The power system of the battleship "Maryland" is 8 boilers and 2 steam turbines, driven by generators with a power of 28,900 horsepower.
Although the power is high, the battleship "Maryland" has a full load displacement of 33,590 tons, so the maximum speed is only a pitiful 21 knots.
The aircraft carrier "Basutolan" uses 9 boilers and 4 1,000-kilowatt steam turbines, which can produce 120,000 shaft horsepower at full power.
The full load displacement of "Basutolan" is only 25,000 tons, so the maximum speed of "Basutolan" can reach 33 knots.
This damn thing can run faster than many destroyers.
So, how to fight?
Even if the main gun equipped by the "Maryland" has a caliber of one meter, it is useless if it cannot reach the range.
Only then did Ernest King truly understand why southern Africa had not developed battleships.
At the same time, Ernest King had also been vaguely aware of the correct way to use aircraft carriers.
It is actually useless to realize that, no matter how fast the aircraft carrier runs, it cannot fly as fast as the aircraft, so the key issue is the carrier-based aircraft.
Look at the "strong wind" high above.
Look at the poor little short-legged "Hellhound" again.
Ernest King could only sigh.
There’s a long road ahead
The key is that there is still no hope. The United States is trying to catch up, and southern Africa is not the hare in the tortoise and the hare race.
And as time goes by, Southern Africa's first-mover advantage in the aviation field will not only not shrink, but will instead grow.
Closing the gap with the navies of Southern Africa is the most important task for the U.S. Navy now.
If this were said in the United States, few people would believe it, and most people would regard it as a joke.
After all, Southern Africa, which does not even have a real battleship, is not even a maritime power in the eyes of most people.
But in this moment, this is how Ernest King really felt.
When the two fleets were entangled at sea, the battle in Victoria Harbor entered a new stage.
As mentioned earlier, Victoria Harbor is located in the southwest of Victoria Island, but it will be difficult for the Brazilian government forces to surround Victoria Island unless Barreto has the ability to sail the battleship into the Santa Maria River.
Regardless of whether it can be surrounded or not, it is necessary to establish a real forward base.
After the attack failed on the first day, the troops of the Brazilian military government landed at Veilla on the south bank of the Santa Maria River and prepared to establish a forward base in Veilla.
Here I would like to introduce that the Santa Maria River forms a "U" shape around Victoria Island, and the Port of Kitchener is on the north side of Victoria, so the landing direction of the Brazilian military government is on the south side of Victoria.
The defense of the Michigan National Guard mainly revolves around Victoria, and Wailea's troops are empty, with less than one company.
When the Brazilian government troops landed in Wailea, the Michigan National Guard withdrew directly, allowing the Brazilian government troops to land smoothly.
Don't think that a successful landing means you can successfully establish an advance base. The battle has just begun after landing. For the Michigan National Guard, Wailea is a hunting ground specially prepared for the Brazilian government forces.
"Go forward, go forward, keep moving forward, establish a defense line at least one kilometer away, and leave enough space for the advancing base," a Brazilian captain shouted hoarsely as he commanded the troops to continue the attack.
Around him, almost all government soldiers were frightened and cowered.
In fact, yesterday's battle left a deep impression on the government soldiers.
Almost all the troops involved in the attack yesterday were wiped out.
Post-war statistics show that the Brazilian military government lost nearly 1,500 people in a battle that lasted no more than 2 hours.
Compared with the World War, 1,500 is indeed a small number, but the Brazilian military government has a total of 300,000 troops, and the army that came to Victoria with the Barreto fleet only had one division of 12,000 troops. Does this mean it is a heavy loss?
It’s a fucking ten percent loss.
If it weren't for the presence of American advisers and more than 10% casualties, the Brazilian army would definitely collapse.
Seeing that the soldiers around him were cowering, the captain became so angry that he raised his whip and whipped the soldiers around him, shouting curses.
At this time, the captain's head suddenly exploded like a smashed watermelon, and then the soldiers heard the sharp and shrill sound of gunfire.
Boom!
This scene is really impressive.
Until the follow-up troops came up, no soldier dared to leave his bunker.
"Go forward, go forward, keep going forward." The captain who just came up still used the same routine.
"Sir, there are enemies ahead." A second lieutenant clarified. It's not that our brothers are weak, but that the enemy is too strong.
"Then we're going to launch an attack?" The captain didn't know what happened. The body of the captain who had just been shot had been carried away, leaving only "watermelon pulp" everywhere.
Well, this kind of scene is common on the battlefield. The captain who just came up was also a veteran and didn't even look at it.
"No, no, no, we can't attack. As long as we don't shoot at the enemy, the enemy won't shoot at us," the second lieutenant said without hesitation.
