Iron Cross

Before Noble could report the numbers, Admiral King interrupted him: "We need unified planning and scheduling: At present, the large slipways are full. We need to complete the follow-up construction of the Essex class, build the Montana class and a large number of escort aircraft carriers, and the follow-up ships of the Atlanta class and Cleveland class light cruisers and the construction plan of the Oregon City class heavy cruiser. If we still want to pursue the production plan of tankers, we must make overall arrangements. It is likely that some models need to be adjusted and reduced. I suggest that we wait for the Maritime Commission to hold an emergency meeting before discussing it."

Roosevelt nodded. He was also embarrassed by the British lion's request. Of course, Noble could only agree. At least the Americans have agreed to give 5 escort aircraft carriers first.

"Can you provide more refined oil?" He looked at Roosevelt and Admiral King eagerly, and his tears almost came out.

Roosevelt really couldn't bear to see such a face-this is an admiral after all, not an admiral of a small South American country, but a genuine admiral of the British Empire Navy! Admiral King didn't say anything - because this matter was not his responsibility, Roosevelt didn't even have anyone to smooth things over, so he had to say himself: "We will find a way to provide enough refined oil, at least 1 million tons per month, but it must be based on the premise of smooth shipping."

"Thank you very much, finally..." Noble hesitated for a moment and said in a very difficult tone, "Because the home fleet was severely damaged and lacked strength, the Prime Minister also hopes to withdraw the other two King George V-class battleships and one aircraft carrier in the Far East back to the country."

If this had been said before, Admiral King would have been furious again, but this time he didn't say anything, just silent for a moment, and said with a slightly hesitant but still affirmative attitude: "I basically agree, return to Britain after the supply is completed at the end of this month."

After Noble left, Roosevelt felt strange, he didn't understand why Admiral King suddenly changed his temper.

"Letting the British command our ships to fight is something we must never do again." Admiral King couldn't help but slam the table when he was excited. "Churchill, that son of a bitch, I lent him three battleships and they all sank. If the ship sank, it sank - just like the eight escort aircraft carriers, at most we can just rebuild them! But there are 4,000 American navy on them! President! Not only 4,000 officers and soldiers, but also 4,000 families behind them! As a result, I was told that less than 500 people were rescued, and many people were injured and disabled. How can I explain to the Atlantic Fleet? How can I explain to their relatives? How much effort and cost does it take to train 4,000 navy?" Roosevelt remained silent. Although he had developed a hard-hearted personality after many years in power, these words touched him a little: after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet sank and severely damaged a large number of warships, with losses far exceeding the current situation, but the number of casualties was only 2,500. This time, he lost more than 3,500 people in a trip to Great Britain. If it was like the South Pacific naval battle, where the Americans commanded the battle and were inferior to the others, no one would have anything to say. The problem was that the battle sank under the command of the British, and there were problems with the tactical arrangements no matter how you look at it. Admiral Tovey has resigned for this. If this news is made public, there will be a big uproar in public opinion - they will soon associate the two.

"What do you want to do next?"

"The British ships can be returned to them, but I don't agree to carry our air force on their ships unless the warships are under our command. In addition, if we provide British warships in the future, we can either just give them ships, and the navy has no objection. If we must give them ships and people together, we must command them directly and can't let them mess around. Those bastards in the Royal Navy don't understand the essence of new-era aircraft carrier operations at all. They always think that they are great for bombing Taranto! They were taught a lesson by the Japanese in the Indian Ocean, and this time they were taught a lesson by the Germans in the North Sea. How many warships can the United States afford for them to squander?"

Roosevelt sighed: Since the Indian Ocean Campaign, the confidence of the navy in the British has begun to waver, and the disastrous defeat in the North Sea Campaign has completely broken this belief. On the other hand, the United States learned through intelligence channels that Germany not only initially controlled the production of important equipment in Italy, but also began to fully command the Italian navy and air force, which made a group of military high-ranking officials very excited. Someone immediately proposed at the Joint Chiefs of Staff that they should follow suit - Germany is the leader of the Axis, and the United States is the leader of the alliance. How can the big brother not command the little brother? What's more, the aid the United States gave to Britain was more than 10 times the aid Germany gave to Italy. But the British always held their arrogance and refused to let go.

Roosevelt thought: Japan can command the German and Italian fleets because the Japanese navy is experienced and has superb command art. Forget about the Royal Navy's two brushes - the former hegemon of the four seas can no longer even beat the Germans.

"Is this the unanimous opinion of the Navy?"

"It is the unanimous opinion of the Navy! The Atlantic Fleet reacted strongly to this battle and firmly opposed letting the British command the task force where the Independence and Pennsylvania are located. We can go to Britain to support the British, but we must maintain our independence - the Navy is not afraid of sacrifice, but it cannot sacrifice in vain."

