Chapter 1403: The United States is also a good student (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 time when Grant served as Secretary of War, the United States had formulated a defense plan for the West. Compared with the Great Plains in the central part of the United States, the western part of the United States is vast, but there are a large number of mountains from the west coast to the central plains, from the Cascade Mountains to the Cordilleras to the Rockies. Although there are a large number of large basins and plateau grasslands, the numerous mountain territories still pose obstacles to the army's advance, but are also conducive to defense. In the Grant era, defensive fortresses were built at many passes to prevent the Ming army from attacking.
Those fortresses...are enough to make the Ming Empire bleed to death in the west!
Of course, this is just a plan, but even if it is a plan, it sounds encouraging. 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's 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 his gaze to Secretary of the Navy William Whitney and asked.
"William, what about the navy? Is our navy still capable of stopping the Ming attack?"
When asking this question, Cleveland didn't even have any 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 battleships, which was a near-devastating blow.
"Mr. President, although the Navy suffered unprecedented losses in the air strikes, we are still confident that we can defend the security of the East Coast!"
Secretary of the Navy William Whitney went on to explain,
"From the information we have obtained from all sides, although the Ming Empire has invaded Cuba, at the moment, it is unlikely that they will land directly on the east coast. After all, with the maritime power of the Ming Empire, it is difficult for them to ensure the deployment of maritime forces in both the Atlantic and Pacific directions while providing escort for their own merchant fleets. This is even the reason why they launched a sneak attack - that is, by severely damaging our fleet at the beginning of the war, they can ensure their advantage at sea, and this advantage at sea is the advantage in the Pacific. According to the inference of the naval generals, the empire is seeking absolute advantage in the Pacific to maintain its offensive in the Pacific. Their offensive is not only limited to the West, but also includes Australia and other places. In the Atlantic, they will confront us through a balance of power!"
In the 1990s, the US Navy still had many famous generals, including Mahan, the master of sea power theory, and many outstanding generals. After the Empire's "surprise attack on Hampton", they keenly realized that the strategic goal of the Ming Dynasty was the Pacific Ocean, not the Atlantic Ocean.
"Confrontation? How is that possible? Cuba! Didn't they invade Cuba?"
"Mr. President, in the Chinese military strategy, there is a saying that goes 'repair the plank road in the open while marching through Chencang in secret'. We believe 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 launch attacks in other directions."
William Whitney then added,
"Moreover, even if the worst-case scenario were to occur and the enemy launched a desperate attack on the East Coast, the Navy and Army would be able to defeat them."
William Whitney was not bragging. In fact, although the main fleet of the US military suffered heavy losses in Hampton, the remaining forces were still considerable: there were as many as fifteen battleships, including five dreadnoughts. Although six of them were pre-dreadnoughts in the Pacific, the US fleet stationed on the East Coast still had five dreadnoughts, four pre-dreadnoughts, four armored cruisers, dozens of cruisers, destroyers and torpedo boats, as well as several submarines.
Although the pre-dreadnoughts were behind the times, these ships, built in the late 1880s, were equipped with 12-inch naval guns and had heavy armor, making them ideal for defensive operations based on harbor fortresses.
"…If they launch an attack, our fleet will rely on the coastal defense batteries to hold the base, and the cruisers will form several attack teams to attack the enemy's transport fleet. If necessary, we can also risk sending out battleships to destroy as many enemy transport ships as possible, making the enemy landing force powerless and creating 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 strike to restore their normal combat capabilities. By then, we will gradually regain our advantage at sea."
These were 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 made President Cleveland feel a little relieved, but it is inevitable that people will become arrogant. After his confidence in the defense of the homeland increased greatly, he could not wait to raise the issue of counterattack.
"When do you think we can launch a counterattack?"
"I think there are more pressing issues to be addressed right now than counterattack."
William Whitney responded first.
"Go on."
William Whitney said bluntly.
"We are now facing a completely new and unknown form of warfare. Whether it is the new tanks they put on the battlefield or the new aerial machines, they have brought fundamental changes to the form of warfare. In this new form of warfare, we have never heard of or seen it before. In this case, how do we fight?"
After asking the question, Whitney continued:
"I believe that Congress will soon pass a new naval bill. Well, that bill still needs some amendments to move up the shipbuilding schedule, but we also need to include the development of new aviation forces and strengthen the air defense capabilities of warships. But we all understand that all this takes time, time... Now we need time to build a new fleet. Only in this way can our new fleet be enough to destroy any enemy on the sea."
The new naval bill Whitney mentioned was originally scheduled to be submitted to Congress by the end of this year. Under the current circumstances, it is only natural to bring it out ahead of schedule.
"Aviation... Mr. President, what we urgently need now is to build new flying machines and warships that carry them to counter Ming's air superiority. This is the only way for us to win the war!"
Although the United States still doesn't know much about flying machines, the Empire's flying machines have demonstrated their powerful power in Hampton. According to the United States' speculation, the Empire's flying machines took off from the sea. Such a small flying machine could not have come from a land base thousands of miles away.
Therefore, the Empire must have a large flying machine carrier. Although the specific information about the enemy aircraft carrier is still unclear, since it has demonstrated its powerful combat capability, the United States must hurry up and learn from it.
Maybe the Ming Empire can create miracles with new weapons, but Americans can also learn from the Ming! Make new weapons.
We Americans will do better than them soon.
(End of this chapter)
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