The captain's expression changed and he was about to speak.
The second lieutenant hurriedly made a remedy: "We need fire cover, at least bring a few mortars over to test the enemy's firepower."
This is a good suggestion. The government troops still have mortars, and they are trained step by step by American consultants. They can be regarded as one of the most technical arms of the Brazilian military government.
The other one is naturally the navy.
Of course, high technical content does not mean high level. Driving licenses are divided into A, B, and C. There are also proficiency issues at the same level.
The proficiency of soldiers of the Brazilian military government is roughly equivalent to the level of just getting a driver's license. If you want to get on the highway, you need to continue to accumulate experience.
The mortar was soon brought up and set up, and the problem came again. No one could tell where the Michigan National Guard was.
Not to mention he couldn't explain clearly, he didn't even have a general direction. Everyone said the same thing. Captain Costa was shot in the head just now when a gunshot was fired. He had no idea which direction the bullet came from.
This is difficult to do. Let alone mortars, even with the 305 cannon on the battleship, the financial resources of the Brazilian military government cannot be used to the extent of washing the ground with shells. Captain Luis, who just came up, was very angry and ordered to lie down
The motionless soldiers on the ground rose to attack, otherwise they would have to enforce battlefield discipline.
The helpless soldiers slowly got up from the ground and continued to move forward under the command of the officers.
Just a few steps out, someone stepped on a landmine, and with a "boom" more than a dozen soldiers were killed or wounded. The morale that had just improved a little bit sank to the bottom again.
"Attack, attack, all the cowering military law is engaged!" Captain Lewis was almost driven crazy and yelled at the cunning Umbrella Company mercenaries.
It's a cold shot, and it's planting landmines. This is definitely not the style of the Miami National Guard. It can only be the work of the mercenaries of the Umbrella Company. How dare recruits who have never been on the battlefield dare to do this? Landmines may be planted.
It's amazing. Even though "Landmine Warfare" was shot in a sloppy way, it actually has a very high technical content.
"Attack, attack," Captain Lewis shouted sharply. The law enforcement team had already set up their machine guns. If the attacking troops dared to escape, they would really fire.
The troops advanced again, this time less than fifty meters, when suddenly several grenades flew over, killing more than a dozen soldiers.
Now all the attacking troops crawled to the ground and refused to get up no matter how much the officers beat and scolded them.
A few slaps and curses are nothing, if you continue to move forward if you don't care about your heart, you will die.
Captain Lewis was very happy at this moment. Since there were grenades, it proved that there were grenade launchers from the Michigan National Guard nearby, so the mortars could finally counterattack.
"Sir, please wait a moment. We are calculating the location of the enemy's artillery positions." The officer commanding the mortar stood up and saluted Louis.
Before Lewis could speak, he suddenly felt a creepy feeling.
Without any time to think, Lewis lay down directly.
Then I heard the scream of the bullet grazing my scalp and tearing the air!
Then the gunfire was heard.
Lewis was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat.
"You really want to kill me. Don't you know that salutes are not allowed on the battlefield?" Louis yelled. The officer commanding the mortar wore glasses and looked polite. He must have just graduated from school, or else he didn't.
Qualified to command mortars with relatively high technical content.
"I'm sorry, sir, I'm very sorry." Officer Yan apologized repeatedly, and he was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat.
Fortunately, the sniper had targeted Louis instead of the glasses officer, otherwise the glasses officer would not have had a sixth sense as sharp as a beast like Louis.
"Quickly calculate, find the enemy's sniper and grenade launcher for me." Louis didn't care. The sniper on the opposite side was not stupid. If he waited for a while, he would definitely move his position and escape. Even if he calculated the direction, it would be useless.
The glasses officer still had some skills. After calculating the parameters and commanding the mortar to complete the counterattack, Louis ordered the troops to continue moving forward.
At this time, Louis did not notice at all that after being hit one after another, the offensive force had lost nearly one-fifth.
It should be said that one-fifth is a critical point. Very few troops will not collapse after the casualties exceed one-fifth. Those troops that do not collapse are regarded as examples of "Iron Army" and are featured in various textbooks.
The troops of the Brazilian military government obviously did not reach the level of "iron army".
So when the gunfire rang out again, the attacking troops dispersed regardless of the law enforcement team behind them. Some soldiers even dropped their rifles and turned around to run. Their psychology had completely collapsed. In their concept, this was not escape at all but
Survive.
So whoever dares to stop them from surviving, they will not hesitate to take up arms and fight to open a bloody path.
The will to survive at this time is much stronger than the will to fight during the attack just now.
Looking at the chaotic scene in front of him, Louis' face turned pale.
It seems that this battle is much harder to fight than American consultants imagined.
