WesWorld

1 July

The light cruiser Karlsruhe has left Kiel for an extensive world tour. The new cruiser, completed just last year, set sail for Murmansk, where she will arrive on the ninth of this month.

12 July

While in Murmansk, the officers of the Karlsruhe participated in a memorial for all those killed at sea during the Great War. The ceremony was also attended by the mayor of the city, several senior officers, and the oblast governor.

Accompanied by the Russian seaplane tender Rigel, the Karlsruhe is now in the Northern Passage, having departed Murmansk yesterday. It’s estimated that the trip to Petropavlosk will take three weeks.

Ice conditions in the passage reported to be “Fair”. The passage is open along its entire length but drifting ice has been reported in several locations.

23 July

Rumors in Berlin suggest that the Democratic Party may abandon the Weimar Coalition if it presses ahead with efforts to either have the Versailles Treaty renounced or modified.

“Nobody’s saying anything publicly yet”, a source within the party noted, “Because we’re walking a tightrope here. On one hand, the party is opposed to re-arming, but we also don’t want to see the Coalition fall as a result of our stance.”

According to the latest tally, Chancellor Cuno’s coalition government would have a razor-thin majority of 50.6% of seats in the Reichstag if the Democrats were to make good on the rumors.

3 August

A couple of days later than expected, the Karlsruhe and Rigel arrived in the eastern Russian city of Petropavlosk after weeks in the high Arctic. “We did have some delays due to close ice conditions at one point”, Kapitan Helmut Bosch noted. “Fortunately, the Russians had an icebreaker in the vicinity, and we spent a few days following her, sorry, him, until it cleared up.

Kapitan Bosch noted that the crew found the scenery, “Fascinating for the first two days, and somewhat monotonous thereafter. That said, there was a volcanic eruption in progress a ways up the peninsula, and the men found the ash plume quite intriguing.”

Although the ship will host local dignitaries tomorrow, much of the visit will be a chance for the crew to spend a day or two ashore before departing on the seventh.

11 August

After extensive discussions with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence, Chancellor Cuno said today, “We are have agreed on a proposal to take to the Versailles Treaty signatories, following a retreat in Frankfurt to resolve some issues of policy. We’ll soon be taking that to the Treaty Signatories in what we hope will be the opening move in a negotiation process.”

Herr Cuno declined to go into specifics, stating only that, “The proposal is a matter of arms limitation changes. It would be inappropriate to go into further detail before we present the proposal to the Treaty signatories themselves.”

The chancellor reaffirmed his commitment to consult with his partners in the coalition government, acknowledging, “I will have to sit down with my Democrat colleagues to ensure that they are comfortable with this approach. Their involvement in this government is valuable and I wouldn’t want to lose it over a single issue.”

15 August

The Karlsruhe arrived in Yokohama yesterday, where she will entertain high-level guests from the Imperial Japanese government and the Navy.

Kapitan Helmut Bosch told curious reporters that his nation is looking to rebuild ties with its former enemies and erases its pariah status.

When asked about the possibility of Japanese pilot Oonishi Manzo affecting the visit, Kapitan Bloch noted, “As we are prohibited by treaty of operating aircraft, I doubt Colonel Manzo would have any interest in visiting our vessel.”

19 August

Shipwrights and yard workers in Wilhelmshaven are on strike today, protesting what labor leaders called an inequitable distribution of government work.

“Look at those fellows in Cuxhaven. They get the first cruiser contract, and now they get the other one, too. Meanwhile, all the destroyer building is in Bremerhaven and Kiel. What have we got? Nothing!”, complained striking worker Stephen Repp.

“If we didn’t have some commercial work to keep a paycheque coming, I think we’d be having serious social problems here just now.”

Minister of the Economy Joseph Wirth said that while he sympathized with the strikers, “Cuxhaven is the only available shipyard capable of building the newest cruiser class. And with the limited amount of naval construction taking place, I’m afraid we may not be able to offer much help to our workers in Wilhelmshaven in the immediate future.”

25 August

In Manila, there was considerable public interest in the arrival of the Karlsruhe. Although there will be an opportunity for the public to “walk the deck” for a tour, security is expected to be in place.

“It will be as discreet as possible”, Kapitan Bosch observed, “As we do not want to alarm our guests, but at the same time, there have been some violent incidents in the Philippines of late. We would not want to see one take place in our presence.”

28 August

Chancellor Cuno says that the Democratic Party will remain a part of his coalition government for the foreseeable future.

“We had a productive dialogue about the Frankfurt amendment and have introduced some diplomatic and constitutional items that satisfy our colleagues in the DDP. As the four governing parties have agreed to the modifications, I will be taking it to President Braun for his approval. Should he be satisfied with the proposal, we’ll take it to the Entente powers in September or October."

13 September

After another long leg, the Karlsruhe is anchored in Honalulu today. Kapitan Bosch confirmed that the usual slate of diplomatic events will be in store, plus: “A bit of leave. The lads are rather excited, I must say. Some time on the town, on the beach, in the bars.”

When asked if he expected problems with the men and the vices available to them, Kapitan Bosch replied, “Oh, no. The men know better than to get in trouble on this ship.”

22 September

Chancellor Cuno says that the Entente powers will be receiving a proposal from Germany in early October.

"President Braun suggested some changes, which we've incorporated and taken back for coalition approval. With that in hand, we're prepared to proceed."