The Rise Of Australasia

Amidst war and diplomacy, 1916 quickly passed.

Looking back at the whole of 1916, the situation in Europe was chaotic. The successive launch of the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme in 1916 turned the year blood-red.

These two battles alone caused more than 5 million casualties for the British, French, and German armies, with over 2 million deaths, making them two unquestionably gigantic battles.

For the overwhelming majority of participating countries, this war brought mainly losses. The loss of human resources, economy, supplies, and territory led the war to be perceived negatively in the eyes of most European common people.

If there were sufficiently advanced polling agencies to conduct polls among the civilians of all European warring nations, the support rate of European citizens for this war would undoubtedly be less than one-third.

After the dismissal of the former French Commander-in-Chief, Cynthia, the new French Commander-in-Chief was General Neville.

Unlike the conservative and stubborn Cynthia, Neville had a terrifying impulse and passion hidden within his heart.

France's carefully planned Battle of the Somme failed to achieve the excellent results they had imagined, leading the newly-appointed Commander-in-Chief Neville to develop different plans.

Throughout 1916, France and Germany were engaged in a horrifying war of attrition, which Neville disliked greatly.

After Neville took over as the French Commander-in-Chief, the French citizens generally hoped that he would bring about glorious victories to end the war.

It was precisely because of the people's expectations for Neville that, as the time entered 1917, Neville decided to plan a new campaign and named it the Spring Offensive.

The main core of the Spring Offensive was essentially an enlarged replica of Neville's victorious experience in the Verdun area.

Neville selected a bulge formed by the German army from east to west on the banks of the Ena River. The north was the British army, and the south was the French army.

Neville planned for the British to launch a fierce attack first, just like the Battle of Verdun at the time, to lure the Germans out, then he wanted the French to attack the German flanks, tearing open a gap in the German trench system, thus achieving a victory decisive enough to end the war.

Of course, in order to expand the results and even promote the arrival of peace, Neville also requested the Italian and Balkan Allied forces on the southern front to urgently attack the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

At present, except for Russia, the weakest of the great powers should probably be the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Up until now, the casualties of the Austro-Hungarian Empire have exceeded 3 million, with the death toll exceeding 1.2 million.

Currently, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has less than 1.2 million combat troops remaining, which must be scattered between the southwestern and southern borders. Under the onslaught of the Italian and Balkan Allied forces, the borders have become extremely fragile.

If it were not for the German army sending an army group to help the Austro-Hungarian Empire defend the borders, perhaps the Austro-Hungarian Empire would now be discussing where to set up a temporary capital.

This does not mean that the current situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire has improved. The logistics of the frontline troops, the rescue of a large number of wounded soldiers, the shortage of supplies, and the rise of the strike wave all made the Austro-Hungarian Empire feel headaches.

The neighboring revolution made the Austro-Hungarian Empire sweat profusely, as the possibility of unrest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was even higher than that of Russia.

As a multi-ethnic nation, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's various nationalities had always had gaps in status and wealth.

The long-term war left the empire exhausted, and the death of Francis the First at the end of last year made it even more difficult for the empire to move forward.

The successor to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor was Carl I, the nephew of Francis the First. Following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Carl was appointed as the Crown Prince of the Empire and the successor of the Old Emperor.

But it was clear that Carl I did not possess the abilities of the old emperor, and within a month after ascending the throne, he had not received strong support from the imperial government and the Hungarian government.

If it weren't for the lingering influence of the old emperor, the Austro-Hungarian Empire might have erupted in a massive anti-war protest like Russia in an instant.

After receiving the request from France, Italy agreed first and accepted, even agreeing to launch a large-scale offensive on the border with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Since the outbreak of the war, Italy has achieved the least amount of results. If it were not for Italy's navy making a significant contribution to the blockade of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, Italy's presence in this war would be close to zero.

So far, Italy's progress on the front line with the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been slow, and after the Austro-Hungarian Empire reinforced its troops, a stalemate emerged.

If it were not for the Balkan front sharing at least 800,000 combat troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy would probably now be considering what kind of peace terms to offer.

It was not meant to belittle Italy, but the fighting capabilities of the Italian army were disappointing, and the results of several battles were even more surprising.

