While checking intelligence from the European side, Li Junhao noticed a piece of information leaked from the German stronghold: It is said that when Hitler learned of the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he immediately lost his temper and scolded the Japanese like thunder, which frightened the people present.

This news looks like a gossip rumor, but Li Junhao believes it.

Of course, Hitler knew that in the course of this planning, there was one mistake that could not be made - not to let the United States get involved! This can be seen in the actions of the German Navy: German submarines attacked almost all passenger and cargo ships bound for the British Isles in the Atlantic, but did not attack the ships flying the American flag!

As the war progressed, the Germans had already attacked outside Moscow, and although there were no small setbacks due to the bitter cold, on the whole it was going well; At this time, the United States is still nominally in the middle.

But at this time, the Japanese suddenly attacked Pearl Harbor and dragged the United States into the water, and it would be strange if Hitler was not angry!

Li Junhao felt that the mustachioed Führer at this time should have realized that the Third Reich was heading for failure! ——

On 10 December, Li Junhao went to the White House to attend a national security conference personally chaired by Roosevelt, at which a series of resolutions were adopted on post-war resolutions, including domestic mobilization, vigorous military expansion, increased military production, research and development of new weapons, wartime people's livelihood protection, press and propaganda, and so on.

Among a series of resolutions, Li Junhao is mainly related to military and intelligence content, and the most important resolution is proposed by him - in order to better coordinate and command the US military, a wartime supreme command body should be established to provide correct staff advice to President Roosevelt, who is also the commander-in-chief of the army, so this body should be called the "Joint Chiefs of Staff."

After careful consideration, President Roosevelt agreed to Li Junhao's proposal, and on 12 June formally decided to set up a Joint Chiefs of Staff in the White House as his command and staff body, and appointed Admiral William Leahy, former military representative and military adviser, as the chief of staff of the President (commonly known as the White House Chief of Staff), who was responsible for convening and presiding over the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Key participants in the Joint Staff include Admiral George Marshall, Chief of Staff of the Army, Admiral Harold Stark, Chief of Naval Operations, and Vice Admiral Henry Arnold, Deputy Chief of Staff and Commander of the Air Force; Other relevant personnel are invited to attend meetings when necessary, such as Li Junhao, who has been officially appointed director of national intelligence, and is often invited to attend.

Li Junhao actually doesn't like to have meetings, especially with a group of old men, but these bigwigs always want to listen to his intelligence analysis, which makes him quite helpless; But who made him play the "prophet" before, and the situation at this time was all caused by himself.

——

At present, there is only one place where the US military and the Japanese army are fighting - the Philippines.

As for the equally dangerous Huhai Concession, it was in a strange confrontation situation at this time, and even the Japanese army did not block the various entrances and exits of the concession, not because they did not want to, but because Japan itself desperately needed the output of the factories in the concession, and since it could not be seized by force for the time being, it could only maintain the status quo, and even the import of grain, coal, and industrial raw materials could not be stopped.

It has to be said that the Japanese were quite able to endure helplessness, and in the face of the strength of the concession armaments, they gave up their intention to attack by force, and as before, although they were opposed to the concession authorities, they restrained themselves from a head-on conflict, thus forming a strange situation in the history of war.

In this respect, the measures taken by Li Junhao in the concession before have worked, and although there is no guarantee for the future, the threat of war has been reduced even lower.

——

As for the Philippine side, the current commander-in-chief of the Far East Forces, Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright, was well prepared for defense early on under the reminder of Li Junhao, successfully withstood the first wave of Japanese attacks, and even repelled two Japanese landing operations in succession.

After arriving in the United States, he used his influence to constantly lobby the president, the War Department, and the Navy Department, and added four independent armored regiments and a newly formed Marine Brigade to the Far East troops in the early stage, equipped with a large number of heavy weapons and equipment; 100 of the latest F4F fighters and 45 B-17 bombers were added to the Far Eastern Army's naval air fleet,......

In addition, Vice Admiral Wainwright expanded and trained 10 divisions of the Philippine Defense Force, doubling the size of the Far Eastern Force, with nearly 50,000 US troops, 250,000 Philippine Defense Forces, and the First Detachment of the Asian Fleet with 200 250-ton high-speed torpedo boats.

The Tanaka Detachment and Kanno Detachment of the 48th Division under the 14th Army, the main force of the Japanese army specially organized to attack Southeast Asia, attempted to land in northern Luzon on December 10, but were repulsed by the US Far East Force, suffering heavy casualties, and more than half of its 4,000 men were wiped out;

On the 11th, 2,500 men of the Kimura detachment of the 16th Division of the Japanese Army, attempted to land in southern Luzon, but were also repulsed, with nearly half of the losses.

This time, the Japanese army was uncomfortable.

In desperation, the Japanese army could only rely on the 5th Flying Group attached to the 14th Army to attack Luzon Island, but it suffered another defeat, and the Far East Air Force, which had greatly increased in strength, took the initiative to attack and meet the battle under the guidance of the new reconnaissance radar, and shot down hundreds of Japanese fighters in just three days, so that they did not dare to take the initiative to attack again.

On the night of the 15th, under the cover of night, the bomber group of the Far Eastern Forces Air Force raided the Japanese naval support fleet anchored 50 nautical miles north of Luzon, sinking 14 large and small ships in one fell swoop, inflicting heavy damage on them......

The situation in the Far East was a great surprise for Washington, and everyone praised Brigadier General Pansen, who had begun to arrange all this two years in advance......

Because of his many exploits immediately before and after the war, President Roosevelt signed an order to formally promote him to the rank of rear admiral, and the Admiralty specially applied for him to be awarded the Navy Cross......

(End of chapter)