The Rise of the Empire

"When the army is fighting on the battlefield, politicians and diplomats also use the world as the battlefield, and engage in wars by means of interests and negotiations. For the Spanish-American War, we are very insufficiently prepared. Military, political and diplomatic So does it!" William McKinley

Although the Americans foresaw that the Japanese had thoughts about the Philippines, the day after the United States declared war on Spain, Japan declared war on Spain at the same time, and the behavior of marking the Philippines as a war zone still shocked the Americans! It is not that the Americans have not dealt with the Japanese. In the past confrontation between the two sides in Hawaii, the Americans had the upper hand. Neither President McKinley nor Navy Undersecretary Roosevelt could figure out what basis the Japanese had to dare to challenge the United States.

The Americans did not conceal the cooperation between the United States and Russia, nor did they conceal the powerful fleet deployed in the Far East. In addition to self-confidence, the more important thing is to use their strong military power to make the other party retreat. After all, no one wants to fight two enemies at the same time.

But what surprised the Americans was that the Japanese were quite tough on this issue, and even stated that the Japanese navy and army had already marched towards the Philippines. The Japanese's reply really made the Americans feel very angry, but to this extent, the top leaders of the United States are still not ready for Japan's decisive battle, whether it is military or political.

Just imagine, in history, the US Secretary of State John Sherman was forced to resign because he disagreed with the president on the issue of war with Spain. The regional powers are fighting!

"At this stage, our number one enemy is Spain. We will first concentrate on capturing the West Indies, and then we will mobilize a huge fleet to cross the Pacific Ocean. With the cooperation of the existing Far East fleet, the Japanese will make the right choice, so Our fleet should ensure a military presence in the Philippines and control as many places as possible! Prepare for the next step of deterrence." When Theodore Roosevelt went to see McKinley, the latter gave gave a very vague answer.

Because until now, McKinley, a lawyer-born president, has not realized the urgency of the military struggle. His idea is very simple. First, he must concentrate his efforts on taking the West Indies, and then transfer the fleet there in three months. , When the time comes, will the Japanese fleet admit to being cowardly, or will they admit to being cowardly?

Of course, in order to show the attitude of the Americans, some islands still have to be occupied, and then everyone will confront each other, and then force the Japanese to make concessions after their own side has a greater advantage.

However, the president of the United States, who is full of politics, has never considered this issue from a military point of view. What is the saying? It is better to strike first, and to suffer later. How do you say an idiom? Soldiers are expensive and fast! If the other party intends to start a movie with you, will they wait until you are ready to fight? Then you must find a time slot that is beneficial to you to play!

Generally speaking, the high-level Americans did not believe that the Japanese would strike first, and believed that even if they met, the possibility of the two sides fighting was relatively small. Dewey is not a person who can't understand the importance, but the Japanese should not have the guts to do so. ?

Then at this time, the Battle of Morro Bay between the United States and the West broke out, and the US-Russian fleet easily beat up the Spanish. When the information was sent back to China, the high-level US government cheered, and they discovered that it turned out that The U.S. Navy is so powerful! Easily overthrow an empire to the ground! Now that the Spanish whites have lost, the Japanese are no problem!

So,

In the order to the Department of the Navy, President McKinley added another sentence: "If the fleet situation permits, it should take advantage of the situation and advance northward, so that the Japanese have no chance!" What does this sentence mean? That is to take the entire territory of the Philippines before Japan does it!

To take the whole of the Philippines, Manila Bay must be taken, so it was precisely because of this order that Dewey led the fleet to attack Manila Bay. However, what is not sure is that the Japanese actions actually So soon, after the American fleet defeated the Spaniards, Japan had landed in Manila Bay!

Naturally, Japan's diplomatic bulletin would not say that it had occupied Manila Bay, because the Japanese already regarded the Americans as enemies and did not plan to negotiate at all. Even if they did, they would wait until they had expelled the American fleet. Therefore, it is naturally impossible to send such important information to the Americans.

Then everyone knows what happened. The Americans smashed Manila Bay into pieces by mistake. But the already tense relationship between the two parties has completely collapsed, leaving only a pessimistic view of life.

Of course, the news of the Japanese fleet seeking revenge from thousands of miles away and beating the US and Russian fleet by KO has not yet been reported. There is no way. The notification ship sent to make contact could not find the collapsed fleet, so up to now, the Americans still think that they have a great advantage, and A has won in the past.

It was Day, the U.S. interim Secretary of State, who really discovered that something was wrong. After Sherman stepped down, the old friend of the U.S. president immediately took office and began to take over the diplomatic work. At this time, the Department of the Navy submitted a report , Said that in order to increase the naval power and better deter opponents, it should consider buying foreign warships.

Buy foreign warships? It costs money! However, these matters were not under Day's control. After he forwarded the report to McKinley, he began to help the Navy find out which ships were available for purchase.

Don't think about it, the Russians now have a slow battleship in the Far East, and this battleship is not suitable for fighting with the cruiser fleet. So pass directly. There are not many good products in the Baltic Sea now, and there are some in the Black Sea, but they can’t get out. So with a swipe of a pen, Day directly crossed Russia off the list of candidates.

Don't think about the British. Unlike Hay, Day has a certain understanding of the true colors of the British, so naturally he doesn't think that the British will sell warships to the Americans at this time. Thank you if you don't help Japan. Thank goodness.

There are quite a few French warships under construction, but it seems that they are far away from completion. The construction of French and Italian warships has always been known for their extremely long construction time. Moreover, the French will not directly sell the warships that have been built by the United States. Let alone political reasons, the Americans are not very satisfied with the performance!

Thank you book friends and classmates who are all in love with 1888 rewards~~~, three changes today, and three changes tomorrow! I don't care about the average order data or anything, um, that's it! The book friends are awesome, and the side positions are also awesome! Thanks to the book friends, the First Guards Tank Brigade, for your reward~~~!