I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 132



Only Noblemtl

Mexican-American War (5)

“We’ve arrived.”

“Yes, Admiral. We arrived on time.”

A messenger had to take a detour south of New Orleans to bring news of its arrival, but even without that, it was visible from afar.

The First Mexican Army Corps has arrived.

“What about our side?”

“Ready to deploy.”

The fleet was not without damage in the last battle.

Of the 16 ironclads, three suffered partial failure of their steam engines, either from accumulated shock or from unfortunate shell hits to the steam engines.

An ironclad with a broken steam engine loses its maneuverability and is greatly reduced in combat effectiveness. It will require extensive repairs to fix it, and it will take considerable time and effort to return it to a combat-ready state.

There were also several monitor ships, armored frigates, and small warships that were either destroyed or rendered unfit for combat.

Although the damage was quite large in terms of numbers, it was not so severe that the fleet could not carry out its mission, as the real power of the fleet came from the ironclads. The remaining 13 ironclads suffered damage that only required simple repairs.

The fleet waited for the army, repairing damaged ships, treating wounded soldiers, and even burying dead soldiers.

The preparations for a fight are complete.

“All fleets, set out!”

“Go forward!”

Boooow-

The sound of the steam engine starting up resonated, and smoke began to pour out of the chimney.

The fleet began to move up the river and make appearance in New Orleans.

“It’s the fleet of the Mexican Empire!”

“Damn, the numbers haven’t really changed.”

The New Orleans militia heard the outcome of the battle from the retreating garrisons at Port St. Philip and Port Jackson, but they still held out hope.

“Don’t worry! The United States Army has arrived!”

The 50,000-man army that had been hastily sent to defend the Mississippi River grew larger as it marched south.

There were also additional personnel sent by the federal government, and Americans who came to the military were accepted as they were.

The sight of the army advancing, raising dust, was magnificent. Their footsteps across the southern plains were filled with a resolute will. They gathered to protect their land and their people.

Even those who did not join the Central Army joined the city militia when they heard that New Orleans was an enemy target.

The regular army dispatched by the central government assumed command of the militia. In this way, a large army of 90,000 people was born, including 20,000 militiamen and 70,000 U.S. federal troops.

“···Most of them are southerners.”

“So. What are these Yankees doing? Is this just a Southern war?”

There were those who expressed their discontent in such a way. In fact, 70,000 of the 90,000 were Southerners.

This was because southerners had much higher levels of resentment toward the Mexican Empire, and because they were closer to the border, more people joined the army more quickly.

Lieutenant General Winfield Scott first ordered the evacuation of civilians still in the city and the reinforcement of defenses.

“Still, they sent a lot of cannons from the north, so let’s install them quickly.”

President James Polk did not go into war without a plan. He had been preparing for the development and mass production of new cannons capable of striking ironclad warships for a year.

With each cannon installed, the American line became more fortified. As the Mexican fleet began to appear in the distance, the defenders’ moves became more urgent.

Boom!

“Coming!”

Wedge!

Phew!

A shell fired from the Mexican Empire’s fleet struck the riverbank, causing the waves on the riverbank to sway for a moment due to the impact.

“Fight back!”

Boom!

It was the beginning of the Battle of New Orleans.

***

“Ironclad ships, including the flagship, attack the north, and the rest attack the south!”

The ironclad ships lined up in a single row essentially served to block artillery fire with their bodies.

This was because most of the city of New Orleans was located north of the Mississippi River. The south side of the river was still largely undeveloped, and most of the garrisons and defense facilities were located to the north.

Kwakwakwang!

As the armored frigates approached and began to fire, the artillery of the Mexican First Corps, which had already approached sufficiently, began a devastating barrage.

Boom! Kwakwakwakwak! Kwakwakwak!

“Eww!”

The only garrison south of the river was a garrison of about 5,000 men who had escaped from Fort Jackson, as the militia had all been concentrated north.

The defensive facilities were incomparably poor compared to Port Jackson, even with the large number of casualties.

