Chapter 68, Typhoon God of War Halsey (Part 2)
According to the informal emergency meeting held 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 Combined Fleet in the Mariana Islands is obviously impossible to continue and can only be abandoned. In fact, if the remaining ships of the Halsey fleet, which have almost lost their ability to defend themselves, can come back basically intact, instead of being sneak-attacked by the Japanese navy or bombed by Japanese aircraft carriers on the way, then the White House and the Pentagon will then We have to open champagne to celebrate.
Secondly, because the dock facilities at Pearl Harbor were severely damaged by the typhoon landing, the repair and maintenance capabilities of the ships were greatly reduced. Some of the remaining battleships of the Halsey Fleet could only be withdrawn to the west coast for repairs, and they would be repaired within at least three months. He had to completely leave the battlefield.
Third, the military supplies originally stored in the Hawaiian Islands and scheduled to be transported to the Japanese battlefield were also severely damaged in the typhoon. The material reserves of Japan's frontline troops are only enough to sustain a high-intensity war of attrition for a month at most. To this end, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Ernest King asked the Hawaiian side to unload all the remaining intact cargo ships and set sail. At the same time, he demolished the east wall to repair the west wall in various ports on the west coast of the mainland, mobilized supplies, ships and troops, and captured Whatever is what, send them all to the Japanese front line. Under no circumstances can the front line be cut off from logistics.
Fourth, most of Halsey's fleet was destroyed by the typhoon, and the coastal defense facilities and airport at Pearl Harbor also suffered heavy losses in the typhoon. This 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 in full force, it is really possible to easily seize the key location of Hawaii, causing the overall collapse of the US military's Pacific front... In order to allow the Hawaiian Islands to have at least the ability to repair the Halsey fleet and launch new warships. The strength of self-preservation. Navy Chief Admiral King had to reluctantly recall the squadron in the Southwest Pacific Theater and abandon the newly recovered Fiji, New Zealand and New Caledonia - these places were temporarily lost and could be regained in the future, and Hawaii could be lost as soon as they were lost. It's all over.
As for the Australians who are still under siege in Melbourne and struggling to hold on, the US military can only shrug their shoulders and say sorry.
Finally, and the most head-scratching thing, is naturally the accountability afterwards... After learning that Halsey's fleet was destroyed by a typhoon before it even engaged the enemy, the entire American public and public opinion circles were in an uproar. Some literati The newspaper even compared Halsey to an ancient Roman admiral - at that time Roman The two hegemons, Horses and Carthage, competed for dominance in the Mediterranean. The Romans installed the "Raven Suspension Bridge" on their warships to turn naval battles into boarding battles. They defeated the Carthaginians who were good at navigation many times, but this caused the Roman warships to have a high center of gravity. The structure was unstable and the entire fleet sank several times in storms...
"...Now, the public and public opinion circles are unanimously demanding the removal and trial of General Halsey, and members of Congress from both parties are scolding him."
Secretary of State Hull said with a bitter look on his face, "...Admiral Halsey has also submitted his resignation and is preparing 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 military court next. Only through investigation and trial can it be possible to calm down the public anger a little bit..."
"...How can this be done? Just leave after a leak is revealed? The Navy still has to pay tuition for the next person? No, if you want to leave, you have to defeat the Japanese before I can resign!" Admiral Jin jumped up immediately , shouted, "...Halsey is certainly responsible for this tragedy, but he can't just replace him as soon as something goes wrong! He has already He is the most experienced and famous naval general in the country at present in the war against Japan! He has never left the battlefield from the Pearl Harbor incident to the present, and has experienced most of the major battles in the Pacific battlefield. If not even him! , others have no hope!”
"...Ahem, Mr. President, I also agree with General Kim's view..." Special Assistant Hopkins, who has become increasingly frail recently, coughed a few times and said in a slight voice, "...General Halsey Although he is responsible for the destruction of the fleet, we cannot put all the blame on him. In the face of this unexpected and tragic setback, what we need is to share the same hatred and work together, rather than immediately jumping up to investigate the responsibility..."
"...I also agree with General Kim's idea. There has never been a victorious general in this world who never fails. General Halsey may have made mistakes of one kind or another in his command, but this is inevitable. Looking at our country In the Navy, I'm afraid there aren't many people who can do better than them. It is not advisable to replace someone just because of an accident after losing the battle! What's more, does our navy have people with more experience and better quality than General Halsey? Who can guarantee that the new people will come up? Do you have to do better than him?" Secretary Hull also pleaded for Halsey.
