Update 4: July 1, 1893 - September 30, 1893
Spoiler :
Stagnant conduit between Asian and African markets with a long, but decaying tradition of maritime trade.
The End of the Merina monarchy
The gatherer of wealth
Pride of the Hehe
The smell of burning bridges (Mocambique)
Q3 1893: While Portobrazilian Angola is still pulling itself together after destructive Afrikaner raids of 1892, the colony of Mocambique seems to be fully recovered. While the military garrison couldn’t heal the economic and demographic damage done to the Maputo province, its engineers have at least put together a network of modern forts and relatively good roads that should help protect the region from future invasions. (Regional quest completed with mixed results, region East Africa gains -5 HC, -5 EC, Portobrazilian troops defending in region East Africa gain +1 CR for defending against enemies attacking from region South Africa, Portugal-Brazil losses: -1.68 HC, -0.52 IC, -0.84 EC, -0.62 MC)
The End of the Merina monarchy
Spoiler :
1890: The authority of the Malagasy Merina monarchy is at its all-times low, now that the Boers conquered its obedience through a series of ad-hoc, badly outfitted expeditions. Instead of turning on the colonizers, the Malagasy people are joining the spreading tribal conflict in the depth of the island. For now, the Boers were happy to see the natives fight each other, but some experts express caution over this development, afraid that eventually one successful warlord could arise as an unquestioned leader of the anti-colonial movement.
The gatherer of wealth
Spoiler :
1891: North-German takeover of Zanzibari economy, combined with an impressive display of naval force, has pushed this Omani colony to the brink of economic crisis. While the spice trade still lives on, it seems like slave markets are drying empty, and local merchant elites are growing ever more anti-German, frustrated with Omani sultan’s inability to put a stop to this takeover. The leader among them is infamous Tippu Tip, nicknamed “the gatherer together of wealth” by the locals. This spice trader and slave-master is rumored to lead a cabal of East-African traders who want to pursue the dual goal of getting rid of North-German dominance and establishing a free, independent Zanzibari state.
1892: In contrast with the previous year’s blunt display of force, the North-German colonial administration chose to address Zanzibari discontent by eroding the economic platform that made Tippu TIp’s faction so powerful. Various German-sponsored business ventures were established in Omani Zanzibar, supporting spice cultivation and greater mechanization of labor. While not as awe-inspiring as the earlier gunboat diplomacy attempt, this move did help the Ostafrika Trade Company grow roots in the Zanzibar coast and somewhat blunt the anti-German rhetoric.(Regional quest progress: 32.04%, North German Federation losses: -1.56 HC, -0.35 IC, -3.72 EC, -3.45 MC)
1892: In contrast with the previous year’s blunt display of force, the North-German colonial administration chose to address Zanzibari discontent by eroding the economic platform that made Tippu TIp’s faction so powerful. Various German-sponsored business ventures were established in Omani Zanzibar, supporting spice cultivation and greater mechanization of labor. While not as awe-inspiring as the earlier gunboat diplomacy attempt, this move did help the Ostafrika Trade Company grow roots in the Zanzibar coast and somewhat blunt the anti-German rhetoric.(Regional quest progress: 32.04%, North German Federation losses: -1.56 HC, -0.35 IC, -3.72 EC, -3.45 MC)
Pride of the Hehe
Spoiler :
1892: Inland caravan routes belonging to the tribes that recognize North-German colonial authorities keep being ambushed and looted by fearsome warriors of the reclusive Hehe tribe. Backward pastoralists that just recently got introduced to modern rifles, the Hehe are a small, but very warlike young tribal kingdom placed within the borders of North-German Tanganyika. They seem to be content with North-German dominion over their region (happy with buying North-German weapons and kitchen tools), but the Hehe don’t seem to comprehend that attacking other pro-German tribes is just not something European authorities normally tolerate. It remains to be seen how the Ostafrikan authorities are going to establish peace in their lands (and if they are going to do that at all).
The smell of burning bridges (Mocambique)
Spoiler :
1892: Mirroring the events in Angola, a series of low-key border raids and skirmishes took places in Portobrazilian Mocambique, mostly described by the Boer press as border crossing attempts by the “anarchic Anglos.” However, when Portuguese-owned plantations were taken over by the raiders, their population was mostly taken in captivity or murdered, with the exception of Portuguese “gentlefolks,” who were “merely” exiled. It is these survivors that helped identify the attackers as Afrikaans-speakers obeying their officers’ orders and not some desperate Englishmen. Now the biggest question of all is what the Twin Crown is planning to do about these suspicious events before their colonial authority collapses. (Regional quest progress: 63.71%, Free Boer Republic losses: -3.74 HC, -1.04 IC, -1.66 EC, -1.18 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: Portobrazilian troops were dispatched to try and contain the damage to intercommunal trust done last year by Afrikaan raiders, whoever they were. While the Portobrazilians encountered no South-African opposition to their policing effort, fixing the damage proved to be a harder task than delivering it (especially when done by the army alone). Yet, despite the ongoing chaos along the frontier, life is slowly coming back to normalcy. (Regional quest progress: 41.29%, Portugal-Brazil losses: -2.97 HC, -0.92 IC, -1.52 EC, -1.1 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: Portobrazilian troops were dispatched to try and contain the damage to intercommunal trust done last year by Afrikaan raiders, whoever they were. While the Portobrazilians encountered no South-African opposition to their policing effort, fixing the damage proved to be a harder task than delivering it (especially when done by the army alone). Yet, despite the ongoing chaos along the frontier, life is slowly coming back to normalcy. (Regional quest progress: 41.29%, Portugal-Brazil losses: -2.97 HC, -0.92 IC, -1.52 EC, -1.1 MC)
Q3 1893: While Portobrazilian Angola is still pulling itself together after destructive Afrikaner raids of 1892, the colony of Mocambique seems to be fully recovered. While the military garrison couldn’t heal the economic and demographic damage done to the Maputo province, its engineers have at least put together a network of modern forts and relatively good roads that should help protect the region from future invasions. (Regional quest completed with mixed results, region East Africa gains -5 HC, -5 EC, Portobrazilian troops defending in region East Africa gain +1 CR for defending against enemies attacking from region South Africa, Portugal-Brazil losses: -1.68 HC, -0.52 IC, -0.84 EC, -0.62 MC)
South Africa
Spoiler :
Fast-developing, dynamic, quickly modernizing immigration hub with weak agriculture, but strong natural resource industry and manufacture.
