American Strategic Deception Bureau

　Flying under the command of Chilean volunteer pilot Jacques Lagasse, a surprise attack was launched on the rebel beachhead outside Trinidad.

　Initially mistaken for a friendly aircraft, Jacques Lagasse successfully piloted his plane to the beachhead and bombed and strafed the mercenaries, causing heavy casualties. However, after dropping his bombs, this final B-26 was unfortunately encountered by a rebel P-51 fighter and was eventually shot down.

　In addition to the last bomber of the Air Force, Castro also dispatched the last large ship of the Cuban Navy, the frigate "El Bel", and ordered the ship to set sail to attack the Trinidad landing site and destroy enemy transport ships and military supplies piled up on the landing site.

　Under the strict order, the frigate "Elbel" had no choice but to leave the temporary anchorage of Youth Island and sail towards Trinidad Port, planning to break into the landing site at night, use the cover of darkness to disrupt the enemy's landing work as much as possible, and then strike and leave, quickly hiding back in its own port.

　But the problem was that this lonely Cuban frigate was soon discovered by the reconnaissance aircraft of the US Navy aircraft carrier, and then the CIA was informed.

　At 5:00 PM, four B-26 Invader bombers and six P-51 fighters arrived over the frigate Elbel and began a dive-bombing attack. After a half-hour battle, the rebels lost one bomber and one fighter. However, the frigate Elbel also sank into the sea.

　On the morning of January 7, the 2506th Brigade, led by Brigadier General San Roman, comprised approximately 4000 mercenaries and had all landed. Immediately, he led his entire force in an attack, slowly bypassing the heavily defended Port of Casilda and heading towards Trinidad, six kilometers from the coastline.

　Hundreds of Cuban militiamen harassed the guerrillas along the way, trying to slow down the rebels' advance, but they were easily defeated by the rebels.

　At 8 a.m., a T-54 tank regiment and three motorized infantry regiments led by Che Guevara, commander of the Central Theater Command, arrived in a valley 20 kilometers from Trinidad. In order to save time, he requisitioned all the trucks and buses he could find and let the soldiers move forward.

　In addition to the regular army, there were also some Soviet reinforcements who volunteered to join the war, as well as Cuban militia and police, who also followed behind.

　As expected, this unobstructed, bloated, and slow-moving convoy was spotted by reconnaissance aircraft. Immediately, the rebels assembled 16 B-26 Invader bombers and 20 P-51 fighters and launched an airstrike against Che Guevara's reinforcements. The bombardment, napalm, and rockets destroyed nearly all of the custom-made flatbed trucks carrying the tanks and armored vehicles, resulting in heavy losses of both equipment and personnel.

　But after the air raid, Che Guevara managed to boost everyone's morale and led the fearless Cubans to push the damaged vehicles off the road, regroup the remaining troops, leave some people to treat the wounded, and finally gather 5000 people to re-form a team and continue to advance towards the battlefield on foot.

　They first advanced into the Los Inhainhos Valley, expelled the few remaining rebel paratroopers and counter-revolutionaries from the Isnaca estate, and re-raised the red flag atop the 45-meter-high "Slave Tower," built in 1816 to monitor slaves and prevent their escape.

　Immediately afterwards, this support force and the main force of the 2506th Brigade of the rebels arrived in Trinidad City almost at the same time, and fierce fighting broke out.

　The two sides fought from noon until dusk, and both the Cuban militia and regular army, as well as the Soviet officers and soldiers supporting Cuba, showed great courage. Che Guevara even personally led an anti-tank squad, carrying RPGs to attack the rebel tanks and armored vehicles.

　However, because the rebels gained air superiority, occupied the airport outside Trinidad, and seized a batch of aviation gasoline that the defenders had forgotten to destroy, the rebels' P-51 fighter jets were soon able to take off and land directly at the Trinidad airport, providing air fire cover for the ground troops at any time.

