Chapter 342: The Four Entente Powers
At this time, the Three Entente of Britain, France, and Russia had not yet reached the close ties that they had during the war, and the three parties' preparations for the war were at different stages.
At this time, Australasia proposed to have command authority over its own troops participating in the war, and Minister Gray had nothing to say.
Because according to the current situation, even if a war breaks out, Britain, France, and Russia will only cooperate in fighting at best, and it is impossible to hand over their armies to the command of other countries.
Under such circumstances, it is natural for Australasia to demand independent command of its own army. After all, no one is so kind as to hand over the command of its own army to others. This is equivalent to handing over the lifeblood of the army. Got out.
As for the issue of military expenditures for the army, at the initiative of Prime Minister Kent, Minister Gray also made some changes.
Once the Australasian army embarked on its journey to Europe, the British government provided half of the soldiers' salaries and paid for all expenses of the Australasian army during the war.
This also means that after the Australasian army arrives in Europe, it can fire all kinds of weapons without restraint, because the British with strong family background have the backing.
The Australasian government only needs to provide half of all new soldiers, which can not only achieve the purpose of training troops, but also meet the British requirements for sending troops to fight.
Of course, the British did not pay for nothing. Minister Gray also put forward a new requirement, that is, once the European war breaks out, Australasia's combat troops in Europe must remain above 200,000 people.
Once attrition occurs due to various reasons, Australasia needs to continue sending troops to Europe to keep the number of combat troops in Europe above 200,000.
This also means that counting various casualties, Australasia may need to mobilize at least 500,000 troops to join the European war in order to meet the British requirements.
However, the condition proposed by Minister Gray does not strictly require the number of Australasian main forces.
This was acceptable to Arthur. After all, after World War I, it was necessary to reduce the number of indigenous people to avoid possible ethnic problems in the future.
As for the hidden manpower problems caused by the reduction of indigenous people, in fact, most of the manual labor that indigenous people are capable of can gradually be replaced by machinery.
Moreover, the population of Australasia is also growing. Based on the current number of new people added every year, if World War I breaks out as it did in history, the population of Australasia is expected to exceed 1,350 before the outbreak of World War I. Ten thousand.
Before 1920, Australasia's population could exceed at least 20 million, and by then the problem of manpower vacancies would no longer be so serious.
Even a long time after the end of World War I, plus the stage when Australasia received a large number of immigrants.
If it is done well and succeeds in replacing the United States in World War I, it will face millions or even millions of immigrants every year.
Coupled with absorbing the heritage of the defeated countries, before the outbreak of World War II, Arthur even hoped to turn Australasia into a top power with a population of 30 to 40 million people, the third in the world in military strength, and the top five in the world in comprehensive strength.
In addition to these military agreements, there is another important topic in this negotiation, which is the issue of division of interests after the war.
This is a topic that can never be avoided. If the Allied Powers of Germany, Austria, and Italy were to break the original colonial order, for Germany to gain more colonies, for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to expand in the Balkans, and for Italy to gain new territories, then the Entente Powers also had their own goals.
Although the formation of the Allied Powers was originally intended to jointly resist German expansion, as long as the war was victorious, the defeated countries would definitely be forced to provide many benefits to compensate the victorious countries for their military expenses and consumption.
Britain, France, and Russia are okay. Whether it is receiving colonies from the Allied Powers or acquiring territory from the Allied Powers, in short, there are many ways to gain benefits and expand.
But Australasia is different. Australasia is located in remote Oceania, and the area adjacent to the Allies' sphere of influence and Australasia is only a small German New Guinea.
But German New Guinea certainly could not satisfy the appetite of Australasia. Arthur agreed to send a large number of combat troops, and it was certainly not for this land that could be taken over immediately at the beginning of the war.
Around Australasia, except for the land of German New Guinea, the other lands are either the British and French Pacific islands, or the Dutch East Indies in the north.
However, the strength of the Netherlands is too weak compared to Australasia. Australasia does not even need the support of any country to obtain any Dutch East Indies land it wants.
This also means that if they want to satisfy the appetite of Australasia, Britain and France must make some choices between the Pacific islands.
In particular, the British Solomon Islands, French New Caledonia, the New Hebrides jointly governed by Britain and France, British Fiji, the French Wallis and Futuna protectorates, which are relatively close to Australasia, British Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protected Area, British Tokelau Islands, British Phoenix Islands, etc.
These islands and archipelagoes are not far from Australasia, but very far from the mainland of Britain and France.
Coupled with the fact that it is located in Oceania, it is impossible for Australasia not to acquire these lands.
You know, these islands and archipelagos are all islands in the Pacific Ocean and are an important line of defense for Australasia.
If these islands can be obtained, Australasia can build several complete island defense chains in the southwest Pacific.
Coupled with a large number of coastal defense guns, powerful warships and air force, any enemy coming from the Pacific can be completely blocked in the Pacific. It is impossible for the enemy to get even half a step closer to the mainland of Australasia.
More importantly, these islands completely encompass the core part of Australasia (Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea), which is also a solid barrier for Australasia's mainland defense.
If Australasia wants to confront the United States, these islands must be captured. Only in this way can we have sufficient confidence and trump cards to compete with the United States before our industry and economy can't catch up with the United States.
With these islands as defense, the Australasian mainland was safe at all times.
But it all depends on whether Britain and France are willing to give up these islands in the Pacific in order to completely tie Australasia to the chariot.
Minister Gray and the British government had actually anticipated Australasia's requirements long ago.
For Australasia, these islands in Oceania are fat on the pillow, and anyone with ambition must eat it.
Judging from Australasia's several expansions in Southeast Asia, Arthur's ambitions are not small, and his demands for islands in Oceania are also expected.
In addition, after Australasia separated from the British Empire, the British control of these Pacific islands has weakened a lot.
