Dec. 22, 8 a.m., HSD White House. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Admiral Lacey, Chief of Staff to the President, and Gen. Marshall, Chief of Army Staff, trotted all the way to the door of the Oval Office. The obese presidential adjutant, Colonel Caton, was guarding the door, and when he saw the two generals, he immediately pushed open the door of the president's office with "no horns".

"Mr. President, Admiral Lacey and Admiral Marshall have arrived." Colonel Caton reports.

"Let them in." Roosevelt's hoarse, low, majestic voice came out.

The two generals straightened their uniforms and quickly walked into the office. In the office, in addition to President Roosevelt, there was presidential adviser Hopkins and a man in his fifties who dressed in a smart suit and behaved a bit like a banker. Admiral Lacey recognized him as the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, Joseph Brown. Kennedy.

How did he get back? The chief of staff of the president was taken aback, as a close confidant of Roosevelt, Admiral Lacey certainly knew that Kennedy, a tycoon, had a special mission in Switzerland.

"Daniel, George, this is Ambassador Kennedy, you should have met him, right?" Roosevelt greeted the two generals with a smile. "He'll be there for today's conversation."

Kennedy is actually going to participate in the conversation between the president and the two military bigwigs!

Filled with questions, the two generals greeted the president, Kennedy, and Hopkins, and then sat down separately.

"Mr. President, we have just received a report that at 5 a.m. London time today, the Germans have launched a major offensive on the island of Ireland!" Admiral Lacey sat down and immediately reported what he had just received.

"Oh." Roosevelt nodded slightly, he already knew the news, "How big is the attack?" ”

"More than 3,000 sorties bombed airfields in Ireland, Wales and north-west Scotland." "The number of artillery pieces involved in the preparation of artillery fire is estimated at 3,000-3,500 pieces, as well as a large number of rocket artillery," said Admiral Lacey. In addition, the Germans committed a large number of Tiger tanks and an unknown 150mm caliber heavy assault gun in the first wave of the offensive. ”

"Can't hold it?" The President of the United States asked.

"Most areas can't hold on." Admiral Marshall took over the question, "but the British have prepared for the worst, and they will shrink after the Germans break through the line in central Ireland." It then retreated to Belfast, North Down, Casselres and Ards, and made the peninsula east of the Stranford Lagoon as its final stronghold. ”

The districts of Belfast, North Down, Cassel Reed and Azi are small areas near Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, near the North Channel. The peninsula east of the Stranford Lagoon is one of the most treacherous.

"But that kind of defense doesn't make sense, does it?" Roosevelt asked again.

"It doesn't make much sense militarily." Marshall replied, "Once the British lost most of the island of Ireland, the Germans would be able to deploy bombers, mine-strikers, and torpedo boats in the northern part of the island, as well as mine-laying in the North Channel." ”

"Can Britain be completely blocked?" Ambassador Kennedy interjected.

"Before the spring equinox next year, the British still have Scarpa Bay," Admiral Lacey smiled wryly, "so Britain has one last breath!" ”

"Britain must be dragged down!" Roosevelt said, "This is very important for America!" ”

"Drag?" Admiral Lacey looked at Ambassador Kennedy and thought: The president must have had two plans, and secret negotiations with the Germans must be underway.

And Britain is a huge bargaining chip in the hands of the United States...... And it is also an easy bargaining chip for the United States to grasp. Therefore, President Roosevelt must not hand over the British mainland immediately.

Of course, using the resistance of the British mainland to deplete the strength of the German army must have been another plan. Britain has a population of more than 40 million people and is fully mobilized and armed. So it is entirely possible to pull out millions of British and German troops to fight a war of attrition!

It is not a matter of asking the British to kill millions of Germans, as long as one or two million can be contained, then the Germans may be short of troops on the Eastern Front. So the opportunity for the Soviets came!

"President, if the British are determined to resist, it will certainly not be easy for the Germans to take the British mainland." Admiral Marshall frowned, "but war-weariness is very high among the British people, and the rulers of the British Empire do not seem to be determined to die with the Germans." They...... There are still places to go. ”

With a Canada, Qiu Fatzi, the big leader of the British reactionaries, naturally would not consider waiting for his end in the basement of King Charles Street in London. And if the big leaders of the resistance all fled, the British working people who were abandoned in their homeland were not stupid, how could they be willing to break the total of 46 million?

"Then let some of them have no way out!" Roosevelt said blandly, "King George VI can come to Canada, but some former Navy member can't come!" ”

A certain former Navy member is, of course, Churchill!

George VI was nothing more than a puppet of Churchill, and he couldn't play any tricks when he arrived in Canada. But it would be hard to say if Churchill had come, as he had stockpiled hundreds of thousands of anthrax bombs in Canada.

