**Chapter 832: The Era of Global Ebullition (10)**

Fear, sorrow, anger, reluctance, expectation—in the final wave of the battle, everyone aboard the machines in the sky and the vessels on the water was swept up in these emotions. But the cold machines felt nothing. As before, electromagnetic waves swept across the sky and sea, returning data to sensors that directed various anti-aircraft fire with violent precision.

Even the damaged fleets maintained powerful firepower; the third wave of attack was no easier than the first two. However, gaps inevitably appeared in the fire nets. This was precisely what both the US and Japanese had been studying for the past 100 days. Directed from the air, fighter pilots pierced through the gaps in the nets, charging at enemy warships. Amidst a rain of falling aluminum foil, ships were hit and fighters were shot down in a continuous stream.

After nearly an hour of combat, the number of fighters in the sky dwindled. The surviving pilots from both sides chose to end the engagement and return to their respective formations.

The lucky pilots returning to their carriers witnessed scenes of devastation on the sea. Every surviving ship bore scars; the battleships, the core of the fleet's defense, were belching thick black smoke from their rugged hulls, evidence of the punishment they had taken.

The carriers had taken even more damage than the battleships. Many of these maritime behemoths had vanished, while others burned, devoid of sailors. They had clearly been abandoned and were awaiting their final plunge.

Some officers in both navies proposed using their battleships for a final charge, but they were overruled by Yamaguchi Tamon and Nimitz respectively. While the fleets still had some fight left in them, no one knew how many submarines were lurking beneath the waves. When the fleets were still intact, they had deployed simultaneous surface and subsurface reconnaissance systems.

Nimitz asked his subordinates, "We have 29 submarines below the surface; how many do you think the Japanese have dispatched?"

Yamaguchi Tamon simply replied, "We've fought enough for now. Our next goal is to get as many ships as possible back to port. Let the submarines guard our rear, ready to ambush any pursuing Americans."

As both sides tactfully pulled apart, the post-battle statistics began to come in. Of the 14 US carriers, 4 were sunk and 4 heavily damaged. Of the 10 Japanese carriers, 3 were sunk and 4 heavily damaged. Each side had 1 battleship sunk and 5 heavily damaged. Among other vessels, the US lost 39 ships, while the Japanese lost 41. Statistically, the two sides were evenly matched; neither had achieved a decisive victory.

In terms of aircraft, Japan had 394 shot down and 407 damaged. Due to the lack of remaining carrier space, the Japanese were only able to recover 288 fighters; the rest were pushed into the sea after landing.

The US was in a similar position: 408 shot down, 421 damaged, and only 328 recovered, with the remainder pushed overboard.

Addressing the surviving Japanese officers, Yamaguchi Tamon offered encouragement in a firm tone: "Gentlemen. In the Battle of Jutland, the Germans gained a massive advantage in kills. If it hadn't been for that pre-dreadnought taking on too much water and being forced to scuttle, the tonnage ratio would have looked much better. But did the Germans win? Strategically, they lost! From then on, the High Seas Fleet became a 'fleet in being,' unable to play any role. Through your valiant struggle, the US Pacific Fleet has now also become a 'fleet in being,' losing the capability to launch a decisive battle. Until the US Pacific recovers its strength, let other branches of the military complete the remaining tasks."

Yamaguchi was known for his brusque character and lack of mercy for subordinates who failed him. Hearing him speak these words with such resonance, the officers before him and those listening on other ships via radio felt their spirits lift.

"Therefore! Return home with heads held high; our countrymen will welcome your triumphal return with the highest enthusiasm! Here, as the Commander of the Combined Fleet, I thank you for your struggle. And now, gentlemen, please stand at attention, remove your caps, and pay your respects... to the officers and men who have heroically died for the nation!"

Over the next two days, the two battered fleets performed numerous burials at sea in accordance with military regulations. To the sound of military music, bodies wrapped in national flags were committed to the deep, sinking to the bottom with weights. This was the final home for the sons of the sea within the Western naval tradition, and the peace they could enjoy after leaving the battlefield.

