The Rise Of Australasia

Apart from the small episode of the Russian Nation loaning 60 million Australian dollars, the global situation was stable for a short period of time.

Of course, no one could foresee or prevent certain events from disrupting this stability, such as a sudden outbreak of war in Europe.

Though the war erupted suddenly, it had been anticipated for some time with the world alliance led by Britain and France playing a significant role behind the scenes.

To discuss this war, it’s necessary to mention the peace agreement signed by the Ottoman Empire following its defeat.

The peace agreement had been enforced for several years, but recent issues in the order of the Ottoman Empire led to new conflicts between the Balkan States and the Ottoman Empire.

Indeed, this sudden war was related to the Ottoman Empire, or more precisely, a territorial war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

The peace treaty signed by the Ottoman Empire’s government resulted in the loss of all European territories except for Istanbul, as well as important Middle Eastern lands like Iraq.

Currently, besides Anatolia, the Ottoman Empire only controlled a small portion of areas like Syria and parts of the Middle East.

After losing the important grain-producing region of Iraq, the Ottoman Empire’s food production plummeted significantly, igniting a prolonged food crisis, which threatened the rule of the Empire.

As the saying goes, adversity creates greatness, and the Ottoman Empire was no exception. As the empire’s government teetered, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk famously led the Turkish people to rise up and established the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Anatolia.

While it was called an assembly, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey also possessed governmental functions. Specifically, it served as an institution that combined legislative, executive, and judicial powers, similar to other countries’ governments, parliaments, and courts.

Speaking of this, it is impossible not to mention Kemal’s high prestige in the Ottoman Empire.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s full name, after shattering the British and French offensive in the Battle of Gallipoli, was idolized by Ottoman soldiers and enjoyed a good reputation in the military.

Subsequently, Kemal was revered as the "Savior of Istanbul" for his contributions in protecting the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and he obtained the title of "Pasha."

Pasha is the title of high officials in Islamic countries, usually referring to governors, generals, and dignitaries.

Pasha does not represent a specific position but is a respectful title for people of higher status, similar to the famous lords in the British Empire.

Due to these titles and various deeds, Kemal became renowned in the Ottoman Empire and Europe, laying the foundation for his control of government power.

After establishing the highly powerful Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Kemal practically became the biggest obstacle for the Ottoman Empire to implement the treaty.

Because Kemal was a rather practical reformer and revolutionary, he did not fully agree with the treaty signed by the Ottoman Empire, and his consistent view was to reform the Ottoman Empire, even promoting a revolution.

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In the face of such conflicts, Britain and France naturally wouldn’t sit idly by and watch Kemal grow stronger. They devised two relevant policies to threaten the Ottoman Empire.

The first policy was to support the rebellion on the Anatolian Peninsula. The Ottoman Empire was not a unified single-nation state but a combination of several nationalities in a chaotic state.

This also meant that there would always be people who resented the rule of the Turks. With the decline of the Ottoman Empire, internal rebellions were not uncommon.

In addition to these, Britain and France were also looking for countries capable of posing a military threat to the Ottoman Empire, even using force to quell the nationalist liberation movement on the Anatolian Peninsula.

Under these circumstances, Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and Britain and France made a perfect match, voluntarily taking the lead in militarily suppressing the Ottoman Empire, which was the real cause of the war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

Usually, Greece might worry about the vast territory and population of the Ottoman Empire, but with the backing of Britain and France, King Constantine I of Greece felt quite confident and even personally signed the declaration of war against the Ottoman Empire. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

By the end of June 1920, the war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire broke out, successfully attracting the attention of many European countries.

One reason for the attention was that the Ottoman Empire was a defeated country in WWI, while Greece was a victorious country.

The war between these two countries was somewhat like an extension of WWI, as the fundamental cause of the war was the changes in the Ottoman Empire, which put the treaty at risk.

News of the war also reached Arthur’s ears. Frankly, without real military assistance from Britain and France, Arthur did not think Greece could win this war.

Although the Ottoman Empire had been annexed with a large amount of land after WWI, the Anatolian Peninsula alone was several times larger than current Greece, including the population.

