Greece to roman road

Faced with the grim situation in Europe, Prime Minister Alexandros finally nodded and agreed with Venizelos's view that it was time for the Greek army to re-arm, although the top government officials did not yet know who the enemy would be in the next war.

June 11, 1907, Ministry of Defense Building, Athens

After hearing that the prime minister and the crown prince finally made a decision to increase investment in the army, the top leaders of the Greek army gathered together to discuss military matters.

The top brass of the Army, headed by Chief of General Staff Emma Inur, and the Navy, headed by Commander Kontoriotis, participated in this meeting.

Army General and Chief of Staff of the Greek Army Emma Inur happily sat at the meeting, and the joy in his heart was beyond words.

Since the last war, the Greek army has seemed to be forgotten. Except for the cost of maintaining the army, any plan to increase the size of the army on the original basis has been rejected.

Regarding this point, Crown Prince Constantine and Prime Minister Alexandros have a tacit understanding. Whether it is Emma Inur's soft words or harsh words, the top government officials are determined to use funds for infrastructure and social development. Welfare, supporting industry, etc.

"Due to the changes in the European situation, Greece's current military strength is far from enough to protect its own security. After consulting His Majesty King George, the government agreed to increase military investment." Prime Minister Alexandros sat at the U-shaped conference table From the top position, he said to everyone participating in the meeting.

After a moment of silence, Chief of General Staff Emma Inur spoke first: "Currently the Greek Army only has about 60,000 people, which is far from enough to deal with potential land threats."

"It is still unknown whether this revolution in the Ottoman Empire can reverse the fate of the Ottoman Empire. However, whether it is Serbia or Bulgaria, the armies of both countries are currently more than 100,000. According to the estimates of our General Staff, once Macedonia If there is a change, the size of the Serbian army can reach more than 200,000 people, and because Bulgaria has a more abundant population, the number of troops can even reach 400,000 people at the limit," Emma Inur introduced to everyone.

"As both Balkan countries, Greece's army must reach at least the same level in the event of a military conflict in Macedonia. Therefore, the Army Staff Office believes that once a war breaks out in the Balkans, Greece will need to mobilize as many as 300,000 troops to ensure sufficient strength. , to gain benefits for Greece”

With the number of 300,000 people, in order to meet Emmanuel's requirements, the current size of the Greek army needs to be expanded six times. The army's lion opened its mouth, which shocked everyone in the government present.

Before Prime Minister Alexandros could respond to the Army's request, Naval Commander Kontoriotis said: "The current Greek naval strength is seriously insufficient. As a country with a peninsular terrain, Greece will not be able to respond to the request after acquiring the Albanian region." , the maritime threats it faces have become more serious. The long coastline and numerous coastal ports make Greece extremely vulnerable to threats from enemy naval warships. I remind everyone not to forget the shameful things Britain did to Greece in order to make Greece surrender. incident, the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet ordered the muzzle to be aimed at the city of Athens."

When mentioning this matter, Constantine, like everyone present, felt disgraceful on his face and angry in his heart.

"If the Greek navy still does not receive the attention it deserves, such shameful times will continue to happen," Kontoriotis said with a serious face.

"After more than ten years of development, the situation of Greece's industry is no longer the same."

"Italy currently has as many as nineteen pre-dreadnoughts, including those under construction and those already in service, while the poor Greek Navy currently only has a few torpedo boats deployed in Europe. Such a huge gap is not significant in any case. It's bearable." Contoniotis said this with great sadness.

"Currently, a new situation has emerged in the development of the world's navies. European powers have built powerful dreadnought battleships or battlecruisers. These new warships have swept all the warships before the dreadnought into the garbage heap. The Greek Navy We should also keep pace with the times and keep up with the trend of world naval development."

Having said this, the adjutant next to Kontoriotis handed a document to him.

Kontoriotis glanced at the document and said: "To this end, the Navy submitted a naval construction plan to the government, including 12 destroyers, four battlecruisers, and 16 torpedo boats."

Having said this, Kontoriotis looked at the crowd and said: "The Navy believes that this is the minimum naval size required to protect Greece's maritime security."

Constantine and Alexandros looked at each other and faced each other with wry smiles. They both felt helpless. Compared with the army's requirements, the navy's tone was not inferior at all.

"For example, in the 1896 war, if it were not for the deterrence of the Ottomans by our navy and the help of the army in Chissaloniki, Greece would not have been able to achieve such a great victory." In order to attract funds for the construction of the navy, Kontoniotis He doesn't hesitate to start a fight and claim credit.

Although the Prime Minister has promised to expand military spending, it is foreseeable that military spending will still be tight.

Hearing Kontoriotis's remarks, the officers of the army on the left disagreed. Arms Minister Giannis retorted: "In the last war, our army soldiers were brave and fearless and finally defeated the Ottoman army. Your navy just acted as a role." Transportation and victory in the war have nothing to do with you!"

When it comes to the competition for military expenditures, everyone in the Army is naturally unwilling to be outdone.

"Yes, without the help of your navy, it's just a matter of putting in more effort, and we can still win."

Army personnel helped.

At this moment, it was like hot water was boiling in the conference room. The navy and army personnel sitting across from the U-shaped table began to argue, and the conference room became noisy.

It is very common for the navies and armies of various countries around the world to have conflicts and compete for military expenditures. For example, in countries such as Britain, France, the United States, and Japan, the relationship between the navies and armies is bad.

However, one thing is certain, that is, whether a country gives priority to the development of the navy or the army depends on the specific circumstances of the country itself. Island countries such as the United Kingdom and Japan will inevitably give priority to the development of the navy. There is nothing to say about this. .

Even if the armies of the two countries are extremely dissatisfied, as long as the top leaders of the two governments still have sense, they will not be able to tilt resources towards the army - once the island countries lose their naval advantage, they will be useless.

As for land-power countries like Russia and Germany, they have no choice but to focus on developing their armies.

On the contrary, countries like Greece, France, and Italy, which have both land and sea, are in a dilemma when it comes to the choice of developing their navy and army.

On the one hand, they face threats on land. If the army is weak, they will face the enemy's superior army; on the other hand, the long coastline and numerous prosperous commercial ports also require that they cannot completely ignore the navy.

Dilemma.