[RP 20th Century] End of a Dynasty [Closed]

[Hi No Moto]

End of a Dynasty

Introduction

The Korean Peninsula had always been the dagger pointed at the heart of the Japanese Home Islands according to most government officials and military leaders with the Japanese Empire and it was for this reason that the policy makers in Japan had taken a keen and active interest in the peninsula since the formation of the Empire. Whilst Japan had strove to modernise to catch up with European nations such as the German and Russian Empire’s, the Koreans had stagnated and fallen prey to far more powerful nations in the region, and their domination by them and not Japan was intolerable to Tokyo who needed to ensure that Korea could not be used against them.

The encroachment of the Russian Empire into the Far East in 1898 had set alarm bells ringing in Tokyo with many fearing the Russians would move down from their positions in Siberia, the port of Vladivostok was already a danger to the home islands, to take control of Manchuria and Korea and put Japan under immense pressure. These fears were realised when Russia secured territory on the Liaodong Peninsula at Port Arthur in China, turning the port into a veritable fortress and allowing Moscow to exert its influence over Korea and China. Diplomatic efforts were made over the years by Tokyo to try and come to an agreement with Moscow in regard to influence over Korea but they were repeatedly rebuffed and gave the more hawkish members of the Japanese Government and Military, the government itself being filled with many serving members of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, the platform to push for a sneak attack against the Russian forces in Port Arthur and win Korea by force. In 1904, without declaration of war, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Port Arthur and launched the Russo-Japanese War which was to last until 1905 and saw the complete destruction of the Russian Far Eastern Fleet after the legendary battles of Port Arthur and Tsushima Strait and the defeat of the Russian army at the Battle of Mukden; solidifying Japan’s position in the Far East, allowing her to secure the Russian possession at Port Arthur and allowed her a free hand in Korea.

Tokyo did not waste any time and Korea was declared a protectorate of the Japanese Empire.

The Korean Navy, although even at full strength was barely a threat to the more modern Imperial Japanese Navy, had been completely disbanded in 1905 not long after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, its ships mostly broken up for scrap, and the Korean Army was reduced from its original size of 20,000 down to 10,000 personnel, the first step of many that would see Tokyo eventually reduce the Korean Army to an insignificant size; an army in name only. These measures rendered the Korean Empire practically defenceless from the threats across the Yalu River and only deepened the dependence that Seoul had on the Japanese Empire, with its defence and practically its foreign policy all now dictated by Tokyo. The main source of Japanese power in the region was from the Imperial Naval Base at Ryojun, once the Russian held Port Arthur, in the Kwantung Leased Territory but over the last year more and more Japanese troops were deployed to the Korean Peninsula itself as the protectorate slowly became more of an occupation as the Empire of Japan looked to annex the Korean Empire outright, something that had not gone unnoticed by the Korean population.

Although just a figurehead with no real power, Emperor Yunghui of the Korean Empire, was able to command a huge amount of support and sympathy from the Korean people who saw their leader as a proud individual who had been forced to bow to a foreign nation to save his people from war. Tokyo had hoped that the opposite would have happened and that, although the population would see him as their ruler and afford him that respect, they would have resented the fact that he had so feebly surrendered his nations independence to the Empire of Japan but now they found themselves in the dangerous position of having a popular figurehead existing against the backdrop of a vocal and growing ‘Independence’ Movement that they were finding had support in all walks of Korean society; most worryingly among the lower class and those who had once served in the now severely diminished military.

It was with this in mind that the Empire of Japan committed itself to pursuing the outright annexation of Korea and that meant the crushing of this independence movement before it could truly begin. The fledgling Empire would find it unbearable to suffer the loss of prestige that would come its way by failing to secure a nation within its Sphere of Influence, one that it had fought over numerous times. For this to be successful further Imperial Japanese Army troops would be sent to the Korean Peninsula and those already there would need to capture and if need be execute the Korean Emperor.

Either way, a dynasty was sure to end.

[-Imperial-Germany-]

Tsingtao Fortress, Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory
China, German Empire
German East Asia Squadron – Ostasiengeschwader
18/09/1907

Tsingtao Fortress was the heart of German strength in the Far East. From here the German Empire projected its might into the region and into the wider Pacific where the scattered holdings that made up German New Guinea were found. Securing a port in the region had been of great importance to the German Empire and after lengthy considerations of building up a strong base in Rabaul on the island of New Britain, it was decided it was a far easier undertaking to look to secure a concession on the Chinese Coast and the strategically secure location of Tsingtao had been a shrewd bit of political manoeuvring by Berlin, helped of course by some considerable gunboat diplomacy. Ever since it had been incorporated into its colonial Empire in 1898, the German Empire had set about rapidly investing its capital into the region to both improve the infrastructure of its latest colony and to build it into a veritable fortress with considerable defences built in and around Tsingtao with several forts constructed on the high ground that separated the port and town of Tsingtao from the surrounding area. Garrisoning the forts was a force of 500 German troops, a considerably large garrison considering the sparse number of troops that Germany had throughout the rest of German New Guinea, but with Tsingtao being the home of the German East Asia Squadron its defences could not be left light. Also, part of the garrison was a force of 100 local Chinese volunteers who made up a small armed police force, one that could be called upon in dire situations.

