Greece’s Roman Road

15 days after Trikupis and his party went to England, Constantine in the Tatoi Palace received a telegram from the ship-purchasing team: the ship-purchasing team preferred the Esmeralda-class protected cruiser.

This is the representative work of the British protection cruiser. The three indicators of firepower, armor and maneuverability are relatively balanced by Esmeralda.

The Esmeralda cruiser is a cruiser produced by the British Armstrong Company for Chile. At the end of the 19th century, it was the time when the navies of Argentina, Chile and Brazil in South America were competing.

With a displacement of 3,000 tons, it is equipped with a 6,000-horsepower double-expansion steam engine, which can allow the ship to run to 18.25 knots. For protection, it adopts a dome structure without broadside armor, and the average thickness is 25 mm. At the same time, 600 tons of coal was completely surrounded around the core engine compartment, forming a solid cofferdam.

In terms of firepower, it is equipped with two 254mm MkI-IVL/32 breech guns, six 152mm MkII-VIL/40 rapid-fire guns, and a bunch of 6-pounder and 2-pounder rapid-fire guns, which are absolutely fierce. Such firepower, speed and protection fully met the requirements of Chile, and instantly became a tyrant in the South American sea.

Such a relatively balanced protective cruiser is indeed suitable for Greece at this time. It is usually used to cruise and maintain trade lines. Even in wartime, its large-caliber artillery can ensure enough damage to the Ottoman ironclad ships. threat.

It is definitely impossible for Greece to fully adopt armored ships. There is not so much capital. When forced to, such cruisers can also be pulled into the battle line and play the role of battleships. At the same time, they are fast and can outflank. They are really versatile at sea. .

At the same time, Cantoriotis strongly suggested the purchase of several large torpedo boats newly developed by the British, which the British called destroyers.

This kind of warship, whose main weapon is fish, comes and goes like the wind, is flexible, and has a limit speed of 26 knots. At the same time, it is a deadly weapon that can cause heavy damage to large warships at sea as long as it is hit by fish. The interest of the ship buying team.

This type of destroyer is 56.4 meters long, 5.6 meters wide, has a displacement of 275 tons, and has a design speed of 26 knots. It is equipped with 1 76 mm gun and 3 47 mm guns. It can catch torpedo boats without difficulty at sea and carry 3 450 mm torpedoes. , used to attack enemy ships.

In addition, it can easily catch up with a torpedo boat and surpass the latter, fully proving its ability to capture torpedo boats and compete with other surface ships.

The price given by the British was 160,000 pounds for an Esmeralda-class cruiser. Constantine agreed to the suggestion of the purchasing delegation.

In June 1889, Terry Kupis placed an order with the Armstrong company: two Esmeralda-class cruisers, six destroyers (torpedo boats), together with some torpedoes and shells, spare gun barrels, a total of 500,000 pounds s price.

At the same time, the United Kingdom will be responsible for training 500 crew members for the next two years.

As for the money, the Congolese government will pay in installments and pay the corresponding fees according to the construction progress of these warships in the shipyard.

According to the plan, after delivery, two cruisers and three destroyers will form a cruiser formation and will be dispatched to the mouth of the Congo River to protect the safety of the place.

The other three destroyers will be handed over to the Greek Navy to patrol and guard the Aegean Sea.

Although the naval lineup of two cruisers and several destroyers was still a bit thin when it had a sea conflict with the Ottomans, there was absolutely no problem in maintaining the safety of the Greek coastal waters.

Taking into account the Ottoman navy, due to the lack of military spending in recent years, there are even no warships leaving the seaport in a few years. As long as the Greek navy trains normally and the warships are properly maintained, the control of the Aegean Sea may not necessarily be out of control in Greece during wartime. hands.

After the naval affairs came to an end, Constantine focused all his energy on the army.

At the Defense Ministry building in the center of Athens, Constantine and the Chief of the General Staff, Emanuel, discuss the improvement of the Greek General Staff.

"Your Highness, where do you think we should start?" Emmanuel asked.

With the personal consent of King George and the permission of Prime Minister Terry Kupis, in four to five years, 200 million drachmas were invested in the military to carry out a comprehensive renovation of the Army, as the chief of staff. Emanuel is naturally eager to try.

"Let's start by perfecting the functions of the staff first," Constantine said while sitting on the sofa facing Emanuel.

"First of all, the General Staff is recruiting more professionals. When I say professionals, I don't necessarily mean officers."

Hearing Constantine's explanation, Emmanuel was rather confused. The general staff recruited people, but they were not necessarily military commanders. He said, "It's not an officer, so what are you recruiting for the staff?"

Seeing Emmanuel's puzzled expression, Constantine had to explain: "For example, Your Excellency Chief of the General Staff, does our Greek army have a clear map of the Balkans? Military level."

"If not, should we recruit some surveyors to do map surveying work?"

In the 19th century, accurate maps were very important. In this era without printers, almost every map had to be done manually by cartographers.

Moreover, it also requires cartographers to conduct on-site surveys and then hand-paint them little by little. Therefore, drawing maps in this era is not only a task that requires patience, but also requires cartographers to inspect various places.

When marching and fighting, if you don't understand the terrain, it's like a blind man riding a blind horse. When the two armies face off, the military map is an important source of information for the commander. If you don't understand the terrain, how does the commander send troops?

"You also know that ~www.novelmt.com~ Your Highness, apart from this big move, the military expenditure of the Greek Army has always been tight, as you said to draw an accurate map, which in itself requires a lot of manpower and material resources. It requires huge financial support," Emmanuel said embarrassingly.

How can the Greek army have any accurate maps? Even if there is military expenditure, under the huge military threat of Turkey, it will also give priority to expanding the army. After all, such a solid increase in strength is better than a few more military maps, which makes people safer. sense.

"So, since the military budget is abundant now, a surveying and mapping office is set up under the General Staff, mainly to survey and map the places where the Greek army may fight in the future. Let's not talk about other places, the European part of the Ottoman Empire, you should always give priority to mapping. ' said Constantine.

"For example, the Macedonia region and the Albania region, the military maps of these places are given priority to surveying and mapping."

In the event of a conflict with Turkey, maps of these two regions must be desperately needed.

"Indeed, that's it. It is more dangerous to let the surveyors enter the Ottoman territory alone. You can carry out espionage work in the newly established intelligence office, and at the same time let the personnel of the two departments help each other to complete this task together." Emanuel is also a point. It is clear that the work that the General Staff could not effectively carry out due to the intense military expenditure of Greece can now be carried out.

It is indeed more dangerous to conduct surveying and mapping work in a hostile country on a large scale. After all, as long as there are few people who are vigilant, such espionage will be seen through.

"Well, I can remind the new head of the intelligence department to be formed, and make good use of the large number of Christians in Ottoman Turkey. These people are closer to Greece emotionally. I think they will be willing to help us." Constantine reminded road.

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