Der Schwabischer Stern 1906

[Borys]

Triest, Ferbuary 1906

It was simply ... WRONG, crossed Prinzregent Liutpold's mind.
He was standing at attention, saluting, watching the white-and-sky-blue lozegned flag

being raised over the first vessel of the Bavarian NAVY. It was a Torpedoboot, the T-1, an ex-Austrian design, built by the Stablimento Tecnico Trestino. It was commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Baender, from Baden. Who a year ago had been an Enseigne de Vaisseau de 2ème Classe in the Marine National.
Anyway, Bavaria now had a coast and fleet. With 36 officers in it. 6 were Tirolers who chose loyalty to their Heimat over the Oath to the Kaiser in Vienna, and 30 were Schwabs or Schwytz who had previously served in the French Navy. Supposedly this was enough for a "flotilla" of torpedoboats and one or two small cruisers. He glanced at the beaming, fresh faces of the 17 and 18 year old "kadetten", mostly from good Bavarian families, the future of the fleet.

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT - the eardrum bursting fart of the Alpenhorns almost blew his mind. The flag was fluttering in the breeze, and a new part of festivities began.  Five dozen Oberbayerishervolkertanzenverband members, in hats, white shirts and lederhosen, were yodeling and prancing on the pier while the Spiritual Host, led by the bishop of Sankt Galen, was aproaching the T-1 with a bucket of Holy Water.
It was going to be a long day, sighed the Prinzeregent, looking at the reflexes of the sun sprakling on the calm waters of the Golfo di Venezia.

[swamphen]

(ooc)

So...

Hohenzollerns > allied with Austrians

Austrians > friendly with Bavarians?

Bavarians > considered unworthy sell-out renegades by the Kaiser (though he still wants their land back).

This could get interesting...
;D

[Desertfox]

He, he, he...

[Ithekro]

It seems now that less and less nations are worried about France as they once were.  The Lion's claws are dull but not gone.

However it is more fitting that the world look to each other rather than point fingers at the greater power.

[Borys]

We hates the tricksy Bavarians!
They have taken our Precioussssss!
(Tirol and Triest)

[swamphen]

Ah, I'd missed that - in that case, never mind.  :)

[Borys]

Schwabischer Stern, 2nd November 1908

Prinzregent Liutpold looked upon with satisfaction at the puffing and huffing train rolling out of the tunnel. It had taken - to quote the Minster of Railways - enough steel to build a cruiser and enough money to build a battleship - to build that 50 kilometres of railroad in the Karnik Alps, from Piave to Brumech. But now there was a route no imediatelyl menaced by neither the Welsche nor the Habsburgers. The second part - from Paive to the lowlands of Friuli, will be much easier, with the mountains signficantly lower.

Good steel had gone into the half dozen of tunnels and several dozen bridges. Not that there was much use for that steel elsewhere. The Heer had long completed its rearming with Quick Fire guns, and the navy had all the vessels it could man. The Flotte was talking about half a flotilla of  "minsweepers", whatever that ight be, though, for the 1908 Budget.