In 1934, the situation in Europe, which had been silent for twenty years, was once again broken: in the face of the new round of military expansion plans put forward by France, the German government issued an unprecedented tough statement. ※% In front of the spotlight lens of journalists from various countries, German diplomatic and state secretary Newwright claimed that the French government led by Charles de Gaulle was deliberately destroying European peace and creating a tense atmosphere for the surrounding areas, which Germany could not tolerate. At the end of the statement, Newwright, on behalf of Germany, ordered France to immediately stop expanding its military and restore the situation under the framework of the Amsterdam Peace Treaty, otherwise all consequences would be borne by France themselves. Austria-Hungary, as Germany's number one ally, also supported it immediately.

The spring breeze blows and the sun is hot. The powerful voice of the German government at the turn of spring and summer makes the world recall the situation more than 20 years ago. In the same season in 1913, France brazenly tore up the Agadir Agreement signed in 1905 and sent troops to occupy the entire territory of Morocco. After the unsuccessful negotiations between the parties, Germany, which had long been glaring at France for more than 40 years, immediately drew its sword from its old enemy, and through a year of magnificent war, it established the situation that was absolutely dominant on the European continent today. Today, history seems to be about to repeat itself. No matter from any aspect, France today does not have the strength to compete with Germany!

Just when countries around the world were in their hearts for the sudden tense situation in Europe, France, who knew that they were currently inferior to their opponents, wisely chose to retreat; French Foreign Minister Daraday said that he had no intention of sabotaging European peace, but was just preparing to have reasonable arms that conformed to France's world status and could protect its own security. In order to show sincerity of peace, the French government decided to suspend the implementation of most of the clauses. The clouds suddenly shrouded over Europe began to gradually dissipate. However, after this episode, Britain and France were both domestic.

However, they all set off a large-scale anti-German wave. The insurer compared Germany's approach to a robber armed to the teeth. However, the civilized people under the oppression of their muzzle could not even have a small dagger for cutting fruits. Their vicious and arrogant image was obvious. The citizens of the two countries, who had long hated the unfavorable status quo under the economic crisis, were also attacked and swept by this voice. Although the officials were still cautious in handling Germany's attitude, the voices in their country were already rampant, intending to take these Prussian beasts away.

As expected by Qingying, his move to throw a stone to ask for directions has indeed attracted the reaction of the United States on the other side of the ocean. As the economic crisis in this plane had a longer impact on the United States for a longer time, the isolationism, which was originally deeply rooted in the United States, was greatly weakened under the pressure of reality. In the conflict between Germany and France, the US government led by Roosevelt stood on the side of France without any suspense. However, compared with his US policy during the European War, today's Qingying had no scruples. Due to the huge impact of the Great Depression on the United States, the current gross national income of the United States has almost fallen to the same level as Germany, and its steel output has shrunk to less than half of Germany's 23.6 million tons. Even if the new policy implemented by Roosevelt would prompt the US heavy industry to rebound, Germany is fully capable of fighting!

Although the storm was passed safely and did not trigger a war like the last Agadir crisis, all countries were very alert to the attitudes shown by the other camps and began a new round of large-scale arms races. Since the second half of 1934, military expenditures in Germany, Austria, Italy, the United States, Britain and other countries have increased significantly, and orders for the production of various equipment were sent to major arms factories like flowing water. The British, who lives in the island, planned to expand the local army to 30 divisions in order to open the road.

During the war, France was given the strongest support; although France did not conduct the planned expansion of its troops, it began to build fortifications on the eastern border and in-depth areas, which clearly seemed to be on the verge of sticking to aid. Even the U.S. National Police Force expanded significantly to 300,000 people, and various new equipment was continuously produced from the assembly line and entered the troops. Although the American people still had no plans to participate in the European war, the far-sighted Roosevelt undoubtedly began to prepare for this.

In contrast, the competition between the two camps in the naval is particularly eye-catching. With the death of the Washington Naval Treaty, countries have no restrictions in the field of shipbuilding. Whether for the allies led by Germany and Austria, or the new Allies led by the United States and Britain, the ocean will be the main battlefield that is decisive for the victory or defeat of future wars: if the allies control the ocean, not only will France not receive any external assistance, but even Britain will collapse because the maritime transportation line is cut off; and if the Allies can rule the North Atlantic, the United States and Britain can use France as a springboard and get the ideal opportunity to directly attack Germany's core!

