Chapter 26 Chiang Kai-shek congratulates Roosevelt on his third election as president

On this day (November 5, 1940), Roosevelt was elected president of the United States for the third time in a row, and Chiang Kai-shek hastily sent a congratulatory message. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in New York.His father, James Roosevelt, was a millionaire.His mother, Sarah Delano, was 26 years younger than his father.Roosevelt was educated at Harvard University and Columbia University. In 1910, he became a New York State Senator. In 1913, he served as Deputy Minister of the Navy. He was disabled by polio in 1921. In 1928 he became governor of New York. 1932 ran for president and won.After taking power, he used the "New Deal" to deal with the economic crisis, which was quite effective, so he was re-elected in the 1936, 1940, and 1944 general elections.Roosevelt has always been regarded as one of the greatest presidents in American history, the most popular and beloved president of the United States in the 20th century, and the only person in American history who served four consecutive terms and served for 12 years.It has won the high support rate of the American people for seven weeks, setting a historical record.

On September 27, 1940, Japan, Germany, and Italy signed a treaty of alliance, promising to "recognize and respect" each other's "leadership to establish a new order" in Europe and East Asia, and to ensure that "one of the contracting states is subject to the When a country in the Sino-Japanese conflict attacks, it should assist by all political, economic and military means."In this way, the three fascist aggressive countries in the East and the West formally established a military alliance for world hegemony.The establishment of this fascist military camp is a disaster for people all over the world.However, Chiang Kai-shek was happy about this.He said: "The three-nation alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan has been realized. If this is not what I want in terms of the War of Resistance and the international situation, the victory of the War of Resistance has been determined!" This judgment is indeed correct, and there is a strategy. visionary.

At that time, Chiang Kai-shek announced a warrant to the generals in the theaters, believing that the "Berlin Agreement" was "the only turning point for the final victory of the War of Resistance", and "we can only wait for the changes in the international situation and look forward to the cooperation of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union to achieve final victory."Chiang Kai-shek's passive anti-war thinking of "preserving strength and sitting back and watching success or failure" greatly disintegrated the fighting spirit of the Kuomintang army.

In November 1940, Roosevelt was elected as the 34th president of the United States for the third time as the Democratic candidate.This is unprecedented. Since the founding father of the United States, Washington, was determined not to be the third president, it has become a practice in American history that only two consecutive presidents can be elected. However, Roosevelt created a new history with his own ability and wisdom. On September 28, 1940, the day after Japan, Germany, and Italy signed the alliance treaty, Roosevelt convened a meeting with the Secretary of State and the military leaders.Participants believed that the Triple Alliance was a gun against the United States, but "the gun was not loaded." Japan had been dragged down by the Sino-Japanese War, and it was too overwhelmed to fight against the US naval and air forces.Roosevelt and his advisers agreed that the main threat to world peace came from Europe, that the main enemy of Western civilization was Hitler, and that America's global strategy was, "Atlantic first, Europe first"; on the other hand, the American threat to the Pacific Therefore, the United States' East Asia policy should be: neither allow Japan's further expansion, but also try to avoid confrontation with it.According to this policy, the tendency of US policy to aid China and sanction Japan was further strengthened, but such assistance and sanctions were limited to not leading to war with Japan.In Hull's words, it is necessary to make Japan realize that "the United States is powerful in the Pacific Ocean and is constantly strengthening", and it must not give Japan the impression that the United States will not use force; at the same time, it must exercise restraint to avoid falling out with Japan .The United States does not want to show too much emphasis on the Triple Alliance. On the day the treaty was announced, Hull issued a statement with the consent of the President. He said lightly that the United States believed that the Triple Alliance "has not brought about substantial changes to the situation that has existed for several years." The government has long known that such a treaty is in place and has taken it into consideration in its decision-making process.

