Washington, West Wing Oval Office, White House.

George with his back to the fireplace and the top of the fireplace. Portrait of Washington, 28th President of the United States of America. Wilson leaned his cane and crossed his legs under a soft chair with blue and white vertical stripes, and in front of him was a small mahogany coffee table with a glass water bottle and six eight-sided glasses, and in the beige sofas on either side of the coffee table sat six military and political dignitaries with different looks.

From the left to the near and far: Secretary of State Lansing, who has just returned from Casalablanca, Secretary of the Navy Daniel, who has always been valued by Wilson, and Admiral Benson, who has recently been promoted from commander of the Pacific Fleet to chief of naval operations (formerly chief of naval staff).

On the right: Bernard Bernard, chairman of the Military Industrial Commission appointed six months ago and known as the "investment genius". Baruch, Wilson's favorite but solid and capable Secretary of the Army, and Hugh, who had only become Army Chief of Staff three weeks earlier, were not much known to Wilson. Lieutenant General L. Scott.

At the other end of the coffee table is the President's desk, gifted by Queen Victoria and made of wood from the Royal Navy's warship Valiant, with two small chairs under a cabinet full of porcelain and other artworks on one side of the desk, which is the president's private secretary and note-keeper.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window behind the desk, the snow is covered in snow, and the light reflected in the snow is even a little dazzling.

Christmas is approaching, and several people in the yard are dressed. The staff in over-the-knee coats were packing up a rubber fir that was more than a man tall, but in this small office, which symbolized the supreme executive power of the United States, not only could not find the slightest festive atmosphere, but there was also a heart-scratching and depressed seriousness, a rush of gearing and imminent shock, and a solemnity that could not be concealed by the calm and worried of the United States.

“…… As we had anticipated, the British and French. We were unanimously asked to commit at least 2 million troops to the French front in 1916, and Britain separately asked us to send army and naval forces to help defend Australia and the west coast of the Indian Ocean. ”

Secretary of State Lansing was clasping his hands in front of his knees——. with a brown hardcover notebook spread out on his knees, and in his usual tone between calm and haughty, he reported to the participants on the second Casablanca meeting held two weeks earlier.

"The British side agreed to use the main forces of the army on the French front, but for the sake of . To make up for the doomed defeat of the Indian front, the plan is to launch a powerful joint naval and land offensive against the Dardanelles by the middle of next year, with the goal of capturing Constantinople and forcing the Ottoman Empire out of the war, which will not only prevent the East Asian alliance and the Central European Allied bloc from meeting through the Persian Gulf and the 2B railway, but also open a convenient route to assist Russia......"

"The Russian representatives want the allies to immediately increase the volume of the Arctic Ocean route in order to ensure that the Russian team can continue to fight until the battle of the straits achieves the desired results, but they themselves admit that the port facilities in Murmansk and the railway to the southern interior can hardly undertake the unloading and transshipment of more aid in the short term than is now, and of course the solution to the problem is very easily pushed to us ......"

"As a reward for Russia's commitment to fight to the end, Britain and France promised war. He then supported Russia's annexation of China's north-western and northeastern provinces, and guaranteed its 'unshakable' superiority in the Balkans, and finally what Russia most desired - the unconditional freedom of passage in the straits, which, although discounted, seemed to be satisfied with it by the Russian delegates – nay, simply ecstatic. ”

“…… That's it for the meeting. In my personal opinion, Britain's resolve to war was not shaken by the heavy losses in the Battle of the Bay of Bengal. The French, on the other hand, eagerly awaited the arrival of the US troops, apparently they were a little impatient to wait, and repeatedly offered to help us solve the problem of insufficient weapons. The confidence of the Russians is wavering, but they still have the illusion of the worst of all, that is, us, the United States. I'm done. ”

Lansing pressed the notebook on his lap and nodded to the president.

"Xie Lu Xie, your report can give us a clearer judgment of the current situation." Wilson swirled back and forth with the staff of civilization in his hand, and his resolute gaze turned to Admiral Benson, who was one seat away from Lansing.

