Chapter 699: Landing in Hawaii, West Coast Strategy
"President Sir, I believe that under the current situation, we must be willing to give up some things in exchange for peace in America's core region.
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Compared to the West Coast, I think the navy should prioritize the security of the Eastern Coast and concentrate all naval forces in the Atlantic Ocean to protect our most vital area." Seeing the meeting becoming somewhat awkward, the highly respected General Panxing stood up to reemphasize the most important purpose of the meeting, which was the military's operation plan.
"General Panxing, isn't your proposal somewhat unrealistic?" Secretary of State Lestes immediately countered, his face filling with disbelief, "If we give up the West Coast first, I'm afraid we won't even need to wait for the enemy's attack; the whole Western Region will fall into enemy hands."
"Though it seems foolish, it indeed is the best option we have right now," General Panxing explained with a cool expression, "You must understand that our naval power is limited, and it's not possible to defend both the East and West Coasts completely.
Even to speak an unpleasant truth, even if the navy were to gather in full, it's not certain that the Eastern Coast could be held.
Dividing the navy to support the West Coast would only increase the pressure on the Eastern Coast. Lestes Sir, would you really want to see Washington fall once more?"
Hearing General Panxing speak so candidly, Secretary of State Lestes's face became embarrassed, and he dared not say anything further.
After all, General Panxing's prestige in the army was quite high, and even MacArthur had to give Panxing some face.
In such a circumstance, him being a Secretary of State with little foundation in the government, naturally, he couldn't openly clash with General Panxing.
"General Panxing, please continue," the President, Hoover, relieved to finally hear someone proposing a plan, looked at General Panxing with hopeful eyes.
"I believe that our current military operational plan can be divided into two parts," General Panxing nodded, his gaze solemnly surveying those present, and introduced seriously:
"In the entire Western Region, we can adopt a laissez-faire defensive strategy. Don't all the states in the West have a considerable number of National Guards? Let them be responsible for their own defense.
Concentrate all the main forces of the army in the Eastern States and do everything possible to protect the most essential parts of America; that should be our primary task right now."
"But won't this accelerate the independence of the Western States?" President Hoover, though blindly arrogant, did not mean that he was a complete fool.
At least, he understood perfectly well that giving too much leeway would increase the power of the Western States.
"It's an inevitable choice, President Sir," General Panxing spread his hands, his voice laced with helplessness as he spoke to Hoover, "Given our current military strength, it's impossible to hold the Western States.
Rather than them being captured by the enemy in our hands, it's better to let them organize their own defense forces and fight the enemy.
Even if the states wish to become independent, they must first face the upcoming enemy, don't they? They should understand that being occupied by the enemy also means the failure of independence. I believe they will give everything they have for their interests.
Compared to the Allied Army, these state's National Guards can only serve a holding role, which can help us deplete the enemy's strength.
As long as we are able to train more troops to join the war and, with our supply consumption vastly different, we may not be unable to achieve victory in the defense war of the Eastern Coast.
As long as we firmly defend the East, the forces occupying the West are bound to fracture; this will be our opportunity to counterattack and thus end this war."
President Hoover nodded excitedly, apparently grasping the overall strategy behind General Panxing's battle plan.
After all, he was a qualified politician; aside from his ability to govern the nation, President Hoover's political insight was certainly adequate, or else he wouldn't have become the President of America successfully.
As long as America could successfully defend the Eastern Region, a part of General Panxing's plan would already be in motion.
The enemies facing the USA Western Region are likely Russia Nation and Australasia, with the latter being even more powerful.
This also signifies a fact, that is, the main forces of the Allied Army are actually in the Eastern Region.
If the West gains a lot while the East gains nothing, just the issue of interest distribution alone would be enough to cause a rift within the Allied Army.
The British and French would surely not want to see Australasia monopolize the American West while they gain nothing. If they start to fracture over the division of the Western Region or even directly clash over it, it would then be time for General Panxing's mentioned American counteroffensive.
The biggest reason General Panxing's plan might succeed is that close to seventy percent of the United States' population is in the East.
Although the economic crisis has forced some of the population to flee to the West, the population in the East still amounts to over sixty million.
More importantly, the economy and industry in the East are also more developed. From multiple angles, the importance of the East far exceeds that of the West.
"But how can we redirect the Pacific Squadron to the Atlantic Ocean? Does it mean going around South America?" President Hoover suddenly thought of a problem and turned his attention to General Panxing.
"Perhaps that's the only way, President Sir," General Panxing said with a hint of regret, "We lost the Panama Canal too soon; we cannot make it through under the enemy's surveillance—any carelessness could lead to the annihilation of the entire Pacific Squadron."