Chapter 1115: Being Thrifty and Frugal in the Household
Chapter 1094 – Being Thrifty and Frugal
The game of “ravioli” for warships has never been fun. Not only to test a country’s industry, but also to test a country’s pocketbook.
Just take a look at the military budget, affected by the shipbuilding competition, the Shen Luo Navy’s military budget in 1904 directly increased by one hundred million dollars.
Obviously, that much money couldn’t all be used to build ships. Just building a dozen or so main ships wouldn’t cost that much, and more was still spent on supporting and expanding the military.
From the end of the Continental War, the Shinra Navy had begun the path of high-speed development. In order to compete for military expenses, some years ago the Navy had even joined forces with the Air Force to push the Army.
Although unsuccessful, the Navy’s share of military spending had still increased. With the advent of the “Super Battleship Era”, the Shinra Navy has also entered a golden age.
Since 1900, several naval academies in Shinra began to expand their enrollment. From the initial annual enrollment of more than 2,000 students, the academies have expanded to the current annual enrollment of more than 3,000 students.
It was naturally no match for the army’s annual admission of tens of thousands, but the navy’s demand for officers was also far less than that of the army.
The reason was very simple, right now the main strategic goal of the Shinra Navy was to defeat the British, not to maintain world hegemony.
To achieve this goal, the most cost-effective thing to do was to build main ships. Others, such as battle cruisers, may seem to have a major role to play, but they are not cost-effective to use in a decisive battle.
Black technology is not unavailable, but it’s not safe enough. For example, aircraft carriers, or submarines.
All of them are very powerful, but they need a specific battlefield. No one can guarantee that they can lure the British to a specific battlefield for a showdown, so naturally they can’t pin their hopes on the British being stupid.
If the battlefield in the Atlantic Ocean, the wind and waves are enough to make the aircraft carriers to stop, reluctant to go to war is not impossible, but the ultimate end will be a tragedy.
Submarines, not to mention, can not be too far from the battlefield, or not wait for them to arrive at the place, the war will be over.
Difficult to participate in the decisive battle, does not mean that all these assets are useless.
It was important to know that Shen Luo was also a colonial power, and although the overseas colonies were not the core and could be discarded at any time, it was definitely better to be able to keep them.
Just because it’s difficult for an aircraft carrier to pk with the British in the Atlantic doesn’t mean it can’t be used in the Pacific either. Sending them to the Pacific and bullying the Japanese Navy or the US Navy is a good choice.
Submarines are not to mention, relying on Shinra’s colonies spread across five continents, it’s completely possible to carry out attacks all over the world.
Of course, this kind of practice of lifting the table, can not be used or do not use the good. After all, Shen Luo is also a major maritime trading nation, and is equally easy to be targeted by others.
Mainly depends on the naval battle, if the naval battle won, then the rules to receive the hegemony is; if the naval battle lost, then there is no way, can only be bad rules to smash the pot.
In fact, Franz put so many smoke bombs, the real cover is these secretly built submarines and aircraft carriers.
Unlike the main ship, the aircraft carrier that is really can be disguised as a merchant ship. Although it looks a bit different, but as long as not installed weapons, hidden from the amateur level intelligence personnel is still feasible.
Submarines, not to mention, this thing is not big. Leaving the shipyard can go underwater, avoiding the sight of intelligence personnel, it is entirely possible to do.
Not to mention that after service, once the colonies are dispersed, who knows how many submarines Shinra has equipped?
There was no way around it, who made the Royal Navy’s reputation too strong?
Not to mention the others, even Franz himself was not confident.
Guess what, except for those self-hypnotized guys in the Admiralty, there were few in the world who thought they could win.
However, politics is essentially an act. Even though he had no confidence in his heart, Franz was still confident on the surface.
Times are progressing, in the 20th century, the struggle for hegemony has evolved from purely military power competition to the competition of comprehensive national power.
Frontal battle can’t be done, then spell national strength. Failure is not terrible, as long as there is “repeated defeat” determination, a few more times, always be able to pull the British down.
In fact, the Vienna government dared to challenge the British, a very important reason is: their own has been based on an invincible position.
As a land power country, no matter how many times the sea failure, as long as the mainland is not affected, it will not shake the foundation.
It doesn’t matter if you lose a naval battle. The big deal is to go back to the Mediterranean Sea for a year and a half of rest and recuperation, and then make a comeback for a second battle.
If the second time is no good, we can still do it for the third time, fourth time, fifth time, anyway, we can lose countless times, but we only need to win once to win.
As in the original space-time World War II in the U.S.-Japan Pacific War, the early Japanese Navy is all the way open, and then lost the war in victory.
