Vindication

Wilhelm II sat in his seat, his face so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it. The launching of the British Navy's Dreadnought-class battleship had dealt the German Navy far too heavy a blow.

"Gentlemen, what do you think of the British Navy's Dreadnought battleship being launched for fitting out?" Wilhelm II looked at everyone expressionlessly. The anger in his eyes could not be concealed.

"Your Majesty, the battleship the British have been secretly developing in recent years was probably the Dreadnought." Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz sighed.

"Your Majesty, the British have adopted many advanced design concepts in this new-style battleship. The most important is that they discarded secondary main guns and adopted an all-big-gun armament. However, this is exactly the same as Prince Oskar's original proposal. The British Dreadnought battleship carries five twin 305mm main-gun turrets. One sits each on the fore and aft decks, with another behind the boiler rooms amidships, positioned on the ship's centerline; the remaining two are arranged symmetrically on either side between the two boiler rooms. The ship can bring a maximum of eight main guns to bear on either broadside, and theoretically six main guns forward. But personally, I believe Prince Oskar's design is even better. All three triple 305mm main-gun turrets can fire to either broadside, giving it even greater broadside firepower. Moreover, triple turrets are more compact than twin turrets, making the battleship's defenses considerably stronger." Prince Heinrich, Commander of the High Seas Fleet, said.

Prince Heinrich's words immediately made the face of Count von Warren, chairman of the Naval Technical Committee, turn even darker. After all, they had rejected Oscar's design in the first place. Yet now the British had turned a similar design into their navy's secret weapon. Did that not mean their judgment was even worse than the British? But was that possible? Thus, this time, the entire Naval Technical Committee had been slapped across the face. Their faces were already swollen from the blows!

Beads of sweat appeared on Count von Warren's forehead. He knew that this grave mistake had left Wilhelm II deeply dissatisfied with the entire Naval Technical Committee. Of course, Count von Warren felt extremely wronged as well. Rejecting Oscar's design had been the decision of the experts on the Naval Technical Committee. Even as its chairman, he still had to follow those experts' opinions in professional matters.

"Your Majesty, do the British truly intend to use the Dreadnought battleship as the model for the future development of their capital ships?" Moltke the Younger, Chief of the General Staff, asked. He too felt that Germany seemed to have made an enormous mistake on this issue.

"Based on the intelligence we have received so far, it has already been confirmed. The British are designing their next class of battleships based on the Dreadnought. That means the battleships we have already completed, and even those still on the slipways, have become obsolete." Wilhelm II sighed.

In pursuit of a powerful navy, Germany had poured in immense funds, finally producing a construction plan for twenty-four battleships across five classes. Now, the entire construction program was almost complete. Yet what was impossible to accept was that these battleships had become obsolete overnight. Did that not mean Germany's massively funded shipbuilding program had been entirely wasted? Wilhelm II's grand ambitions for maritime hegemony had become a complete joke. From this alone, one could understand his fury and unwillingness to accept it.

"Your Majesty, this time it truly was the Naval Technical Committee's mistake. Our thinking was too rigid, and we failed to see clearly the future direction of capital ship development." Count von Warren said with his head lowered.

Although their faces had already been slapped swollen, he still had no choice but to admit fault at this time. After all, they had not a shred of justification on this matter.

"Your Majesty, the most important matter now is not pursuing the Naval Technical Committee's responsibility, but considering how to make up for this grave mistake. The British Dreadnought battleship has rendered all our battleships obsolete. If we do not find a solution, it will deal a devastating blow to our naval development." Chancellor Bülow said.

If Wilhelm II insisted on pressing the matter and holding the Naval Technical Committee accountable, who knew how many people in the committee would be implicated. Naturally, this would also cause enormous turmoil within the German Navy and Germany as a whole, which would be detrimental to the Empire's social stability. Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow naturally hoped to keep the repercussions to a minimum.

"Hmph! Then tell me, what should we do now? The gap between the Imperial Navy and the British Navy has not only failed to narrow, it has instead widened. This will be extremely unfavorable to the Empire!" Wilhelm II snorted coldly.

Everyone's gaze fell upon Count von Warren. Naturally, they all knew what the best solution was. But they were also waiting for the Naval Technical Committee to state its position.

Count von Warren understood this as well. He knew that remaining silent now was no longer an option.

This time, the Naval Technical Committee has truly lost every last shred of face! Count von Warren sighed inwardly.

"Your Majesty, from the present perspective, Prince Oskar's design is clearly the best choice for the German Navy's next generation of capital ships. Your Highness's vision is more far-reaching than that of us old men. This time, we have no choice but to concede, and it has also given us a deeper understanding of the future development of naval capital ships. Since the British have taken the Dreadnought battleship as the model for future capital ship development, we can fully adopt Prince Oskar's design as the Imperial Navy's next generation of capital ships, and use it as the foundation for designing future capital ships. In that way, we will not be left too far behind by the British in naval affairs." Count von Warren said.

Though he tried his utmost to maintain a calm expression, everyone could see that he was forcing himself to endure it.

"Your Majesty, although this has delayed us by more than a year, if we rise to the challenge and chase after them, we should still be able to catch up. Moreover, we may even be able to narrow the gap between ourselves and the British. Judging by its performance, the battleship designed by Prince Oskar appears to be even more advanced than the British Navy's Dreadnought." Prince Heinrich, Commander of the High Seas Fleet, suggested.