If at the beginning, Britain brought Belgium and the Netherlands into the alliance mainly to build momentum, then now, after both sides are firing on all cylinders and the arms race between the two sides has officially entered a white-hot stage, Britain and France believe that these small countries must also prepare for possible future outbreaks.

The war has done its part! Especially the performance of the Netherlands, a former sea coachman and a former European naval power in the Second Sino-Russian War, was quite satisfactory to the British. Therefore, the British believe that the Netherlands should be more powerful in the navy.

Do more.

The Netherlands today has been much weakened compared to the Netherlands in history, not only because it lost its most precious Dutch East Indies colonies in the Second Sino-Russian War, but also because in order to prepare for this war that was destined to fail, the Netherlands

People have spent tens of millions of pounds! And the fleet built with money has been wiped out. If they want to continue to make a difference, the Dutch must start from scratch.

"The Dutch Navy should have a small number of capital ships to help the French Navy maintain the balance of power in the Mediterranean. In the future maritime strategy, the British Empire fleet should focus mainly on the North Sea, and at the same time quickly clear out the Turks and the German Far East before the war begins.

fleet to ensure the safety of navigation in the Indian Ocean, and then the entire fleet

The main force gathered in the North Sea to suppress the German Navy. The Dutch wanted to enter the Mediterranean. In order to ensure sufficient deterrence, the Dutch fleet must have at least two super-dreadnoughts to be effective. Of course, judging from the current situation in the Netherlands, this task

It may be a bit daunting," a British diplomatic document said of the Dutch role.

In order to ensure that the Netherlands can make up for the shortcomings of the Allied navy as envisaged by the British, the British and the French jointly pledged to provide land security guarantees for the Netherlands. The French even made a very conceited guarantee: "As long as the Dutch navy can make due contributions to the Allied Powers,

If you contribute, then even if the Netherlands only has police and no army, Britain and France can still ensure that the Germans are kept out of Dutch territory!" The French did this

In addition to allowing the Netherlands to expand its navy, it is also to minimize the situation of multi-leadership in the army. After all, there are now four forces on the entire Western Front, the French Army, the British Expeditionary Force, the Belgian Army and the Dutch Army. Such command and deployment

It was very troublesome. In the eyes of the French, the command trouble caused by the Dutch army was not as good as the combat effectiveness. It would be better to let the Dutch be responsible for other things.

After some discussion, it was indeed a good idea for the Dutch to leave land security to the French. After all, without Britain and France, the Netherlands would never be able to compete with the German army if it expanded its army. As for the navy, according to the British

Description, the Dutch fleet will be sent to the Mediterranean to participate in the battle. Compared with the fierce fighting in the North Sea (at least the Dutch are like this

I think so.) The battle in the Mediterranean should be relatively easy. After all, the focus of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not on the sea. Although Italy is a naval power in terms of scale, it has not fought a naval battle in decades, so I am afraid the level will not be the same.

Very high. At least many officers and soldiers of the Dutch fleet have experienced actual combat tests! So the Dutch are quite confident.

Now that the army is handled by others (although it is unwilling to do so, there is nothing we can do about it), the navy will inevitably receive more funds. Judging from the current situation, in the next six years or so, the Netherlands can receive more funds every year.

They spent nearly 700,000 pounds to order battleships. It was a good deal. The Dutch were able to save 2 super-dreadnoughts.

So now, who to find to build the ship has become a very critical issue. The Dutch have to face the same problem as Australia and New Zealand. The old naval powers are too busy to take care of themselves. The British may be able to produce the ship, but the performance is really scary.

Compliment. As a warship that will be used for at least 15 to 20 years in the future, the Dutch cannot afford to be careless.

Looking for the Chinese Republic is a good idea in theory, but in fact, because of the just-ended war between China and the Netherlands and the lost colonies, the Dutch will naturally not look for the Chinese Republic. So now, the only country that can be found

There may be only the United States on the other side of the ocean. Although the Dutch are not interested in the warships built by the United States for Russia. However, based on the principle that something is better than nothing, the Dutch decided to give the first ship order to the Americans!

After the dust settled on the Dutch side, the British began to help Greece reorganize its naval armaments. According to Greece's original intention, the Greeks planned to purchase a second-hand dreadnought from the Chinese Republic. It may be a Longxu-class battlecruiser or a

Dragon-class battleship. But just as the Greeks were struggling

At the end of the day, I suddenly discovered that the Turks had actually ordered super-dreadnought battleships in China! The ships they had not yet bought became obsolete almost overnight, which the Greeks couldn't bear no matter what! Now the problem is, continue to order.

Should I buy a second-hand warship or buy a new one?

The environment of the Entente in the Mediterranean is far worse than that of the North Sea. As the main force of the British Mediterranean fleet retreats to the mainland, the fleets of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire have become the masters of the Mediterranean. Even if the Greeks buy back the dreadnoughts first, it is absolutely impossible for Greece to do so.

Attack Turkey first. Italy and Austria-Hungary said that although they are far inferior to Britain and Germany, they still have no problem crushing Greece. So now Greece can only switch from the original active attack to passive defense. So in terms of time

It's not too urgent anymore.

Now Greece has new considerations. In order to maintain the balance of power with Turkey, at least it cannot let the other side get too far away. In fact, in this regard, the British have concealed some situations for their own interests, that is, Turkey will not be in the Mediterranean in the future.

With too much military power deployed, the main force of the Turkish navy and the Spey fleet were concentrated in the Persian Gulf, concentrating their efforts on attacking the Indian Ocean waterways. Without knowing it, Greece naturally believed that Turkey's purpose of purchasing new warships was to deal with Greece. In order to ensure

For its own security, Greece considers it necessary to also increase new military spending.

However, as a country that had just become independent and had lost a war, Greece was really running out of gas at this time. Turkey had just tightened its belt and had just raised the money for a ship, and Greece was now even

The money for a ship has not yet been found! At this time, the British, as an ally, obviously said that they could help Greece. On the one hand, the British said that they could use diplomacy and other channels to get the Chinese government to

A second-hand dreadnought is sold to Greece at a relatively low price. On the other hand, Britain can provide part of the funds for Greece to build new warships in the United States. Of course, the latter has a premise, that is, it hopes that once the war starts, the Greek fleet can

Placed under the command of the United Kingdom. This requirement is very harsh, but as a weak country, Greece obviously has no possibility of refusing. Surrounded by powerful enemies, who can it rely on if not Britain?

But to be honest, despite the efforts of the UK, it helps to find opportunities and provides financial support. But the British know that relying on these countries is of little significance in a real war. Only the big countries can really change the situation of the war. In fact, the UK

People have never given up on those big countries that have been watching. These big countries have ambitions and are more powerful, but they are just waiting for an opportunity now!

Thanks to book friend zhouyu1976 and book friend Crack Wings for their rewards, as well as book friend’s monthly ticket support for the public version~~~. Yesterday’s subscription tragedy continued, and the two days combined were not as good as two-thirds of Monday’s subscription volume-
Chapter completed!