America 1881: Legend of the West

Chapter 577: Ma Run is still a fourth-class person

The person in charge of the Guantanamo landing was Major Huntington of the Navy.

But they are different from Roosevelt.

The landing team did not belong to the Army, but to the Marine Corps.

Logically speaking, these Marines should be more suitable than the Army for landing operations in Cuba. After all, they are professional counterparts.

In fact, the navy was indeed better prepared than the army, and these soldiers did perform better than the army near San Diego.

But, it’s really just a little bit.

They landed on the southeast corner of Guantánamo.

The original Spanish stronghold here was also overrun by Chen Jianqiu and his rebel army.

Huntington and his Marines captured the bunkers and set up camp, which they named Camp McCalla.

"Sir, should we dig some fortifications, such as trenches or something, to consolidate this camp?"

one soldier asked his commander, Major Huntington.

The latter was holding one hand on his hip, watching with relish as his men hoisted the American Stars and Stripes in the camp.

The major was a little unhappy when he heard his subordinate say this.

He touched his raised beard, glanced at the soldier, and pointed at the cruiser Marblehead not far away on the sea.

"You think the Spaniard's head is strong enough to take a few shots from our fleet's cannon, eh?" said the major.

His confidence is not without reason.

Before landing, the cruiser USS Marblehead, USS St. Louis and USS Yankee auxiliary cruiser had arrived at the outer bay of Guantanamo Bay first, pouring a burst of artillery fire on the surrounding bunkers and forts.

The major did not think that the Spaniards had the courage to continue to stand in front of them and resist.

Otherwise, why is the camp under my feet empty now?

Naturally, the major would not attribute these things to Chen Jianqiu and the Cuban rebels.

In his eyes, these country bumpkins were nothing more than cannon fodder. How could they possibly have the strength to drive away the Spaniards!
When the soldier saw his commander saying this, he said nothing more.

It would be better not to dig trenches or build fortifications, and they would be happy and free.

However, unlike the garrison in San Diego, the Spaniards in Guantanamo did not actually go far.

They were hiding in the forest not far from the beach.

The leading officer was named Rodriguez.

The officer was first harassed by the local guerrillas, then seduced from the station by Chen Jianqiu's plan, and then beaten to a pulp by the 21st Maxim.

Fortunately, in addition to the Spaniards, the army under this officer also had some locals.

It is also commonly known as the "puppet army".

They are very familiar with the surrounding jungle.

Rodriguez quickly retreated into it with the remaining troops.

After Chen Jianqiu achieved the initial results, he did not let his troops go into the jungle to pursue them.

First, he will continue to grab territory and expand his influence.

Secondly, he has completed the task assigned to him by the headquarters. At least the landing site has been cleared.

Thirdly, rashly entering the Cuban jungle is not a very wise move.

Because you may not really be able to figure out which tree can talk.

Of course, there are those damn mosquitoes!

After confirming that Chen Jianqiu and his troops had left, the Spaniards hiding in the jungle moved forward along the forest again to the edge of the forest.

Until they saw the stars and stripes.

When the Spanish soldiers saw the flag, they became furious and expressed their indignation that they would retake the camp.

But their commander, Mr. Rodriguez, was not convinced.

He had already suffered Chen Jianqiu's loss once, and he would never be fooled a second time.

The latter's method of seduction was to bring a generator and the latest loudspeaker from the Roswell Electric Company from the United States, which insulted His Excellency Rodriguez and his immediate family in Spanish all day long.

"We have to be patient and think about the brothers who died under machine guns." Rodriguez pondered for a moment and said, "We divided into several groups and shot at them from the jungle. They had no way of judging our position. "

The camp is located near the coast, with low terrain and high surroundings surrounded by dense trees.

Following the commander's orders, the Spanish soldiers divided into numerous groups and began to attack the Americans below.

Major Huntington was still directing his soldiers to set up his headquarters tent.

Suddenly there were gunshots all around.

"Oops! Sir, the enemy seems to be attacking our camp!" The major's soldiers panicked and tried to find a place to hide.

The major, however, did not panic in the slightest.

He was born in Connecticut and graduated from the West Point Military Academy. He is a Yankee with a well-established background.

He exuded the unique confidence of a Yankee officer.

"Why are you panicking? Let me see which daring bastards dare to attack us!" The major took out his gun and began to advance toward the forest while observing the direction from which the bullets were flying.

To be honest, this behavior is courageous and stupid.

However, whether it was due to the poor marksmanship of the Spanish soldier on the other side or the luck of the Major, the bullet did not hit him.

But courage doesn’t solve everything.

The major was not sure where the Spaniards were hiding.

There were gunshots from all sides, and the guns they used were also smokeless powder. It was impossible to determine where the attack came from from the firelight and smoke.

Since there were no trenches in the barracks, the Marines had no place to hide and were beaten by the Spanish troops in the jungle. The major saw that this was not a solution.

