Chapter 591 The Germans Who Defaulted
Turkey is not a qualified ally, which has been confirmed in World War I.
It is not an exaggeration to say that as a powerful country, Australasia cannot trust any of its allies at any time and remain vigilant against any country. This is in line with the pattern of the world today.
However, compared with the alliance between Turkey and Australasia mentioned by Ali Yustafa Yusuf, Arthur is more interested in Turkey's strategic position.
As a country that nominally spans Europe and Asia, Turkey is very close to the Suez Canal and the Strait of Constantinople, and is close to the Balkans.
In the long run, Turkey's geographical location can also have a profound impact on the Middle East, which is helpful for Australasia's Middle East oil strategy.
Overall, the benefits of having Turkey as an ally are greater than the disadvantages. After all, the current Turkey is not the former Ottoman Empire. A new country that is undergoing reform is theoretically worth looking forward to.
This does not mean that Arthur is blindly confident in Turkey. From the Turkish reform plan listed by Vice President Ali, we can actually see Kemal's firm attitude towards reforming Turkey.
The previous war had already given Kemal most of the power of the Turkish government, and this modernization reform had almost no opposition.
In Kemal's reform plan, he planned to abolish the religious system of the Ottoman Empire, the polygamy that had prevailed for hundreds of years, and the traditional costumes of the Ottoman Empire, etc.
This is a huge change for Turkey at present, and the new Republic of Turkey is destined to be different from the previous Ottoman Empire.
At Arthur's suggestion, the talks between Australasia and Turkey went very smoothly.
In March 1924, the two sides formally reached a cooperation plan, which also marked the official start of Turkey's modernization reform.
In order to build Turkey into an advanced country, Kemal made an extremely bold decision, that is, to implement comprehensive Westernization.
Kemal first abolished the traditional costumes of the Ottoman Empire, and required all government officials to wear suits and hats when working, and prohibited all non-clergy from wearing religious robes or wearing religious emblems.
In addition, all independent religious schools and seminaries in Turkey will be closed, and the long-standing system of Islamic leaders and Sharia law, which is regarded as a sacred code, will be abolished, greatly reducing the influence of religion in Turkey.
Many European countries are very surprised by Turkey's bold reforms, because this is the first country to learn from the West in an all-round way, and even the usual clothing and government system come from Australasia and Europe.
In order to ensure Turkey's republican system, Kemal imitated the political system of Australasia and the current system of republics in the world, established a republican government centered on the president, and let the Grand National Assembly control the legislative power.
In the surprised eyes of countries around the world, Turkey officially began secularization and modernization reforms. The success or failure of the reforms also determines whether this investment in Australasia will be successful.
While Turkey created a big news, other parts of Europe were not so quiet.
First of all, Greece did not perform well in the war with Turkey, and Constantine I and his cabinet, who promoted the war, were deposed.
The next to succeed was Arthur's brother-in-law King George II. But at this time, Greece had experienced the rotation of three kings in four years. The domestic political situation was not stable. The rise of the revolutionaries prompted George II to lose his throne.
Hearing the telegram from his sister Charlotte indicating that her husband George II was deposed, Arthur could only smile bitterly.
The current ending of the Greek royal family is closely related to the radicalism of successive Greek kings.
This is also a typical example of what Arthur once warned Dmitry. It is better for the monarch of a small country not to jump out. If you are not careful, you may lose your throne.
In addition to Greece, the current situation in Europe is not too peaceful.
First of all, the situation of Germany's reparations. It has been four years since the last three-year reparations were waived, which also means that this year is the time for Germany to repay in full.
This is naturally unacceptable to the Germans. After all, the reparations waiver in the first three years gave the German government a breath of fresh air. Now it has to face high annual compensation. The good days are coming to an end.
In order to gain more benefits for itself, Germany tried to delay the time of reparations and try to get a longer period of reparations waiver.
But such a move soon angered the French. The French were already very dissatisfied with the reduction of Germany's share of reparations within three years, so naturally they would not agree to reduce the reparations for a longer period of time.
Moreover, France's current economic situation is not too good, and it is naturally waiting for the reparations from Germany to restore the domestic economy, and it is even more impossible to agree to reduce Germany's reparations again.