There was no way they could be a match.

Of course, the garrison that escaped from Fort Jackson also attempted to cross north.

“Damn it. Those militia guys.”

This side is strictly a regular army. However, the mere militia insisted that they should remain in the south, saying that there should be troops in the south as well. This was possible because the commander of Fort St. Philip, which was a defensive facility in the north, supported the militia’s argument. Since he was of higher rank, they had no choice but to remain in the south.

Kwakwakwang! Kwakwak!

“There is no point in resisting this theory!”

The few remaining cannons are breaking down one by one. The soldiers cannot even dare to approach the cannons.

“···Let’s surrender.”

On the south side of the river, a white flag was soon raised.

It was just half a day after the battle started.

***

the next day.

Huh-huh-

Isaac patted the back of the white soldier next to him.

Whaaaaa-

“Are you feeling better now?”

The soldier who had vomited into the river finally nodded.

I tried hard to act calm, but everyone understood how I felt and pretended not to notice.

Thump-thump-

The small steamer carrying their squad was crossing the river.

The river crossing operation, which was carried out after the southern part of the river was reorganized, was a joint operation between the army and navy.

The ironclad ships were standing in a single row, just like yesterday, taking the enemy’s attacks on their bodies and destroying the enemy’s coastal guns one by one, and the monitor ships were also firing their main guns between them.

Meanwhile, armoured frigates and small and medium-sized ships were ferrying soldiers north, but his squadron happened to be picked up on a steam brig instead of an armoured frigate.

Wedge-

Phew-

Another shell fell into the river, aimed at the ship they were on.

Gulp-

The tense atmosphere continued.

The river crossing operation was divided into left and right sides of the city, in order to disperse the enemy forces.

As intended, enemy forces were spread out on the left and right flanks of New Orleans, and into downtown New Orleans, where the fleet was engaged in a fierce battle.

The place they were going was the west of the city.

“Once you arrive, run for cover immediately. Run as fast as you can.”

As they neared the riverbank, the commander gave the order.

There wasn’t much cover. Rocks, trees, low terrain, and even the ground that had been dug up by artillery fire served as cover.

The US military was no fool either, so they sent 30,000 troops to the outskirts of the city to block the crossing.

The moment you attempt to cross the river, you are exposed to that saturation.

Thump-thump-

Isaac, a black African, briefly regretted enlisting in the military, but quickly shook it off.

Wasn’t it the motherland that saved him and his family from living as slaves in Texas for the rest of their lives? His parents tried to stop him, saying it was dangerous, but they couldn’t stop his passion burning with patriotism.

As the steam brig neared the river to its limit, he turned the hull around and brought it into the river for easy landing.

Now is the time to get off.

Phew-

As he took a deep breath, the officer shouted.

“Hold on a moment! We will cross after a salvo from the armored frigate next to us!”

Kwakwakwakwakwakwak!

The armored frigate that had arrived right next to them spun around and started firing. The fire momentarily scattered the American troops that were targeting them right in front.

“now!”

The officer got off first.

“Over there!”

“Eww!”

After that, my memories briefly disappeared. All I could remember was running around like crazy, screaming with my squad mates.

“Commence firing!”

Fortunately, I managed to take cover without dying, and immediately after that, I heard an officer’s order.

Isaac reflexively aimed for the enemy’s chest and pulled the trigger!

bang!

‘Why are they standing there so openly?’

Isaac, who knew nothing about the military, thought so, but it seemed okay.

Isaac grabbed the bolt handle of the gun, turned it slightly counterclockwise, then pulled the bolt handle back to open the bolt.

He took out the bullets and the gunpowder wrapped in paper from the cartridge pouch and put them in the bolt. After pushing the cartridges into the chamber, he pushed the bolt forward and turned the bolt handle to lock the bolt.

The movements that I had practiced diligently for a month were carried out unconsciously.

Isaac finished loading and took aim at the enemy who was standing there dumbly and shot him.

bang!

