Chapter 459 Informal Declaration of War
The declaration that was enough to anger the Germans was the Atlantic Charter, which was actually an informal declaration of war against Germany by the United States of America!
The draft of this declaration was now in the hands of British Prime Minister Churchill. Fat Churchill took out his reading glasses and put them on, and began to study the contents of the declaration word by word.
The first article of the declaration was to the effect that Britain and the United States did not seek any territorial or other expansion. This was of course half true and half false. The expansion of the British Empire had long come to an end, so it naturally did not seek expansion. The United States only had no major expansion intentions in terms of territory, but it had to expand greatly in other aspects, otherwise there would be no world war?
The second article of the declaration was that Britain and the United States did not want to see any territorial changes that were inconsistent with the opinions freely expressed by the people concerned - such changes had just occurred in the Khorasan region of Iran, and would probably happen in Afghanistan next, and had occurred earlier in Finland, Poland and Romania. However, these changes were not seen by Britain and the United States...
Churchill did not like the third article of the declaration, which said that Britain and the United States respect the right of all nations to choose the form of government they are willing to live under; Britain and the United States hope to see nations that have been deprived of their sovereignty and autonomy by force regain their sovereignty and autonomy.
The Prime Minister frowned. This article is clearly harming the British Empire! It looks like the same meaning as the "Liberator's Declaration" that the Soviet Union and Germany had previously worked out. They all want to tear down the British Empire!
Articles 4 and 5 of the declaration talk about free trade and international economic cooperation, which seem to have no meaning for the current world. Churchill did not care too much, but when he saw Article 6 of the declaration, his eyes immediately widened, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his fat face.
"After the final destruction of Nazi tyranny, Britain and the United States hope to establish a peace in which all nations can live in safety within their own borders, and all men everywhere can live out their lives in freedom from fear and want..." Churchill read out a passage from the draft declaration aloud, "President, are you really going to write words like the destruction of Nazi tyranny in the declaration?"
Publicly declaring the destruction of Nazi tyranny is almost a declaration of war on Germany! Because the word "Nazi" is the abbreviation of National Socialism, and Germany takes National Socialism as its national guiding principle. Declaring the destruction of Nazi tyranny is equivalent to declaring the destruction of the Third Reich of Germany!
If such words appear openly in the Atlantic Charter, then this declaration is an informal declaration of war.
"Of course it should be written in the declaration!" Roosevelt nodded and said with a smile: "Perhaps Hitler and Hessmann will declare war on us immediately after seeing this declaration, which will save us a lot of trouble."
"This may be difficult." Prime Minister Churchill shook his head and said, "Hitler only looks crazy, but he is actually very rational. And Marshal Hessmann... that is a cunning guy! He is very bad, but absolutely calm and very patient. He will not be angered by a declaration."
Now all politicians with a little bit of brains in the world know that Roosevelt wants the United States to participate in the world war, but he is restrained by isolationism in the United States-most Americans now agree to help Britain and are willing to join the war at some point in the future. But they do not agree to join the war immediately to fight the terrible Germans.
So if Roosevelt takes the motion to declare war on Germany to Congress for a vote, it will definitely not pass... But if Germany is willing to take the initiative to declare war, then Roosevelt can let go and do a big fight.
"I also know that things are not that easy," Roosevelt said with a smile, "so we have other ways to join the war."
"Other ways?" Churchill asked, "What are they?"
"The Atlantic Fleet will send a squadron to Iceland," Roosevelt said, "The order has been issued, and the fleet will set off soon."
"What types of ships will this American fleet include?" Churchill asked.
Stark, the US Navy Chief of Operations who accompanied President Roosevelt to the talks, took over the question and said: "It will include 1 battleship, 1 heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers and several destroyers... maybe 1 aircraft carrier!"
Iceland is only more than 800 kilometers away from the British mainland. If there is a hostile American fleet including battleships, heavy cruisers and aircraft carriers wandering around Iceland, occasionally sending seaplanes to scout everywhere, and then using radar to look around, and then reporting the reconnaissance to British friends, how can the Germans fight?