The signing of the Triple Pact made the fronts of fascist countries and democratic countries more clear. This is obviously a development of the international situation in a direction that is conducive to China's resistance to Japan.Guo Taiqi, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, rejoiced, "Today, Japan has officially joined the Axis, and the common interests of China, Britain, and the United States are becoming more and more obvious...Since the Anti-Japanese War, the international situation has not improved like it is today." In a long telegram to Chiang Kai-shek and Kong Xiangxi on October 12, Hu Shi pointed out that for the past three years he had "waited for change".What I particularly hope for is the "Pacific Naval War and the destruction of the Japanese Navy." The developments in the past month "make people feel that things will come to fruition," and "the general trend of the world has become very clear."

The National Government lost no time in launching a diplomatic offensive, trying to form an alliance of China, the United States, and Britain against Japan. On October 14 and 16, Chiang Kai-shek met with British Ambassador Carl twice, severely criticizing that "Britain and the United States have always estimated China as a semi-colonial country, and believed that China did not have sufficient strength for self-defense." He asked Britain and the United States to change this attitude.Regarding the specific issue of military cooperation, he pointed out that "it is not enough to rely exclusively on Britain, the US sea, and the air force to achieve long-term stability in the Far East, and the army must be assisted." The possibility of Japan going south to the Pacific Ocean is greater than attacking Yunnan. The United Kingdom can use Singapore's air force to help China. If Japan attacks Singapore, China will use the army to intercept the Japanese army's rear.Chiang Kai-shek also asked Carl to convey these words to the American ambassador Jason. Carl said, "Britain's national policy has changed, and the current situation has made it possible to discuss cooperation between China and Britain. Effective results can be obtained."

On October 18, Chiang Kai-shek met with Jansen, and his attitude was much more kind than that of Karl.Jiang asked the United States to provide 500 aircraft within three months and send volunteers to China to help in the war from time to time, saying that "this is actually the only alternative strategy for the United States to fight against Japan."He also demanded that the United States' loans to China in the future "can be broken down into wholes, and a huge sum of money will be loaned to me at one time", and he promised that "in the cooperation between China, Britain, and the United States, I will follow the leadership of the United States."

The United States was not enthusiastic about the alliance proposals and demands of the Nationalist government. On October 24, Hull instructed Jensen to answer Chiang Kai-shek verbally, saying that the United States had given China various aids in the past few years. Since July 1937, China had purchased 279 aircraft from the United States, worth 22 million U.S. dollars. Airplanes are being prepared for shipment to China; new loans to China are being actively considered.Regarding the issue of Japan's southward advance, Hull believes that "this is not an imminent danger"; when it comes to the cooperation between China, Britain, and the United States, Hull said, "The traditional policy of the United States is to avoid joining any alliance, except in the middle of war. ", but he assured that the United States will not harm China's interests while defending the interests of the United States on the Far East issue.

Although the United States refused to form an alliance with China and Britain, Chiang Kai-shek was not willing to give up. In early November, he further formulated a general plan for cooperation among the three countries.The principles of this kind of cooperation are: Adhere to the "Nine-Power Pact", the principles of opening the door and safeguarding China's sovereignty, territorial and administrative integrity, oppose Japan's "Great East Asia New Order Theory", and emphasize that China's independence and freedom are the foundation of Far East peace and the Pacific Ocean basis of order.The specific method is: China, Britain, and the United States (or the United Kingdom and the United States) issue a joint declaration on the above principles; Provide China with loans of 200 to 300 million U.S. dollars; the United States sells 500 to 1,000 fighter jets to China every year, and the two countries also provide China with other weapons; the two countries send military, economic, and transportation representatives to China; When war starts, the Chinese army and air force will provide assistance, etc.

