Chapter 284: New Battleship Orders
After his visit to Germany, Arthur immediately traveled to Russia, where he visited Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duke Sergey, and also visited the still-bedridden Crown Prince Alexei.
There was no choice; perhaps this was the trouble of having many relatives. Both Germany and Russia had close familial ties with Arthur, and the relationships between the countries were very friendly, which meant that Arthur had to make the rounds.
Moreover, both Germany and Russia could offer significant help to Australasia, and their status as great powers made them valuable allies for Australasia.
Of course, the actual help that Russia could provide at the moment was limited, with the most useful support perhaps being the continuous flow of Russian immigrants.
During his days in Russia, Arthur re-signed an immigration agreement with Tsar Nicholas II. According to the agreement, Australasia would pay the Russian government 5 million rubles each year in compensation, in exchange for Russia's support in sending large numbers of immigrants to Australasia.
Although 5 million rubles wasn't a huge sum for Arthur, it was not insignificant for the Russian government's finances. Under the witness of Nicholas II and Arthur, the agreement was signed quickly.
Nicholas II even smiled and said that if Australasia needed it, he could mobilize the government to send over a million immigrants each year.
In truth, for the Russian Empire, sending out a million immigrants per year was entirely feasible. As of 1910, Russia's population had reached more than 160 million people. In recent years, the annual population increase had been around 3 to 5 million. Sending 1 million people abroad each year wouldn't even cause a dent in Russia's population.
However, if Australasia were to accept 1 million Russian immigrants annually, while it would rapidly increase Australasia's population, it might also lead to an imbalance in the ethnic composition, with the Russian immigrant population potentially becoming nearly as large as the British-descended population, which could affect national unity and stability.
According to the new immigration agreement signed by Arthur and Nicholas II, the agreement would last for five years. Australasia would pay 5 million rubles each year, and Russia would send 400,000 immigrants to Australasia annually, after a careful selection process.
Over the five-year period, Australasia would receive a maximum of 2 million Russian immigrants, which was the upper limit that Australasia could absorb. Along with the immigrants from the UK, Germany, and other European countries, Australasia's population could potentially exceed 13 million by around 1915, with British immigrants still accounting for over 60% of the population.
After World War I, with the addition of a large wave of refugees, the population could rise to 17 million by 1920. While it was uncertain whether there would be a second world war, it was highly likely that Australasia's population would exceed 20 million within five years of World War I's conclusion, securing the country's status as a great power.
During his time in Russia, the Russian Naval Department repeatedly requested to meet with Arthur, and under Nicholas II's approval, a new battleship procurement order was finalized.
The two previous Monarch-class battleships, Petersburg and Poltava, had demonstrated excellent combat performance, far surpassing the old battleships previously assigned to the Pacific Fleet.
The performance of these two dreadnoughts prompted General Makarov, stationed in Port Lushun, to immediately report to the Naval Department and Nicholas II, urging the Russian government to order more Monarch-class battleships.
As General Makarov put it, if the Pacific Fleet could be equipped with two more dreadnoughts, even with British support, Japan would still not be able to compete with Russia.
Unfortunately, Britain had reached an agreement with Russia, and Russia could not act in the Far East for the time being. Thus, General Makarov's plans were thwarted.
However, the power of the Monarch class had caught the attention of the Russian high command.
Russia had a strange trait: while the leadership was willing to spend large amounts of money on powerful cannons and warships, they were unwilling to provide fresh meat and food, or proper refrigeration equipment for the sailors aboard those warships.
The officers in charge of procurement would rather risk being killed by rebellious sailors than purchase fresh food for the Navy, seeing it as a regular part of naval life.
In 1905, the battleship Eagle had caused a riot when officers brought a sick cow to the kitchen to make lunch for the sailors. In June, the Pojazgin battleship had another revolt when the officers used rotten meat with maggots to make soup for the sailors, and the entire ship was seized by the rebellious crew, who fled to Romania.
In May 1907, part of the Black Sea Fleet had prepared to revolt on four battleships, but the plan was foiled due to leaks, and the rebellion failed.