"Next, I want to know what our fleet has been doing lately."

General Benson, who had gray hair, bowed slightly, and his posture became more upright.

"As you wish...... Until a week ago, on the Atlantic side, eight dreadnought battleships, four reconnaissance cruisers, 20 thousand-ton destroyers, and the 1st Fleet continued to use Scapa Bay as a base to carry out North Sea blockade operations within the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet that remained on the British mainland, and three mission formations based on six armored cruisers and 24 old destroyers continued to carry out anti-sabotage operations in the Atlantic in close coordination with the Royal Navy......

"In the Pacific, the Kodiak Island Raid that was launched in early September had come to an end by the end of last week, and the organized resistance had been largely wiped out, and our Raider Support Fleet had no other losses worth mentioning except for the crashes or disappearances of five aircraft. As a result of the growing threat of sea ice, the fleet returned to Seattle in early December, and the flagship battleship Idaho returned to the East Coast to join up with the two Tennessee-class battleships completed two weeks earlier and undergoing sea trials in the Chesapeake Bay, and form a new 5th Fleet with a new group of cruisers and destroyers that had recently entered service, ready to go to the theater where support was most needed. ”

The Tennessee-class battleships in Benson's mouth belong to the "standard battleships" built by the US Navy since 1911 with the previous "New Mexico" class, "Pennsylvania" class and "Nevada" class.

On this type of "standard battleship", the US Navy, which has long been regarded as conservative and rustic, has adopted new technologies and concepts such as oil-fired boilers, triple turrets, and key protection, and has also tried the "turbine-electric" drive system with avant-garde concepts but limited practicality on the "New Mexico" and "Tennessee" classes.

Except for the "Nevada" class, the firepower configuration of the other three-pole "standard battleships" is 4 triple mounts with a total of 12 14-inch (356 mm) main guns (2 twin and 2 triple mounts for a total of 10 14-inch guns in the Nevada class), as for the layout of the main turrets, the four levels are 2 knapsack turrets in the front and rear, and all the main guns can be used to fire at one side at the same time. The Nevada and Pennsylvania classes used the same 45x-diameter guns as the previous New York classes, while the New Mexico and Tennessee classes used the more high-performing 50x-bore guns.

In terms of protection, the standard battleships of the fourth class all adopted a thicker main armor belt than the British battleships of the same period (the thickest part of the waterline reached 13.5 inches or 343 mm), and the frontal armor plate thickness of its triple main turret reached an astonishing 18 inches or 457 mm (the frontal armor plate of the Nevada-class twin main turret was 16 inches or 406 mm), and the armor thickness of the horizontal deck (76 to 89 mm) was not inferior to that of the British and German mainstream battleships of the same period, but on the contrary, its speed was not outstanding (20 to 21 knots). Comparing the British "Queen Elizabeth" and "Revenge" classes, which began construction around 1912, and the first imaginary enemy, China's "Yangbo" class and "Pinghai" class fast battleships (both with a maximum speed of more than 25 knots), it is easy to associate them with a reptile called "turtle" with some irrational and less praiseworthy associations.

The biggest difference between the newly commissioned "Tennessee" class and the first three-pole standard battleships is the improvement of underwater protection, for the first time, the first layer of compartments is set up on each side is empty, the last three layers are liquid tanks filled with heavy oil, and the last layer of space is in the board, which is also empty like the first layer, this structure is expected to withstand the blast impact of 180 kg of TNT explosives - this also means that the class of ships is theoretically enough to withstand the various types of aviation torpedoes of the Chinese army known since the beginning of the war (drop weight 450 to 550 kg, Thunderhead charge 125 to 150 kg). In addition, for the first time, the Tennessee class has a separate power compartment for each boiler (previously the three poles were two boilers per cabin), and the two steam turbines and generator sets are installed on the inside of the boilers along the center line of the hull, so that the ship's power units are effectively protected.

