The Rise of Australasia

Chapter 792 -592: British-Australian Spy_1

The powerful British are always busy at any time, for things around the world need their attention to ensure the continued strength of the British Empire.

However, the Britons’ mood is much better now than before World War I, having successively eliminated the threats from Russia and Germany. Now only France and the United States possess the power to threaten the rule of the British Empire.

The French have suffered such terrible losses in the war that it would be difficult for them to regain their competitiveness before a decade or two of recuperation.

And another theoretically most powerful competitor, the United States, has also been caught up in wars in the Philippines and Central America. Additionally, with their international reputation and standing greatly damaged, they have been excluded from the World Alliance.

The position of Britain in the World Alliance may not be dominant, but it is definitely the strongest among many countries.

By maintaining a good alliance with Australasia, the British-Australian alliance is far stronger than the Franco-Russian Alliance, and the strength of British-aligned countries far surpasses that of other nations.

After confirming that the attention of the French had shifted to establishing factories in Germany, the British finally let down their guard and turned their attention to the war in Central America that had started a year ago.

The outbreak of the Nicaraguan Civil War caught the British by surprise, but it also quickly revealed the opportunity to control the Panama Canal.

No matter their actions in history, at this point in time, the British paid extraordinary attention and took action.

The successive interventions by the British and Australasians are the reasons why the Americans have been unable to resolve the Central American war.

There was no choice, as Britain and Australasia had taken a firm stance, making it impossible for the Americans to escalate the conflict into a large-scale war.

After all, when faced with the strong intervention of two powers, the likelihood of failure is great without two equally powerful nations to provide a counterbalance.

Without the Islanders’ willingness to help the Americans at all costs, the Americans could not find another power of equal strength to assist them anywhere in the world.

Surely they couldn’t rely on Italy? Right after Italy declared war, its seas were blockaded, and if the British were willing, they could even facilitate a joint partition of Italy with France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Americans did inquire about the French stance, but France now is not the founding father of the United States that it once was.

The French are now fearful of war and would not realistically confront the British Empire.

The rivalry between the French and the British is more like competition at the diplomatic level. The French will try to bring in as many small and medium-sized countries as possible to form diplomatic pressure, rather than using force to threaten openly.

After all, the French understand the current gap between France and Britain, and indeed, being already frightened by the casualties of World War I, even if they had the power, the French would not lightly start another world war.

In mid-March, the British foreign affairs department contacted Australasia again to discuss the current situation in the raging Central American war.

The British ambassador to Australasia, David, sought an audience with Arthur and came straight to the point, asking about Arthur’s thoughts on ending the Central American war.

"Ending the war in Central America?” Arthur asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The war in Central America has been going on for over a year, and it is a just war of the Central American nations against foreign aggressors. It is time to end this war and allow Central America to return to the embrace of peace, so that its people can once again enjoy the benefits of peace,” Ambassador David said with a smile.

"How do we end this war? The American investment in the war has been significant, hasn’t it? Doesn’t this imply a full-scale war with the United States?” Arthur asked with interest.

Facing strikes both in the Philippines and in Central America, the American government had invested heavily in the Central American war.

If not for the concern over the face of the Australasians and the British, along with the fear of provoking a full-scale war, the American government would probably have deployed its entire army and navy.

Lacking naval pressure and facing only some resistance from the United States army, the advantage in the war still lay with the Central American countries.

It should be known that Britain also paid a great price to support these countries.

To achieve the goal of occupying the Panama Canal and reducing American power, the British invested tens of millions of pounds in the war, aiding many Central American countries with a large batch of weapons and equipment.

With these weapons and equipment supplied by Britain, the Central American countries had no gap in firepower compared to the American army.

Though training and quality were somewhat different, the fighting desire of the Central American troops was much stronger, which to a significant extent leveled the combat capabilities of both sides.

The historical event of Nicaragua driving out the American army was not without reason. Without a full-scale war, the combat strength of the American army was not so formidable and couldn’t completely overwhelm these small to medium-sized countries.