Commission of National Security
Q3 1893: The Second Atlantic War is the biggest challenge Boerika has ever experienced, and the new government of President Schönberg takes it quite seriously. A Commission of National Security was established this August, acting as a semi-independent bureaucratic body which portfolio transcends boundaries of regular ministries and is covering a wide variety of aspects of modern war. Optimization of industrial output, ideological motivation, procurement, coordination of the army and the navy, and many other fields are being trusted to enthusiastic and incorruptible NatVeil commissioners, who enjoy a reputation of jacks-of-all-trades with highest mandate. The only weakness demonstrated by the Kommissie van Nasionale Veiligheid is its lack of expertise and influence in the area of heavy (and especially armaments) industry, which could be remediated by assigning more state-held economic sectors and enterprises to the Commission’s portfolio. (Regional quest progress: 57.33%, Free Boer Republic losses: -1.84 HC, -2.99 IC, -4.17 EC, -1.02 MC)
Children of Man
Uitlander gangs
Q3 1893: The FBR’s declaration of war against the British Royal Commonwealth left no space for moderation and mercy in Boer hearts to English Kaaplanders, especially those who engage in countryside robberies. The new Minister of the Interior chose to deal with the problem with an iron fist, crushing any banditry and political resistance using armed garrisons deployed en masse. The result was predictably a slaughter of remaining South-African Englishmen and -women, some of which were simply refugees trakking north to the Bechuanaland frontier. Besides costing thousands of lives and indeed stopping banditry through the sheer force of violence, this action also helped to put all South African society under vigilant military supervision, eradicating any remainders of cosmopolitan thinking and dealmaking, especially impacting North-German investments and cultural ties. (Regional quest completed with mixed results, region South Africa gains -20 HC, Free Boer Republic gains +5% Regional Influence, North German Federation loses -5% Regional Influence, Free Boer Republic losses: -4.86 HC, -1.35 IC, -2.15 EC, -1.54 MC)
Plunging shellfire
Unrestricted commerce raiding and submarine warfare
Q3 1893: The nature of the Second Atlantic War dictates that the navies of the Anti-British Pact can do most of damage through commerce raiding, as opposed to the good old fleet-in-being approach. This summer, this naval strategic concept was taken to a new level, as the Republican Navy of Boerika has proposed to develop a new type of naval warfare in which submarines or above-surface commerce raiders sink enemy merchant vessels such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also known as "cruiser rules"). This new doctrine of “marine brutality” caused a lot of dismay among local pacifists and admirals of the old school, but it did attract attention from the FBR’s allies, namely the North-American Union and Communard France. Together Admiralties and naval staff of the three nations developed common rules of engagement and high-seas operation, and captains of all three navies have polished the new doctrine in practice. (Technology quest completed with success, Free Boer Republic, Union of North America, Communard France adopt “Unrestricted commerce raiding and submarine warfare” for no additional cost, Free Boer Republic losses: -0.41 HC, -0.27 IC, -0.55 EC, -0.92 MC, Union of North America losses: -0.45 HC, -0.4 IC, -0.76 EC, -1.22 MC, Communard France losses: -0.48 HC, -0.36 IC, -0.81 EC, -1.39 MC)
Human trafficking
Hydrometallurgy
The icy continent
Q3 1893: Despite having war at their gates, the Confederate States of America seem to be obsessed with ventures far away from their homeland. One of such ventures was an attempt to establish a permanent scientific settlement on the Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands to the Dixies. In order to evade the embarrassments suffered by the Boers and Portobrazilians earlier, they underwent a prolonged winter conditions training alongside with Transpacific Lyzhniki (skier) battalions under supervision of Chukchi and Inuit instructors. Ironically, these trainings took place in late summer and early fall of 1893 in Transpacific Northern Canada and Alaska, which spoke a lot about the true level of familiarity Dixie soldiers and sailors had with cold. One way or another, by early September the training was formally signed off as completed, and a joint naval expedition of Transpacific military and Confederate navy and army left for the Kerguelen Islands (also known as the Desolation Islands) with a goal to set up a permanent scientific base among these frozen rocks in the middle of the Indian Ocean. (Regional quest progress: 5.79%, Confederate States of America losses: -1.56 HC, -0.49 IC, -0.78 EC, -0.78 MC, Pacific Directory losses: -2.14 HC, -0.51 IC, -1.04 EC, -0.63 MC)
The dash north
Q3 1893: The Free Boer Republic is besieged at high seas, and its military thinkers don’t exclude the possibility that soon it might get besieged on land as well. Preparing for a strategic sortee, Boer HQ planners and logisticians have started to devise operational plans for actively defending South Africa from any invasion that is most likely come from Oos Afrika. Supply depots are being constructed in Lesotho, Swaziland, and Natal, land is being surveyed, and old barracks built to host borderland companies are being expanded to accommodate needs of a big, modern army capable of operating far from the heart of Boerika. (Regional quest progress: 38%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.99 HC, -0.83 IC, -1.33 EC, -0.95 MC)
Fortress of Good Hope
Q3 1893: Another military engineering project is taking place on the shores of the Cape of Good Hope. Kappstadt and Durban, two biggest and most crucial harbors of the Free Republic are being reinforced with army garrisons and heavily fortified. Construction efforts are ongoing, but by the time they are complete, Boer generals expect to see a network of smaller forts and pre-constructed light defensive position stretching along the South African coastline (Regional quest progress: 30.71%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.62 HC, -0.73 IC, -1.16 EC, -0.83 MC)
The sailors of Boerika
