www.navalism.org

January 1, 1919

As a new year dawns on the Gregorian Calender, the 1919 elections are just a step off. Although it is thought that Hu Hanmin will win the elections by a landslide, the future can not be predicted. The Republic of China wishes everyone a happy New Year!

January 7, 1919

"What?" Hu Hanmin, who rarely lost his calm, was furious. The aide visibly shrunk from the murderous aura coming from the President. "Why was I not alerted sooner?" The aide scrambled for an excuse, "Um... but sir.... we didn't know." "You're telling me, for four years, you couldn't get a peek at what they were doing with their time? This kind of military buildup is unprecedented!" The aide cringed as Hu Hanmin yelled at him. Hu Hanmin turned his back on the aide, "I see why Mr. Chiang Kai-shek told me to watch out for you people. You're all utterly useless!" Hu slammed his desk, "Guards!" A well-dressed soldier appeared in the room. "Sir?" "Take Mr. Tang out of this room. He will be deposed of his rank, status, and position. I'll deal with the rest of the lot later."

January 14, 1919
Emergency War Board Meeting

"Sirs, as I have briefed already, the Middle Kingdom currently possesses an outstanding number of forces in relation of ours.

First their Naval forces number well in the hundreds in Torpedo Boats, Destroyers, River Patrol Boats, and Submarines. In comparison, our forces are minuscule, possessing only 24 modern Torpedo Boats, 144 Motorized Torpedo Boats, 6 modern Destroyers, and 3 submarines.

Their Army, although estimated to be the same size as ours, 2.5 million troops, is of higher quality. Their forces have obtained more technologically advanced weapons, whilst we are researching weapons of same capabilities.

The only area where we best the Middle Kingdom in is that of the airforce, they have, last detected, no airforce to speak of. However, the airforce is a relatively new weapon of war and thus can not be relied on to offset this skewed balance of power.

As now in perspective and relation of our greatest enemy, the Republic of China is horribly weak. We need to bolster our strength two fold unless we wish to be crushed by those maggots."

The men in the room murmured about themselves. President Hu Hanmin looked up from his papers, "I have an announcement. Sirs of the War Board, I know drastic actions must be taken to ensure our survival. We must go on war footing, establish our control over all the industries and make sure no a single drop of material is wasted. We will have to impose rationing on the civilians, elevate taxation, put our forces in excess to reserve. The Five-Year Plan is already a stepping stone from completion and thus we need not to invest even more in the plan. I was offers to be placed for construction in foreign yards, I want the obsolete ships scrapped, I want embassies working at Red Alert. I want diplomatic ties tightened, I want drills being implemented in schools. Get on it men. Directors of the Army, Airforce, and Navy stand behind, I need to talk with you. The rest are dismissed!"

After the people shuffled out of the room, the three Directors looked at the President curiously. "I need you three to draw up plans for the defense of the Republiv of China in three cases: An attack by the Middle Kingdom, Deustche Kaiserreich Brandenburg, and Independent Indochina; an attack by the Middle Kingdom and New Switzerland; and an attack by the Middle Kingdom alone. I will need you to locate and create supply depots, draw up timetables, drill the soldiers. In a few days, we will hold a national wide training session for the troops. We need them on this best preparation for when this shit hits the fan."

The Directors nodded solemnly and left the room, leaving President Hu Hanmin and Vie President Feng Huang Yu alone in the room. The Vice President looked at President Hu Hanmin and decided to leave him to his own thoughts and left the room as well.

February 5, 1919

"You better have some good news for me, Mr. Yun Ming." President Hu Hanmin glanced wearily at Yun Ming. Yun Ming nodded slightly, "I come hear to report one thing and suggest another. First, Ming Wei Yu had withdrawn from the Middle Kingdom successfully, he reports that he is not certain of his success. Second, I would like to propose development into new fields of warfare." President Hu Hanmin lifted his eyebrows at Yun Ming, "Go on." Yun nodded, "I think it is clear with the current state of affairs, it will very hard to catch up with the forces of the Middle Kingdom. Therefore, we need to think outside the box. Instead of trying to match the Middle Kingdom's raw power, we should invent more effective and efficient weapons to deal with them. Rocket power has immense potential and remains hugely untapped. Air power is yet another under-appreciated force. We need experimental designs for everything, new weapons, new foods, new tools." Hu Hanmin nodded, "Yes, but when will it be developed? New weapons take too long to appear, too long to refine. By that time, the Middle Kingdom will have crushed us." YUn shook his head, "Mr. President! How can we give up before we try, if those pigs wish to take us down, we'll at least leave a few scars on it. The times are hard, I'm sure you understand that more than anyone, but we must try something! How can we resign to defeat already?" "You are right, you'll be charge of organizing this innovative approach." "Most certainly, Mr. President, it is my job after all."

February 20, 1919

"So what are we experimenting with here?" "We have been testing this idea, grown in the jungles of Vietnam. These soldiers have fought in the southern regions against both the forces of Indochina and Siam, and have developed a most curious system." "You have my attention." Yun Ming observed the soldiers in training at the Whampo Academy. The General Zhang Zongchang continued, "These soldiers were raised from the countryside where hunting game was the main source of a living. Crackshots if you will." "I notice a few females in their." "Of course, they have the right to serve their army and nation as well. There is no point to keep valuable troops from the battlefield." The complete dismissal of female soldiers as a unusual idea surprised Yun Ming. The General gestured for the Minister to follow him down the hall. "As I was saying, what these soldiers have developed in these tight and small teams of elite soldiers. I think the idea has its origins in their hunting days. But what happened in the Vietnam was that brigades of troops were separated in the vast jungles. One of these groups was left without an Officer, now called XiaoLamGun 1275th. One of the Privates, Private Liao Xin Li, took charge of her group and led them threw the jungles. This band of hundred troops marched tens of miles down to combat the heavily armed Indochinese, the Siamese stranglers, and won every time. I think the key here is the tightness of the group formed by the informality between the members, and the able to think for themselves yes. I do not, as a general, approve of insubordinate behavior, but these soldiers listen to what I tell them. The difference is that they don't need a central command to them for every action, as long as we give them a general directive, they will take to do it. Any decisions made along the way, is made by the unit's members. They discuss the best course of action amongst all the unit and have the leader decide the next course. They've proven their ability, now I want to see if it will work on other groups." Yun Ming nodded deep in thought once in the hall his turned to his right and noticed a room full of female nurse. "What's wrong Mr. Yun? Follow me, I have something else to show you." Yun Ming decided not to ask and continued on the tour.

March 4, 1919

Rocket Test Facility, Outskirts of Yangshuo County
"So what graces our humble Facility with your presence, Minster of Projects?" Yun Ming ignored the sarcastic in the man's voice, "Get to work, we'll be testing things here again." "Again, haven't you tested everything you need to know about rockets already? Its been 2 years since the last test was run you know." "I have executive permission from the President to reopen this Facility to testing new rockets." The man smiled, "Oh but how can we test nothing?" Yun Ming clenched his fist, this man was incredibly annoying and was wasting his time. "The Factory will take care of that, just call the members back to the Facility, that is all. If I fine that the President orders have not be followed through on, I can ensure that the SS will find you." The man's face placed at once at hearing the words SS, he nodded fervently and left. Yun Ming looked at the retreating man in disgust and left the Facility.

March 12, 1919

A badly shaken messenger enters President Hu Hanmin's office bearing a scroll marked with the Imperial seal. The President looked at the messenger for a moment before focusing on the scroll, "What do you have for me?" The messenger handed over the scroll and Hu Hanmin scanned through the contents.

QuoteDearest Children
Your recent actions have drawn the attention of the Celestial throne, it is with deepest concern that we pen this missive to ask if you are preparing for another WuHan

Signed General Tan at the request of his highness Emperor Kailie

President Hu Hanmin sighed and a smirk appeared on his face. Still as patronizing as ever. He took a pen from desk and began a letter in response.

QuoteGeneral Tan,

We have not, nor do we plan to However this measures were taken as protective measures against what might be seen as the hostile and unnecessary buildup of the Imperial forces. We had no intelligence or warning, and we were forced to assume the worse and thus make preparations.

President Hu Hanmin on behalf of the Republic of China and its peoples.

President Hu Hanmin looked up from his paper and at the messenger. "Take this back there," He folded his letter by three and slipped it into one of the many envelopes lying around. "I'll make sure you get an express train back to the Imperial Palace."

As the messenger left, he called in the Vice President. "Call the War Board together." Hmph, although they had sent an imperial scroll, they could still be arming against the Republic.

approved by maddox

March 26, 1919
The letter exchange continued.

QuoteDearest Children
Your Concerns are noted by the Celestial Emperor, however the son of Heaven cannot stop his preparations to smash the abomination known as the New Swiss.  We will continue such preparations for their punishment as we deem necessary.

Signed Third Brother Tan  Internal Defense at the request of his highness Celestial Emperor Kailie

QuoteThird Brother Tan of Internal Defense

Your plans are duly noted by the Republic of China, however, as Imperial China will not stop its military build-up, the Republic of China is forced to continue its preparations as well. However, we will not interfere with your efforts to destroy the New Swiss. Unless the forces of Imperial China turn onto the Republic, we shall not act.

President Hu Hanmin on behalf of the Republic of China and its peoples.

approved by maddox

March 31, 1919

President Hu Hanmin had passed the Enabling Act two months earlier calling for the temporary dissolving of the Legislative Assembly and the Executive Branch the power to act without consent of the other two branches. This Act was call for Emergencies and President Hu Hanmin today announced the ending of the Enabling Act. The Crisis was over now, and though the elections had been delayed for one month, it could now resume.

April 4, 1919

The Elections began with little fanfare, it seems obvious who will win the elections.

Opposing candidates:
Wang Jingwei, Age 36, (For President)
Sun Fo, Age 29, (For Vice-President)

Incumbents:
Hu Hanmin, Age 40 (Incumbent President)
FengHuang Yu, Age 26 (Incumbent Vice-President)

April 7, 1919

President Hu Hanmin has declared the ending of command economy as the outstanding external threat that had forced the Republic to prepare for war has been temporarily alleviated. However, the change back to a consumer economy will take a few weeks to implement.

April 14, 1919

Report from the Department of Aeronautics:

The current extent of air power has create several roles for airplanes namely;

Fighter, Heavy Bomber, Medium Bomber, Short Bomber, Interceptor, Close-Air-Support, and the Scout

Of these roles, we only have aircrafts that fit several of them:

NAMCo NA-01 serves well as a heavy bomber, possessing both the range and payload to perform its mission.

Although outdated, the Flying Fish Y.II performs well enough for its role as a scout. However, productions of the plane have been so small, there is not enough to fill its role.

The Taco Ca. II serves as an excellent Close Air Support plane.

However as the other roles are lacking, it proves, that though the airforce is large, it lacks vital components which make the Republic weak.

We require a fighter with the capacity to push into enemy territory, an interceptor to eliminate enemy planes over the Republic, and short and medium bombers.

To counter this immediate weakness to the Republic, the Department of Aeronautics request for additional funding from the government.

April 21, 1919

Elections are a landslide in the favor of President Hu Hanmin and unless a miracle occurs, it is predicted that Hu Hanmin will continue his large lead.

April 27, 1919

The polls have spoken, President Hu Hanmin is announced President of the Reformist Republic of China again. However tough times seem to be ahead for President Hu, as recent polls showed an outstanding approval rating on economic matters, however the approval rating on military and diplomatic matters have been less than desired. It seems the quiet of economic reform has made the Republic forgotten internationally in the citizens' eyes.

