“…… The pre-war expectation of a normal engagement distance of 10,000 yards has proven unrealistic, and the farthest engagement distance of capital ships, including battlecruisers, in the Battle of the Bay of Bengal is more than 20,000 yards, and the normal engagement distance is around 15,000 yards. ”

"At such a long distance, the angle of incidence of the shell will be very steep, and there is a high chance of hitting a weakly protected horizontal deck – rather than the main armor belt of the waterline, which is specifically designed to withstand the low-extension ballistic bombardment of the opponent's main guns. A shell that penetrates the horizontal deck can be fatal if it explodes near the power compartment or even an ammunition depot. In addition, shells falling from a high-curved trajectory that penetrate the top plate of the turret will almost certainly render the turret ineffective, even if they do not immediately detonate the ammunition depot below – which is just as likely to happen......"

"Therefore, we believe that all capital ships under construction and under design should be strengthened against high-curved ballistic attacks, at the expense of speed and other parts of the 'excess' protection. If the situation permits, we should also try to make relatively simple and effective improvements to the capital ships in service in order to enhance their survivability and serviceability......"

Daniel stopped abruptly, reaching for the water glass and casting a sparkling "You should want to know more" glare at Wilson.

Sure enough, the president asked with interest: "Sounds interesting, but are you sure this will not affect our original counteroffensive plan?" ”

Daniel towards the military industry opposite. The chairman of the committee smiled and nodded: "Thanks to the great assistance of Mr. Baruch and his committee, in the past year, we have incorporated most of the civilian shipyards into the Navy's mobilization system, expanded and built a large number of docks, slipways and other related supporting facilities, mobilized a large number of engineering technicians from various industries, and urgently recruited and trained enough workers. In addition, our technicians have gradually mastered a batch of new equipment and new technologies provided by the UK earlier, and the relevant enterprises and departments have become more tacit and efficient in the highly close cooperation......"

“…… It is expected that from the middle of next year, we will have more than enough. It is expected that the individual ships and the overall construction period of various combat and auxiliary ships will be greatly shortened, which will be enough to make up for the impact of the revised ship design on the original ship construction schedule. ”

"A new plan? Got a belly case? We have to mention. Say hello to the Capitol early. Wilson urged, apparently quite keptical of the magnanimity of Congress.

"Yes, the General Council of the Navy has already presented a preliminary draft." Danny. He unfolded his notebook, after all, it was most reliable to read from the script when it came to data.

The so-called General Council of the Navy is made up of senior naval officers and is associated with it. An advisory body composed of outstanding civilians who have made outstanding contributions or insights in the field. The members of the Commission are invited by the Minister of the Navy. They assist the Secretary of the Navy in analysing strategic needs in anticipation of shipbuilding needs, and the Secretary of the Navy requires them to make judgments on strategic priorities, technological innovations, tactical experience, and national will based on their respective strengths. The duties of the General Committee are to state the Navy's warship requirements and to submit to the Secretary of the Navy the recommended annual shipbuilding plan.

In peacetime, the process of initiating the construction of warships is as follows: each financial . About two years before the beginning of the political year (from 1 July of the previous year to 30 June of the same year), the General Committee will submit to the Secretary of the Navy a proposal for a new shipbuilding plan, together with a preliminary estimate of the costs thereof. The Secretary of the Navy then studied the proposal, sometimes revising it in consultation with other military and civilian advisers, and then submitted it to the House and Senate Committees on Naval Affairs. The two committees will conduct hearings to form a delegated bill. The final step in the process is for the House of Representatives to sponsor a bill of authorization to authorize appropriations, which is then sent to the Senate for approval and finally signed by the president.

Although this country. A year earlier, the president had been forced into a wartime period, but the president had not been delegated powers far beyond peacetime, the most critical budgetary powers were still firmly in the hands of Congress, and any warship construction plan was still subject to a Senate and House of Representatives hearing and authorization process, but the legal time for this process was greatly reduced, and if the coordination between the General Council and the Secretary of the Navy was strong, the entire process could have begun four to six months before the scheduled fiscal year.

Daniel understood the President's concern that it was now the end of the year, and if he wanted to start a new round of shipbuilding plans in mid-1916 as scheduled, he would have to intensify his public relations activities after the Christmas break to secure the appropriations for fiscal year 1917 (July 1, 1916 to June 30, 1917), which could be stranded or scaled back if he was to be delayed.

