Italian News 1902-1904

[Kaiser Kirk]

There will be a series of brief posts as I continue to get back into this.
Please be so kind as to tell me if there's been some event I've managed to miss.
This shall have to do for 1902.

               Italian 1902 News
In short format

January
Two Battleships under construction are redesigned to take the new 180mm and 90mm guns.
Six Lancieri class DDs are laid down
One Neptune Class Submarine is laid down
The Partenope class brigs are brought in for Overhaul
the Pasquali de Paoli class Troop Transport is Overhauled
The St. Raphael class Hospital ship is Overhauled.

Surveying for the installations at Berbera and Nacala conclude. Orders are made and plans commissioned. Construction is to start shortly.

The Commission on Italian Territories Announcement of orders for draft animals delivered to Stone Town
In an effort to find draft animals suitable for the tropical conditions of Nyasa, and hopefully identify some resistant to sleeping sickness, the Italian authorities commission the purchase of local draft animals from ports throughout Africa, as well as the tropical and subtropical areas. Following up on Livingston's ideas, Indian water buffalo and drivers are particularly sought. Once arrived in Stone Town, they will be transshipped to Nacala, where the port is being constructed. Budgetary wise, this is included in the "$1.50" surveying Querimba which is the category funding the mapping and scientific exploration of the new territory, aided by Zanzibar traders.




March
March 3, Queen turns 26, an event honored by her parents, as the Royal Family visits Athens

The vessels undergoing refit complete and as they re-enter commission, they depart for Berbera and the Port of Nacala in Nyasa.

Recruitment for the new Jungle Division is commenced. Officers and NCOs who transfer from regular units will receive an immediate promotion, with a second automatic promotion at the end of a four year term in Africa, providing meritorious service. Additional promotions may be normally earned in the course of service. Privates who transfer will be promoted to corporal and placed in command of a four soldiers team. Open enlistment is used to fill the spots of the remaining three soldiers on these teams.

Prisoners throughout Italy, especially those incarcerated for long term violent crime, are offered the chance to join the Jungle division and gain parole after 4 years service.   Should they choose to reinlist, they will be eligible for promotions and will receive pardons and free land & equipment on completion of their term. All Prisoners will be required to complete 3 months basic training without incidents prior to being allowed to join regular basic training. All awards for service will be contingent on good behavior.

July
The Jungle Division begins it's formal organization. Those prisoners who have completed 3 months basic training without incidents are now incorporated into units. The majority of recruits are from the impoverished areas of Southern Italy, but there is a substantial leavening of hardened criminals.  The transfers from regular service are principally Marines, and form a cadre of skilled soldiers to teach the rest.

The plan is to form the Jungle Division a brigade at a time, and ship it to Nacala for operations.

August- October
A large task force of newer Italian warships are dispatched to the London Regatta. These consist of the 4 year old battleship Ammiraglio St Bon, two of the year old armored cruisers of the Guiseppi Garibaldi, two five year old armored cruisers of the Vettor Pisani class and the six three year old destroyers of the Lampo class. Representing the Navy & Royal family is Rear Admiral, Prince Luigi, Duke of Abruzzi, 4th in line to the Throne, famed explorer and commander of the Naval Academy.

Aug 22, Princess Xenia turns 3.
The Royal Family visits Greece


November
Nov 11, King turns 33 in a small private ceremony in Rome.

December
Dec 2, Princess Nina turns 5
On hearing of the Death of Queen Victoria, crews are reassigned and the battleship Sargena is activated, and the Royal family takes up residence in the Admiral's quarters for the voyage trip to London.
Following the funeral, the Royal family will sail to Copenhagen, to visit the Queen's relatives. They will spend time in the Baltic, attend the coronation, and proceed back to Italy, making port calls on the way.

[Kaiser Kirk]

1903
January – June : The Royal Family, aboard the Sargena cruises from Copenhagen to Stockholm, then St. Petersburg, Riga, Konigsberg, Le Havre, returns to England for the Coronation (if it's in this time frame) thence to Brest, La Coruna, and then Lisbon, where they will visit extensively with  the King's Aunt, the Queen Dowager Maria known as the  "Angel of Mercy" , and his cousins the King and Royal Princes. (note, this was written in 2015, long before Olekit24 took over Spain).

The Italians, faced with the rapid disintegration of the forces they have trained for the Warsangali and Zanzibar governments, agree to provide financing of 50% of the cost of fielding the troops. This is extended to the Duchy of Carinola forces established earlier. In each case, the training and arming of 10,000 local troops is intended to be hard proof of Italian good intentions, as well as a potentially formidable local ally.

Plans finalized, construction proceeds at a rapid rate on proper Naval bases at Berbera and Nacala. These simple bases are expected to be completed by the middle of the year.

