The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1239 - 918 Diplomatic Shift

Chapter 1239: Chapter 918: Diplomatic Shift

Chapter 1239 -918: Diplomatic Shift

“What did you say? The Russian Western Front Army’s three army groups have been completely annihilated? The Germans have reached Minsk?” The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill threw out three questions in rapid succession, looking incredulously at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officer who had come to report.

This wasn’t to say that he didn’t believe the report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but such news was indeed astonishing.

It had been only a few days since Germany declared war on Russia, and the British had not even transported supplies to France, with their detailed counteroffensive not having made any progress.

But in these mere days, the Germans had already successively crossed important military strongholds such as Białystok, Brest, and Grodno, and had they really managed to move their troops to Minsk?

What was even more fatal was that, within these days, the Russians had lost the complete Western Front Army.

Although it was only three army groups, the Russian military’s organization was overly large compared to other countries.

These three army groups could entirely match the size of other countries’ army groups, at the very least possessing hundreds of thousands of soldiers. How could it be possible for them to be completely destroyed by the Germans in just a few days?

“Indeed, it is so,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officer explained to Churchill: “The Germans used tactics similar to those employed in Poland, utilizing a large number of armored troops to penetrate and successfully encircle the Western Front Army from behind, completely encircling and cutting off the entire Russian Western Front Army.

Moreover, before the outbreak of war, the Germans had already bombed several military airfields in western Russia, leaving many military districts, including the Western Front Army, unable to launch any planes.

Perhaps it was this complete advantage in armor and planes that allowed the Germans to advance so rapidly and swiftly defeat the entire Russian Western Front Army.”

“Damn it, it looks like our plans need to change. While the Russians are also formidable, I am even less willing to face a Germany that has occupied all of Europe.

Tell Cripps to make contact with the Russian Government and tell them we are willing to make a trade, offering the urgently needed weapons and equipment,” Churchill pondered for a moment and instructed the officer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Do we need to notify Australasia?” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs officer asked kindly.

“Not for now,” Churchill shook his head, speaking with a hidden depth, “In the most critical moments, we can only truly rely on ourselves.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs officer, clearly a confidant of Churchill, showed no surprise at his words, nodding calmly and departing.

“Germany, Russia, and Australasia.” Churchill turned to look at the map of Europe hanging in his office, with a mysterious smile and a relaxed expression, “No matter who it is, nobody will be able to push the British Empire from its position as the world’s dominant power, not in the past, and not now either.”

The French Government in Tours was also shaken by the news.

Because the German main forces had moved east, the French could breathe a sigh of relief, seize the opportunity to reinforce their defense lines, and prepare for the next round of counteroffensives with the British.

But this didn’t mean that the French were pleased to see Russia quickly collapse under German assault, or even see their territory being split into several countries.

The French wanted to see Germany and Russia deplete each other, ideally with both countries’ powers both vanishing, eventually letting the French pick the fruits for free.

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Neither country overpowering the other was a sight the French wished to see. Even though they despised the British policy of maintaining regional balance, when playing politics in Europe, most powerful nations, including Britain and France, seemed to subtly adopt this strategy of balance.

Consequently, the French also chose to relax their restrictions on Russia. However, because France’s industry had already suffered severe damage, they truly didn’t have the capacity to support Russia anymore.

Compared to Britain and France, at this moment, it was Australasia that truly had the strength to support other regions.

Although the war between Australasia and the Island Nation had not ended, anyone astute could see that it was a completely unequal war.

Australasia had no immediate intentions of invading the Island Nation’s native land, but just with their superior air force and navy, they were fully capable of blockading the Island Nation’s coastline and willfully attacking the coastal urban cities of the Island Nation.

Up to now, the forces Australasia had committed to this war were less than a million soldiers, with no more than 300,000 of them being Australasians.

Yet, the damage inflicted on the Island Nation was colossal, with personnel casualties alone soaring to several millions, not to mention the incalculable property damage.

Especially Kagoshima and Nagasaki, the closest cities to the Ryukyu Islands, were virtually bombed daily by the Australasian Air Force, the entire cities turned to ruins, with over 2 million islanders dead from the bombings.

No one would pity the Islanders, as this war wasn’t an invasion by Australasia, but a counterattack after the Islanders’ surprise attack on Australasia.

Everything started from that surprise air strike, and Australasia’s role in this war was completely positive, which is also why the Australasian Army could attack the Islanders without restraint.

