If you want to ask who is the country with the highest proportion of capital warship losses in the First World War, France and Austria-Hungary are definitely on the list, the former once built as many as 8 or so dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts, but in the end only 2 were left, and this is not the end, even the former dreadnoughts that have been accumulated for decades have lost a fine light. So much so that after the end of the First World War, the French Navy was ridiculed as a navy with only two ships! And as a colonial power, the French could not sit idly by, both emotionally and practically, as a result of the weakening of the navy. Although greatly reduced in strength after the war, the French, as a great power with colonies throughout Africa and Southeast Asia, and more importantly against the increasingly powerful German and Austrian fleets, had to grit their teeth and rebuild their navy. "The Mediterranean may not be French, but certainly not the Allies!" George Legge said this eloquently at a council meeting.

What kind of navy does France need to build? This question has always puzzled the top brass of the French Navy, such as Georges Legge and Darlan. The French have always loved innovation, but it seems that these innovations sometimes don't work well. The fighting in the Mediterranean in World War I nearly interrupted the self-confidence and ambition that the French Navy had built up for nearly 100 years since the Napoleonic era. As a traditional naval power, you can't beat Britain, even if you can't beat Britain, and then because the industry and national strength are not as good as Germany, China and the United States, you can't even beat Italy, which was founded less than 100 years ago, and Austria-Hungary, which has never focused on the navy, that would be too humiliating! Although there is a factor of Ao's surprise attack, the defeat is indeed a bit unusual.

The harsh reality forced the French to learn from the experiences and lessons of other successful countries. The Germans could not learn from France, after all, the strategies and national strength of the two sides were very different, and the Germans would not communicate with the French. The remaining countries with more successful naval strategies were China and Italy, and with the post-war relaxation of relations between China and the Allies, there were more and more exchanges between the navies of France and China, which had little to do with each other. As a country with the most conflicting interests with China, the exchanges between France and China are much stronger in depth and breadth than those with Britain and the United States, the former has begun to discuss naval strategic issues, while the latter is more of a technical cooperation.

"In fact, as early as the end of World War I, the French Navy had become a second-rate navy in terms of size and strength. The fierce naval battles of World War 1 hastened the decline of the French navy, and now, although your country is striving to build and support its navy. But it is obviously impossible to return to the position at the end of the 19th century, so your country needs to find its own position, that is, what is the position of the French Navy in the future Entente? "At a meeting of the delegations of the Chinese and French navies. As the best naval commander in China. It is ironic that he, who was also one of the behind-the-scenes watchers who led the Allies in the failure of their plan to turn the tables in the Mediterranean, now began to help the French build their fleet.

"The following words are very unpleasant, but I think what I am saying will be the closest to the truth, in the future Mediterranean, unless one of the Allied countries falls to the Entente, your navy or even the Entente navy will have no place in the Mediterranean. The process of the German High Seas Fleet going south has begun. In the Mediterranean, the navies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Spain were gathered, and they had an absolute advantage in strength. The deployment of the Navy in this closed sea area no longer makes any sense. They would be of no use other than to be anchored in the harbor under the cover of the air force, and the fleet, which could not leave the port all the time, would be of very limited significance, and would drag down the already small air force of France. ”

"It seems to me that the main area of operations of the French Navy in the future is in two directions, one is the Atlantic, and the other is here." Lin Yongsheng pointed to Madagascar, an island located in southwest Africa, with the pencil in his hand, and then drew a circle with this as the center of the circle.

"I can understand the North Atlantic, but why did Your Excellency set up a French navy to deploy a fleet on the island of Madagascar in southwestern Africa? If it is from the point of view of breaking diplomatic relations, the effect will not be obvious, because in the future the direction of the German attack will be Persia and the South Asian subcontinent, and their fleet and transport ships will inevitably sail close to the mainland in order to be under the joint protection of the fleet and the air force, not to mention that the island of Madagascar is not too far away? The efficiency of breaking diplomatic relations could be low, wouldn't it be better if the French detachment chose to deploy with the British using Indian ports? George Leg said with some puzzlement.

