Chapter 191: The wind rises from the Indian Ocean (IV)

On the morning of June 30, Eastern Time, Washington, White House.

President Wilson held his beloved Havana cigar in his hand, half-closed his slightly cloudy eyes, tilted his head to listen to the report of Secretary of State Lansing.

"It seems that our old friend Prime Minister Asquith and Mr. Churchill, the descendant of the Duke of Marbaro, brought us another surprise." After hearing the details of the Battle of Port Blair reported by Lansing from the British Embassy, ​​the president could not suppress his joy and held up the goblet on the table and drank a deep gulp.

Put down the wine glass and added with great enthusiasm: "Another step towards victory in the cause of justice is a small step worth remembering."

"Now only the Royal Navy has the ability to fight against the Yellow Monkey Fleet." Lansing, who was busy cleaning his glasses, said the truth, but was stared at him by the Minister of Navy Daniels.

"Without our American warships coming to the North Sea to assist in defense, the Royal Navy had long been driven out of the Indian Ocean by Huang Monkey." Daniels leaned against his intellectual's fair and clean chin, but did not boast about it.

Lansing shrugged: "If the Royal Navy had not held the main force of the Yellow Monkey in the Indian Ocean, God knows what the West Coast would have become?"

"The United States is now enough to protect itself." The small Army Secretary Stin said in a hurry, "As of last week, the U.S. Army has expanded from 600,000 people at the beginning of war to 2.5 million, and the number of infantry divisions full of people has increased from 16 to 36, and another 30 divisions are still under training."

"The enemy has lost the best time to invade the United States." General Wood, the tall chief of staff of the Army, commented with a bright voice.

"The enemy lacked maritime transportation capabilities at the beginning and could not maintain two sides of the battle at the same time. The United States or Southeast Asia can only choose one of the two." Lieutenant General Sims, who had a steep nose, took it in a hindsight.

"God bless them, they did not choose us." Wilson raised his glass and smiled.

"God bless America--" Everyone raised their glasses and recited.

Putting down the wine glass, Lansing leaned against the backrest of the sofa, holding her hands in front of her knees. He continued to report to the president: "One more thing, the ambassador conveyed Prime Minister Asquith's expectations."

"Expect?" Wilson frowned vigilantly.

"The Prime Minister hopes that the US Army will land in France as soon as possible..."

Wilson narrowed his eyes again and turned to Secretary Stimson with a blank expression: "The Army is really enough to protect itself? Didn't we lose Alaska last month?"

Stinson glanced at Daniels and stroked his hand, "The main way to get in and out of Alaska is by sea. Without a powerful navy, we cannot defend Alaska."

Daniels's mouth trembled, and he raised his tone slightly and explained: "The Navy has done its best, and we have sent out the latest cruisers and destroyers."

"The main force of the East Asian Joint Fleet led by China is confronting the Allied Joint Fleet led by the Royal Navy, which is a great time to recover Alaska." Chief of Staff Wood took the opportunity to intervene.

Sims sneered: "The main Navy forces have all gone to the North Sea. What should we use to regain Alaska?"

"The combat power of the Pacific Fleet is equal to zero?" Wood seemed loyal, but his words were extremely sharp.

Sims spread his hands disdainfully: "Even if it is recovered, can it be held?"

"It is not a problem whether we can defend it or not. The problem is whether we have the determination to recover lost land!" Stimson couldn't help but get up and sing high-profile.

Wilson raised his hand impatiently to stop the fierce sea and land dispute in front of him: "Alaska will be recovered sooner or later, but this is another question. I just want to know whether the Army has the confidence to defend the country and has the spare strength to send an expeditionary force to the continent?"

Stimson looked at each other and nodded, "Yes, Your Excellency the President. But now we cannot send too many troops. In addition, we are extremely lacking in officers, especially those with practical experience."

"How did you get practical experience?" Wilson asked back, twisting his thick gray beard.

Stinson was slightly shocked. He then raised his chest and said, "I think we can send a division to France first. First, we can give an explanation to the allies, and second, we will not affect local defense. Third, we can gain practical experience and prepare for a future counterattack."

Wilson took off his monocle glasses, twisted them in his hand, nodded slightly and said, "Yes, a big counterattack... You must remember that this is not a play house, war is a life-and-death battle, and the enemy is still at our doorstep. The gun is pressing against our backbone. It is God's mission to us that we must not relax every minute and every second!."

Stinson stood up and took a step forward, with a firm expression on his face and said, "The enemy will definitely be driven back to his hometown. We are all looking forward to the moment when the star and striped flags flutter over Beijing."

Wilson put on his glasses, sucked a cigar, and waved his hand: "Okay, gentlemen. Now is not the time to express his feelings. Send the expeditionary army and the local affairs are decided, go to a division first. For specific matters, please discuss with the Army and Navy Staff together."

Wood and Sims said it was together.

Lansing shook the wine glass in his hand slightly and reminded the president: "Recently, the public opinion has been urging a counterattack to rise and fall, and many members of parliament have begun to accuse the government... and accused the government of not recovering the land in front of him, but instead using US ships to defend Britain."

Wilson looked around unhappily: "We have no choice, right?"

"The public can only see what is in front of them. They only know that the Chinese shells have landed in San Francisco, and they cannot understand the connection between India and Hawaii." Lansing explained with a full contempt tone.

Wilson shook his head helplessly and turned to the two chiefs of staff: "Are we ready? Prepare for a large-scale landing war?"

"There is no strong enough carrier-based aviation. I don't think that surface ships alone can protect the landing fleet. Our aircraft carrier has just laid keels, and there are very few pilots with experience." Sims responded calmly, "We do not have professional mechanized landing equipment, and the technical department is still digesting the drawings provided by the British, but even the British themselves do not have the experience of using these equipment on a large scale in actual combat. Finally, we need to expand the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps with professional skills will be an indispensable pioneer in modern landing warfare, but we lack experience. The requirement of sending British officials to guide has not been implemented yet..."
Chapter completed!