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Volume 2 Growth Chapter 740 Air Raid Counterattack

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    Three long wooden trestles have been built on the soft white sand beach. They extend from the beach to the sea more than a hundred meters away. Their thick frames make people feel solid and reliable.  At the end of these trestles, dozens of kayaks and inflatable valves are connected in series to form a pontoon bridge more than 200 meters long, which closely fits the former.  Through this method, those transport ships with deeper drafts can unload cargo directly in the sea, which undoubtedly greatly increases the speed of work compared with simple landing craft transfer.  "Hurry up, guys, there are only the last one hundred tons of supplies left!" A tall, strong man pushing a flatbed cart loaded with goods was walking steadily on the undulating pontoon; around him,  A team of hundreds of people also pushed or pulled dozens of such vehicles, constantly going back and forth between the swaying pontoon bridge and the land.  Since the width and carrying capacity of the trestle are very limited, it is obviously impossible for trucks to drive side by side on it. In this case, the German army can only adopt the most primitive and error-free method, which is to use manpower to carry out the first step of transporting materials.  Transported together.  As for the use of horses for traction, this kind of animal has almost completely withdrawn from active service as the German Army has fully entered the mechanization stage; even among reserve troops, it is difficult to see them putting on reins and immersed in dragging things.  Although this human transfer work is very arduous, both the sailors on the transport ship and the soldiers pushing the carts are sweating and panting, but each of them is not slacking off at all, but is really exhausted.  When the time comes, I take a short nap.  There is no other reason than the staggeringly strong needs of the frontline troops.  After nearly two days of landing.  Four divisions, including the 3rd Airborne Division, have already set foot on Cuban soil; more than 50,000 modern troops consume food, medicine, fuel, ammunition, spare parts and other supplies every day.  All are extremely impressive figures.  Now on the beach.  Most of the cargo trucks and motorcycles from various armies were waiting for food with empty carrying boxes, waiting for them to unload the various materials they urgently needed from the ship, and then load them into their own trucks and pack them away.  Facing the empty vehicles, the German unloading soldiers, who knew the hardships of the frontline soldiers, had no choice but to grit their teeth and persevere: They could risk their lives and fight to the death with the Americans, so why couldn't they overcome these problems themselves?  Too tired?  While the soldiers were sweating profusely while unloading the cargo, the German engineers were no less busy: two new trestles have been half-built during their diving construction, and are expected to become new unloading points for merchant ships in one day.  Compared to the three temporary trestles next to it.  The two sea lanes under construction will be wider and their cargo loading and unloading capabilities will be further improved.  In order to prevent this logistics landing site from being destroyed by the enemy, the German army also made meticulous preparations like when it landed on Haiti.  Looking at the 88mm anti-aircraft guns pointing to the sky in hidden positions and the naval warships cruising in the distance, the soldiers at work all feel relieved; with the protection of these forces, the beach where they are located will be completely safe!  News of the German landing in Baracoa reached Washington, which immediately caused a great shock among the top brass of the US military.  If their previous landing in Haiti was to push most of their bodies into the fence outside the house, then the current landing in Cuba is that they have completely kicked open the outer wall and rushed directly to the door of the house with a sharp sword.  forward!  It is precisely because of Cuba's vital significance to the United States' national security and two-ocean strategy that the United States seized this land from the Spanish 40 years ago.  And rely on it as the absolutely forbidden south gate.  Once Cuba is lost, the entire southern United States will be exposed to enemy attack.  The other side can launch attacks at will along the 6,000-kilometer coastline; and Mexico in the south is very likely to declare war on the United States driven by revenge and accept German troops from the east to open up a second battlefield in the southwest region of the United States.  By then, the situation faced by the United States will inevitably be more dangerous than the war with Britain more than a century ago!  Feeling that the situation was serious, Roosevelt quickly convened an emergency combat meeting to find a good strategy to drive the German troops out of Cuba. However, Johnson, who succeeded him as commander of the Atlantic Fleet, was the first to pour cold water on him, who was already angry and anxious.  Johnson pointed out that the new TBF torpedo aircraft has just begun to be installed in the army, and pilots must spend a certain amount of time to adapt to the test flight; and the radio interference equipment against German guided bombs is still being tested, and its final effectiveness is still not guaranteed.  If the fleet is forced to attack, they will not achieve any meaningful results without any means of attack or defense. In the end, they will only become the opponent's prey and ruin the main battleships they have finally accumulated.  