"Where's our horse?"

Roosevelt stood on the beach, looking at his beloved horse "Anthony" who was swimming towards him, and he was a little distracted.

Anthony was the only one on the troop carrier.

This was Roosevelt's prerogative as commander, and others did not have such good luck.

However, since the chosen landing place was a shoal, there was no way for the transport ship to dock, and it could only be ferried by small boat.

There are not enough people to transport by boat, let alone horses.

So Anthony was pushed into the sea with a "plop", and was swimming alone towards the shore at this time.

"It's not a problem, Mr. Roosevelt, your troops still have a horse, and our troops don't even have a horse." Chen Jianqiu, who was standing next to Roosevelt, said.

He came with a squad of soldiers to clear the landing site for the 1st Volunteer Cavalry Brigade of the United States.

But in fact, the Spaniards on this beach had long since been driven back to the vicinity of Santiago, or in other words, the entire Spanish defenders in the southwest had been forced back to the vicinity of Santiago and Guantanamo.

"Thank you very much for coming, Chen, I heard you guys are playing well in Cuba." Roosevelt turned to Chen Jianqiu and found that the latter was wearing a gray thin cloth shirt.

"Well, so-so, because I received an order to support the local rebels, and I didn't receive any other tasks in the future." Chen Jianqiu said.

Roosevelt nodded, took out a piece of paper from his clothes, and handed it to Chen Jianqiu.

"I just got you a new order." Roosevelt said.

Chen Jianqiu picked up the paper and looked at it:

The 2nd Volunteer Cavalry Brigade is hereby ordered to sever the link between Guantanamo and Santiago at all costs.

The inscription was made by Commander-in-Chief Shaft.

Chen Jianqiu couldn't laugh or cry.

Is the command of the U.S. military so unaware? I'm about to open up the whole south.

Xu Ajiu was sweeping in the direction of Havana with a force.

There are two "gift packages" left for the US military to dismantle by themselves.

"What about you?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"Let's wait here for our equipment, and then, attack Santiago." Roosevelt's eyes flashed with excitement, "Too much time has been wasted on the command side, I can't wait!" ”

Chen Jianqiu glanced at the somewhat embarrassed American soldiers on the beach.

The soldiers wore thick woolen uniforms, cowhide hats, and sweated profusely.

These uniforms were improvised.

These people have no idea what the climate is in Cuba right now.

This operation is comparable to the winter attack on Moscow, where soldiers are dressed only in summer clothes.

"Hey, old friend, I've got a suggestion for you." Chen Jianqiu turned to Roosevelt and said, "It's best to be careful of the jungle here, although we and the guerrillas have cleared up a lot of Spaniards, the direction to San Diego is still dangerous. ”

"The local guerrillas will give you some guidance and hope to help you." Chen Jianqiu pointed to a group of people behind him and said.

"You'd better keep an eye out for any particular birdsong, it's these friends who are telling you that there may be a Spanish ambush nearby."

"Thank you, my friend, but we'll crush the Spaniards soon and let them go back!" Roosevelt was full of confidence, "I also wish you a smooth completion of the mission, and the glory belongs to every American soldier who can stand here!" ”

Chen Jianqiu knew that this old friend was a strong-willed and energetic person, but he did have less actual combat experience.

He simply dismissed these difficulties as minor setbacks.

"Well, well, good luck to you." Chen Jianqiu patted Roosevelt on the shoulder.

Truth be told, an impulse arose within him.

knew that the U.S. Army was so crotch-pulling now, so he simply took the opportunity to take the opportunity to go north and stab Washington.

However, this idea finally stayed in Chen Jianqiu's mind first.

Today's America is a country with great war potential, and it is not something that can be solved by simply capturing the capital.

Anyway, it's not like the White House hasn't been burned.

After Chen Jianqiu left with his soldiers, Roosevelt and his landing force assembled on the beach while waiting for their equipment.

They waited until the afternoon, from high tide to low tide, and never saw a shadow of their equipment.

Roosevelt was not a good-tempered person, and his self-cultivation kept him from scolding, but his face was gloomy and terrible.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, Roosevelt had to have his soldiers camp close to the coast.

The soldiers carried with them limited supplies for survival.

They don't even have tents.

A group of people played wilderness survival on the seaside.

