The Kismayo Treaty
Presented to the then government of Reewiin in 1895 and agreed upon in 1896, the Kismayo Treaty is the reason the small state is what it is today. After the collapse of the Imperial British East Africa Company (leading to the Kenyan and Ugandan protectorates), the natural resources of Reewiin were under-exploited by larger powers. Japan, seeing an opportunity for access to–amongst other things–higher quality iron, stepped into the power vacuum.
The Treaty was more than a mere trade agreement. It guaranteed first rights of exploitation to Japan for major natural resources, including Iron, Zinc, Phosphates, and - in the unlikely event of discovery - Oil. It allowed free investment in the nation by Japanese businesses leading to the establishment of the Kaguya Steel smelting plant on the coast. It also promised Japanese support for Reewiin's military, providing advisors, equipment, and even training in the Japanese Home Islands for a select few officers.
The Kismayo Treaty is a source of much tension and anger in the Reewiin political establishment. While it has undoubtedly been useful, jump-starting heavy industry and mining in several sectors, it also leaves the nation beholden to its Pacific ally.
The Government of Reewiin
The new government of Reewiin is a three-arm structure with a President as the Executive, a House of Representatives as the Legislature, and the multi-layered and complex Court system as the Judiciary.
The President is a seat selected by the largest party in the House or, in the current case, by the largest coalition of representative parties. Currently, this is the Patriotic Social Democrats, a coalition of four smaller parties with a generally progressive, inclusive vision for the future of Reewiin.
The House is comprised of 60 seats, each filled by a democratically elected representative from a tribal, district, or constituency zone, depending on where in Reewiin they are from. This has led to difficulties in melding the various understandings of governance and rule, particularly among some Coastal Somali representatives who feel they are ceding power to the rural interior. The current House makeup is as follows:
Reewiin House of Representatives 1930
- Patriotic Social Democrats - 29 seats
- 12 members of the Patriotic Democrats (Bur Gaabo)
- 11 members of the PSD Party (Kismayo)
- 4 members of the Patriot Workers Party
- 2 members of the Social Democratic Patriot Party
- Monarchist Revivalists - 19 seats
- 14 members of the Gelebi Revivalist Group
- 5 members of the Imperial African Party
- Nationalist Isolationists - 2 seats
- 1 member of the Reewiin First Party
- 1 member of the Gelebi Return party
- Tribal Leaders - 10 reserved seats
- 3 members from Southern Reewiin
- 3 members from North-Western Reewiin
- 2 members from North-Eastern Reewiin
- 1 member from the Oromo
- 1 member from the Bantu (Somali member for Bantu)
Meanwhile, the Judiciary operates at multiple levels, tasked with navigating Reewiin's various competing and complex sets of laws while enforcing legislation from the House and the President.
Ethnic division, geography, and tension
Reewin is a melting pot of a wide variety of African ethnic, tribal, and cultural groups, though primarily these fall into three main groups - the Somali, the Oromo, and the Bantu.
The Somali people of Reewiin are primarily clustered along the coast and in major cities. Historically, they have been the rulers and nobility of several small nations and empires along the coast of East Africa, including the Sultanate of Geledi, which bordered and controlled part of modern-day Reewiin. All ethnically Somali people in Reewiin are afforded citizenship and the right to vote and run for local and state office. They are also free to volunteer as a member of the Army and the Carabinieri.
The Oromo, primarily found in the North-Western region of Reewiin, are an East African ethnic group like the Somalis, who in previous generations were prized as captives, slaves, bureaucrats, and wives. Considered separate but equal to Somali people, many found great personal freedom in the Somali-ruled regions. Any ethnically Oromo person can apply for citizenship, and is afforded the right to vote and run for election to local or tribal office. They are free to volunteer for service in the Army and the Carabinieri and are not segregated while in service.
The Bantu are an ethnically diverse group taken from across Central and South-Eastern Africa. In Reewiin, they are primarily settled in the south. Originally entirely made up of slaves and captives, the Bantu peoples in Reewiin have taken up a position as free but fundamentally unequal populations in the nation. Bantu people cannot apply for citizenship without long Military or Civil service, cannot vote unless they are a citizen, and cannot run for election at any level above tribal office. They are free to volunteer for service in the Army, but are organised into separate platoons led by Somali officers. They are also free to serve in the Carabinieri.
Tensions between the powerful, wealthy Somali populations and Oromo - and especially the oppressed Bantu groups - are not helped by their geographic semi-segregation. Equally, while the Army is almost entirely Somali, the Carabinieri in the South is heavily populated by Bantu people, and this is sometimes a cause for intra-national strife.
