The azure waters gently swirled and rolled white waves on the side of the steel battleship. The white gulls in the air are crying clearly, flying and soaring, reflecting the clear sky and sea, green trees and flowers, which are more relaxed and beautiful.

This is Toulon in southeastern France, and is also France's premier fleet military port and shipbuilding base. In 1792, the Great Revolution that overthrew the Bourbon dynasty broke out in France, and the monarchies of Britain, Spain, Prussia, and Austria were all greatly shaken and sent troops into France to intervene, and Toulon, 65 kilometers east of Marseille, was the most important front of the anti-French alliance to strangle the new republican power in the cradle. It was also here that the 24-year-old artillery captain Bonama? Napoleon, with his military, organizational, and cohesive genius, destroyed the stronghold of the anti-French coalition with a strong fortress and a strong garrison, known as the second Gibraltar, and thus created a legacy that will be remembered forever by posterity.

However, no nation in the world is immortal. With the passage of time, the land of hundreds of Central European states that had been crushed by the iron hooves of Emperor Napoleon had forged an incomparably powerful empire in the roaring furnace under the fierce iron and blood of Bismarck. It has an enlightened and wise monarch, a dutiful and capable minister, an elite warrior, and 60 million diligent and rigorous citizens. France, which forcibly stood in the way of its rise, could only be drowned by the roaring torrent of the times; This is an inescapable and irresistible fate of reincarnation!

Under the previously signed Peace of Amsterdam, France suffered heavy losses not only in colonies and reparations. Its fleet was built over a generation. It will also face the fate of being dismembered and divided by the Allies. 22 cutting-edge ships, including 4 Kolbe-class battleships. will all be removed from the battle sequence of the French Navy. As a result of this change, the French navy's world ranking will plummet from fourth to seventh, and the dismantling of a large number of unfinished ships will cut off the process of modernizing their navy. For a long time to come, the tricolor flagship, which once competed with the Royal Navy on the four oceans, can only degenerate into a green water force operating mainly in a corner of the western Mediterranean, and it will be difficult to regain its former glory.

The ship is like a mountain, and the naval guns are like a forest. Boom across the harbor. Majestic warships were neatly moored in their berths: Ever since the Age of Steam in the Navy, the romantic-minded French have loved to make their ships wide and tall, especially those above the rank of cruiser. However, the elite among them will inevitably be reduced to the partition of the victorious powers. At this moment, the red, white and green crown heraldic flags had been raised on the masts of some of the largest ships: groups of sailors in blue and black uniforms were scrutinizing the thousands of cabins of the battleship with excitement and curiosity. They admired the work of the French, and were even more excited about the fortune and chance of owning the enemy ship.

"The Italians are really fast." Looking at the black-blue figure wandering on the deck in the distance, Lieutenant Commander Horthy of the Austro-Hungarian Navy who stepped down from the convertible car couldn't help but pout. As an "ally" who has been staring at each other on both sides of the Adriatic Sea for half a century, the attire of the opposing seafarer. I am undoubtedly very clear. What makes Horti feel a little resentful is the Italian who is geographically close to the water. The French warships divided in the negotiations were so quick to attack: they had just arrived at the port of Toulon, and the other side seemed to have completed all the handover formalities, and raised their flags in a grand manner, ready to sail away!

Hearing Horty's dissatisfaction, Raeder, who came with him, smiled slightly: "Mr. Holty need not be angry about the hyena behavior of these Italians. Because this act of theirs is not a bad thing for your country, but will be a key help for your country to become the hegemon of the Mediterranean in the future. Horthy glanced at the German beside him, but there was a bitter recognition in his heart that he had no choice.

After Britain and France signed peace treaties one after another, fierce competition began within the Allies over the spoils of war. Although Austria-Hungary and Italy had little disagreement on the principled question of German dominance, they undoubtedly wanted to gain more from themselves: the Italians, in particular, who had gained so little from the Treaty of Brest, said that they would not let go of this opportunity to dominate France. And because of Qingying's deliberate reluctance on the issue of reparations, the hungry Italians were even more in a state of madness and anxiety: you Hans have eaten and drunk enough on the Russians, and you can ask nothing of France; But our noodles ...... No, it was the glorious descendants of Julius Caesar who only licked a plate with no minced meat left, and now they are in a critical moment of urgent need to eat!

