KEO.PLUS

On February 21,1902, after several days of discussion with German military experts, Australia’s military expansion officially began.

Of course, this round of military expansion was not to prepare for any military operations, but simply to increase Australia’s military strength and ensure control over its own territory and colonies.

It is quite unfortunate that Australia chose to expand its military solely because its pitifully small army could no longer meet the needs of the defense of Australia and the New Guinea Colony, and the Guards, as an essential military force to protect the royal family, could not be stationed elsewhere.

Under such circumstances, it is essential to expand the existing military. Australia has a population of nearly 4 million, and conservatively speaking, there should be no problem expanding the military to 40,000 to 50,000 people. Of course, the first round of expansion will not be so crazy. Arthur’s goal is to enlist 15,000 people to complete the plan to reorganize the active military. According to the Ministry of Defense’s plan, soldiers who have completed training will be expanded into the backbone of the First Defense Division.

Most of the First Defense Division uses German divisional organization, with a full division having as many as 16,000 people.

Comparatively, the Australian army has made some changes to the German divisional organization. Brigade-level organizations have been canceled, and a single infantry division consists of three infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, and one cavalry battalion.

In terms of weapons and equipment, Arthur has high hopes for the new Defense Division, and the Department of Defense has spent a lot of funds on this.

Regarding heavy machine guns, the First Division has five heavy machine gun companies, each equipped with six MA-96 Maxim machine guns, totaling thirty heavy machine guns.

In terms of artillery, the First Division has one artillery regiment and three artillery companies, totaling four artillery battalions.

The artillery regiment is equipped with various types of guns. Ideally, each artillery battalion of the regiment will be equipped with eight CA-1 machine guns, five M1897 automatic artillery, and three 105mm howitzers provided by German experts.

And the three affiliated artillery companies of the infantry regiments are each equipped with four CA-1 machine guns and two M1897 automatic artillery.

In this way, the firepower of the First Division equals and even slightly exceeds that of the German forces.

Especially after being equipped with a large number of semi-automatic artillery, the number and firepower output of the First Division is not inferior to that of the German army.

Of course, the cost of such a First Division is enormous. Just the 30 heavy machine guns and dozens of artillery pieces cost over 30,000 pounds. Plus, the expenses for soldiers and rifles would add up to at least 50,000 pounds to set up the infantry division, with monthly training and maintenance costs reaching tens of thousands of pounds.

Such a military organization is entirely benchmarked against Germany, and even if placed on the future European battlefield, it would be a powerful force. Not to mention being in Oceania. Among the surrounding enemies, the only advantage they might have over this army is numbers.

It is worth mentioning that, after this round of conscription, the theoretical number of Australian troops would reach 25,000 people.

Of these, the Guards will be expanded to 8,000 people, doubling their numbers. These 8,000 people will form a mixed Guard Division, consisting of an infantry regiment, a cavalry regiment, and an artillery regiment.

And the number of soldiers allocated to the First Division is as high as 17,000. The reason for having 1,000 more people than planned is that these extra people will become reserve officers for the Second Division and instructors when the Second Division enlists in the future.

There is a definite difference in combat power between a division composed entirely of new recruits and a mixed division of old and new soldiers.

Old soldiers significantly improve the combat effectiveness of the unit and can serve as reserve officer candidates for future expansions.

As a result, under the deliberation of the Ministry of Defense, the officers of the First Division will have an additional deputy position, and the candidates for these deputy positions are likely to become the main officers of the Division Two in the future.

For the existing soldiers, this indirectly increased their chances of promotion.

Even if they are not yet capable of being officers in the army, they can strive for a deputy position.

After a period of training, won’t they still become officers when the army expands in the future?

Although it may take a longer time, it is better than having no hope for a direct promotion.

The Australian Ministry of Defense’s expansion plan was welcomed and enthusiastically participated in by a large number of Australian people.

As soon as the news spread, the recruitment offices set up in New South Wales State and Victoria State were crowded with people.

As for the other states, due to the small population, they were not temporarily considered for recruitment.

As the capital city of Australia, Sydney’s recruitment office had a neat and long line of people.

Even one street could not accommodate the people who came to sign up, and the nearby streets were also surrounded by crowds.

Although Arthur did not personally see the scene at the recruitment office, the reports of the Victoria Newspaper and Australia Daily were at least like this.

It is hard to say how many of them are really joining the army to serve their country, but Australian soldiers’ benefits are high, and even ordinary soldiers have an annual salary of around twelve pounds, far exceeding Australia’s per capita income level.

More importantly, there are only 15,000 recruits this time, yet they are being recruited simultaneously in the two most populous states of Australia.

This has also led to a significantly reduced chance of each person being selected, which is why the recruitment office was so crowded from the beginning.

After all, working hard in a factory can only earn ten pounds a year. Once they join the army, they can earn an annual salary of at least twelve pounds, and it will be even higher if they become an officer.

Australia is surrounded by islands belonging to various great powers, and there are no directly bordering enemies. In such a situation, Australia shouldn’t be going to war, right?

Many people hold such a fluke mentality, thinking that even if they join the army, they will be very safe, and they choose to join the army under the temptation of high salaries.

Of course, this is also what the Ministry of Defense and Arthur want to see. No matter what the reasons for these people to join the army are, their various abilities, training, and ideological education will make them understand what loyalty and patriotism are, what serving the country is, and what sacrificing oneself for the greater good means.

The crowded Australian recruitment offices have actually won the favor of German experts. In the words of the German experts, even in all of Europe, perhaps only Germany would have such a scene.

This is not boasting from the German experts. The history of the German Empire’s founding is a history of wars with neighboring powerful nations.

As the German Empire, which achieved unification by conquering two great powers – Austria and France – its military capabilities are absolutely world- class.

Starting from the Kingdom of Prussia, the Prussian army and the Junker nobility have always been one of the dominant forces in Europe’s land forces. After defeating the traditional powers of France, the status of being the leading force in Europe’s land forces fell directly on the German army.

This has also led the German people to have an overwhelming sense of recognition and pride for their country. Every time Germany expands its military, the enthusiasm of the Germans is incomparable to that of other European countries.