"This can't be!?" Inside the U.S. military headquarters in Alpaso, U.S. Army Commander Bradley was furious with a ridiculous face: "How could there be a Ming army near Fort Stockton?!" Did they fly over? All Airborne Forces? Why didn't the air defense forces find out! ”

"It's a pity General. Pen~Fun~Pavilion www.biquge.info" The chief of staff of the US military raised his hand and pushed his gold-rimmed glasses, and said in response, "Although I don't want to admit it, the Ming army is not an airborne force, but a real mechanized army." Units stationed at Fort Stockton reported that they had found a large number of Ming tanks and other heavy equipment. If it weren't for the fact that the Ming army suddenly had a super transport plane capable of transporting large equipment, then they would have made a detour. ”

"Detour?" Bradley, who had finally calmed down a little from his anger, turned to the side of the map, staring at the battle map with blazing eyes and falling silent.

As a qualified commander of the Grand Legion, Bradley reacted quickly. He looked at the huge area of Chihuahua Desert south of his battle line with a shocked face, and said in a trembling voice, "Could it be that they really came out of the Chihuahua Desert?!" ”

"It's incredible, though." The Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army sighed and said, "But that's the only explanation we can find right now." In addition, it is impossible for the Ming army to make a detour and appear behind us. ”

"But," Bradley said in surprise, "it's a sea of death, and there is not a single water source for hundreds of kilometers, how did more than 100,000 troops pass through it?" Don't tell me that the performance of the Ming Army's trucks has been so good! ”

"The performance of the Ming army's trucks may not have improved on a large scale, but the defenders of Fort Stockton sent back reports that there were sightings of a large number of Ming airships." The words of the chief of staff of the US military made Bradley suddenly realize. He remembered that the Ming army also had a large airship transport force of terrifying scale. It's just that what he didn't expect was that this unit was actually sent to the mainland?

"What now?" After an unspeakable silence fell within the front command, the chief of staff of the US military asked loudly.

"What else can I do?" Bradley, who was pale, sighed heavily, looked at the map full of red and green flags, and said helplessly, "The back road and logistics supply lines are threatened, but I don't have the strength to counterattack the Ming army's surprise attack force now." In this case, we can only choose to retreat. ”

The U.S. military, which had adopted a tortoise-style defensive operation, simply could not mobilize troops to counterattack the surprise attack of the Ming army in a short period of time at this moment. Moreover, the field troops in the nearby area have basically been collected by Bradley to the front line, so there is no need to count on any reinforcements at all.

The National Guard was simply used as a vigilante, and they had proven themselves powerless against the Ming regular army in previous battles. Therefore, no one will send the National Guard to the battlefield at this time.

Bradley, who didn't want to be cut off from the back road and then blocked by the Ming army in the Rio Grande Valley, knew that at this moment, only retreat was the only way out. But his order to retreat was overruled by an order from Washington. Washington refused any order to retreat. All troops were ordered to hold out until the last moment.

Feeling incredulous, Bradley sent a number of telegrams to Washington, saying that the situation was now serious, and if he did not retreat, it would most likely lead to the tragic end of total annihilation. But Washington was not moved at all, and still stubbornly gave the order to stick to it.

Bradley desperately persevered, but could not do anything. Because what the US military leaders at this moment are thinking about is no longer to defeat the Ming army on the battlefield, but how to delay the advance of the Ming army as much as possible, so as to buy time for themselves. As for whether the army will be put in danger because of this, they are no longer concerned about it.

Bradley, in despair, made a last-ditch effort. He mobilized some reserves from behind the defensive line and launched a counterattack against the Ming troops near Fort Stockton, and at the same time collected some troops nearby and entered Fort Stockton to prepare for the battle.

It's just that Bradley's actions didn't have much effect. The U.S. counterattack was defeated unsurprisingly. Their troops were no match for the armored forces of the Ming army in such an open area. When hundreds of Ming armored vehicles came to roar and charge, the resistance of the American army seemed so weak.

Most of the armored forces of the U.S. army are scattered among the many units scattered everywhere at the moment. This made it impossible for them to concentrate their efforts on forming powerful armored combat groups. The armored divisions of the U.S. Army were also scattered, scattered and scattered throughout the mainland, and were often broken by each one when fighting against the Ming army.