April 30, 1919

"What is this?" President Hu Hanmin dropped a fat folder onto the Secretary of Defense's desk. The folder spilled a few photographs. Looking at the folder, the Secretary noticed the big words on the folder, "Bei-Lam-qing-chu" "I would like to know who formulated this plan." The Secretary looked at the President for a moment "That would be Chiang Kai-shek sir."

"I thought so," the President nodded lightly to himself, "Tell him I will not allow a preemptive attack on Shangri-La."

Backtracking a bit...

April 1, 1919

"Guangzhou Radio Station reporting; President Hu Hanmin announced today that the Legislative Assembly just passed a bill outlawing the Middle Kingdom. President Hu Hanmin noted that bombing missions and land assaults on the now outlawed nation would begin in 5 seconds after his speech. The world's collective breath is held as we await the extermination of the outlawed nation."

April Fool's......

April  29, 1919
Guangzhou, Main Executive Branch, Presidential Office.

"I believe the Five-Year plan has been running long enough to sustain itself. If that's the case, I will take a step back from the plan and work on my pressing concerns, diplomacy. Mr. FengHuang I'm going to hand the assignment over to you. You are to oversee the Five-Year Plan."

"Leave it to me, Mr. Hu."

President Hu Hanmin rubbed his temples, "Could you tell an aide to bring me the files on our foreign relations on your way out?"

Fenghuang Yu smiled, "Of course."

May 6, 1919

"We finally finished up that treaty with Japan." President Hu Hanmin dropped his suitcase onto his tabletop. Flipping idly through the chart of foreign relations, courtesy of the Foreign Relations Department, Hu reviewed the relations.

"Hmm, perhaps a talk with the DKB is in order. Considering their extensive border with us and our chilly relations as of now."

Hu Hanmin quickly got back up and donned his coat. He walked briskly out of his office.

May 11, 1919

President Hu Hanmin walked silently into the door there Chiang Kai-shek acknowledged his presence with a small nod of the head. Hu glanced around the room at the officers standing around a table concentrating hard.

President Hu broke the silence, "How's it coming?"

Chiang Kai-shek lifted his eye off the table to reply, "Plan 40 isn't looking so favorable."

The officers continued their shuffle.

President Hu strolled leisurely towards the table, examining the pieces set up. "What's the problem?"

"Our troops don't have as much training as it should have and some of our weapons are obsolete compared to theirs."

"Oh, I was sure to get our researchers to push cutting edge, I guess I'll have to re-evaluate the Department."

The silence began again as President Hu and Chiang Kai-shek looked at the table.

President Hu broke the silence again, "Anything for a more favorable outcome?"

Chiang Kai-shek looked off to the wall, his mind in far-off thought. "Not at the moment. Seems we've done everything we can. I'll talk to you during those budget hearings."

President Hu nodded, and his eyes wandered off. He noticed a young officer sitting down reading a book intently. He slowly scrolled over, "The roar of revolutionary cannons is much sweeter than revolutionary literature, don't you think?" President Hu waved slightly at Chiang Kai-shek before exiting the room.

May 16, 1919
Preliminary Budget Hearing, Naval Department

"We need a flagship."

President Hu Hanmin rubbed his temples, "Don't we already have Li Ming and Huang Hun?"

The Director of Naval Affairs sighed, "Those are armored cruisers, we need a battleship."

President Hu nodded, "What... you want Juren to be built on dock?"

The Director shook his head, "We both know we do not have enough material for a 28,000 battleship, even if it is a fearsome and powerful ship. No, I'm having my subordinates churn out a design, a coastal battleship."

"Doesn't the Weisheng serve well enough?"

"It's, to be frank, very outdated. We need a modern battleship for national prestige."

"So I expect it's a minimalist design?"

"Yes, we are trying to keep it at the bare minimal in terms of speed and range, but strong and armored enough to keep foreign powers for getting the idea that invading us would be easy and fun."

President Hu Hanmin thought carefully, mentally calculating approximately how much materials he could divert to this cause. "Hmm, very well then. I will see what I can do. I suppose to make up for the lost of materials and build space we will be forced to buy foreign. Very well then."

May 18, 1919

What this system provides that others do not, is the rapid saturation of a target area, near instant shell-shock potential, and the relative cheap and easy of manufacturing.

The officer detailed the plans and designs for a Mobile Rocket Squadron.

The precedent has been set by the Rocket Cavalry Corps, we are simply taking it further and to the next level. Motorization of these vehicles as well as a hefty payload and they serve three times as effective as a Rocket Cavalry Corp.

The plan called for a fusion of a light armored car and a tank specifications. The need cited by the lack of experience in the field of lightly armored cars compared to heavy tanks as well as the higher speed and maneuverability of the former.

The rough blueprints called for a rack or other device for stored rockets along rails to be created. The rockets would be launched straight off the rails.

The officer persisted, the received the reply of test first and impress, mass manufacture maybe later.

May 24, 1919

The officer got what he wanted. Two Rocket Cavalry Corps had received mobile artillery units, amongst them the 80mm Rocket Half-track. As a result the entire corp had been renamed Mobile Rocket Corps.

Interest in rocket technology was increasing and experimental designs were being through around. Perhaps a rocket tank, a rocket-armed airplane, or rocket-armed ship?

Meanwhile the navy rapidly placed orders, it's newly finished docks flowed with orders. The Republic's building program was in full gear. Sixteen torpedo-boats and 28 motorized torpedo boats were being laid down. The large liner, the Wenbing, was floated out to make room for the yet unnamed CL21. Soon CA21 would be laid down as well.

The airforce was getting a long awaited supply of trainer planes, a thousand of them, in fact. The railroad building fever restarted once more.

The Republic was progressing, and booming. Or perhaps preparing for war in the eyes of some.

June 20, 1919

"I don't like this." Fenghuang Yu was on horseback, accompanied by a few. They looked out at the landscape before them. The horse slowly trotted so that the voices could be hear over the sound of horseshoes clapping on the newly paved road. "A conference over volatile Africa, especially when the Swiss are involved just says trouble." Yu Ming nodded, "I think conflict will inevitably be coming. Mostly likely Swiss-incited." The group looked out at the rice paddies of Chengdu. "I think we will be coming up to the site of the radio tower soon."

Ming nodded once more, "Such development is good, it is a kind gesture on the part of the Dutch. But I can not help but think what use this will have when the people of the countryside seldom have a radio." The sun was high and sky free of clouds. Yu replied slowly after deep thought, "We can change that. Have we not built a road for the people to use already? What is one radio for every village?" "Hopeful. We are mighty, yet weak, Yu. Rich yet poor. It pains be to see the difference between the country and the city."

"Of course. But I have had the fortune of seeing my village transformed into a booming city. And the misfortune of seeing it razed to the ground. Yet that is what life is. A cycle of reconstructing and tearing down." Ming Wei Yu smiled knowingly. "It is enough that we build roads, railroads, and schools. The people have lived without for so long that even minute changes are valuable. Do not despair for what is out of your power." For a short amount of time the walk was quiet.

"If war breaks out once more, what will we do?" The group was silent. "Of course, it would depend. It would depend on the actions of the northern tyrant for our actions." "You do not mean!" "Yes, of course. We must strike when a force is weakened by a multitude of forces." "Jumping on the bandwagon?" "There are many benefits." The group was silence once more and only the chirping of cicadas could be heard. A short distance from the path, the farmers at the rice paddies began to retire home for their afternoon meal. The sun shone as bright as ever. "Are we prepared?" "Perhaps not, but when our iron is glowing white, we must strike it."

"So Wei Yu, how did your assignment fare." "Poorly I believe, though I reported otherwise. The people simply do not expect what the Republic has to offer. They have lived too long in it, It is most unfortunate. It will be difficult if we ever decide on a Northern Expedition."

"Well...." Yan Zak Wing started slowly and the group quieted down. He had not spoken the whole trip until now. "It would be interesting to talk more, but we are nearly at our designation. Our topic is a bit sensitive to talk about in front of the Dutch. If we must converse, let it be later. For now, let us show them why the people of the Republic are know as excellent engineers."

And the group trotted up the hill to the site of the radio tower.

June 10, 1919
Bishan County, Chongqing

Shak-shak-shak. The half-track vehicle jumped with every bump in the dirt road and the soldiers sitting on the truck jolted awake with the bumps each time. The wheels kicked up excessive dirt as the tracks churned steadily away. From a distance, it looked like a flopping fish, the tired wheels were much less durable and reliable compared to the tracks. Next to the soldiers was a set of rails on a rotating ring. One soldier's hand was over a crate of 130mm Rockets. The soldiers' eyes were shaded by their metal cap but they glanced at the landscape every so often. In the front, behind the driver's seat, one soldier listened onto the radio broadcasts from Radio Station Guangzhou.

Following behind was another BT-FX whose driver happily hummed a tune.

A low rumble overhead foretold the approach of an aeroplane. The soldiers looked up, shielding their hands from the glare of the sun with their hands. A trainer plane most likely from Chongqing Airbase. One of the soldiers grumbled about the bumpy ride.

A support truck followed the two Half-Tracks. Some soldiers yawned. It was going to be a long day.

July 20, 1919
Central Cryptographic Institution

"Loud noise, I don't like it. Especially with that meeting for war going on."

"Sir, much of these lines are encrypted."

"Then get to cracking them. You know these things don't last long. Get the message out, for safety, enforce radio discipline for two weeks."

"Yes, sir."

"We don't want to be out in the unknown when this shit, whatever it is, hits the fan."

Quote from: Logi on June 12, 2010, 09:41:56 PM
.... (What's the date for the Dar-es-Salaam conference again?)

June 19st start, figure it's June 28-30 by now.

Semi-Official message to the RRC, on July 26th

"It is with the greatest regrets that we must announce that our oil shipments to Macau must be, for the duration of this war, reduced by at least 60%, due to the Suez Canal being reserved mainly for military traffic, and those civilian ships that can pass have been carefully searched for any trace of explosives, which appears to be holding up traffic.

With all the regrets in the world,

etc., etc."

QuoteJuly 1st start, figure it's July 20-22 by now.

Thanks, date added.

-------

July 4, 1919
Central Cryptographic Institution, Zhangjiang

"Holy crap, this isn't good."

"What happened?" The officer moved over to the the former holding the message.

"First, the French are moving. Thankfully their message was not coded. Second, Romania has just acknowledged a war will be occurring."

"It can't be the Swiss Cheese can it?"

"So far, we don't know. But it would point that way. France was present in the Dar-es-Salaam Conference with the Cheese. Although the Romanians were not present, we can safely assume either the Dutch or the Scandinavians informed them.

The choke-point is the Suez Canal which would indicate Indian or Pacific War. The Indians are too busy paying off the French and the Arab-Persians have been silent for a good decade. East-Asia is silent, no problem. So the problem originates from Africa, probably Cheese incited over New Zion. Shitty bastards, we can't have a war occurring now!"

"Indeed, less oil at the peak production time will be disastrous. Get Main Executive Branch, tell them we need alternate oil source. Negotiate with the Persians or get our own fuel mixture. Let the Branch decide whether or not we take action."

Quote from: Sachmle on June 12, 2010, 09:49:35 PM

Quote from: Logi on June 12, 2010, 09:41:56 PM
.... (What's the date for the Dar-es-Salaam conference again?)

July 1st start, figure it's July 20-22 by now.

QuoteJune 19, 1919
Master Dining Hall
Karimjee Hall
Dar-es-Salaam, Deutsche Ostafrika

Start Date was June 19.... I figure we are comming up on July as we speak :)

July 5, 1919

"The opportunity is good, we might earn an excuse. Also, send a message to the Middle Kingdom, see if we can bait them to get involved."

Quote

Top Secret

TO: Rising Sun
FROM: Blue Tide

Operation Fever Approved. Begin preparations.

July 20, 1919

"No way about it. Let's get this thing restarted."

