Chapter 298: Occupying the Kingdom of Larantuka
The swift compromise by the Dutch and the signing of the Batavia Treaty allowed Arthur and the Australian government to breathe a sigh of relief.
Of course, this didn't mean that Arthur was afraid of the Dutch government. The reason for the relief was that the Australian military would suffer fewer casualties. Although Australia's population was about to break 10 million, many of these people were immigrants who had only arrived in the past two years. These immigrants still needed long periods of education and influence to develop a strong sense of national identity and pride in Australia.
As a result, Australia set a hard requirement for conscription: people must have lived in Australia for at least three years. Of course, this was only for ordinary military service. For Arthur's personal guard, the requirement was a minimum of five years of residency in Australia.
This policy was an effective way to filter soldiers who had strong national identification. Arthur was confident that, given Australia's policies and propaganda, very few people would have no attachment to the country after living there for five years.
After the treaty was signed, occupying the lands ceded by the Dutch became a priority for the Australian government. Although most of the lands ceded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands were smaller islands, it included the Kingdom of Larantuka, the only Catholic state in the Dutch East Indies. This country still had some military strength, and the Dutch had previously interfered little with the Kingdom of Larantuka, allowing the kingdom to have a considerable degree of autonomy and military power.
For Arthur, this potential threat needed to be eliminated. Moreover, the forces behind the attack on Charles Wren were from Larantuka. While it may not have been the official government's plan, the planners were still Larantuka people.
On September 1, 1911, the Australian government officially issued a notice, announcing the expansion of Australian Timor to the entire Timor Island and the creation of a new state-level administrative region called the Royal Territory for all newly acquired lands, excluding Timor Island.
After this announcement, the Ministry of Defense officially began to act. They mobilized the 1st and 2nd Divisions, a total of over 30,000 soldiers, to occupy and temporarily militarize the newly acquired territories under the protection of the fleet.
Among the most important targets was the Kingdom of Larantuka on Flores Island, the only country among the islands with military forces. Arthur did not want any other countries to exist in the areas he controlled, especially one that seemed like a traitor state.
The best outcome for the Kingdom of Larantuka was to be annexed by Australia and become part of the Royal Territory. If the Larantuka people resisted, Arthur had no qualms about letting them experience the fate of the indigenous people, even if they were descendants of the Portuguese and local indigenous populations.
After all, the Portuguese had fought, so why should Arthur care about the descendants they left behind?
On September 2, the 1st and 2nd Divisions officially began their action. They would head to Flores Island, first capturing the Kingdom of Larantuka, then using the island as a boundary to attack the western and eastern regions.
The 1st and 2nd Divisions were excited about the action. After all, Australia had a merit-based military system. In addition to the rewards of wealth, accumulated merits could even earn them a noble title. Although the amount of merit required for a noble title was huge, the saying "a soldier who doesn't want to become a general is not a good soldier" held true, and the same applied to soldiers aspiring to become nobles through military service.
With such dreams, the Australian soldiers fought with great enthusiasm, fearlessly charging into battle. After all, the military's compensation system was a real thing. If they died, their families might live better lives. This gave many soldiers peace of mind, as their pursuit wasn't only for themselves but also for their families' well-being.
On September 3, after resting and gathering strength, the 1st and 2nd Divisions arrived at the southern city of Ruteng on Flores Island. The defense of the Kingdom of Larantuka was practically nonexistent for the 1st and 2nd Divisions. The Larantuka military had no strength to resist the Dutch, let alone the far stronger Australians.
Thousands of Larantuka soldiers were slaughtered like sheep in front of the two divisions, with only tens of thousands of bullets expended. Because the firepower from the 1st and 2nd Divisions was so overwhelming, the few Larantuka musketeers couldn't put up any resistance. This gave the Australian soldiers ample time to aim, resulting in even higher accuracy.
By the afternoon of September 3, the Australian army, seemingly unstoppable, easily reached the capital of the Kingdom of Larantuka, a small city called Engde.
The war had been slowed down by the size of Flores Island. Although it was a small city to Australia, the island itself was 380 kilometers long and more than 70 kilometers wide, covering an area of more than 14,000 square kilometers.
As with the previous small city of Ruteng, the capture of the Kingdom of Larantuka's capital was almost effortless. Even before nightfall, the Australian army had already set up camp in the capital and began to maintain order in the kingdom.
The army's method of maintaining order was simple: they implemented militarized management, distributing food uniformly, and those who refused orders were executed on the spot. Since these indigenous people were not Australian citizens, they would not be recognized by the Australian government. This meant that, unless it was done publicly, their lives were entirely in the hands of the soldiers.
Before the militarized management was enforced, the high-ranking officials and royalty of the Kingdom of Larantuka had to be directly eliminated. Leaving them alive could disrupt the kingdom's order, and who knew if there would be die-hard royalists among them?
As for the rest of the indigenous residents in the city, the army wasn't worried about any resistance. Any resistance would be dealt with by immediate execution. The Larantuka army had no chance of fighting back, and the civilians could have no influence over the military.
After resting for a day on Flores Island, on the morning of September 4, the 1st and 2nd Divisions left nearly 3,000 soldiers to garrison the island. The remaining forces set off to occupy the western and eastern islands and archipelagos.
The 1st Division was responsible for the western islands of Lombok, Sumbawa, and Sumba, while the 2nd Division was responsible for the eastern islands of the Alor Islands, the Southwest Islands, Southeast Islands, Kai Islands, and the Aru Islands.
In the western part of Flores Island, the islands were relatively large, while the eastern part consisted entirely of smaller islands and archipelagos. In fact, this was not just the case for this region but for the entire Dutch East Indies, which had countless large and small islands. This had greatly impacted the Dutch East Indies government's ability to control the region effectively.
To properly govern these islands, one would need a strong military of hundreds of thousands and a particularly powerful navy. But in reality, the Dutch East Indies had only about 100,000 soldiers, half of whom were indigenous troops. While these troops could handle internal uprisings, they were no match for a modern military force like Australia's.
As for the navy, while the Netherlands had a fairly strong navy in Europe, the naval power of the Dutch East Indies was insignificant. The largest Dutch warship in the East Indies was only a 6,000-ton medium-sized ship. Without battleships, the Dutch East Indies navy was limited to internal suppression and had no ability to engage in external combat.
This is why the Netherlands quickly decided to surrender to Australia. They knew the true state of their military power and understood that, no matter how much they resisted, it would only delay the inevitable.
Rather than stubbornly holding on, the Dutch chose to accept the inevitable and minimize the damage.
Australia's newly acquired land, with over a million indigenous people, was very useful for the country. Whether as cannon fodder in future wars or as free labor for national development, these indigenous people served a variety of purposes.
Arthur wasn't concerned that these indigenous people would disrupt the order in Australia during peaceful times. In Arthur's plan, these people were essentially disregarded and would either die for Australia's development or be used for its war efforts.
After all, Australia would eventually have to participate in World War I. To gain enough influence in the post-war world, some sacrifices would have to be made. It was better for the indigenous people to pay the price than for the Australians themselves.
Given their reproductive rate, Arthur wouldn't be bothered by losing hundreds of thousands of them.
(End of Chapter)
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