1969 July 1 1 What kind of war is it?

Salvador

Honduras

As we all know, football is the modern sport with the most sense of war. Of course, this not only refers to the physical pain suffered by the players in the football match, but also represents the excitement, tension, pain and hatred generated by the fans when watching the game. In Britain, you will have a deeper understanding of these.

In a recent violent incident, a South African referee shot and killed a player who did not obey the ruling. Of course, this incident is a bit unusual. However, what is even more unusual is that football has brought a war, a bloody war with real swords and guns.

1969 This happened to Honduras and El Salvador, two neighboring countries of Central America, after the World Cup qualifiers ended. Richard karp Hinsky recorded this event in detail in his masterpiece Football War.

The night before the game, fans in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, "reveled" all night in front of the hotel where El Salvador stayed. Of course, the players of the El Salvador team also stayed up all night. In the next day's match, Honduras beat El Salvador with a score of 1: 0. In El Salvador, a 18-year-old female fan also shot herself in front of the TV because of excessive sadness.

Fan's funeral became a state funeral. Even the president and the army attended the funeral, and her coffin was painted with the color of the national flag. A local newspaper wrote: "This young girl can't bear to see her motherland kneeling in front of others."

Of course, Honduras came to the away game, and El Salvador has completely become a hell on earth. The fans threw rotten eggs and dead mice into the room of Honduran players. The next day, when the bus that Honduras took came to the stadium, it was not the Honduran flag that rose on the stadium, but a dirty rag.

What suspense can the game have? El Salvador won 3-0. Honduran players will be grateful as long as they can walk out of the stadium alive. Of course, the fate of the two Honduran fans who came to watch the game with the team is self-evident.

In return, Salvadorans living in Honduras began to be slaughtered. Newspapers from both sides began to abuse each other, and finally Honduras suspended diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On July 14, one month after the second match, El Salvador threw a bomb at Tegucigalpa. Salvadoran troops also crossed the border into Honduras.

However, due to the lack of fuel and weapons, their invasion was only maintained within five miles of the Honduran border. Honduras began to fight back, and their air force blew up several oil depots in El Salvador.

A few days later, the American government intervened and the two sides signed an armistice agreement. Of course, sporadic fighting took a long time to disappear. * * * Two thousand to three thousand people were killed in this war, most of them were civilians.

When golf accompanied Song Huizong to play football, I probably never dreamed that after one thousand years, football could trigger a full-scale war, which left the world's best-the last piston fighter air battle in the history of world war.

El Salvador and Honduras are two banana republics in Central America. On weekdays, apart from bananas and football, it is hard for people to think of these two countries in the world. 1July, 969, the two countries really fought the biggest war in the history of Central American countries for bananas and football, which is called "football war" in history.

El Salvador has a more developed economy and a larger population. The population of Honduras is slightly smaller than that of El Salvador, but its area is six times that of El Salvador. United Fruit Company and Standard Fruit Company of the United States have large banana plantations in Honduras, and many Salvadorans immigrate to Honduras legally or illegally for job opportunities. By 1969, there are 270,000 Salvadorans in Honduras with a population of only 3 million, and some Salvadorans who get rich first like to March in the city, which has caused considerable social pressure to Honduras with a population of only 2.7 million. The land reform in Honduras intentionally or unintentionally ignored the Salvadoran immigrants who had cultivated in Honduras, while El Salvador intentionally or unintentionally showed its territorial ambition to incorporate the territory of Salvadoran immigrants into Honduras. Relations between the two countries have been very tense due to border disputes and illegal immigration. In the World Cup qualifiers in the 1970s, Honduras won its first match at home, and Salvadoran fans complained that they were treated rudely in Honduras. In the second match in El Salvador, the El Salvador team won. This time, El Salvador fans were also frank and rude to Honduran fans, and the Honduran flag and national anthem were also ridiculed. The tie breaker finally brought the already great anger of both sides to the breaking point. The deciding game was held in neutral Mexico City, and El Salvador won. Honduran authorities and non-governmental anti-immigrant armed militia immediately began large-scale violent actions of beating, expelling Salvadoran immigrants and looting property, which triggered a strong reaction from El Salvador. After the mediation of the Organization of American States failed, El Salvador launched a lightning raid on the evening of July 1969, with the intention of seizing some important towns on the border and the main roads leading to the inland, forcing Honduras to agree to an agreement beneficial to El Salvador and even support a pro-El Salvador government. Thus, the football war began.