Q3 1893: Sea war stretching from the Indian to Atlantic oceans means that Boerika needs more military sailors and dock workers now more than ever. Recruitment efforts and port construction continued throughout the third quarter of the year, any by late September a true qualitative improvement of Boer shipbuilding and seafaring tradition is well within reach. (Regional quest progress: 95.71%, Free Boer Republic losses: -1.95 HC, -0.5 IC, -5.02 EC, -4.29 MC)
No Brits in our waters: Cape of Good Hope naval campaign
Q3 1893: While the Boer Commission of National Security was still in the process of being set up, a series of incidents in the Admiralty’s archive pointed at some unauthorized activities going on in the very heart of the Free Boer Republic’s naval leadership. When the first team of NatVeil agents started to assess the naval HQ’s security, they quickly concluded that keys to some encrypted telegraph codes used by the Admiralty were also likely compromised. However, a proper investigation never ensued, with most of the FBR’s counterintelligence forces being either used elsewhere or in the process of forming. That allowed Boerika’s enemies continuously leak information about the Republican Navy’s movements and merchant marine’s routes to the nation’s many enemies. It is suspected that the leaks were behind almost every fourth cargo ship lost at sea in the first three months of war. (Regional quest progress: -53.12%, ??? losses: -2.2? HC, -2.8? IC, -4.7? EC, -1.5? MC)
While a game of espionage was ongoing on land, a much more dangerous game of cat-and-mouse was about to start at sea. Admiral “Mad Hound” Blankaert’s ascension to the rank of a major politician on the wave of anti-British jingoism led to a leadership change at sea - perhaps, for the better. Admiral Piet Retief of the Good Hope fleet was an experienced tactician with a clear strategic vision for the conflict to come, and his temper was much better suited for dealing with the formidable foe at the gates. Reief’s plan was to temporarily abandon any hopes of penetrating or challenging the Burmese blockade of the Indian Ocean and the Malaccas, while continuing harassing British shipping in the South Pacific and especially in the approach of the Cape of Good Hope. With the Western Mediterranean routes being potentially at risk of French naval blockade, most of British shipping going to Australia and India could no longer go through the Suez Canal, making the Cape Basin and the Scotia Sea almost inevitable transit destinations for British cargo ships. The Commonwealth’s attempts to outsource some of the supply shipping to their formally neutral Portobrazilian partners only meant that soon all Portobrazilian ships (not only the ones leased to Great Britain) became likely targets of Boer commerce raiders. The latter action was inevitable even despite a formal order to attack only ships flying enemy flags, since Boer captains were using the ruse of flying other nations’ flags themselves and viewed it as nothing but a trick out of the British sleeve. That attack on commerce lanes vital for the survival of the British colonial empire made it impossible for the British Pacific Fleet to remain engaged in blockade activities in the Eastern Indian Ocean. Admiral Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam, was confident that his naval force, superior to the Boers in tonnage, armaments, and experience, would be able to force the enemy to take an open sea engagement by purely presenting itself in the vicinity of the Cape, and such an engagement, according to Admiral Meade could only result in a complete defeat for the Afrikaaners. In order to be noticed by the Boers and thus make a decisive battle inevitable, he chose to pass through the Mozambique Strait, harassing Boer merchant marine as he went. However, at that point the British ships already started to suffer from the wear-and-tear of the long voyage, and several screen steamers, including an obsolete turret ironclad HMS Ganges, were lost to Boer naval mines. It wouldn’t be until 6.45 am on September 9 that Admiral Meade’s reconnaissance blimps had caught a glimpse of what appeared to be an equal size Boer fleet on the horizon, starting a series of engagements that took place until sunset of that day and will become known to the world as the Battle of Algoa Bay (or Battle of Algoabaai for the Boers and their allies). Having proven their value early on, the observation blimps were quickly rendered virtually useless, when windy weather made dirigible flight very risky. To make matters worse, their carrier, HMS Calcutta, hit yet another naval mine and started to heel. Soon, one of the blimps was blasted by the wind toward the Boer squadrons, notifying Admiral Retief Almost that his adversary was quite near. What followed was an artillery exchange between five Boer and and six British dreadnoughts, which ended indecisively and was interrupted by a very brief storm. Once the weather cleared by 2 on the afternoon, Admiral Meade found his force surrounded and out of formation, mostly thanks to Retief’s masterful maneuvering and an appearance of another ambush squadron on the horizon, a protected cruiser force that’s been apparently shadowing Meade’s moves ever since he entered the Mozambique Strait and wasn’t discovered by his blimps due to poor weather conditions typical for this season. Soon, the battle turned into a slaughter for the British. Their dazzling camouflage worked poorly, since most of their ships were clustered near the shore and were relatively easily distinguished by Boer artillery spotters. Super-heavy guns of British dreadnoughts still took a great toll on Retief’s breastwork battleships, to which the Boer tactician responded by devastating Meade’s screening ships with his own lighter armed cruisers, which turned Meade’s own battleships into sitting ducks. By nightfall, the British fleet was in shambles, and Meade had no other option than proceed along his course and escape the deadly waters. Retief’s own navy was also seriously bled out, but closeness of home ports meant that soon all seriously damaged ships were in repair docks, and a pursuit force was put together to continue harassing Meade and his fleet. In a series of small-scale attacks and simply through inability to fix previously sustained structural damage, three of Meade’s four dreadnoughts and numerous other ships were lost, and the force that arrived to the neutral port of Santos in Brazil was a fraction of its original strength. In Boerika, the news of the Alagoabaai victory were met with an uproar, although more realistic naval advisers did point out that the Free Boer Republic is still very much at risk of being completely blockaded, especially if it fails to replenish its losses from such triumphs. Meanwhile, in London, some heads rolled, as the public is starting to realize that the South-African war is not going to consist only of victories akin to Sao Tome. (Regional quest progress: -20.91%, Free Boer Republic losses: -5.38 HC, -3.57 IC, -7.23 EC, -12.09 MC, British Royal Commonwealth losses: -13.41 HC, -8.85 IC, -19.19 EC, -32.14 MC)
