Chapter 360 Argentina Surrenders

It is worth mentioning that in addition to the great powers, the Ottoman Empire also has a battleship purchased from Brazil and built in the UK, as well as a battleship purchased directly from the UK. Both have been completed and have just been launched for testing.

The Ottoman Empire has placed great hopes on these two battleships, and even placed most of its hopes for the revival of the Ottoman Empire on these two battleships.

However, the fate of these two battleships in the Ottoman Empire has been full of twists and turns in history.

Although these two battleships have now been completed and entered the testing phase, whether the Ottoman Empire can successfully receive these two battleships is still a question worth thinking about.

Of course, the real main force of the naval arms race is still the European powers, mainly Britain and Germany.

In fact, the naval pressure in Australasia is far less than that, and even the current naval scale is completely sufficient.

However, due to the need to expand military strength and consolidate national status, it is still necessary to expand the scale of the navy.

After all, Australasia's geographical location determines that it is a country that is extremely in need of sea power.

Australasia can do without a strong army, but it cannot do without a strong navy.

The good news at present is that Australasia's navy, army and air force are balanced and no service has fallen behind for the time being.

Although the scale of the three services is different, Australasia's navy, army and air force are not too strong compared with the European powers and other countries in the world, but they are definitely not very weak.

A few days later, good news came from the war in South America.

Since the British, French, Russian and Australian coalition forces officially landed on the land of South America, Chile has turned its tide and entered a state of full counterattack.

So far, this war, which has lasted for more than three months, has completely turned to Chile and the Allied Powers behind it.

Just as Arthur expected, the Americans did not dare to show up in this war at all, and could only provide assistance to Argentina behind the scenes, praying that Argentina could hold back the few four-nation coalition forces.

But in fact, there is a clear gap between the armies of the powers and the armies of ordinary countries, especially in the training quality and weapons and equipment of the soldiers.

Although the US aid has smoothed the gap in weapons and equipment, the problem is that most Argentine soldiers have just received new weapons and are not familiar with them, which has also weakened the combat effectiveness of the Argentine army in disguise.

In particular, after the powerful Australasian army landed in Argentina, it advanced all the way and broke through several Argentine positions.

If it were not for the fear that the logistics supply line would be cut off due to the long distance, and at the same time, the danger of exposing the side to the enemy, I am afraid that the Australasian army would have already penetrated deep into the hinterland of Argentina.

But after the reinforcements from the other three countries arrived, the Australasian army had no worries.

It was also from that time that the Allied army advanced all the way and pushed the line of fire between Chile and Argentina to Argentina for dozens of kilometers. The hinterland of Argentina was already in danger.

The consumption of both sides in this war is not small. Even Australasian, which entered the battlefield midway, has consumed tens of millions of bullets, tens of thousands of artillery shells and a large amount of supplies so far.

Fortunately, the British Empire directly promised to bear the material expenses of this war, otherwise the consumption of these weapons and equipment would be enough to make Arthur feel distressed.

It was also because the British Empire agreed to bear the consumption of weapons and equipment that the Australasian army was very arrogant in this war, and bullets and shells were thrown at the enemy without cost.

Although the consumed weapons and equipment and materials are indeed distressing, the results achieved are also the greatest among the four-nation coalition.

So far, Australasian has killed at least 2,000 Argentine troops and captured more than 3,000.

These 5,000 people are almost one twentieth of the total number of Argentine troops, which is also a serious blow to the Argentine army.

The casualties of the Argentine army in the entire war have reached more than 20,000. If the number of prisoners of the Argentine army is counted, the current combat-ready soldiers of the Argentine army will not exceed 70,000 at most.

This also means that so far, Argentina has lost nearly one-third of its troops, and morale has fallen to the bottom.

Just when Arthur was guessing when Argentina would surrender, on October 30, 1913, according to the news from the British Empire, Argentina formally requested an armistice.

In order to express its sincerity, Argentina has ordered the troops on the front line to stop the exchange of fire and not to open fire first under any circumstances.

Seeing that their strategic goals have been achieved, the four major powers of the Allied Powers no longer have the idea of ​​continuing the attack.

France and Russia do not want to waste energy anymore, and Arthur does not want his army to suffer losses in vain.

The British Empire, in fact, cannot afford the crazy consumption of Australasia. Although Australasia sent only one division of troops to South America, the crazy ammunition consumption of this division is comparable to the sum of the troops sent by Britain, France and Russia.