Because war was declared by the Island Nation without a formal declaration, launching a surprise attack on Australasia’s Pearl Harbor, leading to hundreds of casualties among the Australasian military and civilians, the conflict was sparked.

In such a case, it is entirely justifiable for Australasia to carry out massive retaliation against the Islanders.

As for why Australasia did not cease its operations after causing at least 2 million civilian casualties in the Island Nation, it was simply because the war had not ended and the Island Nation’s government had yet to pay for their crimes.

Turning the perspective back to Australasia Domestic, Arthur had anticipated the rapid collapse of the Russian army.

Since the United Kingdom had repeatedly warned the Russian Government to no avail, Arthur had realized early on that Russia would definitely suffer a major setback in the early stages of the war.

The German Army was well-prepared, according to intelligence personnel from across Australasia. The Germans had been preparing for the war for at least two months and had mobilized close to 2 million troops and a massive quantity of weapons and supplies.

As for the Russians, the United Kingdom had warned them half a month earlier, but the Russian Government still did as it pleased, resulting in the border troops being totally unprepared for the German onslaught. With most of their Air Force destroyed, how was the war to proceed?

With technological advancements, warfare among nations has become increasingly advanced. If World War I was entirely about trench warfare and the accumulation of lives, World War II had evolved into a contest of industry and technology between tanks and airplanes.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the quantity and advanced nature of tanks and airplanes can greatly influence a military’s combat effectiveness and the likelihood of winning a war.

Take for example the war between Australasia and the Island Nation.

The combat effectiveness of the Island Nation Army was notable, with their Type A and Type B Divisions being powerful elite forces.

But the issue is, Australasia didn’t engage them at all and just stopped after capturing the Ryukyu Islands.

This left the Island Nation Army in extreme frustration, as their millions-strong army had no way to strike back. They certainly could not take the initiative to cross the ocean and launch an attack on Australasia, could they?

The defender in an amphibious landing battle inherently has a tremendous advantage, and Australasia holds absolute superiority with its Air Force. Such a war was utterly unfeasible.

The current dire situation was that the Australasia Army was not engaging the Island Nation Army but was dispatching numerous Air Forces to constantly bomb the Island Nation’s Native Land.

This was a fatal blow to the Island Nation because its narrow territory suffered much more from such large-scale air raids than countries with more expansive land areas.

More importantly, with its already weak industrial scale and concentrated Industrial Areas, such bombing attacks were a deadly blow to the Island Nation’s fragile economy.

Moreover, as an Island Nation with little land and many people, the Island Nation’s major Urban Cities had a massive Population which was difficult to move to Other Regions.

Furthermore, given the vast number of people needing relocation, even if they could be successfully moved elsewhere, they would still likely be discovered by Australasia.

This made it difficult for a large number of Islander Common People to escape the bombing by the Australasian Air Force. If it weren’t for the fact that the primary target of the Australasian Air Force currently was the Island Nation’s Industrial Areas and other military strongholds, the civilian casualties would have likely already exceeded 10 million.

But regardless, the frequent air raids that Australasia has launched on the Island Nation’s Native Land have already caused immense impact on its domestic economy and industry.

Though there are no exact statistics, from 1936 to 1937, the Island Nation’s Population surprisingly experienced a negative growth of nearly 3 million, with its economy and industry significantly retracting, and a multitude of coastal Urban City fishermen faced the prospect of no income at all.

As an Island Nation, the Islander community includes a large number of fishermen who make their living from fishing, and the fishing industry is a Pillar Industry of the Island Nation’s economy.

But once the Coastline was blockaded, Australasia certainly did not extend courtesies to Island Nation ships on the ocean. Even if they were just civilian vessels of the Island Nation, once they entered the surveillance range of the Australasian Fleet, they would face comprehensive attacks.

After thousands of coastal fishermen had been killed or injured, the Island Nation fishermen finally learned their lesson, daring only to hide in their homes and survive barely on government relief.

But the question remains, just how much relief grain does the Island Nation’s Government have to give out?

As previously mentioned, the Island Nation has a Population that is among the more substantial of the Powers, second only to Russia and Germany in its Native Land.

This is quite staggering because the Island Nation has less land area, and within its vast Territory, there is even less area suitable for farming.

With both the economy and industry heavily damaged, the Island Nation’s government was uncertain how long it could persist, not even the Island Nation’s Government itself understood.