Tan Renhao soon realized that it was not a matter of one person that was handed over to him by Chief of Staff Gan Yongxing. It stands to reason that such strategic judgments should be made by a special agency under the Imperial Cabinet government, and the main responsibility of the Naval Staff is to be responsible for the combat operations of the Navy, and not to involve the grand strategic aspects of the country. Now Gan Yongxing wants to talk about Renhao, what they are doing is the national grand strategic plan. Tan Renhao was also a little puzzled, could it be that after Prime Minister Xue Xi returned to power, he didn't have time to adjust the cabinet government, so he handed over such an important task to the Navy Staff to complete? I wonder if the task still needs to be completed. More than a dozen people spent more than ten days just reading various documents, and the relevant work was rolled out only after everyone had a clear idea.

"In general, a war between us and the United States is inevitable."

Tan Renhao waved out all the experience and abilities he had when he was a staff officer: "The upper and lower houses of the United States have passed the "Lend-Lease Act," and now the United States is constantly exporting a large amount of arms, equipment, ammunition, and war materials to our enemies, and even reached an agreement with Britain and France, and the US Navy will send destroyers to escort the convoy to the midpoint of the Atlantic, and then the fleets of the British and French navies will pick it up. Although the German Reich had not yet formally declared war on the United States, this already constituted an actual act of war. In addition, the US president has spent two years reorganizing the country's economic structure, and the US military is also expanding its troops, and a large number of US troops are flocking to Hawaii, Guam, the Caroline Islands, New Guinea, and Australia. The United States is building a wall outside our yard to seal us off in the western Pacific. In the past two years, the United States has provided Japan with tens of millions of tons of oil, rubber, aluminum ingots, and other strategic resources, and it continues to support Japan's war elements. This also constitutes an act of war as well. War with the United States is only a matter of time, and all we have to do now is to figure it out roughly. When, where, and in what form will we break out a war with the United States! ”

"General, isn't this a little too broad?"

One of the staff officers raised his hand and said what he thought.

"It's a very broad and arduous task, otherwise I wouldn't have found you!"

Tan Renhao laughed, and the staff officers all laughed along. "From the Aleutian Islands all the way to Australia. We have tens of thousands of kilometers along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with the United States. Anywhere along this invisible boundary, a little spark could emerge and ignite this war, which could be the largest war in human history. The problem is, we have to know where the Americans would start if they chose to provoke a war. If we take the initiative to attack, then where should we start? ”

"General, will we take the initiative to declare war?"

Another staff officer asked questions.

"I don't know about that. We are all soldiers. And we're all just on a mission. ”

Tan Renhao walked in front of the staff officer, "We don't need to know too much, we just need to know." What should we do now, should we come up with something, right? ”

Everyone's expressions became serious. They were all the best young officers in the Navy's staff, and they were the most imaginative young officers. Gan Yongxing transferred these staff officers to Tan Renhao precisely because they all dared to think and act, and they were not too conservative and too pretentious like those veteran staff officers. These days, the staff officers have felt the encouragement that Tan Renhao has given them. and identification with them. As an ordinary naval officer, they need encouragement and recognition.

"Now you have been divided into four groups, and you have made detailed analyses and judgments on the situation in the United States in the four aspects of intelligence, military deployment, logistics management, and war mobilization."

Tan Renhao walked among the crowd: "I will work with you, and now there is not much time left for us." Let's all hurry up and take action. Every time we put our heart here, our front-line soldiers will bear less danger. Every drop of sweat we pay, our front-line soldiers will be left with a drop of blood! ”

More than 10 staff officers set up four groups in accordance with Tan Renhao's assignment, each responsible for research and planning in one direction.

"What do you think of that?"

After all the staff officers went out, Tan Renhao walked in front of Hao Dongjue, and now Hao Dongjue is his first assistant.

"It's barely okay!"

Hao Dongjue smiled and shrugged his shoulders: "But it seems to me that there is no need to boost morale at all. Do you know the origin of these staff officers? ”

Tan Renhao glanced at Hao Dongjue a little puzzled.

"In fact, they are all persona non grata in various departments of the Navy Staff."

Hao Dongjue took out a cigarette: "I have chatted with them alone a few times in the past few days, and most of them were sent here because they were excluded by the department and were very unwilling. General Gan Yongxing went to those staff departments to ask for people, and they were naturally kicked out! ”

So that's what happened! Tan Renhao also laughed. "Things gather like people, people gather in groups, it seems that we have found the same kind."

"But I think they're all excellent!"

Hao Dongjue followed Tan Renhao to the large map, "They are very imaginative, and sometimes I have to admire them." Isn't it important for us to have this rich imagination? ”

"Yes, but not entirely!"

Tan Renhao glanced at Hao Dongjue, and his eyes fell on the map: "Just imagination, if there is no stable leader, then their imagination can only produce illusions, not predict the future." So we have to get the direction right, and we can't let them mess around like crazy. ”

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on it!"

"The one I don't worry about the most is you!"

Tan Renhao smiled and patted Hao Dongjue's shoulder: "Now let's think about it, if we were Admiral Kim, the commander of the Pacific Fleet of the US Navy, then how would we start this war?" ”

Hao Dongjue originally wanted to make a few jokes, but now he has become serious.

"There are too many holes on the front line from Alaska to Australia, tens of thousands of nautical miles!"

