The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1240 - 919 Planning After the War
Chapter 1240: Chapter 919: Planning After the War
Chapter 1240 -919: Planning After the War
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Although he felt sympathy for the Russian army, Arthur had no intention of supporting the Russians, at least for now.
The Russians, being a major power with huge industries, could afford the loss of several hundred thousand soldiers. Of course, if one were to consider the damage to their prestige, then the Russians were indeed suffering greatly at this moment.
Even during the Tsarist era, under the rule of Nicholas II, Russia had gradually lost the nickname of the “European Bulldozer.”
At that time, despite having a population of over a hundred million, Russia’s military combat effectiveness was very weak, barely managing an even match with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Back then, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a multi-ethnic entity with internal ethnic issues nearly igniting the entire existence of the country.
This led to Russia’s military prowess being looked down upon by mainstream powers including Britain, France, and Germany from the onset of the 20th century. The Islanders too could step on them.
After the loss of the Western Front Army, this impression was obviously significantly deepened, and the combat power of the Russian army became the laughing stock among European nations.
Such a blow to the reputation of the current Russian Government was quite severe, and it significantly affected the spread of their ideology.
After all, the combat effectiveness exhibited by an army under such an ideology had already been fully demonstrated in the war between Germany and Russia.
“Your Majesty, Ambassador Enrique reports that the British have begun to make contact with the Russian Government and may sign a substantial arms purchase agreement,” reported Wellington, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, with a serious face during a Cabinet Meeting.
The British having private interactions with Russia also signifies that the British do not fully trust Australasia.
For Australasia, this could not only affect the relationship between the United Kingdom and Australasia but also impact Australasia’s foreign policy decisions in this war.
After all, before the outbreak of the war, the relationship between the United Kingdom and Australasia had been quite friendly, even characterized as a close cooperation.
Arthur nodded, having anticipated Britain’s contact with Russia.
In fact, even before Germany’s surprise attack on Russia, Arthur had told Winston Schmidt to delay informing the Russian Government about Germany’s impending attack.
But Schmidt only delayed for a few days before ultimately informing the Russian Government. Fortunately, the Russian Government did not believe the British, allowing Arthur to achieve his goal of having Russia rapidly lose a front army to Germany’s surprise attack.
Yet for Arthur, this was still just an appetizer. With a population of hundreds of millions, Arthur would not be at ease unless Russia lost at least ten million in this war.
And regarding Russia’s industry, Arthur would also not be at ease unless a part of it was occupied or even destroyed by Germany.
This meant that, unless Germany had already occupied most of Eastern Europe, Arthur would not truly support Russia.
Arthur had thought the British would support him, but judging from Schmidt’s current actions, the British still chose to maintain a policy of regional balance as before, even including Australasia in this strategy.
Perhaps witnessing Australasia’s overwhelming pressure on the Island Nation and fearing the rising power that would soon dominate the entire Pacific, the British felt intimidated.
Schmidt’s choice to support Russia was motivated not only by a reluctance to see Germany occupy all of Europe but also by a desire to preserve Russian strength as much as possible, to counterbalance Australasia after the war.
If Australasia were to defeat the Island Nation, its influence would naturally expand to the native land of the Islanders; this would lead to conflicts with Russia.
The intentions of the British were simple: have Russia and Australasia exhaust each other post-war to give Britain a chance to recover its strength.
Arthur could see through Schmidt’s intentions. In fact, he would have found it strange if the British Government had no countermeasures against Australasia and trusted them completely without reservation.
It’s the same old saying, in politics, there are no eternal allies, only eternal interests. Until Australasia became fully powerful, Britain and Australasia shared common interests.
But once Australasia was completely strong, the contradictions between Britain and Australasia would outweigh the interests, and the British Government would have to take corresponding measures to prevent Australasia from affecting Britain’s global hegemony.
This was akin to a struggle for imperial power in ancient times, where an Emperor would naturally be wary of anyone threatening his rule, unless he was willing to give up his power.
How many Emperors have voluntarily given up their power through the ages? Taken to the national level, with public opinion from tens of millions of British people, the British Government would certainly not give up the position of hegemon.
Although he understood the British’s wariness and even hostility, Arthur did not intend to react to the British’s actions for the time being.
Firstly, it would spoil the collaboration between Britain and Australasia during the war, and secondly, would reacting now really prevent the cooperation between Britain and the Russians?
It absolutely would not.
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Therefore, Arthur had no intention from the start to react to the British’s actions, and would even treat it as if nothing had happened.
