The Rise of Australia

"The Germans also announced a tit-for-tat expansion of the army by 500,000 soldiers. They have a relatively mature reserve mechanism. The time it takes for these 500,000 soldiers to be established should be much shorter than what Russia needs. New," Minister Andrew replied.

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

It is no exaggeration to say that even if Russia has an army of 1.5 million, it will never be Germany's opponent.

It is precisely because of the terrifying combat effectiveness of the German army that after Germany announced its military expansion, I am afraid that the French and British military expansion will not be far away.

Sure enough, Foreign Minister Andrew went on to say: "Shortly after the Germans announced an expansion of 500,000 troops, the French announced an expansion of 450,000 troops. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French seem to be seeking to amend the military service law and increase compulsory military service from two years to Three years to increase the number of standing troops and reserves. According to occasional news from the French Congress, the French government may also want to relax the age of entry into service to attract more reservists."

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

After all, apart from the British Empire, France and Germany currently have the deepest hatred. What's more, the recent Moroccan crisis caused Germany to lose face in front of the world, and all of this was caused by France's toughness.

Arthur gently rubbed his brows and asked: "Presumably the other countries of the two major military groups have followed suit in expanding their armies, right? This is really grand!"

"That's right, Your Majesty. Although the Italians are still fighting a war, this does not prevent their government from announcing a high-profile expansion of the army by 300,000. Moreover, the Italians also released news that the number of the navy will also be expanded by 30,000, and the number of troops will be increased by 30,000. In the next five years, a total of at least three dreadnoughts will be built." Foreign Secretary Andrew replied respectfully.

Compared with the Italian navy, which is barely adequate, the Italian army really cannot be taken seriously by the major European powers. new

Of course, this is not without purpose. The war between Italy and Ethiopia more than ten years ago made the Italian army the laughing stock of all European countries at the time.

Italy's 17,000-strong army suffered 11,000 casualties and 4,000 prisoners during the war. The Ethiopian army suffered only 4,000 to 5,000 dead and 6,000 to 10,000 wounded.

The famous iron-blooded prime minister Bismarck once commented: "They came to the African continent with a mouth full of cavities but a huge appetite."

In fact, it can be seen from Italy's current war with the Ottoman Turkish Empire that the Italian army's weapons and equipment are indeed good, but its combat capabilities are another matter.

"What about the Austro-Hungarian Empire? As Germany's staunchest ally, they should have a big military expansion plan, right?" Arthur asked with a little curiosity.

Among the three Allied countries, Germany's combat effectiveness is unquestionable. Apart from Germany, only the Austro-Hungarian Empire's army could get on the stage.

Of course, this does not rule out the reason why there are many Germans in the Austro-Hungarian army.

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire also claimed to expand its army by 300,000 troops. It is said that the Vienna government had been wrangling with the Hungarians for a long time before settling on the 300,000 troops. If nothing else, one of the two newly built dreadnoughts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire One will be named after Budapest, although the Hungarian government will bear most of the cost of this dreadnought."

Speaking of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this country is somewhat different from most countries in Europe.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dual monarchy, consisting mainly of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary.

Because the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary had separate governments, the union between the two countries was not so close.

Although the capital of the empire is located in Vienna, the government of the Kingdom of Hungary has autonomy within Hungary.

If the Vienna government had not agreed to name one of the dreadnoughts after Budapest, the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, the proposal to expand the 300,000-strong army would not have been so easy to agree to. New 𝗑.𝖼𝗈𝗆

At least in terms of the budget of 300,000 troops, the Hungarians' original attitude was to directly reject it.

Thinking of this, Arthur had to agree with the greatness of Emperor Franz of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Unifying such two countries that are not closely united and maintaining their status as great powers for so many years is enough to show the reputation and status of Emperor Franz in these two countries.

Indeed, Emperor Franz enjoyed unparalleled prestige and status in both countries. But the bad news is that after Emperor Franz's original heir, Archduke Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo, the empire no longer had a recognized heir.

This also indirectly led to the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, and a powerful country was divided into multiple small countries.

The lessons learned from the Austro-Hungarian Empire also made Arthur understand how important it is to unite a country closely. This is why Arthur vigorously promotes the concept of the Australasian nation within Australasia.

