In other words, the "Battle of Santiago" was a turning point in the war in the Caribbean and in Central America. With the loss of the ability of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet to move, the tide of the war has tilted to the side of the Tang Empire, whether it is Han Shaofeng's imminent march into the Greater Andrés Islands, or Gu Xunlei, who is fighting with the U.S. military in Mexico, with the change of the tide of war, both of them have seen the dawn of victory.

The standoff in the Caribbean lasted only a few months, much shorter than the initial standoff in the Southwest Pacific. This is a manifestation of the decline in the overall national strength of the United States, a reflection of the rising war strength of the Tang Empire, and a clear reflection of the comprehensive strength of both sides of the war. The war has already reached the doorstep of the United States, and even if the US military's logistical supply routes are shortened by thousands of kilometers, or even tens of thousands of kilometers, it is impossible for the United States to use this tactical advantage to reverse the disadvantage in the overall war situation after losing all its allies and showing fatigue.

The stalemate in the past few months has shown a clear trend of the overall decline in the combat effectiveness of the US military, and in particular, the decline in the quality of officers and men, which has become an important factor affecting the combat effectiveness of the US military. The U.S. Navy can be said to be the most affected, and if it were at the outbreak of war, the U.S. Navy would be fully capable of using the Atlantic Fleet to launch a strategic counterattack to thwart the strategic offensive of the Tang Imperial Navy. In addition, the problem of the quality of the officers and men of the US Army has also been exposed in some aspects, for example, the army aviation unit has not been able to replenish quickly after losing a large number of pilots, resulting in a general decline in the quality of the pilot contingent, and it is difficult to compete with the Tang Imperial Army Aviation and the naval aviation under the condition of equal strength. The officers and men of the US ground forces showed great courage and perseverance in the battle. However, they lacked a flexible tactical mind, and in several large-scale counterattacks, the tactics of the US military were all failures and suffered heavy casualties. Although Eisenhower, as the best general of the U.S. Army, ensured the stability of the Mexican battlefield to a large extent, he could not refine the command to the tactical level. It is impossible to change the objective fact that the US military lacks effective tactics.

Similarly, in these months, the overall strength of the Tang Empire's naval and land armies has risen significantly, on the contrary, the performance of the naval and land armies on the battlefield has been a bit unsatisfactory, and this is also caused by many factors. First, the long logistical supply lines have weakened the strength of the front-line offensive forces, which has the greatest impact on the Army Expeditionary Force and the Marine Corps. Arguably. Gu Xunlei was unable to open up the situation on the battlefield in Mexico, and Han Shaofeng's repeated postponement of the attack on the Greater Andrés Islands was mainly due to the limitation of logistics support capabilities. In addition, the Navy has drastically reduced the scale of warship construction in the second half of 28 years, and a large number of new transport ships and ~ construction orders have a direct relationship with this problem. Secondly, a large number of new equipment is installed. It takes time for troops to get acquainted with it, and they also need to summarize the new tactics brought about by the new equipment through actual combat. The impact of this on the fleet was extremely obvious, and the mere use of the "Reconnaissance Eagle" and the resulting tactical changes made several fleet commanders scratch their heads. At last. The contradictions between the imperial navy and the army, the estrangement between the two major theaters, and the lack of coordinated combat operations have all had a direct impact on the combat operations of the various units. In particular, there was almost no cooperation between Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng, and they were almost fighting separately, resulting in the US military being able to dispatch troops to deal with the attack of the two armies separately, if the two could coordinate the attack at that time. Then the resistance of the US military will definitely be much weaker. 94b941

As more and more convoys of convoys join the shipping work that spans half the world, the units become familiar with the new equipment, and new tactics are summed up in the battle, and the top of the empire realizes the dangers caused by the contradictions between the army and the navy, and the importance of coordination between theaters of operations, and even the tactical level of cooperation, and begins to take measures to solve this problem, the disparity in strength between the two sides will become more and more obvious on the battlefield. And the end result will certainly not be of much benefit to the United States.