Although there would be no response for now, the British’s gradually estranged attitude also made Arthur decide to start taking over the British’s assets.
The British want to maintain world hegemony, don’t they?
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Fine, then let the United Kingdom and Germany fight it out.
Australasia will still fulfill its obligations as an ally, but will definitely not take any extra actions beyond that.
If at this time the United Kingdom can join forces with Russia Nation to defeat Germany, then Arthur could only say it was fate, and the British should continue to sit on their throne as world leaders.
But if the United Kingdom and Russia Nation cannot come together to defeat Germany, then the United Kingdom will have lost its last hope and will have to trade its land area for Australasia’s intervention to win this war.
“How is our naval construction doing? If the Island Royal Navy launches an attack on us, can our navy successfully respond and repel the Island Royal Navy?” Arthur did not pay attention to the British activities in Russia Nation, focusing instead on naval confrontation with the Island Nation.
Since the Air Force had already completely surpassed the Island Nation, this also formed Australasia’s crushing momentum against the Island Nation.
There is one premise, that is, the power of the Island Royal Navy will not completely surpass Australasia.
Once the Island Royal Navy’s strength sees a resurgence, the Island Nation Army may very well break through Australasia’s Coastal blockade, and even counterattack the Ryukyu Islands and the Philippines.
Hearing Arthur’s inquiry, the Minister of Defence, Thomas, quickly stood up with a smile and replied, “Currently, our naval construction plan is going very smoothly, and we expect to complete 2 Aircraft Carriers, 6 Destroyers, and 12 Light Cruisers this year.
Considering the heavy responsibilities of our navy in the Pacific Ocean, aside from 2 Destroyers and 3 Light Cruisers, the rest of the Warships will be assigned to the Pacific Squadron.
By then, our Pacific Squadron will have 10 Aircraft Carriers, 4 Super Dreadnoughts, 3 Dreadnoughts, 5 Battlecruisers, 8 Heavy Cruisers, 24 Light Cruisers, 49 Destroyers, and 222 Submarines, with naval strength still leading the Island Nation across the board.
If the Island Royal Navy dares to launch an attack on the Pacific Squadron, our navy is confident in defeating the Island Fleet at any time and annihilating any invading enemy.”
Hearing Minister Thomas’s report, Arthur nodded, satisfied with the work on naval construction.
The current naval construction, apart from countering the Islanders, could potentially compete with the British in naval arms in the future.
Of course, should the war end, it’s also quite possible that competition with the Russians will emerge on the naval front.
This means that regardless of whether it’s during the war or after the war ends, Australasia’s naval size is of great importance.
Unless it can be confirmed that other nations have suffered heavy losses in this war, Australasia must prepare in advance for post-war planning in the development of the army, navy, and air forces.
Even the possibility of Australasia taking the throne of world hegemony after the war’s end is reliant on the scale of Australasia’s navy.
Of course, construction of the Air Force is extremely important. After the war ends, the size of the army is to be greatly reduced.
However, the size of the navy and Air Force will not be reduced, and may even be expanded and deployed according to the influence over various regions after Australasia seizes world hegemony.
“And how is the construction of the Air Force going? How many Military Aircraft can we currently build? And how many do we already have?” Arthur continued to inquire.
The importance of the Air Force has now become evident, not only matching the army and navy but also being even more crucial in certain battlegrounds and campaigns.
As one of the earliest countries to research and develop Military Aircraft, Australasia naturally does not need to emphasize the significance of airplanes and the Air Force.
“Your Majesty, we have contacted the Boeing Company and the Douglas Company, both businesses have modified their production lines, possessing the capabilities to produce Raptor Fighters and Hawk Bombers.
Currently, our annual Military Aircraft output is about 2600 units, and if we allow Boeing Company and Douglas Company to fully enter the production of Military Aircraft, the annual output is expected to rise to around 5000 units.
In addition, in terms of production for the Sop-34 transport plane, our annual output has already exceeded 220 units. At the moment, we have 317 Sop-34 transport planes which can transport at least a division’s worth of troops in a single operation,” reported David, the Industry Secretary.
Although Australasia has many small private airfields in the civil aviation sector, in the realm of Military Aircraft, the current Royal Aircraft Manufacturing Factory still stands as an unmatched behemoth.
However, the Boeing Company and the Douglas Company have also achieved success in the military transport aircraft field, and their production lines can be converted to Fighter Aircraft and Bomber production lines, which is of great assistance to Australasia’s aviation industry.
