of the region, he, just like many other Spanish politicals and local colonist, wanted at least Morocco under Spain sphere of influence. However, the treaty of Fez, with France and England strong position, did not allow such thing to happen in order to prevent further Spanish expansion in the region. On top of that, Spain remained isolated after the war, fearing for further intervention from its neighbour the Frenc, in particular. However, both the Germans and the Italians were actually keen on getting another European ally.
    Spain holded both strait of Gibraltar now, and were in a strategic position to block british supply in the Mediterranean: the only other way for England to enter into the sea was the Suez, but in order to get there, British reinforcement had to go all the way and cricumnavigate the entire continent of Africa, making operations in the Mediterranean almost impossible(not that it would stop them anyway in the future, but thats another story). The"central powers", called this way for their central position in Europe", were actually growing in size and streinght. With both France and England not thrilled to enter a massive war against them, they were slowly starting to change the shift in power of Europe and, quite possibly, even the entire world.
     

    Attachments

    • upload_2018-4-18_10-33-45.png
      upload_2018-4-18_10-33-45.png
      39.3 KB · Views: 384
    Last edited:
    The Boxer rebellion: the Chinese dragon faces the might of the Wolf, the two Eagle, the Bear, the Lion, the Rooster and the Dragon
  • The Boxer rebellion: the Chinese dragon faces the might of the Wolf, the two Eagle, the Bear, the Lion, the Rooster and the Dragon

    The Boxer Rebellion (拳亂), Boxer Uprising or Yihetuan Movement (義和團運動) was a violent anti-foreign, anti-colonial and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, toward the end of the Qing dynasty. While in China today is remembered as a defeat, by many it was remembered as the first time Italian, German and Japanese would work together in order to gaining power. Austria-Hungary was tempted to enter in the conflict too, but a series of unrests in its territories caused them to back-down.
    The Righteous and Harmonious Fists (Yihequan) arose in the inland sections of the northern coastal province of Shandong, long known for social unrest, religious sects, and martial societies. The opportunities to fight back Western encroachment and colonization were especially attractive to unemployed village men, many of whom were teenagers. The tradition of possession and invulnerability went back several hundred years but took on special meaning against the powerful new weapons of the West. The Boxers, armed with rifles and swords, claimed supernatural invulnerability towards blows of cannon, rifle shots, and knife attacks. Furthermore, the Boxer groups popularly claimed that millions of soldiers of Heaven would descend to assist them in purifying China of foreign oppression. These beliefs were characteristic of millenarian movements of nativist resistance, especially the characteristic magical belief.
    800px-Boxer1900.jpg

    A Boxer during the revolt

    The combination of extreme weather conditions, Western attempts at colonizing China and growing anti-imperialist sentiment fueled the movement. First, a drought followed by floods in Shandong province in 1897–1898 forced farmers to flee to cities and seek food. As one observer said, "I am convinced that a few days' heavy rainfall to terminate the long-continued drought ... would do more to restore tranquility than any measures which either the Chinese government or foreign governments can take." Then a serie on attack on European missionaries put on alert many nations in the old continent. Even Japanese recent concessions in China were in a state of unrest, with the Liaodong Peninsula being the main location of border incidents, such as the one of Yingkou, which caused the death of 10 Japanese policemen and 12 Chinese patrol soldiers, on September 02 1896. When Kaiser Wilhelm II and Emperor Meiji received news of these murders and border incidents, the Kaiser dispatched the German East Asia Squadron to occupy Jiaozhou Bay on the southern coast of the Shandong peninsula, while the Japanese occupied further land in Liaodong, on March 1898. Both communicated the other of the action, in order to avoid misunderstanding. According to the Kaise, the action was committed to"Protect German priest from the hands of these rebels(Schütze den deutschen Priester vor den Händen dieser Rebellen)"
    upload_2018-4-19_9-23-7.png

    Map of the region, March 30 1898


    In October 1898, a group of Boxers attacked the Christian community of Liyuantun village where a temple to the Jade Emperor had been converted into a Catholic church. Disputes had surrounded the church since 1869, when the temple had been granted to the Christian residents of the village. This incident marked the first time the Boxers used the slogan "Support the Qing, destroy the foreigners" ("扶清灭洋 fu Qing mie yang") that would later characterise them. The "Boxers" called themselves the "Militia United in Righteousness" for the first time one year later, at the Battle of Senluo Temple (October 1899), a clash between Boxers and Qing government troops. By using the word "Militia" rather than "Boxers", they distanced themselves from forbidden martial arts sects, and tried to give their movement the legitimacy of a group that defended orthodoxy. The revolt become popular in the North of China, and the government started to meet difficulties against them. Afraid of a completely independent China, Germany, Japan, America, the UK, France and Russia enters the "Boxer war" on the side of the Chinese government on 30 May 1900, althought the Japanese and the Germans were already basically at war with them, as the rebellion had spread on their concessions too.
    Despite the lack of Italian Asian colonies in the region, the King Umberto I entered the war. After the disastrous Italo-Ethiopian war, the king was desperate to increase Italian prestige in any way possible. As a result, the Kingdom entered the war in excange of territorial gains in the Chinese coasts(just like everyody else, really). The Regia marina reached Tientsin, and engaged Boxer forces. The"Legione Italiana della Cina(LIC, in english known as Italian Chinese Legion), leaded by Armando Diaz, easily conquered the city, and advanced on Langfang. However, as the Italians were proceding, they met strong resistance by the locals, and supplies started to become a problem because of Italy distance in the region. At the same time, the Boxers started using guerrilla like warfare to counter Italian advance. However, unlike Abissinya, the Italians a) did not have to fear another nation supporting their enemy(Russia had supported Ethiopia giving heavy equipment to them) and b)was not alone.
    While the Italians were basically stuck on Tientsin, the Germans, under the command of Alfred Ludwig Heinrich Karl Graf von Waldersee had took controll of the entirety of the Shandong peninsula, and were starting to advance. On the same time the Japanese too were advancing. The common objective was to advance in order to connect forces with the Italians. Some Japanese troops under the command of Fukushima Yasumasa were sent to reinforce the Italian position. In the meantime, the Russian forces started to advance in Manchuria from Siberia. The Boxer rebels started to blow up bridges in the region in order to counter Russian advance.
    upload_2018-4-19_9-59-22.png

    Japanese marines sent to reinforce Italian position, June 17 1900
    1024px-Italian_mounted_infantry_in_China_1900_HD-SN-99-01989.jpg

    Italian mounted infantry near Tientsin in 1900

    As the situation grew more violent, a second multinational force of 2,000 sailors and marines under the command of the British Vice-Admiral Edward Seymour, the largest contingent being British, was dispatched from Dagu to Beijing on 10 June 1900. The troops were transported by train from Dagu to Tianjin with the agreement of the Chinese government, but the railway between Tianjin and Beijing had been severed. Seymour resolved to move forward and repair the railway, or progress on foot if necessary, keeping in mind that the distance between Tianjin and Beijing was only 120 km. When Seymour left Tianjin and started toward Beijing, it angered the imperial court. After leaving Tianjin, the convoy tried to reach Langfang to reinforce the Italians and the Japanese, but found the railway there to be destroyed. This had become the Boxer tipical move: destroying railways, bridges, antything that could allow for European movement in the region. Mining, engineering, flooding and simultaneous attacks were employed by Chinese troops. The Chinese also employed pincer movements, ambushes and sniper tactics with some success against the foreigners. Seymour's engineers tried to repair the line, but the allied army found itself surrounded, as the railway both behind and in front of them had been destroyed. They were attacked from all parts by Chinese irregulars and Chinese governmental troops. Five thousand of Dong Fuxiang's "Gansu Braves" and an unknown number of "Boxers" won a costly but major victory over Seymour's troops at the Battle of Langfang on 18 June. As the allied European army retreated from Langfang, they were constantly fired upon by cavalry, and artillery bombarded their positions. It was reported that the Chinese artillery was superior to the European artillery, since the Europeans did not bother to bring along much for the campaign, thinking they could easily sweep through Chinese resistance.
    Meanwhile, in Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi summoned the imperial court for a mass audience and addressed the choices between using the Boxers to evict the foreigners from the city or seeking a diplomatic solution. In response to a high official who doubted the efficacy of the Boxers' magic, Cixi replied: Both sides of the debate at the imperial court realised that popular support for the Boxers in the countryside was almost universal and that suppression would be both difficult and unpopular, especially when foreign troops were on the march. However, the Quing government decided to support the Boxer after the attack of foreign navies on the Dagu Forts near Tianjin. As a result, the Quing entered at war against what at the time was called the "Seven-Nation Alliance", composed by France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, on the 21th of June 1900. Chinese army had modernize after the events of the Sino-Japanese war, and started to give massive support to the Boxer. From 20 June to 14 August 1900 the Chinese besieged Tietsin and the Shangdong peninsula, while also attacking the Japanese concessions in the area. The defenders suffered heavy casualties especially from lack of food and mines which the Chinese exploded in tunnels dug beneath the compound. It was around this time that the Italians adopted their famous battle cry "Di qua non passeranno!(From here they shall not pass!). This battlecry will be echoing in both WW1 and WW2, and in all war Italy will participate. It would be remembered just like the Russian "Urra" and the Japanese "Banzaii" battle cry.
    After the failure to take out the foreigners, the Chinese army adopted an anaconda-like strategy. The Chinese built barricades and advanced, brick by brick, on the foreign lines, forcing the foreign legation guards to retreat a few feet at a time. Fusillades of bullets, artillery and firecrackers were directed against the Legations almost every night—but did little damage. Sniper fire took its toll among the foreign defenders.
    The 13 of July was the "most harassing day" of the siege. The Japanese and Italians were driven back to their last defence line. The Chinese detonated a mine pushing the French out of most of the French position. On 16 July, the most capable British officer was killed and the journalist George Ernest Morrison was wounded.
    However foreign navies started building up their presence along the northern China coast from the end of August 1900. Several international forces were sent to the capital, with varying success, and the Chinese forces were ultimately defeated by the Seven-Nation Alliance. Fights would continue until the 7th of September 1901, when the Chinese finally surrendered.
    The Boxer protocol was signed; in it:

    -450 million taels of fine silver (~ US$ 333 million or £67 million at the exchange rates of the time) were to be paid as indemnity over a course of 39 years to the seven nations involved.

    -The Chinese paid the indemnity in gold on a rising scale with a 4% interests charge until the debt was amortized on December 31, 1940. After 39 years, the amount was almost 1 billion taels (precisely 982,238,150), or ~1,180,000,000 troy ounces (37,000 tonnes) at 1.2 ozt/tael.

