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On the afternoon of February 29, in the core area of the defense line in the Sierra Madre do Sul, in the U.S. command headquarters in Chilpansingo, the Supreme Commander of the U.S. Army in Mexico, General Pershing, was talking to Lieutenant General Davis of Wolf Bèi. Lieutenant General Davis led the retreat immediately after Major General Powell surrendered to the 2nd Army of the Chinese Army. On the way, he handed over his troops to the commander of the 44th Army of the United States Army, and fled back to Chilpancingo with a few guards on horseback. After suffering this crushing defeat, the US military will face a great crisis. Lieutenant General Davis knew that Admiral Pershing must be very sad now, so he hurried back and prepared to discuss countermeasures with Admiral Pershing.

Among Admiral Pershing's direct subordinates, Major General Moon was thrown into the cold during the initial attack on San Luis Potosí, and was not promoted as he wished. Lieutenant General George chose to commit suicide by swallowing a gun after Hartiangis was defeated by the Chinese. And Lieutenant General Clark was captured by the Chinese in Tierra Corolada. As a result, only Lieutenant General Davis, commander of the 16th Army, and Lieutenant General Richard, commander of the 19th Army, were left among General Pershing's henchmen. It's just that Lieutenant General Richard is responsible for defending the Balsa River defense line. In the fierce attack of the squadron, several corps under the command of Lieutenant General Richard could not resist the attack of the squadron and had to choose to retreat. Now the only one who can share the pressure for Admiral Pershing is Lieutenant General Davis.

"General, the situation is very critical, and we have to think of other ways. In the battle of Tierra Corolada, our main forces suffered heavy losses. Combined with losses on other fronts, we now have only a million troops left in the Sierra Madre do Sul. Although there are still more than 300,000 Mexican government troops, those garbage armies are vulnerable at all, if these troops are allowed to go to war. Not only will it not help us in the slightest, but it will cause us a lot of trouble! Lieutenant General Davis said.

Admiral Pershing nodded, and although Lieutenant General Davis had just lost a battle, he did not blame. He knew that this was not to blame Lieutenant General Davis. The battle of Ironla Corolada has been eroded, and Lieutenant General Clark has chosen to surrender, which makes all of Lieutenant General Davis's efforts in vain. And if Lieutenant Davis continues to fight, there is a possibility that he will end up in the same fate as Lieutenant General Clark. Therefore, Lieutenant General Davis ordered the troops to retreat at that time. Admiral Pershing understands this. It's just that the current battle situation has become like this, which makes Admiral Pershing a headache. There is no doubt that it is impossible to hold the line of defense in the Sierra Madre do Sul.

"I have sent a telegram to the Army Staff. Jianyì abandoned Chilpancingo and retreated to Mexico City. Build a defensive line in the central area of Mexico City to fend off the squadron. I just don't know if the staff will agree with my construction! Admiral Pershing said.

"Retreating to Mexico City, although it cannot occupy favorable terrain conditions, can shorten our logistics supply line and extend the logistics supply line of the Chinese. In addition, the southwestern region of Mexico is mountainous and the transportation conditions are relatively backward. This will undoubtedly make it more difficult for the Chinese to supply logistically. If we can retreat to Mexico City and the reinforcements arrive in time, it would be a good plan for us. Merely. I'm afraid it's hard for those guys at home to agree that we will abandon the defense line in Sierra Madre do Sul! Lieutenant General Davis said.

At the thought of this, Admiral Pershing couldn't help but frown. In order to strengthen the determination of the American people to resist China, the US government has carried out exaggerated propaganda to make a large number of Americans believe that the defense line of the Sierra Madre do Sul constructed by the US military is impregnable. It can firmly block the Chinese in the southwestern region of Mexico and avoid the threat of the Chinese in the United States. Most Americans believe the government's propaganda. Thinking that the United States is safe, they can rest easy. Therefore, if Admiral Pershing abandons the Southern Madre defense line and allows the Chinese to break through this defense line lightly, it is conceivable what consequences will be caused in the United States. When the time comes, it will not only make the people angry at the government's deception, but also cause a heavy blow to the confidence of the Americans, which will be very detrimental to the next war in the United States.

"Damn politicians, are they just going to lie to people?" Admiral Pershing couldn't help but curse secretly. He seems to have forgotten that when the U.S. government advertised the defense line of Sierra Madre do Sul as an impregnable line of defense, it effectively stabilized the feelings of the American people, and reduced the number of people and capital who fled a lot.

