The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1120 - 838: Tripartite Pact of Trie Island

Chapter 1120: Chapter 838: Tripartite Pact of Trie Island

The arms trade between the Australasian Government and the Spanish Government was not hidden in the slightest. When a transport fleet from Australasia sailed into the Mediterranean under the protection of warships, Italy and Germany finally felt the pressure.

Protecting this transport fleet was a luxurious carrier battle group consisting of 2 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, 1 battlecruiser, 5 destroyers, 12 escort ships, and 6 submarines.

All these main battle vessels and submarines were equipped with the most advanced Dove missiles, intended to fend off any potential aggression from the Italian navy.

It could be said that this fleet alone was enough to ensure the complete safety of the entire transport fleet.

Unless the Italian navy mobilized in full force, small-scale fleets stood no chance at all against this escort fleet.

As for Italy, they were now faced with a very difficult decision.

The undisguised arms trade between Australasia and Spain was now public knowledge throughout Europe.

Knowing full well that this Australasian transport fleet was helping the enemies of Italy by transporting weapons and supplies, if Italy took no action, the tough image it had previously shown Europe would become a joke.

But any action would mean offending Australasia.

Besides being the third world power, Australasia also had a treaty with the British, making it clear that offending them would be more trouble than it’s worth.

The reason why Germany and Italy were able to force France into retreat, apart from their combined strength, was that Britain had remained neutral, a very important factor.

If they offended Australasia and drew the British Empire into the fray, that would be bad news for Germany and Italy.

Moreover, if Australasia and Britain both joined France’s side, the situation would turn into Germany and Italy challenging all the European powers.

Although Russia had taken no action at this point, it would not pass up the fat prey that would come its way if its neighbor Germany fell into a disadvantageous position.

Italy found itself in a dilemma and could only seek help from its ally, Germany, to try to find a reasonable solution.

But Italy overlooked one issue: at this time, Germany was also helpless against Australasia.

Even if the German rulers were insane, they could not sanction Australasia’s fleet without a large-scale navy of their own.

Germany’s largest warship was not even as big as Australasia’s auxiliary vessels; dispatching warships to negotiate would be the biggest joke of all.

Helpless to act without deciding to completely fall out, both Germany and Italy could only tolerate such behavior from Australasia.

All they could do was to lodge a protest against the acts of Australasia and urgently redirect some domestic weapons and supplies to Spain to aid the Spanish Nationalist army in fighting against the Republican troops.

The transport fleet successfully neared the eastern coast of Spain, something Arthur had not foreseen.

Arthur had thought that by this time Germany and Italy should have entered a rather crazed state. He even believed that Australasia’s fleet entering the Mediterranean could very likely be attacked by German and Italian forces.

The concession made by Germany and Italy to the Australasian fleet actually proved one thing—that they did not think it was the right time to start a war.

This was good news for Australasia.

Australasia’s fleet inadvertently revealed that Germany and Italy at this moment were only saber-rattling; they didn’t actually want to start a war now either.

At least after this incident, Britain and France had more confidence to counter Germany and Italy and no longer made concessions out of fear of war.

Although Germany and Italy had no options in Europe, this did not mean they would tolerate provocations from Australasia, letting their national dignity be damaged.

The method of counterattack by Germany and Italy against Australasia was quite simple: to assist the enemies of Australasia.

Following the incident, in May 1935, Germany and the Island Nation signed the “Berlin-Tokyo Mutual Assistance Treaty”, officially pulling the Island Nation onto their own war chariot.

On the day the mutual assistance treaty was signed, Germany provided the Island Nation with a batch of industrial equipment, including some weapons, modestly strengthening the Island Nation’s power.

Following this, the mutual assistance treaty quickly evolved into an alliance treaty between Germany and the Island Nation, with Italy joining as well; in June 1935, a brand-new Tripartite Pact of Germany, Italy, and the Island Nation was officially formed.

With help in funds and armaments from Germany and Italy, the Island Nation soon announced a new round of military expansion plans.

The then-Secretary of Army of the Island Nation, Lin Xijing, announced with the aid from Germany and Italy that the army of the Island Nation would expand to 700,000 men and form the Island Nation Southern Coast Defense Line.

It goes without saying who this defense line was defending against. To the south of the Island Nation’s southern coastline, there was only one strong country: Australasia in Oceania.

Ever since the formation of the Triple Alliance, the ambitions of Germany and Italy were no longer concealed.

