Wild North America 1846

Chapter 162 February 5

Hugo Oasis
US forward base
The large tent of the Western Expeditionary Army Command was filled with dozens of mid- and senior-level commanders of the U.S. Army. The lowest rank was also a lieutenant colonel, ranging from the level of military chief of the Musketeers.

A high-level military combat conference is being held here, involving as many as 3.4 major commanders of the US military. Standing in front of a large map of the Colorado Plateau, Colonel Cuffy-Lewis of the US General Staff is introducing the enemy and us to the generals and officers present. situation.

"...

In view of the above difficulties
Our army doesn't know much about the Denver Castle, Taoyuan Castle and other military defense systems on the Colorado Plateau. After the army goes deep, we will lift the veil covered by the Orientals.

At present, our first priority is here... the Red Rock Valley.

Strictly speaking
Here is a mountainous terrain and a Gobi Desert with desert terrain. The enemy built trenches, defensive walls and barbed wire here, and mixed artillery positions and heavy machine gun positions to form a tight line of defense.

Behind this valley line
The Tang Kingdom has built simple defensive bunkers and barbed wire positions stretching for more than ten kilometers, and has a powerful cavalry corps to echo, which is a serious obstacle to the advancement of our army.

If the infantry crossed the desert on foot, they would definitely suffer a fatal blow from the fierce cavalry of the Tang Kingdom. In the field without the cover of artillery and other heavy weapons, the situation was not optimistic.

According to the careful evaluation of the Army Staff Headquarters, the cavalry of the Tang Kingdom entrenched on the Gobi Desert behind the Red Rock Valley is no less than ten thousand cavalry, and they are an extremely powerful mobile assault force.

It is an extremely irrational choice to rush across the desert and attack behind enemy lines.

Therefore, it is the only and correct choice to attack and occupy the Red Rock Valley and open the passage to Denver Castle, which is conducive to the steady and rolling advancement of our heavy army group.

This battle will combine the Second Corps of our Western Expedition Army, with a total of more than 3.4 people (including more than 5700 cavalry, more than 190 artillery pieces, and more than 2000 artillery), to carry out intensive and continuous attacks on the enemy..."

Colonel Duffy-Lewis stood at the top and chatted endlessly about the battle plan and the deployment of the troops of the enemy and the enemy, while the officers sitting below began to discuss in a low voice.

Like hundreds of mosquitoes "buzzing", the officers said everything, some were arrogant, some were cautious, some were worried, and some were passionate...

All kinds of expressions are different, and this clearly reflects the different opinions in the US military camp.

Those arrogant soldiers drawn from the southern Mexican battlefield in the U.S. Army and the officers of the newly formed Musketeers are eager to try. They have never tasted the hardships of the cavalry of the Tang Kingdom, and they often think highly of themselves.

in American society
There is a serious tendency towards white supremacy, exaggeration, flattery, and beautification of the US military's achievements are common, and it is a routine practice in the American public opinion circle to discredit, dwarf, and demonize the army of the Tang Dynasty. It is these unobjective news reports that will not only Misleading most of the American public, and seriously misleading many white commanders.

There is a common argument in the American Western Expeditionary Army;
That is, the cavalry of the Tang Kingdom is really strong, which has been proven through countless battles, but the infantry... Hehehe, they are nothing more than chickens and dogs.

This notion is not only held by low-level military officers in the U.S. military, but also has a strong market among middle- and senior-level military officers. It can be said to be the mainstream argument.

Take a closer look

The previous glorious victories of the Tang Kingdom so far were almost all created by the cavalry corps, and the performance of the Musketeers was rare. The only battle that was brilliant was the "Battle of Burlington" in the second Western Expedition.

It was a military service, almost out of ammunition and food, and the U.S. troops fled eastward all the time in panic all the time. In Burlington, they encountered a joint encirclement and suppression by cavalry and infantry of the Tang Kingdom, and were beaten to collapse without accident...

the battle
Seriously speaking, it was the exhausted army of the U.S. Army. After encountering the cavalry and infantry of the Tang Dynasty who had been delaying, chasing, and harassing them for many days, they ran out of food and grass, and finally lost.

It was precisely because of various factors that led to the disastrous defeat of the "Battle of Burlington", so a considerable part of the U.S. military's strong mouths refused to admit that the infantry of the Tang Dynasty had a combat effectiveness comparable to that of the U.S. Army, thinking that it was just a bargain and could not represent What?
Indeed, the Infantry Corps of the Tang Kingdom did not have any outstanding achievements.

