The Path to Destruction

Oi, can this be moved to Timelines and Scenarios please? Sorry!

This is a TL I've been working on off and on for six or seven years know. I think I maaaay have posted this TL in it's original form right after I joined the board a few years ago. It is the build up to a Great War between an English, German, Austrian alliance against a French, Italian, Ottoman, and Russian alliance. Edit: Reading through I also realize that I haven't put in any entries as to when some of the Balkan nations join the AU or the GEA.

Pt. One
1879 – Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary sign Dual Alliance
1889 – Georges Boulanger takes power in France, made dictator for life. Promises to rebuild a still-shattered France and get revenge on the European nations that stood by and watched ‘the great cities of France be burned and their inhabitants murdered.’
1890 – King Georges I initiates modernization and building programs for the Army and Navy, aimed at offensive capabilities.
1890 – The young new Kaiser, Heinrich I, announces further industrialization programs throughout Germany and Prussia, with the industrialization to spread to her colonies. The Kaiser also creates a High Council along the same lines as the English Parliament, although the Kaiser retains much more power than the English Crown. The only other candidate for Kaiser, Wilhelm, is rejected for his attitude and withered arm and leg, which restricts him to a wheelchair.
1891 – Franz Josef announces similar industrialization programs throughout Austria-Hungary.
1891 – Austria-Hungarian Empire and Imperial Germany renew ‘vows’ of Dual Alliance.
Pt. Two
1892 – King Georges I sells off Guinea to Brazil and the African possessions to Italy and Russia, even selling Algeria to France, although he retains Indochina. Germany, and England to a lesser extent, takes advantage of the situation and annex some of France’s former colonial possessions.
1892 – British Parliament approves measure to begin industrializing British colonies even further.
1892 – War between Brazil and Argentina, first months in favor of Brazil, then degenerates into stalemate for remainder of the year.
1892 – Congo River Rebellion spreads all throughout Belgian Congo. The Belgians react harshly to the rebellion.
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1893 – Belgian Army suffers massive defeat at hands of Congolese Rebels near settlement of Kikwit.
1893 – Argentine Navy victorious over Brazilian Navy at the Battle of Porto Alegre
1893 – Argentine Army launches invasion of Brazil, stopped at Battle of Pelotas
1893 – Treaty of Shanghai signed, Manchu Empire begins consolidation and modernization
1893 – Brazilian Army counter-attacks Argentine, achieves a five mile salient, stopped by Argentine reinforcements
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1894 – "New Empire Program" begins importation of foreign experts to assist in modernization of China. Much of the world thinks it is already too late to save China.
1894 – Emperor Meiji dies of Typhus, or poisoning, and throne taken by Isolationist brother – Modernization of Japan ends
1894 – Argentine forces attacks Brazilian salient near Rio Grande, massive casualties on both sides, Brazilians lose quarter-mile of ground
1894 – Portuguese troops land in Brazil to assist Brazilians
1894 – Battle of the Bulge – Portuguese soldiers assault the Argentine trenches. Three day battle rages, both sides suffering massive casualties. Portuguese and Brazilian forces break out from the bulge and drive Argentine forces towards the border
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1895 – Argentine-Brazilian war ends, Argentina hands over small amount of land to Brazil.
1895 – First Queue of ships for French Navy finishes: 3 battleships, 3 heavy cruisers, 5 light cruisers, 9 destroyers, 14 torpedo boats, 2 merchant raiders, 4 armed heavy transports
1895 – British Parliament approves measure to increase indigenous military soldiers in British military, with pay almost equal to a British-born serviceman and increase the numbers of indigenous officers
1895 – German Colonial Council decides to begin industrialization of German colonies.
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1896 – Argentina and Brazil begin to repair their militaries
1896 – US economy starts to decline, many banks and corporations closing, putting laborers out of work. The international community begins pulling funds from US banks and Wall Street.
1896 – US begins to expand Navy in an attempt to keep shipbuilders in business although the expansion itself is scaled down because of lack of funds.