If the Germans can't stand it and directly beat up the American fleet, then the United States will join the war. If the Germans continue to be patient, then when their fleet goes out to sea to fight in the future, there will be American ships with freedom of navigation following all the way. Not only will they tell the British every move of the German fleet, but they may also launch a sudden attack!
"In addition," Roosevelt said with some pride, "we are still putting pressure on Japan, Germany's ally. Recently we have just deployed B-17 bombers and submarines in the Philippines, and also deployed Catalina submarines in the Philippines and Guam. aircraft, and strive to complete the setting up of a 300-nautical-mile patrol circle as soon as possible, and we will also deploy Dauntless dive bombers and Destroyer torpedo attack aircraft in the Philippines and Guam as soon as possible. In addition, we have also started to build several large airports in the Philippines to prepare for the war in 1942. The total number of combat aircraft stationed in the Philippines will increase to more than 1,200 by June next year, and the number of aircraft in Guam will also increase to 300. "
"A total of 1,500!?" First Sea Lord Pound, who followed Churchill, was shocked by this number.
If there are really 1,500 shore-based aircraft deployed in the Philippines and Guam, it will be very dangerous for the Japanese to go south again.
"Don't we have to solve the European problem first?" Churchill frowned and asked, "If the United States deploys 1,500 fighter jets in Southeast Asia, does it mean that its investment in Europe will be reduced?"
"Europe first" is the focus of the war that has been set long ago between Britain and the United States, that is, to concentrate on defeating Germany and Italy first, and then to deal with enemies elsewhere.
"Haha," Roosevelt raised his head and laughed, "there will be no 1,500 aircraft deployed to Southeast Asia. It is just a bluff to scare the Japanese. We will also make the Japanese believe that by the end of 1942, we will deploy in the Philippines and Guam The total number of combat aircraft will exceed 2,000. In addition, at least 200 submarines of various types will be deployed to the Philippines!”
If so many scary planes and submarines really arrive in Southeast Asia, then Japan will have to be constantly on guard against sneak attacks by the Americans if it wants to go south!
Churchill became worried again at this time. He asked: "If the Japanese launch an attack on the Philippines and Singapore in the near future, will the United States' power there be able to withstand it?"
"We are continuously strengthening our forces in the Philippines," Admiral Stark said. "Although there will not be more than 1,000 aircraft deployed there, there will still be 300 aircraft, which will also include sea attacks. The highly capable SBD Dauntless dive bomber and TBD Destroyer torpedo bomber.”
Currently, the United States does not have twin-engine dive (shallow dive) bombers like the Ju88, so the U.S. Navy plans to deploy two carrier-based aircraft, SBD and TBD, to the Philippines for use as shore-based aircraft.
"That puts me at ease," Churchill nodded and turned the topic back to Europe. "Mr. President, how should we defeat the Germans?"
"I think this requires a grand plan," Roosevelt said with a smile. "Hundreds of ships of all kinds, tens of thousands of aircraft, tens of thousands of tanks, and millions of men... We The Army Staff and the Naval Operations Department have jointly formulated some plans, and now our military experts from both sides can work together to formulate combat plans. As long as our two countries can unite, we will surely lead the world together in the future."
Churchill nodded and said: "Our two countries should unite. Only in this way can we ensure that the future still belongs to us white English-speaking people."
…
Just when Roosevelt and Churchill met at Ajinsha Bay to discuss how to defeat Germany, a major event occurred in Germany. This may be encouraging news for Britain, which is struggling.
The old emperor Wilhelm II of the German Empire who launched two world wars suddenly fell ill, and he couldn't even get sick!
After expert consultation, it was determined that Old William had a very dangerous disease, acute pulmonary embolism! This was almost fatal for an 82-year-old man, and there were no effective treatments in the 1940s.
In other words, William II will soon go to see God. This was undoubtedly a minor mental blow to Germany, which was engaged in a world war and had not yet achieved final victory.
On June 4, 1941, after battling the illness for two days, Wilhelm II, Emperor of the German Empire and Head of the European Community (Chief Elder of the European Senate), passed away and left the empire and people he loved forever.
On the day William II passed away, when the entire German Empire was in mourning, the United States and Britain officially announced the Atlantic Charter. The United States unofficially declared war on the German Empire and the European Community it led!