Bismarck

It is estimated that at this time, according to the prior agreement and the notification from the superiors, the main fleet of the Italian Navy, led by the Veneto and Littorio, led by Admiral Campioni, is about to arrive at Alamein, right?

Watching the Axis fleet, covered in scars but having successfully completed its mission, evacuating the battlefield under the scorching sun, and feeling the presence of Bismarck beside him, Lütjens felt very happy.

But, there is always someone who wants to make a big news...

A communications officer stumbled in and started with some bad news:

"Captain! Urgent report from Berlin!! The United States has just declared war on our country!"

"What did you say?! The United States just declared war on our country?!"

Lütjens stood up suddenly and subconsciously looked back at the calendar: August 1941, 8!

When Bismarck heard the news, he was completely stunned...

It seems that the world line has completely changed because of me...

what to do………

Chapter 482: Japan declares war

Bismarck and Lutjans were not the only ones who were stunned by the US declaration of war...

In a courtyard in Washington, D.C., with English and Japanese signs and the Rising Sun flag flying, the radio was broadcasting the U.S. declaration of war on Japan...

"On August 1941, 8, the USS Greer, a destroyer of the Federal Navy, engaged in a firefight with a German submarine in the Pan-American Neutral Zone off Iceland!...With the help of the Royal Air Force's anti-submarine patrol aircraft, our navy repelled the despicable attack of the German submarine!...

Since our country, together with all the "peace-loving" Latin American countries, demarcated the Pan-American Neutral Zone in September 1939, German Navy submarines and even surface warships have illegally entered neutral waters many times and attacked our ships! ... Because of such actions by the German Navy, the situation of war between Germany and the United States has long been caused! And this time, they even dared to engage in battle with our warships...

...After this incident, Congress believes that maintaining international peace and security in Europe and the world is vital to our national interests and world peace. Therefore, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States and in accordance with the obligations assumed under the ABC-1 and ABC-22 collective defense treaties signed with the United Kingdom and the Governor General of Canada in the Commonwealth! The United States Congress now authorizes President Roosevelt to take all necessary steps - including the use of armed force and war - to assist any free country in Europe and the world that asks for help from our country... President Roosevelt announced! As a recipient of the innate human rights and a defender of world peace and freedom, the United States must not sit idly by and watch the evil axis and rogue countries trample on freedom! The United States will stand on the side of free countries in the struggle between free countries and axis countries! And from now on, declare war on Germany and Italy..."

Right next to the radio, the Japanese ambassador to the United States, Yoshisaburo Nomura, was listening to the speech on the radio in a daze...

As a senior member of the 26th class of the Etajima Naval Academy, Nomura participated in the Washington Naval Disarmament Agreement and was awarded the rank of Admiral in 1933. Although he retired from the military in 1937 and switched to diplomacy, and established good personal relationships with American politicians, how could Nomura, who was once an admiral, not see the stakes?

In particular, the Japan-US negotiations lasted for more than a year or nearly two years, and it was basically Nomura who went to negotiate with the United States. So Nomura is very familiar with the domestic situation...

"It seems... my negotiation with the Americans here has failed in this way..."

He waved his hand and asked his subordinates to send the telegram to Tokyo. Nomura sat on the sofa in pain, lowered his head, and held his forehead...

He had a hunch that the Japanese army and navy would definitely fight the United States to the death...

The conflict between Japan and the United States has a long history, and can even be traced back to the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I. The United States has been on guard against Japan.

Although Japan had received tacit approval from Britain and the United States in its invasion of China, Ambassador Nomura, with his many years of experience and diplomatic experience, knew that Britain and the United States tacitly approved the invasion of China because they were afraid that the other side would completely control China. Although the backers of China's GVMT in this era, the Jiangzhe chaebols were both pro-British and pro-American comprador consortiums, no one would dislike having a small share, and no one would like the other side to have a large share...

