The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1087 - 813: The First Step to Internal Stability

Nuclear weapons, or rather, the atomic bomb was close to being developed, and Arthur wasn't surprised at all.

Truthfully, even though it took the Americans about ten years after to develop the atomic bomb, from the time the Manhattan Project was officially established, it only took them around three years.

Australasia had begun its research on the atomic bomb right after World War I and had been doing so for about ten years now.

Given that it had a monopoly on most of the uranium mines in Congo, if the development of the atomic bomb in Australasia did not experience rapid growth, it would only indicate that the scientists involved were incompetent.

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In fact, with the full force of the nation behind it, although the development of the atomic bomb was not as easy as one might imagine, it was certainly not as difficult either.

Several years ago, the extraction of Uranium-235 had already been completed, and the main focus of the nuclear weapon development team turned to the safety and detonation devices.

Exhibiting a certain level of caution towards such an unprecedented weapon was very important.

The raw material for nuclear weapons, uranium ore, is highly radioactive, not to mention the specially extracted nuclear materials.

If a cautious attitude were not maintained in the development of nuclear weapons, any accident would be a heavy blow to Australasia.

The good news was, before each experiment, theoretical physicists, led by Albert Einstein, performed extensive data calculations to ensure the safety of the experiments.

Up until now, the development of nuclear weapons in Australasia had been progressing steadily without any accidents.

According to the news from the nuclear weapons research lab, there was hope that Australasia's first nuclear test could be conducted by the end of this year.

If all went well with the nuclear test, the successful birth of the first nuclear weapon, or atomic bomb, should be expected next year.

Arthur was full of anticipation for this. Even if the atomic bomb could only be delivered by airplane in the short term, it was still a vastly lethal taboo weapon.

Such a weapon would be extremely helpful in warfare and represented Australasia's hope of defeating the Island Nation without incurring too much loss of life.

As long as Australasia could successfully deal with the Island Nation and refocus its attention on Europe, the war in Europe was bound not to last long.

Even if Germany was formidable, it could not withstand the onslaught from multiple countries. Furthermore, this world's Germany encountered much greater resistance in its efforts to expand than it did historically.

Before the outbreak of World War II, Germany, by taking advantage of the British and French policy of appeasement, annexed the Sudetenland and Austria and eventually triggered the entire World War by marching into Poland.

But in this world, the Sudetenland and Austria belonged to a unified Austrian Empire.

Although the power of the Austrian Empire was also limited, it certainly was not the Czechoslovakia of history which was looked down upon by the Powers and even excluded from conferences.

Attempting to carve a piece from Austria or directly annexing the entire Austrian Empire would be a considerable challenge.

Moreover, the Austrian Empire had now formed an alliance with France, representing the fact that it was impossible for Germany to obtain its historical territories before World War II.

As long as Germany attempted to expand into Austria, World War II would inevitably ensue.

The smaller the land and the fewer the people in Germany, the less of a threat it posed to Europe and Australasia.

Moreover, due to different timelines and historical reasons, Hitler had come to power in Germany earlier in this world and, thus, the persecution of Jews started sooner.

Many Jewish capitalists and scientists had long since moved abroad, which would also affect the progress of Germany's military technology.

It was foreseeable that this world's Germany would definitely not be as powerful as the historical version.

Though Arthur had the intention of letting Germany drain the strength of Britain and France, it was improbable that Germany could hold out as long as it did historically.

Even without the United States, Australasia could essentially replace its role. Besides, the multiple countries into which the United States region had fragmented also possessed certain industrial production capabilities.

Especially the central Great Lakes Republic, inheriting the Great Lakes Industrial Area, could claim industrial strength of nearly half the United States, which should not be underestimated.

Considering that Germany was weaker and its enemies stronger, Arthur certainly did not feel he would lose this war.

Now, the pressure was on what interests Australasia could acquire from the war and to what extent Britain and France would be weakened by it.

The good news was that, with the perfectly justifiable excuse of the Island Nation, Australasia could, early on, refrain from interfering with the European battlefield, while still maintaining the status of a main war participant.

After all, the strength of the Island Nation was not to be taken lightly, and the higher the casualties Australasia and its associated states suffered against the Island Nation, the greater their contribution to the war would be.

Feeling that war was not far off and that military technology was progressing, Arthur felt a sense of urgency.

Considering the war, Arthur issued orders to all military technology development departments, demanding they devote 200% of their effort into the research and development of military technologies.

Especially airplanes, tanks, firearms, and artillery were all weapons that could be used on the battlefield and improved upon more quickly.

