De Telegraaf

[Korpen]

21th January
Due to the increasingly uncertain situation i Europe, the 4th light recon squadron has left Singapore and is steaming for Europe.
Also the Queens favourite fox terrier Bamse was yesterday hit by a bicyclists, he died of his injuries, the nation is in mourning.

[Korpen]

2nd of Feb, Articel from Am paipear beag.
The 2nd Galloglaich division have over the last few day conducted major exercise in the Orkney island in cooperation with the marine.
The purpose of the exercises was to train to defend against surprise assault against the base of Scapa flow.

[Korpen]

1906-06-01
Today the foreign office in den Hague published the following press release:

In reaction to several aggressive and greedy nations trying to infringe the freedom of navigation on the high seas, the government of the united Kingdom of the Netherlands pledges to the three following points.

1: Admitting all countries a 3nm zone of sovereign waters, except in straits.
2: Never demanding payment, nor ever paying tribute for transit on the high seas.
3: Willing to forcibly enforce the two above.

The foreign office is also pleased to report that the following nations have in private consultations joined us in the pledge to the tree points (in no particular order):
the Kingdom of Rohan
the Habsburger Kaiserreich
the Republic of new Switzerland
the Baltic Confederation
the Confederate States of America
Deutcher Kaiserreich Brandenburg

also the Republic of Gran Columbia have expressed interest in pledging to the three points.

The foreign office regrets to report that they have not been in contact with all free states in the world.
So if any further states whish to support this convention the government of the Netherlands would greatly appreciate it.

[Walter]

"Milord, you might find this interesting." stated Bishamonten, General of the Northland Army, as he entered the magificent Grand Hall of Zemni castle. The beautiful music that filled the atmosphere of the Hall seized as Lady Kendappa stopped playing her harp.

"Hmm?" Taishakuten looked up at his most loyal general. "And what is it that I might find interesting?"

"Lord Kujaku picked up this issue of the Dutch newspaper called De Telegraaf and found something interesting in there." Once Bishamonten had reached Taishakuten, the general held out the Dutch newspaper. "He encirceled the article and sent it here. He wishes to know what our position is in that particular matter."

Taishakuten took the newspaper and spotted the article in question. He began to read the Dutch text. A slight smile appeared on his face once he had finished reading the article. "He's right. It is interesting..." Taishakuten leaned back. He made a gesture to Lady Kendappa to play her harp while he closed his eyes to think.

Lady Kendappa's fingers began gliding over the harp's strings and her beautiful music once more rang through the Great Hall. Time slowly passed while Taishakuten didn't speak a word. The minutes of silence seemed like hours and a normal person would have grown impatient and restless, but Bishamonten was quite used to this.

"I think..." Taishakuten opened his eyes and looked at Bishamonten. "... Inform Kujaku that he should inquire about the strait business."

"In what manner?"

"We could find the sovereign waters business acceptable. However, we would like to see an increase in the zone within straits when one nation clearly controls both sides of the strait. Should different nations control each side of the strait, then a minimum of... 70% of the strait's width should be international waters and the zones of each nation should be adjusted to fit this requirement up to a maximum of 3 nautical miles."

"Understood."

"And make it clear that with the first part, it is one nation only. When dealing with Allies, they should still be counted as two or more different nations."

"I shall inform Lord Kujaku immediately about this." Bishamonten bowed slightly and then left.

Lady Kendappa stopped playing once Bishamonten was gone. "The Federation for Freedom of Navigation on the High Seas," she mused before continuing to play.

Taishakuten smiled. "That might be a fitting name," he mumbled as he closed his eyes. "But I doubt those other nations would accept something like that."

[Desertfox]

Don't tempt me Walter, dont tempt me.

[maddox]

Current events.


Oh, Minister Capet, is that the whole deal?
I find it funny. Even hilarious.  New Swiss is turning its coat again.  From republic to monarchy, but not entirely, just to keep open all avenues of opportunity. From "strait claimer" to "defender of the freetrade"
Oh well, we're quite safe with the New Swiss in that alliance.

I beg to differ Premier. Rohan is a real strong one, and honorable. If they promise, they will deliver. Even if it takes millenia. In that respect they are as bad as the Middle kingdom. Luckely,as you say, the New Swiss put their ass in this , so the Middle kingdom won't ever never enter this charade.