1896 – Austria-Hungary and Germany form the Double Alliance, ensuring that both nations will be almost a single entity in time of war
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1897 – After a visit from Kaiser Heinrich I in which he espouses the joint destiny of the German and English Empires and suggests an alliance between the two in order to counter balance French militarism, the UK joins Double Alliance, creating the Triple Alliance, creating a formidable alliance in Europe. This is in response to French military expansionism and diplomatic moves towards Russia, Italy, Spain and the Ottoman Empire, including aiding the last with military advisors and increasing hostility towards England.
1897 – Italy begins further industrialization programs throughout the nation and it’s colonies, following the patterns of the major powers.
1897 – Russia emerges from its frigid nut shell (or vodka bottle) and begins truly colonizing it’s possessions purchased from France in ’92.
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1898 – Spanish-American War, US sells Philippines and Cuba to Germany in order to put much needed gold into the Treasury . Last US attempt at becoming a colonial power before the falling economy puts an end to it.
1898 – Czar begins harsh policy of relocation of peasants in order to work in factories and farms in Western Russia
1898 – Second Queue of ships for the French Navy finished: 4 battleships, 11 heavy cruisers, 7 light cruisers, 9 destroyers, 10 torpedo boats, and 5 armed heavy transports
1898 – North Atlantic Treaty signed between Triple Alliance members and US guaranteeing more extensive trade and exclusive trade rights to certain raw resources. The Triple Alliancewill be one of the few trading clients with an economically-devastated America
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1899 – Mexico divided into two nations: Chihuahua in the North, controlled by the Marxist revolutionaries, and Mexico in the south, controlled by military dictatorship. The US Army skirmishes with border forces along the Texas-Chihuahua border.
1899 – Denmark, Norway, Sweden sign the Nordic Alliance, creating a Scandinavian military alliance
1899 – Manchu Empire consolidates power over a large amount of land that was only Chinese in name. Establishes a sort of council in which each region, ethnic group, etc are given a representative to advise the Emperor. While it does not start out smoothly,
1899 – Manchu Navy receives 1 battleship, 3 heavy cruisers, 5 light cruisers, 2 destroyers, and 9 frigates from English and German shipyards.
1899 - German New Guinea sold to England in return for English recognition of Germany’s possession of the Phillippines.
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Pt. Three
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1900 – Joint German-British naval exercises in North Sea and North Atlantic
1900 – French soldiers open fire on ‘radical’ democrats protesting King Georges rule in Paris
1900 – Construction on massive Zhenjiang-Peking Shipyards begins in China; effort is put out by everyone
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1901 – German troops on Luzon put down pro-French rebellion, incited by French insurgents
1901 – Chinese troops move into Manchuria and Korea to curb Russian imperialism in China.
1901 – Britain delivers 3 light battleships, 5 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 9 torpedo boats.
1901 – Argentine forces attack across Brazilian border, reaching Pelotas in four days
1901 – Sieges of Rio Grande and Porto Alegre begin, Brazilian troops moving down from Sao Paulo
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1902 – Brazilian troops attack Argentine fortifications at Porto Alegre. Argentines fall back and form a line with Pelotas at the right.
1902 – Zhenjiang-Peking Shipyards finished. 4 second-class battleships laid down almost immediately. Construction on many small and fast torpedo boats begins.
1902 – Taiwan reoccupied by Chinese Army
1902 – Rio Grande falls to Argentine Army
1902 – The Kingdom of Hawaii takes delivery of 2 heavy cruisers from Germany
1902 – Kaiser Heinrich I sends ships to the Caribbean to protect shipping lines.
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1903 – Argentine and Brazilian Navies clash at Battle of Porto Alegre, Brazilians lose five ships, Argentines lose four ships
1903 – Austria-Hungary annex Bosnia-Herzegovina and Novi Pazar
1903 – Britain allows Boer Orange Free State to remain independent after the Boers receive endorsement from Germany, focusing on the independent Zululand
1903 – Tens of thousands of Brazilian and Argentine troops killed in Battle of Pelotas. Argentine Naval fire slaughters retreating Brazilians
1903 – Argentine counter-offensive reaches Porto Alegre and faces only resistance by naval personnel. Captured ships handed over to Argentine Navy.
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1904 – Peace signed between Brazil and Argentina, giving the lower tip of Brazil and all lands lost in the first war, to Argentina
1904 – Zhenjiang-Peking Shipyards complete first set of capital ships for Chinese navy: 1 battleship, 4 second-class battleships.
