Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 217 Old friends are old friends (first update, please subscribe)
  August is undoubtedly an extremely important year for the world. Germany had surrendered a few months ago, and Italy had surrendered long ago, leaving only Japan still stubbornly resisting.

After the middle of the month.

Japan still has not accepted the edict of the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Showa era has not yet become a nuclear war.

Without the atomic bomb, little Japan would still have the confidence to resist. It can be said that Little Japan is more united now than in the past, sharing the same hatred and determined to fight to the death.

I have to say that sometimes little Japan’s head is like a shaft!

Yes, let’s keep fighting!

This is not good news for the United States, which has just conquered Okinawa after a bloody battle, because many people feel that the war is over.

After all, the war is over in Europe.

"The war is not over!"

In the Oval Office of the White House, Truman, who had just become the owner of this office a few months ago, looked at Secretary of State James Burns in front of him and said.

"The war will not end until the damn Japanese surrender unconditionally. We must completely defeat them!"

"Mr. President, we all know that the war is not over, and most Americans know this, but Germany's surrender forces us to consider the issue of demobilization of soldiers. After all, there are already such voices among the people. They think that the war in Europe is It's over, there's absolutely no need for us to maintain large armies in Europe."

"Mr. Secretary, if we implement demobilization in the European battlefield, it is likely to affect the morale of our troops in Asia."

General Marshall said.

"Even if we have implemented the "Olympic Plan" with allies as the main force, we must also consider morale. Training the armies of allied countries and providing weapons to allies will take time. At least while implementing the "Olympic Plan", we will temporarily Demobilization programs cannot be implemented in Europe.”

"Olympic Operation Plan" is part of the "Operation Decline" to attack the Japanese mainland. The operation plan was implemented on November 11. The goal is to occupy about one-third of the territory in the southern part of Kyushu Island and make it a lower level with the already occupied Okinawa. The main base for a one-step attack. The second step, "Operation Little Crown", is planned to be implemented on May 1 next year, and its target is directly aimed at the Kanto Plain approaching Tokyo. According to the plan, the airport in Kyushu will provide airborne supplies for the operation at this time.

基于之前战役的经验，联合参谋部于4月的一份研究报告称，评估征服日本将造成170万到200万的美军伤亡，其中死亡40万到80万人。而日本方面仅死亡就可达500万到1000万人。

Of course, no one cares whether Japan's death toll is 1000 million or 2000 million. But the Pentagon has to consider U.S. military casualties. To this end, the Pentagon has formulated a plan to use the Allied Forces as the main force to reduce casualties by providing weapons to the Allied Forces and training the Allied Forces.

"Now our allies are counterattacking very smoothly. In the next few months, they will be able to repel the Japanese army until..."

Just when General Marshall was reporting, someone over there hurriedly opened the door and reported.

"Mr. President, the Soviet Ambassador has an urgent meeting with you."

Soon, the news spread - Russia tore up the non-aggression treaty with Japan and sent troops to Northeast China. This is undoubtedly good news. After all, in the past few months, the United States has been urging the Russians to send troops to the Northeast, and now they have finally taken action.

However, among the people in the Oval Office, Truman looked quite solemn. After a long while, he said.

"The Russians will not stop at the [-]th parallel if we fail to defeat the Japanese before they get there."

Although the March [-]th Parallel as the dividing line of the Korean Peninsula is an agreement reached between the two countries, as we all know, sometimes an agreement is just an agreement.

"This is not important. What is important is that Russia's sending troops will be a disaster for Japan. They will lose Manchuria and their defeat in East Asia is inevitable. In addition, in Southeast Asia, they have no choice but to surrender. Got it!"

Marshall paused and said. "There are still two months until the rice harvest season in Japan. Mr. President, I think we should start implementing the second phase of the "War on Hunger" plan."

What is the plan for the second phase of "War on Hunger"?
  That is, 50 tons of "Agent Orange" were sprayed on the Japanese archipelago by plane. According to the U.S. military's tests, after the "Agent Orange" is properly diluted, it can cause a reduction in rice production or even no harvest during the rice growth period.

Although the U.S. military has long begun to implement the "Operation Hunger" aimed at cutting off Japan's overseas transportation, the "Second Phase Plan" for the large-scale use of "Agent Orange" to reduce Japan's domestic rice production has not yet been allowed.

"There are still a lot of disputes in Congress. After all... it may cause 500 million to 1000 million Japanese to starve to death!"

Truman thought for a moment and said.

"But what I care more about is our young men. What I care about is whether they can return to their families safely. If necessary, I will bear everything. Perhaps, hunger can force the Japanese to surrender. After we launch the "Olympics" Before you act, who knows? Sometimes, we make decisions based on kindness!”

It has to be said that as president, Truman was competent. Just like in history, Oppenheimer, the designer of the atomic bomb, felt that he was guilty after hearing the casualties in Japan, and his hands were stained with blood. So, he asked to see Truman. After meeting Truman, Oppenheimer felt sorry for himself and was full of complaints, which made Truman very annoying. Truman told Oppenheimer very firmly:
  "It's not that your hands are stained with blood, but my hands are stained with blood, so you don't have to think about this anymore and leave it to me to worry about."

After sending Oppenheimer away, Truman told those around him that he never wanted to see this man again in his life.

After Truman entered the Oval Office in the White House, he wrote a motto:

"The responsibility is here, put the responsibility here, stop here!"

Now, faced with a more difficult choice, Truman still chose to assume all responsibilities. Perhaps he did not have a star halo and even looked a little mediocre, but when making the decisions that needed to be made, he never had any Hesitation, just as he said, put the responsibility here, end of it!

After the president made this decision, all Marshall and the others needed was to implement it. Finally, with Truman signing the presidential decree, the second phase of the "War on Hunger" plan began to be implemented. In the next two months, thousands of aircraft Specially modified B24 bombers began spraying "Agent Orange" across Japan. Hundreds of thousands of tons of diluted "Agent Orange" were spread into Japanese fields, destroying the original harvest. What will this bring? No one knows what the consequences will be.

But one thing that is certain is that this winter of 45 was a very difficult time for Japan. The Japanese were very cold, but they were also very hot.

After signing the presidential order implementing the second phase of the "War on Hunger" plan, Secretary of State James Burns said again.

"Mr. President, there is one more thing. It is the French super cruise ship "Normandie". As you know, although the ship has been salvaged, it has been moored in New York because of the serious damage. The governor of New York State hopes to Dispose of it, but because it is an asset of France, I hope that Mr. President can sign a presidential decree to dispose of it..."

Because when he chaired the investigative committee, Truman was no stranger to the super cruise ship "Normandy" that caught fire and capsized in New York. He thought for a while and asked.

"I remember that the French designer seemed to propose to restore and renovate it, right? Does he still have the value of repairing it?"

"Yes, in theory, it does have repair value. Mr. President, but we believe that if this ship is repaired, it will have an impact on the post-war American cruise market. Therefore, we do not agree with returning it to the French. And now France’s shipyards have suffered serious damage during the war, and they are simply unable to repair such a giant ship.”

In the final analysis, for U.S. officials, their first consideration is the interests of the United States, because the "Normandy" super cruise ship had an impact on the U.S. Atlantic cruise route before the war. How can they allow it to continue now? Will it continue to exist?
  "And the shipping community believes it doesn't need to be repaired at all."

The Secretary of State's suggestion made Truman think for a while, and he said.

"In this case, let's reject the French proposal and sell it..."

At the mention of selling, Truman suddenly thought of his friend.

Perhaps, he needs this ship more than the French.

Favors always need to be returned.

(End of this chapter)