Chapter 1222 Atomic Bomb 4
The Bay of Fundy is located between the Nova Scotia Peninsula, Brunswick Province and Maine. It is a long and narrow flared bay surrounded by land on three sides. The only entrance and exit faces the east coast of the United States. It is not wide, only more than 70 kilometers, and is now blocked by anti-submarine nets and mines.
Therefore, this bay is a relatively hidden place. Once the main force of the 56th Task Force enters, it will be difficult for the German army to find them. At least the slow-flying waterborne early warning aircraft such as Bv138E dare not enter the Bay of Fundy for search without escort. Although the Me264H early warning aircraft can easily penetrate (and there is considerable risk) the Bay of Fundy, it is 3,200 kilometers away from the Azores, which is too far even for the Me264H. Even if you can barely get in, you have to go home after staying for a few minutes.
Therefore, the Bay of Fundy has always been outside the monitoring of German early warning aircraft, and because the entrance is blocked by anti-submarine nets and mines, and there are many American and British (Canadian) escort destroyers patrolling, even U-boats are not easy to get close.
"What is the mission of the 56th Task Force?" Mitchell thought for a while and asked again.
"The mission of the 56th Task Force is to use the Bay of Fundy as a base to provide air support for Newfoundland." Spruance said, "The 56th Task Force has 15 Essex-class aircraft carriers and 9 Independence-class aircraft carriers. After 6 Essex-class and 3 Independence-class aircraft carriers are separated, there are still 9 Essex-class and 6 Independence-class aircraft carriers, with more than 900 carrier-based aircraft of various types... This is a very powerful air force!"
In addition to these more than 900 carrier-based aircraft, the United States and the United Kingdom can now temporarily gather more than 2,100 fighters. In other words, the British and American Allied Forces will soon be able to deploy more than 3,000 combat aircraft on the battlefield of Newfoundland. Even if the 57th Task Force failed to lure the enemy, 3,000 aircraft would be enough to regain some of the lost air superiority, at least to cover the Allied ground forces on Newfoundland to launch a fierce attack during the day.
According to the estimate of General Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, as long as there are two days for the US Army on Newfoundland to launch an attack, the 20,000 Germans who landed on the island would be annihilated.
In addition, in order to ensure victory, in the early morning of April 26, nearly 50,000 officers and soldiers of the three divisions of the 18th Airborne Army of the United States were all airdropped to Newfoundland. After obtaining the weapons and equipment stored by the US military on the island, these three airborne divisions will greatly strengthen the strength of the Allied forces defending the island.
After explaining the Pentagon's plan and discussing with Mitchell and Arleigh Burke for more than an hour. Spruance's plane took off again. He will immediately fly to New York to exchange views with Admiral Fletcher, commander of the US 1st Fleet, and deploy tasks at the same time.
Spruance assigned Fletcher the task of leading the battleship formation to break into the waters near Newfoundland.
Two Iowa-class battleships and six Alaska-class battlecruisers drawn from the 56th Task Force and the 3rd Fleet will soon arrive in New York. They will join the 1st Fleet and become the core of the 11th Task Force. The 11th Task Force will break into the battlefield from the southern waters of Newfoundland and attack the European fleet that is landing on the west coast of Conception Bay!
In the north of Newfoundland, the main force of the British Canadian Fleet will also form the Z Fleet, which will include three Elizabeth-class battleships and one King George V-class battleship, as well as several heavy cruisers, and more light cruisers and destroyers. They will break into Conception Bay from the northern waters of Newfoundland!
"Raymond, this assault is quite risky. We may lose a lot of battleships."
In the headquarters of the US 1st Fleet in New York, Spruance, who had been on a plane for almost a whole day, met Admiral Fletcher, who had just been transferred from the Pacific battlefield. Fletcher was skeptical of Spruance's plan. After all, the battleship formation of the European Combined Fleet was much stronger than that of the United States and Britain (Canada).
"Maybe," Spruance nodded, "but the loss is worth it as long as our light cruisers and destroyers can successfully break in."
It turned out that Spruance did not expect the battleship formation to win in the sea battle. He believed that as long as the battleships of the United States and Britain could be used to deceive the battleships of the European Combined Fleet. Then the British and American patrol forces, which had a great advantage in numbers, could start a killing spree!
Spruance told Fletcher: "In fact, my target is not their battleships at all, but their transport ships and landing ships... As long as the German landing fleet can be completely crushed, the Newfoundland War will be won. The Germans will at least lose 150,000 troops and a large number of ships and equipment on Newfoundland Island.
