Long live Joachim

Chapter 149: The Temptation of War (Next) When the German royal family invited guests to the Palace of No Worries, the Habsburg royal family also held a palace banquet at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna to commemorate Victory Day. However, unlike the Germans who valued the formal ceasefire and surrender of Britain, the Austro Hungarian Empire was more concerned about the defeat of the Russian Empire. The threat of Slavs and the gloom over the Balkans seem to have dissipated, but in recent years, the rise of Soviet Russia has made the rulers of the Habsburg dynasty gradually realize that the threat from the East is even greater than before. It is precisely for this reason that the military spending of the Austro Hungarian Empire has been increasing year by year in recent years, and both Austria and Hungary are under financial pressure. Well, Your Majesty, this is the situation of the Battle of Azores. In fact, winning this battle was not easy, and at several critical moments, the excellent qualities of German soldiers saved the precarious situation. From then on, when the Allied navies fought against the American and British fleets, they would inevitably have a psychological advantage As a friend and personal messenger of German Emperor Wilhelm II, Count von Barwitz vividly described the entire process of the Battle of Azores, especially the Battle of San Miguel, to Austrian Emperor Karl I. This German nobleman from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Schwerin, although not an outstanding orator, knows how to depict a bloody and brutal battle as an immortal legend. At the age of 46, Austrian Emperor Karl I was in his prime. During his 17 years on the throne, he was as diligent in governance as the old Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I. A series of effective economic reform measures gave him a high reputation in Austria and Bohemia. His tolerant policy towards the Slavic people within the empire also earned him international recognition and earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929. Overall, the Austro Hungarian Empire in the early 1930s was more prosperous and stable than in 1914, which made the Habsburg dynasty's ambition and energy for external expansion far greater than that of Joseph I. In North Africa, they leased two important ports from Germany and the Ottoman Empire as strongholds for fleet voyages and merchant fleets to dock for supplies;In the Middle East, they conducted large-scale mineral exploration, using both soft and hard methods to obtain some seemingly barren but actually oil-rich land from Arab tribes, and then established their own oil wells and refineries. Like his late uncle Archduke Ferdinand, Karl I was passionate about the naval career. When he lectured the graduates of the Royal Naval Academy in Funm, he always inspired these young people with the outstanding performance of the Austrian fleet in the Battle of Cape Lissa. So, Count von Barwitz's wonderful story was very appealing to him, and he remained focused and silent throughout the entire process. When the Count finished speaking, he seemed to be imagining the magnificent naval battle scenes. The most regrettable aspect of this naval battle for His Majesty the German Emperor is that he was unable to assemble the large fleet of the Allied powers as expected. Otherwise, the joint combat fleet of the United States and Britain would have been in vain. The German Austrian alliance has gone through more than half a century of tests and firmly supported each other in the last major war, and this relationship no longer requires any action to prove. In the battle to defend the island of Texel, the Austrian 10th Artillery Battalion fearlessly joined the war without fear of strong enemies and performed exceptionally well, which moved us deeply and made us urgently hope that the Imperial and Royal War Navy (the official name of the Austro Hungarian Navy) could stand shoulder to shoulder with us against the United States and Britain. "Count von Barwitz advanced step by step, thus... State the original intention of this trip. Karl I's mother was a Saxon princess, and he was infused with the blood of the Habsburg and Hohenzollern royal families, making him a sacred bond of the German Austrian alliance. It has been over half a month since the outbreak of the war, and although the Austro Hungarian Empire has not announced its participation in the war, many Austro Hungarian soldiers have volunteered to participate in the battle. The Austrian 10th Anti Aircraft Artillery Battalion stationed in the Azores is a typical example of this. Before the fall of Texel Island, this special force was given priority retreat by the German army, but two officers and nine soldiers were still captured by the American and British armies. As a result, the US and Britain exerted pressure on the Austro Hungarian Empire to make an official statement guaranteeing that no Austro Hungarian soldiers would violate neutrality and participate in combat. For the diplomatic pressure from the United States and Britain, Karl I's coping tactic was to "play Tai Chi", and even after Count von Barwitz threw bait, he still sat firmly on the fishing platform, calmly recounting the various shortcomings of the Austro Hungarian navy in terms of preparedness. Not long after, the Minister of the Austro Hungarian Navy and Admiral Horthy Mikl ó sz walked out of the door and bowed to the personal envoys of the Austrian and German Emperors, saying, "I'm sorry for being late The Duke of Leifer made extraordinary contributions to the post-war development of the Italian navy, and there was also such a remarkable figure in the Austro Hungarian Empire, which was Horthy Miklos. The Austro Hungarian Empire has survived to this day, and Horthy did not become the dictator of the Kingdom of Hungary as in history. Instead, he actively promoted the modernization of the Austro Hungarian navy with his excellent command and organizational abilities. In the mid-1920s, the Austro Hungarian navy ushered in its glory, and the construction of four Franz Joseph I class battleships became the largest defense project in the history of this binary empire. Their total cost reached 23 billion Austro Hungarian kronor, equivalent to 368 million marks, and the cost of each ship was 1. 