Chapter 380: The Concept of the Dreadnought

The budget struggle between various government departments can be described as quite intense, with some arguments even continuing until mid-year.

However, Gao Da does not pay much attention to the budget struggles of the various departments, caring only about the assimilation work in the Morocco colony by the Colonial Affairs Department.

The current area of the Morocco colony is different from the Morocco of history. Because large areas of land to the east and south are deserts, this has also resulted in Morocco having no other large-scale neighboring powers besides its neighbor, Algeria.

The resulting consequence is that the surrounding land near the Sahara Desert has not been set foot upon by any power; these lands were originally attached to Morocco, and after the Spanish occupation, they naturally became attached to the Spanish Morocco colony.

This is also the reason why the Spanish Morocco colony is a size bulkier than the real Morocco. Of course, these extra lands are basically the eastern and southern zones near the Sahara Desert; in other words, they are desolate, uninhabited deserts.

In the localization work for Morocco, these desert zones are not included. The main reason is that these lands do not have much value; they have neither population nor mineral resources, and the difficulty of building railways and roads is extreme, so there is no need for any development.

Gao Da's plan is that in the future, after the localization work of the Morocco colony is completed, a new colony will be established in this area of the east and south that is mostly desert.

Moroccans willing to submit to Spanish rule can live in the Morocco region where the climate and environment are better. Those Moroccans who are unwilling to submit to Spanish rule can only live in these desert zones.

If their feelings for the country of Morocco are truly too deep, it is not impossible to re-establish a Morocco country for them on this desert.

In this way, those Moroccans who are hostile to Spain can also be well settled. Spain will grant them certain rights, allowing this Morocco country on the desert to operate peacefully and stably, just like a real country.

For Spain, such a Morocco country located on the border also has its benefits. It can serve as a buffer zone between Spain and the French colonies, and it can also prevent French colonial forces from expanding toward Morocco.

Those extremist Moroccans can still live in the country of Morocco; for both Spain and Morocco, this can be considered a win-win.

In May 1896, the Morocco railway officially began construction.

The Spain of today is already different from the Spain of more than 20 years ago; Spain's railway construction capability is no longer what it used to be.

When Gao Da had just become the King of Spain, even if the government spent a great price, the railway that could be built each year was less than 500 kilometers.

By now, the railway mileage that Spain can build each year has reached as high as over a thousand kilometers. This is still because Spain's railway development has been subjected to certain restrictions.

If railways were built without restriction like in the United States before the economic crisis, the construction speed of Spanish railways might be able to more than double again.

Of course, building railways too fast is not necessarily a good thing.

Spain's own territory only has this much area, so the required railway mileage is naturally limited. Added to the fact that Spain's mainland is mountainous, the cost of building railways is even higher than in other European countries.

Reckless railway construction would not only trigger an economic crisis but also cause the government to fall into a fiscal deficit. If it were not for the annexation of Morocco, the Spanish Department of Transportation would not have built such a long stretch of railway in several years.

In previous years, the railway mileage built by the Department of Transportation each year was less than 200 kilometers, and it was more about patching up existing railways to ensure that Spain's railway system could operate safely and soundly.

While the railway construction work in the Morocco colony was in full swing, the Spanish government also received two pieces of good news.

The construction of the last two of the five battleships in the Spanish naval construction plan, the battleship *Felipe II* and the battleship *Gao Da I*, has been successfully completed and can be assigned to their respective fleets for official service.

These two battleships began construction at the end of 1892, and the entire construction cycle lasted three and a half years. Originally, according to the plan, the two battleships should have been in service at the beginning of this year.

But because Spain undertook the construction work of three battleships for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the launch of these two battleships was also delayed until the middle of this year.

It is worth mentioning that the first battleship Spain built for the Austro-Hungarian Empire began construction in May 1893 and was completed in November 1894, which also happens to be delivered to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the middle of this year.

Not long after the battleship *Felipe II* and the battleship *Gao Da I* officially entered service, it was just about time to deliver the first battleship to the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire could not wait for the delivery of this battleship. The naval officers they sent had been stationed at the shipyard since half a year after the battleship began construction, paying attention to the construction progress of the battleship at any time.

After the battleship construction was completed in November 1894, these Austro-Hungarian naval officers began the long process of sea trials and training.

Combining sea trials with training is also more or less the common choice for various European countries. Although doing so may extend the time for sea trials, the good news is that it allows the navy to form combat effectiveness earlier.

Generally, sea trials last for one to two years; the naval officers and soldiers on these warships train together with the warships for two years, and they can naturally possess a certain combat effectiveness when the warships just enter service.

