WesWorld

This is pretty much a rough draft and I expect and hope for comments from you all on how other countries may be involved, etc... CG will certainly want to flesh things out from his side as well.

Iberian-American War of 1898

15th February : U.S.S. Maine explodes in Havana Harbor while on a goodwill visit. The US blames Iberia for the loss of the ship, claiming that evidence points to a mine planted underneath the ship. U.S. media fans the fires of war.
19th March : U.S.S. Oregon sets sail for Asia to join up with Commodore Dewey’s squadron. She will arrive in Hong Kong by late April. (Assumes that the Iberian fleet in Manila is somewhat stronger than in OTL, so the Oregon heads west instead of south.)
25th April : War officially declared by U.S. against Iberia. US fleet at Key West heads for the Cuban coast to institute a blockade while Commodore Dewey, joined by the Oregon , heads for Manila.
27th April : US fleet under Admiral Sampson begins blockades of Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago. Iberian fleet units in Havana prepare to sortie against the squadron there lead by Admiral Sampson.
28th April : During the night, Iberian TBD’s Pluton , Furor , and Terror launch a surprise attack on the US fleet off of Havana. The cruiser Brooklyn is hit twice and explodes with all hands lost. The Terror is sunk by US forces. US forces maintain the blockade in the expectation that the Iberian fleet in Havana will soon sortie in force for a major engagement in the Florida Strait.
30th April : The Battle of the Florida Straits takes place. Iberian forces under Admiral Cervera heads out from Havana to engage the American blockading fleet under Admiral Sampson. Sampson has 4 BB, 1 AC, and several smaller cruisers and AMC’s. Cervera has a pair of BB’s, 3 AC’s, and several smaller ships, including the Pluton and Furor . Sampson’s flag is on the Iowa . The battle results in an Iberian victory after the Iowa is badly damaged by shell fire and a torpedo hit. Admiral Sampson is mortally wounded. The fleet falls back to Key West to regroup.
1st May : Battle of Manila takes place. Commodore Dewey, with his flag moved to the Oregon from the Olympia , scores a decisive victory against the Iberian fleet in the harbor.
3rd May : Two Iberian cruisers appear off of Charleston and briefly shell the city. The damage is insignificant, but the attack, combined with the defeat off of Havana causes panic along the eastern seaboard. The Navy is forced to lift the remaining blockades in Cuba to move units to defend the east coast of the US. Commodore Schley assumes command of the fleet at Key West which was now in charge of preventing the Iberian fleet in Havana from moving north to strike the US coast. Through the month of May, any vessel on the east coast of the US capable of being armed as an auxiliary warship was so modified. Several Civil War era Monitors are sent to guard the major ports.
21st May : The thirty-five year old Monitor Canonicus engages an Iberian cruiser off of New York, driving it off. The story of the “spunky little monitor” thrills the nation still reeling from the defeat off of Havana and the shelling of Charleston.
23rd May : Iberian squadron departs for the Philippines. It will be several months before they can arrive.
2nd June : Battleships Massachusetts and Indiana engage three Iberian cruisers off the coast of Florida, sinking two and driving the third off. The war settles into a stalemate, with neither side willing to make a major move against the other. The first feelers for an armistice go out in mid June through third parties.
6th July : Formal peace talks begin between the US and Iberia. Iberia agrees to Philippine independence and recalls the fleet heading for Manila. The US officially withdraws its claim that Iberia sank the Maine , listing the cause as “unexplained”. The US agrees not to occupy the Philippines and to aid the country in becoming a stable, independent country. A strong anti-imperialist backlash in the U.S. and fear about Iberia remaining a major force in the Atlantic & Caribbean makes this process far easier
4th August : Peace treaty signed, ending the war. (Identity of 3rd parties and location of peace talks unknown as of yet.)

Dewey becomes the great American hero of the war, along with Schley, who is seen as the defender of the American coast after the disaster at Havana. Calls are made in Congress and the press for increased naval expenditures and a large building program is authorized, despite vocal opposition from anti-war forces who claim the build-up is a prelude to a new war.. A Russian Battleship (Retvizan ) and cruiser (Varyag ) building in Philadelphia are purchased by the U.S.

Interesting stuff. I'm still trying to think of who would be the third party to the peace talks. I also wonder how Atlantis would nab Venezuela while Iberia was "distracted". Perhaps France was the third party in order to keep hostility's from escalating to include other nations(Atlantis, Mexico)?

Looks good to me. My original Filipino timeline did include an American 'occupation' followed by a vote on independence, but this will work, too.

Allow me to add - if the Commodore is okay with these details of what is established already in general terms:

27 April: India, reckoning on an easy American victory, dispatches a squadron to reclaim the Chagos Islands, annexed by Iberia in 1829.

26 May: The Indian squadron - battleship Ashoka, protected cruisers Mysore and Surat, and two armed merchantmen - arrive at Diego Garcia. The Indian commander issues an ultimatum ordering the Iberians to cede the islands to India. This is declined. A short battle ensues and the Iberian squadron - a protected cruiser and two torpedo boats - is quickly overwhelmed. The Iberian cruiser is sunk, and the Indian Mysore is badly damaged. The two Iberian torpedo-boats flee to the Seychelles and arrive with their bunkers virtually empty some time later.

