Rise of Australia

Chapter 947 Cession of the Straits Settlements

Following the vine of Donald MacLean, the British intelligence agencies soon found several other big melons and almost caught all the Russian spies infiltrated in Cambridge University.

The good news is that because the Russian intelligence services had only been infiltrated for a few years, the British aristocrats who had been turned against the Russians, led by Donald Maclean, did not sell out much intelligence to the British.

At least so far, Russia has not obtained much military technology and industrial information through its intelligence agencies, and things have not yet reached the worst.

But no matter what the consequences are, guys like Donald Maclean who sell out British interests will definitely be subject to quite severe sanctions.

First, the leaders were secretly executed, and the youngest was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison.

At the same time, Britain, France and Australia also agreed to strengthen supervision of Russian immigrants to prevent Russian spies from infiltrating and infiltrating all walks of life in the three countries.

There is no way. For the Three Kingdoms, this completely different ideology is what they need to guard against the most.

Of course, Britain and France did not fully cooperate with Australasia. In terms of military deployment, Britain and France clearly hoped that Australasia would mobilize more troops to support Europe, and even hoped to end the war as soon as possible.

But this is exactly what Arthur and Australasia do not want to see. At present, the consumption of Britain is not too severe. If the war ends too early, the British can still maintain their position as the world hegemon.

This will create more unknown factors in the future world situation. Having Russia as an opponent is already a headache, and Arthur does not want the British to continue to be the chess player in the world situation.

However, it was impossible not to send more troops to Europe. After discussions with the British, it was finally agreed that Australasia would send 50 troops to Europe within three months and 150 million troops within six months, bringing the size of the Australasia army in Europe to more than 230 million.

In order to get Australasia to send troops in time, the British gave it their all.

First, the Straits Settlements and North Kalimantan, which had been in dispute with Australasia, were all sold and their sovereignty was completely transferred to Australasia.

Although Australasia needs to use a total of A$5600 million to purchase the two colonies, it can also choose to exchange them for important materials such as weapons and equipment, medical supplies and food.

Judging from the current import and export relations between the UK and Australasia, this is not much different from directly giving it to Australasia.

After all, A$5600 million is basically just the revenue from a medium-sized order in the current vast arms market.

This is relatively important for Australasia. After taking control of the North Kalimantan Territory and the Straits Settlements, it will be able to have a huge impact on the economy of Asia. It is considered the most important strategic region on the west coast of the Pacific.

The land of the Kalimantan Sultanate can also be expanded and naturally accommodate more indigenous population.

The total population of Kalimantan is currently unknown, but it is at least 4000 million. After the merger with North Kalimantan, the population of the entire Kalimantan Sultanate is expected to increase to more than 5000 million, which is a good increase for Australasia.

Of course, it is necessary to distribute the land in North Kalimantan before merging with Kalimantan.

There are two indigenous states in North Kalimantan controlled by the British, namely the Sultanate of Brunei and the Kingdom of Sarawak.

The good news is that these two countries occupy less than a third of North Kalimantan's territory, and the rest of the land can be freely distributed to other Sudanese countries.

In order to increase the fighting spirit of the indigenous people of Kalimantan, Arthur discussed with the cabinet government and formulated a policy of exchanging land for military merit.

To put it simply, the eight small sultanates of the current United Kalimantan Sultanate, including the Brunei Sultanate in North Kalimantan and the Kingdom of Sarawak, can exchange a certain amount of land for their contributions in this war.

As long as their contributions are great enough, it is not impossible to reward them with all the remaining land in Kalimantan.

Using straightforward land and population to stimulate these sultanates to fight harder for Australasia, overall Arthur and Australasia did not lose out at all.

More importantly, through the competition for military merit among several small sultanates, the relationship between the small sultanates can also be destroyed.

This would not only completely prevent the various small sultanates from uniting, but would also cause them to compete with each other and even to harbor hatred for each other.

As a result, the Great Sultan, who was in charge of regulating the various small sultanates, would become even more uneasy. As long as the Great Sultan lost the trust of Australasia, he would not be able to gain a firm foothold in Kalimantan, where the sultanates coexisted.

This can be considered as an open plot proposed by the Australasian government. Even if the small sultanates knew it was an Australasian plot, they would definitely take the initiative to take the bait.

After all, what Australasia rewards is real land and population, which can not only enhance the strength among their various sultanates, but also give them more say in the United Sultanate.

The advantage of doing this is that as long as the power of the Great Sultan cannot completely suppress other countries, Australasia will be able to firmly control the entire Kalimantan Sultanate.

The ten sultanates check and balance each other. Even if a few sultanates want to rebel, the Great Sultan who is in charge of the coordination will confront them head-on with the remaining sultanates, or even defeat them first in exchange for the credit.

By the same token, if the Great Sultan had different ideas about Australasia, the ten surrounding sultanates would teach him a lesson.

Coupled with a certain degree of economic control and technological blockade, as long as Kalimantan's technology is ensured to never surpass Australasia, Australasia's control over Kalimantan will be permanent.

This can be regarded as a big tree planted by Arthur for future monarchs. According to the land area of ​​Kalimantan, the entire country can easily accommodate a population of over 100 million.

A market of at least 100 million people, a market that can be exploited at will, is a huge boost to the national development of Australasia.

Coupled with the nearby Philippines, which also has a potential population of 100 million, these two markets alone are enough for Australasia's industry to flourish in the future without having to worry about overproduction.

This will also make up for the gap between Australasia and the United States. As long as the market unification between the mainland and Kalimantan and the Philippines is completely completed, Australasia's potential will be no less than that of the United States.

