WesWorld

Der Tagesspiegel, Monday, 10 December 1945

Aircraft of the Strategischer Luftkommando continue their efforts to speed relief supplies to the areas impacted by the recent earthquake and tidal wave in Bharat and Balochistan. Junkers and Breguet-Nord aircraft from Transportgeschwader 5 are providing the principal airlift while other Luftwaffe air transports forward supplies and equipment via Belgrade and Beirut. Equipment forwarded includes several Fa300 helicopters for search and rescue and Dornier Do27 light transports for ferrying supplies to remote locations. Private donations collected for relief efforts have exceeded one million Reichsmarks to date. It is considered likely that relief efforts will continue for some time, though at this point it is not clear whether the air bridge effort, Unternehmen Merkur, will be necessary in the New Year.


Oberhessische Zeitung, Tuesday, 11 December 1945

Classes began yesterday at the recently founded Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie Detmold. It will offer performance degrees in composition, all orchestral instruments, piano, voice, opera, art-song, conducting, as well as degrees in church music and music education.


Heavy Cruiser Graf Spee, 3 dgs 32 min South, 154 dgs 15 min East, Wednesday, 12 December 1945

The bows of the ships of the East Asia Squadron cut the long swells of the South Pacific into widening wakes as they now turned southeast, away from New Ireland and towards their destination. Admiral Langsdorff was busy composing his report for the Admiralstab in Berlin; what he had learned so far confirmed the intelligence reports that indicated the weakness of Australian authority in the outer periphery of its territories. Aerial reconnaissance in the vicinity of Simpsonhafen confirmed that little reconstruction of the settlement had been undertaken since the terrible volcanic eruptions of 1937 and 1944, and Kavieng, on New Ireland, was devoid of facilities save for the mooring of small inter-island steamers. To Langsdorff it appeared that the mandatory power had done nothing to fulfil its obligations to the native population. Having grabbed the former German territories, the Australians had done nothing to improve the lot of its new subjects. But that was a matter for politicians; his duty was to reach his destination with a minimum of fuss, and the fine weather now prevailing augured well for accomplishing that.

From: Andon Haglelgam, President of Pacifica
To: German Trespassing Idiots in our region

Get out!
Go home!
Don't come back!
You're not welcome here!
We thought we finally got rid of your foul stench after the Great War but now it's back!
We do not tollerate your presence here!
Leave!

(OOC: I would think that Pacifica is as happy about the German military presence as the Australians are and maybe even less so. Considering that the coordinates you gave would put them into the Pacifica marked area on our Big Map (and which Pacifica considers their region), I realized they should give a 'proper' response)

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

From: Andon Haglelgam, President of Pacifica
To: German Trespassing Idiots in our region

Get out!
Go home!
Don't come back!
You're not welcome here!
We thought we finally got rid of your foul stench after the Great War but now it's back!
We do not tollerate your presence here!
Leave!

(OOC: I would think that Pacifica is as happy about the German military presence as the Australians are and maybe even less so. Considering that the coordinates you gave would put them into the Pacifica marked area on our Big Map (and which Pacifica considers their region), I realized they should give a 'proper' response)

Considering that the coordinates of the last post put the East Asia Squadron approximately 100 km northeast of New Ireland and 100 km nearly due north of Bougainville, Pacifica has no leg to stand upon. If Pacifica is claiming those waters now, I think that the Australians have more to worry about than a few German cruisers.

As far as I can see on the map, they are international waters. If you look carefully on the Big Map, Pacifica's bounds are marked to the NORTH of the equator. As the coordinates given are SOUTH latitude, things are quite different.

Quoted

As far as I can see on the map, they are international waters. If you look carefully on the Big Map, Pacifica's bounds are marked to the NORTH of the equator. As the coordinates given are SOUTH latitude, things are quite different.

D'oh! I thought it was 3 dgs 32 min North. Guess I really need glasses...
Still the ships are too close to Pacifica to their liking... so the message should be slightly different but still unfriendly.

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

Quoted

As far as I can see on the map, they are international waters. If you look carefully on the Big Map, Pacifica's bounds are marked to the NORTH of the equator. As the coordinates given are SOUTH latitude, things are quite different.

D'oh! I thought it was 3 dgs 32 min North. Guess I really need glasses... :pinch:
Still the ships are too close to Pacifica to their liking... so the message should be slightly different but still unfriendly.

Then Pacifica may join Australia in unhappiness...

Where's the map? I cant see it on the official links.

Quoted from "Desertfox"

Where's the map? I cant see it on the official links.

The Big Map? Try here

With regard's to Pacifica it seems like quite a bit of protesting from a nation that, at last check, has just 4 patrol boats and 12 coastal subs covering a large swath of the central and south Pacific. All of their larger ships have been scrapped and if they had still been in service would be no match for the German fleet of Von Spee in 1914 let alone the current German fleet.

It is because they have just 4 patrol boats and 12 coastal subs covering a large swath of the central and south Pacific that they are protesting. If they had a bigger, more powerful fleet they would have gone out and sunk those german 'tresspassers'. They are all bark and no bite.

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

It is because they have just 4 patrol boats and 12 coastal subs covering a large swath of the central and south Pacific that they are protesting. If they had a bigger, more powerful fleet they would have gone out and sunk those german 'tresspassers'. They are all bark and no bite. :)

Pacifica can claim as wide a swath of the Pacific Ocean as it wishes; however, getting anyone to recognize anything beyond the three mile limit is going to be difficult. Allow me to refer you to the work of that learned Dutchman, Hugo Grotius - Mare Liberum

Pacifica considers all the water between its islands to be "inner waters" which may be freely travelled through by all civilian ships as well as naval ships of regional powers (i.e. nations around the Pacific, like the US and Argentina in the east to the Dutch and China in the west, although it should be obvious that due to all its recent aggression, China will go on the black list and be banned from entering the Pacifica region) though even if you were to draw a line around all the outer islands and go 3 miles beyond those lines, the Germans would still be outside that area if it were North instead of South (although it is probably unlikely that Pacifica will accept such a low limit, especially after this blatant aggressive move by these German Bullies).

