Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 410 Launching Ceremony
Regardless of the cost of the Fearless battleship, what the Spanish government and navy wanted most at this time was to complete the Fearless battleship as soon as possible, and then discover and resolve any problems during the long naval trials so that this new Spanish warship could be commissioned into the navy fleet as soon as possible.

As the warships were being built, winter soon arrived in Spain. Winter in Spain is still somewhat cold, but this did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the workers at the Royal Guanizzo Shipyard for building battleships.

Because the Dreadnought battleship is nearing completion, high-ranking naval officials and numerous technical experts from the shipyard have recently gathered together, fearing that any problems during the construction process could cause the abortion of this battleship on which Spain has placed high hopes.

The good news is that the construction of the Dreadnought battleship has been progressing smoothly so far. The overall construction of the warship is basically complete, and the next step is to install all the systems into the warship. After the testing is completed, it can be launched for trials.

The installation of ten 305mm 45-caliber guns made the naval commanders green with envy. Such a warship far surpassed all previous battleships in terms of firepower. If the Spanish Navy could have such a warship in service, its naval strength would definitely be elevated to a new level.

Even before the Dreadnought was completed, the admirals of the Navy had already unanimously decided, after discussions, to make it the future flagship of the Spanish fleet.

Fearlessness will also become the spirit of the Spanish Navy, and even when facing a more powerful enemy, the navy's soldiers will never back down in the slightest.

During the construction of the Dreadnought battleship, Carlo visited the Royal Guarnizo shipyard multiple times to watch the construction of the warship he had personally chosen.

Carlo was quite satisfied with the battleship that was gradually taking shape. If the subsequent naval trials went smoothly, it would not only mean that Spain had taken the lead in possessing the most powerful warships, but also that Carlo had completely changed history and that Spain had a chance to gain more benefits in the upcoming First World War.

If the history of dreadnoughts can be changed, can the history of World War I be changed as well?
Carlo was not alarmed by the possibility of history being altered, because after a long period of development, Spain had become capable of competing with any superpower.

With the development of tanks and airplanes, Spain was not only able to contend with these superpowers, but also to win battles on the main battlefield, becoming a new world hegemon in its own way.

“This is truly a magnificent behemoth.” In the dry dock of the Royal Guanizo Shipyard, Spanish Royal Navy Commander-in-Chief Grayson Luis looked excitedly at the gradually taking shape battleship, the Dreadnought, and said with a smile.

"Although a large number of secondary guns have been eliminated, the number of main guns on the HMS Dreadnought has also increased. From an aesthetic point of view, the HMS Dreadnought's appearance certainly surpasses that of the warships before it. I just don't know if it can meet our requirements." The vice admiral of the navy, who was also very fond of the HMS Dreadnought's appearance, was somewhat worried about whether a warship that had completely eliminated secondary guns could meet the Navy Department's requirements.

It's important to understand that the targets Carlo set for the Navy were no joke.

The ship needs to reach a speed of 21 knots, have firepower exceeding that of the previous Monarch-class battleships, and further improve its armor protection. Achieving progress in all three aspects is no easy feat.

The largest warship Spain had ever built was the flagship of the Monarch-class battleships, Ferdinand II.

However, the full-load displacement of the battleship Ferdinand II was only 1.3 tons, far less than the conventional displacement of the battleship Dreadnought, which was at least 1.78 tons.

The Dreadnought battleship had a full-load displacement of over 2 tons, making it not only Spain's first 2-ton behemoth but also the world's first battleship with a full-load displacement exceeding 2 tons.

Although standard displacement is generally used when calculating the tonnage of warships, this does not prevent the Spanish Navy from regarding the Fearless battleship as a true 20,000-ton behemoth, seeing it as the pride and future of the Spanish Navy.

For the Spanish Navy, the Dreadnought-class battleships and the latest submarines are enough to support the main body of the naval framework, while the remaining components are filled by small and medium-sized warships of varying tonnages.

These warships, with a displacement of around 1,000 tons, play mostly auxiliary roles. Therefore, the Spanish Navy does not place excessive demands on the performance of these small and medium-sized warships, aiming only to maintain them at a top-tier level in Europe.

