Chapter 827 The Fish Dies or the Net Breaks? (End)

On the afternoon of February 5, Roosevelt, who was full of energy, gave a speech to the congressmen.

"Vice President Wallace has reported to you on the course of the war, the accumulated losses and the consumption of resources. I have nothing to add. The government has reported most of the facts to Congress, but this is the first time that they have been gathered together, so it looks shocking, but it does not change the numbers themselves. Today I will focus on how to look at these numbers." Roosevelt majestically glanced at the audience and began his speech with confidence.

"Among the more than 300 billion military expenditures, in addition to nearly 100 billion US dollars in support of allies, the United States spent about 200 billion US dollars on its own defense. Although there is no exact official figure from the enemy, the statistics and intelligence departments believe that it is roughly equivalent to three times Germany's military expenditure in the same period. If the support for allies is included, the United States has spent a total of slightly more than four times Germany's military expenditure.

Simply listing the numbers, it seems that our efficiency is very low and the gains do not outweigh the losses. But first of all, please note that the United States' military expenditure was limited to a very low level in the years before the war, while Germany has been taking advantage of various opportunities to expand its military. A large part of the more than 200 billion consumption was used to compensate for previous military expenditure deficits.

Secondly, the land area of ​​the United States is about the size of Germany. 12 times. If we want to achieve the same defense force and air defense system deployment as Germany, it means that we need to invest more than 12 times the force and funds, which will increase the corresponding military expenditure invisibly. However, this is the national defense construction necessary to protect the people and cannot be weakened.

Thirdly, the German navy is relatively weak. In addition to submarines, its surface fleet mainly relies on the help of Italian and French warships. Due to its special geographical location, the United States must retain a strong navy, and this part of the expenditure accounts for a very large proportion. We should list the military expenditures of Japan, Italy, and France on surface ships in comparison to get a fair figure. In terms of the army, the size of the US army is not inferior to that of Germany, and the average mechanization level is better than that (this is not bragging), and the cost of this part of the equipment is also quite high.

Secondly, Germany They looted a large amount of materials from the countries they invaded, and obtained a large amount of military supplies and agricultural products from their vassal states, such as Romania, Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Italy, and the three Baltic countries. We calculated that the amount was about 30-40 billion US dollars, and the United States bought every penny of materials with money, because we never plundered. After taking this part of the difference into account, the huge difference can be understood;

Another point that cannot be ignored is that Germany obtained a lot of funds from plundering ordinary people such as Jews, Poles, and Czechs. Jewish people are still forced to participate in unpaid hard labor. Germany's occupation forces in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands all rely on expenses provided by local governments, and the expenses of its front-line troops resting in Western Europe are also borne by the above-mentioned The value of this part should not be underestimated.

In summary, our actual military expenditure is about 30-40% more than Germany's, which I think is a relatively reasonable number. Of course, whether the same amount of money can achieve the same results cannot be attributed to the use of funds, but should be measured from other aspects such as mobilization, organization, training level, and command ability. Because war is not determined by money alone, otherwise, France's military expenditure before the war has always been higher than Germany's, and its naval strength is also stronger than Germany, why did it fail miserably? "

"Let me talk about strategic issues. As the war develops to this point, with the Axis' impressive performance on the battlefield, it seems unimaginable to insist on the other side's unconditional surrender. Even many people insisted on restoring the situation before 1939, which is difficult to do. But I still have clear pursuits: First, the Axis countries must stop interfering, invading and intervening in the American continent; second, Germany must end all relations with Japan, and Japan's crime of attacking Pearl Harbor must be settled; third, we respect the wishes of the countries concerned in the overall European structure, but Great Britain should be given decent peace and respect..." Because it was an internal speech in Congress, Roosevelt lowered his tone a lot. As soon as these words came out, many congressmen talked about it - the president began to shrink from the previous tough conditions, and they believed that shrinking was wise and effective.

"But Yes, Germany publicly rejected this condition, which was already extremely tolerant, restrained and based on reality. They expressed through diplomatic channels and radio channels that Germany not only wanted to continue to maintain its alliance with Japan, but also wanted to occupy Great Britain and enslave its people, and to brutally interfere in the internal affairs of South American countries and carry out armed occupation. This fully shows that Germany has no sincerity for peace. For such an aggressive country, we can only resolutely fight back and fight to the end. In the future, the focus of the United States' war will gradually shift to the Pacific, Atlantic and American regions. Who will continue to contain Germany in Europe? There are only two allies, Britain and the Soviet Union, so I am determined to continue to provide them with assistance within our capacity in accordance with the Lend-Lease Act until Germany completely admits defeat or achieves peace on our terms. "

Everyone is smart, but they can't understand what Roosevelt said: The president didn't say it clearly just now, but he has put forward the bottom line of the war, that is, after liquidating Japan, the United States can tolerate Germany gaining a certain degree of hegemony in Europe. A two-headed confrontation with the United States. This goal is obviously a big step back compared to US dominance, but the possibility of achieving it is also greatly improved. Roosevelt also said that aid is not a bottomless pit. As long as Germany agrees to the conditions, aid to the Soviet Union and Britain can be exchanged. ——Isn’t Germany also aiding Japan?

