Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 832 - 95: The Bragging Strategy

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The sudden arms race disrupted many people’s plans, including Austria’s.

In fact, the Vienna Government had also proposed a plan to provoke an arms race, but that is all in the past now.

Ever since deciding to implement the Near East development plan, Franz had abandoned that tempting plan, and the reason was simple—poverty.

Engaging in infrastructure construction on the one hand, and an arms race on the other, was more than Austria could handle.

Starting an arms race is easy, but the real challenge lies in the aftermath. If someone starts such a meaningful activity and then runs out of money, it would be utterly embarrassing.

This is not just a matter of saving face, but more importantly, it’s about showing strength to the world. The stronger the strength, the easier it is to find allies in international politics.

Of course, there are occasional exceptions that may have the opposite effect. As for how to manage, it depends on everyone’s political acumen.

It must be admitted that the British chose their moment well. Now is indeed the best time to subdue France and Austria. Once that moment passes and the two countries’ strategic plans are complete, the situation will turn around dramatically.

Even if it’s not possible to suppress both countries at once, it’s also necessary to crush their arrogance and tell the world who really rules this era.

Putting down the documents in his hand, Franz furrowed his brows and asked, "Are we forced into battle now?"

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "Yes, Your Majesty!

The British have timed it well. If we back down now, the outside world will think Austria fears Britannia.

According to information from the Paris Embassy, the French Government has decided to respond and will probably announce a new shipbuilding plan very soon."

It’s not that we lack the strength to follow suit; it’s just that Franz is unwilling to engage in such a pointless expenditure.

Well, that’s just self-consolation. The reality is that Austria cannot compete with the British financially without affecting domestic economic development.

Even with substantial revenue from confiscations, the Near East development plan, urban transformation and upgrading, and road and transportation infrastructure have already consumed nearly everything.

In an arms race, the biggest issue is not shipbuilding but the military expenditure that comes afterward. Just building ships, the Vienna Government could easily churn out a hundred battleships.

The problem is, once the ships are built, the cost of their maintenance will be astronomical.

To put it into perspective, the construction cost of a new battleship is just over a million Divine Shield, but the maintenance cost over five years will exceed the battleship’s own price.

Perhaps it won’t even take five years—if the training is more frequent, it might surpass the cost in just three years.

This is calculable: a battleship requires a crew of six to seven hundred officers and soldiers, and the logistical support staff is only slightly less than front-line personnel. The annual military payroll alone is a considerable figure.

To maintain combat effectiveness, regular training is essential. Just looking at the gun barrels, one knows that naval shells aren’t cheap. A battleship’s broadside salvo can cost dozens of Divine Shield, and using specialized ammunition might exhaust hundreds.

The seemingly trivial coal for fuel, when measured in thousands of tons, also amounts to a substantial figure.

Routine maintenance, equipment upkeep, and replacing damaged parts also constitute significant expenses.

All in all, annual funding of several hundred thousand Divine Shield is barely enough.

To cut corners is possible though—it’s feasible to go with a poorer navy. Taking a leaf out of the Russians’ book, keep the ships docked in the harbor, have soldiers train with the army’s drill manual, and military expenditures will only need one-tenth of the normal level.

Franz nodded and instructed the Minister of the Navy, "Castagni, tell us about your shipbuilding plan!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Navy Minister Castaigne: "The British Navy already has 4 Sovereign-class battleships and is now planning to build 6 new battleships, 10 destroyers, 7 cruisers, as well as 31 various classes of ships.

To deter them, we must at least maintain 80% of their capital ships and 70% of their auxiliary vessels.

Currently, we only have 3 new battleships. The naval department plans to build an additional 5 new battleships, 8 destroyers, 6 cruisers, and a total of 25 other auxiliary vessels."

No one knows when it started, but the Austrian Navy began to adopt the "Eight-part theory": to deter the British, one must possess 80% of the Royal Navy’s tonnage.

Since the navy’s major expansion, Austria’s initial goal was just one-tenth of the Royal Navy, and in less than thirty years, the target has increased eightfold.

