Rise of Australia

Chapter 343 Military Expansion and Loans

On March 1913, 3, under the witness of Arthur, Minister Gray and Prime Minister Kent signed the agreement respectively, which also officially represented the formal signing and implementation of the "Anglo-Australian Agreement" that had been negotiated for more than a month.

This is an agreement on comprehensive cooperation in diplomacy, economy, military and other aspects. Australasia has also officially become an ally of the British and joined the camp of the Allies.

The day the Anglo-Australian Treaty was signed caused quite a stir in Australasia and Europe.

This also means that Australasia will officially join the Allied Powers, and the number of great powers owned by the Allied Powers has also come to four, three ahead of the Allied Powers.

Although Australasia's status as a great power has only been recognized by European governments and media in recent years, and it also has competitors such as island countries.

But no one can deny the status of Australasia as a great power, even if it is the eighth power, it is much stronger than non-power countries.

Judging from the current paper strength of the Allies and Allies, the Allies have even greater advantages.

Both Italy and Australasia are the bottom powers, and even Australasia's military strength is stronger than Italy's to a certain extent. (mainly reflected in the army, the balance between the two navies)

And Russia is also stronger than the Austro-Hungarian Empire.The combined strength of Britain and France will surpass that of Germany.

Coupled with the advantages of land area and population, the balance of war seems to have tilted towards the Allies.

On the day Australasia announced the signing of the treaty with the United Kingdom, William II sent a telegram to Arthur to inquire about the situation.

During the reign of Edward VII, the relationship between Arthur and William II was obviously better.

But there is no way, the relationship between the country does not rely on Arthur's personal relationship to maintain.For Australasia, joining the Allies can gain more benefits and status, and can make itself a top five power.

But if Australasia joins the Confederate States, unless Australasia exhausts the last drop of blood in the country and plays all its cards, there is no hope of victory at all.

But draining Australasia's potential and efforts for Germany's victory is unacceptable to both Arthur and Australasia.

Therefore, joining the Entente was the best outcome, at least for Arthur and Australasia.

Although it would be immoral for the relationship between Arthur and William II to do so, the development of the country is like this, and it is not up to others.

For William II's inquiry, Arthur can only explain it with the thoughts of the majority of the British population.

However, Arthur also assured William II that Australasia would never use any illegal weapons into the war.

You know, there are many illegal weapons on the battlefield of World War I.In order to win the war, the two sides have resorted to various tricks.

In addition to one of the weapons that caused the most casualties in World War I, the Maxim heavy machine gun, chemical weapons, flamethrowers, etc., were also emergency weapons that made all soldiers change their colors in World War I.

Needless to say, chemical weapons, all kinds of poisonous gases, blinded, suffocated, infected and even killed soldiers.

The flamethrower, which doesn't seem to be that lethal, is actually brutal when it does damage.

Although the flamethrower has no effect on a solid fortress, extremely high-temperature flames can enter the fortress from the observation port and vent hole of the fortress, causing painful burns to enemies at close range.

If you are unlucky, you can even be directly roasted into coke by a flamethrower, which is much more cruel than other ways of death.

Even if you are lucky, and the distance from the observation port is relatively far, it will also cause suffocation and water shortage due to the rapid consumption of oxygen and water due to high temperature.

Moreover, the extremely high temperature can easily ignite the ammunition and shells inside the fortress. For those who do not have any bunkers inside the fortress, this is close to face death.

Although because of Australasia's joining the Allied Powers, it directly became a potential enemy with Germany in terms of position.

But at least the relationship between Arthur and William II has not changed much, and the two can still talk happily in the telegram.

However, William II also had the pride of being the monarch of a top power, and William II would not try to retain Arthur for what was considered a betrayal.

In William II's view, the victory on the battlefield should be used to tell Arthur that the agreement between Britain and France is just a shell, and it is vulnerable to the powerful German Empire army.

I have to say that many Germans were quite arrogant during this period.

Because the history of the founding of the German Empire was established by stepping on the hegemony of Western Europe at the time, France, and now facing France and the United Kingdom again, this feeling of facing the defeat of his subordinates has gradually made the German military and many high-level officials more confident. Put it in your eyes.

