1916 Bavarian News

[miketr]

This was very good.  I will try to post a like story to explain the behind the doors stance of Iberia.  Perhaps even make an official statement.

[Kaiser Kirk]

The Munich Messenger
September 4th
Reports from Den Hague are that the DKB has declared war on the Netherlands. The Netherlands has already become embroiled in a conflict after it declared war on the Kingdom of Siam.  The ESC, which maintains a presence in South East Asia, had seconded a cruiser squadron to the Dutch Admiralty.   Given the limited relations of the DKB and Bavaria, there is no primary trade which may be suspended.

The Munich Messenger
September 15th
The King and Queen departed today for the Duchy of Friuli, where they will visit their newest Grandson and his parents for the next week. The Royal family will accompany the Duke of Friuli to Rome to attend his cousin's coronation as Emperor of Italia in October.  It is believed Crown Prince Rupprecht, commander of the Army of Tirol, will accompany them.

The Udine Sprite
September 20th
King Lugwig III and the Duke of Friuli toured the site Green Cross facilities to be built in the Duchy. Groundbreaking is still some time off, as the lands to be gifted have only recently been identified. The King, hale despite his 71 years, symbolically plunged a spade into the dirt and attempted an Italian phrase, which his spokesman later clarified was intended to mean  "From this, may good grow".

The great burden imposed on Green Cross finances by events in along the Ganges and the large quantities of invalids needed extensive rest and rehabilitation facilites led the young Duke to lobby the Kammer der Abgeordneten  this spring to donate funds. 

A deal was reached whereby the Duke ceded some of the Duchy's lands to the Green Cross to allow for construction of a Hospital and administrative buildings ($3), and Kammer der Abgeordneten  acceded to the request, and donated funds directly to the Green Cross ($5).  This largess, and the Siam war, has led to further debate in Munich within the chambers of Kammer der Reichsräte regarding the Den Hague treaties and the possibility of becoming signatories of some, or all, of said treaties.

The Trieste Tribble
September 23rd
The Duke of Friuli and the King came to the Port of Trieste today.  The two gentlemen toured the city and reviewed toured the dockyards today.  The two toured the Breslau, which was placed in drydock last week for overhaul. The King then visited the construction yards, where the last vessels of the 30-strong Mushroom class was being completed for France. French orders have proven a boon to Trieste and Friuli dockworkers ever since the King Lugwig III ascended the throne and  encouraged  foreign orders.  Considerable work at the foundries for several nations, and large French orders have combined to bring prosperity to the Port and Duchy.

[Kaiser Kirk]

The Aquileia Advocate
September 28th
The Duke and the King departed today for Rome, where they are to attend the coronation of the  Emperor.   Prince Rupprecht is accompanying them in the Royal Carriage. Reports indicate that Grand Duke Wettin of Saxony intends to attend as well.

The Munich Messenger
October 3rd
The Emperor of Italia was coronated yesterday. Prince Armedo Ferdinando Camila's procession was met with huge crowds. The Princes vows to his Church and State were delivered flawlessly. The ceremony served as a glorious conclusion to what was at one point a murky succession.

The Munich Messenger
October 8th
The new Emperor of Italia gave a speech yesterday has announced the adoption of a Muslim and a Jewish family and inclusion into the Italia Senate. The stated aims of an inclusive nation can only be lauded.

Considering the wars of the late Emperor, this move can only be considered an effort to assure citizens of all faiths that they are welcome, and to extend an olive branch to the Muslim and Jewish nations they had fought.

Our Realm itself has similar measures, with guaranteed presence of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish prelates.  Unlike Italia, our Realm does not include muslims, nor border on such lands.

The Munich Messenger
October 25th
The Foreign Ministry issued a public statement today :
"The Realm is pleased to acknowledge the Empire of Italia's proposal to hold a converance regarding the Second Den Hague treaty.  The Kingdom of Bavaria and Schweiz is not yet a signatory of the Hague treaties, but understands their value to the worlds nations.

The regrettable disparate interpretations of events in Siam indicate that it is wise to call for such a conference.  Should London be unavailable, the proud people of Schweiz would be pleased to welcome diplomats of all nations to a conference in Berne this coming February.

[Kaiser Kirk]

The Munich Messenger
November 10th
The Duke of Friuli brought several issues to the attention of the Kammer der Reichsräte today.  The  Kammer of course serves as high court, and so is the appropriate forum for such questions.

