A one-time military purchase of tens of millions of pounds, similar to that in the UK, has satisfied Nyasaland's companies. However, Nyasaland's companies still underestimated the scale of the world war. France sent more military supplies to Nyasaland.
Multiple orders, this time are also in the tens of millions of pounds, but the unit is no longer "pieces" or "parts", but tons.
France's first order is for 5,500 tons of food and 15,000 tons of nutritious military feed.
Southern Africans, including Stoudemire, were stunned by this huge order, but that's not all. The French promised that if the products provided by Southern Africa meet France's requirements, such orders will be placed every month.
, and the scale will only continue to increase.
Rock was not surprised. Southern Africa, like the United Kingdom, only maintains a small-scale army. It does not have enough understanding of large armies such as France, Germany, and Russia. There are two divisions of standing troops in Southern Africa, which add up to 40,000 people, which is needed daily.
There are not many supplies, and after installing a large amount of mechanical equipment, the types of supplies needed are different from those in Europe that still use a large number of military horses. In Europe, a group army organized into two divisions usually has about 30,000 people.
, such a group army needs 550 tons of food and 850 tons of fodder every day.
After the national mobilization, France has 1.8 million troops, divided into 97 infantry divisions and ten cavalry divisions. These troops require massive supplies every day.
Russia, known as the "European Steamroller", has 3.5 million troops, which are divided into 114 infantry divisions and 36 cavalry divisions.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire had 1.3 million troops, 47 infantry divisions, and 11 cavalry divisions.
Even the Kingdom of Serbia, which had only 20,000 troops before the war, urgently recruited 255,000 soldiers a week after the war broke out, organized into 12 infantry divisions and one brigade.
Fifty-five hundred tons of food is only what a group army needs for ten days.
This is not even considered fodder.
So large-scale war is really not something southern Africa can afford now.
"The problem now is that the French don't have the money to pay, so they need to borrow money from the Rand Bank, and France wants to trade in francs, not pounds or rands." Anton grinned from ear to ear. British arms purchases have already made southern Africa
After eating enough, plus France, this is a rhythm that needs to be eaten up.
Unlike other governors in suits and ties, Anton used to be more accustomed to wearing casual clothes. After the war broke out, Anton changed into a more military-looking hunting jacket and overalls. He still retains his military status in Southern Africa.
, the military rank is lieutenant general. If necessary, Anton, the governor, can also take up arms at any time.
That also means that all the people in Nyasaland have been mobilized. Rock has done his best to prevent this from happening. If it reaches this point, it means that the army has been exhausted, the border police and the national army have also been exhausted. In the factory
All workers, including female workers, must be organized.
"It's a good idea. It's possible to get a loan. Let the French people go to the Rand Bank to discuss it. It's OK without using pounds or rands, but it definitely can't be francs. You can use gold, equivalent gold settlement, and also add interest.
." Roque knew that the Entente would win the final victory, so he was not worried that France would not pay back the money, nor was he worried that it would not be able to pay it back.
If it doesn't work, just use Madagascar to pay off the debt. Roque is very willing to make Madagascar a part of southern Africa. Even France has not completely conquered Madagascar yet.
Even if the Allies win the final victory, inflation and currency devaluation are inevitable. The current franc is still linked to gold, which looks good. However, as time goes by, France will cancel the convertibility between the franc and gold during the world war.
, so settlement in francs is definitely not possible.
Roque understands the nature of these imperialist countries very clearly. Never overestimate the level of civilization in a "civilized society". People can eat people even if they are red-blooded.
"The Russian Empire also wants to buy weapons, but they need Mosin-Nagant. We may have to adjust the production line." Anton now truly understands what happy worries are. He is worried when there are no orders, and even more worried when the orders cannot be fulfilled.
, watching the orders flying over like snowflakes, they are all in vain——
No, yellow-orange-orange gold.
"Yes, but be careful with the Russian Empire. You can only trade with the Russian Empire in cash, and you must remind Ada that you must not give a loan to the Russian Empire, not even a penny." Roque was determined. Giving a loan to the Russian Empire now is tantamount to
Joined kmt in 1949.
"Why?" Anton couldn't figure it out. According to Rock's thinking, the Allies could win the world war, so the Russian Empire's ability to repay should also be no problem.
"There is no reason, it just doesn't work -" Rock refused a bit stiffly, and then thought about it and threw the blame to Brad: "The Russian Empire is very unstable, and there may be a regime change. When the time comes, the Russian Empire will say
You may default on your debt.”
