The Rise of the Third Reich

President Roosevelt of the United States is now in a good mood, and the large amount of dollars invested in the Soviet Union has finally not been in vain - Comrade Stalin seems to be a real person who takes advantage of others and fights for others.

Moreover, the Soviet Red Army is not as weak as some American military experts think. Although it cannot defeat Germany, from June to now, instead of showing signs of planting the red flag in Berlin, it has suffered heavy losses. Even the second capital, Leningrad, has been defeated. The Germans surrounded. However, after all, the Soviet Union showed no signs of imminent collapse, national morale was still quite high, and reserve troops were mobilized very quickly.

It seems that as long as the United States continues to provide assistance, the Soviet Union can continue to fight Germany!

In addition, the British also survived the 1942 autumnal equinox. Before the autumnal equinox, the Germans used Ju288 and Fritz-X remote-controlled gliding bombs to prevent the British and American fleets from going out, making the so-called European Combined Fleet the dominant force in the North Atlantic and completely blocking Britain's maritime lifeline. During that time, the British were already preparing to "one Britain and another". Fortunately, Stalin gave the British the courage to continue fighting even if he went to war with Germany.

Now that the autumnal equinox has passed, there will be a "long night" in the North Atlantic, and the climate will also become very harsh. The German Ju288 will not threaten the North Atlantic route for at least a few months.

Moreover, the Soviets also offered to use 4 Soviet-class battleships and 2 Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers to fight together with the British and American navies!

With these six powerful battleships and battlecruisers, the strength of the naval power in the North Atlantic will be reversed immediately. Germany's blockade on the British Isles can be broken. Not only will U.S. aid materials and energy sources continue to be sent to the British mainland, but even U.S. troops can go directly to Ireland to support the British army. This will definitely be a huge encouragement to Britain’s will to resist!

In addition to the joyful good news from the Atlantic and Europe, a small goal of the war against Japan is now making progress - after the Battle of Hawaii, Roosevelt decided to start construction of 20 light fleet aircraft carriers and 40 Cleveland-class light cruisers ( Now it has been reduced to 30 ships) to break the small target of diplomatic relations, and there is now progress.

The "Independence" class aircraft carrier, the first light fleet aircraft carrier built based on the hull of the Cleveland class light cruiser, was commissioned on September 24, and the second ship of the Independence class, the Montpellier, was commissioned on October 1. service. The first ship of the Cleveland class, the USS Cleveland, the second ship, the USS Columbia, and the third ship, the USS Denver, also entered service from June to September.

Moreover, while the "Independence" class aircraft carrier is in service, the United States also has a carrier-based aircraft with satisfactory performance on paper-the F4U Corsair carrier-based fighter. The first fully equipped F4U Corsair carrier-based aircraft squadron boarded the USS Independence aircraft carrier in early October, and has now probably arrived in San Diego, the home port of the Pacific Fleet, together with the USS Independence. The Independence Air Force, composed of 12 F4U fighters, 9 SBD dive bombers and 9 TBF torpedo attack aircraft, will soon start a massacre on the Japanese sea transportation lines!

Although it is only a small goal, it has not yet been fully achieved. But that's always a good start... America can finally start fighting back!

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"Mr. President, Secretary of State Mr. Hull and Generals Lacey and Marshall have arrived."

Colonel Cotton, Roosevelt's naval adjutant, opened the door to the Oval Office and reported to the president.

"Invite them in," Roosevelt said.

Then the US Secretary of State walked in together with the President's Chief of Staff, Admiral Lacey, who presided over the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the US Army Chief of Staff, General Marshall.

The President nodded to the three visitors and pointed to the chairs across from his desk. The three of them sat down and gathered around a large desk with Roosevelt.

"The President, Molotov and Viscount Halifax all believe that we should take advantage of the favorable weather in the North Atlantic to pursue a decisive battle with the German fleet, and at the same time send ground troops to Ireland."

Secretary of State Hull had just exchanged views with the Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and the British Ambassador to the United States who were visiting the United States. Molotov and Viscount Halifax once again proposed to regain control of the North Atlantic and launch a counterattack in Ireland.

Roosevelt looked at Marshall, asking for his opinion.

"Mr. President, it's mud season in the Soviet Union," Marshall said. "The road conditions in the Soviet Union are relatively poor. There are no hard pavements in many places, so it is very difficult to march in the rain and snow season in autumn. And the Germans obviously understand this. In this case, their main counterattack ended in September. Now only the German troops are still carrying out counterattacks in Ukraine, and the German troops have suspended large-scale operations on the battlefields of Belarus and Leningrad.”

