Chapter 1538 The Fourth Industrial Power in the World

The emergence of East Africa has made it possible for the United States to become the world's largest industrial power. East Africa also has a domestic market of 200 million in the industrial field, and its industrial chain is more complete. Many emerging industries, such as automobiles, oil, tractors, electricity, and communications, have put great pressure on the development of the US industry.

Take the automobile industry as an example. After World War I, the American automobile industry dominated the global market. In 1920, the United States' automobile production accounted for more than 90% of the world's total. At the same time, the European automobile manufacturing industry was still dominated by small manual workshops and was simply unable to compete with the United States.

In this time and space, East Africa has become a major automobile industrial power in the world, and its automobile industry has always ranked first in the world. At the same time, in the high-end automobile industry, East Africa and Germany have almost divided up most of the market.

In the field of oil industry which is closely related to the automobile industry, East Africa has also become a strong competitor of the United States. It competes with the United States by developing oil resources in Southeast Asia and South America. This is when East Africa has not yet developed its colonies in the Middle East.

The competition between East Africa and the United States for overseas oil production also accelerated the cooperation between American oil companies and the Soviet Union. Most of the imported equipment for the Soviet Baku oil fields came from the United States, and a small part came from the United Kingdom and East Africa.

However, Britain lagged far behind East Africa and the United States in oil refining technology, and Britain was already one of the most important producers of refined oil in Europe. The other was Germany, but Germany lacked oil fields and import channels, and had the most stringent export restrictions and embargoes on the Soviet Union. Therefore, it was difficult for the Soviet Union to obtain Germany's oil extraction equipment and refining technology.

As for the development of France's oil industry, it was not enough to provide experience for the Soviet Union. Before World War I, France's oil was almost entirely dependent on imports. It was not until 1924 that France established the "French Petroleum Company" to support France's overseas oil exploration and try to break the monopoly of East African, American and British oil giants.

The Soviet Union at least inherited part of the Tsarist Russia's oil industry. Although the Tsarist Russia's oil industry relied on foreign investment and construction, the Soviet Union did a good job in reverse engineering and trained a large number of related talents. This was also an important reason why the Soviet Union was able to resume production in Baku and other oil fields in the 1920s.

During the First Five-Year Plan, the Soviet Union absorbed a large number of advanced equipment and technologies from the United States and other countries, which has enabled the Soviet oil industry to enter the world's first echelon today.

The Soviet Union already had the foundation of Tsarist Russia's oil industry. It is not surprising that the Soviet oil industry developed through the introduction and reference of technology, as well as self-reliance and innovation.

Friedrich said: "The United States, Britain and France played a significant role in the achievements of the Soviet Union's First Five-Year Plan. Especially Britain and France, they even put aside some ideological prejudices and supported the Soviet Union."

"This should be a choice made by the two countries out of fear of Germany. Before the economic crisis, the United States had a relatively tough attitude towards the Soviet Union, but after 1929, it also underwent a fundamental change."

Ernst was also quite interested in the attitudes of the current capitalist world countries and the Soviet Union. In the past, after World War I, the main anti-Soviet forces were Britain and France, while Germany secretly cooperated with the Soviet Union.

Now the situation is reversed. Britain and France have become important driving forces for the development of the Soviet Union, while Germany has become the biggest obstacle to the development of the Soviet Union.

He said with emotion: "This is geopolitics. A powerful Germany and the Allied camp behind it are enough to make the whole of Europe feel terrified. It is even not inferior to the Soviet Union, the Red Empire."

"Britain and France are likely to want to maintain the balance in Europe by strengthening the Soviet Union, especially to suppress the development of Germany, and it would be best if Germany and the Soviet Union could confront each other directly."

"Otherwise, if we fight another world war with Germany, it will be hard for Britain to say, but France will definitely feel uneasy and insecure."

There is almost no possibility of resolving the historical grievances between Germany and France, but France is very self-aware that they can no longer be a match for Germany. The only thing that can give them comfort now is the Maginot Line.

The Maginot Line could not give France 100% confidence, because they were facing a Germany that was far more powerful than in their previous lives, especially in the 1920s of this time and space, when Germany experienced its post-war "golden age" and its industrial strength was greatly enhanced.