Chiang Kai-shek asked Soong Ziwen, Hu Shi, and Guo Taiqi to be active in the United States and the United Kingdom to promote the alliance of the three countries, and he himself proposed the plan to the ambassadors of the two countries in China.When meeting with Jansen on November 9, he added that after the war, China will devote itself to building a navy, and for this it needs the help of Britain and the United States. During the year, use the ports recovered from Japan. Jiang's intentions are obvious.The United States aided China in the war, and China would repay it after the war. After defeating Japan, the United States would be able to greatly increase its power in Asia and the Western Pacific, and China would provide convenience for the United States in this respect.

The United States still refused to form an alliance. Deputy Secretary of State Wells sent a telegram to Johnson on November 18, and Hull reiterated this position repeatedly in his conversation with Song Ziwen and Hu Shi on the 26th.In addition to the traditional US foreign policy and the strategic approach of "Atlantic first, Europe first", the pledge made by Roosevelt in the just past third election is also a reason for the US to adopt this position. During the campaign, Republican candidate Wilkie presented himself as a guarantor of the peace, portraying Roosevelt as a warmonger, and said that if Roosevelt was re-elected, the United States would have been drawn into war in April 1941.Democratic leader Roosevelt responded directly.Roosevelt decided to make an absolute pledge to keep the peace. On October 30, in a speech in Boston, he simply declared: "I have said these words before, but I might as well say it again, twice, and three times, your children will not be sent to participate in any foreign war ’” On November 2, he declared again in Buffalo: “Your president says this country will not go to war.” No matter how much these guarantees reflect his true thinking and how much they are out of the needs of the campaign, since he has just made a pledge, he will naturally not agree to the proposal of cooperation between China, Britain and the United States, because this will Such cooperation meant that the United States was at war with Japan. But at the same time, the US government is actively considering new loans to China and new sanctions on Japan.At the first cabinet meeting after the general election, a new decision to aid China was passed in principle: provide China with US$100 million, 500 aircraft and other supplies.When Song Ziwen reported this news to Chiang Kai-shek, he said: "Although the principle has been approved, there are many procedures and delays." He asked Chiang to "reiterate our urgent need" when he received the American ambassador. Chiang Kai-shek knew very well that in order to safeguard their interests in the Asia-Pacific region, Britain and the United States needed China to contain Japan, and they could not allow China and Japan to negotiate a separate peace.In order to obtain more American aid, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly threatened the United States by negotiating peace with Japan alone, and he failed repeatedly. Roosevelt worried that "some activities are going on between Japan and Chiang Kai-shek." If the United States does not provide assistance, Chiang Kai-shek will simply not be able to fight.He decided to take urgent measures. On November 22, Roosevelt wrote a note to Wells: "I always feel that with regard to loans to China, it is either not given or given quickly, because I do worry that if we don't do something quickly, freedom China's domestic situation will deteriorate rapidly." On November 29, Roosevelt told Morgenthau that he would announce the news of a US$100 million loan to China within 24 hours, and instructed Morgenthau to immediately complete the balance of US$50 million within one day. Fund loans; he also directed Jones to provide a $50 million business loan from the Export-Import Bank. Roosevelt really made it to the 30th, the day when Wang signed the "Basic Relations Treaty" and issued the "China-Japan-Manchukuo Joint Declaration", and issued a statement on financial aid to China.When the news came, the national government's feelings went without saying.In his thank you message to Roosevelt on December 1, Chiang Kai-shek said: "When Japan recognizes the puppet organization and signed a treaty with the Japanese puppet organization, it is a critical autumn for our country. Fortunately, President Your Excellency announced at this time that the loan to our country will be based on the currency system. There is a huge amount of credit, so the benefits of strengthening our country’s resistance to the invaders, improving the self-confidence of our military and civilians, and stabilizing our social and economic foundations are truly unlimited.” Beginning in November 1940, the U.S. government was planning to formulate a decree that would later play a huge role in the war, which was the Lend-Lease Act.The Lend-Lease Act allowed the president to have broad discretion to provide large amounts of military aid to de facto allies, which brought about a complete change in US foreign and defense policy and was one of the major decisions that led to the victory of the Anti-Fascist War.