Chapter 312: Supporting Australia in the Fight Against the United States

Churchill's words can be said to be a wake-up call, forcing all members of the British cabinet to think carefully about this issue.

What is the purpose of supporting island countries? Isn't it just to delay the attention of the Russians, and also a means to prevent the United States from expanding in the Pacific?

But Russia is currently an ally against Germany. Because of the agreement with Russia, the British government does not intend to assist island countries in the short term.

After all, the help of island countries is far less than that of Germany at present, and the British government still needs Russia to delay part of Germany's troops.

Although the British government can no longer support island countries, it does not mean that it cannot support other countries.

Churchill's words are indeed very reasonable. Britain and Australasia have the same roots, and the main ethnic group in Australasia is also British immigrants.

This also represents the most important thing for the British government, that is, Australasia, which has a large number of British immigrants, is impossible to take the initiative to oppose the British government.

Even if the British choose to be immigrants, they still have deep feelings for Britain in the short term.

If the Australasian government directly stands against the British Empire, I am afraid that the angry British immigrants in the country will make the Australasian government think carefully.

Australasian and the British royal family also have the same roots. With such a good relationship, wouldn’t it be good to support Australasian?

What’s more, in the hearts of white people in this era, there will always be some psychological concepts of white supremacy.

Instead of supporting an island country with different ethnic groups and cultures, it is better to support Australasian, which has the same roots and will basically not become an enemy.

Although the population of Australasian is a major defect, wasn’t the island country still an ignorant and backward country decades ago?

The British Empire has the ability to support the island country into a country with military strength at the level of great powers within decades, so it has the confidence to make the navy of Australasian rank among the great powers and let Oceania give birth to a new great power.

More importantly, the shipbuilding industry in Australasian has already reached a scale, and it is indeed at the level of great powers in terms of dreadnoughts.

As long as the population deficiency is slightly compensated and more support is given, Australasia can grow into a maritime power at any time.

Although the Dutch East Indies in the north are doomed to suffer after the rise of Australasia.

But after all, it is a colony of the Dutch, and the British government can decisively give it up when it is time to give it up.

More importantly, in the eyes of the British, the threat of Americans to Britain is far greater than Australasia after owning the entire Dutch East Indies.

If Australasia can own the Dutch East Indies, it may also make up for certain population problems and grow into a great power that is truly capable of confronting the United States.

Although it takes a lot of effort to do this, it is better than watching the rise of the United States after the war in Europe!

The members of the British cabinet looked at each other and saw the approval and sudden enlightenment in each other's eyes.

Prime Minister Asquith nodded first and said, "Let's not talk about the expansion of the navy for now. Supporting Australasia is indeed a good choice. In addition to the disputes in Europe, we must also guard against threats from across the ocean. In order to avoid the threat of American naval expansion to the British Empire, I think it is necessary to support Australasia and cultivate a country in the southwest Pacific region that has the strength to confront the United States."

"That's right. Australasia is located in Oceania. To expand westward, it has to cross the entire Indian Ocean, which is thankless. To the east are our and France's islands. If Australasia is smart, they will not be interested in these areas in the short term. To the south is the vast Antarctica. Australasia must not be able to explore such a cold zone. The only direction for their expansion is the north. After controlling the Dutch East Indies, if they don't want to conflict with us, their expansion direction seems to be only to expand in the direction of the Philippines, which happens to be a natural conflict with the Americans." Interior Secretary McKenna also said with approval.

After supporting Australasia, in the eyes of these British politicians, the Dutch East Indies has become a region that can be completely abandoned. There is no need to destroy the relationship with Australasia because of the Dutch.

After all, it is the interests of other countries, which are not as important as the strategic planning of their own country.

What's more, the ownership of the Dutch colonies is really just a matter of thought for the British Empire.

If the British Empire had not acquiesced to the Dutch occupying this land and not allowed other powers to interfere, I am afraid that the Dutch colonies would have been occupied by other countries long ago. This is an era of the survival of the fittest!

