Chapter 301: Chain Reaction
"Germany has also countered by announcing an expansion of 500,000 troops. They have a relatively mature reserve system, so it should take them much less time to organize these 500,000 soldiers compared to Russia," Minister Andrew replied.
Although Germany's army might seem smaller compared to Russia's, its combat capabilities far exceed those of Russia's military.
It is no exaggeration to say that even with a force of 1.5 million, Russia would not stand a chance against Germany.
It is precisely because of the terrifying combat power of the German army that, after the announcement of the expansion, France and the UK will likely follow suit with their own military expansions.
As expected, Foreign Minister Andrew continued, "Shortly after Germany's announcement to expand by 500,000 troops, the French announced an expansion of 450,000. According to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French are seemingly seeking to amend the military service law, raising compulsory military service from two years to three years, in order to increase the number of both the standing army and reserves. From occasional reports from the French Parliament, it seems the French government might also want to lower the age for military service to attract more reserve soldiers."
After Germany's expansion of 500,000 troops, the most nervous and fearful group should probably be the French.
After all, aside from the British Empire, France and Germany have the deepest animosity. Moreover, the recent Moroccan crisis embarrassed Germany on the world stage, and this was all caused by France's hardline stance.
Arthur gently rubbed his forehead and asked, "I assume other countries in the two major military blocs have followed suit with expansions as well? This is quite grand!"
"Indeed, Your Majesty. Although the Italians are still engaged in war, that has not stopped their government from announcing an expansion of 300,000 troops. Moreover, they have also announced that they will increase their navy by 30,000 men and, over the next five years, build at least three dreadnoughts," Minister Andrew answered respectfully.
Compared to Italy's reasonably capable navy, the Italian army fails to garner much attention from the major powers in Europe.
Of course, this lack of attention is not without reason. Over a decade ago, Italy's war with Ethiopia made the Italian military the laughingstock of European nations at the time.
Italy's army of 17,000 men suffered 11,000 casualties, with 4,000 captured. The Ethiopian army lost only 4,000 to 5,000 men, with another 6,000 to 10,000 wounded.
The famous "Iron Chancellor," Bismarck, once commented: "They arrived on the African continent with mouths full of cavities but an enormous appetite."
In fact, from Italy's current war with the Ottoman Empire, it's evident that while Italy's weapons and equipment are quite good, its combat abilities leave much to be desired.
"What about the Austro-Hungarian Empire? As Germany's most steadfast ally, their expansion plan should be quite significant, right?" Arthur asked curiously.
Among the Central Powers, Germany's combat strength is unquestionable. Aside from Germany, only the Austro-Hungarian military could be considered a major force.
Of course, this is partly due to the large number of Germans in the Austro-Hungarian military.
"The Austro-Hungarian Empire also claims it will expand by 300,000 troops. It's said that the Vienna government took a long time to settle on this plan after a lot of back-and-forth with the Hungarians. If all goes as expected, one of the two new dreadnoughts being built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire will be named after Budapest, although the Hungarian government will bear most of the cost for this dreadnought," Minister Andrew replied.
Speaking of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it's quite different from most other European nations.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dual monarchy, mainly composed of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary.
Since both the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary had their own governments, the union between the two was not as tightly knit.
Although the empire's capital was Vienna, the Hungarian government held autonomy over Hungary's domestic affairs.
If the Vienna government had not agreed to name one of the dreadnoughts after Hungary's capital, Budapest, the proposal to expand by 300,000 troops might have faced much more opposition.
At least in terms of the 300,000-troop budget, Hungary initially rejected the proposal outright.
In this regard, Arthur had to acknowledge the greatness of Emperor Franz of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
He successfully unified two countries with a loose connection and managed to keep the empire as a great power for many years, which shows the emperor's remarkable reputation and position within both nations.
In fact, it was true that Emperor Franz enjoyed unparalleled prestige and authority in both countries. However, the bad news was that after the assassination of his heir, Archduke Ferdinand, in Sarajevo, the empire lost its recognized heir.
This indirectly contributed to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, and a powerful great power was split into several smaller nations.