"General, if the General Staff rejects our proposal, then what should we do?" Lieutenant General Davis asked with some concern.

"If the staff refuses, then we will have to continue to hold on to Chilpansingo. Although the Chinese had broken through the defense line of the Balsa River, the high mountains there made up for it, the transportation conditions were very bad, and Lieutenant General Richard blew up several major bridges, and it was impossible for the Chinese to outflank our back along the Balsa River. We can use the fortifications of Chilpancingo to withstand the Chinese for a while. In this way, it can be regarded as giving an explanation to the country. Davis, don't worry, if the situation is overwhelming, I will order a retreat in time, and I will not defend here! Admiral Pershing said.

At this time, there was a knock on the door of the office, and Admiral Pershing's adjutant walked in, saluted and said, "General, a telegram from China." In addition to the telegram from the Chief of Staff, there was also a telegram from Secretary Dickinson! ”

Admiral Pershing nodded, took the telegram and read it, but his face was still expressionless after reading it.

"General, what do you say in China?" Lieutenant General Davis asked.

"As we expected, the country demanded that we continue to hold the defense line of the Sierra Madre do Sul, and let us drag the Chinese in Mexico as much as possible to buy more time for the country." Secretary Dickinson said that the country will support us as much as possible. In addition, for the air superiority of the Chinese, China will do its best to develop a special anti-aircraft machine gun to deal with the threat of the Chinese, and will cooperate with Britain and France to try to come up with planes that can rival the Chinese! Admiral Pershing said.

"It's not so easy to catch up with the Chinese in a short period of time. General, since the country does not agree with us to abandon the defense line of the Sierra Madre do Sul, then we can only defend it here! Lieutenant General Davis said.

Admiral Pershing nodded, though he wished to abandon the Southern Sierra Madre line so that he could concentrate more troops and avoid attrition here. But since the country refused, then he had no choice but to comply with the domestic requirements. Who called him a soldier? For orders, he had no choice but to obey.

"I've already begun to give orders to start shrinking the line. Now that the Balsa line has been breached, there is no point in reinforcing the four corps that have gone up, I will let them withdraw to Chilpancingo. Together with the other defensive lines, we were able to gather around 600,000 men in Chilpansingo. In addition, reinforcements from the first ten corps will arrive the day after tomorrow, when we will be able to amass an army of millions in Chilpancingo and the surrounding area. It is still possible to block the Chinese for a while! Admiral Pershing said. An army of millions, which is already a lot of size. However, General Pershing did not have the confidence to resist the attack of the squadron, and could only hope to resist the squadron for a while longer. In the two previous battles, General Pershing already knew that there was still a big gap between the Chinese army and the US army, and if it were not for the relatively strong weapons and equipment of the US army, it is estimated that the Chinese servant army would be able to defeat them. In addition, in the absence of air superiority, the US military will certainly suffer greater casualties than the Chinese army. Therefore, if you want to delay more time, you have to fill it with human lives!

"General, there is no way to do this. We need time, we need enough time. And our task is to buy enough time for the country. Especially the Navy, the Navy's new battleships have not yet entered service, and they do not yet have the strength to compete with the Chinese Navy. Therefore, we had to abandon the Panama Canal. When the Navy has the strength to defeat the Chinese Navy, we will not have so much pressure at that time! Lieutenant General Davis said.

Admiral Pershing didn't say much, and for the navy, he was also holding back the fire in his belly. The former navy accounted for most of the military spending, but it did not play much role on the battlefield, which in Admiral Pershing's view was a complete waste. The funds for the construction of one battleship in the Navy were enough for the army to arm ten divisions. If the U.S. Army hadn't suppressed it too much in the early stage, perhaps the gap with the Chinese Army would not have been so big. In addition, in view of the fact that the supply of the squadron needs to cross the ocean, Admiral Pershing has more than once asked the Navy to launch an attack on the Chinese's transportation lines to reduce the supply of the squadron as much as possible and reduce the pressure on the US military. After all, the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army is inseparable from powerful artillery and infantry firepower in a large way. But a month into the fighting, China's transportation lines are still open, and the Chinese army is still able to obtain a large amount of supplies by sea, and it has not been affected at all. This made Admiral Pershing very angry, and repeatedly reacted to the General Staff and Secretary of War Dickinson. It's just that he is not sure whether it will have an effect!