After the military meeting was held for a while, the officers in the big tent whispered more brazenly. Many of them were farmers, some were businessmen or capitalists, some were lawyers, and some were before becoming majors, lieutenant colonels or colonels of the US military. Philly high society playboy...

only two years ago
In order to restrain the power of dictatorship and warlords and establish an American alliance with democracy, freedom and power checks and balances, the Congress is extremely stingy with military funding and supervises very strictly.

The Confederate of America has only 8700 troops. The Continental Army Staff Headquarters has a total of 23 officers, and only 6 officers above the school level. The entire Continental Army has only four generals, including one navy general.

Two years later, the U.S. military rapidly expanded to 15 people. Many American high-society celebrities had to rush to the shelves, voluntarily served in the military, and were awarded different ranks.

From this we can see how weak the US military command is today.

Compared with European military powers, its military command capabilities can be described by the words "amateur" and "rookie".

In the early days, the discipline of the venue was okay, but later on, this important military meeting became more lively than the vegetable market, and someone put his finger in his mouth and blew the whistle.

Colonel Duffy-Lewis had to shout at the top of his voice, but few officers listened carefully.

Sitting in the front row, the Commander-in-Chief of the Third Western Expedition (former Chief of Staff of the US Continental Army) Lt. Not pretty, but also helpless.

"General Schneider, it's May 5th, and I hope the Red Rock Valley campaign will be officially launched no later than May 9th. You've got about a week, man, and President Polk has done his best to get us enough supplies, It depends on our performance now." Lieutenant General Arthur Temple sat on his seat, stretched his neck and said to General Schneider.

Lieutenant General Arthur Temple did not severely reprimand the venue for such a chaotic discipline, because sitting here are many prominent figures in the upper class of the United States, some were born in large estate owners, some came from influential political families, some Most of them were famous lawyers who joined the army.

The forces behind these officers in the tent are not represented by the ranks on their shoulders, and they involve a lot.

Hearing the commander-in-chief's request, Major General Schneider, the commander of the US Second Corps, showed a look of embarrassment. He is a veteran general who participated in the Mexican War. A titan that the U.S. Army can handle.

Major General Schneider frowned and thought about it, and replied cautiously;

"Your Excellency, Commander; the staff team of the Second Corps is still in Detroit. The artillery ammunition is insufficient, and there are still many difficulties in launching an offensive hastily. I hope that we can postpone it for one to two weeks, so that our offensive preparations will be more adequate."

"No... this war has cost too much money. The White House sends urging messages every day. There is a lot of pressure on the headquarters. We need to act as soon as possible to let those congressmen on Capitol Hill know that the heroic army is bleeding on the front line instead of sitting on the porch in the sun."

"Then... we can only launch a tentative attack, hoping to find out the deployment and firepower configuration of the Easterners through actual combat, so as to create conditions for a large-scale attack."

"Yes, we need the 2nd Corps to act as soon as possible. Everyone is staring at this war."

"I understand, Commander-in-Chief, the Second Corps resolutely obeys orders." Major General Schneider's face softened.

The three magic weapons used by the U.S. military to launch wars so far are the first artillery bombardment, the second volley attack, and the third cavalry attack.

Among them, artillery occupies an important position in the attack.

In the previous battles against the Mexican army, the fierce artillery strikes of the US military always seized the opportunity, inflicted heavy damage on the enemy, deterred the enemy, and provided favorable support for the US musketeers who attacked later.

say something bad
The U.S. military just bullies the Mexican army's backward equipment. The Spanish antique artillery it is equipped with has a short range, low power, and a small number. It is oppressed by the Yankees.

The artillery took the lead, followed by infantry volleys, and finally cavalry charges.

These three axes of the U.S. military have been tried and tested repeatedly, thus forming a rigid and fixed number of offensive routes.

As for what flexible tactics?

The Yankee expressed his disdain to play, so it was right to be reckless, and pushed him all the way by relying on his strength.

5/15

At about 10 o'clock in the morning, on the Gobi Desert in the east of the Hongyan Valley, the U.S. military was lined up densely and neatly, with their knives and guns out of their sheaths, containing a murderous aura.

In the Hongyan Valley about 6 to 7 kilometers away, Major General Schneider, riding on a tall horse, is observing the valley defense not far away with a dry monocular brass telescope.

After a while, he put down the binoculars in his hand and frowned deeply.

