The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 486: Chapter 384: Rapid Expansion of the Military Industry_2

The enormous military purchases involved funds exceeding 10 million Australian dollars, and the pure profit alone was at least 4 million Australian dollars.

The bulk of the weapons procurement orders belonged to the Russian Empire. The Russian Empire's crazy expansion has led to many soldiers not yet receiving their weapons.

In the current Russian army, there is a tradition of seizing weapons. Of course, not from their comrades-in-arms, but from the bodies that fall on the battlefield.

As long as the weapon is taken quickly from the body, it belongs to the individual, whether from an enemy or a comrade-in-arms.

This has led to a rather chaotic logistics situation in Russia, with Russian-made guns, British and French-supplied guns, Australasian-made guns, and German-made guns all mixed together, creating an even more chaotic 'International arsenal'.

This wide variety of weapons has placed a huge logistical burden on the Russian Empire, prompting the Russian government to resolutely replace the weapons of its elite troops.

At least when the elite troops adopt uniform combat weapons, the logistics pressure caused by the inconsistency of weapons can be significantly reduced.

The batch of weapons orders is almost a quarter of Australasia's inventory. Even if the Australasian military factories worked overtime, the current rate of weapons and equipment consumption (including exports) still far exceeds the production rate.

This made Arthur's earlier decision to hoard weapons and equipment extremely wise, and inadvertently, the military factory became more obedient to Arthur's orders.

Up to now, the number of employees in the Royal Military Factory has reached 25,000. This number has increased by nearly 10,000 compared to more than a year ago, showing the rapid expansion of the military factory.

Even the civilian military factories in Australasia are expanding at an astonishing speed. It is estimated that the employment in the military industry in Australasia has already exceeded 30,000 people. The biggest change that the war has brought to Australasia is the rapid expansion of the military industry.

If the war continues, the employment of the military industry in Australasia could even break through 50,000, moving towards a goal of 100,000 people.

Although this is good for promoting employment in Australasia, handling the overly large and bloated military industry would be a problem once the war is over.

There was a long gap between World War I and World War II, and Australasia, due to its unique geographical environment, was destined to have few battlefields.

Unless Australasia can stir up conflicts in many regions worldwide, artificially creating many wars, there will be no place to sell the manufactured weapons and equipment.

Hold on, Arthur suddenly felt this behavior was familiar, wasn't this the behavior of the world police in later generations?

Although the war has been going on for almost a month, the impact on Australasia is not too significant.

Looking at the current situation in Australasia, the lives of the residents are still as usual, aside from the military factories constantly hiring, there seems to be no difference.

This is the benefit of Australasia's unique geographical location. Even if World War I involved six great powers, it was unlikely that the flames of war would reach Australasia's native land.

If it wasn't for Australasia sending expeditionary forces and transporting weapons, equipment, and resources to Europe multiple times, it would seem that the war had little to do with Australasia.

Of course, it is impossible to say that the war had no impact on Australasia. At least in terms of immigration, especially since the second half of this year, the number of immigrants to Australasia has visibly decreased.

Previously, there were numerous tankers and transport ships traveling between Oceania and Europe every day, bringing thousands of immigrants to Australasia.

But since the second half of this year, the number of immigrants has been reduced by more than half, and if it were not for the Russian immigrants' stubborn support, the immigration figures for this year would be halved.

According to the report from the immigration bureau of the Australasian Ministry of People's Livelihood, this year's immigration has declined significantly compared to last year, and the final immigration figure may not exceed 700,000.

The number of Russian immigrants accounts for more than half, probably around 500,000 to 550,000.

If it were not for the steady supply of Russian immigrants, the immigration boom that Australasia has been enduring for more than a decade would perhaps come to an end, and the population growth of Australasia would also take a downturn.

On August 27, 1914, after several days of preparation, the weapons and equipment destined for Britain, France, and Russia were successfully shipped from Sydney Harbour and were sent in two separate routes to France and the Far East region of Russia.

Meanwhile, the expeditionary force of Australasia had already set sail a few days earlier, and they were expected to arrive in France by late September, then travel by train to the borders to cooperate with the British and French forces in combat.

In addition to seeking support from the United Kingdom and Australasia, France and Russia were also trying to enlist backing from other neutral countries.

In fact, since the outbreak of the war, certain major neutral countries, such as Italy and Bulgaria, have been the targets of both the Allies and the Central Powers.

Italy, needless to say, as one of the great powers, borders the Austro-Hungarian Empire and France, and also has a considerable naval strength in the Mediterranean region.

If Italy could be persuaded to join the war, it would be good news for either side (only in terms of the navy).

Both the Allies and the Central Powers have never ceased in their attempts to draw Italy to their side. Although Italy has already declared neutrality, the internal factions advocating intervention and neutrality in Italy have long been quarreling about which side to join.

There have been frantic negotiations between the Allies and the Central Powers with Italy, and if everything goes as expected, Italy will likely bide its time before making a decision.

Besides Italy, both the Allies and the Central Powers are also trying to court Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is geographically important, as it is not only in the Balkan Peninsula, where World War I began but is also close to countries like Serbia, Romania, and Greece.

If Bulgaria were to join the Central Powers, Serbia would be in a position of being attacked from both sides, which would not be good news for the Allies.

With the support of the Central Powers, Bulgaria could pose a significant threat to Serbia and the Balkan region.

On the other hand, if Bulgaria were to join the Allies, it would be a huge help to them. It would not only leave Serbia free to focus on fighting the Austro-Hungarian Empire alongside Russia, but it would also create a unified front in the Balkan region, negating the Austro-Hungarian Empire's advantage there.

However, unlike the fence-sitting Italy, winning Bulgaria over is much more challenging.

Italy will join whichever side offers more benefits, and they are merely waiting to see which side gains a greater advantage.

Bulgaria is different. In the Second Balkan War, the animosity between Bulgaria and Serbia deepened, which significantly reduced the likelihood of Bulgaria joining the Allies.

Unless Britain and France can offer terms far better than those of the Central Powers and can satisfy the various factions and people within Bulgaria, the chances of Bulgaria joining the Allies are slim.

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In any event, Bulgaria's geographical position is indeed crucial, and Britain and France are making every effort to win them over.

In addition to trying to win over countries like Italy and Bulgaria, the four great powers within the Allies have also held numerous telegraph conferences.

The four great powers are negotiating various deals to determine how many concessions they are willing to make to these neutral countries to persuade them to join the Allies and fight against the Central Powers together.

If nothing unexpected occurs, Italy is likely to join the Allies. It must be said that territorial disputes with the Austro-Hungarian Empire are the main reason preventing Italy from joining the Central Powers.