WesWorld

4 August
Hasan Hamid al-Din, Prime Minister and governor of the province of Ibb and Sana'a is believed to be gathering forces in the north to ally with the Iman’s loyal supporters in Ta’izz to attack Ibrahim bin Yahya’s forces in Hajjah.

9 August
The Dutch government has pledged that Dutch forces in Yemen will not intervene any fighting but that it is pressing the Iman to avoid a conflict that may unleash a civil war.

Quoted from "Hood"

9 August
The Dutch government has pledged that Dutch forces in Yemen will not intervene any fighting but that it is pressing the Iman to avoid a conflict that may unleash a civil war.

Booo! No talking! Blood makes the grass grow, kill kill kill!

:P

20 August
Reports from Hajjah have indicated that battles have taken place and that many of Ibrahim bin Yahya’s forces have been killed or executed. The whereabouts of Ibrahim bin Yahya himself are currently unknown.

23 August
There have been reports of unrest in Sana’a, believed to be actions of the Free Yemeni Movement. The situation remains tense, Dutch military forces have not yet intervened and the government again today stated that they are monitoring the situation and hoping that calmer heads will prevail now that Ibrahim bin Yahya’s forces have largely been shattered.

24 August
Thirty of the most important liberal figures have been arrested and executed in Sana’a today. There are fears that hundreds more will face imprisonment or worse.

27 August
Confused reports suggest further fighting around Hajjah in the Yemen has resulted in a victory for moderate forces.

28 August
The Dutch government today announced that due to increasing conflict and murder in Yemen that at dawn today units of Dutch Army infantry and engineers in Sana’a and Ta’izz have been mobilised and that several Yemeni units have been disarmed.

3 September
In the latest news from Yemen, it has been confirmed by the British authorities in Aden that Ibrahim bin Yahya was killed whilst fighting around Hajjah.
Dutch Army units are still patrolling the streets but a tense uneasy peace seems to be holding, although there are pockets of fighting in the hills.

5 September
The Arnhem trolleybus system in the town of Arnhem was formally opened by the Mayor today. It is planned that seven lines across the town will be run with the fleet of trolleybuses. It is hoped the new system will reduce traffic and increase the efficiency of local public transport.

7 September
The situation in Yemen remains tense but the Dutch army has now stood down as the violence has subsided. The Iman has promised fair trials for all captured Free Yemeni Movement fighters but the government has denied rumours that the Iman has also asked the Dutch to leave Yemen.

10 September
General N'Dofa chafed at inactivity. The sinking of the Lefkis in Djibouti four months had cost him a shipment of machine guns and funds were already stretched. His dream of rebuilding an Army to restart the civil war was impossible. Mercenaries were expensive too, especially good ones. Local manpower in East Africa was generally poor and besides many groups had their own agendas and dreams. One day N'Dofa knew that Africa would be free of white colonial rule, it was only a matter of time. Then an unexpected contact was made with one of the Owija brothers, the eldest brother of which was the powerful Baron and Kongolese Minister of Defence. The clan had lost a lot of prestige and power when the independent Kongolese Army had been disbanded and merged with the Dutch Army formations. Now Charles Owija wanted to meet to discuss what might be done to rectify that.

12 September
The newspaper De Telegraaf rolls for the first time from its new printing press which has recently been installed and is among the most advanced in the country.

19 September
Today the Royal Netherlands Air Force East Indies Command (KLNI) took delivery of the first ten Fokker D.XXVIIIA jet fighters of 115 ordered last year. The D.XXVII is a variant specially developed for the KLNI featuring a stronger undercarriage, improved cockpit air conditioning, greater generator capacity, hardpoints capable of carrying up to 500kg each and a more powerful 3,500lb Swazi 4 turbojet.