Construction of the "Tortoise" or Tartaruga Class river gunboats (as presented 1/15/15) commences in January and completes in June. These 249 ton vessels are ill suited for coastal travel and so will transit the Med and make short hops down the coast escorted by a fleet tug of the Pietro Micca class. The fleet tugs of this class have a limited tender capability, allowing them to serve as tender and repair ships to the 3 river gunboats. The gunboats are accompanied on the trip by a new Giornalista class dredge. One of the tugs and the dredge will take up station in Nacala at the end of the voyage.  The dredge will first work there, then move to harbors and river mouths elsewhere.

Construction continues on the battleships of the Regina Margherita Class.

January 1903
Nacala, Querembia.
Fisherfolk of the Chakas tribe of Makau had watched the furious activity for well over a year. First, there were the ships, hardly a novelty, though the steel hulls instead of wood was different.  While the Arabs at Nacala had built up a trade network to gain new slaves from the interior, they had ceased to bother the coast ever since the British had clamped down on the slave trade, a quarter century back.  So new vessels had become a source more of curiosity and alertness than outright alarm.

At first the vessels had loitered around the sheltered inlets and boats had rowed like little beetles back and forth while they took soundings. Then they would move on, but later they returned to certain anchorages.

At Nacala and Pemba and Palma, similar tales played out. After the soundings were done came more ships, landing parties and groups of white and swarthy men led by Arab traders, but who were not Arabs. Small groups of these white men were armed and acted as soldiers and lived in separate buildings. These men had black men help them set up buildings in camps dotted along the coast. Members of other tribes watched elsewhere, but here in Nacala, it was the Chakas. The strange men then would take sets of sticks, set up in a tripod, with devices on top, and head inland, chopping vegetation where needed to make sight lines. More men would come from over seas, form groups, and would hike inland again, in a new direction.   Unknown to the fisherfolk, these men- surveyors from several nations accompanied by Italian Marines and Arab merchants (for translation)- had continued over the years, working inland past the coastal plain to the highlands, and then to the far peaks beyond Lake Nyasa, creating the survey map of the areas purchased, and in particular, the watershed boundary between the Italian and Zanzibar lands. Settlements, typically groups of huts, many surrounded by wooden barriers for safety and to exclude beasts, were carefully noted, as were the paths to them.

At Nacala  more vessels came later, and many many more soldiers, and more black workers from the north. Trees were cut in swaths, leaving only scattered trees behind for shade. The wood served to built a small camp, hosting Marines, Scientists, and Arab advisers. These formed more small parties, and followed trade routes taking scientific samples, talking to locals, learning crop times and types,  and returning the information to the Camp, and then to Italy. Small plots of ground were planted with a  seeds to evaluate local and exotic seed stocks, including some smuggled Hevea brasiliensis obtained through Italian emigrates based in Argentina, but with trade links in Brazil.  A variety  strange livestock animals are brought ashore and used for tilling fields and hauling woods, while vets evaluated their resilience to disease, particularly the dread sleeping sickness. While Livingstone had brought Indian water buffalo, the Italians simply placed a bounty on the acquisition of sets of 12 of different beasts of burden. Mainly different varieties of cattle, sheep and goats from around Europe, the Middle East, and India, some hail from the Cattle herding areas of East and West Africa. The menagerie proves quite a sight to the locals.

By 1903, there are several thousand people, with Marines and laborers being the largest groups, at Nacala. A hospital ship is based in Stone Town, but makes monthly visits, as does the navy Collier. A pair of brigs serves as the message service to Stone Town and Rome. By January, shipping traffic starts to pick up markedly, as construction starts on a wharf, machine shop, and storage facilities.

In Rome, the path forward has been determined, and plans are in place. With the 1st Brigade of the Jungle Division ready, during the first half of 1903, the first brigade of the Jungle Division is transported to Nacala by the combination of the transport Pasquale di Paoli and the battleships of the Italia class. To accommodate the activation of the Italias, cruisers of the Vettor Pisani and Umbria classes are placed in reserve and their crew members transferred. These vessels, given a transit time of 19 days and an additional 6 days in various ports, can transfer up to 15,000 men per half-year.

February 1903 – May 1903
The  Commission on Italian Territories places an order with the English firm of Mann's for 20 of their 5-ton "patent steam cart" to be delivered to Nacala. 10 of Garret's new 4CD compound Steam Traction engines, and 10 Garret ploughing engines are also ordered  ($0.5 budget item).

After the first delivery of soldiers, the Pasquale di Paoli loads marines, and takes them along the coast, while the Italia class battleships make a return run.
It is still the rainy season, but Villagers along the coasts of Querimba are visited by  launches fromPartenope class Brigs with a number of men, including soldiers.  A post, with an engraved plaque, is planted by the village, and announcements made in Italian, Omani, and Swahili. Only the last do some understand, and they are angered to hear that their land has been sold and that in 180 days, they are expected to leave and go west past the mountains and lake.

