IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 137
**Chapter 137**
**The Mexican-American War (10)**
“Forming a line of battle, that’s dishonorable…”
Slap-
Major General Winfield Scott slapped the officer who was talking about honor.
“What? Honor?”
“Soldiers in the line of battle are being torn apart, and you’re talking about honor? Thirty thousand died in a single day, fifteen thousand each, and you’re talking about honor?”
The officer, who had somehow made it to the rank of colonel, could only lower his head in the face of Winfield Scott’s anger, a senior officer and a war hero.
“Is there another idiot who wants to talk about honor?”
“…”
No one dared to open their mouth in front of Winfield Scott, who seemed ready to slap anyone who dared to speak.
“Good. Starting tomorrow, we’ll have to deploy those who haven’t even completed their basic training, and if there are still idiots talking about honor, I was going to make them stand at the front of the line of battle and lead.”
“…”
In this era, line infantry was not only a tactic but also a symbol of military discipline and courage. It was an honorable act to stand firm in the face of bullets and cannon fire, to maintain the line even as those in front fell.
Major General Winfield Scott, who was no longer a young man, had initially not understood why the Mexicans didn’t care about lines of battle, scattering themselves and prioritizing concealment and cover.
He had thought they were not only stupid but also dishonorable. But he was the commander of the United States Army and the overall commander of this battle. In the face of that weighty responsibility, he had to admit it.
“Starting tomorrow, we’ll not form lines of battle, and we’ll make sure everyone can take cover as much as possible.”
In just two days, there had been thirty thousand casualties. And those deployed until today were trained soldiers. Those who hadn’t even received three weeks of basic training were waiting in reserve.
And so, the third day of battle dawned.
The Mexican Imperial Army was confused by the changed tactics of the United States Army.
The artillery units exchanged fire, the cavalry units fought, and the soldiers fired machine guns and rifles, but the soldiers who had openly formed lines of battle and volunteered to be shot were gone.
Like the Mexican Empire, some were scattered across the battlefield, taking cover behind concealment or cover, firing while crouching, or firing prone if there was no cover.
Every time they fired, the smoke from the gunpowder billowed, making the cover almost useless, but it was a different situation from yesterday, when they had seemed to be begging to be killed.
“They changed their tactics in just two days…”
“The US Army has learning ability, I see.”
“It’s not just a few changes, the whole thing is different. It must have been ordered from above.”
In a conservative organization like the military, there was only one person who could make such a change overnight.
The supreme commander had pushed it through.
“…I thought we could push them back today, but it looks like it’s going to be tough.”
The effect of the changed tactics was remarkable.
The casualties among the soldiers, who had been cut down by rifles and machine guns, had decreased significantly.
“Three thousand dead, five thousand wounded…”
“Everything else is the same, but just by disbanding the lines of battle, it changed this much…”
There were still a lot of casualties, but compared to yesterday, when it had been fifteen thousand a day, it was a lot better.
The battle dragged on.
The Mexican Imperial fleet had been chipping away at the fortress for five days, and the US military was constantly replenishing its troops.
At least, that’s how it looked on the surface.
“Gun malfunction! Gun malfunction!”
“Damn it, again? Fix it quickly!”
The rifles used by the US military were superficially similar in performance to those of the Mexican Imperial Army. The Springfield Model 1842 was a near-replica of the ER-38, and the Springfield Model 1844 was a near-replica of the ER-42.
The problem was that they broke down often. It was a serious problem for a rifle that was essentially a soldier’s lifeline on the battlefield.
“They’re breaking down faster and faster. Please replace them. I can’t use these anymore.”
In peacetime, such a request would have been ignored, but now it was wartime, and it was a matter of life and death.
“…Will you use this?”
The officer handed him a flintlock musket. The soldier took it.
“Yes. I’d feel better using this.”
The US military’s firepower, already lacking compared to the Mexican army, was declining. This was partly due to the increasing proportion of muskets, but there was another problem.
“Ah, these are the ones who haven’t even started training yet.”
“Don’t make me say it twice. Deploy them.”
The situation had reached the point where newly recruited soldiers were handed rifles and sent straight to the battlefield, without even a month, three weeks, two weeks, or even a week of training.
The fatality rate, which had been declining, was skyrocketing again.
Day 6.
The US military fought tooth and nail to hold the line, but eventually reached its limit.
“…They’re out of ammo?”
“Yes, we’re short of everything, not just ammo. Most of the cannons are broken, and the cavalry is at its limit.”
Despite the 60,000 casualties, they had been able to replenish the manpower. The government had been constantly sending troops. But there was no way to replenish the lack of supplies.
“The fortresses on the Mississippi River are almost all destroyed. They’ll start firing their main guns at us tomorrow.”
The Mexican Imperial fleet had completely destroyed the defensive line.
“…Prepare to retreat.”
***
“Woooo!”
“The enemy is retreating!”
“Ugh. Those damn bastards.”
As the US military retreated, the Mexican Imperial Army entered Memphis. They had seized control of the Mississippi River’s mid-stream logistics hub.
The soldiers enjoyed a long-awaited rest.
“Now that the battle is over, tell them to supply medical supplies as quickly as possible.”
