Chapter 378: Declaration of War! Declaration of War!

"The Italians still claim that they are loyal to the Triple Alliance. But the problem is that they also have to maintain their traditional friendship with Britain and France. The Triple Alliance has obligations for defensive wars, but the Italians believe that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is currently engaged in an aggressive war. , without consulting the Italians in advance, even if the Russians intervene in this war, the Italians cannot assume any obligations, and Italy will remain neutral in this war," Prime Minister Bateman replied.

Although the Italians' words seemed reasonable, compared to Germany's firm support for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they were completely fart.

The reason why the Italians did not fulfill their alliance obligations was simply to act as a wall between the Allies and the Entente and join the war in a more secure way.

William II shook his head disdainfully and said: "The Bible says that a servant cannot serve two masters, let alone three masters. This is completely impossible. Italy will most likely join Britain and France. I hope you can all see this clearly. As long as we have never had this ally, we can still win the war. I am determined to go to war with Russia and France, and nothing can stop us."

On July 31, 1914, the German government announced that Germany had entered a dangerous state threatening war.

In the afternoon, the German government issued another ultimatum to Russia, requiring the Russian government to cancel the general mobilization within 12 hours, otherwise Germany would enter a state of war with Russia.

But the answer given by Russian Foreign Minister Shazonov was: "For technical reasons, Russia's general mobilization order cannot be stopped."

Naturally, the Germans do not believe such nonsense from the Russians. Almost on the day when it issued the ultimatum to Russia, Germany sent a note to the French government, asking whether France would strictly maintain neutrality after Germany and Russia went to war, and asked the French government to respond within 18 hours.

Moreover, if France agreed to strictly observe neutrality, Germany provocatively demanded that France hand over the fortresses of Tours and Verdun to Germany as a guarantee of neutrality.

The French will naturally not agree to such a request. French Prime Minister Viviani said: France will act in accordance with its own interests.

On the day of such reply, the French government also issued a general mobilization order, which was equivalent to a tough statement to the German government.

On August 1, 1914, the German government, no longer waiting, officially issued a war notice to Russia, and Germany and Russia officially entered a state of war.

Only the next day, Germany issued an ultimatum to the Belgian government, asking Belgium to allow Germany to enter the territory and fight the French army, but Belgium refused.

On August 3, Germany declared war on France and Belgium, and the flames of war officially burned in Western Europe.

On August 4, Germany's leading troops arrived at the Belgian border and invaded Belgian soil.

It was also on this day that Britain and Germany declared war on Germany under the pretext of violating Belgium's neutrality.

Australasia also declared war on Germany at this time, on the grounds that it was fulfilling its obligations with Britain, France and Russia.

On August 6, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Russia, which meant that all countries representing the Central Powers and the Entente (except for the outsiders) entered a state of war against the enemy.

After various countries began to mobilize, the number of soldiers participating in the war reached its highest peak.

Germany has 3.82 million people, Austria-Hungary has 2.3 million people, Russia has 5.34 million people, France has 3.78 million people, the British Expeditionary Force has 660,000 people, Belgium has 380,000 people, Serbia has 380,000 people, the Australasian Expeditionary Force has 320,000 people, and Canada has Combat troops, totaling more than 20 million people, will gather throughout Europe in a short period of time to start one of the most brutal wars in human history, World War I.

As early as the day before Australasia declared war, that is, August 3, 1914, Arthur held an emergency meeting to discuss when Australasia should declare war and what excuse it should use to declare war.

Coincidentally, not long after the meeting was held, news came that Germany had declared war on France and Belgium.

With the excuse for war, Australasia's declaration of war became a matter of course.

At the same time, Australasia's battle plan in the war was also mentioned again by Arthur.

According to the plan of the Ministry of Defense Staff, after Australasia dispatched 300,000 colonial troops and one conventional division, it would have at least five divisions of deployable troops.

The main combat plan of these five divisions is to go north to capture German New Guinea, German Samoyed, German Caroline Islands, German Micronesia, German Mariana Islands and German Palau.

After capturing these areas, Australasia will not only be able to connect the New Guinea region, but also fill the existing gaps in the defense chain.

It is no exaggeration to say that Australasia will become the only country in Oceania, and continental supremacy is not just talk.

After the complete unification of Oceania, Australasia will have unique geographical advantages. As long as it can make up for the population problem, the foundation for a future superpower has been basically determined.

For Australasia, the combat mission should be the least among the four major Allied powers.

Because this war does not involve the mainland of Australasia, the Australasian army only needs to cooperate with the British and French troops to fight, and all tasks have been completed.

As for the attack in Oceania, the Germans had less than one division of garrison troops in these two colonies, and they did not have a large-scale navy, so they could not be the opponent of Australasia.

Even many of Germany's colonies in the Pacific region only sent some officials and agricultural personnel to swear sovereignty, but the number of these people was mostly between dozens and a hundred.