Commission of National Security
Q3 1893: The Second Atlantic War is the biggest challenge Boerika has ever experienced, and the new government of President Schönberg takes it quite seriously. A Commission of National Security was established this August, acting as a semi-independent bureaucratic body which portfolio transcends boundaries of regular ministries and is covering a wide variety of aspects of modern war. Optimization of industrial output, ideological motivation, procurement, coordination of the army and the navy, and many other fields are being trusted to enthusiastic and incorruptible NatVeil commissioners, who enjoy a reputation of jacks-of-all-trades with highest mandate. The only weakness demonstrated by the Kommissie van Nasionale Veiligheid is its lack of expertise and influence in the area of heavy (and especially armaments) industry, which could be remediated by assigning more state-held economic sectors and enterprises to the Commission’s portfolio. (Regional quest progress: 57.33%, Free Boer Republic losses: -1.84 HC, -2.99 IC, -4.17 EC, -1.02 MC)
Children of Man
Spoiler :
1890: In the Free Boer Republic, not everyone is equally free. In fact, one’s skin color usually defines whether or not a particular human being is likely to be treated as a fellow citizen or as someone’s property. The only exception from this rule are the Griqua, children of mixed heritage that have developed into an militant underclass that is proud of its superiority to native slaves, but are also too freedom-loving to accept the arrogance of the white Afrikaners. Recently, more and more Griqua have been escaping the core lands of the Republic and settling on its frontier, forcing local tribes to migrate and claiming the land for themselves. It seems like the Griqua could be used as a colonization tool by the Boers, but these people would despise being forced to obey to the old unspoken laws of the Afrikaner society.
1891: Just like in the years prior to this one, Griquas were again used as a natural tool of expanding the Afrikaan cultural reach through a combination of emigration to the frontier and straightforward squatting in the lands that used to belong to someone else. Only this time, this mixed race was encouraged to resettle not northward, toward frontiers, but return back to the south instead, taking homes and property from English settlers in the Cape. So far, this agitation hasn’t been very successful, since the Griqua are freedom-loving frontiersmen in their hearts, and are looking to distance themselves from the white Boers, not settle themselves in the heart of the Boer territories. Either way, a small trickle of Griqua settlers has started to arrive to Kaapstadt, although at this rate it’d take many years to resettle English territories with the returning Griqua. (Regional quest progress: 3.89%, Free Boer Republic losses: -1.56 HC, -2.53 IC, -3.52 EC, -0.86 MC)
1891: Just like in the years prior to this one, Griquas were again used as a natural tool of expanding the Afrikaan cultural reach through a combination of emigration to the frontier and straightforward squatting in the lands that used to belong to someone else. Only this time, this mixed race was encouraged to resettle not northward, toward frontiers, but return back to the south instead, taking homes and property from English settlers in the Cape. So far, this agitation hasn’t been very successful, since the Griqua are freedom-loving frontiersmen in their hearts, and are looking to distance themselves from the white Boers, not settle themselves in the heart of the Boer territories. Either way, a small trickle of Griqua settlers has started to arrive to Kaapstadt, although at this rate it’d take many years to resettle English territories with the returning Griqua. (Regional quest progress: 3.89%, Free Boer Republic losses: -1.56 HC, -2.53 IC, -3.52 EC, -0.86 MC)
Uitlander gangs
Spoiler :
1892: The displacement of English settlers left thousands of alienated and disenfranchised families with little to no means to support themselves, threatened in the south and lacking the funds to leave the country for another land. These misfits are popularly known as uitlanders (lit. “foreigners,” now mostly used to indicate undesirable aliens, as opposed to relatively privileged immigrants from Germany or Russia). Left with no other choice, they either try to perform their own trek northward, to loosely regulated colonial frontiers, or simply stay to roam the countryside. Drawn by need and resentment to the “cursed Afrikaners,” many of them united into violent gangs that attack white farmers’ homesteads (almost universally indicating Boer ownership) for revenge and loot. Regular Boer troops were dispatched to comb through the land and round down all English rovers with no regard for age and gender, assigning them to special “refugee” camps. That effort was largely ineffective, suffering both from the lack of investigative, anti-insurgency experience among the Afrikaner troops, as well as the relative novelty of the internment camp idea, which might require more research before all logistical complications of keeping together large concentrations of insurgency-prone civilians could be resolved. Meanwhile, the Republic’s cities are more or less well-patrolled, but the countryside is turning into a dangerous territory indeed. (Regional quest progress: 4.57%, Free Boer Republic: -4.11 HC, -1.15 IC, -1.82 EC, -1.3 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: Seeing that its predecessors’ attempts to exterminate uitlander gangs with the help of the army were just leading to another cycle of violence, the newly elected Boer cabinet chose to mix the firm anti-insurgency action with “opening a pressure valve” on the English migration. While the army continued its crackdown on the English resistance fighters in the heartland, the