They looked everywhere for dry wood and something to start a fire.

I still had jerky and biscuits with me, but many of them were soaked in the sea.

Some even fell into the sea when they came ashore.

These people began to use their own initiative to find food near the coast.

This night is a disaster day for Cuban beach animals.

Thousands of hungry soldiers rushed to the sea en masse, scavenging everything they could see, touch, and eat.

Roosevelt ate a little and fell asleep by the campfire.

Then he spent a night of a lifetime.

The jungle and grass flew out of all kinds of bugs with unnamed names.

Roosevelt, who was a man of great learning, couldn't name them.

But they have one thing in common, that is, they can suck blood.

A bug slipped into Roosevelt's collar and into his clothes.

Roosevelt, still asleep, sat up sharply.

Because he felt the intruder rampage in the space between his skin and his clothes.

Roosevelt instantly got up from the ground, stripped off his clothes and shook desperately.

The damn bug flew somewhere.

Roosevelt, stripped naked, put on his clothes again.

He looked around and saw that many soldiers were doing the same thing as him.

I basically couldn't sleep in the second half of the night.

Roosevelt sat by the campfire until dawn.

Many soldiers were bitten with blue noses and swollen faces, and large bags grew on their bodies.

This is the first gift from the island nation of Cuba to these soldiers.

The sun has risen.

Roosevelt reaped good news and bad news.

The good news is that they saw horses.

A mighty convoy of horses marched along the coast in their direction.

This is a convoy.

Roosevelt's long-awaited equipment and supplies arrived.

The bad news is that these horses are pack horses, and none of their horses have arrived.

And after counting the supplies, Roosevelt found that only part of the things had arrived.

The troops in charge of the transport made the mistake at the place of their landing.

They transported the horses and equipment to different places.

Fortunately, Chen Jianqiu and the guerrillas basically cleared the coast for them.

Otherwise, all these things would have fallen into the hands of the Spaniards.

Roosevelt had his soldiers hurry up to get equipment and supplies.

He had wasted a day and a night, which he could not tolerate.

But his team stayed where they were until noon, when they regrouped.

They simply had lunch and then set off.

Lunch was canned beef brought by the convoy.

However, unlike the supply of materials that the U.S. military was unbeatable in the world later, these canned meat at this time were temporarily purchased by the War Department.

The sanitary conditions in the slaughterhouses of the 19th-century American slaughterhouses that supplied canned meat can only be described as catastrophic.

Flies and insects flew everywhere, blood flowed everywhere, not to mention sick pigs and rotten meat.

Add to that the poor storage during transport and the poor climate in Cuba.

You can imagine the taste of these cans.

But the hungry U.S. soldiers couldn't care about that much.

They simply heated it over the fire and ate it.

The soldiers of the cavalry brigade, without horses, continued their advance towards Santiago.

The Chinese guerrillas in Cuba preceded them into the jungle.

After Chen Jianqiu returned to Cuba with his team, his prestige among the Chinese rebels grew stronger and stronger, along with one victory after another.

As agreed, the guerrillas would provide reconnaissance and vigilance for Roosevelt and his soldiers.

Roosevelt and the soldiers of the 1st Volunteer Cavalry Brigade soon followed.

At first, everything seemed to be peaceful, except that the road was really not easy to walk.

Roosevelt, the only man on horseback, also chose to dismount and lead his horse with his warriors.

"Mr. Roosevelt, I really can't imagine that I will have a moment to fight side by side with you in a foreign country." An old cowboy in his sixties who walked side by side with Roosevelt sighed.

The old cowboy is from Hyena Town, North Dakota, where Roosevelt worked as a sheriff in the West.

He worked for Roosevelt's ranch.

The composition of the team was incredibly complex, with cowboys, police officers, and some veterans of the Civil War.

"I am also very honored, sir." Roosevelt did not have the slightest officer's shelf.

He suddenly noticed that the old cowboy was limping a little, so he asked:

"What's wrong with your leg? Mr. Horst? ”

The old cowboy is a little embarrassed:

"It was my first time on a boat, I didn't have much experience, and I accidentally broke my foot when I got off the boat."

He then waved his hand to Roosevelt again:

"But out of the way, Mr. Roosevelt, it should be fine soon, and it won't affect us to kick the Spaniards in the ass!"

