Chapter 378 Declaration of war! Declare war!
"The Italians still claim that they are loyal to the Triple Alliance. But the problem is that they also have to maintain their traditional friendship with Britain and France. The Triple Alliance has obligations for defensive wars, but the Italians believe that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is currently engaged in an aggressive war. There was no discussion with the Italians. Even if the Russians intervene in this war, the Italians cannot assume any obligations and Italy will remain neutral in this war." Prime Minister Bateman replied.
Although the Italians' words seemed reasonable, compared to Germany's firm support for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they were complete farts.
The reason why the Italians did not fulfill their alliance obligations was simply to act as a wall between the Allies and the Entente and join the war in a more secure way.
William II shook his head disdainfully and said: "The Bible says that a servant cannot serve two masters, let alone three masters. This is completely impossible. Italy will most likely join Britain and France. I I hope you can all see this clearly. Just pretend that we have never had this ally. Without it, we can still win the war. I have made up my mind to go to war with Russia and France, and nothing can stop us." July
1914 On March 31, the German government announced that Germany had entered a dangerous state of war threat.
In the afternoon, the German government issued another ultimatum to Russia, requiring the Russian government to cancel the general mobilization within 12 hours, otherwise Germany would enter a state of war with Russia.
But the answer given by Russian Foreign Minister Shazonov was: "For technical reasons, Russia's general mobilization order cannot be stopped." The
Germans naturally did not believe the Russians' nonsense. Almost on the day when it issued the ultimatum to Russia, Germany sent a note to the French government, asking whether France would strictly maintain neutrality after Germany and Russia went to war, and asked the French government to respond within 18 hours.
Moreover, if France agreed to strictly observe neutrality, Germany provocatively demanded that France hand over the fortresses of Tours and Verdun to Germany as a guarantee of neutrality.
The French will naturally not agree to such a request. French Prime Minister Viviani said: France will act in accordance with its own interests.
On the day of such reply, the French government also issued a general mobilization order, which was equivalent to a tough statement to the German government.
On August 1, 1914, the German government, no longer waiting, officially issued a war notice to Russia, and Germany and Russia officially entered a state of war.
Only the next day, Germany issued an ultimatum to the Belgian government, asking Belgium to allow Germany to enter the territory and fight against the French army, but Belgium refused.
On August 3, Germany declared war on France and Belgium, and the flames of war officially burned in Western Europe.
On August 4, Germany's leading troops had arrived at the Belgian border and invaded Belgium.
It was also on this day that Britain and Germany declared war on Germany under the pretext of violating Belgium's neutrality.
Australasia also declared war on Germany at this time, on the grounds that it was fulfilling its obligations with Britain, France and Russia.
On August 6, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Russia, which meant that all countries representing the Central Powers and the Entente (except for the wallflowers) entered a state of war against the enemy.
After various countries began to mobilize, the number of soldiers participating in the war reached its highest peak.
Germany has 3.82 million people, Austria-Hungary has 2.3 million people, Russia has 5.34 million people, France has 3.78 million people, the British Expeditionary Force has 660,000 people, Belgium has 380,000 people, Serbia has 380,000 people, the Australasian Expeditionary Force has 320,000 people, and Canada has Combat troops, totaling more than 20 million people, will gather throughout Europe in a short period of time to start one of the most brutal wars in human history, World War I.
As early as the day before Australasia declared war, that is, August 3, 1914, Arthur held an emergency meeting to discuss when Australasia should declare war and what excuse it should use to declare war.
Coincidentally, not long after the meeting was held, news came that Germany had declared war on France and Belgium.
With the excuse for war, Australasia's declaration of war became a matter of course.
At the same time, Australasia's battle plan in the war was also mentioned again by Arthur.
According to the plan of the Ministry of Defense Staff, after Australasia dispatched 300,000 colonial troops and one conventional division, it would have at least five divisions of deployable troops.
The main combat plan of these five divisions is to go north to capture German New Guinea, German Samoyed, German Caroline Islands, German Micronesia, German Mariana Islands and German Palau.
After capturing these areas, Australasia will not only be able to connect the New Guinea region, but also fill the existing gaps in the defense chain.
It is no exaggeration to say that Australasia will become the only country in Oceania, and continental supremacy is not just talk.
After the complete unification of Oceania, Australasia will have unique geographical advantages. As long as it can make up for the population problem, the foundation for a future superpower has been basically determined.
For Australasia, the combat mission should be the least among the four major Allied powers.
Because this war does not involve the mainland of Australasia, the Australasian army only needs to cooperate with the British and French troops to fight, and all tasks have been completed.
As for the offensive in the Oceania region, the Germans' combined garrison forces in these two colonies were less than one division, and they did not have a large-scale navy. They could not be Australasia's opponent at all.
Even many of Germany's colonies in the Pacific only sent some officials and agricultural personnel to swear sovereignty, but the number of these people mostly ranged from a few dozen to a hundred.