He yelled at the soldiers behind him:
"Come in with me and get these damn Spaniards out of the jungle!"

Major Huntington was first, Colt revolver in hand.

The commander is so brave, it is really unreasonable for the people below not to charge forward.

He led a group of brave Marines and charged in one direction.

This method seems to be working.

The Spaniards in that direction saw the Americans rushing towards them like a pack of wild dogs, and immediately chose to retreat.

But the slower ones among them were quickly caught by the major and the soldiers.

"Kill these damn Spanish guys!" the major yelled, and shot a Spanish soldier looming in the bushes.

The major and his warriors quickly killed seven or eight Spaniards.

He decided to pursue the victory and pursued him into the dense jungle.

Facts have proved that Chen Jianqiu has a reason not to enter the forest.

The major and the troops who rushed in not only lost their way, but were also beaten to pieces by the local "puppet soldiers" who climbed into the trees.

These local Cubans smeared their faces with an "unknown mixture" of rotten leaves and soil, and wore palm leaves on their heads. They dressed themselves up to blend in with the jungle.

In less than half an hour, the Marines left forty or fifty bodies in the jungle.

Major Huntington still did not know where the remaining enemy was and was forced to order a retreat.

But no one knew which direction to retreat to or which route to take.

By the time the major and the soldiers who had rushed in withdrew from the jungle, they had lost a dozen more bodies.

The Marines, who suffered a great loss, had to retreat back to their own camp.

Following old tradition, Major Huntington began to seek support from his fleet at sea.

The captain of the USS Marblehead was also very respectful, and the ship's two 205mm main guns bombarded the jungle that the major had marked for him.

But the effect of these shells hitting the jungle was obviously not as good as hitting the fortifications.

After the bombardment ended, Rodriguez came again with his Spaniards.

Same shooting from the jungle, same luring the Marines into the jungle.

But this time the major was not fooled and did not rush into the woods.

So the Spaniards came again the next day.

The major and the Marines didn't know which direction to fire, and they didn't dare to chase. They could only stay in the camp and blindly shoot into the jungle.

The Spanish defenders in the city of Caimanera in the north were originally determined to be cowards.

This city is located in the strait between the inner and outer bays of Guantanamo Bay. As long as you break through here, you can enter the inner bay.

But when they learned that Captain Rodriguez and his Spanish troops had severely taught the Marines who had landed on Mount McCalla a lesson, Colonel Roberto in the city began to have ideas.

Many times, bullying the weak and fearing the strong is a neutral term, especially for the military.

Persimmons should be picked soft and pinched.

Seeing that these American soldiers were so easy to bully, Colonel Roberto decisively ordered part of the defenders in the city and Captain Rodriguez to advance together.

After receiving support, the captain's men suddenly numbered more than 3,000 men.

He did not choose to attack all these soldiers at once, but instead divided them into several groups and began to harass the Marines in turns, day or night.

In order to avoid being driven into the sea, Major Huntington and his Marines had to suppress their sleepiness and force themselves to fight against the Spanish soldiers who came to harass them.

The fleet at sea could do nothing but worry.

The Marines were unable to provide them with the exact coordinates of the Spanish camp, and they were unable to even break through the jungle.

They had no choice but to continue advancing towards the inner bay of Guantanamo Bay.

The fleet commander's original plan was just to block the bay, block the city of Caimanera, and then fire a few artillery shells into the city.

Because their Marines were blocked at Mount McCalla.

Without the Army's simultaneous progress, there is only so much the Navy can do.

But soon, they received a detailed coordinate map marking the location of the coastal defense batteries outside the city of Caimanera.

Along with the coordinate map, there is also the command above:
Cooperate with the 2nd U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Brigade to capture the city of Caimanera!
Chen Jianqiu could have attacked the city earlier.
He basically cleared out everything from Guantanamo to San Diego, even cutting off the telegraph cables.

He's just waiting for an opportunity.

One is that it would be best if some of the defenders in the city were transferred away, and the other is the arrival of the fleet.

Danny's artillery is still on the way. Besides, what could be more powerful than the fire cover of the twelve main guns on the battleship?

Therefore, when he learned that the Marines were blocked at McCalla Mountain by the sea, he immediately assembled more than 10,000 soldiers and marched quickly eastward from the southwest of Guantanamo toward the city of Caimanera.

At the same time, the firepower deployment map of the city obtained by the undercover agent of the Border Detective Agency was handed over to Major General William Sampson, commander of the North Pacific Fleet.

This major general, like Dewey, was a direct descendant of Roosevelt.

Therefore, he and Chen Jianqiu maintained a good relationship.

More importantly, the major general is very pragmatic.

He will make the choice that is best for winning the war.

Poor Major Huntington suddenly discovered that the cruiser Marblehead, which had been wandering on the sea not far away, had also disappeared.

“Fourth-class people” are still “fourth-class people” after all.

In the end, Ma Run could not escape the fate of becoming a bait to delay the Spanish troops.

(End of this chapter)