African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1585 Assessment of Germany's Future National Power
Germany reaped the biggest rewards this time, with Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Galicia, Slovakia, and Slovenia all falling into German hands.

Germany did not face significant difficulties in assimilating these regions, as the formation of Yugoslavia and the cession of territories such as Lombardy and Venice actually reduced the non-German population within the Austro-Hungarian Empire to approximately ten million.

Of course, the independence of the Kingdom of Dalmatia also resulted in the loss of more than one million Germans from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. This was not important to Germany. Now, the German population within the Austro-Hungarian Empire plus Germany, after the merger of the two countries, would account for more than 70%. The future Greater German Empire would have a population of more than 100 million, with the German population being about 80 million.

The Greater German Empire instantly became one of the six most populous countries in the world, on par with the United States and surpassing Japan.

The world population ranking of the Greater German Empire is actually unchanged from the previous life, because East Africa, the third most populous country in the world, has been added in this timeline.

This is still the result of the poor population growth in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in recent years. In just over a decade, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been involved in many wars, first World War I, then the Hungarian Rebellion, and now the Austro-Hungarian Civil War and external intervention wars. A large number of people have lost their lives in the war or fled overseas.

Otherwise, the Greater German Empire, formed by Germany's annexation of Austria-Hungary, would have easily surpassed the United States in population, rather than being on par with it.

……

As time progressed into 1935, the whole world knew that the landscape of Europe was about to undergo a dramatic transformation, and that Germany's annexation of Austria-Hungary was an outcome known to all.

In January, Adolf and Austro-Hungarian acting president Fraunfeld, who was also the former leader of the Austrian National Party, announced that the Austrian National Party would be reorganized and merged with the German National Party to form a unified new German National Party.

Currently, both Germany and Austria-Hungary are essentially party-states, so the merger of the two parties is a power preparation for the merger of the two countries.

Regarding the annulment of Germany and Austria, apart from the Soviet Union, there was no large-scale opposition from other countries in the international community, not even France.

Of course, France did take action; after the Austro-Hungarian War, France accelerated the construction and improvement of the Maginot Line.

However, the construction of the Maginot Line was clearly an "escape" defense strategy. The French government is now well aware that France was not worthy of being Germany's opponent after World War I, so France is now pursuing self-preservation more.

Compared to the French, the Soviet Union was more alarmed by the prospect of the German-Austrian unification. While the French harbored wishful thinking, the Soviet Union was clear that Germany was its mortal enemy, and that a Soviet-German war was only a matter of time.

The merged Germany had a population that was only about 20 to 30 million smaller than that of the Soviet Union, which now had a population of about 150 million.

However, Germany can make up for this population gap through other means, such as by utilizing countries like Poland, western Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria.

These countries may have had different attitudes toward Germany, but they were all filled with hostility and fear toward the Soviet Union.

Of course, for the Soviet Union, what was even more terrifying about Germany after the annexation of Austria-Hungary was its industry and economy, as well as its increased self-sufficiency.

After annexing Austria-Hungary, Germany's industrial scale directly surpassed that of the Soviet Union, becoming the largest in Europe and not inferior to that of the United States. It was also highly competitive compared to East Africa. At the same time, Germany would become the largest economy in Europe.

Of course, what made Austria-Hungary more important to Germany was its resources and agriculture. For example, the oil-producing regions in eastern Austria-Hungary are now in German hands.

In addition, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's bauxite, antimony, mercury, and graphite were also very important to Germany, as Germany was originally relatively poor in these resources.

Bauxite is directly related to the development of the aviation industry, and in modern warfare, the air force has become an indispensable force. Therefore, the bauxite resources of the Austro-Hungarian Empire could significantly strengthen the German Air Force.

Antimony is a metal mainly used to produce alloys, which is important for the development of the military industry.

Mercury is mainly used in the chemical industry and in the production of explosives.

Graphite is in high demand in modern industry, for example, in the manufacture of electrodes and as a lubricant.

In agriculture, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's main contribution to Germany was the acquisition of Hungary, the breadbasket of the world. Germany was unable to achieve self-sufficiency in food, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire was able to, precisely because of the existence of Hungary's breadbasket.

