Volume XXIV The Supremacy of the Seas Section 45 The Fleet Enters Port

Shao Feng received the report from the beachhead at about two o'clock in the morning, and his choice was to continue to storm the port of San Diego and strive to take the port as soon as possible. The second is to send troops to strengthen the defense of the beachhead. In the end, Han Shaofeng chose the former, the port was not far away, he didn't want to retreat at this time, and then spend his strength and lose thousands of officers and soldiers to take the port. Immediately, he sent a telegram to the two division commanders who were responsible for the defense of the beachhead, giving them a death order, that is, to fight to the last man, he must also hold the position and hold out until dawn!

This order caused nearly 20,000 Marines to engage in fierce battles one after another, and the biggest problem at that time was how to take out the American tanks. In the absence of effective standard weapons, the officers and men of the Marine Corps came up with a lot of ideas. For example, homemade remote-controlled mines, cluster grenades, bombs made of plastic explosives, etc. Although these weapons are rudimentary, they can have unexpected effects in positional defensive warfare. Compared to effective anti-tank weapons, these "earthy" weapons are still very poor.

At least hundreds of Marines were killed or wounded in the anti-tank battle that night. In the end, it was precisely because of this battle that a large-scale debate arose about the need to develop an anti-tank weapon that could be used by infantry, that is, whether to change the tactical arrangement of the Imperial Army and the Marine Corps for several years in the war, in which aviation and specialized anti-tank units were responsible for anti-tank combat missions.

In the first years of the war, the Reich did not pay much attention to the anti-tank capabilities of the infantry, mainly because the Reich itself had the most powerful tactical aviation in the world, and the war had proven that powerful tactical aviation was the most effective weapon against the enemy's armored forces. In addition, by the middle of the war, the Empire also had some of the best tanks and anti-tank guns in the world, and its ground anti-armor capabilities had improved a lot. With the rapid increase in production. Very often, it was even possible to equip infantry companies with specialized anti-tank guns. With so many anti-tank means, many at that time insisted that the infantry did not need to have anti-tank weapons, and that the infantry did not need a decisive battle with the enemy's tanks.

The same situation happened in Germany, but the Germans were the first to suffer. In the war against Russia, the German infantry repeatedly did not have the power to fight back in the face of the Russian tank troops, and then Germany developed several infantry anti-tank weapons, including the very famous "Iron Fist" series of rocket launchers that appeared at that time. On the contrary, in the war against Russia. Because the Tang Empire's side of the front was deeper and the battlefield was larger, most of the battles with the Russian army were field battles, rather than positional defensive battles, especially in the middle of the war, when both sides were equipped with more advanced tanks, they fought less positional warfare. In this case. The Imperial Army of the Don still insisted that there was no need to equip the infantry with anti-tank weapons.

Because the Imperial Marines in many cases directly procured the weapons and equipment of the army, the number of weapons and equipment developed separately was very small. In particular, in terms of infantry weapons, the Imperial Marines used almost all of the army's infantry weapons, and were not developed separately. Therefore. The Imperial Marines also had the problem of weak infantry anti-tank capabilities. This problem is not obvious in daytime battles, or with strong artillery support, and the Marines have been able to receive strong artillery support most of the time, so no one has been aware of the extent of the problem before.

Later, Han Shaofeng made a proposal to the Navy command specifically on the problem of the lack of anti-tank weapons in the infantry. That is, when it is impossible to immediately develop its own infantry anti-tank weapons, it is necessary to directly purchase the "Iron Fist" rocket launcher from Germany, or introduce production technology and production lines, so as to provide an effective anti-tank means for the infantry of the Marine Corps as soon as possible, so as to avoid similar problems in future battles.

It was also on the basis of Han Shaofeng's suggestion that the Imperial Navy first purchased 5 rocket launchers and 250,000 rockets from Germany. Of these, there were only about 5 anti-tank rockets, and the rest were used against fortified fortifications. Later, the army also ordered a batch. And the production technology was purchased from Germany. By the end of the war, the Imperial Army had developed a similar bazooka. An effective anti-tank means was provided for the infantry. The first batch of bazookas could not be delivered to Han Shaofeng's Marine Corps until October, when the officers and men under Han Shaofeng still had to rely on only a few local methods to fight the enemy's tanks at close range.

