Chapter 199: Chapter 193: End of the Russo-Japanese War

The situation in the Far East War changed in July.

Firstly, on July 13th, the Trans-Siberian Railway, which the Russian Empire had been eagerly awaiting, was finally completed, connecting both ends of the vast empire.

The benefits of the railway’s completion to the Russian Empire were unimaginable. Not only did it greatly improve communication and transportation between Europe and Asia, it also played an irreplaceable role in the stability of the Russian Empire.

Of course, this also made it more convenient for Russia to mobilize troops from Europe to the Far East.

From August onwards, more than 40,000 Russian soldiers arrived in the Far East every month to join the battlefield.

In a short period of time, the Russian army did achieve a balance with the Island Nation Army, and aside from the fierce battles, there were not many changes in territory.

By September 1904, the Far East battlefield had a total of 280,000 Russian troops and 430,000 Island Nation troops, adding up to more than 700,000 troops.

As Russia and Island Nation’s investment in the war grew, ending the conflict in the short term became virtually impossible.

Both countries were prepared for a protracted war and sought more resources and financial support from their respective allies, France and the United Kingdom.

Of course, the demand for armaments expanded by the war was no longer exclusive to Australia.

France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and many other countries participated in the arms trade, selling large quantities of armaments to Russia and the Island Nation.

However, due_observer to their respective alliance treaties, French arms were only exported to Russia, and British arms were only exported to the Island Nation.

In addition, having curried favor with the Russian Empire, the German Empire did not export weapons to the Island Nation.

This resulted in Australia and the United States being the only countries exporting weapons to both parties.

Nevertheless, Australia, drawing on advanced weapons from Britain and Germany, managed to secure a larger share of the market than American arms.

In this war, Australia’s arms export scale was second only to the United Kingdom and even slightly higher than France, demonstrating the importance of planning ahead.

As time went on, the flagship of the Pacific Squadron, the Crown Prince, had been repaired and rejoined the formation in the Pacific Ocean.

This led the Pacific Squadron to gain a slight advantage over the Island Nation’s United Fleet, which was the reason for the protracted attack and defense on the land battlefield.

In fact, in terms of combat power alone, the Island Nation Army held the advantage. After their modernization, this country underwent a large-scale replacement of both army and navy equipment, with training modeled after that of the leading land army of the German Empire and the leading navy of the British Empire.

However, the Russian army had issues with training and lagging weaponry, save for a few elite troops that were ahead of the Island Nation Army.

Moreover, due_observer to transportation constraints, the Island Nation Army in the Far East was nearly twice the size of the Russian army and had a significant numerical advantage.

If it were not for the occasional artillery assistance provided to the land army by the Pacific Squadron’s slight advantage, the defense of Port Arthur might not have been so successful.

Although the current stalemate in the Battle of Port Arthur is being maintained, only Russia and the Island Nation are aware of the actual vast casualties.

Although these casualties are not severe enough to significantly weaken both countries, the damage is painful enough without having achieved strategic goals.

So far, Island Nation and Russia have spent a respective 130 million yen and 90 million rubles in the war, both exceeding 10 million pounds.

If the Battle of Port Arthur continues to maintain this balance, the expenses for both countries would be huge, and accompanied by numerous casualties.

Island Nation, of course, understood this point. Compared to the Russian Empire, they were the side that could afford to lose even less.

Russia’s main base was in Europe, and even if it lost its hegemony in the Far East, the impact on the country’s status wouldn’t be too significant.

But the Island Nation was different. Their base was in East Asia, and they were an island country.

If the Island Nation lost the war and the navy it had built up over many years, its dream of hegemony would be completely shattered, and at most it would become a regional power, unable to compete with major powers.

The more they thought about the terrifying prospect, the less the Islanders were willing to let it happen.

Fortunately, soon after the outbreak of the war, the Island Nation had mobilized nearly 400,000 troops at home in two preliminary waves, half of which had already been sent to the battlefield.

In order to achieve results sooner and shift the war from a siege to an encounter battle, the Island Nation once again deployed 200,000 troops to occupy the eastern and central regions of the battlefield.

Compared to Russia’s more than a month of transportation time, the Island Nation Army only took two to three days to transport its troops, giving them an absolute advantage.

As expected, after adding another 200,000 troops, the ratio of Russian to Island Nation troops in the Far East came close to one to three.

A large number of Island Nation troops made it increasingly difficult for Russia to cope, and with heavy casualties and inadequate logistics, Port Arthur gradually became endangered.