Faced with Roosevelt's unfriendly eyes, Johnson did not flinch at all, but directly showed his cards to the extremely powerful president publicly.  Currently, the Atlantic Fleet has only three Essex-class and two Wasp-class aircraft carriers that can be dispatched, and the opponent's aircraft carriers have at least twice this number.  3 newly commissioned Essex class shipsIt takes time for the members to work together. The USS Iowa, which sank due to poor damage control in the Caribbean, has demonstrated the ultimate consequences of trying to catch a duck in the naval field.  ¡°Only when land-based aviation has achieved air superiority in the Caribbean, can the Navy dispatch its main warships to participate in the mopping up of German landing sites.¡± Johnson expressed his attitude in an unprecedented tough tone.  Before the offensive and defensive fields are basically qualified, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet has completely given up the idea of ????confronting the opponent's navy; even if it is limited to operations at the landing site, it must be carried out with air superiority, otherwise there will be no  Any large ship will take this huge risk that is unpredictable.  Seeing the fleet commander's resolute attitude, Roosevelt could only cast his hopeful eyes on the army generals on the other side.  As a former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he is very clear about the situation of his own fleet: being able to use cruisers and lower-level ships to carry out several quick night attacks on the German landing sites is already what the current lean Atlantic Fleet can do for the war in Cuba.  Only contribution.  "The land-based aviation will fight against the German Air Force with all its strength, and the various armies deployed in Cuba will drive the landing German troops into the sea at all costs." At this point, Army Chief of Staff Marshall could only bite the bullet and provoke this  heavy burden.  Since the German army launched its attack in the Caribbean in October last year, his army has indeed been blamed. Faced with the German air parachutes and land push, American soldiers who felt good about themselves have been repeatedly beaten to pieces.  This German operation in Cuba humiliated the U.S. Army even more: an armored division with tens of thousands of people could not destroy the temporary defense line hastily formed by more than 2,000 paratroopers, while a reinforced regiment of coastal defense garrison lasted only one day.  He was completely defeated, which directly led to the corrupt situation in Cuba.  Although Marshall knew that the combat effectiveness of the US military was not enough to compete with the German army, he could only rely on the number of people and the supply advantage of home battles to wear down the opponent.  In addition, the reinforced southern land-based aviation force is also an important trump card in his hand.  In the early morning of January 18, when the sky was still shrouded in a faint blue, the strong roar of countless propellers spinning at high speed could be heard over Miami in southern Florida and the Santiago Air Force Base in Cuba.  B-17 bombers, fully loaded with 79 tons of bombs, took off against the first ray of morning sunlight. They formed a tight formation at high altitude, and then headed straight for the Baracoa landing site occupied by the Germans.  .  In order to completely cut off the follow-up of the German landing force, the Americans have given up on the reliable night bombing method and chose to give the opponent a decisive blow during the day when visibility is good.  A large number of P-40 and P-47 fighter jets were also accompanied by bombs, making the entire fleet cover the sky like locusts passing through.  While the German army is enhancing its air force strength through shipping, the US aviation force operating locally is also steadily increasing the number of their fighter aircraft; compared to Germany, which attaches great importance to the development of its air force, they are not far behind in terms of technology and quantity!  Since Santiago is less than 140 kilometers away from Baracoa, almost as soon as the U.S. land-based fighter jets departed from here took off, the German air defense cruisers cruising in the outer sea discovered this densely attacking large group of aircraft through radar.  After the radio warning, the fighter jets on standby at the land airport quickly attacked and bravely faced this imminent powerful enemy.  Although it took only three days for the Germans to land in Baracoa, it was more than enough to establish a field airport for fighter jets to take off and land; after all, aircraft in the propeller era were far from as delicate as jets, as long as there was a flat piece of dirt.  It can take off and land, let alone a fighter that is light and requires minimal runway length.  With these fighter units stationed on the front line at the first time, the German army was able to promptly counterattack the U.S. fighter planes taking off from Cuba; although the number was small, it could also reduce the latter's threat to the landing site to a considerable extent.  Without the arrival of this force, the German army would have to rely on fighter jets on the aircraft carrier to intercept it on the way. This form of attrition is obviously a situation that the German high command does not want to see.  In just over twenty minutes, an unprecedentedly fierce aerial battle began over the small fishing village of Baracoa.  The primary targets of US military fighter planes are the trestles and transport ships on the beach, followed by those evil German warships. In the sights of US military pilots, these targets that they want to eliminate as quickly as possible are all there!  (To be continued) Chapter 740 Air Raid Counterattack:
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