From Nacala, and all along the coast, Platoons of Marines and porters hike inland, seeking the villages on their maps, planting the post and announcing the proclamation. In some areas, where the natives understand one of the languages used,  angry shouts are exchanged, and in a couple cases, trade rifles are fired, only for the Marines to volley back. The further from the coast, the less frequently Swahili is understood, so there are fewer conflicts.

[Kaiser Kirk]

May 1903
*Disclaimer – the goal is to show the Italians acting somewhat in accordance with attitudes the 1800s, and Imperlistic attitudes of the 1800/1900s. This views the Civilized Westerner as having greater rights than barbaric natives, taking a distinction between civilized developed land and mere sustenance settlements – where they aren't *really* using the land - as proof of that right. There is also a decided element of racial superiority. The fact the native level of technology is substantially below that the Italians had 2000 years previously is seen to support that.  The Italian goals are to learn from other colonization efforts, those that were most prosperous removed the natives and imported their own people. Witness the prosperity of the Boers vs the natives. So they shall attempt to clear the land on the American model, by forcing the natives out. This is not an endorsement of such activity, simply a presentation of it. Please also see the disclaimer of 7.22.1901 *


The General watched impassively as another battalion went through the exercise of village capture. The model village was a collection of ragged huts with a wood palisade around it. The Battalion had encamped miles down the trail. Last evening they should have set their equipment for the morning. This morning, they should have roused before dawn, left the portage company (Jungle division is oversized to allow additional transport elements etc.) to guard the baggage while the rest of the battalion stole along the trail. Like each battalion that had trained before it, what was supposed to happen was once the forward scouts confirmed visual contact with the village, companies were to split and encircle the place.  Contact would then be made by the command staff and interpreter. A number of Zanzibar "natives" mixed with some Marines would mill about and argue. At the sound of shots, blanks fired by hidden Marines, preselected officers would fall to the ground in each company.  The company reactions would be true test.  Usually some hotheads fired blindly at where they thought the shot came from, despite also having blanks, some ran, and so far it seemed unfailing that someone would soil their trousers to the amusement of their fellow soldiers. A couple blasts of cannon fire would signal the Company officers to resume control of their men, and then mount a methodical search of the village. The "villagers" would be lined up, given burlap carrying sacks and directed to collect food and possessions.   

The orders from the Commission on Italian Territories had been clear. Confront and evict the ragged barbaric natives inhabiting the region. The settlements which were obviously civilized by contact with the Persians, Arabs and Portuguese, the "Swahili" were to be spared.  Operations would be timed to fall after the harvest of the millet, sorghum and maize crops. The natives would be let to take their food and be forced to hike out of the area. The village, fields, and remaining stores would be burned. Women and children should be spared and given burlap sacks to carry possessions,  as the men would fight to protect them. Resistance would be met with harsh measures, native males who resisted could be made an example of, while the native females could be made a reward for the troops, a different sort of example.

The area nearest to Nacala and Pemba would be first, and was among the more densely populated, as the coastal areas, and the highlands behind, were decent growing ground. Gaining control of the Roumova River valley and the trade route to Lake Nayasa respectively would be important goals for the following Brigades. The Yao tribes of Lake Nayasa, and the militant Ngoni warriors under Chief Mpzeni would be more organized and tougher foes than the scattered but numerous triblets of the Mukua peoples near the coast.

July 1903
Nacala : North of the Harbor, on the hill overlooking the town, was the Army camp. The entire 1st Brigade of the new Jungle Division was present, a mixture of long service veterans looking for a quick promotion and criminals recruited from jails throughout Italy, the Brigade is swollen to 6,000 men by additional transport and support elements intended to allow it to operate without a convenient depot or railhead. Elements of the 2nd Brigade were arriving shortly, and the camp, would not long hold them all. 

Nacala itself was base for a Regiment and a half of Marines, though many were already deployed. The harbor itself was now more useful, as there were new wharves, a simple machine shop, and a designated coal storage area.  The fleet tug now stationed in the territory would shuttle between the harbor and the riverine gunboats.

The presence of the riverine gunboats and dredge means local rivers are now accessible.

With that, the 1st Brigade of the Jungle Division headed into the local countryside, following the maps drawn up over the preceding 2 years of survey effort, seeking to herd or stampede the local tribes out of Italian territory.
Initially it went supisingly smoothly, though where the displaced were to go was ...unclear. South, west, north, it did not matter, just not here. However as the months ground on, and the area affected grew, the tribes became aware of just what was occurring and resistance escalated. Despite overwhelming firepower, trade rifles did claim some Jungle troopers, though disease claimed more. Still, at the end of 1903, the Italians could boast an area cleared around Nacala and surrounding rivers.

