Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

After attending the graduation ceremony of the Royal Naval Academy of the Netherlands, William IV, Chief of General Staff Mark Rudd, Minister of the Navy Jan Peter, Chief of the Naval Staff Joseph Karls, and Minister of Arms Louis Bell were at the royal family in Adelaide Discussions on maritime military affairs were held in the palace.

Admiralty Minister Jan Peter: "In the 18 years since the "Warrior" in 1860, British designers have continued to incorporate new ideas into the design of ironclads. Together with France and the Netherlands, we have unveiled a colorful era of ironclads. .

In 1870, the German Empire successfully built its own steam battleships in its own shipyards.

In 1871, Spain built its own steam battleship with the technical support we sold.

In 1872, two years after the United States purchased three steam battleships built by us, it also built its own steam battleships.

In the same year, the Tsarist Empire also received the first battleship purchased from us, and when it took delivery of the second ship in 1874, Tsarist Russia also built its own steam battleship in the Port of St. Petersburg.

By 1876, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy and the Ottoman Empire had all completed the stage of manufacturing their own steam battleships.

At present, in addition to the steam ironclad HMS Warrior, Britain also owned six steam ironclad battleships of two classes in 1862, including the 6150-ton steam ironclad HMS Defense and the 7000-ton HMS Hector.

In addition, by 1865, there were also the steam ironclad battleships 'Royal Oak' and 'Achilles'. The steam ironclad battleship 'Achilles' at the back was the first British battleship to be fully armored. Obviously It is based on our technology in 1863. In 1865, Britain had 8 steam battleships."

After William IV sighed, he asked Louis Bell, the Minister of Arms next to him:

"Yes, it was the time when the British Empire's five major fleets were formed: the Channel Fleet in the English Channel, the First Fleet deployed in the North Sea, the Atlantic Fleet deployed in South Africa, the Canadian Fleet deployed in Canada, and the Indian Fleet deployed in India. Currently, the United Kingdom has How many steam ironclads?”

Seeing William IV's question, Louis Bell put down the teacup in his hand and replied:

"The Warrior, the Black Prince, the Defense, the Agincourt, the Northumberland; the Hector, the Valor, the Minotaur, the Caledonian, the Ocean; Achilles, Royal Oak, Royal Alfred, Hot Sleeper, Defeat; Bellerophon, Audacity, Invincible, Iron Duke, Vanguard; Sultana, Agile, Triumph, Hercules, Belle Isle; Orion, Magnificent, Hot, Devastated, Thor, and Rupert, a total of 31 ironclads."

William IV asked again: "How many cruise ships does Britain have?"

Louis Bell answered without any difficulty: "There are 6 ships in total: Discovery, Enterprise, Beloved, Hot Sleeper, Pallas, and Penelope."

William IV went on to ask: "How many turret ships are there?"

Louis Bell said: "There are five ships in total: the Monarch, the Captain, the Intrepid, the Neptune, and the Indomitable."

William IV smiled and asked: "How many heavy gunships do they have?"

Louis Bell answered: "Cerberus, Madara, Abyssinia, Graton, Cyclops, Gorgon, Hecate, and Hydra. 8 ships.

There are also two coastal defense ships, HMS Sovereign and Prince Albert, a center gun ship, HMS Defeat, two gun gate ships, HMS Lord Clyde and Lord Woden, and a Reckless battery ship."

William IV: "How many battleships are there in total??"

Louis Bell answered: "There are 55 ships in total"

After receiving the answer, William IV seemed very satisfied, so he asked the Chief of the General Staff, Admiral Jan Peter, next to him: "Our Admiralty, looking at the scale of 55 British main battleships, will it be a lot of pressure?"

Jan Peter firmly replied: "No"

William IV asked calmly: "Why?"

Jan Peter: "Because the Dutch navy is stronger than theirs"

William IV asked Joseph Karls, Chief of Naval Staff next to him: "Do you think so too?"

Joseph Karls said solemnly: "Yes."

William IV frowned and asked: "Why are you so sure? Don't you know that we are actually on battleships, and we have fewer battleships than Britain? Is that right, Minister of Arms? I forgot to ask, how many battleships do we have?"

Louis Bell: "The Netherlands has a total of 47 battleships"

William IV asked as expected: "Since we have 7 fewer ships than others, and the two giants of our navy are still so confident, I am curious about the configuration. Why don't you tell me the ingredients?"

Facing William IV, he seemed to be asking for answers in a friendly manner, but in fact he was giving orders.

Louis Bell did not dare to have any temper and said: "Currently we have 38 steam ironclads, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, The Hague; Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar; United Arab Emirates USS, USS Oman, USS Sumatra, USS Java, USS New Guinea, USS Sulawesi; USS Alaska Peninsula, USS Hawaii, USS South Pacific Islands, USS New Zealand, USS Suriname.

Melbourne, William Province, South Australia, Western Australia, North Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania.

Orange, Nassau, King William, Queen Alexandra, Prince Albert, Princess Anna, Prince Jacques, Princess Mary, Conqueror, Tulip"

William IV then asked: "Since there are 38 steam ironclads, then there are 9 more?"

Louis Bell: "Four cruisers, the Return, the Renaissance, the Power, and the Far East.

In addition, there are 5 heavy gunships: Indian Ocean, Pacific, Christian, Capital, and Noble."

William IV asked: "Does this mean we don't have British turret ships, coastal defense ships, etc.?"

Louis Bell: "No, we do, but it's a sailing battleship"

William IV breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that the Netherlands' current naval direction is focused on heavy battleships, but it has relaxed its focus on light ships.

He suddenly said to Mark Rudd, who was beside him: "They all have confidence, so our chief of staff, what is your plan?"

Mark Rudd: "Your Majesty, submarines are one of our most powerful weapons. Currently, the Netherlands has more than 100 submarines of various types, while the total number owned by other countries is only about the same as ours."

"How much is England?" asked William IV.

"The UK has developed in the past eight years to only have more than 20 ships, all of which have a short range and are only about 50 nautical miles underwater." Mark Rudd said with a smile: "And we have already exceeded 1,000 nautical miles, of which more than 200 nautical miles are underwater."

William IV: "In other words, almost all British submarines can only operate in coastal waters, while ours can travel long distances to attack?"

"That's right. Defeating the few with more is one of them. With our longer voyage and better torpedo technology, we in the Netherlands are definitely the king in the world today."