1904 – Germany begins an economic expansion project, as do the other two Triple Alliance members shortly after.
1904 – France and Italy form the Greater European Alliance
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1905 – Spain joins the Greater European Alliance seeking protection from perceived German desire for her remaining overseas possessions, namely Morocco.
1905 – After Russian refusals to return all traditional Chinese territory to the newly modernized Empire, Chinese torpedo boats attack Russian Pacific Squadron at Port Arthur, Chinese troops taking the base after a protracted siege. Russian forces moving down from Vladivostok invade Korea, taking Hoeryang and moving south unopposed until halted at the coastal city of Wonsan.
1905 – Russian troops defeated in Northern China at the Battle of Liaoyang and the Navy at the battle of Tsushima, with a crushing defeat of the Army in September at Mukden, which finally ends all Russian hopes of maintaining dominance over Manchuria and gaining Korea.
1905 – Southern Manchuria formally reoccupied by Chinese troops.
1905 – German colonies allowed full representation, as a group and not individual colonies, in High Council
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Pt. Four
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1906 - Germany, the United Kingdom, and Austria-Hungary renew the alliance between the three empires.
1906 - Chinese and Russians sign Treaty of Harbin, ensuring that China maintains hegemony over Korea and hands over the Liaodong Peninsula and Southern Manchuria . China is now recognized as a military power.
1906 - Henry Ford immigrates to Imperial Germany in light of the booming economy. 9 factories are built by Germany Army under Ford's directions to build weapons and munitions. 4 civilian factories are built by Ford Manufacturing Company.
1906 - HMS Dreadnought is launched, obsoleting all other naval vessels. UK plans to build eight more, ten will be added to the Hochseeflotte, and 13 into the French Navy, with the Royal Navy nearly tripling the number it plans to build in order to outnumber both the French and the Germans.
1906 - The Gewehr 1906 enters production. The G06 is the first semi-automatic rifle to enter production. Fed by a seven round detachable magazine. Rifle is unreliable and overly complex. Evaluated by German Imperial Forces until 1908.
1906 - UK purchases 200 models of the G06 for use by South Africa Force against the well-armed Zulu tribes.
1906 - King Georges I celebrates his 67th birthday with a parade of French Army units through Paris.
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1907 - All of the FMC factories begin to mass-produce everything from canteens, rifles, machine guns, to big guns for naval vessels. The assembly lines in the factories break all previous production records. The civilian factories go into operation after the military factories.
1907 - SAF (South Africa Force) goes on campaign against the still independent Zulus. The inadequacies of the G06 rapidly surface in the dust of Zululand.
1907 - Haiphong Uprising in French Indochina is brutally put down by French colonial forces. Surviving rebels retreat further into Tonking.
1907 - Tzar Nicholas declares a modernization of the Russian military after the crushing defeat of the Russo-Chinese War.
1907 - The US Navy decides only to build two battlecruisers and one dreadnought based along the lines of the dreadnought-style battleship due to a shortage of funds.
1907 - The Second Battle of Islandwana ends in a stalemate due to SAF's semi-reliable, semi-automatic weapons and superior Zulu numbers.
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1908 - The Gewehr 1908 is put into production by the FMC. The G08 is an improved variant of the G06. Ten round detachable magazine with folding bayonet. The G08 is shorter than most bolt-action rifles, but is more accurate than many. Weight is also less than most bolt-actions.
1908 - France begins sending arms and equipment to Chihuahua.
1908 - The Nassau, Germany’s first dreadnought, and three sister ships are completed with 11" guns.
1908 - Southern South Africa Force is created. SSAF numbers 150 riflemen with G06 rifles, 2 machine gun crews, 2 1.75 inch Hotchkiss field guns from the US. South Africa Force is renamed Northern South Africa Force. NSAF numbers 200 riflemen with G06 rifles, 3 machine gun crews, 2 1.75 inch Hotchkiss field guns, and 1 3 inch field gun.
1908 - NSAF goes on campaign in Northern Zululand as SSAF moves up the coast. The Zulu had been secretly receiving surplus Gewehr 1898 rifles from Portugal.
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1909 - Mexican forces invade Guatemala and El Salvador. A long guerrilla war ensues.
