The Rise Of Australasia

While Australasia was busy producing military equipment, on the other end of the Earth in Spain, the war had already reached its final phase.

As Germany and Italy gradually revealed their ambitions, the balance in the Spanish Civil War completely tipped towards the German-Italian and Spanish Nationalist forces.

Following Germany and Russia Nation's partition of Poland, Russia Nation withdrew its support for Spain, leaving the Spanish Republican Government isolated.

Though they received some weapons and equipment aid from Australasia, how could Spain alone withstand the joint forces of Germany and Italy?

A Polish Military that had reached a million strong couldn't resist; not to mention the now less than 400,000 strong Spanish Republican Government.

Since the end of last year, German and Italian Air Forces began indiscriminate Bombing of the cities under control of the Spanish Republican Government.

While the Bombing effectively targeted the Spanish Republican Military, it also caused a large number of civilian casualties.

According to data published by the Spanish government, the German and Italian bombardment inflicted around 17,000 casualties on the military, but caused 62,000 civilian deaths and injuries.

Germany also tested its newly developed tanks and Airplanes on the Spanish battlegrounds, ultimately gaining valuable experience and using it to further its own weapons and equipment development.

On February 2nd, 1936, Britain and France declared recognition of the Franco regime and severed diplomatic ties with the Spanish Republican Government.

On February 3rd, the Spanish Republican Government withdrew from the World Alliance, furiously condemning Britain and France for considering only their own short-term interests, neglecting the will of all Nations worldwide.

On February 5th, a mutiny erupted at a Spanish Naval Base, with naval commanders declaring allegiance to the Spanish Nationalist Military.

On February 7th, Colonel Casado, Commander of the Central Spanish front, staged a coup, declaring control over the Spanish Republican government and surrendering to the rebels the second day.

On February 9th, the Spanish Nationalist Military and German-Italian forces took joint control of the Central front's Military forces and began to strenuously hunt down democratic figures who supported the Spanish Republican Government's war efforts.

By February 11th, the Spanish Nationalist Military completely occupied all of Spain, declaring the end to the Civil War.

With the support of Germany and Italy, Franco held a grand parade in Madrid, and amid cheers, proclaimed the reconstruction of Spain, appointing himself Generalissimo of the three armies, Prime Minister of the Spanish Kingdom, and Regent of Spain. He also announced his Long Party as the only legal political party within the country.

It is worth mentioning that the Spain Franco reconstructed was neither the Monarchial Kingdom of Spain nor the Republican Spain of the republican era.

More precisely, the state Franco established was Spain—a unique political entity with characteristics of both Monarchism and military dictatorship, existing between the two.

Nominally, Spain remained a Monarchial state. However, Franco had no intentions of seeking a King for Spain nor of inviting back Alfonso XIII.

Franco declared the Spanish throne vacant, with Spain lacking a true King and only having a Regent, Franco.

The restoration of Monarchism without reinstating a Monarch led to domestic and international speculation that Franco might crown himself as the new King of Spain.

The high position of Regent and Generalissimo of all forces already ensured Franco's supreme status in the new Spain.

Even if he truly wanted to become the new King of Spain, with the backing of Germany and Italy, there would be no difficulty whatsoever.

The only question was whether he could gain the support of Britain, France, and the various European Monarchial states. But after siding with Germany-Italian ambitions and establishing a military dictatorship, would Franco still care about the attitudes of Britain and France and other European Monarchial states?

Following the collapse of the Spanish Republican Government, the European Small and Medium Nations completely lost faith in Britain and France.

On February 15th, 1936, King Leopold III of Belgium issued the "Declaration of Neutrality," stating that the Kingdom of Belgium would maintain absolute neutrality in international affairs and would withdraw from all alliances and treaties it had previously joined, including the World Alliance.

Clearly, Belgium's actions had demonstrated that they preferred the sense of security that neutrality offered them over the World Alliance.

This also signified that with Britain and France's policy of appeasement leading to continuous concessions, their prestige amongst European Nations was increasingly diminishing.

Although Arthur didn't believe Belgium's proclaimed absolute neutrality would allow them to remain uninvolved in the upcoming war, such a move indeed set a precedent for other European Small and Medium Nations.

On February 23rd, Dutch Queen Wilhelmina issued a "Letter to Citizens," openly stating that the Netherlands would adhere to neutrality and become a truly permanent neutral country.

That same day, the Netherlands announced its withdrawal from the World Alliance and the abolition of any non-peaceful treaties.

