The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 191: Chapter 185: New Currency Issued

For Australia, the result of this naval battle was also good news.

The current navy has not been able to determine a winner or loser, so it is natural that the Island Nation and the Russian Empire would pay more attention to the war on land.

At present, the Russian Empire has been urgently mobilizing troops to the Far East. Even from the second day of the outbreak of war, the Russian Empire began to call on the army and send support to the Far East.

But for the Russian Empire, such a huge and backward country, the war machine would move exceptionally slowly.

The war broke out on February 8th, but the first batch of soldiers did not arrive in the Far East until the end of March.

This news is not unacceptable for the Russian Empire either. According to the current schedule, the Russian Empire can send about 20,000 troops to the Far East every month, and at least by the end of the year, the number of Russian troops in the Far East can be maintained at about 300,000.

This figure is already comparable to the number of the Island Nation Army, which is also the reason for the confidence of the Tsar and the officials in the Russian Empire.

Although the system is somewhat backward compared to other European powers, the Russian Empire is still one of the most powerful countries in the world today. The majesty of the Russian Empire is definitely not something a small Island Nation can trample on.

Although there are enough personnel, the corresponding weapons and equipment are not so sufficient.

War means a large consumption of weapons, equipment, and ammunition, especially ammunition.

Australia, as the nearest country to the Far East, has the ability to provide the world’s most advanced weapons and is favored by both the Russian Empire and the Island Nation.

Of course, for the Russian Empire, the bigger reason is that the German Empire’s loan has not been spent yet. This loan was designated by the German Empire and could only be used to purchase armaments in Australia.

So, shortly after the end of the war, Arthur received a request for a meeting from the Governor of the Far East under the Russian Empire and a diplomat from the Island Nation.

The purpose of their request for a meeting was basically the same, all wanting to purchase more weapons and equipment and sufficient ammunition from Australia to satisfy the more intense land war.

Arthur had no objection to this. After all, under his preparations, military factories had already produced a large number of weapons, equipment, and ammunition.

These were prepared for this war and were a great opportunity for Australia to make a fortune.

In the end, Australia signed a weapon import order with the Russian Empire and the Island Nation separately.

The Russian Empire has clearly taken a deep breath, wanting to use a victory to alleviate the already tense domestic situation.

The Russian import list includes 20,000 Gew 98 rifles, 5 million matching bullets, 100 German-made Maxim machine guns, and 30 CA-1 machine guns.

The Russians actually wanted to buy a German 105mm howitzer, but after demonstrating the powerful firepower of the CA-1 machine gun in Australia, they immediately chose the CA-1 machine gun without hesitation.

Of course, there is another more critical reason for this – the price of a 105mm howitzer is enough to buy two CA-1 machine guns, but the firepower output frequency of the CA-1 machine gun is already several times that of a 105mm howitzer.

Although the actual lethality and destructive power of the howitzer is not as great, the current Far East is dominated by the Russian Empire, and the Island Nation is playing the role of an attacker.

Of course, the Russian army does not have to face the threat of strong fortresses, and the destruction power of the CA-1 machine gun is enough to let the flesh-and-blood Island Nation Army feel the death.

All these weapons and equipment are readily available in Australia. So, after a 10% price increase, the weapons and equipment were all loaded the next day and sent to the Port Arthur harbor, which the Pacific Fleet still occupied at the time.

To prevent involvement, all the flags hanging on the transport fleet were those of the German Empire.

The Island Nation was not so foolish as to provoke another enemy during the war, so they could only choose to release the fleet with the German flag reluctantly.

The Island Nation purchased more weapons and even bought several warships.

Of course, this is also an inevitable choice. The Russian Empire is about to welcome the repair completion of the Crown Prince, so the navy’s strength is naturally not a concern.

But the Island Nation is different. The damaged warships of the Island Nation are all advanced warships produced by the British Empire, and the difficulty and duration of repairs are naturally greatly increased.

With the current level of the Island Nation, it takes at least six months to get all these warships repaired.

But in six months, no one can guarantee what will happen, so it is necessary to increase their naval strength again.

In this naval battle, Australia’s Duke-class cruisers caught the interest of the Island Nation.

Although such a medium and small-sized warship does not play a role in a real naval battle, it is very useful when performing certain tasks.

Whether it is protecting transportation routes or cutting off enemy transportation routes, or performing cruising or laying minefield tasks, such a high-speed, high-protection cruiser with a decent firepower can always complete the task well.

Its high speed also allows it to escape the danger in the face of danger, especially when facing older battleships of the Russian Empire.

Half of the Island Nation’s cruisers were lost in this naval battle, which means that there are not many warships available to perform tasks.

Like the Duke-class cruiser, the cost is not expensive, and it can be launched in a short period of time, which naturally arouses the interest of the Island Nation.

Under the premise that Australia guarantees that four ships can be launched within half a year, the Island Nation has ordered four Duke-class cruisers at one time, and has also urged the launching of the Brunswick-class battleship.

Yes, the Brunswick-class battleship ordered by the Island Nation has not been launched yet and is still in the final stages of construction.

