Rise of Australia

Chapter 367 T-14 Tank and T-14A Tank
Sydney was chosen as the capital at the beginning. In addition to being the capital of New South Wales, the largest colony at that time, Sydney also had one of the largest ports at the time, Sydney Port, which was more suitable for economic development and also suitable for attracting immigrants.

But now, the shortcomings of Sydney's proximity to the sea have also been exposed.Sydney's security was not so reliable until the size of the Australasian navy was increased.

Coupled with the problems exposed by Sydney's crazy population expansion, the Australasian government has gradually voiced requests to move the capital.

Moving the capital is no stranger to a country. When encountering economic, political, military, environmental and other problems, moving the capital has become an effective and inevitable solution.

Take the United States as an example. The capital of the United States is not New York, the most developed city, but Washington, a relatively underdeveloped city with a small population.

For Australasia, there is another disadvantage of setting the capital in a southeast coastal city like Sydney, that is, the development of inland and western cities is ignored.

Australasia actually has plains and the only river in Australia, the Murray River.

In theory, the development potential of the Murray River Delta is even higher than that of southeastern Australasia, and because it is located inland, it is relatively safe.

This area is also a barren land for Australasia, sparsely populated and economically underdeveloped.

If the capital is moved, this area is the most suitable area, but it is also the most troublesome.

This is no different from building a new city, and it also means that the Australasian government will spend decades building a new city in this area.

But the benefits are also very obvious.There is the largest river in Australia, and it is located in the central plains of Australia, with great potential for development.

If this area is well developed, tens of millions of people can live here along the Murray River alone.

This also means that a single Australian region can accommodate at least 1 million people.Coupled with New Zealand, New Guinea and various colonies, Australasia can accommodate at least [-] million people, which happens to be the population needs of becoming a superpower.

Arthur from later generations knew that although Australia has more than 700 million square kilometers of extensive trade land, in later generations, due to various reasons, there is very little land that can really be used, and Australia's population is generally distributed along the coast. Regional and Southeast.

You must know that the vast central plains of Australia have been completely desertified in later generations.

More than 100 years ago, this central plain, especially the Murray River Basin, was not impossible to save.

If this area can really be developed into a plantable and habitable area, it will be a good thing for Australasia and a good thing for Arthur.

The Murray River Basin alone can support tens of millions of people, and if the Darling River Basin in the north is added, it can feed tens of millions of people.

Coupled with the defensive island chain formed by the outer colonies and archipelagos of Australasia, the status of Australasia's top powers is basically established.

However, although the advantages of moving the capital outweigh the disadvantages, from time to time there are voices within the government requesting to move the capital.

For the current Australasia, it is not suitable to move the capital with great fanfare for the time being.

Firstly, the population of more than 100 million in Sydney is definitely not willing for the government to move the capital.After all, there is still a big gap between the capital and non-capital cities. As the capital, the convenience of Sydney’s development is undoubtedly the reason why Sydney can quickly surpass Melbourne and become the first city in Australasia with a population of over one million.

If it loses its status as the capital, Sydney will not necessarily be surpassed by Melbourne, but it will definitely decline compared to its current status.

Secondly, moving the capital is not something that can be implemented immediately after a decision is made.The site selection and construction of the new city, including the construction of the government residence in the future, the construction of the new palace, etc., not only need a lot of time, but also a lot of money.

In addition, Arthur feels that the European War is not far away, so Australasia will not move its capital until the end of World War I, and Arthur has no plans to move its capital for the time being.

Instead of using government funds to change the capital, it is better to use them to produce more weapons and equipment to make greater profits in the war.

When Australasia has made enough money in this war, and there is no threat of war and foreign enemies, it will not be too late to announce the relocation of the capital with great fanfare.

Taking advantage of the great prestige brought about by winning the war, when the time comes to choose to move the capital, no matter how unwilling the people are, no one will jump out and directly oppose it.

However, although there is no plan to move the capital for the time being, the investigation around the Murray River can already be started.

Even if this area will not be used as the location of the capital in the future, this is a piece of land that is completely worth developing.

You know, the soil in the current Murray River Basin has not suffered much damage.Except for a small number of areas that have been transformed into Gobi, most areas are still lush grasslands and forests, with great development value.

As long as the hare problem that has been rampant in Australasia can be properly resolved, this area is the future granary of Australasia, one of the most developed and most populous areas in the future.

