The Rise of the Third Reich

After hearing Hopkins' question, Roosevelt smiled bitterly. He really couldn't "lease" so many good things to the Soviet Union. He is not a fatherly leader like Stalin, he is just a cripple who became President of the United States with 53% of the vote. Although his power as president has exceeded that of any previous U.S. president, the U.S. Congress has not closed down or turned into a vase party. Therefore, Roosevelt could not provide Lend-Lease supplies to a neutral country, especially when the name of this neutral country was still very annoying: the Soviet Union.

"Yes, you're right, I can't do that." Roosevelt tilted his head and said, "But we can always find a solution, right? Congress has passed many laws that allow me, the president of the United States, to 'spend' taxes People and money bills, I am now the richest president in the history of the United States, and everyone wants to get orders from me. Moreover, those on Wall Street do not want to see Frankfurt become the world's financial center and the Euromark become. World currency. So there must be a way!”

Hopkins and Hull looked at each other, and Secretary of State Hull asked: "Mr. President, do you want private companies in the United States to transport the supplies Stalin needs to the Soviet Union under some name?"

Roosevelt shrugged, "They are less constrained by Congress and can do things we cannot do."

"But this requires the cooperation of the Soviet Union." Hopkins said, "Private companies can pretend to 'invest' in the Soviet Union's Second Baku Oil Field, they can 'open' car sales companies in the Soviet Union, and they can 'invest' in oil depots in the Soviet Union... ...After the Soviet Union entered the war, the U.S. government would acquire these assets and then 'lease' them to the Soviet government. But the Soviet government must cooperate with us so that the show can continue."

Roosevelt glanced at Secretary of State Hull and actually issued an order. Hull stood up and said: "I will go to negotiate with Litvinov immediately. I think he will agree."

"I think so," Roosevelt said.

Now only Hopkins and Roosevelt are left in the White House study. Roosevelt sighed, smoothed his thin layer of gray hair back with his hand, and smiled wryly: "It's really nerve-wracking...The Germans now have a great advantage, and the way they act Still very cautious. Colonel Donovan gave me a report this morning. Germany is preparing to build a 2,000-kilometer-long Barbarossa line of defense on the eastern border with the Soviet Union. It seems that they do not plan to take the initiative to attack the Soviet Union. The British believe that this line of defense means that the Germans will attack the British mainland after the Spring Equinox next year!”

Of course, what protects the British mainland is not just the narrow strait that a cannonball can fly through and a local fleet that was beaten black and blue by the Germans. In fact, the British still have an army, and they are large in number and well-equipped. According to information available to the Americans, by the end of 1941, the number of British Army troops stationed on the mainland would be close to 2 million, and they would have many tanks and artillery.

Therefore, even if the Germans gained control of the English Channel, it would not mean that the War of Britain was over. If Britain still refuses to compromise under this situation, then Germany will have to devote a large number of ground troops to fight a landing battle.

And this is the best time for the Soviet Union to launch an offensive on the Eastern Front and open up a second battlefield!

Therefore, before Germany lands on the British mainland, Germany must first build a defense line on the eastern front to prevent a possible Soviet attack.

"Based on the weather conditions in the English Channel, the German attack may occur after the spring equinox next year. And we must join the war before then!" Roosevelt frowned and added, "If we do not join before the spring equinox in 1942, then Stalin It is very likely that we will join Germany and seize India at that time. In this way, all our investment in the Soviet Union will be in vain, and Britain will surrender, which will be the worst situation..."

The situation that Britain is facing is very difficult now, and the voices for peace in the country are getting louder and louder. Even Prime Minister Churchill, who has always had a tough attitude, recently hosted a banquet at No. 10 Downing Street to entertain the exiled Russian Empress Olga - everyone knows this The woman had close ties with the British and German royal families, and her purpose in going to England must have been to promote peace.

Moreover, Churchill also explained the British government's peace attempt in his letter to Roosevelt.

If the Soviet Union and Germany formed a military alliance and joined the war, no one could stop the British peace movement.

If Britain loses India and South Africa, then the British people will not be willing to continue to resist - because without India's market, population, resources and South Africa's gold, the British Empire will have no future!

Therefore, the United States must join the war before the British mainland is attacked, and at the same time try to save India and South Africa for Britain.