Particularly in the war against the Island Nation, airplanes, artillery, and firearms would definitely be the mainstream weapons.

As for tanks, one of the reasons why Australasia currently has few tanks is that the opportunity to use tanks on Islander battlefields is scarce.

Between Australasia and the Island Nation, there are islands and archipelagos of various sizes. While tanks can be effective in larger areas, their utility on smaller islands is less apparent.

Instead, airplanes can be utilized in any region and tend to be much more effective than tanks over short periods.

Moreover, due to the Islanders' relatively weak iron and steel industry, and their lagging tank development, their tank capabilities are not strong.

If Arthur remembered correctly, historically, the Island Nation had put quite a number of so-called "tin tanks" into service during World War II.

One major advantage of these "tin tanks" was their thin armor and large size, making them easily destroyed by Australasian tanks.

As long as air superiority can be maintained, and missiles are used to surprise attack the Island Nation's navy during naval battles, Australasia could easily win this war against the Island Nation.

If the Islanders refuse to surrender to death, then Arthur would have no choice but to adopt the American method, bombing the Island Nation's urban cities with nuclear weapons, virtually flattening the small nation.

If all else fails, dropping an atomic bomb on Mount Fuji is also a viable solution. After all, Mount Fuji hasn't erupted for quite some time, and Arthur feels that Australasia needs to address this security risk for the Island Nation.

Just as Arthur's attention was on when Germany would break through British and French restrictions, the Germans indeed took action.

However, Germany did neither resume military industrial production nor abolish the demilitarized zone in Rhineland.

The first move that Germany took was targeting the fragmented federal states within itself, which was France's major restriction on Germany.

Because within the German Empire, there were numerous federal states standing, the power of the Imperial Government was in fact significantly restricted.

Though it's called the Imperial Government, it's actually equivalent to the Kingdom Government of Prussia because within Germania there is the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Hanover in North Germany, and a myriad of large and small duchies.

Even Arthur's own family, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Family, which controlled the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Duchy, had an army numbering over 5,000.

Such fragmentation was one of the key reasons limiting Germany's military capacity. Germany's total army size had already been restricted to 150,000, not to mention that this quota had to be shared among the various federal states.

The largest among them, the Kingdom of Bavaria, held over 30,000 soldiers, which was nearly half the size of the Imperial Government's forces.

This was a severe provocation to the majestic authority of the Imperial Government and a main factor as to why Germany could not unite in facing external enemies.

As the de facto ruler of Germany, Hitler could clearly see this problem.

Therefore, his first course of action was aimed at Bavaria, the largest federal state in South Germany.

The reigning monarch of Bavaria was King Rupprecht, the son of Ludwig III.

This king was born in 1869 and was already at the advanced age of 64.

Hitler's initial focus on Bavaria, the largest federal state within Germania, was primarily because King Rupprecht's throne was not secure.

Though Rupprecht's succession came from his father Ludwig III, Ludwig's ascension to the throne wasn't through a regular line of succession.

Ludwig III's father, Prince Regent Luitpold, forcefully had the constitution amended and installed himself as the King of Bavaria.

By the time Ludwig III became the King of Bavaria, it was already the eve of World War I, on November 5th, 1913.

Unfortunately, after the defeat of Germany in World War I, a revolution erupted in Bavaria, forcing Ludwig III and his family to flee, making him the first monarch within the German Empire to do so.

Seizing the crown and then fleeing from the people earned Ludwig III back-to-back notorious reputations, clearly indicating his level of support in Bavaria.

Although the French, wishing to weaken Germany, allowed Ludwig III to retain his kingship, his rule in Bavaria had lost its support.

This king, who successfully restored his throne after World War I, did not gain support from the government nor trust from the people, leading to his death from depression on October 18th, 1921.

His son, the then-elderly Crown Prince Rupprecht, succeeded the throne to become the King of Bavaria.

Although King Rupprecht had a much better reputation compared to his father Ludwig III, the existing government had already formed its power and was not willing to pledge loyalty to the royal family.

Additionally, Rupprecht's age was a major limitation. By the beginning of his coronation in early 1922, he was already 53 years old, considered elderly in Europe.

The government was unclear about how many years the aging king would persist on the throne, and naturally would not readily give up its own power.

Over the following ten or so years, King Rupprecht and his Cabinet engaged in a protracted power struggle, but he still failed to regain authority.

Inevitably, the Kingdom of Bavaria should have perished during World War I, welcoming in its place the Free State of Bavaria.

Had it not been for the French artificially prolonging the life of the kingdom, King Rupprecht would likely be leading his family in exile abroad.