While the Allies were planning a major counteroffensive on the Eastern Front, the Entente camp was also planning to give Russia new support on the Eastern Front.

There were two routes for Britain and France to transport supplies to Russia, one was from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea, but through German-controlled seas.

The second is from the Mediterranean, passing through Constantinople and arriving at the Black Sea, where it will pass through Turkish-controlled Constantinople.

The good news was that with the accession of the Italians, the Entente had absolute naval superiority on both routes, so the routes for transporting supplies to Russia were not cut off.

Especially on the route from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, although Constantinople had strong coastal defense batteries, the loss of all European territory by the Turkish army under the combined attack of the Balkan countries was inevitable.

At a time when Serbia and Russia were shouldering most of the Austro-Hungarian forces for the Balkans, Greece, Montenegro, and Romania were focused on attacking Bulgaria and Turkey.

Add to this the ambition of Serbia, in which the Balkan states have absolute superiority, Bulgaria is struggling to hold on to its territory, and Turkey has lost almost all of its European territories except Constantinople.

Of course, that still needs to be against Bulgaria, plus most of Serbia's forces were pinned down by Austria-Hungary, so the Turkish Constantinople is still quite strong, which can be regarded as a nail inserted into the interior of the Entente.

If the Entente wanted to transport supplies to Russia as soon as possible, they had to pull the nail out of Constantinople.

After thinking about it for a long time, the Entente held consultations within themselves and decided to open a new front in the Balkans, to include the Balkan states, to establish a Balkan front, to completely eliminate Bulgaria and Ottoman Turkey, to besiege Germany and Austria-Hungary in Europe, and to open trade routes with Russia.

Of course, the enemies of the new battlefield were only Bulgaria and Turkey, and at most part of the Austro-Hungarian army, therefore, Britain and France did not intend to send troops to it.

After communicating with Australasia, the Balkan front will be led by Commander Martin, who will lead more than 100,000 troops from the 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Colonial Divisions to form the Balkan Dispatch Army, which will unite Greece, Romania, Montenegro and Serbia to attack Bulgaria and Ottoman Turkey and protect the Mediterranean route.

After the elimination of Bulgaria and Turkey, the Balkan Dispatch was to unite with Russia and directly encircle Germany and Austria-Hungary to the east, west, and south.

In this way, Germany and Austria will be like turtles in an urn, not only will foreign trade and transportation routes be cut off, but they will also not receive any resources and material support from the outside world.

To be able to complete the entire encirclement, there is hope for the end of the war. No matter how strong the German and Austrian counterattacks are, they will be exhausted in round after round of attrition.

The Australasian army was to support the Balkan states Arthur also knew it. In fact, Arthur was also supportive of such a plan.

At present, the battlefield on the Western Front has entered a stalemate, and the Germans are desperately defending, even if the British, French, Australian, and Italian allied forces are united, there is no way to take the Germans in a short time.

The current battlefield on the Western Front has become like a harvester, except for the reaping of round after round of the lives of the soldiers of the Entente and the Central Powers, the line of fire between the two countries has not moved.

For such unnecessary consumption, it is better to avoid spontaneous combustion. After the main Australasian army left for the Balkans, it was directed against Bulgaria, known as Prussia in the Balkans, and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, which could have been a great power a few decades ago.

There is a big gap between the combat effectiveness of these two countries compared with Germany, and it is just right to show the combat capability of the Australasian army to the outside world, and at the same time to gain enough contributions in the war, and the distribution of benefits in the future can also be more.

May 25, 1915.

Just as the Australasian Expeditionary Force arrived in the Balkans to prepare for the first wave of the offensive, the first rank promotion ceremony was taking place in Australasia, as well as a commemoration ceremony for wounded and killed soldiers.

No one knew how long the war would last, so Arthur decided that every wave of the army would retreat, there would be a promotion and bereavement ceremony.

Only by giving pensions to the families of the fallen soldiers as soon as possible, and by compensating and rewarding all soldiers who participated in the war, can the soldiers be worthy of their contribution to the country and the charge on the battlefield.

At ten o'clock in the afternoon, the square of the Sydney Palace was full of people, and more than 10,000 soldiers of the Fourth Division were standing.

"Gentlemen and ladies. On this special day, we stand together solemnly and sadly to remember the more than 10,000 soldiers who have lost their lives in the war.

No one knows how long the war will last, and no one knows how many more soldiers we will have to sacrifice. But the belief in protecting the country has made these brave and fearless soldiers charge the enemy again and again, and they are not afraid of death, in exchange for a peaceful and stable life at home.