This also means that Australasia may have been the fastest country to complete expansion during World War I. Except for New Guinea, which took a certain amount of time, other colonies only needed to be received. However, this cabinet meeting naturally did not only discuss these.
Although the war missions in Australasia look simple, war is cruel and it is not easy to fight.
In order to better cope with such a huge super war, which has already involved six major powers, Australasia must also make arrangements for various situations in advance, including the allocation of resources, the maintenance of domestic order, etc.
"How are our supplies prepared? What is the progress of publicity and immigration processing?" Arthur asked about the current progress of the government's work.
During war, supplies and domestic stability are the most important. It is not only necessary to ensure the daily necessities of all residents, but also to ensure that there will be no unrest in the country.
"Your Majesty, preparations for public opinion have long been completed. According to our survey, currently, the vast majority of Australasians agree with the war. Those who disagree are mostly German immigrants." Foreign Minister Dai Ze reported road.
"We must always pay attention to the movements of these German immigrants, and if possible, give these German immigrants as much compensation as possible. And we must try our best to ensure that German immigrants will not be treated unfairly at home. No matter what, all Australasians People are one, we are all a unified nation, Australasians." Arthur nodded and ordered.
A war between Australasia and Germany would certainly be something these German immigrants would not want to see. But as things have developed now, this war is inevitable.
Therefore, what Arthur and the Australasian government can do is to ensure as much as possible that German immigrants will not face any prejudice at home.
The ethnic structure of Australasia is mainly dominated by British immigrants and Russian immigrants. Germany and these two countries are bound to enter a state of war.
As a result, German immigrants, who are not numerically dominant, are likely to encounter common hostility from British immigrants and Russian immigrants.
Arthur did not want to see such a thing happen, which was likely to damage the concept of a unified Australasian nation created by Arthur.
"I understand, Your Majesty. The Ministry of People's Welfare will always pay attention to the situation of these German immigrants and ensure that all our people will be treated fairly at any time." Minister of People's Welfare Philip nodded quickly.
"From now on, the economy of Australasia has entered a wartime economic state. No individual or force is allowed to export any materials for any reason or excuse. The residents' materials will be purchased by the government and then sold to the Allied Powers." Se continued to give instructions.
The wartime economic state can better concentrate Australasia's resources, and at the same time prevent Australasia's resources from falling into the hands of the Allies.
Anyway, after the war broke out, the Allies were short of supplies and equipment. The supplies purchased from the people could also be sold to the Allies at higher prices.
"Your Majesty, do we need to mobilize to respond to changes in the war at any time?" Defense Minister Raul asked.
Australasia's current army size is 200,000 Guards, regular troops and 300,000 colonial troops.
At present, it seems that there is a big gap between the number of troops in Australasia and other great powers, and the population of Australasia can support the expansion of Australasia's army to more than one million.
"It is not necessary for the time being." Arthur said: "Our army currently has enough troops to fight in Europe, and there are still a lot of troops left to carry out the battle plan in Oceania. For now, the number of our troops is sufficient, and it is not necessary for the time being. It will bring too much burden to the finances."
Australasia's combat mission was not large, and Arthur was unwilling to mobilize anymore and use his own blood to transfuse blood for Britain and France.
"Although we are about to enter a state of war, I hope that the lives of the people in Australasia will remain as stable as possible. We cannot cause heavy domestic losses and a significant decline in the quality of people's lives because of a war that has little to do with us." Arthur added.
Australasia will participate in this war and win. This does not mean that Australasia will devote all its efforts to helping Britain and France reduce casualties.
Obtaining greater results with smaller casualties is what Australasia should do now.
"During the war, the royal family will donate annual royal activity funds to improve the living standards of Australasians. Everyone, let us join hands to deal with this super war that is likely to affect the entire Europe. All during the war Government affairs still require the joint efforts of everyone. For the sake of Australasia, but also for ourselves, and for all the people living in Australasia, we must win this damn war and let the world get what it deserves as soon as possible. Peace." At the end of the meeting, Arthur stood up, looked at everyone, and said righteously.
"I declare that Australasia will enter a state of war cabinet throughout the war. Elections to the Cabinet Government will be temporarily suspended, and this Cabinet Government will remain in place until the end of the war. Elections to the State Houses and Houses of Representatives will not be affected and will be held as scheduled From now on, the government should prepare for war and handle all matters more perfectly." Arthur continued.
"After the war is over, I will personally reward you for your merits. Titles and wealth will be awarded to every hero in the war. Inform Britain, France and Russia that Australasia will declare war on Germany tomorrow and fulfill its obligations. It is Australasia's duty to join this war."
Being able to remain in a cabinet seat, with a high probability of receiving generous rewards after the war, is a good thing for all cabinet members.
Therefore, the cabinet officials also appear to be very motivated, and they look like they are working hard to die.
The third update of 3,400 words, please vote for me and support!
I'm late, so I'll write more than 400 words as compensation.
(End of chapter)