These repeated uprisings made Nicholas II lose faith in the Baltic and Black Sea fleets. If not for the high importance of the Navy, and the hope that the Pacific Fleet under General Makarov could provide a glimmer of hope, the Navy would have been handed over to the Army, which would have crippled the already weak Baltic Fleet.
The Russian Empire had become deeply corrupted. The upper and middle classes were decadent, while the lower military ranks were undertrained, undisciplined, and no longer resembled a great power.
Arthur, however, was powerless to change this. After all, he was not a member of the Russian royal family, and even if he made suggestions, Nicholas II was unlikely to accept them.
Arthur could only hope that the Russian Empire would collapse slowly in the coming war and see if there was any chance to save the Russian royal family.
The new battleship procurement order was a massive one and would likely be Russia's last large order for the next five years.
The order included two Monarch-class battleships and two Imperial-class battlecruisers—four powerful capital ships in total.
At first, Arthur was surprised by the scale of the order, but when he learned that these four battleships would be deployed in the Baltic Sea, he understood. This likely had the support of both France and Britain.
After all, the stronger Russia's Navy became in the Baltic, the greater the pressure on Germany's High Seas Fleet.
If the French could be more proactive with dreadnoughts, and even if Britain and France teamed up, they could potentially trap Germany's High Seas Fleet in the Baltic and North Seas.
Unfortunately, the French were still slow with dreadnought development, just as in history, and would likely have to rely on British protection for their northern and western coasts.
The two Monarch-class battleships were named Queen Maria and Catherine the Great, while the two Imperial-class battlecruisers were named Gangut and Sevastopol.
According to the agreement between the Russian Navy and Australasia, Australasia was required to deliver half of the four capital ships by the end of 1913, with the entire order completed by the end of 1914.
Arthur quickly calculated that the timeline was feasible.
Australasia was already in the process of building two Imperial-class battlecruisers, which should be completed by early 1911. With nearly three years until the end of 1913, it would be entirely possible to complete the construction and testing of two of the four ships.
The cost of a Monarch-class battleship was approximately £1.9 million, and the sale price to Russia was £2.4 million.
The Imperial-class battlecruisers were slightly cheaper, around £1.72 million, with the sale price to Russia being £2.1 million.
Due to the strong relations between Russia and Australasia, the sale price to Russia was lower than the export price, but the shipyard still stood to make a solid profit—more than £400,000 per ship.
The total cost of Russia's four ships was 81 million rubles, which converted to 18 million Australian dollars. Arthur's royal shipyard was set to earn 3.52 million Australian dollars from this deal, and after taxes, the shipyard would net at least 3 million Australian dollars.
It was undeniable that the profit from exporting military equipment, especially battleships, was substantial. Just from this order for four ships, Arthur would be able to build another battlecruiser.
As the 20th century entered its second decade, the competition in Europe visibly intensified.
Any country within the two major military alliances would not be able to escape the arms race.
According to reports from the Royal Intelligence Bureau, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had also secretly begun building dreadnoughts, naming them the United Forces class battleships.
However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's road to dreadnoughts had been much more difficult than that of Britain and Germany.
Since the invention of dreadnoughts, several years had passed. Countries like Britain and Germany had already moved on to more advanced designs and began building more powerful dreadnoughts.
As for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they hadn't even started the basic dreadnought designs, and their debates in parliament were still ongoing.
If not for the Navy Department funding the construction of two dreadnoughts without parliamentary approval, the first Austro-Hungarian dreadnought might not have been completed until late 1915.
With Britain and Germany in the middle of a naval race, it was unlikely they would accept too many foreign dreadnought orders.
This meant that the next few years would be Australasia's best opportunity to sell battleships abroad.
Aside from the naval race in Europe, South America also had a naval race, which presented an opportunity for Australasia.
After all, making money wasn't shameful. If the profits from selling Monarch-class battleships could be used to build more Saint Vincent-class battleships, it would be a huge boon for Australasia's navy.
After finalizing the battleship order and delivery schedule with the Russian Naval Department, Arthur hurriedly set off on his journey back to Australasia.
(End of Chapter)
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