    -The sum was to be distributed as follows: Russia 28.97%, Germany 20.02%, France 15.75%, United Kingdom 11.25%, Japan 7.73%, United States 7.32%, Italy 7.32%, Belgium 1.89%, Netherlands 0.17%, Spain 0.03%, Portugal 0.021%, Sweden and Norway 0.014%. Also, additional 16,886,708 taels was paid at local level in 17 provinces. By 1938, 652.37 million taels had been paid]. The interest rate (of 4% per annum) was to be paid semi-annually with the first payment being the July 1, 1902.

    -The Qing government was also to allow the foreign countries to base their troops in Beijing. In addition, the foreign powers had placed the Empress Dowager Cixi on their list of war criminals, although provincial officers such as Li Hongzhang and Yuan Shikai defended her, claiming that she had no control whatsoever over the whole escapade. She was later removed from the list.

    -To prohibit the importation of arms and ammunition, as well as materials for the production of arms or ammunition for a period of 2 years, extensible further 2 years as the Powers saw necessary.

    -The destruction of Taku Forts.


    -Legation Quarters occupied by the Powers shall be considered as a special area reserved for their use under exclusive control, in which Chinese shall not have the right to reside, and which may be defensible. China recognised the right of each Power to maintain a permanent guard in the said Quarters for the defense of its Legation.

    -Boxer and Government officials were to be punished for crimes or attempted crimes against the foreign Governments or their nationals. Many were either sentenced to execution, deportation, imprisoned for life, commit suicide, or suffer posthumous degradation.

    -The "Office in Charge of Affairs of All Nations"(Zongli Yamen) was replaced with a Foreign Office, which ranked above the other six boards in the government.

    -The Chinese Government was to prohibit forever, under the pain of death, membership in any anti-foreign society, civil service examinations were to be suspended for 5 years in all areas where foreigners were massacred or subjected to cruel treatment, provincial and local officials would personally be held responsible for any new anti-foreign incidents.
    Several territorial concession occurred, such as:

    -Tianjin was handed to Italy as a buffer zone between Japan and Germany

    -Japan keeps the area they conquered from China in Liadong, alongside some more territories

    -Germany occupies Shandgong

    -Russia occupies parts of Manchuria

    -France gains concessions in the interior of the region, but also on the coasts

    -England gains concession in the interior of the region, but also on the coasts

    -America gains concession in the interior of the region, but also on the coasts

    upload_2018-4-19_10-35-46.png

    Map of the region after the "Boxer War", French, British and American concessions not shown.

    While the war finally pacified the Chinese, relations between the Russian and the Japanese started to become unstable. Korea quickly become a point of contestance between the Russian and the Japanese. The British and the French themselves were starting to become envious of German, Italian and Japanese gains in the area. The world was already starting to split between two factions: The Entente and The Central Powers. Who will come on top?

    Well, I think that this update, by far, is the longest one I've did. I hope you guys like it!"
     
    Last edited:
    Italian China: the wolf's lair in China
  • Italian China: the wolf's lair in China

    After the Boxer war, the Italians were some of the partecipants that gained the most out of the conflict. They gained the city of Tientsin and the territories around it, creating the very first Italian colony in Asia. The colony of "Italian China(Cina Italiana)" also included the city of Tangshan, and was extremely near Langfang. Tientsin's position at the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Peiho River connecting Beijing to the Bohai Bay made it one of the premier ports of northern China. The area was controlled by an Italian governator/consul, who was under the command of the King, Victor Emmanuel III, after the death of his father after an anarco-liberal killed him. The first italian consul was Cesare Poma, who allowed for Italian citizenship to the locals. Many considered this small Asian colony in China the "Jewel of the Italian Crow(Giogliello della Corona Italiana)".
    Belgian_concession_in_Tianjin_1907.jpg

    Italian periphery in the city, 1901
    Many of the swamps were bonificated. In the region, thermae, theatres, pawnshop, school, barracks, prison, cemetery and hospital were built, and the Italians have left their mark on that area of the city, as can be seen in the wealth of Italian architecture that stands in the city to this day.
    song_qingling_former_house3b8745210d8f_cp_599x397.jpg

    Italian Hotel "Savoia"
    Other important events were contracts involving railways, electric power systems and tramways built and partly operated by Italian private companies. In 1904, China and Italy signed a contract with the "Compagnia dei tram e dell'illuminazione di Tientsin", giving the company an official monopoly for 50 years over trams and electric lighting in the city and surrounding areas, even outside of the concession. In 1906, with the opening of the first route of the tramway system, Tianjin became the first Chinese city to have a modern public transportation system (Shanghai had to wait until 1908 to get electric tramways). The supply of electricity and lighting and the trolley business were profitable ventures. By 1914, the network covered the Chinese city ,and connected with the mayority of the other concessions, such as the French, Japanese and Russian ones.
    Under the king, many villas were also built, each more beautiful and diverse than the other, just like the gardens, like the "Giardino della Vittoria". Other buildings were "il Consolato italiano, il Concilio municipale, il Club italiano, la Cattedrale cattolica, il Giardino italiano and many others.
    upload_2018-4-20_10-5-58.png

    Drawing showing the "Giardino della Vittoria", one of the most famous garden in the city.
    upload_2018-4-20_9-38-39.png

    An old picture shows the past circumstance in the Tientsin under the kingdom of Italy.
    800px-%E5%8E%9F%E5%9C%A3%E5%BF%83%E6%95%99%E5%A0%82.JPG

    Sacred Heart Church, built in 1902


    The Regia Marina was present in the Bohai bay, such example being the river gunboats Carlotto and Caboto, althought most of the ships present in the are were fishing boats. In fact, the only large ship present in the area was the armored cruiser Marco Polo. With the friendly tie between the Germans and the Japanese, the Italians had basically full controll of the fishing areas in the Bohai sea, causing competition with the French, British and Russian companies. In short, fishing in the Bohai was controlled by the Japanese, the Germans and the Italians.
    8029010.jpg

    A canal flows through the centre of "Piccola Firenze" on the outskirts of Tientsin, China, first built in 1913.
    Agriculture was also important in the region, with wheat, rice, and maize being the most important crops.
    Armed garrinsons had to be kept in order to avoid rebellion. The Battaglione italiano in Cina was the local force in the colony, and counted aproximally 1000 men, alongside 600 local Chinese soldiers who were brought in the garrinson to protect the area, called Shimbo. However most of the forces were members of the Carabinieri Reali, and other members of the army left the area in 1905. However, as tensions started to grow between the central powers and the entente, alongside the birth of the Chinese republic, the Italian government decided to increase the number of men in the region, and also sent more ships, such as the gunboat Sebastiano Caboto and the cruiser Libia, both being nearly born before the conflict known as the Great War. The barrak Ermanno Carlotto was built in order to reside more soldiers in the area, who now numbered a total of 2800 soldiers, made up by Italian and Chinese. The Italian army the was made up by regiments of San Marco and Bersaglieri, but also regular infantrymen. Artillery was also present in the area, but shells would be limited until the beggining of the conflict.
    upload_2018-4-20_9-42-39.png

    Chinese men employed in the Italian garrinson to protect the city.
    The army in the region seemed ready for combat, but the fact that the region is so far away would cause heavy problems for the Italians. With the local population still resentuful toward Italian rule, will they manage to survive against the might of the entente?


    "I know, short update. I still hope you like it! Tell me if I should improve something everytime!
     
    Last edited:
    Slav rebellion in the empire: the vulture faces changes alongside the desert wolf
  • Slav rebellion in the empire: the vulture faces changes alongside the desert wolf

    As it was said before, the Austro-Hungarian empire was a moltitude of various ethniticies. Hungarians, Germans, Italians, Croats, Slovens and other Slavs lived toghether, and some even managed to coexist with each other. However not all were happy to live under the vulture's rule: uprisings in the empire were actually common, because of the strong feeling of independence many region wanted to obtain. As such, it was no surprise that when the Bosinan uprising happened, the Austrian did not participate against the Boxer rebellion in China.
    Following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, in June and July 1878 the Congress of Berlin was organized by the Great Powers. The resulting Treaty of Berlin caused Bosnia and Herzegovina to nominally remain under sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, but was de facto ceded to Austria-Hungary, which also obtained the right to garrison the Sanjak of Novi Pazar. Basically, the Ottomans owned the region, but it was occupied(and even administrated) by the Austrians.
    011.jpg

    Typical reaction after someone explained the Bosnian situation in the 19th century

    To make things even more confusing, the locals were fighting both the Ottomans and the Austrians for independence. The Ottomans tried everything possible in order to avoid rebellions in the area, such as Bosnian journal censorships. Even the Austrians were helping the local Ottoman forces. Tensions remained in certain parts of the country (particularly Herzegovina) and a mass emigration of predominantly Muslim dissidents occurred. However, a state of relative stability was reached soon enough and Austro-Hungarian authorities were able to embark on a number of social and administrative reforms. With the aim of establishing the province as a stable political model that would help dissipate rising South Slav nationalism , Habsburg rule did much to codify laws, to introduce new political practices, and generally to provide for modernization.
    Despite these changes, rebellions still happened in the region. The biggest one, and the reason itself why Austria didn't join the Boxer war, was the 1899 "June Uprising". The reason of such event was
    A) the increase of taxes
    B)Muslims Bosnians who saw their priliveges in danger
    C)Bosnian strong sense of independence
    D)Britain, France and Russia fear of a strong Austria-Hungary in the Central powers
    It was no doubt that being in the Central powers would be the equivalent of being in Russia, France and UK, pardon the term, shitlist. The Kaiser always seemed to bring good arguments to join the alliance(he was the one who pressured Franz Joseph of Austria to sell parts of the "Italia irridentia", such as Trento and Istria, in order to gain Italian support in future wars), but the three ancient powers didn't seem to enjoy the Central powers gaining power. As a result, after the Sino-Japanese war, they decided to create tensions inside the members of the Central powers, such a support to foreign nations(during the Spanish-Moroccan war, the French were supplying weapons to the Moroccans), or, in this case, support rebellions in the regions of higly unstable countries. To be fair, Russia and France were just hoping to release Bosnia from Austrian occupation, to just join the Ottoman back, maybe to gain their trust. But they did not expect the Bosnians priorely attacking the Ottomans rather than the Austrians. As a result, in the first 2 weeks of the rebellion, the Austrians were neutral of the conflict. However, as the rebels started to attack more and more Austrian contingents, the Austro-Hungarian empire entered the war against them.
    The Austro-Hungarian Army engaged in a major mobilization effort to prepare for the assault on Bosnia and Herzegovina, commanding by the end of June 1878 a force of 82,113 troops, 13,313 horses and 112 cannons in the VI, VII, XX, and XVIII infantry divisions as well as a rear army in the Kingdom of Dalmatia. The primary commander was Josip Filipović; the forward XVIII infantry division was under the command Stjepan Jovanović, while the rear army commander in Dalmatia was Gavrilo Rodić.

