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"Your Majesty, the British are beginning to move." Tirpitz solemnly handed over a report to Jochen: "The British have transferred 4 battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet back to the mainland, the number of battleships of the British Continental Fleet has increased from 8 to 12, and the number of 8 battleships of the Channel Fleet has not changed, but 4 of the latest Duncan-class battleships have been transferred. It's clear that Britain is strengthening its home power, and I think it's a fleet adjustment that the British are doing against us. ”

"Fleet reorganization plan." Jochen glanced at the report and put it down, then muttered a word, then looked up at Tirpitz and said, "It must be aimed at us, because now there is no one but us in this direction, and the Russian Baltic Fleet is completely empty." ”

In fact, you don't need to read the report, Jochen also knows what the British are doing, after Fisher came to power, the British Royal Navy has made significant adjustments, and Jochen understands it very well in later generations.

Nicholas II had previously programmed the remaining ships in the Baltic Sea to the Third Pacific Fleet and sent them on a journey to the Far East, at which time the existence of Russian naval power in the Baltic Sea was close to zero, and the British said that this move was not directed against Germany, only fools would believe it.

Jochen was still a little curious about why the transfer of battleships in the Mediterranean, which was supposed to be carried out in January 1905, was not carried out, and whether it was because Germany now had a presence in the Mediterranean, which caused the butterfly effect, and as a result, it seems that history is still full of inertia.

In fact, it was not uncommon for the British to be transferred a few months late, because the Germans had carried out the transfer in December 1904, and the transfer of four Brandenburg-class battleships to the Mediterranean Fleet had interrupted the British plan.

For the Mediterranean, the strength of the German Navy rose sharply. The commander of the British naval fleet, Beersford, strongly opposed the transfer of one-third of the main force from his own fleet, because his own fleet originally dealt with the French Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, the Italian Navy, and the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Moreover, when Fisher was the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, he complained endlessly to the Admiralty about the lack of strength of the Mediterranean Fleet, and trumpeted the strategic position and mission of his fleet, emphasizing that the Mediterranean was the soft belly of Britain. Asking for the strengthening of the Mediterranean Fleet, and now that he is the First Sea Lord, he wants to weaken the Mediterranean Fleet, Bilsford naturally thinks that Fisher and himself cannot get along, so he is extremely dissatisfied with this.

As the most powerful fleet of the British Navy at this time, many senior admirals believed that the strategic value of the Mediterranean Fleet was higher than that of the Home Fleet, so they were also extremely opposed, so it naturally clashed with Fisher, and they quarreled for a while. The transfer of the British was delayed.

And this is also what Tirpitz is strange about: "It is understandable that the British should strengthen the strength of the home fleet, but it is strange that we have strengthened the Mediterranean fleet and still draw forces from the Mediterranean, if the home fleet is strengthened, is it not okay for the Edward VII class that they are about to serve to strengthen the home fleet?" ”

"Quite simply, because the little fleet strength we have strengthened is not enough to change the situation in the eyes of the Royal Navy, after all, they also know very well that the main force of our navy is also placed on this side of the North Sea. And in the presence of a tendency towards rapprochement between Britain and France, the pressure in the Mediterranean did not increase. Even a certain amount of dù was reduced. Jochen said.

The strength of the German fleet in the Mediterranean was not comparable to that of the Austro-Hungarian navy of the same period, and the British naturally said that there was no pressure at all to transfer the fleet.

"And the British, although they drew the ships of the Mediterranean Fleet. But in fact, their combat effectiveness in the Mediterranean region has not declined, although the Channel Fleet based in Gibraltar has not increased the number of ships, but it has deployed the latest warships, and I estimate that the Edward VII class will also be deployed here in the future, when the British Royal Navy's fastest and most powerful battleships can depart from Gibraltar and arrive in Malta in two days. It will be able to return to Beihai in 4 days, which can fully meet the needs of both directions. ”

As a German Navy second-class main gun battleship, the Duncan class was very different from the historical battleship of the same name, the standard displacement rose from 14,000 tons to 16,000 tons, and the 12 6-inch secondary guns became 4 9.2-inch secondary guns and 10 6-inch secondary guns, and in order to save money. The second stage uses a single rotating turret of the same model as the Duke of Edinburgh.

In addition to the fact that the level of protection has not been improved, the main armor belt is still 7 inches, and its firepower configuration and appearance are exactly the same as the historical Edward VII class, and the current Edward VII class has also changed a lot, the tonnage has risen to 16,500 tons, on the basis of the Duncan class, the main armor belt has been increased to 9 inches, and on the side of the board has added a single 9.2-inch secondary main gun turret.

