Chapter 312: Supporting Australia and resisting the United
States. Churchill’s words can be said to have awakened the dreamer, forcing all members of the British cabinet to think carefully about this issue.
What is the purpose of supporting island countries? Isn't it just to distract the attention of the Russians? Isn't it also a means to prevent the United States from expanding in the Pacific?
But currently Russia is an ally against Germany. Because of the agreement with Russia, the British government does not intend to assist the island country in the short term.
After all, at present, the island countries' help is far inferior to that of Germany, and the British government still needs Russia to hold back part of Germany's troops.
Although the British government can no longer support island countries, this does not mean that it cannot support other countries.
Churchill's words are indeed very reasonable. Britain and Australasia have the same origin, and the main ethnic group in Australasia is also British immigrants.
This also represents the most important thing for the British government, that is, Australasia, which has a large number of British immigrants, cannot actively oppose the British government.
Even if British people choose to become immigrants, they will still have deep feelings for Britain in a short period of time.
If the Australasian government stands directly in opposition to the British Empire, I am afraid that the angry British immigrants in the country will make the Australasian government think carefully about it.
Australasia and the British royal family also have the same roots. With such a good relationship, wouldn't it be good to support Australasia?
What's more, in the hearts of white people in this era, there will always be some psychological concepts of white supremacy.
Instead of supporting an island country with different ethnic groups and different cultures, it is better to support an Australasia that has the same roots and basically will not become an enemy.
Although Australasia's population is a major flaw, wasn't the island nation an ignorant and backward country just a few decades ago?
The British Empire has the ability to support the island country into a country with a military strength reaching the level of the great powers within a few decades. It is confident that the navy of Australasia will be at the level of the great powers and a new great power will be born in Oceania.
More importantly, Australasia's shipbuilding industry has already reached scale, and it is indeed at the level of great powers in terms of dreadnoughts.
As long as the shortcomings in population are slightly compensated and more support is given, Australasia can grow into a great power-level maritime power at any time.
Although after the rise of Australasia, the Dutch East Indies in the north were destined to suffer.
But it was a Dutch colony after all, and when it was time to give up, the British government was able to give up decisively.
More importantly, in the eyes of the British, the threat to the United Kingdom from the Americans was far greater than that of Australasia after owning the entire Dutch East Indies.
If Australasia can have the Dutch East Indies, it may be able to make up for certain population problems and grow into a power that is truly capable of confronting the United States.
Although this requires a lot of effort, it is better than sitting back and watching the rise of the United States after the war in Europe!
The British cabinet members looked at each other and saw the approval and realization in each other's eyes.
Prime Minister Asquith took the lead and nodded, saying: "Leaving aside the expansion of the navy, supporting Australasia is indeed a good choice. In addition to disputes in Europe, we do also need to be prepared for threats from across the ocean. . In order to prevent the American naval expansion from posing a threat to the British Empire, I think it is necessary to support Australasia and cultivate a country with the strength to confront the United States in the Southwest Pacific region." "Yes,
Australasia West Asia is located in Oceania, and expanding westward across the entire Indian Ocean is a thankless task. To the east are our and French islands. If Australasia is smart, they will not be interested in these areas in the short term. To the south is vastness. Antarctica, such a cold zone, Australasia must not be able to explore. Their expansion direction is only to the north. After controlling the Dutch East Indies, if they do not want to conflict with us, their expansion direction seems to be It can only expand towards the Philippines, which has a natural conflict with the Americans." Interior Secretary McKenna also said with approval.
After supporting Australasia, in the eyes of these British politicians, the Dutch East Indies had become a region that could be completely abandoned. There was no need to destroy relations with Australasia because of the Dutch.
After all, it is the interests of other countries and is not as important as the strategic planning of our own country.
What's more, the ownership of the Dutch colonies was really just a thought of the British Empire.
If the British Empire had not acquiesced to the Netherlands occupying this land and did not allow other great powers to get involved, I am afraid that the Dutch colonies would have been occupied by other countries. This is an era of the weak and the strong! "If we can tie Australasia to the Allied chariot by supporting Australasia, this will also be a good thing for us." Another cabinet member also said.
