KEO.PLUS

Having been dispatched to Europe for more than four months, the Fourth Division had so far suffered 1,524 deaths and 5,323 injuries.

The combined casualties were nearly 6,800, having left the Fourth Division, originally consisting of 16,000 soldiers, with just over 10,000 left to fight.

Continuing forward, the fighting capacity of the Fourth Division was in question, and the soldiers would inevitably develop war-weariness due to prolonged combat.

After internal deliberations within the Ministry of Defense and Arthur\'s own planning, it was decided that the Third Division and the Second Guard Division would be deployed to Europe for the upcoming battle.

Although the primary duty of the Guards is to guard the capital and protect Arthur and the royal family, the Guards are the most powerful force in Arthur\'s view of Australasia. They are not only equipped with the most advanced and luxurious weapons in Australasia but also trained to produce the best and most elite soldiers who can endure experiences beyond those of regular units.

At present, the Guard Division is formed by selecting the best-trained soldiers from the existing regular forces, but this does not guarantee that the Guard Division\'s combat capabilities, in reality, will surpass those of the regular divisions, especially ones like the Fourth Division which have already experienced true life-and-death situations.

Therefore, sending both Guard Divisions to the battlefield in batches is one of Arthur\'s planned ways to increase their combat capabilities.

Although the casualties incurred by the Guard Divisions will surely pain Arthur, it is insignificant compared to the improved fighting capacity of the army and its soldiers in the face of a large-scale war.

Moreover, the combined forces of the Third Guard Division and the Third Regular Division total a massive 36,000 strong, which would help the Australasian army launch independent offensives on the Western Front. After all, the Australasian forces have their own command and must utilize it effectively.

Defeating German attacks and even recovering German-occupied territories could serve as an excuse and bargaining chip for Australasia to gain more benefits after the war.

If a civil unrest breaks out in Russia after the war, the Allies would be left with only Britain, France, and Australia.

With Britain and France suffering significant war damage, they would need the support of a nation like Australasia, which has not been severely impacted by the war, to help them recover and have more time to regain strength.

This would, in turn, elevate the importance of Australasia after the war. Both Britain and France would need an ally like Australasia to help stabilize their international status.

After all, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire would undoubtedly be divided, with their remaining territories heavily restricted, and their positions and strength as great powers jeopardized.

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If Germany were to experience civil unrest, three of the most powerful nations would lose their great power status directly.

This would cause Australasia\'s international status to rise sharply, even possibly becoming the fourth great power after Britain, France, and the United States.

Of course, if the Australasian forces demonstrate formidable fighting capabilities in the war, and increase their naval size, there is still hope of surpassing the United States and becoming the third-greatest power.

At least from what is evident now, the military prowess of the United States is still lacking, with both their army and naval combat capacities relatively weak.

Accompanying the deployment of the Second Guard Division and the Third Regular Division to the European battlefield were as many as 200,000 Indigenous troops.

Transporting this many forces proved to be a challenge, consuming many British and French ships. Over the next two months, these forces would gradually arrive in Europe and join the Australasian Expeditionary Force in combating the Germans.

At the same time, French-trained new recruits and the second batch of British Expeditionary Forces arrived in Europe. With plans for a large-scale campaign being organized by Russia on the Eastern Front, Britain, France, and Australasia also planned a large-scale battle on the Western Front to completely drive the German army out of French territory.

Both major battles on the Eastern and Western fronts would take over a month of preparation time, and possibly even two months before being launched.

After all, they were waiting for the arrival of the Australasian forces on the Western Front and the arrival of supplies transported by Australasia to the Eastern Front. In reality, they were waiting on Australasia for both scenarios.

Of course, it wasn\'t all about waiting for Australasia. For both the Western and Eastern fronts, the large-scale campaigns being planned would involve more than a million troops. Consequently, the preparations for supplies and weapons were proportionally extensive and lengthy.

It is no exaggeration to say that supplying millions of troops would pose a severe challenge to logistics. Not to mention the constant consumption of weapons, ammunition, and shells during the war, which could potentially overwhelm an entire country\'s logistics system.

Britain and France also struggled – Britain bore half of the costs of the Australasian Expeditionary Force, which was no small sum. Coupled with the expenses of their own Expeditionary Force, a significant amount of pounds were being spent on the war, making the British eager to end the conflict.

As for France, it goes without saying that parts of their territory were currently occupied by Germany, and most of the fighting on the Western Front was taking place on French borders and their own soil.

