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Leap, a stroke of genius that shakes the world Chapter 121 Tent Meeting

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    Chapter 121 Camp Meeting January 24, 1943, may be a day remembered by all Italy.  On this day, the 1st Army of the Italian Expeditionary Corps captured the important Saudi town of Majimah with the support of bombers and heavy artillery. The victory brought both glory and humiliation: in the fierce street fighting that lasted for nearly 12 hours, the destroyed Italian army  Tanks and armored vehicles actually blocked the main thoroughfares in the city, and Italian soldiers who were shot by rifles and machine guns lay dead like ants on the streets. What's even more terrible is that clear battlefield photos passed through Germany, France, Britain, Portugal, etc. at an alarming speed.  The national media published and reprinted it, causing a sensation around the world. The chain reaction spread like lightning. A new round of anti-war tide soon started in Italy. The trade unions were planning a general strike. The intelligentsia fiercely criticized the Italian army in various ways for being outdated and backward.  The anti-war theme has evolved from the earlier "peaceful anti-war" to "can we win this war" - the Saudi army, whose main equipment is still at the level of the beginning of the century, is so difficult to deal with, and a head-on confrontation  The logical result of the U.S. military, which is heavily equipped with modern weapons, is obvious. The beleaguered Mussolini government did not compromise with domestic public opinion, and truce and peace were not at all among their considerations.  In order to stabilize the situation and get out of the "Saudi quagmire" as soon as possible, Mussolini personally called on all walks of life to unite and contribute to the country, and with great fanfare submitted to the parliament the "increase in funds and reduce time" bill that had been on hold for a long time.  , that is, through legislation to increase the income of the working class and reduce their weekly working hours, in order to get rid of the huge threat of workers' strikes to continued military operations; on the one hand, it strongly criticized European governments for allowing retired soldiers to go to Saudi Arabia to "gold dig", thereby creating a  The Italian military command abdicated responsibility for the heavy battle losses, and at the same time accused the US government of "catch the thief" by saying that the so-called ultimatum was a shameless interference in West Asia and a provocation to the world situation. If the US government insists on challenging Italy's  dignity, then the Italian government will consider concluding a comprehensive military alliance agreement with Japan to fight against the common enemy of the two countries.  Once some things are made clear, there is no room for mediation. The official statement of the Italian government undoubtedly puts Italy-US relations on the fast track of direct war. Washington has taken a tough stance and asked Italy to stop its activities before January 31.  military offensive in Saudi Arabia and pay up to US$25 million in personnel and equipment losses to the Saudi-American oil company. Otherwise, the US military will take forceful action against any ship flying the Italian flag, and even use aircraft or submarines to attack the Italian mainland.  The target carries out the attack.  Just as the deadline given by the U.S. government was about to expire, the U.S. delegation led by presidential envoy Harry S. Truman secretly arrived in Germany and met up with another delegation that had arrived earlier in Berlin.  The delegation has reached a basic agreement with the German government on "international volunteers" and secret arms purchases. As soon as the agreement is officially signed, the first batch of German volunteers will set off for the United States along with US$400 million worth of military supplies.  Although Germany is very concerned about the current situation, the country's political and military authorities did not receive Truman and his party at the first time. Instead, Deputy Prime Minister Speer hosted a banquet.  As a result, Americans spent January 29 with anxiety. On this day, the second round of emergency negotiations between Italy and the United States in Barcelona, ??Spain, failed.  On the morning of January 30, the U.S. envoy and his entourage arrived in Potsdam by car. When they met the real power groups in Germany¡ªthe Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs¡ªthe final time limit stipulated in the war ultimatum was only 1.  Less than 40 hours away. Far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Potsdam has many palaces left by the royal family. For example, the former Kaiser Wilhelm II¡¯s favorite summer residence, Sanssouci Palace, has been turned into a history museum.  Logan ingeniously chose an open space not far from the Summer Palace. The soldiers of the Prime Minister's Guard shoveled away the snow, set up a traditional white tent, and lit several piles of charcoal fires inside and outside the tent. If it weren't for the people still  Wearing normal clothes, people who walk into this place may think that they have traveled through time and space.  "Representative of the U.S. Army, Lieutenant General Delos Emmens" "Representative of the U.S. Navy, Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood" After the U.S. presidential envoy and Democrat Truman briefly introduced himself, the two  Military representatives who were not wearing U.S. military uniforms also reported their names and ranks.  After inviting the other party to sit down, Logan, who was wearing a gray woolen trench coat, explained: "Everyone, the reason why we chose this meeting place is just to keep everyone calm in the cold temperature, because everything we are about to talk about is  "It's content enough to influence the history of the world." The servants served the hot coffee at the right time - Logan took a sip and found that the coffee brewed directly over a charcoal fire and an iron kettle had a special flavor.  Although not in the mood to experience Prussian history, these Americans?I picked up the coffee cup immediately.  "Is General Emmens the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army Aviation Fighter Force?" Logan asked in English that he had improved a lot in the past year.  An ordinary coat could not hide this man's military temperament. He replied in a neither humble nor condescending manner: "Yes, Prime Minister, during your visit to the United States, I had the honor to attend the welcome dinner, but unfortunately I was not able to talk to you." "We have a Canadian.  