Even Tsarist Russia of Nicholas II was waiting for Germany's war reparations to ease the more serious domestic debt disputes.
Under such circumstances, the French are still very firm in their attitude towards Germany's debt repayment. They even said strongly that if the Germans are unwilling to repay the debt, France will use its own means to urge Germany to repay the debt.
The good news is that such threats have indeed reached the German government. The bad news is that the German government itself is in chaos and no one is capable of dealing with this threatening telegram.
Speaking of this, we have to mention the current complex political system in Germany. Because of the influence of Britain and France, Germany currently has a military government and monarchy, as well as the influence of states and political parties. The political system is extremely chaotic.
Neither Kaiser Wilhelm II nor Hindenburg of the military government can have enough say, which makes the unification of Germany nominal rather than actual.
Especially Bavaria, a relatively powerful state in southern Germany, has a high degree of autonomy under the premise of having an army that is not much less than the government, and even the imperial government does not take it seriously.
Under such circumstances, it is natural for the Germans to want to delay the time of reparations.
After all, it is a hassle to obtain taxes from various states, and Bavaria has not paid taxes to the imperial government for more than two years.
The economic independence of these powerful states has also exacerbated Germany's economic crisis in disguise.
At present, the German government does not have the money to repay the reparations. After thinking for a long time, the German government decided to temporarily default on the debt. Anyway, the government really has no money to pay, and the French can't do anything to it.
In 1924, many countries that signed the contract at the time also received requests from Germany to postpone the 1924 reparations to 1926 to alleviate the serious financial crisis in Germany.
If this was before the reparations were reduced, the countries might have held a negotiation meeting for this. After all, Germany's financial situation after the defeat was indeed bad, and it was inevitable to make some concessions.
But what time is it now?
It has only been four years since the reduction of Germany's reparations and the reduction of the proportion of the reparations in the first three years. This year is the first time to pay the reduced reparations. The Germans applied for a delay. Isn't this just playing all the countries like monkeys?
Even if Germany's financial situation did have problems before, it has been delayed for four years, at least it has improved, right?
If even a reduced reparation cannot be taken out, then it is necessary to consider the Germans' attitude towards war reparations.
As one of the biggest indemnities of Germany, Australasia naturally received Germany's request to postpone the indemnity.
When Roger's subordinates asked about his attitude, Arthur gave an ambiguous answer: "If Britain and France agree to extend the indemnity time again, we will have no problem. Most of our debts have been mortgaged to Britain and France, and we can just follow Britain and France in terms of indemnity."
Australasia's indemnity ratio was originally relatively low among the Allied countries. After the last reduction in the indemnity ratio, there is not much left.
In the past few years of development, Arthur has transferred these loans to Britain and France more or less. Australasia's remaining share of German indemnity is about 100 million pounds, which is far less than the share of German indemnity held by Britain and France.
Whether it is postponing the repayment time or being defaulted, Australasia's losses are far less than Britain and France.
This is also the real reason why Arthur asked the government to follow Britain and France. After all, there are people who are leading the way, and some people will be more anxious than Australasia.
Compared with Australasia's temporary wait-and-see attitude, the attitude of the French can be said to be very firm.
Because the Germans had been warned before, the French government publicly stated that it would not accept any form of delay in reparations for any reason, and demanded that the German government pay off this year's reparations as soon as possible within the specified time and fulfill the obligations of the contract signed at that time.
The French demands were supported by a considerable number of small and medium-sized countries. After all, these small and medium-sized countries were not so confident when facing the former great power Germany.
Britain and France could directly demand payment, but when they faced German diplomats, they had to build a good relationship with German diplomats.
After all, the restriction treaty cannot always restrict Germany. Germany's size is still within the scope of the great powers, and it is not something that an ordinary small and medium-sized country can offend.
Besides, even if there is only an army of 150,000, Germany's current military strength is still far superior to some small and medium-sized countries, which is why those small and medium-sized countries are unwilling to offend Germany directly.
France can directly stand up against Germany's demands. For these small and medium-sized countries, it is like a ray of dawn in the dark night, which looks so just and so eye-catching.
The first update of 3,000 words, please vote for the monthly ticket and support!