The American troops formed battle lines and desperately tried to block the Mexican landing.

Landing means that there is no escape route once you attempt it, because the water is right behind you. That is why the US military tried to block the landing by lining up their battle lines towards the river and slaughter those who had just landed.

This tactic, which theoretically seemed to inflict enormous damage on the enemy, actually inflicted enormous damage on the American forces due to supporting fire from the armored frigates and one other factor.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-

Somewhere, a regular firing sound rang out. The first shots from the VA-45 machine gun created a new rhythm on the battlefield. The continuous firing sound symbolized the new power of the Mexican army.

At first there was only one. Up to this point, the Americans seemed to be doing a good job. They were hitting the armored frigates and small brigs with cannons brought in from the North, and the infantry was busy forming a fire line and holding off the Mexicans as they ran for cover.

After a few minutes, the sounds began to overlap.

Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-

Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo-!

The new weapon brought by the Mexican Empire, the VA-45, started spitting fire.

VA-45 machine guns were strategically placed at key points on the battlefield, especially along enemy advance routes and expected concentration areas.

Capable of firing up to 500 rounds per minute, the weapon began to tear apart the American lines that had been holding their own even under fire from armored frigates.

“Eww!”

“Fuck!”

“I, I can’t, I can’t go!”

If the person in front dies, you have to fill that spot. The cannon will fire in a few minutes at the earliest anyway. You might get hit by it, or you might not. If you fire one shot, you’ll fall back, so the ones who die are pretty unlucky.

That kind of thinking was the reason line infantry was able to survive in the musket era, because cannons and muskets were ridiculously slow to load, had short ranges, and were not very accurate.

However, as weapon systems became more advanced, instead of the ‘relatively unlucky guys’ dying, only the ‘relatively lucky guys’ survived.

As breech-loading rifles, breech-loading rifled guns, and even machine guns appeared, American soldiers began to die as soon as they filled the battle lines.

Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo-!

As machine guns began to fire across the battlefield, artillerymen took up positions and began firing field guns. The sound of artillery fire echoed across the ground, prompting the American commander to order a retreat.

Boom! Boom!

The US military held out until the end in an attempt to inflict maximum damage before the enemy could fully cross over, but it was not enough. Fundamentally, the difference in strength between the two armies was too overwhelming.

The battle that started early in the morning continued late into the night.

“Let’s stop here and retreat. Withdraw the troops to the north.”

“Yes! Retreat! Retreat north!”

The new Mexican weapons boasted powerful firepower, but they were not invincible. They also had overheating problems, and if they had responded by hitting machine guns with cannons and flexibly spreading out their battle lines, they could have inflicted enormous damage on the Mexican Empire.

The problem was that the U.S. military did not have that capability. The morale of the soldiers was at an all-time low due to the enormous loss of life in just a few hours, and the ranks were collapsing in fear. If they continued to fight any longer, the entire army would begin to collapse.

As would be expected, most of the soldiers were new recruits. Most of them had not even undergone a week of training, let alone a month.

If the officers could hold their ground and command the troops firmly, it wouldn’t have collapsed easily, but most of the officers were haphazard and had no combat experience.

That is why Lieutenant General Winfield Scott consulted with senior officers with tactical insight and issued the order for a rapid retreat.

“Retreat?”

“Yes, it’s a retreat signal!”

The American officers who received the order to retreat immediately calmed the soldiers and retreated into the city, but this was different from what Lieutenant General Winfield Scott had instructed.

“Retreat to the city! We’re going to have street fighting!”

“Yes! If it’s a street fight!”

The command was puzzled when they saw some of the soldiers entering New Orleans.

“Wait a minute! That’s not it!”

“Not a city! Retreat north!”

In the chaos of battle, there was confusion in orders. Some ordered a retreat to the city, others ordered a retreat north.

There was no time to recover from the chaos. The bulk of the Mexican army had crossed the river and was advancing forward, driving back the retreating enemy.

Thus the United States military was divided in two.