By the eve of Pearl Harbor, nearly 200,000 troops (including coastal artillery) had been stationed in the three states on the west coast of the United States, as well as in Alaska and Panama, in addition to 26,000 troops in Hawaii and 33,000 in the Philippines (including indigenous troops).

The U.S. Intervention Force under General Pershing's command withdrew from Mexico in early November, and the most capable and experienced officers of the Intervening Force were redeployed to the West Coast on a priority basis.

In addition, San Diego, the most important naval base on the West Coast, was fully fortified as early as 1906 after the Russo-Asian War, and after that, the defense capabilities of important port cities on the West Coast such as Los Angeles and San Francisco were gradually strengthened.

"We will be able to move an additional 150,000 to 200,000 troops to the West Coast in three weeks, and the local militia auxiliaries will be mobilized quickly if we are forced to do so." Stimson added.

"Even if the East Asian coalition requisitioned all the ocean-going ships, it would only be able to transport 150,000 to 200,000 troops to land at most while maintaining the supply of its main fleet." Secretary of the Navy Daniels went on to explain, "However, from all sources, the possibility of an enemy landing directly on the West Coast is very small until Hawaii is occupied and the ports of Pearl and Honolulu are restored, and even if the worst is possible, the enemy will launch a lone attack with complete disregard for transportation and supplies, and the Navy and Army will be able to defeat them with great force." ”

Daniels wasn't bragging, in fact, the main fleet, despite its heavy losses at Pearl Harbor, managed to escape a significant number of troops: 9 battleships (including 6 dreadnoughts), 5 armored cruisers, 11 protective cruisers, and 20 destroyers. The Atlantic Fleet stationed on the east coast can also deploy five old battleships, two protective cruisers, dozens of destroyers and torpedo boats, and several submarines.

In addition, the U.S. Naval Reserve has six old battleships and five old protective cruisers, built between 1890 and 1900, and although they are not suitable for ocean-going operations due to their low freeboard and slow speeds, they are equipped with a number of 8- to 13-inch guns and are heavily armored, making them ideal for defensive operations against harbor forts – it will take three to five months to restore them to normal combat capability.

At that time, the battleships relied on coastal defense batteries and mine arrays to hold the base, and the cruisers and submarines formed a number of attack detachments to attack the enemy's landing fleet in transit.

Even if it is impossible to prevent the enemy from landing, it is necessary to destroy as many of the enemy's transport ships as possible, so that the enemy's landing force will have no support and create favorable conditions for the army's counterattack.

This is the approach to naval defense proposed by Admiral William S. Benson at a high-level meeting of the Admiralty a few hours ago.

After listening to the explanations of the two ministers, Wilson was finally a little relieved, and after he had confidence in the defense of his homeland, Wilson could not wait to raise the question of a counteroffensive.

"When do you think the U.S. can launch a counteroffensive?"

"I think we should solve the European problem first." Stimson preemptively responded.

"Go on."

"It is clear that the Chinese want to divide the world with the Germans, the Chinese want their Asiatic empire, the Germans want to rule the whole of Europe, and they are in fact joining forces against the Anglo-Russian-French Entente bloc. However, if Germany is defeated, it will be difficult for the Chinese to realize their intentions, and they will not be able to deal with the whole world on their own. Stimson paused, picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.

"The situation on the European battlefield has become very clear, Germany and Austria cannot defeat the Entente in a short time, and the Entente cannot quickly eliminate Germany and Austria, the two sides are evenly matched, and no one can kill anyone. In this way, if we can organize a large army in a year or two, maybe five million, maybe more, as long as we leave a million men enough to defend the homeland, and another four million men sent to the European theater to support the Entente, Germany and Austria will be dead. As soon as Germany and Austria are finished, the days of that damn East Asian alliance will not be long. ”

"But what about Hawaii? Could it be that before defeating Germany and Austria, we allowed the Hawaiian-based enemy to attack the mainland at will? Secretary of the Navy Daniels complained.

"So what? Can they bring a million people ashore at a time? We have a million troops waiting behind the coast, and we have a fleet to help defend them, and a small number of landing troops cannot gain a foothold at all. As long as the law on compulsory military service and the law on the organization of the military industry in wartime are passed immediately, there will be no problem at all in building an army of 5 million in two years. What about the Navy? Can the Navy guarantee an overwhelming superiority over the East Asian Combined Fleet in two years? ”

Daniels raised his head unconvinced: "Just pass that new Navy bill immediately...... Well, well, that bill still needs to make some amendments, and it is necessary to bring the shipbuilding timetable forward and add the development of naval aviation and the strengthening of the air defense capability of warships...... But we all understand that two years is enough, and in two years our new fleet will be enough to destroy any enemy in the Pacific Ocean. ”

The new naval bill mentioned by Daniels was originally scheduled to be introduced to Congress by the end of next year, and it was only natural that it should be taken out in advance under the tragic circumstances of the Pearl Harbor incident.

The new naval bill envisaged the completion of the 1912-1913 naval bill and the construction of eight new battleships and five battle cruisers over three years, as well as a total of 186 ships, including a large number of new reconnaissance cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and other auxiliary vessels.

Eight of the 13 new capital ships (5 battleships and 3 battlecruisers) are scheduled to be completed within the first two years, which means that if the new naval law can be passed now, and the U.S. fleet has no more dreadnought losses during this period, the U.S. fleet will have 18 dreadnought battleships and 3 battle cruisers in two years, 10 of which will be equipped with the most powerful 16-inch guns in the world - a total of 92 guns!

After learning of the loss of Pearl Harbor, the Admiralty quickly revised the text of the Navy Act and submitted it to the Secretary – they wanted to shorten the time it took to complete the 13 new capital ships by one-third, from three years to two years!

Daniels pondered and put the text down for the time being.

At Pearl Harbor, carrier-based aviation has already shown its formidability, and the United States also needs its own large aircraft carriers – apparently the dense airplanes over Pearl Harbor cannot come from land bases thousands of nautical miles away.

Although it is not yet clear the specific information of the enemy's aircraft carriers, the tonnage of a carrier that can carry so many aircraft must be no less than that of a new dreadnought, and it is necessary to leave some resources for them that can be used to build more battleships.

Just use the weapons that the other side relies on to create miracles, and turn it against the enemy - let's see, we Americans will do better!