As Donald had predicted, the situation changed by the landing of the Army in early December.

Prior to this, the U.S. fleet had been blockading Cuba, so the Spanish expeditionary fleet would definitely not be able to break into the Caribbean if it came. In the original history, because the outbreak of the war was a few months late, the storms in the Caribbean began to increase, and as a result, the Spanish fleet took refuge in the military port of Santiago under the cover of the weather. But this time there was no weather to help, and it stands to reason that the Spanish fleet would not have been able to enter the port of Santiago. However, the unexpected happened.

A few days ago, the Florida patrol fleet, a group of enthusiastic patriotic volunteers who sailed out on their own to search for the Spanish fleet lest they attack the east coast of the United States, sent back a message that they had discovered the Spanish fleet about a hundred kilometers west of Florida, and that the Spanish fleet was heading north.

It wasn't long before volunteers in South Carolina sent out a report claiming to have spotted the Spanish fleet heading north. And whether it is the number of ships, the course speed, etc., it can be consistent with the reports of volunteers in Florida. So even the commander of the U.S. Navy fleet, Admiral Sampson, believed (and did not dare not believe it, because if something really happened, and he and his fleet did not react, the responsibility would be too great. So he hastened to give the order that the fleet turn north and go after the Spanish expeditionary fleet.

The "Spanish Expeditionary Fleet" maintained a speed of about 10 knots and slowly went north, while the US fleet chased all the way north at a speed of 20 knots, and after chasing for several days, it finally caught up with the "Spanish Expeditionary Fleet" in the waters near Maryland. Where is the Spanish fleet, it is obviously a British merchant fleet sailing to Canada. Although the patriotic volunteers are highly vigilant and motivated, their professional level is really ......

It was at this time that the spies who remained in Cuba sent back information that the Spanish fleet had entered the military port of Santiago.

"Hell yes!" After receiving this information, General Sampson's face turned green as he was rushing back. Now he could only hope that after the Spaniards entered the military port of San Diego, it would take more time to replenish and repair anything, so that he could rush back and block the Spanish fleet in the military port, otherwise, it would be a big trouble.

While General Sampson was cursing loudly, the commander of the Spanish fleet, Admiral Severa, was also scolding.

"This damn port! These damn wrecked ships! It's all so damned! Damn it! What a hell of a life! ”

The warships of the Spaniards were all old ships, and after they arrived in the hands of the Spaniards, they were not very well maintained. It used to be okay to go around the coast of Spain, but crossing the Atlantic was a real hardship. In addition, the Spaniards pay attention to pomp and circumstance, and there is not much military spending, but these old warships are not spent on normal maintenance, training, or anything, but are spent a lot on decoration. As a result, these warships were decorated with a lot of high-end mahogany, high-end sofas, wool carpets, and all kinds of messy sculptures, in short, the warships sold to them by the British into luxury hotels.

With such a foolish fiddle of "improvement" or "change", the reliability of these ships, the seaworthiness and so on have successfully dropped a lot, and as a result, all the way to the voyage, many warships have problems with the machinery and need to be repaired urgently, and the maintenance capacity of the San Diego military port is very limited, and it is difficult to fix these problems in a short time. General Severa knew that if the American fleet came to the door at this time, his own fleet would definitely be blocked in the military port, so he was very anxious.

However, there is no use in rushing this kind of thing. As a result, the Spanish fleet did not leave the port until General Sampson's fleet ran back again. However, the U.S. fleet ran back and forth at high speed along the way, but the state of the ships was still basically intact, which once again demonstrated the incomparable stability of steam turbines compared with traditional steam engines.

It is certainly better to block the Spanish fleet in a military port than to kill them directly at sea. But it's better than not knowing where they've gone. It's just that the Spanish fleet is hiding in the military port, which is equivalent to dragging the American fleet and not moving. So it's best to get rid of them as much as possible.

The first trick that the Americans thought of was to find a few old ships and sink them directly on the channel in and out of the port, blocking the channel. However, at the time of implementation, the first ship was hit by several shells from the batteries of the military port before it could get closer, and the second ship accidentally struck a mine and sank a long way from its predetermined position - so the plan was cancelled.

