WesWorld

1 July

In Chennai, construction began today on the Turkish battleship Osmanieh. The battleship is a half-sibling to India’s Shah Jahan, being built in Mumbai.

Foreign Affairs Minister Jal Kadharni was one of several senior officials on hand for the keel-laying ceremony. He told the audience that the event marked the next step in the growing friendship between the two nations. “We should continue to look for opportunities to improve our relationship, to make it stronger and more productive for us both.”

Admiral of the Navy Kashiram Paswan subsequently told the crowd, “I look forward to that day three years from now when modern battleships flying the flags of our two nations start the journey from India to Turkey.”

The construction program also marks the continuation of foreign warship orders from Indian yards, with the Filipino aircraft carrier Sulu completed not that long ago and the purchase by South Africa of designs and rights to other ship types. Sources within the military have suggested that another deal of some kind is in the works, but would not elaborate on whom the deal would be with.

10 July

India has formally signed the amended Treaty of Cleito. The Rana performed the honors during a brief visit to Cleito itself today.

“India is pleased that many key issues, such as the inclusion of Germany and India, could be resolved”, the Rana told reporters afterward. “We do regret that enforcement measures could not be included, but perhaps the other powers are correct in trusting the honor system to be an effective means of ensuring all powers live up to their obligations.”

Having now visited Germany and Atlantis, the Rana is expected to return to India via a trip down around South Africa, with plans for a stop or two in that nation at some point late in the month.

17 July

A mishap in the Imperial Palace has left the Raj in hospital and Prince Brashkar as acting regent. A spokesman for the Royal Family told AWNR, “The Raj tripped on some stairs, and fell heavily, breaking two ribs and a wrist. He is being treated at the Hyderabad Imperial Hospital and will be released in a couple of days.”

Observers had noted that the Raj appeared somewhat frail and fatigued during recent appearances, leading to speculation that the stress of the Filipino Revolution and his well-known battle with malaria have affected his health.

26 July

There were some tense moments in eastern Asir recently, after a reported incursion by Saudi troops into the Indian-controlled mandate. “We think they may have been testing our alertness”, noted a source within the army. “They did not seem to have a specific destination or objective in mind.”

There were no reports of combat or casualties, but Indian troops did react to the incursion and make themselves known to the Saudis until the latter returned to their own borders.

The Saudi government denied that there had been such an incident, noting that it routinely patrols its borders with Asir and expects that Indian troops were unfamiliar with the actual border itself.

5 August

The Krokodil Division has arrived in the Philippines to begin its duty of policing portions of Luzon while the Filipino military and police forces regroup and rebuild. The division arrived without most of its heavier artillery assets, which were deemed unnecessary for the mission, while bolstered by the addition of two military police battalions.

Their arrival marks the completed deployment of the thirty-eight Field Force, and allows the Rana’s Own Loyal Matchlockmen to de-mobilize and return home after a months-long mission.

Meanwhile, reconstruction efforts are in full swing, and Indian firms are heavily involved in the process. FerroBharat, one of India’s leading steel producers, has started rebuilding a damaged mill in Quezon. Project manager Mehendi Ahluwalia told AWNR, “The damage is widespread, but not severe in any one area. It’s about what you’d expect from a bunch of people equipped with guns and hand tools and an hour in which to use them. We hope to have the facility back on-stream by March at the latest.”

9 August

The Raj has returned to the Peacock Throne, weeks after first being hospitalized. The most recent tenure of Prince Brashkar went smoothly, with no significant domestic or international crises being reported in this timeframe.

31 August

The first of several small coastal sloops being built by the Indian Navy was launched earlier today in Mumbai. The Rabkavi class is armed with a single 10.5 cm gun as well as lighter weapons, depth charges, and minesweeping gear.

“We’ve identified a need for coastal escort units and coastal minesweepers and the Rabkavi class represents an attempt to merge these missions into a single hull”, noted Admiral Paswan. “The end result is an effective, if not spectacular, escort that we can produce in significant quantity.”

The navy apparently plans to build at least a dozen of the class over the next three to four years, in addition to larger sloops that are also planned, and the reconstruction of some older destroyers as escorts. “We have a large operating area, and will need a lot of escorts in order to secure it. The Rabkavi is a major part of our plan to do this.”

8 September

Lieutenant His Royal Highness Shrinivas Canangasundrum has taken up a new position within the Bharatiya Nau Sena. Having spent an extensive period aboard a minesweeper, the heir to the throne has now been posted to the navy’s Administrative Command, based in Chennai. There he will be part of the group overseeing fleet logistics.

