At the end of September 1912, Oscar went to the Naval Ministry to pay a visit to Field Marshal Count Tirpitz, the First Sea Lord.
There were less than two years until the war broke out. Time is getting tighter, which makes Oscar busier and busier. Although, it has been years in the making. But Oscar is still not completely sure whether it can completely win the war in the future. Therefore, Oscar can only make as many preparations as possible to increase his chances of winning.
"Your Excellency, how are the navy's war preparations completed?" After a brief greeting, Oscar went directly to the topic.
"Your Highness, the Navy's war preparations have been proceeding in an orderly manner. Capital Ships at all levels are strengthening training to strive to be able to immediately engage in war once war breaks out!" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said.
The German Navy in this time and space is far more powerful than in another time and space. Even though the speed of building British Navy and Capital Ships has begun to accelerate, relatively speaking, the gap between the two sides is not large. The number of German Navy dreadnoughts and super-Dreadnought currently in service is staggering, including four 'Nassau-class' Battleship, five 'Helgoland-class' Battleship, five 'Kaiser-class' Battleship, five 'Kaiser class' Battleship, three 'Blücher-class' Battlecruiser, three 'Moltke-class' Battlecruiser and three 'Derfflinger class' Battlecruiser. There are also five 'Bavaria-class' Battleship and three 'Mackensen-class' Battlecruiser under construction. Once all these Battleship are completed and put into service, German Navy will have a huge Grand Fleet consisting of 24 Battleship and 12 Battlecruiser. In terms of quantity, it is almost the same as British Navy. In terms of performance, it is even stronger than British Navy. Therefore, once a decisive battle breaks out at sea between the two sides, the possibility of German Navy winning is much greater than in another time and space.
Of course, these are just data on paper. The factors that determine the victory of the naval battle are far more than these. In addition to the number and performance of battleships, there are also the quality of personnel, intelligence, tactics, and even luck, etc.
Oscar nodded, he also had great confidence in the strong Grand Fleet that he almost created by himself. However, no one can always be sure about naval battles. Only when everything is settled can the winner be truly determined.
"Your Highness, it is expected that 'Bavaria-class' Battleship and 'Mackensen-class' Battleship will not be able to serve until the end of 1914 or the beginning of 1915. Can they still keep up with this war?" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz asked. The situation is getting more and more tense now, and war seems to be possible at any time, which makes Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz a little worried. 'Bavaria-class' Battleship and 'Mackensen-class' Battlecruiser are the most powerful battleships of German Navy. It would be a shame not to have them attend.
"We should be able to catch up! Even if the war breaks out, the decisive battle cannot be fought in a short time. In the early stage of the war, it will be the time for our Battlecruiser and underwater troops to perform." Oscar said.
Once a war breaks out, German Navy's long-prepared Battlecruiser Squadron and submarine forces will attack Britain's maritime transportation lines, completely paralyzing the overseas trade of Britain people, thereby weakening Britain's war potential as much as possible. Even if it fails to achieve the goal of forcing Britain to withdraw from the war, it can at least cause heavy losses to the Britain people. At that time, the Navy will use its main force to fight the final decisive battle with British Navy. Of course, by that time, I am afraid that even if German Navy does not seek a decisive battle with the Britain people, the Britain people will also seek a decisive battle with German Navy. If the maritime transportation line is cut off, the Britain will not last long at all.
Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz nodded, feeling relieved.
"Your Highness, regarding the follow-up models of 'Bavaria-class' Battleship and 'Mackensen-class' Battlecruiser, does Your Highness have any plans?" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz asked. According to the plan, after the construction of 'Bavaria-class' Battleship and 'Mackensen-class' Battlecruiser reaches the mid-term, the construction of the next level of warships should start.
"The next level Capital Ships, wait a little longer! Maybe, that will be our last level Battleship and Battlecruiser!" Oscar sighed.
"What? Your Highness, aren't we going to build Capital Ships in the future?" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz looked horrified.
Oscar nodded. "Soon, Battleship and Battlecruiser will be obsolete. Building these Capital Ships will be a complete waste."
Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz was completely stunned. He could not imagine how could these majestic Capital Ships become outdated? From what Oscar said, it seems that only in this war, they are the protagonists, and it seems that they will not be used in the next war.
"Your Excellency, Your Majesty and the army generals went to 8th Army Corps for inspection not long ago. They observed 8th Army Corps's Air Corps performance and were very shocked." Oscar said.
Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz nodded, he knew this. Based on his relationship with Oscar, he naturally knew that Oscar was accelerating the development of aircraft. But, does this have anything to do with Capital Ships becoming obsolete?
"If fighter planes can take off from a platform at sea and attack warships on the sea, do you think those warships can escape?" Oscar asked.
"How is this possible? How can those toys-like things threaten tens of thousands of tons of Capital Ships!" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz couldn't believe it at all.
"Your Excellency, although it is difficult for you to accept it. But, this is the fact. In fact, German Shipyard is already building such an offshore platform. I call it an aircraft carrier. These aircraft carriers can carry equipment Torpedo's Bomber go to sea to fight. Once a target is found, these Bomber will take off and attack the target with Torpedo more than a hundred kilometers away." Oscar continued.
Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz It took a while to accept this fact. However, the shock Oscar brought to him this time was so great that his world view seemed to have been subverted.
"Your Highness, let's go to German Shipyard immediately. I want to see those things called aircraft carriers with my own eyes. If it is true as Your Highness said, Imperial Navy must be equipped with this kind of weapon!" Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said firmly.
Since the era of giant ships and cannons will soon pass, German Navy must firmly grasp the weapons of the next era.