IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 141
**Chapter 141**
**The Mexican-American War (14)**
The militia’s request was quickly relayed. The landing of 140,000 imperial Mexican troops in the heart of the United States, the 13 original colonies, was enough to shock President James Polk and the Federal Army’s high command.
“···Did Nueva Granada make a peace treaty on their own?”
The information was too late.
The enemy, Mexico, wouldn’t inform the United States. Nueva Granada, no longer an ally, had no reason to be kind to the United States, nor did they have the leisure to do so due to their domestic turmoil.
“From the circumstances, it seems they signed a peace treaty in July.”
Bang!
“Who doesn’t know that now?!”
President James Polk exploded. With Mexican troops having reached South America and then landing in Washington D.C., anyone could have guessed that much.
The United States, with its Mississippi and ports blockaded, was blind to the situation abroad. The only source of information was Britain, but they were having trouble gathering information in the Americas since they had ceded their Caribbean and South American territories to Mexico.
“···So, in the end, it’s Winfield Scott. Is it?”
The consensus among the Federal Army generals was that Winfield Scott was the most suitable for the supreme command. He was a proven war hero, had combat experience against the Imperial Mexican Army, and although he had lost, he had also achieved the feat of reducing casualties in the Memphis battle with his courageous decision to abandon the line infantry tactics.
Although he had recently dismissed Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, creating an uncomfortable relationship, even the president couldn’t ignore the choice of everyone in this crisis and make a unilateral decision.
“Order him to the east.”
***
‘What a mess.’
Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, traveling by train to the eastern front, sighed inwardly after confirming the state of the militia.
“Are they really bringing those as guns?”
It was natural for ordinary citizens to not be able to obtain the latest military weapons, but some were too extreme.
Some even brought shotguns used for hunting, with only one barrel.
“If you reload that on the battlefield against the Imperial Mexican Army, you’ll have about ten holes in your body. Give those who brought such weapons the ones we brought from the Springfield Armory.”
“Yes!”
The guns were the least of their worries.
The overwhelming difference in the number of cannons left him breathless and feeling suffocated.
If they could buy time, they could get supplies. The weapons factories were churning them out like crazy. The problem was that they didn’t have time.
“They’ve already started moving.”
The Imperial Mexican Army, having ravaged Washington D.C., had waited for a while for resupply, but that was only temporary. They began moving north, and just above Washington D.C. was Baltimore, a fairly large city in the United States.
“We have to fight before they reach Baltimore! Otherwise, those Mexican bastards will wipe out Baltimore too! Just like Washington D.C.!”
It was the people of Baltimore.
The militia members seemed to have erased the word discipline from their dictionaries. They directly voiced their demands to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott.
Lieutenant General Winfield Scott was famous throughout the United States as a war hero, and his authority was enough to control the militia. However, most militia members had never received military training in their lives, and there was a shortage of officers to control them.
There were no officers and non-commissioned officers who should be between the general, the supreme commander, and the enormous number of soldiers. The U.S. Army had been increasing its military spending and recruiting many officers for several years, but almost all of them were in the west. They needed to gather all the officers in the United States to operate an army of 220,000.
Despite this, the number of militia members gathered in Baltimore continued to increase.
He wanted to give up Baltimore. But if he did, the militia would riot. If they could even attempt urban warfare, it would be good, but the Mexicans weren’t the kind to enter the city willingly.
Giving up Baltimore would buy them some time, but that little time wouldn’t be enough to change the current dire situation. He made his decision.
“We have no choice but to fight. Get ready as quickly as possible.”
Normally, he would leave it to his subordinate officers and devise tactics, but he didn’t have the time for that now. The Imperial Mexican Army was right at their doorstep, and they needed to at least create a defensive line. He tried to construct trenches south of Baltimore, similar to what the Mexican Imperial Army had done in Memphis.
The days of a general having to personally direct work on the defensive line ended, and the Imperial Mexican Army arrived at their doorstep.
The Imperial Mexican Army, as always, began the battle by unleashing their overwhelming firepower.
“The enemy is preparing their cannons!”
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!
“Take cover!”
The cannonballs from the cannons scraped across the battlefield, but the trenches kept the casualties low. Compared to the Mexican army’s trenches, it was just a haphazardly dug ditch, but it still had some effect.
Bang! Boom! Boom!
The Imperial Mexican artillery thoroughly destroyed the few American cannons, continuing their suppression fire. While the bombardment continued, the American army endured. They bombarded them with so many cannons that it felt like their faces would be blown off if they raised their heads. Then, it happened.
“F, fire! Fire now!”
The officer who was in the front-line trench with the soldiers shouted.
“What the hell! When did they get here?!”
Bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang bang!
The Imperial Mexican Army, protected by their overwhelming artillery, was charging toward the trenches. They had dug trenches, but the American army had no obstacle zones, such as barbed wire, or machine guns, so their defensive capabilities were pathetic.
The Imperial Mexican soldiers, approaching right in front of them, aimed at the bottom of the trench.
Bang! Click- Bang!
