Chapter 67 US Aid Tanks

  The United Kingdom was the first country in the world to use tanks and the first to form an armoured unit, the 1st Tank Brigade, in 1934.

  But the use of its armored forces was still a major problem. The British Crusader cruiser tanks and Churchill infantry tanks were basically designed for supporting infantry warfare. It seemed that the British had not figured out one thing before the war - the future was not to keep the tanks at low speed to adapt to the advancing speed of the infantry, but to let the infantry ride on motorcycles to adapt to the speed of the tanks.

  In 1936, the British formed their first armoured division while the Germans formed four. From this point on, the British were outpaced and left far behind by the Germans in terms of armoured forces.

  It's hard not to say that the British were too rigid and paid a heavy price for it. In the French campaign, more than 10 million British and French troops were defeated by two armored divisions led by Guderian and Rommel, who broke through the weak points of the Anglo-French army, directly leading to the collapse of the entire front line. In the battles in North Africa in the first half of 1941 and 1942, they were also defeated by Rommel's tank corps with less than 500 tanks.

  What's more, the Japanese riding bicycles in the Far East even dared to take action against the British, and they also achieved a not-so-glorious record. The army of the Great Britain Empire with advanced weapons was actually defeated by a group of people riding bicycles, which cannot be said to be a shame for Britain.

  The entire British Empire has completely become yesterday's yellow flower, the more it cools down, the more bitter it becomes. The military of the British Empire has also fallen to the category of second-rate armies in the world, not only do Germans look down on them, Japanese people look down on them, even their ally Americans look down on them.

  The Americans are making money from the pocket of the British Empire, while also competing with the British Empire in military and political terms. They have completely forgotten that less than 200 years ago, there was no place on earth called the United States of America. At that time, their country was just a colony of the British Empire.

  The UK now has only ten armoured brigades with fully mechanized armoured troops, while Egypt currently has eight, with two more deployed in the Middle East and Far East.

  Long ago, there were thirteen armored brigades, but the three had been defeated by Rommel in North Africa's first two battles and didn't even hold on to their army flags. The Ministry of War was so angry that it directly abolished the establishment of these three brigades. Britain wasn't unwilling to establish a large number of armored forces, it's just really hard to do.

  The UK is currently experiencing resource shortages, power shortages, and fuel shortages. Everything has to be transported from distant colonies. Moreover, the German submarine fleet is a constant nuisance, frequently launching large-scale attacks on transport ships. In the eyes of the British, these German submarines are cowards that hide in the cold, dark waters, using periscopes to spy on surface transport ships before stealthily firing torpedoes like thieves. As soon as they see British warships approaching, they flee and hide underwater, afraid to show their heads.

  "There's a way for you to come up, our warships won't fire, just ramming will kill you." Of course, this is what the British thought. The German submarine fleet would say "There's a way for you to bring your warship to the bottom of the sea, we don't need to do anything, and you'll be dead."

  There were some losses in transportation that could not be avoided, and the British comforted themselves with the conviction that it was only good enough for feeding dogs. But even if the materials were transported, Britain's production capacity couldn't keep up anyway.

  The UK is a maritime nation, and their main force is naturally the large battleships. In the British mindset, as long as the warship docks somewhere, just the intimidation alone can scare a group of people to death, do they even need to fight?

  So, Britain was able to build the world's most powerful battleships. But a tank of only a few dozen tons could never be built properly. This also had something to do with internal British politics, as parties that supported the Navy Department often won big in elections. Of course, this also had to do with the Navy Department's behind-the-scenes assistance and support for these parties. And after they took office, the annual budget of each government would include a large increase in naval spending. This created an invisible cycle of connections between each government and the navy. It was truly a win-win situation for everyone. A harmonious atmosphere prevailed.

  But the budget is only so much, and if I give you an increase, I will inevitably reduce it. The army's annual budget has been cut year by year, but the army's power is clearly inferior to that of the navy. Those army department generals can only pinch their noses and admit it. Fortunately, the Royal Navy discovered that aircraft have a great effect on surface ships, so they did not cut the budget of the Royal Air Force. Otherwise, Britain would have had to rely on cruisers to defend London's safety during the Battle of Britain.

  Additionally, the army's previous reputation was not very good. During the English Civil War, the British Army had beheaded King Charles I. Although his son, King Charles II, later regained power and did not intend to settle scores with the army, perhaps due to the trauma and hatred left by the army's regicide, he named the naval force "Royal Navy" while refusing to grant the army a royal warrant.