"If we can tie Australasia to the Allied chariot by supporting Australasia, it will also be a good thing for us." Another cabinet member also said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Australasia has become one of the important trading partners of the British Empire. They have abundant food, meat, mineral resources, and so on. Such a country is a natural ally for us and a natural enemy for the United States. I support supporting Australasia. I even think that the government should act quickly to tie Australasia to the Allied chariot as soon as possible. This will also be beneficial to the conflict in Europe. We will have an additional wartime material supply base to ease the pressure on our local material supply."

Churchill then said unhurriedly: "Don't forget, everyone, Australasia is also a naval power with three battleships and two battlecruisers. Although the scale is not too large, it can also bear the burden of our Indian Ocean region. Part of the defense is to help us solve the naval pressure in the colonial areas, and it is said that they are building a super-dreadnought ship called the Hope-class battleship for Chile. If they really master the war-making technology of the super-dreadnought ship, their importance is still high. To be significantly improved.”

The importance of the super-dreadnought is as important as the dreadnought a few years ago. As the most powerful battleship design in the world, the super-dreadnought is destined to be the main force in naval battles. It is also one of the most important plans in the current Anglo-German naval competition.

If Australasia can master the construction technology of super-dreadnoughts, it means that Australasia's naval shipbuilding capabilities have reached the top four in the world, becoming a country after the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States.

If the British Empire gave Australasia a certain amount of financial support and allowed Australasia to wildly expand its navy, would it create one of the top five navies in the world?

It's hard to say, but equally promising. The combat effectiveness of a single dreadnought is comparable to that of two to three old battleships, while the combat effectiveness of a super-dreadnought is theoretically comparable to that of two dreadnoughts.

This also means that Australasia's current naval combat capability theoretically exceeds that of the island country with seven battleships, and in fact it has truly achieved the strength of the great powers.

If one more super-dreadnought, one dreadnought, and one battlecruiser are added, Australasia's naval strength will surpass that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and rival that of Italy.

Supporting Australasia has become a sure-profit deal in the conversations of several cabinet ministers of the British Empire.

Everyone became more and more excited as they talked, and they even made plans to immediately start supporting Australasia.

"Okay, everyone. Although we understand the importance and necessity of supporting Australasia, according to our current conversation, it is still the necessity of naval expansion, isn't it? The plan to support Australasia will wait until next time. Let’s bring it up again at the meeting. Now let’s solve the problem of the size of the navy. This is where the government’s finances are worried.” In the end, Prime Minister Asquith ended the conversation in a fit of laughter and laughter to prevent the cabinet government’s agenda from going off topic.

Seeing that Prime Minister Asquith was not affected by his words and still advocated reducing the naval expansion plan, Lord Admiralty Churchill couldn't help but shook his head, but still retorted forcefully: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I have always believed that reducing the scale of naval expansion Not a good idea. If the government is really short of funds, it can generate a lot of revenue in the colonies besides issuing bonds, right?"

Before Prime Minister Asquith could answer, Foreign Minister Edward stood up, changed his previous silent approach, and retorted directly: "I have to say that this is a stupid idea, Minister Churchill. Let's not talk about how we can do it without saying anything. To obtain more tax revenue while irritating the colonial natives, I am afraid that as soon as our harsh miscellaneous taxes are enacted in the colonies, the Germans will publicize the news that we are oppressing the colonial population. If they interfere, a colonial crisis may break out at any time. Once there is a problem in the colony, not only will the army and navy be used to suppress it, but the financial burden will be even more serious. "

Although European countries had a tacit understanding to carry out various oppressions on the colonies, and they also pretended to be gentlemanly and civilized to the outside world.

But after all, it was everyone's idea at that time. All the powers united to do this. Which country would refute it?

But things are different now. If the British Empire did this alone, the Germans would definitely have endless methods.

If the Germans were determined to foment rebellion in the colonies, the British Empire would be overwhelmed.

Of course, the main reason for this is actually that Germany does not have many colonies.

If Germany also had a large number of colonies, then such propaganda would also harm others and itself, and its own colonies would also suffer from a crisis of rebellion.

"Moreover, Minister Churchill. Our proposal is to reduce the scale of naval expansion, not to end it. The number of battleships twice that of Germany is really powerless financially. How about changing it to 1:1.5?" said Foreign Minister Edward He looked at Churchill again and made a more reasonable proposal.

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