Chapter eight hundred and sixty seventh declaration of war
"Victory belongs to the British Empire!" British cabinet ministers shouted that Daoliangli was full of fanaticism and determination. Britain has been the world hegemony for hundreds of years. Even though Britain has been on a downward path over the years, Britain's heritage is still
In particular, the wealth accumulated during Queen Victoria's reign made it much easier for Britain to prepare for war than other countries. Especially in terms of the Royal Navy, the British navy was already weaker than the German navy after successive defeats.
But in just a few years, they once again surpassed Germany.
For example, the German Navy's Bavarian-class battleships equipped with 381mm main guns have only four battleships, and there are no follow-up plans. The British Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class battleships have five battleships, and there are subsequent improvements.
The battleships are also being designed. From this perspective, Britain's foundation is indeed very strong, and no country can compare with them. However, this war will eventually bring all the wealth accumulated by Britain over hundreds of years.
Spend it all! Kick the UK off the position of world hegemony and replace it with a new country!
"After the war begins, the army must form an expeditionary force as soon as possible to assist the French in defending against the German attack! The navy, on the one hand, must surround the maritime transportation line of the British Empire, and in addition, it must block Germany's coastal areas and trap Germany in death!"
Prime Minister Squius said that Germany's advantages and disadvantages are very obvious, and its advantages are undoubtedly Germany's strong military and industrial strength.
The disadvantage is that Germany has poor resources and relies heavily on overseas imports like Britain, especially some precious minerals. If the overseas transportation lines are cut off, Germany will not last long. On the other hand, Britain, France and other countries can continue to pass through colonies.
The blood transfusion continued the war and eventually dragged Germany to death!
"Yes, the Prime Minister. The Navy will shrink its forces as much as possible and strengthen its blockade against Germany. But we have to guard against China after the war begins. In the face of defense against Germany, we have no way to do so at all.
Stop China from seizing these two places. India and Australia are the most important colonies of the British Empire. After losing these two colonies, the war potential of the British Empire will be greatly affected!" Navy Secretary John Fisher reminded
!
This is indeed a very headache for the British. India and Australia are directly under the threat of China's military front. There is no doubt that after the war begins, China will definitely attack these two colonies. Especially India, especially
, is particularly important to the UK. India's abundant human resources will be the best candidate for cannon fodder on the battlefield. Britain's grains, iron ore and other resources will be an important part of the UK's war potential. If India is lost
If Britain's war potential will be greatly reduced.
"Is there any way to stabilize the Chinese? After we defeat Germany, we don't have to be afraid of them!" Prime Minister Asquith said!
"Your Excellency, this is impossible. Although China has not clearly joined the allies, they will definitely join the war as German allies. We even suspect that there is a target of the British Empire between the Chinese and the Germans, or
It is said to be a secret agreement against the Allies! Therefore, it is very difficult to stabilize China!" said Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Minister!
"India and Australia are very important to us, and we must keep these two places as much as possible. Otherwise, even if the war is finally won, our British Empire will decline completely!" Prime Minister Asquith said.
The main purpose of a war is to maintain the old world system, or to maintain the world hegemony of the British Empire. If Britain is destined to decline, then the war will lose its final significance.
"Prime Minister, we may be able to ask Americans for help. China has been targeting the United States everywhere for years. The United States has regarded China as its main opponent. The United States' industrial strength is already the world's number one, and its military strength is not weak. If the United States does not have a weak position, its military strength is not weak.
If you fight with China first
Then they will not have the energy to take care of India and Australia. At the same time, we must further strengthen the military strength of India and Australia. In addition to sending more British troops to these two places, we will also arm more colonial troops.
It is India, with India's human resources, it is easy to arm millions of troops!" Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey suggested. He once served as the Minister of Colonial and was very familiar with the situation of the colonies below Britain.
Although the combat power is entangled, the elephant can die if there are too many ants! If millions of Indian troops are armed, they can at least delay hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops. Anyway, there are so many Indians and three people, so Britain will die.
I won't care!
