Chapter 312: The Ambition of the Battleship

In fact, when the rifles and machine guns were being upgraded, the generals of the Navy of the Ministry of Defense also expressed to Gao Da a request to build more ironclad warships.

However, such a request was quickly rejected by Gao Da, and there was no room for negotiation.

A few days later, Gao Da gathered these high-ranking naval generals together and stated his requirements for Spain's next generation of capital ships.

Faster, larger, and stronger—these three words were brought up by Gao Da multiple times, and he explicitly demanded that only warship designs meeting these three requirements could become Spain's next generation of capital ships.

Before Spain's next generation of capital ships is born, the navy will not build any capital ships in the coming years, but will only build a certain number of auxiliary warships to expand the scale of the fleet.

This requirement from Gao Da immediately left the high-ranking naval generals feeling distressed.

Although it looks like just three requirements, in reality, it permeates the entire design philosophy of naval warships.

"Faster" is easy to understand; it refers to the maximum speed of the new generation of capital ships.

The maximum speed of Spain's first two capital ship designs, the Renaissance-class ironclad, could reach 13 knots, while the Matador-class ironclad reached a maximum speed of 15 knots.

Currently, the speed of the Matador-class ironclad is top-tier globally, and logically speaking, it should have been completely sufficient.

But Gao Da was not satisfied with this regarding the speed requirements for Spain's new generation of capital ships; instead, he raised it to the level of 18 knots.

Currently, a speed of 15 knots is already considered top-tier in Europe, so one can imagine how exaggerated a speed of 18 knots is. It is not an exaggeration to say that even the British, who are currently the best in terms of warship propulsion, likely cannot reach a speed of 18 knots.

This also means that the design of the next generation of capital ships requested by Gao Da cannot be realized within the next few years, and if Spain wants to build capital ships again, it will have to wait at least several years.

The subsequent "larger" and "stronger" are reflected in the armor thickness of the capital ships and the caliber of the artillery carried.

To become Spain's new type of capital ship, it must, without significantly increasing tonnage, thicken the armor protection of the warship's vulnerable areas as much as possible, allowing the warship to withstand enemy shells in a head-on confrontation.

At the same time, the naval guns carried by the warship also need to have sufficient firepower to penetrate enemy armor.

Taken together, the Spanish capital ships under Gao Da's requirements will comprehensively surpass the most powerful existing ironclads in the three major aspects of speed, armor protection, and firepower.

This is also the reason for the naval generals' distress; although the imagined warships look powerful, based on Spain's existing shipbuilding technology, I am afraid that Spain will not be able to build any more capital ships within the next five years.

According to the default rule of a small improvement in naval warship technology every year and a major improvement every five years, perhaps such warships have a hope of appearing in five years.

Just thinking that the Spanish Navy will not have any major movements in the next five years, the naval generals could not help but tear up, envying the army's large-scale re-equipment campaign.

Although they knew that such requirements for capital ships were somewhat harsh for the current shipbuilding technology, the Ministry of Defense still issued a tender announcement regarding capital ships to several major shipyards in Spain.

What if a shipyard could design a warship that meets the requirements? Even if the possibility is small, it is better than giving up directly.

What's more, the order regarding the requirements for capital ships was issued by Gao Da; in the current Spain, no one can refuse Gao Da's order.

The naval generals could only hope that Spain's shipyards could be capable enough to design the capital ships that meet Gao Da's requirements as soon as possible, so that they could see the Spanish Navy expand again.

The major shipyards that received the navy's requirements were all surprised by such harsh conditions.

They asked the naval department many times, but the final answer they received was that such requirements were real, and the naval department would not change its requirements.

There was no other way; Spain's major shipyards could only curse while trying to design warships that met the navy's requirements.

The difficulty for shipyards to export warships is much greater than that for military factories to export weapons and ammunition, which also leads to Spanish military factories being very dependent on orders from the navy.

