Well now I'm glad to see the Nioble class isn't being immediately scrapped but retrofitted instead! And holy moley that new treaty is a god send for you. Gives you an actual chance now as well!
And so begins 1927, with tensions cooled across the globe and peace, hopefully, prevailing for now. In addition to the four Soviet battleships, the British, Japanese and Americans scrapped a combined six warships. Not a significant amount to be sure, but this does reveal something: Both the Spaghetti's and the Fromage were not building ships larger than 20,000 tonnes or with rifles larger than 12"! Sure, the French are building something at about 19,900 tonnes named the Dunkerque, but I do not expect something like the IRL Dunkerque from the AI. A downgraded Nelson? Maybe a very downgraded G3 battlecruiser? Perhaps something like that.
Having sold me the technology to make my ships better last turn, I immediately decide to basically stick my middle finger up at the Land of the Rising Sun and obtain more funding after the Naval Armament Reduction Treaty of 1926 - 1946 snuffed out most - if not all - of my funds. And really, what colonial crisis? I have no colonies after you lot took it from Germany in the Great War, so unless the Japanese mean East Prussia (which is classified as a 'possession' in the files and not as a home area) this is basically posturing to the extreme.
Suck it, sushi-munchers
Hold up.
SPAGHETTIIIII! Why must you lot be a blight upon this world unable to be culled! Your stealing treacherous ways need to be excised, but why do you never give me the opportunity?!
As if to make matters worse, the Fascist menace takes over in Italy. The new Duce, Benito Mussolini, seeks to restore the Roman Empire under a Fascist aegis and after effectively repressing the Socialist and Communist parties now rules under a one-party totalitarian dictatorship: The Reichstag, worried about the rising threat from the south, quietly raises funding for the Navy as I notice a small deficit disappear and be replaced with a minuscule amount in the black.
With tensions rising, having Mainz and Leipzig commissioned into the fleet is a welcome reprieve for the four Niobe-class cruisers: While they are good girls based on solid designs, quantity has a quality all of its own - with no support or outnumbered several dozen ships to one, even the largest battleship crumbles.
"Leichte Kreuzer, Mainz! I was to be the natural evolution of the Niobe-klasse, though in comparison to their refitted versions, my armaments may be a bit lacking... H-however, no matter what, I shall serve to the best of my abilities, Admiral! Count on it!"
Meanwhile, the British prove themselves to be amongst some of the best opportunities to gain new technology, as they offer to sell me something which I desperately want for my ships armed with 8" naval rifles and larger to make them more effective: While the Reichsmarine could do without, any increase in combat effectiveness is welcome, no matter the source. Unless it is Communist, or with how things are proceeding in Italy, Fascist.
Fucking Spaghetti's on it again, they are noticing the light cruiser gap and are rushing to close it - or alternatively, Mussolini wants to have enough ships to contest the French and wants to build more battleships to counter them.
One month later, the third - and last - ship of the Mainz-class is commissioned into active service.
Karlsruhe, named after the two cruisers that served during the Great War, is a welcome addition to the fleet: With how Japanese-German relations are, Italo-German relations possibly will be and Russo-German tensions shall be, the Reichsmarine needs every modern cruiser it can get its hands on.
The Hamburgers continue to be the best allies I could've hoped for by selling more and more technology that will be incorporated into the Reichsmarine's future warships, though that is still three years off from now. Anyways, gradual improvement in the quality of the armour belt is always welcome.
In the meantime, the first three Type 1926A-class destroyers are laid down in Kiel to reinforce the Reichsmarine in her future endeavours: Z1 'Leberecht Maass', Z2 'Georg Thiele', and Z3 'Max Schultz', armed with the cruiser-level 6" rifles (15cm TbtsK C/26 cannons) will form the beginning of a new phase of destroyer building in Germany, being strong enough to counter opposing light cruisers with some regularity, especially when compared to the low amount of them that I have right now.
