Poor Theodore Roosevelt was full of pride and ambition at this time, waiting to rush forward and make great achievements. Little did he know that someone was shooting behind him, and four sinister bullets penetrated the future President of the United States almost at the same time.
Roosevelt, who was wielding his saber, swayed suddenly, and then fell down in the turbid river water with eyes fixed in death.
In the chaotic charge of more than 10,000 people, it was so common for an officer to fall. Except for a few rash cavalrymen beside him, no one even looked at him. Those rash cavalrymen wanted to stop and rescue their commander.
However, the Texas Independence Brigade soldiers and Cubans came up right behind.
"Go quickly, don't stop! Do you want to die?" the leading officer shouted angrily, brandishing a pistol. Because of their obstruction, at least a thousand people's charge was blocked. This is fatal on the battlefield, and naturally the Spaniards on the opposite side were blocked.
Not letting go of this opportunity, the muzzle of a machine gun turned, and dense bullets came instantly. The two soldiers who were about to pick up Roosevelt were beaten into a sieve, and fell together into the river screaming, while the other reckless cavalrymen fell into the river.
Seeing that the commander who still cared about them continued to rush towards the other bank under the crowd behind him, Roosevelt's body was stepped into the river before his eyes.
Johnson, who was watching the battle from a distance, showed a satisfied smile. That's enough. There is no need to make things too troublesome. Even if a dead person is shot in the back on such a battlefield, there is no place to check. No matter how suspicious he is, there will be no suspicion.
On top of him, the Texas Independence Brigade did not have a seven-millimeter Mauser, but the Cuban revolutionaries had many. Whether they were accidentally injured or there were Spanish gunmen lurking behind them, people can only use their imaginations. I guess
Theoretically, the Cubans are the most likely. After all, American businessmen exploit them just as much as the Spaniards.
As follow-up troops joined the battle, the breach in the Spanish position continued to expand, and the battle was going on in chaos. However, most of the Spanish soldiers chose to be defeated, and only a few chose to fight tenaciously with the American troops on the position. In the chaotic fighting
Of course no one would notice that the weapons in the hands of several Chinese mercenaries had been replaced by submachine guns.
This sudden battle not only stunned the Spaniards, but even Schefter. He instantly understood that this was an unauthorized act by two bastards, Johnson and Roosevelt.
"Assholes, they should be court-martialed!" General Schefter roared angrily, but he was still angry and it was clear what he should do at this time.
"Quick. Send the order to the Western Front to attack immediately!" He then shouted. Needless to say, Brigadier General Norton, the commander of the Western Front, had already issued the order to attack. He led more than 10,000 American troops to follow closely behind the Texas Independence Brigade.
They rushed to the breach with the Cubans. With their joining, the battle here was completely over. The remaining Spaniards were routed westward. Fortunately, the US military could not pursue them in the dark in such weather. This allowed them to withdraw to San Jose de la São José.
Slahas.
Although there was an episode such as the death of former Deputy Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt, this was still a huge victory. When the U.S. Army led by Brigadier General Norton and Colonel Johnson set out to march westward the next day, People's Broadcasting Station had already reported to the United States.
With this good news, the mood of defeat that permeated the sky over the United States because of the Charleston massacre was instantly wiped away. Americans still know Cuba very well. Just a few dozen kilometers to the west, the U.S. military can directly attack the outside of Havana's defensive perimeter.
At the same time, it can also cut off the Spanish's land reinforcements to Havana. The only thing left is how to capture Havana.
For a time, the Texas Independent Brigade and their commander, Colonel Johnson, who created this glorious victory, became heroes of the United States. They even became symbols of patriotism under the hype of newspapers and radio stations. As for the poor Colonel Roosevelt, he also became a symbol of patriotism.
The focus of the figure is not only because of his relatively special identity, but more importantly, the cause of his death. When cleaning the battlefield, his body was found one kilometer downstream. The cause of death was actually a shot in the back. Was this accidental injury or deliberate murder?
There was a lively discussion in the newspapers.
Of course, this doesn't matter what happened to Colonel Johnson. His and Brigadier General Norton's troops were blocked at the gate of San Jose de las Lajas, which is the gate into Havana. Naturally, the Spaniards would not give up because the follow-up troops did not arrive, so
They simply divided their forces into two groups. Brigadier General Norton led the US military to contain the Spaniards, while Johnson went south to occupy Gwynedd, and then occupied Batavano. I don't know what happened to him. He actually allowed the peace.
The Cuban revolutionaries he acted with established the Cuban interim government in Gwynedd and elected Gomez as interim president.
Of course, such trivial matters are not of concern to ordinary Americans. Anyway, McKinley said that the US military is to liberate the Cuban people, so it is reasonable for them to set up their own government. Besides, the Cuban Revolutionary Party led by Gomez was established in New York.
