Spain's sudden announcement of joining the Allied Powers was the biggest shock to the three countries of the Entente, especially France in the Entente, you must know that after Spain joined the Allied Powers, France was sandwiched between Germany and Spain of the Allied Powers, and once a war broke out between the Entente and the Allied Powers, France would face the situation of being attacked on its back. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In the Elysée Palace in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, inside the president's office, Armand, the 8th president of the French Third Republic? "After Spain joins the Central Powers, our military forces in France must be adjusted, and in the areas close to the Spanish line, more army units and air force fighters are needed to guard against the Spanish army, and our navy also needs to make appropriate arrangements for the Spanish navy," said Fallier, who said to the French Admiralty Minister Gomis, the Minister of the War Department, Jeannontro, and the Minister of the Air Force, Philippe, the Minister of the Air Force. ”

The previous French president, Lubet, had to step down because of the war between France and the Chinese Empire, the navy and army suffered extremely heavy losses, and also lost France's numerous islands in Oceania, and compensated the Chinese Empire for many war reparations. Falier took over as president of France.

In the last war with the Chinese Empire, the French Navy was wounded, and at the end of the war, the once large French Navy, the main battleship was left with 1 Guba-class dreadnought battleship and 2 Provence-class dreadnought battleships, and 11 all-steel battleships left, almost accompanying the French Navy in that war.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the French shipyard to complete the construction of 6 Provence-class dreadnought battleships and join the sequence of the French Navy, making the French Navy not fall out of the top five in the world ranking.

In the past two years, the 10 Friant-class super dreadnought battleships built by the previous French president have been completed and entered service in the French Navy. After Fallier came to power, the four French-class aircraft carriers and four Dunkirk-class battlecruisers that were financed to build also joined the ranks of the French Navy not long ago, so that the French Navy now has 27 capital warships.

The Frion class super dreadnought battleship is the first super dreadnought battleship designed in France, with a standard displacement of 24550 tons and a full load displacement of 28600 tons, The ship is 187.5 meters long, 28.5 meters wide, 10.3 meters draft, can reach a maximum speed of 24 knots, and is equipped with 5 twin 45 times caliber 343 mm main guns, 12 120 mm secondary guns, 18 47 mm anti-aircraft guns, 22 anti-aircraft machine guns, 3 533 mm torpedo tubes, horizontal armor belts 220 mm to 280 mm, deck armor 57 mm, main turret armor 300 mm, conning tower armor 300 mm, crew 1250 people.

The French-class aircraft carrier is the first aircraft carrier designed by France, with a full load displacement of 24,500 tons, a length of 229.6 meters, a width of 40.5 meters, a maximum draft of 7.5 meters, a design maximum speed of 24 knots, equipped with 18 47 mm anti-aircraft guns and 22 anti-aircraft machine guns, and can carry 22 aircraft carrier fighters, 14 British aircraft carrier dive bombers, 14 British aircraft carrier torpedo bombers and 2 reconnaissance aircraft developed by France itself.

The Dunkirk-class battlecruiser is undoubtedly the first battlecruiser of French design, with a standard displacement of 26500 tons and a full load displacement of 33800 tons, The length of the ship is 212.5 meters, the width of the ship is 29 meters, the maximum draft is 9.6 meters, the design maximum speed is 27 knots, and it is equipped with 5 twin batteries of 45 times caliber 343 mm, 10 120 mm secondary guns, 18 47 mm anti-aircraft guns, 22 anti-aircraft machine guns, 3 533 mm torpedo tubes, horizontal armor belts from 120 mm to 260 mm, deck armor 67 mm, main turret armor 250 mm, conning tower armor 250 mm, and a crew of 1,320 people.

Because the world's navies are still engaged in an arms race, so the French Navy has 27 capital warships, has not stopped, at present, in the French shipyard, there are 4 more France-class aircraft carriers and 6 Dunkirk-class battlecruisers are laying keels, the French believe that the performance of the above two main battleships is very good, so they did not design the next class of aircraft carriers and battlecruisers, but France's second super dreadnought battleship, but has completed the design.

Listened to President Armand? Fallier's words, the French Admiralty Minister Gomis immediately said: "Your Excellency, at present, the Spanish Navy only has 1 Siegfolli-class aircraft carrier, 4 Spanish-class dreadnought battleships and 3 Argosta-class battlecruisers, a total of 8 capital warships, except for the Siegfolli-class aircraft carrier that the Germans gave to the Spanish Navy, which can bring some threat to our powerful French Navy, the other 4 dreadnought battleships and 3 battlecruisers are very weak in combat effectiveness, However, after Spain joined the Central Powers, it had ordered 3 aircraft carriers, 4 super dreadnought battleships and 4 battle cruisers in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in succession. ”

The Bay of Biscay is a slightly triangular bay in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean between the west coast of France and the north coast of Spain, and is also strategically important because it is located between the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar.

The main powers in the Mediterranean at this time, including the French navy, the Italian navy, the navy of Austria-Hungary and the navy of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the French navy was not at a disadvantage in the Mediterranean.

Gomis, the Minister of the French Admiralty, said a lot of things, and the following is the main point, "Your Excellency, in order to deal with the Spanish Navy and the navies of other countries of the Central Powers, my subordinates believe that we in France should build the Paris-class super dreadnought battleships as soon as possible, and it is best to build more than eight together." ”

The Paris class is the second super dreadnought battleship designed by France, which is almost an enlarged version of the Fryon class super dreadnought, with a full load displacement of 31,500 tons, and 4 45 times caliber 381 mm guns installed, replacing the 5 twin 45 times caliber 343 mm guns of the Fryon class, and the other weapons are exactly the same as the 2 super dreadnought battleships.