　Faced with relentless bombing and aerial strafing, the tenacious Cuban soldiers were ultimately unable to hold out in the field. The T-54 tanks that had finally reached the battlefield were nearly completely destroyed. Che Guevara and his remaining troops retreated into Trinidad, using buildings and makeshift barricades to continue their desperate resistance. Simultaneously, they imitated the Vietnamese forces during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, setting up Katyusha rocket launchers and bombarding the airfield outside the city in an attempt to disrupt enemy aircraft takeoffs and landings.

　Unfortunately, the Cubans’ opponent this time was not the timid Gallic rooster, but the strong and powerful Uncle Sam.

　But the battlefield is right on Uncle Sam's doorstep, so logistics and supplies are guaranteed, and the Pentagon doesn't have to worry about the "tyranny of distance" at all.

　What's worse is that the Guantanamo Bay firefight two days ago was just an accidental shooting.

　So, next, Uncle Sam is about to take his leave!

　On the night of January 7, Brigadier General San Roman and Team Leader Esterline interrogated Soviet prisoners of war captured at the front. Overjoyed, they immediately airlifted these prisoners and the bodies of several Soviet soldiers killed in the attack to Florida as irrefutable evidence of Soviet interference in the Cuban Civil War.

　At this point, Operation Tropic Thunder was officially upgraded, from a proxy war supported by the United States and the Soviet Union to a direct collision between the two armies!

　On January 8, President Kennedy delivered an important speech at the White House, accusing the Soviet Union of directly sending troops to intervene in the Cuban Civil War and brutally interfering in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere, which seriously violated the "Monroe Doctrine" concept that the United States has always upheld - America can only be the America of Americans!

　As a reciprocal retaliation for this provocation from the Soviet Union, the US military will respond to the "warm invitation" of Cuban "free democrats" and formally send troops to Cuba to eradicate the Cuban communists who "invited the wolf into the house", rebuild local social order, and defend the cause of freedom and democracy in the Americas!

　——In short, it can be summed up in one sentence: the Soviet army has the courage to come to Cuba, so the US military naturally has to go in and play around!

　Why was the Soviet Union able to send troops to intervene in the Cuban War while the US military could only watch from the outside?

　If the White House does not take action to assert its authority in the face of such aggressive behavior as Castro and Khrushchev, then it will lose face as the boss!

　The Russian polar bear has stretched its paw into the Caribbean Sea, and the American bald eagle will chop it off at all costs!

　International public opinion was in an uproar over the above-mentioned breaking news. Some were stunned, some were worried, and some media reporters who were eager to see the world in chaos even hyped it up, describing the matter as if the Cold War was about to turn into a hot war and that World War III was about to break out.

　At the United Nations General Assembly, the United States and the Soviet Union, as usual, engaged in verbal sparring and tensions.

　Fortunately, neither the United States nor the Soviet Union seemed ready to declare war on each other over Cuba.

　On that day, B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers taking off from Florida and carrier-based aircraft taking off from US aircraft carriers took turns bombing Trinidad's defensive positions, as well as dozens of surrounding Cuban villages and towns and ground targets of "suspected military camps."

　In just one day, the US military dropped 2,000 tons of bombs on Cuba, and the intensity of the bombing was far greater than the rebels' air strikes on the first day.

　Black smoke billowed and flames shot into the sky in Havana, the Cuban capital. Entire neighborhoods were razed to the ground, almost resembling the bombed Tokyo and Dresden of World War II. Even the Hilton Hotel, which Castro had temporarily requisitioned as his office, was destroyed in the air raid. Castro, who narrowly escaped death, retreated to a sturdy wine cellar, where he commanded the entire military and civilian population by candlelight to persevere in the resistance.

　Che Guevara, who was trapped in the city of Trinidad, was badly burned. Half of the people in his command center were burned to death by incendiary bombs. Many of his troops simply blew up their camps and dispersed, and fled in a panic before the rebels surrounded the city.