Hu Hanmin looked wearily at Fenghuang Yu. "Give me a week. A week to prepare, then we will move."

Radio discipline enforced on all units, decryption operations begin on grand scale.

July 30, 1919
Guangzhou Plaza, the Speech is transmitted to the crowd and on radio to the whole nation.

Citizens of the Glorious Republic, I stand here before you, to address you all. It has been eight years since the hard fighting during the Great Revolution to overthrow corruption and oppression. It has been six years since we achieved our freedom. Some have asked, have we reached the revolution's goals? The answer is no. We have not. Our revolution lies incomplete, stalled, a project left unfinished.

These questions, this hopelessly optimistic attitude that I find instilled in many of our nation's citizens, saddens me greatly. It has been but six years, yet the struggles of a momentous time have been forgotten. The people have learned comfort in false safety.

This is a stern reminder to all those who think the revolution is over, our enemies are still out there, taunting us, with their barbaric acts, their oppression under the guise of freedom. We know, we suffered a similar oppression.

Do we, as Chinese, stand by whilst our friend, our neighbor, our brother, sister, father or mother suffers? No! That is not who we are, we are not so morally lacking. Citizens! Can you not hear their cries for help, their pleads filling with the stories of bloodshed and chaos? How can we stand to profit whilst the people are suffering, how can we pretend it does not exist?

We can not turn a blind eye to this problem. This is our problem, and it must be solved by our own hands. Too far have they provoked us, and continue to mock us. Prepare for war, citizens, our enemies will be taught fear and discipline and the people shall be liberated by our Republic.

Citizens, let every action by dictated by your love for China. Let every citizen mobilize for the revolution. Let us remember why we are living in such comfort. Let us be moved by our obligations and duty to bring justice to the corrupt.

Let us stop speaking with words and start speaking with the clang of hammers, the roars of revolutionary cannons.

Citizens, the country calls for the complete mobilization of your wills and efforts. We can not go back to our state six years ago, we must liberate. Every citizens must do their part, let the revolution and the revolutionary ideals spread.

Let freedom ring from coast to interior, let freedom ring from ocean to ocean. Whether it be those who conduct treacherous acts against the people hiding behind their false democracy or the corrupt dictator, let them hear reason, our reason. And if they can not be convinced, let revolutionary roar replace revolutionary literature.

We have stalled for far too long, our thoughts decayed by luxury. We have lost sight or what is right and what is true, what our mission is, and how to accomplish it. But today! Today, we regain that sight, we throw away corruption, no longer shall we wait for fortune to fall in our laps, but leap up and grab it.

China must be strong! And the only way is for our people to be strong and united in their wills. Let us show the world, we do not speak only. We are not a paper dragon. We are no longer the China that was humiliated decades ago by foreign powers. We are stronger, we are united, we are powerful.

Let the revolutionary anthem ring!

August 2, 1919

President Hu Hanmin and Vice-President Fenghuang Yu (with the appropriate guards) are touring the nation to listen and talk with the people of the Republic.

Backtrack

July 4, 1919

Following the declaration by Italia, the Republic of China has made an effort to inform merchants of minefields in the region, and urges merchantmen to avoid the area (although traffic to New Zion is at the bare minimum to begin with). The statement made to the Swiss was not made to the Italians.

August 9, 1919

All units are given the standard order to mobilize. All previously mobilized forces are ordered to advance to crush the enemy. At 0100 hours, a state of war has been declared within the Republic.

Quote from: Logi on June 15, 2010, 08:05:42 PM
August 9, 1919

All units are given the standard order to mobilize. All previously mobilized forces are ordered to advance to crush the enemy. At 0100 hours, a state of war has been declared within the Republic.

????!!!!????

WTF mate?

August 9, 1919: 0200 hours

Former Chiang Kai-shek makes an appearance to give a speech before going to the front-lines.

"The Qing Empire is no Empire, and Kang Yi is no Emperor, the freed peoples of the Great Republic of China wish to make it known to all of the world that a true government, formed and supported by the People of China, has risen on its own accord of its own foundation to challenge any foreign power that wishes to continue to profit from the suffering of the Chinese Nation. The Qing Government is not legitimate, and Kang Yi lives only by the hard work of those he oppresses. For long the Manchus have oppressed the people of China, shown disregard, snubbed us, disrespected us, and smeared our traditions on the floor. They have oppressed us, shamed us with their concessions to the foreigners. They are not Chinese, Manchuria their homeland, and yet, they gave away their homeland to the Japanese. They continue to give away our homeland, to engage in meaningless struggles, never seeking to correct what is wrong with itself, content in its degradation, corruption, and shame.

The path of the Qing Empire is akin to the shoe licker. It is worthless, it is shameful. It is not Chinese. The Qing Empire and Kang Yi have repeatedly given away parts of China as though it were nothing. There was Manchuria, Wuhan, Tibet, Taiwan, Hainan. Who was the one that retook Wuhan from foreigners? Who was it that rebuilt the mess left by the Swiss occupiers and the corruption Qing in Shanghai and Hong Kong? Who is it that is modernizing China to become a respectable power? It was not the Qing Empire. It was the Republic of China. There is nothing coming from the Qing Empire but corruption and shame to the nation.

Do you love China?

This is a call to any Chinese Man or Woman who loves their nation and their liberty to rise up against the false Emperor and to fight for the White Sun above the Red Land of a Free China. Only we united can wrestle off the shackles of imperialism and decadence; the humiliation of the last 100 years.

Kang Yi will be overthrown and with him, the stench of corruption and decadence. The Revolutionary Roar of the Republic will throw open the gates of the Forbidden City as the great flag of the Republic flies proudly over the Forbidden City, the Imperial Court will be dragged out, and the National Legislative Assembly will create a new and far more glorious chapter for the Great People of China. One that those who have made China suffer will have nightmares about! There is no power greater than that of the people! Roar peasant and like the corrupt feel your wrath!

Countrymen, pick up your weapons, and join us in our march towards Beiping! The heart of China moves to end the false regime of the Manchu dictators! The Revolution fights for CHINA!

Join me countrymen, even I will head to the front-lines to serve my duty to the nation!"

August 9, 1919: 0240 hours

President Hu Hanmin, worn from his countrywide tour makes an appearance before the crowd.

"Citizens of the Republic, I will recount, though my breath is scare from attending to the people, the history of our Republic, on October 1911, eight fateful years ago, we were united by our will, our angers. We saw the corruption, the shame, the oppression of the Qing on the  Chinese. We had tolerated for centuries, but no more. That moment our collective anger reached bursting point and it was transformed into the roar of revolutionary weapons.

Since then, we have fought for our survival against all odds, against the wrong within China. We survived when we reached a stalemate in 1913. But this condition can not last.

China longs to be united, it longs to be whole. We can not be divided, weakened. We could not convince our brothers by reason, and were forced to turn to arms. Now, six years later, we are once again prepared to continue the Northern Expedition, to purge China of it's wrong.

Over the years, I have been asked many times what could be done to aid the revolution. Some asked why there is a lack of revolutionary literature in China. That is because revolutionaries can only write such literature after the revolution is over. The revolution requires strength, it requires force, not words.

That is true in the animal kingdom as well. The silent owl swoops in to kill. The cat walks silently before pounding on the mice. There is a time for words.

That time is not now. What the revolutionary needs right now, is force. Not the sound of revolutionary literature, but the roar of revolutionary cannons.

We cannot win and restore China with words, citizens. The revolution requires all your efforts, whether it be on the front-lines, or in the factories. Your country asks for you. Respond, citizens."

August 9, 1919: 0250 hours

The crowd's roar of approval can be heard from miles away as the Chiang Kai-shek and Hu Hanmin prepare to board the train. Sun Yat-sen appears before the crowd and the crowd is silent.

There had been reports and rumors of Sun Yat-sen's failing health and it was apparent in his face as he stood before the crowd.

"Comrades,

Today, the question involuntarily arises before me: what does our nation represent? This in brief is its history, and the principles which guide it.

Our government and nation was formed after the overthrow of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of a republican form of Government in the southern provinces. It has to play a tremendous part in the future of our country. From the time until this Party was formed, China has been constantly in a state of disorder. It is, of course, natural that the reason for the disturbances and sufferings of the Chinese people was the nonexistence of our Party. For many years we have fought, and are still fighting, against the traitors to the people who live to this day in the northern provinces of China, where the influence of our Party is very small: nevertheless, sooner or later the northerners will join us like those in South China.

Our Party is revolutionary. In the second year after the establishment of the republican order, many of its members went abroad, where they worked energetically for the development of the revolutionary movement in China. Hence the name of the Party. While it was working in Tokyo, the Party was known as the "National League": the difference of names, of course, does not alter the character and essence of the aims it pursues. Our Republic is already eight years old, but we still cannot look upon it as a fully perfected type, or consider that our aim has been achieved. Our work is not yet completed: we must continue the struggle.

At that time, power in China was still in the hands of the Manchus, and the Revolution had only arrived at its first stage, nationalism, passing over the other two principles."The Fivefold Constitution" has great importance for our country in the sense of establishing a firm and just form of government; but, before the overthrow of the Qing dynasty, many thought that after the overthrow of that dynasty , thereafter China would proceed along the road of universal development and success. But has that proved to be the case? It is now clear that the reason for all that has happened is that our work did not conclude with the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in the southern provinces.

Our nationalism has not yet been completely realized. The Qing Dynasty still lives in the northern provinces, stalled our progress. We can not lead China down the road of universal development like many assumed because as long as the three principles have not been firmly realized, there can be no stable state of existence.

We can not realize nationalism, until China is united. We can not move forward down the road of universal development and success until nationalism, republicanism, and socialism have been realized.

We now lead the Northern Expedition to realize nationalism. Join me, comrades, in realizing the first step towards progress."

...and stop right there.

I've got a month's worth of war in Africa to sim before this situation can advance at all.  Continue planning, but keep in your pocket until I'm ready for simming August.

1st Rule of Warfare... Never Start a Land War in Asia.... :'(

Quote from: ctwaterman on June 15, 2010, 09:27:30 PM
1st Rule of Warfare... Never Start a Land War in Asia.... :'(

Yes, but the 2nd Rule of Warfare is "If you do, be a land army FROM Asia".

Quote from: Sachmle on June 15, 2010, 10:20:54 PM

Quote from: ctwaterman on June 15, 2010, 09:27:30 PM
1st Rule of Warfare... Never Start a Land War in Asia.... :'(

Yes, but the 2nd Rule of Warfare is "If you do, be a land army FROM Asia".

I thought the 2nd was never go against a sicilan when death is on the line ??  ::)

But Doesnt your 2nd rule refer back to my 1st rule if the other country is also a Land Army from Asia ????  I dont mind my little war becoming a back water but China both of them are about to tear themselves apart in a blood bath.

Wooooooooo!!! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

Message from Manchuria: "The Manchus were suppressed by the MK, using the Japanese as a tool, not the other way around... so we kindly ask the RRC to keep us out of their conflict with the Middle Kingdom."

Message to Manchuria, "It does not change the fact that the Qing Empire hails from Manchuria, which in light of the recently presented facts by the respectful sirs from Manchuria, makes their crimes all the heavier and numerous."

Backtracking a bit in time....

Hong Kong Naval Operations Base

The offices were filled with the bustle and the murmur of voices. There was a war to be finished planning after all, and the naval battles were hardly won or favorable to the Republicans.

The question on everyone's mind was of course, how to deal with the larger Imperialist fleet? While the Republican fleet was sizable as well, it was not was large as the Imperialist fleet, though there were many more modern units on the Republican side.

However the door to the building opened and a familiar clack on the marble floor resounded above the incessant chatter of the building. Whilst the sound of wood and the clap of a shoe onto the ground was striking in itself, none paralleled looking up and sighting the most famous man in the Republican Navy.

