As soon as Austria's shipbuilding plan was announced, European public opinion exploded.
Although the Government of Vienna repeatedly stressed that it was not targeting anyone and was only to fill the gap of decommissioned battleships, no one was willing to believe it.
Before this, Vienna already had a plan to "build ten battleships in ten years." The three pre-dreadnoughts in service now were part of the shipbuilding plan.
On average, one battleship would be built every year. This was just normal operation and could guarantee the current size of the Austrian Navy.
The sudden addition of five battleships was obviously a response to the previous shipbuilding plan of the Royal Navy.
At this time, many people realized that not long ago, the Government of Austria gave a large number of battleships to the Russians, and the navy was in an empty state.
Proof of friendship between Russia and Austria?
Maybe there was such a thing. After all, it was given away for free. Second-hand battleships were also very valuable. If they could be sold, according to the rules of the international arms market, it was normal for fifty to sixty percent of new battleships to be sold at the cost price.
However, was it not to make room for the new battleships?
It was not only Austria that needed to upgrade their battleships. The United Kingdom and France were also facing a large number of battleships to be decommissioned. It was impossible to find so many powerful buyers in the international arms market.
Although Austria's army equipment was selling well, the navy equipment was not as popular as the British.
This had nothing to do with the technology, performance, quality, or price of the battleship itself.
The main reason for not being able to sell was because of politics. Although Austria had a good relationship with European countries, their relationship with countries outside of Europe was really mediocre.
It was not that the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not work hard, but there was no room for implementation.
Outside of Europe, if it was not a colony, it was a subordinate of the great powers or a sphere of influence. There were only a few countries that had complete sovereignty.
In fact, there was no need to count. Except for the two United States that had a certain strength and maintained their sovereignty, the rest of the countries had more or less signed unequal treaties with the great powers.
Of course, this did not mean that Austria's battleships could not be sold at all. Occasionally, there was still a gap.
After all, Austria was also a great power and still had prestige. When there was a problem, the Government of Vienna dared to take the lead. It was not impossible to solve the political obstacles. The problem was that the British had a brand effect!
No one knew who instilled this theory, but everyone took it for granted that the quality and performance of British warships were the best, and that when other countries bought warships, they would first choose British goods.
Under such circumstances, it was hard for the Fao and FAO to sell their warships. The governments of the two countries even retaliated by spreading rumors that the British warships were all abridged versions.
Unfortunately, everyone was not easy to fool. Whether it was a shortened version or not, they would know once they saw the goods.
The British had indeed made an abridged version of the most advanced warship for export. However, John Bull was not so particular about the old and retired warships.
The modification of the abridged version of the warship also required money, at least the labor costs could not be saved. It was already an obsolete technology, so there was no need to waste money to hide it.
Due to political reasons, they had lost 60% of the orders, and the brand effect had lost the remaining 30% of the orders. In the end, they only had 28% of the international orders.
(1-0.6) * (1-0.3) = 0.28
Austria was the only country that had a share of this market. Instead, it was divided among the European countries. Basically, it was divided between the Fao and the European Union.
There were already very few capable buyers these days, and the market left for Austria was so small. Naturally, there were no buyers for the decommissioned warships.
Not only the Austrian Navy, but even the British were the same. The Royal Navy had to bring their warships out for target practice every year. One could imagine how difficult it was to sell this thing.
In order to control the proliferation of warships, the European powers still had a tacit understanding. Even if they could not sell it, they would not sell it cheaply, let alone give it away.
In a sense, Austria's large-scale act of gifting Russia warships also broke this tacit understanding.
However, this kind of unspoken rule was not clearly binding, and there was no verbal agreement. Naturally, there was no binding force. At most, everyone was unhappy.
These were all small problems. The technology was updated, and the obsolete warships were a headache. In essence, it was because they could not bear to part with it.
The warships had not reached the retirement age, and it was a pity to dismantle them and sell them as scrap metal. It was not a problem to keep them in service. The key was that the new warships were coming.
Owning a large number of warships, in addition to prestige, came with a large amount of military expenses. It was not economical.
Whether the guess was accurate or not was not important anymore. Anyway, the warships were already given away.