13 September

The Indian Navy has put out a call for papers for the first Global Conference on Anti-Piracy Operations, to be held in Trincomalee in August of 1930.

“We are inviting participants from around the world to join this event, which will include sessions on the origins of piracy, historical problems, current issues, and other topics”, noted Admiral Paswan. “Piracy has been a problem since humanity first took to the seas, so we expect a great deal of interest and hope for a productive discussion.”

27 September

...to be added once announced by the appropriate person.

(It’s okay...it’s not a war...)

The Global Conference on Anti-Piracy Operations is an invitation to all Wesworlders to write some kind of essay on piracy in Wesworld - something in the past, something ongoing, whatever. Then, I (and hopefully some of you) will post our articles in Q3/1930, about two months from now, and perhaps we can have some interesting discussion about piracy.

Write whatever you want to write about, so long as it's about pirates. Me, I could write about historical piracy in the Malaccca Strait or along my coasts, I could write about the destruction of the Arcadia, or I could write about the logistics of supplying modern pirate warships. Lots of options.

If you expect to contribute, kindly say so, and be prepared to indicate who's presenting the paper, so I know what kind of fuss...if any...to raise in Q3/30.

Note that the invitation is open to our contributors who are not players - guys like John Stauffer, Big Rich, or Shinra. You guys are welcome to chip in articles as well, if you'd like.

And I was ready to write "The Raj is dead. Long live the Raj."....

Saudi incursions? Irregular desert forces on camel-back seems more likely to me. They aren't lead by Peter O'toole presumably?

I'll think of a topic for an essay on combating pirates, plenty of time.

Who is going to mine Indian coastal waters? It would be a huge waste of resources. Mines are only effective at choke points such as Gib or Bab al Mandab where they can be concentrated, but probably not moored on account of the depth of water. There are no choke points on the Indian coast. If I was to mine somewhere, it'd be either Straits of Hormuz or Straits of Malacca so it would actually be effective. But that'd really annoy other countries so isn't really on. In addition to that I'd release a few free floating mines around Mumbai. Hopefully one will either wash up on the shore, sink something or be spotted by something. They India would wet its pants because it thinks that all its ports are mined. India doesn't know that it was only 5-10 mines or so. I could have laid huge fields there that are undiscovered. Just because India's only found a mine at Mumbai doesn't mean that I won't have mined Columbo and every other major port on the subcontinent. Now India restricts all its coastal traffic for fear that they might sink on sailing through this minefield. Then India deploys all its minesweepers, causing lots of problems for the crews, even more so when they don't find any mines. And India builds more minesweepers to cope with the problem better next time.

Maybe I shouldn't have just written that...

Q: How many mines do you need for a minefield?

A: None, just a press release...

But then people start getting suspicious and cry wolf. At least India will have factual evidence in my case. (and might sink something)

Perhaps nobody is going to mine Indian waters, but can India be sure of that? It seems like the safe bet, especially if the vessels can serve the other valid purpose of coastal escort.

Though I do appreciate the maniacal monologue...

Never monologue, and no capes! (I supposed no one has seen the Incredibles?)

I remember a story about the Germans were turning up to mine the mouth of the Thames(IIRC) every night and then the RN would sweep it the next day. This went on for a while until one day, the RN didn't sweep the fresh minefield - just to see what would happen. That night they fished the German captain out of the water after his minelayer hit one of it's own mines. He was cross with the RN being unmilitary and not following regimented procedures etc.

Another story was about the RAF sending a plane out to drop sandbags in harbors so the local minesweepers would be sent on fruitless activity.

Cheers,

The Philippines will, of course, be represented at the GCAPO.

By Garcia, Reyes, and Ceeta.

Gentlemen, start your wine-hording...

Garcia? I liberate your nation from revolutionary hordes and you propose to reward me with a visit from Garcia?

One of the goals of RN off of Norway was to mine Norweigan coastal waters to force German traffic from Narvik further out to sea where it could be intercepted by the ships of the RN. It was called operation Wilfred, and consisted of destroyers almost carrying the mines. Their covering force was Glowworm, Greyhound and Renown. Renown wound up encountering two strange ships in the dark and stormy weather. They turned out to be Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

If Norway's navy had extensive coastal and ocean minsweeping capability in 1940, would the RN have bothered with Wilfred?

Roger,

Monologues and no capes! No that's funny!!

"Where is my supersuit?!?!?"
LOL!!

This particular trio will likely become the Filipino Roving "Diplomatic" Team.

In hopes of keeping Garcia out of the country...