The true might of the concession however was its naval element, and the much vaunted and romanticised German East Asia Squadron called it its home. Back in the Fatherland, ordinary Germans were told stories about the Ostasiengeschwader and were thrilled by the exotic nature of the formation and that Germany could project its power all the way out into the Far East and beyond, truly it was something to make every German proud … or so it seemed to the ordinary man on the street, the truth was much different. Commanded by Vice Admiral Emil Felix von Bendemann, a competent well thought of officer in the Imperial German Navy, the East Asia Squadron was nothing more than a paper tiger, a formation that had built up a phantom legacy by the German press and been so vaunted and trumpeted back home despite its obvious shortcomings … shortcomings that von Bendemann was all too quick to let his superiors back in Berlin know about as soon as he had taken command in 1905 but as of yet nothing had been done to rectify the situation.

Under his command was a varied collection of vessels from the Imperial German navy; the armoured Cruiser the SMS Fürst Bismarck; the protected cruisers SMS Hertha, SMS Hansa, SMS Irene & SMS Kaiserin Augusta and the unprotected cruisers SMS Gefion & SMS Seeadler. Apart from the SMS Fürst Bismarck and the SMS Hansa, who could both be considered relatively modern, the remaining ships of the East Asia Squadron were horribly obsolete and would offer little use against any modern navy the squadron may find itself up against. The four 9.4 inch guns of the SMS Fürst Bismarck and the two 8.3 inch guns of the SMS Hansa, along with their other secondary guns they bristled with, were not something to be sniffed at and they were more than enough to allow the German Empire to conduct a show of force in the region if needed by even their two best ships would be simply outclassed by the best ships in the navy of the closest power in the region … the Empire of Japan.

Originally Tsingtao had been built up as a counter to the Russian possession in Port Arthur but now Germany watched with increasing alarm as the Japanese Empire began making its presence felt on the international stage with a succession of expansionist drives out from its traditional island home with Formosa and the Mariana Islands coming under the sway of Tokyo. Kaiser Wilhelm II had never been one to hide his racist tendencies and had exploded in a fury at the news of the Japanese attack on the Russian Empire, who although considered a rival was still a white European power and the fact it was attacked by the Japanese infuriated him. His anger turned to incredulous shock when news came through of the devastating series of defeats the Japanese inflicted upon the Russians and thanks to these stunning defeats, he could only way as the Japanese advanced into both Korea and China with Tokyo securing the former Russian possession at Port Arthur which effectively secured the entrance to the Bohai Sea and therefore the sea lanes to the Chinese city of Tianjin and therefore Peking. The German Emperor had raged at those ‘Yellow Monkey’s’ taking more land for themselves when it was his firm belief that they should be the ones giving up their land to a more superior race like his and was determined that this upstart nation should be dominated by Germany. Nobody seemed to mind that the Japanese Empire had been in existence long before the German Empire and If anything, Berlin was the upstart nation on the international stage but that didn’t matter, Germany had earnt its time in the sun and it felt that it had the right to flex its muscles anywhere in the world. If the Russians could not bring the Japanese to heel, then Germany would.

When news came of unrest on the Korean peninsula and a further build-up of Japanese forces in the region, orders from Berlin to Tsingtao were quick and concise. Von Bendemann was ordered to immediately put to sea with the entire East Asia Squadron and makes its presence felt to the Japanese as soon as applicable which meant putting his understrength Squadron right into the middle of the worsening situation in Korea and inviting the possibility of confrontation with a much superior force. Despite replying with a few words of caution and apprehension about the strength of his squadron, von Bendemann also made clear he would follow out his orders immediately and sail his squadron into the Yellow Sea and Korean Bay and fly the Imperial German flag. Von Bendemann was heartened however by the message from Berlin that plans were underway for the East Asia Squadron and the Tsingtao Fortress Garrison to be substantially reinforced in the coming months due to the latest developments in Korea. For now, Germany was willing to watch the Empire of Japan but was also committed to its dream of global reach and would make sure the Japanese thought twice about escalating the situation.

OOC: Try this again

[Hi No Moto]

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan
Empire of Japan
National Diet Building
22.09.1907

“So the vaunted East Asian Squadron of the German Empire has put to sea?” pondered Prime Minister Tago Akihito, a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he read over the latest telegram that had been wired over to the Imperial Navy General Staff in the early hours of the morning. The Empire of Japan had numerous spies throughout China, usually local fisherman or peasants who would be paid an amount Tokyo would consider meagre but to them it was a relative fortune. Such low standing Chinese people were able to move around quite freely and even able to get work in the German held Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory where they could feed information about the comings and goings of the most threatening German formation in the Far East; the East Asia Squadron. It was one such fisherman who had noticed that some of the ships of the squadron had put to sea on the 18th and after hurriedly making for Weihai, was able to telegram his ‘superiors’ in the Kwantung Leased Territory whose intelligence was immediately passed on to the Imperial Navy.