In fact, this is normal. After all, the British Empire has vast colonies. These scattered islands in the Pacific are not that important to the British.
But after all, these islands also involve French territory. Even if the Anglo-French Entente closely links Britain and France, Britain cannot directly make decisions for France.
But in principle, Minister Gray agreed to Australasia's request, that is, after the war broke out, Britain would directly transfer all the above-mentioned islands to Australasia in exchange for Australasia's direct participation in the war.
At the same time, since Australasia entered the war and was at war with Germany, German New Guinea was Australasia's prize. As long as Australasia has the ability, it can even take over this land on the day the war breaks out.
As for the French islands in Oceania, Minister Gray also promised that he would do his best to deal with Australasia and try his best to get France to directly agree to transfer these islands.
But I think the French would not refuse. After all, for France, these islands in Oceania are not that important.
France's core colonial area is still in Africa. On the premise that the African colonies are not lost, several Pacific islands and archipelagos can be used to exchange for the support of hundreds of thousands of Australasian combat troops, allowing the French to sacrifice less. This transaction is not a loss.
What's more, as long as the war is victorious, the French can definitely obtain some land from Germany. Isn't the land in Europe less important than the islands in Oceania?
In order to express his sincerity and that of the British government, Minister Gray sent a telegram to the British government on the day Australasia proposed its conditions and requested that the British government negotiate with France to reach a consensus on these islands as soon as possible.
It was several days later, on March 19, that Minister Gray received a reply from the British government.
As expected, neither Britain nor France paid much attention to these islands in Oceania.
Both sides agreed to transfer the islands of Oceania to Australasia in exchange for Australasia joining the Entente directly after the outbreak of war.
The French were very interested in Australasia's accession and their plan to commit 250,000 combat troops, and even wanted to invite Australasia to participate in the 1913 Allied Conference.
Since the last meeting of the Allied Powers and the Central Powers, it has become a tradition for the two major military blocs.
Unless there are special matters, it will be held basically every year.
The content and purpose of the meeting was to discuss the response after the outbreak of war based on the latest situation.
At this time, major European countries already knew that this European war was simply impossible to avoid.
Up to now, the major powers in Europe have spent countless amounts of money to compete with each other.
Many countries already have financial problems. Even if the arms race is stopped now, it will cause irreversible damage to the country's development.
The only way to solve this situation is to use a hearty victory to improve domestic national cohesion and support, and at the same time, use a large amount of loot and war compensation to save the government's finances.
"Only war can end the current situation." This sentence has been said by many high-level military officials of European powers.
No matter how well the war preparations of various governments are going, the militaries of various countries are already eager to try.
Now that we have decided to join the Allied Powers and exchange military contributions for Australasia's greater benefits in World War I, we must also participate in the next Allied Powers meeting.
Minister Gray also invited Arthur, and Arthur naturally nodded in agreement and agreed to participate in this year's Allied Powers Conference.
The Allied Powers Conference has been held since 1911, and the place where it is held also has certain political meanings.
The first Allied Powers Conference was held in London, England. As the core of the Allied Powers, it was understandable to hold the conference in London.
The previous year's Allied Powers Conference, that is, the 1912 conference, was held in Paris, France.
France is the bridgehead against Germany, and France has to bear most of Germany's military pressure.
Therefore, holding the Second Allied Powers Conference in Paris, France, not only highlights the status of the French Allied Powers as the second strongest country, but also tells all French people that Britain and Russia will be closely united behind France.
According to convention, this year's Agreement Congress was held in St. Petersburg, Russia. This is also the treatment that the third power of the Russian Entente deserves.
In addition to this Allied Powers Conference, which is very necessary to attend, Arthur also plans to visit Britain, France and Russia while attending the conference in the future, taking the opportunity to establish good relations with these three countries, and to be able to save money in future wars. Use your face to gain more benefits.
Although Arthur's relationship with Russia has always been good, Arthur cannot guarantee whether the Tsarist Russian Empire, which is in better shape than in history, will disappear in this war.
If the Russian Empire loses its ally by marriage, the only country Australasia can rely on is the United Kingdom, its ally by marriage.
Therefore, it is very necessary to take this opportunity to travel around with Britain and France.
Moreover, as Australasia is the weakest of the four major powers of the Entente, it is not too much to take the opportunity to ask Britain and France for some benefits!
You know, Britain and France are old and top powers, and their heritage is naturally numerous.
If all kinds of military technology and warship technology can be gathered together, it will be a big improvement for Australasia.
More importantly, after establishing good relations with these two countries, Australasia can rely on its status as the four major powers of the Entente to completely replace the original position of the United States in the First World War in history.
Even if the United States was stronger than Australasia, it would not be recognized by Britain and France as long as it did not participate in the war at the beginning of World War I.
Arthur also planned this in the early stage. He wanted to follow the American method of selling arms to both sides in the early stage, and directly join the dominant side in the middle and later stages to completely end the battle.
But after talking with Kent Prime Minister and Kent's steward, Arthur finally figured it out.
If Australasia and the United States adopt the same approach, the United States will definitely have a higher advantage with its more developed economy and industry.
In this case, it is impossible for Australasia to prevent the rise of the United States, and it is easy to lose the trust of the British government and the British people after the war because of its early support for Germany.
But if Australasia had entered the war in the early stages of the war and experienced this world war as one of the four major Allied powers, its identity and status would have been very different.
Compared with the United States, which makes profits in the early stage and picks peaches in the middle and later stages, Australasia is obviously the "own one" of Britain and France.
Coupled with the British government's preparedness for the United States, if the United States wants to obtain historically huge profits and interests in the next war, it will not only depend on whether Australasia agrees, but also whether the British and French governments will do so. Not that stupid.
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)