El Salvador's ground forces have four infantry battalions and one artillery battalion. The ground troops in Honduras have 3 infantry battalions, 6 border battalions,/kloc-0 engineering barracks and 2 75mm field artillery companies. The main battle planes of both air forces are antiques from World War II. The main force of El Salvador's air force is 12 mustang fighters, 6 pirate ships FG- 1D fighters, 1 B-26 bombers and 4 C-47 transport planes used as bombers. The main force of Honduras is 14 pirate F4U fighter and six C-47s. Pirate fighters, after all, are the basis of carrier-based fighters, and they are better than Mustang in performance, firepower, reliability and flexibility. It is suitable for both air combat and ground attack. The Honduran Air Force is full of pirate fighters, and the Salvadoran Air Force also values the few pirates. Pirates in El Salvador are early models, only equipped with machine guns. The engine power is low, and most superchargers can't be used, which greatly affects the performance of high altitude and high speed (relative to piston engine). The pirates in Honduras are all late models with high engine power, and some are equipped with aviation guns, which are stronger than the pirates in El Salvador. Comparatively speaking, the Mustang and Pirate Fighter of both sides are the main force of ground attack, while the C-47 is regarded as the main force of "strategic bombing" because of its good navigation and night flight ability. The bomb was moved to the door of the cabin by the roller used to move the goods on the inner panel of the plane, and the hit rate can be imagined. For one reason or another, the only B-26 of the Salvadoran Air Force did not go into battle. Both sides used armed trainers to make up for the shortage of soldiers. Cessna ("Du Qiu Aircraft") and agricultural aircraft were also put into battle, performing unarmed communication, observation, rescue, harassment and other tasks. Interestingly, some trainers in El Salvador were launched by indigenous means, and 60mm and 8 1mm mortars were installed for ground attack. Mortars fly to the sky, which must be unique in the history of world wars. El Salvador does not have an advantage in military weapons, but the Salvadoran army is well-trained and has the initiative to preempt. Neither side has a radar early warning and command system. Air combat is basically a ground observation post warning. After the fighter plane took off, it visually searched for attacks, just like its predecessors in World War II.

In order to avoid the immediate counterattack of the Honduran Air Force, the first battle of the Salvadoran Air Force was chosen at dusk. At the beginning of the war, El Salvador tried to destroy the main force of the Honduran air force on the ground in one fell swoop, and the air force rushed out. Even a dozen agricultural planes sprayed with pesticides and a trainer from El Salvador Aviation Club were moved out. The mission of these civil aircraft is harassment. When the commander of the northern military region of Honduras called the air base under his jurisdiction to prepare for the battle and stop the possible air raid by the Salvadoran Air Force, the answer on the phone was: "Colonel, the bomb is falling on our heads!" " "... Fortunately, the Honduran Air Force has made preparations to evacuate the ground plane in advance, and the air raid did not cause much damage.

Despite the hasty response, the Honduran Air Force immediately counterattacked and sent a C-47 to bomb Ilopango Airport, El Salvador's main air base. C-47 flew to the Pacific coast first, then blindly navigated to the target with compass and map, dropped 14 50 kg bombs, claiming that it was heavily fired by ground anti-aircraft fire. However, the Salvadoran military said that people at Ilopango airport did not hear any planes flying over and no bombs landed around the airport. In Zapotitan Valley, 55 kilometers away from the airport, someone heard the noise, thinking that the C-47 was off course, and all the bombs were thrown into the tropical jungle to "listen", and almost no one heard it. [cchere.net Xixi River Morning Wind]

