Rise of Australia

Chapter 924 The Impact of the Lake Eyre Canal
While several European countries were engaged in mad wars, the Royal Arsenal in Australasia also faced a new task.

Based on the specific combat situation on the front battlefield, the Australasian Department of Defense issued new armament manufacturing requirements to the Royal Arsenal.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Defense’s requirements did not focus on weapons, but on certain improvements to existing ammunition and shells.

Yes, the new list of arms manufacturing is almost entirely ammunition. Unlike in the past, the Ministry of Defense requires the Royal Ordnance Factory to manufacture bullets and shells with sufficient lethality, requiring that the new bullets must be able to cause at least serious injuries to the enemy when hitting the enemy.

This was also decided based on the plan formulated by the General Staff to effectively consume the manpower of European countries.

In the short term, the new bullets made in Australasia will only be used on the enemy, but when the enemy finds something wrong, they will naturally conduct large-scale research on this new bullet and strive to cause greater casualties to the enemy.

In this way, at least in Europe, it will evolve into internal friction between Britain, France, Russia, Germany and Italy. The purpose of researching new bullets is to effectively kill the enemy's manpower. As long as both sides use new bullets in large quantities, the proportion of serious injuries and deaths on the battlefield will be much higher.

Arthur was very interested in the research of new weapons. Because of this, Arthur became one of the first people to visit the new ammunition developed by the Royal Arsenal.

After arriving at the Royal Arsenal, Arthur and several senior generals from the Ministry of Defense went to the testing area of ​​the arsenal to see the power of the new ammunition in person.

Andric, the chief researcher of new ammunition research and development at the Royal Arsenal, had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Arthur, he hurried forward and respectfully reported on the research and development of the new ammunition.

“Your Majesty, please see that according to the requirements of the Ministry of Defense, we have developed and manufactured the first batch of new ammunition.

The bomb you see is what we call a raindrop bomb. Although it looks like an ordinary bomb, there are tens of thousands of such small cast iron bombs inside it. "Andrick handed Arthur a small bomb less than five centimeters long and explained.

"Will these small bombs explode again after they hit the ground and cause casualties?" Arthur asked with a little interest.

If this is really the principle, then the principle of this bomb is similar to that of a cluster bomb, which achieves a large-scale bombing effect by packaging small bombs inside large bombs.

"No, Your Majesty." Andrick was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook his head and said, "These cast iron bombs are solid, without any gunpowder inside.

The large bomb on the outside would explode in the air, and the tens of thousands of small cast iron bombs loaded inside would be dispersed in a relatively dense manner and fall to the land below at a speed of more than 500 kilometers per hour.

Combined with the weight of these cast iron bombs and the acceleration after the bombs explode, according to our analysis, these solid cast iron bombs can penetrate up to 3 mm of steel plate, which is extremely effective against the enemy. "

"Of course, Your Majesty, your suggestion is also a good idea. Thank you for reminding me. Next, I will also study such bombs and strive to create more weapons that can kill the enemy." Andrik added quickly.

Knowing that Andrick's supplement was because he was afraid that he would be angry, Arthur smiled and nodded and said, "Weapons research and development still depends on experts like you. What I said are just some of my own ideas.

Of course, no matter what the idea is, as long as we can develop sufficiently good weapons, it is correct and beneficial to the country. "

Then, Arthur turned his gaze to the so-called raindrop bomb and asked curiously: "Have you actually tested the power of this bomb?"

"Not yet, Your Majesty." Andrick shook his head and explained, "The Royal Arsenal doesn't have a large experimental site. We are worried that tens of thousands of small bombs will be too scattered and cause unnecessary casualties, so we haven't conducted actual tests yet."

Arthur nodded, quite satisfied with the Royal Arsenal's caution.

The Royal Arsenal has specific laboratories in Sydney and Fort St. Arthur, and its branches are even spread across major regions of Australasia. It is the largest military factory in Australasia and the largest partner for weapons and equipment in the entire empire.

