Chapter 875 Accident (4, 1800 Votes Plus Additional Content)

Now that the war has started, Fatty Qiu, who is almost driven crazy, has begun to think outside the box. Even the Axis Fleet, which has traveled thousands of kilometers to prepare for the attack on the heavily guarded Newfoundland Island at the doorstep of the American Empire, thinks it is possible. I agree with it. There are actually quite a lot of people - didn't Germany fight last time?

There is no way to face the situation without thinking broadly. Otherwise, who can explain where these Germans have gone?

Late at night, while recirculating the Atlantic Ocean, Nimitz and Cunningham, who were struggling to find the German fleet, also received reports of the enemy's situation. Although they did not think that Germany would be so arrogant, they also believed that the matter was not trivial. There is something very strange, and I think we must find out tomorrow.

The garrison on Newfoundland was in complete chaos that night. After the previous Battle of Newfoundland, the United States increased its military investment in the island. Not only did it urgently build a large number of permanent and semi-permanent defenses, it even planned more than 20 large-caliber coastal defense artillery batteries in preparation for Newfoundland. The island, especially several important ports, was completely fortified. The U.S. military garrison reached 2 divisions and more than 500 additional aircraft were deployed. In order to prevent being caught in a sneak attack, the airport has been expanded extensively. There are more than 15 combat airports on the island, coupled with the large-scale transport airport, it is impossible to completely paralyze it in a single strike.

Churchill's estimate of Newfoundland's troop strength was too low. The so-called 100,000 men were purely ground troops and did not include the logistics forces that provided support for strategic transportation, the anti-aircraft artillery units that guarded the airport, and the coastal defense artillery units that guarded coastal defenses and newly built fortifications. It does not include the engineering troops, radar, telecommunications, military police, baggage, military supplies and other departments all over the island, nor does it include the naval combat forces stationed on the island. Adding up all the above, there are more than 160,000 military and para-military personnel who receive salaries from the finances of the United States and Canada.

Even so, everyone is still unsure. Many people are frightened by the size of 2 German divisions, 8-10 aircraft carriers, and 6-7 battleships. Now the main force of the British and American fleets is in Greenland, and the TF44 squadron has just left South Africa. , except for some light warships and escort aircraft carriers, the United States and Canada cannot produce a single capital ship.

Roosevelt has been in a good mood in the past few days: firstly, all administrative work has been delegated to Truman, who has shown hard work and has been recognized by all parties; secondly, Congress has passed a bill to issue 50 billion special treasury bonds, and the major oligarchs They all said they would subscribe; thirdly, the Soviet Red Army's offensive momentum was good. The American representative stationed in the Soviet Union reported that "the Red Army has recovered Central Asia and Transcaucasus, wiped out 200,000 German and Turkish coalition forces, and is currently launching a large-scale attack on the Caucasus Plain." Roosevelt felt that his gritted teeth and desperate efforts to deliver supplies were finally worth the money, and even members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had unrealistic expectations for the Soviet side's next move; fourth, Admiral Ingram, commander of the Pacific Fleet, reported that in The Japanese fleet that broke diplomatic ties with Australia and New Zealand has retreated (presumably it has run out of fuel and supplies), and the transport fleet protected by the escort aircraft carrier has finally arrived safely in Australia and New Zealand and delivered the long-lost supplies; fifthly, Harry Truman passed the party committee not long ago Primary election to officially become the next Democratic presidential candidate.

Truman was not without opponents within the party. James F. Burns of South Carolina challenged him, but he was considered too conservative by party bosses because of his segregationist identity. Truman's ability in the Wallace incident and Roosevelt's unstinting support added a lot of points, and he finally won the nomination at the party convention without any danger.

In order to make up for Truman's lack of political qualifications, the party boss (Senate Democratic leader) Alban William Buckley condescended to be the vice presidential candidate. He was 7 years older than Truman and 5 years older than Roosevelt. He was very qualified. deep. Coupled with the help of Truman's consistent supporters Hannigan, McCarthy and others, the primary election scene was also huge.

The most eye-catching point is that John F. Kennedy, who returned from fleeing and basically recovered from his "injury", officially retired from politics and joined the campaign team. He actively ran around and vigorously built momentum, which invisibly added a lot of points to Truman.

On the Republican side, Dewey, who had already been nominated earlier, had been nominated earlier. Candidates from both parties had already expressed their views on the internal and external situation, especially the important war issue, which was very explosive. In view of the lessons learned from Wallace, no one dared to reveal it. Stop the idea of ​​aiding Britain and the Soviet Union. Although Truman's public speaking ability was not as good as Dewey's, his momentum and aggressive style overwhelmed his opponents in public debates. The New York Times specifically published the comment of a political observer: "...Mr. Dewey is like a sophisticated and experienced lawyer. , gentle and knowledgeable, and I feel like a very reliable advisor and elder; Mr. Truman is like a hard-core auditor, selfless and occasionally a little rude, but very responsible. I think the group of voters they face is completely different.”

