Chapter 987 American Strategy (15)

Just when the top US officials were indignant about the Germans' seizure of the Panama Canal, Germany issued another broadcast, announcing that the German Air Force would stop any form of bombing on the US mainland from now on for three months, and the American people could return to their cities.

"What conspiracy is the Germans trying to play?" This sudden broadcast made the top US officials very confused. Germany had bombed many American cities, and the northeastern industrial zone had been paralyzed. Shouldn't it continue to bomb other cities? What reason would suddenly stop the bombing?

The Germans must have plenty of fuel. Could it be that the production progress of bombs could not keep up? It seems impossible. Could it be that they wanted to trick the American people into returning to the city and then launch a surprise attack? If so, it would be too vicious, but the Germans had radars, and it was impossible for the Germans to launch a surprise attack.

The American people didn't think so much. In their view, the Germans have always kept their promises. They bombed when they said they would, and stopped when they said they would. Therefore, after hearing the German broadcast, most people returned to the city. Many people are used to living in the city and cannot adapt to life in the countryside.

The next day, Vice President Truman also left the increasingly suffocating underground fortifications and went for a "drive" in downtown Washington.

The suburbs were fine, but when entering the city, the roads were full of potholes, and most of the buildings on both sides of the streets were damaged to varying degrees. The entire city was hit by at least thousands of tons of bombs, and the once prosperous city is now in ruins. Many famous landmarks were blown into ruins.

Suddenly, the convoy stopped. Soon a member of the Secret Service came to the Army One where Vice President Truman was riding and reported to him. "Mr. Vice President, a dud was found ahead, and we have to take a detour."

Artillery shells and bombs generally have a defective rate, and it is normal to have duds occasionally. After all, these ordinary artillery shells and bombs cannot be equipped with multiple fuses like German missiles to ensure that they will explode.

Some of these duds use mechanical fuses. In theory, the ignition pin of the mechanical fuse will detonate the explosive when it hits (or penetrates) the detonator. But the reality is that some detonating pins did not detonate the detonator, and these bombs became duds.

Some duds also use chemical fuses. The working mechanism of these fuses is more complicated than mechanical firing pins, which makes these duds more dangerous: the firing pin is fixed in place by a disk made of plastic. When released, the trigger breaks a glass bottle containing a solvent (such as acetone). The solvent then gradually drips onto the disk and dissolves the disk. Only after the solvent dissolves the disk will the firing pin be triggered, causing the explosion. Depending on the thickness of the disk, the delay time can be up to 144 hours. But the problem is that these chemical fuses often fail and the scrap rate is particularly high. For example, if the bomb is upside down or falls on soft soil, the acetone solvent is likely not to drip directly onto the disk as expected, and it will not explode in the expected time.

Truman participated in World War I and knew about this, and nodded casually. "Then take a detour."

The motorcade chose another road to continue to move forward and head to the White House.

Arriving in front of the White House, looking at the half-collapsed White House that had been hit by several bombs, Truman sighed deeply. This was the first time that the U.S. mainland had suffered such a tragic fate since the U.S.-Canada War more than 100 years ago.

He lit a cigarette, exhaled a long smoke ring, and muttered. "It would have been great if we had always adhered to 'isolationism'." He had to get involved in the European war, and ended up like this. If the United States could win this battlefield, President Roosevelt would be a president who would go down in history, but now the United States has reached a point of life and death, and all the sins and infamy in the future may be borne by Roosevelt.

As for President Willkie, his case could only be left unresolved. No one dared to stand up and raise objections, otherwise he would be drowned by the spit of hundreds of thousands of expeditionary family members.

Unfortunately, whether it was tragic or not and the European war were the strategic national policies of the United States, and they were not something he could decide.

After World War I, as an important victorious country and the world's largest economy, the United States completely surpassed the old hegemon Britain in the fields of economy and industry, and was about to replace it.

But in fact, although the United States surpassed Britain in the economic field, it still could not compete with Britain in politics and international influence, and could not even compare with France. Britain and France still had the final say in the affairs of the League of Nations. Due to the lack of voice, the United States, an economic behemoth, could only stand aside, so the United States decided to withdraw from the League of Nations and pursue isolationism.

Of course, the United States was unwilling to be inferior to others. In the 1920s, the United States used its political and economic influence to obtain the qualification of being on par with the British Navy at the Washington Conference, and took another step towards the position of world hegemony. The United States has been keeping a low profile and waiting for the opportunity to replace Britain. After the outbreak of World War II, the United States saw an opportunity and was ready to suddenly show its fangs when the two sides were fighting fiercely, and kill all threatening European countries in one fell swoop (successful in the original time and space).

As a result, Germany's combat effectiveness was simply off the charts. Before the United States had time to exert its strength, Britain was captured; then the Soviet Union was also beaten back step by step.

After a round trip around the White House, Truman could only return to the military base in the suburbs. The war should have a conclusion by next year, so he didn't have to go to the trouble of finding a new office or repairing the White House.

In the Berlin Palace on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Yannick was leisurely cooking hot pot in the garden. Cooking hot pot outdoors in winter has a different flavor.

Little Elizabeth, who was sitting opposite, took a sip of her drink and asked in confusion. "Brother Yannick, why did you order the bombing of the United States to stop? Didn't you say that you would not feel guilty about bombing those civilians?"

Yannick smiled. "Of course I don't pity them, I just feel sorry for the money. The bombing of the United States by thousands of planes will cost at least 3,000 tons of bombs and thousands of tons of fuel at a time; how much does it cost?" Although Germany is not short of oil now, this is too wasteful.

Therefore, Yannick decided to stop the bombing of the United States. The entire northeastern industrial zone has been paralyzed. Even if the arsenals in other places are fully powered to produce various weapons and equipment, and they work hard for two or three years, they may not be the opponent of the current German equipment.

"So, I let those people go home and have a good Christmas. After all, this may be their last Christmas as "Americans."