Due to this reason, countries have almost done their best to invest in the navy, in order to gain an advantage over the imaginary enemy. In addition to Germany, which began to implement the Z plan, the navy of the new Allied Powers was also in full swing in the post-treaty era. In 1934, while the construction of five George V-class battleships was started, the British Navy pushed five 23,000-ton Guangxi-class armored aircraft carriers onto the ship; the performance of these aircraft carriers was roughly equivalent to historical products, but they were slightly lacking in output power. The reason for choosing this tonnage was because the British Navy built during the treaty.

The four conventional aircraft carriers of bravery, rage, glory, and Royal Ark are of this size and have accumulated extremely mature technical experience. Due to the limited to the tonnage of a single ship, the British were able to accidentally mount large-caliber artillery on the aircraft carrier from the beginning, but instead used aviation as their only combat direction. However, the German Navy did not worry too much about this. Because according to the intelligence they had, the carrier-based aircraft of the British aircraft carrier was still in the era of biplane, and these aircraft could not pose a threat to the German naval aviation and warships filled with anti-aircraft guns, whether in air combat or ship attacks, they could not pose a threat to the German naval aviation and warships filled with anti-aircraft artillery.

In order to counter the latest H-44-class battleship launched by the German Navy, the British Navy, which was afraid that the standard displacement was 40,550 tons and equipped with 9 406mm L45 main guns would have insufficient performance. The British Navy also asked the Design Bureau to propose a heavy battleship plan called the "Lion" class: this type of warship will be equipped with 9 457mm L45 main guns, and its speed can also maintain the speed of its predecessors as fast as 30 knots. However, due to the Great Depression, the Great Depression also had a serious impact on British military-industrial enterprises, and the relevant units clearly stated that the triple-mounted 18

The inch turret will not be developed in the next three years, and the budget of this type of warship was forced to be dragged down. Faced with this situation, the British were filled with bitterness and helplessness. More than 20 years ago, they were the only ones in the field of shipbuilding, and their unfinished Hood-class battleship won both tonnage and caliber; however, today, after five years of Great Depression, they were not as good as before in the research and development of the navy. Now the only thing the British Navy can count on is that their Saxon cousins ​​can tinker with the main battleships that are enough to compete with the Germans.

Compared with the obvious weakness of Britain in the new round of naval competition, the United States used practical actions to tell this former elder brother what it means to come from behind. After a year of stimulus to the new policy, the United States has recovered significantly. The naval expansion plan launched by the world's largest economy also attracted the attention of the world: Immediately after the South Dakota-class 4 ship Alabama, which laid its keel in January 1934, the new battleship "Iowa" started construction at the New York shipyard in June of that year, with its standard displacement from 37375 of the former. Tons increased significantly to 47,825 tons, and the total planned volume of this type of battleship reached 6! The increase in displacement of more than 10,000 tons is undoubtedly a significant improvement in performance. The length of the 9 406mm main guns increased from 45 to 50 diameters, and the kinetic energy of the muzzle increased by nearly 20%. In terms of speed, its design speed increased from 26.5 knots of the South Dakota class to 31.5 knots, and its power surged by two-thirds. This means that in actual combat, the Iowa class will have far better use flexibility than the South Dakota class.

Learning that Britain was unable to start the lion-class work in a short period of time, the senior U.S. Navy executives privately mocked the landing Phoenix, but also adhered to the consideration of their own interests and designed a new battleship planned to be named "Montana" class. Its standard displacement is 60,500 tons, and the ship is equipped with 9 457mm l47 main guns. According to the predictions of the U.S. Navy, the new battleship built by the Germans should be at this level. In order to obtain the capital to face the opponent head-on, the American designers used the Montana class. Unprecedented heavy protection: its main armor is 410 mm and 20 degrees inclination, and the total thickness of the horizontal deck exceeds 250 mm. Although its speed has been reduced to 27 knots again, and the width of nearly 37 meters cannot pass through the Panama Canal, the US Navy believes that this is completely worth it. When all the five planned ships of this class are completed, and with 6 Iowa, 4 South Dakota, and 2 North Carolina, the US Navy is also fully confident that it can have a peak showdown with the German main fleet to surpass the North Sea Navy.

In addition to this batch of new battleships, the US Navy has also planned a massive ship including 20 Essex-class aircraft carriers and 40 cruisers of various types in the next five years. The total investment is even better than the German Navy's Z plan. Since the current United States has not yet expanded on a large scale in the army, this fund is not an unbearable expense for the current United States. (To be continued, please search Piaotianyi, the novel is better, updated and faster!

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Chapter completed!