The gap between Shinra and Britain is not as wide as that between the United States and Japan, but at least the industrial strength is three to one.
Coupled with the fact that Britain is an island nation, its own resources do not need to support industrial needs, industrial raw materials to rely heavily on imports, the advantage is even more obvious.
Once the backhand start, dare not say completely abolished the British maritime trade, but let them trade volume fell significantly or no problem.
The original time and space German submarines, in the limited space of activity, have made the Allied Powers suffer. Now Shen Luo submarine can run all over the world, killing power does not make sense weaker.
It’s always easier to destroy than to build, the speed of shipbuilding can’t keep up with consumption, and the British Isles will have to starve once the trade lines are in trouble.
It’s useless for the Royal Navy to be able to fight if there are problems on the home front. If it’s consumed in the war, it’s either going to be dragged to death due to poor logistics.
The tactics are a little bit obscene, but the strategy is absolutely honorable. Purely using power to suppress others, without the slightest bit of speculation.
……
Just as Shinra and Britannia were stealing time, the Japanese and Russians were likewise stealing time, even more fiercely.
In any case, Shen Luo and Britain are only in the dark fight, Japan and Russia are the two countries are the real sword on the dry.
In order to speed up the construction of the Siberian Railway, the tsarist government took the unprecedented three shifts, 24-hour work system.
Don’t think this is easy, you know the construction site is Siberia. In this sparsely populated hellhole, what kind of climate exists.
Even in April, there are still a lot of places where the night still maintains a low temperature of minus ten degrees, which is not suitable for construction.
In the Russian Empire, there is no such thing as “no construction in winter”. If it were not possible to work in winter, there would be no need to build the Siberian Railway.
The name of “tundra” is not just a myth. In many regions of Siberia, snow remains all year round.
Although the Siberian Railway was planned to avoid these harsh climatic areas, there are still many places that can’t be avoided.
Human wisdom is powerful, engineers still think of ways to overcome the harsh climate; human wisdom is also limited, the safety of laborers still can not be guaranteed.
With the implementation of the 24-hour shift system, the death rate of laborers has increased rather than decreased due to the harsh climate at night.
Especially at night, it is a high incidence of death. Not to mention the front-line laborers, even many of the Russian soldiers who were responsible for supervision were frozen out.
No amount of hardship could shake the tsarist government’s determination to hurry. The laborers suffered heavy casualties, and the Russian soldiers and officers on the front line also suffered heavy casualties.
The sooner the railroad was opened, the sooner the main force could drive through, the sooner victory could come.
In front of the strategic situation, one’s own people can be abandoned, let alone a bunch of worthless French laborers.
The Czarist government was anxious, and the Japanese government was even more anxious. Unlike the Tsarist government, the Japanese government is a representative of thrift and frugality.
There is no way, the gold father’s money is also to be paid back, and is still usurious, can borrow a little less or borrow a little less good.
Look at the equipment of the Japanese army know, compared to the Sino-Japanese period have not essentially changed, many troops are still using the year’s captured loot, can be said to be “thrifty and frugal” carried out to the extreme.
Fortunately, the opposite side of the Russian army equipment is not very good, just a little better than them. Although the firepower is a little stronger, but due to the lack of logistics, ammunition can only be used sparingly.
In the Far East, there is a saying within the Russian Empire called “exile zone”. Not only criminals were exiled, but also the unlucky ones who lost the political battle.
If the officers were the losers in the political struggle, then the troops here were the marginalized ones in the Russian army.
Whether it is weapons and equipment, or daily training, can not be compared with the main force, combat effectiveness is naturally the existence of the bottom of the Russian army.
In the face of such an enemy, with superior strength of the Japanese army, actually not able to play the momentum of the autumn wind sweeping down the leaves, the Japanese government is naturally anxious.
Even the Emperor Meiji, who has a very good culture, can not help but foul-mouthed, several times in a row, the Imperial Council, have caught the Army senior maniacal spray.
Not angry can not, the army’s performance really can not get hold of. Siege brigade **** fortress for several months, in addition to leaving a field full of corpses, still in the periphery of the circle.
According to the military, that’s because the Russians used the most advanced trench + machine gun + reinforced wire defense line, very difficult to break through.
Found out what the problem was, but did it make sense?
The answer is: no.
The influence of the butterfly effect is powerful, as the wind vane in the army, all countries’ armies can’t help but look to the Shinra Army.
The Russians, who were most deeply influenced by Shinra, naturally could not be an exception. Along with the efforts of generations of foreign students, the tactics of Shinra Army naturally spread to the Russian Army.
It made the already easily defensible ****Shun Fortress even more formidable. So much so that the traditional charging tactics of the Japanese army became head-sending tactics.
