Chapter 480 Shock (End)

"Gentlemen, it is very easy for us to achieve temporary peace with Germany. As long as I order today to give up support for Britain and Russia, tomorrow Hitler will pounce on us and shake hands with us to make peace - but when our only remaining allies on the European continent fall Will the United States be able to survive alone? Will other allies still believe that we will not betray them and pursue their own interests? Will we wait until Hitler rules Europe and integrates the industrial capabilities of Germany, Italy, France, Russia, and Britain? If we launch an attack, who can we expect to help us? Not to mention that Hitler has recently found a very capable follower - Japan."

"Yes, we suffered a setback in the Battle of Panama, but this was the most normal episode in the war. The United States had the experience of being burned in Washington... This doesn't mean anything. At least the Japanese sank in Panama. The Mutsu and Hiei battleships in the canal are real. At least the Tiger tanks or other heavy equipment abandoned by the Germans on the beach in Panama are real. At least they also lost three aircraft carriers and a large number of aircraft. Our losses are real. Greater than the enemy, but our industrial capacity and economic potential are many times greater than that of the enemy - in other words, we can afford losses but the enemy cannot sustain it!"

"We need to build more warships, more aircraft, more tanks, and more artillery. Our enemies have been fighting a war for four years or more. They are already exhausted and out of breath. The potential of the United States is only We have just begun to play a role in the victory of the war. Victory depends not only on the efforts of millions of soldiers and sailors, but also on the unity and production of the entire American people. We will unswervingly support both Britain and Russia. An important ally, they are the first line of defense against Axis aggression. Supporting them is supporting ourselves.”

"Gentlemen, isolationism is forever gone. When the enemy burns war to Hawaii, Panama, and Puerto Rico, and even threatens to attack the United States mainland, the room for compromise and mediation is forever lost - we cannot Indifferent and callous, everyone in the United States is deeply involved in this war, whether voluntarily or by force. We cannot fear or avoid war, because this is not an ordinary war, it is a battle between justice and evil. The decisive battle between freedom and dictatorship, light and darkness, democracy and totalitarianism is the decisive battle that determines the global status of the United States and the destiny of the century. If you don’t want to live in fear and ****, you don’t want your family and your descendants! If you will live in slavery and shackles in the future, please use all your sweat, courage and even your life to fight... This war can only be fought by the American nation who die generously, not by the Americans who live in an ignoble way!"

Admiral King and Marshall looked at the congressional questioning scene with their mouths open. Everyone stood up and applauded Roosevelt. Those who were accountable kept applauding Roosevelt, believing that the president expressed the aspirations of the majority of the people, that the army and navy officers did their best, and unswervingly stated that they would carry out the war to the end. Not only did they agree to the request for increased war funding, but they also unanimously stated that they would put into practice the president's great idea of ​​starting the construction of 24 aircraft carriers within one year.

Admiral King and Marshall looked at each other and nodded to each other, further strengthening their determination and confidence to continue the war.

That evening, taking advantage of the remaining heat of the congressional inquiry, Roosevelt addressed the nation via radio:

"...In this battle, we were attacked by a superior enemy. After bravely resisting and inflicting heavy blows to the enemy, we repelled their intention to further invade. As the president and the supreme commander of the country's armed forces, I candidly express my sincere thanks to you. The entire American people acknowledge that although the final results are still being tallied, the overall pattern of our army losing slightly more than the enemy is basically clear, and it is also clear that the Panama Canal was damaged. There is no need to spread rumors, and there is no need to worry. Failure, let alone catastrophic failure, is just one of the major challenges we face.”

"...The reason for this kind of victory is not because our soldiers are not as brave as the enemy, nor because the equipment is not as advanced as the enemy. On the contrary, our soldiers are braver than the enemy, and we have more and better equipment than the enemy. Someone You may ask, why are we temporarily at a disadvantage? Because the United States' military has always been small, and its pre-war military expenditures were at the lowest level among major powers. Our national defense forces have always been aimed at self-defense. After the war began, our soldiers Recruited one after another, we have never tried to invade, plunder, or conquer other countries like the Axis Powers - they have been carefully preparing for this for 20 years, and have accumulated a large number of elite troops and rich combat experience. When the state's fiscal revenue is used to improve infrastructure, improve the overall welfare of the people, and improve the level of science and technology to benefit mankind, the enemy is frantically squeezing the people to manufacture weapons.