Roosevelt pointed to the horse beside him:

"Mr. Horst, you better get on the horse and ride for a while, we are still some distance from Santiago, you should get on the horse and walk for a while, and it will not affect your killing of the enemy when the time comes!"

The old cowboy was a little embarrassed, and waved his hand again and again to say no.

But at Roosevelt's insistence, he eventually got on the horse.

A group of people moved on.

The jungles of Cuba are lush.

This is the Garden of Eden for many small reptiles.

Chameleons, lizards remained quietly on the branches, warily watching the team passing below them.

There are no roads in the jungle.

But for an army, this is not a problem.

Two local guerrillas acted as guides for them, but the only problem was that they did not speak very well and communicated through body language.

Suddenly, a few strange birdsong rhythmically came from the forest ahead.

"This bird's call feels so special." Old Cowboy Horst said, looking at the dense trees ahead.

"There are a lot of birds here that aren't available in the United States, like a Cuban cuckoo that can hop from tree to tree like a rice. So it's not surprising. The well-read Roosevelt was somewhat unimpressed.

However, the two guerrillas, who were acting as guides, suddenly became nervous when they heard the birds.

They made a stop gesture to the advancing procession, then ran up to Roosevelt and danced in the local dialect.

Roosevelt suddenly remembered what Chen Jianqiu had said to him before leaving.

He had always believed Chen Jianqiu's words.

This time, though, he was a little hesitant.

They have already wasted too much time on the beach, and if they delay any longer, they are afraid that they will delay the warplane.

Besides, from the landing to the present, he has not seen a single shadow of a Spanish soldier.

So, is there really an ambush of Spanish soldiers ahead?

However, while Roosevelt was still thinking.

A gunshot rang out.

The body of the old cowboy Horst, who was riding on a horse, suddenly froze.

A blood flower bloomed from his chest.

The old cowboy was hit by a bullet and fell off his horse.

Immediately after, the gunshots "crackled".

"There is an ambush! Take cover! Roosevelt took out his gun, half-crouched down, and gave orders to the soldiers behind him.

He glanced at the old cowboy lying on the ground in front of him.

Blood flowed from his wounds.

The cowboy gasped for breath, presumably because the lobes of his lungs had been punctured, and there was a high probability that he would not survive in this kind of place.

In fact, in an ambush in a dense jungle, the bullet hit rate is generally not very high.

But it's not the same on horseback.

Particularly prominent targets are too easy to hit, not to mention that the officer on horseback will bear the brunt of being killed.

Roosevelt thumped to the ground in chagrin.

He knew that it wasn't the old cowboy who was on the horse just now, but him.

The one who lies in that place now is himself.

The old cowboy died for him!

Now Roosevelt is a good sheriff, police chief, politician, and historian. But by no means an experienced battlefield commander.

There is no room for hesitation on the battlefield, and if you hesitate, you will be defeated!

After a brief period of gathering his mood, Roosevelt began to organize a counterattack against the Spaniards who were ambushed in front of him.

Judging by the sound of gunfire, the number of ambushers was not large.

The guerrillas pinpointed the ambushers for them and cooperated with them in reaching the enemy in the shadows.

After paying the price of more than 20 casualties, the soldiers of the 1st Volunteer Cavalry Brigade finally completed the liquidation of the ambushers.

They killed most of the Spanish soldiers, while also capturing a few alive.

But at this time, Roosevelt discovered a new problem.

No one in his team knew the local language, or Spanish!

He had wanted to extract some useful information from the mouths of these captives.

Unfortunately, little has been achieved.

The interrogation process was so embarrassing that it basically ended with the captive's blank face.

Roosevelt had no choice but to order his soldiers to continue their advance towards San Diego.

Along the way, they were still under constant attack by the Spaniards.

After the first defeat, Roosevelt stepped up his vigilance and cooperated with the partisans to mop up the ambushed Spanish soldiers.

The number of soldiers killed is also decreasing.

Everything seems to be moving in a good direction.

But after a few more days, Roosevelt soon discovered that being ambushed seemed to be the most trivial problem he had encountered along the way.

Because of the terrible weather in Cuba, the bites of those unknown mosquitoes, and the spoiled canned meat that came together brought a disaster to his soldiers.

Disease, incarnated as the Grim Reaper, began to deprive Americans of their lives.