Chapter 743: Bullying the Weak
"We are afraid that the British and French forces cannot withstand this round of German offensive. Now the German army has the advantage in manpower." Although Newton agreed with the slave owner's opinion, he was still worried.
"Germany's military strength can be calculated. At this point in the war, all countries have mobilized their troops." Sheffield shrugged and said, "The best outcome for the United States is for both the Germans and the British to suffer heavy losses. Although we have to join the Allied camp for some reasons, everyone should understand that this does not mean that Britain and France are good people. Even if we help them, they may not appreciate it. From President Wilson's declaration, we can see that the special status of Britain and France in their extensive colonies around the world must be ended. The greater the price they pay in the war, the easier it will be for us to achieve our goals after the war."
If there is a country in the world that is destined to become a vested interest, as an American, Sheffield certainly hopes that the United States will have this status. The same goes for Britain, Japan, the Soviet Union, and the Republic.
Today's biggest opponents are Britain and France. Before overthrowing these vested interests, Sheffield is willing to coexist peacefully with the other side, even if it is a devil like the Soviet Union. Even in history, the attitude of the United States towards the Soviet Union can be called a mistake, although the main reason is that the United States has always wanted to force the Soviet Union to recognize the validity of the Morgan family's loan.
After the United States entered the war, it also brought a certain degree of impact. Of course, because the German army defeated the Russian Empire on the Eastern Front, countries such as Romania and Greece have always adopted a neutral attitude. However, in other places that Germany could not reach, the effect was still evident. For example, Brazil and Portugal, two Portuguese-speaking countries, joined the Allied camp.
Brazil's approach to the world war was almost a replica of the United States. Brazil had already made plans to join the war, and it was prepared to support the Anglo-French Allied Powers, with which it had close economic and trade relations. However, the war situation was still unclear, and Brazil was not sure about joining the war. Brazil hoped that as the leading power in South America, it should participate in a war between European powers to gain their respect and their recognition of Brazil's strength.
Brazil can naturally enhance its influence in South America after the war as a partner of the great powers in South America. Moreover, participating in the war can also allow Brazil to keep up with the times, grasp the direction of war and military development, and avoid falling behind militarily.
The war had an impact on Brazil's mainstay coffee industry, but it also allowed Brazil's industry to develop.
"Let's think of a way with the United States of Brazil. Given the limited transportation capacity, let Brazil share our responsibility of transporting troops to Europe. Doesn't Brazil want several major powers to recognize its strength? You can't just fool people with 24 people!" Sheffield spread his hands helplessly and said, "It's a pity that the Brazilians came up with this idea. 24 people dared to call themselves an expeditionary force. Compared with Brazil, Pershing's more than 2,000 people seem to be very conscientious."
"Join forces with Britain and France to put pressure on Brazil at the same time?" Little Newton understood what the slave owner meant, but he just asked for confirmation.
"What else? Brazil's sovereign country Portugal is already on the British battlefield, and it has the nerve to send 24 people?" Sheffield chuckled, "24 people are enough to get the recognition of Britain and France. The Chinese have already been recognized. In every aspect, I think China is much stronger than Brazil."
Sheffield had figured this out long ago. Although the Qing Dynasty was doing well in the late Qing Dynasty, it also depends on who the opponent is. The United States would bow down to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia, let alone the Qing Dynasty. Only the truly powerful countries dared to come to the door, and weak countries would not come to the door.
Slave owners have always used Italy as a benchmark to measure true imperialism. So the question is, which one is stronger, Italy or Brazil? This is not obvious. Pauper imperialism is also imperialism.
"We will make a joint statement with Britain and France, asking Brazil to send an expeditionary force immediately. In this way, we can send 50,000 soldiers to Europe every month. Together with the Brazilian expeditionary force, we can send 500,000 people to France within half a year." Sheffield counted on his fingers and felt that the number was about right, but then he thought of another question, "You are the Minister of War, but you can't send the black division first? We can use this war to see if the blacks are loyal enough to the country."
It sounds high-sounding, but the real purpose is nothing more than asking the black people to die first. The black people are now eager to prove their loyalty to the country. If Newton doesn't give them this opportunity, wouldn't it be very disappointing?
Black people wanted to prove their loyalty to the country, and Sheffield gave them this opportunity through the Secretary of War, which was not a mistake. As for Brazil's hope that Britain and France would take Brazil's position in South America seriously, it was reasonable for the United States to join Britain and France in pressuring Brazil to send an expeditionary force as soon as possible.
