"We must not abandon the island of Haiti. Once this large island fell into the hands of the Germans, most of their bodies were pushed into the Caribbean, and their troops were directed at Cuba, which was only separated by a strait, and the beachhead anti-landing fortifications and defense-in-depth defense systems built by our troops here were far from being reassuring. It must be noted that although the terrain of the island of Haiti is rugged, the neighboring Cuba is almost a plain, which is extremely suitable for the use of armored forces. If we can't stop the German infantry on the island of Haiti, then how can we defend ourselves against the opposing armoured clusters in Cuba? At the impromptu war meeting, Marshall, chief of the US Army General Staff, said to the participants with a solemn face.

In front of the wide long table spread out on the map, the expressions of the senior generals of the US army were gloomy and pessimistic: the cold wind at the end of the year squeezed in through the window, which made them feel a little more powerless about the future war situation. In order to resist the expansion of the German army on the island of Haiti, he had already sent the capable soldiers of the army to the wild land to defend the danger; However, after a real fierce battle, it was discovered that those few armies that they felt great could not withstand the real test of war. In terms of strength and air superiority, they were not as good as they could be, and once they were slightly weakened, the defeat of these troops would be as irreversible as an avalanche!

"The only strategy we can adopt now is to further increase our troops on the island of Haiti, so that we can re-stabilize the front and buy time for the defense of the Cuban region. More heavy artillery, tanks, and combat aircraft should also be quickly stationed on the islands in order to increase the amount of heavy weapons support available to soldiers. Seeing that the colleagues around him were all mournful, they just looked at the map on the table in a daze and were silent. The corners of Marshall's mouth twitched. Finally, after waiting for a long time, he spoke again. "At the same time, we had to strike hard at the Germans' logistical supply lines, so that they would halt their offensive due to lack of supplies; Now every bullet and spare part they have to ship from Europe, 4,500 miles away, if we can sink a few of their transports, the Germans will naturally stop their operations on the island of Haiti. ”

"General Marshall, the Navy is afraid that it will be difficult to have the ability to realize this strategy of yours." Johnson, the new commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, who was bareheaded, finally spoke up, ending the embarrassing scene of Marshall singing a one-man show at the venue. "After the unfortunate Battle of Bermuda, the number of ships available for the Atlantic Fleet has dwindled dramatically; At a time when German submarine activities were rampant, it was impossible for the navy to send valuable large ships to meet the enemy at the great risk of being attacked by submarines and precise attacks by guided bombs. At present, the fleet anchored at the Guantanamo Bay in Cuba consists only of ships of the heavy cruiser class and below, with a total of only one cruiser detachment and three destroyer squadrons, while the German fleet, which is based in the port of San Juan and various ports in Venezuela, has at least three times the tonnage of our troops, which greatly restricts the activities of our fleet. ”

Johnson's expression was solemn, and his words contained a sense of worry that could not be concealed: "As the Luftwaffe became stronger on the island of Haiti, the shipping routes between Guantanamo and Port-au-Prince became quite dangerous; In order to avoid a double blow from the sea and the air from the other side. At present, the ships that carry supplies to the army on the island of Haiti have changed from slow merchant ships that can carry large quantities of cargo to fast destroyers, and the cargo tonnage is almost an order of magnitude less than that of merchant ships! Therefore. If a large-scale troop build-up to the island of Haiti continues, it will be difficult for the Navy to ensure the transport and supply of these troops. As for attacking the opposing side's rear supply lines, our submarine forces have been attacking in full force since the beginning of last month. Judging from the fact that they have sunk 17 freighters and damaged as many as 7 of them in the past month, it is also difficult to realize the idea that they can single-handedly inflict decisive damage on the German convoy with a well-established escort system. ”

"Aren't we not short of destroyers? As long as more than 3 destroyers can be unloaded in Port-au-Prince with full supplies every day, it should be able to support the daily consumption of two or three armies, right? Marshall retorted. Although he came from the army, this did not mean that his knowledge of the navy was completely empty: in order to eliminate the threat of German forces in the Caribbean, he had studied a large number of cases of land-sea cooperation in the previous weeks. If one qiē shun lì, three destroyers can carry more than 700 tons of various supplies, and the total amount of transportation will not be less than that of a small merchant ship. Looking at the other party's face that still wanted to fight, Marshall said slowly: "General Johnson, the navy must make certain sacrifices for the benefit of the United States, which is more important than a few warships and a very strategically important island, I don't think I need to explain it to you again, right?" ”