The news that Australasia joined the Allied Powers also aroused considerable repercussions in the country.

supportive crowd.Naturally, immigrants from England and Russia.Because of the base ratio of British immigrants and the high growth of Russian immigrants in recent years, the total number of British immigrants and Russian immigrants together accounted for more than 80.00% of the total population of Australasia[-].

Therefore, Australasia's act of joining the Allied Powers, in the eyes of the Australasian people, is actually what the people want.

As for the German population, which accounts for less than [-]%, they naturally don't want to see this scene.

However, the proportion of German immigrants was not high, and Arthur had the foresight to disperse them among the many British immigrants and Russian immigrants.

Moreover, most of those who can immigrate are unable to live in the original country or do not live well.

If life is good in the original country, who would be willing to travel thousands of miles to a foreign country just to make a living?
These German immigrants think that they live a good life in Australasia. If they stand up and oppose the government's decision-making regardless of their current life, it is a bit high on their feelings for the original country.

Unless someone premeditatedly gathered these Germans together and incited them, it is impossible for German immigrants in Australasia to have an impact on the situation in Australasia.

Moreover, with the monitoring of the domestic situation by the Royal Security Intelligence Service, even with the support of other countries, it is difficult to gather these dispersed German immigrants together.

Arthur spared no effort to maintain the domestic order in Australasia.

Arthur also strongly supports the expansion of the Royal Security Intelligence Service and attaches great importance to it.

So far, the total intelligence personnel of the Royal Security Intelligence Service has exceeded tens of thousands.

If lurking in other countries and some eyeliners are counted, this number may be several times higher.

In Australasia alone, there are more than 5000 intelligence personnel of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, buried in cities and villages of all sizes in Australasia.

This also allowed Arthur to grasp the first-line intelligence in Australasia at any time. As for the officials and subordinates under his hands, Arthur could also grasp their movements at any time.

The layout of the Royal Security Intelligence Service's foreign intelligence is mainly concentrated in Europe, the United States, East Asia and other places.

The number of intelligence personnel dispatched to Europe is the largest, with more than 4000 people.Coupled with the locally hired and recruited eyeliners, etc., there are more than 1 intelligence personnel in Europe.

The number of intelligence personnel in the United States is slightly smaller, but with various eyeliners, the total number is more than 4000.

There are more than 3000 intelligence personnel in East Asia and Southeast Asia, more than 1000 in South America, and more than 1000 in Africa and other regions. This is the current distribution and layout of the intelligence personnel of the Royal Security Intelligence Service.

The first benefit of joining the Allied Powers is to directly become allies with the three major powers of Britain, France, and Russia.

Because Australasia has promised to send a large-scale combat army in future European wars, Arthur can also be cheeky and ask for more benefits and assistance from Britain, France, and Russia.

Of course, the assistance of the Allied Powers mainly came from Britain and France, and Russia was also assisted.

On the day the government publicly announced that it would join the Allied Powers, Arthur signaled the government to get in touch with the French government and establish good diplomatic relations first.

The French also welcome the addition of Australasia, because the combat troops sent by Australasia will relieve part of the pressure on the French Army.

Taking advantage of the time when he was in contact with the French, Arthur also made his request by the way, that is, he wanted to buy French submarine technology.

Although Australasia already possesses mature German submarine technology, the development of German submarine technology is still one step behind Britain and France.

Of course, even if Germany's submarine technology is comparable to that of Britain and France, knowing more about some additional submarine technology will be beneficial and harmless to the development of Australasian submarines.

In addition, Arthur also instructed the Australasian government to obtain a large amount of low-interest and interest-free loans from the British and French governments and the private sector.

The excuse is that in order to reserve enough military power, Australasia needs to invest more in the military budget.

After World War I, all currencies will depreciate. Whether it is interest-free loans or low-interest loans, Australasia is sure to make money.

Even relying on the large amount of mineral resources and food supplies sold to Britain and France during the war, these loans can be easily repaid.

Perhaps because of the importance attached to the new allies, the French readily agreed to Australasia's request to purchase submarine technology.