If it had been any other normal great power, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would probably have surrendered by now.

Not only did Italy not put too much pressure on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but it also provided the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a batch of weapons and equipment, while also training new recruits.

The telegram from the French requesting joint operations naturally also reached Thomas, the then commander-in-chief of the Australasian Expeditionary Force and Brigadier General of the First Guard Division.

With Thomas reporting this telegram to the domestic front, after careful consideration by Arthur and the Ministry of Defense, they decided to cooperate with the French in this battle, striving to end the war as much as possible.

Although Arthur remembers that the Spring Offensive in history did not achieve much, and the French even suffered heavy casualties.

However, Australasia's task in this battle was to contain the Austro-Hungarian Empire and hold back the German Army in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, without directly confronting the main German forces.

In this way, whether this battle was successful or not, it would be acceptable for Australasia.

Anyway, the Australasian Expeditionary Force's campaigns in the Balkan Region were continuous, and they were already containing the forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In fact, ending the war now would not be unacceptable to Australasia, as they had already gained a lot of benefits from the Allies and secured their place among the top five powers.

In terms of land, what they had taken is already within their grasp; all that remains is to absorb a large number of German talents and population after the war and fully enhance the potential of the country.

No matter what, Australasia would get a good share of benefits after the war. Whether it was the British attempting to win over Australasia or the strength that Australasia had already developed, both could guarantee enough benefit for Australasia.

Looking at Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which suffered the most in this war, especially the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they might lose their powerful status.

Italy's strength has also been seen clearly by other countries, and even if Italy can maintain its powerful status after the war, it will be the weakest of them.

A country that can be completely held back by a small part of the depleted Austro-Hungarian forces cannot be blamed for being despised by other countries.

For Arthur, most of his objectives in this war have already been achieved, and European nations have been severely weakened.

Given the current results, they were already in line with Arthur's expectations for this war, and there was no need to continue the depletion of forces.

If Arthur remembers correctly, the United States in history would interfere in the war this year and join in on the action for a share of the spoils.

The British and French would naturally not reject the American involvement, as the Americans could provide a large number of troops to reduce the casualties of the British and French forces.

The large amount of supplies from the United States could also ease the domestic pressure in Britain and France, allowing them to have enough patience to wear down Germany.

But this would not be a good thing for Australasia. The United States' involvement would inevitably require a share, and it would not be a small one.

According to Arthur's strategic plan, post-war Australasia is aiming to dominate the Pacific Ocean.

This also means that Australasia would inevitably conflict with the United States on the other side of the Pacific, and even with the island nation to the north.

The stronger the allies, the better; the weaker the enemies, the better. Arthur does not want to see the United States take a large share in the war, so the best result is to end the war before the United States enters.

Keep in mind that the true rise of the United States began with World War I. The United States absorbed a large number of European talents in the two world wars, which led to a major explosion of American technology in a short period of time and led the United States to the position of world domination.

Considering the national conditions of Australasia and the United States, if both sides are determined to fight for talent, Australasia may not necessarily win against the United States.

After all, the United States was a real superpower, with the economy and industry ranked first in the world, and enjoyed a unique advantage in terms of financial strength.

Comparing the level of development of the United States alone, there is no doubt that it has more advantages than Australasia. If the two sides spend a lot of money to attract talent, Australasia will not be a match for the United States.

If the United States were to absorb European talent, the gap between Australasia and the United States would widen, and competing with the United States would be like throwing an egg at a rock.

Only by weakening the United States as much as possible can Australasia hope to defeat the United States in the Pacific struggle for dominance.

The United States gained a lot from the war in history, and more importantly, strengthened the federal government's influence on the local area and increased its military strength.

Before the war, the United States could only be called an economic powerhouse and industrial powerhouse, with a terrible military strength, and its army ranked rock bottom among the powers.

After the war, the United States made significant progress in both the army and navy. The scale and strength of its army were even higher than those of the middle-level powers.

This also means that the United States used World War I to transition from an economic powerhouse to a military powerhouse, and successfully broke free from the control of European capital over the American domestic economy.

Before World War I, the United States was a debtor country; after the war, it became a creditor country. Through assistance, loans, and various economic means to Europe, it completed the infiltration of the European continent.