The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1854 A Story Too Long to Tell
Robert Lee also disagreed with Richard Delafield's ideas. Being on the front lines, he was well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides, so he agreed with Stonewall Jackson's words.

"Our men are not so good at attacking strongholds, while the British have been waiting for the opportunity to fight us to the death."

There's nothing worse than taking the initiative now.

Stuart's rank and experience cannot compare with the previous two, but his views are similar.

"I agree. I think a full-scale offensive is more reasonable than concentrating forces to their deaths. Is there no way to stop him?"

Stuart, who is only 25 years old this year, obviously has no dealings with Delacroix, but the other returned generals next to him all shook their heads.

"It's simply impossible to change that old stubborn man's mind."

"What can we do? Just watch our soldiers go to their deaths?"

"Stonewall" Jackson said indignantly.

"What else can we do? Are we supposed to let the soldiers shoot him in the back?"

In fact, Stuart thought the suggestion was good; he knew many fearless men. The main problem was that dartsmen were constantly surrounded by death, and many had become numb to killing and being killed.

"Alright, that's enough. This time, even if Delacfield mobilizes more than 150 regiments, it won't be so easy for the British to swallow them up."

We returnees have already been excluded by him, so even if we wanted to help now, there's nothing we could do. We might as well do what we can.

Robert E. Lee wanted to ease the tension and get everyone's attention focused on more worthwhile things.

“Li! There are hundreds of thousands of people going to their deaths right now! They’re not going for victory, not for America, and they don’t even know they’re going to their deaths.”

Is it reasonable to issue an order that hasn't been carefully considered?

Jackson clearly couldn't accept this. His experience as a sheriff had made him even more aware of the true colors of those politicians, and he simply couldn't bring himself to blindly obey orders.

But unfortunately, an order is an order.

"We are soldiers! A soldier's duty is to obey orders! Do you think writing a letter will do any good? Let me tell you! They won't even read your letter; they'll just throw it in the trash!"
Instead of wallowing in self-pity, we should think about what to do next! No matter what, we must slow down the British advance and create space for Delafield.

If he can take us, he can launch a counterattack; if he can't, it will buy him time to retreat!

Robert Lee's words were reasonable and well-founded, but Jackson did not buy it.

"Don't dream! You think you can take Pittsburgh with just a few hundred thousand men? There are 30,000 British troops in that city alone, plus those traitors. Even 300,000 men wouldn't be able to take it, let alone a few hundred thousand!"

They'll get nothing but their own deaths!
We've tried before; even if one attack goes smoothly, we won't stay in the city's defenses forever.

Everyone fell silent. In fact, the US military had tried to counterattack before, but after actual research, they concluded that the efficiency of the US military's operations would decrease sharply once the number of US troops exceeded 10,000.

At that time, the largest unit in the U.S. military was the regiment, which consisted of about 800-1000 men, most of whom were from the same region.

The army's structure was basically a large militia, and many things were still very primitive.

The officers also lacked experience in commanding large-scale operations. Even the returnees at this time were simply following the textbook when it came to commanding large-scale forces, since the total strength of the US military was only 40,000 to 50,000 when they left the United States.

(This is because the timeline has changed, and there are powerful enemies on the borders. According to the original history, there were only more than 10,000 standing troops.)
"I will obey orders from my superiors, and I advise you to do the same. That's all I have to say."

Robert Lee knew Jackson was right, but he couldn't disobey orders. Ultimately, the meeting ended badly; both leaders left, and the others naturally didn't want to waste any more time.

As mentioned earlier, these returnees have already been excluded by Delacord, and their role is now very limited.

Their influence is even weaker now that they can't reach a consensus internally, but even if they could, it would be difficult to make any difference.

Franklin Pierce was eager to make a name for himself, and Richard DeLefeld also wanted to take the opportunity to push the returnees out of the inner circle.

Time flies, and Richard DeLefeld promoted a group of generals who shared his ideals to completely replace the returned overseas generals.

In order not to reveal his intentions in advance, Delacroix had been carefully deploying his troops.

The 116th Infantry Regiment and an artillery regiment of Virginia were slowly advancing through the forest southwest of Pittsburgh. The leading officer picked up his canteen, took a small sip, and said in a low voice.

