Chapter 706 Roosevelt’s Dilemma
US President Roosevelt is in a good mood now. The huge amount of dollars invested in the Soviet Union has not been wasted. Comrade Stalin seems to be a real man who fights for others.
Moreover, the Soviet Red Army is not as weak as some American military experts think. Although it cannot defeat Germany, it has not shown any signs of planting the red flag in Berlin since June. Instead, it has suffered heavy losses. Even the second capital Leningrad has been surrounded by the Germans. However, the Soviet Union has no signs of falling down. The national morale is still quite high, and the mobilization of reserve troops is also very fast.
It seems that as long as the United States can continue to provide assistance, the Soviet Union can continue to fight Germany!
In addition, the British also survived the autumnal equinox in 1942. Before the autumnal equinox, the Germans used Ju288 and Fritz-X remote-controlled glide bombs to make the British and American fleets dare not go out, making the so-called European Joint Fleet the master in the North Atlantic and completely blocking Britain's maritime lifeline. During that time, the British were ready to "one Britain, one show". Fortunately, even if Stalin went to war with Germany, he gave the British the courage to continue fighting.
Now that the autumnal equinox has passed, the North Atlantic is "long night", and the climate has become very bad. The German Ju288 will not threaten the North Atlantic route for at least a few months.
Moreover, the Soviets have also taken the initiative to propose to take out 4 Soviet-class battleships and 2 Kronstadt-class battlecruisers to fight together with the British and American navies!
With these 6 powerful battleships and battlecruisers, the strength of the naval forces in the North Atlantic will be reversed immediately. Germany's blockade of the British Isles can be broken, not only can American aid materials be continuously sent to the British mainland, but even the US army can go directly to Ireland to support the British army. This will definitely be a great encouragement to Britain's will to resist!
In addition to the good news from the Atlantic and Europe, a small goal of fighting against Japan has also made progress now-after the Battle of Hawaii, Roosevelt decided to start building 20 light fleet aircraft carriers and 40 Cleveland-class light cruisers (now reduced to 30) for the small goal of breaking the trade, and now there has been progress.
The first light fleet carrier, the Independence-class aircraft carrier, built on the hull of the Cleveland-class light cruiser, was commissioned on September 24, and the second ship of the Independence-class, the Montpelier, was commissioned on October 1. The first ship of the Cleveland-class, the Cleveland, the second ship, the Columbia, and the third ship, the Denver, were also commissioned between June and September.
And while the Independence-class aircraft carriers were in service, the United States also had a carrier-based aircraft with satisfactory performance on paper - the F4U Corsair carrier-based fighter. The first F4U Corsair carrier-based aircraft squadron that was fully equipped boarded the Independence aircraft carrier in early October, and now it has probably arrived at the Pacific Fleet's home port of San Diego with the Independence. The Independence Air Force, consisting of 12 F4U fighters, 9 SBD dive bombers and 9 TBF torpedo attack aircraft, will soon start a massacre of the Japanese devils' sea transport lines!
Although it is only a small goal and has not been fully achieved. But this is always a good start... The United States can finally start to fight back!
…
"Mr. President, Secretary of State Hull, Admiral Lacey, and Admiral Marshall have arrived."
Colonel Cotton, Roosevelt's adjutant, opened the door of the Oval Office and reported to the president.
"Please let them in," Roosevelt said.
Then the US Secretary of State, Admiral Lacey, the President's Chief of Staff who presided over the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral Marshall, the US Army Chief of Staff, walked in together.
The president nodded to the three visitors, then pointed to the chairs opposite his desk. The three sat down and surrounded a large desk with Roosevelt.
"President, Molotov and Viscount Halifax both believe that we should take advantage of the favorable weather in the North Atlantic to seek a decisive battle with the German fleet, and at the same time send ground troops to Ireland."
Secretary of State Hull had just exchanged views with the visiting Soviet Foreign Affairs People's Commissar and the British Ambassador to the United States. Molotov and Viscount Halifax once again put forward the demand to regain control of the North Atlantic and launch a counterattack in Ireland.
Roosevelt looked at Marshall, asking for his opinion.
"Mr. President, it's the muddy season in the Soviet Union now." Marshall said, "The road conditions in the Soviet Union are relatively poor, and there are no hard roads in many places, so it is very difficult to march in the rainy and snowy season in autumn. The Germans obviously understand this situation, and their main counterattack ended in September. Now only in Ukraine are there German troops still counterattacking. In the battlefields of Belarus and Leningrad, the German army has suspended large-scale operations."
