The marines responsible for the reconnaissance site on the island were drawn directly from the marines who were stationed on the ground ships of the 3rd Task Force

and one of them was assigned to the "Nanning" Marine Corps Sergeant Zhu Qingguo.

Zhu Qingguo originally did not belong to the Marine Corps unit with the ship, but a platoon deputy of the regular Marine Division, who was taking the exam

After the Battle of PEI, his platoon was reorganized, and Zhu Qingguo was assigned to the 3rd Task Force. If you change

In the past, this kind of ship-mounted unit did not have much prospect, after all, it did not participate in regular combat ground aircraft

Yes, it's hard to get promoted. But now it is different, since the United States entered the war, with the Marine Corps on the ground

The position has improved a lot, and it has been replaced by experienced veterans, one of the main factors is, they

Need to take on the task of rescuing pilots.

This can be seen as the predecessor of the Imperial Marine Corps Special Forces. In the Pacific War, for the most part

The pilots who were shot down and landed would try their best to make a forced landing in the open sea, so that they could be sent by the fleet

Search and rescue aircraft or search and rescue ships to rescue back. But there are still quite a few pilots who have to be controlled by the enemy

Skydiving over the island. Rescuing these pilots was a very difficult task, a few days before the war

years, the Imperial Navy almost abandoned the rescue operation for these pilots, mainly because it was too difficult, and

Pilots will be captured by the enemy very quickly after landing. As the scale of the war expanded, it was necessary to rescue the pilots

The sex is highlighted. Under these circumstances, each task force has drawn a number of elite troops from the marine corps accompanying the ship

Sharp officers and soldiers formed a special rescue unit to rescue parachute pilots on the islands occupied by the enemy.

Initially, the Navy did not send professional scouts to form a search and rescue force. Starting from 26■. The first special mix

The fleet first formed three rescue units consisting of scouts, which remained part of the ship-accompanying land battle

The team is responsible for the safety of the battleship in peacetime, as well as the maintenance of the order of the battleship on the ground. And when fighting . They

Take a seaplane, a light carrier-based transport plane, or a speedboat or other means of transport to the enemy's islands.

Find the pilots who are hiding after the skydive. And bring them back safely. Most of the time

Next, these scouts will take a motorboat to the island. This operation is no exception, and I wish Qingguo this one

The reconnaissance force was to reach a destroyer on the ground motorboat and land on the island of San Diego.

The troops arrived on the island in the middle of the night, when the fleet was still more than 100 nautical miles away. Destroyers in

There were about 20 nautical miles to the island, and the team had to go back on a mission, and they

The mission is to enter Puerto Praia. Find out the defense deployment of the port interior. If in the end it is decided to attack

Playing Praia, then they will also be responsible for providing target guidance information to the fleet on the front line.

While the reconnaissance force boarded the motorboat and left the destroyer's ground, Task Force 3 was still rapidly approaching Praia. The Cape Verde archipelago is not small, but it is a Portuguese colony, and Portugal is a neutral country, and no military airfield has been built on the island. The British only leased the port of Praia, and did not

There is an airport being built here. It's just that a few seaplanes are deployed in the harbor, and they're all old seaplanes. The fleet can reach the outside of the port without hindrance, blockading the port . It doesn't even take the 1st and 2nd task forces to destroy the harbor with the heavy artillery of the 3rd Task Force.

"The reconnaissance unit has departed, and the destroyer is returning."

Chang Zhixin nodded, he only came to the command cabin in the evening. There was no threat to this operation, so there was no need for the fleet to remain hidden, and even if the British listening radio received a radio signal from the communication between the fleets, it would not be possible to react.

"How long do we have to get there?" After a while, Chang Jianxin asked the navigation staff.

"About 4 hours. After that we will be able to see Puerto Praia.

"Very well, then let's distribute the combat mission later." Chang Jianxin turned his head, "It's time for us to play, I hope the British don't treat Praia as a key defense area."

Shortly before dawn, several reconnaissance aircraft flew over the fleet. The roar of the plane was harsh. Not much to do.