  The army's budget was reduced, directly leading to the backwardness of the army's weapons. No merchant wanted to deal with an impoverished army. Without financial incentives, the development of the army's weapons was slow, like a snail climbing a mountain, taking two steps back for every step forward. It wasn't until the outbreak of World War II that Britain hastily developed their army equipment, but it was too late. The deformed production capacity could not produce high-quality tanks, which made the British drink a cup of bitter wine they had brewed themselves in the early years of World War II.

  Of course, the temple and the monks will not be poor either. The poverty of the army does not mean that the generals of the army will be poor. Each of the army leaders stationed in the colonies is as rich as a king, living a luxurious life every day.

  The British Empire was known as the empire on which the sun never sets, meaning that no matter where the sun shone, there would always be a piece of British territory basking in its light. This statement is not an exaggeration, as the British people's desire for colonies had reached a pathological level. Before World War II, from Africa's Egypt, Syria, and South Africa to Asia's India, Burma, and Singapore, and then Oceania's Australia, all were colonies of the British Empire. Of course, on small islands in the Atlantic and Pacific, one could often see the British flag fluttering high.

  These were all British colonies, and the attitude of Britain towards these colonies was very simple. I only want your wealth, minerals, resources, and freedom. What I give you is discipline and faith. Of course, it's faith in God and the King of England. Therefore, the indigenous people of the colonies have risen up and resisted the British army many times. But they were bloodily suppressed by the British army with guns and bayonets time and time again. Britain's policy was to plunder, and apart from building a few ship repair factories in the colonies, it did not want to or intend to develop industry in the colonies.

  The British still vividly remember the defeat they suffered at the hands of the farmer armies organized by big businessmen, industrialists and large landowners in America. Those farmers, armed with weapons manufactured in their own factories, defeated the well-equipped British army. This lesson reminded the British that they must not allow their colonies to develop their own industries. Over time, this approach gradually became a national policy for Britain.

  Since Rommel set foot on Syrian soil, the bigwigs in the British Cabinet have had a bad time. The British army in Egypt and Libya was more than enough to suppress the resistance of the colonies, but when it really faced the iron blow of the German army, it showed its soft ribs.

  Libya is lost, and the German stranglehold on Britain's throat has tightened. The Suez Canal in Egypt, which is as vital to Britain as a chicken that lays golden eggs, is also no longer safe, with German planes bombing it every day.

  If the Germans were to occupy the Suez Canal, supplies for the Far Eastern colonies would have to be diverted by over 10,000 kilometers to reach their home country, and the fuel consumed on the way alone would likely exceed the value of the goods. The British Isles are now starving and bleeding every day. These supplies are simply vital.

  There was no way Britain could do otherwise, so it had to mobilize the whole country to come up with an army to resist Rommel. Rommel's battles in Africa were actually against a nation, a colonial state with a larger area than the entire Soviet Union. But ironically, such a large colonial state couldn't even produce high-performance tanks.

  Fortunately, they can't be made, so we can buy them. As a result, large numbers of British orders directly stimulated the production of munitions in the United States. The US government also gave its full support to these orders that could bring about massive employment. However, American gentlemen are also very resourceful and at this critical juncture they actually levied as much as 70% tax on the export of munitions as a dangerous goods transaction tax. This was undoubtedly like rubbing salt into the wound of the British people who were already bleeding profusely. The pain was felt by the British people right to their marrow.

  The British Foreign Office hastily visited the US President, while US President Roosevelt, an old fox, pretended to be confused and claimed he didn't know about it. In the end, the British ambassador reluctantly found the American arms manufacturer to confirm the matter.

  At this time, Roosevelt did not pretend to be confused, but said with justice and righteousness: "We levy taxes on goods in our own country, which is our own business. Other countries have no right to interfere. This is entirely our internal affairs, I take exception to the ambassador's questioning of my domestic affairs."

  This is the first instance in the world where a large tariff was imposed on its own export goods, and it is also a means for the United States to seize Britain's position as the world's hegemon.

  Yes, they collect taxes on their own goods, what business is it of Britain's? It's not as if they're protecting their own industries by imposing special tariffs on exports to Britain.

  The British ambassador was furious at the time, but he couldn't find any reason to argue. He had to explain to the US President again in a polite manner that these arms were used for legitimate purposes in the war against fascism and were urgently needed to liberate people who were enslaved and oppressed. He hoped that the US government could exempt these taxes.

  The US President kept shaking his head like a rattle drum, refusing to agree. In the end, the British ambassador almost knelt down to Roosevelt, who reluctantly agreed to reduce the tax on these tanks to 50%.

  For Britain, this is nothing short of extortion. The face of the British Empire has been utterly lost in that former colony. But never mind a 50% special tax, even a 20% special tax would have to be accepted by the British. Faced with Rommel's threat, being extorted for money by those American rascals is child's play.

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  Two more servings coming up.