Java Sea.
A fleet consisting of dozens of ships is sailing towards the north.
These ships are all hung with a uniquely shaped flag.
The flag is composed of twelve interlaced radiating stripes of blue, white and red.
This It is the flag of the Royal Netherlands Navy, the "Double Prince Jack Flag".
In the eyes of future generations, this flag is very embarrassing.
Mr.
Wen once complained that it was too similar to the "umbrella company" logo in Resident Evil.
But in the 16th and 17th centuries, this flag was a thing that frightened all countries.
At that time, the Netherlands was the most powerful colonial empire in the world.
At that time, this country, which was founded less than 100 years ago, accounted for half of the world's foreign trade.
More than 10,000 Dutch merchant ships crisscrossed the seven seas.
The majestic Dutch ships could be seen in every corner of the world.
The "Sea Coachman" His reputation is unparalleled.
But the good times did not last long.
After the failure of the war with Britain and the war with France, the Netherlands fell into despair.
This is also the inherent disadvantage of small countries.
They may appear to be arrogant at a certain period of time for one reason or another, but once they encounter setbacks, they will be immediately knocked back to their original shape.
After the decline of the Netherlands, many overseas colonies were lost one after another and were occupied by later powers.
By this time, the only ones left were the Dutch East Indies of the Dutch East India Company, and the Dutch Guiana, Suriname, Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and other colonies in the Americas.
The once famous "Double Prince Jack Flag" has long become a despised existence.
Especially after being forced by the newly born Chinese People's Navy in 1909 to sign the Sino-Dutch Jakarta Treaty at gunpoint, which was humiliating and humiliating to the country, the so-called Royal Netherlands Navy became a laughing stock around the world.
Especially in Europe, the Dutch are so ridiculed that they can hardly hold their heads up and are embarrassed to say hello to others when they go out.
Under the cynicism of the European people, especially those hateful Belgians next door, they used this incident to disgust the Netherlands every day.
It’s okay to be bullied by white-skinned people who belong to the same noble race.
Now even the yellow-skinned monkeys in East Asia can bite their noses and face.
This is really unbearable for the Dutch.
What makes the Dutch most inexplicable is that the Chinese fleet that is coming to their door is still a second-hand fleet composed of second-hand warships.
This makes Henan, which has been the maritime hegemon for 200 years, ah, no, the Big Dutch How embarrassing it is.
After being so disgusted for a while, the Dutch people finally couldn't stand it anymore.
So the Dutch, who felt deeply humiliated, passed the Naval Expansion Act in 1910, preparing to strengthen naval construction and strengthen the military power of the Far East.
Although it is no longer possible to recreate the glory of the "Sea Coachman", at least we cannot let a second-hand fleet of yellow-skinned monkeys do whatever they want in East India.
Originally, the Dutch Congress initially planned to build a batch of "coastal defense battleships" to strengthen the Far East Fleet.
Although something like a "coastal defense battleship" bears the name of a "battleship," it actually has little to do with a battleship.
All indicators are completely inferior to a real battleship.
This is just the product of a specific strategic thinking, but with some battleship-like designs.
From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the navies of small countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Denmark built a number of small capital ships with shallow drafts, thick armor, and medium firepower based on their own military needs and surrounding coastal geographical conditions.
The displacement of these battleships is about 3,000 to 8,000 tons, and their artillery caliber exceeds that of heavy cruisers of the same era, but is not as good as battlecruisers.
They were small and weak, so they used this kind of thing as a capital ship to defend the coast.
The British Jane's Ship Yearbook classified it as a "coastal defense battleship".
To put it bluntly, these "coastal defense battleships" have enlarged size, thickened armor, and enhanced firepower.
They have the line shape, artillery arrangement and firing director of a "pre-dreadnought" or "dreadnought", and have the ability to fire salvos from multiple turrets.
It is just a shallow-water heavy gunship.
It can be said to be a development type of shallow-water heavy gunship.
This kind of ship is a typical functional warship with low cost and strong firepower, but its seaworthiness, speed and range are obvious shortcomings.
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It is still very meaningful for offshore defense navies, but for big countries, especially those committed to global strategy, this kind of ship is basically unattractive.
Therefore, when big countries develop this kind of warship, it seems that No more motivation.
To be honest, this kind of ship is still very suitable for the Netherlands.
In fact, the Netherlands itself also has this kind of thing.