According to Secretary Hopkins and Secretary Hull, if President Roosevelt were still here, he would probably agree with Admiral King and use his own prestige to suppress the fierce public opinion and criticize Halsey, a Navy veteran, for his resignation. As a matter of course, he refused to ask for responsibility-Roosevelt must protect his cronies, and Halsey was a rare member of the navy for him...
But unfortunately, the current leader of the United States of America is Truman... He and Halsey do not have such a good relationship.
Moreover, he did not have the deep prestige of President Roosevelt to suppress the surging public opinion - in Truman's view, these aides and cronies left behind by President Roosevelt were simply trying to roast him on the fire for Harbin's sake. Erxi was scolded! But why?
"...The one who has the most experience in fighting Japan? I think he has the most experience in being defeated by the Japanese Navy!"
President Truman snorted coldly, "...it's not like you don't know that Admiral Halsey's failure was so disastrous that the losses and impact far exceeded the Pearl Harbor Incident at the beginning of the war! The war against Japan The most experienced? Has he ever truly won a large-scale battle? A naval battle? It's just that he can't defeat the Japanese fleet. He doesn't even know how to avoid and prevent typhoons... What's the use of such a general? Should he continue to waste the property of the United States and the lives of young men? Now let's consider who to replace him. Take his seat!”
In short, in the face of Truman's cold attitude, General Halsey's dismissal and trial were inevitable... As for the replacement of General Halsey after his dismissal and trial, General King recommended Lieutenant General Aubrey Fitch - —Both he and Admiral King served as captains of the aircraft carrier Lexington, and their naval combat experience was almost as rich as Halsey's, but their qualifications and background were slightly inferior. It is only natural that he should be promoted to take office at a critical moment.
Typhoon God of War Halsey was kicked away, but how to appease the people and boost morale next became 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 - which is the so-called "either give the people wealth or give the people wealth". glory". If even this cannot be done, then even if the defeated empire will not be destroyed, its prestige will be greatly wiped out, and it will fall into a long period of internal strife and turmoil.
The United States of America has suffered too many defeats in the war, and the passion and vigor at the beginning of the war have gradually worn away. The attitude of the people of the United States towards this war has changed from being ambitious and complacent to being exhausted and unable to stop... 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, they have been The people who have had their belts cut off can no longer bear it. In every street and alley in the United States, the atmosphere of war weariness continues to permeate, and everyone is eager to end the war with dignity and allow their loved ones to return home.
By relying on the nuclear bombing of Tokyo and landing on the mainland of the Japanese Empire, the people finally saw a glimmer of victory. But soon, the Japanese battlefield first reached a stalemate, and then was completely reversed. The U.S. Army was routed thousands of miles away, and the Navy suffered a "godly punishment" like a typhoon... After such a desperate reversal, domestic How desperate and decadent public opinion will become, you can understand it even if you think about it with your buttocks.
——No matter how you look at it, you are all discouraged and have a bleak future! ! !
"... Mr. President, with all due respect, the next development of the situation is likely to get worse!"
Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Ernest King will continue to make up for the damage, "...because we have to withdraw the fleet from the Southwest Pacific theater and return to defend Pearl Harbor, I am afraid that all the islands captured there will fall again, and Australia's last It is very likely that the Allied forces will 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 bitterly, "...then, what should we do to retaliate against the Japanese devils and make the people feel more energetic?"
"...Well...let's continue to think of a solution on the Japanese battlefield!" Special Assistant Hopkins lowered his head and pondered for a while before giving a cruel suggestion, "...the current situation of our army on the Japanese frontline We have troops, but they are far from enough to launch a counterattack on the frontal battlefield. If we want to win a victory as soon as possible, I am afraid we can only carry out a more rigorous and large-scale sweep of the areas occupied by our troops in the Japanese archipelago..."
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※PS: France, Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Germany are really having troubles one after another these days. They are either terrorist attacks or mutinies and coups. Xiao The Virgin Mothers of Freshness probably do nothing else every night. They pretend to be foreigners and even light candles like lanterns. Of course, Miss Zhao's topic has also been diluted a lot - she can actually cause so many big things to divert attention. Is this little swallow's background the captain of the ball?