Firstly, the Duke requested the chamber consider the possibility of the Duchy of Friuli issuing its own mercantile flag. The Duke made the case that while the Federal flag of the Kingdom was available, there was no bar to the constituent states issuing their own Flags. Further the Duke noted that if one viewed the matter as one of how a company is incorporated, such an arrangement would merely see the vessels incorporated in Friuli, and as foreign companies operated in constituent states under state license already, there was precedence.

The chamber was generally receptive to the conceptual framework, and agreed to issue an advisory ruling on the matter in the New Year.  The Chamber advised that in the interim it would explore the sovereignty issues attendant on shipping and the obligations of the Kingdom in the matter.

The Duke then presented his second case, and explained that he desired to create an international bank. The Chamber agreed that this was also probably constitutional, but questioned the exposure of the Duchy should the bank fail. This matter was also taken under advisement.

Lastly the Kammer heard the report of the teams sent to examine Russian infrastructure and investment opportunities. The report indicated that there was tremendous room for growth in Russia, with a large labor pool, acceptable levels of graft and fairly stable government.

However the reports concluded that many projects would be on scales not generally seen within Bavaria, and the capital outlays for results would be very large. The projects would be too large for Bavaria to venture alone, and so partnerships may need to be sought or the project dropped.

Cabinet Chambers
November 19th
Prime Minister von Hertling : Gentlemen, shall we begin ? There are several things to discuss, starting with the Gibraltar incident.

War Minister Gustav Ritter von Kah : Certainly Prime Minister, but where is the King?

Prime Minister von Hertling : The Millibauer  will not be joining us, one of his cows is sick. Or he is sick, I know not. We are here to discuss the SS Rijn. What do we know?

Foreign Minister  E. Müller : Three days ago there was reportedly the sinking of a large Dutch merchant vessel, the S.S. Rijn. She reported her location as somewhat east of the Gates of Gibraltar, under attack by a vessel identified as SMS Hilfskreuzer Barbarossa.

War Minister Gustav Ritter von Kah : A DKB auxiliary then.

Foreign Minister  E. Müller : An Iberian shore station and a pair of vessels confirmed the message.

Prime Minister von Hertling : Have the Dutch confirmed the loss of the Rijn, and have the Iberians or others confirmed the wreckage?

Foreign Minister  E. Müller : Neither has been confirmed as yet, though we expect more information shortly. 

Prime Minister von Hertling : Do the DKB have a Barbarossa on their shipping list?

War Minister Gustav Ritter von Kah : Not to our knowledge, though one never knows with such vessels. The last Barbarossa we knew of was the battleship sunk in the prior war.

Prime Minister von Hertling : How about the location?   East of Gibraltar? How far East and how far south ?

Foreign Minister  E. Müller : I am afraid we don't know. The treaty defines from the Azores to Gibraltar, that line would skim the Iberian territorial waters.

War Minister Gustav Ritter von Kah : I was under the impression that the battle was reported by radio, but there are no eye witness accounts. If the battle took place within treaty bounds, it should have been observable from shore.

Prime Minister von Hertling : Very true.  We will not be stampeded into action unless we have definitive indications the treaty has been triggered.

However, if the DKB is operating so close to the Gates, it seems a matter of time. I suppose we will have to adjust next years budget.  What naval assets can we bring to bear if called on?

War Minister Gustav Ritter von Kah : Naval assets?

Prime Minister von Hertling : The Navy, what can it do.

War Minister Gustav Ritter von Kah : Oh, of course. I knew of what you meant, not used to the question. While the refits improved our coast defense capability, they could do nothing for the vessels range.

We did lay down the Lachs and Breslau prior to the war, but they will not be in service for some time. At the current time, without supply, we can not operate beyond the Straits of Orantano for any extended period of time.

I have drawn up a scheme by which the Kliene Kruisers and the 2nd Torpedo boat division sortie to the Crete-Tobruk gap in pairs. At 200 nm wide , two vessels can patrol for several days prior to returning home.

The Kleine Brau can serve as support.  Alternately, the Kliene Kruisers could offer escorts, providing refueling was feasible. One needs to recognize that the Dutch have annoyed the Iberians and Hapsburgs, by extension the Greeks, the French and the Italians, we are unlikely to find many ports willing to be lax about fueling warships.

Prime Minister von Hertling : This would be far easier if we simply lacked a seacoast. Then it would not appear a matter of being to weak to be relevant.

Foreign Minister  E. Müller : I do not believe we have a choice in the matter.

War Minister Gustav Ritter von Kah :  The navy is a coastal defense force. To have twenty warships to defend 70km of coast is not a bad ratio. There simply has been no need to go gallivanting around prior to this, never mind the Hapsburgs and Italians control the straits so we did not expect the option.

