Kaiserlich und Koeniglich Wiener Zeitung - 1/1908

[Borys]

OOC

I forgot what point I was trying to bring up.... :-\

The New Swiss Confederation is an attractive tourist destination?
Borys

[Ithekro]

Hmmm, maybe.  (The Swiss might know better)

Anyways it seems were are finally getting closer to June and the end of the half year.

[Borys]

May 1st 1908

The "schwarz-gelb" was lowered for the last time, leaving only the Cross of Burgundy flying over Viraca.
The Gouvernor General , Ingeniuer Rollmops, transfered the colony back to full Iberian authority. The Empire was represented by the Viceconde Pedro Alberto Nunez y Mendoza.  They had made their acquaintance in the days of shoveling away the volcanic ashes, way back in 1903. It was good to see Viraca pass to his capable hands.

The Habsburg civil servants remained in the Phiippines, as guests of the Iberian government, awaiting an auspicious time for travel to the Vaterland or to Parana. The settlers from ACM had the freedom to chose their allegiance, and almost all decided to become Iberian subjects.

The two Brigades of the AFL, on Iberian chartered ships and under Iberian escort, were to be taken to Sembu in the NOI. The Dutch authorities were given warning of the "shipment", its course and planned timing, as to avoid any unfortunate incidents.

[Borys]

June 1908
Wienna suports the idea of a Conference of Powers at Mithlond.

[Borys]

June 1908
Pola

The KuKK is growing in strenght
This month two new fine ships, the SMS Bohem and SMS Mahren are carrying out their trails. They have completed their fitting out at the Pola Arsenal and are now tested for compliance with the Fleet's requeriments. They are of the same type as the SMS Bukovina.
The later ship is now completing its repairs and should soon head back to the Indian Ocean. Its return to Home Waters was used to transfer part of war exeprienced crews to the new ships, and take on board replacements, eager to get back to sea.
Less glamourous,  but of great use to the fleet are tenders. The first large tender of the fleet, the SHMS Schruebke, has completed training its crew and artificers. It will sail for Aden, to help that Naval Base cope with the strain posed by the unexpected posting of 45,000 tons of warships there.

[swamphen]

June 1908
Wienna suports the idea of a Conference of Powers at Mithlond.

As does Brandenburg.

[Borys]

June 1908
Sources close to Hungarian commercial circles are saying, that some Government action assisting in export of Hungarian produce is expected. Or else.

[Borys]

June 1908 Kaapstadt Oranje

KuK Ambassador Gróf Lugosi Bela eyed the Oranje trader.
- Can we say we have deal, Herr Kranitz?  For fourteen 12 inch naval rifles?
He did not give Kranitz time to answer.
- My goverment has instructed me to ask for a repeat purchase, of a further 12 or 16 guns. No haste in it, though ...

[Borys]

June 1908
Temesvar
... trumpets blare, crash of drums, thud of nailed boots on the pavement ...

A joint parade of the V Reichswer Korps Hunyadi Janos, freshly reorganised and rearmed with the newest in weaponry, the III Landswehr Korps "Grenzers" and the XVI Banat Heimwehr corps entertained the local populace. The Grenzers were calling in reservists for manoeuvers. Everybody in Erdely and the Banat was certain, that after the Szent Istvan and Felderrn korps, it was now the turn of the Hunyadi Janos korps to be sent to the Nederlandisches Ost Indien.
Gott Strafe Schweitz!

[Borys]

June 1908
Batavia
The SMS Erdely was bobbing in the swell off the Dutch port. Her kommandant was observing the growing mass of non descript, generic freighters building up in the port and on the ways. These were the first ships freed from the North Australian invasion and ready to return to Europe. He was to escort them to the Bab el Mandeb, and to wait for them coming back two or three weeks later. Full of fresh troops, he presumed.

[Borys]

June 1908
Aden

The Military and Civilian Governor of Aden was sweating. And it was not from the customary Adenese heat. It was from having 12,000 tons of steel over his head, precariously (to his eyes) proped up by pieces of wood.

He had been invited to see how the bottom of the SMS Jan Sobieski was to be cleaned of the algae and other tropical growths it had acquired in ferrying the Szent Istvan and Feldherrn corps across the Indian Sea.  Its twin sister, the SMS Tegetthoff, was undergoing an identical operation in Singapore. The navy was making good use in the lull in the to-and-fro betwen the NOI and Aden, due to the freighters currently being all "frozen" on North Australian shores.

http://www.bobhenneman.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=monkey

[Borys]

June 1908
Madrid

The Habsburg Ambassador, Wolfram von Giallorossi, asked for an audience with the Emperador-Rey.

[Borys]

Semi OOC - it is ingame, and over time would trickle out ...
June 1908
Iberia
The Ambassador's audience was fruitful. Then came consultations with the Ministerio da Armada Imperial.
The summer was to be a very busy period for the Iberian Registry office and related businesses. Like shipping insurers, notaries, etc.

Austrian owned merchants, or vessels chartered by Austrian shipping concerns, before making an Atlantic crossing, now first visit Cartagena, Malaga, Cadiz or other south Iberian port. There they are "acquired" by Compania de Navios Transatlanticos* and put on the Iberian Shipping Register. With a spanking new Iberian commercial jack flapping at the stern, the ships then resume their voyage.

* the ink on the company's papers is still glistening wet, like a beaver ...

[Borys]

June 1908
Kriegsministerium Wien

Trains Department
- Meine Herren, reports from NA paint an interesting, and disqieting, picture. It seems that we may be too good for own good, so too speak. The terrain there might not be very difficult, but it is empty. There are dirt tracks across the wooded hills, and that's it. It is a push-though-the-bush affair. A wet bush, at that, as their rainy season has just ended.
The transport situation is bad. After weeks at sea the horses are weak and have to be nursed back into shape. The 2 foot Deacauille system RR organic to an AmreeKorps simply cannot cope with the traffic. The engines are overworked and break down. There are heaps of stores on the beaches, waiting to be moved to the front.
- Our heavy 2 or 4 horse transport wagons are no good, the soldiers on the ground are buying or requisitioning local one horse carts to move stores. Some officers have given up their horses for transport duties. Some were forced to - at least 2 duels over this reported by the Feldpolizei, more probably hushed up or reported as "combat casualties".
- Anyhow, all those guns and their ammunition, all those wagons, which we could have moved about without much hassle in Europe - apart from some patches of the Balkans, maybe - are an overkill and hinderence "over there". I suppose we would have not fared worse had we sent units with the previous kit, lighter on artillery and stuff.
- What about sending them railroad equipment from the Heimwehr?
- Pfft - in our wisdom, when upgrading units to 1907 standard, we introduced new rolling stock and locos. And the old cannot be used with the new - different couplings! Different  -%$^(*%)&! couplings! Sending them old rolling stock would probably cause a mess which would lead to no rains running at all!  We have to put an Emergency War Order for more RR equipment ...