As the last standard battleship to be completed a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Tennessee class fully learned the hard lessons of the previous one, in addition to the enhancement of underwater protection that had been taken into account in the design, the enhancement of anti-aircraft firepower and the improvement of air defense combat command capabilities became the focus of outfitting improvements: a total of eight single-mount 3-inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft guns on both sides of the design were replaced by eight MKV-type single-mount 4-inch (102 mm) high-level dual-purpose guns urgently imported from the United Kingdom. A total of 16 Vickers MKII 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns (caliber 40 mm, also imported from the British) were installed on both sides and behind the bridge. As the last line of anti-aircraft defense, a total of 24 Vickers-Maxim MKI 3-inch (7-point 62 mm) water-cooled anti-aircraft machine guns were installed on the ship.

More effective than simply increasing the number of air defense weapons is to equip the warships with advanced anti-aircraft observation and sighting equipment; the two Tennessee-class ships are equipped with independent anti-aircraft rangefinders, which, together with mechanical calculators and electronically controlled firing devices, can effectively concentrate firepower to attack a single enemy plane or a dense group of aircraft, and can also quickly transfer and distribute firepower to deal with scattered multiple enemy planes, thus greatly enhancing the effectiveness of anti-air combat.

The other battleship "Iowa" in Benson's mouth is the No. 3 ship of the New Mexico class, and after returning to the East Coast this time, it also plans to upgrade the air defense system to the level of the Tennessee class.

In addition to the 3 cutting-edge standard battleships, the 5th Fleet in preparation will also add 3 "Chester" class reconnaissance cruisers and at least 16 of the latest four-chimney flat deck "Wicks" class destroyers, the "Chester" class with a displacement of 3500 tons has poor firepower (2 5-inch or 127 mm main guns), low speed (only 26 knots), and is obsolete before entering service, and the 1150-ton "Wicks" class has strong lightning strike capabilities and moderate self-defense firepower, But it was not enough to protect the battleship from enemy destroyers.

“…… The most regrettable thing is that we still do not have aircraft carriers available, and even if we gather more mobile forces, it is difficult to make up our minds to throw them into a battlefield without air protection, and the lesson taught us by the Chinese is too painful and profound. ”

General Benson concluded, bowing his head unwillingly to President Wilson.

Wilson lifted his cane and dotted the parquet floor: "I agree with that, Mr. Secretary of the Admiralty, when will our first fleet aircraft carriers join the fleet?" ”

"Early 1917."

Daniel, who had already opened his notebook and was waiting, took over without hesitation.

Wilson frowned: "Looks like we'll have to wait a long time." ”

"There's a way to buy a little time, and we're going to requisition more high-speed cruise ships with good performance, and in eight to 10 months we're going to convert them into large auxiliary aircraft carriers, which I call 'quasi-fleet carriers,' which are mainly used to train pilots and crews, and to provide anti-aircraft and anti-submarine cover for the fleet if necessary." Three of these quasi-fleet aircraft carriers have been converted under the 1915 Shipbuilding Act, and two specialized training aircraft carriers have been converted from Neihu steamers, which will be commissioned after March next year. ”

"That's all?" Wilson dissatisfied.

Daniel hurriedly brushed his pencil to the next page: "We can also design a light auxiliary aircraft carrier on the basis of several types of cargo ships that are convenient for rapid construction in large quantities, which may not accompany the operations of the combat fleet, but can be used to protect the transport fleet that needs to make long-distance transoceanic voyages, of course, it can also be used to train pilots and crews, and to transport aircraft to forward bases that lack ports and transshipment facilities, I call it an 'escort aircraft carrier'." ”

After speaking, he clicked the end of the pencil on the notebook, and suddenly increased his tone: "Of course, the most fundamental thing is that we still need to build more fleet aircraft carriers, combined with the lessons learned from the naval battle in the Bay of Bengal, the General Committee of the Navy believes that the seven fleet aircraft carriers currently under construction are far from meeting the needs of the future Pacific counteroffensive, and it is necessary for us to build additional fleet aircraft carriers with more aircraft and faster speed, and we should adopt a standardized structure that is easy to build and conducive to shortening the construction period, and the number should exceed the sum of the previous two levels." ”

