The Rise of Australia

In order to completely frighten the Argentinians, all the armies of the Allied Powers never saved weapons and ammunition this time, and even assembled hundreds of artillery pieces to bombard the Argentine front line, blasting the lush woods into wasteland and destroying the border. Each and every peak of the mountain has been flattened.

The bombing on the 11th alone consumed more than 40,000 artillery shells from the Allied Powers, with each artillery firing an average of hundreds of shells.

It is not clear how many casualties were caused to the Argentine army, but it can be seen from the position of the Argentine front line that the Argentine casualties were definitely not small.

After two consecutive rounds of shelling, the Argentines could no longer bear it. On November 13, 1913, Argentina once again requested an armistice.

The good news is that the peace negotiators from the Allied Powers and Chile are still staying in Sydney because they know that Argentina cannot hold on for more than a few days.

As for Argentina, there was not much thought in the country to withdraw representatives from the peace talks, which also led to the peace talks going very smoothly and quickly restarting in Sydney.

Perhaps because they understood their current situation, the Argentinians became very obedient in this peace negotiation.

After two days of peace talks and deliberations between the two sides, on November 15, Argentina’s compensation amount was finally determined, totaling 11.83 million pounds.

Among them, the four major powers of the Allied Powers were compensated for a total of 8 million pounds, and Australasia received 2 million pounds.

And the remaining 3.83 million pounds, 2 million pounds as war reparations to Chile, and 1.83 million pounds as compensation to the Chileans who suffered losses in this war and the Chilean government.

For Argentina, the compensation of nearly 12 million pounds is not a small number.

Even with the help of the Americans, it may take several years to completely pay off the compensation.

More importantly, this is also a big blow to Argentina's national self-confidence. It may not be easy for Argentina to regain its status as one of the three major hegemons in South America.

You must know that Chile can receive a total of more than 3 million pounds in compensation, which will greatly alleviate Chile's current economic weakness.

This will also indirectly lead to the widening of the gap between Chile and Argentina, and Argentina will personally cultivate a difficult enemy for itself.

Of course, Chile is not the current top priority for the Argentine government. After the complete contract is released, the first thing the Argentine government will have to face is the angry Argentine people.

As for the cession of the entire Tierra del Fuego province demanded by the Chileans, the Argentine government is absolutely unacceptable.

Once the Chilean demands are accepted, even if Argentina does not perish in this war, the Argentine government will be overthrown by the angry Argentine people.

For any country or nation, ceding national land is a great shame and humiliation. The person who agrees to sign the treaty will usually be nailed to the pillar of national shame.

Of course, the final decision-maker in this matter is still the four major Allied Powers, to be precise, the British Empire.

No one, including Australasia, was too interested in this matter, so the attitude of the British Empire became very important.

Although the British Empire was an ally of Chile, Britain had very friendly relations with the country. However, the British Empire's consistent continental balancing policy still makes the British government somewhat embarrassed about this matter.

Compensation after Argentina's defeat was unavoidable, but how much compensation and what restrictions should be placed on Argentina also gave the British Empire a headache.

If Argentina loses less, Chile will inevitably be dissatisfied. But if Argentina is weakened too badly, Chile in the south of South America will no longer be able to stand in the way.

After Chile finished digesting the fruits of the war, South America directly turned into a confrontation between Chile and Brazil.

Judging from the current situation, Chile has an advantage and it is not impossible to become the hegemon of South America.

Even if they can't compete with Brazil in a short period of time, Chile can continue to press Argentina and accumulate foundation for its rise.

This was not allowed in the eyes of the British Empire. Chile has saltpeter mines that are very important to the British Empire. This also means that the country of Chile cannot be too strong, otherwise it is likely to exceed the control of the British Empire.

The Argentine representative seemed to understand this. Ever since the territorial negotiations reached a stalemate, the Argentine representative had asked to meet with the British representative many times and had secret talks for a long time.

Finally, on November 20, 1913, at the suggestion of the British Empire, Chile and Argentina each gave in and changed their demands.

The final result of the peace talks was also very smooth. Argentina agreed to cede the land east of Karen and north of San Sebastian, plus Estados Island, San Diego Island and other islands, and give up sovereignty in all disputed areas.

Although Argentina finally ceded land, it did so only on small islands and soil, which was considered acceptable to Argentina.

Although the Chileans were somewhat reluctant, they were helpless in the face of the British Empire's decision.