With its mainstay battleships and submarines, the Spanish Navy aims to maintain its position among the top navies in Europe. Only in this way can the Spanish Navy unleash sufficient combat power to compete with established naval powers.

As the cold winter passed, on March 11, 1902, Spain ushered in an extremely important day: the battleship Fearless was officially completed, and the navy secretly prepared a launching ceremony for it that was not grand, but had a very luxurious lineup.

Those attending the launching ceremony of the Fearless battleship were either the highest-ranking members of the Spanish military or high-ranking officials in the Spanish government; only cabinet ministers and above were allowed to participate.

As for the officials and generals who were not of high enough rank, they were not only not qualified to participate in the launching ceremony, but they were not even qualified to know any specific information about the Dreadnought battleship.

On March 11, 1902, the launching ceremony of the battleship HMS Dreadnought officially began as a convoy of luxurious cars arrived at the Royal Guarnizo shipyard.

Carlo arrived at the shipyard with Prime Minister Angelo Orcajo, accompanied by the current Minister of Defense, General Jorti of the Royal Spanish Armed Forces.

The Spanish military rank system is universal, but depending on the unit served, it can be broadly divided into three types of warships.

Army ranks, Navy ranks, and Royal Army ranks.

Although these ranks are of the same level, an army general certainly cannot oversee the navy, and a navy general certainly cannot oversee the army.

The Royal Army ranks are separate from those of the Army and Navy, and can be considered the highest military ranks in Spain. Simply put, those awarded Royal Army ranks enjoy the same rank and benefits regardless of whether they serve in the Army or Navy.

The most obvious example is the current Secretary of Defense, Jyoti, whose rank of general is the same as that of the Royal Army, which can be understood as general of the army or navy, rather than simply general of the army or admiral of the navy.

Generally, only officers in special positions are granted royal army ranks. Even Carlo's private army, the Imperial Guard, consists of officers with ordinary army ranks, since they have no connection with the navy.

Currently, only high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Defence hold royal military ranks, such as the Minister of Defence and the Chief of the General Staff of the Defence General Staff.

In addition to the General Staff of the Ministry of Defence, the Army and Navy departments under the Ministry of Defence also have their own staffs. However, the chiefs of staff of these staffs hold the ranks of their respective branches of the armed forces, not the special ranks of the Royal Army.

As for Carlo's rank of Grand Marshal, strictly speaking, it also belongs to the Royal Army rank.

Regardless of how many branches of the Spanish armed forces there are, Carlos is the nominal supreme commander of all the Spanish armed forces. The rank of Marshal naturally includes all army and navy units, and will also include air force units in the future.

Since Prime Ministers Primo and Serrano, Spain has not had a marshal. This is not because Carlo refused to grant the rank, but because his generals had not yet accumulated enough merit to qualify for the rank.

Whether it's an army marshal, a navy marshal, or a royal army marshal, all require sufficient merit to pave the way.

Becoming a marshal meant that the officer would become the most outstanding among all Spanish officers. Without sufficient achievements to build prestige, many officers would express dissatisfaction with the new marshal. Prime Ministers Primo and Serrano became marshals because, in one aspect, they overthrew the cruel and exploitative government of the Kingdom of Isabella and established a new era of more enlightened rule.

On the other hand, they made great contributions to Spain during their tenure as prime ministers, and they should be awarded the rank of marshal by both reason and duty.

But apart from these two, Spain has not yet had any officers with such qualifications and abilities.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the current Minister of Defense holds the rank of general; that's only because the Minister of Defense must be a general. While Jordi certainly has made significant contributions, they aren't enough to elevate him to the rank of general in Spain.

Although Spanish military ranks are divided by branch of service, the upcoming launch of a warship with an actual cost exceeding 42 million pesetas is an opportunity that all the top Spanish military officials who have heard the news are unwilling to miss.

This explains why several high-ranking army generals were present at what was supposed to be a warship launching ceremony. Carlo didn't stop them from coming; after all, harmony between the army and navy was very important.