October 1903
Application and Immigration policies for the territories of Nyasa and Berbera announced, with immigration to commence in July of 1904.

Who may apply.
Up to 100,000 adult immigrants, ages 16-40 will be allowed per 6 months.
No more than one child, ages 4-15, per adult will be allowed to accompany. Once a homestead is established, 1 additional child per year may migrate from the home country to the territory.

Immigration applicants must apply 6 months in advance, and shall be granted status based on Merit.

Primary : 100 points
Sound of Mind and Body:
Military Service in the Territories : Awarded credit for 500 lira if choose to immigrate
Attended Advanced Education : Awarded credit for 500 lira if choose to immigrate
Doctor, Nurse, or Engineer : : Awarded credit for 500 lira if choose to immigrate
Possessing over 1,000 lira

Secondary : 50 points
Italian Citizen, or prove descent within 2 generations.
Honorable Military Service with discharge papers
Speak national version of Italian
Catholic
Possessing over 250 lira

Tertiary : 25 points
Speak an Italian Dialect.
Nationality : Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Corsican, Danish, former lands of Austria-Hungary
Female with no children, Awarded credit for 100 lira if choose to immigrate
Completed basic schooling
Completed an Apprenticeship
Clergy

(So the basic poor peasant from Calabria will probably score 75 points. But should an Catholic Austrian Blacksmith choose to try his luck, he's also at 125 points and gets the billet).

Immigrants will be given transport from Genoa/Citavecchi/Naples or Venice.
On arriving in the territory, the immigrants will be housed for at least 1 and no more than 3 months at Training School at Querimba. During this time period, classes on pioneer life, including simple construction, self medical and hygiene care, farming and animal husbandry, the dangers of Africa, marksmanship, and frontier economics shall be taught.

Each immigrant shall be awarded 500 Lira in credit to bid on properties and purchase materials.
Immigrants may supplement this with their own funds.
Once a property is homesteaded and worked for 1 year, a further credit 500 lira will be released and additional purchases may be made. Goods and profits derived from these lands may be exported to Italy without export tariff for 20 years.

(Notes : This is intended to be growth – based immigration, siphoning off those that went to America. In 1903 there were 230,622 immigrants from Italy to the USA alone. Growth 1902-1903 is 850,085. I have Mod's permission on a storyline basis for transfer.  To emulate the cost of "training" and funding them, I will budget $0.2 per 100,000 which is 10 years of tax revenue from that population. 

Companies may purchase non-farming land for exploitation from the Territorial Government.
Companies may recruit immigrants from training school, but six months wages per employee must be held in escrow at an accredited Italian bank. Costs and charges to the employee requisite for work performed, such as training, clothing, food and lodging, may not exceed in any manner the amount of wages paid.

As territories of Italy, the peoples of these lands shall benefit by Italian Rule of Law, as modified by the treaties creating the territories. Those who come to the territory shall retain their Citizenship and those born with Italian heritage shall have Italian Citizenship. Citizens of Italy, on majority, shall be allowed voting in national matters.

Those who immigrate from other nations, or can prove descent from Zanzibar or Swahili stock of the first census, shall be granted Resident Status, with all rights of Citizens save the vote.

Those who fail to meet the above categories may reside in, and participate in the civil life of the territory, but may own no more than 2 buildings and up to 5 acres of contiguous land, or business interests not to exceed 100,000 lira.

When the population of adult Italian Citizens exceeds that of any Italian state, the Territory shall be raised to the status of state and gain full domestic control and participation in the national legislature. As a part of Italy, all commerce between a territory and the remainder of Italy shall be considered internal commerce.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Minister of the Navy : So these plans are what our designers drew up in response to the Brazilian request for Proposals. What is interesting is Minas Tirith is a very capable ship on a smaller displacement than our Regina class, though  the intermediate battery is far weaker in exchange for the third main battery turret. The vessel is more compact and chunky, moving away from the longer, slimmer, high freeboard designs we have moved to. Due to better machinery, she nearly matches the speed of the Regina

Minister of the Treasury : Well the designs for the Regno D'Italia class are well advanced, how do they compare? Should we be considering this export design instead?

Minister of the Navy : Ever since the Italia and Duilio classes were built a quarter century ago we have placed a premium on high freeboards for clean shooting in all sea states, while the hull form has allowed us to get the most from the machinery available. The St.Bon class were our attempt at a more compact battleship, and is inadequate compared to the others. With the Regno D'Italia we are looking to make our intermediate battery that much more decisive.

