I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 558 Atmosphere

After the Russo-Japanese War, Nicholas was so depressed that he didn't even want the navy anymore. The navy didn't build a new ship for two whole years.

As the Russian Empire gained access to the Black Sea, Nicholas' confidence reached an unprecedented high and he set his sights on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

By 1913, with the commissioning of four British Orion-class battleships, the European arms race intensified further.

Referring to the standards of the "dreadnought", the "Orion" has a larger caliber of artillery and a displacement increased to more than 25000 tons. The United Kingdom defines this level of battleship as "super dreadnought".

In addition to the four "Orions", the UK started construction of two "Queen Elizabeth" class battleships at the end of last year, and will start construction of three more this year, continuing to maintain its advantage over the German Navy.

The Russian Empire's four "Gangut" class battleships were put into service two years ago, and four "Queen Maria" class battleships are under construction. Together with the "Yuriev", "Romanov" and "Russia", after all of them are completed, the Russian Empire will have 11 all-heavy artillery battleships.

In George's opinion, 11 all-heavy artillery battleships were enough to defend the maritime borders of the Russian Empire.

Nicholas was worried.

In recent years, Germany has continued to build on the strength of the "Nassau" and "Helgeland" ships, posing a strong challenge to the British Royal Navy at an average rate of three ships per year.

In addition to all-heavy artillery battleships, Germany is also building battlecruisers at a rate of one per year. In terms of the number of large warships, Germany has surpassed the Imperial Russian Navy.

While Nicholas hoped that George would adjust the battle plan, he also asked George if he had any new shipbuilding plans.

Britain's newest "Queen Elizabeth" class battleship has a full load displacement of 33000 tons and a main gun caliber of 14 inches, making it the strongest in the world.

George knew that the caliber of the Queen Elizabeth's main gun was not 14 inches as claimed, but 15 inches (381 mm).

Considering that Britain was an ally of the Russian Empire, George did not provoke Nicholas.

"Until the Queen Maria class battleships were completed, the Navy had no plans to build more battleships, instead concentrating on the construction of submarines and cruisers."

George is not extravagant, and the empire is not rich, so money should be spent frugally.

When they heard George say that he would not build battleships, Nicholas Jr., Chief of General Staff Sukhomlinov, and Durnovo, who succeeded Stolypin as Finance Minister, all breathed a sigh of relief.

George's reputation is unparalleled now. If George says he wants to build a battleship, Nicholas will sell everything he has to satisfy George's request.

The empire's finances are still not abundant, and the military budget is limited. The navy does not build ships, and the army still gets the lion's share, so everyone is happy.

George did not let little Nicholas get his wish. Although the navy did not build ships, it did not mean that George did not spend money.

During the Balkan War, the air force demonstrated strong combat effectiveness and made great contributions to the empire's seizure of access to the Black Sea.

After the Balkan War, the Naval Aviation was merged with the Army Aviation to formally form the Air Force, becoming the third largest branch of the Russian Empire.

George currently holds the position of Air Force Commander concurrently.

George asked the empire to increase investment and establish an air force consisting of at least 500 transport planes or bombers.

"What do we need so many bombers for?"

Little Nicholas looked pale. If Nicholas agreed to this plan, the army's expansion plan would be ruined.

Disarmament allowed the empire to successfully overcome the most difficult period. As the finances gradually improved, the army must be expanded, otherwise it would not be enough to cope with the pressure from the German-Austrian alliance.

In recent years, the German and Austro-Hungarian armies have been expanding.

When the Russo-Japanese War broke out, the size of the German Army was only 77, but now it has exceeded 85.

The size of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's military also increased from 50 to 65.

Faced with an arms race, Britain's response was that for every one ship built by Germany, Britain would build two.

Nicholas the Younger hoped that the size of the Russian Army would increase to 150 million men, the same size as the combined forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

This plan is not very realistic. If the standards of the Guards are followed, the imperial finances will go bankrupt again.

"We already have 120 million people, we just need to add 30 more."

Young Nicholas worked hard to promote his military expansion plan. The 120 million troops included the garrison troops in various places and the Hidaka vassal army.

"Niki, you forgot about the Balkan Alliance."

George reminded little Nicholas that the empire still had a group of younger brothers in the Balkans.

Excluding the newly established Albania, the five Balkan countries, each of which could easily provide 100,000 people, would be enough to contain the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Little Nicholas' face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Before he could say anything, Nicholas went off topic.

“Is Bob doing okay in Bulgaria?”

"not bad--"

This is already very high praise for George. Boris would be very happy if he knew it.

"Bob is already 18 years old this year—"

Nicholas twirled his carefully trimmed beard and lost in thought.

Now it was George's turn to be upset.

After Alexei returned from Vladivostok, Nicholas mentioned to George intentionally or unintentionally that the eldest princess Olga was already 18 years old and it was time to consider her lifelong affairs.

