Chapter 106: Military Expansion
On February 21, 1902, after several days of discussions with German military experts, Australia's military expansion officially began.
Of course, this round of military expansion was not in preparation for any military campaign. It was simply to strengthen Australia's military capacity and ensure tighter control over its homeland and colonies.
It was a rather helpless situation. The reason Australia chose to expand its forces was because its pitifully small army could no longer meet the needs of defending both Australia and the New Guinea colony. The Guards, as the royal family's key protective force, could not be stationed elsewhere.
Under such circumstances, expanding the current military forces was absolutely necessary.
With a population of nearly four million, it was conservatively estimated that Australia could expand its military to 40,000 or 50,000 troops without issue.
Of course, the first round of expansion would not be that ambitious. Arthur's goal was to conscript 15,000 men to complete the reorganization of the standing army.
According to the restructuring plan devised by the Ministry of Defense, the trained soldiers would become the backbone of the First National Defense Division.
The organizational structure of this division was largely based on the German model, with a fully manned division comprising 16,000 troops.
Compared to Germany's somewhat bloated structure, the Australian army's organization had been adjusted. It removed the brigade-level structure and instead formed an infantry division with three infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, and one cavalry battalion.
In terms of weaponry, Arthur had high expectations for the new defense division, and the Ministry of Defense poured substantial funds into it.
For heavy machine guns, the First Division would have five heavy machine gun companies, each equipped with six MA-96 Maxim machine guns, totaling thirty heavy machine guns.
In terms of artillery, the division would include one artillery regiment and three artillery companies—four artillery battalions in total.
Each battalion in the artillery regiment would ideally be equipped with eight CA-1 autocannons, five M1897 automatic cannons, and three 105mm howitzers built with German-supplied technology.
The artillery companies under the three infantry regiments would each be equipped with four CA-1 autocannons and two M1897 automatic cannons.
With this setup, the open-fire capability of the First Division matched or even slightly exceeded that of the German army.
Especially with the widespread use of semi-automatic artillery, the number and firepower output of the First Division's artillery would definitely not be inferior to Germany's.
Naturally, building such a division came at a high cost. Just the thirty heavy machine guns and dozens of artillery pieces cost over £30,000. Adding the cost of rifles and soldiers, forming this division would require at least £50,000. Monthly training and equipment maintenance alone would cost over £10,000.
This kind of military structure was designed to match Germany's standards. Even on the future European battlefield, it would be considered a highly powerful force.
Let alone in Oceania, where the only potential threat might be sheer numbers.
It was worth noting that after this round of conscription, Australia's total military force would theoretically reach 25,000 troops.
Among them, the Guards would expand to 8,000 soldiers, effectively doubling in size. This force would form a mixed Guards Division, composed of an infantry regiment, a cavalry regiment, and an artillery regiment.
The First Division would be assigned 17,000 troops. The reason for this 1,000-man surplus over the planned structure was that these additional men would serve as reserve officers for the Second Division and serve as future instructors for its recruitment.
A division made entirely of new recruits could not compare in combat power to a mixed division of veterans and new soldiers.
Veterans significantly boosted a unit's combat effectiveness and could also be tapped as future officers during later expansions.
Thus, after discussions within the Ministry of Defense, the First Division's officers would be given deputy positions, with those deputies likely to become full-ranking officers in the Second Division.
This also indirectly increased promotion prospects for the current batch of soldiers.
Even if they were not yet qualified to be officers, they could strive for deputy roles. With enough training, they would still become officers in future expansions.
While the timeline might be longer, it was still better than having no path to promotion at all.
Australia's expansion plan from the Ministry of Defense was welcomed by the public and saw enthusiastic participation.
As soon as the news spread, the recruitment offices in New South Wales and Victoria were flooded with people.
Due to the relatively small populations of the other states, they were not included in this initial recruitment round.
As the capital of Australia, Sydney's recruitment station had a long and orderly line of applicants.
One street could not contain them all, so the surrounding streets were also packed with hopeful enlistees.
Although Arthur did not personally inspect the recruitment offices, the reports in the Victoria Times and the Australia Daily described it this way.
How many people were truly motivated by patriotism was hard to say, but Australian soldiers enjoyed generous benefits. Even ordinary soldiers earned an annual salary of around £12, far exceeding the national average income.
More importantly, this recruitment drive only sought 15,000 people and was conducted in the two most populous states in the country.
This drastically lowered the chances of any individual being selected—another reason the offices were so overcrowded at the outset.
After all, a year of hard factory labor might earn only £10, while joining the army guaranteed at least £12 annually—and even more for officers.
Surrounded by the islands of major powers and without direct land-based enemies, most believed that Australia was unlikely to go to war.
Many held the hopeful belief that even if they enlisted, they would remain safe. Lured by the high salaries, they came forward to enlist.
This was exactly what the Ministry of Defense and Arthur wanted to see. Regardless of their motives, once these men joined the military, their training and ideological education would teach them what it meant to be loyal to the monarch, patriotic, and willing to sacrifice for their country.
Australia's packed recruitment stations even impressed the German experts. In their words, such scenes, even in all of Europe, could only be matched by Germany.
This was no idle boast. The founding history of the German Empire was forged through wars with neighboring great powers.
After defeating both Austria and France—two powerful nations—the German Empire emerged as a unified state with world-class military capabilities.
Since the days of the Kingdom of Prussia, the Prussian army and the Junker aristocracy had been dominant in European military affairs. After defeating France, Germany inherited the title of Europe's strongest land force.
As a result, the German people had a strong sense of national pride. Every time Germany expanded its military, the enthusiasm of the German populace far surpassed that of other European nations.
(End of Chapter)
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