Chapter 652: Making Trouble (3)
The remaining cruiser Rio Grande do Sul (another Bahia-class ship) saw their companions suffer such a cruel fate. They completely lost their fighting spirit and raised the white flag to declare surrender. The other Brazilian light warships that rushed out of the port saw that the situation was hopeless and also raised the white flag to surrender. Only two brave Brazilian destroyers launched a desperate charge, trying to teach the Germans a lesson with their white-headed torpedoes. Unfortunately, they were torn to pieces by the Axis light cruisers and battleship formations with 6-inch artillery before they reached the effective range.
In less than an hour, the Axis fleet destroyed 80% of the Brazilian Navy's surface ships. Vice Admiral Bay left some light cruisers and destroyers to collect the surrendered warships and salvage the officers and soldiers who fell into the water, and then rushed to the port with great momentum - he remembered that there were still many merchant ships there.
At 7:27, Brazilian President Vargas stared blankly out the window, listening to the deafening explosions in his ears and almost fainted. In the morning, he lost his navy, and now he is losing his capital.
The remaining Brazilian air force and the US Army Air Force that came to support them tried to launch an attack, but they were shot down one after another by the Axis pilots who were more numerous, more experienced and more technically advanced. After 8 o'clock, there were only planes painted with the Axis logo in the sky over Rio de Janeiro, and no Brazilian or American planes were seen. And the ports, docks, shipyards and other facilities that he had worked hard to manage were being plowed by Axis warships with naval guns. He could do nothing but hide in the distance and watch all this. Those coastal artillery positions proved to be completely useless and soon silenced under the joint attack of naval guns and dive bombers.
As for the American garrison that he had high hopes for, it was now simply difficult to protect itself. The barracks, airports, storage areas and defensive positions were all suffering from the double ravages of artillery shells and bombs. If he did not understand the damage caused by the Japanese army's harassment war against Australia and New Zealand before, he now fully understood it.
The bombardment formation not only destroyed the city of Rio de Janeiro, but also the merchant ships in the port, which were either destroyed by bombs or shells. Machar was overjoyed and expressed his approval. That's not all. He heard that Lieutenant General Bay finally captured a large number of Brazilian light warships including the Bahia class and some cargo ships. His face was very expressive, and he couldn't help laughing in the end, as if he saw a lot of marks flying in front of him.
In the end, this batch of spoils (with a total tonnage of more than 30,000 tons) was packaged and sold to the Peron government at a low price of 30 million marks. After the news came out, it was unanimously supported by the Argentine people. They were not only intoxicated by the naval power that destroyed their old enemy - although it was borrowed from the Axis, they were also glad that they had picked up a bargain. More importantly, these marks did not cost the Argentines a lot of money, and they were all used to purchase beef and mutton products, wheat, leather, wool and other products - many of which were unsalable in Argentina because the United States had refused to purchase them.
Once this exchange of interests took place, even the capitalists and farmers who had previously been critical of the Peron administration changed their positions and became supporters of the Peron administration. The US announcement of freezing all Argentine assets and bank accounts in the US (regardless of whether they were personal or state-owned) (mainly in retaliation for Argentina's nationalization policy) not only failed to scare the Argentines, but instead aroused more intense anti-American sentiment among the people.
On September 28, the Axis fleet followed suit and attacked Salvador, the third largest city in eastern Brazil;
On the 29th, a military coup took place in Bolivia. The new leaders had close ties with the Peron administration and German diplomats. Although there were no reports of Bolivia joining or moving closer to the Axis, it was certain that the country would implement policies similar to Argentina;
On the 30th, the Axis fleet continued its attack, targeting Recife, the easternmost city in Brazil and the ninth largest city in the country. There were three US air bases stationed in this area, but it was useless. The mobile fleet destroyed the US military facilities with bombs and incendiary bombs first, and then defeated the US Army Air Force rookies in the air battle. The new Bf-219C fighter performed better than in the Battle of Panama. The US Army Air Force, which was seriously injured in the Battle of Panama, lost nearly 200 aircraft this time, and their results were very few: Veneto was hit by a 1,000-pound bomb, which looked ugly, but did not affect subsequent operations; Lützow was hit by a 500-pound bomb, and the No. 2 turret was blown away, but the rest could still be maintained; Strasbourg was hit by two near misses and lost four anti-aircraft guns, but the rest of the ships were unscathed.
On October 3, a military coup also took place in Paraguay, which borders Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil. Army Minister Kaplan became the head of state. Many people were rumored that there were "volunteers" and "comrades" from Argentina in the Paraguayan military coup. At the same time, the situation in Uruguay was also unstable. The president issued four orders in a row. On the one hand, it banned gatherings and marches, and on the other hand, it strengthened control over the military. But everyone knew that the Uruguayan authorities were sitting on the edge of a volcano and an eruption was only a matter of time.
While South America was undergoing earth-shaking changes, all countries watched the United States' response and countermeasures with wide eyes. Although the United States kept saying that it wanted to drive out European forces, to this day, the United States was not only unable to interfere with the endless coups in South American countries, but also had no chance to respond to the challenges of the Axis fleet. As for the "Joint Element" operation, although it was forced to advance quickly under Roosevelt's strict urging due to the tense situation in South America, and boarded the ship three days earlier than planned, it was completely unable to keep up with the situation.
On October 7, just when the fleet full of US troops had just passed the Guantanamo base, the Axis fleet had landed in French Guiana. The fleet and the landing force did not encounter any resistance, because the first to enter were the French volunteer companies following the pace of the Marseillaise - no matter how much Charles de Gaulle and Free France boasted, in the minds of France's overseas colonies, Paris was always orthodox, and when the Strasbourg, flying the French flag, docked at the dock, this atmosphere reached its climax.
Although there was no French soldier on the Strasbourg, the French still treated it as their own ship, because Hoffman had privately promised Darlan that all the warships obtained from France would be returned in full once the war was over in exchange for the French cooperation in other areas.
After seeing the crowds of people on the dock and all that came into view were flowers and colorful flags, Marshal understood the good intentions of the head of state - hanging the French flag and retaining the French names of these warships was not to cause trouble for himself, but to better facilitate the Peace Pearl Project. This effort paid off, and all kinds of supplies in French Guiana, especially the most precious fuel, were open to the Axis fleet.