But all the good news combined could not outweigh the bad news caused by Churchill's random speculation. That night, Roosevelt convened an emergency meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Considering his health and energy, Roosevelt had handed over all administrative work to Truman. Except for major decisions, he focused on the military - because he believed that Truman did not have a deep enough understanding of military affairs and relied too much on his staff. The outcome of the deliberations was quite clear. Most people in the Joint Chiefs of Staff believed that Churchill's speculation was unlikely, but it could not be completely ruled out because someone mentioned another direction - Bermuda.

The Bermuda Islands were of course well-defended, but the island was too small to have too many troops and technical equipment. If the Germans really deployed such a large fleet, the island would not be able to be defended anyway. Bermuda alone was not the most worrying thing. What worried Roosevelt the most was the defense of the East Coast. Now that there was no fleet guarding it, the door was wide open. The Germans did not need to land on the East Coast. Just dropping a batch of bombs on several major cities on the East Coast would be enough to make the government and the Joint Chiefs of Staff look bad.

In this regard, he could not help but envy the geographical advantages of the Axis countries: Germany was located in Central Europe, with great depth on both sides. Except for the threat posed by bombers launched from the UK, other locations could not be hit at all; Italy was even more at ease after the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal were closed and North Africa was controlled; even Japan, which was composed entirely of islands, had small islands to cover it in all directions. Only the United States, which has always been known as the natural barrier of the two oceans, has faced external threats from time to time on its east coast after losing its absolute control of the Atlantic Ocean. It was normal to be hit by a few bombs during the war. The British have been hit by rockets in recent years, not to mention bombs. The American people are particularly fragile and cannot withstand the blows at all. A few more air strikes will force the government to shut down.

This is not Roosevelt's exaggeration. If the east coast suffered the strategic bombing that Germany experienced, I am afraid that the people would have been unable to bear it. The American people live too comfortably and comfortably to have a particularly poor ability to resist risks. Any attack on the US mainland is a nightmare that political leaders cannot get rid of. He never expected that the nightmare he was worried about was not completely groundless - Hori Teikichi was already intensively deploying military operations to prepare to attack the west coast of the United States. It was against this background that the Kakuta Fleet returned to the country for replenishment.

"Can the TF46 fleet be withdrawn?"

"Not yet." Admiral King sighed, "He has turned back to the west of Ireland and is going to investigate the specific location of the enemy tomorrow. The Germans disappeared too strangely."

"What if something happens in Bermuda? Wouldn't it be impossible to rush back in time to rescue?" Marshall said unhappily, "Since there are no enemy troops in Iceland and Ireland, it means it's just a false alarm at most. Why is the fleet still there? It's important to come back early."

Admiral King smiled awkwardly but couldn't say anything. Li Hai sighed, "He must go to investigate first and ensure safety before returning home. Otherwise, Cunningham will go crazy."

"Okay, damn politics!" Marshall finally remembered that there were British people and British ships, and he was so angry that his teeth itched.

Roosevelt turned around and asked Eisenhower: "Is the army's reinforcement ready? Or the airborne troops?"

"Two airborne divisions are ready and can be reinforced at any time."

"If we have to fight this time, let's change people." Roosevelt sighed, "We can't always let Matthew rush to the front line. After all, he is a lieutenant general. It's not good to use airborne divisions every time. Even if they are good at fighting, we will use them up. Millions of army troops must cultivate some other backbone forces."

Marshall's old face flushed. He also knew that overusing Ridgway was not a good thing, but after looking at it, only this unit was particularly reassuring and the speed of deployment was fast. Since Roosevelt said so, he must make some adjustments, otherwise millions of army troops will always rely on tens of thousands of people to put out fires, and his position will not be stable.

"The problem is that the military strength, especially the navy strength, is insufficient. If there is a fleet in the direction of Britain, a powerful fleet in the Pacific, and a fleet near the mainland, the situation will be much better." Roosevelt asked Admiral King, "When will the new warships, especially aircraft carriers, be put into service in large numbers?"

"Two Essex-class and one Iowa-class can be put into service in May, and 2-3 Essex-class will be put into service in June, July, August, and September. Then, starting from October, basically two Essex-class can be put into service every month, and about 10 Essex-class can be put into service by the end of the year."

The batch of Essex mentioned by Admiral King is the product of Roosevelt's original bold statement of "building 24 Essex-class ships a year". Although there were some twists and turns in the middle to ensure the construction of other warships, the US imperialist military explosion period finally arrived in the second half of 1944.

Roosevelt calculated that if there were 14-15 Essex-class ships at that time, it would not be difficult to form three main fleets. He nodded and said something surprising and meaningful: "When Harry becomes president, you can help him adjust his European policy. Maybe we won't need the military power of Great Britain anymore."

Everyone was shocked...