The one-legged Admiral, Admiral Chan Chak, famous for both his destroyer and MTB action. He had been instrumental in gaining control of the sea near the Republic during the Chinese Civil War. A living legend, so to speak.

Admiral Chan Chak coughed lightly and those who saw the Admiral were quickly silent and those that kept talking were quickly nudged into silence by their neighbors.

"We have received reports and evidence of the great use of submarines in an offensive and defensive naval war."

Some looked surprised, the submarine had been neglected mostly by the Republic beyond a few large and somewhat experimental vessels. It had faovred the use of torpedo boats and MTB over the submarine. Admiral Chan Chak's aid who followed closely behind him dropped a package of files onto a desk next to him. The admiral tipped his hat before leaving, there were fleet exercises to conduct and cadets to train after all. The head of the Operations Base picked up the package and readied a meeting to discuss its contents...

The package also contained informed that aircraft had sunk a few vessels at sea as well during the New Coalition (New Zion, New Swiss) - Allied (Italy, DKB) War. This was interesting to say the least and favorable for the Republic for it had constructed quite a few Torpedo Bombers (though relatively ineffective) as an experiment and to keep the aircraft factories in good shape.

Air power was most certainly becoming more important. Having air superiority, it was concluded, would allow the sighting , strafing, and bombing of enemy forces whilst keeping the rear movements of the Republican forces hidden.

Bombing at-level was not as effective as the use of torpedo bombers against enemy ships, though the art of torpedo bombing remained relatively imperfect. The Air force had already experimented with the possibility of Dive Bombing, but it was determined that until stronger materials for plane construction were available, the mission was to risky to risk losing a valuable pilot. The problem of the plane coming close to disintegrating during the dive was yet to be solved though the main problem, the rapid acceleration of the plane and the heavy stress onto the plane pulling out of a dive, had been identified.

Information indicated the main deterrent to torpedo bombing naval ships other than the high dud rates was the heavy antiaircraft weapons encountered on naval ships (it was as though the the navies of the world expected an aerial torpedo attack on their ships). The comfort was knowing that Imperialist ships lacked such devices and the relative inaccuracy of said weapons.

Still the navy put on express the need for a heavy fire low caliber airplane shredder weapon for use on naval ships. It was strange that a nation well versed in such aerial weapons would neglect to safeguard against them as well.

The Swarm doctrine was also proven, though heavy losses only confirmed the theory against swarm doctrines. The existence of destroyer and torpedo boat killers like the Yu-class were the confirmation of the theory. Fortunately the imperialist side lacked such weapons.

Much of the package contained with regards to aerial bombings and swarm assaults were predicted by the navy, but evidence was always welcome in convincing the more conservative elements within the navy.

Of course the ability to drop such weapons as the torpedo and carpet bomb naval forces as well as the effective use of mines as a deterrent force (although expensive and unfavorable to political favor) led to the question to the idea by the more liberal minds in the Air Force (which accounted most of the Airforce being that the Airforce itself was relatively new and not entrenched in doctrine) thought of aerial dropped mines. Such a weapon would eliminate the need for minelayers, an item that the Republic was not as plentiful in.

The package was good information, and Agent 057 had properly done his job.

Quote from: damocles on July 14, 2010, 02:38:08 AM

Quote

From MVB Agent 1126 Transcript obtained via Operation Amoeba

QuoteHong Kong Naval Operations Base

"We have received reports and evidence of the great use of submarines in an offensive and defensive naval war."

[Some looked surprised, the submarine had been neglected mostly by the Republic beyond a few large and somewhat experimental vessels. It had faovred the use of torpedo boats and MTB over the submarine. Admiral Chan Chak's aid who followed closely behind him dropped a package of files onto a desk next to him. The admiral tipped his hat before leaving, there were fleet exercises to conduct and cadets to train after all. The head of the Operations Base picked up the package and readied a meeting to discuss its contents...]

The package also contained informed that aircraft had sunk a few vessels at sea as well during the New Coalition (New Zion, New Swiss) - Allied (Italy, DKB) War. This was interesting to say the least and favorable for the Republic for it had constructed quite a few Torpedo Bombers (though relatively ineffective) as an experiment and to keep the aircraft factories in good shape.

Air power was most certainly becoming more important. Having air superiority, it was concluded, would allow the sighting , strafing, and bombing of enemy forces whilst keeping the rear movements of the Republican forces hidden.

Bombing at-level was not as effective as the use of torpedo bombers against enemy ships, though the art of torpedo bombing remained relatively imperfect. The Air force had already experimented with the possibility of Dive Bombing, but it was determined that until stronger materials for plane construction were available, the mission was to risky to risk losing a valuable pilot. The problem of the plane coming close to disintegrating during the dive was yet to be solved though the main problem, the rapid acceleration of the plane and the heavy stress onto the plane pulling out of a dive, had been identified.

Information indicated the main deterrent to torpedo bombing naval ships other than the high dud rates was the heavy antiaircraft weapons encountered on naval ships (it was as though the the navies of the world expected an aerial torpedo attack on their ships). The comfort was knowing that Imperialist ships lacked such devices and the relative inaccuracy of said weapons.

Still the navy put on express the need for a heavy fire low caliber airplane shredder weapon for use on naval ships. It was strange that a nation well versed in such aerial weapons would neglect to safeguard against them as well.

The Swarm doctrine was also proven, though heavy losses only confirmed the theory against swarm doctrines. The existence of destroyer and torpedo boat killers like the Yu-class were the confirmation of the theory. Fortunately the imperialist side lacked such weapons.

Much of the package contained with regards to aerial bombings and swarm assaults were predicted by the navy, but evidence was always welcome in convincing the more conservative elements within the navy.

Of course the ability to drop such weapons as the torpedo and carpet bomb naval forces as well as the effective use of mines as a deterrent force (although expensive and unfavorable to political favor) led to the question to the idea by the more liberal minds in the Air Force (which accounted most of the Airforce being that the Airforce itself was relatively new and not entrenched in doctrine) thought of aerial dropped mines. Such a weapon would eliminate the need for minelayers, an item that the Republic was not as plentiful in.

The package was good information, and Agent 057 had properly done his job.

The MVB analyst noted hos own observations about this intelligence. His notes were as usual encrypted:

*****   *****  *****  *****  *****  *****  *****
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*****   *****  *****  *****  *****  *****  *****
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*****   *****  *****  *****  *****  *****  *****
*****   *****  *****  *****  *****  *****  *****
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"Courier! Forward this to the NRDN." He sealed it in a burn trap bag and addressed it.
The courier asked, "Why the NRDN?"
Analyst, "They will make sure the right persons get that."
The analyst then added another  name to the enemy agent "disappear list".

The RRC Analyst made his usual notes onto the received intelligence before forwarding to the appropriate officials within the RRC. The Analyst added another name to the list of enemy agents to be taken care of.

An insight into Naval Doctrine development in the RRC

Recently the RRC had developed, or rather, elongated it's previous 6" to the great length of 6"/62. The new mounting (which can only be afforded in single hoists or turrets due to weight considerations) proved problematic within the navy.

The 6"/62 had superior range and muzzle velocity compared to the previous 6" gun but it suffered from high wear rate of the gun. Thus the gun had to be a maximum effect per shot in order to counteract the drawback of barrel wear.

The question of maximum effect per shell manifested itself as a question of how much armor the gun could penetrate. The naval command foresee the gun as being exclusively a weapon for destroyers as cruisers were to heavy in tonnage for less than half the number of barrels. Also the mission for such a gun likely conflicted that of the cruisers, the cruisers were for destroying destroyers and torpedo boats, armor was not a big factor on such ships.

The Naval Command envisioned the ideal role of the 6"/62 was to allow destroyers the weapons to fight large cruisers from other nations in terms of firepower. A small gun capable of high damage to a larger ship.

So naturally the question formed: How might one go about hurting a larger ship with a smaller gun?

The answer came down to the shell size. The greatest advantage of the 6"/62 was the high muzzle energy produced and the great range.

Two shell designs were conceived.

One was a 105lb Shell with a 5lb Bursting Charge. This is in effect, an APC round. However, the high muzzle of the gun allows the 6"/62 105lb APC shell to penetrate 10.8" of belt armor at 3,380 yds, 7.9" of belt armor at 8,720 yds, and 4.4" of belt armor at 18,000 yds. Penetrating the enemy heavily armed ship with a Destroyer is a pleasing idea, but the expense in Explosive Capacity was deemed highly unworthy in sinking enemy ships. Also the likely combat distance of the destroyers directed against the large cruiser meant a combat range that rendered most of the penetration abilities of the 6"/62 105lb APC quite useless. The Naval Command expected a command range of 10,000 yds and penetrations capabilities (which are around 5.5" of belt) were quite useless against all but the most lightly armored enemy ships.

The other was an extremely heavy 200lb Shell with a 40lb Bursting Charge. This usually large explosive payload earned the shell the term, High Capacity. The 6"/62 200lb HC shell can't not penetrate much belt armor but the beauty comes in at the deck armor penetration. At 10,000 yds, 1.1" of Deck armor can be penetrated, at 13,540 yds, 1.5" Deck armor can be penetrated, and at maximum gunnery distance (18,000 yds due to FCS) the shell can penetrate 2.9" of Deck armor. This was an exceptionally pleasing idea, the able to just shy of penetrating battleship style deck armor with high explosives would be viable. This would be able to penetrate to the vital structures and explode with high firepower for maximum effect. If it is not the crew that is being killing, it would be the machinery and other vital components.

Thus the Naval Command advanced the 200lb Shell design. However, due to the lacking in belt penetration capabilities of the HC shell (2.6" belt at 9,350 yds), the Naval Command requested that an APC shell also be conceived. Such a unique order was given (Destroyers typically did not carry AP shells!) due to the Naval Command's desires to see the Boomstick (as the the NC referred to Destroyers armed with the 6"/62) be effective at all ranges.

So such a design was conjured up, a 200lb shell (with a 6lb Bursting Charge) was designed. The 6"/62 200lb APC shell would penetrate less deck armor at range (some 1000 yds more range was required to penetrate the same thickness of armor!) it could penetrate greatly more belt armor at close range. The APC shell could penetrate 3.9" of belt at 8,580 yds, 3.5" of belt at 10,000 yds, and 1.9" belt at 18,000 yds.

Although the penetration capabilities of this APC shell against belt armor was greatly improved over the HC shell, it was deemed of little use. A normal combat distance of 10,000 yds would mean all but the smallest of enemy cruisers (<5000 tons) would be penetrable. In spite of this, Naval Command dictated that 1/5 of the shells carries on a Boomstick must be APC shells. The reasoning was that the cruisers in that size range were usually destroyer and torpedo boat killers, hence such a armament would allow effective counter fire.


But there was a more valuable lesson being learned by the Republican navy due to this naval gun tests. That was, it was far easier to penetrate deck armor than belt armor. Without penetration of the armor, the Naval Command reasoned, hits would have little impact. The Republican navy, lacking in the wealth of resources some navy had, had to maximize it's chances of sinking or at least mission killing the enemy.

There were also some convinced that large ships were no longer the way of the world. Deck penetration, they said, was all that was needed to take down a larger enemy. Other merely shook there head at such claims saying that the tests were causing too much of an overreaction.

Continued...

Whilst trading fire against static targets had proved the penetration capabilities of the 6"/62 200lb HC shell, the next stage of gunnery tests, against a moving target, proved the glass jaw of the shell. The shell had to be too long to be properly spin stabilized and the result was a dreaded low accuracy and high shell dispersion. Something had to give, most certainly not the gun barrel. Whilst the gun barrel could be artificially lengthened from 62 calibers to some thing like 65 calibers, it was calculated a caliber in the excesses of 72 would be needed to spin stabilize the 200lb shell. That was far too long and the projected wear rate, far too high.