Fortunately, we have gained new land, and we have given an explanation to the people and the media.

The only remaining issue in the peace talks is the establishment of a four-nation condominium zone in the black soil region of northern Argentina, as requested by Australasia.

The reason why Australasia agreed to send troops this time was for the black soil in Argentina.

Moreover, Australasia had previously reached an agreement with the British Empire, so Australasia's request received support from the other three major powers of the Entente.

Faced with the common demands of the four major powers of the agreement, Argentina had no ability to resist. After a long period of peace talks, it finally agreed to Australasia's demands.

The black soil in Argentina is mainly concentrated in the Pampas Plains. The black soil here has a characteristic, which is basically reddish black soil.

The surface of this kind of black soil is red soil, and underneath the red soil is the real black soil. The disadvantage is that the soil is not as fertile as normal black soil.

Moreover, if agriculture is developed on such black land, there is a drawback, that is, it is easy to cause soil erosion and damage the soil.

None of this is a problem for Australasia. The reason why Arthur wanted to acquire this land was to build a granary in the short term to prepare for the two wars.

After World War II, this land will definitely be returned to Argentina.

As for the scope of the demarcated condominium black land, it is located on the coast of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, with the Port of Blanca as the center, and covers an area of ​​dozens of square kilometers. It was officially leased by the Allied Powers for a period of 45 years.

During this period, the four major Allied powers could conduct various economic operations on this land, including agriculture and animal husbandry, and Argentina was not allowed to interfere in any way. And all results obtained belong to the working party and have nothing to do with Argentina.

This also means that in the next 45 years, this land can be used as an overseas farm in Australasia to grow a large number of crops for Australasia.

The local Argentinian people can also be used as cheap farm laborers, and Australasia can obtain a large amount of food if it needs to sit back and enjoy the benefits.

The soil erosion and soil fertility damage caused by large-scale planting will have nothing to do with Australasia 45 years later.

Of course, in order to protect its own interests in this land, Australasia specifically requested that troops be stationed in this land to protect the safety of Australasian enterprises and the Australasian people.

At the same time, the garrison can also deter the Argentine government and allow the Argentine government to restrain the Argentine people.

On November 27, 1913, the "Sydney Contract" was officially signed in Sydney, the capital of Australasia, which also represented South America's official entry into the peace phase.

Witnessed by many media and people, representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Australasia, Chile and Argentina signed the contract, which also marked the official start of implementation of the contract.

According to the agreement between the two parties, the Argentine government's high compensation needs to be repaid within a maximum period of five years.

Once the period of compensation exceeds five years, an annual interest of 10% will be paid to the victorious country.

Considering the financial situation of the Argentine government, even if the Argentine government can pay these compensations within five years, Argentina's financial situation will become very bad.

Perhaps in order to save this ally that was about to be lost, but also to express its apology for not doing anything during the war, the U.S. government contacted Argentina a few days after the Sydney contract was announced, claiming that it could help Argentina pay reparations.

Although the Argentine government no longer trusts the Americans, this is one of the few options Argentina has at present.

Fortunately, the Americans sincerely want to save Argentina as their ally. Within a few days, the United States and Argentina reached a new agreement. The United States provided Argentina with 3 million pounds of free aid and 15 million pounds of low-interest loans to help Argentina restore post-war order.

The two aids totaling 18 million pounds finally relieved most of the Argentine government's anger.

At least this fund, after repaying the war compensation, will still have about 5 million pounds left to save the domestic situation in Argentina.

In fact, the Americans were already feeling the pressure from the Allies at this time. When the four major powers of the Allied Powers join forces, even Germany cannot support it, let alone the United States, which currently does not have a strong military strength.

In order to ensure that their own security would not be threatened, the Americans announced a new round of naval expansion bill in early December 1913, using a massive expansion of the navy to express a message to themselves and the people that the United States was still safe. of.

After all, the United States is a wealthy country, and the naval expansion bill seems very exaggerated.

According to the Naval Expansion Act announced by the U.S. government, starting from 1914 until the end of 1916, the United States built three super-dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers every year for three years, for a total of nine super-dreadnoughts. ship and six battlecruisers.

If the U.S. Naval Expansion Act can be implemented smoothly, the number of main battleships in the United States will reach the top three levels in the world by the end of 1916, greatly improving its naval strength.

The reason why the Americans have such an exaggerated naval expansion plan is indispensable to the joint actions of the four major Allied powers.