    upload_2018-4-23_12-17-53.png

    The Austro-Hungarian forces storming in Bosnia to reach Sarajevo.
    On the way over for Sarajevo, the Austrian meet fierce resistence by the local population, losing the battle of Banja Lunka, suffering 500 causalities. The Ottomans themselves werent doing that well: too far away from Turkey, they faced the problem of lacking supplies, alongside persistent harassment by other balkan rebels, such as Serbs, Bulgarians, Greeks and Albanians. All of these rebels were supported by Serbia, Montenegro and Greece, but France and Russia did not support them afraid of the fall of the Ottoman empire.
    Taking advance of the Ottoman difficult situation, the Kingdom of Serbia and Montenegro decided to help the rebels by entering the war against the Ottomans and, later on, the Austrians. Because of the initial lack of troops in their borders(the majority was focused on Bosnia), they managed to obtain success in various battles, while also gaining the support of the locals.
    Combate_de_Trinidad%2C_insurrecci%C3%B3n_de_Dalmacia.jpg

    Illustration of combat between Austro-Hungarian forces and rebels
    As the Ottomans were starting to lose ground, they proposed peace with the Serbs and the Montenegran, who obtained controll of bordering regions. With the Serbs and the Montenegrans out of the way, the Bosnians started to lose the conflict: lacking support from their neighbour, they started to lose ground to the Ottoman-Austrian coalition. The rebellion ended on January 03 1900, after the last Bosnians tried to hold Sarajevo after a 3 months siege. A treaty was also signed in Vienna between the Ottomans, the Serbs, the Montenegran and the Austrians, 3 months later. On it:
    -Austria-Hungary takes full controll of part of Bosnia as a compensation for the help given to the Ottomans
    -Austria-Hungary wirdraw from the rest of Bosnia, which becomes full controlled by the Ottomans in every way
    -Serbia and Montenegro would keep the territories conquered in the war

    upload_2018-4-24_15-50-7.png

    Map of the region after the June uprising
    In this conflict, both the Ottomans and the Austrians realized that their ancient power was starting to fade away. They needed to modernize, and fast, in order to make sure that their empires can survive. Austria luckly has the Germans on their sides, however, the Ottomans seemed to be alone. Not yet interested in joining the Central powers because of Italy, who seemed to be interested in conquering Tripolitania in order to increase their empire in size, they decided to remain isolated at first. However, it would seems that, aside for the wolf who hunts in the mountains, the desert wold does not have to fear the eagle or the vulture.
     
    Last edited:
    The Russo-Japanese war: the dragon official alliance with the eagle
  • The Russo-Japanese war: the dragon official alliance with the eagle

    While in the Balkans there was high unstability caused by the "June uprising", the situation in China was on a breaking point too. As Japan decided to leave the Pacific to Germany, it was obvious that now the real enemy were Russia, France and England. However the first one was in bad term with Japan for a very long time. After the Sino-Japanese war, Russia was one of the nations who decided to defend the Quing, forcing(or at least trying before Germany and Italy entered the argument) them to "release" the Liaodong peninsula back to China. The Japanese never did, and instead increased their influence in the region,occupying more land an year before the boxer revolt. To counter Japanese expansion in the region, the Russians had occupied Manchuria. As a result, competition for the ownership of northern China between Japan and Russia was active, while relations between Germany and Italy were peaceful, and even profitful. After the Boxer war, Italy started a serie of trade laws with Germany and Japan, creating the "Bohai fishing triangle(Triangolo della pesca del Bohai, Bohai Fischerei Dreieck, Bokkai-dzuri-yō sankaku) and the Bohai ecnomic triangle(Triangolo economico del Bohai, Bokkai keizai sankaku, Bohai Wirtschaftsdreieck) which streightened relation between the rising sun, "il bel paese" and the reich.

    upload_2018-4-24_19-29-19.png

    Map showing German, Italian and Japanese concessions in northern China. In the Bohai economic triangle and the Bohai fishing triangle, the Italians had fishing controll of the Bohai Bay, the Germans in the Laizhou Bay, and the Japanese in the Liaodong Bay.
    The Japanese presence in the area caused economic competition with the Russians, who wanted controll of at least part of the Bohai sea, and at the very least controll of the sea in the region. One possible way could have been by putting Korea on their sphere of influence. By 1898 they had acquired mining and forestry concessions near the Yalu and Tumen rivers, causing the Japanese much anxiety. On top of that, the Tzar decided to officially annex the Manchiurian territories who were solely militarly occupied by the Russians.

    upload_2018-4-24_19-51-10.png

    Map of the region after Russian annexation of Manchuria

    The 1890s and 1900s marked the height of the "Yellow Peril" propaganda by the French government and the French Prime Minister Émile François Loubet often wrote letters to Nicholas II of Russia, praising him as the "savior of the white race" and urging Russia forward in Asia. From November 1900 onward, Loubet had been writing letters praising Nicholas as Europe's defender from the "Yellow Peril", assuring the Tsar that God Himself had "chosen" Russia to defend Europe from the alleged Asian threat. On 1 November 1902, Loubet wrote to Nicholas that "certain symptoms in the East seem to show that Japan is becoming a rather restless customer" and "it is evident to every unbiased mind that Korea must and will be Russian". A recurring theme of Loubet's letters to Nicholas was that "Holy Russia" had been "chosen" by God to save the "entire white race" from the "Yellow Peril", and that Russia was "entitled" to annex all of Korea, Manchuria, and northern China up to Beijing
    On the other hand, Wilhelm II wrote a letter to the emperor of Japan, which said: "Twenty to thirty million Chinese, supported by a half dozen Russian divisions, led by competent, intrepid Russians officers, full of hatred for the Japanisches Mutterland and the Reich —that is a vision of the future that cannot be contemplated without concern, and it is not impossible." In the letter, he also communicated that Germany and Italy could come to the rescue in case the situation started to go wrong, and that "All you need to do is call us. We'll answer".
    On 24 July 1905, in a letter to the British diplomat Cecil Spring Rice, Roosevelt wrote that Loubet bore partial responsibility for the war as "he has done all he could to bring it about", charging that Loubet's constant warnings about the "Yellow peril" had made the Russians uninterested in compromise as Nisholas believed that France would intervene if Japan attacked or gained support from other nations.
    In order to avoid a confrontation with the Central Powers, however, Nicholas had been prepared to compromise with Japan, but after receiving a letter from Loubet attacking him as a coward for his willingness to compromise with the Japanese for the sake of peace, become more obstinate. Loubet had written to Nicholas stating that the question of Russian interests in Manchuria and Korea was beside the point, saying instead it was a matter of Russia to "undertaking the protection and defense of the White Race, and with it, Christian civilization, against the Yellow Race. And whatever the Japs are determined to ensure the domination of the Yellow Race in East Asia, to put themselves at its head and organise and lead it into battle against the White Race. That is the kernel of the situation, and therefore there can be very little doubt about where the sympathies of all half-way intelligent Europeans should lie. England betrayed Europe's interests to America in a cowardly and shameful way over the Panama Canal question, so as to be left in 'peace' by the Yankees. Will the 'Tsar' likewise betray the interests of the White Race to the Yellow as to be 'left in peace' and not embarrass the Hague tribunal too much?".
    When Nicholas replied that he still wanted peace, Loubet wrote back in a telegram "You innocent angel!", while saying in the parliament "This is the language of an innocent angel. But not that of a White Tsar!". Nevertheless, the belief in Tokyo was that Russia was not serious about seeking a peaceful solution to the dispute, on 13 January 1904, Japan proposed a formula by which Manchuria would be outside the Japanese sphere of influence and, reciprocally, Korea outside Russia's. On 21 December 1903, the Tarō cabinet voted to go to war against Russia.
    Japan issued a declaration of war on 8 February 1904. The war officially ended with a Japanese victory. In the conflict, both Germany and Italy were on the edge of entering: however, Emperor Mejin asked them to not enter the conflict, afraid of a French and British intervention, in the famous "Emperor speech(皇帝の演説 or Kōtei no enzetsu), in which he says that the war was solely a Russian and Japanese one, and that no other nation should be involved in the massacre that would follow(they would still support Japan by landlease and by sending volunteers).
    However, the Germans and the Italians entered on the Japanese side to defend their claims in the treaty of Portsmouth on September 5, 1905, after the French once again decided to intervene against Japan.
    In the end, in the Treaty:
    -Russia cedes the island Sakhalin, but can still have troops in the region
    -Korea becomes a Japanese protectorate(it would be annexed by the Japanese in 1910)
    -Japan gains more land in Manchuria, but Russia would still keep the majority
    -Russia pays war reparation

    upload_2018-4-24_22-5-56.png

    Map of the region after the war
    Japan expansion in the region had increase exponenially, and put them on the list of potential world powers. However, the presence of an aggressive Russia was still worring for the Emperor. As a result, Japan decided to finally joining the Central powers. What started as just the common support for another Asian nation, became the sign of friendship between the Eagle and the Dragon. Shortly after, even the Kingdom of Siam officialy joined the Central powers. Now the Eagle, the Mountain wolf, the Griffon vulture, the Elephant, the Bull and the Dragon have finally set aside their differences, and are now ready to face the world, with new friends if possible. And they're gonna need them, because the next big war would be a big one.
     