All our soldiers are great, they may be your fathers, husbands, sons, friends, or you may not know anyone.

But for the country, for the royal family, for all the people, they bravely sacrificed their lives.

I declare that the families of all fallen soldiers will receive a lump sum compensation of 10 times the annual per capita income of the State, and that their children will be provided for free by the royal family to reach adulthood or graduate from high school.

The fallen soldiers will be buried at the Sydney Heroes Mausoleum, where they will be paid homage and remembrance by the nation.

All wounded soldiers may be paid double their salary during the period of recuperation, and those who are disabled can receive 5 times the annual per capita income of the state as compensation, and the treatment of all wounded soldiers' injuries is borne by the state and the royal family. ”

Hearing Arthur's bereavement policy, some of the soldiers in the audience couldn't help but raise their heads proudly.

Australasia's current pension policy is one of the most complete in the world, and its implementation is very firm.

You must know that Australasia's casualties are relatively small among the major belligerents, which is also the basis for Australasia's firm implementation of the bereavement policy.

Take Russia as an example, the death toll in Russia is now as high as hundreds of thousands, and the number of casualties has already exceeded one million.

Such a large-scale casualty figure, even if only 100 roubles per person is compensated, adds up to hundreds of millions of rubles, more than 10 million pounds.

And the compensation figure of a hundred rubles is only a little more than ten pounds, which is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for the families of wounded and fallen soldiers.

This is actually one of the reasons why Russia collapsed relatively quickly in its original history, and Russia mobilized tens of millions of troops into battle, and the casualties were as high as millions.

But among the millions of Russian soldiers who were killed and wounded, very few received pensions.

Many Russian peasant families have to face higher taxes on the premise of sacrificing an adult strong man, not to mention compensation.

And that's not all, many Russians are also facing loss of jobs, lower incomes, rising prices due to inflation, shortages of goods, etc., and it is not surprising that the population is dissatisfied and rebels.

In addition to the above compensation for the casualties, all soldiers of the 4th Division will receive twice the annual income of the state in addition to their salaries as a reward for their service in the war.

Soldiers, the royal family and the government will never forget your contribution to the war, and I will never forget it.

May Australasia grow stronger and stronger under your protection, and may all Australasian people live peace, health, and happiness without worrying about war, hunger, poverty, and disease. Arthur said to all the soldiers with a smile.

These benefits and incentives can cost a lot. Judging from the scale of the Fourth Division's more than 2,000 killed and more than 6,000 wounded, the cost of bereavement and incentives to the Fourth Division alone has exceeded 2 million Australian dollars, close to one-fiftieth of the current annual income of the Australasian government.

Of course, such an excellent opportunity to win the hearts of the people and the military, Arthur will naturally not let it go.

All pensions and awards for soldiers are paid by the royal family and are personally awarded to each soldier or his family.

This also made every soldier more loyal to the royal family, and the families of the fallen soldiers were also grateful to the royal family without any complaints.

According to Australasia's pension policy, fallen soldiers can receive 10 times the per capita annual income, more than 500 Australian dollars as compensation.

This income is actually quite a lot, enough to buy a property in the center of Sydney, start a small-scale factory and become a small capitalist.

Or buying a large amount of land in the suburbs and becoming a farmer or rancher is a good choice.

Based on 7.33 grams of gold per pound per pound before the war, more than 500 Australian dollars, equivalent to nearly 3.66 kilograms of gold. If you look at the prices of later generations, this pension is equivalent to more than one million.

Of course, if we take into account the price gap that has formed in the past 100 years or so, I am afraid that this figure will have to multiply several times, or even more than ten times.

In any case, this pension is not a small amount, enough for the families of the fallen soldiers to live a better life.

In addition, the government will also cover the education of the children of fallen soldiers, which can save their families a lot of money.

In order to reassure all the soldiers, Arthur made a direct promise to go to the Royal Bank today to get his pension and rewards.

As long as you can provide the soldier's personal information and family information, you can choose between a check or a cash payment. Or continue to deposit in the Royal Bank and enjoy the highest interest on your savings.

For Arthur, since he wants to give bereavement pensions and rewards to soldiers, it is naturally best to be able to get them on the same day.

Speaking of not being able to do it will only cause the public to resent it, anyway, the 2 million Australian dollars spent by Arthur has already earned from the military trade with Russia, and even earned several times.

3000 words for the second update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)