Holy Roman Empire
Chapter 159: Ambitious Navy Ministry

Franz couldn’t help but sigh that European politics could be quite chaotic. During his two years as emperor, Austria had signed treaties with almost all of Europe’s great powers.

He guessed that future historians studying international history would be astounded by this array of treaties. They’d marvel at the prowess of the Austrian Foreign Ministry and be left with a bunch of unresolved political mysteries.

First, there was the “Franco-Austrian Secret Treaty,” which had originally aimed to enjoy the spoils of dividing up the Kingdom of Sardinia, but was thwarted by the outbreak of the French June Days uprising.

Then there were the “Anglo-Austrian Memorandum on the Balkans” and the “Anglo-Austrian-Italian Memorandum on Italy.” The latter had been accomplished, but whether the former could be fulfilled depended on the British’s conscience.

Needless to say, the Russian-Austrian Secret Treaty is nothing more than the continuation and expansion of the alliance between the two countries. The two countries have been allies for decades, and the two sides are each other’s most important ally.

Not long ago, Austria also signed a secret treaty with Prussia, focusing on jointly opposing foreign interference in German affairs. This treaty will be made public when the timing is right, essentially serving to deter the British, so naturally, it is kept confidential.

Is that really all of it? Facts have proven that the Austrian government truly enjoys making deals. Austria recently concluded secret negotiations with Spain, resulting in the “Austro-Spanish Colonial Treaty.”

According to the treaty’s provisions, both countries mutually recognize each other’s sovereignty over overseas colonies and agree to provide assistance as needed in colonial activities, such as obtaining logistical support in each other’s colonies…

At the moment, Austria doesn’t have any overseas colonies, so it may seem like the Spanish are at a disadvantage. However, in reality, the Spanish government values this treaty even more than Austria.

In this era, Spain has suffered a significant decline, losing its strength as the once-mighty empire. The sun has set on their global dominance, and both the British and the French built their colonial empires on the ruins of the Spanish colonial empire.

Now that the Austrian Empire is preparing to venture into overseas colonial activities, the Spanish are right to be cautious. They don’t want to end up as a stepping stone for others again.

In this case, cooperation might be the best option. Austria’s conditions aren’t unreasonable; they simply want to obtain supplies from Spanish ports during overseas colonial endeavors and are willing to pay for it.

Indeed, this seemingly unremarkable treaty was driven by the Austrian Navy. While the idea of picking on the weak might be valid, Franz wasn’t prepared to start off with a confrontational approach.

If it weren’t for the fact that Spain had been steadily declining, Franz would likely have considered forming an alliance with them. Such an alliance could serve as a direct challenge to France and make them feel the pressure of being caught in a sandwich between Austria and its allies.

No matter what, the prestige of the Spanish empire still remains, and the declining Spanish navy is slightly stronger than the Austrian navy.

It’s not just Spain; even small naval powers like the Netherlands and Portugal take their naval ministries seriously, and negotiations are currently underway.

This is the cost of entering later – using the ports of these small countries as a stepping stone is a wise choice because it’s more feasible than relying on the ports of Britain and France.

Expanding colonies is not easy; the first issue is logistics and supplying the necessary goods, most of which need to be shipped from abroad.

Looking at the map, it’s clear that Austria’s geographic location makes the journey to open overseas colonies quite far. In this situation, being able to procure supplies and support locally is very important.

In history, the Russian Pacific Fleet expedition serves as a cautionary tale. Under British blockade, they lacked effective supplies along the way and fell into Japanese ambush as soon as they arrived.

Franz naturally wants to learn from these lessons. No matter what, it’s always a good idea to establish strong relationships with colonial nations.

Securing a stable foothold comes first, and learning from the experience of overseas colonization is essential. Austria is now sending people to collect intelligence deep within various colonies to learn from their management experiences.

However, this method of gathering information is not very reliable; it can only provide a superficial view, and deeper insights require actual learning.

Despite modern-day criticisms of colonial management systems, it’s essential to understand that, in this era, the ability to establish colonial rule with a small number of people governing vast territories and ultimately profiting from them, is a skill.

By collaborating with other colonial powers, there’s an opportunity to gain a more profound understanding and learn from their successful experiences. This way, Austria can avoid facing significant losses shortly after the establishment of its colonies.

In the end, overseas colonization is driven by profit. If it remains an unprofitable venture, it’s likely that participation in such activities would diminish quickly.

The Navy did not work in vain; they brought the signed treaty and then requested funding from the government.

According to the shipbuilding plan proposed by the Navy Ministry, the government has to allocate 50 million guilders for shipbuilding expenses, with the aim of constructing a navy fleet second only to that of Britain and France within five years.

This is not an exaggeration at all. During this era, the naval capacities of various countries were not substantial. Even the total tonnage of the British fleet is only a little over a hundred thousand tons. As long as a navy had a total tonnage exceeding ten thousand, it was considered a significant naval power in the world.

In terms of tonnage, the Austrian Navy ranks just below the four major naval powers of Britain, France, Russia, and Spain. Clearly, tonnage doesn’t directly translate to combat effectiveness. Austria’s navy primarily operates in coastal waters, such as the Mediterranean, so it can handle such regions well. However, as for long-distance voyages, it remains to be seen if they can manage.

