Chapter 242: Military Rank Reform and Conferment of Honors
Although it was officially called the Five-Year Naval Construction Plan, in reality, the five main battleships could be completed before 1911, with naval aviation testing also taking about a year.
If the Five-Year Plan proceeds smoothly, Australasia will possess three dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers, placing it among the top naval powers globally in terms of capital ships.
Additionally, various medium and small warships are included, such as armored cruisers and armored frigates. These vessels range from several hundred to several thousand tons, and their construction time and costs are relatively minor.
Counting all warships, the estimated total cost of Australasia's naval program is nearly 20 million Australian pounds, or approximately 10 million British pounds.
The total tonnage of a fully equipped Australasian navy will surpass 100,000 tons, reaching around 120,000 tons.
Looking solely at total naval tonnage, the difference in tonnage before and after the Five-Year Plan could be tenfold.
Thanks to the 5 million pound war indemnity from Portugal, the plan does not pose a significant financial burden on the Australasian government—it's entirely manageable.
The reason only this number of ships can be built is because the Royal Shipyard's current capacity limits it to constructing no more than three ships at a time.
After the completion of the Five-Year Plan, and with another expansion of the Royal Shipyard, the next construction plan could be even more ambitious.
News of Australasia's shipbuilding plan spread quickly; within days, it was widely known throughout the country and even reported by European media.
It is no exaggeration to say that, in terms of dreadnought construction, Australasia's emphasis ranks among the world's top five.
Currently, only the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, and the United States are building dreadnoughts. Notably, Russia's dreadnoughts are being built by Australasia.
Other nations with preliminary plans for dreadnoughts include only Italy and Japan.
Though Austria-Hungary has ideas about dreadnoughts, its naval investments are limited, and it would have to rely on Germany to obtain such a ship.
The expansion plan wasn't limited to the navy; Australasia's army was also set for a new round of growth.
The previous war exposed the severe issue of insufficient army numbers. Even Portugal, with a slightly smaller population than Australasia, had a force of over 100,000 troops.
Australasia's military, at most, only numbered just over 60,000. When dispersed across all states and colonies, each area had just about one regiment's worth of troops.
To maintain adequate defense forces across the country, the army could only field a maximum of two divisions at a time.
Although Australasian troops were highly capable in combat, the numerical disadvantage was already apparent.
According to the Ministry of Defense's research and decisions, the new army expansion plan includes three types of divisions: Guards Divisions, Regular Divisions, and Colonial Divisions.
The Guards Division would be expanded to include an additional infantry regiment and an artillery regiment, with its new composition totaling three infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and two artillery regiments—over 20,000 personnel.
The Guards Division would be Australasia's largest unit by organization, and in terms of manpower, firepower, and the training level of both soldiers and officers, it would represent the elite of Australasia's military—among the best in the world.
A new Regular Division would also be formed—the Fourth Division. It would be built from a core of experienced officers and veterans taken from the First, Second, and Third Divisions, and benefit from an extended training period.
Moreover, a new category would be introduced—the Colonial Division—commonly found in most colonial powers.
Also known as Native Divisions, these units followed the Portuguese model, where all mid-to-high-ranking officers were Australasian, while lower-ranking officer roles could be awarded to natives based on merit.
The majority of soldiers in Colonial Divisions were indigenous.
Because of this, Colonial Divisions would serve as expendable frontline troops in warfare—large numbers of casualties could be tolerated without major concern.
The formation of these divisions was the result of prolonged discussions between Arthur and Minister Kent.
At present, Australasia possessed two colonies, both close to the mainland and rich in mineral resources.
Although the total population of Australian New Guinea and Australian Timor was under a million (with New Guinea contributing at least 200,000 indigenous people to the population), raising one or two Colonial Divisions was feasible.
Furthermore, Australasia enjoyed the advantage of proximity to these colonies, allowing for strong control and reducing the risk of betrayal or desertion.
If a native soldier dared to desert, not only would he be punished, but his entire tribe—and neighboring tribes—would suffer consequences. At minimum, the tribe would be implicated; at worst, entire regions might be penalized.
At this time, the Dutch East Indies had over 40 million indigenous people, and their lives were considered of little value.
Therefore, the Colonial Division became the largest component of this expansion. The First and Second Colonial Divisions would be established during this military growth phase.
Their organization was straightforward: each Colonial Division consisted of four infantry regiments, making them purely infantry formations with minimal access to machine guns and artillery.
With the Guards Division's new infantry and artillery regiments, the Fourth Division, and the two Colonial Divisions, this expansion would add nearly 60,000 troops to the army. Even excluding the native soldiers in Colonial Divisions, more than 30,000 additional troops would be recruited.
This would bring Australasia's total army strength to 120,000 troops, with wartime deployable forces reaching 80,000–90,000.
Workers and management at the Arthur Armaments Factory were in high spirits.
The recent war and current expansion had significantly enlarged the factory, accelerating the growth of Australasia's military industry.
Arthur's factory now employed over 2,000 workers—one of the largest arms producers globally.
Compared to the army and navy's large-scale expansions, the growth of Australasia's air force was much more discreet.
Airships, being a widely acknowledged technology, were openly discussed.
Following the victory, Arthur publicly announced the construction of at least 20 airships—both to support material transport and to build Australasia's aerial power.
Although countries worldwide had begun experimenting with early airplanes, their reliability lagged far behind that of airships, and their practicality was still lower.
Given the impressive performance of Australasia's airships in the last war, many European powers decided to follow suit and begin their own airship research.
Aside from the 20 publicly declared airships, the Australasian air force was also secretly expanded.
Previously, Australasia possessed 15 Phantom-3 bombers and 15 Eagle-3 reconnaissance aircraft.
After testing these aircraft in battle, Arthur decisively placed an order for 30 bombers, 10 fighter jets, and 20 reconnaissance planes.
With the establishment of the Royal Military Academy, the selection and training of pilots became more formalized.
Its aviation school could now train at least 150 qualified pilots per year, giving Arthur the confidence to expand the air force more boldly.
The total order for aircraft this time was 60 planes, which, at the current production pace of the aviation lab, would take at least six months to complete.
Adding the existing 30 aircraft, Australasia would have at least 90 military planes by 1908. In both scale and combat power, it would rank as the number one air force in the world—unmatched.
In terms of utility, these planes could already rival those used by nations during World War I.
If Arthur were determined, he could already form an air force of over 1,000 aircraft.
But with rapid generational improvements in aviation, it was unwise to invest heavily in models that would soon be obsolete.
According to the aviation lab, fourth-generation military aircraft were already in development, with noticeable performance improvements over third-generation models.
This was another reason Arthur hadn't yet formed a massive air force. First, there were no rivals; Australasia had overwhelming dominance in the skies.
And second, with fourth-generation aircraft on the horizon, it made more sense to wait for those new models rather than waste resources on soon-to-be outdated planes.
Besides the military expansion, rewarding the soldiers and officers who distinguished themselves in the war was a critical matter.
As the foundation of Arthur's power, the military's loyalty needed to be firmly secured.
As soon as the war ended, Arthur and Minister Kent began discussions on rewards for the troops.
The most significant contributors were undoubtedly the First and Second Divisions. The former fired the war's opening shots and acted as a successful vanguard force, capturing Portuguese Timor with low casualties.
The latter captured Portuguese India and other colonies and successfully defended against and eliminated threats from Portuguese reinforcements.
As the commanding generals of the First and Second Divisions, Silvio Lonnie Rodlin and Filitz Leina were highly likely to receive promotions in rank.
Australasia's military ranks were largely inherited from the British Empire, as were the navy's. Even the insignia closely resembled those of the British system. This made it an opportune moment to introduce Australasia's own set of military ranks.
After extensive discussions with Minister Kent, Australasia's new military rank system was officially announced on November 1, 1907.
Starting from the rank of Private, Australasia's ranks were divided into:
3 soldier grades (Recruit, Private Second Class, Private First Class)3 NCO grades (Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant)3 junior officer grades (Second Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Captain)3 field officer grades (Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel)4 general officer grades (Brigadier, Major General, Lieutenant General, General)And the highest rank: Marshal
This rank system applied to the army, navy, and air force. Each service's rank would be prefixed accordingly.
Above the Marshal of the Army, Navy, or Air Force stood the title of Supreme Marshal of the Armed Forces—held by Arthur.
Previously, Arthur was titled Supreme Marshal of the Australasian Army and Navy. Now, with the addition of the air force, he held the title of Supreme Marshal of the Army, Navy, and Air Force—or simply, Supreme Marshal of the Armed Forces.
However, this was mostly an honorary title.
Even so, it legally granted Arthur the right, during emergencies and wartime, to command all Australasian military forces, including the government's National Defense Forces.
Currently, aside from Arthur's Supreme Marshal title, the highest-ranking officer in Australasia was Minister of Defense Kent, a Lieutenant General.
As for officers like General Filitz, their rank was uniformly set at Brigadier. This was done for administrative convenience and because, prior to this, Australasia hadn't experienced many wars—granting high ranks without merit would devalue the system.
Early over-promotion would also lead to a problem where there were no further ranks to award.
If Marshals became too common, the entire ranking system would lose credibility.
On November 5, 1907, Australasia's military held its official award ceremony.
Also referred to as the conferment ceremony, most of the attendees were troops who had fought in the previous war. The event was held in the plaza outside Sydney Palace.
As a result, many civilians could witness the event—it wasn't a classified matter.
The biggest promotions went to the two divisional commanders.
First Division Commander Silvio Lonnie Rodlin and Second Division Commander Filitz Leina were both promoted from Brigadier to Major General. This might be the highest rank they achieve while serving as division commanders.
Further promotion would likely require moving into the Ministry of Defense or the creation of larger units within the military.
After all, Lieutenant General and above are considered high-level military positions in any country. It wouldn't make sense for such senior officers to lead a regular division. That would only create issues.
Currently, even Minister Kent holds only a Lieutenant General rank. Having another division commander at that rank would cause confusion over command authority.
Aside from the two commanders being promoted to Major General, both deputy commanders of the First and Second Divisions were promoted to Brigadier.
These promotions were in preparation for the formation of the Fourth Division and the new Colonial Divisions. Their new ranks signaled their future roles as division commanders.
(End of Chapter)
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