And the huge losses will definitely make the Germans seriously consider our peace proposal!"
"Our peace proposal?" Fletcher whispered, "Raymond, is it true?"
Since the peace negotiations were conducted in secret, Admiral Fletcher was not aware of it and had only heard some rumors at most.
"Yes!" Spruance did not know the news in this regard, but he nodded very affirmatively, "There must be, if not, then the people above are derelict in their duties!"
...
White House bunker, Presidential Office.
Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. seemed to be about to leave this dark, damp office that reminded people of a grave.
He stood up from the chair, picked up his briefcase, and was about to turn around to leave, but was stopped by President Truman in a hoarse voice: "Edward, after meeting the Vice President, told him that a communication channel with Hitler must be established as soon as possible... … If possible, channels should be confidential and unmonitored.”
"Ah?" Stettinius was stunned. "President, is this inappropriate? This is against U.S. law."
In this era, the United States pursued the line of small government and large parliament, and the supervision of the government was relatively strict. In theory, the president and vice president cannot bypass Congress to engage in secret diplomacy, let alone the targets of secret diplomacy are the enemies of the United States.
So once this matter becomes public, Truman's political opponents can launch an impeachment attack, unless he makes deals in other areas - such as supporting the repeal of the New Deal!
But in this case, Truman had no leverage to get the Republicans in Congress to support the unequal treaty he had reached with Hitler to "traitor the country for national glory." And his Democratic government may fall apart at the most difficult time in the United States, and then the domestic politics of the United States will fall into chaos...
Therefore, Truman had no choice but to take a desperate step and violate U.S. laws by instructing Kennedy to conduct secret diplomatic negotiations with Germany.
"I know." Truman nodded, "It's really not appropriate..." He picked up the pen on the table and wrote on a piece of report paper, "He should be given a written order. According to the Constitution, the Vice President must To carry out official activities with the authorization of the president. I gave him the authorization and declared this matter to be a national secret, so the responsibility is mine. If Congress wants to impeach me, I will step down!"
In fact, with this paper authorization, the actions of Kennedy and Truman still violated the law. But American law can be negotiated. As long as Kennedy presents Truman's authorization order to Congress, he can reach an agreement with Congress to avoid investigation (the investigation of Kennedy) and prosecution.
In other words, with the secret order written and signed by Truman, Kennedy could betray Truman to protect himself when necessary.
"Mr President……"
Truman waved his hand. He had already finished writing the authorization order and signed his name. "Edward," the President said, "if I win in Newfoundland, no one is going to impeach me because I saved America! But if I lose in Newfoundland...someone has to end this damn thing." War, and someone is going to step down. And that person can only be me! I am the president of the United States, and this is my responsibility.”
This is also true. The President of the United States has judicial immunity. Even if he violates the law, he can only go through impeachment proceedings and not allow the FBI to directly enter the White House to arrest people. But impeachment is not a legal issue but a political one.
It is the last word for the United States to win. As long as Truman can win the battle on Newfoundland, the Republican Party will not initiate impeachment proceedings. There is no doubt that it will impeach a president who has led the United States to successfully preserve the living space in North America and win a decent peace. It is political suicide. If the Republican Party had impeached Truman in 1945, it would have collapsed in the midterm elections in 1946. Then the Republican Party bosses would not be so stupid.
But if Newfoundland was defeated in the First World War, President Truman would have to sell his country. It was probably inevitable to be impeached as a scapegoat after selling out the country. Anyway, even if he was impeached and stepped down, Truman would not be afraid of breaking the bank.
He handed the signed written order to Stettinius: "This order is for you too! Edward, when you get to Chicago, stay there. If Mr. Kennedy becomes president, he will need your help, because "You are an experienced diplomat and know the war situation very well."
Edward Stettinius Jr. was in charge of the distribution of Lend-Lease supplies before becoming Secretary of State. This position allowed him to accumulate rich experience in both the diplomatic and military fields. If Kennedy succeeds as president in the future, he will definitely become an important player in Kennedy's cabinet.
"Mr. President," Stettinius took Truman's "evidence of guilt", carefully put it away, and then bowed respectfully to Truman, "I believe that the American people in the future will not forget that you were the most difficult person in the United States. You made the right choice regardless of personal gains and losses... I believe that your decision will be the beginning of America becoming great again."
"Great again?" Truman smiled bitterly upon hearing this, "I hope it's not too late."