Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 992 The arrow is on the string
"If the remaining forces of the fleet are lost in the battle to defend the west coast, then we will go back to before Roosevelt's era and start all over again. In particular, the officers and soldiers on those warships are our most precious wealth. With them, we can It is possible to form a large fleet that will overwhelm the enemy in two years. If they unfortunately sink with the ship, we will have to rely entirely on rookies and reserves to reorganize the fleet, while our opponents have long fought and won this war It's going to be very difficult."

"In addition, corresponding to the fifteen large docks on the east coast, there are only two docks on the west coast that can be used by dreadnought battleships, which cannot fully accommodate the damaged ships at Pearl Harbor, and the ships repaired here will always face being attacked by the enemy fleet In order to restore the strength of the fleet as soon as possible, it is also necessary to transfer these wounded ships to the safe east coast for repairs."

After listening to the report, President Johnson did not say a word, and pointed to Secretary of the Navy McNamara next to Vice Admiral Sims with the cigar in his hand, signaling him to comment.

McNamara cleared his throat and said: "I think Vice Admiral Sims' report is highly reasonable and very much in line with the current status of the Navy. I think the key to winning this war is patience. At this time, American soldiers are parading in the Forbidden City in Beijing, and it is not unbearable to temporarily withdraw the US fleet from the Pacific Ocean."

Before he finished speaking, Minister of the Army Vance slightly raised his broad and bright forehead: "Then how much do you think the Army should use to defend our long coastline, and those rubbish countries in the south that have revolutions and coups every year? Chinese Except for the U.S. Navy, there is no other force in the Pacific Ocean that can threaten them. If the Navy withdraws from the Pacific Ocean, the entire west coast of America will become a paradise for them to come and go freely!"

Secretary of the Army Wan paused, then raised his voice slightly and said: "From Alaska to Chile, we can't predict where they will land, let alone how many allies they can draw from this area. You know, we don't have any in the south. True friends, the weak fear us, the strong hate us, and our just actions are seen by them as a manifestation of imperialist power."

"You're right, but I just said that even if the fleet stays on the west coast, it won't be able to prevent the enemy from landing. It will only be sacrificed in vain." Sims responded extremely resolutely.

"Yes, the Navy cannot be sacrificed in vain." Vance shrugged and tilted his neck ironically.

"In this way, no one will be able to transport the army to Europe within [-] months. Not only must we cast nets across the board to defend the entire west coast of America, but we must also retain enough mobile forces to deal head-on blows to any enemy troops who dare to invade. ...and we don't have enough troops to defend the West Coast, we're short of officers, we're short of guns, we're short of boots, we're short of cans, we're short of everything!"

Secretary of State Rusk interjected without losing the opportunity: "If the enemy is allowed to occupy the west coast, the prestige of the United States will be seriously frustrated. Those resentful Mexican bandits and South American thugs will not miss this good opportunity. In addition, I would also like to ask you to consider Ordinary people, especially the people in the western states, when the Chinese attacked our fleet, captured our overseas territories, and may invade our homeland at any time, they did not go all out to deal with the imminent danger, but instead transported their troops across the east coast , to defend the main cities in the east, including Washington, how many people can figure it out? The congressmen in the west have formed a "Homeland Defense League", threatening to fight to the end with anyone who tries to abandon or sacrifice the western states. I dare Said that they have no shortage of sympathizers, no one wants to see the beautiful land that our ancestors created at the cost of their lives being ravaged."

President Johnson finally put down his cigar, and turned his gaze to Vance: "I just want to know one thing. In the next few months, can relying on the Army alone prevent the enemy from landing on the mainland?"

Vance straightened his body and said with a serious expression: "Your Excellency, without the support of the navy, we will never be able to prevent the enemy from landing, but if we have enough troops and weapons, we can fight the enemy with determination after they land. Vigorous counterattacks drive the enemy overboard."

"How many troops do you need?"

"Including the defense of Panama, at least sixty full divisions are needed, and now we have only sixty regiments."

Secretary of the Navy McNamara retorted unhappily: "According to the Navy's forecast, while conducting operations around the South China Sea, China's remaining ocean-going capacity can only guarantee the cross-ocean operations of eight armored divisions at most. To deal with this force, There is no need for sixty divisions!"