　Cuban reinforcements from other regions rushed to the Trinidad battlefield and were also bombarded by the US Air Force. Vehicles, tanks, armored vehicles and artillery became targets on the road. Many people began to hesitate and dared not move forward.

　On the same day, the U.S. Navy, which had been patrolling and waiting in the waters south of Cuba for a long time, finally obtained approval from President Kennedy and quickly sailed to the beach near Trinidad, and then began to let the Marines land to participate in the war.

　——In order to express its importance to Castro and the Soviet reinforcements, the Pentagon specially dispatched the ace troops of the US Marine Corps this time, the 1st Marine Division, which once fought against the Japanese devils in the tropical rain forest of Guadalcanal Island and fought against the Chinese Volunteer Army in the wind and snow of Changjin Lake!

　On the morning of January 9, the vanguard armored forces of the 1st Marine Division arrived at the airport outside Trinidad. Together with the mercenaries of the 2506th Brigade, they launched a tentative attack towards the city.

　As a result, the tanks with the American flag on their backs rumbled through the rubble-strewn streets and entered the palm-tree-fringed Plaza Mayor in the city center, almost without any resistance. Che Guevara and his troops had already quietly retreated overnight a few hours earlier.

　Next, the 1st Marine Division easily captured the entire Los Inhainhos Valley and sent people to climb the Slave Tower of Isnaca Manor, pulled down the red flag on the top of the tower and replaced it with the American Flag.

　By this point, the only person left on the entire Trinidad battlefield was Major Juan Almeida Bosque of Puerto Casilda, who was trapped in the coastal fortifications with two battalions of Cuban soldiers. But the situation was hopeless, and defeat was imminent.

　However, no one expected that they actually had a weapon of mass destruction that could shake the world...

　Mercenaries also have political commissars?

　Then who can tell me why the US Secretary of Foreign Affairs is not called the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but is uniquely called the Secretary of State?

　This is how many things are. Even though they are completely irrational, they still happen - no matter how many people shout "it's illogical".

　——Just like before Wu Zetian became emperor, the Chinese probably could not imagine that there were concubines left over from the previous emperor, who had already become nuns, but could return to the palace to become the empress of the new emperor, and then even change the dynasty and become a female emperor.

　Is this process reasonable? Not at all! But Wu Zetian still became the empress!

　Therefore, there is nothing reasonable or unreasonable about the fact that there are political commissars among the CIA's private soldiers. It is just a fact.

　Anyway, the political ideology they are pursuing is definitely not the Soviet Bolshevik type, but American liberalism.

　In short, these "counter-revolutionaries" gathered here today to establish a provisional government of "Free Cuba" in the Isnaca estate.

　Although the "joint counter-revolutionary forces" of the rebels and the US military had completely occupied Trinidad, days of relentless bombing and arson had left this historic colonial city in ruins, a scene of devastation beyond recognition.

　The famous Kant Palace in the city was hit by napalm bombs dropped by American bombers and burned as black as the White House in the United States, which was set on fire by the British during the War of 1812. There was no one to paint it in a short time.

　Even the rotting corpses scattered on the streets and squares had not yet been collected, attracting countless flies and emitting a foul stench.

　In contrast, at the Isnaca estate in the Los Inhainhos Valley (Sugar Valley), although gun battles between rebel paratroopers and Cuban militias occurred, the intensity of the fighting was much lower, with neither side using heavy weapons or engaging in fierce attacks and defenses, rather than engaging in quick-fire attacks and retreats.

　Therefore, apart from a few bullet holes on the wall, the magnificent villas and buildings in the manor are all well preserved.

　Now, with a little cleaning and a few flags hung up, it can serve as the headquarters of the "Free Cuba" provisional government.