Because the naval officers and soldiers on this battleship were all soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in fact, this battleship only needed a superficial delivery ceremony, and then it could be sailed back to the ports of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by the Austro-Hungarian naval officers.

Because they witnessed the construction work of this battleship with their own eyes, the Austro-Hungarian naval soldiers were quite envious of the Spanish Navy.

Spain already possessed five of the battleships they were looking forward to. Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire would also equip three in a year's time, the quantity was destined to be unable to compare with the number of Spanish battleships.

Since the birth of the battleship, the role of the ironclad has been greatly reduced. This also means that the reasonably sized ironclad fleet possessed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire has actually lost its utility.

During the year or so of sea trials, the Austro-Hungarian naval soldiers also clearly understood the power of the battleship.

Such a battleship facing the siege of three ironclads would definitely have the strength to fight. If facing the siege of two ironclads, the one that would win in the end would most likely be the battleship, not the ironclads.

This is the advantage brought by technological leadership, and it is also the reason why the Austro-Hungarian naval soldiers were quite expectant of the battleship.

In the current European situation, only by being equipped with a significant number of battleships can one be called a navy with strong combat effectiveness.

Relying only on ironclads can maintain the navy's tonnage at a decent level, but if a large-scale war really breaks out, a navy with only ironclads is of no use.

Speaking of which, nearly six years have passed since the birth of the *Monarch*-class battleship.

The Spanish Navy Department once requested Gao Da to develop another battleship with more powerful performance, but Gao Da ultimately rejected the navy's request.

Gao Da knew that although battleships were much more powerful than ironclads, the subsequent dreadnoughts would be much more powerful than battleships.

The construction cycle of a warship lasts for several years, so continuing to invest in battleships now is not cost-effective.

Even if a more powerful battleship could be developed within two years, the construction time of the first battleship alone would take at least three more years.

Two years plus three years is equivalent to five years wasted on the first battleship. Five years later it would be 1901, which also means that even if a new battleship could be developed, by the time a few new battleships were built, the era of the dreadnought would be about to arrive.

Rather than wasting funds to develop a more powerful battleship, it is better to concentrate energy on developing a powerful dreadnought.

After rejecting the navy's proposal, Gao Da put forward a vision related to the dreadnought. Upon hearing that Gao Da's rejection of their request was not because he did not want to continue building the navy, but because he wanted to build more powerful warships, the generals of the Navy Department were extremely excited.

They naturally also wanted to see the birth of more powerful warships. Whether it is a battleship or a dreadnought, as long as it is a more powerful warship, it can satisfy the naval generals.

Regarding the naval construction plan for the next five years, because of the "dreadnought pie" Gao Da drew, the naval generals were also willing to reduce the navy's military spending.

Finally, a new five-year shipbuilding plan was fresh out of the oven. The Spanish Navy would only build two battleships in the next five years, and these two battleships would still be *Monarch*-class battleships.

The first battleship was named the *Empire*, and the second was named the *Sun Never Sets*. Naming a Spanish battleship *Sun Never Sets* is actually quite reasonable. As the founder of the "Sun Never Sets" empire, although the British Empire is the "Sun Never Sets" empire at this time, there is no problem at all for Spain to recall its own history.

What's more, the relationship between Spain and the UK is not very good to begin with, so there is naturally no need to pin the title of the "Sun Never Sets" empire on the UK.

The original meaning of the "Sun Never Sets" empire is that the country's territory is spread all over the world, and no matter what time it is, there will always be a piece of territory illuminated by the sun.

If we go by this meaning, the current Spain is still a "Sun Never Sets" empire.

Spain's land is spread across Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia, and it can almost manage to ensure that the sun never sets on Spanish territory.

Of course, such a "Sun Never Sets" empire looks quite strained, which is also the reason why no other country in the world except the UK claims to be a "Sun Never Sets" empire.

Although only two battleships are being built, Gao Da's investment in the research and development of naval warships will not be reduced at all.

After the construction of the five *Monarch*-class battleships was completed, Gao Da specifically let the Navy Department reveal the conjecture about the dreadnought and required Spain's major shipyards to conduct relevant exploration into the dreadnought.

What exactly is a dreadnought? What is an ordinary battleship?

The origin of the name "dreadnought" is the battleship *Dreadnought*, and all warships of the same type built since then have been called dreadnoughts.

The biggest difference between this type of warship and previous battleships is that there have been huge improvements in steel armor material, warship power units, and artillery.

Armor protection, power, and firepower are also the three elements of a warship. The comprehensive improvement of these three items actually represents a huge progress in all aspects of the warship's performance.

It is precisely because of the huge progress in all aspects of the warship's performance that after the birth of the dreadnought, all the battleships previously built by various countries became scrap metal.

