It wasn't that complicated, and after the German bombers visited the British airbase in Iceland, the Americans were trying their best to think about what they could do more in this war. Obviously, there is not much doubt about the defeat of Japan, after all, the various victories that have been coming from the front do not need to be faked.

But the attack on the Axis powers became very troublesome. The Germans have run the Atlantic barrier to the water, which really makes the American top brass feel like a dog biting a hedgehog and not being able to get out of his mouth. Of course, the bombing of Iceland also made the operation against Norway difficult.

Then an important question was put before the Americans: Where exactly would they be able to win the greatest victory by fighting the Germans? After some thought, almost all of them came to the same answer: impossible!

The United States had no way to break the German-run Atlantic barrier for a while, and in North Africa, the German-Italian coalition forces were also defeated by the British and American forces, and the situation on the Soviet-German battlefield made the US top brass even more worried, and the Icelandic bombing plan was an action drawn up to relieve the pressure on the Eastern Front......

It has already been proven that the plan to bomb Norway did not fundamentally solve the problem of German pressure on the Eastern Front, and the United States had to find a new way to completely help the Soviet Union stabilize its own defenses.

So everyone looked around, and only in the Middle East and the Axis countries could they really attract the attention of the German army. And this engagement should also get rid of the possibility of a head-on battle with the German army as much as possible, after all, it is not easy to defeat the German army that crossed the Suez Canal.

"It's so embarrassing...... Both to attack the Axis forces and to avoid the most elite German forces...... How are we going to fight this kind of battle?" said an American general at a meeting to study the matter, shaking his head and complaining.

Sitting next to him was General Bradley, a famous American general, who had just returned from an expedition to Africa. He glanced at the fat-headed and big-eared colleague beside him, and looked at his colleague Marshall on the other side with some disapproval.

"The plan to reinforce the Middle East with 100,000 infantry has been going on for so long, and we still have a pitiful number of troops deployed near the Saudi oil fields. At the very least, it would be too reluctant to expect these troops to resist Rommel's attack. An officer in charge of replenishing the US troops in the Middle East sighed and said with some confidence: "Although we know that Rommel doesn't have many troops in his hands, they are all elites of a hundred battles, and the supplies are better than ours......

"Counting on Mountbatten to defeat Rommel in the Middle East and create a miracle, it is better to study carefully how to stop the German offensive here, at least to keep the Middle East oil fields there, is the really important thing. Another general agreed with the majority. He believed that it was very unworthwhile to send American soldiers who had been armed with great difficulty to die on a distant battlefield.

Roosevelt sat in his wheelchair and tapped his hand on the armrest. He knew that many of the officers in the room were not on his camp, and in this routine discussion, many were trying to draw those who supported President Roosevelt into the water with opposing opinions.

Roosevelt also knew that it was very unrealistic to expect Allied forces to defeat Rommel's Afrika Korps in the Middle East, and that Patton and Montgomery would not have lost in the North African theater if there was the slightest chance of doing so. Now that the Germans had shorter supply lines and stronger troops, there was no reason why they would lose to the weakening Allied forces in the Middle East.

Although the United States relied on Britain and its own huge transport fleet to send more than 70,000 American troops and various equipment to the Middle East, there was still no way to stop the German army from continuing to advance. At this time, it is necessary to draw up a more reasonable combat plan to delay the collapse of the Middle East, and this is actually the content of this meeting.

"I've spoken to General Bradley, and he's met General Patton and General Mountbatten in the Middle East, and he knows more about the situation there than I do. Marshall looked at the pale-faced President Roosevelt and softly interrupted everyone's endless quarrel: "I have a feasible plan here, so let's discuss this." ”

If the entire United States is compared to Shu in the Three Kingdoms, then General Marshall is undoubtedly the embodiment of the character Zhuge Liang. This man, who was known as a thinker in the upper echelons of the United States, was an adviser and assistant to Eisenhower and even Roosevelt in the military field. Half of America's plans came from him, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he helped the United States in another time and space win World War II.