Although Japan condoned its invasion of China, it was fully aware of its own hidden agenda in this "condonation".

Later in 1940, the Tripartite Pact signed by Japan, Germany and Italy, Article of which openly stated that the main purpose of the Tripartite Pact was to prevent the United States from intervening! If the United States intervened in any of the Tripartite Pact countries, the other two countries must immediately declare war on the United States!

You know, even the Axis Agreement did not have such an attitude towards the Soviet Union, whose ideology was completely contradictory!

Not long ago, after Japan invaded French Indochina (now Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, etc.) in the name of "helping Vichy France's trusteeship", Britain, the United States and other countries began to impose severe sanctions on Japan.

Japan's national strength is far behind that of the United States, and its main resources are controlled by sanctions. This is not something that only Yamamoto and a few others can see clearly. In fact, as the head of a country's government and military, if they don't even have this kind of vision, it would be unacceptable.

but...

Although sanctions are extremely fatal to Japan, they have also caused fierce backlash in the political and military circles in Japan. And the attitude towards the United States, whether to fight or make peace, is still unclear...

Generally speaking, the Japanese government's cabinet and foreign affairs, even the military cabinet, tended to give in and negotiate with the United States, and mostly accepted the conditions proposed by the United States - for example, on the premise that "the United States does not interfere in the Far East and recognizes Manchukuo", Japan can agree to gradually withdraw its troops from China's inner regions and Indochina, guarantee the "freedom" of British and American trade with China, etc. However... even though Japan believed that it had made "concessions within its capacity", the United States never relaxed its attitude.

On this basis, the Japanese military believed that the United States was actually planning to weaken Japan and "take away" the interests of the entire Far East in one package! Therefore, the Japanese military opposed the concessions made by the government and diplomacy.

Although he is far away in the United States, Nomura is well aware of the heated debates in the country...

"We don't have enough resources, and our national strength is gradually declining due to sanctions, but the United States' national strength far exceeds ours, and is still rising... If we retreat now, we may be able to achieve temporary 'peace' through compromise, but we will lose the fruits of expansion and regress to a third-rate country! And if the United States pushes forward again in the future, what should we do?!"

"In order to support the China Incident, our country's military expenditure and resource needs have been rising, and all kinds of resources have been in short supply! Now the empire has even reached the point where it has to cut down on basic heavy industry production in order to meet military production... Now the blockade has just begun, and we still have the army accumulated over the years and the benefits of occupying territories to support us. Even if the Americans are far more powerful than us, we can still fight if they force us! But if we compromise - no! Even if it is delayed until 1942, our country, which is under sanctions, will regress to a third-rate country due to resource depletion, and will be unable to resist further blackmail and extortion from the United States! - The story of the Osaka Winter Campaign in Japanese history, isn't it that the Toyotomi family hoped to temporarily compromise in exchange for peace, but Tokugawa Ieyasu tore up the agreement in less than half a year, and then the Osaka Summer Campaign was directly destroyed..."

"...Although our military will still obey the government's decision, the military has the authority of independent command - under the blockade of the United States, our country's resource reserves can barely support until the first half of next year!...If you are determined to negotiate, you must get the Americans to come up with an acceptable plan as soon as possible, at least let us see the sincerity of the United States! And if the Americans are delaying the war...Just because of your fruitless negotiations with the United States, our army cannot fully prepare for war, and you said that you can't give the Americans a reason to talk, so our various preparations for war have been delayed again and again! The result of your delay now is that the military will not be able to complete the initial preparations for war until the end of October at the earliest - you must know that the existing resource reserves of the Empire of Japan can no longer afford to delay!"