When the enemy is expanding wantonly on the European and Asian continents, our soldiers have just entered the barracks to learn shooting and formation. Combat experience is what we lack most. There is no shame in admitting that we are not as good as our opponents in these fields, because we have never conquered the world. ambition. But the enemies of this elite force are also very limited, and they are becoming less and less the more we fight. Their expansion has reached its peak, and their sustained production capacity and mobilization potential are not as good as ours.

The enemy may be able to gain some advantages by relying on sneak attacks and blitzkrieg, but it cannot change their fundamental strategic weaknesses. This war is not a sprint, but a long-distance race, a marathon. Only by persisting to the end can there be victory and a future! American soldiers are learning war in war, and are constantly accumulating experience and improving combat capabilities in failure. I am delighted to see that the capabilities and results we have demonstrated in this battle have made significant progress compared with the Pearl Harbor incident! - That time we only shot down more than 30 planes, this time we not only shot down nearly 300 enemy planes but also sank nearly 200,000 tons of their warships.

I can clearly declare that the United States will use more power and greater determination to defeat the enemy. For every new aircraft carrier built by the enemy, we will build 4, 6 or even 8 aircraft carriers to deal with it... We must use our quantitative advantage to offset the enemy's temporary quality advantage. When we are equal to the enemy in war experience and combat effectiveness, their doomsday will come - I believe that this moment is not far away! "

Roosevelt's speech lasted until after 10 o'clock. After the speech, the hosts of major radio stations gave key explanations around the speech and answered the audience's questions. No one knew that at this time, Tsukahara was leading the mobile fleet to bypass the Bermuda Islands and quietly rush to the east coast of the United States. All officers heard Roosevelt's speech through the radio.

"Sir, Roosevelt is bragging loudly, saying nonsense that he shot down 300 of our planes-we only have so many planes in total!" Kusaka Ryunosuke laughed, "It can only deceive ordinary people who don't know the business. I guess the insiders have already sneered at it. "

"We will be able to drop bombs on the Americans soon. I don't know when they will be stronger than us in experience. I am looking forward to such a day." Genda Minoru laughed, "I don't know how the Americans will react after dropping bombs on them?"

"Modify the combat objectives." Tsukahara didn't laugh, but his expression became very cold.

"Sir? !"

"Cancel the attack on the Norfolk Naval Base and shipyard, and change the target to New York. "

"Why is that?" Others asked in confusion, "Roosevelt just said that he would build a large number of warships to deal with us. Destroying this base will help slow down the Americans."

"No!" Tsukahara shook his head, "If he hadn't made this speech, it would be a good move for us to attack the naval base and shipyard, but now that he has said that he will build a large navy, the situation has changed, and it is more advantageous to attack New York."

Everyone didn't understand the reason: Isn't it true that the more the enemy wants to do something, the more we should oppose it?

"You don't understand politicians and American politics..." Tsukahara explained, "If we do this, tomorrow he will exaggerate and say: The enemy is afraid of our idea of ​​building a large number of warships, so he wants to destroy our industrial capacity desperately; then after two days of repair, he can brag that we have thwarted the enemy's sabotage attempt. "

"Is it so shameless?"

"Politicians have no bottom line."

"But didn't you oppose attacking New York at first, sir? Didn't you say that it would arouse the rage of the American people?"

"Their anger has been aroused. "Tsukahara pointed to the radio, "Now we need to use bombs to calm them down. Words and slogans cannot replace the essence. The US government is far from enough to protect its own people. The enthusiasm of democratic countries can be easily incited and easily changed."

Everyone didn't understand the reason.

"The German head of state and Chief Hori Teikichi have the same view: from a purely military point of view, attacking the east coast of the United States will not have much impact. Even if we drop dozens of tons of bombs in Norfolk, the worst that can happen is that the Americans will be delayed for 1-2 months. The United States has carried out such a large-scale strategic air strike on Germany, but it has not changed Germany's industrial capacity and war potential. But through bombing, we can force the United States to allocate forces for homeland defense. Every time it adds an anti-aircraft gun and an aircraft for homeland patrol, it reduces the military strength it can send for foreign operations. "Tsukahara explained patiently, "Think about it, the United States has such a large land area. If they want to reach Germany's current level of air defense, how much industrial resources and military strength they have to consume. "

"And if the US government cannot effectively protect its own people, the promises made by politicians will fail. After all, the incited emotions come and go quickly!"

"Kusaka Ryunosuke nodded: "Turn around, we are going to New York..."