Now that Germany has annexed Austria-Hungary, the vast plains of Hungary have fallen almost entirely into German hands. Moreover, due to the Hungarian rebellion, Hungary's population has decreased, and its food self-sufficiency rate is now higher.

With the addition of German agricultural technology, Hungary's agricultural potential can be further developed, and perhaps Germany could achieve food self-sufficiency.

Self-sufficiency in mineral resources and agriculture greatly enhanced Germany's war potential. A key reason why Germany failed in World War I was its scarcity of resources and arable land, which significantly weakened its motivation for subsequent wars.

Of course, even after annexing Austria-Hungary, Germany's resource shortage remained a prominent issue. For example, while Austria-Hungary's oil reserves could make Germany an oil-producing country, they were far from sufficient to meet the needs of its industry and military. However, having some was better than having none.

East Africa, Rhine City.

Crown Prince Friedrich and Ernst conducted a new assessment of Germany's war potential.

Crown Prince Friedrich said, "The effect of Germany's annexation of Austria-Hungary was not just one plus one equals two, but greater than two. Germany's industry will become exceptionally strong."

"Adolf will inevitably integrate the industrial resources of the two countries, and the industrial system of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire will certainly undergo a qualitative change with the support of German technology and personnel."

"In the future, Germany's steel production capacity will exceed 30 million tons, which may directly lead to Germany becoming the world's second largest steel producer. Currently, the United States' steel production is only over 20 million tons."

"The steel industry is the cornerstone of modern industry. With a significant increase in Germany's steel production, it can also accelerate the development of its military industry, producing more guns, artillery, warships, and so on."

The United States is in the process of recovering its steel production, so it is inevitable that Germany will temporarily surpass the United States after integrating the resources of both countries.

"The surge in German steel production capacity was not only due to the support of the Austro-Hungarian steel industry in terms of resources, but also because Germany gained access to the former Austro-Hungarian market, further strengthening its influence in the Balkans and the Middle East." "At the same time, the acquisition of Trieste also provided Germany with an additional resource import channel from the Mediterranean, consolidating Germany's energy security."

“By transiting through Trieste, Germany can import more energy and minerals from the Mediterranean, and then transport these energy and minerals to the Bohemian industrial region, and then by rail to the Saxony and Silesia industrial regions that were originally within Germany.”

“In addition to Trieste, Germany also gained access to the Black Sea, which was originally part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and then used the Danube River shipping to solidify its relationship with the Ottoman Empire as an ally.”

"In this way, there were three communication routes between Germany and the Ottoman Empire: first, the Mediterranean route; second, the Danube-Black Sea route; and finally, the Berlin-Baghdad Railway."

There is no doubt that the Ottoman Empire was of paramount importance to Germany. At the same time, the two countries also had a real need for mutual benefit, namely, to jointly contain the development of the Soviet Union.

Of course, this is just one of the strategic and geopolitical benefits that Germany gained after annexing Austria-Hungary. Now, Italy is also getting closer to Germany because of the division of spoils. This means that in the future, Germany can use Italy's colonies in North Africa to open up an alternative trade route with East Africa, namely the North African Railway.

This was also crucial for Germany. Although East Africa did not side with Germany during World War I, which greatly displeased Germany, Germany had to admit that East Africa's resources were very important to Germany during the war. In fact, without the continuous supply of goods from East Africa, Germany might have lost the war.

Therefore, even Adolf, a political fanatic who looked down on East Africa and regarded East Africans as "mixed blood," had to maintain a friendly relationship with East Africa on the surface.

Friedrich continued, "In the steel sector, Germany also has an advantage: by integrating the resources of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it can further reduce costs and consolidate the position of the German steel industry in Europe."

Germany was already the most developed country in Europe in terms of steel industry, and now the German steel industry will only develop further, widening the gap with other European countries. Only the Soviet Union may be able to compete with Germany in terms of steel production.

Germany already had an advantage over the Soviet Union in steel production, and after annexing Austria-Hungary, the gap between the two countries widened again. However, the Soviet Union may still be able to overtake Germany in the future.

"Then there is the energy sector. The Austro-Hungarian Empire played a huge role in boosting Germany's development in hydropower and oil production."

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire has great hydropower potential, which will make up for some of Germany's energy gaps. For example, aluminum used in aircraft manufacturing requires a lot of electricity, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire happens to have bauxite deposits and relatively abundant hydropower resources, which can greatly increase Germany's electrolytic aluminum production."