Tan Renhao let out a long sigh and then lit a cigarette: "Alaska is only separated from the empire by the Bering Strait, but there is nothing to worry about here, at least the Yankees are not stupid enough to occupy a few deserted lands in the ice and snow." To the south is the Aleutian Islands, which have been flanked by the main route for the export of war materials from the United States to Japan. The U.S. military has air stations on Attu Island, Agatu Island, and Kiska Island, and there are also small docks on Attu Island and Kiska Island, where the U.S. Navy has deployed more than a dozen destroyers to escort convoys bound for Japan. For more than a year, the submarine forces of the Imperial Navy have repeatedly clashed with American anti-submarine destroyers, do you think this will become a tipping point for war? ”

Hao Dong thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't think it's likely. If the United States wants us to blockade Japan. If they had attacked merchant ships for war, they would have done so a long time ago. Also, this won't be the main battlefield. But I think that if Japan had not surrendered when the United States entered the war, then we would have to do everything possible to occupy Attu Island and cut off the sea route from the United States to Japan. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "That's for sure, and now Japan is still able to survive because of the pitiful aid provided by the United States. As long as we strangle this lifeline of Japan, Japan will suffocate to death! ”

"Then we must occupy Attu Island!"

Hao Dongjue walked to the side of the map: "As long as you control Attu Island." We don't even need to deploy a fleet here. It only needs to rely on the airfield on Attu Island and the small dock to deploy some fighters. There are also submarines, and in the past, the United States was not able to provide strategic resources to Japan. ”

"Then it is unlikely that the United States will make a fuss here!"

Tan Renhao's gaze shifted down a lot, "Next is Hawaii and the Mariana Islands. The danger is the greatest here, and now that the US Pacific Fleet has been transferred to Hawaii, a small fleet has been deployed on the Guam side, which is likely to lead to a misfire! ”

"Unless the Americans have the confidence to hold Guam for the first three months, they won't dare to do anything here!"

Hao Dongjue nodded at the location of the Mariana Islands: "The Mariana Islands are the salient of the United States. As long as we start fighting, we will definitely capture the Mariana Islands as quickly as possible and draw the front. The United States has not dared to declare war on us until now, I am afraid that it is afraid of losing the Mariana Islands. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, the strategic location of the Mariana Islands is not below the Hawaiian Islands, and it is the focus of the outermost defense circle of the United States in the Pacific Ocean. As long as the United States controls the Mariana Islands, the Tang Imperial Navy will not be able to advance into the heart of the Pacific Ocean and threaten the Hawaiian Islands. In the same way, the naval fleet of the Tang Empire had to be difficult. It is necessary to take the sea passage on the South Sea side and not to go south from the direction of the Pacific Ocean. The Mariana Islands are the front line between the Hawaiian Islands and Australia, which is the fundamental reason why the United States controlled the Mariana Islands and established a military base on Guam.

"Then now there is only one place left!"

Tan Renhao pointed to the southern hemisphere of the map: "Australia, if the United States attacks from the south to the north, then Australia's importance is not even below its own territory. In addition, Australia's abundant resources are even more important to both of us. The United States spent a lot of effort to get Australia, so it won't give up easily now! ”

"Unless we take the initiative to attack, the United States will not fight a naval and air war with us in the South Seas, and they have no advantage."

Hao Dongjue smiled and shook his head: "The United States has deployed less than 50,000 troops in Australia, and more than 300 aircraft. Even if you count the local army in Australia, there are no more than 150,000 people. What role can this force play? We can now send at least five divisions of 6 squadrons at a time, and the 6 fleets are still expanding, as long as we can deliver ten divisions at a time, then the United States will not be able to hold Australia. ”

Tan Renhao was not in a hurry to speak, he had already seen it, in fact, on the entire Pacific front, the United States had no reason to take the initiative to declare war on the Tang Empire. The Tang Empire has been honed in the war for two years, the domestic war mobilization has been completed, and now the empire is doing the third phase of war mobilization, women and some retired old workers have been organized to participate in domestic industrial production, a large number of military factories, heavy factories, basic factories and other industrial infrastructure are being built, the empire's industrial output in 22 years has passed the best 1O year before the war, an increase of 28% over 2O years. This growth has not stopped, and in the case of World War I, the industrial productivity of the empire during the war will be more than three times that of peacetime. On the contrary, the United States has not yet engaged in regular war mobilization, the economy is still recovering, and its domestic productivity has not even returned to the level it was before the economic crisis. Even the war potential of the United States cannot be underestimated, but if it really wants to fight, it will take at least one or even two years for the United States to complete the war mobilization, and at this time, the Tang Empire may have won the war.

"In this case, it is unlikely that the United States will take the initiative to provoke."

Tan Renhao sat down and took out a second cigarette, "But the United States will not stay out of the matter anymore, what excuse will they use to enter the war?" ”

"Maybe not on our side."

Hao Dongjue also sat down: "A few days ago, I carefully watched the war situation in Europe. The submarine forces of the German Empire probably achieved more results than our entire navy. Now Britain is already struggling with life and death, German submarines have had many frictions with the American escort fleet in the Atlantic, but now there are no casualties and damage to warships. In addition, as the Imperial 6th Army increased its investment in the Northwest Theater, the Russian Empire would certainly shift its strategic focus eastward. At that time, the German Empire could draw its troops on the Eastern Front to strengthen the offensive on the Western Front. If my guess is correct, next year will be the year that will decide the victory or defeat in the western European theater. If France were to finish next year, Germany would most likely sweep Europe by storm and force Spain and Italy out of the war, leaving Britain alone. Do you think there is any hope for Britain to hold on? ”

Tan Renhao shook his head, and then laughed. Hao Dongjue's remarks hit the key issue with the US allies in Europe, not in the archipelago in the western Pacific!