After the Battle of Newfoundland, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet finally received a very apt title for its forbearance: the Silent Fleet!

The British and Canadians were most disappointed by this, and in the British Imperial Navy, many people had suggested that the two major military ports in southeastern Canada, St. John's and Halifax, should be fortified to meet the occasional need, but the fortification would have cost a huge amount of money, so the government of Edward VIII did not accept these suggestions, but pinned the hope of protecting the coast on the Americans, who felt that the Americans still understood the truth of the cold, and before the signing of a special treaty in 1916 between Germany and the United States aimed to limit German involvement in North America, The United States and Britain signed a secret treaty to assist in the defense of the North American coast, so since 1916, Britain and Canada will invest limited manpower, material resources and funds in the development of the navy, and the construction of coastal defense has been slow since then, so that by the time the German fleet launched a landing operation, there were only a few coastal defense regiments on the island of Newfoundland that were not yet fully manned.

As the main anchorage of the Atlantic Fleet of the Anglo-Canadian Navy, Halifax is located on the Nova Scotia Peninsula, only a few hundred nautical miles away from Newfoundland, and the United States is also a bay away, Newfoundland Island was attacked by the powerful German Navy, and the "Silent Fleet" with half of the US Navy has always patiently stayed in the well-defended Norfolk military port, the British hurriedly mobilized a large number of army and heavy artillery to this strategically more important port than St. John's, but unfortunately the Germans were not interested in this peninsula port connected to the mainland, The German Atlantic Fleet, led by German Field Marshal Schell, did not intend to gnaw on the big rock of Norfolk, and since the capture of Newfoundland, the mighty fleet has remained on the surface of the sea not far away, occasionally carrying out artillery and air raids on the southeastern coast of Canada.

The British fleet, which knew that its strength was weak, began to deploy large-scale mines in the Bay of St. Lawrence and the Vickaard Strait in order to prevent the German fleet from advancing into Quebec by sea, so that although the German fleet was blocked, the residents of the ports in southeastern Canada could not make a living - as long as the mines, the German fleet and the German fleet on Newfoundland Island existed for a day, fishing boats and cargo ships would not want to go to sea, you must know that the Newfoundland shoal, which is 100 meters deep on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, is one of the best fishing grounds in the world, rich in cod, plaice, crucian carp, Salmon and other torpedoes. It is also a fishing ground for tens of thousands of fishermen in southeastern Canada.

After the occupation of Newfoundland, the German engineering troops quickly repaired the port of St. John's, and a large number of German transport ships entered the harbor one after another, and the construction began in full swing. During the two weeks of the Scheer fleet, the Germans on the island built four large airfields and two reserve airfields, three of which were dedicated to the take-off and landing of long-range bombers, and then stationed in Newfoundland with more than 600 German land-based aircraft, including 12 squadrons of Dornier bombers, four squadrons of Junkers-Heinkel fighters, and a large number of other military aircraft. As the renovation of St. John's was completed. A detachment of the German Atlantic submarine fleet was also stationed here, and used it as a home port to blockade the waters southeast of Canada, forcing more land and west coast routes between Canada and the United States.

In addition, the Germans built four monitoring stations and three semi-permanent coastal defenses near the Belle Isle Strait, which separates Newfoundland from the Canadian Labrador, and deployed 46 large-caliber fortress guns and one army artillery regiment from Germany to prevent British and Canadian troops from forcibly crossing the 16 to 24 km wide Belle Isle Strait. On Mount Lewis Hills, 814 meters above sea level, facing the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the commanding heights of Newfoundland, the Germans also set up a special air defense monitoring station and radio communication monitoring station.

After the various fortifications on the island were completed, the Scheer fleet set sail again and soon disappeared from the sight of the American and British navies.

Where would the Scheer fleet be a target underground?

This has become the topic of most concern to the US side and the public, but in their south. The war on land is also not optimistic. Coupled with the constant bombing by the Luftwaffe, sometimes the heads of the U.S. government and military really don't know where to focus their attention.