For a country, the geographical area of ​​plains has the greatest potential for development and is what a country needs most.

Plains can be used not only to build urban agglomerations, but also to build animal husbandry areas, grain production areas, industrial areas, and so on.

Moreover, the transportation construction in plain areas is easier, and the laying of roads and railways is relatively simple.

Like the mountains and hills in the southeast, tunnels and bridges need to be considered when laying railways and roads.

But the plains only need to close their eyes to lay the road, which can not only greatly save manpower and materials, but also save a lot of time.

On January 1914, 1, Arthur, who had been looking at the geographical map of Australasia for a long time, finally issued his order to send a geographical survey team to the Murray River Basin.

If it is determined that this area is suitable for development and has huge development potential, then Arthur does not mind moving the capital here to develop Australasia's own plains.

If the development potential is not so great, in view of the fact that this is one of the few plains in Australasia, it can also invest some energy in developing this area after World War I.

Of course, if the development potential of this area is not too great, in addition to promulgating some policies to hinder desertification and Gobi in this area, Arthur's desire to develop this area is not too high.

The survey of the geographical environment is a big project, not only to explore the geographical environment of this area, but also to explore the mineral resources and fresh water resources of this area, whether it is suitable for the development of economic industries such as agriculture and animal husbandry.

Even if the progress of the geographic survey team is fast, it will take at least two or three months to get a relatively complete report.

Of course, Arthur is not in a hurry. Apart from patiently waiting for news from the geographical survey team, Arthur currently has other important matters, such as the Royal Agricultural Machinery Factory.

On the surface, the Royal Agricultural Machinery Works is the largest tractor manufacturer in Australasia, but it is actually also engaged in research on tanks.

After researching the first-generation tank four years ago, after a long period of exploration and experimentation, the second-generation tank in Australasia has also been successfully released.

The research on the first generation of tanks was very simple. On the basis of tractors, the first generation of tanks was born after adding weapons, steel plates and ammunition compartments.

Although it has been modified many times afterwards, the design of such a tank is still very simple, not only looks ugly, but also often has problems.

It is no exaggeration to say that the first-generation tanks would break down every tens of kilometers, which is a test of the ability of contemporary tank soldiers to repair tanks.

Although most of them are just minor problems, and after simple repairs, they can go on the road again, but the frequency of problems with the first generation tanks that cannot stand is too high.

As for the second-generation tank, Arthur placed high hopes on it.

Because the second-generation tank is a newly designed tank, not only the shape is very different from the first-generation tank, but even the performance data and so on, the gap is not even a star.

When Arthur saw the second-generation tank for the first time, he immediately abandoned the design of the first-generation tank.

There is no other reason. In Arthur's view, the second-generation tank is a truly more modern tank.

Even if you don't look at the performance data of the second-generation tanks that are far ahead, from the appearance alone, the second-generation tanks are enough to kill the first-generation tanks in seconds.

The second-generation tank was named by Arthur as the 14-year tank, or T-14 tank for short.

According to the design of the Royal Agricultural Machinery Factory, the T-14 tank is divided into two models, namely the basic T-14 tank and the T-14A tank.

Let me talk about the T-14 tank first, which is the basic version of the second-generation tank.It is slightly larger than the first-generation tank and accommodates five crew members, including a driver, a commander, a gunner, a machine gunner, and a loader.

The T-14 tank is equipped with a GA1902-75mm semi-automatic artillery and a MA-107 Maxim heavy machine gun, which is incomprehensible in terms of firepower.

The upper muzzle can rotate freely, theoretically speaking, it can freely attack 360-degree enemies.

Under the muzzle, there is a heavy machine gun with a fixed orientation, which can only attack the enemy in front of the tank.

In addition to upgrading the firepower, the T-14 tank is also covered with 21mm steel armor, which greatly improves the tank's protection capability.

The Royal Agricultural Machinery Factory also considerately equipped the tank with an air conditioner, which allows the tank soldiers to adjust the temperature inside the tank as they like, without worrying about the temperature troubles encountered in summer and winter battles.

Of course, the enhanced firepower and armor also made this tank weigh a full 14.6 tons. Such a big guy is definitely a giant on the battlefield, and its weight alone is enough to crush all enemies.

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(End of this chapter)