14 June: The action at Diego Garcia becomes public knowledge. Though furious, the Iberian government directs its fleet to skirt around the islands on the way to the Philippines, lest it incur unacceptable damage against the Indians prior to a more significant engagement with the Americans.

17 June: Catching wind of negotiations between Iberia and America, Germany begins work to prevent a short but undesirable war between its Asian client state and a potential European ally. Considerable diplomatic muscle is necessary to get the irate Iberians and the brash Indians to a negotiating table.

28 June: Iberia recognizes Indian sovereignty over the Chagos islands in return for reparations, some German technical assistance, and a twenty year lease on coaling facilities at Diego Garcia.

The Liberian Question?

Aside from that I think it is very interesting. Will Olympia have any big gains that would warrent her preservation in Philidelphia?
Chile will likely not be involved in the war, having averted a Civil War within the last ten years. Though the Chileans might (might) harass the Iberian squadron heading for Manila late in the war.

Guess we'll have to see which direction the Philippines-bound fleet sails in, then, because it can't be avoiding India and enduring Chilean harassment at the same time.

Let's let the principals tell us about Liberia...

True...I didn't see your post as I was typing mine.

No worries...we can just sit back and see who got to have the anxiety attack.

Quoted

Originally posted by Ithekro
The Liberian Question?

If the US is seen as having a hard time in the Caribbean, why would they try to traverse the Atlantic and the Iberian lines of communications with the Caribbean, for a minor colony.......makes no tactical or strategic sense to me!

Quoted

Though the Chileans might (might) harass the Iberian squadron heading for Manila late in the war.

And the now "PISSED OFF" Iberians would sail back you way, and teach it's former child (sorry, colony) a lesson it would NOT like!!!

As for Liberia:
1. Iberia grabs it during the war. With the U.S. occupied in the Caribbean and Atlantic, I'd be in no position to defend it and many in the US would probably be glad to be rid of it anyhow.
2. One could even leave it as historical, as an independent nation until Iberia decides to move in following political instability there in the 1870's. The US wouldn't pick a fight over it.
3. Make Liberia a historically Iberian colony, perhaps for freed slaves from Iberian territories in the Americas. Might have to change some city names, etc...

As for 3rd parties, France and the UK seem to be the major parties not trying to pick away at the outer edges of Iberia's possessions, perhaps they help negotiate the peace, or maybe Russia?

Remember harass does not always mean "fired upon"...just annoy.

Also the Iberian Fleet can't go both ways, so either they avoided the Indians, or ran through the straits with Chileans harassing them.

Be careful not to make this Iberian-US war a full scale world war with too many powers involved or influenced.....

Otherwise: Good stuff. :o)

Well (if) they come this way, either Chile or Argentina would harass the Iberians. Taunting mostly I would think. Jeers and such. No shooting unless the pissed off Iberians opened fire. And Chile would have enough forced to handle an Iberian Squadron at the time....as most of the old ships that are being scrapped now where new then.

It would be best if they went the Indian Ocean route...less likely to run into American Ships on the way.

Acctually looking up the subject of venezuela I found out that it gained independance (along with Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama as New Grenada) in 1821.
Its a given then that Atlantis would support the independance movement.

In this timeline (somehow) Iberia held onto Panama and Equador holding of the South American independence fighters, led by Simón Bolívar.

Thanks CanisD for an excellent story about this!

that is pretty close (and a lot more detailed) to how I envisioned this when I redesigned the Caribbean.

Which would still allow for problems between the former colonies and the crowns of Iberia. I don't know which side would be more hostile, Argentina and allies, Peru, Columbia, or Chile. Chile is suppose to be the most reseptive to the Europeans, but Iberia could be another matter, but that can be worked out out of character. I imagine the locals do not like being looked on as children, and would take steps to remind the Iberians that they do not rule their nations anymore. Probably every chance they can. Sounds like a South American thing to do.

Well given what I have read on South American relations most of the independant nations wouldn't hold Iberia in high regaurd as a result of their conquering ways.

These Iberian traits have also led to conflict between Iberia at its peak of power and the upstart Atlantians. Later America joins the fray. This has led to Iberia being in a similar situation to the Ottoman empire in that other nations are slowly widdling away at her territory's by either conquering territory's or sowing the seeds of Independance.

Argentina, Chile, and all the other ex-colonies can be as happy at Iberian misfortunes as they want. But sending out ships to "jeer" at them would be, in my humble opinion, stupid. Nations rarely behave this way, even those with a lot of machismo.

Best, I think, just to have the Iberian fleet sailing easterly. Maybe they go south around Africa, smacking Liberia in the process.

Quoted

Best, I think, just to have the Iberian fleet sailing easterly. Maybe they go south around Africa, smacking Liberia in the process.

I agree.

[SIZE=1]I was thinking of whatever ship or ships were in the area actually. The Fleet would only be put out if either those ships were fired on, or news came back the the Iberians were heading back (which would be the long way by that point).[/SIZE]

Quoted

Originally posted by The Rock Doctor
Argentina, Chile, and all the other ex-colonies can be as happy at Iberian misfortunes as they want. But sending out ships to "jeer" at them would be, in my humble opinion, stupid. Nations rarely behave this way, even those with a lot of machismo.

I think what he really means is to shadow or "escort" Iberian ships much the way Russian and NATO ships did during the cold war, rather than the point and laugh with guns pointed menacingly tactic. Even so this would be far more risky in the pre WW1 era.