Actually, shortly after the end of the "Battle of San Diego". Before Han Shaofeng's landing fleet left the port, Gu Xunlei had already gained the initiative on the battlefield. At that time, Eisenhower was no longer able to obtain reinforcements and war materials, and the U.S. military had to strengthen the defense of the Greater Andres Islands and allocate more war resources to the southern battlefield instead of Mexico.

At the same time, Gu Xunlei received much-needed reinforcements and war supplies in late June. By 25 June, two large convoys had arrived at the ports of Central America, bringing six divisions of troops, 800 combat aircraft, and millions of tons of war materiel to Gu Xunlei. On top of that, the engineering units of the two armies, which have more than 5,000 engineers, also brought complete sets and even a complete set of cement production equipment with them! It can be said that what Gu Xunlei lacked most at that time was the engineering troops, and with the support of this group of engineering troops, the problem of infrastructure will be solved soon. This not only solved many problems encountered by Gu Xunlei at that time, but also played a more significant role later.

After receiving reinforcements, the expeditionary force under the command of Gu Xunlei encircled Tehuacan on June 25. Two days later, when the reserves reached the front line, Guxunlei did not storm Thuacan, but sent his troops to advance rapidly towards Puebla, and at the same time sent a rapid assault force to occupy an important bridge between Puebla and Orizaba, cutting off the line of communication between the two cities. At this point, Tehuacan has been completely besieged, Orizaba is also in danger, and Puebla is seriously threatened. If Eisenhower did not make a decisive decision to retreat, I am afraid that even Orisaba's American troops would be surrounded, and Gu Xunlei would have achieved the goal of annihilating the living forces of the American army.

With the front facing a complete collapse, Eisenhower had to withdraw his troops and prepare to hold on to Puebla. On the night of the 27th, Eisenhower ordered Orisaba's American forces to retreat in the direction of Veracruz, and at the same time sent two divisions stationed in Puebla to attack the expeditionary force south to encircle Thuacan

Pick up the breakout force at Tehuakan. At that time, Gu Xunlei expected Ori I to retreat towards Veracruz, and deployed an ambush position here. The battle to annihilate the Orisaba breakout American forces did not end until the 29th. But at the same time, Gu Xunlei did not have enough troops to strengthen the encirclement of Tehuacan, so on the night of the 29th, when Gu Xunlei ordered two light cavalry divisions to advance towards Puebla, trying to force the American troops to retreat back to Puebla, the American troops in Tehuacan successfully broke through, and more than 3 American officers and soldiers finally reached Puebla. Gu Xunlei also had to stop the assault on Puebla.

By the last day of June, calm had returned to the front, with the U.S. losing Twacan and Orisaba, and then voluntarily abandoning Veracruz, which had lost its defensive value, and allowing Gu Xunlei to gain an important port on the front. It was only because the navy had not yet opened a route into the Gulf of Mexico at that time that the value of Veracruz was never realized, and Gu Xunlei still had to rely on the ground communication line from the port of San José in Guatemala to Gutiérrez and then to Tututepec to obtain war supplies. 94b941

After Eisenhower voluntarily gave up the first line of defense, he could only defend Puebla, and if he retreated, it would be Mexico City, and the president of the United States at that time would never allow Eisenhower to voluntarily abandon Mexico City. In fact, in terms of the situation on the battlefield in Mexico at that time, Mexico City's military value was not great, but its political value was important. 94b941

According to Eisenhower, the best thing to do was to voluntarily retreat to Quererota, where a new line of defense would be organized, if forces were put into the defense of Puebla. At the same time, if more troops cannot be replenished, then the rear defense force will be seriously empty, and if the enemy breaks through the Puebla defense, it is possible to quickly lose the whole of Mexico. Defense in depth is the most capable of delaying time, and Eisenhower can only use time to deplete the opponent's forces and get more reinforcements at the same time. So as to find an opportunity to turn the tide of the battle. But the problem is that at that time he had already received an order that he must defend Puebla and must not retreat easily, let alone lose Mexico City!