What makes the Minas Tirith design different is the advancement of engine technology allows for much more compact power plants, while the design parameters are satisfied with matching contempary battleship speeds, not necessarily exceeding them. Most of our battleships exceed their contemparies by a knot or two, which comes at the expense of a longer hull. As damage and fouling can degrade speed, we have long felt starting with a small margin would help ensure not being overmatched when called to serve. The introduction of the new Turbine technology may prove to upend this, as it could be that each successive class can be faster on the same displacement. For example, the minimalist design we produced to meet this specifications was only 8,950 tons light, far more compact than the St. Bon, and we believe we could push that lower if we used the 10" guns of the St. Bon, but at that point she would be more of an armored cruiser, and the specifications do say Battleship.

Minister of the Treasury : What of this AQY issue?  Should we be fitting a 3rd turret in, perhaps in exchange for speed, like this Minas Tirith ? Further, do we have any word on the Dutch and British submissions?

Minister of the Navy : We've done studies of that. The larger guns are mainly useful for finishing blows, when you can close and target the waterline. Shells can not survive penetrating heavy armor in bursting condition, indeed if they penetrate, they will simply pass through in broken bits. As such, the handful of additional holes that may result from a couple of extra large caliber hits are not nearly as threatening as being able to turn the upperworks into shambles with many 180mm hits that will burst after penetrating virtually any secondary armor out there. So, the Navy would prefer two Regno D'Italia to three Minas Tirith.

We know few details of the Dutch or British submissions beyond raw dimensions and basic armament. They appear similar in size, though the Dutch are featuring up to 8 main guns. Curiously, from the tonnage and dimensions, our designers keep coming up with an improbably low block coefficient for the Dutch submissions, so some aspect of our data must be off.  Likewise the Vickers contribution must have a finer hull than we believe as the shaft horsepower and speed numbers do not align well, she's too fast for 20,000shp unless that hull form is different.

The question becomes, should we delay construction of our own vessels to build the Brazilian ones, should we win ?

Minister of the Treasury : Do not fret, with the cost parameters you have given us, we have run the numbers. Construction of three Minas Tirith would require Italy to expend $41.37 and utilize 35,460 tons of high quality steel, practically eliminating our military construction program within that time frame. Our profit would be nearly as great - $41.43. Which sounds good.

But, if we simply suspended our construction program, and so were not expending the $41.37, and sold the 35,460 tons of high quality steel on the open market we would get $44.325, allowing us to spend $85.695 for our economy, while having exactly the same navy as we would if we built ships for Brazil, but with a much greater domestic boost.

Minister of the Navy : I do not think we want to suspend our own construction. It could be possible to put forward the more lightly armored vessel with the minimum speed, and see if that saves sufficient funds, there is some prestige attached to gaining contracts...

Minister of the Treasury : Unnecessary, to build the export ships in the time frame requires suspending our own programs, and even at 9,000 tons, the profit margins simply do not work out in our favor.  Smaller vessels with a higher profit margin may be considered, but these simply do not pencil out.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Nacala :
Arriving members of the 2nd Brigade march around the harbor to the training base on the hill overlooking the area, stopping to gawk with curiosity the growing menagerie of livestock stabled at it's base, and put to work clearing local areas. Brought to Nacala by merchants enticed by the bounty offered, they hail from widely separate regions. From donkeys and burros and other typical European breeds to the more exotic, including to Indian water buffalo,  the giant horned Ankole from west of the Zanzibar coast, a pair north African brush elephants. All studied by researchers, both agricultural studying productivity, and by members of the new Italian College of Tropical Disease, searching for breeds resistant to sleeping sickness and other African diseases. While not as dominant here as say the Kongo, the rates of infection were sufficient to make long term herding less practical in this region.

This had long been known, indeed it influenced Stanley Livingston to bring Water Buffalo when he made his discovery of Lake Nyasa.  The more recent discoveries of mosquitoes as a vector for certain diseases has led to extensive use of netting over some horses and not others, seeking to discover if they were a factor in this case as well. Another sign of precaution is the rapid planting of cinchona trees, along with the smuggled Hevea brasiliensis .


HY1 1904

January 1904
The prior six months saw the Marines, supported by the gunboats, checking and secured the Swahili-speaking  villages along the coastline, and the 1st Jungle Brigade having swept near Nacala, and successfully conducted a campaign of encircling and evicting native villages, forcing them primarily west and some south along the trade routes. The campaign kicked off after harvest, and near Nacala the 1st Brigade operated in full regiments, overawing the natives. Under threat of the Jungle troopers rifles, panicked villagers packed what food stores and possessions, aided by the provision of burlap sacks, and were forced out, watching their homes burn. Occasional resistance would lead to harsh retribution. The soldiers, commanded by regulars but otherwise recruited from jails, showed an aptitude for taking advantage of opportunities. Light casualties, mostly from disease, allowed the regulars to keep  matters relatively civilized.

As the 2nd Brigade arrived in the latter part of 1903, they were trained and then moved to the field, widening the section of coast in which the natives had largely been evicted- with the exception of the Swahili speaking fringe whom had been civilized by long interaction with the Arabs.