El Salvador's air force can hide from the first day, but it can't hide from the fifteenth. In the early morning of the next day, the Honduran Air Force began a larger-scale counterattack. Major Colin delaisse led four pirate fighters, hung up the bomb, put down the landing gear, pretended to be Salvadoran pirate fighters, and approached the runway of Elopango airport at sunrise. It worked. However, the level or luck of Honduran pilots is too bad. Only one bomb hit a water truck and blew up a hut. Other bombs were either silent or left somewhere. Fortunately, they did not return immediately after the attack, but attacked oil storage facilities and refineries 200 kilometers away with air guns and rockets, causing many fires, which seriously affected the fuel supply of the Salvadoran army and played a great role in blocking the future advancement of the Salvadoran army.

Of course, the Salvadoran Air Force did not stop attacking. When four pirate fighters were about to leave after attacking Tocantan Airport near TeguSzipal, the capital of Honduras, Colonel Hernandez of Honduras took off with a pirate fighter and decisively attacked the last two Salvadoran Mustang fighters alone. After successfully entering the favorable shooting position behind Captain Cortes, the Colonel regretted that the cannon could not work and had to quit the battle angrily. On the one hand, it shows the courage and skill of the colonel, on the other hand, it also exposes the incompetence of Salvadoran pilots. There is no basic cover between the two planes, and there is no quick response after a sudden attack. Otherwise, the colonel is not so easy to fight, and he can slip away if he wants. As for Captain Cortes, his bad luck has not passed, and he has not had time to escape. Two Honduran T-28 trainers equipped with 7.62 mm machine guns arrived, injuring the pirates of Cortez and injuring Cortez's leg. According to El Salvador, Cortes put down his lingering fear and resolutely got rid of the enemy plane, regardless of being left behind, and turned to attack the presidential palace in Honduras. Unfortunately, he dropped a bomb but it didn't explode. After being injured by heavy fire on the ground, he bravely and tactfully flew back to the great motherland safely.

At the same time, El Salvador Air Force continued to use C-47 for "strategic bombing" and added 12.7mm heavy machine gun to C-47 to suppress ground fire and close air support. When two Salvadoran C-47s arrived in the war zone, they happened to meet four Honduran pirate fighters patrolling in the air and were immediately attacked. One of them was injured in the left wing and the left engine was also hit and caught fire. Fortunately, these Honduran pilots were not good at shooting. They ran out of ammunition and didn't shoot down El Salvador's C-47. The latter was lucky enough to get back a life, hurriedly abandoned all unnecessary burdens, reluctantly returned to the base with the right engine, and bumped into one during the landing. This C-47 was really strong. It was patched and then went to heaven, but this was after the war.

On this day, the Honduran Air Force claimed to have shot down a C47 and a Mustang, which El Salvador denied. The results of the post-war inventory also show that Honduras is too optimistic about its achievements.

Captain Santos of El Salvador was not so lucky. Due to the lack of fuel, the battlefield distance is not far, and the mobility of wild horses is not enough. Generally speaking, El Salvador's Mustang fighters will not be full of fuel when taking off, but will reduce fuel to avoid having to empty excess fuel when landing and improve maneuverability. However, during the air raid on the port of Acahuta, Captain Santos ran out of fuel and was forced to land in neutral Guatemala. He was detained by others with people and planes according to international practice and was not returned until after the war.

On the ground, the Honduran army can't do it. They fired several shots at several places on the border and then ran away. Salvadoran troops marched into and occupied several border towns and along the Pan-American Highway leading inland. However, the advance of the Salvadoran army was soon forced to stop, and fuel, ammunition and supplies could not keep up.

On July 16, the El Salvador Air Force continued to attack, but in the early morning, two wild horses that were about to take off collided on the runway, and their wings rubbed against each other. The two planes turned half a circle on the spot and came to mouth-to-mouth, and the wings, propellers and engine blocks were damaged. Although it was later repaired, it was after the war.