Although Roark did not explain what would happen to the Russian Empire, he made it clear enough. This was obviously beyond Anton's understanding.
"Didn't pay? No way -" Anton still didn't understand imperialism well enough.
"Definitely!" Rock said resolutely. The Russian Empire did not default on its debts once or twice. It even dared to default on money from Britain and France, not to mention southern Africa.
Compared with Anton, Ada obviously knows European countries better. During the Russo-Japanese War, Russia's loan from the Rand Bank has not yet been repaid, although the interest repaid by Russia has far exceeded the original loan amount.
"France has a loan of 50 million rand, guaranteed by the proceeds from Madagascar. This money can only be used to purchase supplies in southern Africa, 80% of which must be in Nyasaland." Ada perfectly realized Roque's idea and proposed
The conditions were very harsh, but the French had no choice. Compared with Britain, France's financial situation was more difficult. Before the outbreak of the world war, France already needed British support to persist in the arms race.
"Well done!" Roque was very satisfied. It would be even more satisfying if the troops in southern Africa did not need to go to Europe.
The British War Department has been in frequent contact with the Ministry of Defense of Southern Africa in recent times. It not only requires the Ministry of Defense of Southern Africa to be prepared to attack Southwest Africa, but also requires Southern Africa to exercise restraint in the direction of Tanganyika. It also hopes that the troops in Southern Africa will immediately
Board the ship and sail to Europe.
On August 3rd, France responded to Germany's ultimatum with general mobilization for war yesterday. Germany declared war on France today. When Roque and Ada met, although Britain had not yet declared war on Germany, it had already ordered general mobilization for war.
This war mobilization is not only the British mainland, but also includes the huge colonies and overseas autonomous territories. This means that starting from today, the British mainland, Canada, Australia, southern Africa, New Zealand, India and other places have entered a state of war at the same time, and will continue until the end of the world war.
.
Compared with other colonies that have just begun to mobilize, Southern Africa is the most well-prepared. Rock has prepared an African division of six African soldiers for the mainland, which has been trained and is ready to go to Europe at any time.
After the general mobilization of the war, the Ministry of National Defense once again recruited 180,000 African soldiers to form ten divisions, preparing to send them to Europe to participate in the war. This was only the first batch, and there would be a second, third, and even nth batch. The Ministry of War certainly did not
I thought that Rock was so active in sending African soldiers to fight in Europe.
In the view of the War Department, this is probably the greatest loyalty of Rock, Viscount Nyasaland, to Britain.
Although the preparations in southern Africa were well done, they were not the largest compared to other colonies.
Regardless of how various overseas territories fought for power in the past, now is the time for everyone to be united and put aside disputes temporarily to win the war. India's mobilization plan includes a force of 2 million people and hundreds of millions of financial donations. In order to mobilize India's enthusiasm
, Britain promised to give India, Canada, Australia, southern Africa the same autonomous status after the world war.
This was definitely a lie, but the Indians firmly believed it and launched a massive donation for the world war. Many farmers even donated their rations to the British.
Like India, which has gone bankrupt, Australia has also entered a state of war. Australia's mobilization plan, with a total population of 5.5 million, includes 450,000 regular troops, ranging in age from 18 to 46, who will be sent to Europe to participate in the war.
Troops, if we lose the war, Australia will be doomed.
Compared with India and Australia, Southern Africa still has great potential for war. There are now more than five million Africans in Southern Africa. The exact number is unknown. A survey by the Ministry of Interior shows that there are more than a dozen children in an African family in Natal.
They abound, and in Home Office data, most African families have no more than three children.
In Africa, more people does not mean greater power, but means more taxes to be paid. After the general mobilization of war, southern Africa will also levy a war tax. Each person has one rand. For white Chinese, one rand is not a problem.
, for African families, not to mention one rand per person, many African families can't even get even one rand by selling everything.
So even Bullard's office doesn't know how many Africans there are in southern Africa. The Department of the Interior's estimate is five million, while Bullard's office estimates it to be more than nine million. The gap between the two figures is too big.
I don't know which one to believe.
According to the 1912 census, the total number of Chinese and white people in southern Africa has just reached 8 million, of which 5.6 million are Chinese and 2.4 million are white. Compared with the statistics of 1910, the population ratio gap between Chinese and white is smaller.
getting bigger.
Immigration continues in southern Africa. Not only is the Chinese population increasing rapidly, but the white population is also skyrocketing.
After all, for Europe, which has fallen into the abyss of war, southern Africa, which has not yet been affected by the war, is really a pure land.