Great time travel

Chapter 62、The Wrath of the Commander
The situation on the Pacific side is certainly not very good, but the situation on the Atlantic side is even more worrying.

——After several twists and turns, repeated reversals, and repeated defeats, until April of this year, the French Red and White Civil War, which lasted for more than a year, finally ended with the victory of the red elements.After paying an extremely tragic price, the red camp completely occupied the continental part of France, and drove all the foreign intervention forces and the remnants of the French White Army into the sea. Charles de Gaulle and Marshal Pétain were driven to Corsica together. up for company.

The British Army killed more than [-] people on the battlefields of France. In addition, it seriously dragged down Spain and Portugal involved in the intervention: in retaliation for Spanish and Portuguese intervention in the French Civil War, a Soviet Red Army and an entire European Socialist The international column formed by the camp has crossed the Pyrenees and marched into the Iberian Peninsula.The remnants of the left-wing republic of the Spanish Civil War era also took the opportunity to launch rebellions in Catalonia and the Basque Country.The head of Franco, who had just lost most of the regular army in France, was almost in a desperate situation of collapse for a while.

Facing the increasingly discolored European continent, Prime Minister Churchill of the United Kingdom repeatedly begged the United States to declare war on the Soviet Union as soon as possible, and let the hundreds of thousands of American troops stationed in southern Italy join this "holy war" against the "red devil". This is still undecided-after all, Truman is not Hideki Tojo, who can continue to gamble on the national fortune when the country has already fallen into a quagmire of war, and recklessly jump into another bigger fire pit.

The only thing worth celebrating is that Switzerland, which has always claimed to be a permanent neutral country, also declared war on the Soviet Union last month and joined the anti-Soviet alliance led by the United Kingdom.The reason for Switzerland's participation in the war was that the Soviet government asked the Swiss bank for Nazi gold based on the captured documents and the confessions of the German prisoners, but was strongly rejected by the Swiss.So Stalin launched the "Soviet Punishment" on the Swiss mountain people without hesitation...

——As we all know, throughout World War II, Switzerland, which claimed to be a permanent neutral country, had always had close ties with Nazi Germany.Not only were Swiss banks laundering money for Germany and acting as a payment channel, Switzerland itself was also making a huge contribution to Hitler's war.From 1941 to 1942, 60% of the Swiss munitions industry, 50% of the optical industry, and 40% of the mechanical output were produced for the Germans. The rewards they received were gold looted by Germany from the whole of Europe, and even Until a month before Germany surrendered, the Swiss were still selling submachine guns to Germany!

In order to win over Switzerland, a "quasi ally", Nazi Germany stored most of the wealth it looted in Swiss banks, and the amount of gold alone was as high as nearly a thousand tons. Almost all the wealth was taken by the Germans in one pot.At least the treasury gold of various countries was moved back to their hometown by the Nazi German army, and then flowed into Swiss banks for various reasons.

In addition, Switzerland also made a lot of Jewish money during World War II, and acted as an accomplice of Nazi Germany in the persecution of Jews—as early as before the outbreak of World War II, Switzerland had openly refused entry to German Jews, and then expanded to the Jews throughout Europe.Because many Jewish rich people deposited their property in Swiss banks before, so as not to be swallowed by Nazi Germany.Unexpectedly, the Swiss government took the opportunity to unite with the Nazis and send these Jewish depositors to death camps!After they died in the gas chambers of the Nazi concentration camps, their property stored in Swiss banks was naturally laughed at by the Swiss.And a large part of the gold and silver jewelry obtained by Nazi Germany from the dead in the concentration camps was melted down and cast into gold bars and silver ingots, which were deposited in Swiss banks.In addition, there are a large number of precious works of art looted from European museums and private collectors...

Of course, with so many benefits from Nazi Germany, the Swiss also had to do things for Nazi Germany, mainly to help Hitler obtain foreign exchange and purchase important materials for the Nazis to maintain the war in the world market, such as metal chrome, which was indispensable for the manufacture of armor-piercing bullets at that time. Tungsten for tank armor strength and more.In fact, without the foreign exchange channel of Switzerland, Nazi Germany, which was isolated by the whole world, would have no way to sustain the war for a long time.