Moreover, the Kemal of today is not like the previous Ottoman Empire government. Kemal has a great reputation among civilians and the military and is the famous founder of the Republic of Turkey in history.

Under his leadership, the Ottoman Empire’s army was definitely a level higher than during World War I, while Greece’s army made little progress.

It would be difficult to defeat the larger Ottoman Empire with only material aid from Britain and France.

As it stands, the Ottoman Empire is essentially in name only. Currently, Kemal is the most powerful figure in the Ottoman Empire, and the Turkish Grand National Assembly he created firmly controls the executive power, which means Kemal now calls the shots in the Ottoman Empire.

However, if Arthur remembers correctly, after the victory of this war in history, Kemal directly abolished the feudal rule of the Ottoman Empire and established the Republic of Turkey, putting an end to the Ottoman Empire that had ruled the region for hundreds of years.

Anyway, the arms trade in this war has nothing to do with Australasia.

Greece has the support of Britain and France and is a loyal follower of the British Empire, so its arms trade must be conducted with the UK.

As for the Ottoman Empire, Arthur had no intention of openly siding against Britain and France. Although the probability of the Ottoman Empire winning is higher, it is, after all, suspected of defaulting.

Fortunately, the scale of this war is small, and the combined forces of both sides will not exceed one million. It is just a small transaction, and Arthur does not care about it at all.

Australasia’s main focus remains on domestic development, rather than, like Britain and France, on diverting attention to all regions of the world while domestic development is in turmoil.

Looking closely at Britain and France’s actions in recent years, they have first suppressed national liberation movements in the colonies, including various protests and non-cooperation acts.

Then comes interference in the Russian civil war, the war between Greece and Turkey, etc., basically there are no gaps between conflicts, either they are in a war or on their way to one.

Perhaps it is the impact of this war that makes the European situation less stable, but the focus is mainly on the Balkan region and Eastern Europe.

First, in half a month, Poland successfully seized the entire Lithuanian region and, with the acquiescence of Britain and France, supported its favored Lithuanian government, establishing the fully independent Republic of Lithuania.

The relationship between Lithuania and Poland cannot be explained in just a few words, but based on the historical Polish-Lithuania Commonwealth, Poland still wants to control Lithuania’s territory and establish a similar federal state.

Both countries face similar experiences in their modern history, being annexed by the Russian Empire and only gaining independence in recent years.

However, Lithuania’s fate is more tortuous. After being occupied by Germany during World War I, it established the pro-German Lithuania Kingdom, which was abolished after the war.

After the war, Russia took over Lithuania again, but since Russia faced a civil war not long after, the Lithuanian government structure remained.

This seemingly independent Lithuania is actually under Poland’s rule and is a puppet state, similar to the previous Lithuania Kingdom.

Lithuania’s independence ignited the tensions in Eastern Europe, and the once dormant frontlines were reignited by warfare.

Although it’s only a few days off from Nicholas II’s planned summer offensive, the restraints imposed by Poland made the pressure on the Tsarist Russia from the Soviet army even lighter.

Thus, a war involving several countries broke out again, with the sound of battle and gunfire being heard every day on the Eastern European continent, in stark contrast to the peaceful Western European continent.

The prolonged war caused enormous damage and a significant loss of population in Eastern Europe.

Not only is Russia’s population declining, but also the populations of countries involved in the conflict, such as Poland and Ukraine, are losing people at an increased pace.

This Russian civil war became even more tense, chaotic, and unpredictable than in history.

Arthur instructed the Military Intelligence Bureau to keep an eye on the development of the situation in Eastern Europe and notify him immediately if there were any news, so he could rest assured.

In history, Poland never concluded peace, and became even more ambitious under the independence of Lithuania, with its sights set on more Russian territory.

Nicholas II was reluctant to accept this, but Poland was an ally, backed by Britain and France, so he could only put his hopes on settling accounts after the fall and focus on the current summer offensive.

With loans from Australasia, Nicholas II was more confident. At least for now, the Tsarist Russian army still had an advantage over the Soviet army in terms of equipment, which was Nicholas II’s belief in achieving victory in the war.