Chapter 1042 Hawaii (5,8400 Votes Plus Additional Content)

Halsey's anxiety can be imagined: the Japanese army is pressing down on the border, and Hawaii, the West Coast, and Panama are all in danger. In the past, it was said that the Pacific Fleet should not go to war without regular aircraft carriers, but now that it has regular aircraft carriers, it still does not go to war. He didn't know how to explain to Washington.

Although Spruance sent a telegram telling him to be calm and seize the opportunity to deal a fatal blow to the enemy, Halsey still believed that if the Japanese army once again destroyed Panama and harassed the west coast before attacking, even if they won the battle I also feel like I have lost a lot of things.

Ingram and Nimitz both understood this impatience. After the defeat in the Brazil Campaign, Truman's withdrawal from the election, and Turner's resignation, they felt very uncomfortable with the overall situation.

However, MacArthur, who was about to take a flight back to China the next day, was still relatively relaxed. He even rarely interjected on the naval issue: "Actually, the difference between the two lies in time rather than the fuel at Pearl Harbor. William, if you are sure that the Wasp can make it in time, The Japanese main fleet is repairing before returning. Are you not in a hurry to fight against the enemy fleet outside? "

Halsey nodded: "That's true. We hope to eat some of our opponents first when we have an advantage in strength."

"I suggest you wait and see. The Japanese troops are currently on Galapagos Island. They are not close. Even if they arrive at full speed, it will take several days, right?"

Ingram looked at the chart and silently estimated the time: "At least 7 days! It may actually be more than 10 days."

"What if the enemy goes to attack Panama again during this period?" MacArthur said rather distressedly. "Now we are being played around by the enemy. We are not only afraid that he will attack Hawaii, but also afraid that he will attack Panama. The big shots in Washington are also afraid that the enemy will attack Panama." Attacking the west coast is not easy for the people. In fact, we are afraid of this and that. We are controlled by others, so we might as well just make a decision and let the Japanese attack the west coast. "

Of course this statement cannot pass the test in terms of "political correctness", but in terms of "military correctness" it is in line with the unanimous wishes of Nimitz, Ingram, Halsey and others, and it is also in line with Spruance's cognition. Why else would he stand up for Turner? Although many of the United States' past defeats were attributable to its commanders, it is undeniable that a large proportion were due to political factors. Turner's words are just ugly, but the truth is correct. Therefore, the only difference between us and Turner is the form of expression, not the logic of expression.

"Then I will wait patiently and see." Halsey sighed, "We still have to get a crew for the Wasp, at least 120 more pilots. If I had known this, I wouldn't have given Turner so many crews. ”

"Then Mitchell was completely blinded in the Pacific." Nimitz sighed, "It's my fault. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have lost so many pilots."

Pearl Harbor originally had a total of 14 escort aircraft carriers. Nimitz brought several ships back from South Africa and Australia. Now they have to meet the supplementary needs of the Franklin's crew shortage, and at the same time equip the Wasp with the minimum staff. All pilots can only count on escorts. The skilled personnel on the aircraft carrier had to draw them, plus a batch was given to Turner at the beginning, which means that it is impossible to pull out all of this batch of escort aircraft carriers for use. After taking stock, Halsey thought that he could only pull out 12 ships at once, and the rest needed to be kept for further training. The current level of these new pilots was, well, hard to describe.

Ingram also figured it out at this time and advised: "William, I have an idea. Since the repair of the Wasp will take 3 weeks, and fuel and other supplies in Hawaii continue to be lost, it is recommended that the West Coast prepare a sufficient fleet within 3 weeks. , and then dispatch the main fleet to respond and prepare to transport it to Hawaii. If the Japanese army wants to challenge us, the fleet can respond at any time. If the Japanese army does not come, we can replenish the fleet supplies to Hawaii. Whether the Japanese fight or not, we have them. Initiative. Besides, how long can the Japanese sustain a war of attrition on the east coast of the Pacific? I’m afraid they don’t have enough fuel.”

Nimitz's eyes lit up and he thought this was a good idea. He didn't necessarily have to take the initiative to find the Japanese fleet to break diplomatic relations, so he generously escorted the transport fleet back to Hawaii. Don't you want to break diplomatic relations? It depends on whether you fight or not - this can turn passivity into initiative.

Halsey accepted this advice and decided to wait patiently.

After convincing Halsey, Nimitz decided to return home: "Hawaii is left to you two. Tomorrow General Douglas and I will fly back to Washington. There is a lot of pressure on the Atlantic. German reconnaissance planes are frequently dispatched for reconnaissance. It is expected that there will be another wave after a few days of calm. There’s going to be a big fight.”

Ingram and Halsey expressed their understanding: "I wish you both a safe journey!"

Nimitz and MacArthur had a tortuous road back to their homeland. Since they could not send fighter jets to escort them, they had to take a long way to be on the safe side. The two drove first from Pearl Harbor to the Aleutians, then from the Aleutians to Canada, and then from Canada takes the road back to Washington. One plane alone is not enough; multiple planes must fly together.

