Truman had attended a cabinet military meeting chaired by Roosevelt, and was no stranger to the scene of generals in military uniforms presenting the situation on the battlefield and making reasonable suggestions in the conference room. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

But now as he sat next to President Wallace, watching a room full of generals and cabinet dignitaries, and listening to their opinions, he had a strange feeling that he had never felt before -- as if everyone in the room was telling lies in masks.

In the United States, such a situation should not arise at all!

“…… Air defense on the east coast has improved significantly, with hundreds of radar stations deployed along the vast coastline from Newfoundland all the way to the Florida peninsula. We also have 6,000 fighter jets deployed along the East Coast, most of which are P47, P51, P61 and F7F with good interception capabilities. In addition, we have deployed more than 15,000 anti-aircraft guns of various calibers and raised tens of thousands of balloons in major cities and military bases on the East Coast. All this has been effective in deterring German missile attacks.

At the same time, we are actively preparing means of countering Germany. The design of the XL-44 long-range bomber was completed and it was to be tested in early 1945. Because the aircraft was based on the B-29 with an expanded fuel tank capacity and a super-powerful R-4360 28-cylinder air-cooled engine, the design and flight test process was relatively short, and if it went well, it would be put into trial production by the end of June 1945. We will have ultra-long-range bombers that can bomb both sides of the Atlantic......"

Admiral Arnold of the Army Air Corps reported some good news, and Wallace appeared very satisfied. However, Truman frowned, the air defense of the east coast has not been tested in real combat, and compared with the long coastline of four or five thousand kilometers, 6,000 aircraft is not very much. As for the XB-44, it's just a picture.

"Admiral," Harry. Truman interrupted Arnold's speech, "Have our defenses in the Caribbean been weakened by strengthening the defenses of the East Coast?" ”

"Nope." Admiral Arnold said, "At least the Army Air Corps is quite strong in the Caribbean." Because our combat missions in Australia and the Hawaiian Islands have been greatly reduced, and the pressure on air defense on the west coast has also been greatly reduced, we have spare strength to put a large number of troops into the three theaters of war at the same time: the east coast, the Caribbean, and South America. ”

Harry. Truman nodded, and put a little snack. Unbeknownst to him, however, that Admiral Arnold's Army Air Force had reduced its presence on the island of Newfoundland. Originally, the U.S. Army Air Corps deployed more than 1,700 fighters of various types on the island of Newfoundland, but now the number of fighters deployed on the island of Newfoundland is less than 1,000, of which 336 are P-61B-10 fighter-bombers that also have night combat and bombing functions.

Such a readjustment of forces would certainly not have been allowed in the Roosevelt era, but President Wallace demanded that the Army Air Corps mobilize sufficient air forces to bomb Buenos Aires to overthrow Juan while ensuring that the East Coast and the Caribbean Sea were "foolproof". Peron's regime. In order to increase the effectiveness of the air raids, Wallace even asked the Army Air Corps to launch daytime bombing - in Wallace's view, as long as the political situation in the new Asbanian Federation was in turmoil, Germany would have to accept a "fair peace", and this would make him a hero to save America!

As a result, Admiral Arnold had to send hundreds of long-range P51s from the army's fighter unit, which was not well frequent, to Chile for daytime bombing and escort.

In addition, President Wallace was reluctant to abandon two brave allies, Brazil and the Soviet Union.

As a result, he also sent part of his Army Air Force to the Brazilian battlefield. At the same time, the latest C-54 long-range transport aircraft were also sent to Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula surrounded by tens of thousands of Japanese troops (this is an important ice-free port of the Soviet Union on the Pacific coast, second only to Vladivostok, and only more than 2,000 kilometers away from Alaska of the United States, if the Japanese army captures this port, the shipping supply between the United States and the Soviet Union will be completely cut off), and a small number of army air force fighters are also sent there.

"The Army currently has more than 1.2 million ground troops deployed on the islands of the Caribbean Sea and in Venezuela. It has also invested hundreds of thousands of combat troops in the Hawaiian Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. The number of army combat troops committed to Chile is also approaching 150,000 and will soon reach 200,000. More than 100,000 ground troops have also been deployed in Brazil.

In addition, we have deployed heavy troops on the East Coast, Bermuda, Newfoundland, and northeastern Canada, with a total of more than 1.8 million troops. ”

Admiral Marshall also gave a brief account of the deployment of troops in the US Army. The total strength of the army mentioned by him is about 3.45 million, and there are also troops on the West Coast of the United States, Panama, Alaska and other places that are not mentioned. If all are taken into account, the total strength of the front-line combat units of the US Army is now about 4 million.