Therefore, it was inevitable that France secretly supported the Soviet Union. You have to know that when the Soviet Union was established, it defaulted on a large amount of debts owed to Tsarist Russia, which directly led to the defeat of the Allies in World War I.

With this in mind, how could France not hate the Soviet Union? However, France still supported the development of Soviet industry based on the overall situation, which obviously meant that France was more afraid of Germany.

Britain also has similar considerations. In order to maintain the balance in Europe, Britain has kept a close eye on Germany and the Soviet Union, the two most important countries on the European continent. Britain has always suppressed whoever is stronger. At present, Germany is obviously the most powerful country on the European continent.

Therefore, when France was no longer capable of being used, Britain could only provide limited support to the Soviet Union, trying to provoke a confrontation between the Soviet Union and Germany.

However, Britain was obviously not as open as France because the Soviet Union and Britain had a direct conflict of interest.

This conflict of interests is mainly concentrated in the two regions of Central Asia and South Asia, namely Afghanistan and India. Take India as an example. The Indian Labor Party has emerged in India, and the attitudes of the Soviet Union and Indian national separatists are also ambiguous.

This is actually a continuation of the geopolitical conflict between the former Tsarist Russia and Britain. The Soviet Union also coveted the seaports in South Asia. Even if it did not occupy it directly, it would support agents, allies, or puppets to achieve this.

This is not a slander against the Soviet Union, but something that actually happened in the past. For example, in the Nehru era, the cooperation between the Soviet Union and India almost helped India establish an industrial system and exported a large amount of weapons and equipment to India. In addition, there is the case of the Afghan War.

Regardless of whether the Soviet Union was motivated by territorial expansion or "selflessly" promoting the cause of the international labor party, it is impossible to deny the Soviet Union's ambitions in Central Asia and South Asia.

Ernst concluded: "Compared to the United States, which traded with the Soviet Union purely from a practical perspective, Britain and France were more strategically concerned. However, even though they supported the Soviet Union more attentively, the United States played a greater role in the Soviet Union's First Five-Year Plan."

As for why this happened, Ernst also explained: "Compared with the United States, the national strength of Britain and France is still far behind, especially in the fields of science and technology and industry."

"There are only three countries in the world that can be called first-class industrial powers in terms of comprehensive conditions such as science and technology, talents, and industrial development quality. They are us, Germany, and the United States."

"During the First Five-Year Plan of the Soviet Union, American companies and personnel were highly involved in almost all industries, including steel, coal, textiles, shipbuilding, and supporting machine tools and equipment."

"More importantly, the US trade in Soviet automobiles, tractors, communications equipment, petrochemicals, power equipment, and other areas, as well as technology exports, have helped the Soviet Union's industry evolve."

"It is no exaggeration to say that the construction and production of these emerging industries in the Soviet Union directly made the Soviet Union the second most powerful country in Europe in terms of industrial strength, even surpassing old European powers such as Britain and France."

After all, the development of emerging industries in Britain and France has always been relatively weak. Now American companies have helped the Soviet Union to directly establish these emerging industries, and only Germany has them in the whole of Europe.

This also means that by the time the Soviet Union's second five-year plan is completed, its industry will have surpassed most European countries and will be second only to Germany.

The advantages of Europe's industrial powers, except Germany, are mainly concentrated in traditional industries. Now, the Soviet Union not only makes up for some shortcomings in traditional industries, but also has a whole set of emerging industries, which most European countries do not have.

Ernst said: "At present, the Soviet Union has not yet developed its industrial scale, but they have acquired the technology and equipment for subsequent industrial development."

"So the Soviet Union could even develop its own industry independently without relying on other countries, and only import some areas and provide technical support."

It must be pointed out here that the Soviet Union's First Five-Year Plan was indeed heavily dependent on Western countries' technology and mechanical equipment, but the Soviet Union was able to quickly get rid of this predicament.