Two European Nations leaving the World Alliance in rapid succession dealt a huge blow to the Alliance's prestige and led other countries to subtly entertain the idea of leaving the World Alliance.

However, it's unthinkable that the declarations of neutrality and withdrawal from the World Alliance by Belgium and the Netherlands had not been orchestrated by the Germans behind the scenes.

They must have reached some understanding with the Germans; otherwise, it would not be so easy for Belgium and the Netherlands to abandon the World Alliance and the security guarantees from Britain and France.

But whether the Germans would honor their promises was not something that anyone could affirm with certainty.

As historical outcomes would have it, the absolute neutrality pursued by the Netherlands and Belgium was, to the dominant powers, nothing more than a piece of paper to be torn asunder at will.

Nevertheless, Belgium and the Netherlands declaring neutrality and their subsequent withdrawal from the World Alliance completely dismantled the order of the alliance.

On February 27th, 1936, the World Alliance held its last routine meeting, and with a majority of over 55.3%, the proposal to dissolve the alliance was successfully passed.

The international organization, established after World War I and a guarantor of world peace for 20 years, finally concluded all its missions with the rise of Germany and Italy.

This also signified that, from the year 1936 after the dissolution of the World Alliance, the world order would become even more unpredictable.

As to how global affairs should unfold, only a very few of the most powerful countries could now decide.

On March 3rd, 1936, Arthur successfully arrived in London, United Kingdom, accompanied by Queen Mary and Crown Prince William.

Their visit to Britain was for a very simple reason, which was to attend the funeral of the former King, George V.

Although the general global situation had already changed, it did not greatly affect George V's health.

It has to be said, George V, born in 1865, had reached the grand age of 71.

To pass away at such an age meant that George V had died a natural death, a relatively good ending for a monarch of his time.

Of course, if it were just for George V's funeral, sending Crown Prince William alone would have been entirely sufficient by all accounts.

After all, Arthur and George V were contemporaries and, theoretically, there was no need for Arthur to personally attend George V's funeral. Moreover, the relationship between Arthur and George V was not particularly close, with their blood ties having long since faded.

However, if one contemplates the current world situation, it becomes clear why Arthur had come personally to London.

The current situation in Europe was quite unfriendly to both Britain and France, and Arthur felt it necessary for the British and French to unite sooner and to prepare for a possible war.

If caught off guard by the Germans again, and the French were only able to hold out for one or two months before capitulating, then the ensuing European War would be difficult to manage.

The current situation was not looking too promising for Britain and France. The French's international influence had been waning significantly, and it seemed they had firmly established a reputation for cowardice.

British policy of neutrality had spared them from much impact. The problem, however, was that Britain was about to welcome a very famous monarch in its history, the Edward VIII, notorious for valuing romance over realm.

If a crisis over the British succession were to coincide with World War II, it would be tantamount to making a bad situation worse for Britain and France.

Of course, Arthur did not plan to directly interfere with the British succession.

Even though Arthur indeed had considerable prestige within Britain, it was not enough to support any interference in the British succession.

The funeral of George V was scheduled for March 5th. As a ruler who had presided over the British Empire for 26 years, British sentiment towards this King remained quite positive.

Since ascending the throne in 1910, George V had led the British to victory in World War I. During his reign, though the British Empire had faced numerous challenges, it ultimately defeated them all, ensuring its place as the world's preeminent power.

Now, the British Empire was once again challenged by the Germans. This made the British hopeful that the next monarch would lead them to victory in this war, allowing the British Empire to continue sitting on the throne of global supremacy.

In London, Arthur also met Prince Albert and Princess Elizabeth.

It's worth noting that Princess Elizabeth was nearly ten years old. As her godfather, Arthur had last seen Princess Elizabeth when she was still an infant, unable to speak.

And perhaps because of the godparent relationship, Arthur and Queen Mary were quite affectionate towards Elizabeth.

At the time, Prince Albert and Princess Elizabeth were unaware that she would become the longest-serving monarch in British history, surpassing Queen Victoria's record.

It is a curious note that, in European history, the duration of a queen's reign tends to exceed that of male kings.

Compared to Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, despite her stature within Britain, would be far behind in both prestige and power.

During Victoria's reign, although she long abstained from government affairs, Queen Victoria still retained some degree of control over the government.

By the time of Elizabeth, the British Government had long been controlled by political parties and other forces, with the royal family often serving more as a figurehead, with very little power.