Reborn American Giants

While the U.S. military was landing at Pearl Airport, in the southern theater, the leading force of about 700 people from 2 mobile battalions of the 75th U.S. Army Ranger Regiment took 18 C-130 transport aircraft and flew under the ac-130e aerial gunship.

Under cover, it took off from Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia, and after two in-flight refuelings, it passed over the Caribbean Sea at low altitude and went straight to Sahlins Airport on the southwest tip of Pogo Island, where it was ready to land.

Similarly, before the parachute drop, the A-6 Intruder and A-7 Corsair attack aircraft that took off from the USS Independence carried out aviation firepower preparations against the defenders of the airport, but at this moment most of the defenders at the airport were moving from the beachhead position

On the way back to the airport, they were lucky enough to escape the first wave of bombings. As a result, the US military estimated before the war that 70% of the guard force at Salins Airport would "disappear" in the first wave of air strikes.

, and caused the US military to suffer greatly in the subsequent battle.

The people guarding Salins Airport are not the newly formed and poorly trained "baby troops" of Grenada's People's Revolutionary Army. They are mainly composed of the "engineering battalion" sent by Cuba to Grenada to build the airport. They are said to be engineering troops, but in fact they are not.

It's just a statement to the outside world. This army

In fact, it is an elite force in Cuba, especially one filled with a large number of various military instructors. In addition to the emergency construction of Salins Airport, its original responsibilities are also responsible for arming and training the "People's Revolutionary Army" of Grenada.

Therefore, it has strong combat effectiveness.

The U.S. military's aviation firepower preparations were carried out for about half an hour. At 5:40, when the first AC-130 gunship appeared in the sky over Salins Airport, they observed the defenders' vehicles and various obstacles at the airport.

The airport has been sealed and it is impossible to land the transport plane again.

Lieutenant General Metcalfe, the frontline commander who directed this operation on the Guam, could only order the cancellation of the originally prepared airdrop and let the 700 Army Rangers in the C-130 transport aircraft carry out an emergency parachute drop.

The first attack plan for Lins Airport was forced to change.

When a C-130 transport plane loaded with U.S. paratroopers appeared in the sky above Salins Airport, the Cuban soldiers returning from the beachhead also happened to enter the defensive position of the airport.

Colonel Tortolo watched the white umbrella flowers appear in the sky and slowly fall from the sky. He commanded his soldiers to immediately enter the positions around the airport and aim the zu-23mm anti-aircraft cannon and anti-aircraft machine guns.

US military transport plane in the sky.

The U.S. military's C-130 transport aircraft entered the airfield in a two-plane formation. The lead aircraft was piloted by the squadron commander, Lieutenant Colonel James Hobson. When the aircraft descended to an airborne altitude of 400 meters, fierce artillery fire from the defenders struck. Lieutenant Colonel James Hobson

The transport plane behind the school quickly opened its door, allowing the rangers on board to jump out, and a little umbrella flowers began to appear in the sky.

Lieutenant Colonel James was about to open the hatch in the belly of the aircraft, but fierce artillery fire from the defenders rang out. Tracer bullets from the 23mm anti-aircraft cannon flashed through the window from time to time and exploded in the air at close range of the transport aircraft. A piece of shrapnel shattered the machine on the side of the cab.

The windowpane was opened, and fierce winds instantly poured into the narrow cab. For a while, even the flight logs that were recorded were flying around in the air.

Lieutenant Colonel James put down the windshield on his head and opened his eyes. He turned on the intercom in the plane. Soon, the captain's slightly hoarse voice reached the ears of the rangers in the cabin.

"Gentlemen, I think we are in trouble. There will be some bumps in the next trip. Please hold on to the fixed objects nearby. This is a kind reminder from the captain."

"Damn it..." the Rangers in the belly of the plane cursed. Some of them made the sign of the cross and silently prayed to God that the iron coffin carrying them could avoid the enemy's artillery fire and successfully jump out.

, some closed their eyes tightly, waiting for their final fate, while others were so frightened that they burst into tears listening to the 23mm anti-aircraft shells exploding nearby through the roar of aircraft engines.

Lieutenant Colonel James had no time to let the Rangers on board jump out. He could only swing the control stick and let the transport plane take off to avoid the enemy's artillery fire. Seeing that the airborne troops were suppressed by the enemy's anti-aircraft firepower, he did not dare to lower the altitude for a while.

Can hover over the airport, parachute cannot be carried out, an escorting ah-64 Apache

The armed helicopter rushed towards an anti-aircraft artillery position at the southern end of the airport. After firing several rockets, it destroyed the air defense position. Before it could climb up to avoid it, the anti-aircraft artillery fire of the Cuban defenders had already gathered on it. This ah-64 was in

The mid-air explosion became the first aircraft to crash in this US military operation.

