Dec 1896
A competition is started in the City of Liverpool to make a powered flying machine capable of crossing the Mersey River, a handsome prize is offered to the first team capable of this achievement attracting entries from both local and international talent. Confidence abounds that this short crossing can be achieved sometime early next year, Scotsman Percy Pitcher is quietly confident that he can Launch his Triplane over the Mersey given favourable weather conditions.
Feb 1897
Austria declares war on the Central South Americans, Im guessing that a tribute was refused but I cant see the Austrians doing anything about it as they cant leave the Mediterranean unless we open the door for them. Our block ship off Tangiers allowed us to shut the Italians, Balkan nations and the Austrians out of global expeditions from a very early stage. In order to connect my far eastern territories our planners have suggested that the British Raj should launch an expedition into Tibet, they argue that without colonising the Tibetans we will never have a safe route through the Himalayas, we agree that a build-up of local troops inside India should be sanctioned, artillery is dispatched from Australia to help.
April 1897
The railway of Africa is opened, Its inaugural Journey started on the 15th, it is now possible to travel from Cairo to Capetown without having to change trains, progress indeed. A road connecting the west of Africa has also just been completed, African resources can now pour north for a quick trip from the Mediterranean back to London. A first attempt by Pitcher to cross the Mersey took place on the 22nd to say it was a failure was an understatement, the triplane tipped over at speed ended up stuck in the soft mud by the side of the river. Percy Pitcher was hurt but confident he would be in the air before the year is out. Scientific papers published on the 29th April show that materials contain Electrons and this explains why some materials allow electricity to flow through them whilst others burn.
June 1897
The deal with the French that allowed us control over the Straights of Gibraltar is over, the Foreign Office come out smelling of roses where they agree an extension of the RoP agreement with France and the French end up paying us for the continuation of this deal, mind it may have something to do with half the French Navy sitting of the coast near Cork.
July 1897
In Liverpool there has been intense completion in the air, yes really, firstly Percy Pitcher got his Triplane into the air, it flew for just over thirteen feet getting off the ground by a few inches before tumbling into the water when the engine failed. Then the Canadian Cassey Baldwin tried his luck, despite a long run up his aeroplane failed to get off the ground and Mr Baldwin aborted his attempt saying he needed a stronger headwind. Orville and Wilbur Wright of the USA had brought their powered glider with them across the Atlantic after hearing of the prize, Orville was heard saying that one day the sea crossing would be done in the air in the space of a day something that didnt go down well with the ship owners of Liverpool. Anyway their Aircraft the WrightFlyer managed also to lift off the ground pushing the boundaries of powered flight over a hundred feet. No one crossed the Mersey but the prize it was decided would be split two ways with Percy Pitcher and the Wright Brothers both receiving equal shares. Britain had in effect bought the Theory of Flight.
August 1897
The Portuguese cross our borders into Liberia, its not a serious issue but we make a formal request that they should withdraw to which they agree. At the same time the African Great Western Railway company announces that services to the ports of Cairo and Capetown will commence once the rains have settled, the express service is planned to take two days to the junction near Fashoda at which point a train going north or south can be joined it is a modern miracle that the Imperial cities through so much of the African continent can now be travelled to in a matter of days rather than the months it previously took.
September 1897
Germany and La Plata sign a truce, no territory has changed hands and as far as we know nothing more than light skirmishes have happened, the war as thought has been mostly one of words.
We send diplomats to Tibet to deliver a message that we either wish to assimilate their territory by peaceful means or we will use force. Unsurprisingly the Tibetans refuse our demands so we declare war. Our Horse Artillery units from India and Australia begin shelling Tibetan positions, very little effect is seen in this opening phase.
