USS Shenandoah (FA-1)

United States of America Airship
Name:	USS Shenandoah (FA-1)
Ordered:	7 February 1919
Laid down:	14 April 1919
Launched:	7 May 1920
Commissioned:	18 October 1920
In service:	Destroyed 24 June 1922
Homeport:	Trenton, New Jersey
General Characteristics
Class:	Shenandoah class rigid airship
Tonnage:	77,500 lb (25,200kg)
Length:	680 ft (207.25 m)
Beam:	78 ft 9 in (24.0 m)
Height:	93 ft 2 in (28.4 m)
Propulsion:	300 hp (220 kW) eight-cylinder gasoline engine
Speed:	60 knots(69 mph / 110 km/h)
Range:	5,000 miles (4,300 nmi, 8,000 km)/td>
Capacity:	useful lift of 51,600 lb (23,405 kg); Nominal gas volume 2,100,000 ft
Complement:	Ship's company: 25; Air wing: 2
Armament:	6 x0.30 in (7.62mm) Lewis machine guns; 8 x 500 lb bombs
Aircraft carried:	2 aircraft

The USS Shenandoah was the first rigid airship constructed by the US Navy. It was constructed at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in 1920 and was deployed to Russia after its shakedown in 1921.

The vessel was intended for long-range recon and limited bombing operation. Hooks for a pair of aircraft were added part way through the construction process to enhance the craft's capabilities. On her final voyage the Shenandoah was carrying a pair of Thomas-Morse MB-3 biplanes. During the shakedown cruise the functionality of the aircraft docking hooks was proven. The vessel then crossed North America testing endurance.

After all tests and related missions were completed, and with America's entry into the Red War, the Shenandoah was deployed to the Russian Far East. The trip across the Pacific took several days longer than expected due to weather conditions, but the ship performed exceptionally. It was attached to the American Expeditionary Force in Vladivostok.

Final Mission In June 1922 the Shenandoah was assigned to a extremely long range scouting/bombing mission. They were to verify and destroy an important Bolshevik supply depot far from any allied lines. Later reports indicated success in this mission, but shortly thereafter, on 24 June 1922, the ship was destroyed well over enemy lines by air turbulence. Possibly unknown damage from prior enemy action may have contributed to the destruction.

NOTES
The image of the vessel above is of the real-world USS Shenandoah. The image and some of the information above was taken and modified from the related Wikipedia article.

Friday Flag - Admiral Kolchak

Personal flag of Admiral Kolchak

In 1918 Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak became leader of the Provisional Siberian Government. He worked with the British and Americans during the Red War but his personality alienated many of his real and potential allies. This would cause him great trouble as the war progressed.

This flag was his personal standard during the conflict. It would fly under the Russian flag at his headquarters and in the field.

The Red War - Part One: Origins

THE RED WAR PART ONE: ORIGINS

The disaster known today as The Red War had its origins in another conflict. That other conflict being the Russo-German War (1914 to 1917).

The Assassination
The catalyst for the start of the Russo-German War was the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Inspector-General of the Austro-Hungarian Army and Heir to the Throne of the Empire. Ferdinand died in Sarajevo after being shot by a Serb national on 28 June 1914.

Calm Before the Storm
On the 5th of July the German Empire issued Austria-Hungary a "blank check" in dealing with Serbia. Austria-Hungary issued a harsh ultimatum to Serbia on the 23rd of July that was designed to be refused by the Serbs. That refusal came days later and it looked as if all of Europe could possibly be dragged into war.

28 July 1914 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Two days later Austria-Hungary mobilized its military. on the 31st Russia did the same. The Russian mobilization led to a flurry of diplomatic activity between Germany and France. Germany convinced France to stay neutral in the conflict since their agreement with the Russians was to come to Russia's aid if it was attacked first - but their mobilization against Austria-Hungary could be categorized as an offensive action releasing France of its obligations.

4 August 1914 the German Empire declares war on Russia to defend their Austrian allies.

The War The Germans made quick gains into Russia in the first few months of the war. Their planned advance up the Baltic coast was delayed by the unexpectedly fast and powerful Russian attack on Austria-Hungary. The poor organization of the Austrian forces led to them being pushed back by the Russians and fighting a terrible winter war across the Carpathians from November 1914 to spring 1915. German plans were placed on hold so they could support their allies.

