Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 73



Only Noblemtl

##073

My brother, who still hasn’t come to his senses, kept talking nonsense about wanting me to empty my personal savings and invest it.

Investing your personal wealth? You could do it as much as you want.

What was the reason I earned money in the first place? Wasn’t it to do things that were difficult to do with an official budget easily and quickly?

But this wasn’t a problem that could be solved by pouring in so much personal money.

That’s why I officially held a meeting to support the Navy’s budget from the Army.

“Should we develop a torpedo jointly with the Navy?”

Everyone’s faces trembled at my words.

“To be honest, we don’t have enough money to develop weapons for the army.”

“Yes. We are currently developing semi-automatic rifles, as well as aircraft and tanks…”

To be honest, it’s a little better than the Navy guys, but how could the Army have a surplus budget?

“Aren’t torpedoes really expensive? And what are we going to use them for?”

“At the Air Force Base.”

“hmm.”

Marshall glanced at Arnold and asked.

“Can’t we just keep using bombs like we do now? Even aerial bombs are constantly being improved.”

That wasn’t a wrong statement. As soon as Marshall finished speaking, someone else added.

“The last time I saw Chief Mitchell, he was able to completely destroy a battleship with a single bomb.”

Henry Arnold, the commander of the Air Corps, sighed and answered the question that someone had brought up.

“That’s only possible if you’re Chief Mitchell. And do you know how much preparation you put in for that one room that day?”

Arnold began to rattle off all the variables that would have to be taken into account to ensure that the pressure of the bomb exploding underwater would create enough of a spray of water to split a battleship in two.

“How do you calculate the movements of ships and ocean currents that change constantly during battle?”

As soon as Arnold finished speaking, my math nerd Bradley shook his head and muttered.

“It’s definitely not a calculation you should make in the middle of a battle.”

Arnold nodded at Bradley’s monologue.

But as they say, ignorance is bliss.

“Then wouldn’t it be okay to just drop a bomb from the ship and hit it?”

Arnold sighed again and answered.

“And it’s not easy to hit a target by dropping a bomb from the air. Just like bullets and shells fly in a parabolic trajectory, bombs dropped from aircraft also fall in a parabolic trajectory due to the acceleration of gravity. In case you forgot, we can’t stop in the air.”

“ah.”

There the ship stands still as bombs fall from above the barge.

“Just approaching an enemy ship is not an easy task.”

As aircraft developed, air defenses to prepare for air attacks also developed simultaneously. The Army was no different, so everyone nodded in agreement.

If you drop it from too high, you won’t be able to drop it in the right place, but if you get too close, it’s too risky.

“And honestly, like the seals say, a battleship isn’t something that will explode after being hit with a few bombs.”

“no?”

Because Mitchell’s sinking of the Ostfriesland was so famous, there were many in the army who thought that a single bomb could cut any ship in half.

“No. How many shells does a tank need to take to collapse?”

“Oh, he passed out?”

“No. It used to be like that, but it’s different now.”

“really?”

“It will change in the future.”

The tank unit that was hit by the sparks suddenly jumped in surprise.

I only chuckled for a moment at the sight.

Arnold continued speaking with a serious expression.

“If a single bomb could sink a ship, the seals would never have authorized the experiment.”

Wasn’t the reason the seals allowed that experiment in the first place because they knew that a few direct hits from bombs wouldn’t sink the ship?

Anyway, the bottom line is that it is this difficult to attack a ship without torpedoes.

But if you throw a torpedo into the sea from far away, it will zoom into the water and blow a hole in the bottom of the ship.

How easy and simple it is.

“I understand how effective torpedoes are for aircraft attacking ships, but I still have difficulty understanding why our Army should be involved in developing them.”

At Marshall’s words, I quietly pointed to the map.

“ah.”

The area I was referring to was none other than the Philippines.

What was the reason for sending Mitchell to the Philippines? The reason for establishing an aviation school there and forming an air force that even the US military did not have was to defend the Philippines when Japan attacked it.

“If the Japanese fleet attacks the Philippines, will the seals be able to withstand it?”

“···”

I shook my head and continued talking as I saw those who could not bring themselves to say no and remained silent.

“Well, then shouldn’t we give the air force there some proper weapons?”

The reason for using expensive and good weapons was simple.

That way, we can save people.

The US Navy Air Force, which could not trust the damn torpedoes in the history of the original, chose bombs. And they risked their lives to approach the Japanese ships and drop the bombs.

How many pilots lost their lives in the process?

And this wasn’t just a Naval Aviation thing.

It was our Army Air Corps that faced the Japanese fleet in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.

The method they used was called Skip Bombing.

The method was to throw bombs like water skippers to create holes in the side and waterline of the ship and sink it.

Doesn’t the name sound difficult?

It’s hard enough to throw a rock into a water well, but it’s not going to be easy to do that by throwing a bomb from an airplane.

Anyway, they destroyed the Japanese fleet with the techniques they learned from the British, but there were also many aircraft that were sacrificed while flying at low altitudes.

What if they had proper torpedoes?

If a few torpedoes had been dropped from a distance and then run away, the Japanese, who had no idea what was going on, might have just gone ‘bang’ and gone on a dragon palace excursion.

Of course, money has always been the root of all problems.

Torpedoes were bloody expensive. A single torpedo in use today costs about ten thousand dollars.

It was several times the weight of a bomb.

“When I think of the Philippines, it would be nice to have torpedoes.”

“And we can show the seals the generosity of our Army and erase their debt.”

“Does that matter?”

Everyone looked at him with a sour look on their face at the thought of wiping off a debt to those seals, but Marshall was cool-headed.

