On 5 June, five days after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese army dispatched troops in the South Pacific to concentrate forces to carry out surprise attacks in several major offensive directions, including Luzon, Mindanao, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Java.

As of 5 June, the Japanese forces had taken control of more than 4 million square kilometers of land and nearly 100 million people, and were waging fierce battles with the United States on a front of more than 10,000 kilometers stretching from the Aleutian Islands in the north, to Australia in the south, to the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean in the west, and to Midway Island in the east.

The US troops in various places, under the ferocious blows of the Japanese army, retreated step by step, and the situation of the battle was unfortunately said by MacArthur, and the US troops were no longer able to organize an effective defensive line, block the Japanese army's advance to attack in depth, and retreat to several strategic points, which was already an irreparable matter, but for the US military, sticking to the strategic points was nothing more than a desperate struggle.

If there are no corresponding rescue measures, it is only a matter of time before the US troops on the islands in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific are completely annihilated.

After receiving MacArthur's telegram, there was a great shock within the US top leadership, and the US military and political leaders all knew that the war was not good for the United States, but they never imagined that it would be so bad that the more than 400,000 US troops commanded by MacArthur could hardly fight back in the face of the Japanese attack, and they retreated again and again.

General Jeffrey Field, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, realized the seriousness of the problem and did not hesitate to pursue MacArthur and delayed for four days before sending a telegram back to China. Reporting on the situation on the battlefield, this solemn fact, hurriedly drove to the White House presidential office.

Franklin? President Roosevelt was in a very poor state of mind, and when he saw Admiral Jeffrey Field, who came in a hurry. Unable to hide the haggard face, he asked worriedly: "Jeffrey Field, is the situation in the South Pacific really as bad as MacArthur said?" Our American troops were beaten back by the Japanese, and if my memory is correct, MacArthur was in the South Pacific, operating for many years. Why is it so vulnerable? ”

Admiral Jeffrey was speechless, and there were many factors that would determine the outcome of the war, and judging from the situation in the Pacific theater in front of him, even as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he could not give the president a correct answer, whether it was MacArthur's incompetence, the American soldiers' greed for life and fear of death, or the fierceness and madness of the Japanese, it was impossible to determine. If you have to give an answer, there are only two that you can put on the table.

Admiral Jeffrey Field. After a deep sigh, he looked at Mr. President, who had a sallow face, and replied: "Mr. President, the current bad situation of the war, our Joint Staff Committee analyzed, there are two reasons, one is that the Japanese launched a surprise attack, and our troops were not well prepared, and in a hurry, they could not stop the Japanese offensive. This is quite normal! ”

"The second and most important point is that our current strength in the Pacific theater, whether it is the strength of the army, air force or navy, is far weaker than that of the Japanese, who have been planning for a long time. We are almost exhausted, and we are not prepared for the outbreak of war, so it is not MacArthur's fault alone that the current situation has been caused, and we are also responsible for the joint staff! ”

Jeffrey Fell did not have a special appreciation for MacArthur, and was willing to carry it down for him in front of the president, as far as MacArthur's inner image was concerned, it was a certain amount of bad.

Since he sat on the throne of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he has been having a headache about how to deal with the arrogant, unruly MacArthur who has no one in his eyes, and Admiral Jeffrey Fell also knows that MacArthur has always carried out the orders of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a disobedient manner, and this was a good opportunity to pull that guy off the horse.

There are two reasons: First, the delay in military planes and the inability to report the battlefield situation in a timely manner have resulted in the inability of the country to judge the war situation in a timely manner and make correct decisions; second, the ineffective command has resulted in the current passive situation; as for MacArthur's indiscriminate telegram, it does not explain anything, but is just a pretext for that guy to cover up his incompetence.

If it weren't for Cheng Dù, who was so bad that the battle situation was so bad that he couldn't control it, Admiral Jeffrey would never mind taking the opportunity to change generals, and replace the commander of the US Southeast Asia and South Pacific Regional Headquarters with his own henchmen, and he would have been able to do it like an arm.

But in this mess, no matter who takes over MacArthur's post, he is powerless, and he cannot find the best person to replace him, so despite a hundred reluctances in his heart, Admiral Jeffrey Fell still has to say good things for MacArthur in front of His Excellency the President.

