Chapter 2429 Meeting with Sher One
"Your Highness, His Excellency the Admiral of the Navy has arrived." After returning to the official residence in Berlin, an attendant reported to the Crown Prince.
"Very well, let's arrange it. In half an hour, I will have lunch with Marshal Scheer." The crown prince thought for a while and said. In order to show the respect of the Imperial High Seas Fleet to Crown Prince Ruprecht, after learning that the Crown Prince was going to the Kiel Naval Base, Marshal Scheer came to Berlin in person to welcome the Crown Prince to the port of Kiel. It is also unprecedented in terms of specifications. However, Scheer ran so far not purely because of etiquette, but because the crown prince had something to talk to Scheer and give him a vaccination.
"What's the situation in the navy now?" the crown prince said to Scheer after gesturing for the idlers to leave.
"Fortunately, the High Seas Fleet directly belongs to the empire. With your care, no one has come to embarrass us. Whether it is the funds for personnel recovery or naval military expenditures, they have been implemented. The pensions for the dead and wounded in battle, and the compensation for those who have made meritorious service The promotion and rewards have also been implemented by more than 80%." Scheer said after putting down the knife in his hand.
"However, some people are unwilling to leave the army. Moreover, I have read the recent government documents on naval construction. In the future, we will prepare to build a large number of warships including at least 8 new fast battleships. If this is the case, our Fleet personnel may not only not have to leave, but even recruit some more people. Compared with those newcomers, I think those who have sufficient work experience will be better." Scheer said carefully.
It stands to reason that after the war, the navy will definitely recover in large numbers. This is not only the case of the defeated Britain and France, but also the historical victor Britain. Maybe there are so many useless warships. At that time, someone satirized the Royal Navy like this. A group of naval officers and soldiers in bright clothes stood on the newly painted warships, but they didn't have a penny in their pockets! Therefore, for most countries, disarmament is necessary.
But this is not necessarily the case for the German Empire. On the one hand, with the support of the United States, Germany's economic situation is not too bad. On the other hand, the war is not far away from Germany. According to the previous agreement with the United States, the German Navy must send at least two battleship detachments to support the US military's operations in the Pacific. Moreover, compared to history, the size of the German battleship fleet is not large. After experiencing the Norwegian Sea naval battle, there are not even 20 battleships still in the battle order!
What's more, in Scheer's view, the imperial government is ready to continue to expand the navy, so well, in this case, the future fleet will not have enough manpower, why do we need a large number of retired personnel now? Scheer faintly felt that there was something tricky in it, so he wanted to come to the crown prince to confirm it.
"Empire, is to build new fast battleships in the future, but unless we lose more capital ships in the Pacific War, or the US government directly buys our battleships, we will not build so many new fast battleships Yes." Ruprecht thought for a while and said.
"Wocao, what do you mean?" Shelton felt a little uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Are you saying that the empire's future new fast battleship construction plan is a cover?"
"Your Highness, I really don't understand. With the United States and Japan building new fast battleships, what reason does the Empire have to lag behind? Although the 12 Bavarian-class battleships of the Imperial Navy have achieved outstanding results, they are not as good in terms of tonnage and firepower after all. No matter how far ahead, both the U.S. Navy and the Japanese Navy are about to have battleships with 16-inch main guns, and they are likely to go into battle in future wars. I think the imperial government should not be so short-sighted.
"Marshal Scheer said anxiously.
"It's not completely unmade, it's just a limited number." The crown prince said a little bit dumbfounded.
"So how many ships will be built?" Scheer asked.
"The first batch is two ships. As for the later ones, it depends on the situation." The crown prince thought for a while and said.
"Two ships? Not even a battleship squadron is enough. I'm afraid this is the time when the number of capital ships is the least since the establishment of the High Seas Fleet." Scheer frowned and said.
"The empire will not face major wars in the next 15 years. We are waiting to be rebuilt, so some unnecessary things need to be reduced. Not to mention..." the crown prince patiently explained to Scheer road.
"Your Highness, that's not what you told me back then. You guaranteed the size of the navy after the war, guaranteed that the navy would have an independent aviation unit, and guaranteed that the Marine Corps would be expanded and participate in missions to overseas colonies." Scheer Said a little excitedly.
"Stop, let's talk about it one by one. Does the navy have an independent aviation unit? According to the new decision of the empire, the size of the naval air force can account for 20% of the entire German aviation force! Isn't that enough? As you know, the entire aviation force of the empire is composed of the strategic aviation force directly under the General Staff, the air force and naval aviation force belonging to each state. What are you dissatisfied with?"
"The Marine Corps has also expanded, and the first batch has been stationed in the colonies just received from the UK. You even arrived earlier than the Army! The expansion plan of the Marine Corps in the next three years has also been passed. The boss of the Army They came to me no less than ten times because of the issue of stationing the colonial troops. It can be said that now, every Marine Corps personnel stationed abroad has been won. Are you still not satisfied? People can’t be too greedy, right?” Rupre Hitt is somewhat dissatisfied with Scheer's attitude. After all, when the Army and Air Force are disarming, the Naval Air Force and Marine Corps are expanding. This is already a lot of pressure, okay?
"However, Your Highness, the size of the main fleet of the High Seas Fleet has begun to shrink significantly. During the naval battle in the Norwegian Sea, we had a total of 23 main ships. Three ships were sunk in the battle and the other two were severely damaged. In fact, these two warships can also It was rescued, but according to your request at the time, we counted the sinking of the battle and sealed it up. In this way, the number of capital ships in the High Seas Fleet is only 18! And the old battleships among these 18 battleships need to be replaced! If If the imperial government cuts off a large number of new capital ship construction plans, it will be difficult to guarantee the size of our future capital fleet even with 18 battleships. This is simply the lowest point in history!"
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