Through the binoculars, it can be seen that behind the defense line of the Red Rock Valley, there are two or three thousand soldiers of the Tang Kingdom lined up indistinctly, armed with live ammunition, ready for battle.

When the U.S. troops came to the front of the valley, the army of the Tang Kingdom did not take the initiative to fight, but stuck to the defense line composed of parapets, trenches, and barbed wire, loaded with live ammunition, fully armed, and waited quietly for the U.S. troops to attack.

This situation
Seeing General Schneider cursed inwardly;

These despicable oriental pagans have no gentleman spirit of a fair confrontation at all, and they are not willing to fight head-to-head.

Wouldn't it be ridiculous to do so?
The broken thoughts in my heart are all broken thoughts, the U.S. military is now on the verge of an arrow, and has no choice but to send it out.

The U.S. military stopped 6 to 7 kilometers away, just to leave enough space for the Musketeers of the Datang Kingdom to fight, but unfortunately things backfired, and they didn't take the bait at all.

The attitude of the army of the Tang Kingdom on the opposite side is very clear, that is, they will not come out to fight in the field.

If you have the ability, you attack aggressively!
"Order to keep in line, play music, and advance the whole army!" Major General Schneider was no longer waiting for wishful thinking, and decisively issued an offensive order.

In an instant

The military music of "God Bless America" ​​sounded, and the neatly lined up American soldiers carried their guns and stepped on the drums of the loud military music, slowly pushing towards the direction of the Red Rock Valley.

40 minutes later
The U.S. offensive troops stopped at a distance of about 1.8 kilometers from Hongyan Mountain, and the commanders immediately issued an order for the artillery to prepare for bombardment, preparing to repeat the old trick.

More than 6 Napoleon 9-pound, 12-pound, and [-]-pound cannons drawn by horses quickly appeared in front of the U.S. military queue. The artillerymen were busy checking the direction, cleaning the barrels, and preparing to bombard the enemy in front of them.

The retreating artillery of today's era has a very impressive hit accuracy and can only be used for probability shooting.

The solid shells equipped by Napoleon's cannons have limited damage capabilities and are suitable for striking solid targets, such as the stone defensive parapets of the Tang Kingdom.

What frightened the infantry was the shotgun shell, commonly known as "blossom shell", and the fragments of the shell that exploded were really a dozen.

While the U.S. artillery was in a hurry to prepare, a loud and high-pitched suona sounded from the direction of Hongyan Valley, and about forty artillery pieces appeared on the defensive position, and their black muzzles pointed directly at the neat formation of U.S. troops.

The defenders of the Tang Kingdom displayed a sharp counterattack method, which made Major General Schneider's face darken, and the difficulty of conquering the Red Rock Valley in his heart increased by another level.

"Full shelling will begin in five minutes."

"As you order, Your Excellency the General."

5 minutes later, "Boom boom boom..."

A series of thick gunpowder smoke rose into the sky, and the artillery on the US military positions roared, pouring more than [-] shells, and smashed them densely on the area around the defensive wall of Hongyan Valley.

The sound of rumbling guns resounded through the sky and the earth.

Not to be outdone, the defenders of the Datang Kingdom in the Red Rock Valley immediately launched a fierce counterattack, smashing back dozens of shells, causing smoke and dust to rise on the beach next door.

The tumbling solid shells shot more than a dozen bloody alleys in the U.S. military ranks, killing them when they rubbed them, and hurting them when they touched them.

This round of shelling alone caused no fewer than 35 US casualties.

On the other hand, the defenders of the Datang Kingdom, under the bombardment of almost double the artillery firepower of the US military, suffered Liao Liao casualties, no more than 6 people.

The main reason is that the defenders of the Tang Kingdom hid behind solid stone parapets and got the best defense, which the attacking US military could not do anyway.

Of the more than 1 shells fired by the U.S. Army in the first round, less than 70/1 actually landed on the defensive parapet. The other shells were either too high, flew over the defensive parapet and landed behind, blasting a large amount of smoke and dust.

Either the angle was lowered, and it fell within tens of meters of the front of the defensive parapet, or it entered the trench, and apart from the smoke and dust, it exploded into loneliness.

Even if the cannonball hit the defensive parapet, most of the power of the solid shell was absorbed by the defensive parapet, but the splashed stones flew and injured a few unlucky ghosts.

The advantages and disadvantages of both sides in the battle are clear at a glance.

(End of this chapter)