Hearing the other party's last words, Johnson couldn't help but change color. The previous German occupation of Puerto Rico and the landing on Dominica were precisely due to the incompetence of the army defending the island, which had the most severe consequences for the entire two-ocean strategy of the United States: in order to pay for the army's idiots, the Atlantic Fleet, which was absolutely inferior in the overall line-up, was forced to attack, and paid a heavy price for the sinking of four aircraft carriers and two new battleships under the thunder and lightning blows of the other side. Now, again because of the incompetence of this group of troops, they want to pull the navy into danger: the German planes, warships, and submarines, which one is a vegetarian soft-footed shrimp? If you really want to break out a battle with the other party, you will suffer greatly from the absolute disadvantage of the lineup, no matter from which point of view!

"General Marshall, you are doing this to throw the forces that the fleet has accumulated during the rebuilding into a harsh war of attrition! I won't allow you to take an adventure and drag a badly wounded fleet into a pit full of blades! Johnson's relentless loud accusations, his angry grim countenance and his neutral voice stood in stark contrast to the apprehensive silence that opened the meeting. In the face of the fleet commander who suddenly became excited, Marshall still calmly said: "General Johnson, it is also the will of Mr. President to hold on to the island of Haiti. We will have to hold out on this island for another half a year in order to gain sufficient time to consolidate Cuba's defenses. In addition to this, it also bought time for the navy to recover its strength. If the island of Haiti were to be lost suddenly, the German army would inevitably invade Cuba on a large scale, even endangering the mainland; At that time, the navy will only be able to enter the war with a more broken lineup, and its shape will be many times more severe than the current risk of transporting supplies with destroyers! After all, these attritions are more than the new warships, which is essentially the same as the dormant strategy of the navy a few months ago to sit back and watch the Germans expand their power in Guyana, but it is necessary to pay some upfront. ”

Johnson fell silent. If the situation is as Marshall suggests, it is not unreasonable for the Navy to venture out in the waters east of Cuba; However, what he was most worried about was that the Army would not be able to meet the expected holding time, and the already stretched Atlantic Fleet would be hit hard. Because the other party pulled out the tiger skin of the president again, Johnson could only reluctantly accept it, he looked at Marshall in front of him with a complicated expression, and said: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, I hope that the army can meet your expectations in this operation." ”

After many discussions, the US military decided on a plan for a large-scale increase in troops to the island of Haiti. The mobilized Army troops arrived in Miami, Florida's southernmost point, by train, and then sailed nearly 650 nautical miles by destroyer to Port-au-Prince in the western part of the island of Haiti, a journey that could be completed in one day. Heavy equipment, such as artillery, was transported by light cruisers, and army artillery fixed to the deck of a battleship was a rare sight. According to the plan of the US military, they will put four more divisions on the island, bringing the total number of US troops fighting on the island of Haiti to 90,000 in eight divisions. In addition, a large number of fighter and bomber squadrons have also flocked to the Port-au-Prince base, and the American forces have assumed a posture of fighting to the death with the Germans on this deserted island.

Naturally, this large-scale operation of the Americans did not hide from the ears and eyes of the German reconnaissance. High-altitude reconnaissance planes converted from Ju-88 fast bombers detected the enemy's movements, and the Germans quickly responded accordingly: the attacking armies accelerated their advance in order to occupy as many communication arteries as possible before the arrival of reinforcements, and the naval fleet and air forces also went full force to send the enemy's reinforcements into the sea to feed the fish. Over the course of several days, losses on both sides were significantly higher than in previous days: two U.S. destroyers were sunk in the night battle, one of which was loaded with 300 tons of munitions that had not yet had time to be unloaded, which directly led to the defeat of the U.S. 14th Division in the defensive battle of Santiago, an important town in the central part of the island of Haiti (a place name common in the Americas), and was forced to retreat in a big stride. The Germans also had one destroyer sunk and another heavily damaged, and the aircraft damage on both sides rose rapidly, so that in the subsequent battles, they all chose to be cautious and spared.

"The island of Haiti is not suitable for large groups of troops, and the purpose of the Americans' large-scale troop movement to the island is probably to keep this key bridgehead in eastern Cuba." In the front-line command post under the cover of the jungle, Kesselring, commander of the German Caribbean Theater of Operations, poked his finger heavily on the map in front of him under the gaze of many eyes, and said, "In this case, we can take advantage of the situation to change the spearhead of attack and directly choose to attack Cuba; The strategic significance here is undoubtedly much higher than that of Haiti! (To be continued......)

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