22 September
Through an intermediary and careful precautions, Charles Owija arrived at General N’Dofa residence, a small and dirty looking brick building. Shown inside it was clear that the General was not living a luxurious life as the furnishings were sparse, but he did seem amply protected by his bodyguards. He had not seen the General for at least six years and he looked older and thinner as he walked towards to greet him, clasping his hands with both of his.
“My good friend Charles, so good to see you, come have a seat and lets talk. How is your wife?”
Once the pleasantries had been dispensed with and some cool drinks brought to the table the two men were left to talk.
“You are not an easy man to find, General,” Charles laughed, “I had to scour half of East African to find you.”
The General shrugged as he took a slug of gin, “I am a wanted man with a price on my head, fifty thousand Dollars at the last count, the English hounded me out of the Sudan but thankfully my new hosts are not so inclined to bother as long as they get paid enough.”
Charles began to outline his reason for being here, “You know the Dutch King stole our Army? He considers us a mere appendix of the Netherlands. We told him where to stick his plans to give us sham rights to vote in his Parliament. Now we want to tell him where to stick his Army and his rule. With cooperation we could both have our nations back.”
The General pondered and stroked his beard, “Your brother sent his troops against me Charles, you know that hurt me very deeply. He could have joined forces with me then and we would have crushed the Dutch,” his fist hit the arm of the chair to make his point.
“Well he had no choice, the Dutch had pressure on us and we feared a revolt within our own ranks, and it’s not like you warned us of your plans.” Charles was stung by the criticism but he couldn’t deny that they had been happy not to upset the situation at the time, “you have few men General, we can provide ample men and arms and the Dutch purges of the Ubangi Army did not remove all those who would still be loyal to you.”
N’Dofa pondered on it silently a moment before he broke into a wide grin, “I have a plan already in mind Charles, I did not just invest in rifles. I met a man from Nigeria and he proved very useful in acquiring for me copper mine shares, allowing me to supplement my income and slip my own men as mercenary guards across the border. But we must co-ordinate a plan to act together, I need to get rid of that Limbani fool and get him out of the way in a way that won’t create any fuss.”
Charles nodded and smiled, “that can be arranged easily.”
N’Dofa shook his head, “a corpse can sometimes cause too much trouble, I have a better idea in mind,” he took a slip of paper from his shirt pocket and unfurled it, “do you think this would be suitable?”
Charles smiled, “It seems possible, I think I know when this could be carried out most easily.”
The two men laughed and shook hands.

24 September
Car body builders Pennock B.V. have been awarded the Scheveningen Bodywork Concours for their design for the Pennock Healey sports car.

28 September
The first Tulip Rally (Tulpenrallye) has been held today. Competitors came from across Europe. The winner was British driver Ken Wharton with his navigator Cooke in a Ford Anglia.

9 October
The situation in Yemen remains uneasy but violence seems to have subsided as the new political regime gets into its stride.The Iman's promise of fair trials for all captured Free Yemeni Movement fighters remains to be carried out, but the government has said that legal planning is still underway. The rumour is that the trials may begin as soon as next week, the Yemeni's seemingly worried about the security of keep so many wanted men in prison for too long and risking attempts to break out of for outside forces to attack the jails.

14 October
The board of Amsterdamsche Superfosfaatfabriek N.V. were present at the grand opening of their second phosphate factory which has a production capacity of 255 tons per year. ASF have been making phosphates since 1907 in Amsterdam.

4 November
The man wrapped in Arab dress bowed and left the room, he and his companions seemingly all smiles and looking very happy.
After they left the room General N'Dofa's aide turned to his master.
"Was it wise to promise them so much? We haven't got much left in our treasury."
N'Dofa laughed, "the Owija's are wealthy men, we don't need to worry. All those men are getting is a little gold and few old Mausers. That's all they want, gold and arms."
The aide looked puzzled, "but what have the Yemeni's got to do with our aims? The rebels are nearly all dead or rounded up? They won't fight for us."
N'Dofa pointed at the map on the table, "they are fighting for us, they don't know it because they are too stupid! Sure Ibrahim bin Yahya is dead but those men were relations of his, they want to fight on. So we give them some arms and gold, maybe they raid a jail, free a few of their clan from the jails. The Dutch are hanging on there, and while they are distracted by these rebellious Arabs, we put Plan Tiger into operation."
Both men laughed, N'Dofa sensing his moment had come.