    Romanian opportunism: the lynx finally enters the scene
  • Romanian opportunism: the lynx finally enters the scene

    The kingdom or Romania was a constitutional monarchy born after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. It was a constitutional monarchy at the tim leaded by King Carol I of Romania. During the troublesome years of 1890-1904, he kept a neutral policy, while modernizing the country, and at the same time looking for an opportunity to expand. He was a cold man who was always focused on the prestige of the dynasty he had founded. His wife, Elizabeth, claimed he 'wore the crown in his sleep'. He was very meticulous and he tried to impose his style upon everyone that surrounded him. Though he was devoted to his job as Romania's ruler, he never forgot his German roots. In 48 years of rule—the longest in Romanian history—he helped Romania gain its independence, raised its prestige, helped redress its economy and established a dynasty. In the Carpathian mountains, he built Peleș Castle, still one of Romania's most visited touristic attractions. The castle was built in German style, as a reminder of the king's origin. After the Russo-Turkish war, Romania gained Northern Dobruja and Carol ordered the first bridge over the Danube, between Fetești and Cernavodă, linking the newly acquired province to the rest of the country.
    However, despite their neutrality policy allowed to spare the lives of many Romanian lads, it put the young Kingdom in a very precarious and isolated situation. Sandwiched between the Russian empire and the Austro-Hungarian empire, the king feared mostly the Russian bear, because of the secret alliance with Germany allowed for protection against the Hapsburg. Carl I was afraid that, after the failed Russo-Japanese war, Russia would turn West for prestige, probably putting Romania under their sphere of influence, or even annexing them. As a result, he ordered the fortification of the Russo-Romanian border in order to avoid an invasion. He did not met opposition from the Crown Council, as Romania had claims in Bessarabia, and the Russians had always been interested in the balkans. On top of that, Romanian economic competition with Russia throttled good relations. Romania is a natural economic rival of Russia. Russia's expansionist designs in the Balkan Peninsula with its conclusive geo-political objective the capture of the strait of Bosphorus and Dardanelles convinced Romania that Russia has no good faith, and forced Romania to look for support somewhere else. Russia's aggressiveness, its projects for territorial conquests was being executed under the policy of Pan-Slavism. Bratianu denounced the danger of the Pan-Slavic idea for the entire Europe.There, on the shores of Bosphorus and Dardanelles, was the key to Europe. King Carol I concludes: “All the efforts made by the empire, all its aspirations, all the Russian impetus are heading towards that point”. The Russian conquests in this region would have threatened Romania’s existence itself. “We cannot talk about agreements, compromises and concessions. If we still exist, Russia will experience a failure in its plans which have animated the heart of the Russians, for two centuries. If the neighbouring empire succeeds in accomplishing the dream it has pursued with so much confidence and tenacity, the Romanian state and people will become just a memory. This is the truth.”
    However, an opportunity to weakening the Russian and avoiding a possible war came right on their feet, in the name of the people.

    The Russian Revolution of 1905 was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire, some of which was directed at the government. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies. According to Sidney Harcave, author of The Russian Revolution of 1905 (1970) four problems in Russian society contributed to the revolution: Agrarian problems, Nationality problems, Labour problems and Educated class as a problem.
    Agrarian problems:
    -Every year, thousands of nobles in debt mortgaged their estates to the noble land bank or sold them to municipalities, merchants, or peasants. By the time of the revolution, the nobility had sold off one-third of its land and mortgaged another third. The government hoped to make peasants—freed by the Emancipation reform of 1861—a politically conservative, land-holding class by enacting laws to enable them to buy land from nobility and pay small installments over many decades. The land, known as "allotment land", would not be owned by individual peasants, but by the community of peasants; individual peasants would have rights to strips of land that were assigned to them under the open field system. Unfortunately, a peasant could not sell or mortgage his land, so in practice he could not renounce his rights to his land and thus he would be required to pay his share of redemption dues to the village commune. This plan was meant to prevent proletarianisation of the peasants. However, the peasants were not given enough land to provide for their needs. "Their earnings were often so small that they could neither buy the food they needed nor keep up the payment of taxes and redemption dues they owed the government for their land allotments.
    Nationality problems:
    -Russia was a multi-ethnic empire. Nineteenth-century Russians saw cultures and religions in a clear hierarchy. Non-Russian cultures were tolerated in the empire but were not necessarily respected. "European civilization was valued over Asian culture, and Christianity was on the whole considered more progressive and 'true' than other religions." Romanians were present too in the region of Bessarabia, and Romania had tried to cause a revolt in the region, only to support the rebels later.

    upload_2018-4-26_9-33-35.png

    Ethnic map of European Russia, 1904
    Labour problems:
    -The economic situation in Russia before the revolution presented a grim picture. The government had experimented with laissez-faire capitalist policies, but this strategy largely failed to gain traction within the Russian economy until the 1890s. Meanwhile, "agricultural productivity stagnated, while international prices for grain dropped, and Russia’s foreign debt and need for imports grew. War and military preparations continued to consume government revenues. At the same time, the peasant taxpayers' ability to pay was strained to the utmost, leading to widespread famine in 1891." In 1900–1903, the period of industrial depression caused many firm bankruptcies and a reduction in the employment rate. Employees were restive: they would join legal organizations but turn the organizations toward an end that the organizations' sponsors did not intend. Workers used legitimate means to organize strikes or to draw support for striking workers outside these groups. A strike that began in 1902 by workers in the railroad shops in Vladikavkaz and Rostov-on-Don created such a response that by the next summer, 225,000 in various industries in southern Russia and Transcaucasia were on strike. These were not the first illegal strikes in the country's history but their aims, and the political awareness and support among workers and non-workers, made them more troubling to the government than earlier strikes. The government responded by closing all legal organizations by the end of 1903.
    Educated class as a problem:
    -The Minister of the Interior, Plehve, designated schools as a pressing problem for the government, but he did not realize it was only a symptom of antigovernment feelings among the educated class. Students of universities, other schools of higher learning, and occasionally of secondary schools and theological seminaries were part of this group. Student radicalism began around the time Tsar Alexander II came to power. Alexander abolished serfdom and enacted fundamental reforms in the legal and administrative structure of the Russian empire, which were revolutionary for their time. He lifted many restrictions on universities and abolished obligatory uniforms and military discipline. This ushered in a new freedom in the content and reading lists of academic courses. In turn, that created student subcultures, as youth were willing to live in poverty in order to receive an education. As universities expanded, there was a rapid growth of newspapers, journals, and an organization of public lectures and professional societies. The 1860s was a time when the emergence of a new public sphere was created in social life and professional groups. This created the idea of their right to have an independent opinion.
    On December 1904, a strike occurred at the Putilov plant (a railway and artillery supplier) in St. Petersburg. Sympathy strikes in other parts of the city raised the number of strikers to 150,000 workers in 382 factories. By 21 January 1905, the city had no electricity and newspaper distribution was halted. All public areas were declared closed. Controversial Orthodox priest Georgy Gapon, who headed a police-sponsored workers' association, led a huge workers' procession to the Winter Palace to deliver a petition to the Tsar on Sunday, 22 January 1905. The troops guarding the Palace were ordered to tell the demonstrators not to pass a certain point, according to Sergei Witte, and at some point, troops opened fire on the demonstrators, causing between 200 (according to Witte) and 1000 deaths. The event became known as Bloody Sunday, and is considered by many scholars as the start of the active phase of the revolution. Many other strikes happened in other regions of the empire, all of them repressed with violence. At the same time, nationalist movements in the Baltic, Finland, Poland, the Caucasus, many Asian, controlled region and in Bessarabia itself become more and more intense.
    In June and July 1905, there were many peasant uprisings in which peasants seized land and tools. Disturbances in the Russian-controlled Congress Poland culminated in June 1905 in the Łódź insurrection. Surprisingly, only one landlord was recorded as killed. Far more violence was inflicted on peasants outside the commune: 50 deaths were recorded.
    Tension with Romania almost escalated on the 14th of October 1905, when a small Romanian contingent, camouflaged as a convoy to support Romanian nationalist, was discovered by Russian police in Suvorove. Conflict started between the Russian police and the Romanian contingent, who occupied the city and received the support of the local forces. As a result, the Russians decided to send an army to invade Romania, while King Carol I received the approval to send an additional army in the region, in order to conquer Zatoka. War would not however escalate for two reasons.
    The first reason was the October Manifesto, written by Sergei Witte and Alexis Obolenskii, was presented to the Tsar on 14 October. It closely followed the demands of the Zemstvo Congress in September, granting basic civil rights, allowing the formation of political parties, extending the franchise towards universal suffrage, and establishing the Duma as the central legislative body. The Tsar waited and argued for three days, but finally signed the manifesto on 30 October 1905, citing his desire to avoid a massacre and his realisation that there was insufficient military force available to pursue alternative options. He regretted signing the document, saying that he felt "sick with shame at this betrayal of the dynasty ... the betrayal was complete".
    The second reason was the umpteenth central power intervention. Compared to many other crisis, this was the one the Central powers were most afraid off: Siam and Japan were far away countries, and if something had really happened to them, Europe would not face changes. Spain was actually far from central Europe, and if they felt under the hands of the French, they still couldn't do harm, and would instead revolt for independence. But Romania was bordering Austria-Hungary, and it could meant a direct route toward the Balkans. Also a Russian Romania would mean another border for Austria to focus on, instead of the main one, the Galician front. While the great Powers were negotiating, however, the Russian government was finnaly putting a rest to the Russian revolutionaries and the various nationalist rebels in all region of the Empire(Mostly Finland, Poland and the Baltic). Romanian and Russian forces were still fighting, with Romania now defending and the Russian trying to attack.
    Peace talks ended in the treaty of Kracow, on the 16th of June 1907. In it:
    -Nicholas II retains the throne
    -The State Duma would be established
    -The October manifesto would be approved
    -Russia cedes Suvorove and Zatoka to Romania
    -The battleship captured by Romania in the battle of Snake Island would remain under the command of the Romanian navy

    upload_2018-4-26_9-56-46.png

    Romania after the 1905 Russian Revolution
    After the conflict, the Romanian opinion of the Entente had worsenen: the once French liberator, who in the treaty of Krakow had supported the Russian tyran, were not as well seen as before. Instead, the Romanian governemnt, alongside the public opinion, was starting to becoming more Central power aligned. A treaty with Austria-Hungary in Bucharest allowed for more autonomy for the Romanians in the Austria-Hungary region of Transylvania, and the idea of the USGA or VSGÖ(Vereinigte Staaten von Groß-Österreich, or United States of Greater Austria), in order to counter the various uprising in the empire, started to become an accepted alternative. Romania also welcomed German and Austrian advisor, especially to increase the navy capability(The battle of Snake island was the closest call for the Romanians, as they barely win the battle). Thanks to Central power help, Romania started to become a small regional power, with strong interests in the black sea.
    With a new possible member in their alliance, even if small, the Eagle started to feel safer from the bear grasp. Romania could allow to create another front for Russia, and even has several resources such as grain and oil. With a Russia angrier than ever, the Central powers need to be ready, or face the full might of the Entente


     
    Last edited:
    The Balkan war: the two wolves clash, while the two lions, the white eagle and the phoenyx faces the lynx
  • The Balkan war: the two wolves clash, while the two lions, the white eagle and the phoenyx faces the lynx