At the beginning of 1904, the rains of the local weather pattern had set in, and a swath of coast from the mouth of the Ruvuma river, to Pemba, to Nacala, and around Nacala to the Portuguese border was cleared and held by 1500 Marines. Now with 12,000 members of the Division present, and a 1,000 more arriving every month,  a strong push inland from Nacala could be made, supported by the river gunboats on the flanks.

The Advancing troops were to find the evicted natives of the first wave had not gone far, but taken shelter during the Wet period in the next set of villages inland. Now alerted to their peril, they had pickets out and engaged the advancing columns. Still, the old trade rifles, muzzle loading old Arab pieces, were not nearly as effective as the Italian's highly accurate Vetterli-Vitali  rifles with their 4 round magazine*.  Utilizing modern repeating rifles and artillery pieces the regiments were able to counter native infantry charges, and destroy their fortified villages.**

Unable to stand in direct combat, the natives took to trying to attack the supply routes. With the problems sleeping sickness effecting livestock, an unusually high number of hand porters were used, many recruited in Zanzibar, but here the Italian decision to increase their Jungle brigades by 20% to include transport battalions meant that armed soldiers were present in numbers and could stand off the raids, more ever, there were more troops available to conduct counter raids.

*OTL adopted 1887-96 in the Italian Army, then replaced with Schmidt-Rubin. Here, the Vetterli has been retained until I get 1905 tech.
** actually paraphrased from the 1902-04 Portuguese action in Angola.

March 1904
Munich :
Having consulted his superiors in Rome, in response to a query from the Bavarian Crown, "The Italian Ambassador, after consulting with Rome returns the following messages "The Kingdom of Italy recognizes the obligation of the Kingdom of Madagascar to honor it's debts. The Kingdom of Italy shall inform the Sultanate of Zanzibar that access to the leased Italian facilities at Dar Es Salaam shall be provided to the vessels of the Kingdom of Bavaria. " "

Ministry of War, Rome.
Minister of War General Magnani :  "What do we take from the French deployment to Tadjoura?"

Admiral Marquess  D'Aste-Stella : "I believe it places them at 5 small cruisers, about what that port can bear.  They are small, fast and lightly armed, reasonable vessels for that station. "

Minister of War General Magnani :  "What of the Japanese occupation of Ras Hafun?"

Admiral Marquess  D'Aste-Stella : "That is more interesting. They are a considerable distance from home, but would be a good location for a fortified base to protect their merchants in the Indian Ocean. I would imagine the Royal Navy looking poorly on the Japanese establishing a base for raiders this side of India. Diplomatically, the difference between the Italian approach and the Japanese or Franco-Dutch is marked and their sudden presence has made the Warsangali Sultanate far more friendly. I expect they were always aware of it, but these actions seem to underscore we could have simply seized Berbera by force, but rather we have enriched and strengthened them.  Oddly, the Warsangali native troops backed by the two Brigades we financed now form the most powerful land force in the region.

Minister of War General Magnani :  "Shouldn't we be stationing vessels in reply to these deployments?"

Admiral Marquess  D'Aste-Stella : "I don't see why, we have no friction with France, the Netherlands or Japan in that area. Further, unless we bring vessels out of reserve, we don't have the vessels to spare, and we had minimal  trade to protect. Further, as far as the region goes, between the Amergio Vespuci in Stone Town, and the two Italias transporting troops to Nyasa, we vastly outgun any other local forces. "

Minister of War General Magnani : "Well, we do plan to boost trade in the region, should we be considering a deployment for simply that reason ?"

Admiral Marquess  D'Aste-Stella : "For that region, we need something small, minimally armed, and long range. The old Piemonte is scheduled for refit, but would certainly will show the flag if that is a desire, but truthfully the two Partenope class brigs providing messenger service are well suited for that coast. The brigs answer that need nicely.  I see no need for further deployment, except perhaps a fleet tug. "

Minister of War General Magnani : "Hmm, well I will take those points under advisement. Now, tell me about these pirate attacks the Spanish are complaining about...."

Newspaper : The Rome Ciarlare
Article : Reports of increased pirate activity off the Coast of Morocco ravaging Spanish trade prompts the Admiralty to dispatch the protected cruisers  Castor and Pollux to cruise the Moroccan coast. The vessels with be met at Gibraltar by the Spanish cruiser Reina Cristina.

The trio of cruisers will call on anchorages along the Moroccan coast to impress them with Spanish & Italian resolve. By so doing they seek to deter pirates. Should opportunity arise, they will render aid to merchants and will stop any suspicious vessels. The cruisers will make port in Valencia for recoaling, retrace their journey along the Moroccan coast, and then the Italian vessels will return to Italy in late June.