"Everyone, Australasia has become one of the important trading partners of the British Empire. They are rich in food, meat, mineral resources, etc. Such a country is a natural ally for us and a natural ally for the United States. A natural enemy. I support supporting Australasia. I even think the government should take quick action to tie Australasia onto the Allied chariot as soon as possible. This will also be good for the conflict in Europe. We will have one more battlefield. We can provide timely supplies to alleviate the pressure on our local supply of supplies."
Churchill said slowly: "Don't forget, Australasia currently also has a navy with three battleships and two battlecruisers. A powerful country. Although not too large, it can also assume part of the defense of our Indian Ocean region and solve the naval pressure in our colonial areas. And it is said that they are building a super-dreadnought ship called the Hope-class battleship for Chile. If they really Once they have mastered the war-making technology of super-dreadnoughts, their importance will be greatly increased." The importance
of super-dreadnoughts is as important as the dreadnoughts of a few years ago. As the most powerful battleship design in the world, the super-dreadnought is destined to be the main force in naval battles. It is also one of the most important plans in the current Anglo-German naval competition.
If Australasia can master the construction technology of super-dreadnoughts, it means that Australasia's naval shipbuilding capabilities have reached the top four in the world, becoming a country after the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States.
If the British Empire gave Australasia a certain amount of financial support and allowed Australasia to wildly expand its navy, would it create one of the top five navies in the world?
It's hard to say, but equally promising. The combat effectiveness of a single dreadnought is comparable to that of two to three old battleships, while the combat effectiveness of a super-dreadnought is theoretically comparable to that of two dreadnoughts.
This also means that Australasia's current naval combat capability theoretically exceeds that of the island country with seven battleships, and in fact it has truly achieved the strength of the great powers.
If one more super-dreadnought, one dreadnought and one battlecruiser are added, Australasia's naval strength will surpass that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and rival that of Italy.
Supporting Australasia has become a sure-profit business in the conversations of several cabinet ministers of the British Empire.
Everyone became more and more excited as they talked, and they even made plans to immediately start supporting Australasia.
"Okay, everyone. Although we understand the importance and necessity of supporting Australasia, according to our current conversation, it is still the necessity of naval expansion, isn't it? The plan to support Australasia will wait until next time. Let’s bring it up again at the meeting. Now let’s solve the problem of the size of the navy. This is where the government’s finances are worried.” In the end, Prime Minister Asquith ended the conversation in a fit of laughter and tears to prevent the cabinet government from going off topic.
After seeing that Prime Minister Asquith was not affected by his words and still advocated reducing the naval expansion plan, Lord Admiralty Churchill couldn't help but shook his head, but still retorted forcefully: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I have always believed that reducing the scale of naval expansion Not a good idea. If the government is really short of funds, in addition to issuing bonds, it can also create a lot of revenue in the colonies, right?" Before Prime Minister Asquith could answer, Foreign Minister Edward stood up and
said Changing his previous silent approach, he retorted directly: "I have to say that this is a stupid idea, Minister Churchill. Let's not talk about how we can obtain more tax revenue without angering the colonial natives. I'm afraid we are strict in the colonies. As soon as the harsh taxes are promulgated, the Germans will loudly publicize the news that we are oppressing the colonial population. If they obstruct it, a colonial crisis may break out at any time. Once there is a problem in the colony, not only the army and navy must be used to suppress it, but also the burden on the finances It’s even more serious.”
Although European countries had a tacit understanding to carry out various oppressions on the colonies, and they also pretended to be gentlemanly and civilized to the outside world.
But after all, it was everyone's idea at that time. All the powers united to do this. Which country would refute it?
But things are different now. If the British Empire did this alone, the Germans would definitely have endless methods.
If the Germans were determined to foment rebellion in the colonies, the British Empire would be overwhelmed.
Of course, the main reason for this is that Germany does not have many colonies.
If Germany also had a large number of colonies, then such propaganda would also harm others and itself, and its own colonies would also suffer from a crisis of rebellion.
"Moreover, Minister Churchill. Our proposal is to reduce the scale of naval expansion, not to end it. The number of battleships twice that of Germany is really powerless financially. How about changing it to 1:1.5?" said Foreign Minister Edward He looked at Churchill again and made a more reasonable proposal.
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(End of chapter)