When China came to the door, they had three Everson-class 3500-ton ships with 3 210-mm guns, and five Regent-class 5000-ton ships with 2 guns. 240mm guns, a total of eight so-called "coastal defense battleships".
However, the Everson class and the Queen Regent class were too small and had too weak firepower.
They could not be opponents of the Chinese navy.
Although the Chinese fleet at that time was said to be a second-hand fleet, the six battleships were serious pre-dreadnought battleships.
Not to mention a bunch of cruisers.
It is precisely because of their inferior strength that the Dutch suffered such a big loss.
Of course, they also built a Seven-Province Alliance at that time, but it was still undergoing sea trials in the Netherlands and was not officially put into service.
However, this ship only had 6,500 tons and two 280mm main guns.
Even if it was in East India at the time, it would not be of much use.
Facing China's fearless vote, the Seven Provinces Alliance is just a dish.
Therefore, the new plan proposed by the Dutch Parliament this time is an enlarged version of the Seven Provinces Alliance.
The standard displacement of this class of "coastal defense battleship" is 7,600 tons, equipped with two twin-mounted 280 mm main guns, and has a maximum speed of 18 knots. 8 ships are planned to be built.
To be honest, such a ship is actually very consistent with the national strength of the Netherlands, and it can fight against it along the coast.
But this plan is out of date while it is still under discussion.
Because the Dutch Navy learned from the United Kingdom that China had ordered super-dreadnought ships in the United States.
This is a big deal.
If China adds a few more super-dreadnoughts, these "coast defense battleships" will be useless.
In the face of real super-dreadnoughts, these so-called "coast defense battleships" are completely worthless.
A portion.
How can I change it?
Yellow-skinned monkeys can build super-dreadnoughts, of course we, the Dutch, can build them even more As a result, the Dutch immediately revised the naval expansion bill, replacing the original "coastal defense battleships" with real super-dreadnoughts, and also increased the number to nine.
The Dutch were really anxious this time.
The plan is quite powerful.
In addition to these nine capital ships, it also includes 9 cruisers, 18 destroyers, 18 torpedo boats, 18 submarines and 4 minelayers.
But the Dutch had no experience in building dreadnoughts.
Just like the British and German tenders with good relations, they finally chose the British plan out of political considerations.
The main data of this super-dreadnought ship named "Dutch Sovereign" are: standard row 21,000 tons, full row 26,850 tons, speed of 22 knots, equipped with four twin-mounted 14-inch main guns, and 16 150 mm secondary guns and 12 75mm rapid-fire guns.
The main armor belt is 150-250 mm, the deck armor is 2550 mm, and the conning tower armor is 200-300 mm.
In fact, this class of battleship is a variant of the King Kong class designed by the British for Japan, with reduced speed and endurance, and strengthened armor.
To be honest, the performance of this battleship is quite good, and the Dutch are also very satisfied.
However, with the national strength of the Netherlands, it is indeed difficult to build nine such powerful super-dreadnoughts.
Coupled with a large number of supporting light ships, as well as various related factories, docks, etc., it will require at least 700 million Dutch guilders.
The exchange rate at that time was about 280 million US dollars.
In the past, the Dutch would never do such a thing, it would be too expensive.
However, today is different from the past.
The deeply humiliated Dutch burst out with strong patriotic sentiments, and they strongly supported this plan to explode the sea of ships.
Queen Wilhelmina even publicly declared in Parliament: "Even if I sell my last dress, I will restore the glory of the Royal Netherlands Navy."
She first announced that she would donate half of the royal family's funds to this shipbuilding project.
Taking the lead, the Dutch donated generously.
At the same time, they also issued national bonds for naval construction and increased their search for colonies.
Although the national power of the Netherlands is no longer what it used to be, it is still an old colonial empire.
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After so many years of robbery, it still has some wealth, and it can still save a large amount of money by gritting its teeth.
After raising money from various sources, they finally managed to get the funds together.
Of course, the Dutch are not that stupid and would not really want to become a so-called "sea power".
They have never thought about restoring the naval power of the heyday, because the Dutch know very well that if they really dare to have this ambition, the first person to come to slap them will not be anyone else, but the opium cow, their biggest backer now.
With Niu Niu's sensitivity to sea power, he would never allow another naval power to appear on his doorstep.
