Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 741 Comprehensive Counterattack
The tactics employed by the Northern Ukrainian army achieved some success, forcing our Northern army into a siege. Thanks to the Mississippi River's north-south connection, the logistical pressure was not too great.

The Ukrainian army did not simply defend itself; instead, it made full use of its familiarity with the terrain and the vast area, leveraging its superior cavalry numbers to launch a comprehensive harassment of our supply lines.

However, the Ugly Army also had its flaws, namely poor command. The militia in Hexi acted more spontaneously, driven by the fear of losing their homes after defeat.

Before the war, the U.S. government did a lot of propaganda, which was nothing more than demonizing heretics.

The war cannot be won as quickly as the last one, but our army is psychologically prepared.

Without a doubt, this war was not initiated by our country. After the U.S. army launched an offensive in the south and achieved certain results, our army was forced to fight back.

It takes at least a month for reserves to go from mobilization to entering the battlefield, and new recruits need even longer, with three months of training being the minimum.

So you can't rush it!
Jacques ordered that the attack on Madison should not be rushed; thorough preparations must be made first, considering all conceivable difficulties and finding corresponding solutions.

Furthermore, he clearly informed all subordinate units that they would not retreat in this battle.

More and more cannons were brought to the front line, firing directly at the Ugly army's fortified strongholds.

The Donghua Army did not rush to launch an offensive, but instead bombarded the enemy with artillery incessantly. This tactic caused the U.S. Army considerable trouble, but its drawback was that it was too expensive.

Fortunately, the father is the father, and the arsenal in the northern province is already able to produce shells of various calibers on its own.

The benefits of the railway line through São Paulo became apparent, with a steady stream of supplies being transported to the front lines. Although Ukrainian cavalry frequently crossed the border to harass the railway, the local inhabitants along the route were not to be underestimated. Previously, they were outmatched by the Ukrainian army due to their inferior equipment, but now, with better equipment, both sides engaged in frequent and intensive battles over the railway.

The Ukrainian army was horrified to discover that their former prey had now become their prey. Especially in the central mountains, the three ethnic divisions, after besieging Denver, did not immediately attack, but instead cut off all access to the outside world, initiating a protracted siege. The Ukrainian army prepared for defense, but their preparations proved futile.

By the time the reserve forces were fully formed and new divisions were brought up in organized units, Madison was already teetering on the brink of collapse.

Jia Zhi personally went to the front line and ordered a general offensive.

At this point, Madison had suffered nearly half its casualties from the shelling, and morale was low. Within three hours of the start of the general offensive, the defenders raised the white flag and surrendered.

In this battle, over 15,000 enemy soldiers were killed and over 8,000 were captured. The Donghua Army was already used to seeing American wounded soldiers left unattended. The city's civilians had long since fled, and the Americans couldn't find anyone to care for them; the only remaining force was a group of missionaries. Their numbers were small, far too few to care for over 3,000 wounded. Most of the wounded would die without the Donghua Army's treatment.

The Donghua Army, on the other hand, would save as many people as they could, even though the image they had worked so hard to build had become a burden, and they had to continue even with tears in their eyes.

You know what, once this kind of thing gets out, it really can soften the enemy's will to resist.

The morale of the US military, which was originally defending their homeland, was not low. However, due to the inhumane behavior of the US government and military leadership, even soldiers are not stupid.

Why is there a shortage of medical personnel after preparing for such a long war? Some people want to cite the US military in World War II as an example, but I want to tell you that the US military in World War II was an exception, an exception during the Roosevelt era.

Throughout American history, the U.S. military during World War II was arguably the period when discipline and morale were at their peak.

Back then, the X Army was very powerful even without drugs. As Roosevelt's influence faded, the M Army's combat effectiveness declined steadily, eventually becoming an army that relied heavily on its equipment.

Now that Trump says the U.S. military has an iron will, that's a really lame joke.

Thinking of Roosevelt, I can't help but recall a line from "The Three-Body Problem": Humanity doesn't thank logic, and similarly, the people of the Ugly country don't thank Roosevelt. At least, the capitalists and the powerful don't thank Roosevelt.

The root cause of the U.S. victory in the Cold War was not how powerful the U.S. was, but that Russia ruined itself.

That's a bit of a tangent, let's get back to the main topic!