In addition to transactions between governments, Swiss banks also kept private property for many high-ranking Nazi officials.When Germany was about to fall, many Nazi leaders transferred their ill-gotten gains to Swiss bank vaults in an attempt to rely on the protection of the Swiss "Bank Secrecy Act" after the war to escape the capture of the victorious powers.In the end, the Swiss swallowed it all in one gulp like they did to Jewish depositors.

In the history of another time and space, Switzerland took advantage of the outbreak of the Cold War and the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union to easily pass the test after World War II, escaped the prosecution of the victims, cleansed itself, and was able to enjoy this huge amount of ill-gotten wealth with peace of mind. , becoming a world-renowned rich country.

But in this time and space, with the establishment of the French Red regime and the Soviet occupation of Northern Italy, the whole of Switzerland has been surrounded by the socialist camp, and there is no room for shifting, borrowing power, and even communicating with the outside world to gain The ports of aid are gone.

Even so, with the territory surrounded on all sides and the Soviet army holding the line, facing the ultimatum from the Soviet Union and the entire socialist camp, the Swiss still gritted their teeth and chose to reject it: first of all, before that, Switzerland had openly communicated with the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom, The anti-Soviet armies of Spain and other countries stood together, provided logistical support to the intervention forces on the French battlefield, and even organized a "volunteer army" to enter France to participate in the war. They had already forged a deep hatred with the European socialist camp.Even if you turn around and kneel down now, you may not be able to get forgiveness. On the contrary, you may lose the support of Britain and the United States, and the loss outweighs the gain.

Secondly, the Soviets put forward very harsh demands, not only requiring Switzerland to hand over thousands of tons of gold hidden during the fall of the fascist regimes in Nazi Germany and Italy, but also Switzerland to hand over the secret accounts of all Nazi officials and the hidden property that originally belonged to the Jews. And officials dispatched to the Soviet Union thoroughly disclosed all accounts to facilitate audit and audit to ensure that Swiss banks would not resort to fraud.In addition, a large sum of fines, which was enough to drain the Swiss treasury, had to be paid for the reconstruction of socialist countries in Europe, and the Soviet Union had to station troops in Switzerland for supervision.

In short, after such a series of combined punches, the various money laundering and reselling activities operated by Switzerland during World War II were all for nothing, and even had to pay a lot of money in reverse, which is equivalent to losing without a fight, directly falling to the defeated country status - how can Swiss bankers put up with that?

——Actually, for Stalin (Sophie, to be exact) who has everything he wants with the Japanese government’s money printing machine and the [period vending machine], this little bit of Swiss gold , It is polite to describe it as a piece of cake.But for Switzerland, the "white nail" deeply rooted in the belly of the socialist camp, it must be pulled out, otherwise God knows what kind of moth will be caused in the future.

As for the special status of a permanent neutral country?Hey, you can really be neutral if you claim to be neutral?We have to admit it too!
It can't be as long as you claim to be a neutral country, everyone will have to save face and not beat you - there has never been such a cheap thing since ancient times!
On the other hand, the Swiss, who were greedy for the Nazis' ill-gotten gains, did not know whether they were deceiving themselves or others, or were greedy for profit. Anyway, they firmly believed that although the "red devil" is very strong in Europe today, it must not last long.After the United States frees up its hands from the Pacific battlefield and organizes 1000 million freedom kings to land in Europe, whether it is the Soviet Maozi or the red elements of various countries, they will be quickly crushed by the huge US military.

Although Switzerland is a small country, all the people are soldiers. Since ancient times, there has been a tradition of sending out mercenaries, and it is sitting on the natural danger of the Alps. As long as you are willing to pay a certain price, it is enough to resist the siege of the Soviet Red Army and the red elements of various countries in a short period of time. , Persevere until the moment when the situation in Europe is reversed.

Therefore, the Swiss, who wanted money but not their lives, categorically rejected the ultimatum of the Soviets, and bravely embarked on the road of killing the whole European continent...

Churchill and Truman naturally expressed their appreciation for this heroic feat of the Swiss, and mobilized newspapers and radio stations to praise it, hoping that they could live up to expectations and provoke the great task of fighting against the European Bolshevik ghosts, recreating medieval Swiss mercenaries and sharp archers The bravery of William Tell... eh?What representations and assistance are there?This is too difficult for a human being.Switzerland is a landlocked country, and it is currently surrounded by pro-Soviet forces. Even if the United States and the United Kingdom want to transport something there, they can't find a way!Naturally, it can only be based on spiritual support.

