The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 190: Chapter 184: The Naval Battle Results and the United Kingdom’s Expansion

When Arthur, far away in Australia, received the final report on the results of the naval battle between the Russian Empire and the Island Nation, it was already noon on the second day.

Not only Arthur and the main actors, the Russian Empire and the Island Nation, but also the British Empire, the German Empire, the United States, and France, the ally of the Russian Empire, were all highly concerned about this major sea battle that could determine the situation in the Far East.

Both the Russian Empire and the Island Nation currently have one thing in common: their logistics rely heavily on sea transport.

Although the area with the most disputes in the Far East is adjacent to the Russian Empire, the Far East is separated from the European Region of the Russian Empire by the vast Siberia, which is a cold and barren land.

Furthermore, since the Siberian Railway was not yet completed, it was impossible to rely on land transportation.

This led to the Russian Empire having a huge flaw: the logistics costs in the Far East Region were several times that of the Island Nation.

Neither the Island Nation nor the Russian Empire could afford the cost of losing a naval battle. If they were to lose the advantage at sea, the logistics in the Far East Region would be enough to drag down the entire country.

This detailed report on the results held by Arthur was still provided by Germany. As a country equally interested in this war, Germany and many European countries sent joint observation groups. The battle results were based on the traces on the sea after the naval battle and the number of ships returning to their respective bases, and although not so accurate, they were at least more than half correct.

According to the results, the losses of the Pacific Squadron and the United Fleet in this naval battle were very heavy.

The Island Nation’s division fleet, responsible for intercepting the main force of the Pacific Squadron, lost one battleship and four cruisers directly, and the remaining battleship was also damaged. The six cruisers also suffered some injuries to varying degrees.

The main force of the Pacific Squadron did not fare much better, with one Peter Pavlovskiy-class battleship seriously wounded and without any combat power for a short period of time.

In addition, two cruisers were sunk and buried in the sea outside Port Arthur Harbor.

However, overall, the main force of the Pacific Squadron used its numerical advantage to sink one battleship and four cruisers of the Island Nation at the cost of only one weaker Peter Pavlovskiy-class battleship seriously injured and the loss of two cruisers. Overall, it was a decent victory for the Russian Empire.

Of course, the reason for achieving such good results was also due to the excellent command of Major General Makarov.

Besides, successfully driving the Island Nation’s fleet into the pre-arranged minefield was another reason why the Island Nation’s division fleet suffered such heavy losses.

The situation on General Witteveen’s side was much worse. Although he was able to hold out until the arrival of General Makarov’s reinforcements later, he still lost one Peter Pavlovskiy-class battleship and the remaining battleship was also in bad shape. It could not regain its former glory without some time for repairs.

Of the six cruisers, two were already slightly damaged when they were pursued by the Island Nation’s Second Fleet.

In this naval battle, these two cruisers also bore a considerable amount of firepower. One cruiser was sunk directly, and the other was seriously damaged and decommissioned.

Out of the remaining four cruisers, one was seriously injured, and three were lightly injured. The lightly injured ones could continue to fight after simple repairs, while the seriously injured one would require major repairs.

On the side of the Island Nation’s United Fleet’s main force, two battleships and three cruisers were seriously wounded, and two cruisers were lost, which was even more tragic compared to the Russian Empire’s casualties.

This battle caused the Russian Empire to lose one battleship and three cruisers, and two battleships and two cruisers were seriously wounded, almost losing a third of the main force of the Pacific Squadron.

On the other hand, the Island Nation lost one battleship and six cruisers, and three battleships and three cruisers were seriously injured, amounting to almost half of the losses of the United Fleet.

In terms of the objectives of both sides, the main force of the Island Nation’s fleet achieved their goal.

They successfully lured out the vanguard of the Pacific Squadron and led them into the encirclement of the Island Nation’s United Fleet.

The vanguard consisted of two battleships and six cruisers. In this naval battle, one battleship was sunk, one battleship was seriously injured, and only four of the six cruisers were left, with only three having combat capabilities.

However, the Island Nation did not expect that General Makarov, the commander of the Pacific Squadron, would not be in the vanguard but would lead the main force a step behind.

This made the Island Nation’s plan fall through. They originally thought that General Makarov would go directly into action. Considering General Makarov’s impulsive and bold personality, they believed that General Makarov would easily enter the center of their encirclement.

But to their surprise, it was General Witteveen who led the vanguard instead. He was a cautious military man who, on historical records, took no aggressive risks even after succeeding Makarov as the new commander of the Pacific Squadron, which demonstrated his caution.

It was precisely because of General Witteveen’s caution that the vanguard did not fully enter the encirclement of the Island Nation’s United Fleet, allowing the vanguard to hold on until the arrival of the main forces of the Pacific Squadron.