northern frontiers were opened for uitlander trakking and in the south the remaining refugees were allowed to leave for Brazil. As a side effect of this action, northern frontiers in Bechuanalandt seem to be accumulating a lot of virulently anti-Boer uitlander communities, slowing down colonization of that region. However, on the positive side, the heartland regions of the Republic are slowly starting to become safe again. (Regional quest progress: 55.14%, Free Boer Republic: -1.81 HC, -0.46 IC, -4.67 EC, -3.98 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: Seeing that its predecessors’ attempts to exterminate uitlander gangs with the help of the army were just leading to another cycle of violence, the newly elected Boer cabinet chose to mix the firm anti-insurgency action with “opening a pressure valve” on the English migration. While the army continued its crackdown on the English resistance fighters in the heartland, the northern frontiers were opened for uitlander trakking and in the south the remaining refugees were allowed to leave for Brazil. As a side effect of this action, northern frontiers in Bechuanalandt seem to be accumulating a lot of virulently anti-Boer uitlander communities, slowing down colonization of that region. However, on the positive side, the heartland regions of the Republic are slowly starting to become safe again. (Regional quest progress: 55.14%, Free Boer Republic: -1.81 HC, -0.46 IC, -4.67 EC, -3.98 MC)
Q3 1893: The FBR’s declaration of war against the British Royal Commonwealth left no space for moderation and mercy in Boer hearts to English Kaaplanders, especially those who engage in countryside robberies. The new Minister of the Interior chose to deal with the problem with an iron fist, crushing any banditry and political resistance using armed garrisons deployed en masse. The result was predictably a slaughter of remaining South-African Englishmen and -women, some of which were simply refugees trakking north to the Bechuanaland frontier. Besides costing thousands of lives and indeed stopping banditry through the sheer force of violence, this action also helped to put all South African society under vigilant military supervision, eradicating any remainders of cosmopolitan thinking and dealmaking, especially impacting North-German investments and cultural ties. (Regional quest completed with mixed results, region South Africa gains -20 HC, Free Boer Republic gains +5% Regional Influence, North German Federation loses -5% Regional Influence, Free Boer Republic losses: -4.86 HC, -1.35 IC, -2.15 EC, -1.54 MC)
Plunging shellfire
Spoiler :
1891: While most of the Boer fleet was busy patrolling the waters around the Cape, protecting local merchant marine traffic from a threat that never materialized, at least one naval squadron was busy with firing drills. It seems like the Boers are practicing a new type of shellfire technique, designed to penetrate an enemy ship's thinner deck armor rather than firing directly at a warship's heavily-armored side. So far, the progress has been slow, but steady, and observing officers are confident the advancement would be much quicker once a bigger share of the Boer navy practices the new technique. (Technology quest progress: 20.54%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.25 HC, -1.49 IC, -3.02 EC, -5.05 MC)
1892: With most of the Boer navy being busy supporting the Republic’s dashing colonial adventures, one squadron stayed patrolling the waters around the Cape and practicing the same artillery drill that someday could hopefully help the Afrikaners avenge their Sao Tome losses to the Brits. (Technology quest progress: 44.04%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.86 HC, -1.9 IC, -3.85 EC, -6.43 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: While the vast majority of the Boer navy is fully engaged in a wide array of dashing operations across two oceans, some of its officers and artillerists stayed back to continue their plunging shellfire drills. (Technology quest progress: 58.75%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.05 HC, -1.36 IC, -2.75 EC, -4.6 MC)
1892: With most of the Boer navy being busy supporting the Republic’s dashing colonial adventures, one squadron stayed patrolling the waters around the Cape and practicing the same artillery drill that someday could hopefully help the Afrikaners avenge their Sao Tome losses to the Brits. (Technology quest progress: 44.04%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.86 HC, -1.9 IC, -3.85 EC, -6.43 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: While the vast majority of the Boer navy is fully engaged in a wide array of dashing operations across two oceans, some of its officers and artillerists stayed back to continue their plunging shellfire drills. (Technology quest progress: 58.75%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.05 HC, -1.36 IC, -2.75 EC, -4.6 MC)
Unrestricted commerce raiding and submarine warfare
Q3 1893: The nature of the Second Atlantic War dictates that the navies of the Anti-British Pact can do most of damage through commerce raiding, as opposed to the good old fleet-in-being approach. This summer, this naval strategic concept was taken to a new level, as the Republican Navy of Boerika has proposed to develop a new type of naval warfare in which submarines or above-surface commerce raiders sink enemy merchant vessels such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also known as "cruiser rules"). This new doctrine of “marine brutality” caused a lot of dismay among local pacifists and admirals of the old school, but it did attract attention from the FBR’s allies, namely the North-American Union and Communard France. Together Admiralties and naval staff of the three nations developed common rules of engagement and high-seas operation, and captains of all three navies have polished the new doctrine in practice. (Technology quest completed with success, Free Boer Republic, Union of North America, Communard France adopt “Unrestricted commerce raiding and submarine warfare” for no additional cost, Free Boer Republic losses: -0.41 HC, -0.27 IC, -0.55 EC, -0.92 MC, Union of North America losses: -0.45 HC, -0.4 IC, -0.76 EC, -1.22 MC, Communard France losses: -0.48 HC, -0.36 IC, -0.81 EC, -1.39 MC)
Human trafficking
Spoiler :
