Chapter 303: Conference of the Allied Powers and Conference of the Allied Powers (please vote for me!)
After the cabinet government election in Australasia, the country once again returned to calm and entered the development and construction environment of the past.
But Europe is not calm at this time. The Italian-Turkish war is raging, and the powder keg in the Balkans seems to be about to explode, adding a few dark clouds to the originally clear sky in Europe, as if a heavy storm is coming.
On October 27, 1911, Arthur had just held a cabinet meeting with the new cabinet government when he received an invitation from the United Kingdom to attend a large gathering in London.
The United Kingdom invited more than a dozen countries to this party, most of which were countries that had good relations with Britain. Among them were countries such as France and Russia that had directly signed treaties with Britain.
Of course, this also means that countries that are opposed to Britain, such as Germany and Austria-Hungary, are not included in the invitation. Therefore, this conference can also be regarded as a large gathering of countries within the Allied Powers and those who are biased towards the Allied Powers.
In fact, this also means that Australasia is favored by the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. After all, Australasia is far away in Oceania. Being able to participate in such an Allied Powers meeting means that Australasia's strength is recognized by the Allied Powers.
But such an invitation gave Arthur a headache. If you participate directly, you will inevitably be seen as joining the Allied camp.
This is completely different from Arthur's idea of selling arms neutrally in the early stage and joining the advantageous side in the later stage.
But after all, it is the request of the British Big Brother. If I don't go, I will inevitably lose face and hurt the relationship with the British government and the British people.
After careful consideration, Arthur chose to let Prime Minister Kent go. Prime Minister Kent is Arthur's confidant and can represent Arthur to a certain extent. In addition, Kent is the new Prime Minister of Australasia and can also represent the current Australasian government.
Therefore, Prime Minister Kent is also a more suitable candidate besides Arthur.
Before Kent set off, Arthur specifically asked Kent to watch more, ask less, and participate less in the meeting.
It is still necessary to understand the current support of European countries for the Allied Powers, but it is not necessary to directly join the Allied Powers.
After all, World War I was a huge drain on the Allied Powers. The earlier they joined the war, the earlier they had consumed Australasia's heritage.
If this meeting was a dilemma for Arthur, then for the Allied forces represented by William II, this was an open and fair attack.
Unfortunately, although the time and participants of this meeting are public, the content of the meeting is extremely confidential.
Even if the German intelligence organization spent a lot of effort on this, it only knew that this meeting was aimed at the Allies. As for what was discussed at the meeting and what purpose was achieved, Germany had no idea.
However, this does not mean that Germany does not have any means of opposition.
Not long after Butler Kent arrived in London, the day after the Allied Powers Conference was held, that is, November 30, 1911, Germany also expressed tit for tat that it would hold a conference in Berlin, and the participating countries in the conference were all members of the Allies and those who favored the Allies. European countries.
What troubled Arthur was that even though Germany knew that Arthur had sent Kent to attend the Allied Conference, the German government still openly invited Australasia to participate in the Allied Conference.
Although Australasia does have good relations with both sides, such an aboveboard and aboveboard behavior before the war will not only damage Australasia's face, but also make both sides unhappy.
Therefore, on December 1, 1911, Arthur publicly declared on behalf of the Australasian government that Australasia was a peaceful and friendly country and was temporarily unwilling to join European disputes.
But for the sake of world peace and humanity around the world, Australasia is willing to provide Europe with due medical and material support at any time to ensure that European people will not be affected by European disputes.
At the same time, Arthur also emphasized that Australasia would not directly join the Entente or Central Powers for the time being unless the interests of the country and its citizens suffered losses.
In view of the good relations between Britain and Germany and Australasia, as well as the blood relationship between the two parties, Arthur sincerely advises that both parties can remain sensible and resolve the dispute at the negotiating table.
In any case, let’s erect the neutral arch first. Otherwise, there will be many more dilemmas like this, and if you are not careful, you will give Australasia a reputation as a faggot.
In order to express that he really wanted to be neutral, starting in December, Arthur asked the government to keep a low profile internationally to avoid drawing more attention to Australasia.
In mid-December 1911, the Allied Powers Conference was officially held in Berlin. Participants included members of the three Allied Powers: the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Italy, as well as several small European countries that were friendly with Germany.
Although the contents of the meeting between the two sides are strictly confidential, Europeans can see that the smell of gunpowder in Europe is extremely strong and seems to explode at any moment.
In January 1912, as Kent returned to Australasia, Arthur finally understood what the Allied Conference had discussed.