1909 - NSAF wins a victory over Zulu forces at the Third Battle of Islandwana. SSAF is badly beaten in an ambush by Zulu forces near the coast. SSAF falls back into South Africa.
1909 - The first motorized transport unit is formed in the German Army
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1910 - Guatemalan and El Salvadorian forces surrender officially to Mexico, ending the war.
1910 - NSAF is ordered out of Zululand as the Treaty of Capetown is signed. The Treaty of Capetown ensures Zulu independence and security from any further imperialistic moves. Zululand begins to modernize slowly.
1910 - The Gewehr 1910 is put into mass-production and introduced as the new main battle rifle of the German Army. The G10 is an improved G08, keeping the size of it's predecessor while improving reliability and accuracy. The G10 has a 10- or 15-round detachable magazine with a detachable bayonet.
1910 - The Ottoman Empire purchases two dreadnoughts, one from France, the Sultan Osman I, is based off a British-built, Brazilian dreadnought and is armed with twelve 12" guns and twenty-two 3" guns. The other dreadnought is from Italy and named Resadiye. It is based on the Dante Alighieri design with twelve 12" guns in four triple-gun turrets. These two battleships are, and would remain, the most powerful ships in the Ottoman Navy.
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1911 - After signing a mutual-defense treaty with Nicaragua, Germany begins to build a trans-oceanic canal.
1911 - The Royal Navy receives five new dreadnoughts, the Monarch class. All carry the potent 13.5" gun and are well armored and have a speed of 20.8 knots. They are the first capital ships of the dreadnought era to carry their main guns all on the centerline.
1911 - Argentina invades Uruguay, taking over the nation in a few months.
1911 - Argentina hands back a tiny bit of conquered land to Brazil and signs several peace treaties attempting to ‘normalize the political situation.’
1911 - Muslims on the Dutch East Indies islands of Sumatra and Java rise in rebellion against the Dutch. In Sumatra, a new Sultanate of Aceh is proclaimed after the rebels seize the coastal towns of Kutaraja, Barus, and Tiku. On Sumatra, the Dutch are gradually forced back to the city of Benkulen by the end of the year. The colonial forces are able to hang on to most of Java except the eastern quarter of the island. Bali and Lombok also rise up in rebellion after the Sultanate is created. In December, the Ottoman Empire recognizes the Sultanate and an ambassador sets sail to Sumatra, escorted by the two new Ottoman dreadnoughts, three armored cruisers, one small passenger liner, and three large merchant ships. The Ottomans respond to Dutch protests by saying the large escort is to ensure the safety of the ambassador and the liner and merchantmen are there to carry all the tools necessary to set up an embassy. They ignore the Dutch protests about the recognition itself, saying they never received the telegrams. The Ottomans are emboldened by the lack of protests from any of the major European powers. The Dutch in turn begin gathering ships at Batavia.
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1912 - France negotiates the sale of Libya to Italy by the Ottomans in return for a large sum and an agreement allowing Italian and Ottoman Navies to use each other’s ports, as well as the transfer of three pre-dreadnought battleships from the Italians to the Ottomans.
1912 - Belgium joins the Triple Alliance, which is then renamed the Allied Union, China joining soon after. This creates a solid allied corridor from Austria-Hungary to the Channel and the UK.
1912 - Ottoman and Dutch forces clash in the ‘Sumatra Incident’. The Dutch had gathered all six of their second class battleships and five protected cruisers. Although the Dutch warships outnumber the Turkish ships two to one, the Turkish ships are in general newer, better armed, and better armored. The two sides clash off Simeulue Island as the civilian ships in Kutaraja unload their ambassador, three regiments’ worth of volunteers to fight alongside the rebels off of the liner, and the three merchantmen unloaded full cargoes of rifles, machine guns, mortars, three 3" field guns, and ammunition for all of them. The Dutch lose all but one of their second class battleships and four of their protected cruisers while the Turks only suffer one cruiser sunk, heavy damage to the other two, and moderate to light damage to their dreadnoughts.
1912 - Denmark joins the Greater European Alliance, bringing the GEA to it's wartime members.