Since you have received the benefits, you must do it.

However, Australasia still has the final say on how things should be done.

Starting in October 1937, Australasia gradually increased its troops to North Africa and Europe. However, the first batch of soldiers to go to the battlefields in North Africa and Europe were soldiers from Kalimantan and the Philippines. The Australasia army currently has another mission, which is to take over some industrial equipment in the island countries and empty their factories.

Yes, although the war with the island countries has ended, the compensation paid by the island countries is definitely more than what is stated in the treaty.

According to the restrictive treaties signed between Australasia and the island countries, the size of the island countries' army and navy, including heavy industry and military industrial enterprises, are subject to certain restrictions.

Let’s not talk about the army restrictions for now, because the current situation of the island nation is very chaotic, and it will take some time for them to figure out the casualties of the domestic army and the existing number of troops.

However, for the island nation's navy, the restrictions must be implemented on the day the treaty is signed.

This also means that within the time limit of the treaty, the island nation is prohibited from independently developing heavy weapons, including tanks and aircraft.

No matter which force in the island country, if it wants to possess more advanced heavy weapons, it can only purchase them from the outside world.

Although there is no restriction on buying only from Australasia, I believe that these island countries are all smart people. For Arthur, once he finds a force that is difficult to control, the best way is to directly eliminate it.

Although Arthur does not intend to actively interfere in the situation on the island country, as far as the several separatist forces on the island country are concerned, Arthur hopes that the forces controlled by Inojiro can achieve the final victory.

However, it is also a good thing to let them fight the war for a while. Some of Australasia's more backward weapons can be sold successfully, which can not only clear the inventory, but also accumulate certain research and development funds for the military factories to develop new weapons in the future.

In addition to clearing out the island nation's heavy industry and military industry, Australasia has one more thing to do, which is to station troops on the island nation and supervise the actions of the island nation's military.

Of course, to put it nicely, it should be said that Australasia sent troops to protect the island nation whose strength is currently weakened.

The garrison location that has been confirmed so far is Aomori, the northernmost part of Honshu Island, a strategic location within the island nation's sphere of influence.

Aomori is located at the junction of Hokkaido and Honshu, and can easily disconnect Hokkaido and Honshu.

No matter what happens in the domestic situation of the island nation, Australasia can cut the entire island nation in half by controlling Aomori.

Because the purpose is to protect the security of the island nation, 75% of the expenses of the garrison in Aomori are borne by the island nation, and the remaining 25% are borne by Australasia.

However, because the island nation needs to pay compensation to Australasia every year, the military expenses of the garrison in Aomori can actually be said to be borne entirely by the island nation's government.

After discussions between the Ministry of National Defense, the General Staff and the government, the current size of the Aomori garrison has been decided to be an army division plus a bomber formation plus a battleship formation.

In an island country without an air force or navy, such a military organization can be completely rampant. The bombing range of the bomber formation almost covers the entire island country and the Korean Peninsula. Although the navy only has one battleship, it is definitely a huge threat to any coastal city of the island country.

For a country like an island nation, it is necessary to station troops for defense. After determining the size of the garrison, Arthur immediately signed an order for the garrison and sent the newly formed army to garrison.

Whether in war or peace, the troops stationed in the island countries are generally rotated once a year. This is not only to take into account the problem that the soldiers may miss their hometown, but also to take into account the frequent replacement of soldiers in the future peacetime.

In the future peacetime, the service time in Australasia may be shortened to 3 to 4 years. This is to allow more people to participate in military service. Retired soldiers are also excellent reservists who can quickly join the army to fight at any time.

Of course, considering the relatively high salary and good welfare policies of Australasian soldiers, the country will not lack manpower no matter how long the service time is shortened.

What's more, Arthur has a huge reputation. As long as the influence of Arthur's era remains, there will be a steady stream of soldiers who follow the example of the generals of Arthur's era and join the army one after another.

This is also what Arthur stressed, about the importance of cultivating tough guy images and military role models. Currently, the most popular professions in Australasia are scientists and soldiers, followed by doctors, teachers and other positions. Actors and other professions can only be considered as medium choices.

This is most beneficial to the country's development. Only by allowing the next generation to engage more enthusiastically in scientific research and military undertakings can the country's strength become stronger.

In order to achieve this, in addition to Arthur's constant advocacy, effectively increasing the income of scientific researchers and soldiers is also a very important factor.

After all, only when the actual income is high, people will tend to choose high-income professions when making career choices. If it is just a passion, people also need to eat and live, right?

After completing the garrison on the island nation, Australasia's next offensive target will be North Africa.

Although Britain and France had captured Italy's Libyan colonies, Germany and Italy had already counterattacked in France's North African colonies and occupied a considerable portion of France's colonies.

Coupled with Spain's millennium killing, the French were thrown into disarray.

This also requires mentioning the current composition of the French army.

Although the French army is as large as four million, there are only a few elite troops left.

The French troops on the Tours Line could be considered veterans, but they had all been blocked on the line.

Although the German army was at a numerical disadvantage, its overall combat effectiveness was still higher than that of the French army.

This is vividly reflected in the defensive battle. The best evidence is that the French army has not yet broken through the German positions.

Because the main force of the French army is attacking Germany in the north, the French troops currently resisting Spain and Italy in the south are all new recruits and indigenous troops from the colonies.

These soldiers could be counted on for defensive battles, but their current mission is to attack the Spanish, Italian and German armies.

The result is very obvious. The French army's performance in the Spanish-French battlefield and the North African battlefield was a mess. It was just Italy's fellow sufferer.

(End of this chapter)