The Americans moved faster than the Don imagined. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

In June 1802, U.S. President Madison made an unprecedented speech aboard the USS Connecticut, the flagship of the U.S. Navy.

Madison argues that the American War of Independence was not completely over and that British colonial rule still existed on the American continent.

“…… The Britons never gave up their attempt to occupy our homeland, and they could not accept that the people of the United States, who loved freedom and justice, had created miracles that surpassed them. The British crown of poisonous vegetables always wants us to get down on one knee in front of the steps, and continue to rule this rich and beautiful land with excesses and contempt for human dignity. It is clear to us that in Canada, where the British are still enslaving a good and freedom-hungry people, while the armies of the feudal monarchs are sharpening their swords and sharpening their swords, the alarm bells of aggression have sounded, and every one of us Americans must be prepared to fight for the protection of our homeland and our own freedom. It is for this reason that our army must always be ready for war, and all the warriors who serve the country before me, you are the sword and shield of this country, and because of your presence, the light of freedom can continue to shine on the land of America, and America can continue to be called America. ”

His speech drew cheers from the soldiers on the battleship, and his speech was turned into radio waves and paper and transmitted to every corner of the United States.

On the afternoon of Madison's speech aboard the USS Connecticut, the U.S. Congress voted to formally declare war on Britain.

There are many reasons for declaring war, but they can be summed up in the same way: Britain will not die, so I must preemptively defend myself; The people of Canada under British rule were in dire straits, there was no freedom to speak of, and we were fighting a just war to liberate the enslaved Canadians and thus establish a complete white state in North America that was independent from the British colonies.

The war broke out so suddenly, when the British Governor of Canada received the news from the south, he even asserted: "This is a botched prank, and it cannot be true." ”

After the news was returned to the British Isles, most British politicians could not believe it, and one parliamentarian even said in a newspaper interview: "I do not think that the Americans will be stupid enough to challenge the British Empire, and our mighty army will completely crush them." ”

Of course, it is not that no one considered the possible interference of Datang, so the British did not summon the Tang ambassador to the UK at the first time, but the foreign minister personally went to the Datang embassy to verify the situation with Datang.

The ambassador to the UK simply expressed several facts:

First, the United States did declare war on Britain and informed the Tang side at the same time; Second, the military alliance treaty between Datang and the United States has long since expired, and the United States took the initiative to attack Canada, and Datang did not participate in anything; In the end, Datang's attitude towards the war was more ambiguous, and the more official rhetoric was that Datang expressed surprise and regret at the United States' decision to use war methods against the British colonies in Canada, and at the same time Datang hoped that the two sides would stop the conflict and solve the problem by peaceful means.

However, Datang did not take the initiative to do it, let me do this peace and be old.

According to common sense, Britain should be like the number one power with world leadership, the Tang Dynasty, to mediate the end of the war. However, the reality is that when the British government and the royal family confirmed the news that the United States had taken the initiative to attack Canada, they were very angry and contemptuous. Britain's contempt for the United States is obvious, not that no one does not want to stop the war, but there is a mentality in British politics and even in King George.

How can you let the long-term workers in the former family bully you to the brain, you must teach a hard lesson.

In addition, the British also hope to test the level of their own military reform and progress, and use the United States to show their prestige, so as to regain a little self-confidence.

Therefore, as soon as the incident occurred, Whitehall in Britain established several central main lines, fighting, and it was a quick fight, not seeking to occupy any American land, just beating the United States to tears. Finally, by the way, a little reparation, to show the ability of Britain to become a world power.

Unfortunately, the British misjudged the situation very seriously, they had limited intelligence gathering on the American side, there were not many people in Canada, and Britain did not particularly care to cultivate an intelligence system in the United States. Therefore, when the war broke out, the British did not know what the military strength of the United States was, which also brought them a heavy price.

The United States, on the other hand, is relatively sober and extremely pragmatic in its strategic formulation. American General Dearborn, who served as a liaison officer between the Continental Army and the Tang Army during the Revolutionary War and was deeply influenced by the military thinking of the Tang Dynasty, looked at the war from an overall perspective and cooperated with the sea and land to accomplish the war goals of the United States.

In the first step, the U.S. Navy secured sea supremacy along the East Coast, broke the engagement with Britain, attacked any British merchant ships that sailed, and blocked the shipping routes between Britain and Canada. Once Britain is unable to calmly transport troops from Europe to the Americas, then Canada will be absolutely weak in front of the United States, without the slightest foreign aid, and its combat capability will be greatly reduced.

However, although the British Royal Navy has been defeated many times at the hands of the Tang Navy, it is still the world's most powerful navy, and what confidence does the US Navy have to complete such a blockade operation?

It was impossible for Britain to send all its ships to Canada to fight, so the size of the fleet that Britain could send was limited, and the U.S. Navy was in a good position. The U.S. Navy may be inferior to the Royal Navy in terms of overall size, but it is actually weaker than the U.S. Navy in terms of military strength in the Americas.

Through more than 20 years of accumulation, the United States has built a huge fleet of 44 main combat ships. Among this fleet, there are six battleships of more than 10,000 tons, and the two battleships of the latest Connecticut-class have a tonnage of more than 19,000 tons and nearly 20,000 tons, and the main gun caliber is 360 mm.

In addition to the battleships, they also had 11 cruisers, the New York-class cruisers, which had just been in service for a short time, with a displacement of more than 7,000 tons and 203 mm naval guns, which were actually heavy cruisers. There are a large number of frigates left, and there are many new warships, which is not good for dealing with capital ships, but it is very effective for bullying merchant ships.

The mindset of the British Royal Navy made them ignore the growth of the US Navy. (To be continued.) )