The only good news after the start of the war came from the Pacific, and the Japanese kept their word. The U.S. Pacific Fleet was able to evacuate the Philippines and Hawaii in an orderly manner with a large number of civilian personnel and U.S. citizens. On July 15, Japanese troops landed and announced the takeover of the Philippines, and on the 17th, the sun flag was raised in Hawaii.

There was also news that was not good for the U.S. government, before the war, there were 36 German submarines operating in the ports of Mexico on the west coast and Chile, but after the war, the number quickly rose to 76, and the German ace captains began to coldly improve their achievements again!

Texas, USA.

July 16th. The United States of America, which has long been known as a world power, has finally been broken by the land, more than 300,000 soldiers from Mexico and Germany have swarmed in from the state's winding border of more than 1,200 kilometers, because the 30 American infantry divisions responsible for defending Texas are scattered along the entire border, so after the battle began, the defenders with superior numbers could not resist the fierce attack of the other side, and after a fierce battle for a day and a night, the American army retreated!

Compared to the Northeast Coastal Industrial Region and the Great Lakes Industrial Zone, the industry on the Southeast Coast of the United States is not very developed, but this is only relative, and in terms of future development trends. The industrial potential of this region is quite developed. After retreating from the front, the U.S. 4th Army, commanded by General Pershing, retreated to the Dallas and Houston lines, attempting to use this second line of defense to resist the German attack.

However, although the German and Mexican armies lost some of their strength in the battle on the 16th and that night, after replenishing fuel and ammunition, the attacking force led by Gudri's armored army continued to advance non-stop, and reached the suburbs of Houston on the morning of the 18th.

Compared to the old industrial cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston, Houston is a rapidly emerging city, founded in 1836, but it was not until 1914 that the Houston Canal to the Gulf of Mexico was completed and large-scale oil fields were developed. In just ten years, Houston has become the largest city in the southern United States and one of the most important oil industry centers in the country, known as the oil capital of the world. With it as the center, bounded by Beaumont to the east and Corpus Christi to the west, it is the largest oil industrial belt in the United States. In addition, the Port of Husdo has rapidly expanded to the third largest port in the United States, and a large number of petroleum products, cotton, timber and other products are exported through this port.

After the outbreak of the German-American war, Houston also fell into the same predicament as other American port cities - German minelaying submarines quietly laid an ominous number of mines near the mouth of the canal, and because the limited minelaying ships of the US Navy had to give priority to military ports and important commercial ports, only a small minesweeper fleet was assigned to clear the mines off Houston. Four light minesweepers with poor performance were busy outside the harbor all day long, but the speed at which they could clear the mines was far less than the speed at which the German minelaying submarines laid them, with the result that more and more mines could only accumulate outside the harbor. There is no way, who called this is located in the northwest of the Gulf of Mexico, the nearest submarine base from Mexico is only more than 600 kilometers, even a submarine with a low speed can go back and forth in three days.

Therefore, when the German-Mexican troops approached the city, there were still more than 100 large and small merchant ships, freighters and oil tankers moored in the port of Houston. Many people simply slip away with valuables with the notion that it is important to save their lives. As a result, many of the ships in the harbor had only a few sailors who stayed to watch the ships.

For these sailors who had no choice but to watch the ship, their last hope was pinned on General Pershing and the 4th Army, who had rich combat experience, and this group army was also one of the few American ** teams that performed well in the border campaign.

Take advantage of the German-Mexican army to supply and rest for 12 hours. General Pershing quickly deployed his 18 infantry divisions on the Houston-Dallas line and built fortifications on the relatively straight railroad line between the two cities. Considering the terrain of this 400-kilometer-long defensive line, and four of the 18 infantry divisions were disabled in the battle on the night of the 16th, General Pershing had to arrange a combination of points and lines for his defense line, that is, the main forces of the 18 infantry divisions were deployed in the towns along the line and replaced field fortifications with buildings, and between the towns and cities, the infantry companies were used as units to build field defensive trenches.