If they cannot design warships that meet the navy's requirements, this not only means that the Spanish Navy will not build capital ships in the next few years, but also means that these shipyards will not receive large-scale orders in the next few years.

Although they will not go bankrupt due to the reduction in orders, these shipyards will certainly be affected to a greater or lesser extent.

In order to let these shipyards build warships that meet his requirements as soon as possible, Gao Da even ordered an increase in the rewards and benefits for shipyards that successfully win the bid.

As long as they participate in the navy's tender plan for capital ships, they can receive at least 500, 00 pesetas in support funds. This fund is used to help shipyards research and design warships; as long as it is within the scope of researching warships, the shipyards that receive this fund can use this money however they want.

Of course, not just any small-time operator can receive support funds. All shipyards participating in the tender need to pass the audit of the naval department; they must have the ability to design ironclads, and the shipyard must at least have a dock capable of building warships of over 5, 00 tons.

If it were not stipulated this way, there would always be some people looking for loopholes, temporarily establishing a small-scale shipyard to defraud Gao Da's support funds.

As long as they can design a warship that meets the navy's requirements, they can receive a bonus of 2 million pesetas and 3 million pesetas in support funds.

There is no cap on the bonus; for every type of capital ship designed that meets the requirements, they can receive a reward of 2 million pesetas.

They can get as many rewards as they design; such a regulation is also to reward those shipyards that have the ability to design excellent warships.

In addition to the rewards and support funds for the shipyards, the naval department will also have different shares of rewards for those designers who personally participate in the warship design.

Gao Da's attitude is also very clear, which is to spare no expense to accelerate the research, development, and construction of new capital ships.

In fact, from Gao Da's requirements, it can be seen that what Gao Da really wants is no longer an ironclad, but a battleship more powerful than an ironclad, or rather, a pre-dreadnought.

Just as the birth of the ironclad overturned the dominant position of sailing warships, the birth of the battleship will also overturn the dominant position of the ironclad.

Gao Da is not quite sure which year the battleship was born, but Gao Da understands that the birth of the battleship should be within a few years.

After all, the birth of the dreadnought was only in 1906, and as the previous generation of warships to the dreadnought, the birth of the pre-dreadnought must be earlier than the dreadnought.

After issuing the relevant warship tender announcement to the various shipyards, Gao Da no longer paid attention to this matter.

Even if Spain's shipyards have the ability to design battleships, the design process for a battleship will not be too short. This is not the design of a rifle, where there are only a few parts, so the design time will naturally not be long.

The design of a battleship cannot be completed without several months or even more than a year; during the design process, one must not only consider the rationality of the layout of various components but also consider whether the warship composed of these guys can meet the requirements of the naval department.

Currently, the tonnage of Spain's Matador-class ironclad has reached tens of thousands of tons; with the comprehensive improvement in speed, firepower, and armor, the tonnage of the new battleship must be at least over ten thousand tons.

Designing a giant warship of over ten thousand tons is not that easy, and Gao Da did not expect Spain to be able to possess a revolutionary battleship in just a few years.

As time came to 1885, Spain's colonial merger plan also reached its climax.

On January 25, 1885, Gao Da attended a meeting held by the Spanish cabinet, listened to the reports from the colonial affairs department and the defense department on the combat plan for the new year, and issued his own requirements.

Throughout 1885, Spain needed to launch local wars in two regions.

The first region is the Gulf of Guinea in Africa; the Aro Confederacy, the Kingdom of Nri, the Kingdom of Benin, the Kingdom of Dahomey, and the Sokoto Caliphate are all on Spain's list of conquests.

The second region is the Arabian Peninsula; Gao Da plans to incorporate the Trucial States into his own rule to avoid the British breaking their promise due to the passage of time.

The conquest of the coast of the Gulf of Guinea is the top priority. Spain plans to dispatch an army of 70, 00 people composed of 3 colonial divisions and 5 colonial garrison regiments to launch a full-scale attack on the natives in the region, solve these natives in the fastest time, and expand Spain's rule to these regions.