“The panic continues. To be honest, I can’t really complain to General Hoover right now, and I can’t touch our Army budget because of the Bonus Army situation, but I don’t know what will happen after the presidential election.”

If Hoover is re-elected, which is unlikely, I won’t have to worry about him anymore.

“And if a president comes from the Democratic Party, there is a high probability that they will keep us in check.”

Marshall was worried that they might try to take down me for not holding their hand.

“Well, even if you become a Democrat, it’s not really like that. If you forget, my wife’s old name was Anna Roosevelt.”

“ah.”

Roosevelt, who was currently the governor of New York, was the strongest Democratic presidential candidate of all. Of course, the Democratic primary was not over yet, but history is not something that can be easily changed, so I was not too worried.

Rather than that···.

As I was about to speak, I quickly realized that there were more people in the conference room than I had thought, so I nodded to Marshall.

Marshall nodded quietly at my signal to talk later.

“Okay, then how much support do you intend to provide?”

“First of all, how much is the Navy’s budget?”

“therefore···.”

As the explanation of the Navy’s current situation was finished, everyone in the conference room looked in disbelief.

“That must be solid information.”

Marshall sighed as he remembered that his brother was in the Navy, serving in a submarine fleet that risked its life on torpedoes.

“Fifty thousand dollars. Those seals are…”

It was a time when everyone was shaking their heads at the absurd development costs.

“Excuse me, Mr. President.”

“But why?”

“I’m sorry, but if the annual budget allocated by the Navy is 50,000 dollars, I think it would be right to reconsider this matter.”

It was Stillwell. Everyone looked at me at Stillwell’s unexpected remark.

“Is there a reason?”

“Isn’t that what you’re saying about not giving 50,000 dollars? Our army also fiercely fights over the limited budget according to each position. Fortunately, our chief of staff is holding on, so the budget is distributed fairly without much trouble, but isn’t that a serious issue for the seals?”

“Hoo.”

An exclamation came out naturally.

I wouldn’t have been so surprised if Marshall or Eisenhower, who is not here, had told that story.

Of course, they were people who had the ability to notice such circumstances.

But my perception of Stillwell was somewhere around the same level as Renya Mudaguchi.

So, I can’t help but be amazed at his insight into the internal strife within the US Navy with a budget of just $50,000.

Perhaps inspired by my exclamation, Stillwell continued to make his point.

“The General is absolutely right in saying that torpedoes are absolutely necessary for the Philippines, but I think it would be very dangerous for us to get involved in the seals’ quarrel.”

“Yeah, that’s right. If those seals get involved in our business, we won’t stay still either.”

“you’re right.”

“Don’t worry. A seal’s job is a seal’s job.”

It’s good that Arthur III, who should have died originally, was saved, but there was something I didn’t calculate.

‘This kid was a smart kid too.’

So, he’s older than me.

Even this kid was only a few years old when he entered Annapolis.

He is sixteen. His wife is the daughter of the famous Admiral McCaul.

Arthur III was the only normal kid who had a faster rise through the ranks in the Navy than MacArthur had in the Army.

But if the Army had the tank-crazy Patton, the Navy had the submarine-crazy Arthur III.

##

“Okay, I’ll give you the money.”

“really?”

I came here just in case, but I didn’t know that he would actually offer me money.

Arthur III smiled brightly at his brother’s words and asked.

“Really? Really? So how much can you give me? When?”

“What happens when you become the person in charge of torpedo development?”

“what?”

Arthur III was perplexed by his younger brother Douglas’s words.

Seeing himself like that, his younger brother snorted and asked back.

“Why do you think the torpedo ended up like that?”

“Because of disarmament···.”

“Ha. Disarmament? Be honest. You know that, hyung. The reason why the torpedo development cost is so high. And the reason why you come to me and whine instead of the Naval Staff.”

“···”

The US Army has factions and is rife with politics, so how could the Navy be free of them?

The Army has met an outstanding leader and is now in the process of reforming its constitution, but the Navy still has a long way to go.

“Where in particular would you use a torpedo? It’s a submarine. Honestly, it would be good if the aircraft carrier and the ship had torpedoes, but it’s okay if they don’t.”

Torpedoes were especially important to submarines.

Airplane? If that doesn’t work, you can just load a bomb and throw it. It’s just difficult and tiring.

Ship? Their main weapon is originally a cannon. That’s why it’s called a main gun, right?

But what about submarines? Without torpedoes, a submarine is like a steamed bun without red bean paste, or a cream puff without cream.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

In the Navy, submarines were not a powerful branch.

It was natural.

Originally, ship service was difficult and arduous work.

Spending months on the vast ocean can’t be easy.

But above the sea, you can see the sun, the moon, and the stars. And the wind is blowing gently.

But what about under the sea?

Isn’t it human nature to avoid difficult, dangerous, and dirty work?

“Even if our submarine force falls, it won’t fall far behind.”

“And honestly, it’s your fault.”

“what?”

Arthur III was dumbfounded by his brother’s words. No, why was the naval faction fight his fault?

In other words, doesn’t the army have factions?

however,

“You’re crazy about submarines, so you kicked your promotion?”

“no···.”

“When you get older, you should act accordingly. Huh? Do you think I put on a show in front of reporters because I like it? Why would I go to the Olympics and put my wife in front of a tank? I do it because it’s necessary.”

Arthur III was taken aback by his brother’s words.

“Is the world easy? Is it beautiful? No. It’s not.”

Arthur III sighed.

“···Yeah, you’re right.”

Even though I’m not as good as my younger brother, I still don’t want to be the type of brother who disappoints his younger brother.

In this way, Arthur III, known as the second seal gangster along with Ernest King, awakened.

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