After a large number of newly formed divisions arrived at the front, several regular divisions went into rest and reorganization, while the newly formed divisions took the lead and continued their advance towards Chicago. Half of the newly formed divisions were committed to the west bank of the Mississippi River, thoroughly sweeping through the area and completely separating the east and west banks. This move caused panic in the central states of the United States, which, after being isolated, fell into complete fragmentation and fighting independently.

At the same time, the Donghua Army also launched a counterattack, using Xiaoshicheng as a springboard to cross the river and launch a counterattack upstream, while launching a forced crossing operation downstream.

Li Yu's tactics were relatively simple and brutal, with divisions of various ethnicities leading the way, while the main regular divisions served as the assault force after opening a breach.

This approach is undoubtedly using various ethnic groups as cannon fodder. It may not have a significant impact on morale, and the effects may not be immediately apparent. However, it will inevitably lead to internal conflicts in the long run.

The well-prepared U.S. forces put up fierce resistance in the south, and the river crossing campaign did not go smoothly. After three days of fierce fighting, the Donghua Southern Army was still trapped in many strongholds on the west bank of the river.

Li Yu's tactics failed. The US military's defense was quite tenacious. After all, they were fighting on the front line of defending their homeland, and the morale of the US Southern Army was not low.

In the end, Li Yu deployed his main force, concentrated all his artillery, and bombarded a point on the American defense line before committing his main standing divisions, which finally opened a breach.

After the defensive line was breached, the US military exposed its chaotic and disorderly retreat, retreating in a disorganized manner.

The main force of the Donghua Southern Army, which had been conserving its strength, broke through quickly into the enemy's rear with cavalry as the vanguard, giving the M army no chance to stop and organize a counterattack.

This move struck at the heart of the M army, and several towns fell without much resistance. Thirty thousand M Confederate troops were surrounded in Baton Rouge and Jackson, and the M Confederate front was in dire straits.

In the direction of Little Rock, the Southern Army of the East China Army, with the cooperation of an elite cavalry division of the Northern Army, successfully crossed the river and then encircled more than 10,000 M troops in a mobile warfare operation between the two rivers.

After a month and a half of fighting, the Southern Army finally broke through the enemy lines and entered a favorable situation for a full-scale counterattack.

The Union Army, meanwhile, continued its steady and methodical advance. After capturing Madison, it used five newly formed divisions to advance towards Chicago. Simultaneously, it deployed two regular divisions to clear out towns on both sides of the river. The local population's resistance was not strong; after all, they had been attacked twice before, only managing to sabotage some machinery before leaving, and they expected the same thing this time. However, they didn't expect that this time they wouldn't leave. After each town was captured, newly formed troops from the reserves took military control, showing no intention of retreating.

Two hundred thousand U.S. troops were assembled in the Great Lakes region, but they were powerless to do anything. They dared not leave their fortified strongholds and could only watch helplessly as the Donghua Army marched south along the river, capturing town after town, removing the flags of the United States, raising the flags of Donghua, and declaring martial law.

This region, whether industrial or agricultural, is the heart of Country M. Losing this territory has dealt a heavy blow to the U.S. government's fiscal revenue.

As the war progressed, more and more capitalists sold off their assets and returned to Europe. The capitalists from the Celestial Dragons, in particular, were among the fastest to flee. Others profited immensely from the war, which caused prices in the United States to skyrocket, especially food prices, which increased fivefold. Workers toiled away all day, while their children went hungry.

There's only one way to have enough to eat: join the army and get a resettlement allowance for your wife and children.

A bizarre scene unfolded in the eastern United States: large numbers of listless American men lined up to enlist in the military. They were all city workers, whose factory and mining jobs were no longer enough to support their families.

Chicago had been transformed into a fortified fortress, with strong fortifications and trenches everywhere outside the city. The American soldiers lacked the courage to go out and only dared to hide behind the fortifications to defend themselves.

In the U.S. military, the older the soldier, the lower the morale. The reason is simple: veterans have participated in the last field battle, and the despair of death at any moment leaves every veteran with lingering fear.

On the contrary, the new recruits were in good spirits, after all, they were fighting under the banner of defending their homeland. Weren't the newspapers all saying that the infidels would kill every man and take all the women?

Looking at the numerous fortresses of all sizes outside the city—at least a thousand in total—the generals of the Donghua Northern Army were somewhat bewildered.

How much did the US government actually spend to build so many forts and dig so many trenches?

What to do? What else can we do? Let's stop and do some reconnaissance.

Upon hearing the news, Jia Zhi was not too nervous, after all, he had been doing intelligence work and knew what the US government was doing, as well as what the local government was doing.

