Super Chief - Chapter 730

The Battle of San Luis Potosí only slightly hindered the Grizzly’s Eastern Route. Only twelve hapless Grizzly soldiers were injured by stray bullets during the offensive. The other Grizzlies were intact.

　　 Well, the only thing that consumes a lot is the ammunition of the two divisional artillery regiments.

But it doesn’t matter. As the Grim Bear Army continues to deepen south, the 22 armed merchant ships that originally led the five regiments of the First Division of the Grim Bear Army to conquer the West Indies have returned to New Orleans, and where did they supplement it? A large amount of supplies set sail again, from New Orleans in the north of the Gulf of Mexico straight into the west of the Gulf.

　　 Now this fleet has arrived at the port city of Tampico on the east coast of the Governorate of New Spain. The soldiers from the three regiments of the Fifth Division of the Grim Bear Army who came with the ship have already knocked down the port city.

　　 Now the three regiments of the Fifth Division are escorting a convoy with many supplies to San Luis Potosí. Therefore, the East Route Army led by Kuaima didn’t worry about supplies at all.

　　Speaking of this, I have to mention the seven Cherokee-class battleships that attacked the West Indies and the five regiments of the First Division of the Grim Bear Army.

The fleet and the five regiments of the First Division also set off in New Orleans. After they sailed for a thousand kilometers at sea, they landed on Cuba, the largest island in the West Indies. The specific landing site is the largest island of Cuba. The city of Havana (homonym)…

　　 was discovered as early as 1492 when Columbus crossed the Atlantic for the first time. The Spanish began an expedition to the island of Cuba in 1510 and established the first town of Santiago on the island of Cuba in early 1514. And Santiago was once the capital of the island of Cuba.

　　 Later in the same year, the Spaniards established the second town of Havana on the island of Cuba on the territory of the local Indian chief, Havaguanex. However, the town of Havana was built in a swamp, where the climate is hot and humid, mosquitoes are rampant, and diseases are spreading, making it unsuitable for human life.

　　 So in 1517, the town of Havana moved to the Almendares River on the northern coast, and later, it expanded eastward to the Gulf of Havana.

　　 Havana Bay is one of the largest natural harbors in the world during the great nautical era, which can accommodate more than one thousand sailboats.

The unique location of this port and the direction of the Atlantic wind make it an ideal gathering place for Spanish galleons, which set off from the east coast of Mexico and Peru, carrying gold and silver mined from the Americas and cargo from Asia back to Canada. In the port of Dish, a large amount of wealth will be transferred in this port, so it has been attacked by British and French pirates many times in history.

　　 So the Spanish government was convinced that the defense of this place should be strengthened. Even in the eighteenth century, Havana was one of the few towns in the entire Caribbean where the city was completely protected by the walls.

　　 Yes, Havana is now a super huge fortress city, the whole city is surrounded by tall walls.

　　 And in the Gulf of Havana, the Kingdom of Spain even deployed a permanent “upwind team” stationed here to protect the safety of Havana.

　　Havana is extremely important to Spain, and its importance is no longer even lower than that of Mexico.

　　 Although tropical diseases are rampant, Cuba’s fertile soil and suitable climate make it an important tobacco and sugar production area, especially the profit of tobacco.

According to statistics, from the beginning of the year, tobacco can bring a profit of 7 million to 10 million pesos to the Spanish government at that time, of which 6 to 9 million are royal profits, accounting for more than a quarter of Spain’s fiscal revenue. . This is enough to cover the cost of defending the island of Cuba or running the entire Spanish navy, which is equivalent to one-fifth of the value of silver mines in Peru or Mexico.

　　 And Cuban Island can not only produce huge tobacco profits, Cuban cedar is a better shipbuilding material than European oak. In 1735, the Spanish government built the Royal Astrillo Shipyard in Havana. Then, of the 227 sailing battleships built in Spain throughout the eighteenth century, about one-third of the battleships came from the shipyard’s berth. The water…

　　 And Havana is also the base of the Spanish privateer fleet and the famous Coast Guard, guarding the throat of the entire Caribbean region.

　　 Later in the Seven Years’ War, the British occupied the island of Cuba. But after the Seven Years’ War ended, for the sake of Cuba, the Spaniards did not hesitate to trade the island of Cuba from the British at the expense of Florida…

　　The importance of the island of Cuba or Havana to the Kingdom of Spain is evident.

　　 Now that the empire wants to capture the Caribbean, Havana is the first to be destroyed.

　　Whether it is the Spanish Upwind Fleet, the Privateer Fleet, or the Coast Guard here, as long as these warships are killed, Spain will become a toothless tiger.

　　 Of course, for the Imperial Fleet, the main opponent is the Upwind Fleet that has been stationed in the Gulf of Havana for a long time.

This fleet has one heavyweight first-class sailing battleship, and four second-class battleships, 22 third-class battleships, and cruisers and other auxiliary ships. The upwind fleet has as many as seventy. Four warships ~www.mtlnovel.com~ Compared with the large number of warships of the Upwind Fleet, the Great China Empire Fleet with only seven warships is simply not on the table.

　　The naval battle that took place in the north of Havana, but all the Spaniards who paid attention to the naval battle were shocked.

　　 The Upwind Fleet is definitely the ace fleet of the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Spain. If you include the privateers and the warships of the Coast Guard, the number of Spanish warships participating in this naval battle exceeds 120.

　　 But it is these more than one hundred and twenty sailing warships. When facing the Great China Imperial Navy fleet with only seven ships, they were still beaten up and down.

　　 How big is the gap between the sail battleship and the steel battleship? Take a look at the gap between the naval guns on the sailing battleships of this era and the 122 mm twin main guns on the Cherokee class of the Great China Empire.

　　 “Truth only exists within the range of naval guns”, Shi Xiong forgot who said this sentence, but there is no doubt that this sentence really embodies its meaning in this era.

　　 Cherokee-class battleship’s 122 mm twin main gun has an effective range of up to 12 kilometers, and its maximum speed has reached a speed of 15 knots. The Spanish Royal Fleet has a large number of warships, but the large number is a shit!

　　 A hundred ants can never beat an anteater…

　　 Okay, that’s what it actually means. If you compare the Spanish Royal Navy’s fleet to ants, then the Majestic Imperial Navy’s fleet is an anteater…