"...What I mean is, if you can't afford to delay, you should fight as soon as possible! The sooner you seize the resources in Southeast Asia, the more you can accumulate!...You also know how powerful the United States is! The Navy estimates that in two or three years at the latest, the United States will be able to rely on its huge national strength to explode a fleet capable of destroying Japan! If we fight now, at least with the army that has been trained for many years, we can gain an advantage in the early stages of the war, and then rely on the resources of Southeast Asia to fight a protracted war with the American devils! But if you choose to compromise, we will have nothing in three years - besides, this issue can no longer be delayed! If you keep dragging it out like this, let alone three years later, it will be a blessing from the emperors of all generations that we can support it until June next year!"

All kinds of noisy sounds, like they were echoing, buzzed in Nomura's mind, making him feel dizzy...

"Forget it... It's too late to say anything. I guess my embassy won't be open for a few more days... Fortunately, the government and the military won't argue over whether to fight or make peace this time..."

"The Empire's national strength is far inferior to that of the United States. Only by relying on an alliance with Germany and tying down the United States' strength on both ends can we concentrate superior forces to gain territory in the early stages of the war to ensure the supply of resources for long-term operations in the later stages... Maybe if I'm lucky, I will receive a telegram from home asking me to declare war on the United States in the name of 'compliance with the alliance promise to my allies'..."

"The fate of the Empire of Japan and everything else depends on the Emperor's judgment..."

In the embassy office, an old sigh was heard...

----------

Meanwhile, the White House...

President Roosevelt leaned against the bed in front of the French window of the Oval Office with an expressionless face, looking out the window at the White House lawn and at the two groups of demonstrators behind the lawn, holding various banners and slogans and staring at each other - one group held a banner supporting the war, while the other held a banner opposing the war! In between the two groups of demonstrators were fully armed riot police, separating the two groups of demonstrators.

It seems that there are quite a few people in both the support and opposition groups...

Roosevelt watched all this with an expressionless face, and it was unknown what wishful thinking he was thinking...

But at this moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Roosevelt said softly without turning his head.

With a creak, the door opened, and Secretary of State Hull, who was as old as the President, and Admiral William Daniel Leahy, who was also white-haired and had just returned from serving as ambassador to Vichy France and was appointed "Chief of Staff of the President of the United States and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces (the predecessor of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States)", walked in together, leaning on a "cane" and carrying a briefcase.

As soon as Hull entered the room, he put his briefcase on the table, pulled out a document and reported: "Mr. President, the preliminary results of public opinion and polls are out!"

Without even turning his head, Roosevelt asked calmly, "How many people are against joining the war?"

"In this case, at least 70% of people do not object to joining the war now!" Hull, a cunning lawyer, smiled and said complacently: "Even if we say that the Germans are unforgivable, under the previous continuous propaganda, less than 70% of people do not object to joining the war - but now, after the public opinion said that the Greer was a German submarine that attacked our warships, plus the slogan we released, now % of people do not object!"

"Oh? That's good news. Just like what the yellow-skinned German propaganda minister said, public opinion was actually deceived. By the way, has the work of switching the economy to wartime production mode been arranged?"

Roosevelt finally turned his head with a smile on his face.

Leahy hurried forward and turned the wheelchair for his old comrade and immediate superior to face himself. Meanwhile, old Hull pulled out another document from his briefcase and reported:

"It has been arranged. A plan to switch to a wartime planned economy is being formulated, and our industrial and commercial circles have expressed 29% support for this! - Speaking of which, you know, our country has not yet recovered from the aftermath of the 30 economic crisis. The unemployment rate was 15.8% in the early 17.2s, and it is even % now. But if the war breaks out, the factories can be fully and thoroughly put into operation - and doesn't the army need manpower to expand? Letting these unemployed people fight against Germany is just a good way to make use of waste! And it is in our best interest!!"

As the cunning Hull spoke, he showed a smile that seemed gentle, but was actually a bit hideous!

Even Lexi, who was standing aside, moved a little further away.

