The sun was shining, the clouds were thin, and when viewed from an altitude of more than 8,000 meters, the fields of the villages and towns were only the size of matchboxes and peas. A twin-engine fighter sprayed with the Iron Cross logo hissed over from high altitude, and it was none other than the Luftwaffe's proud universal bomber Ju-88; This time, however, it failed to rain lethal bullets on enemy targets below. At the turn of the pilot's button, the ultra-high-resolution military Zeiss camera located under the belly of the aircraft clicks on the film. When a US fighter came to intercept him, the pilot maneuvered the fighter plane to steer and fled at full speed to the rear by virtue of his altitude advantage.

Ever since the German army established itself on the island of Haiti, its reconnaissance planes have frequently visited the skies over Cuba; As the most important American stronghold south of the mainland, the Germans had every reason to gain insight into the real situation in this unfamiliar territory where they had only a tourist map to refer to. In addition to the basic conditions such as mountains, rivers, valleys, towns and roads, the defensive deployment of the US military in Cuba was also focused on by the German army. After all, the island of Haiti is only a temporary offensive outpost, and only by occupying Cuba can the clarion call for an attack on the US mainland be truly sounded!

As a defensive side, the US military's reconnaissance of German planes was naturally obstructed in every possible way; However, they soon discovered that they had no effective means of stopping these uninvited guests outside their homes. After dismantling all the self-defense weapons and transforming the bomb bay into a studio, the Ju-88, which was already known for its speed, flew like lightning with the drastic weight reduction of the fuselage, even better than the latest single-engine fighter of the US military. In addition, the power heart of these fighters uses pressurized technology, which allows them to rise to altitudes that are difficult for U.S. fighter jets to reach in a matter of hours. Thus getting rid of the pursuit of the latter. Over the course of the past 6 weeks. German reconnaissance planes have already made nearly 400 sorties against Cuba. A large number of valuable photographs were taken; Although 13 reconnaissance planes were unfortunately shot down, the strategic gains of the German army far outweighed the cost of these.

As Kesselring turned his strategy to Cuba, German reconnaissance planes were dispatched more frequently; On 26 December alone, more than 20 planes arrived over Cuba and took a large number of photographs of the port, barracks, and defense facilities. After these exposed films are processed and magnified with a characteristic liquid, they become clear scenes of buildings and fortifications. With this information, the Germans were also able to make a rough guess about the deployment of US troops in Cuba, which was crucial for the next strategy of the German army.

"The Americans deployed at least 20 divisions in Cuba. In addition to its core base, Guantanamo. Santiago, Bayamo, Holguín and other places have also found traces of a large number of military garrisons; This is fully evidenced by the barbed wire fence of trenches, the camouflaged structures that appear to be barracks and warehouses, and the large concrete fortifications that are being built. Kesselring lined up a large pile of aerial photographs on the conference table and shouted to the crowd in front of him, "Guys, we have to move faster." Once the Americans are given enough time to establish a strong line of defense in Cuba, our offensive will become extremely difficult; Just breaking through their beachhead of mines, mines, bunkers, and deer barricades would cost me how many German officers and soldiers would have to pay for it! We have assembled a sufficiently strong army group in Puerto Rico, and the Navy has ample warships and transport vessels to support it. The sooner our troops land in Cuba, the more favorable the entire Caribbean war situation will be for us. ”

A tall old man with the coat of arms of the vice admiral on his shoulders said with some concern: "But we are now fighting with the Americans on the island of Haiti. At present, it occupies less than half of the territory, and Port-au-Prince, an important naval and air base in the west, is still firmly in the hands of the other side. If our army launches a landing on Cuba in the near future, it will inevitably be attacked by the enemy's naval and air forces from the bases at Guantanamo and Port-au-Prince. With the strength of the navy alone, it is still quite reluctant to protect the transport fleet under the air raids of the other side, not to mention the surface ships and submarines of the Americans, which are also a force to be reckoned with that can pose a serious threat to the landing transport ships. We should probably crush the American defenders on the island of Haiti before attempting to move on to neighbouring Cuba. ”

Kesselring shook his head slightly and said, "General Siriacus, the speed of our advance on the island of Haiti has slowed down greatly with the arrival of American reinforcements. The reinforcements sent by the Americans to the island were their fresh troops, and they were not afraid to fight our army when they had sufficient troops and heavy equipment; And as the front advances, the supply of our army has become more and more difficult, which also increases the burden of continuing to move forward. Due to the unique mountainous and forested terrain of Haiti Island, our army can only use manpower to transport supplies in muddy swamps and rugged and deep ravines, which greatly reduces efficiency. After all, this island is not suitable for a large army to carry out an offensive, and if the Americans are to be completely expelled from this place, it will have to wait until the beginning of spring next year. And this is clearly not in line with the strategic intentions of the General Staff. ”