After stubborn fighting, the Marine Corps officers and men held out until dawn, when the vanguard of the American army was only a kilometer from the landing site, and the American attack was quickly repulsed as a large number of bombers arrived. Especially when those "peregrine falcons" with rockets appeared in the sky over the battlefield, most of the US tanks were destroyed before they even had time to turn. At the same time, the Marines advancing towards the port of San Diego also reached the south of the city, the Marina, less than two miles from the port.

On the morning of the 8th, after Han Shaofeng learned that the American troops attacking the beachhead had been defeated, he immediately ordered the 33rd Marine Division, which had been northeast of San Diego, to >. L Offensive, attacking the city of San Diego from the northeast, attracting the attention of the American army, distracting the American forces, and providing assistance to the Marines advancing south towards the port area. Before the 33rd Division attacked, 200 heavy bombers sent by Luo Yunchong carried out a carpet bombing of the city of San Diego, dropping nearly 1,000 tons of bombs, and destroying one-third of the houses and buildings in the city.

By this time, it was no longer possible for the U.S. military to hold San Diego. In the two-day battle, the US army suffered 21,000 casualties and more than 2,000 prisoners, nearly half of which were reduced. However, Han Shaofeng's offensive did not stop for a moment, and his aim was still to attack the port as soon as possible, because on the evening of the 9th, the transport fleet would send the second batch of marines, and if he had not occupied the port by then, then this group of marines would only have to go ashore at the landing site, instead of going ashore directly at the port of San Diego, and then it would add a lot of trouble and affect future combat operations.

The day of the 8th was the fiercest day of the three-day campaign against San Diego, and the American troops began to fight desperately. When the battle reached noon, Han Shaofeng had to take the two marine divisions that had been withdrawn to rest

On the battlefield, let the officers and soldiers of these two divisions go to capture the southern part of the city. Establish a defensive barrier for the Hong Kong team. Meantime. The offensive ground 33rd from the northeast was also in trouble. By noon the offensive line had to be shifted to the north of the city of Santiago. And this is where the US military's defenses are weakest.

By the afternoon, the 33rd Division was the first to make a breakthrough, entered the urban area, and immediately made a detour to the rear of the American defense line, assuming a posture of encircling the American army, forcing the American army to abandon the frontline defensive position, and the defense line as a whole shrank to the rear. It was at this time that the tide of the war took a major turn. Shortly before 3 p.m., the first formed U.S. unit surrendered to the 33rd Marine Division on the battlefield of San Diego. The only U.S. infantry battalion that surrendered in its entirety. The greatest advantage of the 33rd Swift Offensive was that the American Army had to put more reserves into the North Battlefield, and the American Army in San Diego did not have many reserves at that time, so in order to avoid being cut off from the passage to St. Louis, the American commander had to send the ground reserves that should have been used on the South Battlefield to the North.

Take advantage of this opportunity. Han Shaofeng threw all the troops at his disposal into the attack. On top of that, by the afternoon of the same day, the 2nd Reinforcement Fleet had returned to the battlefield, with the exception of a group of ships that were providing long-range artillery support outside the harbor (all of which were equipped with 200-meter and 400-meter heavy guns). The other fire support vessels entered the port area. Provide close artillery support to the Marines. At that time, there were as many as 34 fire support ships gathered in the interior of the harbor, and these ships carried thousands of artillery pieces and hundreds of rocket launchers. Its fire support capabilities exceeded ten artillery divisions.

The battle was fought until dusk. The Marines have advanced into the harbor and are beginning to compete with the U.S. military for key facilities in the harbor. It can be said that the battle between the night of the 8th and the early morning of the 9th was quite tragic. When the U.S. military realized that it was impossible to hold the port, it began to blow up the port's infrastructure, while the fleet and Han Shaofeng's support fleet had been avoiding shelling the port's vital infrastructure. In order to preserve these infrastructures, Han Shaofeng had to let the officers and men of the Marine Corps speed up and sweep at some cost. Stop the U.S. military from sabotage. For this, many officers and soldiers paid the price with their lives and blood. However, compared to the great value that these important infrastructures will produce in the future, the sacrifice of the Marine Corps officers and men is certainly worthwhile.

