Chapter 303: Allied Powers Conference and Central Powers Conference (Ask for Monthly Votes!

Chapter 303 The Allied Powers Conference and the Central Powers Conference (asking for monthly votes!)

After the cabinet government election in Australasia, the country returned to peace again and entered the previous development and construction environment.

But Europe was not calm at this time. The Italo-Turkish War was raging, and the powder keg in the Balkans seemed to explode soon, adding a few dark clouds to the originally clear sky in Europe, as if a big storm was coming.

On October 27, 1911, Arthur had just held a cabinet meeting with the new cabinet government when he received an invitation from Britain to attend a large party in London.

The United Kingdom invited more than a dozen countries to this party, most of which were countries that were friendly with Britain, including France and Russia, which had signed an alliance directly with Britain.

Of course, this also meant that countries that were opposed to Britain, such as Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were not invited. Therefore, this meeting can also be regarded as a large gathering within the Allied Powers and countries that favored the Allied Powers.

In fact, this also means that Australasia is favored by Britain, France and Russia. After all, Australasia is far away in Oceania. Being able to participate in such an Allied conference means that Australasia's strength has been recognized by the Allies.

But such an invitation gave Arthur a headache. If he participated directly, he would inevitably be regarded as joining the Allied camp.

This is very different from Arthur's idea of ​​being neutral and selling arms in the early stage, and joining the advantageous side in the later stage.

But after all, it was the request of the British big brother. If he didn't go, he would inevitably lose face and hurt the feelings of the British government and the British people.

After careful consideration, Arthur chose to let Prime Minister Kent go. Prime Minister Kent is Arthur's confidant and can represent Arthur to a certain extent. In addition, Kent is the new Prime Minister of Australasia and can also represent the current government of Australasia.

Therefore, Prime Minister Kent is also a more suitable candidate besides Arthur.

Before Kent left, Arthur specifically asked Kent to watch more, ask less, and participate less in the meeting.

It is still necessary to understand the current support of European countries for the Allies, but it is not necessary to join the Allies directly.

After all, the First World War consumed a huge amount of the Allies. Joining the war one day earlier means consuming the foundation of Australasia one day earlier.

If this meeting is a dilemma for Arthur, then for the Allied forces represented by William II, this is a fair target.

Unfortunately, although the time and participants of this meeting are public, the content of the meeting is extremely confidential.

Even though the German intelligence organization spent a lot of effort on this, it only knew that this meeting was aimed at the Allies. As for what the meeting discussed and what purpose was achieved, Germany knew nothing.

However, this does not mean that Germany has no means of opposition.

Not long after Butler Kent arrived in London, on the second day of the Allied Conference, that is, November 30, 1911, Germany also said tit-for-tat that it would hold a meeting in Berlin, and the participating countries of the meeting were all members of the Allies and European countries that were inclined to the Allies.

What troubled Arthur was that even though Germany knew that Arthur had sent Kent to the Allied Conference, the German government still openly invited Australasia to attend the Allied Conference.

Although Australasia did have good relations with both sides, such open and aboveboard behavior before the war would not only damage Australasia's face, but also make it unpopular with both sides.

Therefore, on December 1, 1911, Arthur, on behalf of the Australasia government, publicly declared that Australasia was a peaceful and friendly country and was temporarily unwilling to join the European dispute.

But for the sake of world peace and the world's human beings, Australasia was willing to provide Europe with due medical and material support at any time to ensure that the European people would not be affected by the European dispute.

At the same time, Arthur also emphasized that Australasia would not directly join the Allies or the Allies for the time being unless the interests of the country and the people were damaged.

In view of the good relations between Britain and Germany and Australasia, as well as the blood relationship between the two sides, Arthur sincerely advised that both sides could remain rational and resolve the dispute at the negotiating table.

In any case, we should put up the arch of neutrality first. Otherwise, there will be many such dilemmas, and if we are not careful, Australasia will be given a reputation of being a fence-sitter.

In order to express his true desire for neutrality, Arthur asked the government to keep a low profile in the international community from December to avoid more attention to Australasia.

In mid-December 1911, the Allied Conference was officially held in Berlin, with the participation of the three members of the Allied Powers, the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Italy, as well as several small European countries that were friendly with Germany.

Although the contents of the meetings of both parties were strictly confidential to the outside world, Europeans could see that the gunpowder smell in Europe was extremely strong and seemed to explode at any time.

In January 1912, as Kent returned to Australasia, Arthur finally understood what the Allied Conference discussed.