It’s true that shooting from below is more advantageous than shooting from above. The makeshift trench was becoming a tomb, and the British military observers watching from afar said,
“Hmm, the defensive power of this trench is below expectations. Isn’t it too powerless in the face of the combination of a powerful artillery and well-trained infantry?”
“Yes. It doesn’t seem worth going all the way to the west to see this.”
The British military observers judged accordingly.
***
While the militia in the east was being pierced by the Imperial Mexican Army so helplessly, there were no significant achievements in the west after the first day when they broke through one line of defense. The reserve forces, command, and artillery that hadn’t participated in the first day’s battle were in the rear, and more than half of the American army was trapped in the trenches dug by the Imperial Mexican Army.
“Charge!”
The officers ordered a charge as usual, and the soldiers, unable to resist the threat of the officers with their pistols, reluctantly charged forward. As they left the trenches, the faint sound of the Imperial Mexican Army’s chaotic gunfire became too clear.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-
The chaotic sound of the machine guns seemed to be telling the soldiers, ‘Come and die.’
“I, I can’t go! Damn it! I can’t go!”
In a few days, tens of thousands of soldiers died in vain. The evidence was scattered outside the trenches. The soldier’s mind went blank, and he returned to the trench in the back.
“Hey, you bastard! Charge!”
Whack!
The officer couldn’t bring himself to use the revolver he was holding, so he kicked him in the shin. The soldier fell and yelled.
“Aaaaaah! Aaaaaah!”
“You cowardly bastard! Where’s your courage! Get up!”
The officer grabbed the soldier by the collar and pulled him up, but the soldier just sat down again.
“Aaaaaah! Aaaaaah! Aaaaaah!”
Only then did the officer realize that the soldier had completely gone mad.
“Calm down! You’re safe, so calm down!”
Many soldiers were deeply traumatized and even showed signs of mental illness. The situation had reached the point where even junior officers, such as lieutenants, captains, and majors, protested to their commanders.
“The casualties are too heavy!”
“That’s right. Honestly, don’t we even see a sign of breaking through?”
In an organization like the military, which is based on the principle of obedience, such behavior was unacceptable, but every night the soldiers’ cries of pain were heard. The commanders also thought inwardly that the battle was hopeless, but because Commander Zachary Taylor wouldn’t give up the battle, they dismissed the protests.
Zachary Taylor was in a similar situation.
“The president is watching this battle very closely.”
The U.S. Army was still receiving additional troops and supplies through the upper reaches of the Mississippi River, which hadn’t been blocked, but every time the presidential aide came, he uttered the same words.
Zachary Taylor clutched his haggard face with both hands.
All this was due to his karma for guaranteeing that they could recapture Memphis.
August 24, 1846, evening.
Ten days after the start of the battle, the U.S. Army admitted that it was impossible to recapture Memphis and that the ‘counterattack’ operation had failed.
Retreating wouldn’t be easy either. The moment they left the trenches, they would be within range of cannons, rifles, and machine guns. They expected heavy casualties even during the retreat. However, they couldn’t just give up all these troops, so a desperate retreat operation was carried out.
3:00 AM, August 25th.
The guards woke up all the units. They didn’t turn on any lights or make any noise.
“We’re going out on three.”
Everyone loaded their belongings and waited for the signal to retreat.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three!”
Hup!
The soldiers climbed out of the trenches. It wasn’t in the direction of charging at the enemy, but in the direction they had come from.
The outermost trench, created by the Imperial Mexican Army but now the American army’s sanctuary, circled Memphis. They had to retreat north, so the soldiers in the south and west waited for the soldiers in the north to leave before they started leaving.
Hup!
‘Finally, I’m getting out of this hellhole…’
Everyone was thinking that as they left.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-!
“The Americans are retreating! Don’t let them go easily!”
It was the dark of dawn, but they couldn’t miss a large-scale movement like this.
Bang!
The Imperial Mexican guards started firing. It was very dark, but it didn’t matter. The enemy was retreating in a very dense formation, and the sound of gunfire would wake up their comrades.
“They’re running away!”
“Prepare for battle within three minutes!”
Dequan was startled awake by the loud bell and gunfire, but he jumped up when he heard that the enemy was running away and began preparing for battle.
He was the first to finish preparing and ran out.
“It’s too dark.”
He could only hear the sound of many people moving somewhere in the distance. Dequan, using his experience from the previous battle, aimed and fired instinctively.
Bang!
Huck!
He heard someone get hit. Dequan immediately reloaded.
Click-
Bang!
As he fired, his comrades began to join him.
Bang! Bang bang! Bang bang!
“Damn it!”
Many were running, their backs to the hail of bullets, experiencing immense fear. It was already too late anyway. They were already exposed. They naturally cursed. The barbed wire in the back had been diligently removed by the rear units every dawn, so there were no obstacles.
The sound of gunfire was joined by the sound of machine guns, but thankfully, they didn’t hear any cannons.
An army of 220,000.
They had even added 20,000 reinforcements to the battle, but only 100,000 returned safely, and all the bodies, except for those of some officers, were left on the battlefield.
President James Polk was speechless in shock upon hearing news of this terrible defeat, and the British Empire sent a diplomat.