In the Hawaiian Islands, the Army, Air Force, and those elements of the Navy still engaged continued to fight in a landscape of blood and fire. The Hawaii Command's requests to the US mainland had been reduced to three phrases: "Send more planes," "Send more navy," and "Send more supplies"!

Originally, the deterrent effect of the carriers lay in the fact that if the Japanese Air Force conducted an excessive offensive, the US carrier air groups could intercept them at any time. Now that the threat of the carriers was nearly gone, the Japanese land-based fighters became brazen. Air raid sirens wailed day and night throughout the Hawaiian Islands. The US had night-fighting systems for its planes, and so did China. With pilots now being mere consumables, nighttime combat was often used to achieve better attrition.

On June 14, the Japanese landed on Kauai; by the 16th, the US forces there were either annihilated or had surrendered. On the 18th, a simple airfield was completed, and on the 19th, Honolulu suffered a major bombing raid by the Japanese. The entire civilian population of the city was evacuated.

On June 20, 1,200 fighters scraped together from within the US arrived in Hawaii. By June 22, this batch of pilots was essentially exhausted. By this time, the Pacific Command had moved to the sea, directing operations from 1,200 kilometers east of Hawaii. The Command wanted to maintain a final shred of dignity and was unwilling to return to the US mainland. But everyone knew America could no longer hold in Hawaii.

In six months of combat, the Pacific Command had lost over 28,000 pilots in Hawaii. These were all elites, not comparable to the "green" recruits currently in the rear.

In the White House, Roosevelt was certain the campaign for the Hawaiian Islands had failed. And the situation in the Pacific campaign as a whole was becoming even more unfavorable for the US. In the South Pacific, Chinese carrier groups were aggressively moving forward, beginning to threaten American supply lines. The prevailing view in the White House was that this was because the US Pacific Fleet's carriers were too heavily damaged to restrain them.

In reality, the White House was wrong. The reason for the aggressive Chinese move was that they had intercepted US telegrams and discovered the US was considering a withdrawal from the South Pacific. Currently, there were 580,000 US Army troops in Australia and New Zealand; there was no way China would repeat the mistake of Dunkirk and allow them to escape.

Unaware that their codes had been broken, the White House only felt that China might be trying to exploit the US failure in Hawaii to intensify its offensive in the South Pacific. Regarding the possibility of massive losses there, the White House believed such a thing could not be allowed. The only way to avoid the annihilation of the US forces in Australia was to withdraw them to the mainland.

While Secretary of State Hull didn't oppose the withdrawal, he raised the consequences it would bring: "Withdrawing our forces to the mainland means the relationship between the US and Britain will face a massive test. Britain cannot hold Australia and New Zealand on its own."

The cabinet members agreed. Yet they didn't voice another reason: that a withdrawal from the South Pacific meant a total US failure in the Pacific War. Next, the American mainland would face threats from the sea. Such a blow would be even more significant for the United States.

Chief of Staff Marshall then presented the result of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's discussions: "President, we believe it is necessary to station troops at the Canadian border, ready to help Canada repel an invading Chinese army at any moment."

Despite the continuous setbacks, Roosevelt was satisfied with this suggestion. At this stage, the US had to consider the possibility of making peace with China. If Canada could be severed from British rule, the US could ensure its control over the North American continent.

At this point, Secretary of State Hull said with some concern, "General Marshall, this view might be misunderstood by the British as America demanding compensation for its losses."

Although they knew Hull didn't want to worsen relations with Britain, the idea of "compensation" truly pleased the cabinet members. There was no reason for America to bleed for Britain; since they had already paid such a high price, Britain naturally had to compensate them. Canada was indeed an excellent form of compensation.

Secretary Hull, of course, understood domestic public opinion; even with the war ongoing, the hatred ordinary Americans felt for China still couldn't match their hatred for Britain.

Ultimately, the future actions of the US forces in the South Pacific were left to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The plan to station troops on the Canadian border began execution immediately.

After the meeting, Roosevelt kept Hull behind to ask about finding a channel for secret contact with China. Hull immediately reminded him, "Mr. President, the Singapore Conference is ongoing."