As for the conquest of the Trucial States, there is no need to be so ostentatious.

The reason is simple, and that is that this land is too barren. Because it is all desert, the population of the Trucial States is in the tens of thousands, and it hasn't even reached double digits.

In contrast, neighboring Oman, relying on the northern mountains and small plains, has a population of over one million, which is dozens of times that of the Trucial States.

To conquer this region, Spain does not even need to dispatch extra troops. It only needs to mobilize a small part of the troops from the Oman colonial garrison regiment to occupy the entire Trucial States and incorporate it into the Oman colony.

As for establishing a new colony, this is something Gao Da never considered.

Establishing a colony also requires significant costs; currently, the size of the Trucial States clearly cannot support the construction of a colony.

Incorporating it into the Oman colony can also let the British see Spain's lack of importance for this land, and they will no longer have to fear Spain's conquest of this land.

When Spain, France, and Germany all had their own colonial actions, the British were not idle either, adding bricks and tiles to their Cairo-Cape Town line.

But what the British did not expect was that their rapid conquest of the Sudan region instead triggered more intense resistance from the local natives.

In January 1885, tens of thousands of natives suddenly erupted in an uprising against British colonial rule and had already occupied several cities before the British could react.

Because of the British carelessness, the local natives obtained thousands of rifles. These natives who got hold of thermal weapons resisted more fiercely, with a posture of driving the British back to Egypt.

The native uprising that broke out in the Sudan region instantly made the British colony the focus of European countries, and a large number of countries that had grudges against the British took their small stools and watched the British's jokes with schadenfreude.

The British also lived up to expectations, fighting back and forth with the natives in the subsequent suppression of the rebellion, successfully adding a bit of comedy to the opening of 1885.

However, this cannot be blamed on the British; it is really because the geographical environment of the Sudan region is too terrible. Even not to mention Sudan, even Egypt in the north is full of deserts.

Only the small river valleys along the Nile are truly suitable for living, which also severely limited the advance of the British army.

Compared to the local African natives, the British army was clearly unaccustomed to this terrain. The local natives' resistance to the British was quite intense, which also led to the British being unable to use the local native army to suppress the rebellion.

If they pinned their hopes on an army composed of local natives, I am afraid that the British colonial rule in the Sudan region would collapse in an instant.

In order to reduce British casualties, the British government could only dispatch a certain number of troops from nearby Egypt and more distant colonies like India to suppress the rebellion.

Doing so could not change the situation on the battlefield; after all, the Indians were also not very accustomed to such an environment.

The Egyptians could adapt, but the Egyptians were not so submissive to the British. It would be good enough if the Egyptian soldiers did not take the opportunity to resist the British; counting on them to attack the Sudanese natives was simply impossible.

For a time, the British had no effective solution for the rebellion in the Sudan region. The British government could only continuously raise troops and weapons and equipment, secretly accumulating strength to give the local natives a fatal blow.

While the British were busy suppressing the rebellion in the Sudan region, the German government was not idle at all.

They set their sights on the land in the north of the Portuguese Mozambique colony; this place called Zanzibar was once ruled by Oman.

Yes, it is that Oman Sultanate that spans Asia and Africa. It was mentioned before that the decline of Oman was because it lost the land in Africa, which is the Zanzibar Sultanate.

This land is still quite rich, and because it is located on the British Cairo-Cape Town line, it is also a land that the British have set their sights on.

When they learned that Germany was carrying out colonial actions on a large scale near Zanzibar, the British government was extremely anxious, but there was nothing they could do.

It must be admitted that the Germans chose a good time.

The British raised a large number of troops and weapons and equipment to suppress the rebellion in the Sudan region and were unable to reach Zanzibar.

Because of the agreement of the Berlin Conference, this land of Zanzibar, which had not been determined by the great powers for colonial rule, was a place where all great powers could colonize.

