The Rise Of Australasia

Although he had changed his decision, Prime Minister Baldwin's choice was also deliberate.

Why support Australasia's inland expansion in the Persian Gulf rather than their scheming in El Salvador?

Though it appeared that the Persian Gulf's interior had many large-scale Indigenous peoples, posing a greater challenge than El Salvador with its population of just over a million.

But the question is, who cares about the interests of the Indigenous Peoples? Compared with the interests of the Indigenous Peoples, the interests of El Salvador, a recognized independent country, are greater. For Australasia to occupy El Salvador without the support of the British Empire would be somewhat difficult.

The Prime Minister's change of attitude pleased everyone and nearly secured unanimous Cabinet approval for the policy towards Australasia.

With Australasia's support, everything that followed would be easy.

Prime Minister Baldwin turned his gaze back to the Foreign Minister and said emphatically, "The British Empire, as one of the permanent members of the World Alliance, has the responsibility, duty, and necessity to protect all countries worldwide.

Nicaragua may not be a member of the World Alliance, but it is very close to the Panama Canal and relates to the peace of the entire Central America and even the world.

I believe the World Alliance has the obligation to fulfill its responsibility as an international peace force and intervene in the Nicaraguan Civil War to ensure the peace of Central America and the entire world."

The arguments were unimportant; what mattered was Prime Minister Baldwin's attitude, which was to take a firm stance against the United States, even at the risk of war.

With Prime Minister Baldwin's order, the British Government began to operate, calling for an emergency meeting of the World Alliance to discuss how to deal with the ongoing Nicaraguan Civil War.

The British were unaware of the United States' actions, but the new American President Calvin Coolidge was furious about the Nicaraguan Civil War and had even decided to intervene militarily.

As the superpower closest to the Central American countries, the control of the United States over many countries in Central America remains quite strong.

This includes, but is not limited to, establishing military bases and maintaining good diplomatic relations with local countries, and even forming joint companies to control the economies of these countries.

For the United States, Central America is even more of a backyard than a backyard, just like a newly purchased car or a newlywed wife, something they will not allow others to desecrate.

Not just desecration, but even a single glance was not permitted.

It was with this mindset, coupled with the American people's attention to the new President and new government, that President Coolidge, to avoid following in President Wilson's footsteps, announced his order on the second day of the Nicaraguan Civil War: "Deploy the military to intervene in the Nicaraguan Civil War with force!"

The United States' use of military force for intervention was not surprising, since the Nicaraguan Civil War was itself a war launched by Augusto against the American occupation of Nicaragua.

One side of this war was the U.S. military base established in Nicaragua, and the participants were the U.S. Army from the base.

Without any strong action by the American Government, it simply wouldn't be the American Government.

However, Nicaragua itself was not united; the country could roughly be divided into two factions, one relatively compliant with American rule and the other more opposed to it.

This is a common contradiction faced by small and medium-sized countries, as there are differences between people, between political parties, and between factions.

However, it is unquestionable that the side currently holding a distinct advantage is the anti-American army led by Augusto.

The description of the tactics employed by Augusto gave the Americans a headache, namely, the famous guerrilla tactics.

Of course, Augusto's guerrilla tactics were also somewhat different. This is because the Americans' distribution in Nicaragua was very dense, mostly concentrated near military bases.
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This made Augusto's tactics quite simple: ambush the supply convoys heading to the U.S. military base or attack small-scale patrol units.

The combat readiness of the American army was relatively poor among the Powers, and they had a shorter participation in World War I; the army had not been well-tempered.

Especially for those American soldiers at overseas military bases, their patrolling and routine training were rather lax due to the lack of significant opposition, hardly resembling an elite force.

This led to Augusto's strikes achieving immense success in a short time, causing significant casualties to the American army.

Just a few days into the war, the American army hunkered down inside their military bases, not venturing out, even canceling their supply convoys.

Although the well-defended military base left Augusto with no options, these American soldiers were also about to face a serious problem: logistics and supply lines had been completely cut off.

Even though the military base usually had food storage and reserve supplies, they would definitely not last very long.

This meant that without aid from the United States before their supplies were exhausted, these American soldiers would either be captured or starve to death.

