Since entering the age of ironclads, the Austrian Navy had become increasingly prominent. Its continual expansion had forced the European powers to follow suit.
Had the Indian Rebellion not broken out and diverted the British, the Vienna Government would have long since learned what real pressure felt like.
There were even people in the London Government clamoring for a three-power standard. (A naval tonnage exceeding that of the second-, third-, and fourth-ranked naval powers combined.)
Of course, they were merely talking. In reality, the British had never managed it.
Now, never mind the three-power standard—even the two-power standard was something Franz doubted the British could achieve.
The combined tonnage of the French and Austrian navies was already closing in on that of the Royal Navy. Factoring in ironclads, the Royal Navy could no longer maintain an overwhelming advantage over France and Austria.
However, once the Indian Rebellion had been suppressed, the British should be able to achieve the two-power standard for quite some time. Franz was not planning to rapidly expand the navy in the short term, lest he prick the British too sharply on their sensitive nerves.
No, they had already been provoked. They simply had no time to deal with it for the moment.
Had the Tsarist Government not been short of funds, Franz would have been ready to help the Russians rapidly expand their navy and give the London Government another jab.
There was no contradiction in that. Only by provoking the British would they pour more money into ironclads. Yet these warships were merely transitional products—the more they built, the greater their losses would be when the time came to replace them.
If not for intervening in the American Civil War, Franz would never have built so many ironclads. Judging by their performance, these ships would