Serbia managed to hold out against the Austrian forces for over a year. They finally collapsed in October 1915 when Bulgaria joined the war on the side of Germany and aided in the conquest. This should have freed up a large force of Austrian troops to be used against Russia, but the terribly administrative skills of the Austrians made it clear that they would be lucky to be available for the Russian front by the spring of 1916.

Chief of the German General Staff von Moltke did not want to send a large force to decimate the Russian Carpathian armies and save Austria. "Saint Petersburg is to the north, bumbling fools to the south. We march North and to victory!" The summer of 1915 saw the German Baltic campaign against Russia.

The Baltic Campaign
At first German advances up along the Baltic coast met little resistance. Reports of major fortifications being constructed around Saint Petersburg including multiple rings of trenches were received. However without confirmation von Moltke was cautious.

Battle of Tannenberg
September 1915 the bulk of the German invasion force was entering Estonia when Russian General Alexander Samsonov struck. The bulk of Russian forces were not protecting St. Petersburg, but were in the Ukraine. When German supply lines were stretched Samsonov launched his attack through the weak German defensive screen and into Germany itself at the Tannenberg forest.

The Germany Navy controlled the Baltic and could get basic supplies to the German invasion force, but the supplies coming by land were needed for any serious offensive towards the Russian capital. Instead von Moltke sent half of his army back towards home in hopes of trapping the Russian army. The rest of the German invasion force would remain in the Baltic and consolidate its gains.

Back in Germany General Samsonov made some impressive gains and inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans. However in mid-October he came across the newly constructed German trenches and was stopped. Samsonov did not dig in himself knowing that a German army was approaching his rear; instead he fled south to used his forces against the Austrians, and hopefully commit the Germans to sending more forces south themselves.

Erich von Falkenhayn
After the setback at Tannenberg, von Moltke began having major health problems. In November 1915 he was replaced by Erich von Falkenhayn. Over the winter Falkenhayn worked closely with his Austrian counterparts and helped to bring both Romania and the Ottoman Empire into the war in the spring.

In 1916 with the new front opened against Russia by the Ottoman Empire and Falkenhayn's decision to bail out Austria first before making the final push against Russia. Germany and her allies made great gains in the south but a number of things began to concern Falkenhayn. The Russians seemed to willing to trade land for time. There were also rumors about the capital being moved to Moscow, a much more difficult target.

The harsh Russian winters, the seemingly unlimited troops, and the drain on the German economy by the war were adding pressure to finish it quickly..... but the Russians were playing to drag it out as long as possible. It would would take a number of years before the Kaiser could dictate terms to his foe.

Enter, Lenin
The only way Germany could get a quick victory would be for the Russian people to rebel against their Tsar. It would not be possible unless some new element was added to Russia. That element was Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. The political chaos Lenin could unleash on Russia could help end the war in Germany's favor.

In October 1916 Lenin was smuggled into Russia. His revolutionary activities as well as a major German offensive in the spring of 1917 caused a collapse of the Tsar's government by June 1917. Not long after that would be the Russian Revolution and the beginning of The Red War.

Friday Flag - Thycena

A neighboring city-state of Strumicvar on the north-eastern coast of Novo Skopje (on the coast of Brazil on our world). The two cities don't have the most peaceful of relations but still manage regular trade in the post-apocalyptic world that they inhabit.

NOTES
This was a quickly made flag back when I was running a GURPS Infinite Worlds game. Strumvicar's flag was a new design but I based this one off the real world flag of Aruba.

Hyderabad War

cover of the October 25, 1948 issue of TIME Magazine

Kali's Reign by Reginald Mitchell

The State of Hyderabad was the largest and most prosperous of the princely states in India. Covering over 200,000 square kilometers and containing over 16 million people. Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII decided to keep the territory independent of India and Pakistan when the British left the local rulers of such states the choice of joining the new dominions of India or Pakistan, or of remaining independent.

On the 24th of August 1948 Hyderabad requested that the Secretary General of the United Nations have its Security Council consider the grave dispute it was having with India. Under Article 32 of the United Nations Charter. On the 4th of September Mir Laiq Ali, the Prime Minister of the Hyderabad State, announced to that nation's assembly that a delegation headed by Moin Nawaz Jung was being sent to United States.

Additional attempts to gain support for independence were made to the Labour Government of the United Kingdom as well as to the King. Hyderabad wanting garauntees of the British promises of independence. The attempts were unsuccessful despite some vocal support from Winston Churchill. These multiple attempts to secure their independence have angered the Indian government which is worried that Hyderabad will eventually join with Pakistan. Military preparations in Hyderabad caused similar preparations in India.

