Chapter 106 Army Expansion (Please subscribe!)

On February 21, 1902, after several days of discussions with German military experts, Australia's military expansion operation officially began.

Of course, this round of military expansion does not prepare for any military operations, but simply expands Australia's military power and ensures control over its own homeland and colonies.

It sounds very helpless. The reason why Australia chose to expand its military is entirely because the pitiful few troops can no longer meet the needs of garrisoning the colonies of Australia and New Guinea. The Guards, as an important army to protect the royal family, cannot be stationed elsewhere.

Under such circumstances, it is very necessary to expand the existing army.

Australia has a population of nearly 4 million. Based on conservative estimates, it is no problem to expand the army to 40,000 to 50,000 people.

Of course, the first round of expansion plans will not be so crazy. Arthur's goal is to recruit 15,000 people to complete the plan to reorganize the active army.

According to the change plan formulated by the Ministry of Defense, those soldiers who have completed the training will be expanded into the backbone of the 1st National Defense Division.

The establishment of the First National Defense Division was mostly based on that of the German divisions, with a full division having as many as 16,000 men.

Compared with Germany's slightly bloated organization, the Australian army's organization has undergone certain changes, canceling the brigade-level organization and replacing it with three infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, and a cavalry battalion to form an infantry division.

In terms of weapons configuration, Arthur has high hopes for the new defense division, and the Ministry of National Defense has also spent a lot of money on this.

In terms of heavy machine guns, the First Division has five heavy machine gun companies, each of which is equipped with six MA-96 Maxim machine guns, for a total of thirty heavy machine guns.

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

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

The artillery companies belonging to the three infantry regiments are equipped with four CA-1 machine guns and two M1897 automatic cannons.

As a result, the first division's open firepower has reached the same level as the German army, or even slightly exceeded it.

Especially after being equipped with a large number of semi-automatic artillery, the number of artillery and firepower output of the First Division are definitely not weaker than those of the German army.

Of course, the cost of installing such a first division will also be very huge. Just the 30 heavy machine guns and dozens of artillery pieces cost more than 30,000 pounds. In addition to the cost of soldiers and rifles, it would cost at least 50,000 pounds to set up this infantry division, as well as monthly training and maintenance of weapons and equipment. The cost can reach tens of thousands of pounds.

This kind of army organization is completely comparable to Germany. Even if it is placed on the future European battlefield, it will still be an army with powerful firepower.

Let alone in Oceania. Taking a closer look at the surrounding enemies, the only thing that can defeat this army may be their numbers.

It is worth mentioning that after this conscription, the theoretical number of Australian troops reached 25,000.

Among them, the Guards will be expanded to 8,000 people, doubling the number. These eight thousand men would form a mixed Guards division, consisting of an infantry and cavalry regiment and an artillery regiment.

The number of soldiers left in the First Division was as high as 17,000. The reason why there are one thousand more people than the planned establishment is because these extra people will become the reserve officers of the Second Division and will also be the instructors of the Second Division when recruiting troops in the future.

The combat effectiveness displayed by a division composed entirely of recruits is definitely different from that of a division composed of veterans and recruits.

Veterans can significantly improve the combat effectiveness of the unit, and can also serve as reserve officer candidates for future expansion of the unit.

For this reason, under the discussion of the Ministry of National Defense, the officers of the First Division will have one more deputy position. It is very likely that these deputy positions will fall to the Second Division as full-time officers in the future.

For these existing soldiers, this also increases their hopes of promotion in disguise.

Even if you are not capable enough to serve as an officer in the army, you can still strive for a deputy position.

After a period of training, when the army expands in the future, won't you still become an officer?

Although it may take longer, it is better than being directly promoted without any hope.

The Australian Department of Defense's military expansion plan has been welcomed and actively participated by a large number of Australians.

As soon as word spread, recruitment offices in New South Wales and Victoria were packed.

As for other states, because their populations are not large, they are not considered within the scope of conscription for the time being.

As the capital of Australia, Sydney has a neat and long queue at the recruitment office.

Not even one street could accommodate the people who signed up, and several nearby streets were filled with crowds.

Although Arthur did not personally see the scene at the recruitment office, reports in the Victoria Newspaper and the Australian Daily reported at least this.

It is difficult to say how many of them are sincerely joining the army to serve the motherland, because Australian soldiers have very high benefits. Even ordinary soldiers, the annual salary is generally as high as about twelve pounds, which far exceeds Australia's per capita income level.

More importantly, the number of conscriptions this time was only 15,000, but it was carried out simultaneously in Australia's two most populous states.

This also resulted in a significant reduction in everyone's chance of being selected, and was also the reason why the recruiting office was so full at the beginning.

After all, working hard in a factory can only earn ten pounds a year. As long as you join the army, you can get a salary of at least twelve pounds a year, and once you become an officer, it will be even higher.

Australia is surrounded by islands from all major powers, and has no direct enemies. Under such circumstances, Australia should not go to war, right?

Many people have such a lucky mentality, thinking that they will be safe even if they join the army. Under the temptation of high salary, they choose to join the army one after another.

Of course, this scene is what the Ministry of Defense and Arthur want to see. No matter what the reasons are for these people to join the army, as long as they join the army, various ability training and ideological education will make them understand what it means to be loyal to the emperor and patriotism, what it means to serve the motherland, and what it means to sacrifice one's life for righteousness.

The fact that Australia's recruitment office is so full has won the favor of German experts. In the words of German experts, even if there is such a scene in the whole of Europe, I am afraid that it is only in Germany.

This is not bragging by German experts. The founding history of the German Empire is the history of wars with surrounding powers.

As the German Empire, which defeated Austria with its sword and set foot on France, and successfully unified into one country after conquering two great powers, its military capabilities are absolutely world-class.

Since the Kingdom of Prussia, the Prussian army and the Junker nobles have been one of the overlords of the European Army. After defeating the traditional power France, the European Army's leadership fell directly on the German army.

This has also led to the German people's overwhelming recognition and pride in their country. Every time Germany expands its military, the enthusiasm of the Germans is unmatched by other European countries.

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