Unlike in history, although the number of warships available to the Spaniards on this plane is still 4, the composition is somewhat different. Theresa-class armored ships still exist, but only two, Maria. Princess Teresa and the second ship Almiante. The Okundo!

These two battleships are not much different from history, both are 6,800-ton warships, with two 11-inch guns and ten 5.5-inch guns, although the thickness of the armor belt is between 10 and 12 inches, but the defensive area is very large. Aside from speed and decent firepower, there are no advantages.

The historical battleship "Viscaya" was originally the third ship of the Princess class, but in this plane it was replaced by an armored cruiser of the Munich type purchased from Germany, and the Italian Garibaldi armored cruiser Cristol was originally on another plane. The Cologne was also replaced by Munich-type armored cruisers.

In addition to some changes in the 4 capital ships that participated in the Battle of San Diego in history, this plane also has good news for the Spaniards, that is, the armored cruiser Carlos V, which did not participate in the Spanish-American War in history, was completed ahead of schedule! This battleship can be seen as a Spanish reinforced version of the Munich-type armored cruiser, and the characteristics of this battleship are much stronger than in history.

The historical Carlos V had a very weak side-chord armor belt, only 2 inches! True protection is provided by dome armor up to 6.5 inches thick. In other words, the core protection is good, but it can't deal with the shooting of high-explosive shells, and it is relatively close to the Brooklyn in terms of attributes. The firepower was not very good, but 2 11-inch guns, 8 5.5-inch guns and 4 3.9-inch guns.

After referencing the armored cruiser Viscaia, the Spaniards significantly modified their design, using a German-style single-mount 11-inch turret for the main gun. The secondary gun was armed with 2 calibers. RESPECTIVELY, 4 170MM HEAVY GUNS AND 8 5.5-INCH GUNS. The former, as a secondary main gun, was deployed at the four corners of the ship, while the eight 5.5-inch guns were arranged at both ends.

The biggest change is the defense improvement, the main armor belt is 7 inches thick and 3.5 meters high! The upper armor belt is 6 inches, and all secondary guns above the medium caliber are deployed in the armored gun gallery. Even some of the 12-pounder anti-torpedo guns had some defense. THERE IS ALSO AN ARMOR BELT OF ABOUT 80MM AT THE BOW AND TAIL OF THE HULL, BUT IT IS NOT HARDENED ARMOR BUT ORDINARY NICKEL STEEL ARMOR. With a maximum power output of 18,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of more than 20 knots, the tonnage of the Carlos V in this plane is the same as in history, up to 9,000 tons! Existed as the flagship of the entire Spanish fleet.

Of course, the strengthening of the fleet was a very serious problem for the Americans, but the biggest problem was that the Spaniards really seemed to have adopted a proposal similar to that made by Prince Ruprecht! They turned a blind eye to Cuba and instead concentrated their fleet in the direction of the Philippines!

"Mr. Vice Admiral, your decision is undoubtedly to throw Cuba abandonment to the Americans. And on the island of Cuba, there were still a large number of Spanish troops fighting. I had a hard time accepting this suggestion. "When Lieutenant General Severa handed over his plan to the regent Maria. After the female regent of Christina, the latter's reaction was somewhat violent.

"We simply can't compete with the American fleet in North America, they have 4 battleships, 2 shore defense ironclads and 4 shallow-water heavy gunboats, as well as a large number of cruisers. Combined with the well-developed port facilities and adequate supplies, even if we send our entire fleet to Cuba, it would be a waste to consume a precious fleet where it is bound to be lost, if I had not deployed the fleet in the Philippines. Then we can at least hold on here. Even if the United States sends reinforcements, we will take advantage of the geographical advantages of the Philippines. It can still block the attack of the Americans! Evera repeatedly said that he was just stating this helpless fact.

When the time came when the power of the empire was no longer sufficient to support its global strategy, it became inevitable to shrink at the right time and give up part of it, and Spain had given up too much in the past few hundred years of history, until now. It doesn't seem like a very difficult decision to make.

"The size of the US Far East Fleet is not large, and we can deal with it with only a small number of warships. And I don't think the Americans have plans to attack the Philippines. Said the female regent.

"But according to the information I have not received from various sources, the Americans have planned to send their two armored cruisers to the Far East, and at this point, we must concentrate more than four armored cruisers to barely hold off the opponent. Rather than that. It is better to send all 5 capital ships to the Far East, so that we have a better chance of winning. Sevela insisted.

"Then our home defense will have to rely on the only battleship, the Peleyo, and a few old warships?" The queen said worriedly.

"We have a limited fleet, and that's all we can do at the moment, and I think it's necessary for us to move some of our forces from Cuba to the Philippines and immediately strengthen the defenses of important ports like Manila, so that we have a higher chance of holding on."

"The freeboard of the American battleships was very low, their battleships were not suitable for ocean-going operations, and if two armored cruisers came to the Far East, then the remaining battleships, even if they came, would not be able to pose much of a threat to the coast of Spain." Severa said.

The Spaniards eventually accepted the German proposal, and Prince Ruprecht was a bit surprised when he got the news! After all, this situation is so different from what happened in history! The originally weak Spanish Far East Fleet is not only a matter of strengthening, but the elite of the entire Spanish Navy has been killed! This further derails the already changed situation from the orbit of history.

"But overall, the Spaniard's response is the best that can be done so far." The prince said to himself that before the crossing, someone had not studied much about the history of the Spanish-American War, but he believed that Spain's defeat in the Philippines was largely due to the fact that the Americans did not expect the Americans to make a move in the Far East, from the Maine incident in February to the official outbreak of war in April, the Spaniards strengthened their fleet in the West Indies, but did nothing in the Far East.

In fact, it was not that the Spanish fleet did not have the strength to do it, but it really did not prepare! Historically, after the occupation of the Philippines, the Spaniards organized a revenge fleet, consisting of the 9,745-ton battleship Pelera and the 9,000-ton armored cruiser Carlos V, as well as another 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers. If the Spaniards had guessed that the US military would have moved in the Far East, they would have definitely taken precautions in advance!

Thanks to the book friend 1st Guards Tank Brigade, bighill1982 for the reward~~~, as well as the book friend nickky, pumping Y, meteor → rain, old students, dragoon Feifei monthly ticket support ~~~. Ask for subscription, ask for tips~~~! (To be continued.) )