“What do we believe its intentions will be?” the Prime Minister continued, putting the question out to the assembled minister and military officers who made up some of the most powerful figures in the Empire of Japan.

“It is merely a show of force Prime Minister” responded Foreign Minister Shigefumi Mori “The Germans are doing as all white imperialist nations do, pressing their noses into situations that do not concern them and flexing their muscles in the hope that we will be cowed into submission. The Russians tried it and look where that got them” the Foreign Minister scoffed which drew a small chuckle from some of the men who were present.

“Quite. How large a show of force are the Germans presenting? What did our little Chinese fisherman see exactly?” the Prime Minister moved on. Whilst he enjoyed the belittling of the Germans from his Foreign Minister, he was more interested in exactly what Berlin was sending into the region from their base at Tsingtao.

“The report from our contact in the Kiautschou was extremely rudimentary, which is to be expected” came the reply from Vice Admiral Sokichi Totsuka, a Staff Officer of the Naval General Staff who was the representative of the Imperial Japanese Navy at this meeting “His report noticed the absence of the, and I quote, big ships … of the German flotilla” the Vice Admiral continued to drew a slight chuckle from all those present at the crude terms used by the Chinese fisherman “We can only assume that these refer to the Fürst Bismarck, Hertha and the Hansa … the largest ships of the German East Asia Squadron and the ships they believe would give them the most impressive display of force.”

“These ships you have mentioned, they are powerful ships?” asked the Prime Minister who had little intimate knowledge of ship designs in general, let alone the details of German vessels. His basic understanding of navy ships was, the bigger the guns the better the ship and what he really wanted to know was whether or not these three German ships were better than the ships the Imperial Japanese Navy could call upon.

“They are no match for the Imperial Navy, Prime Minister” came the confident reply from Vice Admiral Sokichi Totsuka. National pride and boasting aside, the statement was true and although the German ships were no pushovers, they could not compete with the Japanese ships in the area. The SMS Fürst Bismarck, the flagship of the German East Asia Squadron, was armed with two twin 9.4 inch guns which compared to the Katori, flagship of the premier First Battleship Division, and her sister ship the Kashima who were armed with two twin 12 inch guns and a further four single 10 inch guns meant the Germans were seriously outgunned and with six battleships in the First Battleship Division, the balance of power was firmly with the Empire of Japan who enjoyed the ability to concentrate her Navy. The Empire of Japan was in a position where all its ships could be concentrated into one massive force whilst the German Empire had the need to spread her navy across the globe to protect her interest, weaken one area to reinforce the East Asian Squadron to combat the Empire of Japan would leave it open to attack elsewhere … and to overcome the Imperial Japanese Navy would mean that the Germans would have to send a force almost double the size of Japan, something Tokyo believed would not be possible for them, politically or militarily .

“If the German Empire tries anything, which I do not believe they will … we will blow them out of the water with the superior guns of the First Battleship Division just like we did to the Russian Fleet. They are outnumbered and only with a colossal effort to reinforce their squadron would they be able to go toe to toe with our Navy” the Vice Admiral boasted. The First Battleship Division was the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy and contained the most powerful and modern battleships that Japan possessed. The flagship Katori and her sister ship the Kashima were two of the most modern battleships the Imperial Navy could call upon and they were backed up by the equally modern and similarly armed ships of the Satsuma Class; the Satsuma and her sister ship the Aki, and also the battleships Asahi and Mikasa all of whom were armed with two twin 12 inch guns which simply reinforced the fact that the Germans were seriously outgunned.

“I would expect nothing else” smiled the Prime Minister before turning to the Foreign Minister “Despite the insignificance in terms of military power in regards to their latest move, the political ramifications are nonetheless significant. I want to know what the German ambassador has to say about all this.”

“Of course Prime Minister … I will summon him to the Foreign Minister immediately after we have concluded here” Foreign Minister Shigefumi Mori nodded “I will make sure to let him know that the Imperial Navy will keep an eye on their little East Asia Squadron.”

“Very good, very good” smiled the Prime Minister as he jotted down a few notes to himself, very aware that he would be meeting the Emperor later on that day and would have plenty to report about the situation in Korea and also this latest German encroachment of Japan’s sphere of influence. The Empire of Japan was beginning to devote considerable resources to the growing situation in Korea, plans to disarm the Korean Army were beginning to take hold and the last thing Tokyo needed was a European power trying to put its nose into somewhere where it wasn’t needed or wanted. And if they continued to make a nuisance of themselves, Japan was fully prepared to give the Germans a bloody nose.