The Rise Of Australasia

The words of Army Commander-in-Chief Brauchitsch created a sensation during the meeting and plunged the German Chancellor into deep contemplation.

Indeed, since no quick victories could be achieved on either battlefield, it naturally followed that a place for a swift victory should be sought.

Russia, despite possessing the most territory and population (native) in Europe, had decaying and exceptionally poor combat effectiveness in its army over the past 50 years.

Had it not been for Russia's sheer landmass and population propping it up, it might well have lost its status as a Great Power after World War I.

As a nation that held the most formidable army during both world wars, Germany did not think much of Russian military prowess.

Why is that, you might ask? This brings us to the history of the Island Nation that once defeated Russia in the Far East.

As is widely known, a hundred years prior, the Island Nation was nothing but a decaying feudal state. Yet in recent decades, it had undergone major reforms, successfully developed a reasonably good Industry, and elevated both its army and navy to the level of the Great Powers.

During the process of learning Western technology, the Island Nation primarily focused on two countries' military approaches: Britain with its strongest navy, and Germany with its most powerful army.

Of course, this is one reason why the Island Nation's army and navy did not give in to each other and were full of contradictions—after all, the friction between Britain and Germany ran deep.

The Island Nation's army initially modeled itself after the German army, still a long way from matching Germany's might.

Yet, it was this army, built in the image of Germany's, that officially defeated the Russians in the Far East and contributed to the Island Nation's status as a Great Power.

Just think, if the Island Nation, which had studied the German army, could defeat Russia, how could the genuine German army think highly of the Russian army?

Moreover, Russia's army's pitiful performance during World War I had shocked Germany. Facing the Russian army, German soldiers often felt like they were slicing through melons, even capable of routing the Russian army in a short time.

If it hadn't been for the mutual attrition of France and Germany during World War I, Russia, being such a state, was perceived by Germany as a disorganized mess, easy to break apart.

"Does the General Staff have any opinions on Marshal Brauchitsch's proposal?" After a brief silence, the German Chancellor finally spoke up and inquired.

Knock knock knock!

A knock on the door interrupted the thoughts of the German Chancellor and the General Staff, and then a lieutenant general entered the room. Under everyone's inquiring gaze, he walked up to the German Chancellor and began whispering in his ear.

"What? Sala has been occupied by the Russians?" exclaimed the German Chancellor, suddenly slamming his hand on the table and standing up, his gaze turning to the lieutenant general with a hint of anger in his eyes.

Seeing everyone staring blankly at him, the German Chancellor came back to his senses, sat back down, and ordered the lieutenant general, "Those present are all heroes of the Empire, there's nothing to hide, let them all hear it."

"Yes!" the lieutenant general replied respectfully, and then addressed the room, "Gentlemen, according to the telegram from the 37th Army Group, while on their way to the Northern Finnish city of Sala, Sala had already been occupied by the Russian army.

Furthermore, it seems they have established a defensive line around Sala and are currently in a standoff with our troops."

"Damn it, are the Russians looking to declare war on us?" Upon hearing the lieutenant general, the German officers, in their indignation, became restless and immediately started angrily questioning.

"Your Excellency, I agree with Marshal Brauchitsch's proposal. Perhaps it is time to start the war with Russia. We must make those damned Russians understand that Germany is the true master of the European Continent, while Russia is nothing but a rotten weakling to the core."

As the officers spoke, the German Chancellor nodded, turned his gaze toward the General Staff, and commanded, "The General Staff shall commence planning. We cannot disregard Russia's multiple provocations.

But until a definitive offensive plan is in place, I hope you will all keep this confidential. At least prevent Russia from detecting our plans. If we could crush this country quickly, it might just be our opportunity for victory."

"Yes!"

When Germany had launched its assault on Poland, Russia's sudden interference had been mildly irksome. Russia had at the time relieved some diplomatic pressure for Germany, so no strong objection had been raised.

But now, with Germany embroiled in conflict with Britain and France, Russia's shameless seizing of gains from Germany was unduly insulting.

If Paris had not already been occupied, perhaps Germany's opinion wouldn't have been so strong. However, having captured the French capital, Paris, German officers began to grow arrogantly complacent.

Including Marshal Brauchitsch, who had suggested the offensive against Russia, many German officers believed that Germany's military could quickly crush Russia, just as they had Poland.

