Trieste was the largest port in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, through which most of the Austro-Hungarian maritime transport passed. So don't look at the port in later generations as inconspicuous, but in this era it was a very prosperous port city, with a permanent population of more than 300,000.

It was also home to the Austro-Hungarian shipbuilding industry and maritime trading companies, and for good reason.

In addition to the civilian port, the port of Trieste was also used by the Austro-Hungarian Navy as the main port of call for warships.

Speaking of which, Austria-Hungary used the port as a dual-use port because Austria-Hungary had fewer good ports, and only the port of Trieste took it. If the port is not built vigorously, then which port should be built?

The Austro-Hungarian Navy, although far less conspicuous than Germany and Italy, has grown over the years, for example, three of the four combined-force-class battleships it built have been commissioned.

Speaking of which, this Combined Forces-class battleship is stronger than in history, because it is supported by German and Italian technical support.

However, the Austro-Hungarian navy has a smaller mission, and its sea area is not very wide, so the performance improvement is not too large.

The ship has a total length of 161 meters, a width of 28.1 meters, and a draft of 8.3 meters. Standard displacement: 21400 tons, full load displacement: 23700 tons.

Equipped with 14 boilers, 2 steam turbines, the main engine output of 32,000 horsepower, 4 shafts, maximum speed: 21 knots; Endurance: 4,500 nm/10 knots.

In terms of firepower selection, the ships of this class are equipped with 12 triple 305 mm 50 x caliber main guns, 14 150 mm secondary guns, 16 76 mm guns, and 4 533 mm torpedo tubes.

In terms of firepower, the ship is equipped with the same firepower as Cavour, although it is armed with 305 mm guns, but the number is 12. Much higher than the Dante class built in Italy. However, according to the tests of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, its triple structure has a large shooting probe for artillery, which greatly affects its performance.

And in addition to the artillery, the combined forces class was weakly armored, with a maximum of 280 mm of waterline armor, 200-305 mm of turret armor, 48 mm of deck armor, and 280-356 mm of conning towers.

While the numbers look good, the reality of the combined forces class is another story. The ship has four triple main gun turrets mounted on a shorter hull, resulting in a higher center of gravity. In addition, although there was technology provided by Germany and Italy, it was clear that the Austro-Hungarian naval designers had their own ideas. The defense structure below the waterline of the hull still adopts the old-fashioned compartment design, so its underwater lightning protection performance is not good.

And in addition to the well-known Combined Forces class, the Austro-Hungarian Navy also has three former dreadnought battleships of the Radetzky class.

The standard displacement of battleships of this class was 14508 tons, and the full load displacement was 15854 tons. It has a total length of 138.79 meters, a width of 24.58 meters, and a draft of 8.1 meters.

The main engine has a power of 19,437 horsepower, a speed of 20.16 knots, and a cruising range of 6,000 nautical miles / 10 knots.

Equipped with 4 Skoda 305mm L/45 main guns (2 twin turrets), 8 Skoda 240mm L/45 secondary guns (4 twin turrets), 20 Skoda 100mm L/50 anti-torpedo boat rapid-fire guns (single installation), 6 Skoda 70mm L/45 rapid-fire guns, 2 Skoda 70mm L/18 rapid-fire guns, 1 Skoda 47mm L/44 cannon, 1 Skoda 47mm L/33 cannon, 3 450mm torpedo tubes.

In terms of performance, this is a relatively good former dreadnought.

In addition to these 7 warships, the Austro-Hungarian Navy also had 7 old former dreadnought battleships, which were comparable in performance to the Italian Turin class and were no longer adapted to the current mode of naval warfare.

In addition, the Austro-Hungarian Navy had 6 coastal defense warships, 3 armored frigates, 5 protective cruisers, 4 new cruisers, 3 old mine-strike ships and dozens of torpedo boats.

In terms of quantity and tonnage, the Austro-Hungarian Navy is a supporting role in the Mediterranean, which cannot be compared with Britain and Italy, and is weaker than the French Navy.

So for the commander of the fleet of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, Vice Admiral House. How to bring the Austro-Hungarian Navy to a greater role is a question.

Because according to the agreement of the Triple Alliance, in wartime the Austro-Hungarian Navy will form a combined fleet in the Italian Navy to achieve the goal of controlling the Mediterranean.

Born in Tormains in the Empire, Vice Admiral House joined the Austro-Hungarian Navy at the age of eighteen and later served as an instructor at the Austro-Khail Naval Academy in Fum and is the author of the influential monograph Oceanography and Marine Meteorology.

In 1900 he served as an officer on the armored cruiser "Empress and Queen Maria Theresa", remained in Beijing until 1902, rose to the rank of vice admiral in 1907, and attended the Second Peace Conference in The Hague as a representative of Austria-Hungary from May to October of that year.

Since last year, Vice Admiral House has been the commander of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, responsible for the work of the fleet.

So the workload of this lieutenant general is not small at all, and he is always busy.

When the lieutenant general was immersed in all kinds of documents, the secretary opened the door and reported to him. "Lieutenant General, Lieutenant Colonel Horty came to report."

"Okay, I got it. Tell Lieutenant Colonel Horty to wait a few minutes, and I'll see him when I'm done processing this document.

After processing the papers in his hand, he called the Lieutenant Colonel Horty in.

"Report, Lieutenant Commander Horty reports to His Excellency Vice Admiral."

Horty, dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant colonel of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, stood straight in front of Vice Admiral House.

"Horty, take it easy, don't be so formal."

Why is House so polite to a lieutenant admiral. This is because this Lieutenant Colonel Horty has a lot of background. This naval staff officer, who had previously served as the emperor, had been sent to the side of the fleet after leaving office only a few days earlier.

Since he had been with the emperor, he had dealt with him before, so he could not be regarded as an ordinary lieutenant colonel.

"Yes, Your Excellency, Lieutenant General."

Horthy is also not a person who does not know how to be flexible, and relaxes a little. He then placed his order in front of House.

"Lieutenant General Xiang, this is my order, and now I am ordered to be arranged by the lieutenant general."

"Would you like to have something?"

"No, thank you, Your Excellency Lieutenant General."

Looking at Lieutenant Colonel Horty in front of him, Lieutenant General House then spoke. "Lieutenant Colonel Horty, I have two options for you at the moment. The first was to become the commander of the 3rd Cruiser Formation, responsible for the day-to-day work of the formation as well as the command of the formation. ”

When Vice Admiral House said the first option, Horty quickly flipped through the information on the 3rd cruiser formation, which consisted of two cruisers, as well as three destroyers. However, they were all built before 1900 and belonged to a supporting role in the cruiser formation.

Lieutenant General House gave Horty a moment to think about it before continuing to speak. "Or become the captain of the Prinz Eugen."

For the Prinz Eugen, Horti is of course aware that the ship is the fourth ship of the Combined Forces class, and unlike the three ships that have already been commissioned, the Prinz Eugen is still in selenium.

And the two choices given by Vice Admiral House were not bad, either to command the cruiser formation or to become the captain of a battleship, which were very desirable positions for a middle-level naval officer, and he was not disadvantaged by the person who had served on the emperor's side.

"I want to go to the Prinz Eugen."

Horthy didn't think much of it and quickly made her choice.

Isn't it every man's dream to be on a battleship that can become a symbol of a cannon and a giant ship, and to be the captain who commands it, so what can there be to hesitate about.

The changes brought about by the construction of the combined forces earlier than history made the Lieutenant Commander Horty the captain of the battleship. The development of his personal history has also changed.

As for the future, it depends on its ability.