Chapter 370: Allied War Preparations

In early February 1914, Arthur took an airship to St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, to attend the third meeting of the Allied Powers since its establishment.

According to common sense, the third meeting should have been held last year. But last year, due to the illness of Prince Alexei, the meeting was postponed by Nicholas II and finally delayed to now, a few months later.

Fortunately, this does not affect anything. The attitude of the Allies to expand their armaments crazily has made the four major powers of the Allied Powers very closely united.

The monarchs, presidents and some senior government officials of the British Empire, France, the Russian Empire and Australasia participated in the Allied Conference this time. The purpose is to discuss the tasks and goals of each country in the future.

It not only includes the expansion of naval and land armaments, but also includes the direction and tasks of the armies of various countries assuming that the war breaks out.

Specifically, the annual Allied Conference is a meeting for the Allies to discuss pre-war preparations, wartime plans and post-war interest distribution. The target of this meeting is only one, that is, the Allied Powers, the biggest enemy of the Allies.

On February 21, 1914, a confidential meeting of the Allied Powers was held in St. Petersburg.

The content of this meeting was very confidential, but the meeting itself was open. It was not only a way for the Allies to demonstrate to the Central Powers, but also to tell the world that the four major powers of the Allies were closely united and that the Allies were fearless of any enemy.

Of course, in addition to external demonstrations, the large number of spies in major European countries was also the reason why a meeting could not be kept secret at all.

What the four major powers of the Allies could do was to keep the content of the meeting highly confidential on the premise that the meeting itself was made public.

The four major powers of the Allies attached great importance to this meeting, but they all chose to stay away from the German waters.

No one knew whether the Germans would attack the Allied ships participating in the meeting frantically. For their own safety, it was better to stay away from the Germans for the time being.

Arthur chose to travel by airship. After a long period of verification of multiple flights, it has been determined that the safety performance of the airships in Australasia is relatively reliable, and the probability of accidents is extremely low.

Of course, in order to ensure his own safety, the airship that Arthur took this time was equipped with a large number of parachutes, which could ensure that the members on the airship had a greater chance of survival when an accident occurred.

At the same time, there were more than a dozen armed airships escorting the airship that Arthur was riding. These airships also carried hundreds of guards, responsible for protecting Arthur's safety on land and in the sky.

If the plane could not be exposed temporarily, Arthur even planned to call several fighter jets to escort him.

Arthur still attaches great importance to his own life safety. The reality is not like the TV series. Even if Arthur does not attach importance to it, the government officials of Australasia will never allow Arthur to travel without more than 100 guards.

Arthur's personal safety also symbolizes the stability of the country and the government for Australasia.

Arthur and Australasia are currently in a state of prosperity and loss, and the government officials of Australasia naturally attach great importance to Arthur's safety.

Although he took a much faster airship, it was February 18th, half a month later, when he arrived in St. Petersburg.

At this time, there were still three days before the meeting. Arthur and his party stayed in a royal manor under the arrangement of Nicholas II and enjoyed the few leisure time.

Almost on the same day, the French diplomatic team also arrived in St. Petersburg smoothly.

As for why the French were slightly faster than the British, we have to ask George V who came to St. Petersburg with great fanfare.

The four major powers of the Allied Powers attached great importance to this meeting. Not only the three emperors of King George V of Britain, King Arthur of Australasia, and Tsar Nicholas II and the President of France attended the meeting, but also the British Navy Minister Churchill, Foreign Minister Edward, French Defense Minister, Foreign Minister, Australasia Secretary of State Roger, Defense Minister Raul, etc.

As for Russia, because the meeting was held in St. Petersburg, Russia could be regarded as a whole nation, and whichever minister was needed would be transferred.

After the officials of the four countries had friendly exchanges with each other, the Allied Conference was officially held on February 21, 1914.

Because Australasia participated in the formal Allied Conference for the first time, at the beginning of the conference, the four great powers emphasized the importance of the Quadruple Entente and reaffirmed the alliance between Britain, France, Russia and Australasia.

What the four great powers valued more was the alliance with any country.

The progress of this conference was very fast. In just the first day, the Quadruple Alliance was quickly established and the military responsibilities of the four great powers were reaffirmed.

First of all, some British people who had always been on the sidelines took on more military responsibilities. If any member of the Allied Powers was attacked by the enemy, the four great powers of the Allied Powers should enter a state of war with the enemy at the same time.

This agreement directly eliminated the possibility of the British becoming a troublemaker. The British must stand firmly behind the Allied Powers and firmly and effectively fulfill the alliance with the other three great powers, so that the Allied Powers can be maintained.

The specific treaty is that if any of the four great powers is attacked by another country without cause, including but not limited to border provocations, sneak attacks, and crisis creation, the other three great powers must immediately stand behind the provoked country and, after consultation, take joint action to maintain world peace.