April 1904
Lisbon : The Italian Ambassador extends the congratulations of the Italian Crown in the defeat of the Bailundo Revolt.

Dar Es Salaam :
Curious onlookers eye Bavarian vessels as they lay over at Italian facilities in Dar Es Salaam. The old battleship Lepanto, returning from delivering troops in Nacala, also stops in to allow it's Captain to call on his Bavarian counterpart.

May 1904
The final members of the 3rd Brigade, Jungle Division, arrived in Nacala. Often remarked

There, they were put to work training with the rest of their brigade, acclimatizing to the heat, practicing on the props, and getting additional training on marksmanship, and working at an independent platoon level rather than Company level. 3rd Brigade platoons join the Marine sweeps of the area "cleared", ensuring it stays that way.

The  recently arrived traction engines* are prominent around the settlement. Burning local wood, they and their drag chains are invaluable in  helping clear fields and build roads, punching a road inland from the coast towards Pemba, and  improving a main route along the low ridge heading southwest, towards the Portuguese border and the smoking ruins of a village the locals had called Nampula, with the intent of allowing a supply depot to be started inland. Curiously the native resistance bothers them little, indeed in several cases they are seen to simply flee the approach of these smoke belching metal monsters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traction_engine

June 1904:
Asked by a reporter his Opinion of events in Madagascar, Foreign Minister Marquis Visconti-Venosta replied "I have little opinion. The barbarian Queen appears to have so little honor as to not only repudiate her debts, but violently oppose their collection."

The brig Calatafima returns from it's two and a half year mission to assist survey teams and verify aspects of reports regarding the West African coastline. The ship's notes on towns, anchorages, navigable rivers, and trade aspects, as well as observed local military aspects, is eagerly awaited. 

[Kaiser Kirk]

Gotta say, took a bit more effort than I expected to catch back up, not 100% there, I should do some map editing, and a couple file/post upkeeps, but close enough for now.

[The Rock Doctor]

Your news has been quite interesting to follow.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Thanks, there happened to be quite allot planned for just this period, so I didn't want to just skip ahead and allude to things having happened later :)

[Kaiser Kirk]

updated the March 04 news to include active cooperation with the Spanish efforts.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Word to the Audience : First, a reminder that the Imperialist attitudes towards "barbarians", and "lesser races", are meant to reflect the harsher viewpoints circulating around 1900. This is combined with the assessment that the most successful colonies are places like the North America, where the natives were subdued and shoved aside, freeing land for the colonists. The Italians look to  places like South America, never hugely profitable beyond the basic resources, except where European colonists have brought their ways.

Second, as best I can determine, the population of the territory claimed by Italy is roughly 1.2 million people. This is broken down on the last tab in the 1903H1 Sim report.
Expect that 10% are warriors in their prime, and a further 10-20% combat capable, and you have a formidable force. Most of them, like the Zulu of their day, are spear armed. That doesn't mean an overrun can not happen, but with the Italians operating in large units to allow envelopment & overwhelming villages, it becomes difficult.

This is a large territory with several different tribes. The coastal areas of Nyasa / Querimba would correspond with the modern day northern Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces, with about 230,000 people in this time period, or about 23,000 prime combatants spread over roughly 103,000sq km, or roughly 6 per square mile. Many of these would actually be Swahili-speaking folks in coastal fishing villages which are not being bothered.
The 2,000 marines and 18,000 jungle troopers, following maps assembled over the past 3 years of survey efforts, can easily overwhelm the natives in the interior, and push inland.

In the NW corner of Mozambique, inland on the Ruvuma river, the population of the Niassa province, is largely dominated by the fairly militant Ngoni tribe and has nearly 100,000 people. They also probably dominate the nearly 70,000 people in southernmost Tanzania who live north of the Ruvuma river, but within the Italian claim.
A further 100,000 live in southern Tanzania near the coast, of various tribes.. though that seems really high and is probably an artifact of later settlement patterns effecting the extrapolation.

It is not until Malawi that population density truly rises to roughly 15 per square mile, as over 700,000 people in several strong tribes reside.

So by late 1904, the Italian troops are clearing most of modern Nampula and Cabo Delgado, they are staring to move into Mtwara and Niassa. Since the Italians at this point are mainly displacing by force, waves of desperate people are flooding into surrounding areas in Niassa, areas north of the Ruvuma river, some are arriving in Malawi, and others are moving down into the upper reaches of Portuguese Mozambique.

The area controlled is growing, and the final members of the Jungle Division will be arriving during this half-year. However contact with the more organized forces of the Ngoni tribe, and the additional burdens imposed by poor supply lines, result in a decision to mobilize and transport the Marines. While a regiment will be left behind in each Marine base, a total of 18,000 can be put into combat in early 190The Marines can not only carry much of the fight along the Ruvuma river corridor and Mtwara, but also provide rear area security while the Jungle Legions punch inward. This will allow the Italians time to start organizing a second Jungle Division.

