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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 7:50:47 GMT -6
Diary, 7 January 1900
Been to see the Kaiser. I have just been appointed head of the navy, with the rank of Grand Admiral.
The Kaiser told me that Germany's destiny was to possess as many colonies as possible, and to rule the seas. I pointed out to him that the English might have a word to say about that, and hoped that sufficient funding to build a large navy would be available. The Kaiser seemed evasive on that point.
I hope I will not be asked to build bricks without straw.
-- Grand Admiral Cabatirpitz
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 7:58:58 GMT -6
January 1900
Looking at the naval situation, Britain has 14 battleships (and 4 building) to our 9. So I will have to cut down spending on everything, put some ships into mothballs, and build a uniform fleet of new battleships.
I will also allocate spending to research on fire control, torpedoes, anti-torpedo defences and guns. These are the highest priorities.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 8:06:23 GMT -6
May 1900
The Kaiser's state visit to Switzerland has not been going well. Inspecting their army, he blurted out to that country's Prime Minister that he might send 500,000 troops to invade them! A Swiss rifleman replied that his 250,000 fellow soldiers would in that event each fire twice!
I have been asked to calm things down. I of course replied that as a loyal German I would never presume to undermine the authority of the Kaiser.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 8:13:35 GMT -6
July 1900
Previous battleships were too heavily armoured. The new Preussen class has adequate armour and a top speed of 20 knots, faster than the British. I will build as many of them as I can get funding for -- ideally a class of 8.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 8:20:12 GMT -6
March 1901
The 8 new Preussens are all building and will be completed in 1903. We are catching up to the British in the battleship race!
Now we need to build some destroyers.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 8:46:36 GMT -6
December 1901
The British have responded to our new construction by vastly increasing their naval spending and laying down 7 new battleships.
It appears we may not be able to outbuild them after all. A new strategy is in order. We will build vast numbers of destroyers to smash them with torpedoes, then our battleships will sink the remnants. Also, we will trade quality for quantity. Our scientists are working on new technologies that will make our future ships faster, better armed and better armoured than the English. But if those technologies are not ready when the Preussens are finished, we will build an intermediate class first.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 8:53:23 GMT -6
August 1902
Germany is now building 2 new Dresden-class light cruisers. These are designed for colonial work, and also to be effective at protecting the fleet from enemy (i.e. British) destroyers.
There will also be a similarly-armed class but with longer range, for raiding.
Incidently, Grand Admiral Cabatirpitz welcomes critique of German ship designs from the international naval community.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 9:02:04 GMT -6
January 1903
The British are now building 13 new battleships. The Preussens are nearing completion, but the new technologies aren't ready, so I must construct an intermediate class of basttleships.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Nov 17, 2019 9:02:45 GMT -6
August 1902
Germany is now building 2 new Dresden-class light cruisers. These are designed for colonial work, and also to be effective at protecting the fleet from enemy (i.e. British) destroyers.
There will also be a similarly-armed class but with longer range, for raiding.
Incidently, Grand Admiral Cabatirpitz welcomes critique of German ship designs from the international naval community.
Well my first criticism is that you have too many submerged torpedo tubes which will compromise the hull of the ship and make it vulnerable to direct fire. This isn't a battleship, it has to get close to its targets, that's dangerous. If you remove them, then you might gain some more speed. Reduce the number of 3 inch guns and 6 inch guns. A ship is a balance of speed, firepower and maneuverability but resistance to damage is important. You need at least 25 knots or better. I would not make this a colonial ship, but increase its range to long, it might help more. Keep in mind that a light cruiser is assigned as a fleet scout, raider or a destroyer leader. It needs speed to lead the destroyers and to scout because when it contacts the enemy, it needs to turn around and head back to the main fleet as fast as possible to draw the enemy to the fleet. As a raider, speed will be life. Move in fast, shoot the enemy merchant then disappear as fast as possible.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 9:07:04 GMT -6
February 1903
The Pommerns are like the Preussens but with an extra knot of speed.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Nov 17, 2019 9:14:26 GMT -6
February 1903
The Pommerns are like the Preussens but with an extra knot of speed.
Same issue, remove the torpedo tubes since this ship will probably not be within the range of those torpedoes and should stay back and hit the enemy from a distance. I would add some more heavy gun turrets amidship. Try to gain more speed.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 9:15:51 GMT -6
April 1903
Our new destroyer, designed for work in the Baltic and North Sea, is faster than existing ones and has 3 torpedo tubes.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 9:28:20 GMT -6
September 1903
Met with the cabinet. The Kaiser has (sensibly for once) decided to delay the inevitable confrontation with Britain, and instead look to dealing with Russia first. Russia's navy is small than the British, and technologically backward. This should make for a quick victory. Then, once Russia is beaten, we can direct our efforts to the west.
We have also decided to refit all our old battleships with Central Firing.
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 9:40:19 GMT -6
June 1904
The Kaiser has made another ill-considered statement, this time about Italy. Something about their king and a sheep. OK, their crown prince does look a little ovine. Just after we had secured a technology sharing deal with them too, which might have lead to an alliance against France.
I will back him up in public, but I expect a big budget increase out of this!
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Post by cabalamat on Nov 17, 2019 9:48:49 GMT -6
August 1904
The Sachsen-class battleships are an evolutionary improvement over the Pommerns: slightly faster, better armoured, higher calibre main armament, more secondary guns.
Still no sign of the promised revolutionary new technologies. Sometimes I doubt if they will ever arrive.
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