There are many countries where the army and navy are on good terms, and there are also many countries where the army and navy have fierce conflicts or even a complete break.

This brings us to the country that became a great power by defeating Russia. This country transformed from a backward, indigenous nation into a powerful nation in just a few decades—a truly astonishing rate of development.

However, because it relied too heavily on Western countries in its development and reforms, and not just one, the country's land and naval development has fallen into an extremely awkward situation.

The Japanese army learned from the powerful German Empire at the time, after all, Germany had defeated France and become the new land hegemon in Europe.

Their navy learned from the then-dominant maritime power, Britain, and through years of effort, built a fairly strong navy.

It is well known that it is not easy for a country to develop its army and navy in a balanced way. At present, there are not many countries in Europe that can be considered to have a balanced army and navy, and some of them are only barely balanced.

France is the best. France possesses a powerful navy, and they also have a powerful army.

This is something that Germany currently lacks. Although Germany's army is very powerful, its navy is among the weakest of the major powers.

Although Wilhelm II accelerated the pace of naval development after taking power, the German Navy is still not considered first-rate in the world and cannot be ranked among the top powers.

Spain is considered one of the countries with a relatively balanced army and navy after France, but there are reasons for this balance.

Spain had no clear enemies or rivals on the European continent, and the relative isolation of the Iberian Peninsula allowed it to place less emphasis on its army, saving a great deal of resources and money.

It was precisely the large amount of resources and funds saved in the development of the army that enabled the cultivation of a sufficiently powerful navy.

If Spain had a powerful neighbor as an enemy, like Germany, it would have had to devote 100% of its efforts to developing its army.

If that's the case, Spain wouldn't have the funds to develop its navy, and naturally, the navy wouldn't be able to develop.

For relatively wealthy European countries, balancing the development of their navy and army is not easy, let alone for Japan, a country that has only recently become a great power through reforms (historically).

With both the navy and army wanting to develop, fierce competition for military spending between the two sides is inevitable.

Such fierce competition would severely damage the relationship between the army and navy, which is one of the reasons why the relationship between the Japanese army and navy deteriorated over time.

Another major reason stems from historical tradition. Their navy was modeled after Britain, and their army after Germany. Although relations between the two countries were relatively good before World War I, they were enemies in both World Wars.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for the relationship between the Japanese Army and Navy to improve. This is why their Army and Navy not only did not help each other, but even hindered each other, and each established its own Marine Corps and Army Navy Corps.

What's even more astonishing is that many of the excellent army equipment were developed by the navy and only issued to the Marine Corps. Similarly, many powerful warships were developed by the army and only issued to the Army Navy.

Such a bizarre scene has created the deformity of this country, and their failure is only natural and intolerable to heaven and earth.

For Carlo, conflict between the army and navy was something to be avoided as much as possible. The Spanish army should have a unified objective: to turn its guns on its enemy.

Both the army and the navy can be categorized under the Spanish Royal Army. Since everyone is an ally, there will naturally be no conflict.

Under Carlo's special guidance, the relationship between the Spanish Army and Navy remained relatively harmonious. Both the Army and Navy belonged to the Ministry of Defense, and Spain never skimped on its military budget, which contributed to the friendly relationship between the two branches.

Even when Spain's finances were tight, the army and navy never clashed over military spending, let alone now that the finances are better.

Although the launching ceremony of the Dreadnought battleship was highly confidential, quite a few military generals were present.

Of course, only lieutenant generals are qualified to participate in this launching ceremony, in order to minimize the risk of exposure.

Those who can become lieutenant generals are the highest-ranking officers in the Spanish military, and the possibility of these people leaking information is very low, or even completely impossible.

Under the watchful eye of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, it could be said that everyone present was a loyal subject of Spain.

The launching ceremony went smoothly. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the Dreadnought battleship was slowly pushed into the shallow water, signifying that the land-based construction of the battleship was basically completed. The next step is the installation of various equipment and subsequent debugging and testing. Once all these steps are completed, the Dreadnought battleship can officially enter service with the Spanish Navy.

(End of this chapter)