    While peace was ruling the world, the Balkans were just full of suprises. The giant mess that the Balkan war was started when Italy declared war on the Ottoman empire on the 29th of September 1911, after receiving permission by Germany and Austria-Hungary in order to "Secure North Africa, and as such the Mediterranean, from the British and the French". The Italians were ready for war, and the military commando had learned to not underestimate the enemy, no matter how weak it seems. This previous approach caused the death of over 1000 Italians in the Boxer war, and Italian general Carlo Caneva, despite not being there in the campain, had learned from the mistakes commited by General Diaz. The Italians received permission by the Austrian to invade trought Albania, however they could not occupy the mainland after the war, but solely the islands off the coasts. Italy did not have interests in Albania, so Victor Emmanuel III accepted the terms.
    The city of Tripoli was easily conquered after an heavy bombardment. The Ottoman empire lacked a true army in the region, and their navy was barely able to avoid a massive invasion in Turkish soil. Between 1911 and 1912, over 1,000 Somalis from Mogadishu, the then capital of Italian Somaliland, served as combat units along with Eritrean and Italian soldiers in the Italo-Turkish War. Tobruk, Derna and Khoms were easily conquered, but the same was not true for Benghazi. However, the Italians still managed to take controll of the city, without too many casualities. Both the Ottoman forces, composed by native arab populations, and the Italian forces fiercely engaged each other, with the Italians sometimes using armoured veichles and air bombardment. While the war in Tripolitania turned in a small war of position, the Italians launched a full invasion of Albania. The Italian army easily conquered many of the islets in the region after the battle of Preveza, and the conquest of the various islands caused litteraly 0 Italian casualities, mostly because the Ottoman troops were in the mainland. Not a single naval battle was won by the Ottomans. The Italians landed on Durazzo and easily conquered the city. However, while triyng to reach Tirana, they met difficulties with Albania mounaneous terrain, and at 10 kms away from the city, the war once again become static.
    upload_2018-4-26_11-11-5.png

    Italian cruiser off the coasts of Albania
    As a relief for the Italians, the African front was starting to move, as the local forces become incapable of reacting against the Italians. An attack of 20,000 Turkish and local troops was repulsed on November 30 with small losses. Still, the war remained still in all fronts. On 3 March 1912, 1,500 Libyan volunteers attacked Italian troops who were building trenches near Derna. The Italians, who were outnumbered but had superior weaponry, held the line. On September 14, the Italian command sent three columns of infantry to disband the Arab Turkish camp near Derna. The Italian troops occupied a plateau, interrupting Turkish supply lines. Three days later, the Turkish commander, Enver Bey, attacked the Italian positions on the plateau. The larger Italian fire drove back the Turkish soldiers, who were surrounded by a battalion of Alpini and suffered heavy losses. A later Turkish attack had the same outcome. After that, operations in Cyrenaica ceased until the end of the war. As the Ottomans were still intentional to continue the war, the Italians launched a massive offensive in the Eastern Mediterranean, conquering the Dodecannese and sieging many Lebanon coastal towns. As the African front was basically neutralized, the Italians launched another offensive in Albania, this time conquering the city of Tirana. While the Italians could not occupy the region because of Austria-Hungary, neither Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria knew about it, and feared of an Italian holding in the region. As a result, also taking advantage of the Ottoman weak position, the Balkan league, between Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece, was formed to "counter Italian expansion in the region" and to "free the Balkans from the Ottoman controll". However, to the suprise of many, Romania decide to jump in the situation in order to obtain territories from Bulgaria. King Carol I told in a telegram to Victor Emmanuel III that Romania had no intention to enter the war againt Italy, but solely on Bulgaria, and as a result wishes to remain neutral against them. The Bulgarians launched a serie of offensives against the disorganized Ottomans, while maintaining a defensive position against the Romanians. General Mihail Savov was the leader of the Ottoman front, while Ivan Fichev commanded the Romanian front. However, the men in the front were not enught and, as a result, the Romanians managed to advance. The 5th Corps under General Ioan Culcer invaded Dobruja, occupying a front from Tutrakan to Balchik. The corps cavalry occupied the port city of Varna until it was clear that there would be no Bulgarian resistance. On the night of 14–15 July, the Danube Army under Prince Ferdinand crossed into Bulgaria at Oryahovo, Gigen and Nikopol. The initial occupation completed, Romanian forces were divided into two groups: one advanced westward, towards Ferdinand, and the other advanced southwestward, towards Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, everywhere preceded by a wide fan of cavalry troops in reconnaissance. The Bulgarian government, despetate for peace with the Romanians, decided to offer a peace deal on July 30 1912, in Sofia. In it, Bulgaria ceded to Romania Southern Dobruja, lying north of a line extending from the Danube just above Tutrakan to the western shore of the Black Sea, south of Ekrene; Southern Dobruja has an approximate area of 6,960 km2, a population of 286,000, and includes the fortress of Silistra and the cities of Tutrakan on the Danube and Balchik on the Black Sea. Despite the defeat, the Bulgarians still managed to get on their feet, and as a result they managed to attack Thrace with the help of Greece. The Bulgarians managed to conquer the Kırkkilise District, and conquered part of Macedonia.
    Ottoman intelligence had disastrously misread Greek military intentions. In retrospect, it would appear that the Ottoman staffs believed that the Greek attack would be shared equally between the two major avenues of approach, Macedonia and Epirus. The 2nd Army staff had therefore evenly balanced the combat strength of the seven Ottoman divisions between the Yanya Corps and VIII Corps, in Epirus and southern Macedonia respectively. The Greek Army also fielded seven divisions, but, having the initiative, concentrated all seven against VIII Corps, leaving only a number of independent battalions of scarcely divisional strength in the Epirus front. This had fatal consequences for the Western Group of Armies, since it led to the early loss of the strategic center of all three Macedonian fronts, the city of Thessaloniki, a fact that sealed their fate. In an unexpectedly brilliant and rapid campaign, the Army of Thessaly seized the city. In the absence of secure sea lines of communications, the retention of the Thessaloniki-Constantinople corridor was essential to the overall strategic posture of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. Once this was gone, the defeat of the Ottoman Army became inevitable. To be sure, the Bulgarians and the Serbs played an important role in the defeat of the main Ottoman armies. Their great victories at Kirkkilise, Lüleburgaz, Kumanovo, and Monastir (Bitola) shattered the Eastern and Vardar Armies. However, these victories were not decisive in the sense that they ended the war. The Ottoman field armies survived, and in Thrace, they actually grew stronger day by day. In the strategic point of view these victories were enabled partially by the weakened condition of the Ottoman armies brought about by the active presence of the Greek army and fleet.
    In the Epirus front the Greek army was initially heavily outnumbered, but due to the passive attitude of the Ottomans succeeded in conquering Preveza (21 October 1912) and pushing north to the direction of Ioannina. On 5 November, Major Spyros Spyromilios led a revolt in the coastal area of Himarë and expelled the Ottoman garrison without facing significant resistance, while on 20 November Greek troops from western Macedonia entered Korçë. However, Greek forces in the Epirote front had not the numbers to initiate an offensive against the German-designed defensive positions of Bizani that protected the city of Ioannina, and therefore had to wait for reinforcements from the Macedonian front. After the campaign in Macedonia was over, a large part of the Army was redeployed to Epirus, where Crown Prince Constantine himself assumed command. In the Battle of Bizani the Ottoman positions were breached and Ioannina taken on 6 March 1913. During the siege, on 8 February 1913, the Russian pilot N. de Sackoff, flying for the Greeks, became the first pilot ever shot down in combat, when his biplane was hit by ground fire following a bomb run on the walls of Fort Bizani. He came down near the small town of Preveza, on the coast north of the Ionian island of Lefkas, secured local Greek assistance, repaired his plane and resumed flight back to base. The fall of Ioannina allowed the Greek army to continue its advance into northern Epirus, the southern part of modern Albania, which it occupied. There its advance stopped, although the Serbian line of control was very close to the north.
    The Serbian forces operated against the major part of Ottoman Western army which were located in the areas of Novi Pazar, Kosovo, northern and eastern Macedonia and Ottoman Bosnia. Strategically the Serbian forces were divided into four independent armies and groups: the Javor brigade and the Ibar Army, which operated against Ottoman forces in the area of Novi Pazar; the Third Army, which operated against Ottoman forces in the areas of Kosovo, Ottoman Bosnia and Metohija; the First Army, which operated against Ottoman forces in the area of northern Macedonia; and the Second Army (operating from the Bulgarian territory), which operated against Ottoman forces in the area of eastern Macedonia. The decisive battle was expected to be fought in the area of northern Macedonia, more specifically in the plains of Ovče Pole, where the main forces of Ottoman Vardar Army were expected to concentrate. They also received small aids by Italian forces, who were advancing from Albania and who reached Kičevo.
    world-war-i-the-italians-land-in-albania-iin-the-town-of-vallona-italian-cw6173.jpg

    Italian forces in Albania.
    The Serbian Army under General (later Marshal) Putnik achieved three decisive victories in Vardar Macedonia, its primary objective in the war, effectively destroying the Ottoman forces in the region and conquering north Macedonia. They also helped the Montenegrins to take the Sandžak and sent two divisions to help the Bulgarians at the siege of Edirne. The last battle for Macedonia was the battle of Monastir, in which the remains of the Ottoman Vardar Army were forced to retreat to central Albania. After the battle, Prime Minister Pasic asked Gen. Putnik to take part in the race for Thessaloniki. Putnik declined and instead turned his army to the west, towards Albania, foreseeing that a future confrontation between the Greeks and Bulgarians over Thessaloniki could greatly help Serbia's own plans for Vardar Macedonia. After the Great Powers applied pressure on them, the Serbs started to withdraw from northern Albania and the Sandžak, although they left behind their heavy artillery park to help the Montenegrins in the continuing siege of Shkodër. On 23 April 1913, Shkodër's garrison was forced to surrender due to starvation.
    Peace talks begin on the 30th of May 1913, with the Treaty of Lausanne. Many great powers arrived in the scene, such as Austria-Hungary(to make sure that Italy would not subjugate Albania on it crown), Germany, France, Russia and Britain, the latter preoccupied with a strong Italian naval presence in the Mediterranean. In it:
    -Italy takes controll of Tripolitania
    -Italy takes controll of the Albanian islands of Malsori, Zvërnec, Shurdhah, Ksamil, Maligrad, Tongo, Stillo and Paqe
    -Italy takes controll of the Dodecannese
    -Albania becomes independent
    -Ottoman Bosnia is split between Serbia and Montenegro
    -Ottoman Empire cedes all European lands to Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria, with the exception of Constantinople.
    upload_2018-4-26_12-9-3.png

    Map of the region after the war.