In the past, the United States believed that due to its unique geographical location, the security of the United States could not be threatened.

However, through the joint actions of the four major Allied powers, the United States understood that no matter how far the distance is, the navy can reach it.

Either have a powerful army that can annihilate the enemy on land. Although the war may be brought to one's own homeland, the advantage is that it can kill the enemy's effective forces and achieve the final victory of the war.

Or have a powerful navy to fundamentally destroy the possibility of the enemy landing on your own land.

As long as the U.S. coast is not threatened, the U.S. homeland is not.

The current situation in Europe has clearly tilted towards the Allies, which is something Americans are unwilling to see.

If the Germans were defeated, the most threatening country to the British Empire would be the Americans themselves.

By then, the geographical location that the Americans thought was very safe would not be able to withstand the naval blockade of the four major Allied powers.

Rapidly improving the strength of the navy so that the U.S. Navy has the ability to protect its coast is what the United States is urgently doing.

It was precisely because of the pressure from the Allied Powers that the naval expansion bill was passed very smoothly, and the corresponding financial appropriations were quickly passed by the U.S. Congress.

You know, in the past, if the US government wanted to achieve any visit, it would have to spend a long time talking to Congress about appropriation.

Now that the U.S. Congress has agreed to appropriate funds so quickly, it is enough to show that those congressional gentlemen are also feeling a lot of pressure on the Allied Powers.

This is actually quite normal. After all, the most powerful country in the world has the most powerful navy in the world, plus two top powers with strong continental navies and a great power with good army and navy strength. An alliance of four countries like this, Unless four countries of the same size confront each other, they will be unstoppable in this world.

At present, the Allies with the most strength to fight against the Allied Powers only have the world's largest army power and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which has a pretty good army.

As for Italy, it could be regarded as a great power with a pretty good navy before, but it was a bit weak in terms of army.

In fact, Americans' actions go far beyond that.

The strength of the Allied Powers made Americans feel the pressure, and it also made them understand the importance of allies.

However, there are not many allies worth making around the world, especially the more powerful countries, which are either in the whirlpool of Europe or are not very powerful.

The United States would definitely be unwilling to join the Allies to directly confront Britain.

Let’s not talk about whether the Allies can fight against the Allied Powers after the United States joins the Allied Powers. Just facing such a powerful Allied Powers now gives some people in the US government a headache.

After much thought, Americans finally set their sights on the island countries on the other side of the Pacific.

This is a country in the Pacific Ocean that has a relationship of hatred and competition with Russia, one of the Allied Powers.

Although the relationship with the British was good before, because the British wanted to win over the Russians, the British had temporarily stopped communicating with the island country.

The special geographical location of the island country determines that if this country wants to rise, it must set its sights on the mainland not far away.

The previous overlord of the Far East was Russia, which also meant that if the island country wanted to rise, it had to fight Russia and the Allied Powers behind Russia.

From this point of view, island countries are suitable to become allies of the United States. In addition, in order to fight against Russia, the United States has already established contact with the island countries, and it will be easier to win over them.

Therefore, the U.S. government has internally formulated a plan to win over island countries, aiming to alleviate the pressure faced by the United States from the Allied Powers by wooing island countries and forming alliances with them.

As for the island countries, they are naturally overjoyed at the olive branch extended by the United States. You know, since the British suspended aid, the island country seems to have a tendency to hit rock bottom.

Originally, the various industries of the island country were severely restricted and there was no sufficient supply of mineral resources. Coupled with Britain cutting off aid, the island country not only lost its recently acquired status as a great power, but may even lose the possibility of becoming a great power.

After all, the enemy of the island country as a powerful country is Russia, and Russia is a member of the Entente.

The current strength of the Entente is not even matched by the Central Powers, let alone an island nation that is not even a major power.

Therefore, after receiving the olive branch from the Americans, the islanders agreed to the American inquiry without thinking.

For island countries, another benefit of allies like the United States is that there will be no conflict with the United States in a short period of time.

The United States has not yet fully reached out to the Pacific, and island countries currently do not have many interests in the Pacific.

This also leads to the fact that if two countries form an alliance, they will be in a honeymoon period in a short period of time and their relationship will be relatively close.

On December 7, 1913, the U.S. government announced a cooperation with the island country on jointly building dreadnoughts, and the two sides signed a mutual trade agreement, marking the initial conclusion of the U.S.-Japan alliance.

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