The unit's shells also deprived the Chilean flagship Santiago of a 150-mm secondary gun, but the situation turned in favor of the Chilean team.

At this moment, the Argentine commander Carlos Colone gave an order, and four destroyers under his command broke out of the queue with 22 torpedo boats and launched an attack on the Chilean Combined Fleet, and the guerrilla column composed of five fast cruisers also tried to disrupt the formation of the Chilean Combined Fleet with its high speed.

Seeing this situation, the flagship of the Chilean Combined Fleet "Santiago" gave a signal that the battlefleet and cruiser fleet accelerated to 20 knots. The destroyer fleet and the gunboat fleet turned to the right. The accuracy of the firepower of the accelerated fleet has decreased, albeit somewhat. However, the huge number of 305-mm guns and 150-mm guns still hit the Argentine cruisers "Trelliu" and "Joyc" in succession within five minutes, and sent the Brazilian cruiser "Golden January" and the Uruguayan cruiser "Dura" to the bottom of the sea, before the Chilean Combined Fleet maneuvered to evade the mine attack of the opposing torpedo boat fleet. The wounded "Joyk" ate another 305-mm shell, and the 3,800-ton hull turned into a huge fireball.

After the Chilean Wing had divided the fleet into two teams, the Argentine Wing's interspersed fast cruiser fleet did not set its sights on the Chilean destroyers and gunboats, as it would have to risk passing through the firepower of the opposing capital ships' rear fire, and would do little to change the tide of the war. The four Argentine cruisers quickly locked their fire on the Chilean cruiser "Haudunge, Monte", which was located at the rear of the queue, and the 150-mm shells, although far less powerful than the naval guns of a warship, were still surprisingly destructive to the weak armor of a light cruiser. At about 3:10 p.m., the Argentine cruiser hit the poor Chilean cruiser at a distance of more than 5,000 meters, and one of the armor-piercing shells tore through the thin armor of the control tower and swept down all the captains and officers who were directing the battle with scattered shrapnel. The "Haodong Hermont" suddenly fell into a state of no command. Over the next few minutes, five more shells fell on the unfortunate cruiser, and the bridge and deck soon burst into flames, killing nearly half of the ship's crew, but fortunately the ship's power system suffered little damage, and it was then barely out of battle under the command of the chief engineer.

At the same time, the battlefleet of the Chilean wing had to face a great threat from the enemy torpedo boat fleet, and the 150-mm secondary guns of the three battleships opened fire in unison, and finally even the 88-mm anti-aircraft guns were used. However, they could only sink 7 of the 22 Argentine torpedo boats before the opponent approached to a distance of 3,000 meters, and the remaining 15 torpedo boats released more than 40 torpedoes in a sullen manner.

Faced with a large swarm of torpedoes fired by the Argentines at a distance of less than 3,000 meters, the fleet commanded by the experienced Chilean Admiral Marcos Pinto calmly made two evasive turns in succession. Don't look at the small size of the Chilean Navy, but the degree of training is not inferior to the navies of European countries, plus their ship performance is acceptable, so in the whole process of maneuvering, only one light cruiser ate a torpedo on the other side, and this 3,300-ton cruiser also became the only large ship sunk by the Chilean wing in this naval battle.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of the Chilean wing to avoid torpedoes, the only remaining battleship of the Argentine wing, the Casador, withdrew to the Argentine coast with the remaining ships. After leaving a few destroyers and gunboats to clean up the battlefield, Admiral Marcos Pinto commanded the main force of the fleet to continue the pursuit of the Argentine combined fleet, and in the evening followed the enemy fleet to the port of Corpenike in the Bay of Granda.

In this battle, the Chilean Combined Fleet defeated the Argentine Combined Fleet, which was several times stronger than itself, at the cost of one cruiser, one destroyer and one gunboat, sank 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 10 destroyers and torpedo boats, damaged 2 battleships, 4 cruisers, 4 destroyers, and captured a damaged Brazilian cruiser. With the arrival of another batch of ships from Germany to Chile, the Chilean naval wing has been able to blockade the ports of Peru, Argentina and Uruguay, and from time to time to shell the ports of Brazil, the sea transportation of the anti-intellectual coalition has fallen into an embarrassment, and the import and export volume has rapidly dropped to one-third of the pre-war level. This did not change until the U.S. Navy and the British government in exile sent ships to the war.

On April 27, the first batch of 12,000 German Army soldiers arrived in Chile, although these soldiers wore domed steel helmets, gray uniforms, and standard German weapons, but they were very different from ordinary German soldiers, that is, 95 percent of them were black, these soldiers from German East Africa were currently only citizens of the German Empire Overseas Provinces and not real citizens of the German Empire, but as long as they served in the German Foreign Legion for ten years, they could obtain official German citizenship. And most of them have been serving in this regiment called "Black Lightning" for more than 3 years. The commander of this legion, Brigadier General Paul, von Letophok Bell, was still unknown at this time, but his unparalleled military talent and command talent destined him to make his name remembered by everyone sooner or later.