After all, Australasia is also a country composed of Australia and New Zealand. If they are not integrated as much as possible now, if conflicts arise between the two regions in the future, it is very likely to cause the entire country to split.

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"What about the UK? Doesn't the UK have plans to expand its army?" Minister Andrew mentioned all the great powers on the European continent, but did not mention the British Empire, the most powerful country at present.

Arthur couldn't help but become curious. Did Britain only focus on the development of the navy and directly abandon the expansion of the army?

"There is currently no news about the expansion of the British military, but the British government has taken too big steps in the navy. I am afraid that even if the army expands, it will not be too much." Minister Andrew shook his head.

In response to the Germans' crazy naval expansion plan, British Admiralty Churchill said tit for tat that if the Germans build one main battleship, Britain will build two.

Even if the British Empire is currently the most powerful country in the world and has the most colonies, it cannot withstand such horrific consumption.

Moreover, Britain is originally a country dominated by sea power. The expansion of the army is basically very small, and if it is, it will not be too large.

After learning about the expansion plans of major European countries, Arthur nodded, looked at the cabinet government, and asked with a smile: "What do you think of the current situation? Australasia should expand itself military strength, or should we hide it temporarily and wait for the situation in Europe to develop?"

"Your Majesty, after the expansion of the army, I think it is necessary for us to also expand the size of the navy to a certain extent, at least to maintain the main force level of six dreadnoughts and three battlecruisers. As for small and medium-sized battleships and submarines, I think we also There should be a certain expansion, so as to ensure the security of the entire Australasian waters and to watch the development of Europe." After hearing Arthur's inquiry, Defense Minister Raul immediately said impatiently.

For a more radical soldier, there is nothing more exciting than having one's own country's military power become more powerful.

The army and navy will develop together and eventually remain at the level of the inferior powers. This is also Minister Raul's expectation for Australasia's military strength.

"Does anyone else have any opinions?" Arthur smiled and nodded, but he did not agree with Minister Raul's point of view, but looked at the others.

"Your Majesty, I think that for Australasia at present, the most important thing is to develop its own industry and economy. Even if our military strength reaches the level of the great powers, our industrial and economic development is still at a certain level compared to the great powers. What's more, the situation in Europe is not clear now, and the confrontation between the two major military groups is very serious. If Australasia has the strength of the great powers at this time, it will only involve Australasia in this military conflict. For On the contrary, it is harmful to our development." After being quiet for a while, Industry Minister Pierre said.

Although Arthur hopes that someone will stand up to refute Minister Raul's views, there are only a few people who can stand up to refute Minister Raul.

First of all, including Kent, the Minister of Royal Affairs Hunter, the Archbishop and the Lord Chancellor are not suitable to stand up and refute Minister Raul’s views.

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

If they stood up and refuted it openly, it would be easy for people to think that it was Arthur's instructions. Even if the cabinet government agrees with Minister Raul's point of view, it will object because of Arthur's face.

But what Arthur needs is a cabinet government that has its own ideas, so that it can provide Arthur with more and more appropriate opinions.

If it only acts as a yes-man, the role of the cabinet government will be greatly reduced.

"Do you have any other opinions?" Arthur still smiled and nodded, looking at the others.

No one responded for a while, and Arthur continued: "Since there is no unified idea, it is better for the entire cabinet government to vote by a show of hands."

Everyone had no objection to the vote by show of hands. Under Arthur's instructions, they began to support their more optimistic proposals.

In the final vote, there were eight votes in favor of continued development, and four votes in favor of military expansion.

Arthur nodded and said with a smile: "Then let's go according to the results of the vote. At least within two years, the main purpose of Australasia will still be development, and the disputes in Europe have nothing to do with us for the time being."

With Arthur's final decision, the disputes arising from the cabinet government were also resolved.

In fact, it can be seen from the orders from the Royal Dockyard that Arthur has no plans to expand the navy for at least two or three years.

After all, including naval orders from Russia and Chile, the Royal Dockyard is in a relatively busy state.

Even if the Ministry of Defense announces a new naval expansion plan, in order to complete previous orders, the Royal Dockyard will not have excess construction capacity to build naval orders.

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