Chapter 126: Royal Security Intelligence Bureau
On June 6, 1902, a day that seemed otherwise unremarkable, Arthur and a mysterious-looking man quietly arrived at the garrison of the Guards. Officially, their visit was to observe the training of the soldiers, but in reality, they were there to select personnel to form a new military force.
This so-called "new military force" was, in fact, a new organization responsible for intelligence and espionage: the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau.
The man accompanying Arthur was Barty Crouch, personally appointed by Arthur as the Director of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau.
Barty Crouch's background was quite unique, different from Arthur's usual subordinates. Orphaned at a young age, he was adopted by Duke Arthur and raised to become one of his most capable aides.
Barty Crouch and Arthur shared a very close relationship. Because of his deep respect for the late Duke Arthur, Barty Crouch was wholly loyal to Arthur, a staunch loyalist. His loyalty rivaled even that of the old butler Hunt; in fact, one could say Barty Crouch was like an adopted son to the late Duke.
"Barty, what do you think? Have you found any promising candidates among the Guards?" After watching the training for a while, Arthur turned to Barty Crouch with a smile.
"Some of them look promising, Your Highness. With proper training, they could become valuable assets in intelligence and espionage," Barty Crouch replied with a nod.
"That's good to hear, Barty. You may select freely from the Guards, and also from the Australian army. I want the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau to be established as soon as possible. At the very least, we must develop formidable intelligence capabilities in Oceania and Asia," Arthur instructed.
As the 20th century began, espionage and intelligence had become crucial tools in international diplomacy. On the surface, European nations were simply engaged in an arms race, but behind the scenes, espionage battles and covert intelligence operations were already rampant—blood was being spilled in the shadows.
"I understand, Your Highness. These Guards soldiers have decent physical fitness. With just a short period of training, they will be qualified to work in intelligence," Barty Crouch affirmed.
The Australian Royal Security Intelligence Bureau was the core intelligence agency established by Arthur, and Barty Crouch, as its director, even had the authority to arrest cabinet ministers.
Aside from the Prime Minister, whom they had to be cautious with, the Australian Royal Security Intelligence Bureau had the power to arrest any government official or member of parliament at any time.
One could say the Bureau was a sword hanging over the heads of all Australian officials, serving as a key tool for Arthur to monitor and check the government.
As members of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, these operatives were far from ordinary intelligence agents. Once selected, their identities would be completely concealed within Australia. They would then undergo advanced training to become elite agents capable of executing any possible mission.
This role was far more demanding and dangerous than being a regular soldier.
Arthur trusted the loyalty of the Guards soldiers but still provided generous welfare and benefits to members of the Bureau.
Not only were their salaries significantly higher than those of ordinary Guards, but in the event of their death, the compensation for their families would be an astronomical sum.
It must be said that Barty Crouch was extremely strict in selecting personnel. The Australian Guards were a combination of the original British Guards and the Australian army, with overall qualities far exceeding that of regular soldiers.
Yet, from over 8,000 Guards and 17,000 members of the Australian National Defense Force, only a little more than a hundred were deemed suitable for the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau.
These soldiers shared a common trait: they were not only physically strong but also quick-witted—what one might call both brawny and brainy.
Such individuals were rare in the military. Although Barty Crouch tried to avoid choosing officers, many of those selected were indeed officers or officer candidates.
Thus, although the Australian Royal Security Intelligence Bureau currently only had a little over a hundred members, every single one of them had been carefully selected from a pool of over 20,000 soldiers. Even within the army, they would have been considered elite officer material or future leaders.
Arthur believed that the establishment of the Bureau was now fundamentally complete, and that the next step was simply to train these soldiers in the field of intelligence.
However, Barty Crouch presented Arthur with another problem—what firearms these intelligence agents should use.
Although Australia possessed two world-renowned firearm systems by World War II—one being the British-made Lee-Enfield rifle, considered the most powerful rifle of its time, and the other being the German-made Gew98 rifle, the predecessor of the famous 98k—neither was suitable for intelligence agents. Both were too long and cumbersome to carry.
Barty Crouch proposed to Arthur that the armaments factories develop a weapon shorter than a rifle but more powerful than a pistol—preferably semi-automatic or even fully automatic.
To be honest, when Arthur first heard this suggestion from Barty Crouch, one weapon came to mind immediately: the submachine gun.
Submachine guns made their combat debut in the middle of World War I. As the war transitioned into trench warfare, the armies of various countries discovered that traditional massed charges were futile and only increased casualties.
To break the deadlock of trench warfare, Germany developed an automatic weapon using pistol ammunition. It combined the firepower of an automatic rifle with the portability and reliability of a pistol, becoming the most powerful weapon for close-quarters combat carried by a single soldier—this was the famous MP18 submachine gun.
The MP18 used the blowback principle and fired 9mm Parabellum pistol rounds—the same used in the Luger pistol. Due to its fully automatic nature, the MP18 had an enormous ammunition consumption rate. German soldiers even nicknamed it the "Kugelspritz," or bullet sprayer.
As the world's first true submachine gun, the MP18 had the advantages of both rifles and pistols but also revealed some flaws.
Although the MP18 did not significantly affect the outcome of the war, its potential drew serious attention from the Allied Powers.
The Treaty of Versailles, signed after Germany's defeat, prohibited the production and development of submachine guns. Nevertheless, Germany bypassed these restrictions through various means and continued its secret development.
After the war, the MP28 II submachine gun was quickly born. As an improved version of the MP18 I, it addressed one of its predecessor's greatest weaknesses—its inability to fire in semi-automatic mode.
With a switch allowing for both single-shot and burst fire, the MP28 ushered in the golden age of submachine guns. To avoid the Versailles Treaty's restrictions, production of the MP28 was transferred to Belgium, and many calibers were developed for export.
Japan's Type 100 submachine gun and Britain's Lanchester submachine gun were both direct imitations of the MP28, a testament to its refined power and performance after improvements.
(End of Chapter)
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