Thus a new shell had to be designed. The first two shell designs had shown the greater penetration capabilities of a belt by a smaller shell and the greater penetration capabilities of a deck by a larger shell. The Naval Command issued the order to have the shell retain as much weight as possible whilst gaining the ability to be spin stabilized.

For this two shells were conceived:

The first was a 148lb with a 15lb Bursting Charge. With a much lower filler % (only 8%) compared to the previous shell, some whispered, was the trade-off in explosive power worth it? It was just a superheavy HE! Then the armor penetration tests were conducted. The 148lb HE shell could penetrate 0.8" of deck armor at 10,000 yds, 1.1" of deck armor at 13,500 yds, and 1.8" of deck armor at 18,000 yds.

Whilst the shell performed well for it's size, there was great discontent with the shell penetration values. Most armored cruisers would carry 1.5" worth of deck armor, having penetration of such ~16,000 yds would mean only a 2,000 yard combat distance! No naval commander could keep his ship in this range at all times, they reasoned.

The second shell design was the acknowledgment that 6" caliber shells (unless like the Boomstick shell) could not possibly penetrate capital ship deck armor. Thus the Shell size was reduced to 128lb with a 4lb Bursting Charge. This APC round, like the initial shell design at the beginning of the experiments, proved useless against deck armor. It lacked the shell weight needed to adequately penetrate capital ship deck armor. However, this was made up for by the good belt armor penetration, 9.5" of belt armor at 8,200 yds, 7.4" of belt armor at 10,000 yds, 5.8" of belt armor at 13,500 yds, and 4.5" of belt armor at 18,000 yds.

Naval Command liked the results of this shell test. It could not penetrate the thin deck armor of capital ships, but that extra weight over the initial 105lb APC shell had proven vital in increasing belt penetration capabilities. Naval Command ordered the test of an 148lb APC shell.

Thus it was such that a 148lb shell with a 5lb Bursting Charge was designed and tested. The tests were a huge disappointment. It offered only marginally better penetration than the 200lb APC shell. Perhaps it was not the shell weight, or perhaps they had stumbled upon the best equilibrium in belt penetration with the 128lb APC shell.

Marginal shell weight changes were considered such as the 130lb APC shell and the 126lb APC shell, but better shell penetration was unable to be reached.

Naval Command was heavily considering adopting the 128lb APC shell as a replacement for the failed 200lb HC shell, when one member officer came up with a new idea.

The main reason why heavier shell penetrated deck armor better than other shells was that penetration of deck armor consists of the shell falling down at a steep angle of attack. The shell weight, he reasoned, would cause the shell to "fall" faster, thereby increasing impact velocity.

If the gun could be redesigned, or modified to accept such gun elevation as 55 degrees, then a greater deck armor could be achieved with the same shell. Naval Command listened with interest, this idea of plunging fire and high angling sparked the interest of many minds in the navy.

Most certainly the current FCS solution could not calculate the full range of the 6"/62, however, that extra range could be made up for by a high angle fire.

The greatest problem against such was the gunnery problem. High angle fire would produce an extraordinarily long hang time for the shell resulting in a much greater need to predict the enemy's movement.

But High Angle fire was a very interesting idea, one that would likely have to be investigated further.

August 10, 1919

OOC: Anybody can get their hands on the article. Printed in Chinese, English, French, German, and Japanese.

A newspaper boy runs the streets yelling "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" in Guangzhou (as well as many major cities in the RRC).

QuoteTrue reason for war revealed! Shocking Details!

Yesterday, at daybreak, President Hu Hanmin of the Republic of China, with the full approval of the Legislative Assembly, passed a legislation declaring war on the Middle Kingdom. According to the government, this war was declared in an effort to reunify the country, to push on progress and to stop the corrupt dictatorship of the North.

However, through private investigation, sources have confirmed that the reason for this Northern Expedition may not be as it seems!

Reports have shown that the Middle Kingdom has had it's entire army, an army numbering some 2.6 MILLION troops mobilized since the eve of the revolution in 1911. This state of mobilization has never been dropped since 1911, even at the ceasefire of 1913! Furthermore, this army was dispatched tot he borders of the Kingdom, one-third reportedly bordering Russia, one-third bordering Japanese Manchuria, and one-third bordering the Republic of China.

Even further, reports have shown the scale of military buildup by the Middle Kingdom, something Investigators have connected with the two wars fought by the Republic of China and the influx of military spending during those times. The Middle Kingdom was recruiting some 200,000 troops per year since 1911. Reports show that until 1916, the Republic had neglected such recruiting and suddenly jump started with massive recruiting during the Burmese and Indochinese War.

Furthermore, until 1916, the Republic of China was building the grand flag ships of Huang Hun and Li Ming, before suddenly and abruptly switching to an all Torpedo Boat and Motorized Torpedo Boat program. The Legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly in 1916, called for this program change, citing "various domestic and foreign issues that raise concern."

These events, Experts believe, are no coincidence. It is not a coincidence that the Republic of China had this sudden change in 1916, rather, Experts believe, perhaps military information was received by the Republic of China on the extent of the military strength of the Middle Kingdom.

Recovered documents from the government show that, in fact, the Republic of China realized that the Middle Kingdom was building in the excesses of fifty Destroyers and one hundred Torpedo Boats per year. This alarming buildup in what should be seen as a peaceful era, no doubt prompted panic-filled actions from the Republican government.

Investigators venture the conclusion that, the actions of the Republic of China has been, despite it's words, prompted by the inordinate military buildup by the Middle Kingdom and the attempt to match it. It reveals to us that the true reason for this war is a final attempt by the Republic to stop the growing threat to regional security that is the Middle Kingdom, an attempt to stop Imperial buildup before it finally outpaces the Republican industries. The stabilizer to the region, which has prevented foolish actions by Imperial forces, the Republic of China is throwing it's last effort at the Imperial forces as the last deterrent to a Imperial rampage across the lands.

Should the Republic of China fall, there is no doubt there will be nothing left stopping the Middle Kingdom from going on a rampage and attacking it's neighbors, the Russians, the Japanese, the Brandenburgers. It may even attempt to carve a path through nations with it's army on a march to New Switzerland.

If this is true, then the future of the Republic, and the world, looks bleak. If the Republic falls now, what is next? We ask that nations around the world give their support to this valiant nation's attempt to stop a rouge and aggressive threat to the world at large.

The Confederate States of America watch with calm detachment.

I guess the Colombians need to review their interests in that part of the world and come to a conclusion.

Quote from: The Rock Doctor on July 25, 2010, 07:01:20 PM
I guess the Colombians need to review their interests in that part of the world and come to a conclusion.

But Colombia doesn't HAVE any interests in that part of the world. Hell, it's the only part of the world where there are no Colombian's.

Yeah, but only because Walter wanted outrageous amounts of cash for Hainan.

Bear in mind - the Colombians declared war against RRC over that matter in Burma a few years back, and our good allies have territory right next door.  We may have views on which China we want to see win, if any.

If Walter charged less, Hainan would be mine, not Colombian.

Japan, eh?  Stifling would-be liberators and colonizers alike with their outrageous prices.

Colonizers and Expansionists, eh? Wouldn't happen to mean the WW Indians, would you?

*ducks behind brick wall*

Hmmmm must check fingers and rings if I make a hand shake deal with Japan huh...???

Hey Walter you missed your chance sell it to both of them turn it over to both of them at cities on opposite sides of the Island and then run.....  after all they both got a 33% discount.... ;)

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

*sends aid to both sides*

Quote from: Logi on July 25, 2010, 05:26:24 PM
August 10, 1919

OOC: Anybody can get their hands on the article. Printed in Chinese, English, French, German, and Japanese.

IC : Bavaria mutters something about not being involved and issues an advisory to shipping firms.   Diplomatic postings are maintained.

ooc : @#% normally I'm behind, this time I was already into September news, tracking the Rift war. Apparently news is very slow to travel...

90 days or so by slow steamer.... ;)

Orange declares it's neutrality in the conflict. Merchants are told to avoid the area. All contracts however, which were singed before the outbreak of the hostilities, will be fulfilled - if the payment arrives as scheduled.



OOC P.S.:
Logi, you still have to tell me how you want those 6 BP you "won".

OOC:

Quote90 days or so by slow steamer.... Wink

Apparently no one cares to listen to the two wireless towers in the Republic (Chengdu and Guangzhou)!

I forgot about those Nobody, sent you the PM.

Quote from: Logi on July 26, 2010, 12:50:19 PM
OOC:

Quote90 days or so by slow steamer.... Wink

Apparently no one cares to listen to the two wireless towers in the Republic (Chengdu and Guangzhou)!

I forgot about those Nobody, sent you the PM.

Its a joke about a slow boat from China....

And no Italy wouldnt be listening to the Radio Broadcast in China....
1.  Gentlemen do not read each others mail -US Secretary of State-
2.  Its 12000 miles from anywhere thats important to the Empire so realistically.... Italy is a best a spectator that might sell to the highest bidder for P R O F I T :o  But even then I doubt its worth the time, effort, or money .
3.  There is a small bit of foreign policy revenge to be considered by really also highly unlikely to be realistically worth the effort becaus...
4.  Italy inovolved in Land War in Africa.

France has other issues to handle.

And with the MK's top diplomat in the MK for the wedding of one of his daughters, it's unlikely that anything diplomatical can be arranged.
In other words. France is publicly neutral.

Eh....not the response I expected......hint, hint.  ;) ;) :D

Romania will supply modern weapons and sorghum to MK. What a shame !  ;D

What? Naaa......I was referring to something that's um........outside of Navalism, but should still be affecting maddox's actions... ;)

NOT THE SORGHUM.....By golly, I'll know why half our sorghum crop is missing!  :D

August 11, 1919

Yun Ming and Gen Hao was on a slow steamship from Canton to Fuchow. "There will be hell soon."

Yun chuckled, "Soon? I believe it is already here." There was a sad softness in that line. Gen looked over his shoulder at Yun, "The Northern Expedition will be costly." Yun sipped his tea, "We expected it to be so. But which man could tolerate it? A broken homeland, a shattered country. As long as China remains two pieces, every countrymen mourns." Gen looked back at the fishing rod in his hands, still no bite, even with the slow pace of the steamship. "If only it weren't for the headstrong." "It can not be helped. Did you expect either side to yield? One side against cruelty will not yield from it's prosperous period for oppression. One side condescending and headstrong will not yield to those it sees as inferior." Gen chuckled, "No, of course not. Like two strong walls, they clash and refuse to yield. Such is the politics of China."

"And honest men die for it. Sun Yat-sen was apt in the design of the Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth. Soon, the lands of China will be stained Red in the name of the Blue Sky and the ever out of reach White Sun. It taunts us... the unattainable white upon the background of blue."

"It is every Republican's dream. We have achieved it if only for a moment. But what is one city upon a hilltop if the dream can not be spread to all our brethren? What is one spark of happiness if the rest must suffer and toil in oppression? Our war is righteous and the heavens will show us the way."

"I doubt it. Heaven's will has been given 8 years of time to show the corruption of the Qing Empire. However, it has done nothing but watch. And now, brethren must fight brethren. Those who desire to spread liberty and those would can not think otherwise from their indoctrination."

"A sad but necessary fate, Ming. Such are all civil wars. Steel your stomach, when we reach Fuchow, it will be a war zone."

August 18, 1917
Shanghai, Riverside

"Inhuman, utterly inhuman." Yun grimaced as he watched the bodies float down the river. Yun Ming and Gen had just gotten off the train from Fuchow to Shanghai. And when they had, they had received express news (aka military briefing)  that the Imperials had unexpectedly blown the dukes on the Yangzte River.

