Chapter 432 Various changes and anxious war

On December 25, 1915, after spending a happy Christmas with his family, Arthur began to visit several arsenals and shipyards to inspect and express condolences about the current conditions of these arsenals.

Compared with Europe, the impact of the war on Australasia was minimal, and even the development of Australasia was still in a relatively stable growth range.

Because it was already the end of the year, Arthur also obtained the development data of Australasia in 1915.

The first thing the Australasian government disclosed to the public was the number of casualties among soldiers so far.

So far, Australasia has dispatched more than 600,000 combat troops to Europe, with a death toll of 135,000 and an injury of 223,000.

The number of soldiers still in Europe is only over 300,000. Nearly 100,000 indigenous people have completed their obligations to join the army and have been sent to other areas together with their families.

In the new year, 1916, Australasia expected to send 500,000 combat troops to Europe, including 484,000 indigenous soldiers and 16,000 regular soldiers.

Sending indigenous soldiers would not hurt either the Australasian government or Arthur, and it could also play some role in Europe's war of attrition, which can be said to be a win-win situation.

The surviving indigenous soldiers after the war did receive the treatment promised by Arthur, which led to these indigenous soldiers not being opposed to joining the army because at least they could guarantee that their families would regain their freedom and go to live in other areas.

More than a year has passed since the war broke out, and most of the weapons, equipment and ammunition that Arthur had stocked before the war have been consumed.

Currently, major arms factories in Australasia are working overtime to produce, but they still cannot meet the weapons and equipment needed on the European battlefield.

It can be expected that with the development of time and the continuation of the war, the European battlefield will only become increasingly short of weapons, equipment and ammunition, and the expansion rate of military factories in various countries will only become faster and faster.

Especially in Russia, there is a shortage of at least millions of rifles, hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition, thousands of artillery pieces, and millions of artillery shells.

Australasia alone has exported at least 2 million rifles, which is enough to show the huge consumption of this war.

Of course, the war still had a certain impact on Australasia. If I had to name one aspect that has had the biggest impact, it would have to be the number of immigrants from Australasia.

As of now, the total population of Australasia is more than 16.4549 million people, an increase of about 1.084 million people from the previous year.

Although it seems that the population growth is still at the level of one million, among the 1.08 million new people, the number of newborn babies in the country has reached 457,000.

Subtracting these new babies, the number of immigrants to Australasia this year is only about 643,000, just over half of last year's immigrants.

This proves a more serious problem. With the war in Europe, the number of immigrants in Europe has dropped significantly.

Even for Russian immigrants, who were very reliable before, the number of immigrants has been greatly reduced due to the civil strife in Russia. Currently, it can only maintain the scale of four to five million immigrants per year, and there is even a risk of further reduction.

There are even fewer immigrants from other countries. Most European countries combined have only more than 100,000 immigrants, which is enough to show how serious the impact of this war is on Europe.

It is no exaggeration to say that countries that were seriously affected by the war, such as Britain, France and Germany, have now closed immigration channels by default.

It is not easy for civilians in these countries to flee their countries during war.

Once the number of immigrants from Russia continues to decrease, Australasia's annual population growth is likely to drop below 1 million, breaking the low of population growth in recent years.

Of course, there is no way around this. One can only look forward to the brief period of peace after the war, which will also be a period of explosive immigration.

In fact, in the final analysis, another main reason for the decline in Russian immigration is the strict review of Russian immigrants by the Australasian immigration department.

There are currently a frightening number of revolutionary elements among Russian immigrants. These people who may have an impact on the stability of the country must be reviewed and must go through a long assessment period before they can truly obtain Australasian citizenship.

As for per capita income, Australasia's per capita income has now increased to 53.1 Australian dollars, and this is on the premise that the Australian dollar has not depreciated much.

In 1915, when the currencies of various European countries were generally devalued and the per capita income of residents generally declined, such performance in Australasia was still rare.

Of course, it's not just per capita income that's growing steadily.

So far, Australasia's GDP this year has reached US$1.812 billion, equivalent to 362.4 million pounds, and 724.8 million Australian dollars. The growth rate is 2% higher than last year, reaching about 8%.

However, this is due to the overexpansion of the military industry and the large exports of food and other resources by European countries.

As a result, Australasia made a lot of profits and used these funds for domestic development and construction, which caused the country's economic growth to grow so rapidly.

For the same reason, under the premise of negative economic growth in European countries, Australasia's economy can achieve relatively good and substantial growth, and it is definitely Scorpion Baba alone.

This is also reflected in fiscal revenue.

In 1915, the total fiscal revenue of the Australasian government was approximately A$124.5 million, an increase of nearly 16% compared with the previous year.

After all, a large amount of materials and resources are exported, and the substantial increase in fiscal revenue is natural.

You know, even Arthur's royal consortium paid more than 20 million Australian dollars in taxes to the government in 1915.

The income of the royal family consortium is even more exaggerated. The total income in 1915 was approximately 107.5 million Australian dollars, and the fiscal income was not much different from that of the government.

Of course, for larger factories and enterprises, Australasia's taxes are still relatively heavy.