The Reewiin Army
The Army is primarily tasked with defence of the state and providing policing inside the capital, Kismayo, and other coastal towns. It is split into three regiments, though only two are rounded fighting units.
To the outside observer, the 1st (Reewiin) is a ceremonial guard formation that favour fashionable uniforms and neat drills over effective training. They maintain the largest single collection of artillery in the Army (twelve old 75 mm guns) and the Bur Gaabo Spahi, a parade-perfect cavalry unit.
Meanwhile, the 2nd (Kismayo) and 3rd (Bur Gaabo) are the true fighting power of the Army. With five infantry battalions between them, each with organic machine-gun and light artillery formations, they number over five-thousand men. The 2nd also maintains the Army Training battalion, responsible for the effectiveness of the Army as a whole, but few recruits outside of the 2nd ever see it.
The army is comprised of volunteers, with a minimum service term of four years. Many choose to stay for twelve to access the small state pension available to long-service soldiers, and a select few serve the maximum of twenty-four years. Officers, barring a small number who are offered training in Japan, are taught their craft in Kismayo and serve for a minimum of eight years (twelve for those who train overseas). Some of the Army's officers, especially senior artillerymen, are attached from the IJA as Reewiin lacks an established school for teaching the discipline.
Armament is consistent but old. Most of it comes from Japan, with the Type 30 rifle chambered in 6.5x50mm Arisaka as the standard service rifle. Machine guns are split between the Italian Fiat-Revelli 1914 and the Japanese Type 3, while the artillery consists of 70mm Type 92 battalion guns and Krupp M.06 75mm mountain guns. Most of these guns, as well as ammunition for the machine guns, are towed by Sanga cattle, though the 1st have horses for their guns, and other units rely entirely on porters.
In theory, it is the Army's responsibility to man border forts at key crossing points, but in recent years this responsibility has been handed off to the Provincial Carabinieri.
The Reewiin Army (~6300 men, 200 horses)
- 1st (Reewiin) Regiment (~1150 men)
- Regimental HQ & Signals, including baggage and medical (~300 men)
- 3 x Infantry Company (~200 men and 2 HMG's each)
- 1 x Cavalry Company (~100 men and 150 horses)
- 1 x Artillery Detachment (12 guns, ~150 men and 50 horses)
- 2nd (Kismayo) Regiment (~3200 men)
- Regimental HQ (~150 men)
- Signals Company (~100 men)
- 3 x Infantry Battalion (~900 men, 6 HMG's and 2 guns each)
- Training Battalion (~250 men and 2 HMG's)
- 3rd (Bur Gaabo) Regiment (~1950 men)
- Regimental HQ (~100 men)
- Signals Company (~50 men)
- 2 x Infantry Battalion (~900 men, 6 HMG's and 2 guns each)
Equipment:
- 4000 Type 30 Arisaka rifles, 6.5×50 mm Arisaka
- 600 Moschetto Modello 1891 carbines, 6.5×52 mm Carcano
- 32 Fiat-Revelli 1914 HMGs, 6.5×52 mm Carcano
- 6 Type 3 HMGs, 6.5×50 mm Arisaka
- 12 Krupp 75 mm horse drawn guns
- 10 Type 92 70 mm pack howitzers
The Provincial Carabinieri
The Provincial Carabinieri is responsible for maintaining law and order outside the major coastal population centres. The Provincial Carabinieri is divided into regional brigades covering the North, North-West, and South. Each brigade is typically divided into five to six companies, led by an officer, and typically seconded to a regional civilian administrator.
Owing to cost and local circumstances, companies tend to vary wildly in size, from just over two hundred to over nine hundred. As payroll is not handled centrally, exact numbers are unavailable. Carbineers are volunteers and typically serve for 2-6 years, and the local civilian administrator handles pay.
Armament is eclectic, but most weapons are Remington rolling block rifles. An exception can be found in the Northern Brigade, whose companies are typically armed with Japanese Type 13 Murata rifles. A handful of machine guns can be found in special brigade-level companies co-located with training units.
Aside from a small number of horses used for patrolling and about a dozen boats the North-Western Brigade operates on Lake Turkana, the Provincial Carabinieri travels everywhere by foot. When operating at a larger scale than sub-company manoeuvres in villages, each soldier requires about 1.5 porters on average to carry company and brigade supplies.
When seconded to local administration, the Carabinieri acts as local police, strikebreakers, and security for ranches, in addition to their paramilitary roles of border guard and national defence.