1912 - The cash-starved US Navy receives it’s lone dreadnought, the USS South Carolina, which was actually designed before Dreadnought but not completed until now because of funding issues. It is armed with eight 12" guns, twenty-two 3" secondary guns, and two 21" torpedo tubes. With British turbines installed, the South Carolina could reach a speed of 21 knots.
1912 - Norway and Sweden form the Scandinavian Alliance and proclaim their joint neutrality.
1912 - Germany, England, and Austria-Hungary institute trade embargoes against the Ottomans and issue an ultimatum to the Ottomans, ordering them to leave the Dutch East Indies or be faced with limited military action. The Ottomans comply, withdrawing their ships and volunteers, although the volunteers leave all of their supplies for the rebels.
1912 - Algeria erupts into widespread rebellion and after several bloody engagements, the cities are largely secured, the rebellion simmering in the country-side.
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1913 - Portugal and Brazil form the Portugese Commonwealth, based on that of the UK. Brazil and Portugal have a nearly integrated army and navy, allowing for close collaboration.
1913 - King Georges I dies at the age of 75. The 'Great King' is replaced by his son Francis, who is a skilled politician and knows enough to leave fighting to generals. He is crowned King Francis I of the French Empire.
1913 - General Jorge von Metternich is placed in command of the German Army and the General Staff. At 43 he is the youngest general officer in the German Army, and a capable officer and close friend of the Kaiser.
1913 - First three Bismark Class Heavy Battleships are finished and commissioned into the Hochseeflotte. The Bismark Class ships have ten 15-inch main guns, oil-powered turbines, and armor ranging from 12.2" to 18". The ships quickly become the basis of the Hochseeflotte with their triple hammer of speed (23 knots), firepower, and protection. The Bismark Class was described as being the first Super-Dreadnoughts of Germany. They are the Bismark, Kaiser Heinrich I, and the Grosser Kurfürst
1913 - Italy launches a large military effort designed to retake the Algerian countryside, but achieves nothing other than seizing a few oases and villages for massive loss due to hit-and-run raids on troop columns, supply trains, and the occasional civil uprising. The former French citizens who did not emigrate to France begin to become disenfranchised with the upset of the status-quo, with the Italian immigrants now at the top of Algerian society.
1913 - The Kingdom of Hawaii joins the Allied Union, ensuring a significant presence, with China, in the Pacific. Hawaii receives two cruisers from the UK.
1913 - The Sultanates of Aceh, Java, and Bali-Lombok are crushed by a joint Anglo-German-Dutch expeditionary force. Level of resistance reduced to minor hit and run raids on small villages and garrisons. Due to large amount of Ottoman weaponry recovered, such as the many Turkish Lebel rifles captured, the trade embargoes stay in place. Netherlands joins the Allied Union.
1913 - The Queen Elizabeth and Warspite are launched six months after the Bismark class. They too have 15" guns, oil-powered turbines, and armor just as thick. The ships are just as fast as the German "super-dreadnoughts" and just as powerful. Four more are to be finished in the summer of 1914.
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1914 - After several bank failures due to the complete withdraw of all foreign money, the economy of the US quickly goes into an even worse depression, with Wall Street crashing and riots breaking out when food fails to reach cities in the Northern states due to difficulties in coordination in the government.
1914 - A message detailing an invasion and annexation of Belgium by the French falls into the hands of British agents causes King Francis I to ‘make amends’ by firing the minister who drafted the plan... then promptly rehiring him.
1914 - Four-month long strikes, starting in March, only end when National Guard and Regular Army units violently crush the strike. The nationwide strikes, and their violent end, cripples U.S. manufacturing and it’s ability to rebound is further crippled by ensuing hyperinflation. In New York, the poor, unemployed, and homeless riot, burning down much of the city, and nearly the entire Atlantic Fleet mutinies when ordered to fire upon the city. The handful of officers and sailors who attempt to carry out the order soon find themselves either thrown into the Harbor or locked in the ship’s brig.
1914 - Failed assassination attempt on Austrian Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand heightens already tense relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Russia mobilizes after Austria-Hungary threatens war, causing Germany to mobilize in turn. France responds by mobilizing it’s military, which provokes England to mobilize in turn.
1914 - Belgium grants fellow members of the Allied Union rights of passage for troops to ensure Belgium’s security and additional protection.