Of course, the French do not object to Australasia's loan request. After all, it has been a major lender for decades, and there is no need for too much Australasia.

Relying on the diplomatic ambassadors sent by both sides, Australasia quickly signed a loan agreement with the French government.

According to the agreement, Australasia will borrow 5 million francs (2000 million pounds, 4000 million Australian dollars) from the French government and the private sector, of which 1.5 million francs will come from the French government, which is an interest-free loan. 3.5 million francs came from the French private sector and belonged to low-interest loans.

The total term of this loan is 10 years. After ten years, the Australasian government needs to repay a total of 5.35 million francs with interest.

Of course, the 5 million francs were not paid in one lump sum.According to the financial situation of the French, the government's 1.5 million francs will be paid in two installments in the middle of this year and at the end of this year.

As for the 3.5 million francs from the French private sector, it depends on the specific situation of the negotiations between the Australasian government and the French private banks.

After all, France is a big country in terms of loans, and the loan procedures were handled very quickly, and the loan agreement was signed and became effective soon.

If nothing else, about 1.5 million francs will be credited in the first half of this year, and 2.5 million francs will be credited in the second half of this year.The remaining [-] million francs may not be paid until next year.

With the support of this fund, the Australasian government can also expand its armaments generously.

Even after the Russian and Chilean naval orders are over, it will be the turn of the Australasian warships to perform dumplings.

Now that the future goal and enemy has been regarded as the United States, it is an indispensable preparation to quickly increase the naval strength.

Arthur intended to expand the naval armaments of Australasia beginning in 1914.

During the five-year period from 1914 to 1918, Australasia's next five-year naval shipbuilding plan will be officially implemented.

In this five-year naval shipbuilding plan, Australasia will build at least one aircraft carrier, seven main warships above super dreadnoughts, four battlecruisers, dozens of frigates and armored cruisers, etc., thoroughly enriching Australasia. Naval reserves in West Asia.

That aircraft carrier is a test product for the navy, and whether it can be built successfully has no effect on the expansion of the navy.

The real highlight is the absolute main warships above the seven super dreadnoughts, and at least three advanced battlecruisers.

If this new five-year naval shipbuilding plan can be completed, the size of the Australasian navy will reach seven super dreadnoughts, three dreadnoughts, and six battlecruisers after World War I, for a total of sixteen ships capital battleship.

By that time, if there are no accidents, the navies of the Allied countries should also have accidents.

At that time, Australasia's naval size will be guaranteed to be among the top five in the world, and it is even hoped that it will be directly behind the United Kingdom and the United States, ranking third in the world.

In fact, it can be seen from the attitudes of Britain and France that Britain and France actually attach great importance to Australasia, a new ally of the Allied Powers.

France not only agreed to exchange some military technology with Australasia, but also agreed to Australasia's request for a loan.

As for the UK, the assistance promised in the negotiations before, after the signing of the Anglo-Australian agreement, the British government is already preparing.

Because the original work contains a variety of things, and even various technologies, drawings, materials, and talents, it will take a while to prepare.

But the British did not intend to wait. After the first batch of aid was prepared, they were already on a transport ship of the British Empire, under the protection of a fleet, and headed for Australasia, thousands of miles away.

This batch of aid includes a large amount of industrial equipment and materials, as well as talents in various fields that Arthur requested.

Of course, the British government will not directly require these talents to immigrate to Australasia, but instead changed the concept by sending experts to allow these people and their families to live in Australasia for a long time .

Although on the surface, these experts only need to stay in Australasia for a few years before they can apply to return to the British mainland.

The problem is, when they headed to Australasia, they took their families and most of their belongings with them.

After living in Australasia for several years or even more than ten years, is their family really willing to travel thousands of miles to return to the UK?

If he wanted, Arthur would only admire their love for the motherland, and then let them go back.

　Ask for a monthly pass!The editor-in-chief will start to recommend it in the early hours of tonight, and there will be two changes tomorrow, asking for a monthly pass! (The father-in-law is in good health, and the author will go back after spending about a week with the old man, and the time will be great!)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)