This sugar cane plantation is very large, and there is only a rough estimate of where the Cuban revolutionaries are hiding, so it is difficult for mortar shelling to have much effect. When the Spanish soldiers rushed in with rifles, accompanied by
There was a burst of fierce gunfire, and they were quickly shot out, and dozens of people were lost. In Thomas's gloating eyes, the lieutenant colonel waved his hand impatiently, and the artillerymen next to him quickly moved out of the carriage.
Take out the wooden boxes with skulls printed on them, and then take out the gas bombs contained in them.
This kind of thing is now notorious in Cuba. The Spaniards, who had been retreating steadily under the attacks of the revolutionaries, relied on this thing to turn the tide of the war almost overnight, and tens of thousands of Cuban revolutionaries fell there.
The yellow poisonous mist was even said to be a demon summoned from hell by the Spaniards. Thomas, who saw it for the first time, immediately stared at these red-painted cannonballs in surprise with his eyes wide open.
With the popping sound of the cannon, a sharp roar sounded over the sugar cane fields, and then clouds of yellow poisonous mist exploded, quickly filling the narrow valley. The Spanish machine gunners deployed on the hillsides on both sides immediately
After seeing the Cubans who were forced to go towards Thomas's house, the Bofors water-cooled machine guns in their hands rang out, and the dense bullets hit the branches and leaves in the sugar cane garden. At the same time, under the guidance of flags, the artillery readjusted
The coordinates and gas bombs followed the footsteps of the Cubans.
"You can't do this!" Thomas was anxious. It was obvious that these Spaniards had sinister intentions. They were forcing the Cubans to his home. This guy rushed towards the lieutenant colonel angrily, but was immediately dragged away by several soldiers.
The lieutenant colonel shrugged indifferently. In addition to sugar cane, this valley is covered with dense forests. There is only open land there. Don't rush there. This is Cuba, a colony of the Kingdom of Spain. Not a colony of the United States. You can't take care of the Yankees.
, let your men take risks and fight in the dense forest!
"Asshole, you have to pay for this. I am an American citizen. You can't treat us like this." Thomas roared in grief and anger, watching the poisonous fog advancing towards his home. At this time, those who ran out to watch the fun
The workers had realized that something was wrong and were running away for their lives. But Mrs. Thomas and Little Thomas, who were watching the excitement on the balcony, obviously had not realized the problem. Just when Thomas shouted to them in horror, Mrs. Thomas
He waved to him happily, and then continued to look at the beautiful yellow mist that spread with interest.
Thomas didn't care about anything else, he broke away from the Spanish soldiers who were holding him, and ran towards his home like crazy, shouting for them to leave quickly. He could have succeeded, after all, the distance was not very far.
, the lieutenant colonel knew this in his heart. However, God's calculations were not as good as those of man. Just when he was watching Thomas go to rescue his wife and children, an accident happened.
As everyone watched in stunned silence, a sudden strong wind accelerated the pace of the poisonous gas. The yellow poisonous mist surged forward instantly, and in Thomas's desperate eyes, it swallowed up his house, his wife and children,
Even some workers who didn't have time to escape disappeared into the poisonous mist of mustard gas.
"Damn it!" the lieutenant colonel looked at this scene in astonishment and cursed, knowing that he was in trouble.
In the process of suppressing the Cuban revolutionaries, the Spanish brutally used poison gas bombs. The news that ten American citizens were killed and injured soon made the headlines of almost all newspapers in the United States, especially since there was a woman and four children among them.
, three of them died on the spot, and the remaining one was completely blinded. After that horrific picture was published in tomorrow's daily newspaper, anger immediately spread in the United States.
Moreover, poor Mr. Thomas even burst into tears on the People's Broadcasting Station, accusing the Spanish commander who led the team of deliberately driving the Cuban revolutionaries toward his home that caused this tragedy. He wanted to charge the officer with murder.
, which added fuel to the fire and detonated the anti-Spanish sentiment that had been deliberately induced by the U.S. government for a long time. A large number of people even poured into the streets, demanding that the criminal Spaniards be punished and the Cuban people be liberated from their clutches.
The U.S. government naturally notified the Spanish government, demanding a public apology, severe punishment of the officer who caused the tragedy, at least hanging him, and compensation for economic losses. Of course, the most important thing is to withdraw its troops from Cuba and stop the oppression of the Cuban people.
Bloody suppression gave the Cuban people independence and freedom.
In tit for tat, the Spanish government quickly disclosed the results of the investigation. First, it was an accident. It was not their soldiers that caused all this, but the sudden wind. Second, some of Thomas' workers colluded with the rebels.