　After getting off the helicopter, as usual, everyone first boasted about their business to each other, and then told the reporters who came to interview them a bunch of "excellent situation" such as "the Cuban national rebel army is rising up", "the freedom-loving Cuban people welcome the American flag", and "the national liberation is imminent".

　Commissar Manuel Artime, known for his eloquence, even boasted before reporters from CNN, the BBC, and the New York Times. The 2506th Brigade and the participating US Marines had only captured a small city and a few towns, but he made it sound as if they had already won victory in "one or several provinces" and were about to sweep across the island, reach Havana, and hang Castro.

　Of course, in addition to the aforementioned enthusiastic yet empty rhetoric, Brigadier General San Roman, the mercenary commander, also revealed some information to the reporters at Estelline's suggestion: in addition to the news of the US military's victory in capturing Trinidad yesterday, a naval battle had also broken out in the Caribbean Sea!

　——When President Kennedy officially announced the dispatch of US troops to intervene in the "Cuban Civil War", Castro knew that it was time to fight to the death!

　Khrushchev, who was far away in Moscow, also realized that his plan of "maximum pressure" on the United States had failed.

　The Soviet army, now trapped on the island of Cuba, had no choice but to either surrender without resistance and become a laughingstock to the world, or fight to the bitter end alongside Castro's army. Even if they were defeated, they would make the United States pay a price.

　So, after a day of intense meetings, Khrushchev and the Kremlin Politburo finally decided: Fight!

　Although the polar bear is always timid and powerful, whenever it comes to a head-on confrontation with the Americans, it always becomes weak and timid.

　Well, that was the case when the Greek Civil War broke out, and it was also the case when the Korean War broke out.

　But... Cuba's Castro and his Latin American brothers were still fighting, so how could the Soviet army take the lead in surrendering?

　Facing the offensive of the US military, even if the Soviet troops already on the island of Cuba were completely annihilated, it would be much better than surrendering without a fight!

　Otherwise, once this example of surrender without fighting is set, the international impact will be too bad!

　There is a saying that goes "If you can't open the door with one punch, you'll be greeted by a hundred punches." The opposite meaning is "If you can't open the door with one punch, you'll be greeted by a hundred punches."

　——The more you fear war, the more likely war will come to you!

　Now that the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union is intensifying, as the leader of the socialist camp, the Soviet Union cannot openly show weakness in front of the United States.

　After all, from the perspective of comprehensive national strength, the Soviet Union was clearly at a disadvantage. Not only was the Red Flag sweeping the world, but even the foundations of Eastern Europe were quite unstable. Not to mention the Hungarian incident a few years ago and the newly erected Berlin Wall, even the Czech Republic had recently shown some ominous signs.

　In such a precarious situation, no matter how much the Kremlin fears a head-on confrontation with the United States, it can only grit its teeth and fight to the end!

　——A tyrannical and brutal villain can still make people feel awe in addition to hatred; but a cowardly and bad softie can only make people despise him.

　In this way, two "Mosquito" class missile boats piloted by Soviet sailors launched an attack on the evening of January 9.

　With the cover of dusk, it sailed out of the bombed-out Cienfuegos Naval Base and quietly entered the Caribbean Sea, ready to wait for an opportunity to attack the US Navy and transport fleet at sea.

　Then, at around 8 o'clock that evening, the "Mosquito" class missile boat team encountered the "Mera" frigate hired by the 2506th Brigade and a merchant ship transporting ammunition and supplies to the mercenaries, and immediately launched all four "Styx" missiles they carried.

　The frigate, originally part of the Dominican Navy, was old, outdated, and staffed by poorly trained sailors. It was completely unaware of the Soviet missile boats that had already approached. Even after the enemy launched missiles, the Dominican sailors on the frigate stared at the smoke and flames in the distance, bewildered. They then mistook the missiles for American jets and ignored them.

　Since anti-ship missiles had not yet been used in naval combat, the sailors and officers on the Mera frigate had no idea that the "small planes" trailing flames at an altitude of 300 meters were not actually planes, but deadly anti-ship missiles!

