The Rise Of Australasia

Although the landing battle delayed the Kalimantan and Filipino armies for more than twenty days, the arrival of these approximately one hundred thousand native soldiers on the Ryukyu Islands still presented a formidable force.

With these native soldiers, complete order could be maintained on the Ryukyu Islands. More importantly, they could be used to eliminate the Islander soldiers secretly hiding in the urban cities and countryside.

After landing on the Ryukyu Islands on July 24, it only took Australasia two days to essentially purge the entire order of the Ryukyu Islands and annihilate all the Island Nation Army forces there.

By 6:30 p.m. on July 26, Brigadier General Christy sent Arthur a telegram with the following message: "Your Majesty, the Ninth Army has completed its clearance mission and can ensure there is not a single enemy soldier left on the Ryukyu Islands."

At present, the construction of navy and air force bases has been fully launched, and the Ninth Army is ready to engage in the next battle at any moment."

In this telegram, General Christy also included a report on the casualties of the Ninth Army.

Since the main landing battle was participated by the Filipino and Kalimantan armies, the casualties of the Ninth Army were not high.

The Ninth Army, comprising four infantry divisions, one cavalry division, and one artillery division, only suffered significant losses from the 12,000 paratroopers involved in airborne operations.

These paratroopers, formed from four infantry divisions, suffered casualties of just over two thousand each, and each division still retained sufficient combat strength.

In his reply to General Christy, Arthur praised the combat performance of the Ninth Army and ordered the government to prepare more supplies and funds to be sent to the Ryukyu Islands.

Of course, the most important task was the tallying and reporting of merits. These wartime merits were not only related to the rewards for soldiers and officers but were also crucial for them to ascend directly to the upper-middle class of the country.

Arthur also specifically instructed that when tallying and calculating the soldiers' merits, they must adhere to the truth and strictly prevent any deceitful practices.

Besides preventing individuals from exaggerating their own merits, this was also to prevent any officers from taking credit for the achievements of their soldiers.

Regarding the specific merits of the soldiers, besides relying on the lists reported by each army, simulations of the warfare would be conducted by the General Staff to prevent fabrications.

Simultaneously, the General Staff also issued the next combat mission to the Ninth Army.

The combat mission was straightforward, summarized in one sentence: to completely occupy the Ryukyu Islands.

Although the main islands of the Ryukyu had already been captured, there were still a large number of smaller and other major islands under the control of the Islanders.

These islands still under the control of the Islanders are the next task for the Ninth Army and the more than one hundred thousand Filipino and Kalimantan armies.

After completely occupying the Ryukyu Islands, the General Staff's combat plan for 1936 will nearly be completed.

The Island Nation must be defeated and even fully occupied.

But the issue is, the time to defeat the Island Nation definitely isn't now, at least not in 1936.

Because in Europe, the war was exceedingly fierce at this time. Once Australasia defeated the Island Nation, it would have to dispatch troops to Europe to engage in a super war with the Germans.

Compared to fighting the Island Nation, battling Germany would obviously be more difficult and would cause greater casualties to the Australasia Army.

Since defeating the Island Nation and fighting Germany both fulfill the mission, naturally, the simpler option, such as the soft target of the Island Nation, would be chosen.

This might seem incongruent with impressions held by later generations, but at that time, it was so natural. The strength of the Island Nation was relative to countries with backward industries; for an industrial superpower like Australasia, the Island Nation wasn't strong at all, except in population.

The issue was, Australasia had already mastered nuclear weapons technology, so the population difference was not so fatal.

If it were not for Arthur's reluctance to reveal nuclear weapons too early, Australasia could easily use nuclear weapons to eliminate the population difference with the Island Nation.

Because of its large population, a major urban city in the Island Nation could often have several hundred thousand, or even millions, of people.

Without elaboration, just by bombing twenty cities with atomic bombs, the population discrepancy between the Island Nation and Australasia could be easily erased.

As for whether using twenty atomic bombs might be somewhat inhumane, that was not for Arthur to consider. Whether out of personal conviction or strategic interest, this was something that Arthur felt he should, and must, do.

Speaking of the European battlefield, at this time, nearly ten days had passed since the Dunkirk evacuation, and the situation on the European battlefield had become even more critical.

As the most unfortunate of the Powerful Nations, Austria was left with only its Native Land, and even Vienna was in grave danger.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia had already been occupied by the German Army, and the Italian Army was covetously eyeing areas such as Innsbruck and Klagenfurt.

Had it not been for the various weapons and equipment transported to Austria from Britain and Australasia through various channels, the Austrian People might have surrendered by now.

But this still could not alter Austria's dire situation. Once Vienna fell, the Austrian People would most likely be the first of the Powerful Nations to surrender, significantly altering the situation on the European battlefield.