"Mr. Molotov, I think you should know the current situation. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 InfoSince December 7, when we in the United States of America declared war on the Axis bloc, our country has been on the anti-fascist front.

As one of the members of the anti-fascist allies, we, the United States of America, will provide more assistance to the allies, including economic help and material help, to help the members of the United States, including yours, to obtain sufficient strategic materials to support the conduct of this war. ”

It was Lawrence Steinhardt, the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, who spoke.

Steinhardt was an experienced diplomat who began his diplomatic career when Roosevelt was appointed U.S. ambassador to Sweden in 1933 after he assisted in Roosevelt's election as president of the United States as a campaign aide.

In 1937, he was transferred to the United States ambassador to Peru, and in 1939, Roosevelt was taken seriously and sent to a powerful socialist country like the Soviet Union, and since then he has been associated with the Soviet Union.

"Mr. Steinhardt," Molotov said with a straight posture and a peaceful face, "on behalf of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, I would like to thank your country for being able to stand on the side of justice and on our side of justice at a critical moment.

I would also like to thank your country for the material assistance provided to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (The United States has been providing assistance to the Soviet Union since October 1941)

However, these materials have helped us to a certain extent, but they have played a very limited role.

Whatever the role, we are grateful for the support you have provided to our country, so that our fighters can receive more adequate supplies. ”

Molotov's words sound very pleasant, but in fact, what he wants to express in his heart is: "You Americans have given us such a little material, and there is help, but the effect is very small, so small is the same as not giving, so what is the difference between giving and not giving?" ”

Steinhardt also guessed Molotov's thoughts, the United States did give the Soviet Union a little aid since the Soviet-German war, but this aid was a drop in the bucket for a large country like the Soviet Union with an army of 10 million, and it was of little help.

"Mr. Molotov," Steinhardt said kindly, "Mr. President Roosevelt has long since made an accurate judgment of the situation in the world, and has understood the value of cooperating with the Soviet Union in support of the anti-fascist war, and has been providing weapons and other material assistance to your country since October of this year.

Although the amount of aid is not large, and the assistance to your country in the war effort is limited, it is the maximum assistance we can provide as a neutral country. This assistance has been provided without affecting our relations with Germany and Japan, and we hope that we will be able to help the anti-fascist camp without getting involved in the war, so that our people will not be affected by the war.

We hope you understand where we stand.

However, the situation was different now, and without warning, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, an important naval base of the United States of America in the Pacific.

Such an act would amount to a declaration of war against the United States of America. Our country absolutely does not tolerate such acts, which is why our Congress passed a resolution to declare war on Japan, and Germany and Italy subsequently declared war on our country, and from then on the United States of America was an ally of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

For our allies, the United States will provide all possible assistance. We will not only be able to provide your country with strategic materials such as trucks, locomotives, and radios, but also some weapons and equipment, including firearms, aircraft, tanks, and other weapons, and the quantity will definitely not be small.

Not long ago, President Roosevelt personally sent a telegram to me, emphasizing that the interests of the United States of America were those of the Soviet Union.

I hope that you, Mr. Molotov, as well as Mr. Stalin and the Soviet government, will also take into account the interests of our United States of America and make some adjustments to what is not in the interests of the United States. ”

In fact, there is another meaning in Steinhardt's words, which is probably this: "We in the United States will provide more aid to the Soviet Union, and the amount will not be small, but the condition is that you must consider the interests of the United States and stop doing things that are not in the interests of the United States (including exporting revolution and supporting the activities of the Communist Party in Western countries)." ”

"Mr. Steinhardt, once again, I thank the United States for its assistance to my country." Molotov was still smiling and said: "Compared with providing equipment, I hope that your country can provide more trucks, locomotives and other transportation vehicles, as well as canned food, grain, tea and other military supplies." In addition to this, we need more electronic equipment such as radio stations and radars.

In terms of raw materials, we need more aluminum, but also rubber, armor steel, aviation fuel and other materials. ”

Both historically and in this time and space, the USSR did not lack weapons and equipment. In fact, the Soviet Union ranked first in the world in the production of artillery and mortars throughout World War II, and the second in the world in terms of tanks, armored vehicles and aircraft, and there was simply no shortage of equipment.

However, the Soviet Union had the fifth-largest production of trucks in the world, producing 265,000 trucks throughout World War II. The number of trucks that the United States aided the Soviet Union reached 427,000, more than the Soviet Union produced during the entire period of World War II.

In addition, the number of locomotives in the Soviet Union was also insufficient, resulting in a shortage of trains in the Soviet Union, and the railway system could not cope with the logistical needs of tens of millions of troops.

And the Soviet Union's electronics industry itself was not very good, and the production of radio stations was not enough to fully equip an army of 10 million people, which led to difficulties in communication and command of the army. Because some tank units are not equipped with radio stations, they have to rely on flag language for command, and it is difficult to coordinate during operations, which seriously affects combat efficiency.

The lack of aluminum and rubber also caused the production of planes, trucks and tanks in the Soviet Union to be affected by the supply of raw materials, and the lack of aluminum for the aircraft resulted in most of the aircraft being made of wood; Trucks and tanks also lack rubber, which affects the production of tires and turret rubber rings, and the tank only uses an all-metal body, which weakens part of its performance.

As for the problem of food supply, in the time and space where Manturov is located, the food supply of the Soviet army is not very short, after all, the big granary of Ukraine has not all fallen into the hands of the German army, and Siberia, Kazakhstan and other regions have also reclaimed a lot of land for farming, and grain production has not been greatly affected.

It's just that the food industry in the USSR was not very developed, and the production of canned food was not enough to supply the needs of tens of millions of troops. In addition, the Soviet army has always had a tradition of rationing tea, but the supply of tea in the Soviet Union was too small, which led to the problem of canned food and tea in short supply in the Soviet Union.