Chapter 1155 Project Fort Gauchi - Little Kennedy with Broken Hands and Feet
Joseph Kennedy sat in the magnificent reception room of the Montazah Palace in Alexandria, enjoying the fragrant Turkish coffee provided by this Caesar's official residence. With him was Nelson Rockefeller, the new US ambassador to the Roman Empire. Although this moderate Republican was disliked by Wallace and Truman because of the Rockefeller family's pro-Germanism, he was appointed as the ambassador to Rome at the insistence of the Vice President-elect Kennedy and the Secretary of State-elect Edward Stettinius Jr. They flew directly from the United States to Alexandria, the second capital of the Roman Empire, on the SM.95 ultra-long-range passenger plane provided by the Roman Empire. The purpose was to ask Mussolini to come forward for a new round of diplomatic mediation.
Now that the US election is over, the Democratic Party, which barely retained the White House, and the Republican Party, which became the largest party in Congress, have begun to tacitly lower the tone of the war and began to seek a compromise route with Europe. The relationship between the two mainstream political parties in the United States is not like fire and water, otherwise it would not be possible to maintain "two-party democracy" for so many years. So after the election, the Democratic and Republican parties still need to cooperate a lot. Especially now that the United States is at stake!
The situation is very clear. Truman's "Five Peace Opinions" for the election are impossible to achieve. Just before Kennedy left Washington, he learned of the Allied South American Command's request for reinforcements - if he wanted to liberate Santiago, the United States would have to deploy at least 500,000 ground troops, and be prepared to withstand 100,000 to 150,000 casualties!
It took 500,000 troops to attack a small Santiago! According to intelligence, there were only three German divisions there.
If the German army's combat effectiveness was really that strong, what would the United States have to fight a protracted war? There are so many islands in the Caribbean Sea, North America has a coastline of three to four thousand kilometers, and there is also a Bermuda Islands that must not fall... There are too many places that must be defended. Does the United States really have enough troops?
And in these areas, as long as one "point" is occupied by Germany, Germany will have a base for using atomic bombs to bomb major cities on the east coast of the United States. For the United States... this means defeat!
Therefore, anyone who knows the inside story well enough can easily come to the conclusion that the United States must negotiate peace as soon as possible, because delaying will only make the United States' situation more unfavorable.
However, as a major player in American domestic politics, Kennedy also knows that it is not easy to negotiate peace as soon as possible. Because the Democratic Party does not control Congress, once the government signs a "humiliating" peace treaty, it will not only fail to pass the congressional vote, but may even lead to impeachment for President Truman!
Of course, this does not mean that the treaty signed by the Truman administration must not pass the congressional vote, but that the Democratic Party must pay a price - such as supporting the resolution to abolish the New Deal Act. The voters who benefited from Roosevelt's New Deal are the foundation of the Democratic Party. If they lose their support, the 1946 midterm elections will be the time for the Democratic Party to collapse.
So Kennedy knew that his "peace journey" would probably not achieve anything. Unless Wallace's military adventure can achieve a certain degree of success...
When he thought of Wallace's military adventure, Kennedy's heart was cramped. The plane driven by his eldest son, Joseph Kennedy Jr., was shot down over Buenos Aires! Now his life or death is uncertain, maybe dead, maybe injured, suffering in the German prisoner of war camp... Since receiving the news of his eldest son's disappearance, Kennedy has looked much more haggard.
So when Mussolini walked into the reception room in a high-spirited manner, Kennedy, immersed in the longing for his son, forgot to stand up from the sofa until Nelson Rockefeller reminded him in a low voice.
"Joseph, my friend." Mussolini strode to Kennedy, shook his hand enthusiastically, and said with an exaggerated expression, "I have good news for you. My people found little Joseph in the German prisoner of war camp. Now he has been taken to Vienna and arranged in a concentration camp with good conditions. He was injured a little, with broken legs, right arm and six ribs, and a little concussion. But it doesn't matter, the Germans gave him very good treatment, and his legs and right arm were saved. Except for a slight limp, there is nothing serious. You will be able to meet him soon."
Joseph Kennedy Jr. was lucky this time. Although the plane was shot down, it successfully made an emergency landing in a farm near the Buenos Aires military port. He was seriously injured during the forced landing, but was then captured by patrolling New Asbanian soldiers and thrown into a prisoner-of-war camp managed by the New Asbanian Army to die. However, the New Asbanians soon discovered that he was the son of the vice president-elect of the United States, so they handed him over to the Germans, allowing Kennedy Jr. to receive the best treatment, probably allowing him to spend the rest of his life on crutches.