"In the oil sector, although the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not have abundant oil resources, they had a significant positive impact on Germany's development."

"Especially in a state of war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's oil resources could become the last line of energy defense for the German army."

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not have much oil resources, it depended on how Germany used them. For example, by focusing on supplying the army, Germany could greatly alleviate its oil shortage problem if it put in the effort.

"In the traditional energy sector, such as coal, Germany and Austria-Hungary also formed a powerful alliance. Of course, Germany provided greater assistance to Austria-Hungary's original industries in the coal resource sector."

Germany had no shortage of coal resources, while Austria-Hungary had relatively limited resources. This was an important reason why Austria-Hungary's industry was concentrated in Bohemia. However, after the annulment of Germany and Austria-Hungary, the former Austro-Hungarian industries were able to use German coal, thus ensuring the stability of production.

"Having discussed steel and energy, let's move on to machinery manufacturing and the automotive industry. Germany and Austria-Hungary were already two powerhouses in the machinery manufacturing sector, so after the reunification of Germany and Austria, Germany's machinery manufacturing industry will see a significant increase in scale."

"Germany may even surpass us and the United States in high-precision industrial manufacturing fields such as machine tools. After all, Germany already has a great advantage in high-end industrial fields. Now, with the resources and talent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, its development will only be more rapid."

"Compared to the machinery manufacturing industry, automobile manufacturing is the weakness of both countries, but this is only relative to us and the United States. After the reunification of Germany and Austria, Germany will firmly establish itself as the number one automobile manufacturing country in Europe, and will have an overwhelming advantage over other European countries."

"Germany and Austria-Hungary already had a highly developed transportation network in Europe, which would greatly enhance Germany's war mobilization capabilities."

"After that, the main contribution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to German industry was in the shipbuilding sector, and Germany acquired the port of Trieste, as well as many ports on the Istrian Peninsula."

Despite the Austro-Hungarian Empire losing Venice and Yugoslavia, the coastal areas of Dalmatia were reduced to only the Istrian Peninsula and a small amount of coastline.

However, there are more than a dozen major ports on the Istrian Peninsula alone, and if you include the smaller fishing ports, the number could exceed fifty.

However, the most important ports on the Istrian Peninsula today are Trieste and Pula at the southern tip, which have given Germany a place in the Mediterranean.

The most crucial of these was the port of Pula, which was the absolute core of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. As for Trieste, although it also had military attributes, it played a greater role in the economy and was a typical dual-use port.

However, both locations were shipbuilding centers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, possessing the capability to build large warships, such as Austro-Hungarian battleships, ocean-going vessels, and submarines.

Now, these ports, along with their well-equipped shipbuilding industries, have fallen into Germany's hands. Germany has not only gained access to the Mediterranean and military bases, but also a platform for building large warships.

Of course, the Austro-Hungarian navy, which was one of the most powerful in the world, was mainly inherited by Germany.

The Austro-Hungarian Navy had a total tonnage of around 200,000 tons. With this naval fleet added, the total tonnage of the German Navy was already close to that of Japan.

Furthermore, it could threaten both the Baltic and Mediterranean seas simultaneously, greatly increasing the operational range of the German Navy. If it could join forces with Italy in the future, it could even threaten Britain's hegemony in the Mediterranean.

This would greatly increase the possibility of Germany breaking through Britain's naval blockade, especially the Suez Canal in Egypt. If Germany were to control it, Britain would be in trouble.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that Germany and Britain become enemies in the future. However, according to Britain's current thinking, they, like France, still hope that Germany will first break into conflict with the Soviet Union, then Germany will naturally not pose a threat to Britain.

If the situation exceeds Britain's expectations and Germany launches a preemptive attack on Britain, the risk is not uncontrollable. As the dominant power in the Mediterranean, Britain has numerous bases in the Mediterranean. While the naval power of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot be ignored, it is confined to the Adriatic Sea. Moreover, due to the independence of Yugoslavia and Dalmatia, many ports and bases that were originally important to the Austro-Hungarian Navy have now been separated.

This is also why Britain actively contributed to the independence of Yugoslavia and Dalmatia—to limit the future role of the German navy.

(End of this chapter)