Before people could recover from the shock of the Island Nation’s expansion, both Germany and Italy also announced a new round of expansion.

First was Germany. Germany completely abolished the post-World War I limitations and announced the expansion of its army back to 600,000 men, on par with France.

But that wasn’t all, Germany announced the formation of an air force and officially unveiled its first major naval construction plan since World War I.

According to the shipbuilding plan released by the Germans, Germany would build at least two aircraft carriers, two battleships, and three battlecruisers as well as over twenty submarines in the next three years.

Although the Islanders didn’t mention the number of smaller warships, judging by the number of capital ships Germany planned to build, the quantity of smaller warships would definitely be dozens or more.

It could be said that upon completion of this navy construction plan, Germany’s naval strength would instantly reach great power level, with no more restrictions on its military might, becoming a true land power.

For European nations, Germany’s expansion in the army posed a threat and impact far greater than that of the Island Nation.

After all, no matter how large the military of the Island Nation was, their distance from Europe was very far, posing not much of a threat to European nations.

But Germany was different. Recognized as the world’s foremost land power before World War I, Germany’s 600,000 troops posed a threat to European nations far surpassing that of France’s 600,000 troops.

Moreover, the aggression and ambition initially displayed by Germany also deeply worried many European nations.

Now Germany, unrestrained by any limits, would have a larger arsenal of heavy weapons and fully possess armies in the air, on land, and at sea.

If the Germans were allowed to complete their expansion, even contemporary France might not be able to stand against them.

Following Germany’s announcement of military expansion, the French government immediately entered a state of emergency.

Even though the French had once tried their best to avoid war, this did not mean they would remain indifferent in the face of German actions.

To counter Germany’s vast military expansion, the French government held several Cabinet Meetings, attempting to find a solution.

Before the French could come up with a solution, the Italians also announced their plans for military expansion.

As Italy’s army already maintained around 600,000 troops, Italy’s military expansion plan mainly focused on the air force and navy.

Especially after witnessing the role of the air force on the battlefield in Spain, Germany and Italy, as well as all European countries, were striving to develop their own air forces.

There was a set of data that clearly demonstrated the importance nations were placing on their air forces.

Before the war in Spain broke out, the United Kingdom and France had the most aircraft, with 545 and 332 respectively, numbers far surpassing those of other European nations.

Ranked third was Italy, which had 257 aircraft before the Spanish Civil War, accounting for the third strongest air force in Europe.

Beyond these three nations, the next largest air force in Europe belonged to the fairly powerful Kingdom of South Slavia on the Balkan Peninsula.

South Slavia had hundreds of aircraft, and although the exact number was uncertain, it was enough to make them the fourth strongest air force in Europe.

Beyond that, Russia, Spain, and Austria, along with Romania in the Balkans and Poland in Central Europe, and others all had tens of aircraft.

After all, aircraft were costly to produce and were quickly outdated due to fast-paced advancements.

Equipping a large number of aircraft was not only a significant financial burden for average European countries but was also an unnecessary expense.

However, after the Spanish Civil War, as the fog of war dissipated in Europe, nations once again valued the importance of aircraft.

Whether or not they announced their air force construction plans, nations were building aircraft in large quantities, expanding their air force units.

Facing off against each other were France and Italy, who had already formed a rivalry on the Spanish battlefield.

France’s current aircraft number had already risen to about 700, and if the 120 planes they supported to Spain were included, they had built over 500 planes during the time that the Spanish War had erupted.

Italy didn’t lag behind. Having directly sent their air force to combat in Spain, Italy’s air force size was nearly on par with France, possessing over 670 various types of aircraft.

Apart from these two nations already in confrontation in Spain, the Kingdom of South Slavia, Romania, Germany, Austria, and Poland, as well as Britain, closely monitoring the European situation, had all initiated one round after another of air force construction plans.

In the Pacific, an arms race between Australasia and the Island Nation was underway as well.

However, whether in terms of building speed or quality, the Island Nation’s aircraft were far inferior to those of Australasia.

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The publicly-reported number of aircraft in the Australasian air force was 855, all belonging to the previous fourth generation.

This generation of aircraft had not adopted jet engines, and their performance wasn’t much different from other European countries, being on the same level.

Among the undisclosed data, Australasia also had over 1,500 jet fighters.

These jet fighters were the first generation, which meant fifth-generation military aircraft. As for the most advanced sixth generation, the prototype was still in testing, and it would be some time before mass production could begin.