Chapter 187 A completely different war
time came in May 1904.
The issuance of the new currency was very successful. Although it only lasted for just over a week, more than two million pounds worth of new currency, namely the Australian dollar, had already been circulated.
This currency issuance is issued uniformly across the country. People are free to choose their own salary payment method. Both the pound sterling and the Australian dollar have become one of the federally recognized payment methods.
Across Australia, many people already choose to receive their salary in Australian dollars.
They have great trust in the current government and Arthur, and naturally agree with the new currency issued by the royal family.
There are even many collectors among the Australian people. They firmly believe that a limited number of commemorative currencies may have collection value in the future, which is something that the current pound does not have.
Currently, according to news from royal banks across the federation, approximately one million Australian dollars, 13 million shillings and 42 million pennies have been exchanged, and half of them are currently circulating in the market.
This is good news for the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand and for Arthur.
The Commonwealth has initially been able to get rid of the economic control of the British Empire and has its own new currency.
For Arthur and the royal family, these currencies are issued by the royal bank, which also means that the country's current financial power is in the hands of the royal family, which is an important means to consolidate the royal power.
Financial power, military power and people's hearts are all in the hands of Arthur. As long as Arthur reigns for one day, it is impossible for forces or individuals with the right to challenge the royal family to be born within the federal scope.
Compared with Australia's political leaders and people, the wars in the Far East were much more tragic than in history.
Because of Arthur's disguised intervention, the weapons and equipment of both sides in this war were much more advanced, including artillery and heavy machine guns that could cause large-scale damage. Both the Russian Empire and the island countries were equipped with more.
Since the last Battle of Port Arthur, the island country has regained a brief period of tranquility in terms of navy.
Lieutenant General Makarov maintained his own plan, and occasionally saw warships departing from Port Arthur, performing some secret missions.
The silence on the ocean means the cruelty on the land.
Since March 21, 1904, when the island country's First Army landed in Nampo, North Korea, the island country's army has not taken much action.
Most of the reasons for this are because the island country's army is waiting for the navy to take action. Only when the navy gains an advantage and uses the navy's powerful naval guns can it pose a threat to the fortress at Port Arthur.
But the development of things went beyond the island country's expectations. The naval battle did not win. Even in terms of naval battles, the island country failed.
But the war on land cannot stop. Maintaining such a military scale is a huge drain on both sides.
In mid-April, the First Army of the island country successfully arrived in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.
Responsible for the defense on the other side was the Eastern Manchuria Detachment of the Tsarist Russian Empire, commanded by Zasulich.
The First Army of the island country has about 30,000 people, while the Dongman Detachment also has nearly 20,000 people.
In terms of simple offensive and defensive advantages, it seems that the Tsarist Empire has the advantage. However, after the Tsarist Empire guard Zasulich arrived at the position, he did not take any action for a month and a half. He neither strengthened the defenses nor deployed the troops scattered on the frontal battlefield, without any measures to deal with the enemy.
The only fortification was actually just a long trench without even the slightest bit of camouflage.
Among them, the reserve troops, which accounted for about half of the number, were even stationed ten kilometers away, and the artillery positions were completely exposed to the enemy.
Let's not talk about how such "talented people" reached such high positions as commander of the Mantung Detachment and lieutenant general of the Tsarist Russian Empire. For the island country's army, this is simply a free gift.
After more than ten days of preparation, the island country launched an attack, trying to get around to the rear of the enemy's left wing and surround the 20,000 troops in front of it.
On the next day, the two sides fought fiercely in the nearby area. The Russian Empire sluggishly used artillery fire and counterattacks to resist the island country's attack.
However, because the island country's military strength was superior, the defensive positions of the Russian Imperial Army were too crude, and the artillery positions had long been exposed, the island country's artillery fire suppressed the Russian artillery fire, and the island country people also successfully attacked the position that day.
The Russian commander Zasulich was afraid of being surrounded, so he quickly ordered a retreat to the rear.
However, when the 11th East Siberian Infantry Regiment retreated, it was already deeply surrounded by the island country's army. After several breakouts, it still failed and the entire army was eventually annihilated.
However, this infantry regiment was not without any results. Although they were not equipped with artillery from Australia, they were lucky enough to receive two heavy machine guns.
After trying to break through to no avail, the 11th East Siberian Infantry Regiment decisively chose to defend, ultimately costing the entire army annihilation and in exchange for more than 6,000 casualties from the island country's army.
This was the first land-based trading war between the Tsarist Russian Empire and the island country, which ultimately resulted in a crushing defeat for the Tsarist Russian Empire and a tragic victory for the island country.
Of the 20,000-strong Dongman detachment led by Gasulic, only more than 12,000 people successfully retreated.
The 30,000-strong First Army of the island country lost more than 5,000 people in this offensive battle. When encircling and suppressing the 11th Infantry Regiment in Russia's East Siberia, more than 6,000 casualties were suffered, and the number of combat personnel was reduced sharply to 10,000. Eight thousand. But from a strategic perspective, the ultimate beneficiary of this war is still the island country. Zasulich's retreat directly opened the eastern gate of the Far East to the island nation.