Moreover, Britain and France have the ability to do so. Britain and France were the largest investors in Brazil before the war, with Britain investing $1.1 billion and France investing $600 million. As for the United States, it only invested $50 million, part of which was invested by Sheffield in order to win over Edith Rockefeller. Even Belgium invested over $100 million in Brazil. However, the slave owners believed that the situation would be different after the war. Britain and France would definitely withdraw their investment to make up for the reality of their own high domestic debts. Only after the war would the United States have the opportunity to show its strength in the world.
The life of a politician depends on the result of the next election, and Newton does not know the result of the election. But Sheffield can continue to exert influence, so it is not surprising that the Secretary of War thinks the slave owner is right.
On the dock of New York Harbor, rows of black soldiers were boarding ships one after another with infinite loyalty to the United States, embarking on an uncertain journey. Just above the harbor, on a shark-mouthed airship, Sheffield was watching this scene and muttered with a smile, "If God still values his friendship with me, it would be best to let the black troops bring back the second wave of influenza so that we can find the person responsible and label him."
While the American Expeditionary Force officially began its troop transport mode, the German army's offensive in the European battlefield was still in full swing. On the first day of the Battle of the Emperor, the German army advanced eight kilometers.
The position behind the British Fifth Army, the line of defense that cost the lives of countless Allied soldiers, the line of defense that had been reinforced for half a year, was breached in one day. The British commander watched the German army rush to the other side of the Somme River by building a pontoon bridge like a tide. When the Fifth Army was defeated, the fate of the British Third Army in the south was doomed. Without flank support, they were stuck in the middle. The front-line troops suffered huge losses and were forced to move to Dijon.
At this time, the British Expeditionary Force Command was just like the French in 1914, when they faced the German army's advance after the defeat in the border battle. They were frustrated and desperate. The Expeditionary Force Command was fully organizing the British army to rebuild the defense line, at least to defend the ports of the English Channel. However, the German army was much stronger than the British imagined.
The British's first reaction was to ask the French for help, but the French said that the problem now was how to defend Paris. Regarding the British positions which were the main direction of attack, France could only offer a solution of allowing the British Expeditionary Force to retreat to the French defense line.
At the critical moment, the top leaders of Britain and France communicated with each other. When facing the massive attack of the Allies led by the German army, the two countries still needed to be more united. In this chaos, the news that the American Expeditionary Force had boarded the ship made London and Paris feel relieved. At the same time, Secretary of State Robert Lansing also proposed to gather the strength of Britain, France and the United States and ask Brazil to send an expeditionary force immediately, so as to make up for the lack of transportation capacity of the American Expeditionary Force.
This telegram came at a particularly opportune time, just when Britain and France were overwhelmed by the emperor's offensive.
The two countries, which were already desperate, almost immediately agreed to Robert Lansing's proposal to have the United States, in the name of Britain, France and the United States, put pressure on Brazil to immediately send an expeditionary force to bring all 60,000 soldiers of the current Brazilian Army, otherwise they would threaten to withdraw their investments from Brazil after the war.
With the approval of Britain and France, Robert Lansing became extremely tough in the pressure telegram to Brazil. First, in the name of Britain and France, he believed that Brazil's previous act of sending 24 people in the name of an expeditionary force was a humiliation to the Allied Powers. At the same time, he also stated that since Brazil had already joined the war, it should send appropriate troops to the battlefield like the United States.
Robert Lansing even used words commonly used in ultimatums, requiring the United States of Brazil to give a reply within 24 hours. Soon Rio de Janeiro responded that it was willing to send combat troops to Europe immediately.
"To be honest, some European countries were frightened by the collapse of Imperial Russia. American countries seemed to be much calmer. After the United States entered the war, Brazilians should have understood that the Allies will inevitably win this war, although it may be too early." Sheffield raised his glass to Robert Lansing, thanking the Secretary of State for his intervention.
"Britain and France are also anxious. The German attack is indeed very fierce." Robert Lansing took a sip and sighed, "If Germany had not been at war for four years, it would have been so terrible."
"That's not the case. Some things need to be learned from war." Sheffield said noncommittally, "Didn't the German army have a suitable way to deal with trench warfare at the beginning?"
(End of this chapter)
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