The Rise Of Australasia - Chapter 347

Chapter 347: Chapter 300: Chain Reaction (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

“The Germans also announced an expansion of 500,000 troops with a relatively mature reserve mechanism, which should make the formation of these 500,000 soldiers much shorter than what Russia would require,” replied Minister Andrew.

Although the size of the German army is not considered large compared to Russia, the combat effectiveness of the German army is far superior to that of the Russian army.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if Russia had an army of 1.5 million, it would not stand a chance against Germany.

It is precisely because of the terrifying combat effectiveness of the German army that France and Britain would soon follow Germany’s expansion.

Sure enough, Foreign Minister Andrew continued: “Shortly after Germany announced the expansion of 500,000 troops, the French announced the expansion of 450,000. According to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French seem to be seeking amendments to the conscription law, raising compulsory military service from two years to three years, in order to increase the number of standing and reserve forces. According to occasional news from the French Parliament, the French government may also wish to relax the age of enlistment to obtain more reservists.”

After Germany expanded its army by 500,000, the most nervous and fearful would probably be the French.

After all, apart from the British Empire, it is currently France and Germany that have the deepest hatred. Moreover, the recent Moroccan crisis has caused Germany to lose face in front of the world, which was the result of France’s hardline stance.

Arthur rubbed his brow softly and asked, “I assume the other countries in the two major military blocs have also expanded their armies? This is quite a grand event!”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Although the Italians are still at war, it does not prevent their government from announcing the expansion of 300,000 troops. Moreover, the Italians have also released news that the navy will expand by 30,000 personnel, and in the next five years, they will build at least three dreadnoughts,” replied Foreign Secretary Andrew respectfully.

Compared to the Italian navy, which is barely respectable, Italy’s army is not taken seriously by the major powers of Europe.

Of course, this is not without reason. The war between Italy and Ethiopia more than a decade ago turned the Italian army into a laughingstock of European countries at the time.

In that war, Italy’s 17,000-strong army suffered 11,000 casualties and 4,000 were captured. The Ethiopian army suffered only 4,000 to 5,000 deaths and 6,000 to 10,000 injuries.

Famous Iron Chancellor Bismarck once commented: “They came to the African continent with great appetite but full of decayed teeth.”

Indeed, from Italy’s current war with the Ottoman Turkish Empire, it can be seen that although the equipment of the Italian army is indeed good, their combat capability is another matter.

“What about the Austro-Hungarian Empire? As Germany’s staunchest ally, their expansion plans must be quite substantial!” Arthur asked with curiosity.

Among the three countries of the allied nations, the combat effectiveness of Germany is unquestionable. Apart from Germany, only the Austro-Hungarian Empire has an army that is presentable.

Of course, this does not exclude the fact that there are many Germanics in the Austro-Hungarian army.

“The Austro-Hungarian Empire also claims to expand its army by 300,000. It is said that the Vienna government had a lengthy tug-of-war with the Hungarians before this was settled. If all goes well, one of the two dreadnought ships being built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire is to be named after Budapest, although more than half of the cost of this dreadnought is borne by the Hungarian government.”

Speaking of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this country is different from most other European countries.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire is a bicameral monarchy, mainly composed of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary.

Due to the existence of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary’s governments, the union of the two countries is not very close.

Although the imperial capital is located in Vienna, the Hungarian Kingdom government has autonomy within Hungary.

If it weren’t for the Vienna government’s agreement to name one of the dreadnoughts after Hungary’s capital, Budapest, the proposal to expand the army by 300,000 troops would not have been so easy to agree on.

At least in terms of the budget for the 300,000-strong army, the Hungarians initially had a straightforward refusal.

Thinking about this, Arthur couldn’t help but appreciate the greatness of Emperor Franz of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Uniting two countries that are not tightly united, and maintaining great power status for so many years, demonstrates Emperor Franz’s prestige and influence in those two countries.

Indeed, Emperor Franz has an unparalleled prestige and status in both countries. The bad news is that after the assassination of his original heir, Archduke Ferdinand, in Sarajevo, the Empire no longer has a universally recognized successor.

This indirectly led to the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, and a powerful nation was divided into several smaller ones.

The cautionary tale of the Austro-Hungarian Empire has made Arthur understand how important it is to unite a country closely, which is also why he vigorously promotes the concept of Australasian nationalism within Australasia.