    In the treaty Bulgaria complained that Macedonia was handed to Serbia, but was in no shape to get itself in another war.
    Everything in this scenario was perfect for a world war:
    -The Italians wanted controll over the Mediterranean, alongside controll over Savoy, Corsica, Nice and Tunisia
    -Montenegro was resentful toward Italy presence in the Albanian islands
    -Spain wanted controll over Morocco, which had been turned into a protectorate by France
    -Germany was in a naval competition with England
    -France wanted revenge against Germany
    -Albania has claims over huge chunk of land of Serbia and Montenegro
    -Serbia wants to conquer Austrian-Hungarian lands
    -Austria-Hungary is resentful toward Serbia and Montenegro growing in size
    -The Ottoman Empire wants to become a Great power once again
    -Russia has a sense of hatred toward Romania and Japan, Germany allies
    -Economic competition between Russia and Romania over the Black Sea
    -Japan wants to expand, but now has no interests in attacking Italy or Germany(there are more gains in keeping them as trade members)
    -Siam has claims over British Burma and French Vietnam
    -Bulgaria wants Macedonia
    With this scenario playing out, will the Central power succed?
     
    The assasination of Ferdinand: the white eagle challenges the griffon vulture, apocalypse begins
  • The assasination of Ferdinand: the white eagle challenges the griffon vulture, apocalypse begins
    On June 28 1914, in the city of Prijedor, Bosnian nationalist Gavrilo Princip fires at the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife. Gavrilo was a member of Young Bosnia, a secret organization who seeked for the end of Austria controll in Croatia, Slovenia and the rest of Bosnia, and who received support from the kingdom of Serbia. Tension between Serbia and Austria-Hungary began after the Balkan war, were the Serbs and Montenegran conquered huge chunck of territories from the Ottoman. As a result, this caused a grownth in streinght in the two kingdoms. Austria feared that such an increase in size of their neighbour would cause its slavic population to rebel. On the other hand, the Serbs and Montenegran wanted controll of Croatia, Slovenia and the rest of Bosnia to create the kingdom od Yugoslavia. They saw themselves as a Piedmont of the Balkans, unifing the region against the Austrian oppressors.
    1024px-Gavrilo_Princip_captured_in_Sarajevo_1914.jpg

    The aftermath of the assasination
    After the capture of Gavrilo and its trial, Austrian suspects felt on the Black hand, Serbia secret organization who intended to put an end to foreign dominance in the Balkans. The Austrian government did not issue an immidient declaration of war, but simply wanted to investigate for any possible involvement by the Black Hand. However, Secretary General to the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Slavko Gruic, replied "Nothing had been done so far and the matter did not concern the Serbian Government." An angry exchange followed between the Austrian Chargé d'Affaires at Belgrade and Gruic.
    After conducting a criminal investigation, and persuading the skeptical Hungarian Count Tisza, Austria-Hungary issued a formal letter to the government of Serbia. The letter reminded Serbia of its commitment to respect the Great Powers' decision regarding Austrian Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to maintain good neighborly relations with Austria-Hungary. The letter contained specific demands aimed at preventing the publication of propaganda advocating the violent destruction of Austria-Hungary, removing the people behind this propaganda from the Serbian Military, arresting the people on Serbian soil who were involved in the assassination plot and preventing the clandestine shipment of arms and explosives from Serbia to Austria-Hungary. After receiving a telegram of support from Russia, Serbia mobilized its army and responded to the letter by completely accepting point #8 demanding an end to the smuggling of weapons and punishment of the frontier officers who had assisted the assassins and completely accepting point #10 which demanded Serbia report the execution of the required measures as they were completed. Serbia partially accepted, finessed, disingenuously answered or politely rejected elements of the preamble and enumerated demands #1–7 and #9. The shortcomings of Serbia's response were published by Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary responded by breaking diplomatic relations. The next day, Serbian reservists being transported on tramp steamers on the Danube crossed onto the Austro-Hungarian side of the river at Temes-Kubin and Austro-Hungarian soldiers fired into the air to warn them off. The report of this incident was initially sketchy and reported to Emperor Franz-Joseph erroneously as "a considerable skirmish".Austria-Hungary then declared war and mobilized the portion of its army that would face the (already mobilized) Serbian Army on 28 July 1914. On the same day, Russia started to mobilize. On August 1 Germany declares war on Russia, which brought into the battlefield France. After French mobilization, Italy entered the war on the Central power side. In order to obtain a quick war, the German had organized the Schlieffen Plan, a battle plan first proposed in 1905 by Alfred, Graf (count) von Schlieffen, chief of the German general staff, that was designed to allow Germany to wage a successful two-front war. The plan was to invade France from Luxembourg and Belgium, in order to reach Paris. Meanwhile, in the Franco-German border, Germany would have kept a defensive position, to attract the French. Then, after the French surrendered, they would cause a massive offensive against Russia, bringing the soldiers into the battlefield with the help of railways. The ultimate strategic goal of the plan was not the French capital, nor the territorial conquest, but the circumvention and entrapment in an immense pocket of the great majority of the French army deployed against the Franco-German frontier; basically a repeat, albeit on a different and wider front, of the events that led to the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.
    As a result, the Germans started the invasion of Belgium, who didn't gave them military access, on August 4. Because of it, Great Britain enders the war against Germany. On August 4 Spain, Japan and Siam entered the war against France, Russia and Great Britain. The following day, Romania enters the war too, after one of their ships was destroyed by Russian artillery. First engagement outside Europe started on August 5, when German Steamer SS Pfalz surrenders after being fired on by Fort Nepean, south of Melbourne, Australia. First engagements between French and Italian forces started in the battle of Olivetta San Michele, wich resulted in an Italian victory. After the first French attack, the Italians decided to repond fire attacking and conquering the city of Castiglione di Mentone. After that, the Italian forces tried to conquer Nice, however, they would be stopped on the city of Eze. Fearing to lose too many men, the Italians decided to halt the offensive.
    0f40f5fc1b1bfd10b84af0b805bb78fb.jpg

    Italian forces in the conquest of Eze
    Meanwhile, the Spanish forces launched an offensive on Gibraltar, conquering the region because of the lack of soldiers in the region. The last British soldiers in the city surrendered in the Girbaltar Botanic Gardens. The conquest of the city was not easy for the Spanish, as the region had been fortified. In the battle, around 300 British lads died while defending that strategic position, however the Spanish casualities counted around 500, however all artillery pieces and guns were captured by the Spanish, as the Regia Marina started a serie of skimmerish with the Royal navy, not allowing for evaquation.
    maxresdefault.jpg

    Propaganda image showing Spanish forces attacking Gibraltar
    Siam war plan was starting to move switfully, as the army leaded by Bhanurangsi conquered Cambodia from the French and advancing toward Saigon. However, on Tây Ninh the Siamese were blocked by the French and several Australian forces which arrived in the scene to protect Indochina and Malaysia. As a result, the Siamese met difficulties also in the Malaysian front. However, the Indians could not launch a decisive offensive because of the disastrous battle of Ywarthit, where the Indians were heavily defeated by the Siamese, who faked a retreat in order to suprise the Indian army. Nearly 80% of the Indian squadron (1500 men) died or were kept as prisoner of war. The south-east asian front would be the first one to show how the so called "Great war" would result: staticism.
    Sikhs+in+Gallipoli

    Some of the Indian men who would participate in the battle of Ywarthit: none of these soldiers survived the battle
    On August 7 the British expeditionary forces arrived in Europe, however the Indians, Australians and New Zelandeses were not many, as they were busy against Siam and Japan in South East Asia and in the Pacific.
    The French, British and Belgian troops faced the German troops in the battle of the frontiers, which resulted in a German victory. A small British detachment faced the Italians in the battle of Bourg-Saint-Maurice, obtaining a small victory, only to be repelled in the battle of Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise. The situation in the Italian front was starting to become static.
    On August 9 the British and the French start a serie of attacks in the Central powers holding in Africa: Togoland is conquered on August 26, split between France and Britain, and around 4 days later the French conquers Spanish Sahara. However, offensives against Spanish Morocco end up in a defeat for the French.
    On August 17 the Russian army enters East Prussia, but cannot continue because of a combined Austrian-Romanian counteroffensive, which manages to conquer the cities of Proskurov and Fălești, but because of a serie of Montenegran and Serbian victory, they could not launch another offensive.
    On Tepe, the British forces launch a small offensive, which resulted in a minor British victory: however, the British were severally defeated by Japanese-German forces in Palau. Japanese forces conquer the Russian city of Slavjanka, but cannot move foward because of the Australian and New Zelandese forces advancing from south.
    Bundesarchiv_Bild_134-C1315%2C_Tsingtau%2C_Seesoldaten_in_Deckung.jpg

    German-Japanese soldiers in trenches in the Pacific
    With the failed 1° battle of the Marne, even the French front started to become static. In the end, all fronts ended up become statics, with little to no movement at all. Franco-British-German forces engaged in the river of the Marne, while the French started a small serie of engagements against both Italy and Spain, not being able to push. The front for Siam was now the one that the Siamese commando believed it would be: all fronts were statics, with no movement at all. The Romanians had success in the naval warfare, but, just like Austria, they met difficulties against the Russians and the Serbs. Japanese forces had their hands tied, not being able to launch offensives against Russia because of the hight ammount of Australian and New Zelandese lads who were trown at them, especially in the Philippines and the Pacific.
    b98276cbac8ab8c687063334ddeed7b3.jpg

    Australian casualties after the battle of Zamboanga

    Trenches were built in all fronts. There, sanitary conditions were precarious, with many dying because of illness rather than the bullets themselves. There, they would be stuck in mud, snow, hot sand, in muddy rivers. The worst part of the conflict is about to begin: hell has opened its gates
    upload_2018-5-3_15-4-15.png

    The world after the first 15 days of the conflict
     

    Attachments

    • upload_2018-5-3_10-50-20.png
      upload_2018-5-3_10-50-20.png
      164.4 KB · Views: 394
    Last edited:
    The Siamese front: the elephant against the rooster and the two tigers
  • The Siamese front: the elephant against the rooster and the two tigers
    The Siamese plan for a quick victory in Indochina and Malaysia failed after the battle of Tây Ninh. As a relief, however, it was the fact that Australian and New Zelandese forces were busy in the Pacific and could not intervene against them. As such, the army leaded by Bhanurangsi kept advancing in the region. They managed to capture Saigon, but with heavy losses. While the front was partially moving in Indochina, the front was completely static in the Malaysian and Indian fronts. The Siamese obtained controll of the Malay peninsula with the exception of British Malaysia itself, which was defended by Indian troops. The Siamese conquered the city of Alor Setar, but were once more stopped by the Indians. Elephant corps were used in these operations, but the superior European fire could damage this giants even if they had armour, which caused more problem than anything. The Indians started then a serie of offensives against the Kingdom in order to distract them from the Malay and Indochinese front, both unsuccesfull.
    The Andaman Sea saw several skimmerish between the Siamese Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy. One of the biggest clash in the region was the battle of Great Western Torres Islands, which resulted in a Siamese victory, but not a decisive one, as the British still controlled the Andaman Sea, and the Siamese fleet was still small.
    PhotoWW1-30yachtTriad1PS.JPG