"Tell all soldiers to keep quiet and cover the gun wheels with leather. Anyone who reveals our position will be killed by my own hand!"

The soldiers walked along the forest path, and no one dared to make a sound.

There are many such teams. In fact, DeLefeld and his colleagues have done a lot. They have assigned tasks and specific attack positions to each regiment.

Now, all that is needed is for all troops to be ready before the attack can begin. In Delacfield’s plan, the U.S. military will encircle Pittsburgh from three sides and try to force the remaining enemy into the Great Lakes region, thus preventing them from joining up with the main British forces.

Then, using Pittsburgh as a wedge, they completely destroyed the British defenses.
The key to the whole plan was surprise and secrecy, but Delafield never dreamed that his ingenious deployment was actually right under the noses of the British army.

Having suffered numerous defeats at the hands of the Austrian army, the British military was also making continuous technological advancements. For example, in response to the Austrian Empire's air defense and reconnaissance capabilities, British hot air balloons would typically ascend to altitudes of over 1500 meters, or even over 2,000 meters.

This would greatly reduce the possibility of countermeasures from the Austrian army; at the very least, the Austrian Empire's air defenses would be powerless against it.

At an altitude of 1,500 meters, a reconnaissance hot air balloon appears as a tiny black dot to the naked eye, unless observed with binoculars. However, binoculars were very expensive at the time, and ordinary reconnaissance soldiers could not afford them.

Moreover, most American soldiers at that time did not have the concept of reconnaissance balloons; they mostly regarded them as birds.

So they were completely unaware that British observers were taking in the American movements with their binoculars from 1500 meters in the air.

"How amusing. Look at those self-important idiots, actually thinking about taking over Pittsburgh, the Americans are really crazy."

"George, shut your stinking mouth. Don't you know how thin the air is here? Our mission is to observe enemy positions, not to be commentators!"

George was clearly unconvinced by the lecture.

"What? You didn't pass the test? We're the chosen ones! Out of twenty million people in the whole of Britain, there are no more than two hundred with our special physique!"

The teammate next to him obviously didn't bother with this madman. He knew how terrible the lack of oxygen and low temperature at high altitudes were. Once he lost consciousness at this time, it would be difficult to survive even if he immediately sent a signal to the ground.

The so-called test is actually about people who can hold their breath for a long time, tolerate hypoxic environments, and tolerate low temperatures.

Saying that there are only a little over a hundred of them in the whole of Britain might be an exaggeration, but saying that they are one in a thousand is not far-fetched.

However, if the British government's selection personnel were to go to Tibet, they would find that the so-called chosen ones are everywhere they are looking for.

"Reporting to the general, a large number of American troops have been spotted outside Pittsburgh, and they are slowly approaching Pittsburgh."

Codrington certainly knew what this meant; a big win in Pittsburgh would prove to Congress that he was right.

“Excellent! This way we can launch a counter-encirclement! How many troops has the US military mobilized? I heard that the US military just changed its commander-in-chief?” Codrington was very excited, but out of caution, he still wanted to minimize the instability.

"Yes, General. The file of the new Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army, Richard DeLandfield, is on your desk. He has served as the superintendent of West Point multiple times and is an academic commander."

In fact, the British army didn't have much intelligence about Richard Delacroix, but based solely on his writings, it was clear that he was a proponent of French offensive doctrine.

Codrington was quite confident in this traditional academic approach, and he disliked the Austrian School of defense experts the most.

"The scale of this US military operation is between 20 and 30."

"so much?"

Codrington was genuinely shocked. He knew the U.S. military was large, but 30 seemed far too many.

In reality, it is difficult to obtain accurate figures based solely on observations from high-altitude hot air balloons; all figures are estimates within a certain range. However, staff officers in this era would cross-reference their findings with intelligence from the intelligence agencies.

However, Delacfield envisioned mobilizing 300,000 troops to attack Pittsburgh, but unfortunately the actual size was only half of what he expected.

With 300,000 people, let alone command, just the supply alone would drive the logistics team crazy, unless they were stationed in a city.

However, the British side, through internal verification, concluded that the total strength of the US military may exceed 300,000.

Although British commanders always said the Americans were no match for them, Codrington was a very cautious man, and he thought that 300,000 men, each with a hammer, could raze Pittsburgh to the ground within a month.