　Unprepared for the situation, the hapless frigate Mera was hit by three Styx missiles within a minute, shattering it to pieces and breaking its keel. It lasted only three minutes before flooding and sinking, killing over 80% of the crew.

　On the other hand, the merchant ship, though also hit by a Styx missile, had already unloaded its cargo at the landing site and was returning empty, carrying no flammable or explosive materials. So, only a large hole was blown in the deck, and the merchant ship itself managed to escape.

　However, the two Mosquito-class missile boats that sank the Mera did not enjoy their success for long. On their way back, they were detected by the radar of a US destroyer. They then encountered attack aircraft from the USS Essex carrier battle group, and both boats were sunk.

　In retaliation, on the morning of January 10th, a massive US B-52 strategic bomber group, once again departing from a military airfield in Florida, carpet-bombed the Cuban Navy's Cienfuegos Naval Base, dropping 1100 tons of bombs and incendiary bombs. The resulting eruption, like a volcanic eruption, sent billowing smoke and towering flames soaring into the sky that they still burn. This essentially destroyed any function of the base as a military base.

　According to the latest joint Pentagon and CIA report, from now on, "The Cuban Communists no longer have a navy!"

　In addition to the naval battles in the Caribbean, the US military also made progress in other battlefields on the island of Cuba. For example, US Marines stationed at Guantanamo Bay entered the city of Guantanamo Bay, 15 kilometers from the base, and defeated the Cuban border brigade and Soviet heavy rocket artillery regiment stationed there.

　The 1st Marine Division of the US Army in Trinidad, after a short rest, has resumed operations today, launching a final mopping-up operation against the few remaining communist elements entrenched in Port Casilda and defending the coastal defense fortress. I believe that new victory news will be received soon.

　By this point, the US military had deployed two divisions to the Cuban battlefield. At the same time, the US Atlantic Fleet implemented an isolation blockade on Cuba and successfully expelled a Soviet merchant fleet attempting to reach Cuba, cutting off the last bit of foreign aid that the Castro regime could rely on.

　A short-lived red Cuba seems to be coming to an end under the iron fist of Uncle Sam?

　In the end, these exiled politicians and military officers from the old Cuban regime had to hold a meeting in a serious manner, discuss the matter seriously, and then vote and pass the bill unanimously.

　After announcing the establishment of the provisional government, the leaders of the "Returning Home Group" chatted and laughed as they entered the pre-arranged meeting room at the Isnaka Manor Villa. Naturally, Estelline, the chief advisor, followed them to attend the meeting.

　Although Estelline, a veteran CIA spy, had habitually remained silent throughout the interviews with international journalists, he looked back at the flagpole erected at the entrance of the manor, where the American Stars and Stripes, the Cuban flag, and the blue and yellow flag of the 2506th Brigade fluttered. He, who considered himself the chief contributor, could not help but feel a surge of emotion, his mind racing with thoughts.

　The outcome is set! When the Castro regime in Cuba falls, he will truly become the "Conqueror of Three Countries"!

　As a mere spy, he commanded troops to travel across America, conquer various countries, dominate the South China Sea, and confront the Soviet Union... What a heroic legend!

　(In the first half of the 20th century, Americans also referred to the Caribbean Sea as the "South Sea.")

　Although it is a bit of a letdown, the three countries he has defeated in the past few years, whether Cuba, the Dominican Republic or Nicaragua, are all small, obscure Central American countries with limited international recognition... But no matter what, victory is victory after all!

　At least it was better than when he was at the "Sino-American Cooperation Office" in Chongqing's Baigongguan, watching the red flag sweep across China but being unable to do anything...

　With this achievement, Estelion believed that he was worthy of being recorded in history, respected by his colleagues and juniors, and made his descendants proud!

　Well, it seems that it is too early to be happy. The Cuban Communists have not yet been wiped out, Castro is still resisting, and his mission has not yet been completed.