In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of Marines, and these are the 16 million American GIs on the books who can really fight a ground war outside their borders.

Of course, the United States is a country where everyone has a gun and has a strong militia tradition. Once the Germans invaded the U.S. mainland, they would have to face more than 4 million U.S. ground troops.

Therefore, Truman is still relatively confident in the ground defense forces of the United States, and even if the Germans can drop the atomic bomb on American soil, it will be difficult for their army to conquer the United States!

"At present, the Navy is also actively preparing for a decisive battle to defend the Caribbean islands and the mainland coast." Chief of Naval Operations Ernest Murphy. Admiral Kim made a final speech and began to give a briefing on the latest combat readiness of the Navy.

Compared with the Army and Army Air Force, the US Navy is now in an even more difficult situation, completely losing its naval supremacy in the Atlantic Ocean after the naval battle in the Bermuda Islands, and it is difficult to maintain even the blockade line between the Nova Scotia Peninsula, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico -- after the German missile carriers and the Me-264 broke through to 500 kilometers off the eastern coastline of the United States to launch missiles, the sea area of more than 2,700 kilometers between the Nova Scotia Peninsula and the island of Puerto Rico has become the "absolute defense line" of the US mainland and must be defended.

Therefore, the US Navy knew that it did not have the power to control the sea in the Atlantic, but still sent a large number of destroyers and submarines to carry out missions in the Atlantic. As a result, these "low-value" ships fell prey to German Type 21 U-boats and Me264 or Ju288 carrying air-to-ship missiles, and Type 21 U-boats, Me264 and Ju288 were to be guided by Bv138E seaplanes as soon as the weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean permitted.

As long as the US destroyer formation is targeted by various opponents under water and in the sky, it will inevitably destroy the ship and kill people. Since October, the US Navy has lost more than 20 destroyers, and 18 destroyers have been severely damaged.

Hence Ernest. Admiral King has now stopped talking about defending the "absolute line of defense" and has directly put forward the concept of a decisive battle in the Caribbean and on the east coast. However, when it comes to the decisive battle between the Caribbean and the East Coast, Ernest . Kim's tone was still full of conviction.

"In order to operate in the near and shallow water areas, the Navy has been focusing on the development of torpedo boats and mines since October. By the end of March 1945, we planned to increase the number of torpedo boats of the PT-103 class to more than 1,000 units, and at the same time begin laying mines off the eastern coast of the United States and near important islands in the Caribbean Sea.

In addition, naval aviation will be equipped with B-25J attack aircraft to counter Nazi soldiers attempting to land. ”

The American PT-103 class torpedo boat is a cheap wooden-hulled torpedo boat, and its defense capabilities are simply not comparable to the German S-100 class torpedo boats. However, it has 4 torpedo tubes, 2 12.7mm machine guns and 1 20mm cannon, and can carry 2-4 depth charges. The firepower is very strong! If used well, it can still pose a great threat to the German landing force.

And the B-25J attack aircraft, a modification of the B-25, is also a special weapon developed for anti-landing operations. The aircraft is very strangely armed, with no bombs, no rockets, and no cannons, but 18 12.7mm machine guns. The threat to the landing German infantry was not under the PT-103 torpedo boats.

"It's not bad right now, is it?" After listening to the speeches of the leaders of the Army, Army Air Corps, and Navy, Truman frowned and asked the Chief of Staff of the President, William Brown. Leahy.

"Yes, sir." William. Leahy replied, "It should be able to hold on...... As long as the Germans do not use atomic weapons, the United States will hold out for at least a long time. ”

William. Raisi's answer is actually the only "correct" answer, because now that the United States is politically divided, it is impossible to make peace in the short term. Even if Truman were to bear the blame at all costs, Congress would not approve it.

So William. Leahy, Marshall, Arnold and Ernest. Now Jin and the others can only find ways to command the US military to persist in resistance, and no longer make any proposals for peace.

At least until the situation on the battlefield deteriorates dramatically, no one will make politically incorrect proposals for peace......

"Okay, okay." Truman nodded repeatedly, of course, he also knew that he must be "politically correct" at present, otherwise he could be impeached and removed from office. "We should hold on and know to drag the Germans down."