From time to time, comrades fell to the ground around them. They were either shot in the head or in the chest. Nine out of ten were killed with one hit. Before MacArthur gave the order to retreat, the Chinese soldiers brutally beat them by name.
At this time, most of the American soldiers had lost their courage. At this time, MacArthur suddenly issued an order to retreat, which was tantamount to legalizing escape. So, no matter those who had no fighting spirit or those who became extremely brave, in a blink of an eye, their fighting spirit was completely gone.
No one, they just want to escape from this ghost place quickly.
It is indeed a "ghost place". For the American soldiers, this is the only combat experience they have ever seen in their lives. They know that the number of enemies is not many, and they also know that as long as they break through the low wall, they will see the dawn of victory.
, however, as if the Chinese were magicians, none of them could be seen when they were still about fifty meters away from the low wall, but once they launched a charge, they would immediately be mercilessly sniped.
There were also American soldiers who were inspired to fight and gritted their teeth and wanted to compete with the Chinese soldiers. However, as two snipers recognized among the mercenaries were shot in the head and died, the rest had received training in sniper tactics.
The American soldiers lost their courage, and the war entered a strange rhythm.
After the war, some officers of the Meissen Security Army who survived the battle summarized the gains and losses of the battle and believed that there were two fundamental reasons why the Meissen Security Army was defeated. One was the tactical errors of the supreme commander, and the other was the front-line failure.
The officers failed to report the frontline situation to the headquarters in a timely manner, causing the headquarters to fail to adjust tactics at the first time. This view was very popular in the nearly ten years after the end of the Second Pacific War, and MacArthur was also criticized for this.
He was given the honorable title of "the incompetent person" until he died in despair, until a book titled "The United States Once Missed Brazil" was released.
The author of this book was written by a non-commissioned officer of the Meissen Security Army who participated in the first battle of Fortaleza and survived. In this book, he directly refuted this view by excavating a large number of historical facts and criticized MacArthur's battle.
He made an objective evaluation of the performance and believed that the fundamental reason for the failure of the Meissen Security Army was the huge disparity in strength between the two armies. Even if MacArthur was wrong, it was because he underestimated the opponent's strength and had no direct relationship with his command level.
"...until now I often wake up from nightmares, as if Chinese snipers are aiming at me from a distance. In this battle, according to the data finally submitted by the two countries' militaries to their respective governments, a total of 1,000 people were killed by the security forces.
There were about 600 people. Among them, more than half of the fatal injuries were on the head. Gentlemen, after seeing this, you should understand how terrifying our opponent was at that time."
The news that the Mason Security Forces had failed in the first battle and that MacArthur had almost escaped alone reached the White House. Truman's first reaction was to summon Knox and ask him about the feasibility of a war between the Atlantic Fleet and China's Genghis aircraft carrier fleet at this stage.
His original words were: "...Based on my understanding of Ouyang Yun, if General MacArthur can drive the Chinese out of Fortaleza, Ouyang Yun may release a series of harsh words to intimidate the Brazilian government and even our country, but that's the limit.
That's it. Now, the situation has become more complicated. I even have to worry about accepting this situation, that is, what if the Chinese stay in Fortaleza and refuse to leave? No, this kind of thing must not be allowed to happen. If I do it now
Order General Nimitz to attack Fortaleza, do you think they can defeat China's Genghis Khan aircraft carrier fleet?"
When the Xuebing Army first started to develop aircraft carriers and ocean-going fleets, the U.S. government not only didn't take it seriously, but also had such an attitude that they had their hands in their sleeves and a cigar in their mouths, ready to look at the Chinese at any time. joke.
The fact was a slap in the face to the Americans. It is true that it was the first time for the Chinese to build a modern ocean-going fleet and the first time to build an aircraft carrier. However, not only did they do it impressively, but they also quickly overtook the latecomers, and even started to A real threat to U.S. interests in the Pacific.
Later historians once analyzed the fundamental reason why the Truman administration braved the world's disapproval and secretly concluded a treaty with Japan. In the end, they concluded that regardless of the issue of the 50,000 prisoners of war, the Truman administration would have likely concluded a treaty with Japan. In East Asia, China has replaced Japan and become the biggest threat to U.S. interests in the Pacific.
"... When we look at the history of the development and growth of the United States, it is not difficult to find that the real rise of the United States was due to World War I. The successful precedent of World War I serves as a reference. When World War II breaks out, it is not difficult to imagine how Americans will react. , Americans will definitely think that this is another opportunity for speculation. Seeing this, some people may say that Americans lack a sense of justice. I am willing to put in a good word for them. It rises to the level of national interests, and it has nothing to do with a sense of justice. It doesn’t matter, the nature of the state machine determines that no matter who is in power, the US government will have demands in this regard..."
The above paragraph comes from a very popular book analyzing the history of World War II in later generations. It is rumored that the author of this book is Ouyang Yun, but it has never been acknowledged by him personally. You can also learn about it from this book , at that time, it was not so much that Truman was forced to sign a treaty with the United States, but rather that he was kidnapped by the national will of the United States, and that was why he made such a decision that seemed unbelievable at the time.
The reason why Truman summoned Knox is so prominently written here is because if Knox had given a positive answer at that time, then the war between China and the United States, or the starting point of the second phase of World War II, would most likely have been that day.
"Mr. President, I know what answer you want to get, but unfortunately, I think Nimitz and the others are not ready yet. No, I don't even think the country is ready yet."
On the matter of whether to declare war on China immediately, Truman could actually make his own decision. However, because the United States could not bear the consequences of the defeat of the Atlantic Fleet at present, he still had reservations and chose to seek professional advice first. Still not giving up, he asked: "What is the chance of winning? Can it be more than 40%?"
Knox thought about it seriously, shook his head and said, "Mr. President, this question is too difficult. I'm sorry I can't give an accurate answer. China's aircraft carriers may not be as good as ours in terms of personnel training and command technology, but they have the most advanced equipment in the world." The carrier-based aircraft also have the most advanced ship-to-ship missiles and air-to-ship missiles. This huge advantage in equipment will make the outcome of the war confusing."
Knox took into account the psychological acceptance of the acting president, so he used very euphemistic words. Truman was not a fool, so how could he not understand his painstaking efforts? He sighed softly and said to himself: "It seems , we can only continue to rely on Mason."