With ever increasing tensions it was known that war would soon arrive. In the pre-dawn hours of the 13th of September the Indian Army invaded Hyderabad. Troops were reported crossing into Hyderabad from every direction. The first battle was fought at Fort Naldurg on the Solapur Secundarabad Highway. The First Hyderabad Infantry and the attacking force of the 7th Brigade battling the 2nd Sikh Infantry.

Within a few days of the invasion the situation escalated. After a failed attempt by a Hyderabadi Razakars (an irregular, private militia with Moslem tendencies) to destroy one of the invading Indian armies the some survivors of the Razakars melted into the countryside and began terrorizing Hindu civilians. After 200 civilians were massacred in a local village an outraged Indian government escalated its military involvement.

On September 17th Pakistani militia fighters were intercepted trying to smuggle themselves and additional weapons into Hyderabad by Indian forces. A skirmish developed that has drawn official condemnation from Pakistani authorities. Additional Indian troops have now begun reinforcing the borders with West and East Pakistan dramatically increasing tensions.

The bloodshed was increased later that by a tragic accident when a Spitfire of the Royal Indian Air Force attacking Hyderabad positions was disabled and crashed in a densely populated area of city of Aurangabad killing over a hundred and injuring hundreds of others in the resulting destruction and fires.

On September 18th the Hyderabad State Congress was dissolved and the Ittihad-ul-Muslimeen party has established a new legislature. Support of the inhabitants for their government is collapsing as the mostly Hinu population wishes to join with India. Despite the superior Indian military forces and their occupation of the region the Nizam of Hyderabad escaped his palace and has declared his lands part of Pakistan. Given the situation the government of Pakistan has not acknowledge this declaration, but it has drawn additional volunteers into the region to fight for the Nizam from Pakistan.

Aurangabad fell to Indian forces on the 19th. At that point a majority of the the Hyderabad military surrendered.

Sporadic guerrilla warfare continues in Hyderabad and the increasing violence along the border with Pakistan threaten to throw the entire sub-continent into civil war.

A meeting in Geneva next week will hopefully be able to resolve this developing situation without any further bloodshed. A representative of Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII will be in attendance to negotiate terms. Continuing coverage of the conflict and results of the conference will be in our next issue.

NOTES
The image for this post is a modified version of the 27 October 1947 Time Magazine cover. The original illustration was created by Boris Artzybasheff. According to Wikipedia the cover is in the public domain. I modified the original to fit this alternate timeline.

Info on the Royal Indian Air Force during this period.

Reginald Mitchell is a fictional reporter for Time in 1947. He is from the UK and spent a portion of his life in Colonial India.
Even in this timeline Hyderabad is destined to become part of an Indian union. Too many of the population will want to be Indian. It will have been a bloodier fight, would that blood have made the future Indo-Pakistani wars more severe? Could a small group of routed irregulars have killed 200 innocent people in an isolated village to start the escalation?

A Misfiring Gun at Gettysburg

Patrick O'Rorke was born in County Cavan, Ireland 25 march 1837. When just one year old his parents emigrated to America. By 1842 he was living in Rochester, New York. He was an intelligent man, being awarded a scholarship to the University of Rochester when he was 16. He turned down that scholarship in order to help support his mother and the rest of his family.

In 1857 he would become a cadet at the US Military Academy at West Point. He graduated first in his class and was commissioned to the Corps of Engineers in June 1861.

The Civil War
In September 1862 he was appointed colonel of the 140th New York Infantry which was composed mostly of volunteers from Rochester. He led the 140th at the Battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

During the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg O'Rorke led his men to the defense of Little Round Top which was in danger of falling into rebel hands. Despite heavy casualties they helped hold the ground. During the fighting O'Rorke caught up his regimental colors and, mounting a rock he urged his men to continue the fight. They pushed back the 4th and 5th Texas. Thirty-Six of their men were killed, 78 wounded, and 18 were missing.

Colonel O'Rorke continued to lead his men for the rest of the war. Two of the more costly battles they fought in were the The Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Cold Harbor. At Five Forks, Virginia one of O'Rorke's men, First Sergeant Robert F. Shipley, captured the flag of the 9th Virginia Infantry in hand-to-hand combat. Shipley would be awarded the Congressional Medal or Honor.

New York Assembly
After leaving the Army in late 1869 O'Rorke returned to Rochester with his wife and three children. He was a hero in Rochester and turned that popularity into a successful campaign for New York State Assembly. He ran as a Republican defeating Democrat George D. Lord in the November 1870 election.