Therefore, the British army had to mobilize an equivalent number of troops to hold Pittsburgh and launch a counterattack.

However, if the plan approved by Congress is followed, William Rhoden will lead 50,000 elite troops to bypass Philadelphia and attack Pittsburgh.

Prior to this, in order to cover William Roden's operations, Codrington should have launched an attack on Harrisburg to divert American attention and at the same time protect William Roden's supply lines.

The Battle of Pittsburgh is about to begin, and we want to consult London. By the time those gentlemen finish their discussions, the war will probably be over.

"I need to speak with General Rodden. Get a car ready for me immediately."

Trenton, a British military base.

"Hello, General Codrington. What brings you here so late at night?"

William Roden was curious about what had made this old tortoise risk crossing the Americans' guerrilla territory to see him.

In reality, American guerrillas usually avoid tough targets with guards; they prefer to attack supply convoys with small numbers of personnel but large quantities of supplies.

“General Roden, I have received information that the U.S. military plans to attack Pittsburgh and has already amassed 300,000 troops. We need to prioritize supporting Pittsburgh.”

William Rhoden's first reaction was disbelief, as the number 300,000 was simply too outrageous. But he quickly realized that he had been preparing for the surprise attack on Washington for months.

"Are you trying to make me abandon the plan to attack Washington?"

Codrington, however, said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Now, plans are just plans; they can't keep up with changes in the battlefield situation. We should seize the opportunity to catch the Americans off guard!"

William Rodden replied with a disdainful look.

“An order is an order. We soldiers should take it upon ourselves to obey orders. Besides, the Americans are attacking Pittsburgh. Wouldn’t it be a surprise attack on Washington if I went to attack them at this time?”

Codrington's expression changed drastically.

"What do you mean? You're giving up Pittsburgh?"

William Rodden responded with a nonchalant expression.

"I was just following orders, catching the Americans off guard. Besides, how could there possibly be 300,000 US troops in Pittsburgh? Have the Americans gone mad?"
They want to use their balls to smash rocks? Americans are barbaric, not stupid!

Codrington slapped the urgent documents sent from Pittsburgh onto William Roden's chest.

"See for yourself!"

William Roden picked up the letter, glanced at it, and spoke slowly, word by word.

"I don't believe it! I do have another urgent letter here; you should take a good look at it."

William Roden took a letter from the drawer and slammed it heavily on Codrington's chest, deliberately increasing the force as a retaliation for his earlier attack, causing Codrington to stagger.

The letter stated that the U.S. military was reinforcing Harrisburg. In fact, Codrington already knew about this, but he chose to deliberately ignore it. He felt that the U.S. forces in Harrisburg were not a high threat and that their strength was very limited, far less urgent than that in Pittsburgh.

"So what? They're just a few tens of thousands of Americans. Do you think they can just invade?"

"Humph."

William Roden dismissed Codrington's argument, arguing that the reinforcement of Harrisburg by the U.S. military would directly threaten his plans to launch a surprise attack on Washington, and that tens of thousands of troops would be enough to change the course of the battle.

"How ridiculous! Your duty should be to protect the flanks of our army. Now the US military is reinforcing Harrisburg, but you pretend not to know and even want to transfer troops to Pittsburgh."

I have serious doubts about your motives.

I've heard that you've promised many people in your jurisdiction official positions within the British Empire. Do you have that authority?

Codrington's face flushed red; he hadn't expected the other person to use this to provoke him.

"Our top priority right now is to rescue Pittsburgh and counter the US military's actions! Let's not talk about anything irrelevant!"

"I'm furious," Codrington said, while William Rodden continued to retort.

"What do you mean it's unimportant? I think you're just talking nonsense! Are all the defensive fortifications you've been building for over a year just made of paper?"
I'd like to ask you what you've actually done this past year!

"The American attack is imminent! Are you blind?"

Both sides were already on edge, and William Rodden didn't care about anything else.

"You're the blind one! Washington is right here, is Pittsburgh more important than Washington? You're not only blind, you're a stupid donkey!"

"What did you say? You scoundrel! You think you can be my equal just because you hit the jackpot? You don't even know who you are!"
I'm telling you, the offensive plan must be cancelled! I am the supreme commander of the North American theater!

(End of this chapter)