1914 - German and British troops ready to move into defensive positions in Belgium and the rest of the Allies go on a state of high alert. The German Western Armies move to the German border of France and Belgium and the Hochseeflotte and the British Fleet link up in the North Sea. The Mediterranean Fleet readies to sail from Alexandria as the British North African Army mobilizes to move into Italian Cyrenica. Trade embargoes are enacted on all members of the European Alliance by all members of the Allied Powers.
1914 - King Francis I is shot, nearly fatally, by a Vietnamese nationalist during a ‘conciliatory’ visit to Brussels. ‘The spark has been struck, we just need to wait for the explosion,’ wrote the Belgian ambassador to Britain. France demands that French officials be allowed into Belgium to punish the people responsible, Belgium refuses in a near copy to the situation in the Balkans.
1914 - France declares war, most members of the Allied Union declare war on France.
1914 - France demands it’s allies declare war, all but Russia declare war within four days. The Russians only declare war when Austrian forces move into Serbia, a week after the first declaration of war.
ALLIED UNION - 1914
Germany*
Austria-Hungary*
United Kingdom*
Belgium
Netherlands
China*
Hawaii*
The Boer Republics*
Natal*
Rumania
Greece
Argentina*

GREATER EUROPEAN ALLIANCE - 1914
France*
Spain
Russia
Italy*
Ottoman Empire*
Denmark
Portugal
Brazil*
Serbia
Bulgaria
Albania
Montenegro
* = More industrialized and powerful than in OTL
 
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I got bored and wrote up a description of the Sumatra Incident in the style of the Mammoth Book of Naval Battles. Haha, feedback is greatly appreciated and I'd like to know if I'm wasting my energy writing this stuff or if it's actually good. Besides, I just felt the need for an Ottoman-Dutch War in Southeast Asia, even though it's kind of ASBish. I increased the Dutch casualties from the original TL and I'll edit it immediately, and I also increased the damage the Dutch inflicted. Here goes:




The Sumatra Incident is really defined by the Battle of Simeulue Island on April 7th, 1912. The events leading up to the battle itself start with the start of the Muslim uprisings in the middle of 1911 on the Dutch East Indies islands of Sumatra and Java, with the smaller islands of Bali and Lombok joining later. By August, the Dutch had been forced all the way back behind the fortifications of Benkulen, a town on the south-western coast of Sumatra, where they were supplied from the sea. Once the Muslims had taken Sumatra, or all of it except Benkulen, the rebels held a conference in Kutaraja, a city on the northern coast and in the territory of the old Sultanate of Aceh. At the end of August, the rebels organized the Sultanate of Sumatra, declared Tiku as it’s capital, and promptly sent a envoys to the French and Ottoman Turks. The French, in a rare moment of caution, did not recognize outright the Sultanate, but they did not rebuff the Muslims either. In return for the promise of lone rights to the tin and spices of Sumatra if the Sultanate won it’s independence, the French began smuggling weapons such as Lebel rifles, machine guns, some light artillery, and massive amounts of ammunition to the Sultanate from Indochina, via Siam.
The Turks on the other hand went all out once the envoys reached Constantinople. Seeing an opportunity to give a European colonial power a bloody nose and demonstrate the reformed Ottoman military, the Turks almost immediately recognized the Sultanate of Sumatra and began making arrangements to send an ambassador, arms and munitions, and a brigade of volunteers drawn from the Army. The volunteers, called the Jihad Brigade, were organized into three regiments and were officially totally unrelated to the Ottoman government, just good Muslims out to fight against the colonial empires. In reality, they were from some of the best trained and equipped units of the Ottoman Army, merely training their woolen uniforms for Arabic or Indonesian dress.
In mid-December, the Jihad Brigade and the ambassador to Sumatra boarded a passenger ship out of Basra and departed in the company of three merchantmen fully loaded with Turkish-made Lebels, machine guns, and a battery of field guns based on the French 75mm Quick Firing cannon. Serving as an escort were three armored cruisers, the Abdul Hamid, the Hamidieh, and the Medjidieh, all with two 6" cannons and eight 4.7" cannons, along with smaller armament and torpedoes. Also in the escort was the true muscle of the Ottoman Navy, the two new dreadnoughts purchased from France and Italy, the Sultan Osman I, based on the Brazilian dreadnought Minas Gerais, and the Resadiye, based on the Italian dreadnought Dante Alighieri. Both ships had twelve 12" guns with a range of just under 11 miles and bristled with secondary armament in the 4.7-3" range. The two battleships outclassed anything the Dutch could field against them.
