WesWorld

Arabia

The month of July sees sporadic fighting between Saudi and Hedjazi irregular cavalry in various locations, while Indian troops grind their way closer to Riyadh. The Indian advance is slow and deliberate, as the length and difficult nature of the supply route to the front will not support a fast-moving, sustained offensive. Indian leadership accepts this and uses the opportunity to refine its operations while attriting Saudi regulars.

Six days after the last significant Saudi/Hedjazi skirmish, the Saudi government agrees to a ceasefire with the following key points:

1) Immediate exchange of military and civilian prisoners, supervised by the Red Crescent

2) Withdrawal of Indian forces from Saudi Arabia

3) Saudi recognition of Hedjaz as an independent nation

4) A guarantee of access to Medina and Mekkah by Saudi citizens for the purpose of pilgrimage

5) Saudi recognition of Asir as a League of Nations mandate, with India as the mandatee

This Treaty of Ankara is signed by Minister Kadharni (Bharat), Prince Yusuf ibn Ali (Saudi Arabia) and Prince Hussein ibn Ali (Hedjaz) on 27 July 1933, concluding the eighteen month war in Arabia. This is followed by a terse recognition of Hedjazi soveriengnty by Saudi Arabia the next day, along with a more flowerly recognition by India. Persia chips in its recognition two days later.

Hedjaz now consists of the western provinces of Arabia, from north to south: Al Jawf, Tabuk, Al Madinah, Makkah, and Al Bahah [OOC: which, in this case, includes the chunks of historical Asir and Jizan that aren't included in the WW Asir mandate]. Its economy, based on natural resource exploitation such as fishing, agriculture, and limited mining, will be about equal to that of the surviving state of Saudi Arabia once things settle down and damage is repaired.*

Politically, the first few weeks of Hedjaz are somewhat chaotic. Prince Faisal and his nephew Hussein had anticipated - given the tumultuous greeting Faisal received on his return to Jiddah in March - that Hedjaz would revert to a kingdom under the rule of their family, as it had been prior to the Saudi annexation in the early twenties. It turns out that the cheering Faisal heard was directed more at his message than to himself; his family's earlier defeat at Abdul Aziz ibn Saud's hands, and their subsequent flight to Asir, did not inspire a great deal of confidence amongst Hedjaz's population.

There are no clear-cut replacements for Faisal or Hussein as a king/prince/autocrat, either. The governor of the largest province, Makkah, might have been a reasonable choice, but he is a staunch Saudi supporter and has already fled east. At the opposite end of the spectrum, democracy is not strongly favored, being an unfamiliar form of governance with no recent usage in the region. A grand council of tribal elders spontaneously convenes itself in Makkah to discuss matters , and finally a confederate system is made possible with the decision to split Makkah in two, one province retaining the name, the other being named for Jiddah.

In the new confederate system, a House of Amirs is created, with twenty-four seats. Six seats are assigned to each of Jiddah and Makkah, four each to Madinah and Al Bahah, and two each to Al Jawf and Tabuk, on a rough basis of population. Every five years, the governor of each province appoints his Amirs from a list of candidates put forward by tribal elders within that province.

-The twenty-four Amirs then elect a Speaker, who oversees conduct and operation of the House.

-The twenty-three remaining Amirs then elect an Amir al-Umara, the government leader, from amongst themselves.

-The twenty-two remaining Amirs then elect eight ministers from amongst themselves, but the Amir al-Umara determines which minister receives which portfolio. The portfolios are: International Relations, Defence, Agriculture, Fisheries, Industry, Infrastructure, Education, and Religion. The Rules of Government also allow for additional portfolios to be created if the House of Amirs considers it necessary.

-There are thus nine amirs in the "government" and fourteen in the "opposition" who vote on matters, the Speaker only voting in the rare case of a tie.

On the military front, India begins demobilizing forces from the region on 14 August, beginning with those forces contributed by the Philippines, Japan, and Persia. Over the following days, the Samraja expresses gratitude to these nations for their assistance in the conflict. For India's part, a military presence will be retained in Asir and Hedjaz, with the likelihood that India will help train and equip a Hedjazi military in due course.


*In other words, I'll assume that the one factory in pre-war Saudi Arabia is now split into two "half-factories", one for each of Hedjaz and the rump Saudi state.

How's this look?

*Bows down to the master of maps*

Looks good, but it should be totally grey; it's not an Indian territory, just one with some close links to India.

Thanks, Canis.

Map links updated

http://www.wolfsshipyard.mystarship.com/…Big_Ass_Map.jpg

http://www.wolfsshipyard.mystarship.com/…Big_Ass_Map.png

So is Hedjaz now the proud owners of a rather waterlogged "battleship"?

A pile of scrap called, "Amir al-Bihar" does lie off one of their towns.

I gather you've escaped nature's wrath, Swampy?

Other International News

The July 13 bombing of Cochabamba, Bolivia draws little comment from India. This is not just because India is concentrating on matters closer at hand; it is also because Asirite, Yemeni, and Saudi civilians have been killed by Indian fire during the Arabian War. There is no sense in issuing a high-handed statement that can be turned against India by other parties.

A "Wait and See" approach is adopted with respect to Italy's cruisers and the Cleito Treaty. India and partners have expressed their views already, and are expected to withhold further comment on the matter until their published deadline has passed.

A copy of the Dutch TIDE report is obtained by India several weeks after its presentation to the States-Generaal in April. Indian officials examine the document for another month, with the government's official position being that "We have noted the presentation of the report and will monitor discussion about it."

(See the Dutch news thread for India's un-official position on the matter.)

Domestic Events

From August on, the military begins releasing reservists back to civilian status, and starts rotating two fresh divisions into Asir and Hedjaz to replace the experienced but fatigued divisions that have been there for up to eighteen months. Major fleet units retire from the area, though light cruisers and destroyers continue to patrol the Red Sea in particular. It is not stated whether there is concern over Yemeni activity, Ethiopian activity, or both.

The Bharatiya Nau Sena settles on "Plan Indigo" for its construction program through the remainder of the Cleito Treaty. The plan is sufficiently flexible to address possible premature termination of the Treaty while still addressing core deficiencies in the navy's structure.

Consideration towards converting a Colombo class cruiser to experimental status continues. The ship's proposed fittings seem to vary with each iteration of the proposal, which irks the more senior personnel working on the file.

The Naval Aviation Arm begins a program to develop new equipment and techniques to neutralize enemy airships. Recognizing that it is not overly practical to ship aircraft specifically for the purpose of downing airships, work will concentrate on new weapons and attack techniques that might allow existing aircraft types to eliminate enemy airships. A wide range of weapons are proposed, ranging from detachable cannons to cluster bombs to Siamese rubbergas bombs to aerial mines. These will be examined and tested on static mock-ups, though attack techniques will require exercises in conjunction with actual airships, with either the Germans or the South Africans likely to be approached about cooperation.

Quoted

Originally posted by The Rock Doctor
I gather you've escaped nature's wrath, Swampy?

Nature hit well south of both me and Swampy, but thanks for asking. ):

Sorry, I didn't remember you were in Florida as well. You guys ever get together for a session of Plotting And Scheming?

Oh the Horror! the Horror!

And I prefer to remain...mysterious...

Who knows...what evil lurks...in the hearts of men...?



*ahem*

A P.N. (proto-napalm) bomb might do the trick on a grounded airship, but I don't think you'd want to try air-to-air with one.

I think swampy concluded that if we were ever in the same county at the same time, there'd be too many notable explosions in the area for the authorities to ignore.

At least I have Georgia between me and them to help absorb the blast...

Siam grants full diplomatic recognition to the Kingdom of the Hedjaz, and donates four P-30 fighters, four Dornier Do 11 bombers, two Rohrbach Ro III patrol flying boats, and six W.29 reconnassiance seaplanes to assist in the establishment of the RHAF.

Hedjaz thanks Siam for the generous offer of these fine aircraft, which will be most useful once Hedjaz has pilots for them.

Addendum:

Domestic Events

The military aerodrome at Delhi, the usual testing place for new Indian aircraft, happens to be rather busy in August and September.

Observers watching from the perimeter of the large base can identify several known aircraft decked out in Bharatiya Nau Sena "Two-Blue" color schemes, such as the Marut fighter, the Toofani scout-bomber, and foreign aircraft including the Mitsubishi B2M and the Royal South African Aviation Company's Hammerkop torpedo-bombers.

On the other hand, "Jane's All the World's Aircraft" does not show recognition sketches for other aircraft that routinely fly out of the base. These include two different aircraft of similar size to the torpedo-bombers, two biplanes about the size of a Toofani, and three fighter-sized aircraft, one of which is a monoplane.

After the activity is mentioned in Delhi's newspaper, a BNS spokesman confirms, "We are testing a variety of aircraft that may be of interest to the BNS. Normally the testing would be more spread out time-wise, but we are re-evaluating some aircraft in light of lessons learned in Arabia."