The United States Pacific Fleet was hurrying toward the Atlantic Ocean when devastating news reached Washington: Panama City had fallen!
The allied forces lying in wait in Colombia had finally struck. Against their offensive, Panama's defenders had no power to fight back whatsoever. The Americans were now paying a painful price for their contempt for the army.
When the news reached Washington, the United States government let out a collective wail. This time, they were truly finished. A navy split in two had no strength left for a fight.
Yet the Navy Department made no response, as though everything had gone exactly as expected. Only those who knew the inside story understood that the Pacific Fleet's main force had long since reached the Atlantic Ocean; what remained behind was merely a decoy.
The purpose was still political correctness. The public could not be allowed to discover that, before the war had even begun, the government had already abandoned the West Coast. Given the fierce temperament of the American people, riots would have been the least of their problems—the real trouble was that, in a burst of anger, they might simply surrender!
Such things had happened many times in American history. So long as the government dared to abandon them, they dared to surrender. Fighting to the death was simply very un-American!
Bad news always came one after another. On January 25, 1921, the Hawaiian War erupted. This time, there was no sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Faced with the onrushing allied forces, the United States Navy had no intention of sending a fleet over to die!
The two sides fought fiercely over the Hawaiian Islands. After resisting the allied assault bitterly for five days without any support, the isolated United States forces were forced to lay down their arms and