Great time travel

Chapter 68, Typhoon God of War Halsey

According to an informal emergency meeting convened by President Truman at the White House, the United States of America had to make the following painful decision:

First of all, the plan to launch a decisive battle with the Japanese Navy's combined fleet in the Mariana Islands is obviously impossible to continue and can only be abandoned.In fact, if the surviving ships of the Halsey Fleet, which have almost lost their self-defense capabilities, can come back basically intact, instead of being attacked by the Japanese Navy halfway or bombed by the carrier-based aircraft of the Japanese aircraft carrier, then the White House and the Pentagon will It's time to pop the champagne to celebrate.

Secondly, as the dock facilities at Pearl Harbor were severely damaged by the typhoon landing, the ability to repair and maintain the ships was greatly reduced. Some of the remaining capital ships of the Halsey fleet had to be withdrawn to the west coast for repairs. Had to leave the battlefield completely.

Third, the military supplies originally stockpiled in the Hawaiian Islands and scheduled to be transported to the Japanese battlefield were also severely damaged in the typhoon.The material reserves of the Japanese frontline troops are only enough to last a month of high-intensity war of attrition at most.For this reason, Commander Ernest King of the Navy asked Hawaii to anchor all the remaining intact cargo ships, and at the same time demolished the east to make up for the west in various ports on the west coast of the mainland, mobilized supplies, ships and troops, and captured What is what, send it to the front line of Japan in one go, and the front line cannot be cut off from the logistics anyway.

Fourth, most of the Halsey Fleet was destroyed by the typhoon, and Pearl Harbor’s coastal defense facilities and airport also suffered heavy losses in the typhoon, which created a huge military vacuum in the Central Pacific defense line of the United States of America.If the Japanese take the opportunity to attack with all their strength, it is really possible to easily capture Hawaii, a key place, and cause the overall collapse of the US military's Pacific front... In order for the Hawaiian Islands to have at least a The strength of self-preservation.Admiral Kim, the chief of the Navy, had to reluctantly recall the squadron in the Southwest Pacific Theater, and abandon the newly recovered Fiji, New Zealand and New Caledonia-these places are temporarily lost, and they can be regained in the future. It's all over.

As for the Australians who are still under siege in Melbourne and struggling to hold on, the U.S. military can only shrug its shoulders and say sorry.

Finally, and the most head-scratching thing, it is naturally the accountability afterwards... After learning that the Halsey Fleet was destroyed by the typhoon before even reaching the enemy, the entire public and public opinion circles in the United States were in an uproar. In the newspaper, Halsey was even compared to the admiral of ancient Rome. At that time, the two overlords of Rome and Carthage were fighting for the hegemony in the Mediterranean. Defeated the Carthaginians, who were good at sailing, but caused the Roman warships to have a high center of gravity and structural instability, and the entire fleet sank in storms several times in a row...

"...Now, the people and the public opinion circles strongly demand the removal and trial of General Halsey, and members of Congress from both parties are full of criticism."

Secretary of State Hull said with a bitter face, "... Admiral Halsey has also submitted his resignation and is ready to take the blame and step down, but the public and Congress believe that this is not enough. I am afraid that he will have to accept a court-martial next. Only through investigation and trial can we calm down the anger of the public..."

"...How can this be done? Just leave if you make a mistake? The navy has to pay the tuition for the next person? No, if you want to leave, you have to defeat the Japanese before you are allowed to resign!" Admiral Jin immediately jumped up. , shouted, "...Halsey is certainly responsible for this tragedy, but he can't be replaced as soon as something happens! He is already the most experienced and famous naval officer in the country with the most experience in fighting against Japan! From Pearl Harbor The incident has never left the battlefield until now, and has experienced most of the major battles on the Pacific battlefield! If even he can't do it, others will have no hope!"

"...Cough cough, Mr. President, I also agree with Admiral Kim..." The Hopkins special assistant, who has been getting weaker and weaker recently, coughed a few times and said in a soft voice, "...General Halsey We are certainly responsible for the destruction of the fleet, but we can’t blame him for all the crimes. In the face of this unexpected and disastrous setback, what we need is to work together with the enemy instead of jumping up and pursuing responsibility..."

"...I also agree with Admiral Kim's thoughts. There has never been a victorious general who never fails in this world. General Halsey may have made mistakes of one kind or another in command, but this is inevitable. Looking at our country In the navy, I am afraid that there are not many people who can do better than them. It is not advisable to change personnel after an accident without a real defeat! What's more, our navy has Biharsi Is the general someone with more experience and better quality? Who can guarantee that the newcomer will do a better job than him?" Secretary of State Hull also pleaded for Halsey.

