Author: Green Plum Boiling Wine
Publisher: Modern Publishing House
Publication date: October 1, 2023
The "Pacific War" series tells the panoramic story of the Pacific War, which was fought from 1941 to 1945 in the Pacific, Indian Ocean, and East Asia regions by Japan, the main member of the Axis powers, and the United States, Britain, and other allied countries during World War II.
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Fully present the entire process of the rise and fall of Japanese militarism, deeply analyze the causes and consequences of the Pacific War, and showcase the military, political, diplomatic, and economic struggles between the Axis powers and the Allied powers from multiple perspectives. Don't forget to share your experience!
This book is the ninth installment of the "Pacific War" series, titled "The Battle of the Trapped Beasts". It mainly narrates the Yalta Conference, the Battle of Iwo Jima, the Tokyo Bombing, the death of the Yamato, and the Battle of Okinawa. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Seeing a surprise at the end
Chapter 1 Yalta Conference
The Agor Operation
On the morning of January 20, 1945, in Washington, the cold wind was chilling and the heavy snowfall that had lasted all night gradually subsided. As noon approached, nearly 8000 people had gathered near the South Corridor of the White House. Beyond the fence in the distance, there are over 3000 people dressed in thick winter clothes standing.
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Franklin Roosevelt's fourth presidential inauguration ceremony is about to take place.
The White House has reduced the ceremony budget by 90%, with the public reason being that everything should be simplified during times of war, rather than being extravagant and wasteful. But insiders are aware that the president has weakened to the point where he has no extra strength to hold his inauguration ceremony through the long parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue. Don't forget to share your experience!
At noon, Roosevelt, dressed in a blue suit, walked to the podium with the help of his eldest son, Colonel James Roosevelt of the Marine Corps. James, 37, had taken a leave of absence from the Pacific front to attend his father's inauguration ceremony. Perhaps I have a premonition that my days are numbered,
Have you tried this before? Share your story!Roosevelt insisted that all children and grandchildren return to the White House to attend the ceremonyFirst Lady Eleanor spent a considerable amount of money on purchasing air or train tickets for them.
After the applause of the crowd subsided slightly, Roosevelt began to deliver his fourth inauguration speech in the chilly wind: "In the days to come, we should devote ourselves to a just, glorious, and lasting peace, just as we strive for comprehensive victory today. We will also achieve such a peace, and we should strive for it to be perfect. We will not achieve peace immediately, but we should still give our all. We may make mistakes, but we cannot do so because of cowardice or loss of moral principles
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Subsequently, he elaborated on the path to achieving peace, stating, "The fact that we already know, as Emerson said, 'the way to make friends is to first become friends with others.' If we suspect, do not believe, and fear to face, we will not achieve permanent peace. Only with understanding, trust, and courage from faith can we achieve permanent peace. Don't forget to share your experience!
Finally, he said, "Therefore, we pray to God now, asking him to grant us vision, so that we can see the path ahead, a path that leads us and all humanity to a better life, a path that leads to the realization of God's will and world peace Don't forget to share your experience!
This is the shortest of Roosevelt's four inaugural speeches, with only 573 words used throughout,The bad weather and weak body no longer allow him to give long speeches.
But a concise speech is more helpful in emphasizing his goals during his final term:Justice and permanent peace, not a prelude to another war.
As early as July 16, 1944, the Prime Minister of the British Empire wrote a letter to Roosevelt in response to the constantly evolving battlefield situation, proposing to convene a summit among the "Big Three". Churchill suggested that the conference could be held in Casablanca, Rome, or Tehran before the end of August. What do you think about this?
A few days ago, the Soviet Union launched the Battle of Belarus on the Eastern Front and captured the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. The Red Army has crossed the pre war border and entered Eastern Europe in large numbers. Churchill attempted to persuade Roosevelt to abandon the originally planned military operation in southern France and instead launch an attack in the Balkans to prevent the Soviet Union from expanding its sphere of influence in Central Europe. He felt that it was necessary to reach an agreement with Stalin on the future of Europe as soon as possible, the sooner the better. What do you think about this?
