Chapter 2015 Inquiry One

"Don't try to figure it out, we've buried him in the grave of history and put a lock on it. You can go head to head with your opponent politically, but never think militarily, that's not Questions you can think about in your head. The Germans emphasize that military matters should be handed over to the soldiers. Although it is completely contrary to our idea that politicians guide the army, the Germans have proved this to a certain extent with their own illustrious martial arts That's right. Well, General Benson will explain the rest to you clearly, remember what I said, if you have any questions, we can contact you by telegram." After speaking, Roosevelt closed his eyes, and the other party It's time to leave.

Two days later, Taft embarked on a warship bound for the Netherlands, accompanied by General Benson, the U.S. Undersecretary of Naval Operations. That's right, a warship. This time, the Americans sent their most advanced super dreadnought USS New Mexico. And the newly commissioned light cruiser USS Omaha, accompanied by four 1,500-ton destroyers. Of course, the publicity of such a fleet cannot be said to be taking the vice president of the United States to negotiate with the Germans. On the surface, the American publicity is to pay a friendly visit to the Netherlands. During the visit, the U.S. government will discuss with the Dutch government "certain issues concerning the Dutch East Indies."

"General Benson, although I am a politician, the issues we are going to discuss this time involve the military, as well as possible military operations of the United States in the Far East in the future. Then I need to ask you some questions. I hope you can Fair answer." In Taft's cabin, the American vice president began to practice his military common sense. The one who tutored him was Admiral Benson, the supreme commander in charge of combat in the US Navy.

"General Benson, if the United States is allowed to face Japan independently, what chance do we have of winning?" Taft asked the first question.

"If we are under the current situation, if we travel across the oceans to fight the Japanese, there is a 60% probability that we will fail, and a 30% probability that we may achieve a certain degree of victory. We may obtain the former German colonial islands occupied by Japan. And in the end Isshin is driving the Japanese out of New Guinea with God on our side. This is our best result, and the Japanese will continue to occupy Kalimantan and other important islands." Admiral Benson replied Very crisp.

"That is to say, in the best case, we can't achieve the minimum result we want? Are we pinning all our hopes on the Germans? Is our navy so weak?" Taft said dissatisfied.

"In fact, it is true. According to our deduction, with the help of the German Navy, at least we will not fail, and we will always get some benefits. As for the inability of the United States Navy? I can only say that the responsibilities of those gentlemen in the parliament are greater than ours. Even bigger. No money to build a navy?" General Benson said angrily: "In the final analysis, the domestic gentlemen want to use the most economical means to gain benefits, so they chose to help the Germans win the war, and then Let the Germans help us retake the island. Of course, they can make a fortune providing war supplies and loans to the Germans. I think this is the most important issue. The United States is a country controlled by capital."

"Well, let's not talk about the funding issue for now, let's talk about the purchase of the navy. I want to know why the speed of the main fleet of the US Navy is generally around 21 knots, while most of the main fleet of the Germans are at 25 knots. Above? Since the Germans have a better fighting concept, why don't we learn from the Germans?" Taft said.

"First of all, all the performance, speed, defense and firepower of a battleship are all made of money, so any problem in the navy can't get around the problem of money.

This is the first point! The second point is that the environments faced by the two navies are different. The main force of the German navy is only used to fight in the North Sea, and the requirements for endurance and logistics are not high. Therefore, they can equip the warships with small water tube boilers. Among the weight of the unit, Small water tube boilers are more efficient, but the disadvantage is that cleaning is more troublesome and replacement is more frequent. "

"And the U.S. Navy? Even if we control the Panama Canal, it's still very troublesome to transfer the fleet from the West Coast to the East Coast. If you want to go to Pearl Harbor and Midway Island, it will be farther away. So, the maintenance cost of using small water tube boilers The cost and time are very high, we can only use ordinary boilers that are easy to maintain, which makes our warships have a relatively low speed."

"Of course, it's okay if you stack the weight hard, but that will lengthen the defensive area of ​​the battleship, which will increase the weight of the structure and the weight of the defensive armor, which will greatly increase the tonnage and cost. The situation of adding more water will always meet the upper limit, thus limiting the performance of the battleship to a very embarrassing range." Benson replied.

"Well, I don't understand the technical issues, so let's talk about something else. For example, tactical arrangements, strategies or other aspects." Taft said.

"We need the fast fleet of the Germans. He will be the core of some of our tactical implementation. This fleet must be able to entangle the Japanese fleet and fight alone when necessary. Because the distance from Hawaii to the East Indies is too far Now, we need a high-speed fleet to defend against possible sneak attacks by the Japanese fast fleet." Benson said.

"President Roosevelt told me that we need at least one German battleship detachment. If I remember correctly, such a fleet should have four fast battleships." Taft learns and sells now.

"In fact, 4 ships are far from enough. The Japanese have already built 6 ships of the Fuso class. Considering that the British may sell their capital ships after the war, I don't need at least one German battleship detachment. All of them are at least above the level of Helgoland-class battleships, and we want 8 ships! Four of them are at least Bavarian-class!" General Benson said seriously.

"Such a fleet is enough to destroy the pre-war French Navy or German Navy Dreadnought Fleet." Taft said with some sighs: "Wouldn't it be better if we bought these ships and replaced them with our people?" Some? Even if the price of the Bavarian-class battleship is 3.5 million pounds, it is not expensive to buy all of them. During the war, Congress can pass it. I don’t trust the Germans, and Mr. President thinks so.”

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