The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 423: Chapter 347: The Second Balkan War and South American Conflict_3

Of course, this does not imply that Australasia is not powerful. In reality, the overall strength of the Allies is so immense that even with the inclusion of Australasia, the proportion of the rise in power would not be high.

While overall, Italy seems more powerful than Australasia at the moment, William II, who has visited Australasia several times, knows that in terms of total military strength, Australasia is stronger than Italy.

More importantly, the homeland of Australasia is not in Europe. As long as its native land is not damaged, they can completely match their ally countries in terms of consumption.

Although the homelands and core interests of the other three Powers of the Allies are in Europe, they all have a vast amount of territory, as well as a larger population.

If they were to recklessly challenge the Allies, the inevitable end result for the Allied forces would be defeat.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire is Germany's staunchest ally. After receiving the letter from William II, even if Emperor Francis was unwilling, he had no choice but to cease domestic military operations.

Bulgaria, having given up its strongest card, faced attacks from several other countries. Bulgaria was steadily retreating and almost all the territory gained in the First Balkan War was lost.

On June 15, 1913, Bulgaria, which had been waiting in vain for military support from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, finally realized the severity of the situation.

The Bulgarian army was changed from offensive to defensive. Their goal had altered from winning the war to defending their territory.

On June 17th, a large battle ensued between the Greek army and the Bulgarian army. The Greek forces ultimately triumphed, setting the final tone for this war.

Bulgaria's defeat was imminent. Even if Ferdinand wanted to persist, he probably wouldn't be able to hold on for another month.

The wise abandonment by Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire left Britain, France, and Russia very satisfied, and temporarily eased Arthur's anxiety.

If World War I were to break out ahead of time, it wouldn't be good news for Arthur either.

Firstly, domestic preparations in Australasia were not quite sufficient. It would be difficult to guarantee enough military power after the war.

Secondly, the complete change in the global situation could also rob Arthur of the opportunity to foresee everything.

After all, if the war broke out ahead of its time, it would mean that everything in the original world would change, if not prematurely.

This would also mean that Arthur, being a time traveler, would lose his advantage, which was not a good thing for him.

Before Britain, France, Russia and other Powers could rest, at the end of June 1913, conflict broke out again in South America, quickly attracting the attention of the major Powers and the world.

South America is home to three major powers: Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.

These three countries have similar comprehensive strengths. Apart from significant differences in territorial area, there is no significant difference in population, economy, and industry.

This resulting in disputes over territory among the three countries, but a large-scale war was unlikely.

To win a war, it would require staking the fate of the nation and exhausting everything.

None of the three countries had the courage or ambition to take such a gamble because losing would mean falling behind the other two countries.

The previously heated naval arms race in South America also represented the conflicts and disputes among these three countries.

Moreover, as Chilean domestic mines produce the world's largest source of saltpeter, it is an essential source of saltpeter for the British Empire and the world.

Hence, when conflict erupted in this region, it quickly attracted the attention of the British Empire, the Allies, and the world.

This conflict did not involve Brazil, the largest country in South America. The main players were Chile and Argentina, two major countries in southern South America.

Chile and Argentina did not have such large territories decades ago.

In their expansion over these decades, they both expanded a significant amount of territory to the south, and these territories were adjacent to each other.

Given the very narrow national boundary, it was impossible not to have any issues.

Consequently, Argentina and Chile have had strained relations for a long time, with significant conflicts along the border.

Both of these countries were previously under Spanish colonial rule, and after independence, the Andes formed a natural boundary line.

But the problem is, this formed only a simple land boundary line which did not determine the boundary of the nearby strait.

This led to unending disputes over the ownership of three islands in the Beagle Channel; Pickton, Lennox, and Nueva.

Although the total area of these three islands is only over 300 square kilometers, the Beagle Channel, where the islands are located, has a strategic location and abundant seabed resources.

Whichever of the two countries could occupy this strait would gain certain advantages over the other.

For two evenly matched countries, this was the key to tipping the balance.

In 1902, Argentina and Chile signed the General Arbitration Treaty, entrusting their conflict to the British Empire for arbitration.

But because of Chile's close relationship with Britain, Chile naturally won the ownership rights to the three islands, becoming the victor of the conflict.

But this didn't signify the end of the conflict. On the contrary, Argentinians were not satisfied with this arbitration, and the conflict between them and Chile not only didn't stop due to arbitration but instead escalated, sparking a trend of hatred between the two countries.