Chapter 515: Declare War?

"EUR?"

In later generations, the United States had almost no foreign exchange reserves (only a small amount of euros and yen were reserved for hedging purposes). The main reason is that the U.S. dollar is the dominant currency, while the euro, pound, etc. are reserve currencies, and the remaining currencies are ordinary currencies. ranks.

The U.S. dollar is directly linked to gold, and the currencies of various countries are linked to the U.S. dollar, making the U.S. dollar the center of the international currency. This also results in the United States having no foreign exchange reserves.

Obviously, another important reason why the United States does not need foreign exchange reserves is that as an international reserve currency, it can be directly used for international payments during foreign exchange transactions. There is no need to use foreign exchange reserves to adjust the international balance of payments, regulate the foreign exchange market, and carry out foreign exchange transactions. International payments.

And behind the dollar is the strong U.S. economy. The U.S.'s unshakable economic hegemony also indirectly guarantees the core status of the U.S. dollar. As long as the U.S. economy develops well, the United States does not need the support of foreign exchange reserves at all.

At this time, the United States was not yet the world's hegemon, and the U.S. dollar had not yet become the world's currency. The pound was still the currency in the world. If the United States wants to do business with Europe, it naturally needs huge reserves of pounds, as well as French francs, German marks, and Italian lira.

If these foreign currencies cannot be exchanged, they will become waste paper, which will be a big blow to the U.S. economy.

What worried Roosevelt the most was the so-called "euro". It was obvious that the Germans had begun to integrate Europe, and the euro was the first step. Once Europe completes its integration, it will be powerful enough to kick the United States out of the world!

As mentioned earlier, although the United States has a unique geographical advantage, this advantage is actually a double-edged sword. Although it was able to stay away from the war and make a fortune during the two world wars, under the premise of peace, the world island (Asia, Africa, and Europe) ) If it can complete a certain degree of integration and form an economic whole, the marginalization of the United States will be inevitable.

Roosevelt naturally knew this. Because of this, he tried his best to encourage and deceive the Canadian high-level officials, and it took a lot of words to get them to seize the British fleet and gold. But I didn't expect the Germans to come out like this right away. It seems that the Germans had already planned for the "Euro"!

"Is your country threatening us?" Roosevelt said coldly, staring at Andreas, the German ambassador to the United States, who was sitting opposite.

"Threat?" Andreas, who was drinking tea leisurely, raised his eyebrows slightly. "I don't know where your words came from. We are just informing your country to exchange its foreign exchange reserves as soon as possible to avoid any economic losses in your country. Of course, the premise is to return the 1,800 tons of gold to the French government."

Roosevelt spread his hands. "Sorry, there is still a dispute over whether that gold belongs to Vichy France or Free France. We cannot return it to either party rashly."

After France was defeated in World War II, the Vichy regime was established. Almost all major powers except the United Kingdom recognized the Vichy regime as the only legitimate government in France.

The reason why many allied governments recognize the legitimacy of the Vichy regime is because it was not a puppet regime established by the Germans from the beginning, but originated from high-level officials of the original French government and was reached with Germany through Pétain. Conditional surrender under the armistice.

At that time, Charles de Gaulle's "Free France" movement, who was in exile in the UK, received strong support from the British. However, this resistance movement mostly took place in the northern and northwest areas of France occupied by the German army. On the contrary, it rarely took place in the Vichy France area. . This was precisely due to the relatively independent policy pursued by the Vichy regime.

"Understood." Andreas nodded. "I understand your country's difficulties very well. But I don't mean to force your country to make a choice. You can discuss it slowly, preferably for a year and a half. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that November this year is your country. It’s election day. It’s time for a new person in this office.”

Listening to the other party's sinister tone, Roosevelt's face became a little gloomy. "If your country doesn't exchange these foreign currencies, it means war!"

"War? Hahaha!" As if he heard something funny, Andrea burst into laughter. "You want to declare war on us? You are truly a member of the Roosevelt family. You are as bellicose as Theodore Roosevelt."

Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt's distant cousin, famously said. "All great nations that dominate the world are warlike nations. And when a nation loses its warlike character, it also loses the right to be on an equal footing with other outstanding nations. There is nothing greater in the world than victory in war. ”

That's what he said, and that's what he did. At the end of the 19th century, the Cuban people resisted Spanish rule more and more fiercely. Although they were suppressed, this gave the United States a good reason to intervene.

In 1897, Theodore Roosevelt, then Under Secretary of the Navy, began to consider a war plan with Spain. In January 1898, a small-scale riot broke out in Cuba. Although it was short-lived, the United States dispatched the battleship "Maine" to the port of Havana under the pretext of protecting Americans in Cuba, regardless of Spain's objections.

On the evening of February 15, the "Maine" suddenly exploded for unknown reasons, destroying almost one-third of the hull and killing more than 260 people, most of whom were soldiers. When the explosion occurred, almost all the battleship officers were on land, and only two officers remained on the battleship.

The "Maine" incident naturally aroused the anger of the American people. Theodore Roosevelt took the opportunity to order the navy to blockade the northern ports of Cuba and the port of Santiago. Soon, the two houses of the U.S. Congress jointly resolved to demand that Spain withdraw its troops from Cuba. After President McKinley signed the resolution, he submitted a copy to Spain as an ultimatum.

Forcing the other party to declare war first is a trick that Americans have repeatedly used. In desperation, Spain declared war on the United States on April 24.

The next day, the U.S. Congress formally declared war on Spain, and Theodore Roosevelt officially became the acting Secretary of the Navy.

The old Spanish Empire was no match for the young and strong United States. In the Battle of Manila Bay, three Spanish warships were sunk, eight were burned, three were captured, hundreds of people were killed, and they were defeated by Dewey's fleet. At the end of the battle, the U.S. military occupied Manila and then established a "military government" under the command of the United States.

Afterwards, Theodore Roosevelt issued an order to Dewey to occupy Guam. Soon, the cruiser Charleston headed for Guam, which was controlled by Spain. Interestingly, the Spanish garrison on the island did not know that the war between the United States and Spain had broken out, and of course did not do anything to defend it. Therefore, the Americans successfully occupied Guam without much effort. Two weeks later, the US military occupied Wake Island again. At this point, the US route in the Central Pacific was basically completed.

In the Cuban battlefield, the US military blocked the port of Santiago under the banner of helping Cuba's independence and planned to land in Cuba from Guantanamo Bay. For this reason, Theodore Roosevelt, who was keen on war, simply resigned as Secretary of the Navy and personally led the First Volunteer Cavalry Regiment to fight the Spanish army. After half a month of fighting, the US military defeated the Spanish Caribbean Fleet and captured Santiago, and then occupied Puerto Rico without bloodshed.

After retreating step by step, Spain had to ask the United States for an armistice. The Paris Peace Treaty signed later stipulated that Spain completely abandoned Cuba and recognized its independence, and ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. As compensation, the United States took over the Philippines in full with a "transfer fee" of US$20 million.

The Spanish-American War can be said to be the world's first time that the United States fought in two oceans and won two wars at the same time. Since then, the United States has become one of the world's great powers and has begun to have the military strength to compete with old empires such as Britain and France. It is undeniable that the US Navy led by Theodore Roosevelt played a particularly key role in winning this war.