The attitude of the French government is actually equivalent to the attitude of the Franco-Austrian alliance. And Italy's attitude also confirms the attitude of the German-Italian Entente.

A few days after Italy openly supported Spain, Germany also expressed its support for a number of weapons and equipment such as Spanish spears.

Moreover, the German government announced that it would not prohibit the spontaneous travel of people to Spain to fight in the war. At the same time, however, the German government assured that Germany would not join the Spanish Civil War.

Of course, even if such a statement deceives the ordinary people, it will certainly not deceive the high-level leaders of various countries.

What does the war mean for countries like Germany and Italy? It represents an excellent training opportunity.

Germany, in particular, has not participated in a decent war for nearly 20 years since the end of World War I.

Attacking the United States may have been counted, but the German army was very complex at that time, and now these people have long been disbanded.

Most of the current German army is composed of new recruits, and it is in urgent need of an opportunity to train domestic recruits.

For the German government, the sudden outbreak of the Spanish War was its best opportunity to train its troops.

A few days after the German government's public statement, on October 17, 1934, a large number of German "people" quietly left Germany for Spain.

It is worth mentioning that these should be ordinary German people, who just arrived in Spain, inexplicably obtained a batch of weapons and equipment, and joined the Spanish Civil War as German volunteers.

Although the number of Spanish expeditionary forces sent by Germany and Italy was small, the combined strength of the two countries was only about 30,000.

However, the various supplies that Germany and Italy provided to the Spanish National Army kept the Spanish Civil War in equilibrium.

You know, the original Spanish navy is still in the hands of the Republic. The fact that the Spanish Republic, with such a large naval weapon in its hands, could barely reach a draw with the rebels proved that Germany and Italy attached great importance to this training opportunity.

That is, Germany and Italy did not immediately have the idea of starting a major war, otherwise, as soon as the Italian navy approached Spain, the Spanish Republic would immediately be at a disadvantage.

"Your Majesty, according to our estimates, the Spanish Civil War will last at least one to two years while maintaining the current scale of the war.

But it all depends on how much Germany and Italy support Spain. If their so-called volunteer army were to increase in size again, the Spanish National Army would most likely have gained the upper hand in the civil war and become the new legitimate government of Spain within a year. Rick Jones, the head of military intelligence, briefed everyone on the situation with a solemn face at a cabinet meeting in Australasia.

"Your Majesty, why don't we send volunteers as well? The Spanish Civil War was a rare opportunity for us to train our troops, and Germany and Italy, which obviously used Spain as a training ground, were afraid that they would send more soldiers to further improve the combat effectiveness of their armies. Thomas, the Secretary of State for Defense, stood up excitedly and proposed to Arthur.

Rubbing his brow, Arthur rejected Minister Thomas's proposal, saying: "Germany and Italy have fallen behind in terms of public opinion by taking Spanish public opinion so little seriously.

Moreover, Europe has Britain and France, and they have not acted, so why should we join in the fun? Our main task at present is to guard against the enemy of the island nation.

As for the affairs of Spain, let Britain and France have a headache. If the French do not do anything, I am afraid that they will suffer a big loss in the future. ”

Germany and Italy had made it clear that Spain was a training ground, and the French, if they did nothing, would be allowing the German and Italian armies to become stronger.

Of Germany's 400,000 troops, 250,000 were recruits, which is an advantage that the French army currently has. But if a part of the army had been trained, the French, with 600,000 army troops, would not necessarily be a match for the 400,000 German troops.

Moreover, if Spain were to join the agreement between Germany and Italy, the land pressure on France would be even more severe.

I believe that the British can also see this. Although the main direction of the British was a policy of regional balance, for the current situation in Europe, it is clear that Germany and Italy are getting stronger.

"However, while we cannot directly intervene in the situation of the civil war, as Germany and Italy do, our arms trade can still be conducted with any country." Arthur went on to say: "

In addition, all military factories within Australasia are now ready to go. A big war in Europe is not far off, and we need to reserve sufficient weapons and strategic materials for the country before this war.