The president's majestic and never satisfied gaze suddenly turned to Lansing, who was writing something in his notebook: "The lessons of the Battle of the Bay of Bengal should be more than that—Robert, what about the gift you brought back this time?" ”

The Secretary of State, who was accustomed to being flattered, raised his head and shook his chin at Daniel: "A few days before I left Casablanca, I had already instructed George to bring back the report first, and especially to give priority to the Navy to make a copy, which should have been handed over to Mr. Minister a long time ago." ”

Daniel spread his hands and said: "I have seen it in three days, thank you very much, this report is of great significance, please allow me to briefly summarize my personal and some eminent people of the General Committee of the Navy have a preliminary understanding of this report." ”

"The first is the role of aviation. It is undeniable that aviation played an irreplaceable role in the naval battle of the Bay of Bengal, whether it was reconnaissance or counter-reconnaissance, whether it was attacking enemy ships from the air, or protecting one's own fleet during enemy air raids, the battle began long before the two sides entered the distance visible to the telescopes, and it was difficult for the main fleet lacking air cover to avoid serious losses in the opposing side's rotational air raids - even just a few minutes late arrival of the fighter squadron on duty would lead to irreparable tragedy. ”

"But we should also see that when both sides have a considerable number of fighter units for accompanying cover, it is difficult to destroy the main fleet of the opposing side in the highest state of combat readiness with a single torpedo attack aircraft group."

"Under the existing technical conditions, torpedo planes are slow to carry mines, have poor maneuverability, and must fly straight at low altitudes when entering the mine-throwing route, and are easily intercepted by enemy fighters and anti-aircraft artillery."

"The 18-inch light aviation torpedo, which is widely used by both sides, has a low speed and short range, and many times must be dropped within the effective range of the 3-inch machine gun, which puts the carrier aircraft in great danger, and the destructive power of the smaller mine head against the new super dreadnought is also very limited."

"After the battle began, both sides made the destruction of each other's aircraft carriers their top priority, and had no time to launch a powerful attack on the main fleet, as a result, the carrier-based aircraft of both sides were quickly lost, and the battlefield was still dominated by relatively intact battlefleets."

"At the end of the battle, it should also be noted that in this battle, the shore-based aviation units of both sides played a role no less than that of carrier-based aviation. Including large hull seaplanes, the aircraft performance of shore-based aviation is not bound by the take-off and landing conditions of aircraft carriers, and they usually have a longer range, more load, better maneuverability, and less demanding requirements for pilots. The only drawback is that it relies on a relatively fixed base, but in the island-dense Pacific Ocean, this is not a fatal ......"

Wilson was obviously a little impatient when he heard this, and tilted his cane and smiled: "My Mr. Admiral, I see that your brief summary is not brief at all, are you going to stay for dinner?" ”

Daniel narrowed one eye and took over the conversation smartly: "Xie Lu Xie, although I am looking forward to it, but I still have to buy Christmas gifts for my grandson in the evening, how about next time?" ”

The two looked at each other and smiled, and the atmosphere relaxed a little, and Daniel took a sip of water and closed his notebook apologetically.

"In a word: aircraft carriers are not the only means of victory, we need to build a balanced fleet."

Wilson also smiled approvingly: "Go on." ”

"Secondly, on the issue of battle cruisers, this naval battle fully proved that the concept of speed is protection is obsolete under the threat of new large-caliber guns and air-dropped torpedoes: of the five battle cruisers of the Royal Navy that participated in the battle, 2 were sunk by torpedoes from Chinese carrier-based aircraft, and 3 by the 350-mm main guns of the East Asian army battle cruisers - 2 of them exploded at the ammunition depot, and almost no one survived ......"

“…… The Royal Navy has begun to urgently revise the design of the new Admiral-class battlecruisers – even though the first ship has been under construction for almost a year, I think it is necessary to conduct a thorough review of the Lexington-class battlecruisers under construction......