The British really didn't expect it. They originally thought that the troops sent by the four major powers of the Allied Powers were only tens of thousands in total, and the weapons, equipment and resources consumed would not be too much.

Who would have thought that Australasia would be an outlier? After all, it was a pretense that they had to fulfill their promises with tears.

Finally, now that the Argentines have formally requested to surrender, the British can no longer sit still and are very pleased to say that Argentina is such a good person!

On November 7, 1913, representatives from the British Empire, France, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Australasia, Chile, and Argentina gathered in Sydney, the capital of Australasia, to discuss a perfect end to the ongoing South American War.

The reason for choosing Sydney for peace talks is that Australasia is the closest Allied power to the South American battlefield.

Secondly, the capitals of the other three Allied powers are all located in Europe, and it is difficult to guarantee that the Allies will not intervene or do something to mess things up.

In a meeting room in the Sydney Council of State, this peace talk also started smoothly.

First, both sides expressed their demands.

Chile demanded that Argentina pay a compensation of 10 million pounds and recognize Chile's sovereignty over all previously disputed areas, while Argentina gave up its sovereignty over these areas.

At the same time, the Chileans demanded that Argentina cede the Tierra del Fuego Province, specifically all areas south of the Strait of Magellan.

The southernmost provinces of Argentina, Tierra del Fuego and Santa Cruz, are separated by Chilean land and the Strait of Magellan.

This also means that if the Chileans really get this area, it will not be easy for Argentina to get it back.

Because they have the Allies as their thighs, the Chileans' appetite is also very huge. In addition to demanding compensation and ceding land, the Chileans also demanded that the total number of Argentine troops should not exceed 40,000 and the number of land forces should not exceed 30,000.

If the Argentines accept this condition, then in South America, Argentina will lose its right to hegemony in a short time.

The requirements of the four major powers of the Allied Powers are very simple. France and Russia do not have much demand for land in South America. Combined with the fact that the British Empire has signed an agreement privately, they only demand war reparations from Argentina.

The requirement of Australasia is to divide a four-country co-management area in Argentina's black soil to prevent Argentina from launching a war again after it becomes strong in the future.

The British Empire does not have too much demand. After all, the British Empire with vast land does not look down on Argentina's land.

In order to get the four major powers of the Allied Powers to agree to its demands, Chile has been constantly contacting the diplomatic officials of the four major powers since the beginning of the peace talks, and there are countless secret contacts.

Argentina's demands are very simple. As the only defeated country, Argentina knows that it has no strength to resist, so naturally there is no outrageous demand.

Argentina is willing to pay compensation of about 1 million pounds, and is willing to restore the border between the two sides to the pre-war period, and at the same time give up the disputed areas with Chile.

As for Chile's request to limit the size of the army, cede the Tierra del Fuego Province, and Australasia's request to divide a co-managed area within the black soil, Argentina said it could not accept it.

Although the Argentines have a good attitude of admitting their mistakes, the demands agreed by Argentina seem to be a bit like sending away beggars in the eyes of the four major powers.

The four major powers sent troops thousands of miles away, and the total cost is definitely more than 1 million pounds.

In addition to Chile's own losses, 1 million pounds is completely a drop in the bucket for Chile and the Allied Powers.

Shouldn't giving up the disputed islands be something that the defeated country must do?

As a defeated country, does Argentina want to retain sovereignty over the disputed areas after the defeat?

Because of disagreements, the peace talks have stalled again.

However, the Allies and Chile are not in a hurry to negotiate. At least the cost of the war is currently affordable for the Allies and Chile, and the balance of the war has already tilted towards Chile.

Even if the Argentine government is unwilling to give up and is unwilling to pay more land and funds. When the Argentine front line can't hold up, Argentina will not want to pay so much compensation.

I believe the Argentine government also understands this truth. The current refusal to give up may just be Argentina's stubbornness.

On November 11, after four days of peace talks, there was still no result. Chile announced the resumption of the state of war with Argentina and ordered the front-line troops to deploy an attack immediately.

Although the great powers did not express their views, the expeditionary force sent by the Allies was also planning to launch a famous attack on the Argentine army after Chile announced the resumption of the state of war.

Later on the 11th, the South American battlefield resumed the war, and the sound of gunfire, which had just been silent for a few days, rang out again in this area.

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