Even if they could go back on their word, if they had another chance, the Russians would still happily take over.
They did not have to pay any price, and they had the opportunity to become the world's fourth naval power. Anyone would know what to choose.
It was a rare opportunity to watch the superpowers fight each other. The audience had already prepared nuts and coffee, waiting for the show to begin.
Before the British could react, the French couldn't stand it. For the first time, Napoleon Iv felt that the Admiralty was too small for the British and Austrian warship building plans.
Compared to the original time and space, France's current situation was much better.
There were no war reparations, no Russians to pull, and the recent anti-Semitism movement solved the debt problem over the years. Now, the Government of France was also rich.
"The warship building plans of the British and Austrian countries have come out this year. Based on the current situation, our original warship building plan has become untimely.
The Admiralty revised the warship building plan. Not to surpass the British, but at least not less than the Austrians. "
There was no problem. There was still some distance between them and the world's first naval power, France. However, the title of the world's second naval power could not be easily lost.
Although there was no essential difference between the world's second naval power and the world's third naval power, they could both protect the overseas interests of France.
But in politics, the second and the third were completely different. Once they lost the title of the world's second naval power, it would leave the impression that France was in decline.
Not to mention the many enemies in the world who were waiting to hit them when they were down, the arrogant people in France would not be able to accept it!
Roy Vernon, the Minister of Finance, reminded, "Your Majesty, the cost of building warships is not big. The problem is the huge military expenses in the later stage.
Austria sent a large number of warships to Russia before announcing the warship building plan to reduce military expenses.
If we want to follow up on a large scale, it is best to retire some warships to reduce military expenses. "
It was true that the Government of France was now rich, but it could not be spent indiscriminately. The Government of France was still unable to compete with the British and Austrian countries in terms of financial resources.
In order to avoid the worst from happening, Roy Vernon believed that in the arms race, it was king to control military expenses as much as possible.
Hamdi, the Minister of the Navy, said, "Your Excellency, the warships currently in service in the Imperial Navy are not very old, and there are very few warships that are close to being retired.
Most of the warships are fifty or sixty percent new, and their performance is very good. It would be a pity to retire these warships.
The most important thing is that after these warships are retired, they cannot be sold at all. There is no international buyer, and we do not lack training ships.
There are only two paths in front of us. Either we pull them out for target practice, or we drag them to the factory to be dismantled and sold as scrap metal.
This kind of prodigal behavior is a complete waste of taxpayers' money.
The performance of the old warships is lagging behind, but that is only relative to the new warships. Apart from us, only the British and Austrians are equipped.
These warships could be deployed anywhere in the world to carry out escort missions. They would be competent enough.
Even if we really have to retire them, we can wait until the new warships enter service. We can maximize the value of these warships in the next few years. "
It was normal to be reluctant to part with warships that cost millions or even tens of millions of francs. Anyone else in the Minister of the Navy would feel distressed if they were to dispose of them.
After listening to this explanation, Napoleon Iv nodded. "The new warships have not entered service yet, so there is no need to rush the matter of decommissioning warships.
Our situation is different from Austria. The overseas colonies are much more dependent on the navy.
During this period, everyone can try to find buyers, even if the price is a little lower. "
Since Austria could give them away for free, France could naturally sell them at a great discount. Napoleon Iv still had a sliver of hope.
If these warships that were about to be decommissioned were sold, then it would be profitable. As for the need for overseas escort, those were all nonsense excuses.
In this day and age, which of the three countries did not have a surplus of warships? Due to the influence of the previous arms race, all three countries now had a large number of warships.
As long as the three countries did not fight each other, even if half of their warships were scrapped, the French Navy could still take on their current responsibilities.
This was also one of the reasons why the Government of Austria sent Russia's Navy. If the three countries did not fight each other, the remaining warships would be enough. If the three countries fought each other, the result would be the same whether they sent the warships or not.
The Fao did not need the navy to fight. It was the army that decided the outcome of the war. If they fought the British, the navy had no chance of winning.
They could either go out and cause destruction, or hide in the port to avoid the limelight. A battle at sea was equivalent to suicide.
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