Given the current strength of the Allies, this treaty is simply aimed at Germany and the Allies behind it.

In addition to the Allies, even the United States has no courage to attack any of the Allied countries.

In addition to this requirement of military responsibility, the four great powers also signed the "Declaration of Naval Priorities" to agree on the respective tasks of the navies among the four countries.

This statement is limited to the war period. Britain is responsible for the defense of the French Atlantic coast, and France is responsible for the defense of the British colonies along the Mediterranean coast.

The Russians joined the siege of the German High Seas Fleet, and Australasia sent at least four main battleships to help the British Empire patrol the Indian Ocean region.

At the same time, if a war breaks out, the French Mediterranean Fleet will quickly control the entire Mediterranean together with the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

To be on the safe side, some of the British fleets along the Atlantic coast and the fleet patrolling the Indian Ocean region of Australasia must take joint action after consultation to block the entire Mediterranean, especially the Strait of Otranto, to prevent the Italian Navy and the Austro-Hungarian Navy from joining forces.

Australasia bears the least naval obligations, in fact, because the Australasia Navy has only five main battleships so far.

However, this also has an advantage. Even if the navy suffers more damage in the war, it is acceptable to Australasia.

Anyway, there are only three dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers at most. Even if all of them are sunk, Arthur will only feel heartbroken.

Not only the navy, but also the army, the obligations that each country should bear have been initially divided.

Britain and Russia are responsible for working together to deal with the German High Seas Fleet, and Britain needs to send the army to support France and help France hold the line of defense.

The French need to bear the German offensive on the Western Front, where a large number of German main forces will gather. In addition, the Mediterranean route is also the task of the French, and the Russian Black Sea Fleet and part of the Australasia fleet can provide assistance.

The main goal of the Russians is to deal with their enemies, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. Of course, it is also necessary to open up a battlefield in eastern Germany and force the Germans to fight on two fronts.

In view of the problem that the Russian army has sufficient manpower but insufficient weapons and equipment, Britain, France and Australia have successively promised to provide Russia with low-priced weapons and equipment support during the war.

If Russia's western support is cut off at that time, Australasia will transport a large amount of weapons and equipment from the Far East to Russia.

The task of Australasia is, first, to send at least 300,000 combat troops to support France.

Second, in addition to retaining a certain scale of garrison forces, the Australasia Navy will be fully deployed to cooperate with the mobilization of the British, French and Russian navies.

Third, in view of Australasia's relatively good military industry, Australasia will be responsible for providing Russia with a large amount of weapons and equipment, and the price cannot be too high.

If Britain and France lack weapons and equipment, they can also purchase them from Australasia.

The initial division of combat missions is basically like this, which is initially decided by the four countries based on their respective geographical locations.

In fact, whether it is divided or not, the situation after the outbreak of the war is like this. Geographical location determines the war strategy of each country. It is impossible for Australasia to fight a decisive battle with the German Navy, right?

If we say that the French have the heaviest task in the initial division of combat missions, it may be the French.

According to the division of combat missions, in the early stage of the war, the French had to resist the joint attack from the two powers of Germany and Italy, and the navy had to fight against Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Although Italy's military strength is not that strong, France can't beat Germany!

The good news is that in terms of the army, the French have support from Britain and Australasia.

According to the agreement between the two parties, the number of troops supported by Britain and Australasia will be about 600,000.

Add to that France's own soldiers, and after the outbreak of the war, it will be no problem to gather two or three million.

In terms of the navy, it seems difficult to blockade the Mediterranean, but with the support from Britain, the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Australasia Fleet, the possibility of completing the task is still very high.

If the war really develops according to the battle plan, it will be good news for the Allies.

After all, there is nothing wrong with the Allies' battle plan except consumption, and the Allies are basically large and powerful, and they are not afraid of that little consumption.

Regarding the distribution of benefits after the war, the negotiations were not so smooth. In the end, it was Arthur who proposed to distribute according to the losses and contributions of the four major powers in the war, and only then did he get the consent of France and Russia, and the British finally nodded.

It is normal for France and Russia to agree. The French have the heaviest task in the battle distribution, and their contributions in the war are definitely not small.

As for the Russians, they have no advantages, but they have more people. If the losses are compared, the Russians are really not afraid of anyone.

If millions of farmers can be killed and injured in exchange for Russia's huge benefits after the war, the Russian government and senior officials will agree with both hands and feet.

As for the British Empire, France and Russia have agreed, and the British naturally cannot drag it on.

What's more, the British also have confidence in the navy. If they can defeat the German high seas fleet and send the army to achieve certain results, Britain may become the country that pays the most.