Fierce fighting in the interior of the port area continued until about 10 a.m. on the 9th. It has not stopped for a moment, and the officers and soldiers on both sides are desperate. It was not until the U.S. forces began to retreat from San Diego, and the U.S. officers and soldiers who remained in the harbor defense realized that they had been abandoned, that they gradually surrendered to the Imperial Marines. The entire sweep continued until about the evening of the 9th, when the convoy reached the southern entrance to the port of San Diego, and the fighting in the harbor area finally ended. For this port. There were 1,264 Marine officers and soldiers killed, and 3,178 Marines were disabled. It was also the deadliest battle on the battlefield in Cuba.

At the same time, the U.S. troops also basically withdrew from San Diego, and the sweeping work in the city was basically completed on the night of the 9th, and the 33rd Division cut off the road between San Diego and San Louis Diego/The evacuated U.S. troops basically surrendered. This is probably also a characteristic of the US military, that is, when there is hope, US officers and men will fight desperately, but after discovering that they have been completely defeated, the morale of US officers and men will often plummet, and they will even take the initiative to give up resistance and surrender.

At half past ten o'clock that night, the first 10,000-ton ship carrying the officers and men of the landing team docked at the pier of the port of San Diego. Because most of the dock loading and unloading equipment had been destroyed, only skirmishers carrying troops and ro-ro ships carrying armored vehicles could dock at the docks, while bulk carriers carrying ammunition and fuel tankers had to wait until the loading and unloading equipment on the docks had been repaired.

Cargo ships are loaded and unloaded at a much faster rate in the port than at the temporary docks at the landing site. For example, a freighter carrying an infantry regiment will take at least 8 hours to complete loading and unloading work on the improvised dock, but in the port, it will only take 3 hours at most, and if you are prepared in advance, 2 hours is enough. A 10,000-ton ro-ro ship takes 12 hours to unload on a simple wharf, while it only takes 6 hours to unload on a regular wharf. What's more, there must be more than one wharf in the port, and the longitudinal wharf can accommodate multiple (up to three) cargo ships to unload at the same time, which also greatly improves the efficiency of unloading.

By dawn on the 10th, the officers and men of two marine divisions, along with the corresponding weapons and equipment, had already been sent to the dock. At the same time, a large number of wounded (including those of the American army), as well as prisoners, were sent to foxholes. Due to the lack of loading and unloading equipment, some damaged heavy equipment cannot be sent to the ro-ro ship for the time being, and can only wait for the next transport fleet to arrive before being sent back to the rear for repair or scrapping.

By this time, the battle against Santiago was essentially over. Han Shaofeng was not in a hurry to launch a new attack, mainly because the troops in his hands needed to rest, and the newly arrived troops also needed time to replace the other troops. On the morning of 10 July, Han Shaofeng asked one Marine Division to help the engineers at the landing site, and the officers and men of the other two Marine Divisions to send the materials and equipment hoarded on the landing ground to the port of San Diego, and the other Marine Division was deployed to the defensive positions on the outskirts of San Diego to shoulder the heavy responsibility of defense together with the 33rd Division.

In the next few days, as the engineers repaired the facilities in the port, a large number of freighters carrying war supplies and weapons and equipment docked, and four other marine divisions went ashore. The most important thing is that the heavy equipment and ammunition materials needed by the Marine Corps have arrived one after another. In addition, three separate artillery regiments also arrived during this period.

By the thirteenth, the third flotilla, which was mainly transporting war supplies, arrived. From this point on, almost every four days, there will be a fleet of 40 to 50 cargoes; > Hong Kong and sent more marines and more combat materials to Han Shaofeng. At that time, the Port of San Diego could receive 40 to 50 ships to load and unload cargo in about four days. , the port is almost fully operational. At this point, there is no force that can drive Han Shaofeng out of Cuba! Sea Soul Volume 24 Sea Overlord Section 45 The fleet enters port