The Rise of the Empire

"To be honest, I really don't understand why the Austro-Hungarian Empire is so obsessed with the navy. If Britain and France are necessary, and Italy is necessary, then as a continental European country, especially in the face of powerful Why is a country under pressure from Russia still so interested in the navy? Especially now that Italy has been separated from Germany, whether the Austro-Hungarian fleet can leave the Adriatic Sea is a problem. If possible, I would rather suggest the construction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire An offshore defensive fleet, mainly destroyers, submarines and mine warfare.” Hipper, who has served as the commander of the German Fast Fleet, wrote this in a letter to the Prince of Bavaria. The words were full of bewilderment and regret.

Just 5 days ago, General Haus, the commander of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, came to Berlin. This time, he was ordered by Emperor Fritz and Archduke Ferdinand to hope that he could get help from Germany in order to complete the first-level dreadnought of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire intends to start construction of four battleships at a time. This is a good decision for an empire that does not have much sea demand, has tight funds, and has a very harsh environment. The determination really surprised the Germans.

First of all, Emperor Fritz was not very interested in the navy, because since the establishment of the dual empire, the parliament of the Kingdom of Hungary, which had no ocean, did not care at all about the maritime development of the empire. However, after 1889, although the naval budget was independent and directly borne by the central government, the Austro-Hungarian Navy was in a state of low-speed development all year round because of the willingness of its own national strength.

Although Hipper himself was an admiral, he also disapproved of this plan. The Adriatic Sea is too narrow. In a nearly closed sea area, the advantages of large battleships are greatly reduced. On the contrary, how can the combat effectiveness of submarines, destroyers and mine fleets be enhanced. Capital ships consume a lot of money, but the cost performance is not high. In fact, the capital ships of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I had nothing to do other than the torpedo boats of the Italian Navy... Instead, the submarine force achieved some results.

Of course, the most important thing is that Italy has now become an ally in name and an enemy in fact. If Italy chooses to join the Allied Powers during the war, then the Italian and French navies can completely crush the Austro-Hungarian fleet. Even Adriatic You can't get out of the Asian Sea. If the German High Seas Fleet in the North Sea still has a chance to jump a few times and pose a certain threat to the British, then the French and Italian fleets are as stable as dogs in the Mediterranean!

The responsible General Hipper wrote a letter to Prince Ruprecht, hoping that the latter could persuade the Austro-Hungarian Empire to abandon this not very useful naval construction plan, and start to engage in offshore defense like the Russians. But unfortunately, his purpose is doomed to fail....

"Hippel thinks too highly of me, how can I change what Ferdinand decided?" Looking at Hipper's letter, the prince smiled and threw it aside. It's not that the prince has contradictory ideas, but that the prince who can't handle many things even within Germany has very limited influence on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

"House seems to want to visit you in Bavaria. If you have any ideas, you can say so at that time." Earl Schelling said.

"Don't tell me, I really have some ideas." Ruprecht touched his chin and said.

"Are you going to take General Hipper's opinion?" Earl Schelling became interested.

"No, the construction of the Austro-Hungarian fleet is irreversible,

What I'm thinking about now is how to make this fleet play a bigger role. The prince said with a smile. "Okay, if you have nothing to do, you can go down first. I'll be busy for a while." "

"The Austro-Hungarian fleet, if it changes places, can it play a certain role?" Under the insistence of Archduke Ferdinand, the Austrian dreadnoughts will definitely start construction, and four will be built, and if If nothing else, the Austro-Hungarian Empire may also skip the fearless stage directly and choose the same super fearless as the German Helgeland-class battleship! According to the cost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the 4 warships together cost more than 10 million pounds. At this time, it is meaningless to worry about how to organize the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The most important thing is how to make the money worthwhile!

"Obviously, if it is in the Adriatic Sea, the capital ships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet have no chance to use it. A mine blockade and a small number of fleets can prevent the Austro-Hungarian fleet from coming out. Such a fleet is meaningless." The prince then turned his gaze to the east. "Even if Italy chooses to be neutral, the British can stabilize the situation in the Mediterranean with only a few warships left behind. There is no way for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to break the situation alone."

"If there is no accident, Turkey may also purchase dreadnoughts in the near future!" At this time, the prince remembered another historical event, that is, Turkey's dreadnought plan in history. To be honest, Turkey is even considered a third-rate ship. The countries that are not on the list are still full of efforts for the navy in history. In addition to the so-called feelings, Turkey also has a demand, and this demand is because in the Bar War, the Greek fleet relied on an armored cruiser to defeat the Turkish navy. Some of them couldn't get out, and the sea transportation in the Aegean Sea was cut off.

It is normal for Turkey not to be able to defeat Britain, France, Italy, and Austria, but it is unreasonable to fail to defeat Greece. After the war, Turkey decided to sell blood to build ships, and then there was a very famous multi-turret sacred object in history, equipped with 7 turret, the 14-gun Agincourt, and another Dreadnought.

On this plane, although Turkey, which has already stood with Germany, is not isolated diplomatically and militarily, Germany is also not obliged to help Turkey defend the Mediterranean and Black Seas, so Turkey still has a need for capital ships. In particular, many materials shipped from Turkey to Europe need to take the Black Sea route. The senior German Navy believes that Turkey should still be equipped with some dreadnoughts.

"If everything goes according to history, Turkey will order two more dreadnoughts, which can be on par with the Russian Black Sea Fleet. It can help Turkey defend the Dardanelles, but it is still impossible to make a difference in the Mediterranean."

"But if some warships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet can join forces with Turkey, then the situation will be different!" Thinking of this, Ruprecht threw the pencil in his hand! That's right, let the Austro-Hungarian fleet and the Turkish fleet join forces, and use Istanbul as their home port!

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