In the face of the clamor of Italy and the anticipation of Austria-Hungary, the Berlin government did not hesitate to demonstrate its strong will. More than 95 per cent of the troops and all the territory lost by France in the war were carried out by the Germans: so that in any sense of the word, Germany's share of the treaty would be greater than that of the treaty with Russia. At present, Germany's three colonies in Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Tunisia have been handed over to Italian rule, and its support for its expansion in Ethiopia and Somalia, is already a sign of great consideration for its allies. In the same way, it was not uncommon for Germany to grant Austria-Hungary the vast territory of Mauritania and Mali. Although Austria-Hungary will withdraw from the occupied territories of Ukraine on a large scale for this, this exchange is also almost a sure win.

Germany demanded that it must receive 85% of France's full reparations, and made this an unchangeable bottom line. Seeing that the other party's attitude was so firm, Italy, which did not dare to smash the table and leave, could only choose to accept it, and divided the remaining reparations with Austria-Hungary in a ratio of 12 to 3. The disgruntled Italians, disgruntled by the fact that the amount they had received were far from what they had expected, turned their attention to the French fleet: they claimed that since the indemnity received by Italy was not sufficient to compensate for the wounds of the war, there was every reason to obtain more warships to make up for it. In the face of the German-Austrian gaze, the Italians demanded that all 4 Kolbe-class battleships be taken for themselves, which made the Austrians, who also had thoughts about these ships, go berserk on the spot!

The Kolbe-class battleship has a standing displacement of 23,000 tons and a full load displacement of 25,000 tons, and is equipped with 5 twin 340 mm L45 main guns and 22 138 mm L55 secondary guns, with a maximum speed of 20 knots and a maximum thickness of 270 mm of main armor. As a super-dreadnought built by France to ensure the Allies' shipping in the Mediterranean, the Kolbe class, which was completed during the war, was undoubtedly one of the most powerful warships in the Mediterranean. At first, Austria-Hungary took two unfinished Queen Maria-class hulls from the Russians, but they were dismantled because the completion was too low, and they had to be dismantled after weighing the gains and losses. Now it is hard to wait for a batch of spot that can replenish the previous losses, but the Italians have to shamelessly take all of them for themselves!

Seeing that the two sides did not give in to each other, Qingying, who was on the outside, couldn't help but be a little anxious. Of the two allies, he clearly relied more heavily on Austria-Hungary, which was far superior to Italy in terms of industrial and war power: and according to his plan, it would undoubtedly be more advantageous for Vienna in the long run for Austria-Hungary to abandon these ships.

Although the performance of the Kolbe class is first-class in the Mediterranean, it is slightly better than dreadnoughts among the top powers such as Britain, the United States and Germany. As for Qingying, the traverser, he is more aware of the terrible loopholes in the defense of the French capital ships during the First World War. In another dimension, the Dreadnought de France sank in 1923 due to a landing, and its underwater tragedy rivaled that of the British Daring. As a strong auxiliary to the German Navy, the Austro-Hungarian fleet's area of activity in the future will no longer be limited to the Mediterranean, and the three oceans except the Arctic Ocean will be the battlefield for their attack, and the performance of the warships will be particularly important. Therefore, instead of leaving the scum like Kolbe to give away the heads of the other side, it is better to free up the tonnage so that more forward-looking and powerful warships can be built in the coming treaty era.

In addition, Qingying also had a hint of provoking the contradictions between France and Italy after the war. In this European war, it was Italy, as a wall-riding faction, who took the lead in stabbing France in the back; If it weren't for the fact that their army was too ineffective, the whole of southern France would have been swept away by Italy. For Italy, the gangster who fell into the ground, the French undoubtedly harbored gritted hatred; And if the Italians were allowed to plunder all of France's capital ships alone, the French, who felt humiliated, would surely have an even stronger hatred of Italy. It is true that France hates Germany the most, but when there is no chance of revenge, they can only divert their eyes and choose a less powerful soft persimmon to vent the anger in their hearts.

The post-war contradictions between France and Italy were clearly welcome to Germany as far as Germany was concerned. Although the power of France had been greatly diminished with the loss of the colonies, it was not a good thing to be kept in mind by the thieves: it was better for the Italians to catch their eye than to keep their eyes on Germany. Italy's shift of attention to the west will also allow Austria-Hungary to more fully unleash its power, and it will no longer have to worry about this neighboring country, which is actually an adversary. Italy, which was greedy and cunning, was not as adequately reliant as Austria-Hungary could help, and it was absolutely necessary to find a thorn in them after the war. (To be continued......)

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