Gen frowned as well, "How many has passed by since we started our trek? I've lost count." Republican railroads were mostly in a sorry state across the front, no doubt the lines from Shanghai-Nanjing to the rest of Jiangsu was not disrupted, but all along the rest of the river the railroads were in need of repair. They would have to make their way to the front by foot.

"I knew we walked different paths, but I did not believe the Emperor would be so foolish as to throw away the life of his subjects like rag dolls."

"War is hell, Ming. You should know that better than anyone."

Yun smiled bitterly, "Yes of course. That is why we must advance quickly to crush the enemy. Our countrymen will continue to be lost in such cruel ways as long as the Qing Empire exists. And along the way, we can expect it to pull all the stops and try every trick in the book."

"The Imperial Court has never been filled with gentlemen nor can one expect fairness in war."

"How goes our other endeavors?"

Gen rolled his eyes before answering, "You know the companies, always giving us trouble. Section 1 is trying to buy the merchant ship Wang Chung as test bed for conversion, but the damned company is giving us a lot of needless trouble and red-tapping."

Yun nodded, there was a severe lack of airfields in the Republic although it already had a lot. Yet the dangerous and fluid front meant there was little logic in building a forward airbase only to have it possibly be taken by the Imperials and then yield to the "aiding" foreigners on the side of the Imperials.

They needed a mobile airbase quickly, especially because the most fluid front was that of the coastal regions.

"What about the StmPz?"

"It's expensive, but in the making. Funding is lacking, so the project's been on and off. Can't expect to much for experimentals during a war."

Then there was the threat of Imperial submarines, the Republic was brutally unprepared for such a threat. It needed anti-submarine weaponry and fast.

Anhwei, the trenches
September 19, 1919

"Diu! Lei ge haam gaa caan!" Private Jun "Xiao" Gon cursed under his breath, catching his breath while he forced his hands to reload the rifle in his hands. A wet splash next to him indicated that another soldier had been shot. The rain poured monotonously, the sound only over come by the charging Imperials and Yang Quizi.

Jun took a deep breath, murmuring something of a prayer before popping up, recognizing the mass of enemy rushing forward. He shot when he could;

one down
two down
three down

A bullet whizzed by his face and an artillery shell exploded a few meters to his left.

He had been recruited into the army, being something of the best shot in his village. His village... It was just a few ten miles behind his trench line, he would be damned if he let them through.

A click alerted him of his lack of ammo, "Shit!", he dropped back down into the muddy trenches. His hands were tired, shooting scores of men down, and he fumbled about trying to reload his gun.

The commander a few meters to his right yelled, "Hold men! We must hold and repulse them! General Chiang and his Cavalry will be coming to relieve us soon!"

How long was soon? It had been seven days still they had suffered the first attack. Jun looked around, there weren't all that many soldiers left in the trenches, the line would break soon.

By the trench was held barely by nightfall, but the commander knew the trench could not withstand another rush, "Retreat!", he had ordered them and they scrambled away at the dead of night.

Under the cover of night they started digging another trench line a few miles back. Having dug his portion and exceedingly tired, Jun fell into a fitful sleep. The roaring sounds of republican aircraft keeping the enemy pinned as well as possible became a smooth tone, the last before Jun faded off to sleep.

** Next day

By day, Jun woke up in a scramble, a personnel favorite of his was passed around, coffee from the Americas. Finding plenty of water to boil around, he set to his task of making his coffee.  The Imperial and Foreigners had moved into their abandoned trench line below daybreak.

Artillery barrages started on the Republican line started soon. Jun could see the Republican artillerymen, shirts off, sweat glistening, loading shells and firing them back in response. Jun shook his head, the commander indicated there was going to be a ration of supplies soon. All the soldiers groaned.

"We barely hold them with ammo, and you except us to repel them with our hands?"

Although the complains were often, his Battalion had been rigorously trained for two years already. All their men would stand their ground when push came to shove.

After a period of artillery exchanging fire, a rumble like an earthquake indicated the Imperial and Yang Quizi charge was coming again. The men shut up instantly and manned their positions, holding fire until the enemies reached a range they felt they could accurately fire from.

Today had not rained yet and it was here and the dirt and dust from the stomping of boots and shoes could be seen by the charging infantry. The mass of moving soldiers, some wearing ragged, no doubt Imperial Reserves, some wearing the finest of clothes, no doubt Yang Quizi soldiers.

Again the numbers in the trenches began to fall, though those in the charge were falling far more rapidly.

Then a cry, "LOOK!" A trail of smoke erupted from the flank, then another, then a mass. The trails followed by the screeching noise. "General Chiang has come to save us!" A rumble of horseshoes on the ground and the rumble of artillery and rocket alike indicated that the cry was correct.

The Imperials, obviously caught off guard by the appearance of the 151st Motorized Rocket Battalion, started to have some measure of panic. But the day's end, the charge had been routed and the men were cheering General Chiang Kai-shek.

The advance had been stopped, but the Imperials had managed to occupy the high ground at the Tongbai Shan and Dabie Shan ranges.

The Republican soldiers had bravely held on, despite being outnumbered and performed well.

** In the trenches two days later

"Private Jun Gon?" the commander addressed him. "Yes, that would be me, sir." Jun looked confused, what did the commander want with him, a lowly Private. "For outstanding service and from several officer's recommendations, you have been promoted to Lance Corporal." The commander took a deep breath before knocking Jun on the shoulder lightly, "Tell me how you shoot so well later, eh?" A fellow soldier patted Jun on the back, "Keep shooting like that and you'll make Sergent in no time."

September 22, 1919
Anhwei, the relieved trenches

The men huddled around various campfires, the cracking wood and the warmth of the embers licking the sides of the pots hanged above it. The steam seemed to rise endlessly into the sky, the men rubbed their hands in anticipation.

"It's been a whole month since I last ate some rice, can't wait." A soldier commented, the other soldiers murmured in agreement.

"Stop talking about the food, you're making me hungry!" One of the soldiers at watch joked with the resting ones. It was quiet for once and the soldiers had a chance to absorb what had happened over the last week and half.

Nearby a few horses neighed into the night, their horseshoes clapping occasionally onto the dirt ground. Second Lieutenant Feng Chuangfang looked around a bit before dismounting from his horse, having returned recently from a scouting mission. Finding his way to the tent, he stood up straight in front of the entrance. "Sir."

"Come in." a voice from within responded.

2nd. Lieutenant Feng walked in without delay. "Your report?" one General Chiang Kai-shek with two other high-ranking officers waited inside. "Yes, sir. The Imperials have been making rest as of now. Yang Quizi troops were confirmed to be within the opposing Imperial force."

"You may leave."

"Yes, sir!"

General Chiang Kai-shek nodded towards the officers next to him, "The 151st Motorized Rocket battalion will be moving out by dawn, I've made sure reinforcements are coming your way. You know your orders, and I trust you to carry them out faithfully."

"Understood."

-------------

The 151st Motorized Rocket Battalion was rounded up and told that they were to leave at daybreak. "Get a good night's sleep for we have a long day ahead of us." The tired men nodded and shuffled to their respective tents.

By the time the sun started to rise up, the colors breaking off the nearby mountain ranges, the 151st Motorized Rocket Battalion was getting ready to leave.

A few of the Infantry waved good bye and thanked the men of the Rocket Battalion. Others simply looked on. It was like something like out of a book to them, in their time of need, the venerable General Chiang Kai-shek had appeared to save them. Maybe for a bit longer they felt they could do a bit more.

The 151st Motorized Rocket Battalion addressed the rising sun with the roar of the truck engines, the clack of men mounting their horses. General Chiang looked back at them, waiting for them to be ready. "Alright men, let's head out!"

With a furious dash, Chiang and his steed dashed ahead down the paved road (yes paved!), and with a roar and cheer, the rest of the men followed. Down the road they went, the men manning the artillery and rocket at the truck trunks whistling a tune as they saw the scene disappear into a forest.

Feng Chuangfang smiled a bit as he felt the wind blow in his face. Nothing like this, a trusty horse into your hands, a rifle strapped on his back; reminded him of the days pass during training.

So the Imperials had finally shown themselves to be puppets of the Yang Quizi, relying on their help and troops. No matter, the Flying Miracle (as the 151st Motorized Rocket Battalion was nicknamed), with General Chiang Kai-shek at its lead, could never falter or lose. Those Yang Quizi would be routed and sent running home with their tails between their legs soon enough.

OOC: Realize I've been giving Chiang Kai-shek the wrong rank, I wanted Generalissimo, but he's not one. The proper rank is Marshal, or Yuan Shuai. He's just a step below his historic rank of Generalissimo (which was attained later) right now.

SIC Buggers, but good read
September 28, 1919

"Marshal Chiang, in this short period of war, we have already learned many things, some fatal, some minuscule. Ever more important, it appears, is the power of artillery fire and it's mobility. We expect the standard response from our troops to be the standard response for our enemies. With the first artillery shell lands, it alerts the rest of the troops to hide in the trenches. Artillery loses it's effectiveness as a killer after the first minutes.

Sustained artillery fire is only useful for suppressing the enemy. Marshal, I believe I am correct when I say this is not the strategy of our army. We are an army of shock and speed.

We need maximum fire for maximum effect and maximum speed to take advantage of such attacks. For this, we need, a high rate of fire in the beginning stage of artillery fire. We need a large shell weight for explosive power. We need high mobility for artillery to reposition and get surprise artillery ambushes.

Currently, we have no such capabilities. We have large firepower in the form of the the 11" siege mortar and the 3.4 ton 8" howitzer. But they are heavy and mostly immobile, taking a large amount of time to set up.

We have high rate of fire in the form of rocket artillery. However, rockets are prone to duds, failures, misfires, and other errors.

We have high mobility in the form of pack artillery, but it is not fire enough and consumes a great deal of feed to keep going.

It occurs to me, Marshal Chiang, that the future of our army, such as it is, lies within the systems of such vehicles like the GMF Type I&II SP. This new weapons, I shall term Assault Artillery, combine heavy firepower with mobility. If we are able to harass this power and combine rocket artillery elements within for a Assault Rocket Artillery vehicle, we will have achieved our army's long standing goal of the three Fire Support pinnacles.

This concept has been experimented by yourself, Marshal Chiang with the 151st Motorized Rocket Battalion with the towed and pack artillery, the rocket artillery, and the high mobility of cavalry. I dare say the success of this formation proved the concept further."

Marshal Chiang Kai-shek took his time considering what he had been told by one of his highest generals* before replying.

"You are indeed correct on several points, our army's core is indeed shock and mobility. You are also correct that the Motorized Rocket Crops have experienced great success. But you realize we are in the middle of a civil war, we can not afford to abandon our working systems for an untested system, it could prove fatal.

For that matter, for all the stated importance of vehicles, they are gasoline-guzzling machines, a substance that China is not that renown for producing. They are unreliable, unlike a horse, they will break down in the most inconvenience of times. They are also expensive and costly to build.

Why one of these steel beasts, when we can simply use a horse with cheap feed?"

Field Marshal Duan Qirui (Adviser) was not unknown to be a great supporter of artillery fire, having graduated from military academy in that regard, "Marshal Chiang, that is true, but how can we expect to win a war with odds stacked against us? If we do not try new weapons, we will not be able to find a more effective weapon than the Imperials. I have no doubt you are aware of the presence of Yang Quizi Divisions within the Imperial Army."

Chiang Kai-shek chuckled, "Noticed? It is all the Republican Army has been talking about. Their deceitful and puppet-operating manner has enraged the soul of China. A foolish move on the Imperial part for all can see now that the Imperials are the puppet of Holland."

Duan Qirui nodded "Indeed. Regarding the matter of the utility of the assault artillery, they possess many benefits; the ability to..... (the rest is censored)."

* Really a Field Marshal, but saying Field Marshall in that sentence sounds awkward

September 23, 1919

The one front dominated by the RRC is none other than the aerial front. The land front is contested, and the sea lanes heavily interdicted. When the Imperials blew the dykes of the Yangtze river up, launched the spear into the heart of Anhwei, every time the Republican army faced a great crisis of logistics.

How can we secure our supply routes against this enemy that targets our supply lines? Permanent land control could never be devised, security of lines could not be achieved perpetually. Even if it was secure, the flooding impeded any overland supplying efforts.

The sea lanes for resupply was heavily interdicted by Imperial ships or all sorts and made resupplying impossible.

The forward areas had no railroads to speak of, courtesy of the undeveloped North China.

The only area that was free for Republican use was the aerial front. So the question, when faced with logistic blockade on all fronts save one, was to purse a course into that field to solve the logistic crisis.

Not to mention when the idea of amphibious trucks was proposed it was noted that the aircraft industry was large due to the always flowing government purchases and the auto industry was tiny due to low demand (and thus few factories). So it was natural that it was decided that there was no way to produce enough amphibious trucks in the time frame and rather the large aircraft industry should be used instead.

"We adapt and progress in experimental manners, because we have no other choice." Marshal Chiang Kai-shek issued the recommendation for President Hu Hanmin to create a program for research into the possibility of aerial transport of supplies.

The Program was established and called "Project Kite" and inventors that caught the Republic's ears were invited to participate.

President Hu Hanmin took note of the small auto industry, but was reported to have said something along the lines of, "We will start now and build it up. Such that it can provide in the future if not in this time frame." Thus "Project Overlord" was established as well.

OOC: Due to not know whether or not Blooded is using him, Igor Sikorsky appears with a slightly different name. So if need to be, he is an entirely different person. Now don't tell me people don't immigrant. I assume he wanted aircraft-centric countries, and CSA developments of the autogyro are mostly secret.

Also the parachute was invented well before 90 AD, maybe a few centuries, in China. Hence, the art of parachuting is not alien to the Chinese. In fact, records show that they often had acrobats and what not perform using parachutes to drop from high spots.

------

Igor Ivanov was a Russian immigrant, having been fascinated by the aircraft developments around the world. Being such, there were only a few places to be.

Italy, the forefront of aircraft technologies.

The Republic of China, the greatest producer of aircrafts.

Through some trick of fate, Igor Sikarsky had landed in the Republic of China. Perhaps it was because of the program for immigrants (offering cash for immigration) in the Republic o the great number of aircraft produced there and Igor, aged twenty-seven, decided to try living in China.

So there he went and settled in Shanghai, where the house prices were low. Soon after a CSA commerce zone was created nearby and the the multilingual community made Igor feel at home.

A few companies had invested in Igor's experiments, as they called it. He attempted the creation of something called a helicopter, though to his observers it seem more like a hovercraft. He failed often, being quotes as saying he need, "Lighter Materials, Better Engines, and Better Mechanics". Improvements in aircraft technologies, reaching China had achieved partial the need for better engines and lighter materials.

"Not enough!" He would say, but he kept working on those helicopters, despite a nagging feeling of wanting to go into aircrafts.

He was a famous member of his community, and that was why Igor Ivanov was invited to Project Kite. He obliged, knowing a government-sponsored project would have better engines, lighter materials, and people knowledgeable on mechanics.

When he heard the mission of Project Kite was to develop a system for aerial transport of supplies, his eyes lit up. The perfect thing to put his helicopter designs to work for!

-----------

Leslie Chi'en was a simple Kite maker. However, he did a side job of stunt acting on the side and in the tradition of Chinese acrobats, he used parachutes to perform jumping tricks. He was not remarkable save for the fact that he created his own parachutes and he had often read the archives about the ancient art of parachuting.

Whether it was the Emperor Shun saving his life with a straw parachute or scouts mounted on kites, he knew them all.

Leslie was a man fairly interested in aircrafts and parachutes, to say the least. But he had never found a chance to break into the industry, so when rumors of Project Kite came around, he volunteered and joined.

August, starting after the damages on the dykes and levee's of the Yangtse becomes obvious. The RRC is aware of the daunting task it has taken upon itself. free the Celestial Kingdom ,and become a wellspring of Humanity.
Unfortunatly, the dark Empire is using every trick in the book to avoid the enlightenment.

RRC Envoys embark on an horrifying , and especially long trip by boat.

First the diplomats had to brave the Middle Kingdoms blockade. Cross the Pacific, resupply in Rohan, with all the diplomatic regards that are needed to observe all the protocol. A gentle cruise along the Californian and Mesoamerican coast, avoiding the New Beliarad canal- because the New Swiss still have a hand in that. To arrive at New Rhun.
The Pacific entrance of the Great Canal, where rigorous safety measures are followed to the letter, soldiers guided by customs agents swarm over every merchant, and quite a few Dutch and Ottoman vessels are at anchor.

The RRC diplomats, after presenting their credentials, get a kind of privileged pass, but even then, a squad rides on the merchant vessel that act as a diplomatic courier.
A Chardon meets the ship halfway, and escorts it to the Caribbean. In the mean time, Paris gets a full update via telegraph.



Messieurs les diplomats. I have a reply from Paris. In interest of your safety, we would ask you that you join one of the convoys we're installing to avoid any more unexplained losses that plagues the Nassau shipping since the Rift war started.

the RRC envoys graciously accept the convoying offer.

---

October 16, 1919
Paris, Offices of Premier Galpoux.

Bonjour messieurs , what brings you to Glorious France in such a roundabout way?

A good day to you too Premier Galpoux.
We had a matter of importance to discuss with a fellow Republic, and we only trust Glorious France for such.

One eyebrow raises...
Trust France.. that would be a unicum for non Nassau Members.  What did France do to deserve that?
I'm well aware of the misfortunes of your first envoy, who stranded in Indochina during the transition to independence.

Indeed. But a stranger is perhaps better to trust, than known enemies.

True, harsh, but true.

We are surrounded by a sparing amount of Republics and Democracies. Of that, Orange and the Confederate States of America. Whilst we realize France has no enemies, that same can not be said for the Republic of China. The Orange Republic has muted it's so called support for fellow Republics.
And the Confederates have shown themselves not for the equality and betterment of each citizen nor their-freedom, but for lining their own pockets with money by double-dealing with the Middle Kingdom.

That is a heavy accusation against our trusted ally, the CSA

It is an accusation we make in the face of evidence and a very very heavy heart.
It is not one we make lightly or easily. We are also in a binding and trusting relationship with the CSA. But we have observed Confederate aid, ships, and technologies going in the Middle Kingdom, with naught into our own.

I'm not aware that the Confederates are aiding the Imperials in any way, rather the opposite, with Shanghai they should be firmly in your camp. Maybe you're looking at the situation from a obscured angle.
One thing is a fact, France shares all technology of the airships with anybody who asks for it. Those gentle giants of the air are not great weapons of war. We know, we tried that.


We understand and know.

But if you are interested, France is willing to share the airship technologies, free of any obligation.
Of course, it would be a courtesy that if the RRC develops airships and hangars, that French airships can land and use the infrastructure, for the betterment of the future of mankind.

Of course, your generous offer with be forwarded towards my gracious President.
However, I must talk on a more grim note.

Grim, with 2 wars taking  100 000's even  millions of lifes, I dare to say that life on this world is looking bleak.

It pains all of China to fight this war, but revolutions are thrown when the curelty of life under the Imperial system is too much to bear. We fight brother to brother, to end the decadence of the Emperor. Like France during it's revolution, we try to end the starving streets, the corruption.
It is a grim fate, a bleak fate. But it must be done.

A you say, France had to cast off the burden of nobility and church, but had to do it on their own.
If you compare the avenues of a French city, with the streets of a Orange Republic town, the difference is obvious. In the OR there still is a rank and caste system, with people divided according arbitrary criteria, like skin color.

I know, that is why we are not surprised by Orange inaction. In the Republic of China, we do not tell between skin color or rank, Every men or women that is a citizen in the Republic is equal.

A admirable and lofty goal if achieved. Not even France got that far yet. There are legal differences between male and female in France, and differences between citizens and civilians. The big difference between those is the fact that citizens earned their status.

The Republic of China operates based on the designation of either Citizen or Militaryman. But even though that is the law, we have a way to do about enforcing it. Not all of China will change that quickly.

Changing  a quarter of the worlds population is a daunting task.

Indeed. But our President is more concerned about the survival of the Republic of China. When I left from the Republic, militarymen deaths were reported to be 200,000 KIA, millions of civilians are unaccounted for due to the Imperial flooding of the Yangzte River.
The latest news I have recieved, Premier Galpoux, is the appearance of Dutch troops acting in conjunction with Imperial troops to fight our brave soldiers.

It seems the Dutch have found a new way to annoy the world.
But why doesn't the Chinese Republic have simular help?
Funny, if payed, the Dutch would even help you against themselfs.

Would a righteous revolution accept foreign troops fighting in their civil war? We are not fallen as much as the Emperor.

On a modern battlefield....  you need all the help you can get, we learned that harsh lesson in Kolkatta.
There is a difference in a revolution  where the best arms are single shot muskets for a handfull of elite soldiers and a full scale war with both sides employing the most modern weapons in a trained configuration. But I understand the analogy.

But beyond just the acceptance of Dutch troops, the Emperor has gone farer. Even now he harasses innocent merchants with hordes of submarines, mines our waters under the guise of civilian ships, blows rivers dykes, killing hundreds of thousands.
The Emperor is pulling every trick in the book to keep his wrongful seat at the throne.

That is an emperors prerogative. You should have known that before you launched the pre-empive strike on Wuhan, and the latest round of hostilities.
as France learned, and shows to the world, nobilty writes a book, and abuses the book to gain even more advantages.

We are saddened for we thought even the inept Emperor would still have the people's wellbeing in his mind. We were foolish to think so.

Foolish, no,
ready to mature, yes.  
We have rather comprehencive documents about the Siam, Burma, DKB and Independent Inochina situations, but those are biased. if you can can get me the documents from your side, I would be gratefull. It would give me the needed information to explain your needs to the French Parliament

That is not a problem, Premier Galpoux, we would be glad to provide.

OOC Note: Italics is Premier Galpoux, Regular text is the Chinese Envoy.
Editted and approved by Maddox
To be continued

NS IS a republic... and is willing to do just about anything for money...

Quote from: Desertfox on August 29, 2010, 02:16:50 AM
NS IS a republic... and is willing to do just about anything for money...

And sometimes, that is just the problem.

Nice storyline, Logi- I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

September 30, 1919
Munitions Testing Facility, Guangzhou

With a sharp boom, muted somewhat within the huge facility, a shell flew from a test barrel straight into a awaiting concrete plate some meters straight ahead.

"What is the problem?", one of the researchers (Zhun Yin) who had recently entered the room asked.

"We are figuring out the needed caliber to penetrate this steel plate." The researcher motioned towards the plate held and bolted into place into the ground, a 13" thick layer of steel (representing the resistance of a 3m thick reinforced concrete wall) sitting a few inches behind to stop the shell. The steel plate was designed to imitate semi-infinite reinforced concrete. "Thing is," the researcher continued, "the shell has a tendency to mushroom before it breaks through the plate."

Zhun Yi nodded, "That would be because of the shell filling isn't enough to withstand the impact pressure, no? What shell are you using?"