In fact, Kent just heard some rumors. The real core Allied Powers Conference only took part in the three countries: Britain, France, and Russia.
Other small countries can only hear some rumors, and what they can hear is only what the British want to be heard.
After this meeting, it can be expected that the Three Kingdoms Agreement will become even closer. The previous Triple Entente was established on the basis of the Franco-Russian Entente, with the addition of the Anglo-French Entente and the Anglo-Russian Entente.
But the main stipulations of such an agreement were that France and Russia should fight against Germany, and Britain should assist France and Russia.
But with this meeting, such a situation no longer exists, and Britain must also bear military responsibility.
In fact, there is nothing that can be done about it. If Britain does not assume military responsibility, the Russians' attitude towards the Entente will be somewhat uncertain.
You can't rely on the French to resist Germany. Such results have been seen decades ago. The Germans stepped on the French to reach the top of the continent.
If the British do not assume certain military responsibilities, the Anglo-French and Anglo-Russian Entente, which may have led to the establishment of the Allied Powers, may be directly voided.
After the Allies ceased to exist, there was really no force that could stop the rise of the German Empire.
According to Kent's news, Britain, France, and Russia re-signed a Triple Entente. This agreement replaced the previous loose entente between Britain, France, Britain, Russia, and France and Russia, and truly united the three countries that concluded the entente.
Although it is unclear what changes this new Entente has brought to the Allied Powers, it is obvious that the attitude of the French and Russians towards the Entente has changed significantly, and their attitude towards resisting Germany has also become firmer.
In addition to this new entente, the three countries also signed a new naval treaty. This naval treaty is also open to the small countries participating in the conference, but it also requires them not to publish it to the outside world.
Under this naval treaty, the British would protect French interests and areas along the Atlantic coast, and the French would protect British interests in the Mediterranean colonies.
At the same time, if a war breaks out, Russia's Black Sea Fleet and France's Mediterranean Fleet will block the Strait of Otranto as soon as possible to prevent the Allied navies from converging.
The Strait of Otranto, located between Italy and Albania, was the Austro-Hungarian navy's only access to the sea.
After blocking the Strait of Otranto, the Austro-Hungarian navy lost its role and could only be trapped in the offshore waters.
Looking carefully at the three Allied countries, the German High Seas Fleet, the Italian Navy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire's navy all have a common feature, that is, the navies of these three countries are restricted to a certain ocean and enter the exit pole of the Atlantic Ocean. Easily blocked.
Needless to say about the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Strait of Otranto is enough to make the Austro-Hungarian Empire's navy the weakest among them.
Although the Italian navy is located in the huge ocean of the Mediterranean, it has the Strait of Gibraltar to the west and the Suez Canal to the east, both of which are occupied by the British.
This also means that if the Italian fleet cannot defeat the British fleet, their navy can only roam in the Mediterranean and cannot go out to the Atlantic or Indian Ocean at all.
Finally, there is the German navy. Before the construction of the Kiel Canal, Germany's east-west navigation had to bypass Denmark, which not only added a lot of itineraries but also gave up important navigation routes to Denmark.
After the Germans built the Kiel Canal, they successfully connected the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, which not only greatly shortened the distance between east-west navigation, but also put the transportation artery connecting the North Sea and the Baltic Sea into their own hands.
But that doesn't mean the problem goes away. Needless to say about the Baltic Sea, apart from passing through Denmark, only the Kiel Canal can connect the Baltic Sea to the outside ocean.
But the problem is that beyond the Baltic Sea there is the North Sea. The two ways from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean are through the English Channel where the UK and France join and the northern North Sea where the UK and Norway join.
These two areas are also under the control of the British Empire Navy, which also means that if the navies of the three Allied countries want to merge together, they must break through the navies of France and Britain.
But therein lies the problem. The British Empire is currently the world's most well-deserved naval power. It is impossible for the navies of a single Allied country to compete with the British Empire's navy.
If the navies of the three Allied countries did not converge, the naval threat to Britain would not be that great.
But without challenging the strength of the British navy, it would be basically impossible for the navies of the three Allied countries to come together.
This seems to be trapped in an infinite loop. Even though the three Allied countries have vigorously developed their navies, they still have not caught up with the trend of the British Empire's navy.
More importantly, the British Empire had extensive colonies and a large population, and its foundation was stronger than Germany.
It was actually Germany that suffered even more in the naval race, which also greatly reduced the possibility of the Allied navies surpassing the Allied navies.
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(End of chapter)