Hearing Roosevelt's words, both Admiral Lacey and Marshall were taken aback. The two admirals looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

It was at this time that President Roosevelt's brain trust, Harry Roosevelt. Hopkins spoke: "Mr. President has already arranged for the question of a former Navy member staying on British soil. The Army and Navy now have to think about how to help the British defend their homeland...... Until the last man snaps! Of course, the United States will also pay sacrifices in this great battle to defend the British homeland, and that is the price that must be paid to defend the free world. ”

Now Admiral Lacey and Marshall understood that Roosevelt's purpose in bringing them to discuss how many Americans were needed to accompany the British Empire to the funeral -- this was a must, and without the Americans to accompany the funeral, Churchill would not be able to fight no matter how big he was, and he would not even be able to keep the prime ministership under his ass.

……

"Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Hull, Secretary of State, and Mr. Donovan, Director of the US Strategic Intelligence Agency, have arrived."

At 11 p.m. on December 22, when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill returned to 10 Downing Street from his headquarters on the ground floor of King Charles Street, Hull and Donovan, who had ventured by plane from the United States, had already arrived for a while.

"Let them wait for me in the dinette and prepare some dinner." Churchill gave the order and went to his office first. There were direct telephone calls to Buckingham Palace and Fort William, and he needed to report to Princess Elizabeth, who remained in London, and George VI, who sat in Fort William, about the day's war.

Of course, the situation is very bad, if the NR21 fleet is loaded with tanks, planes and fuel all arrive in the UK, then the battle on the island of Ireland will still be fought. It's a pity that the NR21 fleet only shipped 10.8 American rice buckets.

So the offensive of the European coalition was successful on the first day, and the British defense line in central Ireland was torn by the opponent with two large openings of more than twenty kilometers, and in order to avoid collapse, Admiral Alexander had already given the order to shrink the entire line.

"Mr. Prime Minister, how is the situation?"

After talking on the phone with the king and the princess, Churchill met two American guests in the dining-room. The U.S. Secretary of State looked very anxious, and as soon as they met, he asked about the situation on the front.

"It's not very good." Churchill replied, "It is likely that there will be a retreat to the Belfast defensive circle." ”

The so-called Belfast Defensive Circle is the area of Belfast, North Down, Cassel Rey and Ards, which is the planned last line of defense for British troops on the island of Ireland.

"When will you retreat to the Belfast defensive circle?" Hull asked with concern.

"5-10 days." Churchill looked a little sad. At this time, the waiter at 10 Downing Street began to serve food to Churchill and two American visitors.

There is unpalatable butter shrimp paste, meatballs made with chopped pork heart, pork liver and pork, fried unknown fish, tender rib-eye steak (which is the only food to be eaten in the eyes of American guests), and whiskey with lime juice.

Churchill didn't eat much, just gulped down his wine and smoked an extra-long cigar.

"Friends of the United States, Britain urgently needs your help now." Churchill drank and said, "Otherwise, the homeland will be difficult to defend." ”

"We'll do our best." "The new convoy has secretly departed, including the newly commissioned aircraft carrier USS Essex, loaded with 60 P47C fighters and 60 M10 tank destroyers, as well as 2,000 tons of ammunition and 2,000 tons of C3 fuel," Hull said immediately. There are also 16 flat-deck destroyers converted into fast carriers, each capable of carrying 500 tons of C3 fuel. ”

The Americans seem to have spent their blood to support Britain, and even the newly commissioned aircraft carrier Essex has been used as a transport ship. However, after all, the Essex is an aircraft carrier, not a transport ship, and its full load displacement of 35,600 tons can only carry a few thousand tons of less than 10,000 tons of cargo. And that's with only 12 F6F-3 carrier-based fighters on board.

"Thank you so much," said Churchill, nodding his head, "and with your support, Britain will be able to hold on." ”

"More equipment, fuel and soldiers will arrive soon." "Now the Aquitania and the Burrengaria are being loaded in Boston Harbor, and soon they will be loaded with 120 of the latest P47Cs and 80 M10s and 5,000 tons of ammunition," Hull said. In addition, 12 T2 tankers each carrying 10,000 tons of C3 fuel have sailed in the North Atlantic under the flags of neutral countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Mexico. ”

"Thank you so much, it's so good." Churchill seemed to be in a much better mood, with a lot of smiles on his face.

"Mr. Prime Minister," seeing that the atmosphere was about the same, Donovan, the director of the U.S. Strategic Intelligence Agency, suddenly interjected, "in order to promote the unity of our two countries, and to make the American people aware of the importance of supporting the British resistance, Mr. President wishes to invite the King of England to visit the United States at an appropriate time." (To be continued.) )