Chapter 147: Military Parade Plan
On December 23, 1902, after a week of preparation and sailing, Australian Foreign Minister Andrew departed from Germany's Hamburg port and arrived at a Russian port, where he was warmly received by the Russian Empire.
Of course, it wasn't Andrew and his team who were the main reason for the grand reception, but rather the relationship with the German Empire. Australia itself was not significant enough to warrant such attention from the Russian Empire, but the German Empire was another matter. Despite the intense arms race and frequent friction between the military alliances of the German and Russian Empires in Europe, this could not overshadow the fact that Germany was currently the strongest military power, with the number one army and the second overall strongest military in the world.
Even though the two major military alliances in Europe had not yet engaged in direct conflict, anyone connected to the German Empire was bound to receive attention in any region. Although the Russian Empire did not fully believe that Japan was actively taking action against them, they could accept the loan of five million pounds from Germany.
Although the loan had to be used to purchase military weapons and equipment from Australia, the Russian Empire did not have to bear the financial burden themselves, and the repayment issue was not their concern. Besides, if war broke out between the two military alliances in Europe, the Russian Empire might not even have to repay the loan from Germany.
This mindset made the Russian Empire's intent to purchase weapons and equipment after receiving the German loan much clearer and stronger.
Of course, it was also undeniable that Minister Andrew's admission that Australia possessed a complete set of German light weapon production technology was what truly piqued the Russian Empire's interest in Australia's military industry.
But in the end, as long as the result was favorable, no one minded how complicated the process was.
On the third day after arriving in the Russian Empire, December 26, 1902, Minister Andrew reached a preliminary arms purchase agreement with the Russian Empire's officials. Naturally, the funds for this agreement were covered by the German loan, and the Russian Empire would not spend its own money on additional weapons, even for maintaining its dominance in the Far East.
The detailed agreement included 10,000 German Gew98 rifles, one million bullets, hundreds of machine guns, and over ten 105mm howitzers. The Russian Empire did not have any plans for expanding its fleet in the Far East for now, so the arms agreement only covered various army weapons.
Even so, the quantity of weapons would significantly enhance the Russian Empire's Far East military strength, and could even deal a heavy blow to the Japanese army if they were caught off guard.
To ensure that Australia stayed out of the public eye and that Germany's plan to win over Russia remained behind the scenes, both countries agreed in private that the arms trade and Germany's assistance would be kept confidential. Even countries with some intelligence capabilities in the Russian Empire would not necessarily know the details of the agreement between Australia and Russia.
Let alone Japan, which was completely unaware of the deal, still lost in their so-called secret development to defeat Russia and seize East Asian dominance.
While Minister Andrew and his diplomatic delegation worked hard on diplomatic efforts in Europe, Australia was preparing a grand plan.
It wasn't exactly a secret matter. With Australia's national day approaching, and the five new warships of the Australian Navy having been launched, discussions between Arthur and the government led to the decision to hold a grand military parade on National Day.
Of course, unlike the previous army parade, this event was going to focus more on the Navy. Not only would the five warships built over six months be showcased, but previous naval vessels would also make an appearance.
Fortunately, Australia's naval fleet was not that large, or else a long parade could have taken half a day or even more.
This time, because the event involved multiple types of troops and military branches, the parade would be held at Sydney Harbor instead of the usual place.
To better prepare for this grand naval parade, the Australian government began preparations two months in advance near the harbor. Not only did they widen the roads connecting the city and the harbor to allow more people to easily reach the location, but they also built a solid viewing area close to the harbor, which would be the best spot for spectators.
To ensure that as many people as possible could view the naval parade, special personnel would patrol the area during the two days surrounding National Day to prevent any unauthorized sales or occupation of the area.
To enhance the excitement of Australians for the parade and the country, a hundred lucky audience members would be selected at random to board Australia's new warships and watch the Navy practice shooting at strategic targets off the coast.
Though the Australian Navy was not very large, it was enough to provide a stunning experience for an average person.
Of course, this was also a way of inspecting the Navy's combat capability. If the Navy's timing or precision was off in front of the public, it would severely damage the Australian people's opinion of the Navy and potentially undermine their trust in the government and monarchy.
After all, if a national military, which invested a great deal of resources, could not even hit strategic targets accurately, how could it be trusted to protect the people?
Especially for an island nation, the Navy was of unique importance. While people could accept a less powerful army, they could not tolerate a weak, even decaying, Navy.
Similar to previous National Day events, even though it was just before National Day, Australian streets were already selling scaled-down versions of the Australian national flag.
These flags were not official, but came from many small and medium-sized private workshops in Australia.
Australians had a high level of national pride, which led to a surge in flag sales at this time of year. This was a great opportunity for these small businesses and artisans to make money.
(End of Chapter)
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