Arthur had no idea how huge the Royal Arsenal was, because as early as World War I, the Royal Arsenal already had more than 100,000 employees, and its weapons production had reached a terrifying number.

"Then let's test them together later. I'm curious about the power of these weapons and hope they can bring me good news." Arthur nodded and said with a smile.

Andrick nodded and continued to introduce to Arthur: "Your Majesty, please see, the second lethal weapon we developed and manufactured is the improved new bullet.

The new bullet has a sharper and thinner warhead, which affects the range of the weapon, but outside the range, the bullet will be more lethal.

After hitting the enemy, the bullet will not cause a penetrating wound like a normal bullet, but will quickly flip inside the enemy's body.

As a result, the damage caused by the new bullet is simply incomparable to that of ordinary bullets. If used in close-range firefights, such bullets will become a nightmare for the enemy. Once hit, it will cause serious injuries, and it is basically impossible to survive without timely treatment. "

Arthur nodded and looked at the bullet Andrik showed him.

Compared with normal bullets, the tip of this bullet is sharper and the material of the bullet is obviously different.

"Because the warhead is relatively thin, it may break into many small pieces after hitting the enemy. According to our simulation experiments, as long as it hits the area below the enemy's neck and above the legs, no matter where it hits, it is basically a fatal injury." Andrik explained with a smile.

Although the distance is reduced to a certain extent, the effectiveness of such bullets when used on the front battlefield is absolutely unquestionable.

You know, no matter which country the soldiers are from, they cannot guarantee their hit rate on the battlefield.

This also means that it is difficult to cause casualties with ordinary bullets alone. Even if ordinary bullets can hit the enemy, if the place hit is not a vital part, it is basically a less serious injury.

But the new bullet developed by Andrick is different. Because of various characteristics, if the new bullet hits the enemy's body, it will at least cause serious injuries.

As long as they are seriously injured, it is impossible to recover their combat effectiveness in a short period of time. Even if they are not rescued in time, the soldiers hit by bullets are likely to die on the way due to their serious injuries.

In this way, Arthur achieved his goal of effectively killing the manpower of European countries. Although it was indeed a bit cruel, in the face of national interests, one must be ruthless.

Currently, there are only these two types of new ammunition developed by the Royal Arsenal, but Arthur is quite satisfied with the research and development progress of the Royal Arsenal.

In particular, the idea of ​​the first bomb introduced by Andrik, with a slight improvement, can produce a weapon similar to a cluster bomb, which is equivalent to three new types of ammunition.

As long as it can be determined in tests that these weapons are indeed very effective in killing, Australasia can produce large quantities of these bombs and ammunition and put them into subsequent operations.

Thinking of this, Arthur was looking forward to the actual test results of the two types of ammunition. Looking at Andrick, Arthur ordered: "Since we already have two finished products of new ammunition, why not start testing today.

I remember there is a desert area to the east of Lake Eyre, which is a more suitable testing site. It can also be used to see the changes in the local climate and environment since the construction of the Lake Eyre Canal. "

Construction of the Lake Eyre Canal began in early 1929 and was completed at the end of 1933, taking nearly five years.

Such a large project required huge investment of manpower, financial resources and material resources at the time, and it was also a construction project that the entire country was looking forward to.

Time has passed, and it has been more than three years since the canal was built.

Speaking of which, due to his busy schedule, Arthur hasn't been to the area around Lake Eyre Canal to see the changes the canal has brought for nearly three years.

This weapons test is a good opportunity for Arthur to see whether the project he advocated is effective.

After hearing Arthur's orders, Andric and the military generals naturally had no objections.

Carrying several new bombs and hundreds of new bullets from the Royal Arsenal, the group marched from the Royal Arsenal to the desert east of the Lake Eyre Canal.

This desert is located in the easternmost part of South Australia, and further east is the Australian Capital Territory.

It can also be seen from the Australasia Geographic Environment Plan that this desert is located exactly on the dividing line of the Geographic Environment Improvement Department.