Well, the local people of Chicago, after experiencing it twice, weren't too nervous. As long as they hid in the cellars when fighting broke out, they could basically wait until the war ended before going out to earn money.

The Donghua Army has good discipline, fair trade, and real pay for work; they are much more generous than the old lords.

But this time was different. The Donghua Army did not launch an attack immediately. Instead, it operated on the periphery, sweeping away small strongholds little by little and slowly squeezing out the American troops.

Over three days, they finally managed to compress the American forces outside the city into several large outposts, completing the encirclement of Chicago on three sides.

The newly formed division lacked experience, resulting in over three thousand casualties in three days of fighting. This was unavoidable.

Jia Zhi ordered the withdrawal of three newly formed divisions and the transfer of three main standing divisions.

The three standing divisions, having completed their rest and resupply, continued their compression operations from three directions.

The U.S. military immediately sensed the difference. This difference was not due to the bravery of the soldiers, but rather that the new troops were more tactically adept.

After the initial firepower preparation, skirmishers advanced in skirmish formation, mortars suppressed the trenches, and artillery was deployed to approach and fire directly at the fortress.

Using this tactic, all the major strongholds outside the city were eliminated within two days. American casualties surged dramatically, with more than 5,000 wounded in just two days.

The American troops who retreated into the city also became erratic and appeared terrified.

The Donghua Army concentrated its various caliber artillery and bombarded the city's fortifications for three days before launching an attack.

During the attack, the remaining American fortifications were reduced to ashes by the close-range fire of the 105mm guns. After 24 hours of fierce fighting, the remaining American troops began to flee after the city was breached.

This time, the American troops' escape was not as easy as the last one. They were pursued by the East China Cavalry along the way, and of the 30,000 American troops who survived, only 3,000 made it back to Chicago.

The battle lasted for ten days, resulting in the annihilation of 30,000 regular American troops and 20,000 American militiamen, with as many as 30,000 prisoners captured.

After entering the city, the Donghua Army immediately established a military government and issued a proclamation to reassure the people.

Upon learning of what had happened, the U.S. military commanders in Detroit were gripped by deep fear. They had assumed that if Madison had held out for a month, Chicago could easily hold out for six months.

Unexpectedly, Madison held out for a month because the enemy didn't want to fight. If they really wanted to fight, a city as big as Chicago with such a large population would only hold out for ten days. This includes the time for clearing out the city after it fell and the time for pursuit. Otherwise, the time would have been even shorter.

Another defeat was inevitable. The White House received even more disheartening news: the fleet that the Confederates had failed to detect during their surprise attack was now out of New York and was using its large-caliber naval guns to bombard the New York harbor.

The U.S. Navy did not back down from the fight; they went into battle, but they did not win.

Sixty warships of various types went into battle against a flotilla of fifteen cruisers from the Donghua Navy. After a day of fierce fighting, only three warships escaped. The others were either sunk or surrendered in despair by raising white flags.

This naval battle was simply unwinnable; the gap in naval guns was insurmountable, and the battleships were in even worse shape. The cumbersome battleships were slow and easily outmaneuvered by the enemy.

When our navy was at a distance, they used the main guns at the bow and stern, while smaller boats quickly closed in. Under the concentrated fire of the secondary guns on both sides, no enemy could withstand them. Once hit, the warship would catch fire, and the fire would be difficult to extinguish.

Even the people of Country M couldn't figure out what kind of explosive was in those shells; it was just absurd.

There was no way around it; Jia Lian personally oversaw the project of loading picric acid into the chemical tank. A major problem with picric acid is that it cannot come into direct contact with iron, otherwise the reaction will be violent and cause problems.

The engineers tried various methods and finally found a paraffin coating, which solved the problem!

Jia Lian knew about picric acid because of the Battle of the Yalu River during the First Sino-Japanese War, but he was unaware of the specifics of picric acid.

Once this problem was solved, the days of wooden sailing warships were numbered.

After annihilating the US fleet that dared to go out to sea, the Donghua Navy dispersed along the east coast of the United States, and would fire on any sampan they saw.

This move led to two consequences: a surge in cotton prices in Europe and an inability to ship American-made goods out of the country.

Last time, the Donghua Navy didn't stop ships from European countries, but this time they resolutely stopped them. When they discovered the ships were American, they immediately seized them and only allowed them to leave after the war ended.

(End of this chapter)