Roosevelt noticed Leahy's actions, smiled harmlessly, and began to ask questions to his old comrade:

"Well... I understand Hull's situation... Then, my friend, dear old Leahy, you did a great job in successfully persuading the Vichy government in Vichy France not to let their fleet cooperate with Germany. But... what are the results of your investigation on the military side? How much more do we need to expand our military strength to be sure of victory?"

Lexi nodded and handed over a document:

"...Based on the 'Orange War Plan (against Japan)' and 'Red War Plan (against Britain)' that our country had formulated in 1940, and based on the earlier 'Rainbow Five' and 'Rainbow Two' plans, which were revised to cope with the new international situation, we will follow the principle of Europe first and Asia later! In order to express our ideas more clearly here, please allow me to explain our strategic plan again..."

Leahy looked at Roosevelt, and the president nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"...Our strategy is to focus on Europe first and Asia second, and we must also consider our current military strength and the scale of possible military expansion in the near future. Let me introduce each of them separately..."

"...Regarding our current military strength, in terms of the navy, excluding the Ranger aircraft carrier leased to the UK, there are about five aircraft carriers, another Hornet is about to be completed, and the new Essex-class aircraft carrier is being launched. ...As for battleships, there are 18 old battleships, two new North Carolina-class battleships are in service, four South Dakotas are under construction, and the Iowa-class has approved a construction plan for six ships and is also being launched. ...There are also 24 heavy cruisers, 165 light cruisers that have been in service or are about to be in service, 106 destroyers, and 43 submarines...However, due to the construction cycle of the navy, even if our new batch of battleships adopt a wartime system, it will take at least years for them to be put into service in batches..."

"As for the Army... You know, our Army is not large. In 1939, there were only 2700 people, three infantry divisions, an armored division with a strong experimental nature, and a reserve division. Although now there are 1700 divisions recruited through large-scale conscription, many of them are skeleton units. The relevant weapon design, tactical concepts and organizational ideas are just beginning to be explored... The Army Air Force now has only 7400 aircraft, including fighters and bombers, and another transport aircraft. The only good thing is that General Arnold, the commander of the Army Aviation, attaches great importance to training. He has as many as training aircraft, which allows us to quickly train reserve pilots... But even so, the Army and the Army Aviation will not be able to launch an offensive campaign until at least one year later..."

"Is this our wealth? If so, we will have to wait until the end of 42 or even 43 to have a certain level of strength..." Roosevelt frowned, "Go on, what is our strategy going forward?"

"Yes!" Leahy nodded and continued, "...From the perspective of the German-Japanese alliance, it is certain that if my country declares war on Germany, Japan will also declare war on my country in order to contain my country and for the sake of their national destiny!"

"So in Asia, according to the 'Orange Plan' and the 'Rainbow II Plan', we must first ensure the security of the core Alaska-Hawaii-Panama Canal. On the premise of ensuring the security of the above three places, we will mobilize troops to open up the defense line of the Marshall Islands-Guam and open up a sea route to the Philippines..."

"Although the Japanese Navy has kept its military scale secret, current intelligence can only estimate that they have about six large aircraft carriers and ten battleships. In order to achieve the minimum goal of ensuring the security of the Alaska-Hawaii-Panama triangle, our Pacific Fleet must have no less than four aircraft carriers. In other words, the Navy's main fleet must focus on the Pacific Ocean first... Then, our offensive in Europe may have to make major adjustments... The current view is that we will focus on escort until the end of next year, and wait until our country has completely switched to a wartime system before choosing an opportunity to join the war..."

"How to adjust? Can't we just attack Europe directly?" Roosevelt and Hull's eyes became tense and they looked straight at Leahy.

After all, for the United States, the premise of "Europe first, Asia later" is to take advantage of the continuous war in Europe to completely control Europe. But now it seems that the growth of the mustache has exceeded the United States' imagination - just the day before, the British even captured Alexandria, a major city in the eastern Mediterranean! And if the German and Italian navies rush out of the Mediterranean and enter the Indian Ocean, and connect with another "unstable factor" Japan - and this will inevitably directly cut off Britain's connection with India, its most important source of resources and soldiers - then the trouble will be very big...

