October 1915, Australasia.
Arthur's mood has been quite good recently as the military scored continuous victories on the frontline, and through negotiations, he managed to obtain the coastal areas from Kuwait to Qatar along the Persian Gulf.
This played a crucial role in Australasia's future petroleum reserves and economic development.
If they could negotiate a truce with the United Kingdom in the future, Australasia would control at least a quarter of the world's petroleum reserves, and could even approach a third.
By exerting influence over some countries and regions in the Middle East, it won't be difficult to gain control over the international pricing of petroleum. Continue reading on m|v-l'e -novelhall.net
The importance of petroleum is self-explanatory—it is by far the most important energy source, and will remain so for at least 150 years.
Even though Europe is in an all-out war, this large-scale conflict has negligible effects on Australasia, and its social order remains intact.
Currently, all of Australasia's occupied regions are under wartime control, and at least before the war ends, Arthur has no plans to integrate these areas.
This is easy to understand. If these newly occupied areas were in the war zone, the militarization of management would be natural, and there would be no opposition.
But if they formally integrate these regions, they will become territories or colonies of Australasia, and some undesirable plans can't be implemented.
First and foremost is German New Guinea. In the time since Australasia's army occupied German New Guinea, they have driven out over 400,000 indigenous people from this area and purposely let some natives and residents who are against Australasian rule escape to areas controlled by the Dutch.
If you look at the current administrative map, you can clearly see that New Guinea Island has been divided into two parts: the west belongs to the Dutch East Indies, and the east belongs to Australasia.
New Guinea is the second-largest island in the world, just after Greenland, located in the frigid zones.
Although Greenland is larger, it has lower development potential due to its location within the Arctic Circle, and to this day, not many people live there.
But New Guinea is different. Located in the tropics, with ample rainfall and flat land, it is suitable for development.
The area of the entire New Guinea peninsula is as high as 786,000 square kilometers, higher than the total area of France plus the three Low Countries (mainland only).
More importantly, the entire New Guinea island is rich in mineral resources including petroleum, natural gas, copper, gold, chromium, nickel, aluminum, etc., which hold huge potential value.
This island alone could accommodate tens of millions of people and is a great grain production area.
Compared to Australia, where water resources are not abundant, New Guinea has plentiful water resources. Arthur's previously planned North Water South Transfer aimed to transfer water resources from New Guinea to Australia.
Furthermore, the distance between New Guinea and Australia is closer than between New Zealand and Australia, making it an easy-to-control and development-friendly piece of land.
Arthur was unwilling to see such an excellent piece of land remain halfway in the hands of the Dutch, and it is believed that the Australasians feel the same way.
Therefore, Arthur felt it was necessary for Australasia to take the trouble off the Dutch's hands and find an excuse to take over West New Guinea, which is controlled by the Dutch, and unify the whole of New Guinea.
Oil workers and their families would be among the first immigrants to the Middle East.
By utilizing the oil resources of the Middle East, it would also be possible to create some oases in the desert and attract more migrants.
Of course, once the oil resources of this land are developed, there is bound to be at least one division of the army stationed in this area.
Considering the area of land occupied by Australasia, at least two to three divisions are needed to adequately protect this region.
In the future, when the naval strength expands, there may even be a Persian Gulf fleet, etc., to strengthen Australasia's rule in this region, while influencing other countries in the Middle East, thus achieving Arthur's goal of controlling world oil prices.
In addition to strategic planning for overseas territories, Australasia is about to receive good news that two hope-class battleships are ready to be put into service.
The Hope Battleship and Dream Battleship officially started construction in January 1914, and it has been under construction for nearly two years now.
As early as this year, these two battleships were almost built. But because Arthur preferred 15-inch main guns over the current 13.5-inch guns, it delayed the production by two months.
The good news is that, through the cooperation between Britain and Australasia, 15-inch main guns have indeed been developed and both have applied it on the latest warships.
Exactly for this reason, the two super-battleships of Australasia will be equipped with 15-inch main guns for the first time, becoming legitimate super-battleships.
In terms of firepower, these two battleships have made a great lead. They outperform a majority of the super-battleships from other countries globally, placing them at the top in terms of combat effectiveness.
The Hope Battleship and Dream Battleship went for a test run in the waters in March of this year and are expected to be put into service early next year, that is, two to three months later.
It will significantly boost the naval power of Australasia and add some hope for the Allies to win.
Since the outbreak of the war, the speed of warship building in European countries has not slowed down, except for Russia Country.
Therefore, Arthur has also signed the next round of naval expansion plan, which still includes two super dreadnoughts, respectively named Dawn Battleship and Daylight Battleship.
These two super-battleships have commenced construction from October this year, expected to be built by the end of 1916, and to be in service by the end of 1917.
In addition to the two main battleships, Arthur has also signed a contract worth 10 million Australian dollars, which includes dozens of medium and small warships.
Some medium and small warships will be built at Melbourne Shipyard and Orlando Shipyard. Given their combined powerful capacities, there should be no problem to complete the construction within a year.
Once the next round of naval expansion is completed, the naval strength of Australasia will be second only to Britain and Germany. It will be on par with France and the United States.
Of course, this is just relative to the current naval size of other countries. All European countries have their naval expansion plans, and the size of each country's navy is uncertain in two years.
If there is a large-scale naval battle on the European battlefield, it will also have a significant impact on the naval strength of each country.
Unlike land wars, naval wars impact all aspects. A single large naval battle can often decide the outcome.