Another World: Naval Storm

Chapter 141 Meeting 2

At the beginning of the meeting, the top naval officials reached a consensus on changing the secret codes, increasing the monitoring and decryption work on the Talen telegraph system, and avoiding the use of wireless telegraphs during the period of changing the secret codes.

"In 1916, due to the huge war needs of the army and the pensions for the casualties, the construction of the four Bavarian-class battleships originally scheduled for 1916 had to be postponed to 1917 under the extreme shortage of manpower and resources. In 1917, our navy only received 4.7 million gold marks in funding. After deducting the personnel, warship funds, overhaul of damaged warships, and modification of the Drake battlecruiser, we could only start the construction of two capital ships." The new Chief of the Navy General Staff, Boller, opened up a new topic.

“This is too little…”

"This is not enough to counter the Talen Royal Navy!"

"That's right! We must increase investment in the navy. The army is simply unable to attack on the Western Front! All they do every day is sit in the trenches and consume supplies!" The navies of various factions in the meeting expressed their dissatisfaction unanimously this time. Inflation can be very severe during a war, and 4.7 million gold marks are indeed too much to spend.

"Wait for me to finish! We have to thank General Leo here. The glorious victory in the Battle of Shipwreck Bay will allow the Navy to ask the government for more resources. His Majesty the Emperor privately assured me that the Navy will receive funding for six capital ships next year. It is worth considering whether the Ocean Fleet needs more new battlecruisers or Byrne-class battleships?"

There is already accurate news that the Talens have drawn warships from all over the world back to their homeland to supplement the Grand Fleet. On the surface, the Drake Ocean Fleet is once again at a disadvantage.

Although Admiral Bollinger is the emperor's man, he is a naval soldier after all. As long as the ocean fleet can be more honest, he is willing to work for the welfare of the navy.

In fact, the arms race before the naval war between Germany and Taren was not fair to the Drake Empire. The pocket army of the Taren people was dispensable in their own eyes, and the Royal Navy had always occupied 80% of the military expenditure of the Taren Kingdom.

On the other hand, the Drake Empire, an emerging maritime country, had its Ocean Fleet looked down upon by the Drake Army from the beginning, and its development was difficult. If it were not for the emperor's stubborn character, the Ocean Fleet would still be a near-shore fleet patrolling the coast.

Before the outbreak of World War I, the military expenditures of the Allied Powers led by the Kingdom of Tarun, the Republic of France, and the Rakshasa Empire and the Central Powers led by the Drak, the Itli Kingdom, and the Osmagali Empire were both high, and the two sides engaged in a crazy arms race. In 1913, the military expenditures of the Kingdom of Tarun were about 6.8 million US dollars, the Republic of France was 6.7 million, the Rakshasa Empire was 8.5 million, the Drak Empire was 8.8 million, the Osmagali Empire was 3.8 million, the Itli Kingdom was 4 million, the Ottoman Empire was 2.5 million, the Republic of Yemelica was 6.3 million, and the Kingdom of Wonuxian was 1.9 million. As for other countries, their military expenditures were all below 1 million US dollars.

There is no doubt that the military expenditure of the three Tafaro countries is much higher than that of the three Deio countries. The military expenditure of the Osmagali Empire and the Itli Kingdom combined is less than that of the Rakshasa Empire. The Allied Powers are mainly supported by the Drake Empire, which ranks first in military expenditure.

You have to know that this is the total military expenditure of a country, and the navy is even less! From the beginning of the military competition until the start of the war in 1914, the navy expenditure of the Kingdom of Talen was 2 to 2.9 times that of the Drake Empire.

This is just the difference in the naval expenditures of the two countries. Specifically speaking, the funding that the Drake Empire used for naval equipment construction was only 40% of that of the Talen Royal Navy during the same period. The Drake Navy's military expenditure could only support the construction of four battleships by the Ocean Fleet every year or every two years, while the Talen people had a terrifying seven! Although the Drake Navy did not say it, they did envy the enemy's neighbor's speed in building ships.

Fortunately, Piltz, the founder of the Ocean Fleet, tried every possible means to raise a navy that was not even among the top five in the world to the second place in the world. Not only did it surpass the Royal Navy in quality, but the number of its main fleet reached 7% of that of the Talen Navy.

"Really?"

"Is the Imperial Command so generous?"

"Seven battleships in two years? I'm a little flattered!" Nicolas said in surprise to Vasir beside him.

"Who isn't? The navy hasn't been this wealthy in a long time!" Vasir replied.

This surprised Leo a little. He racked his brains to sink the Taren warships in order to narrow the gap in the size of the two fleets as much as possible.

After the war began, the army took over all power in a wartime state, and the emperor of the empire and the supreme military command became the controllers of resources.

The army generals in the military command have an absolute advantage, and military spending has always been tilted towards the army. This time, the sudden favor from the military command made the navy overjoyed, and they really have to think about what kind of warships to build for the seven battleships.

"The battlecruiser fleet already has two Derfflinger-class battlecruisers. Perhaps we should add another one. For the remaining vacancies, we should build battleships that are more powerful than the Babain-class!" Vice Admiral Malawi, commander of the Second Battleship Squadron, vowed. The idea of ​​big ships and big guns is deeply rooted.

Based on the intelligence derived from the scattered information of various intelligence departments, the Talen people, stimulated by the Battle of Funeral Bay, formulated a large-scale shipbuilding plan. Five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships and more than seven Revenge-class battleships were successively laid down in the dry dock. These new Talen battleships were generally equipped with 381mm main guns, main armor at the waterline and turret armor exceeding 300mm. In particular, the speed of the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships can keep pace with ordinary battlecruisers.

This posed a great threat to the Ocean Fleet, and the tremendous pressure caused the naval officers in the conference room to smoke cigarettes violently, not only because of the Talens' shipbuilding speed, but also because of the powerful strength of the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships.

As a soldier who had served in the navy for many years, Vice Admiral Malawi was eager for the Ocean Fleet to have more dreadnoughts. Of course, Vice Admiral Malawi also had a little inhumane idea. His Second Battleship Squadron was composed of pre-dreadnoughts. If those six dreadnoughts were launched, then the Second Battleship Squadron must have a share of the pie.

"The cycle of building battleships is too long. We must quickly replenish the strength of the ocean fleet. I think it would be best to build three battlecruisers and three battleships! This meets our needs!" Nicholas stood up and expressed his views.

"I agree. It's very difficult to control the budget for battleships. We often exceed the budget. Before the war, the parliament used this to limit our funding!"

"It's wartime now, and victory in the war is the ultimate goal! What's wrong with exceeding the limit? Parliament can't control us now! We must build more dreadnoughts!" Lieutenant General Malawi said disdainfully, and his words were echoed by many people.