But there is no need to be too depressed. The Poles were able to win the Battle of Warsaw under the onslaught of the Soviet Red Army and created the "Miracle of the Vistula River".Today's Swiss may not be incapable of defeating the torrent of iron armor in the Soviet Union and creating a "miracle in the Alps".

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Although the permanent neutral Switzerland joined the war, it should be regarded as a pleasant surprise for the United States and Britain, which are in a bad situation.But from the perspective of global strategy, whether a little guy like Switzerland participates in the war or not, its actual military significance may be very limited.

Not to mention reversing the decline of the US and British camps, even if it is just to delay the footsteps of the Soviet Red Army for a little longer, I am afraid it will be very difficult.

According to the deduction made by the US military staff, in the case of isolation and helplessness, facing the massive siege of the Soviet Red Army, the Swiss are expected to be able to fight for six months in the most optimistic case, while the most pessimistic estimate is two months. Within three months, the battle will be decided.Regardless of whether the war lasted six months or three months, the United States did not have the power to send enough support to the Swiss before they were defeated...

For the United States of America, which aspires to dominate the world, there is still only one key to unraveling the current mess.

That is to defeat the Japanese!Defeat the Japanese at all costs!Defeat the Japanese with the fastest speed!
However, it is not easy to achieve this, especially when the US military stationed in Japan has just suffered a major defeat.

In any case, the most important thing right now is to continue to increase troops to the Japanese battlefield as soon as possible. This is a consensus that both the Pentagon and the White House can reach.However, even with the speed at which the United States launches three Liberty ships per day, and the powerful transportation capacity that dominates the world, at most it can only replenish 20 to 30 new troops from the west coast to the Japanese battlefield every month. Otherwise, this logistics across the Pacific Supply lines would be dragged down and collapsed.

In addition, there is a more important and troublesome problem: where should new soldiers come from without affecting wartime production?

——When the war was in its fourth year, the mobilization of the people of the United States of America had almost reached its limit.Like the French in the latter part of World War I, the young and middle-aged men that America can cobble together today are either in the factory, on the front line, or in the grave.

And counting on allies is not reliable. The British mainland has been dead for a generation, and it has to rely on South Africans and Canadians to defend the capital, London.Almost all white Australians have been sent to concentration camps and mass graves, and almost all New Zealand men have been conscripted into military camps—in New Zealand, which had a population of only 200 million before the war, more than 20 men had been conscripted by the Allied forces. Most of them were wiped out, and more than [-] civilians died in the flames of war. Even the native Maori were taken to fill the holes of the Japanese army's guns. How could there be any more usable heads?

So after going around in a big circle, President Truman found that he could only find a way from the American continent. First of all, he put pressure on Brazil, which had already participated in the war, so that this South American power could not continue to send only one division to North Africa to pretend, but It is to conscript at least tens of 10 people to serve as cannon fodder on the Pacific battlefield.The second is to let the diplomats play both hard and soft ways to "persuade" Chile, Peru and Mexico to declare war on Japan.The last is to further explore the potential of domestic human resources, such as recruiting troops from Indian reservations, and at the same time increase the proportion of black recruits.

In addition, there are Japanese immigrants who are locked up in desert concentration camps and monitored in the country, which can also be used.Before, the U.S. government didn’t bother them too much, and formed a Japanese-American infantry regiment just for political propaganda. Although these Japanese-American troops were actually very powerful and fought hard on the European battlefield, their numbers were too large. Less is better than nothing for the overall battle situation.Now that even the upper-class whites are shedding blood and dying in the hundreds of thousands, it is natural that we can no longer let those Japanese immigrants bask in the sun in the desert—it may be too risky to arm them and transfer them to Japan to deal with their compatriots in their mother country .But it should be more feasible to get them to North Africa and Italy and replace the white troops and black troops there...

Of course, although the above-mentioned measures seem logical, they cannot quench the near thirst after all.In the view of Chief of Staff Marshall, if he wanted to achieve immediate results on the Pacific battlefield, the army that had just been hit hard might be helpless. It would take quite a long time just to replenish the frontline with troops and ordnance supplies.All we can do is either let the Pacific Fleet make a big move, or throw another big killer to Japan.

As for the suggestion of dropping nuclear weapons on Japan again, President Truman agreed in principle, but he also had his own difficulties: "...the Pentagon had proposed a plan to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima before. The central government is stationed, and the navy is also in Wugang not far away. As long as a nuclear explosion with a large enough yield is enough, they can be wiped out together, or at least severely damaged.

