Chapter 1215: Chapter 592: Annihilation of the 1st Cavalry Division! (Part 2)

With his departure…

It was as if a path opened up straight to the chest. Goodrian, known for his expertise in blitzkrieg and armored warfare, certainly wouldn’t pass up this timing. If they waited for the follow-up troops to arrive, the opportunity would be gone.

With his order issued.

More than 80 aircraft from the air forces in the eastern and northern theaters swiftly took to the skies. The first guard division in the eastern theater, with 421 armored vehicles of various types, charged towards Las Cruces in New Mexico!

Over there in Mexico, the 336th Army’s two divisions were still blockading them.

Additionally, Major General Walter von Brauchitsch was there. Mexico hasn’t lost a single officer yet, and if they sacrificed one, it would be a major blow to morale.

Therefore, when the 82nd Airborne Division opened up a path, the main force quickly launched an assault!!

But this trapped the US Army’s 1st Cavalry Division’s two armored brigades. After occupying Las Cruces, Admiral Frederick Franks ordered them to establish a second line of defense here, blocking two of Mexico’s divisions from retreating. Relying on heavy firepower and air support, the 1st Armored Brigade and 2nd Armored Brigade were able to withstand the two divisions’ attacks. Meanwhile, other divisions in New Mexico were attacking from two sides, setting the stage for a major victory.

Oh…

The reinforcements took off first.

You, Sun Yuanliang!!!

Major General Hal Elliott, the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, was just there overseeing, reacted swiftly, and ordered the troops to retreat quickly, allowing the 336th’s two divisions to leave, or otherwise, they would be caught like a hamburger.

But both the Mexican 779th and 777th divisions, originally “half-dead,” seemed to receive orders to launch another offensive, tying up the US Army’s 1st Cavalry Division trying to escape within the city, leaving them in misery.

And when those 80 aircraft arrived over Las Cruces, they dropped incendiary bombs and cluster bombs, creating chaos and wailing throughout the city!

This was not the worst yet.

A battalion of 32 M270 multiple rocket launchers swiftly approached within 50 kilometers, then immediately entered combat mode. With a caliber of 227 mm, and 12 tubes, they bombarded Las Cruces fiercely.

This tactic feels very familiar.

Back in 1991 during the Gulf War, the US military relied on the (M270) rocket launchers and air power for long-range strikes, causing the Iraqi Army significant trouble.

These two heavy blows left the 1st Cavalry Division suffering heavy losses.

Even if you have tanks, you’d be blown into scrap metal!

I don’t know which fool deployed the 1st Cavalry Division here. They are three armored brigades with helicopters, suitable for wide-area group charges, and ended up defending the city…

This is like asking Bai Qi to fight a guerrilla war!

When Harold Alexander arrived with the guard division, the two brigades of the 1st Cavalry Division were already unable to make any waves and could only surrender. In the end, one deputy division commander was captured, and two brigade commanders were killed, while Major General Hal Elliott was missing, but someone saw him wear civilian clothes and mix into the safe zone.

Like Sun Yuanliang during the defense of Jinling at that time, oh, he found a madam, recognized her as his godmother, and went with her to the safe zone…

No wonder “Eagle Dog General” called him “a shameful person!”

It’s almost the same story.

People around Harold Alexander hoped to surround the safe zone. “Commander, we can’t let that bastard escape. If we catch him, our ranks might get promoted.”

It’s just among us, speaking so frankly.

If soldiers didn’t pursue honor and promotions, where would the desire for victory come from?

But the commander of the guard division, Harold Alexander, thought for a moment, shook his head. “There’s no need. It would panic those in the safe zone. That place might have tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of people. What if a commotion occurs?”

“Let someone pass the message inside that whoever catches Major General Hal Elliott earns a bounty of 200,000 Mexican Riyals! If it’s a 1st Cavalry Division soldier, they will be pardoned and allowed to return, and the bounty still applies.”

“Yes!”

The subordinate responded, leading 300 people into the safe zone to maintain order and passing the bounty message along. This place was on the west side of Las Cruces, near a church and was designated by Mexico as a safe zone, clearly announced, allowing residents to enter for respite, or else they would bear the consequences.

Those who could run had already run, and those who couldn’t… came here.