Berlin, Germany, May 1, 1919.

"Your Majesty, although many members of parliament have complained about our venture to intervene in the war in South America, the Imperial Congress and the Federal Assembly have successfully passed the special budget for military spending in wartime!" Prime Minister Batemann's report means that Germany has no worries about entering the war, although the supplementary budget of 90 million euromarks only accounts for 0.4% of the GDP of the Reich in the previous year, it is also a large amount, you must know that the entire 1919 German government expenditure budget is only 750 million euromarks, of which the army, navy, and air force military budgets are 160 million, 150 million and 60 million, and this additional budget is equivalent to a quarter of Germany's annual military expenditure.

Chen Tian did not seem to add extra pleasure to the passage of the supplementary budget, on the contrary, he appeared unusually calm at this time, and this calmness was the same as the state of mind when he made the decision to enter the war.

"We can't wait for everyone to understand our decision, there is no room for hesitation! Now that the budget has been approved, let's do it! ”

Batemann was also shocked when he heard of Tatsuten's decision, but after two hours of one-on-one conversation with Tatsuten, he became a loyal supporter of Germany's war policy, and other important cabinet members such as the foreign secretary and the chancellor of the exchequer had similar experiences. On the contrary, the ministers of the army and navy and the generals of the Supreme High Command were unwavering in their support of this policy of participation in the war from the very beginning, as if they had already discussed everything with His Majesty the Kaiser.

At this time, Stresemann asked to see him outside, and after getting Chentian's permission, he walked in in in a hurry.

"The U.S. government announced the dispatch of 50,000 volunteers to Argentina!"

Hearing the news, Bateman did not have a trace of panic on his face, and Chen Tian was more calm than him, in fact, this was a situation that the Supreme Command had already considered.

"That's good!" Chen Tian said unhurriedly, "Let's take a good look at the strength of the American soldiers!" ”

Stresemann took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead, "But Chile has only 150,000 troops in total, while Argentina has mobilized 180,000 troops before." Brazil mobilized 150,000, Peru mobilized 90,000, and even Bolivia and Uruguay mobilized 40,000 each, and with this American army, the anti-intellectual coalition has been able to mobilize a staggering 550,000 troops, nearly four times that of Chile! ”

Bateman was full of confidence, "Don't forget that our Black Lightning Corps has arrived in Chile, and the 1st Division of the Expeditionary Force from the mainland is also on the way. In two weeks, we will have 50,000 troops in Chile, and they will all be elite troops who can fight well! ”

"Even if it's 200,000 against 570,000, it's ......," said Shi Rezeman, who continued to sweat, although the weather in March did not reach the level of extreme heat, but it seemed that the foreign secretary was in a hurry on the way there, and lacked a substantial understanding of the current situation of the war.

"Don't worry, at least we have the initiative at sea!" Chentian, who was wearing an army summer uniform, walked up to Stresemann with a relaxed demeanor, stretched out his right hand and gently put it on his shoulder.

Stresemann nodded, like the vast majority of his countrymen. He trusted the Kaiser's judgment. There is also a belief in the capabilities of the military, and sometimes this trust does not require much of a reason.

What's more, Chile has shown the world their extraordinary strength in the past month. The navy successfully gained the initiative at sea, the army drove all the way to the Peruvian capital, and the air force performed very well.

Chen Tian and his headquarters considered that the land was not only the strategic position of Chile, the army's post-war rearmament has been basically completed, except for the Mauser 1898 rifle and the long-handled M10 grenade, the infantry has been equipped with upgraded weapons, now is the best time to test them through actual combat.

In May, Europe is gradually entering summer, but the weather in South America coincides with the alternation of autumn and winter, and the temperature in Chile in western South America is only about 10 degrees. Then. Soldiers from East Africa finally understood why they were carrying heavy blankets and autumn and winter clothes. Luckily, they don't have to adapt to the harsh cold weather, because Chile, especially in the north of Chile, where they are located, rarely experiences sub-zero temperatures even in winter, and in Santiago, for example, July is the coldest month of the year, but the average temperature is around 8 degrees.

Although there was no snowy scene, Brigadier General Leto Faucebell and his soldiers could still feel a deep chill very different from that in Africa at nightfall. The official name of this "Black Lightning Corps" was the 1st Infantry Division of the German Overseas Colonial Army in East Africa, and it numbered 12,000 men including officers and civilians. It is only 3/4 of the number of ordinary German army divisions, but this does not mean that they have a serious shortage of troops, on the contrary, as a model unit of the German overseas colonial army, their full strength is 12,000 people, and if nothing else, this establishment will also become the standard establishment of the light infantry division of the German overseas colonial army.

