1855 United States Tycoon

Chapter 627, Untie (2)

“General Scheer, what kind of restraint are you talking about?” Emperor William II asked slowly. He had a hunch that he would do something that he regretted, just like he had approved the war.

“My Majesty, of course it is unlimited submarine warfare!” General Scheer replied immediately, “As long as you allow our submarine to attack any ship heading to Britain and France, our navy’s submarine force will be able to pass Britain and France. The materials obtained by sea transportation eventually dropped to close to zero. Your Majesty, our biggest problem now is that we cannot get the supply of key strategic materials. In fact, whether it is the United Kingdom or France, their dependence on sea transportation is much higher than ours. The British cannot even support themselves for food, and the raw materials in their factories depend on colonies outside their homeland. France has sent a large number of adult men to the battlefield, and the factories can only use women workers. They are. The production of factories in China is as badly affected as agriculture, so in fact, they can continue to fight largely by relying on materials and industrial products purchased from the United States, and even weapons and ammunition directly. As long as the transportation line can be cut off , Their strength will dry up faster than ours.”

“But, Your Excellency, have you ever considered how the people of United States will react?” Willie II said, “If we adopt infinite submarine warfare, it is impossible not to sink the United States ships, and, this It will also block the money of those United States guys. They will not be indifferent. If they also participate in the war, if they stand against us, then we will be even more…”

“My Majesty, you can’t just think about it like this.” General Scheer said, “You know, from the beginning of the war to the present, their funds have actually been exhausted. Your Majesty, you must know that the United Kingdom and France are already in the United Kingdom. States have sold several war bonds. The main buyers of these war bonds are the United States. If these bonds are to be profitable, they must ensure the victory of the United Kingdom and France. Your Majesty, you must also know that the United States now owns This kind of bonds is definitely not a small number. Therefore, although the United States has not yet entered the war, if Britain and France cannot defeat us, they will definitely go to war against us for those bonds. Therefore, your Majesty, take advantage of our army still With a certain strength, we can also weaken Britain and France through unrestricted submarine warfare.”

“But United States…”

“Your Majesty, we all know that United States is a vast country, rich in resources, and the largest in the industrial world. It has infinite potential. But your Majesty, the United States is not armed now, and its army is actually just one. It’s just a police force. It takes time for the United States to participate in the war, and it takes a long time before they can turn their army from a police force into a real army. And such a long time is enough for us to pass infinite submarine warfare. Killed Britain and France. When the United States is fully armed, the overall situation on the European battlefield may be settled. At that time, even if they don’t want to, they can only stand on our side and take Canada as compensation. “General Scheer replied.

“Then General, can infinite submarine warfare have such a great effect?” Emperor William II asked.

“According to the results of our research, if we implement unrestricted submarine warfare, we can sink more than 300,000 tons of ships every month, which has surpassed the shipbuilding capabilities of the British, the French, and even the United States. In this way, if we can continue to block the air routes for three to four months, there will be a famine in the United Kingdom, and the French army will suffer a serious shortage of supplies. At that time, our army will launch another decisive offensive, we will It can force the British and French to come to the negotiating table.” General Scheer replied confidently.

“Is that so?” said Emperor William II. “I need to discuss this issue with others.”

“Your Majesty, it should be. I think Marshal Hindenburg will understand it too.” General Scheer replied.

…

“Your Majesty, if the Navy is so confident, then I have no objection to letting them try. After all, the empire is now at a critical juncture, and any means that can help the empire win should be tried.” German Chief of Staff Hindenburg The marshal said so.

“Ah, then…” Emperor William II said, “Then, let the navy people start preparing.”

…

Marshal Hindenburg left the palace and got into his own car. His adjutant asked: “Marshal, this is very risky. Why don’t you stop it?”

“Why should I stop it?” Marshal Hindenburg said, “Germany really needs to take risks now, and if I stop this, doesn’t the Navy have sufficient reason to put the blame on us?”