In terms of seniority, Bolis is one generation older than Olga.

But this is not a problem, because Nicholas' sister, Xenia, married Nicholas' cousin Alexander.

George didn't dare to respond.

Both Nicholas and Alex's children carry the hemophilia gene. The most disgusting thing about this disease is that it only occurs in males and has no effect on females.

Boris and Olga were not yet five generations apart. If they got married, even if the child's intelligence was fine, the boy would be tormented by illness like Alexei. It was for this reason that, although a prince proposed to Olga, Nicholas and Alexi did not agree.

He proposed to Olga even though he knew she carried the hemophilia gene. If this wasn't true love, then he must have some ulterior motive.

George didn't want Boris to be like Sergei, who couldn't even have a child.

"His Majesty--"

Former Interior Minister Durnovo reminded Nikolai to get down to business.

"Oh, sorry, where were we?"

"Speaking of Bob 18!"

Little Nicholas is in a bad mood. He is not good at anything and is always the worst at talking nonsense.

Nicholas was not angry either. He did not show any dignity of a Tsar. He just smiled and passed it off.

"George, if you still have money, consider lending it to the Imperial Treasury. The Imperial Treasury can also use tariffs as collateral."

Durnovo personally took action, and he had some resentment towards George.

Since the Siberian Bank could lend money to the Ottoman Empire to quell the rebellion, it must also have money to lend to the Russian Empire, and the interest rate would be exactly what it should be, not a penny less.

"Has not the customs duty been mortgaged to London and Paris?"

George didn't want to talk about it.

It is amazing that the Cossacks, who were so powerful in the Balkan Peninsula, suddenly became weak ducks when they arrived in the Anatolian Peninsula. Not only did they fail to quickly quell the rebellion of the Ottoman Youth Party, but they also fell into a long tug-of-war and are currently in a stalemate.

George didn't know whether the Cossacks were happy or not.

Anyway, the military supply merchants who followed the Cossacks to fight in the Anatolian Peninsula were very happy. Every day, merchant ships loaded with various supplies arrived in Constantinople via the Sea of ​​Marmara.

"plan--"

Sukhomlinov finally couldn't help it and said he would modify the battle plan.

"The Germans have been preparing for the Schlieffen Plan for 20 years and will not easily change their operational plans."

George persisted, more stubbornly than the German.

"George, we must consider the possibility that if war breaks out, Berlin and Austria will make us their first target."

Sukhomlinov could not confirm whether the "Schlieffen Plan" existed.

Anyone who is familiar with the history of the World War in later generations will know about the "Schlieffen Plan".

For Germany, the "Schlieffen Plan" was top secret. Only Kaiser Wilhelm II and a few marshals knew about it. Most generals were unaware of the existence of the "Schlieffen Plan".

Therefore, Sukhomlinov still doubts the authenticity of the "Schlieffen Plan".

The Austro-Hungarian Empire also had a similar plan, but its first target was not the Russian Empire, but the Balkans.

So George's plan was to keep his troops in place, wait for Germany and the Anglo-French coalition to be defeated, and then the Russian Empire would send troops to clean up the mess.

As for what would happen between Austria-Hungary and the Balkans, George didn't care at all.

"Absolutely impossible!"

George firmly believed that the stubborn Germans would not change their plans.

Since the Russo-Japanese War, George has been trying to create an impression among the Germans: the Russian Empire is not easy to mess with, go fight France.

During the Rovno exercise, George took the initiative to demonstrate infantry-combat coordination in order to strengthen this impression and make Germany retreat.

If Nicholas insisted on attacking, George would still choose the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a breakthrough point, picking the softest persimmon to bite.

In terms of tactics, it was better to pull together a group of Balkan brothers to defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire first, and then join forces with the British and French forces to attack Germany.

Sukhomlinov looked helpless and was also troubled by George's stubbornness.

"I mean if—"

"If the German-Austrian alliance dares to attack, the tragedy of the French will be repeated on them."

George was not afraid. In addition to General Winter, the Russian Empire's greatest reliance was its strategic depth that made the enemy despair.

In the past, the depth of the Russian Empire reached Moscow.

The depth of the Russian Empire now extends to Vladivostok.

If it really doesn't work, George will fight and retreat at the same time, retreating to Vladivostok while blowing up the Siberian Railway to see who can outlast the other.

"George, our goal is to keep the enemy out of the country."

Little Nicholas is also very drifting now.

"Ah--"

George sneered. Whose enemy are we fighting?
George has not forgotten how some people in Russia jumped up and down during the Russo-Japanese War.

If the Germans invade, George will definitely clear the countryside, and then take advantage of the opportunity to complete a wave of cleansing from the outside to the inside, and then throw the dirty water on the Germans.

This wave of little Nicholas is at most on the third layer, and George is in the atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)