Chapter 929 The Navy’s Thoughts
With Ernst's order issued, it was the East African Defense Forces that ultimately bore all the burden. The armored force, which had originally been decided to experiment before 1900, was delayed until the next century, actually three years later.
For the Army, the delay of the armored forces will not have a big impact, because there is no generational difference between the East African Army and the European and American Army.
Of course, East Africa is not as large as the European and American powers in terms of military size. This is mainly in terms of the combined navy and army. Although the U.S. Army and the East African National Defense Force are confident that one can defeat ten, the U.S. Navy has expanded too fast in recent years and has actually expanded. and East African armies.
"Ernst, why has the navy's funding been reduced again? According to the original agreement, the navy will not expand, but I can't reduce it!"
Soon, Archduke Ferdinand aggressively went to his son-in-law to ask for an explanation. After the South African War, the navy entered an era of slow development. Although the East African navy was still among the top ten in the world, other countries in the world were busy expanding their navies crazily. .
East Africa is already alien enough, and now it has to reduce naval military expenditures, which makes Archduke Ferdinand restless.
"After the end of the South African War, in 1892, the British built the world's first battleship with an all-steel hull, the Royal Sovereign. Now is a period of change for the navy. How can it be taken from the navy? As for military expenditures! I think it’s better to let the Army pay more. Let’s not talk about the armored forces that are still missing, and simply reduce the number of fast mobile units.”
This is the main reason for Ferdinand's anxiety. The Royal Sovereign, a new generation of main battleship developed by the British, was born as early as 1892.
This class of warships had a famous name in the previous life, that is, the pre-dreadnought battleship. Of course, this name corresponds to the later dreadnoughts, as well as the even crazier super-dreadnoughts.
The East African Navy is naturally following the trend, and is rushing with other countries to develop or import pre-dreadnought ships to fill its own navy. Currently, most of the East African Navy's first pre-dreadnought ship, the Sea Wolf, is completed at the Bagamoyo Shipyard. schedule.
As the head of the East African Navy, Archduke Ferdinand naturally wanted to increase construction efforts on this basis, so that all East African navies would enter the battleship era in the future. However, Ernst's stick to cut military expenditures this time hit the navy at once. On the head.
"Father-in-law, don't worry. I naturally understand what you just said. Moreover, this military expenditure reduction is not aimed at the navy, but also the army. As for the reduction of the army's mobility force that you mentioned, it is impossible. The mobility of the army The biggest feature of the army is the use of automobiles to replace livestock such as mules and horses, and the current development of the automobile industry in East Africa cannot be separated from the support of orders from the military," Ernst reassured.
It is true that the output of civilian cars in East Africa is not low, but military orders are equally important. In the past, the early development of the German automobile industry was inseparable from the support of the military.
"The automobile industry is indeed important, but our navy's new warships are not bad, no, they are more important. After all, the main military pressure in East Africa now comes from the sea. Didn't we just get Mindanao a while ago? Plus the Kingdom of Northern Hawaii, and Mozambique Along the coast of Angola, the size of the East African navy has long been insufficient, and you have to reduce naval military expenditures. This is simply unreasonable!" Ferdinand said loudly.
The British are followed by Germany and the United States, whose navies are expanding wildly. Under such circumstances, it is even less possible to focus on East Africa and cause trouble. Therefore, it is a good thing that the East African navy does not expand.
After all, Germany and the United States are enough headaches for the British. If East Africa intervenes again, it will only make the situation more chaotic. Of course, as the main military service, the navy must not be too stretched, so Ernst said: "What you said makes sense. The sea area we control in East Africa now extends to the Pacific Ocean. According to the current size of the navy, it is indeed powerless. , so of course the Navy’s new shipbuilding plan cannot be delayed, so it should be enough for us to build four more battleships before 1905.”
"Four ships are too few! At least seven ships are enough, otherwise our number of battleships will not even reach half of that of other countries." Constantine said.
In fact, Ernst's psychological expectation was that building two or three ships would be enough before 1905. However, East Africa was not a small country after all, and two or three ships were indeed too chilling, so he reluctantly raised the number to four.
As for the future, after 1906, the dreadnoughts will appear on the scene as expected. At that time, it will be better to increase the number of warships.
Of course, Constantine must not be clear about these. He knows that the pre-dreadnoughts are already powerful enough, and the big navy plans of other countries are too crazy. Even Japan, a small island country in East Asia, is ambitious. The future of East Africa will be affected by this projectile. It would be too embarrassing for a small country to surpass us.
“Isn’t the Navy currently working hard to equip its submarine force? So battleships are indeed useful, but we also have other options. Anyway, after two or three years, East Africa’s financial situation will improve. I will definitely give priority to the Navy’s funding for ship development.”
Ernst chose to delay the decision. After all, the East African government's current expenditures are too large. After this period of time has passed, it will naturally be possible to loosen the East African army again.
“Submarines are just turtles on the bottom of the sea. They do not have the momentum and deterrence of battleships, and the importance of deterrence to the navies of major powers is self-evident.” Ferdinand said.
Ernst doesn't think so. Compared with today's mainstream ironclads and battleships, submarines have huge potential. Even in the 21st century, they are still an important deterrent force for the navy. This is what Ernst started as early as the 1970s. Reasons for investing in submarine research and development in East Africa.
Moreover, submarines are cheap to build, which is the main reason why Ernst wants the Navy to temporarily use submarines to replenish its inventory. Although the cost of building submarines is relatively high due to technical and other reasons, they are still not as expensive as the gold-eating beasts of battleships. The cost of building a battleship It’s enough to build twenty or thirty submarines.
"Don't worry! Father-in-law, the country's economy is currently in dire straits. If the economic situation improves over time, opportunities will come for the navy. In the first ten years of the 20th century, the size of our East African navy will definitely undergo major expansion." Ste gave Constantine reassurance.
Of course, this reassurance is full of pitfalls, because Ernst did not specify a specific time. If there are no accidents in history and the time of World War I remains unchanged, East Africa will definitely have to start preparations in advance before 1914.
So after 1905, the army and navy in East Africa had to prepare, because Ernst didn't know whether the war would be fought earlier or later. After all, the gunfire in Serbia might have disappeared due to historical interference. Now that kid Rudolph is still alive and kicking!
The assassinated Crown Prince Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in his previous life now does not even have the chance to become the imperial crown prince, so the future is full of variables, and Ernst is also dancing on a tightrope, wanting to maximize the interests of East Africa.
(End of this chapter)