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Old 03-25-2016, 12:47 AM
RN7 RN7 is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2009
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Also.

If Australia brought in conscription to raise an army of 200,000 and also built a few small arms factories to produce enough rifles and ammunition (barely) to arm it, what about everything else such an army would need.

The only divisions that Australia could raise would be light infantry divisions, and I emphasize the world light. Warfare in the Twilight War as it is today is a lot different to what it was in the Second World War. Highly mechanised and heavily armed armies and the threat from airpower. The casualty rates of Australian divisions would be horrendous.

Where will they get the machineguns, grenade launchers, mortars, anti-tank missiles, and the munitions for them? What about armoured vehicles and artillery? The Americans might be able to supply some equipment, but their priorities will be on supporting US forces and there are many other US allies who will also be looking for support. Although Australia is a developed country its industrial focus is on mineral and energy extraction and refining, not engineering and precision industries or the mass production of transport equipment. Australia does not have the industrial capacity to arm and support an army of 200,000 troops by itself without a major investment and expansion of its arms and related industries.

Also what about logistics. Even today with more capable military transport aircraft and sea logistics than existed 20 years ago, Australia could barely transport and support one brigade overseas.
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