"Yes, if the navy doesn't withdraw, of course we don't need so many troops, but if we only rely on the army, we can't lose even one division! I hope you all remember that I was the first to propose the strategy of first Europe and then Asia. But the premise is that the navy and the army must cooperate to defend the west coast. Now that the navy is gone, the enemy can arbitrarily concentrate and land at selected locations, but we can only fortify everywhere on the vast coastline, where we are weak everywhere and beaten everywhere. In addition, as Rusk As Mr. said, the fact that the enemy landed on the mainland of the United States will destabilize the entire America. In this way, we must retain a strong mobile force, ready to go to any place in the entire America at any time to fight against the Chinese or the Americans. "

Wan paused, and glanced at McNamara, who had a stiff face: "I also hope that you will recognize the fact that the military strength of us and our allies around the South China Sea is already very weak. Once our fleet withdraws, Out of the Pacific Ocean, this area is destined to quickly fall into the hands of the enemy, and the Chinese warships originally used for defense operations in this area can be transferred to the Americas. Mr. McNamara, have you calculated how much the opponent can maintain in this situation? Forces to fight in America?"

McNamara bowed his head and counted his fingers: "About 30 reloaders."

Vance stretched out three fingers: "According to Mr. Baruch of the Military Industry Committee, the large-scale transformation of the domestic industry to the military industry and the deployment of comprehensive economic control will take time, and it is estimated that it will not be fully on the right track until a year later. Also In other words, within six months, the U.S. Army will have no more than 6 divisions available."

Five days later, it was also at the White House in the United States.

"The battleship detachment has all passed through the Panama Canal yesterday and sailed into the Caribbean Sea as a whole. It is expected to arrive at the Norfolk base before the 21st. After the combined fleet in the Far East suffered a catastrophe, Britain and France strongly requested our navy to send support warships to help them defend the Caribbean Sea. If we don't agree, they will no longer send naval support to the United States."

President Johnson listened to the report of Lieutenant Admiral Sims, chief of naval staff, and nodded to McNamara: "Congress will vote on the new navy bill tomorrow. What do you think?"

McNamara straightened his bow tie: "I have had private conversations with several powerful people in the House Navy Committee, and they all expressed dissatisfaction with the bill under consideration."

"What?" The President frowned anxiously.

"They believe that the bill is too cautious, and should shorten the cycle of completing 13 new capital ships to two years, and stipulate that at least seven new aircraft carriers should be built within two years, and the conversion of merchant ships and cruisers into aircraft and water aircraft carriers should be submitted as soon as possible. In addition, the plan to order aircraft and water planes for the navy within three years should also be changed to two years. In addition, the design of new cruisers, destroyers, and submarines should be completed as soon as possible to ensure that the navy's equipment is balanced and comprehensive."

"This is a good thing, God bless, the United States will never lack true patriots." President Johnson's beard trembled excitedly.

"Designing an aircraft carrier from scratch will take time, if the British can provide ready-made drawings," Lieutenant General Sims said melancholy.

"We are already negotiating, but with the strong industrial strength of the United States, we can do it, but the war is imminent and requires a lot of maritime equipment, which will take time." McNamara glanced at Secretary of the Army Vance.

"Yes, it is reported that in the Battle of Hawaii, the enemy deployed a large number of amphibious vehicles and quickly broke through our positions, so that the island of Oahu, which was guarded by 2 people, fell completely after only two days. As for the operations on the European side From the point of view, the participation of 'tanks' in the war has a great impact on morale. Whether our army wants to defend the homeland or counterattack Hawaii, we need a considerable number of tanks. After the fiasco of the navy, Britain and France are unwilling to intervene too much in American affairs. We can rely on ourselves." Vance shrugged helplessly.

"Yes, we can only rely on ourselves. The next three months will be the most difficult period for us. The enemy with superiority in the sea may concentrate their forces to land at any point on the west coast of America at any time. Take out the warships from the fleet to go to the warm Caribbean Sea." McNamara said helplessly.

A week ago, according to Lieutenant Admiral Sims's proposal, the remaining 6 dreadnoughts of the main fleet left the San Diego base on the west coast and headed for the Panama Canal under strict escort. Fokker base.

These precious big guys will be carefully maintained in the large docks on the east coast and equipped with anti-aircraft weapons. Before winter comes, the U.S. Navy battleship force can also look forward to the three new battleships and four aircraft carrier battle groups planned by the military bill. join in.

The forces remaining on the west coast were organized into the US Navy Pacific Fleet, under the jurisdiction of the 2nd Fleet in San Diego and the 3rd Fleet in Panama.

新任太平洋舰队司令官由资深海军上将威廉森担任，兼第2队司令的主要兵力到为5艘旧式战列舰、3艘装甲巡洋舰、6艘防护巡洋舰逐舰鱼雷艇和8艘潜水艇，主要任务是协助陆军守卫圣迭戈基地。

第3舰队司令官由原第三战列舰分队司令官施罗德中将担任，其麾下兵力包括2艘式战列舰、2艘装甲巡洋舰、5防护巡洋舰驱逐舰鱼雷艇和10艘潜水艇队，主要任务是守卫巴拿马运河。

(End of this chapter)