Chapter 313: The Secret Establishment of the Air Force
The Minister of the Navy, Churchill, scanned the room and found that none of the members of the British Cabinet supported his position. Reluctantly, Churchill eventually agreed to the proposal from Foreign Secretary Edward to build ships at a ratio of 1.5 to 1 compared to Germany.
This didn't mean that Britain would build half a battleship, but rather that for every two battleships built by Germany, the British Empire would construct at least three to maintain a numerical advantage. This was Churchill's concession to the other Cabinet ministers and also a financial concession to Germany.
This was entirely understandable. While the British Empire possessed the strongest navy in the world, the fleet had to protect the vast global territories of the empire. Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Oceania—these six continents with large populations all had British colonies or territories. This meant that the Royal Navy had to defend almost the entire world.
In other words, the British Empire controlled about one-fifth of the Earth's surface, roughly 27 million square kilometers of land. This vast territory brought the Empire immense prestige and profits but also required significant defense spending and naval deployments in these areas.
If the British Royal Fleet were consolidated, Germany's High Seas Fleet would have no chance of competing. But with only the British home fleet, Germany's fleet would still have the power to fight.
The pressure for Britain to relent didn't come from the over £10 million annual cost of the fleet construction plans, but from the astronomical and ever-growing defense budget. The British Empire had already committed £60 million to defense, and if fleet expansion continued at this rate, how high could the defense budget go? £80 million? £100 million? Or even several hundred million pounds?
While Britain could bear this for a while, it could not sustain it forever. If the defense budget continued to rise without control, not only would the other Cabinet ministers be reluctant, but the public would also resist.
In fact, this problem wasn't unique to the British Empire. All the great powers currently expanding their militaries were facing the same issue. The situation in the German Empire was even more exaggerated, as they were not only rapidly expanding their army and navy but also facing a severe financial crisis. Although it seemed Germany's economy had surpassed that of Britain's and their military race had created the world's strongest army and the second-largest navy, Germany's fiscal problems were much worse, and they were now unable to stop their own momentum.
Germany was either going to launch the war and have their enemies pay for their loans and losses or face national bankruptcy and have their wealth divided up by other countries.
In comparison, Australasia's fiscal situation was even more dire, with military expenditures taking up over 40% of the government's total budget. However, the Australasia government had money. With large-scale construction driving an increase in revenue, as long as the country was in a surplus, the high percentage of military spending wasn't an issue.
In fact, military spending in Australasia was likely to increase. Currently, the air force and the two guard divisions were fully funded by the Royal Family. Without this, the military budget would likely increase by another 20 to 30%.
Speaking of the air force, with World War I looming, Arthur decided to establish an air force in advance. This decision had been kept secret up until now. Even within the Cabinet, only senior officials in the Ministry of Defense were aware of the formation of the air force.
Historically, the British Empire was supposed to be the first to establish an air force, with plans to do so by May 1912. While countries around the world placed more importance on airships than airplanes, this didn't mean they would abandon airplane development. According to Arthur's intelligence, the top powers, including Britain, Germany, France, and the United States, had already begun developing military aircraft.
However, their aircraft technology was still behind Australasia's first-generation military aircraft. Australasia had already developed over 600 military planes, but the air force still lacked an official head.
After careful consideration, Arthur secretly called for a meeting with Prime Minister Kent and Minister of Defense Raul to discuss the establishment of the air force.
"Gentlemen, it is time to formally organize our aircraft into a new branch of the military, a force that will soar in the skies," Arthur said with a smile, looking at Prime Minister Kent and Minister Raul.
The air force was a completely new branch of the military. Before this, there was no concept of an air force. Upon hearing Arthur's statement, Prime Minister Kent and Minister Raul finally understood why Arthur had organized a significant number of aircraft but had not placed them under the Army or Navy. It turned out that Arthur intended to create an entirely new military branch to equip these planes.
Although surprised, Prime Minister Kent quickly responded, asking, "Your Majesty, how should this new branch be established?"
Given that it was a completely new branch, its formation, combat tactics, importance, and structure needed to be explored.
"I trust you understand the role of these three types of military aircraft. Their importance is on par with the Army and Navy. The Air Force will be on equal footing with the Army and Navy as one of the three main branches of our military," Arthur said with a smile.
Prime Minister Kent and Minister Raul nodded in agreement. Though they had some doubts about this new branch, they understood the importance of airplanes in warfare and the significant role they could play.
"The Ministry of Defense can secretly begin the establishment of the Air Force. I will transfer all 600 aircraft to the Ministry of Defense's air division. Your task is to expand our air force to over 2,000 personnel within two years and ensure it has sufficient combat capability," Arthur instructed, turning his gaze to Minister Raul.
With the military academy's aviation school already capable of training enough pilots, even an additional 1,400 pilots wouldn't pose a problem. If necessary, the aviation school could expand its enrollment to over 1,000, providing Australasia with more air force talent.
The real challenge, however, was further refining the air force's tactics, structure, coordination with other branches, and daily training. This required careful planning and utmost secrecy, testing Minister Raul's capabilities.
"I understand, Your Majesty. Please rest assured, I will complete the task," Minister Raul replied confidently.
"The establishment of the Air Force must remain completely confidential for several years. No one, except the officers and soldiers of the air force, is to disclose any information about the Air Force without my permission. This is crucial for the development of our air force," Arthur instructed, turning his gaze to Prime Minister Kent.
"I understand, Your Majesty. I will assist Minister Raul in maintaining strict confidentiality about the air force," Prime Minister Kent nodded, confirming his understanding.
The good news was that training pilots was not as difficult as it would be in later years. Australasia could currently train over 1,000 pilots a year. Although this scale of training was not cost-effective at the moment, the aviation school could easily expand to train more pilots if needed.
As for the production of aircraft, with the significant investment from the royal consortium, the aircraft production speed in the aviation laboratory had already reached the capacity to produce at least 1,000 planes a year, matching the speed of pilot training.
This meant that if Arthur wished, Australasia could train at least 4,000 pilots and form an air force with over 4,000 military planes before the outbreak of war. Such a vast number of aircraft would provide a crushing air superiority over other nations.
Arthur intentionally kept the development of his air force hidden from other countries to avoid alerting them prematurely.
In addition to expanding the air force to at least 2,000 aircraft, Arthur also set new training requirements for the Army. Whether it was regular divisions or indigenous divisions, strict training had to be maintained in the coming years.
The most important task for the Ministry of Defense was to rapidly enhance the combat capabilities of the army and improve coordination between soldiers. This was to be done even at the cost of ammunition and weaponry.
Arthur promised that if Minister Raul could accomplish this task, he would approve an additional five million Australian dollars for the Ministry of Defense's budget each year, funded by the royal consortium. This subsidy would help the Ministry of Defense expand the equipment for military trucks and heavy weaponry.
Minister Raul was motivated by this offer, and the stricter training plans soon took shape.
As for the two guard divisions, Arthur had already announced stricter training over a year ago. Though the training hours and programs had increased, to maintain the soldiers' physical condition, the food standards for all the army divisions would be upgraded. Meals would include meat daily, and fruits, vegetables, and snacks would also be provided to relieve the soldiers' fatigue and nervous tension.
(End of Chapter)
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