Given this circumstance, who really knows? With a total tonnage of only 18,000 tons in their navy, Franz considers it a relatively small navy. It doesn’t compare to a battleship of the later generations, but in this era, naval vessels generally had smaller tonnage, so this size is not too shabby.

To put it simply, if the French suddenly launch an offensive, they could still compete with the British in a showdown for the position of the world’s top naval power, as the gap between the British and French navies is not as significant as it would be in later centuries.

At least in terms of tonnage, the gap is not that significant. At their closest point, the difference in total tonnage between the two navies is less than twenty percent. In theory, with a surprise attack, they might have a chance to win.

After all, everyone is using wooden warships, and the shipbuilding technologies of various countries haven’t seen a considerable gap. The world’s first ironclad warship is still a decade away from being born.

Looking at the shipbuilding plan in his hand, Franz didn’t mince words and asked, “I recall that last year, the French Navy built the ‘Napoléon,’ which is powered by a steam engine.

You’re constructing a bunch of sailing warships. When the wind is favorable, that’s fine, but when it’s against you, can you outrun others?”

Navy Minister Filkos explained, “Your Majesty, French steam-powered battleships have high construction costs and are difficult to maintain. After running at full power, they require a major overhaul.

Steam-powered battleships haven’t demonstrated a clear advantage on the battlefield. The force of navies in various countries is still sailing warships. Adopting new technology hastily poses too great a risk.”

Franz didn’t bother with more explanations and asked directly, “With our shipbuilding technology, can we build one?”

Filkos pondered for a moment and replied, "In theory, it’s not a problem. Applying steam engines to ships for propulsion, since we have mature experience in building merchant ships, applying this on a warship shouldn’t be a big issue.”

Franz didn’t feel like criticizing the situation any further. During this era, naval conservatism was prevalent. It’s likely that many people couldn’t have imagined that the leaders of the naval technology revolution in this era weren’t the British but the French.

In 1849, the French were the first to apply steam engines to warships, marking the beginning of the naval ship power revolution.

In 1859, the French constructed the world’s first ironclad warship, ending the era of sailing warships.

Then, in 1863, the French employed compressed air engines in submarines, ending human-powered propulsion and increasing the operational range of submarines…

The naval technology revolution was initiated by the French, but it still couldn’t change their position as the second most powerful nation in the world.

It took considerable effort to change that position, but the French would probably have preferred to remain second best rather than dropping down to third, fourth, or fifth place…

The Austrian Navy is undoubtedly a representative of conservatism. When it comes to naval technology innovation, it’s evident from Austria’s naval budget that they lack the funds to be willful.

This is what baffles Franz. Typically, new technologies are initially employed in the military and then adopted for civilian use.

How is it that in Austria, this process seems to have been reversed? With so many steamships running in the Danube River, why hasn’t the Austrian Navy considered building steam-powered battleships?

The argument that maintenance is difficult doesn’t seem to hold up. Why haven’t steam-powered merchant ships continued using sails if maintenance difficulties were such a significant concern?

Franz emphasized with great conviction, saying, “The navy must also prioritize the application of technology. Even if you can’t lead technological innovations yourselves, shouldn’t you at least learn to apply the achievements made by others?

Otherwise, what’s the use of an outdated navy, no matter how large its size? When it comes to the battlefield, it can only serve as a target!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Navy Minister Filkos replied with a bitter smile.

There’s no doubt that the Navy Ministry’s shipbuilding plan met an untimely demise in Franz’s hands.

From a technological perspective, constructing the earliest ironclad ships wasn’t particularly challenging. As early as 1578, the Japanese developed iron-plated ships, essentially naval vessels covered in a layer of iron.

Franz didn’t want to build a fleet of sailing warships only to offer them as targets, even though the likelihood of sea battles for the Austrian Navy in the short term was relatively low.

While he couldn’t create groundbreaking inventions, he believed that embracing innovative military technologies in principle shouldn’t be that difficult.

After all, once the French introduced ironclad warships, it only took a few months for others to follow suit, with minimal technological obstacles.

The age when shipbuilding technology reflected the industrial capabilities of nations hadn’t yet arrived. By this point, the technology for constructing sailing warships had matured significantly, and the performance differences between naval vessels from different countries were not substantial.

While Franz might have considered innovations like ironclad ships, he didn’t immediately propose such ideas. This wasn’t a task for an emperor to handle directly, and if it was to be pursued, it had to be done discreetly.

After all, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany served as a warning. He personally designed a warship that promptly sank upon launch. If there was no issue, it would have been quite a surprise. Was it possible that Germany’s technical experts were so foolish that they couldn’t advise the emperor on the matter?

Franz had no intention of providing anyone an opportunity to take advantage of him. Pushing technological innovations discreetly was the wiser approach. Even if there were failures along the way, that was normal, as any technological revolution typically involved multiple attempts.

Success, on the other hand, would demonstrate that under the leadership of the great emperor, Austria’s technological innovation had taken another step forward. As an emperor, he didn’t need credit for inventing or creating things.