Chapter 68: Between the Peace and War (14)

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The initial success of the rocket project did not bring much joy to everyone, because Oppenheimer had already reported on the Manhattan project in the morning on the requirements of the redevelopment project and the problems at Oak Ridge. ，

In this short period of time, more than 1,000 policemen, officers, general technicians and workers who participated in the rescue at Oak Ridge have died of various strange diseases, and many more are hospitalized or struggling to die, and doctors estimate that the lives of these people can only be counted in days or weeks.

Although the official cover up is still being made, no matter how much is covered, at least one thing is clear: nuclear radiation is much more powerful than scientists initially thought! This proves from the side that the power of atomic weapons is only half-finished products, and the leakage of finished products and finished elements can cause such huge damage.

Because of this deterrent, the Manhattan research team deliberately set aside a team to observe the lethality of radiation, and prepare to further enrich the comprehensive understanding of the properties of atomic bombs.

Oppenheimer estimated that it would take another 1,214 months to rebuild the isotope factory and extract enough raw materials, and he deduced another terrible conclusion: if the Germans were also conducting similar research projects, this time would be enough for the opponent to preemptively build a similar weapon. Moreover, he further deduced that due to the advanced and powerful rocket technology of Germany, Germany may not choose to use bombers and atomic bombs for bombing like the United States, and may use rockets to carry out direct attacks.

The thought that an atomic bomb might explode in New York or Washington in the middle of the night when it was impossible to be prepared for it made all the heads and minds of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shuddered, and even if it was not in New York or Washington, it was completely unbearable to fall in places like Philadelphia and Boston, and according to current estimates, just one atomic bomb would be enough to destroy a city.

Dewey asked Oppenheimer with a gloomy face: "When do you think the German atomic bomb will be put into use?" “

"I'm afraid no one will know the exact time except for the Germans." Oppenheimer hesitated, "My personal guess is that in another 48 months, Germany should be able to succeed, of course, I don't have any evidence, it's just a guess." ”

Oppenheimer didn't know, he guessed correctly, and Hoffman was told that if all went well, enough isotopes could be harvested and assembled by the end of July, and then a test in August would show that the path was correct; If it fails, no one can tell Hoffmann when it will succeed, because the isolated isotopes in Germany can only support one test, and it will take until November to collect enough nuclear material to divert power at all costs.

Based on this understanding, Dewey issued two orders: the first was to reallocate funds for a new isotope separation plant; The second is to order Donovan to figure out the German nuclear weapons development program and test sites as soon as possible, and then look for opportunities to sabotage them.

On the Bermuda issue, because of the existence of rocket and atomic weapons programs, everyone felt the danger of being stuck in the throat, and the joint staff committee finally discussed and reached a consensus: if the peace engagement campaign in 45 months did not produce the results that the United States wanted, a counteroffensive must be launched in June to take Bermuda. The Army said it would deploy the most elite 82nd Airborne Division to carry out the mission; The Navy said that there will be five Essex-class ships available at that time, which will form a powerful combat fleet; The Air Force also said that it would dispatch enough crews to cooperate with the Hawaiian crews, and that after receiving them, the combat force would be relatively more abundant.

Although everyone thinks that Bermuda is not easy to fight, and they also hope to achieve peace with Germany as soon as possible, judging from the situation in Dulles's early contacts: It is relatively difficult to reach a peace agreement, and even if Germany and the United States have the desire for peace, the current conditions are still far apart.

"What do you think of the conditions in Germany?"

The Joint Chiefs of Staff were divided into two factions, Turner and Clark were in the minority, and believed that peace should be made quickly at all costs, and of course it was impossible to make some adjustments entirely on German terms; Led by MacArthur, Nimitz, and others, there is a majority faction that believes that Dulles's conditions can be raised a little more, but it is impossible to fully accept German conditions, and even if the president and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are willing to accept their fate, it is impossible to pass them on Capitol Hill.

Now that Dewey is starting to have a headache, he knew that he should not have allowed the Joint Staff Committee to come to the United States in the first place, and released the news of the "Caribbean victory" while saying that it was a great victory, and at the same time he wanted to make peace quickly, and his split personality was nothing more than this, how could the congressmen censor it? What do you think of the public?

"The report is the latest message we have received." The meeting was going on late at night, and Donovan suddenly handed over a telegram with a nervous expression, "Our intelligence officers have spent a lot of money and sacrificed four intelligence officers to send this plan. ”

"What's inside?"

"Here are some outlines of the joint European exercises scheduled for May 8 and the 'Strange Man of the High Castle' program"

"The Stranger of the High Castle?" MacArthur frowned and said, "What does this mean?" How did the Germans come up with such a bizarre term? ”

"I don't know, but the content is very shocking"

After reading this telegram, everyone finally understood what Donovan meant by "shock": On May 8, the European Union will hold its first joint military exercises, and then it will formally convene a preparatory meeting of the European Union and publish the draft of the European Union for approval by various governments.

This military exercise is not an ordinary show of force, but also a rehearsal for the formation of the European Rapid Reaction Force, and Marshal Guderian, who commanded the South African campaign and practiced Blitzkrieg0, will serve as the commander of this force. Of course, what made everyone even more uneasy was the "Strange Man of the High Castle" plan behind it: Germany was prepared to mobilize 300400000 troops to launch a landing campaign on the North American continent once the German-American peace talks failed, and finally achieved the goal of forcing the United States to surrender unconditionally and occupy the division.

As for the occupation plan, everyone was not disappointed, and the "wish" got a glimpse of the face: Britain took the first 13 states of North America, France took Louisiana, Italy took Florida, Germany took the central region, Japan occupied California, Spain, Portugal, and even Russia would get a piece of the American corpse, and the puppet United States would be confined to a small "reserved state" to act as a buffer state between Japan and Germany.

"The plan was launched in January 1946, provided that Japan occupied Hawaii and Germany occupied the Caribbean, and then attacked from four directions, southeast, northwest, and northwest. Commander-in-Chief: Marshal Manstein! ”

As soon as new tactics and new weapons were mentioned, everyone immediately thought of the scene where the nuclear bomb was opened and the rocket was washed away, and everyone privately exchanged words: If this scene really occurs, should they prepare to surrender unconditionally or resist to the end as much as possible?

Dewey's face was pale, but he still maintained his composure on the surface: "This may be a German intimidation plan, so that our diplomatic and intelligence systems can quickly contact the relevant countries in Europe, inquire about their authenticity and possibility, and not let go of any clues."

(End of chapter)

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