Although Churchill knew that his secretary must have something important to report when he broke in, as Prime Minister, he could not let his decision be taken for granted.
"This is a telegram from the United States."
Although the secretary was a little panicked about barging in and being noticed by the Prime Minister and other important ministers, he still decided to put the telegram on the Prime Minister's desk. After all, this telegram was too important.
And I saw the secretary coming in like a gust of wind and leaving like a gust of wind.
Churchill, who was interrupted by his secretary, took this moment to take a look at the telegram. This glance made him unable to take his eyes away anymore. Because the telegram stated that US President Roosevelt had bypassed Congress and prepared a batch of military supplies for Britain and France.
This is a total of US$120 million in military supplies. The list of supplies is on the next page of the telegram.
Churchill was greatly excited by this American aid. He held the telegram high and said, "Now let me tell you some good news. President Roosevelt of the United States has used his presidential special appropriation to provide us with a batch of aid."
120 million US dollars worth of supplies. This shows that the Americans are also on our side."
Churchill's words made everyone present applaud. They didn't know what supplies the United States had sent, but the attitude of the Americans had already shown that they would not sit idly by and ignore the war in Europe, and this was the best evidence.
Yes, the UK currently needs something to boost morale. In Europe, Poland and Greece have failed one after another, and in the Mediterranean, the British and French fleets are also at a disadvantage. There are already people in the country questioning whether Britain's declaration of war on Dro was a mistake, although this voice is fundamentally
It’s not worth mentioning, but it still represents the emergence of a different kind of voice among the people.
And now the extremely tilted policy of the United States has given the two countries a lot of confidence. As for the United States, do they know that during the last war, massive supplies crossed the Atlantic and arrived in Europe? As long as there are American supplies, then the British and French mobilized
Soldiers have the ability to block attacks from the axis.
Yes, both countries know very well about American industry, which is why Britain and France must rope in the United States. As long as the navy controls sea power in the Atlantic, a steady stream of supplies from the United States can be transported to Europe.
"By the way, Prime Minister, what supplies does the United States send this time?"
Minister of Munitions Herbert Morrison started to ask. The army under his control was currently facing a shortage of supplies in all aspects, so he especially wanted to know what these supplies were.
Churchill also followed his words and read the supplies sent by the United States in the message, but he frowned slightly at a glance. The United States did send the supplies they needed. More than 700 artillery pieces of various types and more than 500 anti-aircraft guns.
There are more than 300 anti-tank guns of various types, more than 100,000 Springfield rifles, more than 1,200 Browning heavy machine guns, more than 600 P40 fighter jets that they urgently need, and more than 50,000 tons of various ammunition.
Most of these equipment are army equipment, and the only aircraft is the P40 fighter. This fighter is actually a minor modification of the P36 with an engine replacement, but it is already the most advanced fighter in the United States, and nothing better than it is
there is none left.
And even so, President Roosevelt deliberately bypassed Congress and delivered supplies to the United Kingdom. Of course, the American capitalists standing behind President Roosevelt also contributed a lot, otherwise how could the Congressmen turn a blind eye?
Eye.
Of course, for the current Britain and France, this is completely indifferent, and they need the attitude of the United States more. Of course, on the other hand, Romania's move to seize the island of Cyprus and threaten the British and French colonies in the Middle East has allowed the United States to speed up the delivery of supplies. Yes.
Whether it's good or bad, I don't know.
As for why there are no armored vehicles such as tanks in this supply list, it seems to be that the Army has been following the example of France.
In the eyes of the US military, the French Army has always been a pretty good example. They are a modern army with European traditional systems and excellent equipment. The US Army believes that the French have better tanks than the Germans, both in terms of protection and firepower.
, are much more powerful than German tanks.
Therefore, the main tank currently developed by the United States is the M2 tank. However, due to the small size of the army, it is equipped with not many M2 tanks. Moreover, the United States itself is also expanding its troops, and its number of tanks is also insufficient. Naturally, Roosevelt cannot use the Army's only
The tank property was also taken away. However, I heard that the US Army is starting to expand its armored force. It plans to sign a contract with Chrysler, the manufacturer of M2 tanks, to purchase 1,000 M2 tanks.
So now, the United States cannot provide tanks to support Britain.
As for the M4 Sherman, which will be famous in later generations, it is still missing. Because Britain and France do not have the most intuitive understanding of Dro's armor strength, the United States has no reference for comparison.
Although the United States failed to provide armor assistance, these supplies were enough for Britain to form ten divisions, so Churchill said. "Everyone has seen that the supplies provided by the United States have solved our great troubles. It happened that Wavell came
We will be in urgent need of reinforcements, so send some of this batch of supplies there."
Although Churchill did not say what supplies to send, Morrison, as the Minister of Munitions, knew what to do. First, half of the fighter planes needed to be left to defend the homeland. In addition, most of the air defense weapons that were urgently needed in the homeland were left behind, as well as artillery, machine guns, and anti-tank weapons.
The artillery and ammunition were first selected by the local troops, and then sent to General Wavell in Egypt. As for the Springfield rifles, they were sent directly to him, or else they were handed over to the troops formed in India or Africa.
Morrison, who has a clear mind, has already calculated the supplies that need to be sent.
The supplies from the United States happened to help Churchill solve the problems in the Middle East. He was very happy and continued. "At present, the relationship between our country and the United States needs to be deepened. Mr. Halifax, how about you go to the United States and become an ambassador?"
Churchill's words immediately made the air in the conference room freeze. Because they all knew that this was considered an exile. Although the United States' attitude towards Britain was very important, there was no need for the Foreign Secretary to serve as the British ambassador to the United States. Moreover, they also knew that Churchill and Roosevelt
Personal relations are very good, and many things do not need to go through diplomatic ambassadors. This is not what exile is.
Of course, everyone is very clear about the reason why Halifax was exiled. That is, Halifax was the one in the cabinet who advocated peace talks, and he always stood up to oppose Churchill's decisions. However, given his position in the Conservative Party
Due to his status, Churchill has been patient until now. But now he is suddenly sent to the United States. I believe that the prime minister must have made complete preparations.
Although everyone knew the reason, no one spoke, and they were all waiting for Halifax's answer.
As for Halifax, who was the center of the crowd, a trace of anger flashed across his face, but he suppressed it very well.
"As ordered, I will take over the post of ambassador to the United States, so please allow me to leave now."
Halifax stood up and left the conference room.
So on the last day of 1939, Edward Wooden Halifax resigned as Foreign Secretary and Robert Anthony Eden took over.
However, all this has no impact on Romania, and everything is proceeding step by step. Everyone knows Romania's next plan, but so what, who can take back the sea power in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Romanian Navy?
