"Herr Jepson, actually not very much. You know they were give to me by the Kaiser himself. It happen thus after the summer manuevers:
I was approached by a General of infantry I did not know, who instructed me to attend the Kaiser.
"There I was greeted by Bismarck, who introduced me to the Kaiser."
“At ease Gentlemen, I am ready to listen to your plans for ‘Our’ portion of Mafrica. You may begin Bismarck.”
“ Sire, as we all know the Berlin Congress of 1873 gave Mitteland a portion of Western Mafrica. As I was about to explain to everyone, you have decided to give the area of Senegal to Kronprinzessin Viktoria und Cecille to administer as they see fit. Apparently they have formed some infantry and hussar units to protect their fiefdom.”
“Enough of that Bismarck, we made them a promise that we will keep.”
“Yes, sire. To continue, although the Jutland government will transfer their territory officially in six months, there are pockets of Jutlanders who will refuse to leave. We want these people gone before our troops arrive. “
"Your basic orders, von Drake, are to see that the Jutlanders leave our new possessions. Come Bismarck we have much to discuss."
"Bismarck and the Kaiser left me with three generals and a Duke."
“Major, we have an assignment for you. You will command an expedition of officers and other ranks as well as natives you find qualified to carryout your orders. Your immediate superior is Otto Jepson, our unofficial and incognito man on the spot. He is not to be revealed to the Jutlanders as our man. You will have autonomy in actions, which are to make the Jutlanders who want to stay-- leave and retire to Jutland or to their territory north of the Semar River in the Kaffia. You will keep out of Senegal and west of the Dakla/Semar Rivers.”
“And if they refuse to leave our territory, sir?”
“You are authorized to use any means necessary. Your written orders will explain your limitations. Any other questions?”
“No, General.”
“You have picked your team of Officers and Other Ranks?”
“Yes, General Klink. Here is the list.”
“Ah, yes this looks very good, except for Karl Peters, we have other plans for him. You will need several Warrant Officers to train your native troops unless you can find some with training from other European countries. You and your men will depart from Bremerhaven within the fortnight, on the SS Prinze Oldenburg. You may open your sealed orders once you enter the Bay of Biscay."
"The staff officer left and the Prince of Bavaria arrived."
"Your Highness”
“Major, I have been asked to hand these further orders to you, not to be opened until you are in the company of Jepson and not to be over heard. The contents are extremely sensitive with regard to current conditions here in Europa, so keep them on your person at all times, do not let them out of your sight.”
“Yes, your highness I quite understand and will comply with my life.”
“You had better, von Drake and we want another list from you by morning of a further 20 individuals you have confidence in, who will form the cadre of your new unit and who can comply with orders to undertake any mission no matter how distasteful to a gentleman. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Herr General!”
“Good, these others will arrive within a month of you. You will report to me at Dongala within a week of our arrival, we may have additional orders and men for your unit at that time.”
"So von Drake if they kept to their timetable General Klink will be landing with the majority of our troops by the end of next week. What will you tell him, that you have lost two dead and five wounded of your men with no favorable results?"
"Actually, Jepson, yes, I will and tell him that the Jutlanders resistence was stronger then they thought and it will take more men, properly trained not natives to shift them off their land. And, by my orders that is exactly what I am to do, I will no longer report directly to you but through you to the General."
"Let me see the orders....So you need a hidden valley to train your men and whatever natives we can find to fight for you. I think I might have one in mind that will suit you perfectly, the locals think it has bad juju and stay away."
"That sounds perfect, when can we go there?"
"Tomorrow too soon? It will take two days by steamer and a couple of hours through the jungle to get there."
Notes:
The figures here are all 30mm Tradition General staff from about 1910, 35 years too late but they work for me. They are based on one inch fender washers with oriental carpet cut to fit then their metal base was just barely painted to give the impression of carpet.
Next time, hopefully by early October, the adventure continues with the Pricesses while von Drake and his cutthroats begin training.