In fact, Kent had only heard some rumors. The real core of the Allied Conference was attended by only Britain, France, and Russia.

Other small countries could only hear some rumors, and what they could hear was only what the British wanted to be heard.

After this meeting, it is expected that the Triple Entente will become closer.

The previous Triple Entente was established on the basis of the Franco-Russian Entente, with the addition of the Anglo-French Entente and the Anglo-Russian Entente.

But the main agreement of such an entente is that France and Russia will fight against Germany, and Britain will assist France and Russia.

But with this meeting, such a situation no longer exists, and Britain will also bear military responsibility.

In fact, this is also unavoidable. If Britain does not bear military responsibility, the attitude of the Russians towards the entente will be somewhat unpredictable.

You can't rely on the French to resist Germany. Such a result has been seen decades ago. The Germans stepped on the French to reach the top of the continent.

If the British do not bear certain military responsibilities, I am afraid that the Anglo-French and Anglo-Russian ententes that led to the establishment of the Allied Powers may be directly invalidated.

After the Allied Powers no longer exist, there will really be no force that can stop the rise of the German Empire.

According to Kent's news, Britain, France and Russia have re-signed a Triple Entente, which replaced the previous loose Anglo-French, Anglo-Russian and Franco-Russian ententes, and truly united the three countries that signed the entente.

Although it is not clear what changes this new entente has brought to the Allied Powers, it is obvious that the attitudes of the French and Russians towards the entente have changed significantly, and their attitudes towards resisting Germany have also become firmer.

In addition to this new entente, the three countries also signed a new naval treaty. This naval treaty is also open to small countries participating in the meeting, but they are also required not to make it public.

According to this naval treaty, the British will protect France's interests and regions on the Atlantic coast, and the French will protect the interests of the British in the Mediterranean colonies.

At the same time, if the war breaks out, the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the French Mediterranean Fleet will immediately block the Strait of Otranto to prevent the Allied navies from joining.

The Strait of Otranto is located between Italy and Albania and is the only channel for the Austro-Hungarian Navy to enter the ocean.

After the Otranto Strait was blocked, the Austro-Hungarian navy lost its function and could only be trapped in the near sea.

Looking closely at the three Allied countries, the German High Seas Fleet, the Italian Navy and the Austro-Hungarian Navy all have one common feature, that is, the navies of these three countries are restricted to a certain ocean, and the exit to the Atlantic Ocean is very easy to be blocked.

Needless to say, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Otranto Strait is enough to make the Austro-Hungarian Navy a turtle in a jar.

Although the Italian Navy is located in the huge Mediterranean Ocean, there is the Strait of Gibraltar on the west and the Suez Canal on the east, both of which are occupied by the British.

This also means that if the Italian fleet cannot defeat the British fleet, their navy can only swim in the Mediterranean, and cannot go out to the Atlantic or Indian Ocean.

Finally, there is the German navy. Before the construction of the Kiel Canal, Germany's east-west sea voyages needed to bypass Denmark, which not only added many itineraries, but also handed over the sea route to Denmark.

After the Germans built the Kiel Canal, they successfully connected the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, which not only greatly shortened the distance of the east-west sea voyage, but also put the traffic route connecting the North Sea and the Baltic Sea in their own hands.

But this does not mean that the problem has disappeared. Needless to say, the Baltic Sea is naturally beyond the Baltic Sea. In addition to passing through Denmark, only the Kiel Canal can connect the Baltic Sea to the outside ocean.

But the problem is that there is also the North Sea outside the Baltic Sea. The two ways from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean are through the English Channel at the border between Britain and France and the northern part of the North Sea at the border between Britain and Norway.

These two regions are also under the control of the British Empire Navy, which also means that if the navies of the three Allied countries want to merge together, they must break through the navies of France and Britain.

But that's the problem. The British Empire is currently the world's number one naval power, and the navies of a single Allied country cannot compete with the British Empire Navy at all.

If the navies of the three Allied countries do not merge, the threat to the British navy will not be so great.

But if there is no challenge to the strength of the British Navy, it is basically impossible for the navies of the three Allied countries to merge together.

This seems to be trapped in a vicious circle. Even though the three Allied countries have been vigorously developing their navies, they have not yet caught up with the trend of the British Empire Navy.

More importantly, the British Empire has extensive colonies and a large population, and its foundation is stronger than that of Germany.

In fact, Germany is at a greater disadvantage in the naval competition, which also greatly reduces the possibility of the Allied Navy surpassing the Allied Navy.

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