General Rand is as good a fighter commander as you are," Rogan said.  "I have heard of General Garland. He is very young. To be precise, he is almost as young as you." Logan smiled and turned to another upright middle-aged man: "General Lockwood is the leader of the U.S. submarine force.  "He is very similar to our General D?nitz." "I dare not compare myself with General D?nitz," the middle-aged man, who was slightly smaller in stature, replied.  Although the total number of U.S. submarines reached more than 110 when the Pacific War broke out, twice the number of German submarines participating in the war in 1939, over a year later, the total performance of U.S. submarines was less than the gains of the German submarine force in half a year. Considering that the U.S.  Most of the submarines are large-tonnage fleet submarines, and their technical level and combat effectiveness are naturally higher than those of the early medium- and short-range submarines of the German Navy. The command level and combat skills of the two sides are indeed not on the same level. In response to the other party's answer, Logan still just smiled.  respond.  Because Germany wisely distanced itself from the Japanese government, Germany did not become a formal war opponent with the United States in 1941. Not only was the hostility not strong, but with the gradual development of strategic cooperation, the understanding between the two sides was constantly increasing.  Today, most Americans can name the "Blitz Hero" Guderian and the "Father of the Paratroopers" Stuart, and are full of curiosity and admiration for a series of classic actions of the German Wehrmacht.  Officers and soldiers also gradually learned that the US military aviation was equivalent to their air force. However, when the War in the Pacific entered its third year, there were still very few American generals with truly international reputations - even those who had visited the United States once.  Of the Logans, there are no more than twenty who are truly famous, and some of them come from historical memories.  Because of this, he sent Speer to attack the outpost and had the intelligence agencies prepare in advance, so that he could "know the ins and outs" of the visiting American representatives.  In Logan's view, as far as the specific positions of these two military representatives are concerned, the Americans should want to "make up for what is missing" and use the German army's rich experience and relatively advanced technology to overcome the most urgent problems on the Pacific battlefield.  : "Zero War" and submarines.  Although the current war progress has greatly deviated from the original historical trajectory, until the end of 1942, the Zero fighter aircraft equipped by the Japanese army was still a very troublesome opponent for the Americans, and the Japanese Navy, which had roughly the same number of submarines, had performed poorly before that.  Better than their American counterparts - the biggest achievement of American submarines so far is to sink a Japanese heavy cruiser. Japanese submarines not only sank an American medium-sized aircraft carrier, but also severely damaged one of its battleships and two aircraft carriers.  The number of destroyers has also reached six. In the old historical time and space, the German army¡¯s f¨¦n, this gentle envoy with round glasses, is still just a federal senator. If we follow the historical trajectory, he will be in 1944  He was nominated as a vice presidential candidate in 2011 and was eventually elected, and succeeded Roosevelt as president after his death in 1945. However, changes in historical time and space made all this an uncertainty.  "Mr. Special Envoy, what does President Roosevelt need us to do when he entrusts you to come here this time?" "Given the strategic cooperative relationship between Germany and the United States, speaking of 'requirements' is too blunt," the 58-year-old Truman said tactfully.  Avoiding the "word trap", "The president is asking you for your opinion very sincerely. Our ultimatum to Italy is about to expire. With the attitude and position of the Italian government, it may be difficult to resolve the dispute through diplomatic means." See the other party submit the issue  In front of him, Logan was not in a hurry to answer. Instead, he asked his minister to change him for a cup of hot tea. Then he turned around and said to the envoy with an innocent face: "If war is unavoidable, I would like to express my gratitude to him in my personal capacity."  "I regret this." But Truman also asked the German minister next to him to change himself a cup of tea, and then said: "Based on the strategic cooperative relationship of mutual trust between the United States and Germany, the President has entrusted me to inform you of an important strategic plan in advance.  To you, and to ask for your and Germany's support: Once war is declared on Italy, we are ready to send combat troops to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since the Japanese army controls the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean, we are ready to transport troops through the Atlantic Ocean and need at least one complex in Iran.  Military bases and material supply lines provided by Germany." Opening the strategic map in his mind, Logan could easily see the Americans' combat intentions. From Germany's standpoint, although he was willing to use the hands of the Americans to greatly weaken Italy,  But it would be better for the final control of Saudi Arabia to fall into the hands of the Italians than for the United States to continue to maintain strategic strongholds in West Asia.?Therefore, he said with a face of embarrassment: "Based on the agreement signed earlier by Germany and the recent statement, it is impossible for us to provide any country with a direct supply line to the battlefield. The transfer of comprehensive military bases will also cause extremely serious international consequences."  "Disputes" These words did not make Truman show a very surprised expression. He asked calmly: "Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, you don't want to know how many combat troops we plan to send to Saudi Arabia?" Logan said with a smile: "Ten soldiers or ten?"  Even with tens of thousands of soldiers, Germany will not violate the officially signed international treaties. Does the US government want to maintain a strategic cooperative relationship with a country that does not keep its promises? "[]
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