In 1874 during the 97th New York State Legislature session he met and befriended fellow Republican Assemblyman, Hamilton Fish II. Fish's father was the U.S. Secretary of State for President Grant's administration.

O'Rorke did not run for re-election in 1876. He had received an offer to help Hamilton Fish, Sr. on an important project in Washington.

US Department of State
Patrick O'Rorke's excellent military record, knowledge of engineering, and connections with Hamilton Fish and President Grant gave him a post with Secretary of State. They wanted his help with negotiations and planning for an inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua. Negotiations were successfully completed in late March 1877 with O'Rorke's contributions. It was at this point the new President, Rutherford B. Hayes, came into office and created his own cabinet. Hamilton Fish was replaced. Patrick O'Rorke was kept on and placed in charge of the Nicaraguan Canal project.

Nicaraguan Canal Company
After moving his family down to Washington, DC O'Rorke worked full time on the canal project. He would have to spend more than half of his time in Nicaragua surveying sites and overseeing local operations. It was estimated that the project would take fifteen to twenty years to complete. Unlike all estimates it ended up being optimistic – the project took nearly thirty years and cost considerably more blood and treasure than was imagined.

None of the near catastrophic problems with the construction of the canal can be blamed on Patrick O'Rorke however. Unfortunately he died in 1879 of malaria at the age of 42. He left behind his wife, Clara as well has three children – his son Neil, and daughters Mary and Eileen. His body was returned to Rochester and buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetary.

It has been wondered by many how the Nicaraguan Canal project would have turned out if Patrick's life had not been cut short. Would he have had the intelligence and strength of character to keep the worst problems from being as severe.

NOTES
Lt. Colonel O'Rorke was killed on 2 July 1863 defending Little Round Top at Gettysburg. He was still young (26 years old) and intelligent. It was 150 years ago today that he died. This is an alternate history to honor one of my hometown's Civil War heroes.

*Patrick O'Rorke over at Wikipedia (a portion of this post is taken from the entry on O'Rorke and the 140th.
*Robert F. Shipley
*140th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The images are also from Wikipedia. Both are public domain due to their age.

Review - We Could Do Worse

Life's gotten a bit busy! It's been over a week since my last update. Sorry about that. Here's a brief book review until I can finish a couple of meatier posts I'm working on:

(image from Amazon.com)
Here is a collection of alternate histories that includes some big names. Brief descriptions follow... very brief since I wanted to avoid spoilers.

1) A Massachusetts Yankee in King Arthur's Court: by Harry Turtledove. JFK is sent back through time and space to Camelot. He meets and has a fling with Queen Guinevere. No real point to the story. Just makes JFK and the Queen look like jerks. Just involves time travel - not really alternate history.

2) Ike and the Mike: by Howard Waldrop. Instead of becoming generals Eisenhower and Patton are jazz musicians! Good story; not very believable but its not bad.

3) Looking for the Fountain: by Robert Silverberg. The story of one of the survivors of Ponce de León's expedition to search for the Fountain of Youth. A really good story about a lost civilization they discovered instead. Great idea - but there is no follow up, no indication of how history was altered.

4) The Return of William Proxmire: by Larry Niven. An interesting story of what happens to a man who travels back in time to change history and the consequences he suffers. Not one of those ironic Twilight Zone consequences, but a interesting take on what might happen to a time traveler.

5) The Arrival of Truth: by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The best of the collection of this book. Tells a story from the point of view of a slave in the American south when a slave uprising begins. The most interesting characters in the entire anthology.

6) Goddard's People: by Allen Steele. In a world where America and the Third Reich are in a race involving rocketry. The Nazis want to create an ICBM and the US wants to create something to shoot it down. Interesting, but I'm not sure things would have turned out differently.

7) Over There: by Mike Resnick. I've read this one in other anthologies. Teddy Roosevelt assembles his Rough Riders to fight in the Great War. The old and new worlds collide in this fine story.

8) Bloodstained Ground: by Brian Thomsen. Failed novelist Sam Clemens vs. the legacy of newly deceased President George Armstrong Custer. One of the better stories in this anthology. Even if he failed as a novelist, Clemens would have excelled in whatever else he chose to do.

9) We Could Do Worse: by Gregory Benford. A short piece set in a world where McCarthy became president of the US.

Over all I'd give this book 3 stars. Maybe the low end of 3. While most anthologies end up netting out to about a 3 I had higher hopes for this one. Oh well, better luck next time.