This battleship has already been under construction for one year and four months. Under normal estimates, it would take another six months before it could be launched for a test voyage.

After the Island Nation’s diplomats repeatedly urged and ultimately spent an additional 100,000 pounds, expressing their “gratitude” to the workers and experts involved in the construction of this warship, Arthur finally agreed to have it launched within four months and delivered to the Island Nation.

In addition to the four cruisers and 100,000 pounds, the Island Nation has also ordered many weapons for its army.

First, they ordered 30,000 Gew98 rifles.

In their initial landing battle, the Islanders had experienced the power of these German weapons. Island Nation Army armed with the Gew98 rifles indeed unleashed a strong combat capability, which was impressive to their government.

It should be mentioned that the Island Nation army trained according to the German Forces’ methods, and many Island Nation soldiers had already been exposed to German weapons. Consequently, the change in armament was relatively smooth for them.

This is also the reason why the Island Nation dared to order weapons and equipment on such a large scale; they could practically skip the lengthy training period and at least be combat-ready as soon as they received the weapons.

Apart from these 30,000 rifles, the Island Nation also ordered more than 40 German Maxim machine guns and more than 30 firearms.

These firearms are all 105mm howitzers and 155mm howitzers, aimed at increasing the firepower of the vanguard landing forces and quickly breaking through the Russian Empire’s stronghold in the Far East.

Due to being the attacking party, the Island Nation’s offensive difficulties and casualties would be greater than those of the Russian Empire.

At least, the fortresses built by the Russian Empire in some areas were troublesome enough for the Island Nation, which is why their casualties were more than 300,000 in this war from history.

In addition to these weapons and equipment, the Island Nation also ordered 10 million rifle bullets, 5 million machine gun bullets, and tens of thousands of shells to replenish their rapidly depleted ammunition warehouse since the start of the war.

Once the war broke out, the largest consumption for each country was not the population but weapons, equipment, and ammunition.

According to statistics with no source, more than 20,000 bullets were needed to eliminate one enemy in World War I, while even more bullets, or even hundreds of thousands, were required in wars after World War II.

Purely in terms of consumption, it is indeed terrifying.

However, such calculations are highly generalized, simply dividing the total number of bullets consumed by the number of enemies killed while ignoring many situations that occurred during the war, including routine training, confiscation, losses, and so on.

Excluding some special factors, a more believable figure is that about 2,000 bullets are needed to kill one enemy, which is a more credible ratio of bullets consumed to the number of people killed in World War I.

From just this ratio, it is possible to see how massive the war’s strain on logistics is. To kill 10,000 enemies in a day, at least 20 million bullets must be consumed.

Such logistical demands would be unbearable not only for the Island Nation and the Russian Empire but also for the current British Empire and the German Empire.

This is why both World War I and World War II could exhaust European nations – besides the vast destruction of land and population caused by the wars, the consumption of war supplies left all countries utterly exhausted.

These two weapons orders can bring Australia at least 500,000 pounds of income, although more than half of it belongs to military factories and shipyards.

With this east wind combined with the joy that the establishment of the Australian and New Zealand Federation brought to Australians and New Zealanders, Arthur successfully issued a new currency – the Federal Commemorative Coin.

Of course, the Federal Commemorative Coin also has a complete name: the Australian and New Zealand Federation Establishment Commemorative Coin. It also has a simpler and more pleasant name: Australian Dollar Conmemorative Edition.

There are three types of Federal Commemorative Coins: Australian Dollar, Shilling, and Penny.

The Australian Dollar’s Shilling and Penny are basically the same as the British Pound’s Shilling and Penny, with equal value.

One Pound is equal to two Australian Dollars, one Australian Dollar is equal to ten Shillings, and one Shilling is equal to twelve Pence.

The Australian Dollar features a portrait of Arthur on the front and the words “Australian and New Zealand Federation Commemoration” along with Arthur’s handwritten number 1 and the English words “One Australian Dollar.”

The back features the Australian Royal Emblem and some anti-counterfeiting stripes, along with the specific establishment time of the Australian and New Zealand Federation, forming this brand-new currency.

The Shilling features a portrait of Queen Victoria on the front and the British Royal Family’s emblem on the back, signifying Arthur’s noble lineage and status.

The Penny features a preview image of Sydney Palace on the front and a brief map of the Federation on the back, denoting the Federation’s specific scope.

Whether it is the Australian Dollar, Shilling, or Penny, the face value of their numbers are all handwritten by Arthur, with many anti-counterfeiting stripes added.

The total circulation of the three currencies is approximately 15 million Australian Dollars, 50 million Shillings, and 1.2 billion Pennies.

The total value of these currencies is equivalent to 15 million pounds, and it will take some time for them to be fully circulated in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Of course, with Arthur’s good reputation and Australia’s sound government creditworthiness, letting these currencies circulate and occupy a considerable market share should not pose any problems.

Moreover, the Australian Dollar’s exchange rate temporarily aligns with the British Pound, basically maintaining a ratio of one Pound equal to two Australian Dollars, so there are no concerns about any impact on the Australian Dollar.

Now they just need time to let more people accept the new currency so it can circulate in more areas.