The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1111 - 832: Expand the Army, Expand the Army!

Chapter 1111: Chapter 832: Expand the Army, Expand the Army!

In early March 1935, Arthur had just planned to visit the Douglas Aircraft Company and Boeing to inspect the new generation of transport planes when he received bad news from Europe.

There were two pieces of bad news.

The first was about the situation in the Spanish Civil War. The inaction of the United Kingdom and the withdrawal of France directly led to the gradual decline of the Spanish Republic in the civil war, with even the capital, Madrid, in grave danger.

What’s worse, the Spanish battlefield had become a training ground for Germany and Italy. Had it not been for the extensive training exercises by the German and Italian forces, the Spanish Civil War would have probably ended under the aggression of German and Italian troops.

The second piece of bad news was about Germany’s once-frantic search for allies.

There weren’t many powers in the world, and aside from Spain, Germany had extensively courted the Island Nation.

The Island Nation’s unique geographical location was also the reason it was able to successfully modernize and even grow into the sole power in the East.

The Island Nation is located on the Pacific Coast, close to Russia’s very important Far Eastern harbors, posing a sufficient threat to Russia.

More importantly, due to its own limitations, the Island Nation found it difficult to develop into a true superpower in the full sense, which led to it only becoming a military powerhouse, not a true industrial and economic strong country.

Lacking large-scale industry and economy meant that the Island Nation, despite its secure status among the powers, could not challenge for the ultimate throne of world dominance.

Truth be told, almost all strong contenders for world supremacy would like a role like that of the Island Nation.

Previously, it was the British, then the Americans, and now the Islanders themselves who feel this way.

The Island Nation could both threaten Russia from the Far East on behalf of Germany and was far enough from Germany not to pose a threat to Germany itself.

And with a fairly strong military power, from a military perspective, the Island Nation was the ally Germany was seeking, unlike Italy, whose military reliability was somewhat questionable.

On the Island Nation’s part, after its master, the United States, was divided, the days of the Island Nation have not been easy.

Especially since the British, in an effort to win over the Island Nation, completely abandoned the idea of supporting it, leaving the Island Nation truly orphaned in these past few years.

Facing Germany’s overtures, the Island Nation didn’t think twice before moving closer to Germany like a fawning dog.

This was quite normal, though. Even though Germany’s strength was not that formidable, its relatively developed industry could still provide considerable aid to the Island Nation.

Besides, Germany was the only European power that was strong enough and willing to help the Island Nation, which really didn’t have much choice.

As both parties hit it off, last year, Germany and the Island Nation repeatedly sent representatives to Berlin for talks.

The only topic of discussion was to negotiate an alliance between the two countries.

The aforementioned bad news stemmed from this. After more than a year of negotiations, especially as the French continued to retreat in the Spanish Civil War, Germany believed the time was right.

On March 2, 1935, the German government proposed the so-called anti-Russian joint front to the Island Nation’s government.

Although this front was nominally against Russia, it was definitely a cause for concern for Australasia.

Supported by Germany, the Island Nation would have greater potential in industry.

And Arthur was convinced that the German military industry would also experience rapid growth in a short period.

Because the Island Nation was conducting a war, and its military industry was not as developed as imagined.

Especially in a world where, after World War I, the Island Nation lacked support from Britain and the United States, its own military industry was not strong, apart from the warships that the Islanders valued highly.

This was good news for Germany. Germany could justifiably expand its own military enterprises and scale by exporting weapons and equipment to the Island Nation.

As for whether Britain and France would oppose it, there was no longer any need to consider it.

After all, if the French could retreat in the Spanish Civil War, would they really turn against the Germans over some weapons exports?

And during this time, Germany could also take the opportunity to produce a large amount of weapons and equipment, thereby researching more military weapons and rapidly developing the heavy weapons they were lacking.

This indeed was a problem. Earlier union of Germany and the Island Nation represented that these two enemies might become even stronger, a threat to Australasia.

Especially the Islanders, who are currently expanding their military size incessantly.

The condition of the Island Nation’s army could roughly be divided into two periods: after World War I and after 1930.

After World War I, the Island Nation was forced to downsize because it could not sustain the exorbitant military expenditure. Due to the Naval Limitation Treaty, navy expenses were greatly reduced.

This forced the Island Nation to target the cuts within the army, and by 1925, the Island Nation had reached its smallest army size of 250,000.

As time entered the year 1930, the Island Nation once again launched the expansion of its army.