Because the Soviet Union's own industrial foundation was quite good, before the first five-year plan, the Soviet Union's economy was also developing rapidly. In addition, as it inherited the wealth of Tsarist Russia, before the first five-year plan, the Soviet Union's industry was also among the best in the world.

It was probably in the sixth or seventh position, which was equivalent to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the completion of the First Five-Year Plan, the Soviet Union's industrial strength had surpassed the Austro-Hungarian Empire and ranked among the top five in the world, equivalent to Britain and France.

By the time the Second Five-Year Plan is completed, the Soviet Union's industrial strength will be firmly ranked among the top four in the world, and it is possible that it will surpass Germany in scale and rank third in the world.

"The Soviet Union just has a large population, so the industrial data, especially the average data, is not very good. However, in war situations, the total industrial output is more effective."

"Even my country is similar. East Africa is the world's largest industrial country, and even a powerful country. However, the urbanization level of East Africa can only be ranked in the upper middle level among the major powers. The output of many industrial products is not particularly high per capita."

"Take cars for example. my country's per capita car data is not as good as that of the United States. It can only rank second in the world. That's because we have nearly 80 million more people than the United States."

"However, no country in the world dares to say that it is more powerful than the Empire in the field of industry. When the total volume reaches a certain scale, the average data is not very important."

"The Soviet Union will also be in this situation in the future. In fact, the current industrial scale of the Soviet Union ranks among the top five in the world, higher than Britain and France without counting colonies. In other words, the scale of the Soviet Union's new industries is slightly insufficient."

Before implementing its first five-year plan, the Soviet Union was already a world industrial power, and based on the industrial assets inherited from Tsarist Russia, it developed rapidly for nearly a decade.

A country with a strong industry to begin with, it was able to obtain new technologies, equipment and talent, which meant that Soviet experts and technicians were able to quickly digest the technologies and knowledge introduced during the first five-year plan, and then reverse engineer them to make these technologies their own.

The Soviet Union's scientific researchers were not weak in ability, they just lacked some insights and accumulation. After all, in the Tsarist era, the Russians were able to build steel mills, textile mills, mine coal, refine oil, produce warships, artillery, explosives, build railways, etc. As the successor, the Soviet Union could naturally do the same, and even develop further on this basis.

By absorbing advanced foreign technology and experience, and given the Soviet Union's own independent research and development and innovation capabilities, it was entirely feasible for the Soviet Union to transition from an agricultural country to an industrial country through two five-year plans.

Moreover, once the Soviet Union completed its industrialization, it would naturally become one of the most powerful industrial countries in the world, not just an ordinary industrial power.

In fact, even Austria-Hungary and Japan can be called industrial powers, this is because there are too few industrialized countries in the world.

Crown Prince Friedrich said: "We really cannot ignore the strength of the Soviet Union. Assuming that the Soviet Union can maintain this pace of development, it is only a matter of time before it becomes one of the top three industrial powers in the world."

"But the Soviet Union happened to be a labor party country, and they were also subject to overall sanctions from the capitalist world. Without these sanctions, the Soviet Union might have developed even faster."

"At the same time, the completion of the Soviet Union's First Five-Year Plan also shows that these sanctions and blockades have basically had no effect."

"From this point of view, the Soviet government is indeed more efficient than the original Tsarist government, and can mobilize the enthusiasm of most Soviet people to participate in national construction."

"This ability in the Soviet Union's economic construction has enabled the Soviet Union to almost create a miracle in the world's economic history. But if the Soviet Union puts this ability into the military field, it may be even more terrifying!"

The Soviet Union was able to mobilize all resources to invest in economic construction and create a miracle of industrial development, which also meant that the Soviet Union’s military potential was enormous.

He was able to mobilize a larger, more combat-ready and more organized army than the Tsarist Russia, and was able to provide this army with sufficient weapons and equipment.

Therefore, Friedrich sighed and said: "Now no one can restrict the development of the Soviet Union. All countries in the world must be mentally prepared to deal with the Soviet Union in long-term international politics."

"The only one who could defeat the Soviet Union was probably itself. If there were no internal problems, given the Soviet Union's current military strength and geopolitical environment, it would be difficult for other countries to pose a threat to it."

(End of this chapter)