America 1881: Legend of the West

"Where's our horse?"

Roosevelt stood on the beach, looking at his beloved horse "Anthony" swimming towards him, feeling a little lost.

Anthony was the only one on board the troopship.

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

However, because the place chosen to land was a shoal, the transport ship had no way to dock and had to ferry it across by boat.

There were not enough boats to carry people, let alone horses.

So Anthony was pushed into the sea with a "plop" and was swimming towards the coast alone.

"This is not a problem, Mr. Roosevelt. Your army still has a horse, but our army doesn't even have a horse." Chen Jianqiu, standing next to Roosevelt, said.

He came with a detachment of soldiers to clear the landing site for the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Brigade.

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

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

"Well, it's just so so, because the order I received was to support the local rebel army, and I didn't receive any other tasks subsequently." Chen Jianqiu said.

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

"I just have new orders for you," Roosevelt said.

Chen Jianqiu picked up the paper and took a look:

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

The signature is Commander-in-Chief Shafter.

Chen Jianqiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Is the U.S. military headquarters so late-minded? I have almost opened up the entire south.

Xu Ajiu was leading a troop to sweep in the direction of Havana.

Just two "big gift packages" were left waiting for the US military to open them themselves.

"What about you?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"Let's wait here for our equipment, and then attack San Diego." Roosevelt's eyes flashed with excitement, "The headquarters has wasted too much time, and I can't wait!"

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

The soldiers wore thick wool uniforms and cowhide hats, and were sweating profusely.

These military uniforms were temporarily obtained from military supplies.

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

This operation is comparable to giving soldiers only summer clothes when attacking Moscow in winter.

"Hey, old friend, let me give you a suggestion." Chen Jianqiu turned to Roosevelt and said, "It's best to be careful in the jungle here. Although we and the guerrillas have cleared out many Spaniards, the direction leading to Santiago is still dangerous."

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

"You'd better pay attention. If there are special birdsong, these friends are reporting to you, indicating that there may be a Spanish ambush nearby."

"Thank you, my friend, but we will quickly defeat the Spaniards and let them go back!" Roosevelt was full of confidence. "I also wish you can successfully complete the mission. 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 little practical experience.

He just regarded these difficulties as trivial setbacks.

"Uh, okay, I wish you good luck." Chen Jianqiu patted Roosevelt on the shoulder.

To be honest, there was an impulse in his heart.

If he had known that the U.S. Army was so stubborn right now, he would have simply led his troops and took the opportunity to go north and stab Washington.

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

Today's United States is a country with extremely strong war potential, and it cannot be solved by simply capturing the capital.

It’s not like the White House hasn’t been burned anyway.

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

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

Roosevelt was not a good-tempered person. His self-restraint prevented him from swearing, but his face was terrifyingly gloomy.

Seeing that the sun was setting, Roosevelt had to let the soldiers camp near the coast.

The survival supplies the soldiers carried with them were limited.

They didn't even have a tent.

A group of people played wilderness survival on the beach.

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

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

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 was a disaster for the animals on Cuba's beaches.

Thousands of hungry soldiers rushed to the sea collectively and plundered everything they could see, touch and eat.

Roosevelt ate briefly and fell asleep next to the campfire.

Then he had a night he would never forget.

Various unnamed insects flew out of the jungle and grass.

Roosevelt, who was so knowledgeable, couldn't pronounce their names.

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

A bug crawled down Roosevelt's collar and into his clothes.

Roosevelt, who was still asleep, sat up suddenly.

Because he felt the intruder scurrying through the space between his skin and his clothes.

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

That damn bug flew to nowhere.

Roosevelt stripped naked and put on his clothes again.

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

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

Roosevelt, still frightened, sat by the campfire until dawn.

Many soldiers were bitten with bruises on their noses and faces, and had big bumps on their bodies.

This is the first gift that the island nation of Cuba has given these soldiers.

The sun has risen.

Roosevelt received both good news and bad news.

The good news is they saw horses.

A cavalry troop came in their direction along the coast.

This is a transport team.

The equipment and supplies that Roosevelt had been longing for arrived.

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

And after counting the supplies, Roosevelt discovered that only part of the stuff had arrived.

The transport troops had mistakenly landed at the wrong place.