Chapter 98： ·The German Navy continues to struggle (1/2)

If the Germans in history were still struggling to build battleships or cruisers in the 1890s, and Tirpitz's strong intervention finally set the tone for building battleships, then on this plane, Germany People are still entangled, or even more entangled than before! Because now Tirpitz has doubts about his own ideas. The battleships are indeed tall and mighty, to the point that they are not easy to use overseas. Why are you building a bunch of battleships at home?

Finally, when the construction of the Munich-class armored cruiser came to an end, two shipbuilding plans were placed in front of Kaiser Friedrich III. One plan is to build 3 to 4 battleships, and the other plan is to build the same number of 10,000-ton cruisers.

The battleship in the first plan is the new 6-gun Brandenburg-class battleship that Ruprecht helped to modify, which weakened the thickness of the main armor belt and increased the area of ​​the armor, and only used the main turret structure. Gun, increase tonnage, secondary gun firepower and speed. The cruiser plan is the German version of the Russian armored cruiser that Russia intends to order. The biggest difference is that the dual 10-inch main gun is replaced with a dual 240MM main gun, while the second level main gun is a dual 210MM main gun. gun.

Originally, Frederick III did not care about the navy very much, and Bismarck was also trying to curb the rapid growth of the navy in order to maintain his strategy, but this Far East incident made His Majesty the Emperor and the Prime Minister feel that they were beaten in the face at the same time, and that they were being beaten by the British. People can fight with a dog! This is really tolerable or unbearable! Since then, the expansion of the navy has become one of the few things that the Emperor and the Prime Minister have the same ideas. With the top-down promotion of the German government, this time the navy appropriation has been passed, and now it is the only thing that has money. The question is what is being made! How to get the navy building, wait online!

The current situation is that the German navy is caught in a dispute. The BB, ACR, and Coast Defence Warships are in a quarrel. All of a sudden, so much money is excited, but loses its way. At this time, the Germans suddenly remembered that they were overseas, and the ”admiral” who had the most practical experience in the German Navy had not yet returned. So when he comes back, ask him his opinion?

A telegram from Prince William was sent to Ruprecht. Although the inquiry was made in private, it took into account the specific national conditions of the empire and Ruprecht’s current overt and covert influence in the German Navy. Power, Ruprecht’s decision will have a great impact on the future of the Navy.

And after receiving this telegram, Tirpitz also took the fleet back from South America. In New York, Ruprecht embarked on a journey home. Afterwards, His Royal Highness asked Tirpitz to read the telegram of the crown prince. After all, he was the patron of Prince William, so he always wanted something to say.

”To be honest, I am very confused. I still tend to build large battleships as the backbone of the Imperial Navy, but the performance of the Munich-class armored cruisers makes me have to admit that in ocean battles, the speed and endurance of cruisers are sometimes better than firepower. And defense is more important!” Tirpitz admitted frankly the role of a cruiser. Although the prince in front of him had not served in the navy, nor received much naval education, Tirpitz must admit, His Royal Highness It is really strong in the macro strategy.

”Build two Brandenburg-class battleships first. Our battleship formation is too small and too old. After solving the recent demand problem, the update of the battleship will also be on the agenda.” Rupley Hitt was also welcome, and directly stated his thoughts.

”You mean to build two battleships and two cruisers?” Tirpitz touched his chin and continued: ”This idea is very good, whether it is a Brandenburg-class battleship or a new ten thousand-ton armored cruiser. Very good, very suitable for the needs of the empire now!”

”In fact, I personally think that the experimental significance of building the Brandenburg-class battleship is greater than the practical significance. Whether we need to build a battleship or a cruiser in the future, the number of the Brandenburg-class should not be too much because of the power of the 11-inch artillery on it. It's too bad! Too bad! It's too unbearable!” Ruprecht's sudden and intense language surprised Tirpitz!