Lieutenant Colonel James clearly saw the fate of the Apache through the side window. While controlling the plane, he pressed his throat intercom to contact the air command behind, "Bird's Nest,

Bird's Nest, c1 call."

"c1, the bird's nest hears it, the bird's nest hears it."

"The enemy's firepower was too dense, so I decided to lower the airborne altitude and asked for permission."

"..."

There was no response from the intercom for the time being. Lieutenant Colonel James looked at the nearly 100 Rangers who landed in the first batch and were being suppressed by Cuban firepower and unable to raise their heads at the airport. If support was not received in time, they would be destroyed in minutes.

The Cubans were wiped out,

The two AC-130 gunships in the distance were knocking out the Cuban anti-aircraft gun positions point by point, but this time was too slow. When the gunships cleared the airdrop channel, the first batch of Rangers on the airport

It has already been wiped out.

Lieutenant Colonel James decided not to wait any longer. He pushed the joystick in his hand, and the C-130 transport plane drew a straight line and roared towards the airport, 900 meters, 800 meters, 700 meters,... 200 meters.

It was time. Lieutenant Colonel James pressed the opening button of the hatch. Amidst a "rumbling" sound, the hatch in the belly of the huge C-130 slowly opened. At the same time, he picked up the call on the plane.

Qi, roared: "go...go...go..."

In the cabin, Captain Alex, the commander of this team of Rangers, saw the cabin door open. He stood up, roared for his brothers to get ready, and smiled and patted their helmets one by one, waiting until the cabin door opened.

The door was fully opened, and the roar of the captain, Lieutenant Colonel James, "gogogo" rang in his ears. According to the rules of paratroopers, the officer was the first to jump out of the door, and the last one to leave the ground. He jumped out of the cabin facing the cannon fire in the sky.

The height of the C-130 is only about 150 meters, and it only takes about 10 seconds from leaving the cabin to landing. When Captain Alex's feet landed on the ground, he unbuckled the umbrella around his waist.

He picked up the rifle in his hand and lowered his body. At the same time, he called to the soldiers who landed behind him and guided them towards the airport defender's position...

Lieutenant Colonel James and Captain Alex did not know that they had already created a history, that is, the lowest parachute record of the US military since World War II. As the plane piloted by Lieutenant Colonel James successfully airborne, the transport aircraft behind them followed suit and followed suit.

With one end facing the artillery fire of the Cuban defenders, the other end lowered to a height of 150 meters and opened the hatch, releasing the mounted Rangers.

The Cubans were stunned by this scene. They never imagined that the US military would dare to parachute at such a low altitude. This was not parachuting, it was simply jumping off a building. The time was too short to aim, so their artillery fire had no effect on the parachuting Rangers.

No matter how much damage was done, except for some unlucky guys, the Cuban artillery fire had little effect except leaving dense bullet holes in the parachutes of the American paratroopers.

While Cuban artillery fire was dealing with the paratroopers in the air, Captain Alex joined the first batch of landing Rangers, quickly left the empty airport runway, seized the surrounding airport buildings, and then launched an attack on the Cubans.

launched a fierce attack, reversing the bad situation faced by the US military in one fell swoop.

At 7:15 in the morning, after fierce fighting, the US military basically took control of Salins Airport and quickly cleared the obstacles on the airport runway. Two battalions of the 82nd Airborne Division and multinational police forces, a total of about 1,500 people, followed.

at the airport

The landing was successful and the battle was immediately launched. On the 25th, the air landing operation at Salins Airport was in progress, and the next day two battalions of the 82nd Airborne Division were airborne, making the U.S. military

The military strength on Ge Island has been greatly enhanced.

With the fall of Pearl Airport and Salins Airport, the outcome of the Battle of Cuba has been basically determined. The U.S. military can obtain a steady stream of reinforcements and supplements through the airport. Faced with this situation, Colonel Tortolo urgently launched an offensive into Cuba.

I sent a telegram requesting reinforcements, but Castro’s reply only contained six words: We must hold our ground.

At the same time, there was also a "promotion order" promoting Colonel Tortolo to major general, but there was no mention of reinforcements. Colonel Tortolo understood that he no longer needed to count on reinforcements from Cuba, and at the same time he had to die in the battle.

On the island of Cuba, after the establishment of the communist republic in Cuba, there has never been a captured general.

In the one-day battle on the 25th, the US military lost 28 people, 93 were injured, 24 were missing, and lost 6 helicopters. The casualties in Grenada were: 45 people died and 337 people were injured, 24 of whom were civilians. Cuba

64 people were killed, 112 were injured, and 324 were captured.