Chapter 490: Hold on or retreat

On the morning of September 28, Otis issued the latest order on behalf of the Supreme Command of France. The 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions of Iberia attacked northward, and in a near future compressed the active air force of the US and Canadian coalition. The 1st and 4th and 5th Infantry Divisions of Iberia were divided into four routes to sweep South America and eliminate the remnants of the US and Canadian troops in these areas. The 1st Infantry Division had the heaviest task, and they would cooperate with the navy to attack Sao Paulo. Now in the entire southern part of South America, only the US and Canadian coalition forces in the Sao Paulo region have the greatest strength. There is a fleet stationed in the US Navy, as well as a Marine Division and an infantry division. It can be said that it is the only force in southern South America that can threaten the French army. Of course, it is the only force in southern South America that can threaten the French army.

It is obviously difficult for the Iberian 1st Legion to capture St. Paul alone. The Atlantic Fleet will also draw a large number of fleets to go south and prepare to kill the US naval fleet. At the same time, the 1st Marine Division will also follow the Navy to operate together, ready to land in St. Paul after the Navy annihilates the US Navy and attack St. Paul with the 1st Iberian Infantry Division. Both Otis and Kirkbride attach great importance to this operation. Since the French Navy lost control of the Atlantic, it has never wiped out a US fleet once again. If they can successfully annihilate a US Navy fleet this time, the implicit significance will definitely be very important.

Therefore, Kirkbride sent a large number of warships. This time, in order to escort the 2nd Iberian Army to land in South America, the Atlantic Fleet drew more than 80% of the warships, and the total number of various warships reached 120. Among them, the most powerful "Tiger Shark"-class battlecruiser and "Giant Whale"-class battleship also sent 2 and 3 respectively. This shows the caution of the Atlantic Fleet.

In order to ensure that the US Navy fleet can be wiped out smoothly, Kirkbrad even drew nearly 90 warships of various types from the fleet, including a "Tiger Shark"-class battlecruiser and two "Giant Whale"-class battleships. After Otis issued the order, he sailed to the south of the Atlantic Ocean. The rise of the French Navy requires the blood of the enemy to pay tribute.

At the same time, the various troops of the Iberian 2nd Legion also set off one after another. The troops directly under the Iberian 2nd Legion stayed to be responsible for the security of El Salvador. After all, the 89th Legion and the Strait Fleet will not arrive in the afternoon. If all the troops are sent out, the US-Canadian coalition forces will take this opportunity to attack El Salvador, which would be bad.

Given that the navy's speed is much faster than the army's marching, the naval fleet will arrive at Sao Paulo about 3 to 4 days before the army. However, it still takes a lot of time to annihilate the US fleet and attack Sao Paulo. The 1st Infantry Division of the 2nd Iberian Corps should be able to arrive at Sao Paulo later in the battle. After all, Sao Paulo is also a fortress-type city that the US military focuses on building. Sao Paulo is backed by the Mar Mountains and has very superior geographical conditions, which can be said to be easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is also quite difficult for the French army to conquer Sao Paulo in a short period of time.

Since the US military had completely withdrawn from El Salvador and nearby areas, they only found out that the French army sent troops two days later. This news directly shocked Lieutenant General McCain, the commander of the 7th Fleet of the United States stationed in Sao Paulo. At the same time, he lamented that his luck was really bad. He was originally stationed in the United States, but his recent change of defense was transferred from the United States to Sao Paulo three months ago. He originally thought that he could be like other fleets, and then transferred back to the country for a year. But what he didn't expect was that the French came in just three months. This made him very regretful. He had died if he had known it, he would not agree to transfer the defense of Sao Paulo.

In the entire South America, except for its 7th Fleet of the US Navy, there is no friendly fleet. It is because France made such a big noise in Ireland that the United States and Canada strengthened their defenses with their local and European countries and drew a large number of South American troops, which has caught the French army off guard and it is too late to rescue South America.

