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Plan "C" Chinese Naval Rearnament
Hmmm - I don't necessarily need an ubergod figure who can fix everything wrong with the Italian military - I just need someone marginally more competent than OTL. They don't have the be brilliant general either - just good administrators. Also Giuseppe Ferari is driving much of these reforms with Cavalerro serving as a useful front man - Cavalerro has the clout - Ferrari has the brains. Ferrari uses his reforms to purge the Italian Army of Cavalerro's rivals + deadwood - Cavalerro gets the credit for reforming the Italian Army.
Thanks to everyone for their kind feedback and comments - as I've said I will get to all of them in the end! I promise
Anyway - without further ado:
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Plan "C" Chinese Naval Rearnament
Grand Admiral Chen Chak - Supreme Commander of Chinese Naval Forces
"The Chinese Navy - once like China itself - was once the best of the world. Brave and innovative Chinese sailors like Zheng He once reached even the distant Americas. Chinse revenue fleets traded with Europe itself and bought civilization to the barbarous - enabling them to eventually overtake us. The Chinese Navy will be the greatest in the world once more."
- A drunk and incoherent Chen Chak rambles to the cabinet.
The Chinese Naval Forces (often shortened to Chinese Navy) - much like the Chinese Air Forces - was often created by pioneering men. Men of great vision and determination with the charisma and personality to get funding, equipment and the attention of the army focussed Kuomintang. From an early age Chan Chak showed a badassery that would be his defining characteristic for the rest of his life, following an accident which left his left leg (heh) severely infected - he performed an amuptation. At the age of eight. Without anaesthesia. Like many disenfranchised and jobless youth of his day he became a revolutionary. At the age of 17 he hijacked the composite cruiser Guangjia - his bombardment of the Forbidden Palace in Beijing was crucial to the Xinhai Revolution and the fall of the Qing dynasty. An assasin's grenade in 1913 left him unable to speak. By sheer force of will he was able to speak again in 1928 - defying all known medical logic. Following his recovery he was made "Supreme Commander of the Chinese Naval Forces" beating out the professionally trained, but less badass Admiral Chen Shaokuan. However Chiang could not afford to lose the services of Chen Shaokuan he was offered the post of "Commander of the Submarine Forces" - a significant honour when submarines are your only ocean-going vessel - second only to Chan Chak.
The rivalry of the two men did not only affect their personal relations and the lack of communication between the Submarine Forces and the Chinese Navy it also led to battles of what should be given construction priority.
Current Strengt of Chinese Naval Forces (December 1934):
Capital Ships (Light cruiser and above)
2 X Light Carries ( Post WWI Vintage) CN Guangzhou, CN Shanghai
2 X Battleships (World War I Vintage) - CN Yi Min, CN Sun Yat-sen
3 X Light Cruisers (Semi-Modern) - CN Ping Hai, CN Ning Hai, CN Jing Hai
4 X Light Cruisers (Obsolete Rust-bucket From The Qing Era) - CN Guangjia, CN Guangji, CN Guangbing, CN Guangding
Non-Capital Class:
300 x Coastal Submarines (Based from the German UB Type I Submarine - WWI Vintage)
30 X Electric Long Rage Ocean-Going Submarines Type 1 (A culmination of illegal German research and experimentation of submarine types in China. Would later be the foundation of the German Type I Submarine)
500 x V-Ships (A very, very, very poor man's/ hobo's destroyer/minelayer/minesweeper/floating target practice)
50 X Destroyers (Modern - based on German designs)
1000 x miscelaneous craft (including yachts armed with 20mm AA)
Under Construction/In Reserve:
1 X Battleship (Modern - The Battleship Dante Alighieri is being modernized by La Spezia Royal Yard Italy to be sold to the Chinese Naval Forces)
2 X Carriers (One being constructed by Shanghai Naval Yard, One Being Constructed at Guangzhou Naval Yard)
500 x V-Ships (The Chinese Naval Forces have enough guns to equip 500 more trawlers/merchantmen/whatever they can pick up)
Plan "A"
Supreme Commander Chan Chak proposed what dry, bureacratic and unbadass historians would later label "Naval Plan A." In fact Chan Chak's original plan and memorandum was titled "Naval Plannings of Greatness for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of China." Chan Chak proposed this fleet strenght:
6 x Battleships (Need to modernize the 2 existing battleships, need to await delivery of Italian Dante Aligehri, need to buy/build three more battleship)
6 x Carriers (Need to build 6 carriers)
12 x Light Carriers (Need to build 10 Light Carriers)
100 x Light Cruisers (Need to upgrade 4 light cruisers, need to build 93 light cruisers)
180 X Modern Destroyers (Need to build 150 more!)
1000 X "Modern" V-Ships (would have needed to build 500 and convert 500...)
300 x Coastal Submarines
30 X Long Range Submarines
Although Chiang liked Admiral Chak's plan - there was no way he was going to fork out the obscene ammounts of money Plan "A" would have required. Chiang also sensed an Italian attempt to make more money by the fact that China would have needed to purchase many of these ships (from Italy) if Plan A was to be completed by 1939.
Plan B
Admiral Chen Shauokan attempted to ingratiate himself with Chiang by proposing Plan Bruno with the help of Wilhelm Canaris. History remembers this plan as "Naval Plan B" Chen proposed a very modest increase in fleet strenght. The existing numbers of capital and non-submarine ships could be kept at the same level. Chen advocated a large and powerful submarine force with 500 "Long Range" Submarines and 500 "Coastal Submarines."
