The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1348 - 972 The Obedient King
Chapter 1348: Chapter 972: The Obedient King
Chapter 1348 -972: The Obedient King
On one hand, maintaining an interest in and a watchful eye on the direction of the German-Russian war, the Australasian Army intensified its assault on Estonia.
The Estonian Military, essentially a puppet government’s assemblage, crumbled like loose sand before the well-equipped and powerful Australasian Army, disintegrating at a touch and scattering at a fall.
In less than two and a half weeks, the Australasian Army captured the Estonian capital of Tallinn and occupied important Estonian urban cities such as Rakvere, Narva, Parnu, and Kureseare.
With the exception of Voru, where the German Army was stationed, and nearby Tartu, a significant expanse of Estonian territory had been reclaimed by Australasia.
Estonia’s independence had lasted for just 16 years, during which the Estonian King had been forcibly installed and did not boast much prestige at home.
This also facilitated Australasia’s operations in Estonia. Although the rulers of Estonia and Latvia were supported by Britain and France, Arthur was not going to be polite about it.
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As long as these two countries were occupied by Australasia, their Monarchs would definitely be at Australasia’s discretion.
On May 27, 1939, when the Australasian Army grandly set off toward the southeastern Estonian cities of Tartu and Voru, they were astonished to find that the German division previously stationed here had withdrawn, leaving behind only a very small number of Estonian puppet troops.
The outcome was quite clear, as both cities were recaptured that day, and Estonia declared its independence from German puppet rule, re-establishing the Kingdom of Estonia.
However, there was a slight episode before the establishment of the Kingdom of Estonia. The King of Estonia first sought an audience with the Australasian ambassador in London and then in the Estonian capital of Tallinn with the generals of the Australasian Army, expressing a firm stance—that he wanted to cling to a powerful protector.
Yes, it was a simple attitude of seeking protection.
When meeting the Australasian ambassador, the King of Estonia presented himself very humbly, even personally stating that Estonia would become Australasia’s most loyal subordinate.
Arthur had originally planned to replace the King of Estonia, but seeing the King of Estonia so understanding, he was in no hurry to do so.
However, to prevent the Estonian’s fickle behavior of swaying with the wind, Arthur also made sure that the Australasian ambassador to the United Kingdom sternly warned the Estonian King, indicating that Australasia was willing to cooperate with Estonia, but on the condition that Australasia must be Estonia’s sole ally.
Regarding this point, the King of Estonia agreed very promptly.
Even in order to gain the trust of Australasia, the King of Estonia was even willing to lease any part of Estonia to Australasia for the establishment of a military base.
On this matter, Arthur also had to admit that the Estonian King was a smart man.
Establishing a military base in Estonia was beneficial for both countries.
Firstly, for Australasia, it would ensure that even if this little brother proved disloyal, they would still have the means to deal with them.
For Estonia, it was not only their pledge of allegiance to Australasia, but it also allowed them to use Australasian troops to safeguard their security.
After all, Estonia’s neighbor is Russia, whose territory once included all three countries of the Baltic Sea.
If there were no Australasian garrison troops, who could guarantee the safety of the Estonian King if Russia suddenly sent troops to occupy Estonia?
After all, Russia’s system is not a monarchy, and their ideology is even hostile to monarchism to a certain extent.
Moreover, compared to Europe’s second and third-rate monarchies, a nation as weak as Estonia does not even qualify to be a fence-sitter.
Estonia’s population is currently only about one million, especially after this war, which has decreased the number to below one million.
What can such a population do? It is very difficult for Estonia to field an army of 100,000, which is not even equivalent to the size of a single army group of the powerful nations.
Thus, for a country like Estonia, once they have latched onto a protector, they can only choose loyalty, because the country’s strength is fundamentally incapable of bearing the wrath of a powerful nation.
After conquering Estonia, the Australasian Army then swiftly moved south to Latvia.
Latvia is wedged between Estonia and Lithuania, and although its geographic location is not crucial, it remains the obligatory route to Lithuania and Poland.
Australasia’s offensive plans had completely abandoned the idea of conquering Saint Petersburgh and instead shifted to taking full control of the Baltic States and Poland.
As a result, it was necessary to swiftly occupy the Baltic States while Russia was preoccupied with rescaring the 1.5 million troops that were surrounded, and to liberate Poland ahead of them.
With Poland serving as a barrier between Germany and Russia, it would become very difficult for the Russian army to enter German territory.
Although the absence of the Russian army made the joint attack on Germany less likely, the German-Russian war had already exhausted a substantial part of the German military and its living forces, leaving the Germans in a desperate struggle.
There is a river in Latvia called the Daugava River. This river divides the whole of Latvia into the northern and southern regions, and Latvia’s capital, Riga, is also located on the north side of this river.
Why emphasize this river? Because according to the latest front-line intelligence, the German strategic contraction in Eastern Europe involved this river.
Of course, it’s not only about this river. The German defenses were primarily focused around the Daugava and Dnieper rivers; these two rivers not only naturally obstructed the Russian and Australasian armies’ advances but also marked the divide of Germany’s fate.
Once any army crossed the defense line formed by these two rivers, Germany’s fate would be entirely in the enemy’s hands.
To thoroughly defend this line, at the breaches of the two rivers, namely in the areas of Smolensk and Vitebsk, the Germans deployed a large number of Firearms and infantry positions and dug numerous trenches.
Looking at the defense line constructed by the Germans, it seemed the German government was intent on making a final stand against Australasia and Russia along this line.
After all, it was no longer far from the German mainland, and the logistics conditions were not as dire as deep within Russian territory.
If they were to fight here, the German military’s logistics could be amply secured.
Upon learning that the German army had retreated south of the Daugava River, the Australasian Army marched triumphantly into northern Latvian cities such as Valmiera, Rezekne, and Riga.
Latvia clearly had a much larger population than Estonia.
Although the area north of the Daugava River was only about half of Latvia’s total land area, the population there still exceeded 1.4 million, which was more than the entire population of Estonia.
And the southern region occupied by the Germans had at least 500,000 Latvians, indicating that the whole of Latvia had a population of at least 2 million.
The southern region, Lithuania, also had a population of over 2 million, reflecting to some extent the development gap between the countries of the Mediterranean Triad.
But this was normal. After all, these three countries stacked up vertically, with Estonia being very close to the Northern Europe region, where the colder climate naturally meant a smaller population.
In contrast, the region of Lithuania still lay in the temperate zone, and areas parallel to Lithuania, like the Swedish Scandinavia, Denmark, and others, boasted quite good population and economic development.
After capturing Riga, the capital of Latvia, essentially, the Latvian government had been liberated.
However, compared to the King of Estonia, the King of Latvia was clearly less cooperative.
But this was not a concern—after all, the King of Latvia was also a puppet supported by Britain and France, lacking in ability and not holding a strong position within Latvia.
The first thing the Australasian Army did upon occupying Riga was to declare the liberation of the Latvian government; the second was to signal the Latvian government to abolish the monarchy system and to elect a new King for Latvia.
From where would this new King come? Obviously, it would be whoever seemed most agreeable and perceptive.
Anna and Prince Gustav Smith had several sons; if need be, picking one who seemed honest and straightforward from Anna’s sons to become the King of Latvia was also an option.
As for the so-called defense line that the Germans had established south of the Daugava River, the Australasian Army really didn’t care.
While it would certainly be difficult to break through this line head-on, the Australasian Army had options beyond a direct assault.