"Who will be the commander in Britain?"

"This time, Rear Admiral Brown will command. After the large-scale fleet is transferred in, Admiral Ingersoll can serve as the commander-in-chief - we may not ask to command the Royal Navy, but at least the Atlantic Fleet should command its own warships instead of being blindly commanded by the British."

"Okay." Roosevelt nodded, "I will convey this opinion to Prime Minister Churchill. Sometimes defeat is not necessarily a bad thing. After Italy suffered a huge defeat in North Africa, it realized the importance of introducing Germans and the German command system. Later, there was the fame of Rommel and Guderian and the great victory in Axis Africa. The Royal Navy suffered such a huge defeat this time. I hope they can wake up and quickly find the right path, otherwise the sacrifice of those officers and soldiers will be in vain. But will your simple agreement to hand over the warships cause objections from the Pacific Fleet? "

"Of course there are opinions, but not handing it back is more of a problem." Admiral Kim patiently explained the situation to Roosevelt, "After the German main fleet broke into the North Atlantic, it has posed a threat to the east coast. At present, we only have one newly commissioned The battleship Iowa and the aircraft carrier Lexington (Essex class) have not even had time to complete all sea trials. The light aircraft carrier USS Princeton (Independence class) will be put into service next week. If the Germans pounce, in the short term That’s all we can rely on.”

"What about other warships? I remember that several battleships will end their modernization early."

"USS Nevada (Nevada class) and USS Tennessee (Tennessee class) are expected to be put into service in March, and USS California (Tennessee class) and USS West Virginia (Colorado class) will complete their modernization ahead of schedule in June and July." Admiral Jin Said, "Based on a careful analysis of the existing forces, the risk is not great. Even if the German fleet really comes directly towards us, it will take at least a week to reach the east coast. And after a week, those British warships will be repaired and ready to set off, and they can hit us." After March, the main force in the Atlantic will begin to recover. On the contrary, I am worried that the German fleet will not come to the east coast just to break diplomatic relations, which will be troublesome - the Atlantic is so big, who can easily catch them? "

In the scene described by Admiral King: Although the British home fleet, which has recovered its strength, has an advantage over the German fleet, it must be mobilized in full to be effective. If the German fleet divides its forces and breaks the diplomatic relationship, the British ships will not be enough, and more ships must be added. Other forces - either use the forces of the Atlantic Fleet, or return the British's two George Vs and one Glory-class ship in the Pacific to them. After a comprehensive balance, it is more reliable to let the British take care of the Atlantic themselves. The Atlantic Fleet remains responsible for defending the East Coast - a mission that was once a slogan but now a real threat.

"Then the strength of the Pacific Fleet is not enough. There is only one Essex, one Saratoga and three battleships left. Judging from the situation of this battle, escort aircraft carriers cannot compete with regular fleet aircraft carriers. "At war." Roosevelt had served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and was no stranger to the navy. He asked worriedly, "The situation in the Pacific must be maintained. Even if we do not attack for the time being, we cannot retreat, otherwise we will not be able to explain to the country. In addition, the Japanese cannot be allowed to threaten Australia... What are you going to do? "

"When the British fleet returns and the situation in the Atlantic stabilizes, it is expected that the Lexington and Independence will join the Pacific Fleet in May, and then the New Jersey will also be commissioned (Iowa-class). In this way, the Pacific Fleet will have three fleet aircraft carriers. The naval force with one light aircraft carrier and four modern battleships as its core is basically sufficient - as time goes by, we will have more and more new warships in service, and our strength will gradually increase." Admiral Jin thought for a while. "In the current special difficult period of 1-2 months, we have adopted a relatively conservative strategy in the Far East, based on the principle of consolidating existing strategic strongholds, and investing more ground forces and aircraft. The Pacific Fleet can still take the initiative, relative to the Atlantic Ocean The need for warships is not that urgent. In addition, I heard from General Stilwell that the situation in the Chinese battlefield has been very good recently. At least 200,000 square kilometers of territory have been recovered, which is a rare bright spot among the allies. Can you consider increasing support for the Chinese theater? ?As long as we give a little bit, China, our ally, will surprise us."

Roosevelt nodded subconsciously: "I understand your thoughts and agree to return the British warships to them. Let me think about other issues carefully."

After Admiral King left the Oval Office, Roosevelt summoned Admiral Lee Hai, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was his confidant. Although his power within the Navy was greatly squeezed out by Admiral King, But Roosevelt never wavered in his trust. To him, Admiral Kim was just a usable naval leader, and Li Hai was his own man.