Chapter 68: Typhoon Halsey descends According to an 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Some of the remaining battleships of the Halsey Fleet could only be withdrawn to the west coast for repairs, and they would be repaired within at least three months.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 anchor all the remaining intact cargo ships and set sail.
At the same time, he was demolishing the east wall to make up for the west wall in various ports on the west coast of the mainland, mobilizing supplies, ships and troops.
What could he catch?
What is it?
Send them all to the Japanese front line.
No matter what, the front line cannot 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 at least have the ability to protect themselves before the Halsey fleet is repaired and new warships are launched. strength.
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.
Once Hawaii was lost, it would be 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 the Halsey fleet was destroyed by a typhoon before it even engaged the enemy, the entire American people and public opinion circles were in an uproar.
Some literati even The newspapers compared Halsey to an ancient Roman admiral.
At that time, the two hegemons Rome and Carthage were competing for supremacy in the Mediterranean.
The Romans installed the "Raven Suspension Bridge" on their warships to turn naval battles into side battles.
They defeated the Carthaginians who were good at navigation many times, but this caused the Roman warships to shift their center of gravity.
The high structure was unstable and the entire fleet sank several times in a row during 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 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 the investigation and trial of a military court next."
Only through trial can it be possible to calm down the public anger a little bit."
"How can this be done?
If you find a loophole, you can leave the Navy and you have to pay tuition for the next person.
If you want to leave, you have to defeat the Japanese before you can resign."
Admiral Jin immediately jumped up and shouted, "Haha Although Erxi is responsible for this tragedy, he cannot be replaced as soon as something goes wrong.
He is already the navy star with the richest experience in fighting Japan and the most famous name in the country.
He has never left the battlefield from the Pearl Harbor incident to the present.
He has experienced most of the major battles in the Pacific battlefield.
If even he can't do it, there will be no others.
There is even less hope for people.”
"Ahem, Mr.
President, I also agree with Admiral King's view."
Special Assistant Hopkins, who has become increasingly frail recently, coughed a few times and said in a slight voice, "General Halsey certainly contributed to the destruction of the fleet.
We must bear the responsibility, but we cannot put all the blame on him.
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Faced with this unexpected and tragic setback, what we need is to share the same hatred and work together, rather than immediately jumping to hold people accountable."
"I also agree with Admiral 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 navy, I'm afraid not many people can do it better than them.
It is really not advisable to replace someone just because of an accident after losing the battle.
What's more, our navy still has people with more experience and better quality than General Halsey.
Who can guarantee that the new person will be the best?
Do better than him."
Secretary Hull also began to plead for Halsey.
According to Secretary Hopkins and Secretary of State 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.
Roosevelt had to protect his cronies.
For him, Halsey was a rare member of the Navy.
But unfortunately, the current leader of the United States of America is Truman, and he does not have such a good relationship with Halsey.
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 and replace Halsey.
Why should I be scolded?
"I think the one who has the most experience in fighting Japan is the one who has the most experience in being defeated by the Japanese navy."
President Truman snorted coldly, "It's not like you don't know that the defeat Admiral Halsey suffered was so disastrous that the losses and impact far exceeded the Pearl Harbor incident at the beginning of the war.
The most experienced person in the war against Japan was Has he ever truly won even a large-scale naval battle?
And it's just that he can't defeat the Japanese fleet.
He doesn't even know how to avoid and prevent typhoons.
What use is there for a general like him to continue to waste the property of the United States and the lives of young men?
Is he still doing it now?
Let’s consider who should take his place.”
In short, in the face of Truman's cold attitude, General Halsey's dismissal and trial could not be avoided.
Regarding the replacement candidate after General Halsey's dismissal and trial, General King recommended Lieutenant General Aubrey Fitch.
He and King Both generals have served as captains of the aircraft carrier Lexington, and their naval combat experience is almost as rich as Halsey's, but their qualifications and background are 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.
This is the so-called "either give the people wealth or give the people 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 ambitious and complacent to exhausted and unable to move.
Although the red-eyed Wall Street consortium is still determined to carry the war to the end otherwise they will suffer serious losses, their belts have been cut off.
But the people 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 defeated thousands of miles away, and the Navy suffered a "God's punishment" like a typhoon.
After such a desperate reversal, domestic public opinion How desperate and depressed it will become, you can know 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.
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President, with all due respect, the situation is likely to get worse going forward."
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 allied force It’s very likely that I won’t 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, "So, what should we do to retaliate against the Japanese devils and make the people feel more energetic?"
"How about we continue to think of a solution on the Japanese battlefield?"
Special Assistant Hopkins lowered his head and pondered for a while, then gave a cruel suggestion, "The current strength of our army on the Japanese front is far from enough.
If we want to launch a counterattack on the frontal battlefield and win a victory as soon as possible, we will probably have to carry out a more rigorous and large-scale sweep of the areas occupied by our army in the Japanese archipelago." s: France, Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Germany are really having troubles one after another in the past few days.
They are either terrorist attacks or mutinies and coups.
The little fresh virgins probably do nothing else every night, just pretend to be foreigners and light candles.
It’s time to light up the beacon of growth.
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?
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