6 November
A newspaper article caused a stir as it hit the newstands of Saa'na. It alleged that the Imam Ahmad, Ahmad bin Yahya, had taken large amounts in bribes from the Dutch while he was governor of Ta'izz. The Imam has denied the accusations during the afternoon small bands of protesters appeared and police had to intervene to break up the crowd. There was no violence but it has made an already tense situation very unstable, especially as the first trial of the rebels begins tomorrow.

12 November

N'Dofa received word of the raid on the prison at Hajjah, known by its inmates as 'Hell on Earth' due to its brutal conditions. A force of men from Ibrahim bin Yahya's clan attacked before dawn, the succeed in blowing a hole in the wall with explosives and a dozen inmates were freed. There had been a fierce firefight with losses on both sides, it didn't sound to D'Dofa like a sensible or profitable action but he was pleased that his financial aid was being put to good use. The newspaper articles paid for by the Owija's back in the Kongo with their wild allegations Imam Ahmad, Ahmad bin Yahya, by contrast had done more to destabilise the situation but beside the main headline news in the crumpled newspaper was the public beheading of twenty leading rebels. The trials had unanimously found them all guilty of treason. So far the Dutch had kept out of it and maintained a low profile. The window to launch Operation Tiger was shortening and yet he still had no word from the Owija's he only hoped they had not lost heart or double-crossed him.

4 December
The aircraft manufacturer De Schelde flew the first prototype of the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service’s latest aircraft. The aircraft in question is the S.27 anti-submarine aircraft and torpedo bomber.
The S.27 has been designed to replace the Koolhoven F.K.59 and also be capable of use aboard the larger aircraft carriers, requiring the four-seat aircraft to be as compact as possible. The internal torpedo bay is capable of carrying two torpedoes or four depth-charges. Six underwing hardpoints can carry rocket pods, depth charges or up to four additional torpedoes. A ventrally mounted retractable radome for Phillips AS-3 RDF and a tail mounted Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) are the main search instruments along with a 70 million candlepower searchlight mounted on the starboard wing. 60 explosive charges are also used with the Phillips ADS-1 detection set of which details are kept secret. The second prototype should fly within the next two months and initial orders cover 15 production aircraft for the MLD with entry into service due in February 1951.

11 December
The coaster Toornvliet has foundered off the East Goodwin Lightship in stormy weather with the loss of six of her nine crew.

12 December
The 5th Carrier Division, 1st Cruiser Squadron and the 8th and 10th Destroyer Flotillas departed Den Helder today to begin two weeks of intensive exercises in the eastern North Atlantic.

22 December
Only weeks after De Schelde flew a new prototype so Fokker is close behind, again with another cutting-edge type.
Company Chief Test Pilot John van der Meer took the first prototype Fokker D.XXIX fighter into the air today and he reported that it flew magnificently well for such a novel type. The D.XXIX is the product of a 1945 requirement for a jet-propelled interceptor to replace the interim D.XXVIII. Emphasis has been laid on speed, climb to altitude and good combat manoeuvrability. Fokker has spent thousands of wind tunnel hours refining the shape and the D.XXIX is the first Dutch aircraft to feature swept wings. It is powered by a 6,000lb EHRW.04 LMF Xhosa turbojet supplied from South Africa. Production versions will feature “re-heat” a method of increasing thrust by burning additional fuel in the engine. The Air Force called for all-weather performance given conditions in Europe and so the pilot has a Phillips RDF set in the nose to help him find his target. Armament in production aircraft will be four 23mm GAST cannon or a retractable ventral rocket pack with 75mm rockets and two wing hardpoints will be used for bombs, rockets or fuel tanks. Fokker remains coy about performance but the estimates are around 1,100km/h maximum speed and a rate of climb of 61.7 metres per second.