However, President Roosevelt, obviously not satisfied with the answer given by Admiral Jeffrey Field, frowned and asked: "It is a fact that our strength is weaker than that of the Japanese, but this should not be the only reason for the current bad situation, I remember that MacArthur submitted a tiger shark operation plan, the core of which is that the troops of the Chinese Tang Qiuli will launch an attack on the Japanese army in Singapore before the end of May." ”

"If Operation Tiger Shark is carried out on time, how can the Japanese launch a surprise attack on us? Why did MacArthur not explain this in the return call, as the specific executor of the authorization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it should not be without an explanation, Jeffrey Field, you know, China and we are allies, the Chinese Tang Qiuli did not attack the Japanese according to the plan, there must be something wrong with it? ”

Admiral Jeffrey Field, in his stomach, almost blew the cowhide MacArthur, scolded the birth of one Buddha and the ascension of the second Buddha, before, the telegram to the Joint Staff Committee about the Tiger Shark Action Plan, full of confidence, as if everything was in his control, the Chinese Tang Qiuli and his troops, as well-behaved and obedient as cats, like MacArthur's private army, can be dispatched at any time.

What was the result, the Japanese have all entered the door, what about Tang Qiuli's troops? His soldiers, that? But he could only hide these anger in his heart, and he tried to answer the president's question from another angle, and diverted the attention of His Excellency the president from this difficult question.

Admiral Jeffrey replied: "Mr. President, you also know that a few months ago, the British provoked a war with the Chinese Tang Qiu in northern Myanmar in the Indochina Peninsula, and the front soon advanced to the South Asian subcontinent, and most of Tang Qiuli's troops were on the Indian battlefield, fighting with the British, and his troops, withdrawing from the battlefield, would take time!" ”

"On this point, General MacArthur, in the previous telegram, has explained to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff believes that it is only a matter of time before Tang Qiuli's troops will join the war against the Japanese sooner or later, but it has affected the progress of the Tiger Shark operation because of this, and the sudden attack by the Japanese is something we did not anticipate, and it is also the greatest danger for us at present."

To be honest, Admiral Jefferfelt's explanation is a little difficult to justify and more far-fetched, President Roosevelt, looking at his chief of general staff, looked embarrassed, answered his question carefully, sighed, and said with some unhappiness: "Okay, Jeffrey Field, I don't mean to blame that person, nor do I want to hold anyone responsible, the problem that needs to be solved urgently now is about reinforcing MacArthur, let's study this problem in depth!" ”

Admiral Jeffrey Field, secretly relieved, he knew that his answer, His Excellency the President was not satisfied, and he did not have the luxury of expecting these words, he could fool President Roosevelt, who was very clever and an old bird, but, after all, Mr. President, it was also a relief to stop dwelling on this question that was not easy to answer and made himself go against his will.

As for the issue to be solved by the President, it is clear that the United States of America cannot afford to lose its colonies in the South Pacific, and that Admiral Jeffrey Field, with the eyes of a strategist, has seen the potential danger that the appetite of the Japanese will not be confined to the present zone of attack, and that the boots of the Japanese soldiers, if possible, will step on the doorstep of the United States.

Therefore, Admiral Jeffrey Fell succinctly said: "Mr. President, the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on this point is very clear, we must send more troops to the various theaters in the South Pacific, and give MacArthur what he needs, otherwise, we will lose that rich land forever, and, judging by the greedy ambitions of the Japanese, they will never be satisfied with that land after they have obtained it." ”

"What's next, no one can determine where the Japanese attack target is, therefore, we must contain the ambitions of the Japanese in the South Pacific theater, otherwise, the development of the war situation will be even more unfavorable to us, and we don't want to see Japanese shells fall on our land!"

In fact, there is no need for Admiral Jeffrey Fell to elaborate, the veteran politician Roosevelt knew better than any American that after the Japanese occupied the islands in the South Pacific, they would not satisfy their ambitions, and then they would go all the way east, seize the islands in the Pacific, and use them as a springboard to the west coast of the United States, and the flames of war would burn to the United States.

In the First World War, the United States, which took advantage of the fisherman's profits, did not drop a single bullet on its own soil, and now, it wants to fight the Japanese on its own soil, although this is the worst prediction, but once it really happens, will he, the president of the United States, not be eaten by the people?

However, the most difficult thing for President Roosevelt was how to reinforce MacArthur now, and it was still an unavoidable practical problem.

(To be continued) ......)

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