Chapter 505 Loss of Control
After George became Lord of the Navy, he had already transferred Peter to serve as Deputy Minister of the Navy, and promoted Kolchak to adjutant, highlighting nepotism.
If this continues, the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet will sooner or later become George's talking point.
The entire Siberian fleet has been managed by George into a monolith, and water cannot be poured into it.
The Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet once again become George's direct descendants, and the safety of St. Petersburg will be played by George at his fingertips.
Even if Nicholas was not worried, the Empress Dowager and Alex would not agree.
If this thing hadn't happened, George was going to transfer Krzhakov, the chief of staff of the Siberian Fleet, to serve as the commander of the Baltic Fleet.
It seems like it’s better to forget it now, George doesn’t want to arouse greater suspicion.
“Can’t it be just the deputy commander of the fleet?”
Nicholas’ tone was not firm.
"Of course not. Kirill needs some credit to eliminate his negative influence in the Russo-Japanese War before he can be entrusted with important tasks."
George didn't want a mouse dropping to spoil the pot of soup.
During the Russo-Japanese War, after Kirill was picked up, he returned directly to St. Petersburg, which caused extremely bad consequences.
George can understand Nicholas's mood. If George were the Tsar, George would not let someone dominate the navy.
But Kirill, the mud really cannot hold up the wall.
"Who are you going to appoint as the commander of the Baltic Fleet?"
Nicholas is curious about George's preferred candidate.
"What about Vasily Forssen?"
If possible, George would prefer Kolchak to be the commander of the Baltic Fleet.
During the Russo-Japanese War, the "Emerald", captained by Vasily Fossen, was the only Second Fleet warship to arrive in Vladivostok.
In order to reach Vladivostok, Vasily Fossen refused to go to Manila and surrendered to the Japanese army during the naval battle. He insisted on heading north and finally successfully crossed the Japanese blockade.
After the war, Vasily Fossen went to a military court for disobedience. In the end, Vasily was found not guilty and the military rank was promoted to major general.
Although the rank of major general is not enough to serve as the commander of the Baltic Fleet, at least he is a general, and he has not been captured by the Japanese army.
More importantly, Vasily Fossen was not from the Siberian Fleet.
"So how are you going to arrange Kirill?"
Nicholas expressed satisfaction with this arrangement.
"Let Kirill go to the UK to investigate first and see if he can gain anything."
George is willing to give Kirill a chance, which is also an assessment of Kirill.
While George and Nicholas were discussing the choice of commander of the Baltic Fleet, Peter was in Crimea to appease the Black Sea Fleet.
During the Russo-Japanese War, all the main ships of the Black Sea Fleet were wiped out, and the remaining personnel broke out in rebellion many times, which seemed to be hard to come back.
On June 29, 1906, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Bobrikov, was killed at his home. Since then, the post of commander of the Black Sea Fleet has been vacant to this day.
After Peter came to Sevastopol, where the Black Sea Fleet headquarters is located, he learned that at this time, the Black Sea Fleet only had four old cruisers that had been in service for more than 20 years, including the headquarters staff and Including the coastal defense forces, the total strength of the Black Sea Fleet is only 9,500.
The three major fleets of the majestic empire have actually fallen to this point. Peter looked at the cruiser that was almost falling apart on the berth, and there was only one thought in his mind: destroy it!
The remaining ships of the Black Sea Fleet were transferred to the Baltic Fleet to strengthen the defense of St. Petersburg.
The Black Sea side really doesn’t care.
Four cruisers, the earliest of which was built in 1872, the same age as Peter.
The last one was built in 1886 and is now 23 years old.
Although the Sevastopol Shipyard can build ships, it has not started building warships for a long time due to lack of orders. It can only build merchant ships and fishing boats.
George has decided to transfer the 'Makarov' and 'Kondrachenko' to the Black Sea Fleet after the all-heavy artillery battleship is completed, but that will be at least two years later.
‘Makarov’ and ‘Kondrachenko’ are the new names of the two battleships that Japan compensated to the Russian Empire.
Both Makarov and Kondrachenko died in the Russo-Japanese War, and the empire did not forget them.
“Only the most loyal soldiers can protect the empire’s maritime borders, so soldiers who have participated in rebellions or have wavered are among those who have been eliminated.”
Peter was ruthless and responded. Clear all clear.
"In this case, I'm afraid no one can stay."
Ozdoev told the truth, the Black Sea Fleet is terrible.
With his outstanding performance in the Russo-Japanese War, Ozdoev was appointed commander of the cruiser squadron after the war.
Compared with the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea has less pressure. It only needs to face the navies of the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With the cooperation of the coastal defense batteries, even if the fleet is less powerful, there is still no problem in self-protection. .
George was not going to build too many warships.
The construction of the all-heavy artillery battleship of the Baltic Fleet has begun. The order cannot be cancelled, and it has been built.
For the Black Sea Fleet, George plans to use destroyers and submarines as the main force, coupled with aircraft and airships. As long as the navies of the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire dare to attack, the combined fleet will serve as a warning.
