Chapter 503: Passing the Level (End)

This congressional inquiry created an unprecedented record: first, Hoover's keynote report and proposals shocked everyone and occupied most of the time and attention. Later, the German radio took up the focus, and hundreds of people listened attentively on Capitol Hill. The "enemy channel" broadcast for more than two hours, but their real goal - to question the president and discuss follow-up policies was diluted.

Secretary of State Hull gave Roosevelt a meaningful look, quietly gave him a thumbs up, and applauded the president's political skills and adaptability - when there was no way to avoid it and no retreat, he first muddied the water and let the Ignoring the main goal is also an excellent tool for political struggle. Regardless of whether Hoover's request passed smoothly, at least it succeeded in diverting attention and attracting most of the firepower. And he had such a wonderful excuse - spy! No one dares to say with certainty that there are no spies in the United States. After all, the FBI continues to receive intelligence and secret reports. There are also previous records of German agents trying to lurk on submarines and being intercepted.

The espionage issue has largely alleviated the pressure of failure on the front line. Although it may not be completely correct, it at least gave lawmakers a hint: the reason why the current defeat is not possible is due to various objective reasons. At the beginning, the United States suffered a sudden attack and had no time to react; Then came the slow mobilization and slow organization; then the ineffectiveness and unreliability of allies; and now spies or leaks. In the final analysis, it is not that the U.S. military is incompetent, but various reasons that hold it back. These explanations sound much more pleasant than the cold conclusion of "cannot beat".

As for the unsatisfactory war, especially the precise "ambush" of the Thousand-Aircraft Bomber, Hull believes that there may be other reasons - such as the code being leaked or deciphered. Don't think that the U.S. code cannot be deciphered. The Pacific Fleet defeated the Midway Islands by a weak margin. Wasn't it because Qiang won a major victory because he deciphered the Japanese army's code? Compared with the suspected espionage issue, the password issue may be more pressing.

The reason why Roosevelt is Roosevelt is that political experience can always be used in crises. He said: "Members of Congress, can we prohibit the public from listening to broadcasts like the Germans that spread panic news? - Although This is inconsistent with liberal rights."

There was a lot of discussion in the audience, and everyone didn't know what to do, but one thing was clear to the congressmen: if such broadcasts were allowed to continue to be broadcast, the morale that the people had finally built up would soon collapse. If nothing else, just the news of today's threat to bomb Washington would mean that a large number of middle-class and upper-class people would find a way to relocate tomorrow. Everyone initially looked down upon the Axis's clamor to bomb the East Coast, until It was only when the disaster was approaching that we discovered that air raids were terrible. It turned out that air raids would really kill people. It turned out that the Germans would specifically deal with wealthy areas.

How many rich people and politicians are there in Washington? Do you hide in a bomb shelter every night and live like a mole?

"The Germans cannot be allowed to do whatever they want. We should come up with ways to strengthen defense. At the same time, we should educate and guide the people to establish correct concepts and further enhance their confidence in their country." Connecticut Senator Carter stood up and was the first to support him, and soon won the He received applause, and Hoover had a smile on his face.

"Let's talk about strengthening homeland defense..." Although he was very reluctant to the homeland defense plan and budget listed by the General Staff, the facts were before him. Roosevelt in turn seized the opportunity to make the best of the situation, changed from reactive to proactive, and struck while the iron was hot to let Marshall He reported the overall plan and took the opportunity to increase the number of people, equipment and budget.

This is what the congressmen want to ask. I heard that there are already plans and promotion plans. Judging from the detail and completeness of the report, it does not look like Marshall made it up on the spur of the moment. It can be seen that the president has already prepared and is simply letting the enemy take the lead. . Congressmen expressed understanding, and the rage caused by the attack on New York also subsided a lot.

The reaction of the congressmen during the provisional vote still surprised Roosevelt and a group of senior officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: unanimously passed!

An additional resolution was even made: In view of the excessive losses in the air strikes against Germany, it was requested that the budget originally used to build heavy bombers be changed to a defense aircraft budget until the Army Aviation found a way to reduce the losses in air strikes. In the simplest terms, it is to learn from the German Air Force’s response ideas, reduce the production of offensive weapons such as B-17\B-29, and significantly increase the production of P-47\P-51 air defense fighters. The overall budget change involves 2,000 aircraft. Four-engine bomber.

Arnold smiled bitterly and shook his head. A B-17 is worth 300,000 US dollars, which is 8 times that of F4F, 6 times that of F6F, and 5 times that of P51. 300 B-17s are approximately equal to one Essex (including carrier-based aircraft) , and the B-29 is more expensive than the B-17, reducing 2,000 heavy bombers can indeed do a lot, but in this way, the policy of strategic air strikes against Germany will not be said to be completely bankrupt, but will at least stagnate. The Eighth Air Force Most people can go home directly.