“…… Drawing on the lessons learned from the Battle of the Bay of Bengal, while revising the design of the four Colorado-class battleships, six South Dakota-class battleships, and six Lexington-class battlecruisers under construction, it was planned to build four improved South Dakota-class battleships from mid-1916, tentatively named the North Dakota-class, with the main improvements being to strengthen deck armor and underwater protection, and to maintain a maximum design speed of 25 knots on the premise of significantly increasing tonnage. ”

"Regarding aircraft carriers: it is proposed to build no less than 8 new fleet aircraft carriers: the new aircraft carrier should have a speed of no less than 33 knots, be equipped with 12 to 16 4-inch anti-aircraft guns and more than 24 machine guns, and have an establishment of more than 100 aircraft."

"In addition, it is planned to modify 3 to 5 quasi-fleet aircraft carriers, with a speed of 22 to 26 knots, equipped with 8 to 12 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and more than 16 machine guns, and the establishment of a carrier capacity of between 30 and 50 aircraft."

"It should also be refitted or newly built 8 to 10 10,000-ton escort aircraft carriers and 15 to 20 7,000-ton aircraft carriers. The 10,000-ton escort aircraft carrier has a speed of not less than 16 knots and has an establishment of 20 to 30 aircraft, and the 7,000-ton escort aircraft carrier has a speed of not less than 14 knots and has an establishment of more than 15 aircraft. The escort carrier can be equipped with 1 or 2 5-inch flat-fire guns against enemy submarines, and the self-defense firepower is mainly machine guns and machine guns. ”

"As a necessary auxiliary force, a number of seaplane carriers should also be renovated or newly built to provide services for large hull seaplanes, and the specific number of requirements and technical requirements are still being studied."

"About cruisers: It is proposed to build six additional Pensacola-class fast armored cruisers, eight Omaha-class light cruisers, and eight Omaha-class air defense cruisers based on the Omaha-class hull - this new cruiser, as the name suggests, is designed for air defense operations as the main task, and it will be equipped with 20 4-inch anti-aircraft guns, mounted on 10 twin gun mounts, and each side can use 8 at the same time for a total of 16 guns - this is equivalent to the long-range anti-aircraft firepower of 4 Tennessee-class battleships."

"We should also seek to include 156 new Clemson-class flat-deck destroyers and six Farragut-class destroyers in the 1917 fiscal year – even if their total construction period is destined to span two fiscal years."

"In the future, the counteroffensive across the ocean also needs a large number of special landing ships, and the relevant designs have matured, mainly divided into 10,000-ton large dock landing ships, 5,000-ton large tank landing ships, 1,000-ton general-purpose vehicle landing ships, 300-ton general-purpose vehicle personnel landing craft, 50-ton light mechanical landing craft and 15-ton infantry landing craft. The exact number of requirements remains to be studied, but it is to be expected that it will be a staggering number. ”

"In the last minute, we should continue to strengthen our submarine forces, especially to step up the construction of large cruiser submarines that can stay away from base activities for a long time, and the number of new submarines included in the plan for the new fiscal year should not be less than 30, and the number of small and medium-sized submarines used as defense should also be at least 30."

After the report, Daniel smiled expectantly at the president.

Wilson grimaced: "It sounds like a staggering plan, and it's not easy to convince Congress to spend a lot of money on a Navy that 'already has a lot of new toys' at a time when the Army is about to be massively deployed into the French theater." ”

"If we can pass this plan smoothly and without compromise, we will have a doomed victory sooner." Daniel straightened his neck and emphasized.

"Send me a list in three days, preferably with an estimate and a situation analysis report, even if it is to find out in advance, the necessary preparations must be made - now it is time for us to listen to the army's war report." Wilson shifted the subject as he glanced up at Big Ben next to the cupboard.

The new Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Scott, had already consciously unfolded his notebook, and his report was much more concise than Daniel's.

At the same time, he spoke highly of the stubborn resistance of the Japanese army under extremely harsh conditions, reminded everyone that "we should not underestimate this oriental style of perseverance." Finally, he proposed that a number of special "amphibious infantry divisions" should be specially designated among the army units to make adjustments in their establishment, equipment, and training to meet the needs of amphibious operations.