53 times that of the German Bavarian class battleships. This massive project directly brought nearly 10000 jobs to shipyards in Trieste, Pula, and Funm, and nearly half of the companies in Bohemia received orders related to it. Skoda Arsenal, responsible for providing naval guns and steel, thus emerged from the post-war slump and continued to maintain its dominant position as the second largest military enterprise in Europe. In the mid to early 1920s, the effect of Austria Hungary's accession to the Triple Economic Alliance began to emerge, with overall industry and foreign trade reaching an average annual growth rate of 3%, while the growth rates of the United States and Japan remained at around 1% during the same period. The improvement in economic conditions gave Austro Hungarian Emperor Karl I the ambition to further expand the navy, and Admiral Horthy Mikl ó sz, who was then the Minister of the Navy, formulated a shipbuilding plan that he was very satisfied with. According to Holty's plan, the Austro Hungarian Navy would start construction of a new 40000 ton battleship in 1927 and 1929, respectively. Based on this, more powerful 44000 ton battleships would be built in 1931 and 1933, and a light aircraft carrier of 18000 tons would be built in 1928 and 1930, respectively. If this plan is implemented, the Austro Hungarian navy will have an overwhelming advantage over Italy. The Horthy Plan had just been launched, and the invasion of the world economic crisis dealt a heavy blow to the economy and finances of the Austro Hungarian Empire. All shipbuilding projects came to a sudden halt, and the keel of the new battleship No. 1 was abandoned on the spacious slipway, exposed to wind and rain, until it was able to resume construction in the autumn of 1930. When the Great War broke out again in 1933, this 40000 ton battleship was still in the outfitting stage, and it would take at least six months to officially enter service. Therefore, the current Austro Hungarian Navy still has four Joseph I class battleships and four Joint Force class battleships left over from the previous war as its core strength. The number of cruisers and destroyers is roughly equal to that of the Italian Navy, while the number and performance of submarines are inferior to those of the Italian Navy. In response to Horthy's polite apology, Count von Barwitz said meaningfully, "It may seem a bit late, but it's actually just the right time Holty pretended to be ignorant, and after receiving instructions from Carl I, he sat down on the sofa next to him. Karl I then said to him, "Count von Barwitz brought a handwritten letter from His Majesty the German Emperor, in which His Majesty mentioned that if our country were to fight against the United States and Britain, the lost ships would be compensated one-to-one in Germany's shipbuilding plan Oh? "Holty raised his right eyebrow." All the expenses will be borne by the German government Count von Barwitz smiled proudly and said, "Only the most loyal allied countries can enjoy such special treatment Holty looked at the Emperor and said, "That's quite interesting Among the warships we plan to build, there are new main battleships of 45000 tons, new battlecruisers of 40000 tons, heavy aircraft carriers of 40000 tons, various cruisers, destroyers, and submarines Holty did not inquire about the technical details, but speculated, 'So, Ireland can definitely enjoy such treatment?' Without hesitation, von Barwitz gave a positive answer. Perhaps... Italians have also received the same invitation as us On this sensitive issue, Count von Barwitz hesitated for a moment before responding very tactfully, "As far as I know, our country has not yet had formal negotiations with Italy on the issue of joining the war, and there is a dispute between the General Staff and the Naval Staff over whether to require Italy to send a fleet to participate. Naval commanders believe that the Italian fleet is not as reliable as your country's navy, so This answer greatly satisfied the vanity of the Austrian Emperor and the Austro Hungarian Navy Minister, but vanity is one thing, risking the entire country is another, not to mention Karl I and Holty's self-awareness of the strength of their own navy. The four Franz Joseph I class ships were the first ultra dreadnoughts built by the Austro Hungarian Empire, and when they were completed and put into service, their comprehensive performance could rank among the top four in the world. However, to this day, they may not even rank in the top ten. The worst thing is that their design is mainly aimed at the environment of the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to their short endurance, they also have weak resistance to wind and waves. If they were to go to the Atlantic to fight against the US and British fleets, they would have a very high possibility of falling victim. The sentence is:. Even if the German Navy followed the agreement and compensated the Austro Hungarian Navy with one new warship, the lost officers and crew could not be replenished in a timely manner, and the strength of the Austro Hungarian Navy would take a considerable period of time to recover. Holty responded decisively and resolutely, "Even if we participate in the war, the current situation of the Austro Hungarian navy can only be competent for guarding the Mediterranean. If your country can accept this, we will discuss and negotiate further issues