"Stalin wanted us to go first, but we wanted the Soviet Union to fight to the death with Germany first, and this was really a problem. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info"

In the White House, in the Oval Office, the President of the United States looked at Secretary of State Hull, who had just met with Soviet Ambassador Litvinov, with a slightly wry smile on his face.

Of course, Roosevelt, his cabinet and his thinkers knew what the defeat of the British Empire in the Mediterranean meant. As an empire based on maritime supremacy, the British Empire had faced a hostile Europe ruled by the Napoleonic Emperor, but at that time the British Empire was still the ruler of the world's oceans. Even the navy of Emperor Napoleon could not defeat the British navy in the Atlantic, the English Channel and the Mediterranean.

But now the Royal Navy, which was the foundation of the world hegemony of the British Empire, failed. They have lost the most important sea in the world, the Mediterranean, and the once invincible fleet has fled in a hurry in front of the naval and air forces of Germany and Italy, and there is no longer the spirit and strength to destroy the enemy!

This defeat means that the crown of the British Empire has landed, and now the question is who can pick it up?

There are only three countries in this world that are qualified to replace Britain as the world leader, the United States, Germany and the Soviet Union!

Among them, the United States is undoubtedly the most industrially powerful and resource-rich, and the economic and financial ties between Britain and the United States are very close; if Britain is bound to lose its hegemony, then it is obviously in Britain's interests for the United States to inherit hegemony.

Germany, on the other hand, is currently the most powerful challenger in the limelight, breaking the centuries-old division and equilibrium of Europe with a series of military victories, becoming the leader of Europe in one fell swoop and still pushing for European integration.

If Germany succeeds in promoting European unity, it will be able to use the shell of the European Community to catch up with the United States in terms of population and industrial power. At the same time, by controlling the resources and markets of Africa, the Middle East and India, the European Community will be able to suppress the United States and the Soviet Union and remain the kings of the world.

Therefore, Germany is now in a more advantageous position than the United States, and as long as it continues along the line of defeating Britain and unifying Europe, it will be able to win the final victory -- because the world hegemony is won after all, not by comparison with GDP!

As far as the United States is concerned, although the GDP is high and the scale of industry is also very large, the combat effectiveness that Germany is currently showing is really terrible. Therefore, the ideal situation is that Germany and the Soviet Union will fight to defeat both sides, while the United States will use Britain as a base to carry out strategic bombing of Germany's large cities and industrial centers, and finally cross the English Channel to defeat the exhausted Germany and win the crown of the world.

However, Joseph. Stalin had long seen through everything, and now he is asking the United States to go first, and the USSR to cover......

"William," Roosevelt said, glancing at Donovan, the White House intelligence coordinator sitting next to Secretary of State Hull, "is there any indication that Germany is about to attack the Soviet Union?" ”

"Unfortunately, I don't see any signs of that." Donovan is also a busy man, leaving a good Wall Street lawyer to work, running to Europe twice in three days, and just returned to the United States from Yugoslavia two days ago (he was going to meet Yugoslav Air Force Admiral Duchamp. Simovich met in secret).

"The strategic intent of the Germans was very clear," Donovan said, "to defeat Britain first, then to complete the integration of Europe, and then to build a powerful navy with the industrial power of Europe, and finally to replace Britain as the world hegemon."

As far as I know, now shipyards in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are busy, and even the French shipyards get many orders from the Germans. And the resources of Europe under German control were limited, and it was impossible to support the large-scale construction of the navy, army and air force at the same time. ”

At present, Germany and Italy have only just taken control of the Mediterranean, and the resources of the Middle East and North Africa (oil, non-ferrous metals, cotton, grain, etc.) have not yet been shipped to Europe in large quantities. Therefore, it is impossible for Germany to let Europe's industrial machinery run at full capacity, and it must have a focus on armament building.

And the focus of German armament construction is clearly naval shipbuilding. Since the Geneva conference, shipyards in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and even France have been busy.

This already shows that Germany's next strategic focus is on the sea!

