Chapter 531 Good Man George
Tirpitz did not take the Russian Navy as an opponent from the beginning. He has always been targeting the British Royal Navy.
Germany has two fleets, one in the North Sea and one in the Baltic Sea. The strength of the Baltic Fleet is similar to that of the Russian Empire's Baltic Fleet.
The all-heavy artillery battleships under construction in St. Petersburg are all installed in the Baltic Fleet.
The dreadnoughts built by Germany are all equipped with the North Sea Fleet.
Tirpitz's life has actually not been easy these past two years.
Like Wilhelm II, who was overjoyed with success, Tirpitz also underestimated the strength of the British Empire and wanted to challenge the absolute dominance of the Royal Navy. This was irrational.
In 1692, the Anglo-Dutch forces defeated the French navy and established maritime dominance for more than 200 years.
The German Empire was not established until 1871. Although Germany's industrial output exceeded that of Britain last year, Britain's accumulation of more than two hundred years still allows Britain to maintain an absolute advantage over Germany in terms of overall strength.
After Fisher shouted that Germany would build one dreadnought and Britain would build two, Tirpitz finally realized that Germany, at least at this stage, was not enough to challenge Britain's hegemony.
Unfortunately, it is too late for Germany to realize this now.
Germany's economy has developed rapidly since its reunification. Although German products are labeled "Made in Germany" as cheap, Germany is the country with the fastest economic growth in the world.
The rapid improvement of the overall national strength has brought unparalleled confidence to the Germans. If Tirpitz surrenders at this time, his political career will be completely ended.
So Tirpitz and the Germans cannot stop and must continue the arms race to the end.
What George can do is give some practical and forward-looking suggestions to his German uncle.
"The Baltic Fleet will use submarines as its main equipment in the future. Any warship that dares to enter the Baltic Sea will be devastated by submarines."
George is unscrupulous, and submarines are now the Russian Navy's trump card.
In the era before sonar appeared, submarines were invincible, and no one could do anything against them.
George did not remind Tirpitz to develop weapons to deal with submarines, but he hoped that the German Navy would use submarines to deal with the Royal Navy.
The German Navy cannot do anything against the submarines of the Russian Empire, but the Royal Navy cannot do anything against the submarines of the German Navy.
You cannot see the key submarines. As long as the German Navy does not take the initiative to announce them, no one knows how many submarines the German Navy has built in total, just like the train guns in Vladivostok.
It is useless to publish it, because no one can be sure whether the published data is a smoke bomb.
Tirpitz frowned and thought hard, unsure of George's true purpose.
Is George right?
Absolutely yes, submarines are indeed very promising, and they are low-cost and easy to equip on a large scale.
But why did George remind Tirpitz?
Although the Kaiser and the Tsar were relatives, Tirpitz knew very well that Germany and Russia could not pee in the same pot, and there was no guarantee that they would not pee on each other.
George just kills and doesn't bury him, let Tirpitz go, sooner or later he will figure it out.
Should it be said, Tirpitz is still very capable. The advantages and disadvantages of the German battleships are obvious. Although the firepower is a bit weak, the defensive power is unparalleled in the world.
The waterline armor of the "Mottke" class reaches 270 mm, and the armor of the command tower is 350 mm. If the Russian Navy pays so much attention to defense, the Pacific Fleet and the Second Fleet will not lose so miserably.
The 50-fold caliber 280 main gun of "Mottke" is actually not weak at all. Its power is similar to that of the British 305 main gun, but it is much lighter in weight, which is enough to make up for its power with quantity.
With similar firepower, defense becomes the decisive factor in naval battles.
George looked at "Moltke" and "Goben" and decided to modify the plan when he returned. It was probably too late for the waterline armor of the newly built all-heavy artillery battleship, and the armor of the command tower must be strengthened. This is not necessarily true. If it doesn't work, just transplant the external armor of the armored fighting vehicle to the battleship, sacrificing speed for survivability.
Anyway, the mission of the Baltic Fleet battleships is to protect St. Petersburg. As long as they can drive the enemy away, it doesn't matter whether they can catch up.
Moltke was quite smart. During the reception dinner in the evening, Moltke and George had a great conversation.
George is famous for his pettiness. During the Russo-Japanese War, Britain dug such a big hole for the Russian Empire. It is understandable that George caused some trouble for the British.
Tirpitz focused on Vladivostok's submarine and torpedo technology.
"There is no problem in transferring technology, but you have to ensure that submarines and torpedoes are not used in the Baltic Sea."
George was vaccinated in advance.
"George, you are worrying too much. The relationship between our two countries is so good-"
Tirpitz looked very sincere.
George smiled and watched Tirpitz quietly.
Germans are indeed not very good at disguise, and Tirpitz's face immediately turned red.
“Okay, I promise.”
The guarantee is enough, and George is not worried about whether Tirpitz's guarantee can be fulfilled. If Tirpitz deploys the submarine to the Baltic Sea, George has prepared a surprise for Tirpitz.
Just because Germany does not have a way to deal with submarines does not mean that the Russian Empire does not.
Germany’s technology is certainly strong, and the Russian Empire’s is not weak either. Nowadays, the Russian Empire conducts research in almost all cutting-edge scientific and technological fields. However, the Russian Empire is not good at publicizing it and does not pay enough attention to it. known to the outside world.
The next morning, George and Tirpitz signed an order worth 57 million rubles and returned home with a full load.
Before the Georges returned to St. Petersburg, the newspapers in Berlin were hyping up the news.
Nicholas's head is as big as a bucket. You can sell it. Why are you making such a big fuss? Are you afraid that the British won't know?
Little Nicholas went even further and directly mocked George as an enemy.
Nicholas was dissatisfied. He did not think that Germany was the enemy of the Russian Empire.
“I visited the Blohm-Voss shipyard in Hamburg. This shipyard is building two battlecruisers on the slipway alone, and one is being outfitted. Similar to Blohm ·There are 6 shipyards like Voss in Germany.”
George was very dissatisfied that he, the Navy Minister, was forced to find ways to make money, and Stolypin should hang himself.
"We are discussing selling submarines, who discussed this with you?"
Nicholas is now most afraid of George being irritated.
They are all ministers of the navy. Look at Tirpitz, he gets what he wants. William II tightened his belt and wanted to support Tirpitz.
Since George became Lord of the Navy, he has done two things. One is to disarmament, and the other is to take the rags of the Baltic Fleet out for target practice.
"Don't even think about this money, I am useful."
George blocked the conversation first, so no one could take a penny from George.
(End of this chapter)