After all, Australasia is a country formed by the combination of Australia and New Zealand. If they are not integrated as much as possible now, contradictions between the two regions may arise in the future, possibly leading to the disintegration of the entire country.

“What about the United Kingdom? Does the United Kingdom have any plans for military expansion on land?” Minister Andrew mentioned all the powerful nations on the European Continent, but did not mention the current most powerful country, the British Empire.

Arthur couldn’t help but feel curious. Was the United Kingdom only focusing on the development of the navy and giving up on the expansion of the army?

“There is no news of British military expansion at present, but the British government’s steps in the naval field are too large. I’m afraid the army’s expansion will not be too much even if it does happen.” Minister Andrew shook his head.

In order to cope with Germany’s crazy naval expansion plan, British Naval Minister Churchill had declared that for every main battleship built by Germany, Britain would build two.

Even though the British Empire was currently the most powerful country in the world with the most colonies, it could not withstand such terrifying consumption.

Moreover, the United Kingdom is a country mainly relying on sea power. The expansion of the army is basically rare, and if there is any, it will not be too significant.

After learning about the expansion plans of various major countries in Europe, Arthur nodded his head and looked at the Cabinet Government, asking with a smile, “What do you think of the current situation? Should Australasia expand its military power or hide for the time being and wait for the developments in Europe?”

“Your Majesty, after expanding the army, I think it is necessary for us to expand the scale of our navy as well, at least to maintain a main force level of six dreadnoughts and three battlecruisers. As for medium and small-sized warships and submarines, I also believe that we should have a certain expansion so as to ensure the safety of the entire Australasian waters and watch the developments in Europe.” Upon hearing Arthur’s question, Minister of Defence Raul immediately said eagerly.

For a more aggressive military man, there is nothing more exciting than having his own country’s military forces become more powerful.

The development of both the army and navy, ultimately maintaining a last-place major power level, is also Minister Raul’s expectation for the military power of Australasia.

“Does anyone else have any opinions?” Arthur nodded with a smile but did not agree with Minister Raul’s view. Instead, he looked at others.

“Your Majesty, I believe that for the current Australasia, the most important thing is to develop its own industry and economy. Even if our military power reaches the level of major powers, there is still a certain gap between our industrial and economic development and that of the major powers. Moreover, the situation in Europe is not clear at present, and the confrontation between the two military blocs is very serious. If Australasia has the strength of the major powers at this time, it will only involve it in this military conflict, which is actually harmful to our development.” After a brief quiet moment, Minister of Industry Pierre finally spoke.

Although Arthur hoped that someone would stand up to refute Minister Raul’s opinion, there were only a few people who could stand up and refute Minister Raul.

First of all, including Kent, Royal Affairs Minister Hunter, the Archbishop, and the Chief Justice were not suitable to stand up and refute Minister Raul’s opinion.

After all, they have a closer relationship with Arthur and are equivalent to Arthur’s close ministers.

If they stand up for open refutation, it is easy to be seen as Arthur’s instruction. Even if the Cabinet Government agrees with Minister Raul’s opinion, they will oppose it for the sake of Arthur’s face.

But Arthur needed a suitable Cabinet Government with its own ideas so as to provide him with more appropriate suggestions.

If they only acted as a yes-man, the role of the Cabinet Government would be greatly reduced instead.

“Does anyone else have any other opinions?” Arthur still nodded with a smile, and his gaze remained on others.

After a moment of silence, Arthur continued, “Since there is no unified idea, let’s have the entire Cabinet Government vote by raising their hands.”

Everyone had no objection to voting by raising their hands. At Arthur’s instruction, they began to support the proposal they were more optimistic about.

In the end, the voting results were eight votes in favor of continuing to develop in a low-key manner and four votes in favor of military expansion.

Arthur nodded and said with a smile, “Let’s follow the voting results then. At least for the next two years, the main goal of Australasia is still development, and the disputes in Europe are temporarily unrelated to us.”

With Arthur’s final decision, the dispute in the Cabinet Government was resolved.

As a matter of fact, as seen from the orders of the Royal Shipyard, Arthur had no plans for naval expansion within the next two or three years.

Even after counting the naval orders from Russia and Chile, the Royal Shipyard was busy in a state of business until around 1914.

Even if the Ministry of Defence announced a new naval expansion plan, the Royal Shipyard, in order to complete previous orders, would not have the spare capacity to build new naval orders.