Roosevelt knew that, of course; American legal experts were in Singapore right now discussing colonial crimes with China and representatives of former colonies. But those scholars were under great scrutiny; Roosevelt wanted a more private channel.

Secretary Hull couldn't think of one immediately. A month ago, perhaps the Soviet Union could have been a bridge, but now with the Soviet-German war, the probability of the USSR joining China's side was increasing. The US embassy in the Soviet Union had already begun preparing for evacuation, destroying vast amounts of secret intelligence. Now was clearly not the time to use the USSR as a bridge.

Fortunately, there were still many countries—especially in South America—that hadn't joined the Allied camp. With some maneuvering, a contact channel wasn't entirely impossible. But this couldn't be rushed; it required advance planning. Hull explained his thinking to Roosevelt: they could make contact within a neutral country, followed by an official visit by Hull to that nation, where he could find an opportunity to meet a secret Chinese envoy.

Roosevelt knew this matter must not be leaked. If it were known, he would very likely be forced from office. So he could only hint for Hull to proceed without giving any explicit promises.

As Secretary Hull left the Oval Office, he found Marshall waiting outside. He gave a brief greeting and hurried away. Marshall entered the office; having shared the knowledge that China likely possessed nuclear weapons, the relationship between him and Roosevelt had grown oddly closer.

Marshall raised a request from the Air Force: "President, the Air Force wishes to send observers to Germany to look into the situation with their jet fighters."

"Is there a problem with that?" Roosevelt asked, somewhat puzzled. Even if Germany and the US had their own agendas now, they were still partners in the same camp. The German jets utilized a great deal of American technology; wanting to understand their performance in actual combat was an entirely reasonable request.

Marshall explained, "Mr. President, Germany has proposed that they wish to purchase American jet fighters."

Roosevelt's brow furrowed. Selling American jets to Germany wasn't an excessive demand within the Allies. Especially since the prototype had been provided by Germany to Britain and the US, and the three nations had signed a joint development agreement. If Germany was willing to buy American jets, it would also share the R&D pressure on the US.

However, once Germany obtained them, with Ribbentrop's style, he would surely promote it heavily. If the American engines performed superiorly, the Soviet Union would certainly believe America had chosen to stand fully with Germany, leading them to join the Chinese camp.

Even if the US didn't have many options left, they didn't want to drive the USSR toward China so easily. After all, so far the Soviet Union had only declared war on Germany and the Fascist states that struck it, not on the US, Britain, or France.

After weighing it for a moment, Roosevelt told Marshall, "Go talk to Secretary Hull."

Though phrased as a suggestion, Marshall understood Roosevelt's view. Hull had always advocated against pushing the USSR too hard; the plan to sell the most advanced fighters to Germany would surely be opposed by him. What Marshall didn't expect was that Britain had already learned of the German request, and the Foreign Office was evaluating it.

Britain didn't care if the Soviet Union declared war on them; if the Red Army reached a distance where they could attack Britain, it would mean Germany and France had been thoroughly eliminated, a possibility the Foreign Office considered unlikely. Based on this, they didn't care about a Soviet declaration of war on the US, as Britain was very keen to see the US and USSR in a state of war.

After discussion, the Foreign Office believed it necessary to conduct full cooperation with Germany on jet fighters. While American technology was impressive, it was only in certain areas. British technology was not lagging, and in terms of engines, it was even more advanced. Previously, the Germans had wanted to modify their prototype; the British technical departments, after studying it, had immediately proposed placing the engines within the fuselage. Through cooperation with the Luftwaffe, they had successfully completed this massive improvement.

As for how Germany would drag the US into it, the Foreign Office had great faith in Ribbentrop. With his style, he would surely emphasize the technology jointly developed by the three nations. By grasping the key points of propaganda, they could completely create the impression for the USSR that America had given Germany the technology. That's how propaganda worked: even without a single lie, you could lead the other party to a false conclusion.