What does that mean?

According to the plan of the Geographic Environment Improvement Department, the desert of the Australian continent will be divided from this dividing line. The large area to the east is the scope of geographical improvement, and the ultimate goal is to restore it to a vast plain.

There is currently no way to control the deserts and wastelands to the west. Even if there is a way to control these deserts and wastelands, it will require a lot of manpower and financial resources, which is not worth the cost for Australasia now.

There is no way around it. Although Australia has extremely developed mineral resource reserves and vast land area, it also has large tracts of desert and plains that are becoming increasingly desertified.

If Australia did not have these shortcomings, this area would be perfect. Even Queen Victoria would not give this area to Arthur so easily.

You should know that the UK's land area is only about 31.5 square kilometers, which is only above average in the whole of Europe.

The total area of ​​Australia alone is more than 700 million square kilometers, which is more than 20 times that of the United Kingdom.

If it weren't for the desertification of the land, the large amount of desert and the small habitable area, I'm afraid this would be the second India in the eyes of the British.

In fact, even if the vast deserts and wasteland areas are removed, Australia still has millions of square kilometers of habitable areas.

In particular, the current Australasian government's vigorous development of the National Capital District and the Murray River Plain has significantly improved the ecology of the Murray River Basin.

This not only adds millions of square kilometers of habitable land to Australia, but also gives this land more potential to become a continent in its own right.

It is no exaggeration to say that if we only count the current habitable area in Australia, it can accommodate at least hundreds of millions of people, and in a relatively scattered and sparse state.

If the Lake Eyre Canal is indeed of great help to the environment around Lake Eyre, then the Great Artesian Basin is likely to be revitalized, and Australia will once again have millions of square kilometers of habitable land.

As for the great deserts in the west and the center, there is no need to manage them. After all, the total area of ​​these extra lands is close to one-third of Europe.

Fort St. Arthur is located at the junction of the Murray River and the Darling River. Due to Australasia's environmental management, the flow of the Murray River has far exceeded that before, and the ecology along the river is also lush and green.

In order to reach the desert as quickly as possible, Arthur mobilized two
The Sop-34 transport plane carried everyone and two types of weapons and ammunition to the desert.

Although there is no military airport in the desert, because it is only a few dozen kilometers away from the Lake Eyre Canal, you can land at an airport around the Lake Eyre Canal and then take a car to the destination.

After more than an hour, Arthur and his team successfully arrived at the airport near the Lake Eyre Canal.

While still flying in the sky, Arthur had already observed the conditions around Lake Eyre.

When I came here last time, the area around Lake Eyre was still an endless expanse of earthy yellow. Apart from sparse bushes, there were few forests or other plants.

But in less than four years, the ecological environment around Lake Eyre has improved a lot.

Trees of varying sizes have been planted around the area, and the two rivers leading to Lake Eyre have regained their water, although it was fed back by Lake Eyre.

When building the Lake Eyre Canal, Arthur knew that seawater was impossible to use for irrigation. In addition, the high salt content in seawater made the salinity of Lake Eyre, which was originally a saltwater lake, even more exaggerated.

In order to protect the ecological environment around Lake Eyre, the salt in the kettle needs to be cleaned every once in a while.

Although this will also cost manpower and financial resources, compared to turning this area into a complete desert or even desertification, such a small cost is negligible.

According to the current management of the geographical environment around Lake Eyre, it is no exaggeration to say that the area within ten kilometers has basically become suitable for living.

Although there is little normal plant growth in areas closer to Lake Eyre due to the high salt content, the geographical environment has recovered in more distant areas due to water infiltration.

The two rivers into which the lake water flows back happen to serve as two dividing lines, protecting the entire capital special zone from desertification.

From this feature alone, the construction of the Lake Eyre Canal is not a loss. Looking at the improvement of the surrounding ecology caused by the backflow of seawater, it has been basically determined that the Lake Eyre Canal will be the most important construction since the founding of Australasia.

(End of this chapter)