The Germans did nothing different; under the premise that the Germans did not actively violate the agreement of the Berlin Conference, the British had no way to stop the Germans' actions.

The British could compete with the Germans in the Zanzibar region, but the military operations in the Sudan region would also be affected.

The Germans' attitude was very clear, and that was to let the British make the choice themselves.

If they interfere with Germany's colonization in the Zanzibar region, the British Sudan colony will become more chaotic. If they choose to suppress the rebellion in the Sudan colony first, then the situation in Zanzibar will be out of control, and the Germans are very likely to establish a colony here and incorporate Zanzibar into their own colonial rule.

Facing the aggressive Germans, the British government did not choose to retreat and chose a plan of wanting both.

On one hand, the British accelerated the deployment of troops, trying to suppress the rebellion in the Sudan region in the shortest possible time.

On the other hand, the British dispatched a small fleet to the Zanzibar Sultanate to negotiate with the Zanzibar government, which had always been pro-British, and let them firmly resist the German invasion.

The Sultan of Zanzibar at this time was Hamad, a pro-British ruler supported by the British government.

After discussing with the British ambassador, Hamad did not hesitate at all and immediately organized an army to resist the German colonization and carried out a series of cooperation with the British, such as purchasing weapons and supplies, etc.

The German side had also anticipated the British actions long ago; because they knew that the Zanzibar government was pro-British, Germany chose to support those among the Zanzibar officials who opposed the British, support them as pro-German, and launch a protracted tug-of-war with the British.

The colonial competition between the British and the Germans in Zanzibar is good news for Spain. Without the attention of these two colonial powers, Spain's colonial merger plan in the Gulf of Guinea can also go much more smoothly.

Although there is still a France in the Gulf of Guinea to compete with Spain for colonization, Spain's colonial merger plan does not involve France's sphere of influence, and the French are likely not to interfere with Spain's actions, just as Spain will not interfere with France's colonization in West Africa.

In the West African region, France and Spain seem to have reached a tacit understanding.

Spain focuses on colonizing the Gulf of Guinea from the Gold Coast to the Congo territory, while France focuses on colonizing the African land west of the Gold Coast and north of the Gambia colony.

Of course, France's colonies also include Algeria and Tunisia in North Africa, and even include the Congo colony in the Congo River basin, as well as the Malagasy protectorate on the East African coast, which is the later Madagascar.

In February 1885, the Spanish army officially set foot in the Kingdom of Dahomey north of the Ouidah colony.

In front of the well-prepared Spanish army, the Kingdom of Dahomey had no power to resist and was quickly forcibly occupied by the Spanish army.

The Huang Jinhaian colony and the Weida colony were thus connected, and Spain took the opportunity to merge them into a single colony, collectively known as Huang Jinhaian.

On the other side, the Guinea colony began to launch attacks against the indigenous states of the Jineiyawan.

On the coast of the Jineiyawan, there existed indigenous states and tribes of various sizes. These so-called states were not large in area, with some covering only 1, 00 square kilometers.

States of this scale would be considered small even in Europe, let alone in the vast territory of Africa.

Clearly, when facing the onslaught of the Spanish army, these indigenous states could only be like fish on a chopping block, left to be slaughtered by the Spanish army.

In less than a month, Spain successively signed treaties with indigenous states in the Jineiyawan such as the Kalabari Kingdom, the Akwa Akpa City-State, and the Oier State, turning them into protectorates and incorporating them into its sphere of influence.

After occupying almost all the coastal states of the Jineiyawan, the Xibanyazheng Prefecture officially issued a public announcement merging the original Huang Jinhaian colony and the Guinea colony. The two merged colonies were collectively referred to as the Spanish Guinea colony, with the capital of the colony established in Saint Isabel, and the garrison scale increased to one colonial division and twelve colonial garrison regiments.

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(End of this chapter)