Before the mercenaries officially entered the battle, O'Connor had told Roosevelt that "tomorrow you will see the flag flying over San Juan Hill," and in the twenty-fifth hour of their battle, five mercenaries fulfilled that promise with a Stars and Stripes - or boasted. The www.biquge.info interesting thing is that because of Qin Lang's deliberate teaching during the training, their movements completely imitated the famous photo of the flag planting in the Battle of Iwo Jima, which was photographed by war correspondent Charlie Davis and planned to be published in several famous newspapers and magazines.

"Reproducing history", in private, Qin Lang has always been secretly proud of his small actions - of course, no one understands his true intentions, so in fact, all those small actions have become "creating history".

Charlie. Davis felt that he would become a well-known war correspondent in the United States, and that he would become a leading figure in journalism. The hunch is strong and will definitely come true. He resolutely and discreetly kept the camera and film separate and happily joined the mercenaries in the celebration.

At this moment, though, not everyone is happy. For example, Shaft. Despite the fact that the mercenaries broke through to Monte San Juan, the major general of the army was not at all happy: according to the intelligence of the Cubans, Monte San Juan and the nearby village of Elcane were only outposts of the main defensive positions of the Spanish troops, and the battles in the back would have become more difficult. Of course, perhaps the mercenary can still win, but his federal army can only act as an idle bystander.

There is no doubt that Sampson and Schleigh will have a hearty laugh, and they will laugh non-stop.

However, the cynicism of the Navy was not the only problem he had to face, and a report sent by the medic was more of a headache for him.

"So far, more than sixteen hundred officers and enlisted men have died in the Army and the Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, most of them - about one thousand - from the diseases that are currently endemic. In particular, the severe diarrhoea caused by spoiled food, which directly or indirectly kills more than 70 percent of the soldiers killed by it, if ......"

Shaft looked at the report with a sad face. If the fighting does not end in the short term, and the current situation does not improve, the severe non-combat deaths will force him to ask Washington to withdraw his troops from Cuba before the mercenaries defeat the Spanish army or the Spanish army surrenders itself. There was only one solution, reinforcements, and he needed several thousand strong, well-trained soldiers, more artillery and ammunition, and safe and reliable food.

Especially the last item. Soldiers, weapons and ammunition can delay for some time, but safe and secure food must be delivered immediately. There are not many cans left in the reserves of mercenaries.

The Army Major General decided to send another urgent telegram to Washington, urging the War Department to solve the problem of food safety and supply as quickly as possible.

"Otherwise my soldiers will die!"

In this profundity, threats are a means that must be employed.

However, if Shafft had a spy lurking around Severa or General Linares, who was in charge of the defense of Santiago, and the spy could deliver the latest information to him in the shortest possible time, he would have changed his current approach and traded his intelligence for naval support instead of threatening an inefficient Washington.

Because the situation was turning in favor of the navy: when Severa and Linares studied the current situation, they agreed that Linares' army could no longer defend Santiago. Although the general still had twenty-two thousand soldiers and the fortifications were extremely strong, the battle of San Juan Hill brought a clear warning.

"The troops retreating from San Juan Hill were completely broken, the soldiers were demoralized, and the officers were afraid or even refused to engage the Americans altogether." "It's the first time I've heard of such a thing," Linares said in a tone of pessimism that the U.S. military had systematically shot our officers so that most of the troops had lost command as soon as they entered the battle, and the battlefield commander had no way to control the troops......"

Severa shook her head. "This kind of thing happened during the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Army deliberately assembled a group of elite riflemen, who were only responsible for shooting British officers, without any regard for battle ethics and chivalry. ”

"Those despicable guys weren't knights in the first place, they were just a bunch of criminals." Linares' emotions were a little out of control. But this is not surprising: the general has not yet attempted to lose so many good officers in a skirmish, and the fact that it is an extremely well-targeted attack means that he is also a deliberate target for American soldiers—and one of the most valuable, none.

Yes, Severa had a higher rank than he was, admiral, but he stayed on a warship, and it was only the battleships of the American fleet outside the harbor that had to be worried, not the American Army soldiers who hunted officers.