And it began to light up. Chang Jiexin also saw the port ahead, and even saw the ships that were being evacuated from the port.

"General, the enemy seems to be on the run."

"Let the destroyers go up, don't let those transports slip away, capture as much as you can. Don't go up and sink them all, maybe there will be British wine on these ships! ”

The staff officers all laughed, according to the Imperial Navy's territorial regulations, except for important ordnance supplies. The loot of the captured land belonged to the troops, and tobacco and alcohol were not considered important materials.

"Let the fleet disperse. When will our local reconnaissance unit send a message back? ”

"We are trying to get in touch. They should be on the island by now, they should be approaching the port, and it's not clear when they'll be able to connect."

"Then wait a minute." Chang Jianxin sat down, "Is there any news from the first task force?" ”

"Their reconnaissance plane just passed, and it took about half an hour before a concrete message arrived."

Chang Jianxin nodded slightly. Didn't ask anything more. They didn't encounter the British ground battleship, which made Chang Jiexin feel a little disappointed. The sound of shelling in the distance was a warning from the destroyer chasing the fleeing enemy ships. It was hardly a battle, and from the very beginning, the enemy had no strength to resist, not even the idea of resisting. In the rear, on the aircraft carrier "Longganhu", Tan Renhao was also anxiously waiting for the reconnaissance plane to send a report back. The bomber is already in position on the aircraft carrier and ready to take off, the pilot is on standby on deck, and there is still chatting . The atmosphere was not tense, and the officers and men knew that this combat operation was not too challenging. Tan Renhao is not too worried about the security of the fleet, perhaps the biggest threat to the fleet at this time is the possibility of submarines operating nearby. He glanced at the group of destroyers that were wandering around the periphery of the fleet, the fleet was sailing in a loose anti-submarine formation, I don't know if it will encounter the British Navy submarines, it is best not to meet them, Tan Renhao does not want to get into trouble at this time.

"General, the reconnaissance plane sent back the first report."

Tan Renhao immediately took the copied telegram and read it quickly. The defense of the port of Praia was not strong, and there was not even a single artillery position. Moreover, the barracks were also the barracks of the Portuguese army, and the British army only operated in the harbor, and the strength was only a few hundred people.

Sent to Task Force 3 for reconnaissance aircraft to report directly to Task Force 3. Tan Renhao returned the message to the staff officer, "In addition, tell the new general Chang Jian, don't fight too hard. We are going to try to keep the Portuguese army neutral, and the shelling will be carried out symbolically a few times."

"Do you need to send bombers?"

Tan Renhao glanced at the flight deck outside. Arrange for a squadron of fighters to pass over first, and the bombers remain on standby. Let the 2nd Task Force do the same. If the Portuguese obediently cooperate, then

We don't need to send bombers and send some fighters over to scare them." The ground crew on the aircraft carrier was busy, the bombers were sent back to the hangar, and the fighters who had been parked behind the deck were towed up. These "peregrine falcons" were hung with rockets, but instead of bombs, they were replaced with large auxiliary fuel tanks, mainly to extend the time of the fighters in the air. Other than that. Fighters can return to the aircraft carrier with rockets, but not with bombs, and if they can surrender without a fight, then take off with bombs and all those bombs will be wasted.

Before the 1st Task Force had arrived, a Portuguese nobleman, who was in charge of administering the Cape Verde Islands for the King of Portugal, arrived on the battleship Nanning in a small boat flying a white flag. The Portuguese nobleman was already sweating profusely when he boarded the battleship, and he seemed to be frightened. Maybe he used those reconnaissance planes for bombers. Now that there was such a large fleet parked outside the port of Praia, he did not dare to be careless in the slightest.

"What does this Governor say?" I don't understand Portuguese at all.

"General, I've only studied Portuguese for two years. It is not clear what he said exactly, but it was roughly meant that Portugal was a neutral country, and had always been strictly neutral, without any intention of provoking the empire. The Cape Verde Islands is a Portuguese colony and an overseas territory of Portugal. I hope that the Imperial fleet will be able to leave the Portuguese territories."