…

“Papa, Papa!” Gray Stone yelled, and ran toward Scrooge, who was enjoying the shade in the garden. Seeing this scene, Scrooge frowned slightly.

“Grey Stone, pay attention to your etiquette and image!” Dorothea, who was sitting on the side, frowned and yelled at Grey Stone. Gladstone also immediately realized that he was a bit ignorant just now. He immediately stopped, and said to Scrooge in a steady voice: “Dad, the Germans have announced that there will be an unrestricted submarine warfare.”

“This is indeed good news for our shipbuilding industry. Do you understand what you should do later?” Scrooge asked as he leaned in a rocking chair leisurely while swaying slowly.

“Dad, I came to you for this. I think the most important thing for us now is these few things. First of all, do the work of Congress and the President so that they can continue to maintain a pacifist line. United States does not It should be too early to declare war on Germany, because it is not good for our interests.” Greystone said.

“Why do you think this way?” Scrooge asked.

“The more ships that the German Infinite Submarine War sank, the more beneficial to our shipbuilding industry.” Graystone said, “Moreover, the greater the consumption of Britain and France. This increased the shipbuilding industry’s Demand, on the one hand, when Europe needs to be rebuilt after the war is over in the future, our United States can have a greater say in Europe. In addition, the more ships that are sunk at sea, it means the British and French. People need to order more materials. For example, if the British needs 1 million tons of steel, and 250,000 tons of steel are lost at sea, he must order at least 1.25 million from us. Tons, other things are the same. Therefore, the German submarine warfare is actually a good thing for most United States companies. So I think that we and other family forces can easily solve this problem. Reach an agreement. It should not be difficult for the President and Congress to continue to love peace.”

“Well, I thought very well.” Scrooge nodded and said, “Apart from this?”

“Father, besides that, we have to complete some of our deals with the Germans as soon as possible. After all, we are ultimately going to fight the Germans. And we must maintain a patriotic image. So…” Greystone Smiled.

“anything else?”

“Also, that is our report. The war will not last forever like this. Although we put the Sherlock into production, we can guarantee that we can build the ship faster than the Germans can sink them, but the British and French There will always be times when economic power will be exhausted. Even if it is borrowed, it cannot be maintained indefinitely. So when Britain and France are really difficult to maintain, we United States will definitely join the war. Therefore, we are in public opinion and weapons. We should be prepared for the development of equipment. Now our public opinion is too inclined to isolationism, and this needs to be changed slowly. The United States army also needs to be expanded as soon as possible.”

“Thinking well, just arrange it according to your idea.” Scrooge waved his hand and said, then closed his eyes and continued to lie on the rocking chair to enjoy the cool breeze under the tree.

…

In August 1916, half a year earlier than in history, the Germans started their unlimited submarine warfare. That is to say, German submarines would attack all ships sailing on routes to Britain and France, no matter which one it belonged to. The country, before the attack, the Germans will not give any warning.

Under such combat rules, “injury” to ships of other countries naturally became inevitable. On September 11, 1916, a United States ship was sunk, resulting in the death of more than 30 people. On September 15, 1916, Another passenger ship from the United Kingdom to the United States was sunk, and the number of deaths exceeded 300. In response to this situation, the United States government’s response was not tough. They merely condemned the German atrocities and warned United States ships to be safe and not to sail on routes close to Britain and France. . Of course, the Germans also pretended to express regret for sinking the passenger ship and promised compensation, as well as opening the net for passenger ships with obvious appearance characteristics. Then nothing happened.

This perfunctory attitude of the United States naturally boosted the morale of the German navy. And because of some of the technologies that Scrooge provided to Germany, such as cow submarines, foreign-registered submarine support ships installed as merchant ships, and a larger number of submarine forces than in history, the Germans started the unlimited submarine warfare system. In the first month afterwards, he did achieve the same results as General Scheer expected. They can sink more than one British or French merchant ship almost every day. Such a record further encouraged the German submarine force. Soon, both Britain and France could feel that the noose around their neck was gradually tightening.