The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 525: Fish in troubled waters 2



Russia is the last country left! The reason why the prince finally considered this country was because Russia was too important. In World War I, Germany would fight against the British, French and even Italian fleets. But only one fleet must be completely destroyed, this is Russia! Whether it is the Russian Baltic Fleet or the Black Sea Fleet, there must be no scum left! In the future, these two relatively closed seas will become the back gardens of the German Navy!

Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, the prince must carefully deduce the impact of this news on the Russian navy once it spreads to Russia. After all, the two sides will see the difference on the battlefield in the future! Russia is a country with ambitions greater than strength! This is the prince's summary of Russia in this life and the previous life! The Russians only believe in weapons in their hands and are willing to spend the last ruble in the treasury to arm their troops. This can be seen from the huge Russian battleship formation during the Russo-Japanese War.

And the Russians are also very interested in new things. The Russians started construction of 4 Gangu special class battleships in 1909, using 4 triple-mounted main guns in a central layout. Then, in 1911, construction of three other similar Queen Mary-class battleships was started, and in 1913, construction of four Borodino-class battleships (also called Izmail) was started. This Borodino was given by Conway. The name of the class produced.) Super Dreadnought class, this is a super dreadnought ship with a design speed of 26.5 knots or more and equipped with 12 14-inch guns! Russia's shipbuilding funding for individual years was even higher than that of Germany! If it were not for the various problems within Russia to be too serious and the basic industries to be poor, the size of the Russian fleet would be quite terrifying!

Although during the period from the Russo-Japanese War to the start of construction of the first dreadnought, Russia did not start construction of 8 battleships like Japan at once, but there are also 5 ships, three of which are the Three Saints Quasi-Dreadnought, except for 4. In addition to the 12-inch guns, there are 14 8-inch guns and 12 4.7-inch guns with a displacement of up to 17,000 tons. If the resources and money to build these warships are transformed into dreadnoughts, it would be too bad for the German Navy!

After the middle of the First World War in history, after the front line pushed through Poland, most of the Russian forces were concentrated on the Baltic Sea coast. If you want to completely defeat the Russians, fighting in the Baltic Sea area is inevitable. Fighting in this area is for Germany. There are advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that they can get supplies for sea transportation while advancing along the coastline. The disadvantage is that the Russians resisted fiercely in order to save the later Belarus and the Baltic states.

If you want to go well on the northern front, then the Russian Baltic Fleet is the target that must be annihilated, starting with the Gulf of Riga and then the Gulf of Finland! No matter how bad the state of the attack is, the German High Seas Fleet will brave the Russian mines, torpedo boats and battleships! This is absolutely not to shrink!

However, attacking important naval fortresses has always been a very troublesome thing. In history, the Germans have launched two attacks on the Gulf of Riga. The first failed, and the second time under the cover of a dozen dreadnought ships of the German Navy. Part of the victory, of course, this victory also thanks to the Russian Navy, because in this battle, all the dreadnoughts of the Russian Navy avoided the battle. The only battleship against the German fleet was the Glory. This battleship was in order to gain greater The range of the ship, do not hesitate to go to the stern to increase the elevation angle! His fighting spirit and will make people move, but in the end they were destroyed... This is really a tear-jerking story!

If it were not for the internal problems of the Russian navy, it would be much more difficult for the German navy to capture the Gulf of Riga. If the Russians were more fearless or even super fearless, the situation would be even more troublesome. Although according to the memory of the previous life, Russia at that time Revolution will break out, but who can pin the victory on the opponent? This is the meaning of the so-called lenient for the enemy!

If you want to land in the Gulf of Riga, you must know the mines on the various waterways, and the minesweeper will be attacked by fish boats, shore guns, and battleships. If the defender’s firepower is too strong for the minesweeper to operate, then attack It can't be deployed, can't use the precious dreadnought ship to hit the mine, right?

Therefore, in general, for the same dreadnought ship, it does not matter if the Royal Navy has one more ship, but if the Russian Navy has one more ship, it will be troublesome. From this perspective alone, the prince believes that the dreadnought ship must not be built. The news told the Russians. And as much as possible to delay the construction of the Russian dreadnought.

"It's better to keep this matter secret for a period of time. When appropriate, we can tell the Americans the relevant information. As for other countries, it is better not to know the news. We can even form a tacit understanding with the British." Wrote in a reply to William II.

Of course, all this is just delaying the spread of the Dreadnought. From the point of view of time, although the British started the Dreadnought earlier this time, the construction speed is not fast, but it is not at the level of fearlessness in the past 14 months. , On the one hand, the British are busy with the Boer War funds and some pressure, on the other hand, the British still have doubts about warships like Dreadnoughts.

Unlike in history, ~www.novelhall.com~ the British quasi-dreadnoughts appeared earlier. They always hovered between the full-heavy artillery battleship and the second-class main gun battleship, because the latter’s firepower projection was not as good. Before the qualitative change of the armor-piercing projectile (before the appearance of the cap-piercing projectile), the combat effectiveness of large-caliber artillery was not so high. And now they have a chance to check it out, because the British battleship Agile has been sold to Italy. The battle between this battleship and the Prince Albert will be inevitable, and the victory or defeat this time will be directly related to the future. The national strategy of the British Navy!

The British still attached great importance to this fight. Although this did not mean that the two sides would be directly hostile, the British still planted a large number of British officers and soldiers on this battleship, and they were not satisfied with the fighting quality of the Italians. The Italians are also willing to let Britain take on "the responsibility of an ally." So. This can almost be regarded as the first encounter between the British Royal Navy and the German High Seas Fleet, but both sides are fighting for other countries!

However, what the British and Germans did not expect was that the first battle between the British Navy and the German Navy would come so soon! Before the prince’s letter was delivered to the Kaiser, the armored cruiser Prince Albert under Scheer once again slipped out of the Dardanelles and entered the Mediterranean Sea. This time, the Italian navy bought a new one. The hunting team composed of the Agile-class battleships and the cruiser Bisana also went to sea again. A small, but far-reaching battle is about to break out!

Three changes today, the remaining two chapters may be late. Well, the exemption will be off soon, I hope you will continue to support you~~~!