Baron Owija bid his messenger to sit down as he rolled a cigar between his fingers.
"Welcome back Julius, I trust you had a productive trip," he snipped the end off the cigar and produced a gold lighter from his jacket pocket, "is Limbani with us?"
His emissary shook his head, "I am afraid I must report that he is not. None of his supporters that I spoke to had much feeling for our cause."
The Baron puffed on his cigar and blew out a cloud of rich smoke, "they are fools. Can't they see which way the wind is blowing?"
Julius shifted in his seat, "Limbani has actually taken into his government some members of the Commerce List, a few of them actually agreed to join his so-called Unity Government. He still believes that he can work with the Dutch settlers to build a united nation, that somehow the Dutch will give them independence because of his kindness."
"The man is a fool!" the Baron snorted, "the Dutch have no intention of giving up control, didn't they steal our army! All this talk of provincial rights and they take what they want and keep us as vassals. You can't work with them. We have to take back what is ours."
Julius wisely nodded along, when the Baron got into full flow it was unwise to interrupt his flow.

The Baron took more puffs of his cigar, "Limbani must be put out of the way, I don't want him killed... yet, he may have use to us. I want you to see my cousin in the Treasury, tell him that," he took a long puff, "that the Tigers have no cub this year. He will know what it means."

Ah! The plot thickens. ;)

The room was a scene of commotion with his batman packing three large suitcases on the bed, another man was carefully burning some papers in the dirty fireplace in the corner of the room as the courier came back.
"Did everything go well?" N'Dofa asked as he turned around, handing some papers to the man by the fireplace.
The short man nodded, "Yes Sir, the boat left, I watched it myself. The Captain seemed satisfied with his first payment."
N'Dofa snorted, "I should think he did, he seemed to know we wanted his services in a hurry and he bargained hard," he broke into a toothy grin, "but he will get his payoff later."
The men laughed, the courier looked at N'Dofa's clothes, shabby and ill fitting, the rags of a common labourer.
"Is the truck ready?"
The man nodded again, "Yes Sir, its ready and parked where you ordered. The driver is there too."
N'Dofa smiled, "good because we leave within the hour, we have a long hard journey ahead, you had better come with us. At least you won't get seasick where you we are going."

**

The Derramar was a weather-beaten tramp, built in the early years of the century its battered and rusty hull looked much older from heavy use. Registered to an office in Lisbon, the ship had barely been in homeport for the last five years and her Captain was one of those independent rouges who made money from shifting cargoes around the Med and the Middle East. He didn't ask questions other than "how much are you willing to pay?" and although never punctual, his customers were usually satisfied. In the hold were some crates and around four-dozen passengers, an unusually large contingent given that few would ever chose the Derramar as a safe-looking vessel on which to undertake a voyage. A voyage to Matadi in the Kongo was not his usual beat but the Captain agreed to go and he figured he might pick up one or two lucrative cargoes on the way back. So it was that this ship left Berbera and headed south towards the Indian Ocean.

**

In Bangui a letter lay waiting for the Prime Minister, Julius Limbani. He opened it along with the rest of his correspondence that morning. It was an invitation to speak at the conference on West African economic development to be held in Lagos, Nigeria which began on the 10th of January 1950 and would last four days. He checked his diary, the week was free apart from some minor appointments, the week after New Year was always quiet. He decided to attend, he had much to say on the subject and hoped that he would have a receptive audience.

"Come Watson! The game's afoot!"

<Makes due note of forthcoming Lagos conference>

Hope they've camouflaged the cargo better than normal... given the increased scrutiny for piracy and gunrunning in the region - going into places like Berbera especially - they're likely to get at least one warship giving them the stink-eye.

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

Hope they've camouflaged the cargo better than normal... given the increased scrutiny for piracy and gunrunning in the region - going into places like Berbera especially - they're likely to get at least one warship giving them the stink-eye.

Perhaps they are counting on the attention of the Italians - at least - being diverted elsewhere by the visiting East Asia Squadron.