President Armand? Fallier's brows furrowed and said: "Our French Ministry of Finance, not long ago, allocated funds to build 4 new French-class aircraft carriers and 6 Dunkirk-class battlecruisers, so that the Ministry of Finance can come up with a lot of funds in a short period of time to build so many Paris-class super dreadnought battleships, it is really difficult." ”

Secretary of the Navy Gomis then said: "Your Excellency, according to reliable intelligence from the intelligence department, there are still 32 capital warships under construction in the Imperial Chinese Navy, 32 capital warships are also being built in the shipyard of the British Navy, 28 capital warships are being built in the United States at the same time, and Germany has just announced that it will build 16 capital warships at the same time, while only 10 capital warships in our French shipyards have just begun to lay keels. If our French Navy does not continue to increase the number of capital warships, the gap between our French Navy and the navies of China, Britain, Germany and the United States will become wider and wider! ”

President Armand? Fallier then looked at the French Minister of War Jeannontro and the Minister of the Air Force Philippe Paul with a wry smile, "This arms race of the four camps is really too devastating, especially the naval arms race of the four camps, which has made various countries unsustainable, maybe other countries can still hold on, but we France is really a little unbearable, we France not only have a navy, but also an army and air force, although most of the income of our French finances, Now they have all been invested in military spending, but if more than 8 more Paris-class super dreadnought battleships are built according to the requirements of the navy, then our French army and air force will have to drink the northwest wind for a long time in the future. ”

The Minister of the Army, Jeannontro, looked at the Minister of the Navy, Gomis, and said in a deep voice: "General Gomis, the scale of our French Army has now recovered to 3 million, but there is still a very big shortage of heavy weapons and equipment in many troops, and the daily consumption of these 3 million people is a lot of money, if the Navy swallows up all the military spending, then what should we do with the 3 million troops of our army?" ”

Minister of the Air Force Philippe Paul also said: "Our French Air Force is being updated, equipped with several new fighters, and the demand for funds is also very large, I will not say much about the importance of the Air Force, I believe that His Excellency the President and the two generals are clear, because the Navy built 4 aircraft carriers and 6 battle cruisers at once, the Ministry of Finance has already reduced part of the military spending of our Air Force, if the Navy occupies all the military expenses this time, then what should our Air Force do?" Who will guard the skies of the French Republic? ”

The Minister of the Admiralty, Gomis, waved his hand and said: "General Jeannontro, General Filip Paul, I just make a suggestion, our French Navy is now lagging behind the navies of China, Britain, Germany and the United States, and if it cannot keep up with the pace in the next arms race, it is likely to be further and further behind the navies of China, Britain, Germany and the United States." ”

President Armand? After thinking for a while, Fallier said: "The navy, land and air force are extremely important to our French Republic, the military expenditure of the army and air force must not be compressed, but the navy does need to continue to build more capital warships, since our French Republic has joined the game of this arms race, it is impossible to give up halfway, and the interests of our French Republic still need your navy, land and air force to maintain, so let's ask the Ministry of Finance to allocate another transfer to the navy in a short period of time, It will be used to build 4 Paris-class super dreadnought battleships, and if the finances are more comfortable next year, an order for a few more capital warships will be sent to the shipyard. ”

Admiralty Secretary Gomis heard President Armand? Fallier promised to agree to the Navy to build 4 more Paris-class super dreadnought battleships, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face, in fact, Gomis knew very well that according to France's current financial situation, it was impossible to build 8 Paris-class super dreadnought battleships at the same time, and now the president can agree to build 4 ships, which is already somewhat beyond Gomis's estimate, and he thought that it would not be easy for the president to agree to build 2 more Paris-class super dreadnought battleships.

After all, the French Ministry of Finance only allocated most of the construction budget to the Admiralty for the 4 aircraft carriers and 6 battle cruisers that are now being built, and then with the completion of 10 capital warships, the French Ministry of Finance still needs to raise the remaining construction funds.

Gomis immediately said: "Thank you Your Excellency the President for attaching importance to the Navy, and our French Navy will definitely not disappoint the President!" ”

President Armand? Fallier smiled and nodded, but there was a hint of bitterness in his smile, like Armand? As Fallier just said, France really can't stand up to this worldwide arms race.

In recent years, in order to keep up with the pace of the arms race of various countries, France's military spending has accounted for 60 percent of the national budget, which has greatly affected other livelihood industries in France, and the lives of ordinary French people have become more and more difficult.

If it weren't for the fact that France had accumulated a fairly strong foundation after years of colonialism, the French government would have been bankrupt long ago if it had expanded on such a large scale of the French navy, land and air forces, as well as the French government's annual financial revenue.

President Armand? Fallier then said to the Secretary of the Army, Jeannontro: "The heavy weapons and equipment that some units of the Army lack can only be replenished gradually, and I hope General Jeannontro and the War Department can understand." ”

Janenontro nodded and said: "Your Excellency the President, rest assured, although the heavy weapons and equipment of some units of our army are not yet in place, the 3 million officers and soldiers of our army are ready for war at any time, as long as the state gives orders, our army of the French Republic will clear all enemies for the republic." ”

President Armand? Fallier then asked the Minister of the Air Force, Philippe Paul, "General Philippe Paul, how many new fighters are there in the Air Force?" ”

Philip Paul immediately replied: "Your Excellency, our Air Force is already equipped with 310 new Newport 13 fighters, 130 new Newport 14 dive bombers, and 90 new Newport 15 horizontal bombers. ”

"The scale of the new fighters of the Air Force will continue to expand, and in terms of funds, the Ministry of Finance will try its best to meet the needs of the Air Force!" (To be continued.) )