"Come here, send a report to Washington immediately, tell them our current situation and ask for their instructions." McCain ordered the communication officer responsible for contacting Washington. In fact, with his current idea, he had led the fleet to escape. It was so big that it would be quite difficult for the French army to find his fleet. However, he was afraid that if he did not receive Washington's specific instructions, he would retreat without authorization, even if he returned to the United States, he would probably be sent to the military court. Especially his opponents would never give up such an opportunity. Therefore, he had to handle it carefully.

"Come on, invite General George and General Yoon immediately." McCain continued to issue an order. George and Yoon are the commanders of the Marine Division and the Infantry Division stationed in St. Paul, respectively. Among them, George is the rank of Rear General, and Yoon is the brigade general of the army. They are also the largest officers in St. Paul's rank except McCain and McCain's deputy. Therefore, when making certain decisions, McCain still has to follow their opinions.

After a while, the two appeared in front of McCain.

"General, don't you know if there is anything important to look for us in such a hurry?" George asked respectfully. Although one person is the commander of the Navy fleet and the other is the commander of the Marine Corps, it belongs to the Navy system at least, and McCain's rank is one level higher than him. So George is respectful to McCain, that's right.

Yoon also looked at McCain with questions, and he also didn't know what was going on.

"Gentlemen, our situation is very bad now. After the French occupied Saldoba, they did not pursue Cavenster, but instead sent the main force to go south. It seems that they were coming to us." McCain said helplessly.

"What?" George and Yoon both exclaimed. They didn't expect this to be the case at all. When they thought of the French army pressing in, their faces turned pale.

"General McCain, what should we do? Now in St. Paul, your military rank is the highest, and we all listen to you." Yoon said respectfully immediately. Now that it was a critical moment, he finally knew that McCain's military rank was higher than him. Before, thanks to Cavenster's support, Yoon was somewhat disregarded to take McCain seriously.

McCain snorted coldly in his heart: Now he knows that I am the person with the largest rank of St. Paul. He is also quite dissatisfied with Youn. However, because Youn is Cavenster's man, he has never provoked him. Now Cavenster cannot even protect himself, so he doesn't need to take care of so much. However, he is facing the threat of the French army, so he is not easy to deal with Youn, so he has to suppress his anger and find another opportunity to deal with him in the future.

"I don't know what to do if I change it, but I've sent a telegram to Washington. I believe it will be a good answer soon." McCain said.

So the three had to wait anxiously, but after a long time, they had not received instructions from Washington. Fortunately, the French army was about to arrive in St. Paul, and there were still two or three days left, so they had enough time to wait.

What McCain and the others didn't know was that his telegram once again made Washington mess up. Brandon and Zominsk quarreled in front of Adams again over the war in St. Paul. One advocated retreat and retained his strength, while the other advocated defending St. Paul with St. Paul's strong defense. The two sides were quarreling, which made Adams unable to make a decision.

"His Excellency President, I still think we should stick to St. Paul. At the beginning, the entire city of St. Paul was built according to the specifications of military fortresses. In addition, we also deployed a fleet and tens of thousands of troops there. I believe we can fully withstand the French attack." Brandon said to Adams again.

"Hmph. There is only one way to die for Saint Paul. Our strength in South America is already very weak and we can no longer withstand unnecessary losses. No matter how powerful Saint Paul's defense is, can it withstand the bombardment of the French 305mm naval gun? No matter how many troops stationed at Saint Paul, can it surpass the French army? Can it be stronger than the French army in terms of combat effectiveness?" Zominsk retorted.

"But if we give up Sao Paulo, it means giving up the entire vast southern South America to the French. In that case, it will be very difficult for us to hide back to South America in the future. The iron ore on the Brazilian plateau and the agricultural products on the Pampas plain are all essential to our country. With the fortress of Sao Paulo as a fulcrum, I think it will be much easier for us to reclaim South America in the future. More importantly, if Sao Paulo can be in our hands, we will be able to threaten the US military behind the US military, thereby reducing the pressure on General Cavenster and others." Brandon continued.
Chapter completed!