"Come on, we didn't rush to his bedroom, why did we leave?" Chang Jianxin sneered, "There are no Portuguese speakers on the battleship?" ”

"Probably not, as far as I know, I'm afraid there aren't many translators in the navy who know Portuguese."

Chang Zhixin glanced at the Portuguese nobleman who was standing a few meters away. All right. Then go and tell him that we are now going to take over the port of Praia, whether he wants it or not, and that the fleet will enter the port of Praia before three o'clock in the afternoon. And the difference is if they agree. And succeeded in 'convincing' the British to lay down their arms, so that the Cape Verde Islands would not be shelled and bombed. If they don't accept it, and they can't 'convince the British' to speak, then we have to do it another way."

"General, how can you 'convince' the British?"

"What are you asking for? Go and tell the Portuguese governor that we are going to take control of Puerto Praia,

How the British leased the land back then, then how we leased." The staff officer still has a bit of a headache, and these words are not easy to translate.

"Stop talking nonsense, let's go, I don't want to stay here for too long."

Ten minutes later, the Portuguese governor left the battleship "Nanning", and when he returned to land, the ground fighters of the 1st Task Force had just arrived, which caused a great deal of panic in Praia, especially when the mad pilots flew over the city at "zero altitude", and many of the inhabitants fled to the outskirts in panic, as if the end of the world was coming.

The battle still did not begin, and apart from a few shots fired by the destroyers who intercepted the fleeing ships, there was still no fighting between the two armies. Chang Jiexin had to continue to wait patiently, after all, Portugal was a neutral country, although it was not really a neutral country in this war, but there was no need to add an enemy to the empire at this time, even if this enemy was weak, it was always an enemy.

"General, the scout sent back the report."

Chang Jianxin turned around, and it was already about ten o'clock in the morning, and the dozens of fighters were still hovering over the island.

"They estimated that there were fewer than 200 British troops stationed in the harbor, and that the Portuguese troops in the vicinity had already begun to move, and even the local police in the city were concentrated."

"Are they ready for war?" Chang Zhixin furrowed his eyebrows.

"It doesn't seem to be, as if the two sides are negotiating something."

"Okay, they still have five hours, just let them keep tossing." Chang Jianxin glanced at the navigation clock, "Gather the officers and men of the Marine Corps on all the battleships and let them all bring weapons. Perhaps we can take Puerto Playa without a bloody attack this time, and perhaps we can go to the Portuguese Governor's Palace for dinner."

There were not 200 British troops left in Puerto Praia, in fact there were only two platoons and less than 100 troops, and the other more than 100 British were civilians. Under the pressure of the GIs, the captain officer in charge of the British army in Praia was the first to send the news out. Then the Portuguese governor sent over. There was no point in resisting, and the Portuguese did not want to go to war with the Tang Empire, and no one would come to their rescue, so they had only one choice, and that was to surrender.

At half past two o'clock in the afternoon, the Portuguese governor again came to the battleship "Nanning", and brought with him the captain officer of the British Royal Army. Chang Jiexin also arranged for only one captain staff officer to receive the surrender of the British captain. Half an hour later, the first destroyer entered the port of Praia, and immediately more than 20 marines on board the battleship landed on the pier, and the Imperial Navy captured the port of Praia without blood.

The news was quickly sent back to the Haitian flagship, and Tan Renhao was not surprised by this, and the British chose quite wisely. However, he did not go to the Portuguese Governor's Palace for dinner at the invitation of Chang Jianxindi, but let Chang Jianxin be fully responsible for negotiating with the Portuguese side about the occupation of Puerto Praia.

That night, Tan Renhao sent the news of the occupation of Praia Harbor to the Second Fleet, he wanted to know what Jiang Zhongmin's expression would be after receiving this news, as far as Tan Renhao knew, the battle on the Monrovia side was still raging, if Jiang Zhongmin knew that he had given up the fat on his lips to the First Fleet. I'm afraid I'm going to vomit blood in anger. And that night, Tan Renhao didn't wait for Jiang Zhongmin to call back. Waiting for a seaplane with a naval command to fight on the ground.