Chapter 1662 Steel and the Battle Situation
End of 1937.
While East Africa is strategically deploying its resources across the world, it has not forgotten to assess the strength of its rivals.
Japan is the first to be affected, after all, it is currently a clearly defined "hostile country" in East Africa.
Crown Prince Frederick obtained some information from the intelligence and trade departments.
Holding a steel industry report, he said, "Japan's current steel production is around six million tons, ranking seventh in the world, second only to France's more than seven million tons."
"This number is not low when viewed from a global perspective, because there are only seven countries in the world with a steel production of more than five million tons."
"Italy's steel production is less than half that of Japan."
"However, compared with the top-ranked countries, Japan's gap is also obvious. Apart from France, the steel production of the other major countries is in the tens of millions of tons."
In fact, Japan's steel production is still much higher than in the previous life, because in the previous life, Japan's steel production did not exceed six million tons.
One important reason for the changes in Japan's steel data is the increase in the sources of iron ore and coal for Japan.
In its previous life, Japan relied mainly on the United States for steel imports, except for those in regions it controlled and occupied. Now, Japan can import from Southeast Asia and Australia, especially Australian iron ore, which has greatly stimulated the development of Japan's steel industry.
Crown Prince Frederick said, "Because of geopolitical reasons, Japan has more ways to access resources. After all, if we don't export, it will be difficult for Britain and the United States to give up this market."
"The British part mainly refers to Australia. Britain may be very dissatisfied with Japan now, but this does not affect Australia's business dealings with Japan."
Britain was the biggest victim of Japan's expansion in the Far East, so relations between Britain and Japan are now very tense.
Australia may have emotional ties to Britain, but when faced with practical interests, it will clearly choose the latter without hesitation.
"Compared with Japan's steel production, the Far Eastern Empire's data is pitifully small, even only a few hundred thousand tons. In terms of production, the Far Eastern Empire has made almost no progress in the past ten years."
"In fact, the reason why the steel production data of the Far Eastern Empire is so low is also closely related to the Japanese occupation of Northeast China. We estimate that the steel production in Northeast China may be one million tons."
"But this portion of steel not only did not benefit the Far Eastern Empire in any way, but instead became a weapon for Japan against the Far Eastern Empire."
"Judging from steel production alone, it is hard to imagine how the Far Eastern Empire could withstand the Japanese attack; the gap between the two sides was even dozens of times."
"To be honest, given the current steel production of the Far Eastern Empire, it is extremely difficult to even meet military needs, let alone the vast population market of the Far Eastern Empire."
"This figure is only achievable by the Far Eastern Empire if we take into account our investment in the steel industry."
East Africa invested in some small-scale steel mills in the northwest and southwest of the Far Eastern Empire. If these were removed, the Far Eastern Empire's steel production would probably not even reach 100,000 tons.
It's worth noting that during the Western Han Dynasty, the total steel production of the Far Eastern Empire reached approximately 40,000 tons, which demonstrates just how backward the Far Eastern Empire's steel industry was at that time.
Crown Prince Frederick said, "The steel production of the Far Eastern Empire was closely related to its trade, and there were almost no restrictions on the import of steel. As a result, the domestic steel industry could not be effectively developed."
"This is also closely related to the Jinling government. The Jinling government's base of operations is in the south of the Far Eastern Empire, which happens to be an area where the Far Eastern Empire is rich in steel and coal."
"Besides, the Nanjing government also lacked the incentive to develop basic industries such as steel..."
Resource scarcity is not an excuse. After all, Japan's resource situation was not as good as that of the Far Eastern Empire at the time. If the Nanjing government had been determined to build an independent and self-reliant industrial base, the Far Eastern Empire's steel industry would not have developed so backwardly.
Even the very existence of the Jinling government is an obstacle to the Far Eastern Empire's domestic steel enterprises. Let alone support them, if the Jinling government hadn't suppressed them, the Far Eastern Empire's steel industry wouldn't have fallen to such a state.
Crown Prince Frederick continued, "In a state of war, Japan's blockade of the Far Eastern Empire will only become more and more severe."
"In this way, the Far Eastern Empire's channels for importing steel from outside may also be cut off."
"Now that Japan has captured Shanghai, it means that the Far Eastern Empire's trade with the outside world can only be conducted through ports further south."