    A Siamese Patrol ship shortly after the battle of Great Western Torres Islands
    In Burma, Siamese forces leaded by Phraya Bhijai Janriddhi, on the 30th of September 1914, decided to go on the offensive in the Front, obtaining small success. The biggest victory was achieved on Rangoon, where they were seen as liberators by the locals, but could not advance further after a massive Indian counteroffensive hit them in Hinthada.
    upload_2018-5-4_9-25-25.png

    Siamese forces marching in Rangoon
    After the numerous failed offensives in the region, the military commando of Siam believed to initiate a plan to cause a massive defeat of the Indian forces. By imitating the battle of the 4000 islands, they retreated from some of the fronts, such as the Indochinese and Malaysian front. This technique had mixed results; in Indochina, it was an absoulte success. The Siamese army completely wirdraw from Vietnam, baiting the French units in regions such as Laos and Cambodia. On October 15 1914, the French army in Northern Indochina was completely anniliated in the battle of Sam Nuea. The French felt in the same trap of the Franco-Siamese war, by being suprised by an Elephant army who charged in, causing a carnage. The number of Elephants was massive: around 1000 war Elephants were used in the battle, with only 10 of them perishing by the French. None of the soldiers in the battle survived, not because of the Siamese lack of mercy, but because the Elephants entered a stage of bersek, not stopping even when ordered too, despite being trained to stop at command. Because of this, in France this battle is ofter called "The massacre of Sam Nuea(Le massacre de Sam Nuea)", with the General that leaded that army, Devan Uthayavongse, being "The butcher of Indochina(Le boucher d'Indochine)". Despite this fearsome name, Devan actually intended to stop these beasts as soon as the French tried to communicate their surrender. It was said that this refined general and prince actually cursed at the animals. One young officer would report him screaming at the top of his lungs "STOP! STOP THESE FUCKING BEASTS! I'M ORDERING YOU! THE FRENCH HAVE SURRENDERED!(H̄yud! H̄yud s̄ạtw̒ h̄el̀ā nī̂ r̀wmpheṣ̄! C̄hạn s̄ạ̀ng h̄ı̂ khuṇ! Chāw f̄rạ̀ngṣ̄es̄ dị̂ yxm cảnn!)". Only after the last French soldier preferred to kill himself rather than facing death by elephant, the beasts actually stopped. The prince had actually intention of punishing the animals for "not obeying orders" by not giving them food for 10 days, however king Rama VI communicated him on a telegram to not commit the action, as "Its not the animal fault for what happened. They don't understand the war of men. Blame the soldiers who could not hold controll of the beasts(Mị̀chı̀ khwām p̄hid k̄hxng s̄ạtw̒ nı s̄ìng thī̀ keid k̄hụ̂n phwk k̄heā mị̀ k̄hêācı s̄ngkhrām k̄hxng p̄hū̂chāy tảh̄ni thh̄ār thī̀ mị̀ s̄āmārt̄h khwbkhum s̄ạtw̒ dị̂). In the end, neither the Elephants nor the riders were punished, as the prince realized that they had no controll over the animals(many of them felt on the ground and were almost killed by the elephants).
    1bded4a8eff72860514d12e2c571297a.jpg

    French casualties of the Sam Nuea battle awaiting burial by the Siamese, 1914. According to Devan, "They are humans too. They deserve at least a burial."
    Good knews for Siam, however. After the successful battle, the Siamese had an easy road for Vietnam: the French army in the region was a big chuck of the army in the entirety of the colony. Because of this, Devan army advanced unopposed in the Vietnamese coast. In the south, the army leaded by Bhanurangsi met lesser success, but were still able to advance north. When they used elephant charges, however, the animals actually stopped when ordered to. Many believe that the treatment given by Bhanurangsi was better than the one Devan give them. Bhanurangsi realized that elephants were actually smart animals, capable of thinking and feeling, with the Siamese training completely breaking their spirit. Captured when they're babies, they're tortured and trained to turn in war machine. Bhanurangsi was not against this ("This is war. We cannot think of how the animals feel.(Nī̀ khụ̄x s̄ngkhrām. Reā mị̀ s̄āmārt̄h khidt̄hụng s̄ạtw̒ h̄el̀ā nī̂ rū̂s̄ụk dị̂), but believed that if the elephants were treated better, they would be more obedient toward their owner and riders. After the battle of Đà Nẵng, Bhanurangsi and Devan army finally met, defeating the last French in the region.
    capturedflag.jpg

    Siamese officers posing in front a captured French Foreign Legion flag
    Despite the huge succes obtained in Indochina, in Malaysia and Burma the technique met little to no success. Unlike the French, the Indians were actually close to the frontline, and as a result could defend their position better. As a result, the Siamese could not conquer Malaysia, and in Burma the front did not move at all, with the exception of the Indians now having conquered Mong Lin, and the Siamese having advanced around 6 km from the Siamese border. Even when the elephants entered a stage of bersek, the Siamese were heavly defeated, especially when the Indians bought their elephants in the battlefield.
    Elephant-mounted%2Bmachine-gun%2C%2B1914.jpg

    British soldier on top of an elephant armed with a machine gun practicing for battle.
    The main difference between Indian war elephants and Siamese war elephants was that the Indian ones were less design in taking out troops, and more designed to take out other elephants. Sure, there were the anti-infantry elephants, but they were generally less in numbers compared to the other kind. As a result, the Siamese elephants, more designed to take out infantry, could not take out the Indian versions. However, these elephants were less trained and had an harder time being controlled, allowing for the Siamese army to counter their offensive and using their artillery and other weapons to take them out. Not even the new troops that arrived from Indochina helped the situation, and the front become once more static. After the numerous defeats against the Siamese, the British government realized that the Siamese were not a small fry, but could not reinforce the position, as they have their problems in the west, against Germany. According to the French prime minister René Viviani, French Indochina was a lost cause, especially when the motherland was in danger. As conflict in South East Asia is becoming more and more violent, will the Siamese succede?
    upload_2018-5-4_10-44-40.png

    Map of the region at the moment

    I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.
     
    African clashes: the wolf faces the rooster, and defends against the lion, while the Phoenyx enters the scene
  • African clashes: the wolf faces the rooster, and defends against the lion, while the Phoenyx enters the scene
    While in South East Asia the Siamese faced the Indians and the Malaysian in the tropical forests of Malaysia and Burma, the Italians faced the French and the British in France, in the Mediterranean and in Africa, with the latter front being, at the moment, one of the bloodiest in the black continent. Tripolitania was a strategic point to controll for the Italians: it could mean a landing spot for an invasion of Tunisia, which was the perfect landing ground for an invasion of Sicily. General in command of the region was Carlo Caneva, who leaded the succesful Italian campain against the Turks for the conquest of the region. It was said that such conflict had fortified its passive nature in warfare. Caneva however decided however to not attack Egypt, afraid of the larger contingent present in the region. The plan actued was simple: conquering Tunisia, advance in French Algeria if possible, while keeping a defensive position in the Egyptian front. Invasions plans were executed on September 07 1914, around the same time Montenegro and Greece entered the war. Major Italian victories were obtained in Zarzis and Gabès, which were captured with little casualities, as the majority of the French army was in France itself. However, the army still met difficulties because of the constant arab rebellions in Tripolitania.
    1024px-Senussi_going_to_fight_English_in_Egypt.jpg

    Senussi going to support the French in Tunisia
    The Senussi were some of the most fearsome Muslims rebels in Africa. Receiving both French and British support, they caused fits on the Italian forces. They performed guerrilla like warfare against the Italian army, but at times they launched full out invasions on Tripolitanian cities. They had been strongly reduced after the Italo-Turkish war because of the large contingent present in the area, but could still lead offensives against their new overlords. Sayyid Ahmad in particular leaded some of the most daring attacks, such as the siege of Tripoli, which resulted a disaster, but show that the Italians had still a weak position in the region. Because of the Senussi, the Italian advance in Tunisia was partially halted, but as the French did not take advance of the situation, the Italians managed to secure their own colony after defeating the majority of the Senussi forces in Ueddan, causing them to become a simple minor force, and limited themselves in guerrilla fights in the deserts, but could not halt the Italian invasion of Tunis, which was conquered after heavy fighting on October 01 1914. The Italians then proceded to advance in the Tunisian mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe, but were stopped in Bône, where the French inflicted hight casualities against them. Despite the "success" of the campain, the Italian army soon run out of cavalry, and as such it was decided to have dromedaries instead of horses. These creatures would turn out useful, because they could hold machine guns on their back.
    cfe4d818a57517d09378ee021207e5ee.jpg

    Italian soldiers with a dromedary in the Egyptian front
    Situation in Egypt was not as easy as the Italians hoped for. General Sir John Grenfell Maxwell had realized the Italian weak position in the region after the Musaid skimmerish, and decided to take advance of the situation. The British army launched an offensive in the city, with only 10 casualities, and started advancing in the region. However the British were stopped by the Italians in the battle of Gambut, where the British army was heavly defeated. From 26 October to 4 November 1914 the British persisted an attack in order to conquer Tobruk. On 26 and 27 October, two smaller flanking columns of the British Army made secondary attacks near Gambut in the northern sector of the region. These were followed by the main attacks on 3 and 4 November, which both ended as a disaster because the Italians had fortified the position. Only two British companies could threaten Tobruk, the rest of the advance party abandoning attempts to reach the city as a result of the strong Italian defence of 30,000 men, supported by German Vouluteer Army and many pieces of mountain artillery, which were required from the other Italian colonies. The Italians then amassed troops at the scene which made another invasion impossible. The British companies held their positions until the evening of 3 November 1914, when the commanding officer ordered them to withdraw. The retreat proceeded "orderly, first into a camp ten km west of Sollum".
    1st_Herts_Yeomanry_in_the_Suez_Canal_trenches_1915_IWM_Q15566.jpg