This is not only to show the difference between the overseas colonial army and the home army, but it is also a new attempt, but it is difficult to say that the troops of Brigadier General Leto Fawkber are a batch of test subjects, you must know that most of these soldiers have been under him for more than three years, and some key black officers have even followed Leto Faulkber since his arrival in 1914, plus the standard German army equipment, this is a very strong combat unit.

After landing at the Chilean port of Antofagasta, the Black Lightning Regiment was ordered to move to Chile's northeastern border and begin building a defensive line. According to credible intelligence, the Argentines were preparing to launch a major offensive at the junction of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia in order to cut off the transport lines of the Chilean 1st Army by land, and then to cooperate with the Brazilian, Peruvian and Bolivian armies in a beautiful two-sided attack.

Speaking of Chile's 1st Army, we have to start with the South American Pacific War 39 years ago, when the Chilean army defeated the Bolivian and Peruvian armies successively, and broke the Peruvian capital Lima in one fell swoop, and then took all the saltpeter producing areas of Peru and Bolivia for itself through the Treaty of Ancon. At that time, the main force of the Chilean Army was this elite 1st Army.

By the outbreak of the South American War in April 1919, Chile's regular army numbered 170,000, of which 150,000 were army, 20,000 were navy, and more than 2,000 were air force. The Navy has two fleets, namely, the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet, of which the Pacific Fleet, based in Valparaiso, which is more than 10 kilometers away from Santiago, is the main fleet, while the Atlantic Fleet is only a warning fleet. On the part of the Army. The 150,000 regular army was divided into 8 infantry divisions and 16 local garrison regiments, the 1st to 5th divisions were organized into the 1st Army and commanded by the veteran commander who had participated in the last South American war, General Giorge Garrido, and the 6-8 divisions were organized into the 2nd Army, which was commanded by Lieutenant General Rodrigo Soto, who had studied in Germany, and the garrison was under the direct command of the War Department. In addition, there are nearly 200,000 militia units throughout Chile, which can assist the garrison in defensive operations during wartime.

Considering that Chile is a long and narrow territory from north to south and narrow from east to west, it lacks strategic depth in the face of attacks from the east. The Chilean government's strategy was to attack in the north and defend in the south, first concentrating more than half of the country's military strength to attack Peru and Bolivia, which were militarily weak, in an effort to force these two countries out of the war in a short time, and to the south, relying on the terrain advantage of the Andes and the Patagonian mountains supplemented by a small number of troops.

From mid-April, Admiral George's Chilean 1st Army launched a campaign aimed at crushing northern Peru, and on 23 April defeated a combined Peruvian and Bolivian army near Arepaki in southern Peru, winning the first large-scale land campaign since the outbreak of the war. According to the accompanying German military observers, although the Peruvian-Bolivian coalition had a slight numerical advantage, its equipment and tactical thinking remained at the level of around 1900 and there were no aircraft. There was a lack of rapid-fire guns and heavy artillery. Not knowing how to evade the bombing and strafing of aircraft, the courage of the soldiers when attacking was admirable, but in the absence of organization and fire cover, they could only become the target of the Chilean army's artillery and machine guns. The battle lasted two days, Peru and Bolivia lost at least 30,000 troops, and the morale of the Chilean army continued to advance towards the Peruvian capital, and the victory of 1881 would be repeated!

On April 29, the third day of the arrival in Chile of Brigadier General Leto Fockbell and his Black Lightning Corps, 6,000 Chilean soldiers landed at Pisco, Peru, under the command of Major General Pablo Torres, a Chilean young general and a graduate of the 1901 class of the Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy in Berlin, Germany, thus disrupting the plans of the Peruvian and Bolivian coalition forces to build a new defensive line in south-central Peru to resist the Chilean army's advance to the capital. Under the pressure of the Chilean army from both sides and the fire of the navy and air force, the Peruvian and Bolivian coalition forces were crushed, and after more than 10,000 men, they retreated to Lima, the capital of Peru.

In such a situation. Peru and Bolivia have frequently turned to their Brazilian allies for help and asked Argentina to defuse Peru by attacking Chile proper. By the end of April, Brazil, which had mobilized 150,000 troops, did not cross the Amazon to the border between Peru and Brazil until May 4, when the Chilean 1st Army had placed the Peruvian capital Lima under its own surrounding.

The rolling Andes Mountains in western South America are a natural barrier between Chile, Peru and the countries of South America. person