Under various pressures, the U.S. Army stationed in Nicaragua frantically sent telegrams for aid, requesting support from within the United States.

Domestically, the American people were fervently debating the civil war, with many American media outlets commenting, "This is a huge step backward for the United States in the 20th century."

President Coolidge, who had just taken office, thus faced immense skepticism. People grouped him together with former President Wilson, labeling them as the culprits behind America's regression.

Although the public debate did not cause any substantial harm to the government, it infuriated the ambitious President Coolidge, further spurring his resolve to eliminate anti-government forces in Nicaragua.

In President Coolidge's view, the current skepticism of the populace was not a concern. As long as he could end the civil war quickly and eradicate all anti-American forces in Nicaragua, it would prove that the United States remained powerful under his leadership; the nation's regression was President Wilson's issue, unconnected to him.

Embracing this mindset, President Coolidge began to urge the American military.

The navy also began to mobilize frequently, readying for a coordinated move to the coastal regions of Nicaragua at any moment.

Mid-February 1923, the World Alliance headquarters, routine meeting.

"Gentlemen, ladies! Nicaragua is engaged in a just war, and we cannot tolerate any country's aggression against a sovereign state.

I propose that the World Alliance should intervene militarily in the Nicaraguan Civil War to protect the tranquility of every sovereign nation worldwide," declared the Representative of Britain at the start of the meeting, launching the session directly into the main topic with an impassioned speech.

"You're right, the World Alliance was created to protect the sovereignty of all nations worldwide. Nicaragua's independence is recognized by the world, and as an international peace organization, I believe we should fully respect and ensure the independence of Nicaragua as much as possible.

If any country seeks to interfere with Nicaragua's independence, it would be a grave injury to world peace and to all nations present here," replied the representative of Australasia, standing up and responding in a seemingly righteous tone.

It was no secret that the two countries had already reached an agreement; Australasia's support for the United States was a prearranged matter.

As expected, once the two powers made their positions clear, even the small and medium-sized countries reluctant to get involved had to carefully consider their stance.

The countries leaning towards France turned their gaze to the French representative, waiting for his speech and decision.

"Nicaragua is indeed an independent country, but it seems to me we have no reason to interfere in the civil war of an independent country, do we?" inquired the French representative.

France's interests in the Pacific had significantly diminished, and it held no interest in deploying military forces to intervene in the civil war of Central American countries.

Such a move would bring no benefits to France; instead, it would offend the United States, as Britain would not allow France to gain land in Central America.

Moreover, given that this was evidently a premeditated plan by the British, the French were even less inclined to let Britain achieve its objectives.

A stronger Britain was not good news for France; the stronger Britain became, the lower the chances for France to dominate Europe.

In any case, finding a delicate balance between Britain and the United States was the outcome the French aimed for.

Being able to avoid offending both the British and the Americans while restraining Britain's development would be the perfect solution.

"That's not the case," the British representative countered. "If this were truly an internal civil war within Nicaragua, we indeed would have no reason to intervene. But the issue here is that this war is between the rightful independent forces of Nicaragua and some malign countries. We should be considering the stance of the Nicaraguan people, not how our intervention would impact us."

"Gentlemen, ladies! Have you forgotten the behavior of the United States during the Influenza? I do not believe it to be a friendly nation, nor do I think that the American troops in Nicaragua are acting for Nicaragua's benefit.

As the most powerful country in the Americas, the United States should instead be respecting the independence and sovereignty of all countries in the Americas, rather than using its strength and influence to achieve its own ends." With no participation from the United States in the World Alliance, the British representative, as part of the strongest nation in the World Alliance, naturally had the liberty to speak his mind.

With the support of Australasia, the opposition of France, a permanent council member, carried no weight.

Besides, even if France opposed, it would not affect Britain's military intervention in the Nicaraguan Civil War.

The main force of the military intervention would definitely not be the small and medium-sized countries of the World Alliance. The reason the British representative brought up the topic within the World Alliance was merely to gauge the attitudes of these countries.

Shifting the justification for their military intervention to a legitimate cause of the World Alliance was the true aim of the British and their current plan.