Chapter 300: Massive Military Expansions by All Nations
According to the naval bill announced by Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany planned to build three battleships and one battlecruiser each year between 1912 and 1914, with the goal of having over 17 dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts, five battlecruisers, 22 pre-dreadnought battleships, 32 cruisers, 114 destroyers, and 30 submarines by the end of 1914.
This naval bill included four additional battleships compared to history, meaning Germany would build 1.33 more battleships per year than it did in the original historical timeline.
The naval expansion plan announced by Germany at the beginning of 1912 quickly caught the attention of the British, who were closely monitoring German developments.
Shortly after Germany's naval expansion plan was made public, on October 25, 1911, Winston Churchill, who had just exchanged positions with the First Lord of the Admiralty, became the new British Minister of the Navy. This politician, who had previously obstructed the Navy's budget increases when serving as Minister of Commerce, now directly responded to Germany's naval buildup with the declaration that for every battleship Germany built, Britain would build two.
In history, Churchill did indeed follow this policy, which led to the British naval budget for the fiscal years 1912 to 1913 reaching twice that of Germany's, a staggering £44.08 million.
Churchill's public statement was clear: if Germany built three battleships per year, the British Empire would build four battleships and two battlecruisers to maintain its complete naval superiority over Germany.
The rivalry between the two strongest naval powers in the world ignited a naval arms race in Europe.
France, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire quickly announced their own naval expansion plans, and the Russian Empire, which had already placed orders for warships with Australia, also joined in. The European powers were rapidly constructing warships, which seemed to be coming out like dumplings.
In addition to these European powers, two other powerful nations were also focusing on building dreadnoughts. The island nation's dreadnoughts were beginning to take shape, with their first dreadnought class named the "Kanoe-class." However, even the earliest battleship in the Kanoe class would not be completed until the beginning of 1913.
In fact, the island nation had been slow to develop its own dreadnoughts, almost losing its status as a great power that it had only gained after the Russo-Japanese War. Many Europeans were now more inclined to consider Australia as a great power, especially since Australia also had three dreadnoughts, a Western power.
Of course, Australia's military strength still did not match that of the true great powers, and some Europeans would say this only due to racial and ethnic prejudices. However, it could not be denied that Australia's navy was now at the level of a great power. Its battleships surpassed those of Italy, and its dreadnoughts ranked just behind Britain and Germany.
While European powers barely noticed, the United States had also begun developing its own dreadnoughts.
The United States' South Carolina-class battleships shared the same design as the HMS Dreadnought, the world's first dreadnought. However, due to delays in finalizing the design, the two South Carolina-class battleships were completed three years after the HMS Dreadnought.
The South Carolina and Michigan battleships were completed in January and March of the previous year and officially joined the US Navy this year. However, the South Carolina-class was not as impressive as the HMS Dreadnought. With a power of only 16,000 horsepower, the South Carolina-class could only reach a speed of around 18 knots, far below the 20-21 knots of the Dreadnought.
Thus, the South Carolina-class was more like an old battleship with enhanced firepower and armor, but its speed was still far from that of a true dreadnought.
The United States' second dreadnought design, the Delaware-class, was America's true dreadnought, and the first to be approved with no restrictions on displacement. The Delaware and North Dakota battleships were completed in April of the previous year and had already joined the US Navy. The Delaware-class could reach a speed of 21 knots, which was the standard speed for dreadnoughts.
Of course, the United States' dreadnought designs did not stop there.
The Florida-class battleships, based on the Delaware-class, were designed as even more powerful vessels. The United States planned to build two of them: the Florida and Utah, both of which were completed in early September this year and had entered the sea trial stage.
The latest battleship design from the United States was the Wyoming-class. There were two planned: the Wyoming and Arkansas. These battleships were expected to be completed by next September, and barring any surprises, this would likely be the United States' final dreadnought design.
With the South Carolina-class counted, the United States now had six completed dreadnoughts and two more planned. This made the United States' primary navy the third-largest in the world.
If it weren't for Germany's proximity to Britain and the United States being so far away, the main conflict of World War I might very well have been between Britain and the United States.
The potential shown by the United States was even a greater threat to Britain than Germany. But unfortunately for Britain, the United States' geographic distance from Britain made Germany, which was right under their noses, a much more immediate threat.
Once the British realized the full extent of the United States' ambitions and potential, it would be too late. By then, the United States would no longer be the same as it was during the two world wars, and Britain would be powerless to stop it.
This led to the collapse of the colonial order that Britain and France had maintained for centuries. The countries in their colonies, under the influence of the ideas of freedom and democracy, suddenly began to demand independence, quickly toppling British and French influence.
For Arthur, Australia's real enemy wasn't the currently powerful British Empire or the German Empire. Arthur had long known that despite their strength, the decline of European countries was inevitable with the passage of time and the coming of two world wars.
The potential displayed by the United States, combined with its superior geographic location, made it clear that the United States would be Australia's greatest enemy. The influence of the United States in dismantling the British and French colonial systems also hurt Australia.
While European nations fought fiercely, they shared a sense of kinship. After all, they were all part of the same family of monarchies. The United States, on the other hand, was a republic with no such connection to the European monarchies.
Allowing such a country to become the world's hegemon was certainly bad news for European monarchies. In the event of a necessary situation, it was crucial for the monarchies of post-war Europe to unite and form a royal alliance against the United States to limit its expansion and slow down the collapse of their colonial systems.
In early October 1911, at the request of the cabinet officials, Australia's cabinet meeting was officially convened.
This meeting was focused on the increasingly intense naval and arms races in Europe that had erupted by the end of September.
There was no doubt that the arms race among European countries was preparing for war. Every nation understood that war was inevitable, and that was why, despite the enormous costs, they continued to push forward with the arms race.
"Your Majesty, should we also initiate a new round of naval expansion?" asked Minister of Defense Raul with anticipation.
Though the Ministry of Defense's previous request for naval expansion had been rejected by Arthur, the recent expansion of the army had led the Ministry to believe that the opportunity had come. It was time to bring Australia's military to the level of a great power and seek recognition as one.
"Let's first talk about the situation in Europe," Arthur said, not directly rejecting Minister Raul's suggestion, but instead shifting the conversation. "Aside from the naval expansion plans, do we have any intelligence on their army expansion?"
As a monarch, Arthur could discuss some matters openly, but there were some things that were better left unsaid directly. If he outright rejected the naval expansion plan in front of Minister Raul, it could dampen the enthusiasm of the more aggressive factions in the government.
The possibility of Australia becoming isolated or adopting a policy of pacifism because of this was also something Arthur wanted to avoid. After all, for Australia to truly rise, there would inevitably be major conflicts with the pseudo-great powers and its biggest enemy—the United States.
"Your Majesty, according to the information released by other countries, it seems that European nations are secretly expanding their military forces. Russia has publicly announced a 500,000-man increase. Although Russia's progress has been slow, adding that to their already massive standing army, their military will exceed 1.5 million, which may be hard for Germany to bear," reported Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew respectfully.
Arthur clicked his tongue in admiration, secretly envious of the Russians. Australia had to carefully calculate its population and finances to expand its army by 100,000, while the Russians, with a standing army of 1 million, were expanding by 500,000, making their army larger than the combined forces of Britain, France, and Germany. In terms of army size, Russia was undoubtedly the largest military force in Europe right now.
(End of Chapter)
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