"Your Excellency, Dean, please listen to my explanation," Oscar said hastily.
If Dean Ludwig Birkenhagen sent a telegram to William II, wouldn't all his efforts be in vain?
Dean Ludwig Birkenhagen looked at oscar coldly. If it were not for oscar's royal identity, he would not have wasted a single word more. He would have thrown him straight out of Kiel Naval Academy¹.
"Your Excellency, perhaps in your opinion, entering the Kiel Naval Academy for four years is a great improvement in a person's ability. However, in my opinion, this is a waste of four years. Am I expected to stay here for four years, only to graduate as a mere second lieutenant²?"
Dean Birkenhagen trembled with anger at oscar's remark.
"Your Highness, shut up! If you don't want to join the navy, I will not force you. But do not insult the navy. It is precisely the countless young second lieutenants who graduated from Kiel Naval Academy that form the backbone of the Imperial German Navy³!" Dean Birkenhagen was furious.
"I'm sorry, Dean, I misspoke," oscar quickly apologized.
"However, Your Excellency the Dean, with all due respect, although the German Navy is catching up, the gap with the British Royal Navy⁴ has not narrowed—it has continuously expanded. The British control most of the colonies in the world, allowing them to plunder wealth and pour it into building their navy.
But what about Germany? Our geographic position necessitates heavy investment in the Army. This makes our naval budget far smaller than Britain's. If this continues, the idea of challenging the Royal Navy is pure delusion."
Dean Birkenhagen fell silent. As a man who had worked in the navy for decades, he had witnessed the Imperial German Navy's growth from nothing into a respectable fleet. Naturally, he knew the vast gap between Germany and Britain. Kaiser Wilhelm II's ambition to develop the navy had been limited by both Germany's financial resources and international opposition⁵. It was indeed extraordinarily difficult for Germany to ever defeat Britain at sea.
"Although our enemy is very powerful, the German Navy will never yield. We will grow stronger, and one day we will defeat the British!" Dean Birkenhagen declared stubbornly.
Oscar nodded. These generals, officers, and sailors of the German Navy were all worthy of respect. It was precisely because of their continuous efforts that the German fleet had grown into the second-largest navy in the world by the early 20th century, second only to Britain.
But so what? In the end, the Imperial German Navy failed to defeat the Royal Navy. After Germany's defeat in the Great War, the entire High Seas Fleet⁶ was scuttled at Scapa Flow⁷. Germany would no longer possess a strong navy.
"Yes, Dean. I believe that with everyone's efforts, the German Navy will become stronger. However, defeating the British remains very difficult. With Britain's financial power, they can easily maintain double the number of capital ships⁸. At that point, defeating them will be easier said than done. With naval warfare having reached the era of steel battleships, luck no longer plays a decisive role in victory."
In the age of sail, fortune had played a much larger role in naval battles. But now, with fleets of massive armored battleships, victory depended overwhelmingly on numbers, firepower, and logistics—not chance.
Dean Birkenhagen involuntarily nodded. Though he disliked admitting it, oscar's analysis was correct.
"Your Highness, are you so pessimistic about the future of the German Navy? Do you truly believe we cannot be Britain's opponent?" Dean Birkenhagen asked.
"Your Excellency, frankly speaking, if the Navy continues at its current pace, we cannot defeat Britain. In a future war, our navy will be unable to stop the Royal Navy. That will be a disaster for Germany. Our coasts will be blockaded, our overseas trade severed, and we will be encircled. If the Army fails to achieve a swift victory, the war will drag into a stalemate, and Germany may simply be strangled to death."
Dean Birkenhagen and Carl were both shaken. They had great confidence in Germany, but they could not deny that oscar's s grim scenario was entirely possible.
"Your Highness, is there no hope for Germany?" Carl asked, his voice trembling.
"No, Germany still has a chance. If we can build more capital ships capable of overwhelming the British, then our navy could defeat them. If the navy wins, then in future wars Germany would be invincible," oscar said firmly.
"However, the Empire does not have the funds to expand the navy to that level. Competing with Britain in capital ship numbers is simply unrealistic," Dean Birkenhagen replied, shaking his head.
"It is true that our ships match Britain's in performance. But if we attempt to compete in numbers, we fall far behind. That is precisely why I don't want to waste four years in the Naval Academy."
"Your Highness, what does that have to do with your refusal to study here? It is precisely because the gap between the German Navy and Britain is so great that men like you are needed!"
Unknowingly, Dean Birkenhagen's hostility toward oscar had already lessened. In his eyes, since oscar possessed such insight, he was not simply an ignorant prince.
Oscar shook his head. "Your Excellency, the greatest obstacle to the Navy's development is funding. If I can contribute more funds to the Navy through my own efforts, that would be of far greater benefit."
Dean Birkenhagen frowned. To him, oscar's reasoning sounded far-fetched, even fanciful.
"Your Excellency, if I can promise to donate a battleship⁹ to the German Navy within the next four years, would you then agree to my earlier request?"
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Historical Notes
1. Kiel Naval Academy – Founded in 1866, it trained officers for the Imperial German Navy. Located in Kiel, one of Germany's main naval bases.
2. Second Lieutenant (Leutnant zur See) – The lowest commissioned officer rank in the Imperial German Navy.
3. Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) – Established in 1871 and heavily expanded under Kaiser Wilhelm II. By 1914, it was the world's second-largest fleet.
4. Royal Navy – The pride of Britain and the largest, most powerful navy in the world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
5. Naval Arms Race – Britain and Germany engaged in an intense battleship race in the early 1900s, especially after Britain launched HMS Dreadnought (1906), which revolutionized naval warfare.
6. High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte) – Germany's main battle fleet, created to challenge the Royal Navy.
7. Scapa Flow Scuttling (1919) – After World War I, German crews scuttled their entire interned fleet at Scapa Flow, Scotland, to prevent it from falling into Allied hands.
8. Capital Ships – The largest and most powerful warships of the era, including battleships and battlecruisers. Britain's industrial and colonial wealth allowed them to outbuild Germany two-to-one.
9. Donating a Battleship – Historically, wealthy industrialists, cities, or even foreign allies sometimes financed warships. For example, in Britain, public donations helped fund ships like HMS Dreadnought. In Imperial Germany, large contributions from Krupp and shipbuilders were crucial for the fleet's growth.