It was also from this period that the Island Nation initiated a series of wars, occupied many lands, and thus gained considerable mineral resources, which enhanced its industrial scale.

By the time 1935 arrived, the size of the Island Nation’s army had neared 450,000, and it was still increasing.

With help from Germany, the Island Nation’s efforts to expand its army size became even more efficient.

They had a larger population among the Powers, which allowed them to freely expand their military to upwards of a million.

Since all the countries of the world were already continuously expanding their armies and navies, Australasia no longer saw the need to hide its strength.

On 7th March 1935, Arthur signed the “Army Expansion Order,” declaring that over the next three years, the Australasian Army would be expanded to exceed 550,000 personnel.

The number of Australasian infantry divisions would grow from 15 to 22, while the number of Cavalry Divisions would rise from 4 to 8.

Additionally, the number of Artillery Divisions would expand from 6 to 10, and the number of Tank Divisions would increase from 3 to 5.

The newly established 16th to 18th Infantry Divisions, along with the 5th Cavalry Division and 7th Artillery Division, would form the 8th Army within the Australasian National Defense Army.

The 19th to 22nd Infantry Divisions would form the 9th Army alongside the 6th Cavalry and the 8th Artillery Divisions within the Australasian National Defense Army.

Besides these two newly established armies, the 7th Cavalry Division would be sent to the 2nd Army; the 8th Cavalry Division and the 9th Artillery Division to the 4th Army; and the 10th Artillery Division to the 3rd Army, to enhance the number of Soldiers and overall combat capabilities across the forces.

The two new tank divisions would be incorporated into the 7th Army, transforming it into a superpower Tank Army with five Tank Divisions.

Of course, what Arthur ultimately envisioned for the military structure was to disperse tanks among the various units, to achieve tactical coordination between infantry and tanks.

However, this could only be achieved once Australasia’s tank production could meet the demand. This tactic had already been practiced in the Military University, and numerous new insights regarding the cooperation between tanks and infantry forces had emerged.

Beyond the regular army expansion, Arthur’s directly commanded Royal Guards would also undergo a minor expansion.

The Royal Guards currently had 2 Guards Infantry Divisions and 1 Guards Cavalry Division, but the overall numbers were still too small.

In this expansion, the Royal Guards would grow into a comprehensive super unit with 2 Guards Infantry Divisions, 1 Guards Cavalry Division, 1 Guards Artillery Division, and 1 Guards Armored Division.

Among the directly subordinated units at the army level, there were also many special forces and other unique types of military units.

If this military expansion were completed, Australasia’s military numbers would rise to the forefront of the world, second only to Russia, Italy, and France.

In terms of overall military combat power, Australasia’s army would assuredly rank first in the world by then.

Of course, all this was predicated on other countries not making significant changes in their army sizes.

If there was any army expansion among other nations within these three years, especially the Germans who had already been flexing their muscles, their fighting power would not be much less than Australasia’s.

But regardless, such an order for expansion would significantly enhance the military strength of Australasia.

No matter when war broke out, with a larger military, Australasia could ensure it would not be disadvantaged in the initial stages of the conflict.

Even if the enemy hastily gathered their forces, Australasia could achieve a preemptive advantage.

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Actually, considering Australasia’s current population structure, expanding the military by 150,000 should be feasible rather quickly.

Especially under Arthur’s command, an expansion of 150,000 could be completed within a month.

But Arthur still chose to set a timeline of three years, after careful consideration. The primary reason was to avoid a more intense arms race with other countries.

Australasia’s expansion would inevitably draw other nations’ attention. Especially the Island Nation, who was already at war, would naturally be vigilant toward Australasian actions.

If Australasia expanded its army rapidly, the Island Nation might react and swiftly increase their own army size to a much larger figure.

This could be counterproductive for Arthur, since if a war were indeed to break out, it would be best to strike while the enemy was unprepared.

An army size of 550,000 was a subtle choice in numbers. Beyond that, the army sizes of France and Italy were both maintained around 600,000, slightly more than the size of Australasia’s forces.

Even though it was only 50,000 more, that was a tangible increase.

This difference of 50,000 could spare Australasia a lot of trouble and would also limit the global arms race to within 550,000 to 600,000 personnel.

If other countries wanted to expand their army sizes beyond 550,000, they would have to consider whether such actions might trigger a response from other nations, leading to an arms race escalating from around 500,000 to a fierce competition of around a million.