However, despite Linares' thoughts, in reality, Severa showed more concern than he did. "If the Army is unable to defend Santiago, my fleet will be forced to break through, or it will be like Rear Admiral Montojo's fleet, with a devastating blow at anchorage, or an undignified surrender."

"I understand, Admiral." Linares nodded, "So I suggest that you start the breakout operation as soon as you find an opportunity." But ......"

Severa's staff officer stepped into the cabin. "General."

"What's the matter?"

"Telegram from Governor Blanco."

Severa took the telegram from the staff officer's hand, but instead of looking at it, he asked: "What did he say?" ”

"Governor Blanco demanded that the fleet break out immediately. His Excellency the Governor thinks......" The staff member paused, glanced at Linares standing next to him, hesitated for a few seconds, but replied under the direct gaze of the two generals: "Your Excellency the Governor believes that San Diego will soon be lost, so the fleet must break through to avoid being annihilated or captured by the American Navy. ”

For a moment, he thought Linares would furrow his eyebrows—even if only for a few seconds. Blanco's judgment was undoubtedly a lack of confidence in his abilities, even if it was true, and Severa had just made similar remarks and was recognized—people always have this kind of trouble when dealing with people, and even if someone knew that he had made a mistake, he would still be angry because of the face if someone else pointed it out to his face.

Linares, however, seemed calm, his expression unchanged, as if he hadn't heard anyone say that Governor Blanco thought Santiago would soon fall.

The staff officer was curious about the general's true psychology, but before he could begin to figure it out, Severa waved him away, and the staff officer could only leave in confusion - but as he went out, he heard something.

"Governor Blanco's judgment is the same as ours," Linares said, "but it wasn't easy to find a suitable moment to break out." Personally, I think that the only option is to carry out operations at night, and it is possible to cover the fleet by nightfall......"

"No, General." Severa shook her head slowly. Linares did not know about naval and naval battles, so he could not make the right recommendations...... Now, of course, none of the proposals is absolutely correct, they are taking risks, even the admiral and his staff can only do so.

"The fleet will act during the day." He stopped Linares' attempts to interject, "At night, the narrow channel can seriously affect the deployment and acceleration of the fleet, clogging our warships. Unfortunately, the American warships were equipped with powerful searchlights, and it didn't make much difference to the Americans day or night, but our jammed battleships were good targets, and they didn't even have a chance to counterattack. ”

"But during the day, U.S. warships can easily catch up with your fleet."

"I don't have a choice, General. Even the smallest opportunity, the fleet must take advantage of. Severa turned his gaze to the charts hanging on the bulkhead, "According to my calculations and those of the fleet staff, one or two American battleships may leave here in the next few days and go to Guantanamo to coal. I will order the fleet to break through at that time......"

Just as Schaft didn't know what was going on in San Diego, so did Severa know what was going on in the U.S. Navy, but he and his fleet staff were accurate in their calculations: two U.S. battleships were about to leave the blockade. The battleship "Massachusetts" was preparing to go to the Guantanamo base to replenish fuel, and at the same time, Sampson was about to take the battleship "New York" to Sibone on the coast to meet with Schaft again.

The rear admiral wanted to change the direction of the army's offensive...... Or it could be possible to dedicate a portion of its forces to assist the Navy in clearing coastal batteries that threatened mine-clearance operations, rather than continuing to devote all of its forces to attacking the fortified Santiago. Sampson had heard about the Army's plight, which both gloated and depressed him.

According to the recommendations of the Army and Navy Commission, the task of the Army in Cuba is to support the Navy, but in the current situation, it seems that the situation is changing to the support of the Army by the Navy.

Sampson was determined to pull Shaft back from the wrong direction.

He's making another mistake.

“…… On 2 July, Rear Admiral Sampson handed over command to Commodore Schleigh and boarded the flagship battleship USS New York to meet Rear Admiral Schaffert in Sibonne; On July 3, the battleship Massachusetts left the sea near San Diego and went to Guantanamo to refuel, and on the same day, the Spanish fleet broke through the ......" (to be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please land on the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )