New Colonial Ventures and Icy Friends

Dispatched Forces: So Silan Wahtwa (01-KSlS), So Andiggs Gedweola (10-KKtS), and So Leitilsflauhaz (11-KKtS)
Marine Complement: 250 Men

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The ships had spent their days up to this point in a lazy routine of gunnery exercises, patrols, and the odd redeployment drydock visit following a tidal wave. Despite their being part of the Western Colonial Fleet and under a totally separate naval station from the Home Seas Fleet, many felt that assignment to this fleet was a form of punishment. Its Fluttbaurd was filled with older admirals and captains who had not been able to keep up with their peers and the up and coming and it totalled an interestingly small seven ships, though it did have a battleship at the very least. From the perspective of most, it was as far from action and the political heart of the navy as one could get, a token force out in the west with nothing to do but decay. 

As such, it came as a shock to many when orders were given for half of the fleet to sail south and very far south at that. As it turned out, their duties had been added to and now they were being asked to secure a port from which they would be able to stage expeditions to the South Pole and eventually set up permanent scientific outposts there. The best candidate for such a staging point was determined to be a little known country called New Respite, which had up to this point remained largely closed off to the world. The Tholish had been trading with them and reports from their merchants indicated that rather than them being a self-sufficient and modern nation, they were rather severely technologically behind. As such, the best approach was determined to be a show of force to open them up to further trade later on and secure territorial concessions.

And so the ships were sent, loaded with a few extra marines and all the supplies they would need to impress the locals and bring about a quick resolution to the affair. Several very nicely printed books, cases of Sheenish alcohol, cloths from all over the Raikh, some cabinets, tea services, plates, and some very shiny and colourful glass beads and glass figurines of a rather delicate nature. Alongside these rather nice gifts, were of course some botanical samples and texts destined for Dunwik, as they were scheduled to make a courtesy call at one of their ports and it was thought that exotic plants with interesting medicinal properties would be best suitable. In particular, the plant known as 'khat' and the 'betel' vine were thought to be of special interest and would likely excite those merchants of ill-repute quite nicely.

The ships travelled south with only slight course corrections periodically for three days until they reached the Andal Islands. There they were met by a variety of small vessels and attacked by locals with bows, slings, and firelocks. This reception so enraged the Fluttkatilfaðs, that he ordered the Kregjen put ashore and ransack the local villages in retaliation after the sailors repelled the attackers with machine guns. In total, thirteen men were injured but around sixty slaves were captured and brought aboard. Having restocked on fresh water and enjoyed the pillaged food of their assailants, the ships set off once more, now travelling south-by-southeast and passing a peninsula the sailors quickly named 'de Hoek' for its sharp appearance.

After passing de Hoek, the ships sailed on for another three and a half days before finally making landfall in Dunwik. There they passed a local warship on their way towards the port and offered them a salute which in turn was reciprocated, before being met by pilot boats and guided into the port proper. After exchanging the necessary formalities and raising a Hansa flag alongside the peacetime ensign, they were met with some local officials and were able to properly offload half the slaves they took as well as the gifts they had brought for the Dunwiki. This so thoroughly impressed the local headman, that he all but leapt at the opportunity to assist the Raikh and its servants in their mission once he had been informed of its exact nature.

After a day's rest there and some shore leave for the men, the force set off once more with their new Dunwiki compatriots in tow. They made a short visit to a minor country known as the 'Kingdom of Greater Kthealand', but otherwise were not too troubled. That said, the seas were rougher past Kthealand and several men were quite ill because of it. It took a bit over eight days to reach the shores of New Respite and once the fleet was finally there, it was a sight to behold. Though there were no impressive buildings to speak of and the port they found was somewhat shallow, a matter which would have to be correct once the Flutt was in possession of it, the weather and climate was actually very nice. Compared to the oppressive heat of the other lands they had visited, New Respite was actually pleasant to the men and they became eagre to disembark and begin the process of occupying this new colony.

Having now come into the port, the first thing done was for the cannons to be loaded with powder only. An impressive roar of thunderous fire was then given and any of the natives that might still have been asleep, as it was the morning still and dawn was just breaking, were most certainly not after that display. With that done, the boats were lowered and men were sent to one of the quays and with them they brought the first of the gifts as well as the slaves they had left over from Dunwik. Lots of fine glass baubles, some cloth, and hairbrushes and combs of carved ivory were there. They were not met by anyone initially, so they began the process of setting up. The Fluttkatilfaðs had several screens set up around him, a desk, and chairs. On top of the desk was a treaty for the official handover of the port and the opening of trade. Around him were armed men, all handsome in their fine uniforms and lines.

The natives would soon come to know the splendour of the Raikh.

At the sound of the explosions, the spy jolted from his hiding spot.
"What the?!" said one of the sailors.
"ATTACK! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Shouted the officers.
Amidst the chaos, the Magdali spy found himself with a rifle on his hands, running outside. When he finally could see the sky, the true horror of what had happened finally dawned on him. The ENTIRE harbor was scuttled! Some ships were already taking in water, and other ships were completely blown up.
"These idiots have blown themselves up!" He said, on his best fake Sadaler accent.
"TAKE BATTLE STATIONS! GO GO GO!" Shouted the officers.

In an instant, a concussive force slammed into the ships and broke much of the glass on them. A deafening noise filled everyone's ears and people were flattened against walls or on the floor. As if by instinct, some of the officers started shouting they were under attack and sounded the alarm, even if they could not hear themselves doing so. Crewmen recovered and quickly teams were dispatched to stop leaks and prevent flooding from taking them to the depths.

What had once been an unimpressive port was now nothing but a flattened and desolate wasteland, as over a seven-hundred tons of dynamite went off at once destroying everything. Fluttkatilfaðs Urien Gul, the leader of the expedition, was most certainly dead, along with those that had gone with him ashore. Thankfully, the ships had survived the blast, as they had feared being run aground if they tried entering the port proper.

As the situation was assessed and the deck crews manned their guns and the squadron waited for a follow up attack, it became all that much clearer what had happened to them. They had been attacked whilst peacefully presenting gifts and seeking diplomatic talks under a banner of truce. This was an outrage! One which could only be answered through blood and steel.

Once it became clear that no follow-up attack was forthcoming, men were put ashore to search for survivors that they knew did not exist and radio messages were sent out reporting the event. Within hours, a formal declaration of war was drafted, submitted, and accepted by the Raikhsgamotjing and Hauhkuno, and both West-Thosel-Cransconia and the Sheenish Republic were called to arms to help defend their ally against foreign aggression.

'Divine cockerel, should we beach our damaged ship and effect repairs here, so that we might have battle be joined?'

A top the deck of so Silan Wahtwa a Guthij brought out a box within which a cockerel rested. He opened its door and spread the divining corn on the deck, with all the surviving officers collected there to see. If it came out of the box and ate, it was a sign the gods favoured their staying and combat. If it did not, it was a sign the gods did not think it was a good idea. For a tense few moments, the cockerel stared at the corn. Its eyes black and piercing, depths contained within that seem to stretch on into infinitude. It did not speak, for it had no use for words or because maybe the men gathered would not comprehend its message.

Slowly and deliberately, the bird rose. It shook itself as if to say 'Here I am, behold me!' It then walked out and strutted a few times, asserting its divinely granted dominance over mortal affairs. It did not peck. The men became restless, had they somehow offended the gods, had this mission been a mistake? What were they to do, could they really return home in disgrace after such a barbaric attack from these savages? These thoughts whirled through them, but then it happened. The cock began to peck the corn and eat.

'The gods are with us, we make landfall and we take this land. Faur sa Hauhkuno, faur thata Raikh!'

The men were sent ashore, the damage destroyer run aground for repairs, and the ships emptied of as many men as possible. There would be no returning home, they would fight and they would conquer. First thing was first though, they needed reinforcements and they needed a base to operate from. Though the town was destroyed, they would raise a mighty Baurgs here and a new port for their fleet.

200 Marines, 690 Disembarked Sailors, 132 Sailors Manning Ships (Skeleton Crews), 25.000 Soldiers en Route
400 F↊5 Karabiner, 123 Rast & Gasser F75↋1, 150 F↊0 Sabres, 18 F9↋ Maschinengewehr, 832 Assorted Pikes and Axes

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Once the ships were safely brought into the 'port', the process of disembarking as much of their crews as safe began. All of the sailors had gone through basic firearms training, but the ships did not have enough to go around. As such, a good third of them were relying now on boarding pikes, axes, swords, and cudgels for their arms. Though it was deemed unlikely to be of use, it was seen as preferential to have the pikemen trained to march and form lines with the riflemen, so that should they be charged, the riflemen would switch positions with the pikes and take up a rear line position to any cavalry that might come their way. This training was under taken by half of the men, while the other half were tasked with making their position more ready.

The remaining men were organised into work crews and sent to collect lumber for fortifications or put to digging trenches and building earthworks around the planned site of their Baurgs. At the same time, the Marines stripped the guns off of the destroyers and set them up in improvised firing positions pointed inland. Four 5" guns and two 2" guns would be the main armament of the new outpost until reinforcements could arrive, with the cruiser being left untouched as it would be needed for fire support missions elsewhere, should they venture further afield.

This state of affairs went on for twelve days, with no attacks or sightings of the enemy. The work and progressive deforestation of the surrounding country went on unimpeded, with hunting-scouting parties being sent out to see what was going on around them. Most of the villages nearby had been evacuated, with the odd hamlet here and there still having signs of life. Rather than attacking them though, the parties simply went around them and kept their presence as hidden as they could. No sign of a major military build up could be seen or rather any force coming towards them at all. On their return trips, they would generally try to find shoot animals that they came across so they could carry them back to camp. On one such return trip, they were lucky enough to find some recently escaped farm pigs. Sadly, they failed to capture them and had to content themselves with just getting home unharmed.

As this was happening, a force was being mobilised to assist in the new war. The insult of having one of their officers killed during negotiations before a declaration of war had even been given... This would not be allowed to stand. A full Fleg was to be sent to take New Respite from its savage inhabitants, with the men being drawn primarily from the Ajlander population, who were most upset by the death of one of the only prominent members of their people. Unfortunately, it would take time to transfer that many men across to New Respite. Due to rising tensions elsewhere, the larger ships could not be spared for transport duty and as such the force would have to be taken over in two trips. In total, it would take fifty-one days the entire force to arrive, though the first half would get there in only seventeen.

The Sadaler encampment meets little resistance for a further 6 days, but on the 7th day, reports from soldiers tell command that dark robed men had been spotted in the woods, erecting simple defences and carrying mostly primitive melee based arms such as axes and swords, no soldiers report having been spotted by the robed men themselves and the robed men do not appear to bear any insignia or items marking them as military personnel, but all the same they are constructing defences and are armed.

On the 8th day another group arrives at the fort, a large force moving mostly in horse drawn carts and carriages, while they bear many firearms and even a fair few cannons strapped onto wagons, they do not appear to be aggressive and approach the encampment peacefully, setting up their own small camp a mere quarter of a mile away, a lone man, armed simply with a hunting rifle sent to the camp the following afternoon.

He is dressed in fairly fancy attire, that being a pressed black shirt, dark blue suit trousers with suspenders, leather brogues, a woollen waistcoat and a hat somewhat akin to a fedora or trilby, he asks the guards if he may have audience with the encampment's leader as a representative to a local militant group that wishes to forge an alliance with the Raikh's men.

Wilhelm smiled as his stood on the deck of the Royal Majesty tasting the salty air that has long evaded him during his time on the throne. It seems strange to him just how long ago it was that he was simply a soldier fighting for the realm, though standing by his most trusted old guard and fighting for his life makes it feel like it was just yesterday. Banishing his feelings of nostalgia he assessed the situation, he was bringing three thousand of his best along with the largest Tholish battleship and her escort ships. Would that be enough or perhaps he brought too much and other states might react in a negative manner, regardless such pondering is baseless he has dealt his hand and he prays it'll be what is needed to bring New Respite to heel.

From the desk of Her Royal Majesty Magdala Isabel Afonses de Roque I
Penha Palace, Magalhães, United Kingdom of Magdalenum

To: The High King of Sadalen, King Wilhelm Cransnikov of West Thosel Cransconia, Grand Chairman Howard Philips Nelson, Her Eminence Pontiff Grace Kennedy-Kitchens

We are formally declaring our support for the People of New Respite. We hope this can be resolved peacefully, without the need for further bloodshed. Whatever harm New Respite has provoked, whether willingly or not, must be answered for, but we do not believe it must be on the battlefield. But in case a peaceful resolution is not possible, we'd like to stress that we currently have a force en route to New Respite. If Peace proves to not be an option, we are ready to defend New Respite's sovereignty, if necessary, for years, if necessary, alone.

Signed,

Isabel Afonses de Roque I

From: Þata Harjis af Niujis Respijt, Draaja Andbahts



To: Grand Chairman Nelson of Dunwik


Gracious Grand Chairman,

We hope this finds you well.

With regards to your response, we are able to agre to all but one term. The first term is currently considered unacceptable, as we can not negotiate in whole for the entirety of the Raikhsharjis and it is our understanding that we as a whole are interested in acquiring new suppliers in the future. For these reasons, we would ask that this item be struck from the agreement and will undersign this letter with out consent to the agreement with the caveat that it should only be seen as valid with the removal of the first term.

In the event that this is not acceptable, we will have to pass this on to our superiors for further consideration.

Regards,

Sa Urhebithman Fionn Caddigan, sa Draaja Andbahts af þis Harjis af Niujis Respijt