[FIXED]Australia in WW1 - Is it supposed to be at peace?

[Arakash]

I havent found this mentioned in any other threads

Im not sure if this is a bug or a beta suggestion, but shouldn't Australia be set to Minor war during World War 1 rather than Peace?
Seeing as Australia is so far away, i might not expect any major changes in their industry, however there was a substantial number of volunteers who went overseas and i would expect this to have an effect on sales.
Its especially a bit jarring as Aus is at peace ingame, but Canada is considered fully at war. Afaik both nations served on the Western front in numbers.

For some statistics.
Im looking at an Aus gov website which suggests the mobilization figure was around 400,000 people from 1914-18, which is around 30-40% of the male population between 18 and 44.
The population of Aus was only 4-5mil at the time, so for the population as a whole thats 10-15%.
It seems significant enough to be represented as at least a minor war. You could make an argument for major depending on Gearcity's criteria on major/minor war.

[Eric.B]

I'll probably update them to minor war after watching Gallipoli... Although I'm not sure if that had much effect in terms of material or labor... I guess it's significant enough to have a reduction in production!

[Arakash]

I'll probably update them to minor war after watching Gallipoli... Although I'm not sure if that had much effect in terms of material or labor... I guess it's significant enough to have a reduction in production!

Yeah, im not sure myself what kind of effect it had on production and things like materials, but the numbers of people who were in the military suggests to me it probably would've had a serious effect on labour and sales.
In Gearcity i often end up selling the the male demohraphic around that 35-55 or younger, so if 40% of them are stuck in the military and moved around various places in and outside australia, surely this would have a serious effect on sales.

[Frankschtaldt]

I ask this here because it's related and I really have no idea, but should Canada really go into full conflict during WWI if Australia is only probably going to get mild conflict and America is at peace?

I don't know what the war did to Canada so forgive me if this seems like a stupid question =)

[Arakash]

I ask this here because it's related and I really have no idea, but should Canada really go into full conflict during WWI if Australia is only probably going to get mild conflict and America is at peace?

I don't know what the war did to Canada so forgive me if this seems like a stupid question =)

America jumps in in 1917 i believe, as it did in history, it just did so in the game im playing today. There are a bunch of political reasons for this i wont go into. Canada, like Australia, was only recently formed, so had very strong ties to the UK. A lot of the former UK territories aligned with it and also declared war on its enemies during the two world wars.
Im wondering about Canada myself tbh, but i cant say i know much or anything about what happened there during the war.
A quick search isnt turning up a lot of information, but it does suggest their mobilization figure was around 400-600k from around 8mil people in total. (i didnt get that figure from a government website though, so i wouldn't consider it reliable)

[Eric.B]

My understanding is that the 1931 Statute of Westminster marks the independence of Canada from UK. Thus Canada gets British war status. If you guys can find non-military vehicle production in Canada in this time period let me know and I'll put them on limited war.

[Arakash]

My understanding is that the 1931 Statute of Westminster marks the independence of Canada from UK. Thus Canada gets British war status. If you guys can find non-military vehicle production in Canada in this time period let me know and I'll put them on limited war.

I had a quick look, but i couldnt see anything pointing to non-military production during WW1.
By the look of it, there were companies there (Ford and Studebaker) even before WW1, but it looks like they switched to military production during WW1.

[Frankschtaldt]

Fair enough. However Australia was still linked to the UK and declared bead when they did.

However, this article suggest that Australian automotive industry actually benefited from WW1 as per this quote:

The development of Australian manufacturing industry received some further impetus from increases in customs duties in 1911 and 1914, and then grew more strongly in the environment of World War I.

That sort of suggest that Australia shouldn't go onto a war footing in the game. Though, more research on the direct effects of the civilian automotive industry in both countries might be needed.

[Arakash]

Fair enough. However Australia was still linked to the UK and declared bead when they did.

However, this article suggest that Australian automotive industry actually benefited from WW1 as per this quote:

The development of Australian manufacturing industry received some further impetus from increases in customs duties in 1911 and 1914, and then grew more strongly in the environment of World War I.

That sort of suggest that Australia shouldn't go onto a war footing in the game. Though, more research on the direct effects of the civilian automotive industry in both countries might be needed.

I think you might have to find some more specifics on what they mean that. The reason i say this is when i was looking into Studebaker in Canada, they also said they benefited from WW1. Seeing as they didn't seem to make commercial vehicles that sounds bizzare doesnt it
The reason they said this, was the use of their vehicles and the reputation they gained through them gave them a head start after WW1. They also managed to design some new and innovate engines that they put in their models right after WW1.

They mention a somewhat similar thing in that article you linked, where Australia gained better steel works during the war which gave them better access to various types of metal working.

On the general Minor/Major war in Australia thing, i still maintain that having 40% of the male population from 18-44 working for the military would have a major impact on sales and probably the general workforce too.
I think the one of the Gearcity war mechanics would be more accurate than a peace one.

[Frankschtaldt]

Fair enough. However Australia was still linked to the UK and declared bead when they did.

However, this article suggest that Australian automotive industry actually benefited from WW1 as per this quote:

The development of Australian manufacturing industry received some further impetus from increases in customs duties in 1911 and 1914, and then grew more strongly in the environment of World War I.

That sort of suggest that Australia shouldn't go onto a war footing in the game. Though, more research on the direct effects of the civilian automotive industry in both countries might be needed.

I think you might have to find some more specifics on what they mean that. The reason i say this is when i was looking into Studebaker in Canada, they also said they benefited from WW1. Seeing as they didn't seem to make commercial vehicles that sounds bizzare doesnt it
The reason they said this, was the use of their vehicles and the reputation they gained through them gave them a head start after WW1. They also managed to design some new and innovate engines that they put in their models right after WW1.

They mention a somewhat similar thing in that article you linked, where Australia gained better steel works during the war which gave them better access to various types of metal working.

On the general Minor/Major war in Australia thing, i still maintain that having 40% of the male population from 18-44 working for the military would have a major impact on sales and probably the general workforce too.
I think the one of the Gearcity war mechanics would be more accurate than a peace one.

Totally agree more research needs to be done but at this stage I'd say its looking like both Aus and Canada should be set to minor conflict for WW1.

[freeman2344]

The question to ask is, if WW1 had any significant impact on the economy of the countries in question and more specifically the production of early cars and especially their sales. Considering just who was buying these early automobiles at that point in time makes it clear that minor conflicts should adequately represent the slight economic strain presented by the Great War and I don't think it's necessary to expand this to full conflict for these 3 countries. The US especially should not go into full war production considering the admittedly minor intervention from 1917 onwards.

WW2 is a very different story. Both Canada and Australia should go into full conflict there. Canadian involvement was much higher then and let's not even talk about Australia...with the Japanese at the doorstep I don't think many people were actively purchasing cars.

[Eric.B]

I've fixed up WW1 somewhat as well as WW2.


Marking this thread as fixed.