"President, according to the intelligence provided by the British," Donovan continued, "at present Germany has two 50,000-ton Bismarck-class ships already built, two 60,000-ton Hindenburg-class ships to be built next year, and four 7-80,000 ton battleships under construction. Italy has two 40,000-ton Veneto-class ships completed, and two more are under construction, which are also expected to be completed next year. In France, two 40,000-ton Richelieu-class ships have been built, and one more is under construction, which is estimated to be completed in 1942. ”

"There will be a total of 11 new super battleships by 42!" Secretary of the Navy Frank. "And by 1942 we had only three Colorado-class, two North Carolina-class, and four South Dakota-class," Knox said in a somewhat wistful tone. We were 9:11 behind in the number of super-battleships. ”

"What about aircraft carriers?" Roosevelt asked, "The war in the Mediterranean seems to indicate that the time has come for air power to dominate the seas." ”

"If we do not count the converted aircraft carriers and escort carriers, we will have two Lexington-class, two Yorktown-class, two Vespa-class and up to one Essex class by the end of 1942. And the Germans will have at least 2 Seydlitz-class and two Zeppelin-class. The former should be a 15,000-ton light fleet aircraft carrier, which is comparable to the Vespa-class. The latter is a large aircraft carrier of more than 30,000 tons, which is comparable to the Essex class. ”

"The aircraft carrier is 7: 4, we are ahead." President Roosevelt smiled.

"But we have one more adversary in the Pacific - Japan!" The Secretary of the Navy reminded that "the Japanese also had 6 fleet carriers, and in addition two super-battleships." If you count Japan, the ratio of super-battleships will be 9:13, and aircraft carriers - 7:10. ”

The United States has many large shipyards, and its technology in the field of military ship construction is also very good. But no matter how awesome it is, a battleship or a large aircraft carrier will take three years from the keel to the full completion, according to the current schedule, it will take three years.

In other words, the shipbuilding program that began in the second half of 1940 had to wait until 1943-1944 to "make dumplings". Until then, the situation for the United States would be critical if it were to be attacked by Germany and Japan.

"But if you count the British battleships and aircraft carriers," Roosevelt said, "the numerical superiority remained on our side until a large number of our battleships and aircraft carriers were launched." He paused, "So we can't afford to lose this ally of Britain!" ”

If the British could have hurried up the construction of the King George V class, then by 1942 they would have five George V class, plus the Nelson and the Hood, a total of seven powerful ships that could barely be called "super battleships". Moreover, Britain also has 4 Radiance-class and 1 Ark Royal, a total of 5 fleet aircraft carriers that have been built or will be built soon. In addition, Britain has two Haunted-class ships under construction, which may be commissioned by the end of 1942 if progress can be carried out quickly.

"That's right, Mr. President, we can't afford to lose Britain." "But we still can't go to war." ”

"But there are things we can do," the Secretary of the Navy shrugged and interjected, "such as taking over the defense of Iceland, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and the Azores." ”

Iceland has now declared independence and is under British protection, with the Canary Islands belonging to Spain and Cape Verde and the Azores belonging to Portugal. These islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean, close to Europe and Africa, and can barely be considered a chain of islands that can prevent German and European fleets from rushing into the Atlantic.

In particular, Iceland was less than 500 nautical miles from Britain, and once occupied by the United States, it could become a transit point for the delivery of war materials to Britain -- American merchant ships could transport goods to Iceland, and British merchant ships could transport them from Iceland to the British mainland. The 500-nautical-mile water area was too small for German submarines and aircraft to be effective.

"It's a brinkmanship!" Harry. Hopkins commented on Secretary of the Navy Frank. "For the people at home, taking over a few islands in the Atlantic is a necessary defensive measure to keep the war out of the Americas, so the opponents don't get much response," he said. ”

"I think so," Roosevelt said to Hopkins, "Harry, you go to England once and talk to Prime Minister Churchill about the American takeover of Iceland, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, and the Azores." ”

Then Roosevelt said to Hull: "Go and tell the Soviet ambassador that the United States will soon intervene in the war, and that the occupation of Iceland, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, and the Azores is the first step." It would then move into the British mainland and, in due course, land on the continent. I look forward to seeing the American, British, and Soviet armies meet in Berlin! ”

Roosevelt agreed to Stalin's proposal -- the United States went first! But he was not the unspoken general secretary of the Bolshevik Party in the United States.

"President, how can we go up to the British mainland?" Hull was stunned and hurriedly asked.

Roosevelt said lightly: "Now start sanctioning Japan!" Steel, petroleum, weapons, chemicals, and all materials related to Japan's preparations for war were all prohibited from being imported into Japan. He looked at Harry again. Hopkins glanced at it, "Go and tell Prime Minister Churchill that the British and Dutch East India authorities must also participate in the embargo." (To be continued.) )