1892: With all of the inhumane developments in and around Kaapstadt, thousands of people of all races, gender, and age are finding themselves in captivity and treated as valuables. This level of treatment and exploitation of human beings is unusual even compared to the standards of institutionalized slavery and serfdom, and the “Free” Boer Republic seems to be accepting it as just another tool of national empowerment. It appears that the Afrikaner state at this point sanctions the development of trade of humans (and, perhaps, methods of combatting it), most commonly for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or other forms of exploitation for the trafficker or others. (Technology quest progress: 20.64%, Free Boer Republic losses: -1.84 HC, -2.99 IC, -4.17 EC, -1.02 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: The East Asian Spice Trading Company continues reinventing methods and pushing boundaries of human trafficking, to the horror of most of the civilized world. (Technology quest progress: 31.89%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.12 HC, -3.45 IC, -4.81 EC, -1.18 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: The East Asian Spice Trading Company continues reinventing methods and pushing boundaries of human trafficking, to the horror of most of the civilized world. (Technology quest progress: 31.89%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.12 HC, -3.45 IC, -4.81 EC, -1.18 MC)
Hydrometallurgy
Spoiler :
Q1-Q2 1893: The mining boom around Johannesburg is creating a big demand for more effective ways of processing metal ores. Hoping to tap on that demand, an ambitious Boer company has started a line of research of methods of extractive metallurgy that use aqueous chemistry for the recovery of metals from ores, concentrates, and recycled or residual materials. Now the inventors hope to gain enough of publicity to attract more significant investments that could carry the research forward. (Regional quest progress: 7.43%, Free Boer Republic losses: -1.12 HC, -0.28 IC, -2.87 EC, -2.45 MC)
The icy continent
Spoiler :
1892: More as a statement of ambition and a prestige project, the Boer state has outfitted an exploratory expedition to the Southern Pole, where the icy continent of Antarctica was reached, and a primitive summer base was founded by the lucky adventurers. Unfortunately, the Republican navy, tasked with supplying the expedition, found itself not up to the task, and only the tenacity of the few survivors (as well as their readiness to make meals out of their less brawny comrades) helped the tiny oceanside colony survive its first summer. However, by October, when the resupply ships managed to break through the sea of ice, even these “heroic pioneers” had perished, making many members of the Republican press question the purpose of the entire misadventure. (Regional quest progress: -2.17%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.77 HC, -2.93 IC, -4.76 EC, -4.31 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: Boer failure to set up a lasting base on the Antarctic coast didn’t dissuade the energetic Portobrazilian navy from taking its own try at conquering the icy continent. The Twin Crowns’ expedition started from the Ilhas Malvinas (also known to the British as the Falkland Islands), but failed to even penetrate through the icy waters to the white shore. Several ships were lost, squashed between icebergs, and the remainders of the expedition returned with little to show for it. (Regional quest progress: -6.17%, Portugal-Brazil losses: -3.18 HC, -2.03 IC, -4.17 EC, -7.26 MC)
Q1-Q2 1893: Boer failure to set up a lasting base on the Antarctic coast didn’t dissuade the energetic Portobrazilian navy from taking its own try at conquering the icy continent. The Twin Crowns’ expedition started from the Ilhas Malvinas (also known to the British as the Falkland Islands), but failed to even penetrate through the icy waters to the white shore. Several ships were lost, squashed between icebergs, and the remainders of the expedition returned with little to show for it. (Regional quest progress: -6.17%, Portugal-Brazil losses: -3.18 HC, -2.03 IC, -4.17 EC, -7.26 MC)
Q3 1893: Despite having war at their gates, the Confederate States of America seem to be obsessed with ventures far away from their homeland. One of such ventures was an attempt to establish a permanent scientific settlement on the Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands to the Dixies. In order to evade the embarrassments suffered by the Boers and Portobrazilians earlier, they underwent a prolonged winter conditions training alongside with Transpacific Lyzhniki (skier) battalions under supervision of Chukchi and Inuit instructors. Ironically, these trainings took place in late summer and early fall of 1893 in Transpacific Northern Canada and Alaska, which spoke a lot about the true level of familiarity Dixie soldiers and sailors had with cold. One way or another, by early September the training was formally signed off as completed, and a joint naval expedition of Transpacific military and Confederate navy and army left for the Kerguelen Islands (also known as the Desolation Islands) with a goal to set up a permanent scientific base among these frozen rocks in the middle of the Indian Ocean. (Regional quest progress: 5.79%, Confederate States of America losses: -1.56 HC, -0.49 IC, -0.78 EC, -0.78 MC, Pacific Directory losses: -2.14 HC, -0.51 IC, -1.04 EC, -0.63 MC)
The dash north
Q3 1893: The Free Boer Republic is besieged at high seas, and its military thinkers don’t exclude the possibility that soon it might get besieged on land as well. Preparing for a strategic sortee, Boer HQ planners and logisticians have started to devise operational plans for actively defending South Africa from any invasion that is most likely come from Oos Afrika. Supply depots are being constructed in Lesotho, Swaziland, and Natal, land is being surveyed, and old barracks built to host borderland companies are being expanded to accommodate needs of a big, modern army capable of operating far from the heart of Boerika. (Regional quest progress: 38%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.99 HC, -0.83 IC, -1.33 EC, -0.95 MC)
Fortress of Good Hope
Q3 1893: Another military engineering project is taking place on the shores of the Cape of Good Hope. Kappstadt and Durban, two biggest and most crucial harbors of the Free Republic are being reinforced with army garrisons and heavily fortified. Construction efforts are ongoing, but by the time they are complete, Boer generals expect to see a network of smaller forts and pre-constructed light defensive position stretching along the South African coastline (Regional quest progress: 30.71%, Free Boer Republic losses: -2.62 HC, -0.73 IC, -1.16 EC, -0.83 MC)