If nothing else, Senior General Nogi Hidenori is afraid that he will be insulated from the God of War. Although this Japanese Army 3rd Army Commander, has only just arrived at the front line to replace a certain unlucky man who cut himself in front of him.
No other reason, the main reason is that he promotes the courage of the “meatball tactics”, the face of the fortification is complete ***shun fortress, has lost the threat.
In Japan, a country that honors the strong, the loser is not entitled to be worshipped. If he could not fulfill his combat mission, Nogi Hidenori’s fate would be similar to that of his predecessor.
Not only was the battle at ****shun Fortress not going well, but even the battles around East Manchuria and South Manchuria were likewise not going as expected.
Although the Japanese gained the upper hand and forced the Russians to keep retreating, the Japanese also paid a terrible price.
Whether it was a loss, or an advantage, is probably difficult to define for a while.
Unlike the original time and space, the Russians have been fighting a lot of wars in recent decades. Even in the Far East, the Russian army combat effectiveness has improved, the most typical is the overall quality of the officers, obviously higher than a chip.
Better equipment, improved officer quality, more combat experience, combat effectiveness naturally went up.
It is only a fantasy that when you meet the strong, you will be stronger. Although the Japanese Army is also following the learning, but still not as thoroughly as the Russians emulated.
Although the morale of the Japanese army was higher, the morale of the Russian army was not low either! It wasn’t that the Russian officers and men liked to fight, it was more because of face.
Losing to the Japanese, how could the proud Russians accept it?
Even if the Japanese army is more numerous, but the innate heart advantage, so that the Russian officers and soldiers feel that they can do it, not at all wimpy.
The original time and space Japan was able to win, to a large extent, is also the contribution of the Navy. The victory in the naval battle strengthened the determination of the Japanese officers and men to win, and at the same time shook the heart of the Russian army.
It had only just begun, and despite losses on a number of battlefields, the Russian army had not yet reached the point where its military heart was shaken.
There was no other way to suffer losses, who made the Japanese government “thrifty”?
With the lack of military spending, it was only natural that the army could not keep up with the times.
Especially the influence of the traditional “Bushido” thinking, many Japanese generals believe that rely on “courage” can make up for the lack of equipment, despise only play firepower army.
In this context, the limited military expenditure, the first thing that people think about is to protect the size of the army, rather than used to improve the weapons and equipment.
Now that they have suffered a loss and realized the importance of firepower, the Army is embarrassed to say so!
For all this, as an army-born prime minister, Katsutaro was watching and anxious.
The Army brass was too embarrassed to speak up, and not just to save face. The fear of being ridiculed by the Navy for admitting their mistake was only one reason, but more than that, they were afraid that it would affect their future power of speech in the Empire.
There was no way around it, and it was one of the characteristics of Japan that mistakes were not allowed.
Ever since the guards handed over a battle report, Emperor Meiji’s face clouded over. Katsutaro knew that there was more bad news coming and hastily remedied the situation:
“Your Majesty, rest your anger. The enemy we are facing this time is the Russians, and it is understandable that the frontline troops are making slow progress.
In order to speed up the progress of the troops, I propose to purchase a batch of equipment from the British to increase the strength of the troops.
For example: tanks and armored vehicles are good and can be very effective when attacking positions.
Although it’s a bit expensive, we only need to purchase a small amount and it shouldn’t cost much.”
Russia and Austria were allies, and with the Russo-Japanese War having broken out, it was only natural that the Vienna government would not sell arms to the Japanese government.
In this context, despite the British-made army equipment, both performance, or price, are not competitive in the market, but the Japanese government still has no choice.
In addition to these two countries, the weapons and equipment of other countries are only more garbage, not the most garbage.
Until now, only Shinra’s armored forces in the whole world have a division-level establishment, and the armored forces of other countries are only up to the regiment level at most.
On the one hand, it is because the equipment is expensive, and the maintenance cost is even more expensive; on the other hand, it is because the technology is not up to the standard, and the core components cannot be produced by themselves.
Japan such a poor country, not to mention, in addition to get a few to support the appearance, it is impossible to large-scale equipment.
Otherwise it would not be so bad that after the outbreak of the war, even an armored unit to break through the enemy’s defenses, can not come up with.
Emperor Meiji nodded, “Then let’s procure it, the speed must be fast, it’s best to directly purchase the British’s current equipment.”
Whether or not it was possible to break through the enemy’s defenses with an armored unit, Emperor Meiji wasn’t sure, but it was true based on the experience that came from Europe.
At least, the Anti-French Alliance back in the day was the armored troops that opened the way, tore through the French defenses, and then drove all the way in.
(End of chapter)