After a short period of repair, the First Army of the island nation immediately advanced towards the interior of the Far East.
Meanwhile, early May.
The island country's Second Army, with about 40,000 troops, also set out in full gear and landed at Piziwo on the Liaodong Peninsula, attempting to capture the port of Lushun from north to south.
The reason why island countries attach so much importance to Lushun Port is because the geographical location of Lushun Port is very important.
As long as the Tsarist Empire continued to control the port of Port Arthur, the Pacific Fleet could threaten the sea lines of communication of the island countries' troops that had landed at any time.
Even if the Pacific Fleet makes a desperate move, it may completely cut off the logistics transportation line between the island country's mainland and the landing force.
What else can an army do without logistics? Apart from mutiny, the only option was to be captured and starve to death.
The defensive force in the area north of Port Arthur was the 4th Infantry Division of the Tsarist Empire, commanded by General Fokker.
The Fourth Infantry Division has a total strength of 18,000 people, with more than 150 artillery pieces and 20 heavy machine guns.
Because General Makarov also knew the importance of Port Arthur, at the suggestion of General Makarov, the Governor of the Far East Alexeyev handed over part of the equipment purchased from Australia to the Fourth Infantry Division.
This has also resulted in the current equipment of the Fourth Infantry Division being very luxurious. Everyone is uniformly equipped with German-made Gew98 rifles, and has more than twenty CA-1 machine guns, fifteen 105mm howitzers and other artillery. .
In mid-May, the Second Army of the Island Country and the Russian 4th Infantry Division met smoothly and quickly started fighting.
Whether it is artillery or numerical strength, the Second Army of the island country has sufficient advantages.
General Aobao Gong thought the same way. As the commander of the Second Army, he seemed to have seen the opportunity to attack Lushun, so he ordered all four divisions to attack in an attempt to quickly eliminate the defense forces in the northern part of Lushun.
When the battle just started, the artillery of the island country successfully suppressed the artillery of the Tsarist Russian Empire.
The island country's army also approached the Fourth Infantry Division very smoothly. Soldiers on both sides could even see clearly the other's ferocious face and hair mixed with gunpowder smoke and dust.
"Fire with all your strength!"
Following General Fokker's order, the artillery from Australia opened fire smoothly. Under the leadership of the CA-1 machine gun, the Russian artillery regained the advantage. Continuous shells exploded among the island nation's troops, causing heavy casualties to the island nation's people.
"Baga! Where did these Russians get so many artillery pieces? With such dense fire coverage, I'm afraid there must be at least a thousand." A little further away on the battlefield, General Obaogong looked at the battlefield with a look of horror. Exploding artillery fire asked in confusion.
It's a pity that no one can answer his question. No one on the island has ever seen such intensive artillery fire, and no one even thought of letting the army retreat quickly.
In fact, this is normal. The current fully automatic technology is basically only used for firearms. Machine guns are the best embodiment of fully automatic technology.
Currently, only France and Australia have the technology for automatic artillery, and Germany is the only one with more.
But France was an ally of the Russian Empire, and Germany also supported the expansion of the Russian Empire in the Far East. Needless to say, Australia will not export its own weapons without Arthur's order.
At present, Germany does not have the option of automatic artillery in its public arsenal. The weapons imported by the island country are all technologies from the Kluber factory, including 75mm and 105mm howitzers.
These artillery pieces all have one characteristic, that is, their firing speed is relatively slow. Within a minute, less than ten shells could be fired at the fastest.
But the firing speed of the CA-1 cannon reached a terrifying sixty rounds per minute, which is equivalent to a gap of six to seven times.
It was precisely because of the crazy fire bombing from the CA-1 cannon that General Obogong had the illusion that the Tsarist Russian army opposite had thousands of artillery pieces.
By the time General Obao Gon reacted, it was already too late. In order to quickly resolve the battle, the island nation's troops almost swarmed forward and were very densely packed with each other.
This also allows the CA-1 cannon to play a huge role. Although the relative power is not that great, each shell is enough to inflict varying degrees of injuries to enemies five meters around.
What's more, each round of the CA-1 machine gun fires multiple shells. Many island soldiers have been hit by multiple shells before they even reacted.
The war ended with the sound of gunfire from the Pacific Fleet. Unlike in the original history, the Pacific Fleet was still able to maintain a balance of power against the United Fleet. Therefore, the island nation's army did not receive naval gun support. Instead, the Russian army received naval gun support from the Pacific Fleet.
The main guns of warships are generally large artillery of more than 200 mm, especially those battleships that rely on firepower. The caliber of the artillery can even reach the terrifying 300 mm.
Such a large-caliber artillery is a natural punishment for the infantry, and many people can only watch slowly as the black spots in front of them get bigger and bigger, drowning themselves in a white smoke.
General Makarov took all the anger out of the last naval battle this time. This time a total of two battleships were dispatched and more than a hundred naval gun shells were fired.
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(End of chapter)