Each day the war continued caused greater damage to the French economy and increased the French people\'s longing for peace.

On April 11, 1915, the Second Guard Division and the Third Regular Division successfully arrived in France to complete the rotation with the Fourth Regular Division.

Thomas Johnson, the commander of the Second Guard Division, succeeded General Scott and became the second Commander-in-Chief of the Australasia Expeditionary Force.

In order to express support for the troops, Arthur handed over command of the Expeditionary Force to the Commander-in-Chief, and Australasia was only responsible for the logistical supply of the Expeditionary Force.

This also represents the great power of the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, who can even decide the role of the Australasian army in the war.

Although the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. The role of the Commander-in-Chief of the Australasian Expeditionary Force also offers the greatest merits in the war.

Apart from anything else, after the victory of the war, former commanders of the expeditionary forces, as long as they did not make too many mistakes in the war, could be promoted one rank higher according to convention.

If they made no small contribution to the war, they could even enter the Ministry of Defense, or join the Guard Division, General Staff, and other important positions.

If Australasia were to establish a military-level army in the future, commanders would be selected from those who had achieved these merits.

Bathro Udrow, the commander of the Third Division, was still a little regretful for not being able to become the commander of the Expeditionary Force.

Suddenly realizing that his competitor was Martin Rus, the commander of the Guard Division Two, Bathro Udrow felt a little relieved.

Being able to become one of the few Guard Division commanders in Australasia, Martin Rus\'s abilities naturally need not be mentioned.

According to the promotion convention of the Australasian army, the next Minister of Defense, apart from the competition within the Ministry of Defense, the commanders of the Guard Divisions are also strong competitors.

However, the commander of a regular division, no matter how great their contribution, cannot directly become the Minister of Defense.

Although the promotion from regular divisions to guard divisions to the Ministry of Defense is not rigid, no one can deny the existence of a certain gap between the Australasian regular divisions and guard divisions.

After arriving in France, the Guard Division Two and the Regular Division Three were quickly transported to the front lines and stationed in the place where the Third Division had previously been stationed.

The next day, French Commander General Cynthia and British Expeditionary Force Commander Sir French jointly visited, expressing their emphasis on the Australasian Expeditionary Force.

In the laughter of Cynthia, French, and Martin, a large-scale battle involving more than 200 million people and four countries was planned, and the lives and deaths of these 200 million people were easily decided.

What the three discussed could likely lead to tens of thousands more casualties on the Western Front. There was no choice, as victory in the war was more important than these tens of thousands of casualties at the moment.

The specific attack plan for the Western Front was divided into three directions: in the north, the united Belgian army would expel the German army from France and defend based on the solid fortresses of Belgium.

In the middle, they would again attack the Alsace and Lorraine regions to pose as much threat as possible to Germany\'s Ruhr District.

If Alsace and Lorraine could be captured, not only would it greatly boost the morale of French troops, but it would also significantly reduce Germany\'s supply of materials and pose a threat to its hinterland.

For the southern direction, the main plan was to win over Italy, join forces with the Italian army for counterattacks, and threaten the western part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the southern part of Germany.

With Russia launching large-scale battles on the Eastern Front, Germany and Austria-Hungary would be overwhelmed and exhausted by fighting on two fronts.

In order to make the battle successful, the Allies have played all their cards. All European countries, including Italy, which had not yet joined the war, were the objects of the Allies\' wooing.

If the previous six months of the war were a war between the Allies and the Central Powers, then from now on, this war will become a major European war, involving not only Britain, France, Russia, Australia, Germany, and Austria, but also Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, Belgium, Montenegro, and other countries in a large-scale mixed war.

On April 17, 1915, Romania declared war on Germany and joined the Allies.

On April 18, 1915, Greece declared war on Germany and joined the Allies.

Montenegro followed suit and joined the Allies on April 18.

After that, Italy, the hardest to persuade, declared war on Germany on April 21 and joined the Allies after agreeing upon acquiring some territories and numerous interests.

Germany\'s countermeasures quickly came, and as the Central Powers\' war was already at a disadvantage, there were few countries willing to join the Central Powers, with only Bulgaria and Turkey willing to join the Central Powers in the whole of Europe.

From May 1915, the war between the Central Powers and the Allies had involved more than ten countries, with the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, Australia, Italy, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Montenegro, and Belgium) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria, Turkey, Bulgaria).