Chapter 1403 American emperors are also good students (second update, please subscribe)
Author: Xiaoyu’s Destiny
Chapter 1403 American emperors are also good students (second update, please subscribe)
Turn the vast west into a meat grinder and drain the blood of the empire!
This is not a new tactic, nor is it just boasting. In fact, as early as the era when Grant was the Secretary of War, the United States had formulated a defense plan for the west. Compared with the central Great Plains, the United States had
The west is vast, but there are a lot of mountains from the west coast to the central plains, from the Cascade Mountains to the Cordillera Mountains to the Rocky Mountains. Although there are a lot of large basins and plateau grasslands distributed among them,
Numerous mountain collars still brought obstacles to the march of the army, but they were also beneficial to defense. During the Grant era, defensive fortresses were built at many passes to block the Ming army from attacking.
Those fortresses... were enough to make the Ming Empire bleed out in the west!
Of course, this is just a plan, but even if it is a plan, it sounds exciting. Especially at this special time, what do people need?
Of course it’s good news!
The Secretary of War's answer made President Cleveland nod with satisfaction.
"Okay, Mr. Minister, let us stop the invasion of the empire in the west! Turn the vast west into a meat grinder! Let the empire pay the price for their actions!"
Then he turned to Secretary of the Navy William Whitney and asked.
"William, where is the navy? Is our navy still capable of blocking Ming's attack?"
When asking this question, Cleveland didn't even have much confidence. After all, the Navy lost 400,000 tons of warships in one day. This was an unprecedented defeat, especially the loss of eleven dreadnought warships, which was close to destruction.
Sexual blow.
"Mr. President, although the Navy suffered unprecedented losses in the air strike, we are still confident in safeguarding the security of the East Coast!"
Secretary of the Navy William Whitney went on to explain,
"Judging from the information available from all aspects, although the Ming Empire invaded Cuba, for now, the possibility of them landing directly on the east coast is very small. After all, with the maritime power of the Ming Empire, it is difficult for them to protect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
While investing maritime power in both directions, they also provided escort for our merchant fleet. This was even the reason why they launched a sneak attack - not only to severely damage our fleet in the early stages of the war, but also to ensure its superiority at sea.
This maritime advantage is the advantage in the Pacific. According to the inference of the naval generals, the empire seeks absolute advantage in the Pacific in order to maintain its offensive in the Pacific. Their offensive is not only limited to the west, but also includes Australia and other places.
On the Atlantic Ocean, they will confront us through a balance of power approach!"
The U.S. Navy in the 1990s was still full of famous generals, including not only Mahan, the master of sea power theory, but also many outstanding generals. After the empire's "surprise attack on Hampton", they were keenly aware of the Ming Dynasty's strategic goals.
It's the Pacific Ocean, not the Atlantic Ocean.
"Confrontation? How is this possible? Cuba! Didn't they already invade Cuba?"
"Mr. President, in China's art of war, there is "the plank road is built openly and the warehouse is hidden". We believe that Cuba is just a bait, just a bait to attract our attention! When our attention is attracted by the crisis on the west coast and the threat on the east coast, they will definitely
Attack in other directions."
William Whitney went on to add,
"Moreover, even if the worst possibility occurs and the enemy launches a desperate attack on the east coast at all costs, the navy and army will have the power to defeat them."
William Whitney is not patting his chest and bragging. In fact, although the main fleet of the US military suffered heavy losses in Hampton, the remaining strength is still very impressive: there are as many as fifteen battleships, including 5 battleships.
Dreadnoughts, although six of them are located in the Pacific, the U.S. fleet stationed on the East Coast still has five dreadnoughts, four pre-dreadnoughts, four armored cruisers, dozens of cruisers, destroyers and torpedo boats, and
Several submarines.
Although those pre-dreadnought ships were lagging behind the times, these ships were built in the late 1880s. They were equipped with 12-inch naval guns and had heavy armor, making them very suitable for defensive operations based on harbor fortresses.
"...If they attack, our fleet will rely on coastal defense forts to guard the base, and cruisers will form several attack teams to attack the enemy's transport fleet. If necessary, we can also take risks and dispatch battleship units to destroy as many of the opponent's transport ships as possible.
This will weaken the enemy's landing force support and create favorable conditions for the army's counterattack. Moreover, according to our judgment, it will only take six to ten months for the warships damaged in the air raid to return to normal combat capabilities. By then,
We will regain our maritime advantage bit by bit."
These are the naval defense strategies proposed by Admiral Mahan at a high-level meeting of the Navy Department a few hours ago.
The explanations of the two ministers finally gave President Cleveland a little peace of mind, but he was inevitably swollen. After his confidence in homeland defense increased greatly, he couldn't wait to raise the issue of counterattack.
"When do you think we can launch a counterattack?"
"I think there are more pressing problems that need to be solved right now than counterattack."
William Whitney responded first.
"Go on."
William Whitney said straightforwardly.
"What we are facing now is a brand new and unknown form of war. Whether it is the new tanks or new aerial machines they put on the battlefield, they have brought fundamental changes to the form of war, and
War in this new form is something we have never heard of or seen. How can we fight in this situation?"
After asking the rhetorical question, Whitney continued:
"I believe that Congress will soon pass a new naval bill. Well, that bill still needs some amendments to advance the shipbuilding schedule. But we also need to develop new aviation forces and strengthen warships.
Air defense capabilities, but we all understand that all this takes time, time... Now we need time to form a new fleet, only then will our new fleet be enough to destroy any enemy on the sea."
The new Navy bill that Whitney mentioned was originally scheduled to be introduced to Congress by the end of this year. Under the current circumstances, it is natural for it to be introduced in advance.
"Aviation... Mr. President, what we urgently need now is to build new flying machines, including warships to carry them, to counter Ming's air superiority. This is the only way for us to win the war!"
Although the United States does not know much about flying machines until now, in Hampton, the imperial flying machines have shown great power. According to American speculation, the imperial flying machines took off from the sea. Then
There's no way such a tiny flying machine could come from a land base thousands of nautical miles away.
Therefore, the empire must have a large-scale flying machine carrier. Although the specific information of the enemy aircraft carrier is not yet known, since it has demonstrated strong combat effectiveness, the United States must seize the time to learn from it.
Maybe the Ming Empire can create miracles with new weapons, but Americans can also learn from the Ming Dynasty and create new weapons.
Let's see, we Americans will do better! We will surpass them soon.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!