Roosevelt generally agreed with Churchill's views, but he preferred to meet in the second week of September. So the two of them wrote a letter to Stalin proposing to hold a meeting in the north of Scotland in September.
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Roosevelt said in his letter, "The situation is developing rapidly and successfully. In my experience we should sit together and have a face-to-face talk." Seeing that the two of them were in a hurry, Stalin used his skillful Tai Chi pushing hand, citing that the Red Army was coordinating a series of operations on the Eastern front with the Allies' Western offensive, and that he had to personally command from Moscow in order to feel at ease. It was too early to meet at the moment. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
At the end of July, Soviet troops approached Warsaw.
Before the opening of the Second European Front, Stalin was undoubtedly the most anxious. Now that the Allies have landed in Normandy and begun to advance deeper, the Soviets no longer have much strategic support demand for the Allies. Stalin wanted to delay the meeting of the "Big Three" as much as possible in order to occupy more territory and gain a favorable position in future meetings. Don't forget to share your experience!
Harry Hopkins candidly told Roosevelt, 'Obviously, Uncle Joe wants to postpone our meeting until after the collapse of Germany.'. The Shadow President strongly advocated for a direct meeting between Roosevelt and Stalin, as his multiple experiences in Moscow convinced him that there could be no truly free exchange of opinions except for direct dealings with the highest leaders of the Soviet Union. Talking to other members of the Soviet Union is purely a waste of time and a waste of youth, as they have to consult Moscow for even the smallest matters.
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It is said that Stalin did not want to hold meetings in areas outside of Soviet control, let alone enjoy flying. After returning home by plane from the Tehran Conference last time, his ears hurt for two weeks. He is extremely sensitive to personal safety and does not want to fly over non allied controlled airspace by plane, nor does he want to take a boat through waters where German submarines may be active. In response to the above situation, Roosevelt proposed that the summit could be held in Alaska, which is close to Vladivostok, an important naval base in the Soviet Far East. The timing could be chosen after his fourth election in late November. From this perspective, Roosevelt had full confidence in winning the election. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Stalin still refused this proposal.He told the US Ambassador to Moscow, Avril Harriman, that he himself could not withstand the fatigue of long journeys, but he could send Molotov to represent him at any location designated by Roosevelt and Churchill to attend the meeting.
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This is clearly deceiving people, and the two Western leaders were greatly disappointed by it. They don't want to meet the tough Molotov at all, and would rather deal with Stalin who can make appropriate adjustments. Moreover, without Stalin's approval, Molotov could hardly make any decisions. The idea of holding a meeting in Alaska was put on hold. Since you're not here, let's have the meeting first, which resulted in the second Quebec Conference mentioned earlier, attended only by Roosevelt and Churchill. However, that meeting rarely involved European affairs, as only Stalin's participation could resolve such issues. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Churchill's concern for Europe was much greater than Roosevelt's.
Watching the Soviet army besiege and fortify Eastern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula with unstoppable momentum, Churchill couldn't resist. From October 9th to 18th, he flew to Moscow with Foreign Minister Eden and stayed for 10 days, hoping to reach a compromise with Stalin on the Eastern European issue. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
The results of the meeting were mixed. The British retained their dominant position in Greece, but Stalin was clearly determined to foster pro Soviet regimes in most of Eastern Europe. At this time, the US presidential election was in full swing, and public opinion polls showed that the Democratic Party was only a few percentage points ahead of the Republican Party. Roosevelt, who was exhausted from his duties, could only send Ambassador Harriman to attend some of the talks between Churchill and Stalin. What do you think about this?
Roosevelt called Churchill and Stalin, hoping to use their meeting as a preparatory meeting for the later "Big Three" meeting.
Eight Important Days to Change the Future World Pattern
At 17:10 on February 4, 1945, the highly anticipated first plenary session of the Yalta Conference was held in the rectangular banquet hall of the Livadia Palace. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Stalin spoke first as the host and invited the President of the United States to preside over the meeting.