All military factories and pharmaceutical enterprises do their best to produce, storing all the materials produced in our strategic warehouses. If nothing else, the supplies we prepare in advance will play a vital role in future wars. ”

As the so-called soldiers and horses have not moved, grain and grass go first. Although there is still some time before a large-scale war in Europe, it is necessary to produce enough weapons and medical supplies in advance.

Medical supplies, in particular, are very important for every country because they are consumed in war.

In particular, antibiotic drugs, including penicillin, are the main direction of drug production in Australasia.

The ensuing war will lead to a large number of wounded, and timely use of antibiotics is essential if these wounded want to save their lives.

This also means that in future wars, the price of antibiotic drugs like penicillin is likely to increase.

As the first country to discover and manufacture the drug penicillin, Australasia also has a head start in this area. Whether it is for the use of the domestic public or the army, or for sale to other countries at a higher price, it is not a loss for Australasia.

Before the outbreak of the war, the major factories had not yet been converted to the military production model, and the output of penicillin at this time was also the largest.

In fact, Arthur was not wrong. In this Spanish Civil War, Australasia is actually not easy to stand on.

After all, Arthur's ultimate goal was to put his own family, the deposed King Alfonso XIII of Spain, back on the throne.

This also means that Australasia, if not the support of the Spanish people, must at least not be disgusted by the Spanish people.

Otherwise, the restored Spanish royal family would still have the support of the Spanish people, and the situation in the Kingdom of Spain would have been divided in chaos as it is now.

This civil war was also an opportunity for Alfonso XIII.

The original government of the Spanish Republic was already unpopular with the people. The civil war, which has suffered heavy casualties, will only exacerbate popular dissatisfaction with the government.

Although the people love Spain as a country, it does not mean that all Spaniards will love the current Spanish government.

Only when the people lose trust in the current government will Australasia have the opportunity to help Alfonso XIII restore the throne with the support of the Spanish people.

As for the other side of the Spanish Civil War, Franco's Spanish Falangists, Arthur didn't really pay attention to it.

Even if he could win the civil war, he would still not be able to take control of Spain. What's more, the Spanish Falangists are in the same camp as Germany and Italy, which already means that they are doomed, because Australasia is on their side.

Although it now seems that France and Austria are fighting against Germany and Italy, if a large-scale war really breaks out in Europe, most countries will join the camp against Germany and Italy.

In terms of what Germany and Italy have achieved so far, their allies are really small, and they can be counted on one hand.

As long as Russia joined the camp against Germany, Arthur was 100% confident that he would win the war. Even without Russia, as long as Australasia can solve the island nation early, Arthur still has ninety percent confidence in resolving this war.

In the past 20 years since the end of World War I, Arthur's crazy efforts to make the military industry climb the technology tree are not without results.

With a comprehensive lead over Germany and Italy in terms of tanks, aircraft, warships, missiles, etc., the probability of victory in this war is already very large.

For Arthur, the only suspense at the moment is how Australasia will end the war in the future.

Arthur's thoughts, of course, were to do everything possible to reduce casualties. Let Britain and France confront Germany in the early stage, and the Philippines and Kalimantan to deplete the population of the island nation, this was Arthur's initial plan.

The more depletion the British, French, and German was, the more good news it was for Arthur. But there is one factor that cannot be controlled, and that is Russia, whose ideology has been reborn.

For Arthur, the biggest problem for Australasia to become the world hegemon is not the current world hegemon Britain, but Russia, a newly unified country.

With its vast territory and the largest population of any great power (not counting the colonies), Russia's potential is undoubtedly enormous.

After the fall of the tsarist government, the current Russia had little to do with decay. The threat to the world from a new Russia is very great.

Arthur didn't want his elaborate decoration to make a wedding dress for someone else. For Arthur, the problem that had to be solved was to ensure that the Russians could not be left alone after the British and French were depleted in strength.

The best outcome, of course, would be a super-war between Germany and Russia in Europe, as has been the case in history. Regardless of the outcome of the war, as long as both sides suffered heavy casualties in this war, it was in line with Arthur's expectations.

It would even be better to unite Britain and France with Russia and make the Russians the main force against Germany, if possible.

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

(End of chapter)