The sailors of Boerika
Spoiler :
Q1-Q2 1893: The Free Boer Republic is displaying a greater lean toward naval, often overseas project, and it’s creating a strain on its naval capacities. Not only are South African ports (except Kaapstadt) lacking modern facilities to accommodate this naval focus, but even the Boer culture itself is making it hard to find good sailors, dockworkers, and captains that are not of English descent. Now much of this might change, since the Republic is creating a major naval recruitment drive, combined with modernization of some of its naval capacities. (Regional quest progress: 34.00%, Free Boer Republic losses: -0.98 HC, -0.25 IC, -2.51 EC, -2.14 MC)
Q3 1893: Sea war stretching from the Indian to Atlantic oceans means that Boerika needs more military sailors and dock workers now more than ever. Recruitment efforts and port construction continued throughout the third quarter of the year, any by late September a true qualitative improvement of Boer shipbuilding and seafaring tradition is well within reach. (Regional quest progress: 95.71%, Free Boer Republic losses: -1.95 HC, -0.5 IC, -5.02 EC, -4.29 MC)
No Brits in our waters: Cape of Good Hope naval campaign
Spoiler :
Q1-Q2 1893: Last year’s confrontation between the Boer and British fleets at Sao Tome left mixed feelings in Boerika. On the one hand, Boer marine adventures in the Central Atlantic were firmly checked. On the other hand, most of the Boer jingoists were left with a sense of impunity for their fleet’s brash actions. This has led to another cycle of escalation of tensions in the first half of 1893, when several Boer marine agencies and trade companies started offering privateering contracts, with bounty being offered specifically for the cargo “confiscated” from British ships circumventing the Cape of Good Hope (a common thing among British traders trying to escape high canal duties enforced on them by the Egyptian authorities). However, unlike with the Confederate action in the Caribbean region, the recruitment drive was largely unsuccessful, mostly because it targeted a specific nation with a powerful navy, and very few people wished to risk being blasted by the main caliber of a royal dreadnought. This failure, in turn, left the task of intercepting British commercial shipping to the Free Republican Navy itself. (Regional quest progress: -2.64%, Free Boer Republic losses: -1.56 HC, -2.53 IC, -3.52 EC, -0.86 MC)
In the absence of any meaningful privateering support and with Boer naval capacity spread thinly around the globe, the enforcement of the ban of English naval commerce around the Cape of Good Hope was left to a notorious Admiral Blankaert and his “Sao Tome veterans.” This time, Blankaert hoped to take advantage of his short lines of communications and close proximity of his bases. That did play out to his advantage, but Admiral Hornby, Blankaert’s nemesis of Sao Tome, rightfully predicted threats to the British shipping in the Atlantic and had his patrolling fleet significantly expanded. When attacks on the British merchant marine were reported in the South Atlantic, British ships were immediately dispatched in several squadrons. The resulted Cape of Good Hope campaign had no major engagements comparable to the Sao Tome incident of last year but saw instead a steady stream of small engagements between single ships or groups of vessels. Despite it, the bitterness had grown on both sides since the last year’s Zaire campaign, and losses were reported to be high, with several commerce raiders and old-fashioned ironclads being sunk on both sides and hundreds of sailors dead or missing. All in all, the British navy prevailed, especially when it came to its ability to take strategic advantage of its narrow combat victories. The Cape of Good Hope campaign is ongoing, but politicians and journalists on both sides are calling for a formal declaration of war on the enemy. Commerce shipping, meanwhile, is shrinking all around the region, with even neutral captains choosing to steer clear of the dangerous waters. (Regional quest progress: -43.5%, Free Boer Republic losses: -8.88 HC, -5.9 IC, -11.93 EC, -19.96 MC, British Royal Commonwealth losses: -5.8 HC, -3.83 IC, -8.3 EC, -13.9 MC)
In the absence of any meaningful privateering support and with Boer naval capacity spread thinly around the globe, the enforcement of the ban of English naval commerce around the Cape of Good Hope was left to a notorious Admiral Blankaert and his “Sao Tome veterans.” This time, Blankaert hoped to take advantage of his short lines of communications and close proximity of his bases. That did play out to his advantage, but Admiral Hornby, Blankaert’s nemesis of Sao Tome, rightfully predicted threats to the British shipping in the Atlantic and had his patrolling fleet significantly expanded. When attacks on the British merchant marine were reported in the South Atlantic, British ships were immediately dispatched in several squadrons. The resulted Cape of Good Hope campaign had no major engagements comparable to the Sao Tome incident of last year but saw instead a steady stream of small engagements between single ships or groups of vessels. Despite it, the bitterness had grown on both sides since the last year’s Zaire campaign, and losses were reported to be high, with several commerce raiders and old-fashioned ironclads being sunk on both sides and hundreds of sailors dead or missing. All in all, the British navy prevailed, especially when it came to its ability to take strategic advantage of its narrow combat victories. The Cape of Good Hope campaign is ongoing, but politicians and journalists on both sides are calling for a formal declaration of war on the enemy. Commerce shipping, meanwhile, is shrinking all around the region, with even neutral captains choosing to steer clear of the dangerous waters. (Regional quest progress: -43.5%, Free Boer Republic losses: -8.88 HC, -5.9 IC, -11.93 EC, -19.96 MC, British Royal Commonwealth losses: -5.8 HC, -3.83 IC, -8.3 EC, -13.9 MC)
