US-German War

The US-German War (also known as "01-05 War") was a conflict between the United States of America and the German Empire, fought from August 1901 until December 1905. The war was a violent and bloody one, and it made the US General Staff of the Army realize the importance of the Atlantic if ever at war with another European nation.

Build up to war
The roots of the war go back to the Franco-Prussian War. After Germany was formed, many members of the government, and especially the Military felt that Germany ought to have a powerful Empire. During the 1870s, Germany built colonies in Africa, and also into some areas of the Middle East. They purchased Nuscat and Omen from the United Kingdom in 1875 for the price of Three Million Goldmarks (about Five Million Pounds) and set it up as a member of the Empire. They also purchased Sierra Leone in Africa from the British in 1877 for the lower price of One Million Goldmarks. In 1883, Germany began to salivate over the prospect of the Dutch East Indies in the Pacific and Dutch Guyana in South America. They offered to purchase them, but the Dutch refused, and so Germany went to war with The Netherlands. After a quick contest, Germany victored and The Netherlands transferred the territories over to them. Then in 1898 the United States of America went to war with Spain, a war that Germany kept a close eye on. They sent a military attache to the Spanish island of Cuba, where they watched the war rage.

The military attache was Colonel Alfred von Schleiffen, who watched

the contest with great interest. One battle inparticular, the Battle of San Jaun

Hill, took him by great interest. He watched as young cavalry Colonel Theodore Roosevelt charged into the battle, and the use of gatling guns to eniflade trenches. He took down notes and after the war ended in a few months, returned to Germany, where he presented them to the rest of the German Chief Staff. When Schlieffen was told that the Unites States had later annexed the Philipines, Cuba, and Guam, he immediatly suggested going to war with the US, as he was sure that Germany could win. He said in his suggestion: "The Unites States is still a fledgling country, and after its war with Spain, is now tired. Germany is a powerful nation, with the best Army in the world and a Navy second only to the British. With the discoveries I have made in the art of American Warfare, I am sure, no certain, that the German Empire is more than able to defeat the USA in naval and land warfare."

The German goverment decided that taking over the territories annexed by the US would surely put them in the posistion of a superpower. As relations between the two nations buckled in the three yer between the war, Germany not only built up a much more powerful Army but a massive Navy as well.

War Breaks Out, 1901
On June 12 1901, the German Navy crossed the atlantic to take up posistions near the East Coast of the USA. Whilst Great Britain feered that this was a move of war (and they also feered for the safety of their Atlantic Island Burma) they simply moniterred the German Navy make its way across the channel. In a move very similair to the one made by General P.G.T. Bauregard in 1861, the German Navy began the war by shelling the island of Fort Sumter, and then sent troops to occupy it. At the same time, they also bombarded and invaded eastern Cuba, and occupied Military posts and villages on the eastern sea-board. The United States had been caught by suprise, and had no time to mobilzie their navy before German battle cruisers were attacking Long Island, New York. Although, after the US Navy arrived to defend Long Island, the Germans lost this duel, they had stolen some early victories against the US. The follwing day, US President William McKinley declared war on Germany. Later engagements between the two navies saw Germany victoring in most. European and South American countries began to panic, thinking the war would cut off vital trade, but Germany promised to use her navy to keepthe sea lanes open. In an audacious move by the United States later in the year, they attmepted to capture German Navy vessels but to no avail. Germay was winning.