An Attempt at Baltic History...

[khymerion]

Just testing the waters with a bit of history to try and fill the gap in between 1903 and the present... just to get my feet wet in a way.  Forgive me for putting it into a story format instead of a timeline, only had a couple of years to cover.  This is meant to be a Supplementary work  to go in conjunction with the older entry for the Baltic League/Confederation.  Since this is a... beta... so to speak, feel free to ask questions, correct problems I might have created, and allow for the chance to change, correct, and modify it to better fit.   There is quite a bit of reading and history that I am still figuring out at this time and don't want to step on any toes yet.

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Though a council was formed in the months of chaos following the coup that had placed Prince Gustav into power with his military advisor, the opportunistic General Rocki, not all who lived in the wake of the move of the central government to Warsaw, the very edge of the Baltic League's territories, were supportive.   A cabal of generals and officers who lead each of the 6 corps that the league operated actively was gathered in Hamburg, far from the reach of central.  In addition, a representative of the admiralty arrived to round out the cabal.  The meeting took nearly three days of arguing amongst the 7 and their Attachés, debating what was right, about what was called for.

They saw the writing on the walls, the fact that most of the nobility was no longer viable in its present form.  They argued over if it was right for them to set policy for the nation.  Many wanted to see the country back in the hands of a strong leader but the elderly Bismarck nor the old king seemed like the right choice.  It wouldn't be right to go ask the elder statemen to return to the helm.  That would have been a terrible choice for the long run, especially in the light of the global stage.  But one thing was agreed upon, the common populace revolution that had brought this to bear could not be allowed to continue if the stability of the League was to be maintained.

General Heinrich Kassar was called to lead IV Corps with elements of II and VI Corps against the new capital in Warsaw.  Naval commanders under the command of the admiralty did their best to shut down any waterways leading to and from the capital while the army units were moved into position.  A diversion lead by Colonel Aaron Branson of the former Royal Guard was started in areas outlying Warsaw to draw away loyalist units.  The counter coupe did not last longer than three days of hard fighting before the new government was brought to its knees, trapped under the weight of the old order it had not done a good job in removing.

In the wake of the events, the government was rapidly returned to its ancestral seat in Karlstadt and rebuilding what was lost in the league internally began.  First a new leader was needed and that was a priority.  The former prince of the League turned down the request to return, commenting on the instability and the two recent revolts are reason enough to not return to the throne.  It was at that point one of the civil leaders stepped forward, bringing old ideas back to a new time.

This leader proposed that they returned to their roots for governing.  It was an order much akin to how their ancestors ran things.  The Norse of the Continent had become more like their southern neighbors, bringing about ultimately the problems they were now facing.  Arguments and murmurs rang through the once bustling halls of the capital at the mentioning of this till someone in the back coughed.  It seemed the president of Prussia had finally arrived on steamship at this point, eager to add his two cents.  He was, much to the suprise of the delegates, willing to let the old leader speak.

The old man started to talk.  He outlined the idea of a central parliamentary system much akin to the ways that the Icelanders handled things.  It would mean turning more control over to regional leaders, to the old style Jarls and princes that once dominated the former Norse and Germanic territories and that these leaders would be the ones to oversee their provinces within the league.  These Jarls would then meet in Karlstadt on a regular basis to run things within the league.  With the growing use of telephones and telegraphs, there would be little need for the regional leaders to    In essence, it was to remove the concept of 4 independent nations and forge them into a greater whole capitulating to Karlstadt... the foundation for a greater Baltic Confederation.

While there were many disagreements with this from the delegates and especially with President Bismarck, it was a good foundation to start.  While the central government did their best to hide the work they were doing, to make everything seem okay and to keep the trains on time, it was still shaky.  General Kassar did his very best to keep things in line, having been promoted to head of the General Staff for his work in Warsaw.

By the end of 1903, the government was hammered into place.  While the idea of bringing back Jarls was shot down, they did adopt the idea of the various smaller provinces sending representatives to form a Parliament for day to day operations under the head of a Prime Minister while the military managed to win the day by staying out from under the Parliament's direct control, answering to the general staff who answered only to Prime Minister.  While many regretted the loss of the old nobility, they all agreed that in light of the world, this was the best move on their part.  The first Prime Minister elected to the post was the General that had kept order during the chaotic days following the coupe, General Kassar.

