The Rise Of Australasia

"Besides our existing heavy and light industries, we should also strengthen our cooperation with the British and introduce a batch of new chemical and military industries from the United Kingdom." Prime Minister Kent continued:

"The British Empire’s leading position in the navy is an absolute advantage. Relying on our good relationship with the British Empire, this advantage can be transformed into our advantage.

At present, we have mastered aircraft carrier technology, but it cannot be determined whether this technology can completely replace the existing battleships.

Research on battleships by the British Empire is still ongoing. We can more easily acquire the world’s most advanced battleship technology and maintain our leading position in battleship technology before aircraft carriers completely replace battleships.

In addition to this, we should continue to increase investment in our already advantageous aircraft and tank technology to maintain our lead.

Both weapons have proven to have tremendous impact on the battlefield. They are the guarantee of our absolute advantage in the future wars."

Prime Minister Kent said with determination.

Investment in military technology is essential in both peacetime and wartime, even as the top priority of national fiscal budgets.

Although Australasia is not that kind of extreme country that advocates military force, it attaches great importance to the investment in military research. Every year, the military budget accounts for about 20-30% of total fiscal expenditure, and its comprehensive military power ranks among the top five in the world.

It seems difficult to find a country that can lead Australasia comprehensively in its army and navy forces, except for Britain and France.

Germany’s post-war restrictions have been too severe, and it is impossible for the country to rise again without a long recovery period. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

As for Russia, its current internal turmoil has also damaged its strength. Neither Tsarist Russia nor Soviet Russia can necessarily defeat Australasia on its own.

Besides, perhaps the only ones that pose a threat to Australasia are the Island Nation and the United States.

After all, the Island Nation has a population of more than 50 million, which can form millions of armies, and it is troublesome for Australasia.

However, the good news is that the Island Nation’s navy has been greatly restricted. As an island-type country, the Island Nation is unlikely to pose a threat to Australasia solely through its army advantage.

As for the United States, its military power did not expand significantly during World War I, and its army has been reduced to about 100,000 after the war.

Moreover, the combat effectiveness of American troops is definitely at the bottom of the world powers. American soldiers have neither the outstanding military qualities of the Germans nor the fearless spirit of the Islanders with their disregard for death. Their weapons and equipment are also inferior to the British and French forces.

They joined World War I late, and their performance in the final battles was not very good.

The size of the United States Navy is also decent, but there is a certain difference in the naval guns installed on the main warships of the United States compared to those of Britain.

Now, the United States is definitely among the top three in the world in industry and economy, even pressing Britain and France, and claiming to be the world’s first industrial and economic superpower.

However, in terms of comprehensive strength, the American military power is obviously lagging, and the current threat to Australasia is not that high.

However, the last influenza crisis made Americans realize the threat from Britain and France, especially the threat from the World Alliance ruled by the British.

It also stimulated the Americans to build battleships at a rapid pace, as fast as putting dumplings in water, which is comparable to a new naval arms race.

In order to cope with the threat from the United States and improve Australasia’s own combat power, it is necessary to expand the army and navy in a new round.

Under the watchful eyes of the cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Kent took out a pre-prepared expansion plan and handed it to Arthur.

Australasia’s regular army is currently very small, far less than the exaggerated one million expeditionary forces during World War I.

The main force of Australasia, that is, the army composed entirely of Australasians, consists of only two guard divisions and four regular divisions totaling 104,000 regular troops, and 12,000 guard troops stationed in the colonies, with a total of 116,000 troops.

Because all the indigenous troops were disbanded, Australasia lost nearly 100,000 troops compared to before.

However, this is inevitable. After all, compared to the armies composed entirely of native soldiers, the regular army composed of Australasians will be the main force in future wars.

the shortest period of population shortage in Australasia has passed, and 20 million people can arm millions of forces at any time.

Moreover, Australasia’s population will at least maintain a growth rate of one million per year, which means that the current 100,000-strong regular army is no longer sufficient for this country.

The battlefields of World War I had already proven that the number of participants in such a world war was absolutely in the tens of millions. What could an army of 100,000 do? It would only be enough for two days of consumption in a large battle.

