WesWorld

1st November 1931
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
The Admiralty Building
Copenhagen

14 men stood in small groups in the well appointed, but not lavish office. They represented most of the hierarchy of the Danish Navy, so much so that earlier one of them had been heard to joke that if anyone wanted to cripple the navy, here and now would be a very good place to start. They chatted amongst themselves, topics ranging from the newest designs from the Design Bureau, to whether Aircraft carriers were the way to go, to the new MTCs coming out of Roskilde. But in the back of their minds, none of them could put aside the idea that this meeting was not the usual end of year planning meeting.

The door opened and a large imposing figure entered with 2 men wearing smart civilian attire. All the assembled officers turned to face them and came to attention.

“At ease Gentlemen, and thank you all for coming. Please be seated.”
Admiral Carl Andrae, commander in chief of the navy, waited for his colleges to take their seats before continuing. “Before we start, may I introduce The Greve Kronborg and Herr Pedersen from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”. Both men gave slight bows to the officers and moved to their seats.

“The information I am about to reveal to you is considered highly sensitive, and therefore until the official announcement to be made by the Prime-Minister upon the return of the Folketing after the Christmas break, it is to be covered by the military secrecy provisions of your oaths of service, and any breach of these provisions will be dealt with harshly. Do I make myself clear gentlemen?”
A murmur ran through the assembled officers, as it was highly unusual for the secrecy provisions to be brought up at the annual development planning meeting. A chorus of replies of “Yes Sir” brought a nod of acceptance from the admiral.

“As you may have ascertained from the presence of Rear Admiral Bluhme and Commodore Schmidt from the Siamese station, and Commodore Jorgensen from the East African station, political developments outside the control of this office have forced us to change some of our plans for the next few years. Principally, these changes will affect infrastructure, although there will be some changes to construction and deployments also.”

“With effect from midnight on December 31st, 1934, the Kingdom of Siam will be completely and solely responsible for its own defence. As a result of this, we have to plan for a full and complete withdrawal of all our forces, Army, Navy and Air Force, from mainland Siam”
Anker Jorgensen cleared his throat to get the admiral’s attention.
“Yes Anker, you have a question?”
“Yes Sir. You specifically mentioned ‘Mainland Siam’, what of Phuket?”
“Phuket has been granted to us by the Siamese, on lease, for the remainder of what would have been left of the Protectorate Act. So we have to develop it to a point where it will be able to support our operations for the next 15 years.”
“Our operations will essentially reverse, and this means that Berbera will have to be enlarged also, to allow it to play a more active role in Indian Ocean operations, basically it will have to become the new Bangkok.”

“Admiral Moltke will be in overall command of the military aspects of the transition, while The Greve Kronborg is in charge of the civilian and political side. They will, over the next 2 months, be liaising with each of your departments to develop a single cohesive plan that will allow us to get this done. Gentlemen, we will all meet again, in this office, on January 3rd, and you will have said plan. Clear?”

The group responded as one with a clear “Aye Aye Sir!”

“Right, let’s get some of the preliminaries out of the way………..”

[So who's going to be taking over Siam, Swampy?]

That's what my spies told me...

Who else except "The Scourge of The South China Sea"!!

You seriously believe that controlling Siam will limit him to the South China Sea?!?
Friend, I fear you are gravely mistaken! Don't be surprised when one of his ships explodes in your backyard. Filipino explosiveness is very contageous. It's even worse than El Derretir!
:-)

[What kind of naval resources does Siam have? If they need a boost, I'm sure I can sell them some used cruisers or destroyers when I get around to commissioning the Sagittario and Margay classes.]

If Denmark has no responsibility for the defence of Siam at that point, what purpose does a base at Phuket serve?

Good item, Mac.

Projection of power into SEA?

Siam doesn't have much of a navy at the moment, but that'll change soon enough...

It said in the thread, anti-piracy operations.

Quoted

You seriously believe that controlling Siam will limit him to the South China Sea?!?

Today the Gulf of Siam, tomorrow the world!!

Quoted

If Denmark has no responsibility for the defence of Siam at that point, what purpose does a base at Phuket serve?

Well there will be a mutual defense treaty, and per the Phuket arrangement will shoulder some responsibility for the defense of the Andaman Sea coast. The treaty will be posted in...oh, about five minutes or so.

Quoted

Siam doesn't have much of a navy at the moment, but that'll change soon enough...

*sinister chuckle*

Hmmm...an independant country not affiliated with any of the large Alliances.

Might the Siamese be interested in a couple of Mail Carriers?

I just found a possible victim for flags of convinience.

Quoted

Originally posted by The Rock Doctor
If Denmark has no responsibility for the defence of Siam at that point, what purpose does a base at Phuket serve?

I think you'll find that the line is “With effect from midnight on December 31st, 1934, the Kingdom of Siam will be completely and solely responsible for its own defence., which doesn't mean they can't ask for help.

The other reason for maintaining the base is to allow Denmark to service agreements with it's allies for basing, refueling etc.

Quoted

Originally posted by The Rock Doctor
Good item, Mac.

And from the master of the story, that is high praise!!!
Thanks

Quoted

Originally posted by Red Admiral
Siam doesn't have much of a navy at the moment, but that'll change soon enough...

Canada will be disposing of the Chesters in a sim year or two, and I know Swampy loves his odd calibers.

Hmm I also have some 5.5" cruisers that will need to move on...

Some contracts have already been signed, and other preliminary agreements have been reached. However there is a "window" of funding in early 1934. ;-)

Australia might be willing to part with 4 Thornycraft Destroyers...

Chile might have a few ships it will be willing to part with in a few years. A pair of Predreadnought and a trio of light cruisers?

The old protected cruisres and armored cruiser I don't think the Siamese will want due to their age.

summary of the speech of the King, 15 December 1931:

...when the French were demanding more and more of our territories in the 1890s, it was the Danes, and only the Danes, who were willing to support us, and whose assistance helped to stop the bleeding on our eastern borders. Over the last 35 years, they have helped us become a fully modern nation, and they have our eternal gratitude...

...the coffers are open for the expansion of our military, that the sacred soil of Siam will never be violated by an enemy. The Army will see modest expansion, however the Air Force and especially the Navy will be brought up fully to modern standards. It is my belief that the former should have a minimum combat force of 150 aircraft, while the latter will recieve a suciffient number of ships for the complete dominiance of the Gulf of Siam, and the protection of Siamese interests throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Some promising talks torwards both of these requirements were had with the Italians at the recent Chinese aero exposition...

...in light of the new requirements on the Government with the changing political situation, We have decided that the time is right for the formation of a Parliment, which will be responsible for the general day-to-day running of the country. Elections for this new body will take place in late 1934...




(ooc: historically, Siam suffered a coup in 1932 that resulted in the formation of a constitutional monarchy. Here I've decided to have it done all legal-like. ;-) )

Quoted

Originally posted by Swamphen
(ooc: historically, Siam suffered a coup in 1932 that resulted in the formation of a constitutional monarchy. Here I've decided to have it done all legal-like. ;-) )

You know something, I had planned to do the same thing!!

Spooky or what!

You guys are starting to freak me out. Especially that part about Swampy doing something legally.