The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 941: 702

Compared to the unstoppable advance of the Australasian Army, the Frenchmen seemed somewhat anxious and restless.

But for France, there was another nation that had not reaped much benefit yet — that was the British Empire, which had instigated the war against the United States.

The 100,000 troops Britain had sent had already arrived in Canada, and most of them had been involved in the sieges of Augusta and New York.

Because the majority of America’s elite forces were concentrated here, the advance of the British military was extremely slow — it could even be described as a crawl.

Half a month ago, Canadian troops had already fought their way to Augusta, and now, after the British Army took over the front line, they were still positioned at Augusta, having advanced less than two kilometers.

This may seem incredible, but it was indeed the main theme of this war.

Although the combat effectiveness of the American Army was not strong, once the war entered the prolonged consumption of trench warfare, the slight advantage in fighting power that the British Army led with would disappear completely.

Trench warfare was not a contest of the army’s combat strength, but rather the quantity of heavy weapons and ammunition reserves that the army was equipped with.

Of course, another factor needed to be added: the number of casualties that would often rapidly occur in trench warfare.

The British Army, leading part of the Allied Army and fighting a prolonged war of attrition with the American Army, had together suffered over thirty thousand deaths.

If the number of those injured during the sieges was included, the total casualties on both sides had exceeded one hundred thousand, which was more than the number of conventional troops the United States Army formerly had.

However, medical technology was no longer as backward as before, and Australasia’s penicillin was selling well in Europe and America.

As long as the injuries were not severe, soldiers with minor wounds could be simply treated and returned to the battlefield without an issue.

Those with serious injuries would be transferred to major Urban City hospitals in Canada, and once they recovered sufficiently, they would rejoin the battlefield.

Although the British offensive had temporarily come to a stalemate, neither Britain nor any other country had any intentions to send further reinforcements for the time being.

After all, of the 800,000 soldiers in the Allied Army, less than half had been deployed to the battlefield. The rest were either still on the way or had not even set out yet.

Aside from Britain, France, and Australia, which could rapidly assemble troops, the only countries that could arrive at the battlefield earlier were those closer ones like Canada and Mexico.

As for the remaining European Nations, it’s not to criticize them, but their war mobilizations truly fell several levels behind that of the Powers.

While the army’s offense had stalled, the British Navy was very active. Compared to the army, the navy did not require long mobilization and preparation periods, and as long as they had enough personnel, restocking supplies was all that was needed to be ready to set sail.

This led to most of the Allied fleets gathering in the Atlantic Ocean, and the British, leading the United Fleet, had been frantically searching for the American Navy’s whereabouts in the Atlantic.

If they could engage in a major naval battle with the American Navy and quickly defeat their main forces, then half of the war would be victorious.

As for the United States relying solely on its army to hold off the Allied Army’s advance, such a task was almost impossible to achieve.

After all, the domestic economic crisis in the United States was quite severe. While the Allied Army could not sustain for too long, this did not mean that the American People could withstand the prolonged consumption of war.

Although the logistics of the Allied Army were at a disadvantage, the combined power of several nations should not be underestimated if it truly came to a war of attrition.

Compared to the United Fleet’s attitude of seeking a decisive battle, the American Navy appeared much more furtive.

Under the commands of the American Navy Commander, the Atlantic fleet holed up within the Harbor, even recalling all patrol fleets. It almost seemed as if they were willing to let the Allied fleet take over the entire Atlantic Ocean completely.

This avoided a large-scale decisive naval battle between the two main fleets, but it also exposed the United States East Coast to the bombing and threats from the Allied Navy.

And that wasn’t all. After the news that the Australasian forces had not found the Pacific Fleet on the West coast of the United States reached Britain, they decisively strengthened the patrol operations in the Panama Canal and Drake Passage to prevent the Americans from quietly assembling all their fleets.

Indeed, the extended patrols soon paid off.

More than a month after the outbreak of the war, on August 27, 1928, the Allied Army finally received information on the whereabouts of the United States Pacific Fleet.

The Pacific Fleet was indeed not on the West coast of the United States; they had already quietly reached South America.

But the problem was, naval vessels back then didn’t have nuclear Power, and before running out of fuel, they would need to dock for refueling and resupplying.

Especially since the Panama Canal had been blockaded, the United States Pacific Fleet would need to detour around the entirety of South America to reach the Atlantic Ocean, which also meant that they would need to resupply supplies three or four times at least.

And South American countries generally did not have good relations with the United States, so it was practically impossible for the American fleet to replenish supplies quietly.

When the American army was quietly refueling in Ecuador, South America, intelligence personnel there noticed the American warships and successfully reported to the United Fleet’s General Staff.

Meanwhile, the government of Ecuador also reported the news to Spain, and the Spanish government relayed this information to the Allied Army.

With the mutual confirmation of the two pieces of intelligence, the Pacific United Fleet led by Australasia and the Atlantic United Fleet led by Britain quickly headed to the area to encircle the United States Pacific Fleet.