To achieve these two goals, the United States must step up its pressure on Japan. Not only because Germany looks so awesome now, but also because the American people look a little scared. If they directly attack Germany, they are likely to be blocked on Capitol Hill. And also because Japan will definitely take advantage of this world war to expand, either to the west or south. If the United States did not act aggressively, Japan would most likely bypass the Philippines and head south to Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.

Once Japan captures Malacca, it will open up a channel into the Indian Ocean. Once the Japanese navy enters the Indian Ocean, the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean is likely to be defeated by Japan. By then Japan and Germany will join forces in the Indian Ocean, and Britain will lose India and South Africa!

The little socialist brothers who support Japan (to lift the embargo) and go west to attack the Soviet Union will cause Stalin to have a great misunderstanding of the United States and turn to Germany. So it cannot be considered.

But forcing Japan to jump over the wall is actually a gamble, because the Japanese Empire is not a paper tiger. This country has a powerful maritime force second only to the U.S. Navy.

Shortly after Secretary Hull left, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Marshall and Chief of Naval Operations Stark walked quickly into Roosevelt's study. They came to report to President Roosevelt on America's war readiness. Although Capitol Hill had not yet approved putting the United States into war, the process of arms expansion and war preparations had already begun. Especially since the U.S. Navy is almost at war right now.

During the Battle of Shetland in June, there were many exchanges of fire between U.S. Navy aircraft and German aircraft. Later, there were many incidents of U.S. ships attacking targets suspected of being German submarines. To the south of Iceland and west of Ireland, American planes taking off from Iceland had confrontations or exchanges of fire with German "traffic-breaking planes" almost every day. From June to now, more than 50 U.S. aircraft have been shot down or damaged. As a result, more than 100 American pilots were killed or missing!

However, both the United States and Germany remained silent on this "de facto war." Except for the officers and soldiers participating in the war and a few high-level officials, the general public had no idea that such a thing was happening.

The results of a series of exchanges between the United States and the United States have made the top brass of the U.S. military very worried. Because in terms of exchange ratio in air combat, the Germans undoubtedly have an overwhelming advantage. The German Fokker Zero had outstanding performance, surpassing that of any American fighter. Moreover, the skills of German pilots are also extremely high, and they are not even a little bit better than those American pilots who just rushed into the battlefield from peacetime.

"Mr. President, according to reliable information, the Fokker Zero aircraft used by the Germans was jointly developed by Germany's Fokker Aircraft Company and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. This aircraft is currently also the main carrier-based fighter of the Japanese Navy."

As soon as Admiral Stark, the Chief of Naval Operations, sat down, he solemnly reported to President Roosevelt a piece of reliable information that the naval intelligence department had just inquired about - in fact, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union had long known that Germany and the Fokker Zero had a It was the Japanese version, and Americans who were slow to react were probably the last to know.

"Japan also has a Fokker Zero?" Roosevelt was silent for a moment, "This is indeed a trouble... I think we can overcome it, right?"

Admiral Marshall nodded slowly and said: "The British have been fighting the Fokker Zero for almost two years. They have suffered a lot of losses, but they have also figured out some ways to deal with it... Now their latest tactic is to use the Spitfire. 'The aircraft can be matched with the P-51 fighter jets we sold them to achieve better results against the Fokker Zero. However, if the Germans let the BF-109 or Fw-190 cooperate with the Fokker Zero, Then the British will suffer great losses."

Historically, before the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Zero fighter was a little-known aircraft, so it would not attract the attention of the British and American military. But now, the Fokker Zero has long been a well-known ace aircraft, and the British hate it only as much as the Ju88.

Therefore, the Royal Air Force also spent a lot of energy on studying the Fokker Zero in order to find ways to counter it. The P-51 fighter jet (called Mustang 1 in the UK) provided by the Americans to the UK in early 1941 was considered to be able to compete with the Fokker Zero after actual combat testing. At this time, the P-51 engine did not have outstanding performance. High-altitude supercharger, so performance is poor at altitudes above 4500 meters. But it performs well in the air below 4,500 meters. Climb rate, acceleration, dive speed, stability, handling, roll speed and turning radius are all better than any other British and American fighter, and the range is sufficient.

When fighting against the Fokker Zero at medium and low altitudes, the P-51's exchange ratio is also better than that of other British and American aircraft.

"Then we will equip a large number of P-51s and Spitfires," Roosevelt quickly made a decision. "Priority is given to equipment in the Pacific." He paused and then said, "In addition, the Pacific Fleet must improve its combat readiness level and be ready at any time. Sent out to reinforce Guam and the Philippines."