According to the comprehensive report submitted by the officer corps specially responsible for field investigation, it was pointed out that the current establishment and equipment of the US military did not meet the needs of the European battlefield, and it was required to allocate more heavy artillery and automatic weapons to the troops, to form a powerful tank unit and army aviation unit, and to completely replace the mules and horses in the baggage units with automobiles.

The preparations for the Mexican Expeditionary Force, a 50,000-strong army under the command of General Pershing, will land in the Bay of Veracruz, about 400 kilometers east of Mexico City, early next year, in order to defeat the peasant armies of Vera and Shabada, which are considered to have strong pro-Chinese tendencies, and to unify Mexico with the relatively pro-American Caransha Caransha. Eliminate hidden dangers in the backyard of the United States, "pack up the yard and go out the door".

Army Secretary Stimson then reported on the progress of the army's mobilization plan: the total number of army personnel has been expanded to 4 million, and the number of infantry divisions that have been organized has reached 66, half of which are fully equipped, and the other half lack artillery, machine guns, and baggage vehicles. The number of Army Flying Squadrons has increased to 90, the number of combat aircraft is about 1,000, the 60 Army Flight Schools have far more trainer aircraft than combat aircraft, and the plan is to train 5,000 to 10,000 pilots and aircrews each year. The tender for the Army's tank and armored vehicle program has been successfully completed, and preparations are made to place an advance order for 6,000 tanks of two models with the remaining budget of FY 1916, and to include an order for another 23,000 tanks in the FY 1917 budget......

Baruch, chairman of the Military Industrial Commission, later reported on the progress of the industrial conversion plan.

The so-called Military Industrialization Commission was a wartime administrative body set up by President Wilson about three months after the outbreak of the war, and it gradually undertook all the complex tasks of converting industry and managing it with the aim of meeting the needs of the government. By June 1915, President Wilson had given the Commission the status of an independent executive body parallel to the cabinet ministries: first, it would be directly accountable to him as the head of the administration; Secondly, the appointment of Bernard. Baruch is the chairman of the committee; Thirdly, the Chairman was given all the powers to control industrial production — except for the setting of prices.

The Military-Industrial Commission is considered the main guiding body for work in wartime. In order to undertake the onerous task of ensuring a steady supply of sufficient supplies and material resources to the armed forces, the approach is to control all resources related to industrial production - equipment, raw materials, fuel, transport, labour, etc.

Using a set of priorities (all productive work is divided into five general levels of importance or urgency - A*, *, B, C and D, sub-graded sub-levels under the general hierarchy), the Commission decentralizes the specific power to allocate resources to those specially established departments that decide on the buying and selling of goods and control over actual purchasing power. In order to achieve these objectives, the Commission has established a number of high-level functional departments, such as the Priority Allocation Department, the Resource Protection Department and the Equipment Management Department. But the real working body is the responsibility of nearly 60 commodity branches, each headed by a person recruited from the industry concerned, who controls the entire process of a particular type of product from raw materials to finished products and deals with the problems of that industrial sector to which it is concerned.

In wartime, it is the power of expropriation that really gives the MIL-Industrial Commission the ability to manage American industry, and when this coercive power, supported by the relevant acts of Congress, is combined with such decisive conditions as the power to allocate transportation and the right of veto to determine the order of resource allocation, the MIL-Industrial Commission "can exercise a power to punish those enterprises that are not subject to management." ”

In a word, the Military Industrialization Commission was the general command of American industry in wartime. Baruch can be called the "economic czar" who dominates American industry.

Is the relationship between a man who can be endowed with such enormous power and President Wilson just a "mere intersection" between campaign funders and beneficiaries?

Five minutes after Wilson announced, "That's the end of today's meeting, thank you," Baruch unbuttoned his collar and sat down in the soft chair where the president had just presided over the meeting.

"The fireplace is a little too hot." Baruch grumbled with his arms outstretched.

Wilson, who was leaning against the desk, tapped the ground with his cane a little impatiently: "What's the matter this time?" ”

Baruch shrugged: "Sir, you know, I'm just an errand runner. ”

"That doesn't affect my trust in your abilities." Wilson struggled to contain his emotions.

"Xie Lu Xie...... What I'm going to say next is that you'd think it's a weird, ridiculous, unreasonable, nonsense that doesn't even appear in science fiction — yes, I think so, but the Council doesn't think so......"

"You know, I don't like to go around in circles."