This also means that Australasia may be the country that completed the expansion the fastest in World War I. Except for New Guinea, which requires a certain amount of time, other colonies only need to go to receive it.

However, this cabinet meeting naturally did not only discuss these.

Although Australasia's war mission seems simple, war is cruel and it is not easy to fight it.

In order to better deal with such a huge super war that has already involved six powers, Australasia must also make advance arrangements for various situations, including resource allocation, domestic order maintenance, etc.

"How are our supplies prepared? How is the progress of public opinion propaganda and immigration handling?" Arthur asked about the current government's work progress.

During wartime, supplies and domestic stability are the most important. Not only should the living materials of all residents be guaranteed, but also any unrest should be ensured in the country.

"Your Majesty, the preparation of public opinion has been completed long ago. According to our survey, at present, the vast majority of Australasians agree with the war. Those who disagree are mostly German immigrants." Foreign Minister Deze reported.

"Always pay attention to the movements of these German immigrants. If possible, give them as much compensation as possible. In addition, try to ensure that German immigrants will not be treated unfairly in the country. In any case, all Australasians are one. We are all a unified nation, Australasians." Arthur nodded and ordered.

Australasia and Germany going to war is definitely something these German immigrants do not want to see. But as things have developed to this point, this war is inevitable.

Therefore, what Arthur and the Australasian government can do is to ensure that German immigrants will not be prejudiced in the country as much as possible.

The ethnic structure of Australasia is mainly composed of British and Russian immigrants, and Germany and these two countries are bound to enter a state of war.

In this way, the German immigrants, who were not in a dominant position in numbers, were likely to suffer from the common hostility of British and Russian immigrants.

Arthur did not want to see this happen, which was likely to undermine the unified Australasian national concept created by Arthur.

"I understand, Your Majesty. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will always pay attention to the situation of these German immigrants to ensure that all our people will be treated fairly at any time." Minister of Civil Affairs Philip nodded quickly.

"From now on, the economy of Australasia will enter a wartime economy. No individual or force may export any materials for any reason or excuse. The materials of the residents will be purchased by the government and then sold to the Allies." Arthur continued to order.

The wartime economy can better concentrate the resources of Australasia, and at the same time prevent the resources of Australasia from falling into the hands of the Allies.

Anyway, after the outbreak of the war, the Allies will lack a lot of materials and equipment, and the materials purchased from the people can also be sold to the Allies at a higher price.

"Your Majesty, do we need to mobilize to cope with the changes in the war at any time?" Defense Minister Raul asked.

The current size of the Australasia army is 200,000 guards, regular troops and 300,000 colonial troops.

At present, there is a huge gap between the number of Australasia and other powers' armies, and the population of Australasia can support Australasia to expand its army to more than one million.

"It is not necessary for the time being." Arthur said: "Our army is currently enough to go to Europe to fight, and there are still many troops left for Oceania's combat plan. At present, our army is sufficient, and there is no need to bring too much burden to the finances for the time being."

Australasia's combat mission is not large, and Arthur is unwilling to mobilize again and use his blood to transfuse blood for Britain and France.

"Although we are about to enter a state of war, I hope that the lives of the people in Australasia will remain as stable as possible. We cannot cause heavy losses in the country and a significant decline in the quality of life of the people because of a war that is not very related to us." Arthur added.

Australasia must participate in this war and win it, but that does not mean that Australasia must do its best to help Britain and France reduce casualties.

Achieving greater results with fewer casualties is what Australasia should do now.

"During the war, the royal family will donate the annual royal activity funds to improve the living standards of Australasia. Ladies and gentlemen, let us work together to deal with this super war that is likely to affect the whole of Europe. All government affairs during the war still require your joint efforts. Ladies and gentlemen, for Australasia, for ourselves, and for all the people living in Australasia, win this damn war and let the world usher in the peace it deserves as soon as possible." At the end of the meeting, Arthur stood up, looked at everyone, and said righteously.

"I declare that Australasia will enter a wartime cabinet state throughout the war. The election of the cabinet government will be temporarily suspended, and this cabinet government will remain until the end of the war. The elections of the state and the House of Representatives will not be affected and will be held as scheduled. From now on, the government should prepare for the war and handle all matters more perfectly." Arthur continued.

"After the war, I will personally reward you according to your merits. Titles and wealth will be awarded to every hero in the war. Inform Britain, France and Russia that Australasia will declare war on Germany tomorrow, fulfill Australasia's obligations, and join this war."

Being able to continue to stay in the cabinet seat and have a high probability of receiving generous rewards after the war is a good thing for all cabinet members.

Therefore, the cabinet officials also seem to be very motivated, and they seem to be devoted to their work until their death.

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I'm late, so I'll write more than 400 words as compensation.