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately contacts the United States and must let the Americans hold back China. In addition, the Ministry of Army-Military Department, strengthen the military strength of India and Australia as much as possible. We must do our best to protect these two places and wait until we defeat them.
After Germany, the situation we face can be completely changed!" Prime Minister Asquis said. He did not expect that this war would last for a long time. In fact, besides China,
Almost all countries believe that the war will end soon. Therefore, although countries are desperately preparing for war, their preparations are still not sufficient. Especially when the war breaks out at this time, it caught all countries off guard!
On June 24, the British government announced that in view of Germany's refusal to stop mobilization, Germany's actions have seriously threatened the security of Britain and Britain's allies. The British government will start mobilizing from now on, which will increase the number of army 200,000 people.
and, once the war breaks out, Britain will send expeditionary forces to France as soon as possible to coordinate the French army's operations.
The statement of the British government greatly encouraged the French government. French President Falier even openly claimed that with the help of allies like Britain, France was full of confidence in the future of the war. He believed that the final victory must belong to France.
of!
However, German Emperor William II and the German government were gritting their teeth at the hatred of Britain. German Emperor William II even swore that they must trample those arrogant British people under their feet!
On June 25, Tsar Nicholas II also declared a state of emergency, and the Russian army began to mobilize. Russia will increase the army's strength from the current one to three million. However, Russia's
The mobilization mechanism is much behind other countries. It is impossible to increase the army's strength to three million people and gather in the border areas after the whole process, without more than three months.
After the defeat, the terrifying steam roller no longer scares Germany. According to the German military's plan, after the war begins, the German army will attack France with its main force, retain only a small number of troops on the eastern front to assist the Austro-Hungarian Empire in dealing with it.
Russia. Therefore, the main force in fighting against Russia will be the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the same time, Germany also hopes that China can launch an attack from the east and attack Russia on both sides. However, China said that after the war begins, China will attack the United States with all its strength.
The Western Front will temporarily adopt defensive operations, which makes Germany very dissatisfied, but it is helpless. After all, the war has not begun, and China and Germany cannot have internal strife. In addition, the United States is also very powerful, and China will deal with the United States.
It can also relieve pressure in Germany!
On June 26, the US government also declared a state of emergency, and the US Army and Navy immediately entered a general mobilization to prepare for the upcoming war!
Because it was defeated by China one after another, and at the same time, facing the threat from China from the west and south, the United States in this era is much stronger than in history. In order to avenge its previous shame, the strong industrial strength of the United States has already begun to become military strength.
Transformed. Whether it is the army and navy, the United States has become one of the top countries in the world. Now, in order to defend against China's possible offense on the West Coast and to deal with China's attacks from Mexico, the United States Army has 800,000 people.
, half of them are deployed on the West Coast and the southern defense line. The remaining army is mainly deployed in these two directions. The total population of the United States now has more than 80 million people. After the US government announced a general mobilization, the army's forces will be from
The current eight hundred thousand has increased to two million.
However, the only thing that makes the US government worry is the navy. Although the US Navy has become much stronger, it is still a bit lacking in confidence in the Chinese Navy. What's more, the Chinese Navy's
The battleships of the U.S. Navy used the Tang-class battleships to deal with the battleships of the Tang-class battleships.
The Pennsylvania-class battleships were still on the ship platform and would not be able to enter service until the end of 1912 at the earliest. Before that, the US Navy could not deal with the Chinese Navy's Tang-class battleships.
This situation caused great headaches for the United States. The US Navy proposed that in the early stages of the war, the army would defend the defense line on the west coast, and the main navy would stay in the Atlantic Ocean. Wait until the Pennsylvania-class battleships were put into service, and then the decisive battle with the Chinese Navy! This plan,
Approved by US President Taft!
On July 21, Germany, which was the first to complete the mobilization, issued an ultimatum to France, demanding that France hand over the murderer who killed German naval officers and soldiers to Germany and compensate Germany for their losses!
The French government insisted that the "Leopard, the gunboat was sunk and ignored France's affairs and rejected Germany's unreasonable request.
At 9 a.m. on July 22, Germany officially declared war on France! Two hours later, France officially declared war on Germany!