The Provincial Carabinieri (~11,000 men)
- Northern Brigade (~5000 men)
- Training & Machine Gun Company (~250 men, ~6 Perino 1908 HMGs, ~6 Vickers HMGs)
- 5x Carabinieri Company (~950 men each)
- North-Western Brigade (~3500 men)
- Training & Machine Gun Company (~250 men, ~6 Perino 1908 HMGs)
- 4x Carabinieri Company (~650 men each)
- 1x Carabinieri Company (~12 boats, ~650 men)
- Southern Brigade (~2500 men)
- Training & Machine Gun Company (~250 men, ~4 Maxim HMGs)
- 4x Carabinieri Company (~550 men)
Equipment (estimated)
- 6000+ Remington Rolling Block rifles, .43 Egyptian
- 2500+ Murata Type 13 rifles, 11×60 mm Murata
- 1000+ Lee-Metford rifles, .303 British
- 500+ Vetterli-Vitali Mod. 1870/87, 10.35×47 mm
- 1000+ other firearms
- 12 Perino 1908 HMGs, 6.5×52 mm Carcano
- 6 Vickers HMGs, .303 British
- 4 Maxim HMGs, 7.92×57 mm Mauser
A Precarious System
Reewiin is in a state of political and institutional flux, and the military arms reflect that. Underequipped, poorly organised, and with a confused approach to doctrine, they are sorely in need of reconfiguring. However, the Defence Council is not free to act - the Government and the General staff all have their own desires for this new era.
The President and his (majority share) party would like to see the Carabinieri reformed into proper second-line troops rather than a semi-regular police force.
The main opposition, the Japanese-backed Monarchists, wish for the 1st Reewiin Regiment's reformation into a Royal Guard regiment. They are unclear as to what precisely this entails, but they are very insistent on it.
Others call for the unification of the Army and the Gendarmes, reforming the three regiments into smaller regional forces, or even combining them into a single deployable brigade.
Meanwhile, the general staff is concerned with issues of logistics, doctrine, training, and equipment. The Army's guns are old, and the Carabinieri are even older. Only one insufficient training company exists, and no staff or artillery college exists. The Army fights with mixed cartridge types of similar sizes which can lead to logistical errors and weapon malfunctions. In summary, there is insufficient logistical support for the Army, which the general staff insists must change immediately.
This is the current situation you face. Your job is to think about how to go forward: discuss what should be done and formulate Write-In Plan Votes describing the long-term objectives you recommend to the Ministry of Defence. You can ask questions, and will receive those answers that would be reasonably known to the council.
While you almost certainly want to make many changes, you are constrained by unpredictable budgets and practical realities. Therefore, each Plan Vote should focus on up to five major undertakings for inclusion in the next Defence Act or recommendation to the general staff:
What does the council recommend to the government and military high command? Please create a plan including at most 5 of the following options, those you consider the highest priority:
[ ] Choose a single cartridge for the military
[ ] Modernise the machine gun units.
[ ] Modernise the artillery units.
[ ] Reform the Army
[ ] Reform the Carabinieri
[ ] Unify the Army and the Carabinieri
[ ] Disband the Carabinieri
[ ] Establish a Bersaglieri group
[ ] Establish a Remount Service to supply horses to the Army
[ ] Establish a Waystation Service to improve communications
[ ] Establish an Air Force
[ ] Establish a Naval Service
[ ] Reform the 1st Reewiin into the Royal Guard
[ ] Find a way to improve Logistics through Horses
[ ] Motorise Logistics
[ ] Establish an infantry training school
[ ] Establish an officer training school
[ ] Establish an artillery school
[ ] Establish a Military Information and Analysis Office
[ ] Establish a Council-controlled Information and Analysis Office
[ ] Write-in
Once again, this vote will determine your broad, long-term objectives. The process of implementing these objectives–also your responsibility–will be covered across turns that cover a number of weeks or months of in-story time dependant on the exact circumstances involved. We will always be clear about how long the next turn will last. While you are welcome–and in fact encouraged–to detail your plan beyond these options, the implementation of those details will still be voted on in later turns. Inclusion is not guaranteed, and this should be expected.
For example, suppose as part of choosing to focus on standardising a single cartridge for the military, you drag out the NATO symbols and create a full TO&E for Reewiin's new model rifle battalion. In that case, the QMs will almost certainly be willing to include the plan as the Defence Council's proposal for battalion reform, alongside other options presented by other parties during the relevant turn vote. If nothing else, it means far less work for us!
