Mediterranean Hegemony Road

The arms race is easy to start, but difficult to end. Originally, Ferdinand announced an expansion of the army by 300,000, just for political needs.

Anyway, there is no specific time, it is completely feasible to delay the expansion of the army for two or three years, but the reaction of the Allies, Bulgaria can't help it!

Once the military expansion of various countries is completed, the military pressure on Bulgaria will increase.

By then: the total strength of the 6th Army of Austria-Hungary will be as high as 768,000, and the total strength of the 6th Army of the Italians will also be 589,000. If Romania and Montenegro are added, once the war breaks out in advance, Bulgaria is likely to face millions immediately The siege of the enemy.

Even if the number of Bulgarian troops is obviously difficult to defend national security, and they have to be divided into many places, as long as any place is broken through, Bulgaria will suffer heavy losses.

Oh, don't expect too much from the Russians. If the war suddenly breaks out, the daylily will be cold when the bear reacts!

Well, in the face of the current international situation, there is a lot of pressure on the Bulgarian government, especially the Minister of Finance, which means that Bulgaria's military spending may directly double in the future!

"What plans does the 6th Army have?" Ferdinand asked with concern

The 6th Army Minister Popov replied without hesitation: "Your Majesty, we must take action when the Allies move, and it is urgent to expand the army!

At present, our national standing army is only 286,000, and it is difficult to undertake our national defense tasks. In addition to expanding the army by 30,000, we believe that it is also very important to increase the training of the Construction Corps.

It has been proved in the Second Balkan War that although the combat effectiveness of the Construction Corps is not as good as that of our regular army, it can still deal with the armies of Romania and Montenegro! "

Ferdinand nodded as a tacit consent, and he didn't bother to pay attention to Popov's behavior of sticking gold on his face!

They are also temporary recruits for the army, okay?

Everyone puts down their hoes and fights guns. Originally, they were half a pound. The construction corps had been trained anyway, and bullying a group of militia troops was nothing to say!

In fact, the combat effectiveness of the standing armies of European countries is very good, but with the expansion of the scale of the battlefield in the later period, the army snowballed and the combat effectiveness naturally declined.

Because the Germans had the most perfect reserve system, in the First World War, the German army achieved a disdain for the pack.

But it does not mean that there are no garbage troops in the German army. In fact, in the middle and late stages of the Germans, the quality of the German troops has also declined seriously, and the combat effectiveness has naturally declined!

This also makes many people wonder why the arrogant German army is often beaten by the Allied countries, and its combat effectiveness in many places is actually unqualified!

This situation is common in European countries. Limited by the number of people, they cannot provide soldiers of sufficient quality without restrictions. In the end, they can only reduce the quality, and the quality of soldiers will naturally decrease, and the combat effectiveness will naturally decline!

In contrast, in fact, the pressure of the Bulgarian 6th Army is not the greatest! Anyway, there are the Balkan Mountains to rely on for defense, and no matter how bad it is, it can buy enough time for domestic mobilization!

But the navy is struggling. The 6th Army Ferdinand can mobilize tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people every day, but the navy can't do anything about it!

As long as the 6th Army has one rifle per person, it can be sent to the battlefield. The navy must have warships, right?

Even the simplest destroyer, a ship will take at least a few months! If it is a dreadnought, no matter how fast it is, it will take more than a year?

Is the navy important to Bulgaria now? The answer is obvious. If the Allied countries control the sea domination in the Mediterranean, then the Bulgarian navy can also be weak; on the contrary, the Allies control the sea domination. In order to protect the sea lifeline, the Bulgarian navy will have to go on its own!

"Where's the Admiralty?" Ferdinand asked again

When he asked this question, Ferdinand himself was not confident. The combined force of the three navies of Italy + Austria-Hungary + Ottoman Empire, let's look at Britain and France!