Ah! They now know that after two consecutive months of bad news, they finally ushered in a real victory. Now the US military is only more than 20 kilometers away from Havana. It is just that there are insufficient troops to attack. In this case, increase the number of troops.
Soldiers!
Anyway, now that it is hurricane season, the Spanish navy can no longer risk going north to bombard American ports. It is just a good opportunity to seize Havana as quickly as possible and end this damn war.
So in the unanimous voice of the people across the country, the U.S. Department of War announced that it would send an additional 50,000 troops to Cuba. After learning this news, the Spanish fleet in the Port of Santiago could no longer do nothing. Although destroyers could not attack in such a season, the main fleet was still
There was no problem. Including three diesel armored cruisers, two battleships and seven armored cruisers all came out and continued to perform blockade missions in the Florida Strait.
The Spanish fleet attacked, causing all the spectators who had been hiding in various ports to take shelter from the wind. Regardless of the huge waves at sea, they all gathered in the Florida Strait to watch the fun. The U.S. Navy did not disappoint them, with four battleships and two
The armored cruisers and ten protected cruisers were all deployed, and there was a real battle with the Spanish on the sea. However, it was a pity that except for the Spanish Navy cruiser Tocana, which torpedoed and sunk the USS Atlanta protected cruiser, all other participating ships participated in the battle.
Every ship is wasting its shells.
The sea was so rough that the hit rate of the naval guns dropped significantly, especially since the distance between the two sides in the naval battle was getting farther and farther. It was a miracle that the target could be hit in such sea conditions. This naval battle only proved one thing in the end.
, that is, the performance of Bofors' torpedoes is indeed incredible. Faced with the siege of four protected cruisers, the Tocana finally relied on its perfect protection at the cost of being hit by twelve bullets. It fired four torpedoes at a distance of five kilometers, and finally managed to survive.
Two hits directly blew the Atlanta in half.
Although a protected cruiser was lost, this result was actually very ideal for Dewey. Because Schley accidentally attacked the Turkish warship, their positions were changed back. Currently, Dewey continues to serve as the fleet commander, without the destroyer participating.
Cervera would not continue to risk his fleet in a decisive battle with him. After all, in addition to defending Cuba, this fleet also shoulders the important task of defending the Spanish mainland.
Under the cover of wind and waves, the Atlantic Fleet continued to take risks, using its main fleet as a troop transport, transporting ship after ship of American soldiers to Cuba. The force advantage that General Schefter expected was finally realized, and then he began to attack the enemy still under pressure in Matanza.
The Spanish army on the eastern front launched a counterattack. Although it suffered 5,000 casualties, it completely eliminated the Spanish army's threat to Matanzas. Then the US military launched a diversionary attack eastward with 10,000 people, and the remaining main forces were all suppressed.
Towards Havana.
"Next, we need to increase the strength of the Spanish appropriately." Looking at the map of Cuba in front of him, Prince Yang said with satisfaction. This war tens of thousands of miles away is proceeding according to his script. Speaking of which, the hurricane season is good for him.
There are disadvantages. The advantage is that it gives the US military the conditions to continuously increase its troops, but the disadvantage is that it is difficult for the Spaniards' large-scale weapons to exert their power, so fighting on land is very detrimental to them.
"In that case we should give them a large number of submachine guns." Li Yuncong said sinisterly from the side.
This is indeed a good idea. The U.S. military still has very dense formations. In fact, they did not change this bad habit when they first entered the battlefield in World War I. At most, they only stretched the distance between soldiers, especially when standing and shooting.
Or kneeling shooting is still a standard practice. You can imagine the consequences of when they charge with rifles with bayonets, countless submachine guns suddenly stick out in front. Although the submachine guns currently produced by Bofors are only the most basic MP18, that is
A real killer.
However, it cannot be sold openly to the Spanish, and a third party must be found.
"Hurry up and ask the Spaniards how their negotiations with the Turks went? No wonder the efficiency is so low that it has been eliminated by history." Yang Feng said to Ye Zi very dissatisfied.
"The negotiation has not yet been concluded. It is said that Hamid II asked for an increase of 50% in transfer fee, but the Spanish were only willing to give 30%." Ye Zi said with a smile.
"Damn it, His Majesty the Emperor is so evil? Forget it, just send him a telegram and tell him, just 30%, and I will give them a 20% discount on the rest when I sell arms to them." Yang Feng was very happy.
Said speechlessly.
Because of his mediation, Hamid II quickly agreed to the Spanish offer. Just when the US military began to attack Havana, a high-speed merchant ship also sailed away from Gothenburg. The ship was not only equipped with the torpedoes that Severa wanted to penetrate,
It also contains 5,000 submachine guns and 5 million rounds of ammunition.