Chapter 473： Washington Conference

After the end of the First World War, when the people of all countries thought that peace had come, the United States, which had made a lot of money in the war, achieved nothing in the division of interests after the war.

Nor can it be said that nothing has been achieved, at least one of the 14 peace proposals put forward by President Wilson has been implemented.

It was preserved for the establishment of the League of Nations to maintain world peace, but it was dominated by Britain and France. The most important thing is that in war and peace, the absolute freedom of navigation on the high seas, the removal of economic barriers between countries and the establishment of a trade equality treaty have all been ruthlessly rejected. This made the fledgling US government very unfair. It is also a result that is totally unacceptable for the high-spirited US government.

In the United States' view, it has made great efforts in this war and should have shared the dominance of the world like Britain and France. It's a pity that Britain and France completely used the United States and put it aside. After returning to Washington, President Wilson, who had gained nothing, was strongly criticized by Congress. Therefore, the Treaty of Versailles was also rejected by the U.S. Congress.

The angrily America felt that it had been wronged, so the U.S. Navy planned to build 10 battleships from 1919 to 1921, including 4 Colorado-class battleships and 6 Lexington-class battlecruisers. This is also a matter for the United States to be discharged from Europe. Outside the response. Among them, the Lexington-class battlecruiser can be regarded as the first battle cruiser built by the United States. As a manifestation of the wealth of the US Navy, this class of battlecruisers also showed it to the fullest.

The original plan was for a standard displacement of 44,300 tons and equipped with a 356 mm (14 inch) naval gun with a speed of 35 knots (terrible). However, the United States has since improved it. The new plan increased the tonnage to 53,200 tons, and replaced it with 406 mm (16 inches) naval guns and increased armor protection. Although the tonnage has increased, the speed can still reach 35 knots due to the replacement of a new type of heavy oil boiler. (Hood is really going to be built and he will be his younger brother, but then there will be no Lexington-class aircraft carrier)

And this shipbuilding move by the United States has undoubtedly caused great tension between Britain and France. France is currently unable to follow up because of the great losses in World War I. As for the United Kingdom, which regards sea power as its lifeline, it cannot accept it.

Therefore, in the face of the continued aggressive shipbuilding of the United States, the United Kingdom must respond. Lloyd George of its prime minister even publicly stated: "Great Britain would rather spend the last cent, but also maintain the navy's advantage over the United States or any other country."

However, the tiger does not fall, and the empire is the world's hegemon if the sun never sets. Of course, it can't lose its power in this new competition. Construction of the three Admiral-class battlecruisers (Hood class) that were subsequently suspended began again. However, from the perspective of the small family that only built three ships in the British Empire, the family is not much.

Speaking of the new naval competition, I have to mention a new player here, and that is Japan. Also as a country that has benefited a lot from this war (Romania: you can't see me, you can't see me), Japan has also sprouted its ambition to dominate the East Pacific. So the famous Eighty Eight Fleet came on stage (this is considered to be the Eighty Eight Fleet in the 1920s, there was a post-Japanese-Russian War version before, and then there was a version before the outbreak of World War II, and there was a version in the 1980s, now called the Fourth and Fourth Fleet).

Based on the 2 battleships of the Nagato class, 2 of the Kaga class, and 4 of the battlecruiser Amagi class, the plan will allocate funds for the construction of 4 battleships and 4 battlecruisers. For this reason, Japan will not hesitate to mobilize national donations to build this one. fleet. (The bad guy Nagato cheated even the pocket money of elementary school students)

Facing the increasingly fierce shipbuilding plans of the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan, France and Italy were also forced to join the race.

In the face of another naval race, countries that have long been tired of the war are rushing to call for the continuation of the shipbuilding plan that is laboring and costly. At this time, the sudden economic crisis after the war made the naval competition that the major powers played in such a joyful naval race feel powerless.

In fact, this economic crisis is foreseeable. After the war, a large number of factories busy due to the war have cancelled orders. The reduction in orders made the factory no longer need to hire so many workers, so a large number of workers were re-entered into the market. At the same time, the retired soldiers and the government cut spending, making it impossible for economic activities to immediately transform from being controlled in wartime to free competition in a peaceful era.

In addition, the previous governments did not have this kind of experience of how to face after the war, so the people lacked purchasing power, the factory inventory could not be sold, and the economic crisis broke out suddenly. The outbreak of the economic crisis has made people from all countries increasingly call for disarmament. The naval arms race of various countries is also in trouble.

Britain cannot afford to accompany it first. It has already been scarce of financial resources by the war, and now it is hard to hold onto the arms race, which is really miserable. Japan is also unable to do what it wants. In order to implement the Eighth Fleet Plan, the navy has allocated one-third of the entire national budget. Although the United States is rich and powerful, it is very difficult to truly overwhelm Britain and Japan.

It is against this background that U.S. President Warren Gameril Harding initiated a meeting to restrict naval armaments. Faced with the proposal of the United States, the contested Britain and Japan also immediately agreed.

Since the United States, Britain and Japan agreed, the two countries that were forced to join, of course, also agreed. As the first advocate of the first proposal, respect After consultations with relevant countries, Washington, the United States is used as the venue for the negotiation. In order to show the importance of the talks and consultations, all countries have gone to the highest standards. Therefore, not only the prime minister and the president, but also the monarchs of the participating countries (what a monarch with insufficient intelligence can do, can he put his glasses on it?).

For a time, Washington in the United States became the focus of all countries. This also made the American people feel that so many people are paying attention to the United States up close for the first time, and indirectly increased American pride.

The purpose of the Washington Conference was to resolve the balance of naval power between the major powers that was not resolved by the Versailles Peace Treaty, and the conflict of interest in the Far East and the Pacific, especially in China, and to improve the world peace system after the First World War. The three countries involved in the Washington Conference were the United States, Britain, and Japan.

Unlike other countries in the world who set their sights on Washington, the venue of the talks, Edel, an anomaly, did not pay much attention to this future-related discussion. After all, this is mainly about the negotiation between the navy and the Far East, and Romania is currently unable to reach the Far East. As for the navy, it is better to go to sleep.

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