Now the General faced a new battlefield.  He once lead corps of troops into battle but now had to face the very real prospect of having to defend his young nation.  Though well into his 50's, he took on the task of nation building with the energy of someone two decades younger than himself.  At the university of Germania, many top scholars still residing within the borders of the confederation proposed ideas to the new Prime Minister, entirely keeping in mind the turbulent events occurring around them.

The plans were made and while new industry wrapped around Krupp and Bofors would be added, additional companies were encouraged to move to newer processing facilities deeper in the Confederation's territory, closer to the mines in the north.  Mauser Werke and Rheinmetall along with a number of other companies were given great boons from the government.  Blom+Voss, neglected during the chaos of the revolution and the immediate rebuilding, was ordered to begin work on designing and re-establishing Confederate Presence and the recreation of a blue water navy... especially if their tentative hold on their limited overseas provinces was to be maintained.  The Kiel-Hamburg canal system was to be expanded to allow for larger ships to traffic the channel, namely the freighters bringing in the resources of the north to the Blom+Voss yards in Hamburg.  Finally, the slow expansion of the ground armies was begun, built around the nucleus of the original 6 corps that had assisted in saving the nation from its spiral towards communisms.

As 1904 and 1905 came crawling to a close, the heavy toll of the frantic rebuilding began to be collected by time on the old general who had led the country through its rebuilding.  He looked very much older than he had even a few years prior during the revolution.  In mid November of 05, Kassar's health failed him and he collapsed on the floor of the Parliament building in Karlstadt.  While it was a non-fatal incident, many who were close to Kassar knew that it wasn't going to be much longer.  As the year came to an end, Kassar stated that he would lead the country for as long as he can, in an advisory role, while bringing his replacement up to speed, a younger man of similar promise and mindset to his own, named Jonas Silbertann.  The young man of 33 was quite eager to see the completion of the work that his predecessor had started and the brighter future it promised the young Baltic Confederation.

[Borys]

Ahoj!
The previous player had problems with map reading. Or didn't bother to.  So he had Warsaw figure prominently in his text. This is incorrect. The BL-Russia frontier follows the OTL German-Russian frontier.
You have a nice population mix:
- 70% Germans (Prussians, Hannoverians, Rheinlanders, Hessians)
- 20% Scandinavian (Danes, Swedes, Norwegians)
- 10% Polish

Borys

[khymerion]

That is why I wrote warsaw out of the picture and moved the capital back to a more historical place...  so poland can be back in the hands of russia without any problems for me.

[The Rock Doctor]

It reads fine to me.  It gets rid of that peculiar "top-down" approach to communism the previous player employed, and the turmoil involved adequately keeps the Baltic Confederation on the sidelines in the last couple of years.

[maddox]

Welcome Khymerion,

Your modern Baltic History reads fine and ties up knots from the past. 

I see the Baltics rise again.

[Borys]

Ahoj!
My suggestion would be to split the German lands into (Kingdom of) Hannover (which here would could include Westfallen), (Kingdom of) Prussia, (Grand Duchy of) Hessen, (??? of) Rheinland, Duchy of Meclemburgh and smaller fry.

Borys

[Desertfox]

Note that NS wanted to buy the Virgin Islands in 1904. Weather or not they are sold is up to you, the price would have been Gold (looted from Jamaica) and Technology.

[swamphen]

Interesting...

Remember that the Reich (most likely*) still wants its Old Lands back at some point.  8)


* - assuming that's still the case in the Neue History

[khymerion]

Oh, never forgot the fact that our Prussian brothers still have claims that would like to uphold... and will constantly be pressuring the central government to act... but not at this time.

[Borys]

Ahoj!
The Baltic league is indeed an interesting construct.
Was there a Kulturkampf or not? If not, that means the Rheinland and Polish Catholics are not alienated.
A Polish irredenta in Your and Mine lands will depend on how things progress in Kievite Rus.
In interesting times we live ....
Borys

[khymerion]

The Kulturkampf of the 1870's under Bismarck, not having Bavaria to deal with, would probably not have occured.  Without the need to bring the Catholics of the south in line with the north and with the already established break from Rome, the Iron Chancellor wouldn't need to do what he did.  Thus, no need to stir up trouble with the Polish either. 

We had... more pressing concerns at the time.

[Borys]

Ahoj!
LOL!
Lovely understatement!
Borys