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It makes sense when you think about it, who would have guessed that the main warships of the Austrian Navy had already approached following closely on the heels of the British with seventy percent of their tonnage?

To be exact, it was sixty-five point seven percent, and rounding it to seventy percent wasn’t wrong. With such a solid foundation, it’s no wonder they were advocating the eight-part theory.

Perhaps within the naval circles, not proposing a one-to-one shipbuilding plan was already considered giving face.

Franz was indifferent to this, but he wondered if the British could tolerate it. However, the threshold for people, as well as nations, is constantly being pushed further.

Compared to the original timeline, the British Government’s threshold had become much lower.

This was all due to necessity; as the economic strengths of France and Austria grew and they both increased their naval investments, the Royal Navy’s standard of having twice the might of other navies was immediately met with a setback.

Then the plan changed, aiming for the Royal Navy to maintain a 1:0.6 advantage over the world’s second naval power.

This ratio was, in reality, just talk. After striving for a few years, the British Government was forced to lower its threshold once again.

Austria, the third naval power, had achieved sixty-five percent of the Royal Navy’s tonnage, while the French Navy had reached seventy-two percent of the Royal Navy’s tonnage.

The power balance among England, France, and Austria came to be because the Royal Navy could no longer suppress France and Austria, forcing the London Government to accept sharing the rest of the world with France and Austria.

The British Government had always been repressing others, but the problem was that the effectiveness was lacking; they hadn’t managed to suppress anyone.

No one is a fool; with a fisherman at watch, France and Austria tacitly managed their conflicts and kept a close eye on the British.

The British Government tried several times to cause trouble, but they were caught each time. Under retaliation from France and Austria, the British nearly got squeezed out of the Mediterranean.

Initially uncomfortable, the British Government became more adaptable over time and began to accept reality. After all, 0.72 plus 0.65 only adds up to 1.37, and it was improbable the two would truly unite, so the Royal Navy could just about manage.

All of these assumptions were predicated on this ratio not continuing to grow.

If the tonnage of the Austrian Navy increased to eighty percent of the Royal Navy’s, and the French followed suit, the British Government would probably explode in anger.

This was unlikely; the current ratio was about the maximum the British could tolerate. Even if it meant breaking the bank, the British Government would ensure the Royal Navy kept its advantage.

If Austria were not undertaking so many construction projects, it wouldn’t fear competing with the British financially, but clearly, that wasn’t the case now.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz slowly said, "Let’s announce the plan as it is, but extend the construction timeline by two years compared to the British.

If England and France increase their shipbuilding efforts in the future, we will follow according to the current ratio. However, we can slow down the pace of our shipbuilding, constructing two to three battleships per year will suffice.

The Ministry of the Navy can also whip out a few grand plans when necessary to distract and confuse."

It was better to lose out subtly than to admit defeat; Franz had made up his mind to use bluster and engage in an arms race with the British.

It’s not like the ships weren’t being built; they were just delayed. This would not affect the credibility.

Once the shipbuilding timeframe was extended, financial pressure on the government would lessen. As long as the finances could sustain it, a prolonged arms race might even have some benefits.

Burning money was a collective effort after all, and since the British built more warships, they naturally burned through more money too.

If this generation of Pre-Dreadnoughts could be in service until retirement, then it wouldn’t be a loss.

The problem was that Pre-Dreadnoughts were just a stone’s throw away from Dreadnoughts. The difference essentially lied in design philosophy. While the technical difficulty of shipbuilding increased, it was not insurmountable.

Once Dreadnoughts were introduced, the Pre-Dreadnoughts would become outdated.

Just having finished an exhausting race, it would be uniquely frustrating to be told that it was only the first half, and the second half was starting immediately.

The well-heeled British might barely cope with it, but the French Government was unlikely to have the capacity to exert itself further.

Moreover, the increased investment in the navy would likely lead to reduced French contributions to their army, which would greatly benefit Austria’s future strategic plans.

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