Since this trick does not work, then it can only come hard, of course, the so-called hard one, by no means means to let the US fleet go to the bars to guard the forts of the military port in the waters full of mines. Although it may not be impossible to fight, but to do this kind of thing with a precious fleet is like taking a precious big . Horse. Scholar. Leather. The knife is used as a crane's beak hoe to hoe the ground. Therefore, the conventional solution is to rely on the army to make a detour, take the commanding heights near the port, and then set up artillery there, and the Spanish warships hiding in the port can only surrender or come out to die. And if this fleet of the Spaniards had been wiped out, it would have been possible to declare Spain defeated.

On December 5, when American troops landed near the San Diego military port, Theodore Roosevelt, who led the team, addressed the soldiers: "Soldiers, the Spanish fleet has been blocked in the military port, and if we take the opposite hill, we will surely win." I can assure you that this way, by Christmas, we will be able to go home! ”

Roosevelt, as the deputy secretary of the navy, resigned to lead the army, of course, relying on this opportunity to become a hero and pave the way for his future political career. And this battle is definitely the most critical battle in this war.

Of course, the Spaniards were also very clear about the significance of this commanding height to the port, so on this high ground, the Spaniards had long been prepared for defense. Relying on the experience gained during the attack on the rebel-held districts, as well as the experience learned from other European countries, the Spaniards spent a lot of effort on this high ground.

The Spaniards cut down all the trees within five kilometers of the highlands so as not to obstruct the view, and as an essential facility, they pulled up several barbed wire fences in front of the trenches and built a number of pillboxes on the hills. During the attack on the rebel-controlled area, the Spaniards suffered a lot in front of those bunkers disguised as mounds of earth or something, so they also built a lot of such bunkers. In addition, the Spaniards also bought a lot of British-made copycat MacDonald anti-infantry mines and broadsword anti-infantry directional mines from the British, and the Spaniards laid a lot of them. In addition, the Spaniards were armed on the heights with several 4.8-inch heavy mortars that had been copied by the same British from the MacDonald Infantry Weapons Company. To be honest, this is a tough nut to crack, at least until the Army can send enough heavy artillery to bring in enough heavy artillery, and there really aren't many ways to deal with such a position.

However, the US military is not ignorant of this. Some time ago, the Cuban rebels also launched one or two tentative attacks on this highland, and they know more or less about the situation on this highland, so through them, the US military still knows a little more about the situation on this highland.

"It's best to be able to dig through the guò tunnels and get as close to the target as possible, but this high ground has a lot of rocks, the soil is very shallow, and the distance that can be advanced by trench excavation is also limited, and I am afraid that there is still a considerable distance to move on the ground, and it is quite difficult, if not impossible, to dig the trench in one go to the distance where you can throw a grenade into the enemy's trench. Therefore, general, if we attack alone, the attack will be quite difficult, and the casualties will not be small. Of course, it would be nice if our navy could provide us with fire support. U.S. Army Staff Officer Johnson said to Roosevelt.

"The Navy can't count on it." Roosevelt, who was a former undersecretary of the Navy, was of course aware of the limitations the Navy would be subjected to, and he pointed to the position on the map where the naval ships were now cruising and explained to his officers, "In this position, the range of the Navy's guns is barely here." But this is already at the limit of range, and at this distance, the naval guns are not accurate at all. If you really want them to fire, I dare say, the chances of hitting us are much bigger than fighting the Spaniards. Unless they continue to this place from their present position, which is the nearest shore where the depth of water allows. But the Spaniards had mined these positions, and they were within accurate range of the harbor batteries, and they had to be able to take out them before they could get here. And if they can take out the battery, then we don't need to attack the high ground at all. Therefore, this battle can only rely on ourselves. Unfortunately, we had less than ten three-inch guns on our hands, and the other heavier guns could not be brought ashore. Fortunately, according to the Cubans, the Spaniards are not particularly strong in firepower, so let's prepare for it, and the next morning, we will carry out a tentative attack to at least find out their firepower......"

……

"Sell newspapers, sell newspapers, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Sun, there are the latest war reports, and battlefield news!" A newsboy carrying a bag of newspapers on his back was selling them on the street. A man on a bicycle passed by, and he stopped and said to the newsboy, "Son, give me a copy of the New York Times." ”

"Okay! Three cents thanks! The newsboy ran over and took out a copy of the New York Times and handed it to the man.

The man took the newspaper, tucked it under his armpit, then took out his wallet to look for money, and asked casually, "What's the news?" ”

"Our army's attack on the military port of Santiago was thwarted, with hundreds of casualties." The newsboy replied. R1058