"It is safe precisely because it is far away, and it has a large area and enough depth to be safe, and you must put your own safety first in any battle. It is much better to have a remote but safe base than to have a base that is closer to the battlefield and dies faster, as for the German maritime defense system? I don't think he's as strong as you think! Lin Yongsheng then stroked a pencil on the Arabian Peninsula and said: "First of all, the southern countries of the Arabian Peninsula are not members of the Central Powers, and the environment is so harsh that it is difficult to guarantee even the most basic water sources, so it is difficult for me to imagine that the Germans will deploy a large number of air forces here. If nothing else, the logistical and maintenance pressures alone are already very high. ”

"In Italy's East African colonies, not to mention the limited range of threats posed by using it as a base, and at the same time, Italy's attitude is likely to frustrate the German-Austrian scheme. Therefore, in the western part of the Indian Ocean, there is actually a relatively large disadvantaged area. What's more, almost all Allied transport ships and warships will sail from here to South Asia. It's a promising area in terms of both strategic and tactical feasibility. ”

"If the Allied Navy were to engage the British South Asian Fleet and the American fleet head-on, then there would indeed be a weak zone here. The Germans had to strengthen their air forces in the Persian Gulf to counteract the British air forces in Persia and South Asia. Therefore, the Germans will definitely focus on areas close to Persia and India, and will not choose the Arabian Peninsula. After thinking about it carefully, George Legge agreed with Lin Yongsheng's statement. But I guess wouldn't it be better if our fleet could use the island of Diego Garcia of the British? It was closer to the battlefield and farther away from the core of the forces deployed by the Germans. Subsequently, George Legge raised the anti-construction yì.

"Notice what I've said, one of the things that makes Madagascar safe is its depth, in addition to its distance. The island of Madagascar is an island of 600,000 square kilometers. Moreover, there are multiple ports on it, and if the Allies are to pay attention to this island, how much effort will it take for them to control the entire island? How many troops are needed to deal with the partisans on the island? How many fleets are needed to stop your ships from delivering supplies from Africa across the water? I don't know the exact amount, but it's certainly an astronomical amount! Lin Yongsheng said with a smile.

"The navy needs the base, and if the other side can destroy the base, then our fleet will not be able to stay here for a long time, and the island of Madagascar lacks infrastructure and is almost incapable of recovering it." George Leg was still skeptical of what Lin Yongsheng said.

"Mr. Admiral, I'm not talking about the island of Madagascar alone. Don't forget, France has an ally called Britain, and Britain has a colony in southern Africa called South Africa, which is almost the most industrially and infragranularly developed region in Africa. Lin Yongsheng was already a little unhappy in his heart, no one dared to fight with him in the Huaxia Navy or the Italian Navy back then, and if the other party wanted to say the right thing, it would be forgotten, but it was obvious that this George Legge was guided because of his lack of vision. No wonder the French Navy was beaten in World War 1, from the level of view, the boss of the French Navy is indeed inferior to Tycho. Tycho may not be a genius, but at least he can understand it. And George Leger? It must be explained to him.

"Taking a step back, even if the base on the island of Madagascar was attacked, and then taking a step back, the Germans destroyed the entire port of Madagascar, but so what? Your fleet could have withdrawn to South Africa again, and if the German navy went north again, it could have fought back. And if the Germans plan to continue a war of attrition with France around the island of Madagascar, then their South Asian strategy will have to be abandoned. If an area that is difficult to attack can be solved once and for all by a strong attack, then the Allies may still take risks, but if they cannot solve the problem at all in a short period of time, and it conflicts with strategic objectives, then I think the Allies would rather choose passive defense than actively disperse their forces! Lin Yongsheng explained to the other party with a twelve-point patience.

"Diego Garcia Island belongs to the former, the Germans only need to take a few weeks to completely solve this nail, and the latter is an iron pillar in the eyes of the Germans, if they want to solve this place completely, then congratulations, the Germans' plan to go south has failed!" In line with the principle that if you can, you can't do it, and you won't do what you can for the Entente, Xu Jie and the top level of the navy specially helped the French Navy formulate this plan, and planted a nail behind the German navy to see how the Germans responded.

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