Being able to deploy such a line of defense in such a short period of time with the forces at hand is indeed a demonstration of his command ability to the world. In addition to actively preparing for the upcoming defensive battle. Pershing also sent a telegram to Army Operations in Washington, asking the Navy to cooperate fully with him in blocking the German attack, including sending a large number of airships and warplanes to help in the war. However, after negotiating with the Admiralty, the War Department was unable to secure the support of even a single naval airship or naval aircraft for Pershing, and the Admiralty replied that they must concentrate all their air forces for a large-scale military operation of great importance.

In the end, the Army Operations Department was able to send only four new infantry divisions to Pershing, but even such a unit would have to be transported from the central United States to the front line after 30 hours, and only without being bombed by the Luftwaffe.

On the other hand, Guderian was also actively planning the next offensive operation. His armoured forces were strong, supported by five German and four Mexican infantry divisions, and the Air Force, but he did not dare to take it lightly until such a large-scale offensive and defensive battle began.

"How long will it be before the infantry units on our flanks arrive?" Guderian asked his staff adjutant.

"Report to the general, the fastest 3rd Division and the old division will also take another hour, the 4th, 7th, and 11th divisions will be slower, about two to two and a half hours, and as for the 4 Mexican infantry divisions, I'm afraid it will take the afternoon to arrive!"

The adjutant then reported to Guderian according to the situation at hand.

"It's too slow!" Guderian was dissatisfied, and now an hour had passed since his advance reconnaissance battalion arrived at the American lines, and the main forces of the Panzer Corps, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Mechanized Divisions, had arrived, but the infantry was nowhere to be seen. According to yesterday's reconnaissance report of the Air Force, there was no US defensive line in this area, and I did not expect such a defensive line to appear overnight; although the fortifications were somewhat rudimentary, the towns occupied by the main force of the US infantry had to be removed, otherwise the supply of their own armored forces would not be able to pass through this area at all.

"They're already rushing here as far as they can, General! As you know, fuel and ammunition were given priority to us, and the infantry divisions were naturally a little slower, and many trucks had only now crossed the North Bravo River, and with the hard fighting all night, the physical exertion of the infantry was still relatively large! ”

The adjutant kindly explained for the infantrymen.

"Heinz!" Guderian put his hand on his adjutant's right arm, "You can't win the war by blindly finding reasons!" Command me to set out at once, first breaking through the defensive line between the towns and blowing up as many railways as possible! Next, two or three armored regiments plus mechanized infantry regiments concentrate on attacking a town and, if necessary, raze every house where the American troops are hiding! ”

The young adjutant seemed to find something in Guderian's words, and his chest straightened, "Yes, General!" ”

Guderian then beckoned the staff officers to prepare to move, and with his personality, the command always followed the front-line combat troops, and this time would not be an exception.

At 10:30 a.m., four squadrons of dive bombers summoned by Goodry's armored army appeared in the southwest direction, and after a week of repeated sorties, the Luftwaffe had ensured that it had absolute air supremacy in the southern United States, so at this time the bomber formation was able to carry out the mission alone from the fighter escort.

"Forward!"

On an DDD assault tank, the battalion commander with the rank of major lowered his raised right arm smoothly and in the direction his hand pointed, "Porridge DDD tank, 6 DV tanks, 8 assault guns, 10 full-tracked infantry fighting vehicles and 24 half-track armored personnel carriers were activated."

This is an ordinary armored combat battalion of the Panzer Corps under the German Royal Combat Army, divided into a tank company, a fire support company and an armored infantry company, the main force of the tank company is the DDD assault tank that has been equipped with the army for 8 years, as for the DV tank, according to the words of the German High Command and tank experts, this is definitely a heavyweight weapon that can make the Americans helpless.