The researcher forced a smile, "Of course, the shell is a APC, no filler pure shot shell. As you note, the shell mushrooms because of the forces the shell is subject to. We believe either a larger shell or a longer shell would allow the shell to last longer before mushrooming. As for that, it has been confirmed that a density increase would serve to lower the erosion rate of the projectile. There has been a nasty problem of the shells we were using grounded down to pieces or shattering."

Another sharp boom, the researcher smiled with half-worry, "Of course, the problem is with finding a suitable high density and high strength material that won't shatter under stress."

Zhun Yi nodded again, thinking a bit as the next shell was loaded and launched into the steel plate. "What about Wu or Xang? They are dense and strong materials. But if a large shell is what you need, is not the Dora-Dora enough for that purpose?"

Again the shell failed to penetrate the steel plate, the researcher waved to the men loading the next shell, signaling them to stop, before turning back to Zhun Yi, "Wu and Xang are excellent ideas. But the problem with Wu is the difficulty of refining and mining, although we possess vast amounts of deposits of it. As you say, the Dora-Dora is enough to penetrate the plate." The researcher paused for a breath, "But the Dora-Dora weights in at 108 tons assembled. The process to reassemble the gun would take hours, not to mention the difficulty with transporting it. The lighter Lina is not enough to penetrate the plate. Partial penetration is not enough to do that task, we need complete penetration. For that, if we try to downsize from the Dora-Dora, a few things must happen. Either we make a better penetrator, or we make a longer barreled gun."

Zhun Yi replied, "Well I would suggest working on it with haste. I will assist in the design of the shell."

October 8, 1919
Munitions Testing Facility, Guangzhou

The Xang ore was mined and cleansed of impurities as well as possible, the standard drill being wearing a dust mask and operating within a well ventilated facility.

Being some 2.4 times denser than RHA steel meant for a single shell, a much larger weight could be fitted into the shell, without deducting from the rifling capabilities of the barrel.

Zhun Yi had ordered preliminary tests with the shell in a scaled down version. The shell in question was 5.88" in diameter and 276.75 lb in weight. Launching into a 9" RHA steel plate meant a scramble of partial and complete penetrations were achieved.

Eventually, it became clear after failing to penetrate the 13" plate with a 6.7" (170mm) shell that a larger gun was needed. How much larger?

"Try an 8" standard shell with Xang instead." Zhun Yi urgued the rest of the team, it was a gut feeling he had. His gut feelings had often pulled through for him, and it wouldn't fail now.

So an 8"/50 heavyweight barrel was conceived, both to yield a great barrel length and thus propel the shell faster and to withstand the shock of the additional bagged charges added to the chamber.

The 8" dia. 40" shell weighted at 550kg (1212.5 lb) and was something of a wonder. It penetrated the 13" RHA plate from 0 to 41 degrees with usable range.

Zhuan Yi and the other researchers decided to banish the notion of adding an explosive filler to the shell in hopes to keep both shell weight down and performance up. The purpose was to punch holes into concrete walls, thereby severely weakening the force dispersion power of reinforced concrete.

For the rest of the concrete, it was decided that an 8" dia. 40" 128lb shell (being more hollow then usual and filled with lightweight materials) would be used. The barrel would propel the shell at 4000 fps, to shatter the weakened concrete at range.

The end result? A gun carriage 35 tons heavy using a combination of 1212.5lb and 128lb shells to penetrate 3m thick concrete walls. Of course, the shells had to be supplied separated and were a good deal heavy, but in the end, it was thought it would save the mess of moving the 108 ton Dora-Dora and it's 4800lb shells.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/8_inch_gun_2.jpg/220px-8_inch_gun_2.jpg)
USA 8 Inch Gun M1 picture

*Note: Wu is Chinese for Tungsten. China is rich in Tungsten, so rich, in fact, that is pretty much has a monopoly over it. Take note it is south china (RRC) that is rich with it. The problem lies in the fact that proper refining techniques and working tungsten is extremely difficult. Xang is Cantonese for Uranium. In this case, natural uranium. Natural Uranium mining has existed for a long them and refining (aka getting rid of other elements in the extracted ore) is fairly ahead and within our time-line. Of course, techniques for separating 238 and 235, and even knowledge and detection of the difference is something else entirely and not within this period. In other words, natural Uranium, in our time, can not be used for anything save for it's density. Natural Uranium (which is workable, and quite safe with a dust mask and proper ventilation -according to Maddox-) is used in the shell to replace the metal in order to produce a heavier shell without increasing shell length (due to the great density). Of course, there are concerns about the availability of natural Uranium, and accidents do happen and Uranium, despite it's muted form is still toxic. But there are expensive prices for super-dense materials.

The problem of mushroom is noted caused by the low density and amount of stress given to a projectile. This deforms and erodes the shell. Thus a more dense projectile would withstand a greater amount of stress and resist deformation for longer. A longer projectile would withstand a greater amount of stress and can go through more deformation and erosion before deceleration kick-stops the projectile. In this case, a denser shell was used as concerns about rifling length and accuracy was raised against a longer shell.

It is a property of reinforced concrete as well as normal concrete to shatter when impacted by a high velocity projectile (the shell weight does not matter) and for a large piece it may be as high as a velocity of 0.45 cm/?s. For a smaller piece, it may be much lower. For that effect, what the 1212.5lb shell does is make the piece dissipate over a much smaller area, making it act as though it were a smaller piece of concrete. This makes the impact velocity needed to shatter the concrete much lower. I do not think 4000 fps is enough to do the job unless quite small, but it would force-crack a good portion of concrete it make it much much easier for other artillery to penetrate.

*** There is more to say here, but it is late, so expect it to appear when I wake up.

OOC
Uranium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium)-metal can be worked relatively safe. It still is a low radioactive heavy, poisonous metal (in the range of mercury) with pyrophoric abilities. Using dust masks, gloves and such prevents inhalation and ingestion of the metal, therefore reducing the risk of poisoning. But long time exposure will still cause radiation poisoning (especialy in the amounts Logi is talking about).

And refining uranium ore into uranium metal has its own problems. Especialy the pyrophoric effects are dangerous here. Any dust or swarf will catch fire quite easely, and extinguishing such a fire is not easy at all.

And of course, casting steel shells is "easy" in the 1920's. Casting uranium billets is not "difficult", but in simple words, hidiously expensive.
Like the privetag of a destroyer for 1 shell.

Still in all, will make a hell of a siege weapon.

October 10, 1919

The team was satisfied with the performance of the Xang metal, but the problem was the exorbitant price tag. So they worked to find different elements for this use. What would be dense and would fine?

Osium, Iridium, it seemed the problem increasing was the difficulty of working the element, as with Wu. The cheapest dense material they could find was Tantalum, Mercury, and Lead. But the problem with Tantalum was lack of industry ready for the production of something so large as a artillery shell. The industry was devoted to nothing but production of filaments for light bulbs! On the other hand, Mercury was less common than Tantalum and lighter, but there was a significant industry for producing mercury in large scale already. And the nature of the element meant that scaling up the size was not a large problem.

However the problem remained, Mercury was a liquid and therefore a soft material. It would create a great deal of deformation!

For Lead, it was extremely common material, but less dense than mercury. Still, it was harder than Mercury (due to the latter being liquid!).

A compromise was eventually hammered out. To lower on production costs, a steel canister filled with lead bullets and mercury poured in to fill the rest. It that it sounded a lot like a shrapnel weapon so the team decided, with the lowered production costs already, a burst charge could be fitted into the shell.

This shell was tested against a 10.8" plate, and the steel canister quickly crumbled against the plate, releasing the very dense contents onto the surface of the steel plate at high velocity. The resulting impact warped the steel plate as a shock-wave of splinter was launched from the back of the steel plate. No penetration was achieved, but the test was a success.

If the shell had the power to warp the steel plate and cause it's back to splinter, then a concrete wall would be half-cracked due to the high velocities shattering the surface of the concrete.

Of course, it was less than desired. Penetration was needed, cracking was not the best solution. But the Mercury-Lead shell would do for now, at least, until sufficient capabilities in the industry of Tantalum production could be achieved.

October 31, 1919

"Of course the correct conclusion is the absolute inadequacies of your generals, President Hu. General Feng Xujian lead his attacks from favorable ground into a crossing of the Yangste River, resulting a swift and brutal repelling of the offensive.

In favor of a movement to flank enemy and cross the river in safe areas, the General Xiao Jimian conduct an opposed landing.

I would point that it seems your generals have an absolute and irrational love for crossing the Yangste River under fire. But not only that, but even when given secure communication lines and the ability to coordinate attacks for maximum effect (Schwerpunkt) on the smallest point, the Generals and commanders seem content to ignore such materials and attack as through a disorganized militia. They tried to sweep the broad front, an irrevocable bad move, resulting in low concentration of needed effort and force."

That is a great failing on the part of the army and it's inability to follow doctrine. General Xiao and Feng attempted to use mobile troops as though they were built to slug it out. You can tell from their failures. We can not continue to allow such incompetents to continue to lead our armies, they will only lead to our lost."

President Hu Hanmin looked at the reports given to him about the movement of the large front, shaking his head ever so slightly. "I will relieve the necessary people of their command."

Chiang Kai-shek smiled, "An army of shock and mobility, an army of elite force and sophisticated doctrine, can not operate like a peasant militia, it shames our name, wastes our men, and burdens our people. I have shown you the effectiveness of speed and shock with the Motorized Rocket Corps' series of successes, even if we run on a thin string. Xiao and Feng have shown the failure of a mass army. It is clear, I desire those items post-haste."

President Hu Hanmin waved his hands, "That is easier said than done. We simply do not have the materials."

Chiang Kai-shek nodded, "Of course, but I trust you and the Legislative Assembly will be able to remedy it. It is not a matter or can or can not. It is a matter or doing."

Quote from: Logi on September 15, 2010, 08:56:33 PM
It is not a matter or can or can not. It is a matter or doing.

(http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRRU0pXkVkrq4JwzS15IHjcIoAKWkqGtIEdsARf4BV6sr5T5dY&t=1&usg=__Dk7Z1B8iDcZ5IrTIHu6q7M53IVg=)
"Do or do not.... there is no try."

Quote from: Sachmle on September 16, 2010, 04:19:44 PM

Quote from: Logi on September 15, 2010, 08:56:33 PM
It is not a matter or can or can not. It is a matter or doing.

(http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRRU0pXkVkrq4JwzS15IHjcIoAKWkqGtIEdsARf4BV6sr5T5dY&t=1&usg=__Dk7Z1B8iDcZ5IrTIHu6q7M53IVg=)
"There is no try, only do or not do."

Thus spoke Jedi Master Sachmle.

Actually it's:

Quote
"Do or do not... there is no try."

Sorry I'm a Star Wars pedant.

October 6, 1919

President Hu Hanmin look again at Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, Hu had bags under his eyes, indicating he had not slept in the past few days. "Chiang, I need a victory. There is no other way to keep the Jacobs suppressed." Chiang smiled faintly, "Don't we all?"

"Time is running out isn't it? Perhaps it's time for Operation Red Dusk?"

President Hu Hanmin looked again at the Generalissimo, "Do we have to?" "I'm afraid, there is really no other choice, unless we want this Northern Expedition to fail. We must win before our revolutionary father passes away."

President Hu Hanmin chuckled, "That old man? He's probably somewhere far away right now, making the Imperials look like fools." Chiang Kai-shek chuckled in response, looking around the bleak room, the oil lamp on the tabletop. The flame wavered from side to side, illuminating portions of their faces at a time.

Chiang gulped a thought down before speaking again, "We should prepare for Scenario Four. HUMINT is giving abysmal feedback." Hu Hanmin's face darkened, "Get a victory, or the Jacobs will take over." "I know." As Chiang left the room, President Hu Hanmin sat alone at the table, his face grim, and the only sound the ticking of a clock.