Oh well.  We made enough concessions to the Dutch regarding their free passage  trough the  Pas de Calais and even the Suez Canal. If they, or their "free Trade Fiends" try some smart move with warships, we'll roast those on a smoky fire. Even better.  I will make up orders, even it comes to blows, the Dutch ships won't be shot at, unless they are the last ones afloat and still don't get the message. Make sure all of the free traders know this by " information channels".  It is also time to get the UK in this.  We'll need a few more ships over, and if we're going to provide the mainstay, they will have to do their part, as its their idea.
And , be sure the Habsburgs know that we expect them to be backstabbed by the New Swiss. It's such a nice gesture. Especialy when thinking about Miss von Österreich-Teschen.

Premier Paixhans, please leave Gabrielle out of this. I met the lady 2 months ago, and yes, I do like her a lot. but she is not to be abused in politics. I  DO  NOT  ACCEPT  THIS

[Carthaginian]

*whistle*

"Man, the Frogs seem to be gettin' all riled up about this Dover fiasco, Skipper" the XO of C.S.S. Sonora said as he read the daily, brought out by ship's boat from the Press-Regester's offices earlier in the morning. "Says here that they have officially stated 'We shall make no further concessions, and will back any further threats with military action.'"

"Don't be so optimistic, Jimmy. I don't think that the French want a war anymore than anyone else. They have got a nice fleet, but a lot of it's old. They've got a lot of territory, but it's spread out- and they have to spread that navy out to cover all of it. So far, they have at least five, and possibly six, different countries arrayed agianst them. That's a lot of greedy hands to be snatching at the French Empire if they fail at a bid for war." The captain of the Sonora had already read the paper. He looked out at Dauphin Island in the distance and wondered if he could get someone over there about dark to fetch him a turtle. They were laying this time of year, and that made them an easy catch; you just find one that's making a nest and wait. Some turtle gumbo would be just the thing...

"And what about the Normans, Sir? If the French jump on us, then you know that the Normans won't miss the chance for a little 'get-back'... it's been almost 100 years and they're still sore about loosing the War. You think that they'll really go to war for the Frogs?" The XO honestly looked worried, the captain noted.

"Well, Jimmy" the captain paused to dispatch a runner for that turtle "the Normans definitely know that if they come after us, they'll have a helluva fight on their hands. They have a monster of an army, but half of it's in England. We don't have much, but most all of ours can be on their border in less time than it'd take them to get their troops form England. Then, there's always the chance that Rohan could jump into the fray, not wanting to see the continent bust into open war. THEN *the captain takes a deep breath* you have the fact that they'll be dealing with all the Continental powers, and they'll make it nigh on impossible to move troops from the Isles. Either they'd be needed to defend the homeland, or they'd be much closer to the action in France. That means that they'd probably be shipped to France before here.

Now shut up... ya botherin' me with all this deep thought."

[Korpen]

At the coffee-table, department of foreign affairs, Den Hague.
Paul Verbruggen, press secretary:  "What is that "concessions" the France are talking about?
Hendrik Colijn, deputy foreign minister; "No idea really, witch is strange really as all they would need do to thaw our bottom-frozen relations is to formally drop the promise to make war on us over the Nouvn van Kalen issues."
"Sad really, i know we hope for good relations with France, when we out of the blue got what almost amounts to a declaration of war."

"And the French response is interesting in other was as well, they talk about a "alliance", i wonder how they managed to dream that on up from this document?"
"I have no idea, i cannot be from this statement at least, it contains nothing about mutual support or aid, only a statement of intent that the countries involved will not accept toll-booths on the high seas."
"I see, quite logical as several of the supporters hate each other like, hm, two people that hate each other very much"
"Precisely, it is not it is a far-reaching statement the most radical bit in it is about the 3nm limit to territorial waters, and even there it might be a some wiggle room"
"I see, anything else in todays newspaper?"
"It seems Queen Willhelmina has got a new foxterrier pup as a gift from Prince Hendrik..."

[khymerion]

The meeting took place on a balcony overlooking the great river that served as a boundry in so many ways.  The gathered men could see one direction across the valley and see the forests of one nation and the other direction, the lands of another.

"I assume you all have read the papers, have you not?"
"Yes, we all have.  The French are stirring up trouble it seems."
"And I assume you have heard what Central has decided to say, yes?"
"No, most of us have just gotten back from getting the last of the materials squared away from the training of the last month.  What is going on?"
"Well, my old friends... it seems that our Prime Minister is placing a great deal of faith into one of our neighbors," he motioned to the north, "in resect to the thorns of our other neighbors..." and the general motioned to the south.
"And what part are we to play in this?" asked one of the generals as he drank back the last of his drink.
"As of yet... that is a suprise but with the coming months, there is talk of a more extensive... training operation, like the last one but now that the navy has had their fun, it seems we are getting a few more marks and supplies.  It seems they are going to be preparing for an Operation Thor II.  Which means, I want you to all head back to your various units and begin to pass the word amoungst the units that are next in the rotation for training to expect a more rigorous mobilization test and training period...  are we clear?"
There were numerous nods from the men on the balcony as they looked across the river and towards the southern hills of the river valley.