　He still had to continue working hard, recruiting defectors in Cuba and assisting the US military in pacifying this Caribbean sugar island as soon as possible.

　Although different from the situation after conquering the Dominican Republic, where the CIA made a fortune and he himself became rich overnight, the CIA probably won't make much money on the Cuban battlefield except for gaining credit, but there is nothing that can be done about it.

　After all, the CIA relies on the Pentagon for 80% of its funding, leaving only 20% in its own independent budget. The CIA simply can't afford to take more than it deserves, and steal too much from the military.

　So, let’s put aside those unnecessary thoughts for the time being and concentrate on taking back Cuba, the sugar island, as a New Year’s gift to the American people!

　He thought so, maintaining a rare sense of impartiality, while speaking eloquently at the conference hall: "As everyone knows, America belongs to the Americans. This has been an indisputable truth since the beginning of the 20th century! Any Old World hegemony that attempts to interfere with the New World will inevitably be thwarted! Any American regime that wants to introduce external forces will inevitably be punished by God!

　Our United States will not be intimidated by certain evil forces that rebel against God and infringe upon freedom, nor will it be deceived by any cunning liars with sweet words! These red elements who are trying to deprive the American people of their freedom and human rights will eventually be eradicated by all freedom-loving and righteous people!

　However, what Esteline didn't know was that the New Year's gift he was about to give to the American people was much more than just an island of Cuba.

　But it's much more explosive...

　-

　Six kilometers south of Trinidad City, Porto Casilda (also known as Trinidad Port)

　This once-famous "sugar port" of the 19th-century Caribbean, built on the sugar trade and the importation of black slaves, now lay in ruins and devastation. The pier's cranes and lighthouses collapsed into twisted scrap metal, and the tarred piers burned to nothing but wooden piles.

　A "Mosquito" class missile boat that had been anchored here before the war, two Soviet merchant ships loaded with Cuban sugar, and some small Cuban patrol boats were all burned into charred iron hulls, with masts collapsed and sides broken, sitting crookedly in the turbid sea water in the harbor.

　But amidst this horrific pile of rubble, a square reinforced concrete fortress still stands stubbornly.

　This is the Casilda Port coastal defense fortress built by the Soviet Union for Cuba. The main structure was modeled after the anti-aircraft tower built by Germany during World War II. The reinforced concrete walls are two meters thick, and key parts are reinforced with armored steel. It is like a huge safe, enough to block any artillery shells and most missile bombardments.

　Large-caliber coastal defense artillery and anti-aircraft guns were installed in the fortress, which was surrounded by bunkers and communication trenches. The trenches were covered with wood and corrugated iron sheets, and then filled with sand or soil. A total of more than 12 7mm anti-aircraft machine guns were deployed, which could fire into the air or fire horizontally.

　Whether attacking this fortress from the sea, land or air, one would be subjected to crossfire and pay a heavy price.

　Fortunately, no matter how strong and powerful the fortress was, it was not going to run away. Therefore, when the 2560th Brigade landed, they decisively bypassed the fortress and abandoned the plan to storm the port. Instead, they landed from other beaches and then attacked Trinidad from a roundabout way.

　The 1st Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps, which landed later, also chose to avoid the strong and attack the weak, avoiding the tough fortresses and going ashore to attack inland.

　Major Juan Almeida Bosque of the Cuban Revolutionary Army, stationed in the fort, could only stare helplessly at the cunning enemy who didn't come charging towards him. By this point in the battle, he only had about a thousand men left. If he had stayed in the fortifications and defended them, perhaps one man could have been used as several, at least preventing the enemy from immediately using the deepwater port.

　But if he rashly left the cover of the permanent fortifications and exposed himself in the wilderness, then the fortress defense team in his hands would immediately become a target for the US Air Force and Naval Aviation, and it would only take a few minutes for them to be bombed to collapse.