    1st Herts. Yeomanry in trenches near Tobruk, 1914
    General Sir Archibald James Murray did all he could to keep the Italians occupied, launching an attack on 8 Dicember 1914, and between 5 and 13 January 1915 he personally led a charge. This caused an halt of the Italian forces, which could not advance further in the region, nor they really intended to. As a result, the Egyptian front turned static, as the Italian started to further fortify the border in the region, building even more trenches in the area. The Tripolitanian front would turn out to be one of the most brutal in Africa. Compared to many other African colonies helded by the Central powers, Tripolitania was quite near the Italian soil, allowing for easier supply, and allowing the Italians to actually put a fight, even more as Gibraltar had been captured by the Spanish, not allowing for easy supplying in the Mediterranean. At the same time, with the main army in Italy, the Italian forces could not launch decisive offensives in the region. The main objective technically was obtained: to maintain controll over Tripolitania. Meanwhile, the Greek army, with the help of the British navy, launched an offensive of the Dodecannese, which was owned by the Italians after the Italo-Turkish war. The main army, leaded by Panagiotis Danglis, had their first engagement against the Central powers in the battle of Kalymnos, which resulted in a Greek victory. The Greeks then landed on Kasos and Karpathos, but failed to conquer Rhodes, which was the most fortified of the islands. General Giovanni Battista Ameglio leaded the army in the region ordered for the absolute defence of the region, obtaining better results that he hoped for. The Greeks were heavly defeated on Kallithea, and could not take the island. Despite the defeat, the Greeks still managed to conquer the remaining islands. While part of the Greek army and navy focused on the Eastern Mediterranean, the other part become an expeditionary force which serviced in the North African front against the Italians. The British once again tried an offensive against the Italians, but still failed in the battle of Bardia, where the front become once again static. Indian and Australian forces were required from Burma and the Pacific to conquer the colony, but still met difficulties.
    1024px-Mysore_and_Bengal_Lancers_with_Bikanir_Camel_Corps_in_the_Sinai_Desert_1915_IWM_Q15568.jpg

    Mysore and Bengal Lancers with Bikanir Camel Corps in the Libian Desert, January 1915
    As the British started to gain naval superiority in the Mediterranean, situation in Africa started to become troublesome for Italy but, lukly for them, the British will never have full dominance in the Sea. But, while in Europe everything seemed to be static, alongside Nord Africa, it would seems that another blow for the Central Powers is coming for them.
    upload_2018-5-7_12-26-56.png
    6a00d8341bfa1853ef014e8a5c5b74970d-600wi



    I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.
     
    The Chinese intervention: the Chinese Dragon enters the quarrel
  • The Chinese intervention: the Chinese Dragon enters the quarrel
    The Xinhai Revolution, which put an end to the Quing dinasty, effectively started a new era of modernization for China. Xinhai, Hubei and the Tongmenghui movement members once underground (named committee, group, etc.) established their parties.
    A myriad of Chinese military reforms paved the way for the transformation of the Chinese Classical Army into the Chinese Modern Army that would see the combat of the First World War. During this period the Chinese Army faced several challenges such as unrest on the periphery (such as in Tibet), and continuous political unrest in the empire, thus, at the onset of the First World War, the Chinese Army had already been involved in some sort of fights. The new government also intended to capture the land stolen by them by the Italians, Germans and Japanese. They felt that no European country could help them to guarantee their independence. Italo-German-Japanese increasing economies in the north of China was causing problems for the Chinese. During the public disorders of the Xinhai Revolution, the Japanese considered landing troops further in Chinese proper. In May 1913 the British military mission assigned Nathaniel Walter Barnardiston to help train and reorganize the Chinese army. Despite the Japanese and German intervention, both decided to back down in order to avoid war. However, the Japanese decided to improve their army in China. On July 22 1913 it was proposed an alliance with the British and the French. On 28 July 1914 Winston Churchill asked to cede two warships for the Chinese navy. Despite questions about the legality about ceding two ships to the Chinese, the request was granted at a Cabinet meeting on 31 July.
    On 2 August 1914 the Chinese republic ordered general mobilization, announcing that it would remain neutral. The Chinese authorities expected mobilization to be complete within four weeks. Sun Yat-sen wanted to have some time to see the development of events, before any more engagements with the entente. Sun Yat-sen took two decisions. First, directed that the Entente ambassador not interfere with military affairs, or the British commander, General Nathaniel Walter Barnardiston, with politics. Second, directed that negotiations be reopened with the German and Japanese ambassadors. On 9 August, Sun Yat-sen assigned Nathaniel Walter Barnardiston to First Army. The Japanese interpreted this assignment as improvement of Chinese defence. In fact, Nathaniel Walter Barnardiston was cut from high level decision cycle by being in the First Army. In the middle of August, Nathaniel Walter Barnardiston officially requested to be released and return to Britain. On 3 August, the Chinese government officially declared neutrality. On 5 August, Sun Yat-sen informed the Japanese that he was willing to reduce the number of troops along the Japanese frontier. On 6 August 1914, at 0100 hours, Sun Yat-sen summoned the British ambassador to his office to inform him that the Cabinet had decided unanimously toallowy the station of Entente ships in Chinese ports. Sun then presented the Entente ambassadors with four proposals—not conditions—which they immediately accepted and which were signed later that day:

    1. Support in abolishing the foreign capitulations.
    2. If any Chinese territories were occupied by enemies of the entente during the course of the war, they would not make peace until these were evacuated.
    3. An adjustment to the Chinese border in Japanese controlled regions, alongside the Italian concession.
    4. A war indemnity.
    On the afternoon of 10 August, before any agreement had been reached, the British ships reached Chinese coasts, and Huang authorized their admittance. On 14 September, Sun directed the navy to take the ships into the sea and to fire upon any Central power vessel they encountered. This was problematic in many ways. This directive, which went over the head of Huang, the Navy Minister, was presumably issued by Sun as acting commander-in-chief. At the same time, Huang wanted to "conduct training cruises". Huang complained to the British, who authorized him to approach the Chinese government directly. Talks between the British admiral and Sun were held on 18 September. In early September, a British naval mission, comprising about 700 sailors and coastal defence specialists arrived to bolster the defenses of the Chinese. On 29 Dicember 1914 the Chinese navy bombed Port Arthur. The Japanese started engaging the enemy with gunboats, with two of them being destroied before the Chinese retreated.
    Midilli_Raids_Novorossiysk_2.jpg

    Port Arthur being bombed by Chinese ships
    The Japanese, and as such the rest of the Central powers, declared war on China on January 01 1915. The first conflict was the Shaodong campain, which resulted in a Chinese victory.
    cover.png

    Chinese troops posing after the capture of Tsingao
    Chinese troops would also launch attacks in Tientsin, but met difficulties in Japan after a serie of small Siamese offensives in the south. As a result, the Chinese were stopped in Jinzhou. Meanwhile, the Siamese army advanced till Quinzhou, where the Chinese army arrived to stop them. The army would then launch a suicidial charge against the Siamese, which brought elephants in the battlefield. This resulted in the annihilation of the Chinese army, which retreated in Maoming, but still managed to push them back near the original border. China entrance into the war greatly increased the Central powers military burdens.
    In the South Siam now faced a three front war with Burma, Malaysia and Yunnan. The Japanese army on the other hand now faced both the Russians and the Chinese in Manchuria, only with the help of German and Italian soldiers who escaped and reached the Japanese mainland. In Manchuria, the Chinese objective was the conquest of the Liaodong peninsula, and the conquest of Korea, with the help of the Russians. The established force for this goal was 25 infantry battalions, 37 cavalry units and 120 artillery guns. It had two wings. On the right wing, the Russian I Corps crossed the border and moved from Sarikamish toward the direction of Köprüköy. They reached Köprüköy on November 4. On the left wing, the Russian IV Corps moved from Yingkong to Dandong. The commander of the Japanese army, Kamio Mitsuomi was not in favor of an offensive action against the combined Russo-Chinese forces. His plan was to remain in defense and launch a counterattack at the right time. On November 7, the Chinese 3rd Army commenced its offensive with the participation of the XI Corps and all cavalry units. This force was supported by a Tibetian Regiment. The cavalry failed to execute the encirclement and the Tibetian Regiment proved to be unreliable. The Japanese actually gained territory after the withdrawal of the 18th and the 30th Divisions. Chinese forces managed to maintain their positions at Chaoyang. By January 12, the Chinese IX Corps had reinforced the XI Corps on the left flank. The 3rd Army began to push the Japanese back with the support of the cavalry. The 3rd Infantry Regiment managed to advance between January 17 and 20. By the end of January, the front had stabilized, with the Russians clinging to a salient 25 kilometers into the Japanese Empire a few kilometers from Korea. There was Russian success along the southern shoulders of the offensive where Manchurian volunteers were effective and even managed to conquer Port Arthur. However Chinese casualties were high: 9000 killed, 3000 taken prisoner and 2800 deserters.
    1024px-Sarikam.jpg

    Russian trenches in Manchuria
    During February, Nicholas II of Russia visited the Manchurian front, where he was received by Korean nationalist. The head of the president of the Korean National Council received him. There, it was famous the speech given to the Korean by Nicholas: "From all countries Koreans are hurrying to enter the ranks of the glorious Russian Army, with their blood to serve the victory of the Russian Army... Let the Russian flag wave freely over Tokyo and Seoul, let your will the peoples [Korean] remaining under the Japanese yoke receive freedom. Let the Korean people who have suffered for the faith of Christ received resurrection for a new free life...!(Iz vsekh stran koreytsy speshat vkhodit' v ryady slavnoy rossiyskoy armii, chtoby ikh krov' sluzhila pobede russkoy armii ... Pust' rossiyskiy flag svobodno proletayet nad Tokio i Seulom, pust' vasha volya ostanutsya narodom [koreytsami] pod yaponskim igom poluchayut svobodu. Pust' koreyskiy narod, kotoryy postradal za veru Khrista, poluchil voskreseniye za novuyu svobodnuyu zhizn'!)".
    Meanwhile, in the South the Siamese still faced the Chinese, with relative success. On 6 January 1915, Siamese offensive action began once again with the attack of the Zhenning Fort. At the Fao conquest, several Siamese forces were opposed by 350 Chinese troops and 4 guns. After a sharp engagement, the fort was overrun. By mid-January the Siamese Division fully captured the area and began moving towards Hainan.
    On 22 January, the Siamese occupied Hainana after heavy fightings. After establishing order in the region the Siamese continued their advance, but were heavly defeated by the Chinese in Guigang, and could not proceede. Even with the Chinese entry in the conflict, the war seemed to become once again static, but also started a serie of fits for the Central powers. With more troops on their disposal, the Indians could reinforce the Western front, alongside the Nord African front. Meanwhile, the Japanese faced even more problems in mainland Asia, even if the Chinese army still lacked the organization of other major nations. Is seems that the fight had just begun, and the "short war" every nation hoped for had vanished.

    I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

     
    Top