Because the Soviet army took the initiative to abandon Brest and shrink its troops around Warsaw. Therefore, before the end of September, the German military operations in western Belarus and Poland were very smooth. On the one hand, Warsaw was surrounded, and on the other hand, the Soviet-German military demarcation line in Belarus was maintained at the state before the outbreak of the world war.
In Ukraine, the initiative has been in the hands of the German army since the decisive battle in Belarus. Although it is a muddy season, the German army is studying to advance to the hinterland of Ukraine on the right bank. But the scale of the attack is not large, but only at the level of hundreds of thousands of people.
Near Leningrad, the German army was also shrinking. It abandoned Novgorod and Chudovo and tightened its troops around Leningrad. At the same time, it also cleared out the large and small areas around Leningrad that were occupied by the Soviet army. It was a stronghold that consolidated the encirclement. It also allowed Empress Olga to symbolically return to Tsarskoe Selo on the outskirts of Leningrad!
"The Germans don't seem to want to expand their offensive in the Soviet Union," Marshall went on to analyze. "At least there won't be another major offensive until the muddy season next spring passes... This means that the German army can use part of its army and air force to Switch to the Western Front and end the War in Ireland this winter."
If Ireland is completely controlled by Germany, then the British mainland will really have no choice but to kneel down - even if the United States and the Soviet Union temporarily regain sea power in the North Atlantic, it will be difficult to transport supplies into the British Isles. The UK has consumed a large amount of reserves in the spring and summer of this year, and now it cannot support it for much longer.
"Do they have the capability?" President Roosevelt said. "The Germans have been at war with the British in Ireland for months."
"There is no doubt about it!" Marshall spread his hands and said, "As long as Germany transports part of its armored division from Belarus to Ireland, the British will soon be unable to support it, unless we can provide timely support!"
"Send in our armored divisions?" Roosevelt asked.
"Yes," Marshall said. "This is the only solution the Army Staff can think of at the moment."
"Where's the Navy?" Roosevelt asked William Lacey. Lacey is not the chief of naval operations now, but as the presidential chief of staff with a background in the navy (this position is equivalent to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), he is very clear about the navy's plans.
"The Navy believes that defending Australia and recovering Guyana, which was occupied by Germany, are the top priorities." Lacey said, "The Japanese army is now accelerating the consolidation of bases in the Bismarck Islands and Solomon Islands, and it seems that it will soon attack Australia. Germany's rule in Guyana is also becoming increasingly stable, and it now controls French Guiana and British Guiana. If we cannot drive the Germans away from South America as soon as possible, I am afraid that Venezuela will become the next victim. Therefore, the navy's opinion is Australia. and Venezuela first.”
Germany has been sending more troops to Guyana in the past few months, and the number of troops currently stationed in Guyana is likely to exceed one division. Moreover, the Germans also divided their forces to march into French and British Guiana, and now have unified the three Guianas.
In fact, Guyana has nothing to worry about and is not afraid of being temporarily controlled by Germany. But Venezuela, which is right next to Guyana, is different. Venezuela is now an important oil-producing country. In the 1920s, it was once the world's largest oil exporter. At present, its total oil output is comparable to that of the Soviet Union, and it is the world's second largest oil exporter after the United States.
Since the country of Venezuela defaulted on its debt in 1901 (it did not recognize foreign debt, which resulted in Britain, Germany and Italy sending troops to demand the debt, and the United States finally stepped in to settle the matter), being pro-American has been the mainstream in politics and diplomacy. Its domestic abundant oil resources are of course controlled by large companies in the United States and Britain. After Germany suddenly sent troops to Guyana, Venezuelan President Isaias Medina Angarita declared neutrality while inviting the U.S. military to station.
This obviously biased "neutrality" will naturally not last long. Once Germany gains a foothold in Guyana, it is very likely to attack Venezuela from land. Once Venezuela is controlled by Germany, Germany's oil supply may be greatly abundant.
Therefore, Venezuela is also a territory that the United States must defend - Venezuela must be defended, the British mainland must be saved, Australia cannot give up, Hawaii is a territory that must be recovered, and the Soviet Union also needs assistance from the United States.
However, the power in Roosevelt's hands, especially the naval power, was very limited. It was impossible to take very active actions in these places at the same time. There had to be choices.
Therefore, many people in the U.S. Navy, which was crushed by Japan, advocated "Pacific First", that is, giving up Europe and Germany and using the Atlantic Ocean as the boundary. Then concentrate our forces on the Pacific battlefield and defeat the Japanese devils first.
But Roosevelt obviously would not agree to give up Europe. Now "Europe first" is still the national policy of the United States.