There were no surprises in the garrison of Fort Stockton. It was a joke that a group of officers and men of logistical support and baggage units wanted to hold Fort Stockton in front of the elite attack troops of the Ming army. Eventually, in mid-April, the Ming Assault Force succeeded in capturing the vital supply base of the rear of the American Army Group Rio Grande and cutting off their retreat.

Nearly 600,000 U.S. troops encircled in the narrow Rio Grande Valley suddenly became a turtle in an urn.

The valley is surrounded by mountains on one side and the Chihuahua Desert on the other. In this situation of being cut off from supplies, the US military has no way out at all.

In the following days, the Ming army quickly intensified its offensive and broke through many American defense lines in one go. The U.S. military, on the other hand, was panicked after being cut off from supplies and rear routes, and both their morale and will to fight dropped sharply. In the face of the attack of the Ming army, there was no longer the strong momentum before.

Over the next few days, a large number of American troops surrendered to the Ming army, and the total number quickly climbed to 100,000. Faced with a force on the verge of total collapse, Bradley's repeated pleas to retreat did not receive the slightest response, and Washington's reply was always to hold on to the last man, living and dying with the position.

In desperation, Bradley made a last-ditch effort on April 22. He assembled a provisional army of nearly ten divisions from all over Texas and launched a powerful counterattack against Fort Stockton with the defenders of the Rio Grande Valley, in an attempt to retake this vital location.

Not surprisingly, the counterattack failed.

Bradley's troops in Texas are basically the local National Guard, and the real combat effectiveness of these troops cannot be compared with that of the Ming Dynasty. Although no less in number, moreover, it was also equipped with a large number of tanks, armored vehicles and artillery of various calibers. But the Ming army used only two mechanized infantry divisions to firmly block their offensive in the outer area of Fort Stockton.

Really fierce battles took place in the direction of the Rio Grande. Bradley, who had gathered the last elite strength, threw several armored divisions into an attack on the Ming army, and the Ming army was also not to be outdone, and threw in armored forces to carry out a large-scale counterattack. A large-scale armored battle broke out between the two sides in a wide area near Fort Stockton, in which the number of self-propelled guns of tank armored vehicles was as high as 2,000.

The battle was fierce. The Ming army vowed to repel the American counterattack and completely wipe out the American army in the Rio Grande Valley. The U.S. military, on the other hand, is fighting to the death in order to be able to escape and fight for a way out for itself. In this case, casualties on both sides are climbing at an unbelievable rate.

Early in the morning, the battle between the two sides began. Both sides attacked each other almost simultaneously, trying to crush each other with their powerful attacks.

After the two sides began to make contact, the 88 mm guns of the Tiger and Leopard tanks equipped by the Ming army had obvious performance advantages, while the Sherman tanks equipped with the main equipment of the US army, and the 76 mm guns equipped with them could not pose a decent threat to the Ming tanks at the same distance, so the Sherman tanks in the US tank cluster rushed towards the Ming tank cluster at full speed at full speed.

The U.S. military hoped to be able to quickly approach the Ming army's tank group and give full play to the advantages of Sherman's tank mobility to defeat the Ming Army's Tiger tanks, which were very heavy when they turned around. At the same time, the U.S. Army's light Xiafei and other tanks were also launched. The only M26 Pershing tank equipped with a 90-mm gun was the only one that could fight against the Ming tanks at a long distance, and it was to hold the main line and attract the attention of the Ming army.

In the course of the charge, the American tanks paid a heavy price. At least hundreds of tanks of various models were destroyed on the road close to the Ming army. After all, the performance of the Ming army's tanks was extremely good, and the shooting accuracy and the quality of the officers and soldiers far exceeded that of the American army.

And when the tank clusters on both sides approached, the battle became even more fierce. One by one, the tanks between the two were destroyed, and the battlefield was covered with blazing flames and billowing black smoke. Next to the destroyed tanks, the tank crews of both sides were still shooting at each other and even fighting each other hand-to-hand.

The battle, which could be described as fierce, lasted until the evening, when it was finally stopped by exhaustion on both sides, and the battlefield was littered with tank wreckage and the corpses of officers and soldiers on both sides.

In this fierce battle, the Ming army destroyed more American tanks, and they also achieved their combat intention, which was to stop the advance of the American army. On the contrary, the U.S. military has not been able to make commensurate progress after paying a huge price. They destroyed a large number of tanks, but did not break through the Ming army's resistance and approached Fort Stockton.

When the first blow, which had been gathered with the strongest power, failed to achieve a decisive victory, the rest of the time was meaningless. (To be continued.) )