Although both Nimitz and MacArthur believed that it would be okay to fly directly from Pearl Harbor to the West Coast, both Arnold, the Army Aviation leader, and Doolittle, the Army Aviation Commander at Pearl Harbor, expressed firm opposition - if you wanted to fly directly to the West Coast, there was no way. Not approved! In the end, the two new top leaders of the army and navy had no choice but to obey the arrangement.

For three consecutive days on October 6, 7, and 8, when the situation in Panama was at a critical moment, Tsukahara deliberately teased the U.S. military. While the main fleet was stationed in the Galapagos Islands for rest, he sent multiple Caiunai to conduct reconnaissance, and then Sneak away before the enemy can react - this kind of hawk-and-chicken game makes the garrison miserable.

Hawaii also began to be confused, because Halsey suddenly found that the Japanese break-up fleet (Takuda Fleet) could not be found. This further aggravated Washington's doubts about whether this fleet was also ready to invest like other Japanese fleets. An attack on Panama? Arnold bit the bullet and concentrated the army aviation forces from Colombia, Venezuela, and Cuba to Panama. Together with the troops retreated from the Galapagos and Ecuador, more than 1,000 aircraft were accumulated in Panama.

On October 9, Nimitz and MacArthur, after traveling thousands of miles, finally arrived in Washington safely. Almost at the same time as them, there were also pilots who had been evacuated from China, including Chennault and his Flying Tigers. After Wedemeyer failed to win over British pilots, Chennault gave him an idea - to win over Chinese pilots. Many of them had participated in the Hump Airlift with the US military, and their technical level was very superb. More importantly, China was currently short of fuel and did not have any Foreign aid can be imported, and these pilots are idle in Kunming, CD Chongqing and other places.

Chennault has been in China for many years and knows that relying on the United States to win over China alone is not enough. He must also go through the upper-level route. Wedemeyer understands this very well, but he has learned nothing else now. He has learned the silver bullet offensive so well that the adjutant often prepares batches of penicillin for his emergency use. In China, this thing is more effective than gold bars, compact, and not as yellow as gold. tacky. Under the "offensive" of 2 million US dollars of penicillin, a series of invisible hands stepped up their actions. Soon the "China Aviation Vanguard to Aid the United States" was organized, and more than 70 skilled flight crews were transformed into pilots employed by American civil airlines. And go to the United States to play. What else can someone say besides scolding her as "Niang Xipi"?

That afternoon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first plenary meeting, but everyone noticed that when Dewey and Truman came out together, their faces were livid, and they were obviously not in a good mood.

Two days ago, because the Japanese army had occupied Galapagos Island and threatened Panama, Ribbentrop believed that the time was ripe for Hoffmann's instructions, so he began to let the outside world know. Dewey finally got the conditions passed on by the middleman, and the content was very detailed. It was simple, but it made him shake his head and sigh. Germany made three more demands on the premise that the South American and South African issues were non-negotiable:

First, all the former European territories in Central America and the Caribbean will be returned;

Second, Central American countries, Cuba, and Puerto Rico are all countries guaranteed to be independent by the Cairo Declaration, and they are all independent, with the United States and Germany exerting influence respectively;

Third, the Panama Canal is internationally co-managed and the International Canal Company is established, which is jointly controlled by major powers, including Panama. The canal zone is stationed by United Nations peacekeeping forces to ensure security and independence. Warships from countries involved in the war are not allowed to pass through the canal.

The last half sentence of Article 3 actually contains a murderous intention. Only the United States, a major power, needs to use the Panama Canal for dispatch. This sentence "No warships from the countries involved in the war are allowed to pass" obviously deprives the United States of its ability to use the canal for dispatch during the war. . The United Nations forces also have many mysteries. If the United States refuses to join the United Nations, then this "peacekeeping force" will naturally not have the participation of American troops.

As for the U.S. request for the same rights and status as Germany within the United Nations, Germany did not give a direct reply at all. It only responded vaguely: "After consultation, all countries will grant the United States an international political status consistent with its strength."

This needs to be reversed. If Germany agrees to the reciprocal rights and status of the United States, it can now directly say that using "consistency" as a prevarication shows that Germany is not willing to grant the United States reciprocal status at all. Maybe second place can be given, but whether it is a second place a little lower than Germany or a second place only a little higher than Japan, it is humiliating for the United States, which has a high self-esteem - I even admit in a low voice that you, Germany and I have no relationship with each other. Wait, you still want to step on me?

After hearing the terms, Truman was furious on the spot: "What does this mean? It means that not only have the Germans swallowed and not yet swallowed the results of the war, forcing us to admit, but they also want to take things out of our pockets that they have not yet gotten their hands on. . This is simply a loss of power and humiliation to the country. How can we sign it?”

Dewey also looked helpless. Truman, let alone Truman, didn't even want to sign this kind of treaty. What would the United States have left after it was signed? Isolationism is really only practiced in one corner of the country.

The meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was held in a very depressing atmosphere.