The goal of budget balance still needs to be taken care of. Since so much money is spent on homeland defense and a lot of money is spent on repairing the Panama Canal, cuts must be made in other areas. The congressmen made demands: In view of Russia's failure to resist the German attack It has played a major role and has accumulated a large amount of materials in the country. It is emphasized that the remaining materials should be allocated first, and the budget for the remaining leased materials will not be allocated this year.

This seemed fair, but Marshall sighed: Those remaining supplies were all old or obsolete goods, second-rate products such as P-38\P-39\P-40 and Stuart tanks. The United States I no longer intend to keep the equipment, it is almost all in tatters. However, now is not the time to worry about the attitude of Congress. The most important thing is to ensure that the president passes the test. Besides, the shipping routes are blocked, and good things cannot be sent to Russia.

The congressmen also pointed out that since the United States has given the United Kingdom so much material and support, coupled with the serious threat of Germany's new fighter jets, the government must exert pressure to bring British jet technology experts and scientific research results to the United States to jointly build American jets. The euphemistic name is “joint research and accelerated development.”

Congressmen are not fools. Roosevelt's request to relocate 100,000 British technicians and skilled workers was quickly passed. He even authorized the president to issue 30,000 more family visas this year if necessary and include them in the next year's immigration. plan, everyone hopes that the United States will increase its strength as much as possible.

"Next, Secretary of State Mr. Hull will report to Congress whether to negotiate a separate peace with Germany." After Roosevelt threw the bomb, it caused an uproar, and Jewish congressmen were filled with indignation.

Hull said unhurriedly: "Although we have no direct or indirect contact with Germany, the information obtained from secret channels and third parties shows that Germany does have the intention to negotiate a separate peace with us. The conditions are simple: we give up the The support of Britain and Russia will not interfere with Germany's actions in Europe and Africa and recognize the results. Germany will give up its support for Japan and will not interfere with our actions in the Pacific and America and recognize the results. The two sides will conclude a peace agreement and be neutral to each other. No claims, no interference... The subtext is the recognition that Germany and the United States will jointly lead the world after the war."

Without waiting for the congressmen to discuss, Roosevelt immediately expressed his position: "I personally firmly oppose this idea. Not only is this idea unacceptable, it cannot even be discussed. The reasons are as follows:

“First, the Atlantic Charter clearly stipulates that Britain and the United States will advance and retreat together. No party can make peace on the axis alone. We cannot violate national commitments and international morality;

Second, judging from the actual situation, this condition is greatly unfavorable to us. The United Kingdom without the support of the United States may not be able to support it for even three months, but Japan without the support of Germany can support it for a long time. "

This judgment was unanimously recognized by the senior leaders of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Nimitz believed that if the United States went all out to deal with Japan and Germany did not intervene, the overall victory time would not be less than 3 years.

"Third, judging from Hitler's consistent style of tearing up contracts, this peace commitment is very unreliable - every peace treaty he signed was eventually torn up. Once Germany successfully solves Russia and Britain, they will have exclusive control of Europe. The possibility of tearing up the agreement again and joining forces with Japan would lead to ultimate failure;

Fourth, from the perspective of the feelings and dignity of the American people, we are not allowed to make peace with Japan unless Japan surrenders;

The fifth and most critical point is that looking forward to the post-war situation, the United States cannot accept a political arrangement that is far away from the center of the world. This is incompatible with the pride of the American people and incompatible with the international status of the United States. "

Most congressmen believed that the explanation and explanation were reasonable, but some congressmen were still doubtful. At this time, Roosevelt began to make fierce revelations:

"To sum up, I solemnly declare that if Congress passes the resolution of 'Separate peace in part or in whole between the United States and the Axis Powers', as president, I will respect public opinion and will not exercise veto power, but will announce on the day the resolution is passed... ..." Roosevelt glanced majestically at the audience and slowly uttered one word, "Resign!"

After these words were spoken, the entire audience fell silent, and all the congressmen were dumbfounded in shock.

Hull quietly gave a thumbs up - this was a smart move to retreat in order to advance. If there was no victory, then peace would have to be signed by Roosevelt. This would not only seriously hurt his self-esteem, but also illustrate the president's insistence on war preparations over the years. , the policy of Europe first, Asia first, was a complete failure. This was a devastating blow to the reputation of politicians. How can they continue to stay on stage?

At 2 a.m. on May 4, the congressional inquiry meeting finally came to an end:

Passed unanimously the "Strengthening Homeland Defense Plan" and related budgets;

87% of MPs expressed support for continuing the war and not making peace with the Axis;

The Hoover proposal was passed with a narrow margin of 54%, but the required resources were cut in half, and Hoover was asked to report on progress in 6 months...

When the meeting ended, the congressmen stood up and raised their arms and shouted: "The all-out war in the United States has just begun. No matter how long the enemy wants to fight, we will fight to the end! The war will never end until Berlin, Tokyo and Rome are occupied!"