This man has been identified from the dead bodies of the rebels. He led the rebels to escape to Thomas's plantation. And according to the confessions of the arrested rebels, Thomas himself had contact with them and at least provided them with information.
Ten pistols and a batch of bullets, so he can only blame himself for his actions, and the Spanish government also hopes that the U.S. government will better restrain its citizens in Cuba and stop engaging in illegal activities.
Of course the U.S. government refuted it, and then the Spanish refuted it again, and the Americans refuted it again, and the war of words intensified.
While the diplomats of both sides were engaged in a verbal sparring, preparations for war on both sides were also underway. Although the United States had a powerful navy, it only had an army of over 20,000 people. Of course, this was not the case for Americans who had been trained by scalping Indians.
No big deal, as long as they are willing, they can mobilize hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops in a short time, and the large-scale expansion of the army will begin immediately.
Compared with the silence of the Americans, the Spanish preparations were carried out with great fanfare. After all, they still wanted to scare the Americans. The first thing they did was to publicly announce that they would transport all the poison gas bombs in their inventory, a total of about 1,000 tons, to Cuba.
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Of course, after this incident, Sweden's Bofors Chemical Weapons Company announced that it would suspend the supply of poison gas bombs to the Spaniards because it was obvious that they did not abide by their commitment to the respected Prince Yang in terms of use. It was written in the supply contract between the two parties.
It is clearly forbidden to be used in combat against Cuba, because many overseas Chinese there have joined the Cuban Revolutionary Army.
Of course, there is nothing they can do about the items that have been sent to Spain before. They can only appeal to the Spanish government to abide by the contract based on humanitarian principles.
In addition, Canovas announced that an additional 50,000 troops would be sent to Cuba, and at the same time he would move the main fleet of the Spanish Navy to Cuba. Although there were no battleships, there were six large armored cruisers and 12 high-speed destroyers, including the old steam-powered Terre.
The Queen of Sa, the Oquendo, the Vizcaya diesel-powered 7,000-ton Princess of Asturias, the 4,000-ton Bishop Snenos and the Catona.
In Spain, there are also the Peleyo and the Carlos V, which has been accelerated and is about to be completed after receiving sufficient funds, the steam-powered armored cruiser Cologne built at the Armstrong Shipyard, which has just been completed, and the armored cruiser Columbus.
, these will form another fleet, including of course the four high-speed destroyers that will be delivered soon.
Although the total strength of this kind is still significantly different from that of the United States in terms of tonnage, the Americans do not have a high-speed ship with a diesel engine, nor do they have a steam gas torpedo with a range of more than ten kilometers. In order to maximize the use of these expensive torpedoes
The Spanish government even hired a group of torpedo operators from Young's Shipyard at high salaries.
Compared with them, the strength of the U.S. Navy is quite frightening. There are only three Indiana-class battleships in the 10,000-ton class, plus one newly completed Iowa class, as well as two 6,000-ton Tennessee and Burmese battleships.
In addition to the USS New York and USS Brooklyn, two large armored cruisers of nine thousand tons, two Columbia-class protected cruisers, one USS Olympia, USS Baltimore, USS Boston, USS Raleigh... Just looking at that
The long list of names is shocking.
The Spanish-American War is about to break out, exciting the whole world. This war has actually been anticipated by the European powers for a long time. The rising United States does not please them. What Yang Feng can see, European politicians
It can also be seen that restricting the development of this country is in the interest of Europe. As for Spain, no one in Europe likes it. A life-and-death contest between them will undoubtedly be very happy.
In particular, this war will provide them with enough war experience. You must know that military technology has advanced by leaps and bounds in recent years. Whether in the navy or the army, various new weapons have emerged in an endless stream, and new combat concepts are also constantly emerging, especially a large number of diesel engine high-speed ships.
With the emergence of diesel engines, there are currently more than ten diesel-engine battleships under construction in Europe alone. The United Kingdom has put four into service, and Germany has also put into service two.
But these have never been truly tested. Although there are a series of battles by Japan, the Philippines, and Yang Feng in China, these all took place when the strength of the two sides was very different. It was a contest between opponents of the same level.
It has never happened, and the Spanish-American War will undoubtedly become a good example. Anyway, no matter who loses or wins, it will have no impact on the European powers.
The navies of various European countries swarmed into the Caribbean Sea like flies that saw blood. Even Turkey, which was not considered a great power, sent a destroyer to wait and see the excitement. Of course, China, which was also not considered a great power, was also included. Yang
Feng's three major fleets each dispatched one ship, the Beiyang Fleet's Zhiyuan, the East Ocean Fleet's Haitian, and the Nanyang Fleet sent out a landing ship and a high-speed merchant ship to carry fuel and supplies. (To be continued...)