In fact, there is another unexplained reason, which is that the US government is also controlled by a group of guys who "betray the country, sell out the people, make money from national disasters, and lend money at high interest rates"...

After all, birds of a feather flock together, and the same fate sympathizes with each other, and the death of a rabbit makes the fox mourn...

"There's nothing we can do, Mr. President, Mr. Secretary of State..." Leahy sighed helplessly, "The Imperial Japanese Navy is very large, and our country actually joined the war hastily in order to stabilize Britain. We must have a buffer period. During this period, we can provide supplies and escorts to Britain and even the Soviet Union, allowing them to go first, and then wait for us to have enough troops, and then go up as a decisive force to accept the fruits of victory. This is already the best way... Moreover, in 42, we actually only had the possibility of barely attacking the weaker outer occupied areas of the Axis powers. If we really want to have a thorough decisive battle... Think about the bloody Soviet-German battlefield now. The average number of casualties there is now in the tens of thousands! With this casualty rate... our country's public opinion for joining the war, which is not very stable to begin with, will definitely rebound on a large scale!!"

Talking about the brutal Soviet-German War, even Leahy, a veteran of World War I in his seventies, had a look of fear on his face.

Seeing Leahy's expression, Roosevelt and Hull couldn't help but shudder.

After all, they are speculators and traitors, and their every move is full of conspiracy and calculation. If it really comes to a life-and-death war...

After looking at Hull, Roosevelt felt a little helpless.

However, the brains of the big bosses on Wall Street were cunning after all. Roosevelt changed his attitude with a turn of his eyes and said with a smile:

"That's it, let them go first - we can provide money, guns, and escort teams, but it's best not to send troops until they are both defeated. Oh, by the way, remember that every time we sell something, it will be recorded as a debt, and when the war is over, they will be required to pay it back with interest!"

Hull and Leahy, the US President's right-hand men in both the military and political circles, looked at each other and saw a nod in each other's eyes.

"Yeah! I agree with the president!"

"I agree!"

"Then do it!"

But at this moment, the knock on the door sounded again...

"President, Secretary of State, White House Chief of Staff, Japanese Ambassador Nomura requests a meeting!" A Secretary of State walked in and reported: "He said that according to the alliance agreement between Japan and Germany, he is submitting a declaration of war to our country on behalf of the Japanese government! According to diplomatic etiquette, I would like to ask you, President, to accept it!"

Listening to the Secretary of State's report, Roosevelt, Hull, and Leahy, three white-haired old foxes, could not help but look at each other, their faces filled with a cunning smile full of old trickery...

(PS: In fact, this paragraph is also adapted from the United States' declaration of war against a certain country in the 20th century. Guess which war it was)

Chapter 483: Breaking through Suez

"Have you found out about the exchange of fire between the destroyer and our submarine that the Americans mentioned?!"

At the Berlin headquarters, the mustache was staring at the huge world map on the wall with a livid face, assessing the situation of the United States' participation in the war. In the mustache's office, Reich Marshal Goering, Army Commander Marshal Brauchitsch, Navy Commander-in-Chief Marshal Raeder, Himmler, Goebbels, Speer, Ribbentrop... a large number of important officials of the Third Reich, all with solemn faces, were sitting in the office without saying a word.

However, Marshal Raeder is an exception...

After all, this incident is directly related to the navy, and as the highest head of the navy, he must come out and report this incident.

Fortunately, the Greer incident itself and the German Navy had no responsibility...

"Report to the Führer, the incident has been investigated! From the beginning to the end, it was the Americans who first showed hostility..."