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

Pacifica considers all the water between its islands to be "inner waters" which may be freely travelled through by all civilian ships as well as naval ships of regional powers (i.e. nations around the Pacific, like the US and Argentina in the east to the Dutch and China in the west, although it should be obvious that due to all its recent aggression, China will go on the black list and be banned from entering the Pacifica region) though even if you were to draw a line around all the outer islands and go 3 miles beyond those lines, the Germans would still be outside that area if it were North instead of South (although it is probably unlikely that Pacifica will accept such a low limit, especially after this blatant aggressive move by these German Bullies).

It is not a question of what Pacifica will accept, it is what the rest of the world will accept. I do not think that any major power will accept half the Pacific Ocean as someone's Mare clausum.

I suggest if Pacifica is really serious about this they then should refer the matter to the League of Nations, otherwise their protest will likely be filed under annoying insect file.

Well Britain has been warning about German Weltpolitik and its Weltkreigsmarine for some time (1870) . *whistles innocently*
Doubtless the tabloid press in Britain when it gets hold of this story will blow it out of proportion.

Politically, Britain is neutral about the German operations, after all they've sailed round much of the earth's oceans but done little other than to show the flag and re-learn the vital lessons of supporting fleets far from home. Its Asiatic Squadron rests on French largesse to operate and that of its European colonial neighbours to remain able to project this kind of soft power. That they may annoy the remnants of Satsuma satisfies us and generally if things got sticky out east, another fleet wouldn't hurt, but we're still unsure if they are a loose cannon.
Germany may try to raise its voice on former possessions, but I think that would fall on equally as deaf ears as those not tuned into Pacifica's current objections.

Dithmarscher Landeszeitung, Thursday, 13 December 1945

The fleet tender Albrecht von Stosch has completed her post-conversion trials and is now operational with the First Base Support Group of the Expeditionsverband at Flensburg. She is the last of the Gustav Nachtigal class support ships presently scheduled for conversion.


Heavy Cruiser Graf Spee, 8 dgs 49 min South, 164 dgs 18 min East, Friday, 14 December 1945

The East Asia Squadron had slowed its pace somewhat while refuelling at sea before continuing on to their destination. The crews were in fine spirit – the prospect of time on a south-sea tropical island had them anticipating their arrival in Nouvelle-Calédonie.

Langsdorff stood on the wing of the Graf Spee’s bridge to observe Hipper and Prinz Eugen refuel from Donau – the sight of a cruiser on either beam of the large replenishment ship as all three bounded along at fifteen knots was impressive. Out of habit he turned his gaze skyward and saw the glint of an aircraft – he wondered whether it was a British Sunderland operating out of nearby Tulagi or a French patrol aircraft staging through the New Hebrides. He hoped they found the sight as impressive from the air…

He noted the change in signal flags as the cruisers broke away from Donau, completing their evolution. “Make to all ships,” he said to the signal yeoman. “Resume cruising formation. Come to course two-two-zero. Speed fifteen knots.”


94 Cowcross Street, Smithfield, London, Saturday, 15 December 1945

Aston sat in a quieter corner of “The Hope” awaiting his contact. He saw the trench-coated man enter and caught his eye; the man from M.I.5 made his way over and sat down, and traded pleasantries while the barmaid took their order.

“You are looking like the cat that ate the canary,” said the agent. “Don’t tell me you’ve found something already!”

Aston took a sip of his pint. “Indeed I have,” he explained. “I heard from a chap that the head porter at the Hungarian legation had upped and died from a heart attack; so I went ‘round to see. Of course the staff all moved up one step, but they was looking for a new night porter, for the bottom of the ladder you see.”

The trench-coated man actually smiled at this news. “And you were taken on…”

“Yah, I was. They were right proper impressed by the letter of recommendation from the Germans. I just started yesterday, so I haven’t found anything that might interest you yet, but it ought to come soon enough.”

Australia will be filing a protest as soon as they confirm that it was the Germans. Couple of stories coming soon...

Quoted from "Desertfox"

Australia will be filing a protest as soon as they confirm that it was the Germans. Couple of stories coming soon...

Be wary of your use of out-of-character knowledge. Unless you are reading Langsdorff's logs or reading his mind...

:D

Hence the confirm part

Quoted from "Desertfox"

Hence the confirm part ;)

I further suggest you check the definitions of the word, "vicinity". ^^

Quoted from "Hood"

Germany may try to raise its voice on former possessions, but I think that would fall on equally as deaf ears as those not tuned into Pacifica's current objections.

Speaking theoretically, since those territories are League mandates, the Australians have a responsibility to develop them in preparation for independence. (Which, I believe, is part of the rationale behind Pacifica's existence - a former Japanese mandate state turned nominally independent.) New Guinea is classified as a Class C Mandate, which means that while it may be administered as an integral part of the holder's territory (unlike, for instance, Syria, Iraq or Palestine), the Mandate holder still needs to report regularly to the League council on the development of the mandate state. If it can be proven that Australia isn't taking the role of a mandate holder seriously, then the League has the capability to demand a more detailed development plan, or at the furthest extremity, re-assign it to another mandate holder.