"Moreover, most of the northern part of the Far Eastern Empire has already fallen, and these areas are the main distribution areas of the Far Eastern Empire's coal and iron ore."
"If we wait until the Huaihai region is also captured, the situation will only become more serious."
Although East African capital withdrew from the Huaihai region, the Huaihai region remained one of the important steel-producing areas of the Far Eastern Empire.
Now that Japan has captured Shanghai, it means that it has strategically formed a pincer movement against the Huaihai region from the north and south. It is only a matter of time before the Huaihai region falls into Japanese hands.
Crown Prince Frederick remarked with a sigh, "Although we predicted before the war that the Far Eastern Empire would be at a disadvantage in the war against Japan, the development of this war still shocked us greatly."
"In less than six months, Japan's military might has already caused many areas in the northern part of the Far Eastern Empire to fall. At this rate, by the end of this year, the area north of the Yellow River may be completely lost."
"At the same time, the Japanese navy had an overwhelming advantage over the Far Eastern Empire, so it would not have been very difficult for Japan to take over the Far Eastern Empire's coastline."
It can be said that, so far, the speed of the Japanese invaders' advance has completely exceeded the expectations of Crown Prince Frederick and many East African military personnel.
This speed is even more exaggerated than the speed of East Africa's colonial expansion on the African continent back then, after all, East Africa's invasion of the indigenous people of the African continent was a complete dimensional reduction.
After all, African natives haven't even mastered the use of cold weapons yet. Many African tribes are still in the Stone Age. Moreover, African natives lack strong national governments, which means they lack strong organizational and mobilization capabilities, making them more vulnerable to being defeated one by one by East Africans.
It's somewhat unreasonable that the Far Eastern Empire, despite having entered the era of firearms, was unable to effectively counter Japan.
Ernst, however, was able to understand the current situation in the Far Eastern Empire, which, from modern times to the present, was arguably the lowest point in the history of the entire Far Eastern Empire.
To put it more bluntly and harshly, the Far Eastern Empire was completely "rotten" during this period, lagging far behind the world.
Even during the two historical low points of the Five Barbarian Invasions and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Han people were not completely devoid of anything of note. During these two periods, even though there were foreign invasions, the Han people's productivity and culture were still more advanced than those of the invading barbarians.
Ernst said, "I had anticipated the development of the war in the Far Eastern Empire, otherwise I would not have laid my hands on the northwestern and southwestern hinterlands of the Far Eastern Empire."
"Moreover, the people of the Far Eastern Empire currently have a relatively weak sense of national identity, and it will take time for them to awaken."
Ernst's words were actually quite euphemistic. The inhumane behavior of the Nanjing government was almost no different from that of the late Ming Dynasty. Under such circumstances, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the people of the Far Eastern Empire had no goodwill towards the government and were even full of hatred towards it.
Since the establishment of the Nanjing government, it wreaked havoc on the entire Far Eastern Empire for more than a decade. While most of the people under its rule did not have a deep understanding of the harm caused by Japan, they were fully aware of how beastly the Nanjing government was.
Ernst said, "As time goes on, the people of the Far Eastern Empire will inevitably have a deeper understanding and experience of the harm caused by Japan. At that time, their national and patriotic consciousness will be fully awakened, and this war will truly make Japan suffer."
"What we need to do now is to speed up the construction of the Central Asia Highway so that supplies can be transported to the Far Eastern Empire as soon as possible."
"This will take at least two years, during which time Japan should have the upper hand in the wars of the Far Eastern Empire."
"However, this may not be a bad thing for East Africa. If Japan doesn't taste the benefits of war, they won't be able to move south with peace of mind."
"We have now completely left Japan with loopholes in the Pacific region, and the Pacific Fleet is even left to its own devices. Japan should already have this intelligence."
"The only regrettable thing is that the United States may make Japan have some concerns about war."
Ernst anticipated that if Japan wanted to take action against its Pacific colonies in East Africa, it would most likely do so simultaneously against the United States.
Because of these two major powers, if Japan attacks only one, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance and defense of the other. However, Japan is well aware of the gap in national strength between itself and East Africa and the United States.
Therefore, if Japan wants to defeat the military forces in East Africa and the United States in the Pacific, it can only resort to strategic and tactical risks. In this regard, Japan's forte is "undeclared war" and launching surprise attacks.