Prime Minister von Hertling : Yes, well the King has clear in his desire to keep Bavaria's word.

Foreign Minister  E. Müller : The King also wanted to limit the treaty further, as it is, the design was intended to minimize the chance of just this occurrence, a Dutch war in Asia dragging us in.

Prime Minister von Hertling : I am aware of that. We shall await definitive proof before agreeing to become more involved.

Foreign Minister  E. Müller : Should that become necessary, there is a complication. The DKB views us as insurrectionists, and would not recognize a declaration of war, because we are technically in a state of conflict, despite the lack of bang bang.

War Minister Gustav Ritter von Kah :  Bang bang?

Foreign Minister  E. Müller : Sorry, I was explaining this to my children last night to put them to sleep. Active Fighting.

Prime Minister von Hertling : In the meantime it might be advisable to alert any merchants that our conflict with the DKB may become active again.

<Muller and Ritter von Kah look to each other>

War Minister Gustav Ritter von Kah : thats a foreign matter, not army.

Foreign Minister  E. Müller : Ah yes, it simply hasn't come up since we gained a seacoast. I suppose we can come up with a protocol .

The Kattowice Kourier
November 20th.
The men of the XXVI Uhlan Division report the interception of growing numbers of refugees seeking passage across the border. It is expected that Ukrainian troops have intercepted most such people, but a few still appear.

Those with reasonable claims to family within the Duchy are detained until vouched for,  then issued a visitation visa.  Merchants report a boom in grain prices as the effects of this unrest on the harvest becomes more clear, a matter sorely appreciated after cross border trade fell drastically earlier.

The Friedrichshafen Zeitung
December 4th
Dornier has announced his intention of competing in the recently announced Caldera seaplane races to be held in La Spezia.

The Munich Messenger
December 5th
Herr M. Segitz, Minister of of Commerce, Industry and Trade, announced today a Franco-Bavarian venture to fund infrastructure development in Russia.  The minister related the November reports of the engineering teams dispatched to Russia this summer have indicated great potential for large scale civil engineering projects and basic infrastructure. The Russians have the labor available for great deeds, but there are great economic inefficiencies related to insufficient basic infrastructure.

The Minister related that the scale of these potential projects exceeded the expectations of our review teams.  French expertise in canal building and enhancing far flung territories on a large scale will be of tremendous value, and discussions have been fruitful. The French will serve as the senior partner, making a large scale initial investment, and Bavaria will add supplemental funds. The project will be headquartered in Strasbourg and is expected to generate modest returns.

[Kaiser Kirk]

The Munich Messenger
December 11th, 1916

The news of yesterday's declaration of war by the RRC on Siam and the DKB, and the Hapsburg declaration on the Netherlands has caused widespread concern as the Dutch-Siamese war broadens.

The Prime Minister appeared before the Kammer der Reichsräte this morning to answer queries regarding the Austrian Conditional Declaration of War on the Netherlands.

The Prime Minister answered questions regarding the threats and obligations Bavaria faces :
"The growth of the Netherlands war on Siam is unfortunate.   The Hapsburger conditional declaration  keeps the war out of European territories and as such does not demand a reciprocal declaration at this time. This was part of the design of the Leipzig treaty.

Our Kingdom can only influence events in Europe, if necessary by imposing peace via force of Arms, however, if the Treaty serves to preserve peace in Europe, we have made a substantial contribution to our Ally long before the cannon roars.   

The Leipzig pact clearly delineates our duties and obligations under article 4.   We continue to stand ready to provide fiscal and material support or to replace Netherlands forces detached for service outside of Europe.

Under Article 2.C we retain the right to take further actions as we deem necessary.  The Navy will be tasked with maintaining a presence in the Mediterranean, and the Heer will be brought to a higher state of readiness in the event a Declaration of War does become necessary to preserve the integrity of the Netherlands. 

In accordance with Article 4.C, we will be suspending shipment of all strategic resources to the Hapsburgs. This includes limiting the export of Silesian coal. All hard coal exports are suspended, but soft coal for civilian heating will be allowed.  Herr M. Segitz will be working this week to estimate the demand for civilian heating coal based on past winters. Herr M. Segitz will also be publishing a list of minerals and goods which will not be exportable.

The Munich Messenger
December 15th, 1916

Reports indicate that Indochina has entered the war.  The Indochinese are citing their kinship and ties to their neighbors, but have not given just cause for entering the conflict. The Indochinese do cite their Allies the DKB and Siam, referring to alliances this paper does not know of, and perhaps recently inked.