Upon hearing the bounty message, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. At least the Mexicans wouldn’t mess around, only targeting one person.

Many small white groups sighed inside. Each one was burly, mostly belonging to extreme right-wing organizations, glaring at the Mexican soldiers, and some showing signs of restlessness.

The Major leading the forces saw the resistance in the air, squinted his eyes, walked up to a white group of a dozen or so people, and glanced at them.

“Is there something, sir?” The leading white man had a “sign” tattooed on his forehead, squinted, and asked.

The Major pulled on the other’s short sleeves, saw the tattoo, and raised his eyebrows. “Extremist?”

“Attack!”

The leading white man’s face changed, shouted, and before he finished speaking, his head was already blown apart, with the soldiers behind them wielding machine guns and firing!

A dozen white people were gunned down instantly!

Screams erupted but quickly stifled; the ladies covered their mouths, shivering in terror, quaking with fear. Someone covered their child’s eyes and moved back in fear.

“Don’t worry, the Mexican Army does not harm civilians, but we hope you will cooperate. After the war, you will all be free.”

Major General Hal Elliott, who had sneaked in with the guards, heard the gunfire and secretly cursed his luck. He holed up in an empty room in the church, the people inside had been driven out. He just took a bite of his dry rations when he realized something was off; the guards around him were giving him odd looks.

“General, sorry!”

One black person shouted and pounced on him, and the surrounding guards also rushed forward to pin him to the ground.

“What are you doing! This is betrayal! Betrayal!”

“General, the brothers don’t want to die. We want to go home, don’t blame us.”

They stuffed socks into his mouth, then dragged him out. This commotion naturally attracted attention. The black man saw a group of Mexican soldiers watching him, swallowed his saliva, quickly raised his hand, uh…it was confirmed that the palms of black people are white.

“This is Hal Elliott!”

“Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division!”

The leading Major’s eyes lit up, looking down at him, “Nice to meet you, General!”

Major General Hal Elliott resigned to his fate, lay there silently, and waved his hand, “Take him away!”

…

The “Battle of Las Cruces” was so sudden, and so swift!

It took less than three hours from start to finish!

Many people even saw it on the internet.

The news from the Mexico Ministry of Defense was that they had defeated the US 1st Cavalry Division and captured Major General Hal Elliott!

In an instant, a cacophony of voices erupted! Waves echoed across the land!

Upon hearing the news, Victor shouted with continuous delight in his office, “Order the troops to keep pushing north, advance along Highway 10 into Albuquerque, and capture Frederick Franks alive!”

“Also, publicize it massively.”

Casare smiled with excitement, “Understood, I’ll have all the TV stations broadcast it on loop.”

As some people were happy, others were naturally distressed.

Inside The Pentagon, upon hearing the 1st Cavalry Division had been overwhelmed, Norman Schwarzkopf was in the midst of dining, behaving almost frantically, “Impossible, this is absolutely impossible, it’s fake!”

He slammed the tray he held onto the table and wobbled as he stood up.

No wonder he was so agitated.

That was the 1st Cavalry Division, a crack unit, what defines a crack unit?

During the Pacific War, the 1st Cavalry Division first saw combat in February 1944, participating in the Admiral Islands campaign. In the landing operation on Los Negros Island, their Special Task Force of 1,026 was the first to land, with the main forces following, finally clearing the Japanese Army on the island,

In October 1944, the division was involved in MacArthur’s re-invasion of the Philippines, where they landed on Leyte Island, wading through chest-high swamps to capture Tacloban Airport and the capital Tacloban 13. Subsequently, in the battles on Leyte Island, the division paid the price of 133 killed and 490 wounded to annihilate over 2,000 Japanese troops.

Later on…

They were defeated by the 39th Division in the Korea War, which was also their first defeat!

Not being completely annihilated by the Volunteer Army still counted as elite, right?

Over the past decades, they have appeared in local wars of the U.S. Military.

And you say a Major General was captured?

The entire division collapsed?!

It’s simply…

MacArthur’s nonsense—Hirohito says it smells sweet! (A blatant lie).

“Cough cough cough cough—”

Norman Schwarzkopf coughed violently, clutching his chest in pain.

“Doctor, call a doctor!!”

…