The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1262 - 929 Loan Received_2

Chapter 1262: Chapter 929: Loan Received_2

Chapter 1262 -929: Loan Received_2

Although Arthur had only obtained an interest-free loan of 160 million Australian dollars, he was quite satisfied with the British approach. This loan could be used by the Australasian Government without any restrictions.

Such terms were better than the low-interest loans offered to many countries and capital entities. Before World War I, France, famous for its loans, imposed many restrictions, one of which was the necessity to spend a certain portion of the loan on purchasing industrial equipment and other supplies from within France itself.

This industrial equipment and supplies were priced higher than the market rate, which meant that, in addition to interest, the French were making a significant profit from the loans.

This was why the French were fond of offering loans before World War I, as it continually generated revenue for the French government regardless of the borrowing country.

Moreover, the borrowing countries’ large-scale purchases of industrial equipment and supplies from France actually fostered the development of the French industry and other sectors.

The French were intoxicated by the favorable data on paper, which led them down a path of lending from which they could not return.

From a historical perspective, France’s actions did not make the country stronger; instead, they left France a step behind other countries in the struggle for dominance in Europe.

If the massive capital had been invested in domestic industrial and technological development, perhaps France in World War I would have been stronger.

Since the total loan of one billion Australian dollars came from various banks, the overall interest calculation was quite complex.

Arthur didn’t need to worry about the interest calculations; he just needed to wait for the final results.

According to the final figures provided by Ambassador John and various British banks, the one billion Australian dollars’ loan would require Australasia to pay back 123 million Australian dollars in interest, totaling 1.123 billion Australian dollars including the principal.

The interest rates of most low-interest loans were around 1%, and the British did not demand an exorbitantly high interest rate; indeed, it was comparatively low among international loans between countries.

At Arthur’s indication, Ambassador John formally signed the loan agreement, and the total value of one billion Australian dollars would be transferred to Australasia in various forms over six months.

Most of the loan was in pounds, with a small portion in Australian dollars and other currencies.

For Australasia, it did not really matter, as the pound was still the strongest currency in the world, at least until Australasia had spent this fund.

In fact, the exchange rate between the pound and the Australian dollar showed that the Australian dollar was gradually decoupling from the pound. In the first 20+ years of the Australian dollar’s circulation, the exchange rate between the pound and Australian dollar had been stable at 1 to 2.

But ever since the gold standard was abandoned by various countries, there has been greater fluctuation between national currencies. Arthur did not enforce the 2 to 1 exchange rate between the pound and Australian dollar but instead tried to minimize the impact between the two currencies.

For Australasia, after this world war, it was crucial to push the Australian dollar into the mainstream of global currencies.

Once it became a world currency, Australasia could control the global economy by issuing the Australian dollar, just like the United States in later generations.

However, this approach was predicated on minimizing the connection between the Australian dollar and the pound. If the link between the two currencies continued to exist, the pound would still become the major currency after World War II, and the Australian dollar would not be able to replace it.

With this fund, Arthur genuinely had money in hand and was no longer anxious.

Even if a large-scale war against the Island Nation was to be initiated, this one billion Australian dollars would still enable Australasia to hold out for at least two to three years.

Once the Island Nation was defeated, the vast wealth within the Island Nation would be divided by Australasia. With the gains from exploiting the Islanders, it was believed that sustaining this war would pose no problem at all.

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Once the first installment of 72 million Australian dollars from the British arrived, Arthur immediately signed off on the manufacture plans for military weapons.

In the next year, the Australasian military industry needed to produce at least 3.5 million rifles, 900 million bullets, 2,250 machine guns, 12,000 pieces of artillery, 75 million artillery shells, 7,200 tanks, and 4,250 airplanes.

In order to manufacture these weapons and equipment smoothly within the expected time frame, the next phase for the royal military factories and other private military factories will also embrace a new round of expansion.

Even if the island nation’s war does not require this many weapons, they can still be used in the subsequent wars in Europe. Besides, Britain and France need a large quantity of weapons and equipment against Germany, and there is no shortage of demand for weapons and equipment in this war.

Apart from manufacturing weapons and equipment, Arthur also signed an expansion plan for the navy.

Between mid-1937 and mid-1938, Australasia planned to build 3 aircraft carriers, 6 heavy cruisers, 7 destroyers, 12 light cruisers, and 36 submarines.

Only after the navy and air force are both significantly strengthened can Australasia compete for the position of world hegemon after World War II.

More importantly, if one wants to take over the position of world leader from the British, one must possess a naval fleet size that can pose a threat to the Royal Navy.

Currently, in terms of overall naval size, Australasia is far behind that of Britain. However, if we compare the comprehensive combat capability of the main battleships, Australasia actually holds an advantage.

After all, the aircraft carrier is overwhelmingly lethal to old battleships, a fact that has been proven in naval warfare.

Besides the naval battle where the island nation attacked Pearl Harbor, there have been two minor naval skirmishes in the current World War II, and aircraft carriers played a significant role in both.

The reason the Island Royal Navy is holed up in the port and dares not deploy is precisely because of the overpowering presence of Australasia’s strong air force, placing constant pressure from a multitude of airplanes on the island nation’s navy.

Besides signing the military equipment manufacturing plans, Arthur also officially signed the command to launch a large-scale attack on the island nation.

The official date to attack the island nation’s native land is set for July 21, 1937, which is one month from now.

Arthur no longer intends to keep playing games with the island nation. According to the large-scale attack order that Arthur signed, Australasia will deploy at least three million soldiers in total, with the size of the Australasia Army itself reaching about 1.2 million.

The United Kingdom of the West Coast and the Kingdom of California together have dispatched around 100,000 troops, and this force will also join the battle against the island nation.

Additionally, the Philippines sent 600,000 troops, and the United Sultanate of Kalimantan sent over 1.1 million troops, together forming a powerful army exceeding three million in number.

Of course, out of this army, only the regular army of 1.2 million from Australasia truly possesses combat capability. The other armies have only one function, that is, to conduct feints in the frontline to distract the island nation’s military’s focus.

One must know that while the Island Nation Army boasts over three million soldiers, their elite forces comprise less than one million.

The rest of the army can barely be considered adequate, and a majority of the Type C Divisions has yet to complete their training; some haven’t even undergone shooting practice more than a few times.

Such an army clearly cannot realize its potential combat power, plus with Australasia’s navy and air force leading the way, deploying 1.2 million soldiers is already sufficient.

Considering the 300,000 troops committed to the European theatre and 200,000 on the North African front, Australasia anticipates sending nearly 1.7 million troops to the battlefield.

This will be the largest regular army deployment in Australasia’s history and proves how seriously Arthur regards this war.

However, it must be said that Arthur indeed places great importance on this war, but absolutely not on the island nation itself.

If revealing the atomic bomb too early would not lead to more issues, just a few dozen atomic bombs would suffice to shatter the island nation’s resolve.

Or, should one be even more ruthless, Australasia’s army could avoid landing on the island entirely. Simply by deploying a large number of atomic bombs in important urban cities and attempting to activate Mount Fuji’s volcano with atomic bombs, it might be possible to face the entire island nation with extinction.