Iron Cross

Chapter 888 Accident (17)

After Truman finished speaking, he slapped the sand table hard: "I can't control the Germans in Europe. If I can't control South America anymore, what will the American people think of us in the future? Gentlemen, we have only been in office for a few or more than ten years, and we can't sit still. It doesn't matter whether you sit in this position, but the reputation is still there for hundreds of years. If future generations write American history and say that South America was gradually mastered during President Monroe's administration, and finally lost in the hands of Truman as Vice President and General Marshall as Chief of Staff, What will future generations think of us? Can our family hold its head high? "

These words were so serious that Marshall's expression changed drastically, he stood up and said respectfully: "Yes, Your Excellency."

Li Hai and Admiral Jin looked at each other and nodded. Turner expressed his position: "Tomorrow, no! The navy will mobilize ships to prepare for transportation starting tonight."

Everyone could see that the new vice president had a clear stance on the South American issue and had an extremely tough personality. No wonder he would accuse Wallace of treason to his face. At the same time, the concept is also very pragmatic. When Wallace said that he wanted to give up Britain, he thought it was inappropriate. Now it is his turn to take power. Faced with the objective situation that has taken a turn for the worse, he will no longer stick to the old words of not aiding Britain and directly plan to Get away from Europe.

“What about the Pacific direction?

"It will take another year for the Panama Canal to open to navigation, and we may have to suffer in the Pacific for another year. A large number of warships will be commissioned by the end of this year, and it will not be until the spring of 1945 that they will fully become combat effective, so the time can basically be connected."

"That's good, let's arrange it this way. After General Spruance escorts the British to complete the mission, he will immediately go to Australia, leave the ships and supplies in the Pacific, and let him bring back the key officers. Australia and New Zealand cannot afford to lose, otherwise we will It is a two-front battle on the east and west coasts. "Truman warned: "You must pay more attention to the defense of the east coast. You must find ways to improve radar stations, anti-aircraft guns, and jets. The military, especially pilots, must speed up training, and new weapons such as rockets must also be accelerated. Research, we must find ways to obtain the weapons that the enemy has.”

"Military expenses?"

"Aid to Britain is suspended, and aid to the Soviet Union is expected to be stopped soon. This part of the cost can be used first, and then go to Congress to complete the formalities. See if we can save some money in other aspects. For example, if we don't need strategic transportation, can we reduce the cost? Part of the manufacturing of large aircraft?" Truman thought for a while and added, "Like those damn aviation cannons, destroy them when they need to be destroyed. Don't just fill up the books and focus on imitating British products in the future, but you must strictly control the quality. The military should resolutely eliminate the unreasonable, inefficient, and wasteful models in the current equipment manufacturing. Report those who have troubles that cannot be eliminated to me, and I will deal with it! The United States is going to be defeated and subjugated! Who dares to enrich the country? In short, I don’t want to pursue the bad things in the past. If anyone dares to give me eye drops in the future, I will ask Director Hoover to send him to jail!”

These few words were so strong that everyone felt excited.

Toward the end, Lehi tentatively asked about a political solution to the European problem.

"It is not impossible to negotiate peace with Germany, but the conditions last time were very immature, and the two sides' positions were too different to be able to reach an agreement. As for the current shaky situation in Great Britain, as long as Hitler is not stupid, he will not talk to us unless he has new ideas. "Truman kicked the ball back, "Or do you have any good suggestions?"

Li Hai gritted his teeth and said, "I'm wondering if I can exchange for South Africa?"

This was an idea he put forward after reporting to Roosevelt. The latter verbally expressed that he could consider it and suggested that he communicate with Truman. He took advantage of today's opportunity to bring it up.

"South Africa?" Truman fell into a thoughtful state and couldn't help but bounce his right hand on the table a few times.

Li Hai explained: "Judging from the current situation, we can no longer continue to support South Africa in the short term. After the West African campaign plan was stopped, the latter also tended to be gradually isolated. Unlike Canada or Australia and New Zealand, South Africa has always been in close contact with Europe and London. It was relatively close, and the Dutch also played a disgraceful role in it. If Germany agrees, South Africa can be exchanged for German interests in South America..."

"This is a good idea. Please explain it in more detail."

Li Hai explained: "The Falkland Islands are recognized as owned by Argentina, and the nationalized industries in South American countries are required to be returned to the original owners. Of course, the U.S. government will pay money to South American countries as compensation (under individual names), and it can also be allowed to return to the original owners. The original owner chooses to take money or property. Although this money is an additional financial burden, if it is solved by military means, it will cost more. I hope Congress can understand that South America will retain certain commercial rights for Germany and commercial interests in Africa. Let American capital share. South Africa remains within the framework of Great Britain and cannot be directly occupied by Germany.”

Lehi's current conditions are undoubtedly much lower than those of Joseph. South America is exchanged for South Africa, and South American commercial interests are exchanged for African commercial interests. The two terms seem to be much more balanced. Everyone nodded in their hearts, but remained calm on their faces - soldiers cannot interfere in politics. Strictly speaking, what Li Hai said was overstepping his bounds, but it is still better for him to hold the title of Chief of Staff to the President.