Marshal Raeder stepped forward and reported:

"The Greer incident was caused by the USS Greer (DD-145, captained by Lieutenant Commander Frost) in Icelandic waters, cooperating with British anti-submarine aircraft. Greer first used sonar to search for German submarines and discovered the German submarine U-652 (captained by Lieutenant Fratz). After discovering U-652, Greer did not attack it, but called on British anti-submarine aircraft to attack U-652 with depth charges! It was only because the British anti-submarine aircraft was running out of fuel and returned after hastily dropping bombs that U-652 escaped the disaster!

The U-652 submarine, which escaped the disaster, apparently thought that the destroyer Greer used sonar and attacked it, so it used torpedoes to attack the Greer! The Greer also used depth charges to fight back! However, due to various factors, neither side caused any damage to the other. Finally, the U-652 submarine in deep diving lost contact with the destroyer Greer and evacuated the battlefield.

Less than five hours after this incident, US President Roosevelt issued an order declaring war on Germany on August 1941, 8!

The incident itself was not complicated, and Redel finished his report quickly. However, everyone's faces became even gloomier...

Less than five hours after the exchange of fire, when neither side had suffered any losses, they declared war, and this was collectively authorized by Congress... It is obvious that the United States is looking for trouble!

Veins popped out of the mustache's forehead, and his hands, which were behind his back, were shaking because of anger and Parkinson's disease! The more he suppressed his anger, the more his hands shook! Finally, the mustache couldn't bear it anymore...

A pen was thrown to the ground fiercely, making a clacking sound. As if someone had turned on the switch of a tweeter, the head of state roared angrily, like lighting countless firecrackers at the same time, with all kinds of curses spewing out without cost...

"...Roosevelt! You are such a cripple, you are going too far!"

"...Didn't I know that the Jews have the final say in America?!...You damn Jews, I know you have wanted to control Europe since the last war, but I didn't expect you to be so despicable!"

"...Jews are all scumbags! Especially you coward Roosevelt (Feiglinge in German, pierced Franklin, Roosevelt's full name is Franklin Roosevelt). You, a disabled person with polio, can only play such despicable and dirty tricks?"

What a bunch of scum! I'm so pissed off!

Amid the angry curses of the mustache, the high-ranking officials of the Third Reich stood straight, heads down, eyes on noses, noses on mouths, mouths on hearts, motionless in the conference room, like a group of clay sculptures and wooden carvings...

After scolding for a long time, the tired little mustache gradually calmed down and sat down on the chair - although his face was still ugly...

"... Report the latest war situation to me! Let's see what influence that coward Roosevelt will have on us!"

"Yes... The army surrounded the 700,000 Soviet troops in Kiev in the middle of this month and is now gradually eliminating them. It is expected that they will be completely wiped out by the end of the month at the latest. At the same time, we are also expanding our victory. General Manstein's 11th Army is heading to the Crimean Peninsula. General Guderian's 2nd Tank Army and Marshal Reichenau's 6th Army have already controlled Donetsk and are attacking Luhansk and Rostov... Now our front line is Rostov-Luhansk-Voronezh-Orel-Roslavl-Vitebsk-Pinskov-Narva."

"...According to your instructions before the war, we have already transferred the Ninth Army and the Fourth Panzer Army as well as the Airborne Forces and the Brandenburg Regiment. The next goal is to first use special forces and airborne troops to seize the oil wells in the Maikop oil field, and then capture Stalingrad and the area north of the Caucasus to completely ensure our country's access to resources!"

"For the Moscow-Smolensk direction on the central line and the Bolshaya Luki-Leningrad direction on the northern line, the main focus is to stabilize the front line, and retain a reserve force composed of armored units! In addition, in order to ensure the smooth flow of logistics, we will deploy 25 of the 32 engineering divisions deployed on the Eastern Front. They will be used together with the conscripted Russian laborers to build a double-track railway and ensure the smooth flow of roads..."

After the army's report, it was Goering's turn to lead the air force. The fat imperial marshal smiled. Goering seemed very confident and even proud of the German air force under his management: