Chapter 381 Taking Over German Colonies

It was not until Division Commander Fritz officially took over the city of Herbertshoe that he realized that what Mayor Herbertshoe said was true.

At least within the city of Herbertshoe, the number of German garrisons was pitifully small, less than 20 in total.

And the reason why these 20 people stayed in this area was to protect the Herbertshoe City Government.

After all, this colony has a population of up to one million indigenous people, and these indigenous people are very hostile to European colonists.

If a certain number of soldiers are not left to protect the city government, once these indigenous people find that the German garrison has been reduced, I am afraid that the Herbertshoe City Government and all German residents in the city will be in danger.

The German transfer was very straightforward. Not only did they transfer most of the colonial garrisons, but they also transported a part of the population.

According to Mayor Herbertshoe’s explanation, most of the people who were transported back to Germany in advance were die-hard fans of Germany and were unwilling to join the rule of Australasia.

Most of the remaining German and European immigrants basically have their own property in German New Guinea.

Their property is here, their families are here, and they have also taken root here.

For these people, it is not important who rules this area, but whether their property and safety can be protected.

According to Arthur's instructions, after taking control of Herbertshoe, Division Commander Fritz ordered people to urgently post a notice to the public, announcing the implementation of temporary military control in Herbertshoe.

However, the notice also specifically mentioned that the Australasian government recognized the property of these people in New Guinea for the property and personal safety of all citizens of Herbertshoe.

If these people are willing to join the nationality of Australasia, then their personal safety and property safety will also be protected by the Australasian army.

For Australasia, Germany's early withdrawal of some immigrants in German New Guinea is equivalent to helping Australasia screen immigrants.

Those who left may not all be unwilling to join Australia, but the rest should mostly be willing to join Australasia.

Given that Australasia is so close, there is no resistance at all to bringing German New Guinea under its rule.

Therefore, if the citizens of Herbertshoe want to ensure the safety of their lives and property, it is a good choice to turn to Australasia, the most powerful country in this area.

It is precisely because those who stayed were basically willing to obey the rule of Australasia, so the militarization management of Herbertshoe was also very smooth.

On August 20, 1914, the second day after the Second Division arrived in Herbertshoe, the first batch of supplies shipped by Australasia had arrived at the port of Herbertshoe and were distributed to the citizens of Herbertshoe by Division Commander Firitz.

The types of this batch of supplies are actually very simple, mostly food, weapons and ammunition, medical supplies and clothing.

Except for weapons and ammunition, which are specially supplied to the First and Second Divisions, all the remaining supplies are available to the citizens of Herbertshoe.

When every citizen of Herbertshoe lined up to receive these supplies, everyone's face was filled with smiles.

At least their lives are guaranteed, and they don't have to worry about the lack of supplies after the logistical supply is cut off due to the war.

Because of the change in mood, the citizens of Herbertshoe became very welcoming to the Australasian army.

Such an army that would not harm civilians would not cause hostility from the public wherever it went.

In fact, this was also because of the good relationship between Germany and Australasia before, and there were a considerable number of German immigrants in Australasia, so Arthur did not intend to make the relationship with Germany too stiff.

Even after the war, Australasia had to get more human equipment and scientific research talents from Germany, which required the Germans to at least have no ill will towards Australasia, so that Australasia could better accept these talents.

On August 20, Commander Fritz successfully contacted Commander Silvio of the First Division and told him about everything that happened in Herbertshoe and the early withdrawal of the Germans.

Commander Silvio was wondering why he did not see the German garrison in New Guinea. This solved the mystery and ordered some troops to advance to the border between German New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies, and the main force went to Herbertshoe to gather with the Second Division.

According to the intelligence provided by Mayor Herbertshoe, all of Germany's Pacific colonies should be like German New Guinea, where some immigrants and most of the troops were transferred in advance, and most of the remaining ones were willing to join Australasia.

If this intelligence is true, Australasia will receive these colonies much faster and avoid unnecessary casualties.

Division Commander Silvio ordered the main force to quickly go to Herbertshoe, with the goal of assembling and heading to other German Pacific colonies as soon as possible, and smoothly taking over the local government.

On August 21, 1914, the First Division arrived at Herbertshoe smoothly, and the news that the army successfully took over German New Guinea was also transmitted back to Australasia.

For the Australasia government, one of the most important goals in this war has been achieved. The next step is to take over the remaining German Pacific colonies, and then you can sit back and watch the European war.

For the civilians of Australasia, especially the German immigrants, it is good news that there is no big war between Australasia and Germany.

After all, casualties represent hatred. If Germany and Australasia have hatred, the fate of these German immigrants living in Australasia can be imagined.

The current peaceful takeover of colonies is beneficial to both parties. Germany can gather more troops on the European battlefield and no longer waste energy on the Pacific colonies.

At the same time, Australasia can also achieve its strategic goals, which is a win-win situation for this war.

On August 22, 1914, the Australasia army arrived in Apia, the capital of German Samoye, and quickly took over Apia from German New Guinea and implemented militarized management.

The First and Second Divisions acted quickly. As of August 26, 1914, it took less than a week to successfully take over all German Pacific colonies.

At present, all German colonies are under military control. Local residents are temporarily not allowed to enter and exit at will. Life and various supplies are uniformly distributed by the army.

Most immigrants still accept the military control of Australasia. As for those who do not accept Australasia's management, they are either forced to obey or receive enough travel expenses from the army, then abandon all their property and take the ship back to Germany.

But the problem is that because the European war is currently in dire straits, the ships that Australasia repatriates these immigrants will only send them to Germany's African colonies.

As for how they live in Africa, that is not something the Australasia government can guarantee.

Fortunately, after the previous round of screening by Germany, most of those who stayed were relatively obedient.

Almost no one chose the second option of being repatriated, because their lives in the African colonies may not be as good as now, at least the current living supplies can be guaranteed.

All of Germany's Pacific colonies have a population of more than 300,000, which also makes the current population of Australasia have truly exceeded 15 million.

However, population growth is still continuing, so if you want to know the specific population growth this year, you have to wait until the end of this year's report meeting.

After the successful completion of Australasia's combat mission, Arthur's eyes successfully returned to Europe.

Compared with Australasia's minor skirmishes in the Pacific battlefield, the Allies and the Entente were serious in the European battlefield.

According to the intelligence from the Royal Security Intelligence Service, as of late August, the Allies and the Entente had deployed more than 2 million troops in Europe, including 610,000 in Russia, 730,000 in Germany, 550,000 in France, 390,000 in Austria-Hungary, and 150,000 in Serbia.

At present, the number of people on the Western Front and the Eastern Front is about the same, both maintaining a little over 1 million.

But this is only a short-term situation. With the progress of military mobilization in European countries and the dispatch of troops from other regions, the number of soldiers on the European battlefield will only increase, and there is even hope to exceed 3 million in a short period of time.

Speaking of the current war situation between the Allies and the Entente, we have to mention the strategic choice of Germany, the most important country in the European war.

Decades before the outbreak of the war, Germany formulated a war plan for fighting against France and Russia.

From 1871 to 1879, Germany's military power dominated the whole of Europe. Marshal Moltke (Moltke the Elder), then Chief of the German General Staff, believed that because of the approach of France and Russia, Germany would have to face the crisis of fighting on two fronts, and such a war would be difficult and protracted.

However, due to the development of railway transportation, Marshal Moltke the Elder was keenly aware that the use of railway trunk lines could quickly mobilize most of the troops to deal with the enemy who was ready to attack at any time, and then deal with the enemy who was slow to mobilize.

For Germany, the enemy who was ready to attack at any time was naturally France. The enemy who was slow to mobilize was naturally the corrupt Tsarist Russian Empire.

Because of the increase in France's military strength and the strong fortresses of France on the German-French border, the Germans believed that France was the most dangerous enemy among France and Russia.

And General Schlieffen, the third Chief of the German General Staff, formulated a more detailed plan for fighting France and Russia.

General Schlieffen believed that it was necessary to avoid fighting France and Russia at the same time, because the combined strength of these two countries had exceeded that of Germany.

"Germany must throw all its might at the most powerful, strongest, and most dangerous enemy, and this enemy can only be France." This is the theory put forward by General Schlieffen in the "Memorandum of the War against France" in 1905, and it is also the crystallization of General Schlieffen's strategy.

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