According to Hopkins and Secretary of State Hull, if President Roosevelt is still there, he will definitely agree with Admiral Kim, use his own prestige to suppress the raging public opinion, and criticize the resignation of Halsey, a veteran naval officer. The practice of asking to take responsibility, of course, refused-Roosevelt must protect his cronies, and Halsey is a rare personal man in the Navy for him...

But unfortunately, the current leader of the United States of America is Truman...he doesn't have such a good friendship with Halsey.

Moreover, he does not have the deep prestige of President Roosevelt, and he can forcefully suppress the surging public opinion-in Truman's view, these staff and cronies left by President Roosevelt simply want to roast him on the fire. Elsie gets scolded!But why?

"...The most experienced in combat against Japan? I think it should be the most experienced in defeating the Japanese navy!"

President Truman snorted coldly, "...you don't know that Admiral Halsey's defeat this time was too disastrous. The loss and impact far exceeded the Pearl Harbor incident at the beginning of the war! Fighting against Japan The most experienced? Has he really won even a large-scale naval battle? And it’s nothing more than defeating the Japanese fleet. He doesn’t even know how to avoid and prevent typhoons... What use is he for such a general? Continue to waste the property of the United States And the lives of the lads? Now think about who will take his place!"

In short, in the face of Truman's indifferent attitude, Admiral Halsey's dismissal and trial cannot be avoided after all... As for Admiral Halsey's replacement after the dismissal and trial, Admiral King recommended Lieutenant General Aubrey Fitch— ——Both he and Admiral Kim served as the captain of the aircraft carrier Lexington, and their experience in naval warfare is almost as rich as Halsey's, but their qualifications and background are less.Right now, it is only natural that he be promoted to the post in the face of danger.

Typhoon God of War Halsey was kicked away, but how to appease the people and boost morale has become a big problem.

Everyone here knows that if a militaristic empire wants to maintain its rule, it needs to provide honor to the people, so that they can endure all kinds of bad treatment and heavy oppression-the so-called "either give the people wealth, or give the people glory".If this is not possible, then even if the defeated empire will not be destroyed, its prestige will be swept away to a great extent, and it will fall into long-term internal friction and turmoil.

However, the United States of America has suffered too many failures in the war, and the passion and vigor at the beginning of the war have gradually faded away.The attitude of the people of the United States towards this war has changed from being ambitious and full of ambitions to being exhausted and hard-pressed... Although the red-eyed Wall Street consortium is still determined to carry the war to the end-otherwise they will have to suffer serious losses, but they have been defeated. The people who have broken their belts can't take it anymore.In every street and lane of the continental United States, war weariness is pervasive, and everyone is eager to end the war with dignity and return loved ones home.

Relying on the nuclear bombing of Tokyo and landing on the mainland of the Japanese Empire, it was hard for the people to see a glimmer of victory.But soon, the Japanese battlefield was at a stalemate, and then it was completely reversed. The Army of the United States collapsed thousands of miles away, and the Navy suffered a "scourge" like a typhoon... After such a desperate reversal, domestic Even if you think about it with your ass, you can know how desperate and decadent the public opinion in China will become.

——No matter how you look at it, you are discouraged and have no bright future! ! !

"...Mr. President, with all due respect, the next development of the situation is likely to get worse!"

Commander Ernest King of the Navy will continue to make up the knife, "...Since we have to withdraw the fleet from the Southwest Pacific Theater to defend Pearl Harbor, the islands we captured there may fall again, and Australia's last The Allied Forces may not be able to hold on..."

"...In other words, after suffering the scourge of the typhoon, the United States has to bear the bad news of losing Australia again?"

President Truman smiled wryly, "... Then, what should we do to retaliate against the Japanese devils and make the people feel better?"

"...This...or just continue to think of a way on the Japanese battlefield!" After Hopkins' special assistant bowed his head for a while, he gave a cruel suggestion, "...the current situation of our army on the Japanese front. With troops, it is far from enough to launch a counterattack on the frontal battlefield. If you want to win a victory as soon as possible, I am afraid that you can only carry out a more rigorous large-scale sweep of the areas occupied by our army in the Japanese archipelago..."

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PS: France, Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Germany, these days are really one after another, either a terrorist attack or a mutiny and coup, the little fresh virgins probably don’t do anything else every night, pretend to be foreigners, and light candles It's time to light up the lights of growth.Of course, Ms. Zhao's topic has also been diluted a lot - to be able to make so many big things to divert attention, is it possible that the backstage of this little swallow is the head of the ball?