[Phoenix]

Missive from His Highness Prince Pu Lun, currently residing in Vienna
To Her Majesty The Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands

Your Majesty,

With great sorrow the Imperial Household has learned of Your tragic loss, of a beloved animal companion that was treasured by the Royal Family.
Her Most Serene Imperial Majesty the Empress-Mother has been so moved by Your Mourning that She has decided to send a young Imperial Shih Tzu to grace the Halls of Your Palace and to bring some merriment to Royal Hearts. Knowing that this will never replace a companion so beloved, it is hoped that this "little lion" will at least replace some of the joy.
If Your Majesty wishes so, this humble servant will personally bring the young one into Your hands.

Your servant,
Prince Pu Lun

[Korpen]

Leaked brifing from the admiralty to the cabinet:

The construction needs and requirements on the Koninklijke Marine in the short term and it implications on doctrine and strategy.

Gentlemen, it is painful for me to report that we will most likely see our glorious navy shrink over the next few years.
Most of our capital ships are in dire need of replacement, of our 20 bathtubs (battleships) and frigates, only five frigates is less then ten years old, and most of the remaining ships are older then 15 years. There is a great deal of debate is it is any point in refitting the old hulls, there is a feeling that extensive refitting will simply tie us down with obsolete ships for the next decade.
There are also a great need for modern sloops, as a great number of them are reaching the end of their service life.
Not even in the area of torpedoboot and jagers is the situation less critical, more then a third has to be replace as quickly as possible.

Even if we were to try and replace ships on a ton-for ton basis, ships are going obsolete faster then they can be replaced, just to replace the ships that will go obsolete would require us to lay down more then 32k tons of ships each year for the next 5 years, and our max capacity is only about 24k ton.
Adding injury to the problem is the fact that we are seriously lagging behind in technology, so even our most modern ships are almost obsolete before they are laid down, again this is most obvious in the area of capital ships, were other countries are putting down ships that for the same weight and cost are faster, better protected and carrying more guns firing better shells, only in armour and gun quality is the inferiority acceptable.
In both the cruiser and torpedoboot technology we are suffering less then we are in capital ships, but our inferior propulsion tech hurt us, badly.

The Koninklijke Marine has three main tasks, protecting the homeland, protecting the colonies (mainly the NOI) and protecting the sea lanes between the homeland and colonies.
The recent aggressiveness of our UNK, and to lesser extent, French neighbours has shifted the largest threat from the NOI to Europe. A fight in Europe means that the main theatre of operations are going to be the waters around the British isles and the north seas.
Both are fairly shallow and congested waters, so mine warfare are going to be a priority. This lessens the need for capital ships in the area, and increase the need for large numbers of minelayers, sweepers, torpedoboots and torpedobootjagers. As this is an area were we feel we have an ability to build at least competitive ships, light combatants for a European conflict are to be given priority. The Koninklijke Marine does not feel it has a realistic chance to keep the sea lanes to the NOI open in case of a attack from the UNK and France, so the larger vessel will either be used to support the light forces, or to wage a trade war on the high seas in return.So if new capital ships are considered, priority should go to frigates rather then bathtubs.

We are suffering strategically from our inability to concentrate our forces, the NOI is simply to important both economically and strategically to leave to a light colonial force, and the situation in Europe demands as much force as possible, and there is not possibility to rapidly shift forces from one theatre to the other, the distances are simply to long. The only other countries suffering from similar problem are Iberia and France, and for Iberia the most important possession is Brazil witch is relatively close to the homeland. France on the other hand has a navy and economy large enough to cover their dispersed possessions. In effect we are fairly alone in this problem of being extremely spread out across the globe.

[swamphen]

Even better.  I will make up orders, even it comes to blows, the Dutch ships won't be shot at, unless they are the last ones afloat and still don't get the message. Make sure all of the free traders know this by " information channels".

later at the Reich Foreign Ministry...

Count von Bülow folded up the paper carrying the thinly-disquised French threats and tossed it into the fire. He then up his secretary and said he'd be taking the rest of the day off. He had an urge to go gigging frogs...