Everyone applauded enthusiastically, thinking that the president is a sophisticated politician with a realist spirit. Such conditions can barely be explained to the American people and the financial backers behind everyone.

After many congressmen finished asking questions, a voice suddenly rang out: "Your Excellency, your explanation on the apportionment and use of military expenditures, I think is basically reasonable; I think most congressmen can also support your overall strategy for the future, but I have two important questions, I wonder if you can answer them?”

The person who stood up to ask the question was Roosevelt's biggest political opponent, Republican Thomas Dewey. Although Dewey was not a senator but only the governor of New York, because he had been confirmed by the Republican Party as the next presidential candidate, considering his influence on the future political situation. Importantly, after applying and signing a confidentiality agreement, Dewey also attended as a non-voting representative.

Roosevelt smiled slightly: "Of course, you say."

"First question, I learned that all the supplies shipped to the Soviet Union last time were seized by the Japanese. In order to maintain this hard-won supply line that is the only remaining supply line of the Soviet Union, the Joint Chiefs of Staff intends to send 40% of the supplies to Japan in exchange for They let it go. In terms of numbers, the ratio may be lower than the cost of the British material transmission line, but I want to know what you think of this behavior that is actually subsidizing the enemy in order to defeat Germany? Is it reasonable and can it be understood and forgiven by the people?”

After hearing this, Roosevelt's face changed greatly, but he continued to listen calmly. At the same time, his mind was racing on how to deal with this difficult problem. Everyone in the Joint Chiefs of Staff around him was also very nervous, and they immediately exchanged opinions with their eyes - this thing will die today. You can't admit it, otherwise it would be too bad.

"Second question, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in the battle report that the 3rd Army Division and the 5th Army Division were unable to complete their missions in the late Cape Verde campaign due to the commander's cowardice, disobedience and vacillation of compromise, so they simply broke the pot and smashed it. However, according to the investigation of some members of the party, these two army divisions were actually abandoned by the navy. The person who made the decision was General Turner, who was the chief of staff of the fleet at the time. Including retired fleet commander Admiral Ingersoll, I want to know what you think about this matter? If there is a similar situation in the future, will General Turner turn around and leave the army?"

These two issues were dropped into the venue like 5,000-pound heavy bombs, and everyone was in an uproar. The senior Republicans looked at each other and smiled. This was a political offensive specially created by the party. It could have been launched by a Republican congressman, but they carefully chose Dewey to launch the attack. The purpose was to catch Roosevelt and the Democratic Party by surprise and build momentum for the 1944 election. Although No one is sure that Roosevelt will not run again, but it is generally believed that Roosevelt's health is very likely not to run. The current Vice President Wallace does not agree with Roosevelt and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, so the probability of winning is very high.

Roosevelt's face changed drastically again. He finally knew what the anxiety and uneasiness in his heart were before today's meeting - his opponents were all waiting here to attack.

Seeing Roosevelt's extremely ugly expression, Dewey smiled slightly. In fact, he still had a third attack bomb in his heart: after the introduction of the "Loyalty Act", Hoover and the FBI used the act to greatly expand their powers to purge spies and prevent They have done a lot of shameful things with high-sounding reasons such as leaking secrets. Not only have they promoted de facto spy politics, but they have also conducted internal racial screening - the top executives in the Bureau who hold real power are all Anglo-Saxon or Jewish. , the proportion of the above two ethnic groups among new federal employees is also alarmingly high.

But after repeated consideration, he decided to give up because it was difficult to choose an attack point: the "Loyalty Act" was unanimously approved by Congress, and many spies were indeed investigated based on it. Ironically, the Soviet spies captured were more numerous than the German spies. There are many, so we cannot accuse the other party of wrong goals. At most, the methods are excessive, which can be easily evaded. As for ethnicity, Dewey also had a headache. Of course, there are other ethnic groups in the top ranks of the FBI, but most of them are responsible for administrative, logistical and other administrative work. There are not those responsible for actual business power. But after all, they are also high-level people, and they are also based on their positions. The principle of rotation is used to realize "job transfer". Why is the business important but the affairs not important? If this is not the case, senior military officials such as Nimitz, Halsey, Eisenhower, Spruance, Patton, and Spaatz are all of German descent. Can they accuse the military of being controlled by Germany and intentionally defeating the war? So he let this section go.

As for Hoover himself, he was just Roosevelt's dog. If his owner died, why would he be afraid that he would not become a lost dog?