At the end of October 1796, Tsar Michael II summoned the Navy Minister Alexander and the commanders of the four fleets in Mosk.
Currently, the Russian Navy was divided into the Northern Fleet, the Baltics Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet, and the Pacific Fleet.
However, the current naval strength of the Russian Empire was not considered strong. After these warships were divided into four fleets, the strength of each fleet would naturally be even weaker.
There was nothing they could do about it. However, it lacked an ice-free harbor. Especially the long coastline in the north that bordered the Arctic Ocean, there were very few that could be used as a military port. Because of the warm current of the North Atlantic Ocean, Murmansk was not frozen all year round and was suitable for warships to dock.
The other ports, whether it was the ports on the coast of the Baltics or the Pacific Ocean, all had frozen periods.
The northern part of the Baltics had a long period of freezing every year. This forced the Russian Navy's Baltics Fleet to leave for Murmansk every winter.
The mother port of the Pacific Fleet, Vladimir, also had a freezing period. Fortunately, the ice layer was not thick, and they could sail with the help of an icebreaker. However, this was too troublesome. This was also the reason why the Russian Empire wanted to expand in the Far East and seize the Kanto Region.
As for the Black Sea Fleet, although the Black Sea coast would not be frozen, Sevastopol was also an excellent naval base. But the key was that the Black Sea was almost an enclosed inland sea. The previously signed 'Fog Capital Pact' stipulated that the Russian Empire's warships could not pass through the Dardanelle and Bosporus. It could be said that the Black Sea Fleet was sealed in the Black Sea.
From these aspects, it was very difficult for the Russian Empire's navy to develop.
The commander of the Northern Fleet, Lieutenant General Rozhdestvinsky, the commander of the Baltics Fleet, Lieutenant General Foksam, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Lieutenant General Makarov, and the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Lieutenant General Alekseev, all attended this meeting.
At present, the main battleships of the Russian Navy consisted of 10 ironclads, 16 pre-dreadnoughts, 8 armored cruisers, and a group of cruisers.
Such naval strength was considered pretty good at the moment.
However, in Mihail's eyes, these warships were all old. Even in this era, this was not considered a very advanced warship, let alone a few years later.
In another dimension, Nicholas II had the intention to develop his navy and built a large number of pre-dreadnought ships and armored cruisers.
Unfortunately, these warships with poor performance were all lost in the naval battle against the Japanese Empire a few years later. They were either sunk by the Japanese or captured by the Japanese. This was simply a disgrace to the Russian Empire!
Therefore, the first order that Michael gave to the navy after he inherited the throne was to temporarily stop all the navy's ship construction plans. Those battleships that had already entered the water could be outfitted and put into service after completion. The other battleships were all canceled.
In Michael's opinion, instead of wasting a lot of resources and money to build these warships with outdated performance, it was better to stop for a while and improve the construction technology first, then gradually build the truly advanced warships.
In this way, not only could the strength of the Russian Navy be increased, but it could also be increased. At the same time, they could also win the crucial naval battle in the future.
Of course, the Russian Empire was still a continental country. The enemies they faced on land were the most important. As for the navy, they were placed in a slightly secondary position.
After the Russian Empire dominated Europe on land, it could then compete with the Empire of Never Setting Sun and even the Lighthouse Nation on the other side of the ocean for hegemony. At that time, the navy would be useful.
After all, the enemies that the Russian Empire faced on land, including the Germanic Empire, the Austro-Hun Empire, and even the Turkish Empire, could be considered as powerful land forces.
Especially the Germanic Empire, which was known as the world's number one army.
If the Russian Empire wanted to dominate Europe, it would first have to defeat the German Empire. The rest would have to be considered later.
The mission of the Russian Navy was to defeat the Japanese Navy in the upcoming naval battle and maintain the suppression of the Japanese Navy.
As for challenging the sea overlord and becoming a top naval power, it was better to wait until the Russian Empire dominated Europe first.
It was also because of this goal that the Russian Empire needed to make adjustments to their future warship construction plans.
"Gentlemen, you are the pillars of the Imperial Navy. However, according to the series of problems the Imperial Navy was facing and the actual situation they encountered, the Imperial Navy was not in a good position. I plan to strengthen the Northern Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet. The Baltics Fleet and the Pacific Fleet would be converted into coastal defense fleets!”Mihail said to the admirals.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]