At the same time, some border strongholds in Honduras have not fallen. Honduras airlifted more than 1000 people from the "guard of honor camp" by C-47, but failed to keep them in the end. As usual, the Honduran Air Force claimed that it had carried out a decisive attack on the Salvadoran Air Force, but the Salvadoran Air Force routinely denied it. The post-war inventory also proved that the Salvadoran Air Force did not lose anything that day.

Throughout the war, the Honduran Air Force was a bright spot. After being attacked suddenly, he quickly counterattacked and basically controlled the air superiority in the war zone. /kloc-July 0/7, this is a day that the Honduran Air Force will always talk about, because on this day, Fernando? Captain Soto shot down three enemy planes, becoming the first and only pilot in the history of Central American countries to shoot down enemy planes. Captain Soto, who was seconded to civil aviation and retired to the reserve, became a national hero in Honduras because he shot down three enemy planes. Decades later, he still talks about his heroic achievements on TV. The first plane shot down by Captain Soto was the Mustang, which was the last Mustang fighter shot down in actual combat in the history of war. There are different opinions about how the pilot Captain Valera died. Some people say that he was seriously injured when he parachuted, some people say that he died when he parachuted to the ground, and others say that he died when he crashed with the plane. The second enemy plane shot down by Captain Soto was a pirate fighter, and the pilot, Captain Amaya, parachuted safely. In the fourth attack that day, Captain Soto knocked down the pirate of Captain Cortez, who was brave but unlucky, and Cortez was killed on the spot. This is the last piston fighter in the history of war that was shot down in actual combat.

El Salvador pilots are actually good at aerobatics, some of which come from aerobatics, but actual combat is not aerobatics, and fancy flying movements may lead to fatal disasters. As far as Bao Dao is concerned, it was a mistake about the "situation".

At this time, only two pirates, five wild horses (the sixth one was detained in Guatemala) and 1 B-26 were left in the Salvadoran Air Force to fight. El Salvador urgently seeks for additional Mustang fighters around the world, because Mustang is easier to obtain than pirates, but five Mustangs didn't arrive until 19, and the sixth one was detained by the US Customs in the name of incomplete documents. El Salvador is seriously short of fighters and pilots, so we temporarily recruited some mercenary pilots from overseas. However, it is said that these mercenary pilots do not contribute to attendance. When in danger, they use the climbing performance of wild horses to fly high into the clouds, avoid fighting and throw escort planes at their opponents. This is terrible.

On the ground, the Honduran army also ambushed an aggressive Salvadoran army and successfully stopped the other side from advancing, but in the end they ran out of ammunition and failed to repel the other side.

In July 18, the situation finally began to favor Honduras. The Honduran army bypassed the rear road of the Salvadoran army and began to advance towards El Salvador. The Honduran army encountered little resistance, but soon after the rapid advance, the mediation of the Organization of American States came into effect and the Honduran army immediately withdrew to this side of the border. However, the Salvadoran army refused to leave the occupied 65,438+0,600 square kilometers of Honduran land before August 5.

Honduras immediately bought four F-86K fighters from Venezuela after the war. In the mid-1970s, it also purchased 18 Cessna A-37s for trainer and ground attack, and 2 1 Dassault Super Mystery B2 fighter. Honduran wild horses and pirates served until the mid-1970s, and were eventually replaced by 12 fulga trainer and 18 Dassault MD-45 storm fighter. At this point, the air forces of both countries have entered the jet age. The only remaining wild horses and pirates in El Salvador were also sold to private collectors in the United States, and they all died in a happy ending.

The war between Don Quixote in reverse time caused more than 2,000 deaths, most of which were Honduran civilians. Hundreds of thousands of Salvadoran immigrants left their homes and returned to El Salvador with the Salvadoran army, which aggravated the employment and social problems in El Salvador. Salvadoran soldiers took power in the general election in the near future and took the first step towards future dictatorship and human rights tragedy. It will take more than ten years for El Salvador and Honduras to restore normal relations.

Today, El Salvador and Honduras are still growing bananas and playing football. In addition, people still can't remember these two countries that fought for bananas and football.