Therefore, the battleships of this class designed by the Dutch are not intended to be deployed to the home fleet, but to be deployed to the Far East Fleet to counterbalance the Chinese navy, which increasingly covets the Dutch East Indies colonies.
The main imaginary enemies of this class of ships are the Chinese Navy's numerous pre-dreadnoughts and heavy cruisers called pocket battlecruisers in Europe and the United States.
Of course, they can also compete with China's "Fuxi" class battleships.
Based on the intelligence received, the Dutch Navy believes that if their Dutch Sovereign class encounters the Fuxi class, both sides will be able to penetrate each other.
The specific performance in actual combat depends on which side's character is stronger.
Due to lack of experience, the first "Dutch Sovereign" was built by a British shipyard, starting in October 1910.
By the outbreak of the First World War, four had been completed, two of which were built in England and one on the slipway.
After the fifth ship was completed in June 1915, due to the increasingly bad situation of the European War, the Dutch had to turn their energy to the army and gave up the construction plan of the remaining four ships.
This is because of the threat from Germany next door.
Although Belgium, its old enemy, was leveled by the Germans, the Dutch were gloating about their misfortune.
But Wei Er is a lunatic.
Even if the relationship between the two countries is good, God knows if he will get angry and take care of me, the Dutch, too.
By 1916, after the fifth "Dutch Sovereign" class officially joined the Dutch Far East Fleet, the Dutch Navy already had five super-dreadnoughts, ranking ninth in the world, second only to the eight countries of Britain, Germany, the United States, China, France, Japan, Italy and Austria.
Better than Russia.
The strategic thinking of the Dutch Navy is unique.
Their naval configuration presents a very rare pattern.
It is a naval force whose strength in the overseas colonial fleet far exceeds the strength of the local fleet.
Most of its ships and all of its cutting-edge ships are deployed in the Far East Fleet of the Dutch East Indies, while the home fleet only has some old ships, and the fleet is still pitifully small.
This special configuration is rare in the world.
Even colonial empires like Britain and France do not have this kind of gameplay.
But if you think about it carefully, this is not surprising, because the Netherlands is small and on the European continent.
If it really conflicts with the big European countries like Germany and France next door, its life will be bulldozed in minutes.
No matter how strong the navy is, Can't save them.
At the same time, as Britain's loyal little brother, the Netherlands does not need to deploy a too strong fleet on the mainland.
With the support of the boss, there is no need to maintain too strong a maritime force on the mainland.
Moreover, during this period, the Netherlands had good relations with major countries such as Britain, Germany, and France, and these countries would not attack them.
On the contrary, it has never dealt with Belgium next door, but if it is just to defend against Belgium, there is no need for a navy.
Compared with the mainland, which has a good international environment, the East Indies need a powerful navy to protect them.
The East Indies are the most important colony and the most important source of wealth for the Netherlands.
Without the East Indies, the Netherlands would be reduced to a third-rate small country.
After several years of hard work, the current Dutch Far East fleet is still quite sizable, with a total of five cutting-edge "Dutch Sovereign-class" battleships, five Queen Regent-class battleships and one Seven Provinces Alliance-class coastal defense battleship.
There were 14 light cruisers, 6 Holland class, 8 Sumatra class, 14 destroyers, 6 Brio class, and 8 Frete class.
Finally, the "Double Prince Jack Flag" was not continued to be humiliated.
In addition to these main ships, the Dutch Far East Fleet also has 15 submarines, 10 gunboats, 8 Z-class large torpedo boats, and more than 50 30,140-ton torpedo boats.
A fleet of this size can be considered the third largest in the Far East. .
At this time, Lieutenant General Cruyff, commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy's Far East Fleet, convened a meeting of senior officers on the flagship Dutch Monarch.
"If the Chinese don't send out their main force, we still have a chance.
As long as the Chinese know that even if they can defeat us, they will have to pay a considerable price, and they will not dare to make too many demands."
Cruyff looked serious. said.
Despite having such a powerful fleet in his hands, Cruyff still had no confidence at all.
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You can't blame him, because the red dragon in the north is too powerful.
The national power of both sides is no longer on the same level.
This kind of crushing from absolute strength will be unsolvable unless China's rulers have water in their skulls or are caught in a door.
But looking at it now, China’s President Wen Desi doesn’t look like he has water in his head or was caught in a door.
Now their only hope is that China did not dispatch its main fleet and just wanted to blackmail them
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