In Prime Minister Kent’s expansion plan, the existing four regular divisions are to be fully upgraded, expanded to 12 infantry divisions, 4 artillery divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, and 1 tank division, totaling 19 divisions, with a combat force of over 250,000 people.

Even though the weapons on battlefields have gone through earth-shaking changes, infantry is still the mainstream of war and one of the most critical armies among various forces.

In addition to the most numerous infantry divisions, the expansion of the 4 artillery divisions would also make the firepower of the Australasian Army more powerful.

Currently, Australasia is researching tracked guns, applying tank chassis technology to guns to improve their transport capabilities.

If this technology can be realized and stably applied, the importance and role of artillery divisions on the battlefield will be greatly enhanced.

The reason why two cavalry divisions are still formed despite the presence of tanks is that the current tanks have unreliable performance with a high rate of breakdown.

Secondly, the existing tanks cannot adapt to all battlefield environments; some deserts, hills, and mountains, or even areas with uneven roads, are where cavalry divisions can play a more significant role.

At least until the stability of tanks is fully guaranteed, the role of cavalry divisions is still useful.

As for the last fully-formed tank division, it is a tribute to the respect for the new tank technology developed in Australasia.

Although the stability of tanks cannot be fully guaranteed, after all, they have been tested on the battlefield and can play a significant role in the war, and equipping them in large quantities is still necessary.

As tank technology advances, countries will also pay more attention to tank construction. Although it appears to be a gamble for Australasia to equip tanks on a large scale in advance, Arthur knows it’s not a loss.

Mechanization of the army is a necessity brought about by science and the development of the times, and it can greatly enhance the combat power of the army.

When tank technology matures in the future, corresponding tracked guns, armored cars, etc., will also emerge, enriching Australasia’s weapon system and improving the mobility of the Australasian army.

Although he is Arthur’s absolute confidant and can greatly influence Arthur’s decisions, Prime Minister Kent is still very discerning and doesn’t mention the Guards controlled by Arthur in the army expansion plan; he only refers to the regular army under the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense.

This expansion plan will directly push the number of Australasia’s regular army to over 250,000 people; when added to the current 40,000 Guards and over 10,000 reserve troops, the total number of Australasia’s army will cross 300,000, reaching the conventional level of a medium power.

Note that before the outbreak of World War I, the standing armies of European countries weren’t many, with only Russia exceeding 1 million people.

Famous for its army combativeness, the German Empire had not even reached 500,000 soldiers in its army around 1910.

However, as countries’ military technology develops, increasing the number of troops is an inevitable trend.

With the progress of high-lethality weapons such as machine guns and firearms, the casualty figures of a single battle are far beyond what these countries could have imagined.

This also means that the destruction of war on countries is already extremely severe; it’s almost impossible for any country to stay intact during a war.

Arthur was quite satisfied with the expansion plan submitted by Prime Minister Kent.

However, in order to give the government its own thoughts, it’s crucial to provide cabinet members with the opportunity to express their opinions.

Signaling the guard to hand over the expansion plan to all cabinet members for circulation, Arthur instructed: "You all take a look; if you have any different suggestions or opinions on this expansion plan, you can propose them."

After everyone had finished reading the expansion plan, Arthur first looked at Defense Minister Raul and asked: "Minister Raul, is it difficult to expand the regular army to 250,000 people? How serious is the impact on our existing army’s combat effectiveness?"

Currently, the regular army only has four divisions and 64,000 people; expanding to 250,000 people is equivalent to increasing it fourfold.

Such a massive expansion would inevitably affect the existing army’s combat effectiveness. Even if the military academy of Australasia and the previous wars reserved enough reserve officers for the new army, a large number of old soldiers would have to be transferred to the new army, ensuring that the new army had certain combat effectiveness.

"Your Majesty, in the previous wars, we rotated all the troops to ensure that all of them participated in the war. Based on our current reserve of reserve officers, the expansion to a regular army of 250,000 will not have too much serious impact on the existing army’s combat effectiveness," Minister Raul replied.

"However, the combat effectiveness of the new army is always a problem; if they don’t experience the tempering of real warfare, relying solely on training can hardly guarantee that they have excellent combat effectiveness," Minister Raul continued.