As if the German and British Foreign Offices were in sync, no sooner had the recommendation been handed to 10 Downing Street than Germany placed a massive order for British engines. The RAF immediately requested that Germany share its data and allow a British observation mission to inspect the German jet fighters.

Germany agreed immediately, and on June 22nd, the British military observation mission arrived at the Eastern Front. Like the naval observers with the US Pacific Fleet, they were instantly stunned by the battlefield.

Destoyed tanks from both sides were scattered across the vast plains. After even a brief assessment, the mission determined that the tank production capacity of both Germany and the Soviet Union far exceeded that of Britain.

A year ago, after the Anglo-German peace, Britain had spent a massive sum to import tank technology from Germany. After study, British technical experts admired the German philosophy of tank usage but expressed a certain disdain for their technology. In their view, not a single German tank technology fully surpassed Britain's. Many German components were clearly rushed into service; Britain could take any single technology and leave their German counterparts unable to hold their heads up.

However, military experts had a different view: the best equipment on the battlefield can gain an advantage, but in the face of absolute numbers, a small quantity of technologically superior weapons cannot play a decisive role. The Eastern Front was no fake; they saw hundreds of destroyed tanks with their own eyes, and there were surely more elsewhere. After inspecting captured Soviet T-34s, the British experts had to admit that this Soviet tank was indeed superior to British ones.

With the Soviets, equipped with tens of thousands of such powerful T-34s, still in retreat before the German offensive, the British Army would likely have shared the same fate if the roles were reversed.

Fortunately, the most important part of the mission was the jet fighters; the report on the Army could wait. The observers soon saw a report that filled them with delight. The 52nd Fighter Wing was equipped with about 50 jet fighters; two pilots had been killed in accidents, and one wounded and retired. Of the remaining 47, the lowest tally over the past month of combat was 33 Soviet aircraft downed. The top-scoring pilot, named Franz, had downed 88. That was an average of nearly three per day. If Göring hadn't resisted the pressure and allowed JG 52's request for Franz to continue flying, the pilot—who had reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel—would have been ordered off the battlefield by the General Staff.

In contrast, most other pilots in the 52nd Fighter Wing had fewer than five kills. Especially the wingmen, whose tallies were very low. But the jet pilots, whether lead or wingman, all had massive hauls.

By First World War standards, five kills made one an ace. By those numbers, the British observers didn't know what to call the pilots of the German jet squadron. Should they be called Super-Aces? Or Ultra-Aces?

The Germans were very eager for more cooperation, so they hid nothing when asked about their operations. The greatest advantage of the jet fighter was its extreme speed, making it very difficult for the Soviet Air Force to encircle them.

Even when an encirclement seemed about to be completed, a German pilot could simply accelerate and easily break out at over 800 kilometers per hour, leaving the Soviet propeller planes in their smoke. German pilots had even developed a tactic of deliberately falling behind to invite Soviet pilots to surround them. Once they closed in, the German pilot would exit the ring, perform a "Reverse-8" maneuver, and quickly double back.

The Soviet pilots would lose their target in an instant and be forced to break formation, unable to regroup quickly. The German pilot would then strike back from the rear. This tactic worked every time, turning the Soviet "hunters" into the hunted.

The British mission sent its report on the Luftwaffe back to London that same day. In it, they described the effects of the new equipment with great enthusiasm, pleading with London to begin full cooperation with Germany on air forces as quickly as possible.

The report concluded: "...Given the disadvantage of the RAF against the Chinese Air Force, we urge full cooperation with Germany to reverse this situation. The current advantage of the Chinese military is built upon the foundation of its powerful air force. Aside from adopting jet fighters, there is currently no other way for Britain to surpass the Chinese Air Force..."

On that very day, He Rui arrived at Nanyang Airbase to witness a military exercise by China's own jet fighters. When his plane landed, designers like Wang Dongliu stood straight by the ramp like a group of schoolboys. As He Rui stepped down, Wang Dongliu stepped forward and said loudly, "We have not failed your trust, Chairman; we have completed the development of the new fighter. Please inspect it."

"You've worked hard, comrades," He Rui said, stepping forward to shake hands with each of the designers.