Rightful Name

Wilhelm II sat in his seat, his face dark as if it were about to drip water. The launch of the British Navy's HMS Dreadnought had dealt a devastating blow to the German Navy.

"Gentlemen, what do you all think of the British Navy's HMS Dreadnought being launched for fitting out?" Wilhelm II asked, his expression blank, but the fury in his eyes impossible to conceal.

"Your Majesty, the battleship the British have been secretly developing in recent years is likely the Dreadnought," Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said with a sigh.

"Your Majesty, the British have adopted many advanced design concepts in this New-style Battleship. The most important point is the elimination of secondary main guns in favor of an All-big-gun Armament. However, this is exactly the same as Prince Oskar's earlier proposal. The British Dreadnought is fitted with five twin 305mm main turrets: one on the foredeck, one on the aft deck, one aft of the boiler room amidships on the centerline, and one on each side symmetrically between the two boiler rooms. The maximum broadside firepower is eight main guns, and forward firepower is theoretically six. But in my personal opinion, Prince Oskar's design seems superior. His three triple 305mm turrets can all fire to the broadside, giving even greater broadside firepower. Moreover, Triple Turrets are more compact than twin turrets, making the ship's defense stronger," said Prince Heinrich, Commander of the High Seas Fleet.

Prince Heinrich's words made the face of Count von Wollen, Chairman of the Naval Technical Committee, even darker. After all, they had rejected Oscar's design back then. And now, the British had adopted a similar design as their navy's secret weapon. Didn't that mean their judgment was worse than the British? But was that possible? Thus, the entire Naval Technical Committee had been slapped in the face—and slapped until it was swollen!

Beads of sweat appeared on Count von Wollen's forehead. He knew that this serious blunder had made Wilhelm II deeply dissatisfied with the entire Naval Technical Committee. Of course, Count von Wollen also felt extremely aggrieved. Rejecting Oscar's design had been the decision of the experts on the committee. Even as its chairman, he had to defer to their professional opinions.

"Your Majesty, are the British really planning to use the Dreadnought as the model for future capital ships of their navy?" asked Chief of Staff Moltke the Younger. He, too, felt that Germany had made a very serious mistake on this issue.

"From the intelligence we've gathered so far, it can be confirmed. The British are already designing the next class of battleship based on the Dreadnought. This means that all our battleships—those already built and even those still on the slipways—are now obsolete," Wilhelm II said with a sigh.

In pursuit of a powerful navy, Germany had invested enormous sums, leading to the construction plan for five classes totaling 24 battleships. Now, that plan was nearly complete. But what was unacceptable was that all these battleships had become obsolete overnight. Didn't that mean Germany's massive investment in the shipbuilding plan had been wasted? Wilhelm II's ambition for maritime supremacy had become a complete joke. From this, one could grasp his anger and frustration.

"Your Majesty, this is indeed the fault of the Naval Technical Committee. Our thinking was too rigid, and we failed to see the future direction of capital ship development," Count von Wollen said, lowering his head.

Even though their faces had been slapped swollen, he still had to admit the mistake at this moment. After all, they had no leg to stand on in this matter.

"Your Majesty, the most important issue now is not to assign blame to the Naval Technical Committee, but to think about how to remedy this serious error. The British Dreadnought has rendered all our battleships obsolete. If we don't take action, it will severely cripple our navy's development," said Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow.

If Wilhelm II insisted on holding the Naval Technical Committee accountable, it would implicate many people. Of course, that would cause great upheaval in the German Navy and even in Germany itself, destabilizing the empire. Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow naturally hoped to minimize the impact.

"Hmph! Then tell me, what should we do now? The gap between the Imperial Navy and the British Navy hasn't shrunk—it's widened. That's extremely detrimental to the Empire!" Wilhelm II snorted coldly.

Everyone's eyes turned to Count von Wollen's face. They all knew what the best solution was, but they were also waiting for the Naval Technical Committee to speak up.

Count von Wollen knew this too. He realized that staying silent now was not an option.

"Alas! The Naval Technical Committee has truly lost face this time!" Count von Wollen sighed inwardly.

"Your Majesty, as things stand, Prince Oskar's design is clearly the best choice for the Imperial Navy's next class of capital ships. His Highness's foresight far surpasses that of us old-timers. This time, we have to admit defeat, and it has given us a deeper understanding of the future development of capital ships. Now that the British are using the Dreadnought as the model for their future capital ships, we can fully adopt Prince Oskar's design as the Imperial Navy's next class of capital ships, and build upon it to design future capital ships. That way, we won't fall too far behind the British," Count von Wollen said.

Though he tried to keep his expression calm, anyone could see he was barely holding back.

"Your Majesty, although we've lost over a year, if we race to catch up, we should be able to close the gap. In fact, we might even shorten the distance between us and the British. Prince Oskar's design, in terms of performance, seems even more advanced than the British Dreadnought," suggested Prince Heinrich, Commander of the High Seas Fleet.