Such a scene is very similar to the ironclads losing their utility after the birth of the battleship. It's just that the dreadnought is a more advanced ironclad; to build a dreadnought, in addition to the continuous progress of naval design ideas, one must also wait for continuous progress in technology regarding armor materials, warship power, and artillery.

The reason why the UK led the world in building the dreadnought was that the UK's technology in naval construction at that time was world-class.

They possessed the most powerful naval design capabilities and the most advanced artillery technology, steam engine technology, and steel smelting technology. After synthesizing these technologies, they developed the dreadnought, which achieved huge progress in all aspects of performance.

This actually also means that the difficulty of wanting to lead the UK in the field of dreadnoughts is extreme.

It is no exaggeration to say that for any country to want to lead the UK in dreadnoughts, the difficulty is no less than defeating Germany in a land war.

Looking at it now, the one with the most hope is actually France. The possibility of France leading the UK in dreadnoughts is about the same as the possibility of France defeating Germany in a land war.

One can only say it exists, but the probability is not high after all.

Gao Da also understands that wanting to rely on Spain's current technology to lead the British Navy in the dreadnought era is extremely difficult.

Gao Da also does not expect to catch up with and surpass the British Navy in the dreadnought era. The Spanish Navy only needs to be able to build a powerful navy in the dreadnought era that can threaten the British Royal Fleet.

After all, after the arrival of the dreadnought era, the First World War will not be far away. In the First World War, there is no contest between individual countries; there is only a contest between two major military groups.

Joining one of these military groups, integrating the naval power of all allied countries in the military group, and using the naval power of the entire military group to defeat the British Navy is the most likely way to defeat the British Navy.

As for whether the UK will join one of the military groups, the answer to this question is naturally yes.

Fortunately, Spain also has enough right to choose; it can choose which side to join according to the trend of the European situation, rather than having no choice at all and being dragged into the World War in a muddled way.

Gao Da does not require Spain to be the first country in the world to develop a dreadnought, but Gao Da feels it is very necessary for Spain to strive to be the second country to develop a dreadnought after the UK.

In terms of battleships, although Spain was not the second country to design a battleship, it was the second country to possess battleships.

The French Navy's concept for battleships was earlier than the British, but their naval construction time was too long, making them the third country to possess battleships instead.

Although the order of first, second, and third does not look like much, the actual gap is very large.

The UK is currently the country with the largest number of battleships in the world, and the second-place Spain and third-place France combined cannot compare.

And Spain is the country with the second-largest number of battleships in the world; France's number of battleships still has a large gap compared to Spain.

France's number of battleships has not widened the gap with other countries. Even the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with the help of Spain, will soon close the gap in battleships with France.

From this aspect, one can also see France's backwardness in the navy; the once glorious French Navy has gone forever, and the French Navy's second-place status will sooner or later be surpassed by other European countries.

As Spain is currently the third-largest naval power in the world, Gao Da naturally hopes that the country that surpasses France is Spain.

If Spain can replace France as the world's second-largest naval power, this also means that Spain will officially rank among the super powers.

After all, in addition to a powerful navy, Spain's army strength is also very powerful. Although the current scale of the Spanish army is relatively small among European powers, the deficiency in Spain's population has been made up for.

Currently, Spain's population has reached 31 million, and the maximum number of troops that can be mobilized domestically is as high as three to four million.

Counting the colonial troops, the number of troops Spain can mobilize in a World War is at least six to seven million.

With an army scale of six to seven million plus the world's second-largest navy, Spain really has the possibility of changing the direction of the World War.

No matter which military group such a powerful military force is invested in, it will make that military group instantly possess an advantage.

What about the failed German-Austrian military group in history? As long as they obtain the support of today's Spain, Germany may not necessarily fail to become a victor in World War I.

As for the other major military group, Britain, France, and Russia, it goes without saying. If they could obtain Spain's support, the lead over the German-Austrian military group would be huge.

Based on this point alone, Gao Da has the confidence that Spain can obtain sufficient benefits in World War I.

Countries like the United States that are far away from the European continent naturally have no need to participate in the First World War.

Spain can completely take on the role of the United States in the First World War, and even far exceed it.

Although the United States' population, land area, economy, and industrial scale are far ahead of Spain, the United States' military strength is not proportional to Spain's.

The current United States is neither a land power nor a naval power. The army has been downsized to only tens of thousands of people, not even comparable to some medium-sized European countries.

The navy is also ranked at the bottom of the powers, and because the United States' naval construction technology lags behind European countries, it is difficult for them to keep up with the current progress of European countries in battleships, let alone the future dreadnoughts.

(End of chapter)