Roosevelt gladly accepted the honor: "Whether from a legal or historical perspective, I've found that it's not necessarily me who announces the meeting. I presided over the opening of the meeting in Tehran, but it was completely accidental. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Soviet people for their attentive reception Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Later, Roosevelt shifted the conversation to the main topic, saying that the leaders of the three countries already knew each other very well, and their mutual understanding was constantly improving. "Everyone hopes to end the war as soon as possible and establish a lasting peace. Roosevelt believed that the upcoming talks should be open and honest. Past experience has shown that a frank attitude in negotiations helps to reach a satisfactory resolution as soon as possible. When the Red Army penetrated 25 kilometers deep into German territory, I really don't know if the Soviet people were more excited or if the British and American people were more excited Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Churchill echoed, "The world is right under our feet. With our command, 25 million people advanced by land and water. We seemed to be friends at the time
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According to the previous agreement, the first meeting only involved simple military issues, and everyone except Roosevelt and the three foreign ministers wore military uniforms. What do you think about this?
Accompanying Churchill to the meeting were Marshal Brooke, Chief of Staff of the Army, Marshal Porter, Commander in Chief of the Air Force, Marshal Cunningham, Secretary of State for the Navy, and Marshal Alexander, Commander of the Allied Forces in the Mediterranean theater. Marshal Porter was obviously also frightened by Roosevelt's appearance. "He was thin and emaciated, with deep wrinkles all over his face, as if he was constantly suffering from illness and seemed restless. His mind was also much worse than before, it seemed that Truman was time to take over his job. Don't forget to share your experience!
In addition to General Leahy, the military advisor to the President, there are also Army Chief of Staff General Marshall and Chief of Naval Operations General Jin among the US military commanders. Arnold suffered a sudden heart attack before departure and was sent to a hospital in Miami. Major General Lawrence Kurt, Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army Air Forces, attended the meeting in his place. What do you think about this?
There were no familiar names in the Soviet military delegation, such as Zhukov, Konev, Huaxilevsky, and Rokossovsky, who were all busy with frontline operations and did not show up at all. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Stalin's chief military representative was General Alexei Antonov, Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Marshal Vasilevsky, who had been on the front lines and was actually acting on behalf of the Chief of the General Staff - in addition to Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov, Minister of the Navy, and Marshal Sergei Chujakov, Deputy Commander in Chief of the Air Force.
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Arranging only military personnel to attend the meeting made the Director of the US War Mobilization Bureau, Bernays, furious.
Ambitious Bernays claimed to be an "assistant president" and was already very angry that Truman had taken the vice presidential position. It was unbearable that he was not allowed to enter the important first meeting now. What do you think about this?
At first, he was told to wait outside the conference room at 18:00 and would be invited to enter. But after sitting on the cold bench at the door for 45 minutes without even saying hello, Bernas left angry. He threatened to book a plane to return home by himself in protest of the cold treatment he received. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
At that time, Anna was arranging a dinner party for the day, and Bernas was among the 14 people at the main table. I beg you for this one thing in my life, tell your father that I won't attend the dinner party tonight, "Anna told Bernays." If he leaves, there will only be 13 people left at the main table, and this unlucky number will definitely make the superstitious president faint 10 times. Bernas said this was the only reason for him to compromise, but vowed not to say a word at the dinner party. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
According to Roosevelt's proposal, Antonov laid out a large map on the table, introducing the Soviet offensive launched on the Eastern Front on January 12th.
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At present, the Soviet vanguard is only 70 kilometers away from Berlin, destroying 45 German divisions and capturing nearly 100000 people. Antonov emphasized that the Soviet Union launched an attack earlier than originally planned in order to alleviate the danger of the Allies being heavily attacked by the German army in the Ardennes Mountains. At the same time, he hoped that the Allies could quickly turn to the offensive on the western front, preferably in the first half of February. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Stalin specifically pointed out that the January offensive launched by the Soviet army was a moral responsibility, which had nothing to do with the decision made by Tehran. Antonov did not mention the next move of the Soviet army. Brooke wrote in his diary, "Antonov spoke very well and clearly, but we know most of what he said Don't forget to share your experience!
The Pacific War whole 10 volumes, Please reply the Pacific