"What about Japan?" Truman asked.

"We must continue to fight Japan, otherwise we will not be able to explain to the American people." Li Hai thought for a while and said, "We can offer to give up supporting Stalin. Now that the Soviet Union has counterattacked into the Caucasus, the pressure on Germany's eastern front may not be small."

Truman shook his head: "I'm afraid this condition is not enough, we need to add more."

After much deliberation, everyone found that they really could not provide tradable benefits to the Germans.

"When we defeat Japan, a piece of Indian territory will continue to be given to Britain with German support, and a piece of Far East commercial interests will be given to the Germans. In addition, we will consider agreeing to agree to Germany selling some armaments to Japan, but the quantity and type should be communicated and confirmed with us first. The United States must have "Equal purchase rights." Truman proposed this suggestion after considering it, and everyone was shocked. This condition seemed nothing on the surface, but in fact it was very humiliating - it was clear that not only could it not defeat Germany, but it would not even dare to control Germany's attempts to sell weapons to Japan. .

"You don't have to sacrifice so much." Li Hai whispered in Truman's ear and quietly told him about the "Manhattan Project" and winked, "This is what the president authorized me to tell you, and Wallace didn't know about it. ”

"Very good, very good! Then just wait another year or more, I can afford it!" Truman took a deep breath, "Gentlemen, from now on the only world powers will be Germany and the United States. A gentleman's revenge ten The year is not too late, we must be patient for the time being and find ways to accumulate strength. I believe that there will be new soldiers and a new president to lead the American people to finally win the war against Germany.”

After Truman left, the Joint Chiefs of Staff immediately took action. On the one hand, they planned to send troops to Brazil, and on the other hand, they prepared for adjustments in armaments. Since Truman emphasized the war situation in South America and specifically stated the need for armored forces, Marshall did not dare to fool around, so he decided to send Patton out. The Army would send out 4 divisions first, and then consider the follow-up troops. Arnold promised to provide Brazil with additional aircraft, and then reinforcements. 300-400 medium bombers and fighters. Admiral Kim was not prepared to let Nimitz do the task of escorting the Army to land in South America. He planned to leave it to Mitchell. Nimitz's task was to reorganize the main aircraft carrier formation as soon as possible and to form two new aircraft carriers as soon as possible. combat effectiveness.

In terms of armaments, several big guys discussed it all night, and with the help of the Armament Bureau, they cut off more than 300 models that were unimportant or had poor performance, including P-39\40\43\63 and other models of fighter jets. The A-31\35, B-18\32, SB2C and other outdated or poorly performing bombers, etc., since Truman has given instructions, the Joint Chiefs of Staff will cut them down without mercy.

Now with the support of Truman, the military is not afraid of fighting with the capitalists, and some capitalists are indeed making trouble with congressmen, and everyone can't stand it. What's more, Truman was very clear about the production and use of military expenditures. He must have the handle of these capitalists. Seeing that he was so sure that it would not affect the election, everyone let go and took action in a drastic way—— This action is almost the same as what Hoffman did originally.

Of course, there are always pressures to maintain projects. For example, Grumman's F7F Tiger Cat heavy carrier-based fighter-bomber was originally designed to be carried by the Midway-class large aircraft carrier. Now the Midway-class has been suspended across the board. In addition, the F7F has poor performance and is too heavy (11.7 tons), this model will be cut off directly. However, the company's F8F Panda carrier-based fighter project requested acceleration. The Navy, without conducting an in-depth assessment of other opponents, believed that "the carrier-based fighter must come from Grumman, just like the dive bomber must be a product of Douglas." . This time Nimitz reported that the German army had high-performance high-altitude carrier-based fighter jets, which further intensified the navy's panic. Therefore, Admiral King asked Grumman to complete the prototype design and test flight before the end of June.

Jets are the top priority in the development of armaments. The fact that Great Britain was beaten by jets flying high and high shocked the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was even more terrifying to the United States than the rockets, because the rockets were used up in a short time. However, jets can continue to make more than a thousand sorties every day - most people can't tell the difference between Me-262 and Ar-234, so they invest in jet development like crazy.

The U.S. Army and Navy have always taken their own paths in aircraft development, and the jet field is no exception. In addition to unanimously agreeing to increase the production and service of Meteor jets, they have also launched new projects.

The Navy's jet projects are smaller than those of the Army, but they were started earlier. The first one was McDonnell's XFD-1 program (FH-1 Phantom fighter), which was established in January 1943. Admiral Kim requested that all tests be completed in 1945 And finalized. In addition, Vought's XF6U-1 Pirate, McDonnell's XF2D-1 Banshee and North American's XFJ-1 Fury were also selected for parallel research. Avoid betting on a single project that ultimately leads to failure.

Chapter 895/1109
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Iron CrossCh.895/1109 [80.70%]