In desperation, Eisenhower could only deploy all the troops he found in Puebla and the surrounding area, and was ready to defend Puebla. By the time Gu Xunlei transferred his front command to Twakan. Eisenhower had already concentrated more than 6 divisions of U.S. forces in Puebla, as well as 21 divisions of the rebels (the actual strength was less than . Gu Xunlei already has 11 divisions (5 of which are seriously reduced), and 15 government infantry divisions (with a total strength of about 180,000). From a defensive point of view, Eisenhower's forces are not tight, which is doomed, Gu Xunlei will stage an offensive and defensive battle with his biggest opponent in Puebla!

According to Gu Xunlei's plan. The minimum goal of the second campaign was to defeat Puebla, and it would be great if it could have been fought all the way to Mexico City. Therefore, after the battle to sweep Veracruz ended, Gu Xunlei was actively mobilizing his troops. Prepare for the battle to attack Puebla. At this time, Han Shaofeng had already started at sea first. It was precisely because Han Shaofeng launched an offensive to Jamaica that the U.S. military had to adjust its defensive deployment and send more troops to Cuba, resulting in Eisenhower not receiving much reinforcement in July, while Gu Xunlei received reinforcements again during this period. Even if Eisenhower had the ability to reach the sky, it would be impossible to turn the tide of the war when the difference in strength was too great.

As a matter of fact. At that time, even if there were many contradictions between Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng, there was more or less cooperation between the two. To be precise, the two are using each other. For example, when Han Shaofeng determined the time to attack Jamaica, he took advantage of the fact that Gu Xunlei had made progress on the battlefield in Mexico, and the U.S. military had to increase troops to Mexico, thus weakening the defense of Jamaica Island. Similarly, when Han Shaofeng hit Jamaica, Gu Xunlei immediately took advantage of the opportunity of the US military to increase troops in Cuba to launch an attack on Puebla. In the strict sense of the word, this is by no means a fit. Because the two had never consulted on the issue of working together, they were just using each other.

Perhaps, this kind of mutual "cooperation" can have a certain positive effect, but compared with effective cooperation, the positive effect will not be obvious, but will eventually have more negative effects because of the mutual concern and mutual use of both parties. More importantly, the US military commander will also find out about this sooner or later, if Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng cannot cooperate more closely, the two will have to fall into trouble on the battlefield sooner or later. 94b941

At that time, he was on the front line, and the only one who had the ability to come forward to solve this problem was Tan Renhao, he had a very good relationship with Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng, and at the same time, Tan Renhao's military rank was the highest among the three generals, and it was also the most respected, plus Tan Renhao's status in the navy, as well as the good relationship with some army generals (such as Luo Yunchong), only he had the ability to mediate the contradictions between Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng.

Tan Renhao was also aware of this problem, and had been looking for an opportunity to talk to the two of them alone, and then call the two together to talk. But the problem is that Gu Xunlei has already transferred his headquarters to Twakan and has run farther, and Han Shaofeng has been busy preparing for the attack on Jamaica all day, and neither of them has time to brag with Tan Renhao. A few days after Tan Renhao returned to Cologne, apart from meeting Han Shaofeng, he really didn't have a chance to talk to these two good-tempered generals alone. In addition, no one asked Tan Renhao to solve this problem at that time, so Tan Renhao did not treat this as a thing.

By 29 June, the day that Gu Xunlei had sent good news and Han Shaofeng had left the port with the landing fleet, Tan Renhao received the first telegram from the Navy Headquarters in more than a month, which was a telegram that asked him to leave for Zhoushan immediately. At that time, Tan Renhao didn't have time to figure out why the chief of the general staff asked him to go back at this time, so Lei Shaoqing came to inform him that the plane to send him back to China was ready!