History's lessons also revealed that Moscow was of utmost importance to Russia of today.

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As long as Moscow could be occupied, the Russian Government's resistance to the war would be diminished as well. More importantly, it had only been a few years since the demise of the Russian Government.

This also meant that there was still a certain number of Royalist Parties inside the Russia Nation. Perhaps with the aid of these Royalists, Russia could be divided once again to ensure that the European Continent would not have a country as vast in area.

The decision to attack Russia was undoubtedly a bold one, which meant that Germany had to abandon all previous war plans, adopting a defensive strategy entirely in both France and the Balkan battlefields, in order to free up enough military forces to wage war in Eastern Europe.

If the war against Russia were to be dragged on for a long time, Germany's strategic defense in France and the Balkans could likely be exposed and subjected to focused counterattacks from these two regions.

This was indeed a serious issue for Germany, and therefore, a decision on combat plans required very careful consideration before making a final decision.

March 12, 1937, Australasia, Saint Arthur Castle.

"Your Majesty, Russia has successfully occupied Sala," Director Batty of the Royal Security Intelligence said with a smile as he approached and whispered to Arthur.

Arthur nodded without any expression of surprise, and with an indifferent smile, he inquired of Director Batty, "What is the Germans' reaction?"

"The Germans have shown no reaction so far, but that is what's most reassuring. These madmen are probably already plotting an attack on Russia," Barty replied with a smile.

For a country like Germany, which was almost at war with the whole of Europe, the lack of response to such severe provocation was the strangest thing.

Judging by the temperament of the Germans, no reaction meant that a greater reaction was taking place in the shadows, the most likely being that they were planning an assault on Russia.

Concerning the issues between Germany and Russia, Australasia and Britain had also been scheming for quite some time.

Even before the outbreak of World War II, Arthur had already considered Russia as the greatest enemy after the war and had decided to do everything possible to drag the Russians into the fray, to exhaust them against the Germans.

In truth, with Germany's expansion, the Russians could not sit still. Even though the government in Russia had undergone multiple changes, from the Tsarist Government to the capitalist government, and now to the new government.

But the essence of the Russians would not change, that is, their thirst for land and ambition for dominance over Europe.

If Germany were only at war with France, the Russians, no matter how complex their inner workings, would likely not confront Germany openly.

However, Germany was now active in Northern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula, which Russia cared about deeply, and it would indeed be strange if Russia had no reaction.

First, as for Northern Europe, both Sweden and Finland are Mediterranean coastal countries, and Finland was once the territory of Russia; it is impossible for Russia to be without ambition.

Again, if Germany completely occupied the Nordic Trio, Russia's Baltic Fleet would find itself in a very awkward position.

Secondly, Germany's war in the Balkan has caused Russia a great deal of anxiety. If Germany were to occupy the entire Balkan Peninsula, it would also be a fatal blow to Russia.

And would an enemy that has occupied most of Europe spare Russia? Perhaps not.

It can be said that the relationship between Germany and Russia is just one trigger away from deterioration and even war.

And what Arthur had been doing was creating a trigger between the two countries to ignite their relationship.

This trigger had two options, the Balkan Peninsula and Northern Europe, both areas of great concern to the Russians.

But after careful consideration, Arthur had decided to create a bit of temptation for the Russians in Northern Europe. There was no helping it; the Balkan has a much greater impact on the situation in Europe than Northern Europe.

If more than half of the Balkan were surrendered, the military bloc of the German-Italian forces would grow even stronger, with large numbers of vassal state armies from the Balkan Peninsula, making them more difficult to defeat.

But if the Germans were to acquire Northern Europe easily, aside from a few Swedish iron mines, there seemed to be no significant loss.

Even if Germany fully occupied the Nordic Trio, the strengthening of Germany's own military forces would not be so outrageous and would stay within controllable limits.

Moreover, among the Nordic Trio was Finland, which Russia coveted greatly. Once Dmitry left Finland, the Russians would certainly not be able to restrain themselves and, like they did with Poland, would bite into Finland as well.

For this reason, the relationship between Germany and Russia was sure to deteriorate.

At this time, Germany was not the same nation it was at the outbreak of the war. Having openly severed ties with Britain and France, for the current Germany, their own interests had become the most important thing.

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