Q3 1893: While the Boer Commission of National Security was still in the process of being set up, a series of incidents in the Admiralty’s archive pointed at some unauthorized activities going on in the very heart of the Free Boer Republic’s naval leadership. When the first team of NatVeil agents started to assess the naval HQ’s security, they quickly concluded that keys to some encrypted telegraph codes used by the Admiralty were also likely compromised. However, a proper investigation never ensued, with most of the FBR’s counterintelligence forces being either used elsewhere or in the process of forming. That allowed Boerika’s enemies continuously leak information about the Republican Navy’s movements and merchant marine’s routes to the nation’s many enemies. It is suspected that the leaks were behind almost every fourth cargo ship lost at sea in the first three months of war. (Regional quest progress: -53.12%, ??? losses: -2.2? HC, -2.8? IC, -4.7? EC, -1.5? MC)
While a game of espionage was ongoing on land, a much more dangerous game of cat-and-mouse was about to start at sea. Admiral “Mad Hound” Blankaert’s ascension to the rank of a major politician on the wave of anti-British jingoism led to a leadership change at sea - perhaps, for the better. Admiral Piet Retief of the Good Hope fleet was an experienced tactician with a clear strategic vision for the conflict to come, and his temper was much better suited for dealing with the formidable foe at the gates. Reief’s plan was to temporarily abandon any hopes of penetrating or challenging the Burmese blockade of the Indian Ocean and the Malaccas, while continuing harassing British shipping in the South Pacific and especially in the approach of the Cape of Good Hope. With the Western Mediterranean routes being potentially at risk of French naval blockade, most of British shipping going to Australia and India could no longer go through the Suez Canal, making the Cape Basin and the Scotia Sea almost inevitable transit destinations for British cargo ships. The Commonwealth’s attempts to outsource some of the supply shipping to their formally neutral Portobrazilian partners only meant that soon all Portobrazilian ships (not only the ones leased to Great Britain) became likely targets of Boer commerce raiders. The latter action was inevitable even despite a formal order to attack only ships flying enemy flags, since Boer captains were using the ruse of flying other nations’ flags themselves and viewed it as nothing but a trick out of the British sleeve. That attack on commerce lanes vital for the survival of the British colonial empire made it impossible for the British Pacific Fleet to remain engaged in blockade activities in the Eastern Indian Ocean. Admiral Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam, was confident that his naval force, superior to the Boers in tonnage, armaments, and experience, would be able to force the enemy to take an open sea engagement by purely presenting itself in the vicinity of the Cape, and such an engagement, according to Admiral Meade could only result in a complete defeat for the Afrikaaners. In order to be noticed by the Boers and thus make a decisive battle inevitable, he chose to pass through the Mozambique Strait, harassing Boer merchant marine as he went. However, at that point the British ships already started to suffer from the wear-and-tear of the long voyage, and several screen steamers, including an obsolete turret ironclad HMS Ganges, were lost to Boer naval mines. It wouldn’t be until 6.45 am on September 9 that Admiral Meade’s reconnaissance blimps had caught a glimpse of what appeared to be an equal size Boer fleet on the horizon, starting a series of engagements that took place until sunset of that day and will become known to the world as the Battle of Algoa Bay (or Battle of Algoabaai for the Boers and their allies). Having proven their value early on, the observation blimps were quickly rendered virtually useless, when windy weather made dirigible flight very risky. To make matters worse, their carrier, HMS Calcutta, hit yet another naval mine and started to heel. Soon, one of the blimps was blasted by the wind toward the Boer squadrons, notifying Admiral Retief Almost that his adversary was quite near. What followed was an artillery exchange between five Boer and and six British dreadnoughts, which ended indecisively and was interrupted by a very brief storm. Once the weather cleared by 2 on the afternoon, Admiral Meade found his force surrounded and out of formation, mostly thanks to Retief’s masterful maneuvering and an appearance of another ambush squadron on the horizon, a protected cruiser force that’s been apparently shadowing Meade’s moves ever since he entered the Mozambique Strait and wasn’t discovered by his blimps due to poor weather conditions typical for this season. Soon, the battle turned into a slaughter for the British. Their dazzling camouflage worked poorly, since most of their ships were clustered near the shore and were relatively easily distinguished by Boer artillery spotters. Super-heavy guns of British dreadnoughts still took a great toll on Retief’s breastwork battleships, to which the Boer tactician responded by devastating Meade’s screening ships with his own lighter armed cruisers, which turned Meade’s own battleships into sitting ducks. By nightfall, the British fleet was in shambles, and Meade had no other option than proceed along his course and escape the deadly waters. Retief’s own navy was also seriously bled out, but closeness of home ports meant that soon all seriously damaged ships were in repair docks, and a pursuit force was put together to continue harassing Meade and his fleet. In a series of small-scale attacks and simply through inability to fix previously sustained structural damage, three of Meade’s four dreadnoughts and numerous other ships were lost, and the force that arrived to the neutral port of Santos in Brazil was a fraction of its original strength. In Boerika, the news of the Alagoabaai victory were met with an uproar, although more realistic naval advisers did point out that the Free Boer Republic is still very much at risk of being completely blockaded, especially if it fails to replenish its losses from such triumphs. Meanwhile, in London, some heads rolled, as the public is starting to realize that the South-African war is not going to consist only of victories akin to Sao Tome. (Regional quest progress: -20.91%, Free Boer Republic losses: -5.38 HC, -3.57 IC, -7.23 EC, -12.09 MC, British Royal Commonwealth losses: -13.41 HC, -8.85 IC, -19.19 EC, -32.14 MC)