If it had been Germany of the past, even if the Central American countries had united, they would inevitably fail to break through the German military defenses.

The strength of the former German Army wasn’t just on paper. They held out for such a long time even against the persistence of the Four Great Powers of Britain-France-Russia-Australasia, and the German talent was the biggest reason.

Although some of the poor maneuvers by France and Russia during the war also prolonged the conflict, if the German Army hadn’t been so powerful, World War I might have ended in just one or two years.

"It seems the Americans do not have the courage to launch a full-scale war, Your Majesty,” David explained with a smile, “If the Americans refuse our peace proposal, then it’s time to conduct a joint exercise in both the Atlantic and the Pacific.”

The strength of the American people is relative, at least not so formidable in the eyes of the British.

While the American economy and industry have created a somewhat exaggerated war potential, do the Americans really have the guts and the confidence to engage in an all-out war with the United Kingdom and Australasia at this moment?

War potential also needs a long time to be realized. Currently, the United States Navy is far inferior to the combined navies of Britain and Australasia, which inevitably means that if it were only a war involving three countries, a powerful landing on the US soil would be inevitable.

Moreover, the starkly different political views of President Coolidge from President Wilson were also an important reason for the British Government’s decision to take a hardline stance against the United States.

Long before President Wilson, the usual policy of the United States was that of isolationism, habitually ostracizing itself from world affairs and developing peacefully on its own.

While this approach did build the largest industry and economy to date, it also made Americans’ attitudes too mild, reluctant to get involved in global disputes and wars.

Even President Wilson, who was pro-warfare, promised in his election campaign not to involve the United States in war and to ensure America’s independence and peace at any time.

The United States didn’t gain much in World War I and, moreover, it squandered billions of US dollars just for the right to participate in the war.

The subsequent Influenza pandemic caused a significant drop in the reputation of the American people, who became even more opposed to war than before World War I, and isolationism was once again brought up.

President Coolidge and his predecessor, President Warren, were traditional classical liberal conservatives, advocating for a small government in politics and implementing policies that encouraged government frugality, tax reduction, and unrestricted support for the development of private enterprises, adopting the “Taylor system” in factories.

Especially President Coolidge, who came to power as the Vice President after President Warren’s death, that resulted in President Coolidge not having as high a level of support among civilians.

This year happens to be the presidential election in the United States. If President Coolidge can’t gain the trust of the American people, then the American Government must look forward to the next President.

It is precisely because of the timing of the US elections, confident that President Coolidge would not start a full-scale war at such a moment, that this meeting has come to fruition today.

Hearing David’s explanation, Arthur nodded. He approved of the British decision-making and the current timing.

While the United States is indeed powerful, its government is not united.

In particular, Coolidge, an advocate of small government, has allowed considerable power to the state governments.

In some more powerful states, the influence of the state governments even greatly exceeds that of the national government, which means President Coolidge’s position is not as stable as one might think.

"Since we want to weaken the Americans, why not add the war in the Philippines,” Arthur suggested with a smile, “The war in the Philippines is just as much a righteous war of the Filipinos against America, one that deserves our strong support.”

Arthur’s stance was clear: there were no objections to joining forces to pressure the United States to end the war in Central America, but the war in the Philippines must also be factored in.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to end the Philippines war would also be beneficial for Australasia. After all, if the war dragged on, it would be questionable whether Australasia could still control it.

Only by taking control of the Philippines early, molding it into a loyal subordinate, could it play its rightful role in future wars.

With millions of people, the Philippines could at least contribute hundreds of thousands of soldiers. If promised high compensation, their willingness to fight wouldn’t necessarily be low.

After all, in name, they are fighting for the Philippine Nation, and their desire to fight is surely stronger than that of colonial troops.

Even before the war, a nation with a population of tens of millions is a medium-sized market, making it perfectly suitable for Australasia to dump its industrial products.

Seeing Arthur’s smiling face, David naturally understood this was Arthur’s condition: to garner Australasian military support and to include the end of the Philippines war.

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