Because the Soviet army voluntarily abandoned Brest and shrank its forces around Warsaw. Therefore, before the end of September, the German military operations in Western Belarus and Poland were very smooth. On the one hand, it surrounded Warsaw, and on the other hand, it maintained the Soviet-German military demarcation line in Belarus as it was before the outbreak of the world war.

In Ukraine, after the decisive battle in Belarus was decided, the initiative has always been in the hands of the German army. Although it is muddy season, the German army is studying to advance into the hinterland of Ukraine on the right bank. But the scale of the attack was not large, just hundreds of thousands of people.

Near Leningrad, the German army was also shrinking. It abandoned Novgorod and Chudovo and tightened its troops around Leningrad. At the same time, it also cleared out the large and small areas around Leningrad that were occupied by the Soviet army. It is a stronghold and consolidates the encirclement. It also allowed Empress Olga to symbolically return to Tsarskoye Selo on the outskirts of Leningrad!

"The Germans don't seem to want to expand their offensive in the Soviet Union," Marshall went on to analyze. "At least there won't be another major offensive until the muddy season next spring passes... This means that the German army can use part of its army and air force to Switch to the Western Front and end the War in Ireland this winter."

If Ireland is completely controlled by Germany, then the British mainland will really have no choice but to kneel down - even if the United States and the Soviet Union temporarily regain sea power in the North Atlantic, it will be difficult to transport supplies into the British Isles. The UK has consumed a large amount of reserves in the spring and summer of this year, and now it cannot support it for much longer.

"Do they have the capability?" President Roosevelt said. "The Germans have been at war with the British in Ireland for months."

"There is no doubt about it!" Marshall spread his hands and said, "As long as Germany transports part of its armored division from Belarus to Ireland, the British will soon be unable to support it, unless we can provide timely support!"

"Send in our armored divisions?" Roosevelt asked.

"Yes," Marshall said. "This is the only solution the Army Staff can think of at the moment."

"Where's the Navy?" Roosevelt asked William Lacey. Lacey is not the chief of naval operations now, but as the presidential chief of staff with a background in the navy (this position is equivalent to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), he is very clear about the navy's plans.

"The Navy believes that defending Australia and recovering Guyana, which was occupied by Germany, are the top priorities." Lacey said, "The Japanese army is now accelerating the consolidation of bases in the Bismarck Islands and Solomon Islands, and it seems that it will soon attack Australia. Germany's rule in Guyana is also becoming increasingly stable, and it now controls French Guiana and British Guiana. If we cannot drive the Germans away from South America as soon as possible, I am afraid that Venezuela will become the next victim. Therefore, the opinion of the navy is Australia. and Venezuela first.”

Germany has been sending more troops to Guyana in the past few months, and the number of troops currently stationed in Guyana is likely to exceed one division. Moreover, the Germans also divided their forces to march into French and British Guiana, and now have unified the three Guianas.

In fact, Guyana has nothing to worry about and is not afraid of being temporarily controlled by Germany. But Venezuela, which is right next to Guyana, is different. Venezuela is now an important oil-producing country. In the 1920s, it was once the world's largest oil exporter. At present, its total oil output is comparable to that of the Soviet Union, and it is the world's second largest oil exporter after the United States.

Since the country of Venezuela defaulted on its debt in 1901 (it did not recognize foreign debt, which resulted in Britain, Germany and Italy sending troops to demand the debt, and the United States finally stepped in to settle the matter), being pro-American has been the mainstream in politics and diplomacy. Its domestic abundant oil resources are of course controlled by large companies in the United States and Britain. After Germany suddenly sent troops to Guyana, Venezuelan President Isaias Medina Angarita declared neutrality while inviting the U.S. military to station.

This obviously biased "neutrality" will naturally not last long. Once Germany gains a foothold in Guyana, it is very likely to attack Venezuela from land. Once Venezuela is controlled by Germany, Germany's oil supply may be greatly abundant.

Therefore, Venezuela is also a territory that the United States must defend - Venezuela must be defended, the British mainland must be saved, Australia cannot give up, Hawaii is a territory that must be recovered, and the Soviet Union also needs assistance from the United States.

However, the power in Roosevelt's hands, especially the naval power, was very limited. It was impossible to take very active actions in these places at the same time. There had to be choices.

Therefore, many people in the U.S. Navy, which was crushed by Japan, advocated "Pacific First", that is, giving up Europe and Germany and using the Atlantic Ocean as the boundary. Then concentrate our forces on the Pacific battlefield and defeat the Japanese devils first.

But Roosevelt obviously would not agree to give up Europe. Now "Europe first" is still the national policy of the United States.