Chapter 264: Chapter 241: Military Rank Reform and Awarding Medals

Although it was known as the five-year shipbuilding plan, in reality, the five main battleships could all be built before 1911, with the sea trials taking about a year or so.

If the five-year shipbuilding plan was successfully completed, Australasia would have three dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers, making the main fleet one of the world’s top tier.

Secondly, there were various small and mid-sized warships, including armored cruisers and armored escort ships. The tonnage of these warships ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand tons, and the time and cost of construction were relatively small.

Factoring in all these warships, Australasia’s shipbuilding plan was expected to cost nearly twenty million Australian dollars, or about 10 million pounds.

With the completion of the entire Australasian navy, the total tonnage would break through 100,000 tons, reaching about 120,000 tons.

If we only look at the total naval tonnage, the Australasian navy might be ten times larger after the five-year shipbuilding plan.

Since the war reparations from this Portuguese war amounted to 5 million pounds, the shipbuilding plan did not pose a large financial burden on the Australasian government and was entirely acceptable.

The only reason for building up to this number is the current construction speed of the Royal Shipyard, which can only maintain building at most three warships at a time.

After the five-year shipbuilding plan, the scale of the Royal Shipyard may expand again, and perhaps the next round of shipbuilding plans will be even more exaggerated.

The shipbuilding plan set by Australasia spread quickly within just a few days, it was widely known within the scope of Australasia, and European media had even reported on the news as well.

Without exaggeration, judging by the current dreadnought construction plan alone, Australasia’s emphasis on dreadnoughts could even be ranked in the world’s top five.

At present, only the United Kingdom, Germany, the Russia Nation, and the United States are building dreadnoughts, with the Russian dreadnought being built in Australasia.

As for the countries with preliminary dreadnought construction plans, only Italy and the Island Nation were added.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire had ideas about dreadnoughts, their naval investments were not substantial, and they hoped to have a dreadnought through Germany.

The military expansion plan was not limited to naval forces, as the Australasian Army was also on the verge of a new round of expansion.

Previous wars had exposed shortages in army personnel. Even Portugal, with a population slightly less than Australasia, had more than 100,000 troops.

With Australasia’s army at just over 60,000 soldiers, if dispersed into each state and colony, each state or colony would only have slightly more than a regiment stationed.

With a focus on maintaining adequate defense forces in domestic areas, the maximum number of troops Australasia could currently deploy was only two divisions.

Although the combat capabilities of the Australasian army were indeed impressive, the clear deficiencies in manpower could not be ignored.

According to research and decision by the Ministry of Defense, the new round of the Australasian Army expansion plan was divided into Guard Division, Regular Division, and Colonial Divisions.

The Guard Division would add an infantry regiment and an artillery regiment, bringing its composition to three infantry regiments, one cavalry corps, and two artillery regiments, a total of over twenty thousand personnel.

The Guard Division would also be the largest division in the Australasian Army, both in terms of numbers and firepower, as well as soldiers and officers’ combat skills – considered to be top-tier and world-class in the Australasian Army.

The Regular Division would also add a new unit: the Fourth Division. It would be formed by drawing officers and veterans from Divisions One, Two, and Three, along with a longer training period.

Apart from that, there were new branches added to the army structure of the Australasian Army – the majority of which consisted of Colonial Divisions, which many colonial countries had.

Colonial Divisions, also known as Native Divisions, had their middle and high-ranking officers made up entirely of Australasian officers, similar to the Portuguese indigenous army, while the lower-ranking officers were native, based on their performance and rewards.

The majority of soldiers in the Colonial Division were made up of indigenous peoples.

Because of this characteristic, the Colonial Division would serve as the best cannon fodder in combat – even if many soldiers died, it would not be distressing.

The establishment of the Colonial Division was a decision made after lengthy discussions between Arthur and Minister Kent.

Currently, Australasia had two colonies, both of which were close to the native land and had abundant mineral resources.

Although the total population of both Australian New Guinea and Australian Timor was less than one million (with at least 200,000 natives migrating to the mainland), it was still possible to arm one or two Colonial Divisions.

Moreover, Australasia had another advantage as the homeland was close to the two colonies, allowing effective control over them, which naturally eliminated any concerns about native betrayal and desertion.

If any native soldiers dared to desert, the consequences would be dire, with the tribes and nearby tribes they belonged to facing punishment, ranging from implicating the tribe to implicating the entire region.

At the same time, the Dutch East Indies had a native population of more than forty million, and native lives were not particularly valuable.

Because of these factors, the Colonial Division was the most numerous unit in the army expansion, with the formation of the First Colonial Division and Second Colonial Division during this round.