General Antonio said.
“Yes!”
The Mexican Imperial Army was fighting while being supplied via the Mississippi River.
Unlike the United States, which was still in the process of transitioning to a wartime footing, Mexico had been massively increasing its military production and stockpiling for a long time.
This was the reason why the Mexican Imperial Army was able to maintain its firepower, unlike the United States, which was losing steam day by day.
The Mexican Imperial Army, which had suffered 7,000 casualties on the first day, saw its casualty rate decline day by day, and on the sixth day, it had less than 2,000 casualties. Of the total 30,000 casualties, just over 10,000 were dead.
“Make arrangements to send the seriously wounded back to the mainland by ship.”
“Yes!”
***
[Memphis Battle Lost!]
[Mexican Empire Seizes America’s Aorta!]
News of Memphis falling into Mexican hands spread quickly.
“No, didn’t they set up a defensive line at Memphis?”
“What are we supposed to do if we can’t even defend it? We have to hold on, so we can prepare and counterattack!”
All major ports, including New York Harbor, Boston Harbor, Philadelphia Harbor, Baltimore Harbor, and Charleston Harbor, were blockaded.
In this situation, the Mississippi River being blocked meant that America’s logistics were completely paralyzed, and that meant economic collapse.
[The Arrogance of Manifest Destiny]
In the North, anti-war voices began to resurface. They argued that it was time to make peace. It wasn’t a popular argument, but as the possibility of defeat increased, it began to gain traction.
Most of them had supported the war, but they had thought it would end somewhere in the South, and now that the scale of the war had grown, logistics were paralyzed, and the government was showing signs of resorting to forced conscription, they had changed their minds.
It was also surprising news to European diplomats who had been watching this war, which had grown larger than they expected.
They had not withdrawn their embassies despite the outbreak of war, but were actively collecting information instead. The flames of war were still far from reaching the Northeast, so there was no reason to worry yet.
“Our military experts back home said that Memphis would hold out for at least two months, but it was completely wrong.”
“Haha, we had similar talk back home. I think America’s capabilities are lower than expected.”
They were British and French diplomats.
“That’s true, but it’s also true that the Mexican Empire’s capabilities are higher than expected.”
This was a Russian diplomat.
They were words that reflected the positions of England, which wanted the war to last a long time, France, which had bad feelings towards Mexico, and Russia, which wanted anyone to win so they could jointly check England.
“Well, they still have a lot of territory left, so there’s no need to jump to conclusions. I heard they’re converting factories in the Great Lakes region into military production factories. They have enough potential to counterattack.”
The British ambassador said that, and the French ambassador agreed.
“That’s right. Only a part of the South has been occupied so far. Most of the agriculture in the American South is commodity crops, and food is mostly produced in the East and North, so they won’t be able to hold out.”
“I don’t know. The ports are blocked, and the Mississippi River transportation is blocked. How can they do that now? They have no way to get raw materials.”
Even if the industrial area is intact, you can’t produce products without raw materials. The Russian ambassador was pointing out an obvious fact.
“Ahem…”
“…”
The French ambassador coughed, but the British ambassador, despite his itchy mouth, held back.
***
Mid-May.
A letter sent by the British ambassador to the United States shook the British Parliament.
“They lost in seven days?”
“Who said it would be at least two months?”
Parliament had many former military officers, and they were the ones who had made that prediction.
“Ahem, ahem…”
The letter, containing detailed information about the battle results, also contained the ambassador’s judgment that if they were going to intervene, they should do it quickly.
It was a message that supported the Conservative Party’s proposal to indirectly help the side that was losing.
“We need to support them now! If they lose any more ground, America might lose its will to fight!”
The Liberal Party members also wanted to see a continuous conflict between the United States and Mexico, so they quickly reached a consensus.
“That’s right. Many people said that Memphis would hold out for at least two months. But it actually took less than a week. So, if they said this war would last at least two years, it’s likely to end in less than half a year. We need to intervene now, as the ambassador said.”
It wasn’t about joining the war. Such a radical proposal was opposed by many, even in the Liberal Party, not to mention the Conservative Party.
To have a significant impact on a war of this scale, they would need at least 50,000 troops and half of the British fleet.
Even for Britain, which valued prestige and hegemony, most people thought it was a bad idea to join this war and delay their “global management” while they were busy swallowing up India and enjoying the fruits of their labor.
“Just think of it as continuing the trade we used to do. We’ll have to increase the variety of goods and go through Canada, but that’s all.”
“May is the perfect time. If we go through the St. Lawrence, we can go straight to the Great Lakes.”
The St. Lawrence River, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes, was frozen from December to April, but from May onwards, it could be a fairly good trade route.
It was much more cumbersome than going through major ports like New York, but it was through Canadian territory, so Mexico had no way to block it.
“We’ll probably have to take some of it on credit. But we’ll get a hefty interest on that, so it’s not a bad thing.”
Many people in neighboring Ireland were starving to death, but Britain decided to export food to the United States.
Ireland didn’t make money, but the United States did. They intended to sell everything on credit, except for weapons, including food and raw materials needed for industry.
British merchant ships laden with food and goods passed by Mexican relief ships heading for Ireland.