Crown Prince Frederick could only say, "Let's hope Japan will follow the script we've laid out for them from now on!"
"However, I think whether Japan will move south will be greatly influenced by the actions of Germany in Europe. As long as Germany moves around in Europe and keeps the Soviet Union, Britain and other countries tied up there, Japan can free up its troops to deal with us and the Americans without any worries."
Crown Prince Frederick touched on a crucial point: Japan is not fighting alone; they have allies such as Germany and Italy.
Once the German war machine is in motion, the Soviet threat to Japan will be negligible. At the same time, Britain's colonies and spheres of influence will become Japan's prey, provided that East Africa does not compete with Japan for them.
When mentioning Germany, Crown Prince Friedrich said, "This year, Germany's steel industry has seen unprecedented development, greatly alleviating the gap in the development of Germany's military industry."
"After integrating the resources of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany restructured and integrated the steel industry that was originally located within the Austro-Hungarian Empire."
"Germany restructured and expanded steel plants in Bohemia. According to our calculations, steel production in Bohemia has reached at least four million tons."
"At the same time, Germany is building a number of steel companies in the Istrian Peninsula and Austria, with a production capacity that may exceed one million tons."
"In 1930, Germany's steel production capacity was more than 20 million tons. Now, our estimate of Germany's steel production should be close to 30 million tons, or even more than 30 million tons."
A steel production of 30 million tons is almost unthinkable in Europe, because the combined steel production of the Soviet Union and Britain is roughly the same.
The Soviet Union and Britain were already the second and third largest steel producers in Europe, respectively, and these two countries had a significant lead over other countries.
Britain's steel production was approximately 13 million tons, while France, which ranked next to Britain, produced only 7 million tons, barely exceeding half of Britain's steel production.
Crown Prince Frederick continued, "Germany's steel production is probably the sum of the Soviet Union and Britain, and it is worth noting that this is only the steel production of Germany alone, while Germany itself represents a bloc."
"Even if Britain, France and the Soviet Union formed an alliance, the actual gap in steel production between the two sides would not be that large, even if they included countries like Italy, Poland, and Romania."
"At the same time, there is great uncertainty about which side major steel-producing countries such as Belgium, Sweden and Luxembourg will take next, but countries like Sweden and Luxembourg are likely to lean more toward Germany."
Luxembourg is right under Germany's nose, and it is also a member of the German state, so it is entirely inevitable that Luxembourg's resources will be utilized by Germany.
As for Sweden, as a Baltic state, it was impossible for it to resist Germany, after all, Germany was the dominant power in the Baltic Sea.
Crown Prince Frederick said, "Moreover, Germany's steel utilization efficiency is certainly much higher than that of the Soviet Union and Britain, especially in the conversion of this steel into military weapons and ships, where Germany has an absolute advantage."
"The only countries that can suppress Germany in steel production are the United States and us. Now the US steel industry has basically resumed operation, and its annual output should be able to reach 50 million tons."
"Our steel production growth over the past two years has been quite remarkable, stimulated by industries such as engineering and shipbuilding. It is expected to exceed 80 million tons this year."
In recent years, East African steel production has grown rapidly. This is due to several factors: the impact of the Great Depression has largely disappeared; the large demand generated by East African work relief programs and overseas exports; and orders brought about by the development of East Africa's military industry.
The effects of the Great Depression have disappeared on the surface, but in reality, this has been achieved by various countries through their own social reforms or redistribution.
Countries like the Soviet Union, East Africa, the United States, and Germany all made adjustments in response; it was only a matter of time. The Soviet Union and East Africa were among the countries less affected by the Great Depression of 1929.
As for Germany and the United States, the former exploited a certain group within its borders and actively developed its military and infrastructure, while the latter, after Roosevelt came to power, also demonstrated his tough stance, bringing the wealthy in the United States under his thumb.
In conclusion, the Great Depression of 1929 reshaped the political and social landscape of various countries, but it did not fundamentally solve the problems.
There is only one real solution to the problem: establishing a new international order and distribution of benefits so that these countries can truly emerge from the shadow of recession.
However, there are still too many people at the table. Besides Britain and France, who are still occupying their seats and everyone wants to kick them out, there are also East Africa, the United States, the Soviet Union, Germany, Japan...
So even after eliminating Britain and France, some of the remaining countries still had to be eliminated.
(End of this chapter)
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