For civilians and low- and middle-income people, government taxes are relatively low, which is why Australasians recognize the government very much.

It didn't matter to Arthur either. After all, whether it is the royal family consortium or the government's finances, Arthur can mobilize them at will. In fact, it is just his left hand and right hand.

If Arthur wished, the government could even exempt the royal consortium from taxes. But this is not necessary. Instead, the royal family has suffered some criticism because of the special status of the royal family consortium.

Just imagine, when the people get such reports, even the monarch and the royal family are unwilling to pay taxes to the government. How can the people pay taxes to the government willingly?

By then, there will be a lot of tax avoidance, tax evasion, and tax evasion, which will cause trouble for the government and social stability.

On the premise that government fiscal revenue has soared, fiscal expenditure has also increased significantly.

In 1915, the total government fiscal expenditure was approximately 112 million Australian dollars, and the fiscal surplus was as high as 12.5 million Australian dollars.

This year's financial expenditure has increased by nearly 15 million Australian dollars compared to last year. After all, a new round of warship construction plans have begun, coupled with various expansion of armaments and the consumption of launching wars.

If the British had not borne half of the military expenditures, I am afraid that fiscal expenditures would have increased, and we might even have faced fiscal losses.

In addition to the military industry, other industries in Australasia are also growing at a slow pace.

Currently, the best-selling Australasian industrial products, in addition to weapons and ammunition for the military industry, include steel helmets, activated carbon gas masks, customized military uniforms, cotton coats, military boots, mouse traps, etc.

Yes, mousetraps are also one of the most urgently needed supplies for European frontline armies. Because the war in Europe has entered a war of attrition, and the war of attrition is dominated by trench warfare.

The trenches dug by each warring side harbored large numbers of rats and other animals, including fleas, which gave many soldiers headaches and annoyance.

Because of this, mouse traps and flea medicine have become one of the most scarce supplies on the frontline battlefield, even taking priority over weapons and ammunition.

Australasia also seized this opportunity and researched rat poisons that could kill most rats, as well as special flea poisons, and gained part of the market.

Almost every batch of rat poison and flea poison that arrived at the front lines was immediately divided among the fighting armies.

During non-combat periods, what soldiers want to do most is to take a good bath and then deal with the fleas on their bodies.

Although most rats and fleas are not fatal, fleas jumping around on the body and a bite on the body can be extremely itchy.

Rats are even more terrifying. If there are no protective measures and there are many rats, it is very likely that rats will bite off your ears in your sleep. Such cases happen from time to time.

Therefore, some soldiers in the trenches used barbed wire to surround themselves with guardrails to prevent rats from approaching.

In any case, the presence of these rats and fleas not only caused great trouble to the soldiers fighting on the front line, but also made these soldiers physically and mentally exhausted and even unmotivated to fight.

It is precisely because of this that rat poison, flea poison and other items are so popular and are loved by frontline soldiers.

Arthur looked at the report on the entire year of 1915 in his hand, and he was in a very good mood.

But at this time, the belligerent countries far away in Europe were not in such a beautiful mood.

More than a month has passed since the Battle of Verdun. Both the German and French armies suffered heavy casualties, but neither side dared to issue an order to retreat.

In fact, in the early stages of the offensive and defensive battle of Verdun, Germany's progress was relatively smooth.

It only took the German army a few days to successfully complete the first step of the task set by the German General Staff, which was to occupy the area around Verdun and capture the first defensive position on the periphery.

Through a large number of artillery bombardments, when the French were stunned by the artillery fire and could not react, the Germans quickly advanced their position two kilometers.

Even though the Germans had achieved a partial victory, the French General Staff still had not figured out Germany's true intentions at this time, and there was no way to formulate the next battle plan based on this.

This also resulted in the French commander-in-chief Joffre being able to maintain the average defensive strength of Verdun in all directions so that he could effectively resist the German main attack in any direction.

Some of the French soldiers in the Verdun Fortress area were indigenous people recruited from the colonies. They had not experienced the severe cold weather in northern France, and their morale was already low, which resulted in the fragile combat effectiveness of some indigenous troops.

Some indigenous soldiers even turned around and ran away, only to be directly shot to death by the French supervisory team behind them.

No matter who is escaping, at such an important moment in the offensive and defensive battle of Verdun, everyone who escapes must be shot without hesitation.

Otherwise, if these indigenous soldiers follow suit, more soldiers will flee in the future, which will even directly affect the desire of the main French army to fight.

As the German army attacked step by step, Germany captured the main fort on the east bank of the Verdun Fortress and several highlands near the fort.

Langer, the commander of the French Army Group Center, had to order the Second Army to retreat to the Maas Heights. The Wavre Valley where the Second Army was previously stationed was occupied by the German troops who followed the trend.

Only then did Joffre realize that the Germans' main target was Verdun, and decided to take immediate emergency measures.

In order to stabilize the military morale of the Verdun Fortress, Joffre sent French Chief of General Staff Castelneau to personally supervise the battle at the Verdun Fortress, and dispatched new reinforcements to the Verdun Fortress.

The 1st Army, the 13th Army, the 21st Army and several artillery divisions were mobilized by Xiafei to the battlefield of Verdun, and the situation in Verdun was barely stabilized.