Now that he said he had a new plan, everyone was rightfully shut. Most of these generals sitting around the conference table can only fight on behalf of the interests of all parties, and if they open their mouths at such a time, they will expose their ignorance in dealing with difficult problems, and no one will do such a stupid thing.

"General Bradley and I agreed that a direct counterattack against Rommel's Afrika Korps would be more than worth the cost. It will disrupt General Mountbatten's retreating defensive deployments, and it will also increase our losses and hasten the pace of our defeat. Marshall repeated all the words that had just been discussed, and said it as an opening statement.

Then he continued to speak, and said to Roosevelt, who was headed by him: "But what if we change our opponents? Is it possible for our American troops other than Germany to defeat the armies of other countries?"

As he asked the question, he looked at the generals who were representing the Army at the meeting. These people immediately patted their chests and reassured: "Of course! If it is not for the German army, then the combat effectiveness of the army is still trustworthy! For example, the results of the attack on Japan in the Pacific Ocean are the best proof of this!"

"After the Germans occupied Alexandria and broke through the Suez Canal defense line, their combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated, but it is indeed the end of it!" he pointed to the map on the table and explained to Roosevelt: "Rommel did not cross the desert of Saudi Arabia, which proves that he still lacks fuel and the support of his own forces!"

Then he stared at Roosevelt with a smile: "However, not long ago, the Axis countries themselves sent their weakness under our noses! Now we know what to do, and we will use a whole chain reaction to deal a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Axis countries!"

"Weakness, what weakness?" Roosevelt was stunned for a moment, then looked at Marshall in confusion. Roosevelt was very satisfied with his subordinate, at least in the Pacific theater, the successive victories of the US army were inseparable from Marshall's centering and scheduling, as well as adhering to the strategic policy of first the Pacific and then the Atlantic.

"Not long ago, Turkey crossed the border in an attempt to attack Syria and other areas controlled by the French government-in-exile. As a result, their attack was easily repulsed, and our losses were so small that there was no need to report them......" Bradley smiled and took Roosevelt's words, and introduced: "If I hadn't gone to Africa myself, this incident would not have even alarmed any of you." ”

Marshall nodded, and then continued: "Originally, we all thought it was just a small-scale misfire incident in the border area, after all, there are no plans for further war on either side so far...... But after some investigation, we found out that it was an attack by Turkey!"

An offense on the scale of a border conflict Roosevelt's eyes lit up, and then he immediately grasped the crux of the matter. He looked at General Marshall and asked, "Well, how much force would we need to commit if we launched a counterattack against the Axis powers on the Turkish border?"

Marshall smiled slightly, then looked at Turkey, where the terrain was complicated, and finally chose a more stable number: "The Germans used to deploy some troops there, and I think if we defeat them together, we will need at least 7 divisions...... About 180,000 people. ”

"Do we have so many troops in the Middle East? Roosevelt did not say anything more to Marshall, but adjusted his gaze to all the generals present: "Can we mobilize nearly 200,000 troops in the Middle East?"

"There are about 50,000 local armed forces that can support us, and between 100,000 and 120,000 troops on the British and Indian sides. Our army over there, if you count them all, is more than 100,000...... However, Mr. President, these troops cannot be fully mobilized, and a certain number of troops must be left in front to deal with the German attack, so only a little more than 100,000 troops can be mobilized. One of the generals questioned his colleagues on the left and right before answering Roosevelt's question.

"General Bradley, if General Patton rushes to Baghdad from India and directs an offensive against Turkey...... Try to avoid the Germans and annihilate only the Turkish troops...... Is 100,000 troops enough?" Roosevelt asked another question, but this time, he asked General Bradley alone, not everyone.

So everyone, including General Marshall, focused their attention on Bradley, who didn't immediately answer the question. I saw the American general, who confidently answered Roosevelt's question: "Mr. President, if we lose this battle again, then there is no need to compete with the Germans for any interests." ”