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is very difficult. All we can do now is to suppress the Ottomans in the Aegean Sea, and to ensure the safety of all our waters, unless our navy is expanded by five times!" Admiral Petrov smiled wryly. Say

After listening to Petrov's words, everyone's face changed greatly, which almost told everyone that when the world war broke out, the navy could not guarantee the safety of the coastline!

"What if the French can suppress the Italians?" Ferdinand thought for a while.

No way, now I can only believe that the Allied Powers can gain sea control in the Mediterranean just like in history! Or maybe the diplomacy of Britain and France is powerful enough to make the Italians neutral or defect!

Petrov thought for a while and said, "If the French can watch the Italian Navy, then our pressure will be much less.

As long as the navy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is locked in the Adriatic Sea, and they are not allowed to join forces with the Ottoman navy, they can be destroyed one by one! In theory we just need to add three more dreadnought fleets and that's it! (Note: The dreadnought fleet here refers to a dreadnought and a series of attached warships)

Now Ferdinand is very nostalgic for the era of vertical and horizontal planes. He does not need high performance, as long as he can carry one or two tons of bombs and fly for one or two hundred kilometers!

The closest point between the Apennine Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula is only more than 40 kilometers. If you can control the air, it is a big deal to directly board 6 from the Otranto Strait, occupy Brindisi and lock the Otranto Strait.

No, Ferdinand reacted, and it seems that it can be done. By the end of the First World War, the British Handlepage v/15oo can load up to 34oo kg.

So in theory, Bulgaria can do it, because Bulgaria's aircraft technology started early, and now it has a certain practical value. Just for the sake of secrecy, Ferdinand only took out a reconnaissance plane in the Second Balkan War!

However, this idea is only fleeting, and it is not so fun to go to 6 Italy. It is also terrible for Italians to fight for their lives!

Ferdinand thought for a while and said, "Okay, let's inform the French about our situation. As the world's second largest naval power, how can we be absent from this naval arms race?

Tell the French that if their navy can't hold down the Italians, we're willing to take that responsibility for them, as long as they're willing to pay for it! "

The tense atmosphere was relieved all of a sudden, whether it was the French navy to suppress the Italians or the French to provide Bulgaria with military spending was acceptable.

Oh, it's better to provide military expenses, it doesn't matter if you take a loan, after all, the stronger the military force, the greater the distribution of benefits after the war!

As for loans? Wasn't there a defeated country? Use their war reparations to offset it. As for whether the French will agree, this is not the time to consider!

In fact, Ferdinand is already very dissatisfied with the French people's reaction. The Italians are all making dumplings. How can your Gallic chicken be compared?

If it weren't for the French's low-interest loans, Ferdinand would have soared a long time ago. Isn't this cheating his teammates?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Kennedy suddenly said: "Your Majesty, we can now continue to ask for loans from Britain and France. After all, we previously announced that we will build four new dreadnoughts and plan to expand our army by 300,000. If we ask them for help on the grounds of insufficient financial resources, the approval will be passed. Very likely!"

In fact, it is not that Bulgaria cannot borrow from Britain and France, but they all need to be mortgaged, and normal commercial loans must also be settled at international interest rates, so the pressure on capital interest will be great.

If diplomacy is available, loans can often be obtained at much lower interest, with strings attached!

That's why the Chancellor of the Exchequer thought of raising it at the height of the arms race. The most important thing is that the Russians have just been counseled in the Moroccan crisis, and Britain and France have to make Bulgaria stand up! Otherwise, politically, there will be disastrous consequences!

Ferdinand thought for a while and said, "Well, as long as Britain and France agree to provide the loan, we can promise to complete the expansion of the army in the next three years. Even if they want to monitor the use of the loan, it is not impossible!"

Well, the big deal is to expand the army! It's a matter of time anyway, and the world war is not far away now. The most important thing right now is to get more loans from Britain and France.

The loans given out by Britain and France add up to hundreds of billions of levas, right? Bulgaria needs 18 billion at most, and it is not that there is no collateral. For the British and French capitalists, this is a small problem!

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