Meanwhile, as the Ottomans had been gathering their ships in Basra, the Dutch too had been gathering their small fleet in Batavia, on the north-west coast of Java. The Dutch were slowly beating back the rebels on Java, who were nowhere near as organized as the Sumatran rebels. By the time of the Battle of Simeulue, the rebels would be forced back into the eastern most end of the island. As the New Year arrived, the Dutch had gathered most of it’s tiny navy in Batavia, and although Admiral De Winter wanted to immediately set sail and attempt to intercept the Ottoman force before it arrived in Sumatra, his ships had to be resupplied after their arrival in Batavia. Many of the ships had set sail well before the Ottoman ships, some from the Netherlands itself, and had nearly empty coal bunkers, not to mention food stocks. The crews themselves were also in dire need of rest from the long voyages, and by mid-February, the Dutch fleet was ready to sortie as the Ottoman warships sat off Kutaraja.

The Dutch had gathered most of their navy’s firepower. Five protected cruisers and six battleships sat in Batavia, waiting to sortie. Four of the cruisers were armed fairly similarly, with two 5.9" guns and six 4.7" guns, along with torpedoes and smaller cannon, making them generally inferior to the newer, better armed Ottoman cruisers. The fifth cruiser, the Koningin Wilhelmina Der Nederlanden, was instead more heavily armed and armored than any of the other cruisers, with one 11" gun, one 8.2" gun, two 6.7" guns, four 3" guns, and six smaller 1pdr cannons and torpedoes. The Koningin, while slightly outdated, would hold a good account for herself against the Turks.
The six Dutch battleships on the other hand were totally inadequate, bearing closer relation to the Koningin then the two Turkish battleships. They were older, pre-dreadnought steel battleships, second-class ships that were totally outmatched against dreadnoughts. They were the De Ruyter, the De Zeven Provincien, the Hertog Hendrik, the Jacob Van Heemskerck, the Koningin Regentes, and the Marten Harpertzoon Tromp. The six battleships were of three different types. First, the De Zeven Provincien stood alone, with two 11" guns, four 5.9" guns, and ten 3" guns. Then there was the Van Heemskerck, with two 9.4" guns, six 5.9" guns, six 3" guns, and two torpedo tubes. The remaining four all had two 9.4" guns, four 5.9" guns, eight 3" guns, four small rapid-firing 1pdr cannons, and two torpedo tubes. While these ships may have been a potent force had the Ottomans not had the dreadnoughts in their force, which the Dutch did not suspect of being in the area, the Dutch battleships would prove woefully inadequate in the coming fight.

After being forced to wait while the De Zeven Provincien, which had arrived in late February, was resupplied, Admiral Winter was finally ready to set sail from Batavia to engage the Turks at Kutaraja. Winter took his fleet out of Batavia and through the Selat Sunda, the straight between Java and Sumatra, and out into the waters south of Sumatra. Proceeding northwest, the Dutch fleet skirted the islands off Sumatra’s west coast and was approximately ten miles northwest of Simeulue when the Ottoman fleet was sighted at 4:47a.m. on March 12th, 1912. Here is the account of a Dutch Ensign Van Der Kirk on the lead ship, the De Ruyter.

"I was in the observation mast when the lieutenant next to me spotted the Turks in the dark. Three ships, probably cruisers, fanned out about 8,000 yards ahead, with two more large ships, possibly battleships, about fifteen miles out. Admiral Winters had already ordered the fleet into battle order, with the battleships in line on the left and the cruisers in line on the right, the day before when we turned north, and we felt he had caught the Turks off guard. Five ships! Against eleven! We knew it would be a cake walk. The De Ruyter opened fire at about 7,000 yards, and from what I saw, it was a near miss on the closest Turk cruiser [Abdul Hamid]. The Turk cruisers almost immediately began to turn about, holding long enough to fire a broadside, and steamed back to join forces with the other two ships. Admiral Winter ordered the pursuit."