Arthur, who proposed such a distribution of benefits, actually agrees with this way of distributing benefits.

In any case, as one of the four major powers of the Allied Powers, Australasia's distribution of benefits is at least the fourth in the world after the war.

Even if a power like Italy turns against its side at the last minute, its role and post-war status are definitely not as good as Australasia.

What's more, it is a question whether Russia can survive safely after World War I. If Russia splits in World War I, then Australasia will have one less competitor after the war, and the distribution of benefits will also be the third in the world.

Arthur is already very satisfied with the third distribution of benefits in the world. At least in the short term, Australasia does not have the strength to compete with Britain and France, even Britain and France weakened by World War I.

If Australasia can become one of the top five or even top four powers in the world by virtue of the distribution of benefits after the war, Australasia will have greater confidence to seek greater status and benefits.

Apart from other things, after the victory of the war, Australasia will directly become the fifth power in the world after Britain, France, Russia and the United States.

According to history, the exploitation of Germany by the Allies, especially France, was very cruel, which also severely restricted Germany's military strength.

If it can take advantage of such an opportunity to absorb many German factories, equipment and experts, and absorb part of Germany's industrial strength and heritage, Australasia will have the foundation to compete with the United States.

Don't underestimate the current United States. Although its military strength is so ugly, it can barely be regarded as beautiful in terms of industry and economy.

At least compared with Australasia, whose industrial strength is not so strong except for heavy industry, the industrial strength of Americans is still much stronger.

Of course, if we only talk about military strength, the current United States is no longer Australasia's opponent.

If Australasia borders the United States, it is not impossible to destroy the United States based on the military technology currently mastered by Australasia.

Of course, the relevant agreement on the distribution of benefits is almost just a draft.

When the war is really over, it will not only be distributed according to the actual contribution of each country, but also how much meat can be cut from the Allies.

However, after several days of negotiations, the four major powers have reached some agreements in principle.

After the victory of the war, the British will obtain all the spoils of the German Navy and the largest share of all the colonies of the Allies.

In order to compensate several other countries, the French will be allowed to recover Alsace Lorraine and obtain some compensation from the territories of Germany and Italy nearby.

As for Russia, Austrian Poland, German Poland, and Britain formally abandoned the alliance with the island country.

As for the last Australasia, it was allowed to fully accept Germany's colonies in the Pacific, and the Allies would turn a blind eye to Australasia's expansion in Southeast Asia.

Of course, Southeast Asia refers to the Dutch East Indies. As for the British Empire's territory in the north, the Southeast Asian Peninsula, and the very important Strait of Malacca, they are not within the reach of Australasia at present.

Of course, in order to show support for Australasia, after Arthur's negotiations, the Allies agreed to Australasia's request to accept some German factories and talents after the war.

The attitude of these Germans towards Britain, France, and Russia after the war can be imagined, and Britain, France, and Russia are not interested in accepting these German experts and talents.

These divisions in principle also basically contain the more important core interests of each country.

Although the British Empire obtained the largest colony of Germany's entire navy after the war, the compensation given to the other three countries can barely satisfy the three major powers.

As for Australasia, it has no interest in African colonies. Therefore, the permission for the expansion of the Dutch East Indies and the opportunity to accept German factories and talents are much more important than African colonies.

In addition to these core interests, such as reparations, property cessions and some important land cessions, transfers, and restrictions on other treaties of the Allies, it depends on the specific situation after the war.

As long as the core interests are determined, the Allies can be maintained as long as they can respect the core interests claimed by various countries, rather than before the war breaks out, due to conflicts caused by internal interest divisions.

In addition to these, the Allies also reached a treaty that has little to do with Europe, namely the Pacific Treaty of Britain, France, Russia and Australia.

The treaty stipulates that Russia has hegemony in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean, and Australasia has hegemony in the southwest and south of the Pacific Ocean.

The four major powers of the Allies respect the hegemony of Russia and Australia, and Britain and France enjoy a special status in the Pacific Ocean.

In addition to respecting the rights of the two major countries of the Allies in the Pacific region, the Pacific Treaty also stipulates that if a non-Allied country asserts its interests in the Pacific region, it will be regarded as a provocation to the Allies.

The Allies as a whole should provide assistance to the provoked countries, and should send troops to provide assistance when necessary.

If the previous agreement was aimed at the Allies, then this agreement is simply aimed at the United States.

The only threat to the hegemony of Russia and Australasia in the Pacific region is the United States, which is also a great power and is located on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Although Britain and France are unlikely to send troops directly to the United States after the war, this treaty is sufficient as a deterrent to the United States.

If the Allies do not break up, Arthur can also rely on this Pacific Treaty to obtain more assistance from other allies to gain more strength to confront the United States.

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