On December 25, 1941, Christmas, "The Chinese people gave the American people a great gift. The Chinese government officially joined the Allied Powers. Not long ago, in the remote Philippine Islands, the Chinese army had just succeeded in being detained in Cavite. More than 20,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war in the prison camp were rescued... The beautiful Mrs. Chiang said: The heroic Chinese people will never compromise with the Japanese bandits, but China's economy has been semi-paralyzed due to the war, so ladies and gentlemen "We, if you are able, please extend your helping hand and provide as much help as you can. The United States needs China as an ally." This was the local speech after Mrs. Chiang gave a speech at Willisley College, her alma mater in Boston, on Christmas Day. Relevant content reported by American newspapers,
On the same day, Gu Lianyun was attending a party hosted by the President's wife Eleanor at the White House.
It was originally a party specially prepared for ladies and children, but Army Chief of Staff Marshall, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet King, Roosevelt's assistant Harry Hopkins, and MacArthur who was about to go to Australia All the big guys from the U.S. military were participating, so Gu Lianyun also brought Guo Muyi, Gu Yu and You Xiaolian with him.
Symbolized by the Christmas party, there is another informal negotiation between the U.S. military and the cadet army.
The rescue of more than 20,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war was an unexpected surprise for the Americans. The successful breakout of the Parker Division and the Wainwright IV Division completely changed the passive situation of the Far East Allied Forces in the Philippines. However, with the Japanese army The strength of the Honma Masaharu unit of the local army that was reinforcing the Philippines gradually emerged, but the Americans felt that the noose around their necks was getting tighter. The Manila massacre frightened the Americans, which they did not dare to imagine at all. If another organized U.S. military is captured, will there be another massacre?
The exposure of the Manila Massacre strengthened the determination of the Filipinos to stand on the side of the Allies in the Far East. However, considering that their combat effectiveness was only slightly stronger than that of the police, the Americans did not dare to do so except for some psychological comfort. Calculate this into the decisive balance of forces that determined the course of the Philippine campaign,
The strength of the Far East Allied Forces in the Philippines includes more than 30,000 cadet troops and less than 20,000 U.S. troops. The Philippine Army has more than 30,000 regular troops and more than 20,000 security forces, with a total strength of about 100,000. It still has the ability to compete with the Japanese army in the Philippines, but considering that it does not have the support of naval and aviation forces, it does not have the conditions to fight a large-scale positional battle with the Japanese army. Therefore, forming a large-scale fleet has become a top priority.
Admiral King reorganized the U.S. Pacific Fleet under Roosevelt's order. By transferring several new battleships from the Atlantic Fleet, it has now formed a mixed fleet with one aircraft carrier and two battleships as the main combat force. The admiral knew that this number of ships alone was not enough to compete with the Japanese combined fleet, and the Philippine war situation could not be separated from the support of the navy, so he made two suggestions to Roosevelt, believing that he could directly spend money to transfer the Pacific Fleet to the Pacific Fleet. Buy it, or form a joint Far East Allied Fleet with China and Britain, which he will directly command. Admiral Jin is quite conceited in maritime matters. In his view, the formation of the so-called Pacific Fleet by the Xuebing Army is completely an act of overjoying success and burning money to prop up the scene. , I don’t know what year or month it was put into actual combat. Rather than letting them idle in the Arabian Sea, it is better to make full use of them and let him command them to cause trouble for the Japanese.
The central topic of today's gathering is related to this. After everyone sat down on the lawn of the White House, General Jin opened the topic in a casual chat, slowly leading to the war situation in the Philippines. Then, he asked Gu Lian slightly abruptly. Yun: "Miss Gu, how is your Pacific Fleet doing now? Has it completed its pre-war training?"
After Gu Lianyun entered the White House, she had been speculating on the intentions of the Americans. After hearing these words, she felt confident. She exchanged glances with Guo Muyi without any trace, and said calmly: "The third aircraft carrier has been launched and is currently undergoing sea trials. It is estimated that it will be launched in March next year. It can be delivered for use, and by then, the Pacific Fleet will enter the battlefield."