October 1897
The bombardment continues, its painfully obvious that the current British field gun is lacking in both range and elevation factors that are hampering its effective use in the foothills of the Himalayas. The Royal Artillery Garrison at Woolwich is set the task of deciding which artillery piece would better suit our troops in the field. Meanwhile the keel of the New Battleship Canopus is laid its been more than a year since the Navy received a new ship and the newspapers see this big project is worthy of a large story. Despite continued bombardment the mountain passes remain firmly garrisoned, in order to push on further though before the weather starts to turn it is essential that a path be cleared now. We push four company of colonial cavalry forward immediately after our latest bombardment and achieve mixed success although at high cost, the Tibetan Trench Garrison hold but are weakened in number and the fact a rifle company recently was spotted heading for Kanpur gives us the resolve to send in the infantry. British Indian Infantry clear the pass but suffer significant losses in doing so, we really do need improved artillery and fast.
November 1897
Work on a Vacuum Tube by George Swan has led to the completion of the first reliable electric light, plans are afoot to start manufacture of the bulbs on a large scale which should improve working conditions for many. The Woolwich arsenal has decided upon a 13lb carriage gun to replace the current artillery pieces in future service, it is hoped that these will the able to be deployed without much delay.
January 1898
The British Indian Army has marched into Lasha with minimal casualties, it would appear that the cream of the Tibetans army where already brushed aside in the pass. Work is started in secret in London to recruit and establish a Spy network so that we will at least know about our neighbours and adversaries capabilities should we ever need to.
Feb 1898
The Tibetans government seek a truce, we have established what we need for now (a passage to China and our colonies in the Far East) and it is in our interests to stop the conflict. We take 40% of Tibetan gold and maintain Lasha as a province of Northern India, shortly we will build a road through the mountains but for now we will keep the state well-guarded.
March 1898
Using a very powerful transmitter in Ireland and a booster station in Bermuda we broadcast a signal across to the east coast of Canada, the Western extremes of our empire can now reliably remain in contact with us the dawn of a new age of communication is surely not far away?
Apr 1898
The Russian Tsar sends message that he would like us to loan him gold with no repayment terms, how odd? As he is a distant cousin and the amounts he is asking for is pitiful we loan the gold to him but make no mistake we are not frightened and order the Russian troops to leave our territory alone.
May 1898
We complete the Intelligence agency and our first spy is planted into the Russian Court, we quickly learn that whilst the Russian army is fairly large it is still mostly a civil defence force composed largely of guard units with a few infantry and barley a brigade of cavalry in the current books.
Our first attempt at infiltrating the Japanese regime goes horribly wrong when our spy is caught. Bloodied and near death he is dumped into the courtyard of an English speaking school near Shanghai, there is little this brave man can tell us other than that the Japanese can be a most savage race if you give them good reason.
August 1898
Medical Scientists working in Glasgow have isolated the active ingredients in tree bark that has been used for centuries to help with pain relief, they have synthesized the plant and are now able to make small pills that help reduce aches pains and fever its a minor miracle.
Feb 1899
The world has been so quiet, we have a shipping run taking supplies back to London and other than a little trouble with the Germans blocking railway lines theres precious little to report.
Mar 1899
We agree a RoP with the Portuguese, it will cut time off our transit of goods home from Africa it also secures us a small monthly stipend. To counter the Germans blocking our rails we send the fleet across the North Sea and park them off the coast inside German territorial water, we also extend the railways through the Dutch territories opening up second communication lines.
May 1899
The Austrians complete the project to host the Olympic Games, a glorious summer of sport should follow and Great Britain and her dominions will be sending athletes to compete in every event.
Jul 1899
The Olympics are underway and in a gesture of friendship we extend the peace treaty with the people of Tibet, we even make a gracious settlement of gold in favour of the people of Tibet. Research at the Woolwich Battery is suggesting indirect fire from Howitzers may well have a place in our arsenal the 5inch shell that they propose using has recently been successfully trialled on-board ships in a costal bombardment practice.
Jan 1900
The Americans complete the first world fair in St Louis, apparently this great wonder celebrates all that is good in the new world. Our spies indicate St Louis is a growing city of about two million people and the Americans have the place guarded mostly with militia. In Exercises in the Irish Sea one of the new King Edward Battleships accidentally rams and sinks a costal steamer, all the crew are picked up alive and several are being treated in the Royal Infirmary in Liverpool.
END OF SECOND UPDATE