Kesselring paused, and then added: "If we can launch an offensive against Cuba, we will liberate the army from the hindrance of this mountain range; Tanks, self-propelled guns, and motorized units will be able to roam the flat land of Cuba as they did in the French campaign, far more effective than they would have been on the island of Haiti with the Americans. Strategically, the landing of our troops in Cuba is a decisive encirclement of the Haitian enemy, and its sea transportation lines will be cut off from the central part with our control of eastern Cuba, and it will not be long before the US troops on the Haitian island will collapse because of the exhaustion of supplies! This huge potential gain is well worth a try. ”

The old man, who was called Siriacs, did not speak, but waited for what the other man said next; The person in front of him has already spoken to this part, and there must be a set of plans for him.

"In two days, the FZ-14 flotilla, with its 34 transport ships, will arrive in the port of San Juan; In addition to the 180,000 tons of fuel, ammunition and other materials it carried, the 1,000 warplanes of the 5th Air Fleet were also among the cargo of these merchant ships. Another 500 of the Ministry's aircraft had arrived in Guyana the day before yesterday and would soon be ready to fly to San Juan airport on their own after unloading. Since all of the 5th Air Fleet's crews, ground crews, technicians, and corresponding spare parts had arrived in batches from the previous fleet, the entire fleet could be deployed on the Caribbean front within ten days. Kesselring slowly revealed a secret hole card in his hand, which made the faces of everyone present change color. His own transport fleet quietly transported an entire air fleet to the front line of the battlefield, and brought a large amount of war materials with it; With such a powerful logistical support, it is already exactly the same as fighting a large-scale battle on the home ground in Europe!

Kesselring turned his gaze back to the map and spoke again: "With this new force on the battlefield, the air force can ensure that the US air force in front of it can be effectively suppressed, and our army's operations can be launched. Baracoa, located in eastern Cuba, will be the preferred target for our troops to carry out the landing. According to aerial reconnaissance over the past two months, although the US military has begun to build anti-landing fortifications in various coastal areas, due to the short period of time, the coastal areas in eastern Cuba have still not yet established a complete system, and the defense of the small fishing village of Baracoa is the weakest. If we use the entire 3rd Airborne Division to carry out the advance airborne landing and cut off the reinforcement route to Guantanamo, then under the cover of the air force and fleet, the frontal landing of the army will be at least 70% sure of success! Weather permitting, the Air Force then provides strong support to the Navy as it delivers supplies and reinforcements to the landing grounds; The fleet only needs to deal with some U.S. aircraft, as well as the challenge of the U.S. detachment stationed at Guantanamo. I believe this is not an impossible task. ”

Siriax rubbed his chin slowly, already agreeing with Kesselring's plan. As long as the Air Force can guarantee effective suppression of the enemy, then leapfrogging is also a feasible strategy when the island of Haiti has not yet been captured; After all, its own fleet has a clear advantage on the sea, and it is difficult for American ships without air support to achieve decisive results in a head-on confrontation with themselves. If it is too dangerous to use transport ships to provide supplies, you can completely follow the example of the Americans and replace them with destroyers.

On 29 December, Kesselring presented a first draft plan for a landing in Cuba, which was quickly refined with the cooperation of Commander of the 15th Task Force, Siriacs, and Commander of the Army's 4th Army, Kruger. Prior to the campaign, the Luftwaffe advanced a week-long assault that significantly reduced U.S. air power in the region; The Navy has also taken a more active attitude in the naval blockade of the island of Haiti, hoping to encounter US warships on patrols, so as to inflict more casualties on the enemy by virtue of its superiority in troops, and ensure that it can get a more relaxed battlefield situation in the next landing operation. As the new commander of the US Atlantic Fleet, Johnson, anticipated, the German Navy had a large number of ships in the Caribbean, including four battleships, and was fully capable of attrition with the US fleet in Cuba.

On January 7, 1938, the German 5th Air Fleet, which had completed its deployment, was the vanguard and set off a new round of air warfare on the island of Haiti. The sudden and active naval and air offensive of the German army convinced the US army that the other side would seize the island of Haiti in one fell swoop, and did not expect that this would be a prelude to the landing in Cuba. In the early morning of 15 January, the German transport squadron roared into the air from the airports of Puerto Rico, and the sharp fangs of the airborne troops finally showed their shining cold front after months of hiding in the snow. (To be continued......)

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