"Are you sure about entering the battlefield?" Admiral Jin asked with a smile, but his tone seemed a little disapproving.
"Of course, is it possible that the general thinks that our Pacific Fleet is used as a decoration?" Gu Lianyun said, putting down the tea cup in his hand,
Admiral Jin's face froze slightly. In private, he once said, "The Pacific Fleet of the Xuebing Army is just a decoration of Ouyang Yun." Now Gu Lianyun was questioning his words in public, which made him feel a little embarrassed. ,
Marshall intended to rescue him, and bowed to Gu Lianyun and asked: "What is Commander-in-Chief Ouyang's final vision for the war in the Philippines? Is he really prepared to confront the Japanese army in the Philippines for a long time?"
"I don't know very well, but based on my understanding of the Commander-in-Chief, he is not someone who gives up easily."
"But how can he deal with the threat posed by the Japanese army's complete control of sea and air supremacy? If he cannot fight a positional war with the Japanese army, he will eventually be suppressed by the Japanese army on the island of Mindanao. Even if the Japanese army does not launch a war to seize the island, it will only need The blockade can be completed by using one or two aircraft carriers, but if the Allied forces are blocked in Mindanao and cannot get out, then what is the value of its existence."
Marshall seemed a bit aggressive, but Gu Lianyun always responded with a smile: "Do you have complete control of the sea and air? That's what the Chief of Staff thinks. We don't agree. How did the Fengxiang aircraft carrier fleet be destroyed? Haha, we all know that the Japanese will retaliate. Personality, but Sasebo and Nagasaki naval ports have been attacked by our military for such a long time. Apart from burying hundreds of fighter planes in the waters near the Zhoushan Islands, the Japanese seem to have no new retaliatory measures. Regarding the formation of the Far East Allied Combined Fleet, The commander-in-chief once gave us instructions. He believed that this was necessary in view of the overall situation, but the command power must be held by the party with superior power."
MacArthur and Hopkins looked at each other, smiled wryly and shook their heads, while Knox looked thoughtful.
Admiral Jin laughed angrily: "What a joke, do you Chinese know the command skills of large-scale naval battles? Or, do you think that naval battles only require soldiers to dare to fight desperately? Commanding fleet operations, especially large fleet groups, is It requires considerable professional skills, Miss Gu, please forgive me, your country's naval power seems to have not been able to enter the Pacific Ocean since the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1898. Pacific Fleet, haha, this name is not something that any fleet can be called. of……"
Ouyang Yun named the newly formed fleet of the Xuebing Army the Pacific Ocean. It is no longer a secret in the naval circles of Britain and the United States. As the traditional naval powers in the world, the United Kingdom and the United States seem to have the confidence to view this Pacific Fleet as a joke. ,
Admiral Jin looked like he had his nostrils turned up in the sky and spoke rudely. The smile on Gu Lianyun's face finally disappeared. She stared into Admiral Jin's eyes seriously and said word by word: "Admiral Jin, I know. The establishment of an ocean-going navy requires considerable accumulation of knowledge, but may I ask how many Japanese ships your army has sunk since the war in the Philippines? At the beginning of the war, your military presence in the Philippines did not seem to be weak, Kaga Do you know that the USS aircraft carrier was the Japanese aircraft carrier that sank in Malaysian waters? Now I can tell you that it was sunk by our submarine. Do you know that the naval battle that took place in the Taiwan Strait, we only deployed torpedoes? The speedboat force defeated a Japanese aircraft carrier fleet. Our military's naval command capabilities still need to be tested in actual combat. So let's talk about the development direction of the navy first. General, what do you think of the future development of the navy? What is the direction? Battleships continue to be king, and there is no longer a problem of leaks. I might as well tell you that the commander-in-chief had already asserted before deciding to form the Pacific Fleet that aircraft carriers would be the main direction of the navy's future development..."