Plan C
Faced with two options that he didn't like very much - Chiang decided to come up with a different plan. Plan Chiang - which history now remembers as Plan C. He proposed this fleet strenght:
3 x Battleships
3 x Carriers
6 x Light Carriers
30 x Light Cruisers
100 x Modern Destroyers
500 x "Modern" V-ships
500 x Coastal Submarines
150 X Long range submarines
Only time would tell whether Chiang had chosen the correct route....
Thanks to everyone for their kind feedback and comments - as I've said I will get to all of them in the end! I promise
Anyway - without further ado:
________________________________________________________________
Plan "C" Chinese Naval Rearnament
Grand Admiral Chen Chak - Supreme Commander of Chinese Naval Forces
"The Chinese Navy - once like China itself - was once the best of the world. Brave and innovative Chinese sailors like Zheng He once reached even the distant Americas. Chinse revenue fleets traded with Europe itself and bought civilization to the barbarous - enabling them to eventually overtake us. The Chinese Navy will be the greatest in the world once more."
- A drunk and incoherent Chen Chak rambles to the cabinet.
The Chinese Naval Forces (often shortened to Chinese Navy) - much like the Chinese Air Forces - was often created by pioneering men. Men of great vision and determination with the charisma and personality to get funding, equipment and the attention of the army focussed Kuomintang. From an early age Chan Chak showed a badassery that would be his defining characteristic for the rest of his life, following an accident which left his left leg (heh) severely infected - he performed an amuptation. At the age of eight. Without anaesthesia. Like many disenfranchised and jobless youth of his day he became a revolutionary. At the age of 17 he hijacked the composite cruiser Guangjia - his bombardment of the Forbidden Palace in Beijing was crucial to the Xinhai Revolution and the fall of the Qing dynasty. An assasin's grenade in 1913 left him unable to speak. By sheer force of will he was able to speak again in 1928 - defying all known medical logic. Following his recovery he was made "Supreme Commander of the Chinese Naval Forces" beating out the professionally trained, but less badass Admiral Chen Shaokuan. However Chiang could not afford to lose the services of Chen Shaokuan he was offered the post of "Commander of the Submarine Forces" - a significant honour when submarines are your only ocean-going vessel - second only to Chan Chak.
The rivalry of the two men did not only affect their personal relations and the lack of communication between the Submarine Forces and the Chinese Navy it also led to battles of what should be given construction priority.
Current Strengt of Chinese Naval Forces (December 1934):
Capital Ships (Light cruiser and above)
2 X Light Carries ( Post WWI Vintage) CN Guangzhou, CN Shanghai
2 X Battleships (World War I Vintage) - CN Yi Min, CN Sun Yat-sen
3 X Light Cruisers (Semi-Modern) - CN Ping Hai, CN Ning Hai, CN Jing Hai
4 X Light Cruisers (Obsolete Rust-bucket From The Qing Era) - CN Guangjia, CN Guangji, CN Guangbing, CN Guangding
Non-Capital Class:
300 x Coastal Submarines (Based from the German UB Type I Submarine - WWI Vintage)
30 X Electric Long Rage Ocean-Going Submarines Type 1 (A culmination of illegal German research and experimentation of submarine types in China. Would later be the foundation of the German Type I Submarine)
500 x V-Ships (A very, very, very poor man's/ hobo's destroyer/minelayer/minesweeper/floating target practice)
50 X Destroyers (Modern - based on German designs)
1000 x miscelaneous craft (including yachts armed with 20mm AA)
Under Construction/In Reserve:
1 X Battleship (Modern - The Battleship Dante Alighieri is being modernized by La Spezia Royal Yard Italy to be sold to the Chinese Naval Forces)
2 X Carriers (One being constructed by Shanghai Naval Yard, One Being Constructed at Guangzhou Naval Yard)
500 x V-Ships (The Chinese Naval Forces have enough guns to equip 500 more trawlers/merchantmen/whatever they can pick up)
Plan "A"
Supreme Commander Chan Chak proposed what dry, bureacratic and unbadass historians would later label "Naval Plan A." In fact Chan Chak's original plan and memorandum was titled "Naval Plannings of Greatness for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of China." Chan Chak proposed this fleet strenght:
6 x Battleships (Need to modernize the 2 existing battleships, need to await delivery of Italian Dante Aligehri, need to buy/build three more battleship)
6 x Carriers (Need to build 6 carriers)
12 x Light Carriers (Need to build 10 Light Carriers)
100 x Light Cruisers (Need to upgrade 4 light cruisers, need to build 93 light cruisers)
180 X Modern Destroyers (Need to build 150 more!)
1000 X "Modern" V-Ships (would have needed to build 500 and convert 500...)
300 x Coastal Submarines
30 X Long Range Submarines
Although Chiang liked Admiral Chak's plan - there was no way he was going to fork out the obscene ammounts of money Plan "A" would have required. Chiang also sensed an Italian attempt to make more money by the fact that China would have needed to purchase many of these ships (from Italy) if Plan A was to be completed by 1939.
Plan B
Admiral Chen Shauokan attempted to ingratiate himself with Chiang by proposing Plan Bruno with the help of Wilhelm Canaris. History remembers this plan as "Naval Plan B" Chen proposed a very modest increase in fleet strenght. The existing numbers of capital and non-submarine ships could be kept at the same level. Chen advocated a large and powerful submarine force with 500 "Long Range" Submarines and 500 "Coastal Submarines."
Plan C
Faced with two options that he didn't like very much - Chiang decided to come up with a different plan. Plan Chiang - which history now remembers as Plan C. He proposed this fleet strenght:
3 x Battleships
3 x Carriers
6 x Light Carriers
30 x Light Cruisers
100 x Modern Destroyers
500 x "Modern" V-ships
500 x Coastal Submarines
150 X Long range submarines
Only time would tell whether Chiang had chosen the correct route....
- CCA
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