[Walter]

Expect that 10% are warriors in their prime, and a further 10-20% combat capable, and you have a formidable force. Most of them, like the Zulu of their day, are spear armed. That doesn't mean an overrun can not happen, but with the Italians operating in large units to allow envelopment & overwhelming villages, it becomes difficult.

*sends many crates of rifles, ammunition and Gatling guns to the African Tribes*
;D


I think the Italian forces should be okay, but if you were to spread them all out over the region, the chances would increase that one of those smaller parts would end up with a similar situation as the British at Isandlwana. There would be a possibility that your marines for example would be caught by surprise be wiped out by the sheer number of "barbarians" while all your jungle troops are in other locations and can't reach the marines in time to avoid disaster.

It is a bit of a shame that I consider the nearby stuff more important for China than African stuff. I would not mind sending a bunch of these guys thundering across the African plains, terrorizing those African tribes...

..  and I have 220,000 of them and armed with carbines as well. :D

[Kaiser Kirk]

part of telling the conquest over time is of course so folk could choose to intervene. For example, I know some aren't thrilled with Madagascar- well they could send arms. Here it is a little harder as I control the coast and have friendly relations with both flanking states :)

You did call it, as the troops spread out and meet more organized foes, there will be some detachments facing overrun. This will lead to a more bitter, bloody conflict.  Which is why the Italians will be eventually committing 78,000 troops, perhaps more.

Unfortunately, central africa's sleeping sickness belt  takes a terrible toll on horses.
While Mozambique is not the worst, it would make Mongol warriors very sad.
They would need remounts
may I suggest war rhinos ?

[Kaiser Kirk]

I have added an "Italian Territories" category to the Kingdom of Italy encyclopedia under Miscellaneous.
There it has the BAM recolored to show what the Kingdom currently (HY1 1904) claims.
Waiting for the UK-US is nice, actually getting caught up .  Almost to the point I can work ahead.

[Walter]

part of telling the conquest over time is of course so folk could choose to intervene. For example, I know some aren't thrilled with Madagascar- well they could send arms.

.... maybe I should specifically assign the next load of BPs to be used for the construction of weapons and ammunition for the African tribes so it will become a fair fight when facing invaders. :)

You did call it, as the troops spread out and meet more organized foes, there will be some detachments facing overrun. This will lead to a more bitter, bloody conflict.  Which is why the Italians will be eventually committing 78,000 troops, perhaps more.

Locals threatening to overrun some of the Italian detachments is just a minor nuisance compared to the biggest issue that Italy has to deal with. If I am not mistaken, you currently (H1/04) only have 1 transport ship and it would be needed to shift all those troops, meaning that the forces in Africa are going to be dependent on local foods. That would be an absolute disaster for the morale of the Italian troops in Africa as they would have no access to Pizzas and Pasta. This lack of vital fuel for the Italian War Machine will result in an event that shall forever be known as the Pizza and Pasta Mutiny. ;D

Unfortunately, central africa's sleeping sickness belt  takes a terrible toll on horses.
While Mozambique is not the worst, it would make Mongol warriors very sad.
They would need remounts
may I suggest war rhinos ?

I doubt that there would be anything left of Africa or its population by the time any kind of disease were to affect the Mongolian horses. Hell, the Mongol warriors might be so thorough with their destruction that everything that can spread the virus will have been eradicated. :)

Sure I could go for war rhinos or war pandas or war tigers, but then I would have to think of what advantages they would have over the other unit types we have and with what terrain.

Waiting for the UK-US is nice, actually getting caught up .  Almost to the point I can work ahead.

Hard to figure out what to do with that. If it turns out not having any effect on China or demand a response from China, I might as well have posted the H2/1904 report when the US-UK matter was brought up the first time and start finalizing the stuff for H1/05.

[Kaiser Kirk]

I really don't think anyone needs to bother arming the locals.  Talk about supply lines, as you really couldn't use the portuguese or zanzibar ports for that.
As for my supply lines, while there is only 1 dedicated troop transport, there are also the two troop carrying battleships of the Italia class. Best estimate of transport ability, based on transit times, was about 15,000/HY, so I've been keeping below that.   
As for supplies, I order them "amazon plus", it's up to the merchant marine to deliver them.
Meanwhile I've built both Berbera and Nacala up to T0 military ports and am using Stone Town & Dar Es Salaam as well, and will be expanding Nacala. Those are supported by the collier running around topping off coal bunkers.
Anyhow, the Italias are expensive to run as pure transports, so you'll see 2 new transports of the Bragadin class and a new collier to support the efforts.

I think War Rhinos would induce an automatic morale check :)