But now, with the end of the previous stage of the war, the main force of the Japanese army has moved eastward to the Gifu and Nagoya areas, and more than 50 troops have been assembled on that plain.After the Japanese Navy's combined fleet ended its latest military operation, it basically withdrew from Kure Port, which was damaged by air strikes, and moved to the most intact Sasebo Naval Port.And their government moved from Hiroshima to Kyoto to show its legitimacy.

Looking at the map, you can understand that the three locations of Nagoya, Kyoto, and Sasebo are far apart, and it is impossible to strike them with only one nuclear bomb.Moreover, the Japanese air power has also become stronger, not to mention whether our bomber formation carrying atomic bombs can successfully break through the Japanese aircraft interception and ground air defense firepower.Even if it is possible to carry out air strikes and nuclear explosions, which of these three targets should be hit first?

Unfortunately, the number of nuclear bombs currently available to the United States is very limited. The third batch of atomic bombs planned to be produced by our country is still under intense construction, and I am afraid that they will not be able to be sent to the front for use before this fall.Among the second batch of three atomic bombs that the Oak Ridge Factory has completed, one has been shipped to the United Kingdom to deter the Soviet Union, and the other has been shipped to South Africa and is about to be dropped on India.In the entire Pacific theater we have only one atomic bomb ready for deployment, which is currently stored at Pearl Harbor, and it is impossible to use it to bomb several targets at the same time..."

Pointing to a bunch of the latest signs drawn with colored pencils on the map of the Japanese islands theater of war, President Truman said to Chief of Staff Marshall, "...the question of which target in Japan should be bombed with this nuclear bomb is still under discussion for the time being. The final conclusion has not yet been reached. But don’t worry, by this autumn, our army will have twelve atomic bombs that can be put on the battlefield, enough to blow up the unrepentant Japanese!”

He waved his fist with a smirk, "...As for the Navy... The Pacific Fleet has completed its rest and replenishment at Pearl Harbor, and Admiral Halsey is planning to launch a major operation in a few weeks. But unfortunately, the attack target It's not the mainland of the Japanese Empire, but here!" The president pointed to the needlepoint-like islands in the south of the Japanese archipelago on the map of the Western Pacific, "...the Mariana Islands!"

"...The Mariana Islands? Is this to recover Guam and Wake Island, to wash away the shame of the early days of the war? Or to protect the sea transport line?"

"...Let's have both! But the most important thing is to completely cut off Japan's connection with the Japanese occupied areas in Nanyang."

President Truman replied, "...after the successive surrenders of the Japanese forces in the Philippines and Taiwan, the current Japanese Empire has been cut into two parts, the North and the South, which are far away from each other and difficult to echo, leaving only the thin line of the Mariana Islands. Connect them...and Admiral Halsey's plan is to cut it off, divide the enemy, and at the same time use this as a bait to lure out the main force of the Japanese Navy's combined fleet as much as possible, forcing the enemy to follow the Our Pacific Fleet with superior forces is engaged in a decisive battle..."

"...It sounds good, but even if all the developments of the situation follow Halsey's judgment, and he can finally win according to the predicted situation, then he will have to spend a long time organizing the landing campaign and arranging A trap, dealing with the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy. In the past few months, wouldn't Patton's army have to continue to fight alone in the Japanese battlefield, fighting the Japanese devils?"

Chief of Staff Marshall touched his chin and said, "...At present, Patton's troops are already at a disadvantage, and their morale and supplies are also very bad."

"...Yes, I'm sorry. But don't worry too much. During the planning of the Mariana Islands naval battle, the United States will still try its best to send soldiers, ammunition and supplies to the Japanese front. Moreover, the Japanese are not omnipotent God, they just took back so many completely destroyed lands, just resettling refugees and rebuilding order will empty out their inventory and get them into unprecedented trouble..."

President Truman said confidently, "...the modern army's offensive distance is limited, and the Japanese's latest counterattack has also reached its limit. Patton does not have to worry about him being pushed into the sea. Even if the exhausted Japanese army continues to Attacking, the result can only be another Eastern version of the Battle of the Marne... Let us cheer up! No matter how many hardships we have to go through, the final victory must belong to the United States!"

——Unfortunately, on the front line of Japan, the "red Japanese army" who had just recovered a large area of ​​land showed no sign of being in trouble at all...