The fate of the Austro-Hungarian Empire taught Arthur how important it was to unite a country tightly, which is why Arthur had been advocating for the concept of an Australasian nation.
After all, Australasia is a nation formed by Australia and New Zealand, and if they were not closely integrated now, any future conflict between the two regions could potentially lead to the country's division.
"What about Britain? Doesn't Britain have any plans to expand its army?" Minister Andrew mentioned all the major powers in Europe, except for the currently strongest country, the British Empire.
Arthur couldn't help but feel curious. Did Britain focus solely on naval development, completely neglecting the expansion of its army?
"At the moment, there have been no announcements regarding British army expansions, but the British government has made significant strides in naval development, so even if the army does expand, it likely won't be by much," Minister Andrew shook his head.
To counter Germany's aggressive naval expansion, British Navy Minister Churchill had fiercely stated that for every battleship Germany built, Britain would build two.
Even though the British Empire is the strongest country in the world, with the most colonies, it could not sustain such a terrifying drain on its resources.
Moreover, Britain has always been a nation focused on naval power, with minimal expansion in the army, and any army expansion would likely be modest.
After learning about the expansion plans of the major European powers, Arthur nodded and turned his attention to the cabinet, asking with a smile, "What are your views on the current situation? Should Australasia expand its military forces, or should we temporarily hold back and watch the situation in Europe unfold?"
"Your Majesty, after expanding the army, I believe we should also consider expanding the navy to at least maintain a main force of six dreadnoughts and three battlecruisers. For smaller warships and submarines, I think we should also expand our fleet somewhat. This would ensure the security of the Australasian waters and allow us to observe Europe's developments," Minister Raul immediately responded eagerly when he heard Arthur's question.
For a more radical military man, nothing excites him more than a stronger military for his country.
The development of both the army and navy to maintain a status among the lower great powers is Minister Raul's expectation for Australasia's military strength.
"Does anyone else have any opinions?" Arthur nodded with a smile but did not immediately agree with Minister Raul's view. Instead, he turned to look at the others.
"Your Majesty, I believe the most important thing for Australasia at the moment is to develop its industry and economy. Even if our military strength reaches that of a great power, our industrial and economic development is still far behind. Moreover, Europe's situation is unclear, and the opposition between the two major military blocs is severe. If Australasia were to possess the power of a great nation now, it would only drag us into this military conflict, which would be harmful to our development," Minister Pierre, the Minister of Industry, said after a brief silence.
Although Arthur hoped someone would stand up to refute Minister Raul's opinion, only a few people could do so.
Among them, including Kent, Hunter, the Minister of Royal Affairs, the Archbishop, and the Lord Chancellor, none were suitable to challenge Minister Raul's view.
After all, they were all close to Arthur, effectively his inner circle.
If they publicly disagreed, it could easily be seen as Arthur's instruction. Even if the cabinet agreed with Minister Raul's view, they would oppose it to save face for Arthur.
However, Arthur needed a cabinet government that had its own ideas, as this would provide him with more suitable and varied advice.
If they only echoed his thoughts, the cabinet's effectiveness would be significantly reduced.
"Does anyone else have any further opinions?" Arthur continued to smile and looked at the others.
After a long pause, no one spoke, so Arthur continued, "Since there is no unified opinion, let us vote on it."
There were no objections to the idea of a vote. Under Arthur's command, the cabinet members began to support their preferred proposal.
In the final vote, eight votes were in favor of continuing to focus on development, while four votes were in favor of expanding the military.
Arthur nodded and smiled, "Then let's go with the vote results. At least for the next two years, Australasia's main focus will remain on development, and Europe's disputes are temporarily not our concern."
With Arthur's final decision, the dispute within the cabinet was resolved.
In fact, from the Royal Shipyard's orders, it was clear that at least for the next two or three years, Arthur had no plans for naval expansion.
After all, considering the orders from Russia and Chile's navies, the Royal Shipyard would be quite busy around 1914.
Even if the Ministry of Defense announced a new naval expansion plan, the Royal Shipyard had no extra capacity to take on additional naval orders due to the existing backlog.
(End of Chapter)
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