Hahahahahahahahahhahahahaha. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n5E7feJHw0&ab_channel=darkchia00
Yeah, no. I want to maintain a technological lead for as long as possible over the other powers, and with Italy classed as 'Backwards' relative to my own tech level, I want to maintain this gap until the very last moment I can - so suck it, Spaghetti!
And as August begins, the competition that I had going on between the major fighter manufacturers after seeing just how much of an outdated mess the fighter forces were, finishes right on schedule.
However, despite the speed and toughness advantages the Arado design has over the Fieseler design, I pick the Fi 91 for its longer range - and, likely being based on the Fi 84, its improved reliability and cost over the initial design.
Nothing much happens after the fighter competition apart from two license deals being formalised with the Fromage and the Teadrinkers, though my scientists figure out early medium AA weaponry: The threat of enemy aeroplanes won't be too large for now with how slow their development has been, but. As the Japanese and American experience has proven in the Pacific War, the aeroplane will become the greatest threat to the battleline in due time.
Fucking Spaghetti's! Just leave me the hell alone, damnit - export your Fascismo somewhere else! Seriously, have the Italians - despite being classified as backwards in tech compared to me - spy satellites in orbit or something, or borrowed the SR-71 from a couple decades in the future?
With that bit of foolishness out of the way, my minions deliver new information about the concept of not using normal untreated wooden planks as the upper deck of a ship, hopefully decreasing the chance of fires breaking out
To extend, or not to extend... Looking at the tension bar, I have enough room to manoeuvre even if other nations get pissed off about this - I think that Italy may be angry about this, but the British can also object, given their past history with Germany during the Great War - but honestly? I expect little to come of it. Some diplomatic protests at best.
Okay, so this pissed off the Teadrinkers, and...nobody else. It could've been worse, with the French and Soviets joining in, but it seems that both of these nations know just who I intend to kick in the face - the Italians and their crappy battlefleet.
Eh... Compared to the technology I got from trading with the US, the Fromage and the Britbongs, and their earlier better developments, I will let them off the hook for today. Can't win them all, I guess - and it could be so, so much worse.
And so ends 1927!
Tensions also quickly decrease between the Brits and the Land of the Rising Sun, so that is one thing that works to my advantage - less risk of a sudden increase in tensions between them. And in addition to that, only one year left for the Yorck-class cruisers to enter service, and eight months for the Type 1926A destroyers. I hope to set the stage for a war in about 1929, but we all know how the RNGesus can go sometimes
So question since the Pre-dreadnought's Weissenburg and Brandenburg are so old and obsolete why don't you just scrap them to save up on funds? There so old, slow and outgunned that there useless so why do you still keep them?
So question since the Pre-dreadnought's Weissenburg and Brandenburg are so old and obsolete why don't you just scrap them to save up on funds? There so old, slow and outgunned that there useless so why do you still keep them?
Because Pre-Dreadnoughts also count as 'Battleships', and you will lose Prestige to scrap them if you do not have four BBs - and I specify, Battleships, because battlecruisers do not count - with them gone. And to be honest, 12" cannons are 12" cannons, even as outdated as they are compared to present-era naval rifles.
Because Pre-Dreadnoughts also count as 'Battleships', and you will lose Prestige to scrap them if you do not have four BBs - and I specify, Battleships, because battlecruisers do not count - with them gone. And to be honest, 12" cannons are 12" cannons, even as outdated as they are compared to present-era naval rifles.
The Versailles Treaty Limit lasts until 1930, but I do think that War with the Spaghetti may happen before that - so about two to three turns until the first BBs are laid down for German service.
The Versailles Treaty Limit lasts until 1930, but I do think that War with the Spaghetti may happen before that - so about two to three turns until the first BBs are laid down for German service.
Hello everyone. A quick announcement about this let's play.
I will be, work permitting, working on the next update for this LP this week. Unfortunately, camping and a consistent posting schedule do not go together - I will try to be more regular with updates going forwards.
With any luck, the next update will be out around Friday. Thank you all in advance for your patience.