After Mussolini learned about Joseph Kennedy Jr.'s situation, he immediately sent one of his sons to a German prisoner-of-war camp in Montevideo, the capital of the Uruguayan state of New Asbania. After confirming Kennedy Jr.'s identity, Mussolini immediately called Hitler, and then Kennedy Jr. was taken to the best concentration camp in Europe.
Thank God! Little Joseph is still alive! Kennedy was so excited that he almost cried when he heard the news. He smiled gratefully at Mussolini and was about to express his gratitude. Nelson Rockefeller on the side interrupted and said: "Leader, the issue of prisoners of war should be resolved within the framework of peace negotiations."
This sentence was actually reminding Kennedy that he could not let Mussolini help rescue his son because he was the Vice President of the United States!
Kennedy smiled awkwardly and was about to decline politely. Mussolini said, "Nelson, I know Joseph's difficulties. There will be satisfactory arrangements. For example, we can arrange a prisoner exchange, let the Germans release a group of wounded American prisoners of war in exchange for their own prisoners of war, so that little Joseph can go home... This is not a problem for me. German Chancellor Hitler is my friend, and we are very good friends. And Joseph is also a good friend of Mr. Hitler and Mr. Hess, everything will be arranged.
If you want, I can also help you get back the people captured by Japan... Most of them have been terribly abused, and they should be allowed to go home and reunite with their families as soon as possible.
In addition, I hope to use this prisoner exchange as an opportunity to promote a new round of peace negotiations. As a peace-loving fascist, I sincerely hope that this terrible war will end soon..."
It has probably become a consensus among everyone to end the war sooner, but what conditions should be used to end the war is a problem. The US side hopes to fight for a more decent peace condition, which is not only beneficial to the United States's future strength, but also in line with the interests of the politicians in power.
Valparaiso, Chile. December 25, 1944, Christmas.
On the seashore near the Pacific Ocean, on twelve large airports, fighter planes filled the runways and aprons. Some of them had already started their engines, making a rumbling roar, and the propellers were spinning rapidly, generating huge thrust. The huge fuselage began to slide on the runway, faster and faster, and then flew into the sky.
A P-61F that Lieutenant General Claire Chennault was riding took off from the "Gulf No. 10" airport as the air command aircraft. Under the escort of four P-51B/C fighters, it circled and rose to high altitude.
Below them, batches of bombers, fighters, radar-equipped reconnaissance aircraft, and attack aircraft equipped with "Bat" glide bombs took off for the first time, forming unprecedented formations.
General Eisenhower stood on the rooftop platform of the 10th Army Headquarters, holding a telescope and looking at the increasingly large attack aircraft in the sky. This was a carefully organized bombing of thousands of aircraft! Not only did Lieutenant General Chennault's 14th Air Force come out in full force, but even the US Navy Air Force stationed in Valparaiso and several US aircraft carriers cruising in the nearby Pacific Ocean sent out carrier-based aircraft to assist in the battle. The final scale of the deployment reached 1,022 aircraft!
The planes in the sky covered the sky and roared eastward. General Eisenhower put down his binoculars and said to Bradley, the commander of the 10th Army, beside him: "Omar, the Joint Chiefs of Staff are ready to give you 600,000 troops... If the bombing cannot force the Germans to make concessions in the peace talks, then you must occupy Santiago!"
Lieutenant General Bradley nodded: "Okay, okay, we will take down Santiago!"
...
"Ludwig, the Air Force Command in New Asbania sent an urgent telegram. The Santiago radar station found at least hundreds of American planes appearing over the Bay of Valparaiso!"
In the Joint Intelligence Center of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht in Zossen, Germany, Hersman received the report of the large-scale deployment of American fighter planes at the first time-Valparaiso Bay is less than 100 kilometers away from Santiago. The radar on the hilltop near Santiago can easily detect more and more American planes. This situation was immediately reported to the Air Force Headquarters and the Joint Intelligence Center of the General Staff in Zossen.
"At least hundreds? The Americans are going to bomb Buenos Aires?" Hersman and Kesselring, who was in the Joint Intelligence Center, exchanged glances.
"It should be." Kesselring said, "In a few hours, the meeting between Minister (Hess) and Kennedy will begin. Bombing Buenos Aires at this time is to show our strength." He smiled coldly, "But the Americans will not succeed!"