The Baltic Fleet has four all-heavy artillery battleships, as well as the "Glorious" and the "Crown Prince", which are enough to protect St. Petersburg. "Then fire them all and recruit new soldiers for training."
Peter made a big breakthrough. For him, loyalty is the only criterion.
What George is looking for is a qualified commander. In addition to loyalty, he also needs sufficient ability. Even if he is not a wizard like Suvorov, he must try not to make mistakes and not give his opponent a chance.
For soldiers, loyalty is more important than ability. In modern warfare, personal ability plays an increasingly smaller role. A perfect marksman has almost no effect on the navy.
The so-called "technology" of the Navy does not require all mathematicians. The most important significance of the all-heavy artillery battleship is to unify the shooting parameters. In theory, only an experienced gunnery commander can fully achieve the "full-heavy artillery battleship" technology” requirements.
“All?”
Ozdoev was surprised, this is not a reform, it is completely reinventing the wheel.
“Yes, all!”
Peter is cold, he doesn’t have much time to spend in the Black Sea Fleet.
"After they are all fired, all the officers needed will be transferred from the Siberian fleet, and the soldiers will be selected from the recruits recruited next year. Send a report to Nagasaki and ask General Rakitsky to dispatch a few cruisers to dismantle all these broken ships. Dropped.”
Peter had to use the warships of the Siberian Fleet to fill the Black Sea Fleet.
“This news cannot be announced for the time being——”
Ozdoev is worried that once this decision is announced, it will trigger a commotion among the officers and soldiers of the Black Sea Fleet.
“Heh——”
Peter was not worried at all, the cavalry division led by Demeter was on the way.
The Black Sea Fleet's motivation for rebellion was that the law should not be punished by the public.
On November 26, 1905, the Black Sea Fleet cruiser "Ochakov" mutinied, with the number of rebels reaching 8,200.
Most of these 8,200 people were not punished in any way. Only Lieutenant Commander Schmidt and his son of the Black Sea Fleet, who led the rebellion, were hanged.
When George was in Amur, he emphasized the duty of eradicating evil. Many crimes in St. Petersburg did not even meet the standards of exile, but in Amur they were punished by death.
If the mutiny on the "Ochakov" happened in Amur, the lightest punishment for all participants would be to be dismissed from the military and then thrown into the mines for mining.
If the circumstances are serious, such as shooting at the encirclement and suppression troops, then it is basically the death penalty.
Two days later, the cavalry division led by Demeter arrived in Sevastopol.
As Ozdoev expected, after Peter's decision was announced, the conflicts in the already restless Black Sea Fleet further intensified.
Peter was prepared for it. Before announcing his decision, he closed the arsenal in advance to prevent the rebels from seizing weapons and ammunition.
This is also self-inflicted. Only the weapons and ammunition of the Black Sea Fleet in the empire are strictly managed. Weapons and ammunition will only be issued when needed.
“We want to work, we want to eat, we want to live——”
Thousands of officers and soldiers of the Black Sea Fleet gathered in front of the fleet headquarters, hoping that Peter would change his decision.
The security work of the fleet headquarters has been taken over by the Guards led by Demeter. The Guards have set up a blockade in front of the headquarters. As long as anyone dares to cross the blockade, the Guards will take action. Arrest people.
If the Guards are attacked, then the Guards will fire.
From the moment Peter announced the order, these officers and soldiers of the Black Sea Fleet who refused to accept the order were no longer soldiers.
“Do you really want to shoot?”
Dmit was in a complicated mood and did not want to point the gun at the Russians.
In recent years, the Guards have been the main force in extinguishing rebellions. Every time there is a local rebellion, whether it is Warsaw or Moscow, the troops dispatched to counter the rebellion are the Guards.
The cavalry division led by Demeter was also dispatched several times to participate in counterinsurgency.
The difference is that the rebels Demeter dealt with before were either Poles or Hebrews, and rarely Russians.
This time it is not only Russians, but also naval officers and soldiers.
"If the gun was in their hands, would they shoot at us?"
Peter never showed mercy to traitors.
Peter did not fire all the officers and soldiers as soon as he came up, but let the officers and soldiers make their own decisions whether they were willing to continue serving in the Black Sea Fleet.
If you don't want to serve, you can leave and apply for retirement. Peter will issue retirement benefits in accordance with the relevant regulations of the empire, without any embarrassment.
Those who are willing to stay and continue to serve must accept the subsequent rectifications, swear allegiance to the empire, and take the initiative to cut off from the enemies of the empire. If they continue to get entangled with certain underground forces, they must accept military law. Severe punishment.
So these officers and soldiers gathered in front of the headquarters not only want to continue serving in the Black Sea Fleet, but they do not want to accept the constraints of military law.
Before Demeter had time to answer, gunfire suddenly rang out.
Everyone present was in an extremely tense state of mind.
As gunfire rang out, the scene finally got completely out of control.
(End of this chapter)