Chapter 78 Military Reform
March 3, 1901, outskirts of Sydney.
This place was originally a desolate valley, but after some basic modifications, it had been turned into a massive temporary military camp.
After more than a month of troop deployment, most of the Australian garrison had now arrived here, and they were about to begin a long period of reorganization and training.
Reorganizing the current military was something Arthur had long decided, but due to various delays, it had been postponed until now.
The current Australian army consisted of the former colonial troops and Arthur's personal guard.
Arthur's personal guard numbered 4,000 men, all from the Royal Guard Regiment of the British Empire, well-equipped and highly capable in combat.
The remaining colonial troops had been stationed in Australia during its colonial period, and after independence, they were handed over to Arthur for management. Arthur then placed them under the Ministry of Defense.
These colonial troops numbered about 6,000, recruited locally within Australia.
A defining feature of this army was that, apart from a few high-ranking officers, all non-commissioned officers and soldiers were Australians.
For this reason, both their weapons and pay were funded jointly by the six former colonies, and as a result, their equipment was naturally somewhat lacking.
In fact, it wasn't just the equipment—the soldiers' combat skills and military discipline also fell short compared to the British regular army, let alone Arthur's personal guard.
These soldiers were barely qualified to defend Australia, but if expected to participate in real warfare, they would likely become cannon fodder.
Therefore, a reform of the military was absolutely necessary. The goal was to select those with true potential, equip them with new weapons, train them in military discipline, and build a new and powerful army.
After all, the personal guard was Arthur's last resort, and under normal circumstances, it was unlikely they would be deployed to the battlefield.
To better facilitate the military reform, Commander Chris Perry of the Guard would work together with Minister of Defense Kent to jointly supervise and train these troops.
As for the instructors, they would naturally be chosen from the elite soldiers and officers of the personal guard.
These guardsmen had all been selected from the finest troops of the British Empire. Arthur had full confidence in their capabilities and loyalty.
The first stage of training was to select soldiers who were physically strong and quick-witted.
Since Australia lacked an officer training system and had no wars to help officers build real experience, the only solution was a simple one: select smart and strong individuals and train them to become the future officers of the army.
The commander of the Australian army had already returned to Britain, so the army was currently under the command of Minister Kent.
And since Kent was a loyal subordinate of Arthur, there was no opposition to this reform.
As for the fact that this reform might cost some officers their positions, Arthur didn't care in the slightest.
If someone lacks the ability, letting them command a unit would only endanger everyone.
As the saying goes, a bad general makes a whole army useless. In this new army, both generals and officers must be carefully selected and trained to ensure their loyalty and competence before they take their posts.
Thus, under the watchful eyes of Arthur, Minister Kent, and General Chris Perry, the 6,000-strong army began its first round of training: physical conditioning.
Kent and General Perry's training plan was to treat these 6,000 as raw recruits, cultivating and training them from scratch. Throughout the process, those who showed potential would be identified for further training as future officer reserves.
The rest of the soldiers, after round after round of physical and disciplinary training followed by a few days of ideological education, would officially become soldiers of the new Australian army.
These trained soldiers would then be reorganized as the Australian National Defense First Division.
In the future, this First Division would serve as the model and training unit for further military expansion and would represent the most powerful standing force in the Australian military.
Although the training was harsh, Arthur was not stingy when it came to logistics.
In this era, many soldiers barely ate meat a few times a year. Only in relatively developed European countries could soldiers have abundant meals every day.
The Australian army, however, had beef and mutton in all three daily meals. Though each soldier was limited to 200 grams—less than half a pound—lunch and dinner together exceeded a pound.
As a major livestock-producing nation, Australia truly lacked nothing when it came to meat.
Although the livestock industry had not yet developed to the scale it would in the future, it already had a large number of herders and pastoral zones. Just from beef and mutton exports alone, Australia earned tens of thousands of pounds annually.
While the army was undergoing intense training, Minister Kent also coordinated with Butler Hunter to order a batch of new weapons from the munitions factory.
Previously, although the Australian army had been equipped with British-made weapons, the models varied widely. The most powerful Lee-Enfield rifles didn't even make up a fifth of the armament, making them look rather shabby compared to the guard units.
After this reorganization, all Australian military units would be uniformly equipped with Lee-Enfield rifles, and logistical support would be managed entirely by Australia's own munitions factories, no longer relying on imports from Britain.
Additionally, the army would also be equipped with the most powerful MA-96 Maxim machine guns and CA-1 autocannons. And after Germany's artillery technology arrived and the munitions factory began producing large-caliber artillery, the army would place orders for those as well.
Arthur's goal was simple: to build Australia into a strong military nation with army, navy, and future air force developing in parallel.
Although there was no air force yet, and the navy remained small for various reasons, this didn't prevent the current development of the army. Once the entire military was fully armed, the Australian military would stand among the world's strongest forces.
In terms of training, Minister Kent did not cut corners either. In addition to ordering 6,000 Lee-Enfield rifles, he also purchased more than ten million rounds of ammunition.
These soldiers, besides undergoing physical and disciplinary training, would also enjoy frequent live-fire drills—something only industrially advanced nations could afford.
Sharpshooters are trained one bullet at a time. That was Minister Kent's thinking—using this slow but effective method to quickly improve the accuracy of the troops.
(End of Chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997