It is worth mentioning that when Verdun was in extreme danger, Joffre appointed General Henri-Philippe Pétain, commander of the Second Army, as commander of the Verdun theater.

Speaking of Pétain's famous name, it can be said that everyone knows it in the history of World War I in later generations.

But now, Pétain is only a powerful group army commander and has just been appointed commander-in-chief of the Verdun Theater.

After receiving his appointment, Pétain immediately went to the headquarters of the Verdun fortress.

General Pétain, who is now nearly 60 years old, graduated from the famous Saint-Cyr Military Academy in France in his early years, but had never fought in a war before this war and had only served as a military instructor and regimental commander.

However, because of his several successful commands during the war, he was appreciated by Joffre and Chief of Staff Castelno. Within two years, he was promoted from regimental commander to brigade commander, division commander, corps commander, and finally The current commander-in-chief of the group army.

After arriving at Verdun, General Pétain realized that two pressing problems must be solved as soon as possible. One was to prevent the unorganized defeat of the French army, and the other was to transport reinforcements and supplies to the frontline positions as soon as possible to restore the combat effectiveness and morale of the troops in the frontline positions.

First of all, Bei issued a death order and forced all troops not to retreat beyond the prescribed red line.

According to Pétain’s original words: “I would rather sacrifice the lives of all soldiers than lose another inch of French land!”

Because the first and second positions have all been lost, the fort on the outermost line has become the support point of the forward position.

Therefore, Pétain decisively ordered that the outer forts served as a unified resistance position for the French army. All defenders must use all available means to hold on to this position and withstand the German offensive.

The forts were only allowed to evacuate when they were completely surrounded by German troops and were unable to fight.

Of course, Pétain was not a commander who only exerted force but took no action. Immediately afterwards, Pétain divided the entire Verdun garrison into four clusters, readjusted the defense of the Verdun area, and sent certain reinforcements to some clusters that lacked strength.

Under Pétain's operation, the French army reluctantly held its position, but only temporarily.

If the urgently needed reserve troops and ammunition supplies in the Verdun theater cannot be solved, this situation will only be temporary, and the Germans may regain the advantage at any time.

Verdun was located in a cul-de-sac, its salient bisected by the Meuse River, with a standard gauge railway and a narrow gauge railway frequently cut off by German artillery fire.

Since the beginning of the war, railways and roads leading to the Verdun area have been severely damaged by German artillery fire.

The railway from Oberville to Verdun was the main railway line leading from the French mainland, but at that time it was completely within the range of the German large-caliber artillery attacking south, from Verdun to Saint-Mihiel. The road to France was cut off by the German troops who invaded France two years ago.

General Pétain discovered that the only transport line available at that time was a 7-meter-wide second-class road from Verdun to the city of Baalduc, about 65 kilometers southwest.

Since this road was 20 kilometers away from the forward position, and the range of most German artillery at that time was limited, General Pétain believed that it was feasible to repair and maintain transportation on this road.

He immediately ordered that the 65-kilometer-long highway in the war zone be divided into six sections, and concentrated manpower on emergency repairs of the road, so that it could be quickly widened and reinforced, and smooth traffic was restored.

In order to urgently mobilize supplies, General Pétain collected nearly 4,000 vehicles and organized all the vehicles into 200 classes, with 20 vehicles in each class.

At that time, as many as 9,000 French officers and soldiers were performing transportation tasks and security duties on this lifeline.

In the days and nights at the end of February, cars were constantly coming and going on this second-class highway day and night.

The use of automobiles to undertake such a large-scale logistics transportation task has never happened before in the history of war. This should be mainly attributed to General Petain's innovations in logistics.

This road was later revered by the French as the Sacred Road. During the entire Battle of Verdun, approximately 500,000 troops and 170,000 draft animals were transported to the front line along this sacred road to prepare for France's victory. Made an indelible contribution.

It is precisely because of Pétain's timely adjustments and effective logistics measures that the resistance capabilities of the French frontline troops have been significantly strengthened.

The batches of supplies and equipment transported on the sacred road are like fruits that can restore blood in the game, allowing the French soldiers on the Verdun frontline to quickly restore their combat effectiveness.

Coupled with the French General Staff's emphasis on Verdun, the strength of the defenders in the Verdun area doubled in more than half a month, greatly reducing the pressure on the French defenders in the Verdun area.

At the same time, the German army only dispatched about one-tenth of its troops to this area, which also gave the French defenders an advantage in terms of strength and laid a good foundation for the French to defend this fortress.

On December 20, the French army resumed its attack on the outer forts, trying to return to the outer forts in the Verdun area.

After a period of adjustment, the French army has regained a certain combat effectiveness and is full of fighting spirit.

After a fierce battle, the French army took advantage and recaptured the Douaumont Fort in one go.

When the French flag flew again at this fort, many French soldiers began to cheer sincerely: "France will win! Long live France!"

After regaining the Douaumont Fort, Pétain immediately strengthened the original defenders of the fort to prevent the fort from falling into German hands again.

5200 words, this is the chapter today!

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