While only the De Ruyter and the cruiser Holland opened fire, being the two lead ships, they both missed. The three Turk cruisers, Abdul Hamid, Hamidieh, and Medjidieh all managed to get off a single broadside as they turned about. The Turk gunners, who had been under the tutelage of the French Navy and had significantly more practice than the Dutch gunners, managed to score hits on the Holland in the darkness and disable its fore 5.9" gun as well as a hit on the De Ruyter which disabled the telephone system throughout the ship. The De Ruyter continued to fire shots after the Ottoman cruisers, although their superior speed allowed them to pull out of range before too long. Winter, not wanting to divide his fleet, ordered his cruisers to stay in column with his battleships. Believing himself to be against three cruisers equal to his own and two battleships also equal to his, he was unconcerned about the Ottomans being able to cross his T. This would prove fatal. As the Dutch came closer to the Ottoman ships, the lookouts began to notice the true nature of the Ottoman battleships. Ensign Van Der Kirk:

"I was peering through my binoculars at the Turks, I began to see with the dawning light that their battleships were not like our own, but rather dreadnoughts! And they had crossed our T! I brought this to the attention of the watch officer, and he tried to telephone the bridge, but the phones were out, so he had me climb down the mast to inform the Admiral in person. I was running towards the bridge when it felt like the world had ended. I was lifted off my feet and thrown through the air, and I lost consciousness. I only awoke when I was pulled in by a boat from the Koningin after the battle."

The Osman I and Resadiye waited until the Dutch were within 11,000 yards to open fire with full broadsides, with all twelve of the Resadiyes 12" guns and the ten bearing 12" guns of the Osman I firing at the lead ships. The De Ruyter was hit three times and exploded almost immediately, Ensign Van Der Kirk being one of thirteen survivors, and the Holland suffered the same fate, losing all of her crew. With Admiral Winter dead, the Dutch were effectively leaderless at the very beginning of the battle, but the Dutch captains still believed they had supremacy over the Ottomans. The Dutch captains broke column and began to return fire at about 7-6,000 yards. The Koningin Regentes was stopped dead in the water by a hit from the Osman I just a few minutes after the destruction of the De Ruyter and managed to hit the dreadnought with it’s fore 9.4" gun before another hit detonated it’s magazine.
Meanwhile, the Koningin Wilhelmina Der Nederlanden was faring better in a one to one fight with the Abdul Hamid. After a vicious fight between the two, in which the Wilhelmina took seven 6" hits and fifteen 4.7" hits and the Abdul Hamid three 11" hits, four 8.2" hits, and an estimated sixteen hits from the 3" guns, the Abdul began to list heavily to starboard and sinking quickly. The heavily damaged Wilhelmina continued to fire upon the Ottoman ships with it’s 11" and 8.2" guns before a round from the Hamidiehs fore 6" disabled its 11" gun, prompting the captain to withdraw and pick up survivors as it retreated. As the Wilhelmina and Abdul had fought it out, the Sultan Osman I obliterated the De Zeven Provincien, although the De Zeven managed to disable one of the turrets on the Ottoman battleship and damage it’s steering with a torpedo.
The four remaining Ottoman ships formed a line and began to duel it out with the five remaining Dutch ships, the Marten Harpertzoon Tromp having exploded after being hit by five 12" shells. In quick succession the two cruisers Noordbrabant and Zeeland were destroyed, prompting the Friesland, Jacob Van Heemskerck, and the Hertog Hendrik to attempt to escape. The heavily damaged Jacob Van Heemskerck could not escape and fell victim to the Resadiye, capsizing with massive loss of life, before the Ottomans disengaged and returned to Kutaraja, nursing their two heavily damaged cruisers and Sultan Osman I.
The Dutch survivors returned to Batavia with three of the eleven ships they had left with, most of the Dutch Navy sat at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. It was at this point the Allied Union intervened, issuing an ultimatum that prompted the Ottoman ships to return home and to withdraw recognition of the Sultanate. By March of 1913, German, English, and Dutch troops had crushed the rebellion and had secured the entry of the Netherlands into the Allied Union. The Sumatra Incident would help heighten tensions between the Greater European Alliance and the Allied Union which get to the breaking point in 1914 and would lead to the devastation of the Great War.
 
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