In the future, the Channel Fleet will consist of 8 Duncan-class and Edward-class battleships, and the speed of 19 knots makes these two classes of battleships the fastest battleships in service in the Royal Navy.

"The British in the Anglo-Japanese alliance should still be obliged to threaten the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Mediterranean, right? Now that the ships of the Mediterranean Fleet are being transferred, the Russian Navy is no longer a threat to the British. Tirpitz said with some mockery: "It seems that the news we have received that the British are ready to remove Russia from the two great powers should be true, and should we be honored to be one of the new standards of the British?" ”

"If the Russian Second Pacific Fleet is clumped in the Far East, then the British will basically have no pressure in the Far East, and if I were British, I would also transfer back the 5 battleships of the Chinese fleet, and then our pressure will be even greater." Jochen reluctantly said that the numerical superiority of the British on the former dreadnoughts was simply desperate.

"Fortunately, these ships will soon be swept into the garbage heap." Tirpitz also said in a relieved tone: "Our new battleships will give us an advantage. ”

At this time, the Intrepid had not yet started. Naturally, German naval intelligence did not get the news that the British had also begun work on the design of all-heavy artillery battleships.

"Six new battleships can't change the balance of power between ours and the British, Alfred." Jochen poured cold water on his chief of the General Staff of the Navy: "And the British will build the same type of warships in the future." ”

"I understand, Your Majesty, that we cannot surpass the British in the number of old battleships, so we must always maintain our numerical superiority in this new battleship, in view of the proximity between Britain and France and the strategic adjustment of the British Navy. I think it's time for us to enact a second amendment to the Navy Act. ”

"There's no good reason why Congress won't agree to your plan, Alfred, and the Army won't either." Jochen shook his head and vetoed Tirpitz's proposal, but Jochen didn't say anything: "You can make the plan first, but it's up to me to decide when to submit it to Congress." ”

There is a cause and effect for any policy, and Jochen delayed the time for England and France to come closer, and warned the French by the mouth of England, which would surely be more restrained. The first Moroccan crisis will not erupt now, and Jochen is not prepared to suffer like Wilhelm II on Morocco.

Without such a diplomatic failure, the Germans would not have seen the need to have a strong enough force to negotiate with Britain, the discredited arbiter of the world order, and without such a disgrace to the German people, the amendment to the Navy Act of May 1906, which cost 940 million marks, would not have been so smooth.

Therefore, the time has not yet come for the second amendment to the "Navy Act" to be submitted, and the construction of 4 new battleships has already begun, and the preparation of continuing to start construction of 2 new battleships this year also gives the German Navy a certain time buffer, even if it is carried out step by step according to the original plan, it can ensure the superiority of the British in the number of new battleships in 2-3 years. So Jochen wasn't in a hurry.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Tirpitz was somewhat disappointed. But the emperor is right, the parliament is indeed not easy.

"Don't worry too much, Alfred, even if the British want to build a battleship of the same type, it will take a lot of time to gain numerical superiority, and we have time to convince Congress." Jochen was reassured.

"And the British have a big problem. They're cutting their Royal Navy right now, and I think their staffing is already a big burden on Congress. Jochen said with a smile: "Although the British have a merchant fleet and sailors, and the British, who do not recognize the right to change their nationality, can still go to the merchant ships of other countries to capture their own sailors as deserters."

But in any case, a large number of layoffs will put their fleet in a state of shortage, even if it is replenished in wartime. The competence of those who were used to fill the gap is also questionable.

Unlike us, the introduction of universal military service allows us to recruit large numbers of people whenever we need them, and as long as there are enough ships in the navy, it is not a problem for us to call up 2-30,000 people a year to serve in the navy.

So even if the British build a large number of new ships in order to regain their advantage, they will have to face the problem of their own personnel shortage, so we don't have to rush too much. (My novel "Imperial Sea Power" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there will also be a 100% lottery gift for everyone!) Open WeChat now, click on the "+" sign in the upper right corner to "add friends", search for the official account "qdread" and follow, hurry up! (To be continued......)

PS: PS: To correct the mistake, someone said before that there was no Joachim I, where did Joachim III come from, but I checked it according to the history of the Hohenzollern family, there were Joachim I (1499-1535) and Joachim II (1535-1573) during the Electoral period, and later a friend told me that the titles of the Elector and the Prussian period were counted separately, so now it is changed to Joachim I