However, in any case, compared to the loss of one battleship and six cruisers in the Island Nation, as well as the heavy injuries of three battleships and three cruisers, the Russian Empire only lost one battleship and three cruisers, and only two battleships and two cruisers were seriously injured, clearly showing that the Russian Empire’s losses were smaller.

After this war, both sides had only a few ships left to mobilize. The warships sunk in this naval battle could even rank among the top twenty in the world.

Currently, the Pacific Squadron has only four battleships capable of performing tasks, and as auxiliary warships, the secondary main cruiser force of the Pacific Squadron has only nine cruisers left.

As for the Island Nation, they originally had eight battleships and nearly twenty cruisers. After this naval battle, there are only four battleships left with combat capabilities, and only ten cruisers left.

Before the war began, the Pacific Squadron had an advantage in terms of naval forces.

However, after the Island Nation’s successful surprise attack, the Pacific Squadron, which suffered heavy damage to a battleship and a battlecruiser, fell behind.

The Islanders were originally happy, thinking that after the surprise attack, the Island Nation would have an advantage in both land and naval forces, and defeating the vast Russian Empire would just be a matter of time.

But after this naval battle, both the Pacific Squadron and the United Fleet have only four active battleships and a similar number of cruisers, essentially bringing them to the same level.

More importantly, among the four remaining battleships of the Pacific Squadron, there are two powerful new warships. The heavily damaged Tsesarevich-class battleship Crown Prince has also been mostly repaired and is ready to join the battle.

On the United Fleet’s side, the battleships lost in the naval battle were mostly new models, and the remaining battleships can only keep on par with the battleships of the Pacific Squadron.

In fact, this is inevitable. Although the British Empire supports the Island Nation and the Russian Empire in their struggle for dominance, they would not willingly nurture an enemy in naval forces.

Warships sold by the British Empire to the Island Nation are basically second-class warships within the British Empire, with only a few being the most advanced models.

The outcome of the naval battle is unacceptable for both belligerents. If it is necessary to accept, then it may be the Russian Empire.

General Makarov is quite satisfied with the outcome of the naval battle. At least after the surprise attack, the Pacific Squadron has finally regained control of the sea. As long as the Tsesarevich-class battleship Crown Prince is repaired, the Pacific Squadron will have an advantage in battleships once again.

Actually, this is not so far away. Under normal circumstances, the damage suffered by the Crown Prince would require at most two months of repair.

However, due to the current state of war and lack of resources, the repair time has been extended to three months.

But two months have already passed, and it is expected that by the end of next month at the latest, the Crown Prince will be able to carry out tasks again and become the leading ship in the Pacific Squadron to control the Far East situation.

As for the Island Nation, the slight advantage gained through their surprise attack without declaring war no longer exists.

In the short term, the United Fleet and the Pacific Squadron can still maintain a certain advantage, but the repair time of the Crown Prince battleship in the Pacific Squadron is shorter than that of several heavily damaged battleships in the United Fleet. If the Crown Prince battleship regains its combat capabilities, it will be terrible news for the Island Nation.

If the sea is blockaded by the Pacific Squadron, the Island Nation would also face a heavier logistical burden.

Although the Island Nation is located in the Far East and the distance and difficulty of logistics are greatly reduced compared to the Russian Empire.

However, this is only possible if they have control over the sea. As an island nation, if the sea transport lines and traffic lines are cut off, it will be a heavy blow to the Island Nation’s war.

From the current results, the happiest should be the British Empire and the United States.

In terms of naval power, the current Pacific Squadron and the United Fleet maintain a delicate balance, which also means that the war on land will become even more tense and fierce.

As both sides lack naval advantages, the only way to win is to rely on the exhaustion of their land forces.

And the consumption of these two countries is something that the British Empire and the United States are happy to see.

There is nothing better than the current Far Eastern hegemony, the Russian Empire, and the possible future Far Eastern hegemony, the Island Nation, competing with each other to consume their resources, at least in the eyes of the British Empire and the United States.

In the period when the Far Eastern overlord, the Russian Empire, and the competitor, the Island Nation, were both busy with the war and had no time for other matters, the British Empire began its own plan to seek expansion in Northern India.

It must be said that this is a good time. In this region, the only ones who could threaten the British Empire would be the Russian Empire, the Island Nation, and France.

The first two countries are busy with the war and are already at each other’s throats. Naturally, they cannot spare any time to seek trouble with the British Empire.

As for France, they have been struggling with the threat of the Triple Alliance and have been trying to draw the British Empire closer to them.

Moreover, their ally, the Russian Empire, is facing a war and France is somewhat overwhelmed, which makes it even less likely for them to protest against Britain’s actions alone.

This has led to the British Empire’s expansion in India going very smoothly, without much opposition internationally.